| Gwendolyn Payne | |
|---|---|
| |
| Portrayed by | Amber Heard |
| Played by | Graceharper |
| In-story stats | |
| Power(s) | Super Speed / Cyclonic Spinning |
| Alignment | Chaotic Neutral |
| Affiliation | Watcher's P.I. |
| Full name | Gwendolyn Virginia Payne |
| Alias | Gwen |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 25 |
| Date of birth | August 14th 1986 |
| Place of birth | Brooklyn, New York |
| Current Location | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Occupation | Private Investigator |
| Significant other | Travis Payne |
| Parents | Theresa Lomax & Andrew Matthews |
| Siblings | Ethan Matthews |
| Other relatives | Ella Matthews |
Gwendolyn Payne (nee Mathews) is a special working for The Watchers
Personality[]
Gwen can be a very deceitful person, with her blonde hair and bright blue eyes you'd think butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Of course, people shouldn’t always be taken by face value. She isn't as innocent as she may look, in fact quite the opposite. Gwen was once very selfish and most of the time inconsiderate toward others. She rarely put a thought towards other's feelings, and instead only thought of herself. In the past you would have never found Gwen helping someone else unless it meant that she gained something from the situation, but times changed and so has she.
It seemed that her dislike toward people occurred because of the awful experiences she'd been through with them. That because of all the hurt she felt due to being wronged by those she felt closest to her, she no longer allowed people to get close enough to cause damage. She became a shell of her previous self, never caring, never trusting and never loving another
Such a way of living was somewhat self destructive. She had so many built up feelings and emotions that she felt it was best to keep them locked away until inside she felt like she was dying. She craved to have someone close to her, to have someone she could depend on whom she could rely upon to help get her out the sticky situations she'd thrown herself into. All it took was one person to restore her faith in people and a drastic change took place.
Gwen often finds herself uncertain of her own doings; she has the need to fit in, to be liked but carries an attitude around with her as if she doesn’t care about it all. She hides behind a facade of lies, a disguise in personality, where she is a tough independent woman but in reality, she just wants what everyone wants, which is acceptance and someone to actually care about her.
She is a very dedicated young woman, whether it be toward her job or toward a person she cares a lot for. She is a very protective person, often throwing herself into the firing line to save those that mean most to her. Gwen doesn’t fear much and anything she does fear she won’t admit to, she likes to put a front on and act as if she is rock solid. Of course only those who truly know her can see right through it, but other people would see her as a hard faced bitch at times.
The blonde is particularly hard to gel with, unless you’re a guy of course. She’s a terrible flirt, forever getting herself into mishaps by batting her eyelids and being just the way she is. Though she causes so much trouble sometimes, people find it hard to really dislike her. Even with her sarcastic, crude and extremely blunt nature, she has a likeability factor because her words are actually truthful to the extent where her honesty has to be admired.
Gwen isn’t the type to lie, to spare someone’s feelings; she says whatever pops into her head even if it’s the cruellest of things simply because she believes it’s the best way to be. She is a smart girl who knows what she wants and definitely knows how to get it, no matter what it takes, if she wants something she'll get it in no time at all.
Appearance[]
Gwen has particularly large and narrow edged, bright green eyes. Her eyes are the feature that stands out most on her face because they compliment her fair skin and lightly shaded hair. Gwen's hair is long in length. Her golden locks sit just above hip length. Her hair is naturally blonde in colour and straight in style. Sometimes people make the wrong assumptions when seeing her. Based solely on the fact that Gwen is blonde, they’d immediately deem her as stupid or scatter brained as blondes are often perceived to be. Which of course she isn't.
The young woman has a petite build. She stands at a maximum of 5'5 and weighs around about 121lbs. But, don’t be fooled by her petite form; the woman can certainly hold her own. She is particularly athletic. She likes to take up several fitness based hobbies from gymnastics to kickboxing. Staying in shape and looking well is something that Gwen prides herself on. She knows that people often take you as they see you and because of this, physical upkeep is something she takes seriously.
She is at her most comfortable wearing dark shaded colours. She’s not the type of girl you’d see roaming about in canary yellows, pastel pinks and baby blues; it’s just not something she’d feel comfortable in. She is fairly tom boyish, and you will rarely see her sporting a dress or skirt. She'd much prefer to live in a basic pair of jeans and a shirt. She sure does love her heels. Being short sometimes can be difficult. The fact she prides herself on acting tough yet barely matches the height of a good amount of people, she finds wearing heels helps the situation just a little.
