| GWEN RAIDEN | ||||
| i'm a freak, YOU TRICK YOUR LOVERS THAT YOU'RE WICKED AND DIVINE, YOU MAY BE A SINNER BUT YOUR INNOCENCE IS MINE, I WANT TO RECONCILE THE VIOLENCE IN YOUR HEART, I WANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOUR BEAUTY'S NOT JUST A MASK ---------------------------------------- Gwen is a mutant with the ability to generate and manipulate electricity. This power can be used in a number of ways, from creating powerful and damaging electric blasts to manipulating and controlling electronic devices with a form of technopathy. The latter proves especially useful in her role as a high-tech, professional thief, a career at which she seems especially skilled and adept, making herself quite wealthy in the process. She can also draw her electricity within her own body to improve her fighting prowess, allowing her to go head-to-head with Angel in a fight. Her powers initially came with dangerous, uncontrollable elements. She was rendered unable to touch anyone without her power harming them and she would tend to attract lightning. She briefly gained the ability to touch thanks to the LISA device, though once that burned out she was once again unable to touch anyone. Her name was confirmed as being a reference to the Japanese God Raiden, who could control thunder and lightning, hinting at perhaps a supernatural source for her abilities. This is also implied by the greater use of her powers in the Hell dimension, where she was seen battling a demonic T-Rex and taking on a swarm of dragons. Gwen is a tall, slim woman, with a strikingly beautiful appearance, and she knows it. She flaunts her body with tight leather and silk, in various reds and blacks. Her long hair is usually left wild and curly down her back, with some streaks of red and blonde running through the brown. | |||
PERSONALITY & DEMEANOR electricity comforts them. Suckers. Sarcastic, edgy and independent. Gwen finds it very hard to trust anyone. Her powers force her to keep people at a distance physically, while her history drives her to keep them away emotionally. She hides her vulnerabilities behind a wall of bitchiness. She acts as though she cares for nothing and no one, though a handful of people know that isn't the case. She's defensive, of herself, her lifestyle and her abilities. She'll describe herself as a freak, but spark anyone else who dares insult her in that way. That's her word. She is capable of being incredibly deceptive when she needs to be, part of the skills of being a thief. Abandoned by her parents when she was five, Gwen learned to keep her barriers up, wary of letting anyone too close to her. In her time in Los Angeles, she would say she cared about just three people, outside of herself. Lindsey, the man who gave her her life, who died at the hands of Lorne, on Angel's orders. Charles Gunn, the man she gave her virginity to, who became a vampire when Angel failed. And Connor, the man she betrayed for Gunn, part of a plan for revenge against Connor's father. But Gwen does feel guilt over some of her past, and has her own moral code. While she will kill, she does not do so recklessly, and where possible she will defend those weaker than herself. Though she would never describe herself as a hero, some of her actions could potentially be described that way. | ||||
PERSONAL HISTORY This thing could help me be, well not normal, but hold hands maybe? In 1985, Gwen was a young girl, bundled up in heavy winter clothing, taken by her parents to a boarding school in Gills Rock, Wisconsin, gaining a place there thanks to a generous donation from her wealthy family, more than likely shamed by their strange daughter who had already caused the deaths of two gardeners and four nannies. There, she was isolated from the other children. Outside in the playground during recess, a male classmate asked if she was a "freak" and told her that she does not look like one. Heartened by this gesture, Gwen smiled and the boy offered to share one of his toy cars with her. As she reached out to take it, an electrical shock traveled from Gwen to the classmate, killing him instantly. Her parents never returned to collect her as they had once promised, leaving Gwen to face being an outcast. Both students and teachers alike were afraid of the girl, some believing her to be a sort of devil child. One teacher however saw in her an opportunity and began to train her to channel her abilities to defeat electrical systems, in particular security systems. During her teenage years Gwen stole many artifacts for her teacher, making him very rich in the process. But he never kept his end of the bargain, namely trying to help her control her powers. After she graduated high school, Gwen ran away to Los Angeles, hoping to make money for herself. For a while she worked as a dancer, making barely enough to cover the rent. Eventually she drew the attention of Lindsey McDonald, of Wolfram and Hart, who recruited her as a freelance thief for the firm's elite clients. Working for Wolfram and Hart proved to be very beneficial to Gwen, who didn't care for the details of her clients. She just stole what she was paid to steal and didn't ask too many questions, becoming a millionaire in the process. She maintained a friendly relationship with Lindsey until he left the firm in 2000 after which she worked mostly with Lilah Morgan. In 2002 she ran into Angel for the first time, when they both went after the same artifact, the Axis of Pythia. Angel wanted it as part of his quest to find Cordelia. Gwen wanted it for the millions of dollars for a client. A client who later turned on her and tried to kill her. It was only through Angel's intervention that she survived and she allowed him to keep the Axis in gratitude, although he later returned it to her. This was also the time of Gwen's first kiss, when she made Angel's heart beat and he kissed her passionately in return. During that encounter, Gwen was briefly responsible for the death of Charles Gunn when he grabbed her. However, she stayed behind and used her powers to jumpstart his heart again, saving his life. A few weeks later she met the mysterious Mr Ashet, a long term client, who was killed in front of her by a giant demon made of rock. Since Angel was "hands down the freakiest person I know" she went to him to ask what was going on. "Freak to freak. The world gonna end or what?" She joined with AI to try to save the Ra-Tet and prevent the Beast from blotting out the sun. But when that battle was lost, she fled to Tahiti, not prepared to get any more involved in what seemed like a hopeless fight. But when the lights came back on she returned to LA, asking Gunn for help on a job. Gwen claimed the job was to rescue a girl, Lisa, however LISA was actually a military acronym for a prototype device that she hoped would allow her to control her abilities. While Gunn was initially furious at being deceived, he was forced to consed that it was the most fun he'd had in a long time and he stayed to help Gwen finish the job. Later, he helped her test the device and when she was able to touch, the pair slept together, Gwen's first time. Gunn, however, left later that night, needing to return to AI and the bigger fight. Gwen remained in LA and was on an uncomfortable date with a man called Nate when the city was sent to Hell. The fall caused LISA to stop working and she burned Nate to a crisp. It didn't take Gwen long to meet up with Connor Reilly and join his team as his second in command along with Nina Ash, Angel's werewolf ex girlfriend. Gwen and Connor also started dating, Connor being surprisingly patient with her limitations due to her powers. Gwen was part of the team aiding Angel in the battle against the demon Lords, led by Lord Burge, taking on an army of demon monsters, even a giant T-Rex. Angel wasn't satisfied with defeating Burge and wanted to take the fight further, against the now vampire Gunn. When it was revealed that Angel was now human, and going up against Gunn and his team of vampires, Connor and Spike went to help him, with Gwen along for the ride. It was then that it was revealed that Gwen had met with Gunn before ever meeting Connor and been working for him the whole time, manipulating events so Angel would go to Gunn and Gunn could take revenge, blaming Angel for everything wrong in his world. Though Gwen's loyalty had always been to Gunn, her feelings for Connor were real, leading her to feel intensely conflicted. She wanted Angel dead, but wasn't prepared to hurt Connor, even as a swarm of dragons came down at them. Making a final choice, Gwen began to channel more electricity than she ever had before, drawing the dragons towards the light and giving Connor and Spike time to leave and help Angel. The storm she controlled was enough to kill the dragons, but the energy she exerted was enough to kill her. | ||||