Hellbender's History
Kenji Yang was born into a family of three others, living in Singapore for the first fifteen years of his life. He moved to San Francisco, USA afterwards and disregarded his education to associate with neighbourhood gangs, taking on his first job as an illegal weapons dealer.
While he was engaged in external gang activity, his family home collapsed unexpectedly, claiming the lives of both his parents and presumably his brother. Unable to approach the police for risk of being caught, Kenji fled and resorted to thievery for survival
After stumbling upon The Underground, Kenji decided to call the city home, staying there for the next ten years of his life. Early on, he made a name for himself together with Misha in conducting several heists on corporations, joined a band a few years into his stay, and gained a reputation of one of the city's best weapon dealers/mechanics.
Approached by the Wrath district's most infamous gang-- The Entity, Kenji sold a faulty weapon prototype to its members, costing them a detrimental skirmish. His reputation plummeted, and The Entity placed a bounty on his head for his fault. They engaged in several fights with him, scarring his face with a knife in one of them. Stressed and distraught, Kenji distracted himself with alcohol and substances.
As he lay passed out in an alley after having too much to drink, an unknown person (later revealed to be Kenji's "dead" brother, Caecil) had tracked him down and approached him, administering him with a serum while Kenji was unconscious, before fleeing the scene. This would be the practical experiment that developed Kenji's current abilities.
Kenji suffered a detrimental fever for the next week, only to recover immediately after like nothing had ever happened. The next time he would be caught by The Entity's members, he would watch as his wounds sealed up in real time. The mysterious serum began to take full effect, granting him certain superhuman attributes.
In an effort to break the cycle of violence and fleeing, Kenji bid farewell to his friends and his then-boyfriend Vulcan Gallagher (though attempted to remain in a long distance relationship), and left The Underground to return to the surface of San Francisco. There, Kenji took up miscellaneous jobs to survive until things fixed themselves. He and Vulcan eventually ended their relationship, but remained friends.
Kenji had been taking a walk near a scrapyard to clear his head when he was confronted by a group of The Entity members, who wanted to claim the bounty. They attempted to end Kenji's life, but failed as the latter's regenerative powers and inhuman endurance saved him. Managing to take hold of one of The Entity gangster's weapon, Kenji desecrated the rest of his foes, but collapsed to his knees after with (mental) exhaustion.
Taking advantage of Kenji's weakened state, a world-renowned terrorist organisation, who had been tracking his activity for months, swooped in to apprehend him, transporting him back to one of their base locations. Fed up with his life, Kenji allowed it.
Kenji was taken to the very scientist who had developed the serum, and had several follow-up tests run on him. It was revealed that Caecil was affiliated with terrorists, and had volunteered his own brother (Kenji) to be the live experiment. Kenji had been under their watch ever since, and was finally at the stage where they could recruit him.
Kenji took on a job as a mercenary from then on, given the callsign Hellbender after his salamander-like regenerative qualities. He also doubled as a resident weapon mechanic due to his passions. He was viewed as an unkillable weapon of sorts, and was often labeled as a "hunting dog" for his stamina and speed when it came to chasing targets.