Abilities[]
Super Speed[]
Gwen has the ability to travel at superhuman speeds. She can move quicker than the human eye can process and faster than a speeding bullet. Because of this she is able to dart about from one location to the next in a matter of seconds. Gwen can extend her ability to at least two other people, allowing them to move with her at superhuman speed without harm. Gwen's ability also allows her to move at normal speed when time is drastically slowed. However, this is only possible if she is already travelling at high speed. When running at high speed, she is able to leap between buildings. Along with also being able to use her momentum to run against surfaces several feet from the ground.
Her ability does not only manifest itself in her feet which allows her to travel at high speeds, but also in her hands and other body parts enabling her reflexes to react much quicker than a regular persons.
Along with being able to channel her ability through other parts of her body, Gwen is also able to use the force of speed to act as strength. For instance, if the woman was travelling at a high speed and happened to collide with a solid object, the object in hand would be forced to move in the opposite direction to which she was travelling.
Cyclonic Spinning[]
Cyclonic Spinning is the ability to spin one's body at an incredibly high speed. This in turn creates a miniature tornado like cyclone. This occurs by shifting one's center and weight back and forth. This back and forth motion is not instantaneous and must be built up to. Furthermore, when Gwen spins rapidly like this, incredible gale force winds are generated. In addition, this incredible wind like force can hit enemies with a concussive nature. It can also throw the enemy or target, essentially lifting the target off their feet. Finally, it is very difficult to strike Gwen when she is in her cyclonic spin.
History[]
Gwen was born in Brooklyn, New York to Theresa and Andrew Matthews. Her family’s financial status was something that she was always proud of. Her upbringing was better than average, of course she'd have felt different about that if it wasn’t for the materials she managed to obtain. She was raised in a wealthy home where she was always used to getting whatever it was that her young heart desired. Though, looking back now, without the riches she'd certainly have much more to say about her home life. Tessa and Andrew were the working types. They were all about work and did not have much free time to spend with their kids. At a young age, Gwen and her twin brother Ethan weren't really capable of understanding how it all worked. To be honest, the duo never asked questions because they knew every time Mom and Dad went away, they came back with something nice for them. If anything, it seemed to be a luxury when their parents went away because they came back bearing gifts. What child wouldn’t be happy with that?
It wasn’t always that way. Whenever their parents were around they doted on their children. However, Gwen’s parents were the pushy kind. It was fine for Ethan because he and his father had many similar interests whereas Gwen wasn’t anything like her mother. Having a twin brother caused her to become more like him than other people. Whatever he liked, she liked. She wasn’t the dress wearing, doll playing type of girl. She liked to wrestle, play in the mud and watch action movies. Much to her mother’s dismay, Gwen was not the little princess she had hoped for. So it went without surprise that her mother wished to force such things on her as; gymnastics, ballet and even modelling. Tessa was a model. She was tall, blonde, physically fit and very good looking. She had her face plastered in most magazines, she competed in pageants. In later life she knew that she wouldn’t be able to do such things, since getting old would lessen her looks and she may not have been as desirable anymore.
Having a daughter, she could live her dream through her. Gwen wasn’t interested in any of those things. But, mother knew best. To stop her mother’s nagging, she subjected herself to her first pageant at thirteen years old. Gwen played the dutiful daughter. She went to gym classes. She took ballet and she entered herself into that goddamn pageant. To be honest, she did pretty well. But, because most of the girls at the time had been doing this for years, Gwen's presence wasn’t exactly liked amongst them. So it was no surprise that she got sabotaged. During a group routine, one of the girls thought it would funny to knock Gwen down, expecting her to run off crying. But, being who she was, she didn’t take it too kindly. Instead of running off crying like most would, she got back on her feet, strolled up to the girl in question and head butted her. That was the first and last time her mother ever tried to push her into something she didn’t wish to do and from that point on, her mother knew she was going to have trouble with this one.
As Gwen got older, her behaviour got worse. Also, the close knit bond between her and her brother broken as the two went in opposite directions. Ethan was the dutiful son, one that they were proud of. With top grades and pretty much everything going for him, it was no surprise that he became the golden child and Gwen was left to linger in his shadow. She hardly cared to be honest. The young woman was far too interested in doing her own thing. Of course when it came to wanting or needing anything, she soon turned on the good girl act and start working her way around her father.
