Lena Gardner

**Lena Gardner** or **Leviathan** is a villain character in *Villainy and Virtue*, created and portrayed by AlexJ.

Daughter of an assassinated crime family, Lena works to return her family's name to former glory, as well as achieve some form of payback for those who put her in this situation.

## Biography

Almost a generation before her birth, Lena Gardner’s parents’ joint business ventures bore fruit. Gardner Bank suddenly sprung up in the Capital City’s financial sector, to the surprise of many. The investment bank began to pick up high-ranking clients in the city, unbeknownst to many that they did so through contributions from organised crime rings: deals struck under moonlight.

When she was born, Lena’s first years were comfortable, to say the least. Private tutors, high-end healthcare, and an abundance of wealth. All were hers to enjoy for four good years, and as she grew up happily, the empire of her parents grew to backdoor arms dealing; offering even greater rewards. This, naturally, attracted a lot of underground attention toward the Gardners, and though most was indifferent, simply appreciating the mutual benefit it brought, a few saw them as a threat, as well as an opportunity. After those four years, a plot was hatched to depose the growing organisation of the Gardeners. And on a dark, rainy night, that plot was brutally executed.

Lena was secluded in her bedroom when her parents were expertly assassinated by their own security detail, likely paid to do the deed. When they took the little girl away, she had no idea they had died. Such detail was only revealed when they arrived at a small, cramped apartment. There, a man who introduced himself as Reginald explained that her parents got themselves into a lot of trouble, and the family he represented would take care of her now. At the time, she had no idea what that meant.

As she grew up, the men employed to *‘take care of her’* taught her how to fight, quite extensively. Instead of self-defence, they told her of the art of killing: having her study a variety of predators to learn from their movements, alongside practical exercises. In tandem with this, she began to learn more and more of her situation, from both what Reginald would tell her whenever he came to visit, and also from listening in on what a variety of employees had to say. All the men around her ultimately worked for a notorious crime family: the Norwoods. They had orchestrated the assassination of the Gardner adults, in a bid to seize control of their company assets in a hostile takeover, and indeed succeeded in doing so. As for the young girl’s purpose at the safehouse; well it appeared that they may as well get another thug under their employ.

The knowledge that she was effectively held hostage by her parent’s murderers turned Lena into quite an angry child: an anger she expressed in her studies. On one particular event, the now young-teen was training with her knife-play (an area of combat she despised), whilst allowing the rage to brew. In a remarkable lash-out, a natural instinct caused her to pounce upon her trainee, and in remembering her recent assessment of snakes and their different attack maneuvers, she seeped poison to the knife’s blade. She only came to terms with what had just happened as her trainee fell to the ground.

As word spread, the poison producing kid was quickly whisked away from her second home, to what would become her third. The environment was much busier than what she had come to know, but she knew this was still Norwood territory.

Once again, Reginald was there to explain the situation, but with less dressing this time. First telling the truth of her parents, he followed up to describe the Norwood’s specific business. Blood. The moment Lena had somehow managed to produce her own poison was the moment she finally became useful. The family was always looking for more superhuman assassins.

From then, her training became more rigorous, and as a result, she became more effective. She came to terms with her powers, and even her situation. She was useful to the family now, which likely gave her more agency. No doubt, the assassin’s life would offer a decent amount of pay, and some worthwhile connections. She could work for the Norwoods, and yet be a thorn in their side. But she would have to be a damn good killer. Luckily, that is exactly what she became.

Completing her training, and being assigned the moniker ‘Leviathan’ (for her snake-like abilities), Lena was sent on her first mission. It was easy enough, allowing the higher-ups to give her a more difficult task next time. Again, her conviction, as well as sheer power resulted in success. For the first few years of her professional life; Leviathan was becoming quite an infamous name from Capital to Scarlet City.

Eventually, a mission had Lena come in contact with an old employee of the Gardner's illicit operations. It was here that her true task began. Keeping anonymity for most of the assignment, she eventually revealed herself to the family ally, and it was with him she first revealed her plan to restore her family name to former glory, even if it meant bringing the Norwoods down to hell.

