After The Storm:William

William Ray Kendrick. Born July 8, 1978. Mother died when he was 12. Father was a preacher, they butted heads repeatedly during his teen years.

Joined the Army when he turned 18, was primarily taught various mechanical skills, especially in regards to repairing vehicles. Served two years of active duty, before becoming a reservist, getting a job as an auto mechanic.

His father died in early 1999 of cancer. Later that year he met Anna Bolan, a history teacher, whom he started dating. Her first novel was published in early 2000, and they were married later that year, with the twins Ryan and Emma born early the next year.

In late 2001 he was recalled to active duty and sent to Afghanistan. Because of his skills he acted as support, and was not generally sent on patrol or combat missions. The only time he saw combat was when, after being sent out to help repair some vehicles that had broken down, was present when the ambush occurred. He took a bullet to the leg, and while he eventually made a full recovery, it was slow enough that he was allowed to finished out the rest of his 8-year commitment to the Army back in the States.

The next two decades were good to Will. Anna's career as a novelist took off, and any uncertain times were supported by his steady work as an auto mechanic. Ryan and Emma grew up without incident or serious drama, and both would go on to college.

His happiness was not to last forever. When the Storm hit in '22, Anna's pacemaker - she had long suffered from arrhythmia - failed due to the massive gamma radiation burst. By the time he was able to get her to a hospital, it was already too late.

His life these days is very different, in many ways. He lives in a small one-bedroom apartment, having sold the house after the twins finished college and were out on their own. He is 'mostly retired' - he works a few hours here and there at the auto shop when they need an extra pair of hands, and he also helps with basic maintenance at the apartment complex he lives at. He's not hurting for money, despite his current unpretentious dwellings, as he has a fair amount in savings, primarily from Anna's success, as well as what he got from selling the house.

Ryan is working for an architectural firm, and is married with a daughter. Emma is single, does private music lessons for clients, and also plays in a local all-female band Bitchcraft.

Will uses his free time to do some volunteer work. Some of that is helping local vets - driving them to and from medical appointments if they lack their own transportation, or would be unable to drive home safely afterwards, is not uncommon. Although she hasn't needed his assistance in this manner, one of Will's friends in his apartment building is Maria Aguilar, who served as a Marine in Afghanistan in the latter 'aughts, and now works nights as a nurse at a local hospital.

He also helps out at a local homeless shelter. One of the people he has helped who has stayed in contact with him is Elena Ivanov, the daughter of Russian immigrants who was cut off from her family when they found out she was gay. Will is especially proud of how she has managed to bounce back from this, taking college classes by day to get a degree in Chemistry, while working as a bartender at night at The Witches' Brew, a local lesbian bar.

.

He's only had his powers for maybe two months at most, and it's only in the last 2-3 weeks that he has mastered his new abilities enough to try the superhero gig. He hasn't done anything spectacular yet, has stuck mostly to the shadows, and at the moment his new second existence hasn't yet been confirmed by the police.

(also, still need to figure out what part of NYC he lives in - probably not the same area that the Protectors have been operating out of)