Jason Leander
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Jason tending at the D | |
| Jason Leander | |
| Player: [Mike D] | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Threat Level: | Who even knows any more? |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Jason Vitaya Leander |
| Known Aliases: | none |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | Twentysomething? |
| Height: | 6' 1" |
| Weight: | 183 |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American (half Thai) |
| Occupation: | Freelance courier |
| Place of Birth: | Seoul, Korea |
| Base of Operations: | Kings Row |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | His parents are out there but he lost touch with them long ago. |
| Known Powers | |
| Internal energy manipulation that boosts striking power and reflexes, mild healing factor. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Hand to hand combat training | |
| Equipment | |
| Nothing, really! | |
| ' | |
All information in this profile is public knowledge or easily obtainable. It is in no way an exhaustive biography of this character.
Contents |
Origin
Jason is the son of a State Department Diplomatic Security officer named Frank Leander, who in his early career was stationed in South Korea. Frank fell in love with a Thai woman named Nai-yana, whom he met in an open market when he was in Bangkok on a junket with several visiting American dignitaries. Nai-yana, a professional Muay Thai kickboxer, was performing a public exhibition match in the market, and Frank was immediately captivated. Nai-yana was at first more interested in one of the dignitaries, but Frank's kindness and polite persistence eventually won her over. Nai-yana's family did not approve of Frank in the slightest, however, so the two carried on their affair in secret, seeing each other whenever Frank could get to Thailand. Eventually they eloped. Frank took his new bride back to Seoul, and later their son Jason was born.
When Frank's service was up he returned to his hometown of Long Beach, California with his new family in tow. For a time the Leander family's life was almost idyllic. Frank and Nai-yana were proud of their bright, articulate son. Nai-yana took it upon herself to train him in Muay Thai practically as soon as he could walk. However, when Jason was nine Frank abruptly walked out on the family, and shortly afterwards Nai-yana was deported. (There's a lot Jason still doesn't know about what actually happened between his parents.) After this Jason found himself bouncing from one foster home to the next, each one worse than the last. When Jason was 14 he got into a bad argument with his foster father that turned into a bloody fight, and it was that day that Jason discovered he had an odd healing ability. He beat the older man easily and the few bruises he took were healed within the hour.
Jason struck out on his own, eventually falling in with the CLZ street gang, acting as a corner lookout. He was unambitious at best, however, preferring to spend his time surfing than trying to move up the gang's ranks. However, whenever there was trouble with rival gangs Jason would always jump right into the thick of it. With his prior Muay Thai experience and his healing abilities, Jason excelled as a fighter. He could stand up to guns, knives, fire, and about anything else, and keep on coming.
Moving to Paragon
Jason's success as a brawler brought him to the attention of the leaders of the CLZ, who demanded that he become muscle for the gang. Jason wasn't interested, though, which didn't sit well with the CLZ leaders. Three of the gang's enforcers decided to straighten Jason out, but he beat them easily. The situation deteriorated rapidly as more of the CLZ tried to assault Jason, losing to him every time, which led to an ever-increasing amount of bad blood. This led Jason to two conclusions: first, he was quickly running out of friends in Long Beach and second, he clearly had super powers. It was time, he decided, to for a change of scene, preferably to a place where metahumans were understood and welcome.
Jason packed up his few belongings and bought a bus ticket to Paragon City. Once there he registered as a hero and started taking on street crime. He needed to pay the bills, though, so he also took up bartending part time in Pocket D, where he met people like Lucy Xiao, Airea, Marauder Jackal, Nigredo Fist, and Freedom Darling.
Although he missed surfing, Jason was content with his new life. Until one particular life changing event he had no idea why he could heal...but why question a good thing, he reasoned.
An Incident in Peregrine
In May 2010 Jason and his team responded to an Arachnos assault on Portal Corporation. Things were going well until it turned out that Ghost Widow was the raid leader. Jason leaped to the attack, but she effortlessly froze him with her Soul Storm and casually stuck her hand in his chest. "My apologies, young man," she whispered. Ever polite, that Ghost Widow, even when she's killing you.
Jason's injuries were catastrophic and would've been fatal, but his powers kicked in and healed him just enough to keep his heart beating. As the victorious Arachnos forces were preparing to depart they came across Jason lying on the ground, comatose but alive. They'd seen him assaulted by Ghost Widow and were shocked he was still breathing. Sensing opportunity, a Bane Executioner ordered his troops to load Jason onto the flyer. Somewhere in the Rogue Isles medical and research community, the Bane reasoned, he could find someone who could use such an interesting test subject, and who might be willing to pay for the privilege.
The Bane Spider officer found his bidder in the person of Dr. Shelly Percey. Dr. Percey put the comatose Jason up in the ICU of her Cap au Diable hospital, where she subjected him to a battery of tests. Despite her reputation for unethical practices she actually took very good care of Jason, and when he finally returned to consciousness they even struck up a friendly acquaintance.
Dr. Percey determined that Jason had the ability to naturally channel a certain type of energy -- life magic, one might call it -- through his body. He could direct this force into various feats of strength and healing. This healing ability had allowed him to survive Ghost Widow's attack, but it had been effectively nullified in the process. He was now just a normal man. Once Jason was mended Dr. Percey released him with a smile and her best wishes. What she didn't mention to him was that there was still some nether magic left in his body, and that it would eventually be fatal.