Now armed with the support (and uniquely crafted knives) of one ally, Lena began to become more independent in her kills, to the dismay of her employers. She was too good to let go, but almost too stubborn to completely trust. In order to test her loyalties, Reginald informed her of a new assignment. Not an assassination, but a retrieval. A Norwood that had ran away from home, apparently. The return of Felix Norwood would be a token of support from Lena, though she hadn’t quite decided whether that was something she would do. She was a little frustrated that such a task was put on her, but she understood not many even knew the Norwoods ran the show, let alone that they had offspring. Still, this gave her the opportunity to decide once and for all how exactly she would restore the glory of her family name, and how much she'd make it hurt the Norwoods, if at all.

For now, however, she would locate the kid, potentially with the help of an old friend who had become quite notorious in Heartania… a *reaver*of city’s criminal underworld. It was time to make her mark.

## Appearance

Lena stands at 5’9 (approaching 5’10), with a strong, confident posture to compliment her healthy physique. Her skin is healthy, clearly seeing the sun enough to avoid being pale. Face well rounded; almost alluring, the orangey-brown eyes that help define it are deep and vibrant. Her hair, tied back in a ponytail; the fringe centre-parted either side, is of a brown shade, with dark blonde highlights stylistically featured. Her confidence, exhumed from her appearance, is only further exemplified from her expression, whether it be a smile, or a frown; a smirk, or a grimace.

When not completing an assignment, she would typically wear an assortment of plain t-shirts, along with a variety of jackets and hoodies, with jeans alongside trainers too. However, when she is tasked with an assignment, Lena dons the same gear she always has. A dark green tunic of protective leather; various belts and buckles holding her mastercrafted knives, with a snake engraved where the blade meets the hilt. To make her appearance bolder, black borders and accents the outfit, as green silken arms and legs are revealed where they are not obscured by leather knee-guards and gloves. To conceal her identity, she wears a green domino mask, styled with a black snake that slithers all around.

## Personality

Lena emits a certain swagger about her person, no matter where she goes. She has a great deal of confidence in herself and her abilities. Some may go so far as to call it an excessive ego, but she has no time, nor any desire to bother with such people. This gives her an element of dominance when she is present in the room. She quite evidently gives off the impression of a woman who knows what she wants, and how she will get whatever it is.

Despite this, something Lena enjoys quite a bit is a friendly challenge. As such, she respects the few peers she has, and always knows a good time will follow when their around. She likes to think they feel the same way, as she is an individual that pursues pleasure in most situations; whether that be a high-octane job, or an evening at the bar.

Perhaps a terribly droll cliche for assassins, she has a sense of honour about her moral compass. By no means does it stretch to the extremes, or even to the way ordinary citizens would expect, but Lena knows where her loyalties lie in the end. Though she wouldn’t admit it publicly (to avoid contractors losing their confidence in her), if the job involved compromising the well-being of an ally, or the ultimate legacy of her family, she would have no problem in sabotaging the effort. Coupling this with her lack of self-doubt, those who know her in more detail could conclude that Lena Gardner is a little selfish, and just a bit maverick… and they may well be correct.

## Powers

### *Poison/Venom Production*

From birth, Lena has had an affinity with harmful materials. She is able to concentrate her touch to deliver her poison to another individual, able to kill or harm depending on the concentration. She is able to coat items with her natural poisons, and is more commonly found doing so with her collection of throwing knives: a deadly combo. As the toxins are produced within her own body, Lena benefits from a natural immunity to poisons and venoms

### *Knife Combat Proficiency*

Through extensive training, catalysed by the nature of her livelihood, Lena is able to fight proficiently with a small, dexterous set of knives. With these, she is able to throw them expertly, or move with swift momentum to strike at weak-points in her opponents’ bodies. To add a lethal twist to her already deadly technique, Lena douses her knives with her own poisons: the speed that she can do this keeping anyone who would dare fight her on their toes.

## Trivia

* The original alias for Lena was set to be 'Queen Cobra', but the idea was scrapped due to it being too on the nose, and also with the suggestion of 'Leviathan' by Adam
* Further to this, the actual name of the character was a topic of personal debate: Lara, Laura, Lucy, Layla, Lyra, Fiona, Oriana, and Kyla were all contenders
* Aside from Marshal Maleficus, and Fat Man in I&I, this is AlexJ's first villain character