Jason Returns...Well, What Was Left of Him Returned
With nowhere in particular to go Jason found his way back to Pocket D. There he ran into a few old friends and started making new ones. (One of the very first people he met was Frostbound, who became a fast friend.) Pocket D manager Jessii James rehired him, but with no bartender openings he wound up stocking the storerooms instead. Still, he was grateful for the work. One night Jason was in the D shooting the bull with his old friend Jackal when sudden chest pains hit him. He was doubled over and coughing up blood. After a bit it became apparent a spirit presence was hovering near Jackal, and something in Jason's body was reacting to it. And thus Jason met Kail Cook.
Jason ran into Kail in her spirit form several more times at Pocket D, and each time he had the same reaction: pain and coughing up blood. Clearly something was wrong. He started asking people questions, seeing if anyone he knew had any insight on his situation. Delphi Oracle did a reading on Jason and determined that it was leftover nether magic from Ghost Widow's attack, and it would be lethal if left alone. Jason obtained a ward from MAGI to keep spirit presences from harming him, but it was Kail's magic that saved him. Instead of removing the nether magic from his body she incorporated it into him, allowing him to draw on and use it. Afterwards his powers worked much as they did before, but with negative energy rather than positive. Essentially, his polarity was reversed. Jason began exploring various ways to utilize his new abilities, which were by and large more versatile than the old.
Getting Back Into Things
During his long absence from the U.S. Jason was declared a missing person, but he didn't feel like going through the legal wrangling to get that sorted out. Having never spent any significant time in the Rogue Isles before his hospitalization he decided to make a go of things there for awhile. Aside from his work at the D, he was also hired by the WK Trading Company, a St. Martial based import / export business specializing in Asian antiques. Naturally it was a perfectly legitimate business that would never dream of involving itself in any shady dealings. However, in his spare time Jason frequently returned to Paragon to fight crime alongside Frostbound and her friends.
After Mot was bound by a coalition of heroes and villains, Jason's powers abruptly left him; turns out the nether magic in his system was tied to Mot's awakening power. Jason, who had planned to reveal WK Trading's illegal activities to the authorities, suddenly found himself powerless again. He was forced into hiding, pursued by agents of WK Trading. He stowed away on a freighter to Paragon, where he was rescued by Frostbound and Joe Blackshear.
After a period of recuperation, the now-normal Jason found employment as a truck driver, a job he held for almost seven years. Everything changed in early 2019 when Jason ran into Nikki in the Kings Row consignment house, where he was unloading a few boxes of office supplies. Jason's next run was going to take him through a Skulls hot zone, so he asked Nikki to accompany him. Sure enough, the Skulls tried to hijack Jason's truck, but he and Nikki easily fended them off. Jason got hit by a few stray rounds in the fight but he wasn't particularly hurt. At that moment he realized his old energy had somehow restored itself over the years, again rendering him a metahuman. Jason immediately got to work getting himself back into fighting shape (Nikki in particular thought he had gotten way too skinny) and returned to crime fighting.
Today Jason has started his own business as a courier, using his numerous contacts both from his trucking days and his work with WK Trading. He gets a variety of goods (and sometimes people) through high crime areas and other hot zones. He works both in Paragon and in Etoile. He hires out strictly on a donation basis; if he thinks the job is important enough he'll happily do it for free.
Personality
Like a lot of metahumans Jason's had a rough past, but he doesn't let it get to him. He's cheerful and easygoing and has a goofball sense of humor. He has a ready smile and an easy manner about him. It's very hard to make him angry, and he'll try to get along with just about anybody. He's also kind of a sucker for strays, misfits, and the downtrodden, and will spontaneously devote large chunks of his time to helping them out. If someone looks like a runaway, lost and alone, or a stranger in a strange land, he may well try to ride to the rescue. Unless they turn out to be a truly colossal jerk.
Don't mistake his patience and kindness for weakness or submissiveness, however. As Kahlil Gibran astutely observed, "Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution."
Despite all this Jason is certainly not a saint. The D sometimes brings out Jason's sarcastic side, and he definitely has one. As a former gang member he has lived off the proceeds of crime for much of his life. Although he's not a killer per se, he has definitely shed more than a little blood in his time, which to him is simply part of the business he's in. His parting of ways with the CLZ was particularly messy. (Beyond this his other flaws and his dark side are best discovered in game.)
Jason is, for no adequately explained reason, a huge fan of ska music (mostly 2 Tone ska revival and ska-punk, although he also likes the old school stuff).
Abilities
Jason is a natural conduit for energies that some have described as magic. He is not a mage in the traditional sense, but he can direct the energy internally to heal his body and enhance his physical abilities enormously. Before his little adventure with Ghost Widow the energy he channeled was positive, but her attack seemed to drive that power out of him. After Kail's ritual his body began to channel nether energy instead...this energy was both powerful and versatile, but it took a distinct toll on his mental condition. After the defeat of Mot, however, that energy left him as well. Eventually, his ability to channel life energy returned, however, all on its own.
tl;dnr
Jason will probably refer to you as "dude" at some point.