She was lucky. See, even though she was a trouble maker she was blessed with her mother’s looks. You looked at her and it was as if butter wouldn’t melt. Only in reality she was not as innocent as she looked; she was just the opposite. But soon the leisures in life were no longer available. Her father owned many businesses and sadly for him he couldn’t keep up with his tax payments nor his credit card bills and eventually everything was taken from them. Gwen was affected a great deal by the sudden loss of everything which got her into a lot of trouble. If she couldn’t buy the things she wanted, then she’d simply take them. That way she wouldn’t have to live without having such pleasures. She would regularly go to the mall with her friends and take what they wanted, leaving and getting away scot free. It became a sort of addiction. Like without doing it she lacked something. She got a buzz from knowing that she was doing wrong yet it felt so right. One day in particular she remembered quite well. The day where things did not go quite how she had planned. The day where she was caught red handed.
Gwen and her friends had found themselves on a winning streak, going from store to store and bagging whatever they pleased. Unfortunately, one particular store kept a closer watch and caught the thieves red handed. Of course, Gwen wasn’t about to be taken without putting up a fight so she did and managed to get loose. A chase occurred and most of her friends were caught without much effort. But, Gwen seemed to handle herself just fine. It was at this moment in time that she realised that something was different with her. As she ran as fast as her feet could carry her it was as if time around her hand slowed down, before she knew it she was out of sight and had gotten away.
She found herself questioning her own sanity at the time. Over the next few days, Gwen began to do what others probably would in her case. She needed answers. She wanted to know what was going on with her because it didn’t appear to have happened just that once. She was running track during gym and found herself racing on ahead only to be unable to stop herself and loose her footing. For someone who had so much control of her life, she found it immensely hard to bare that she could not figure this out for herself. After much seeking, she soon located her answers. It came in the form of a book. Some doctor had written a book about people who could do things. Things that most average Joes could only dream of doing.
Discovering the truth about herself, Gwen realized just how easy life could now be, and so as expected after much dedication and fine tuning she was able to use her abilities for her own needs such as stealing and committing other various crimes, which she always got away with. Her behaviour hadn’t gone unnoticed by both her parents and her brother, Ethan. The young woman was soon confronted by her family. But, she was far to proud to open up and let them in. To tell them what she was going through. They’d never understand. She took a verbal beat down from her parents who deemed her to be a complete waste of time and a letdown to them. She hated hearing that, because she knew that she had already abused her life. Now, though, she had this gift that she could depend on to keep her well. She didn’t need them. So she left.
Gwen lived her life by herself. Doing things to gain whatever it was that she needed and practically doing whatever it took. Little did she know that people were observing her behaviour patterns, viewing her technique and watching as she willingly used her abilities for her own selfish needs. As she continued with her antics, it became clear that she had not gone unseen like she had thought. t. She was soon confronted by a young man. Jake Bishop. It seemed that her ability had certainly caught his eye and it appeared that wasn’t the only thing. Jake spoke of a man who could help Gwen. Her ability was one that could be put to some tremendous use in his line of work. The blonde opted to meet this man. Mr Sommers. He was much older than she. He was smartly dressed. Sommers looked like a proper business man. But, she had taught herself that looks weren’t always the way to go. He was certainly a deviant character which she later came to see. He offered her a job. There wasn’t a title for her employment as Sommers thought that she had many uses. The older man took Gwen under his wing and things moved from there.
The time after seemed to move very quickly, even for her. She soon had her feet nice and settled under the table, practically having herself over the rest of Sommers employees. Obviously that didn’t go down too well. Some of these men had worked for Sommers for years only to feel pushed out by her. The only one who didn’t see it at the time was Jake. The young man was practically in love with her. He was always trying to grab for her attention kind of like a deprived child. Of course, Gwen wasn’t an easy one to get around. Eventually she did give into him and began to develop a very heated relationship with Bishop.
There was talk about Gwen. About how she used him to get into the group and now she was taking his role from him. He’d been Sommers right hand man. He was the only one with the ability. But, now that Gwen was here he was no longer the golden boy. Hell, he couldn’t even control his abilities all that well. He wasn’t a patch on her. Jake chose to ignore such rubbish believing it to be jealousy more than anything. Though it wasn’t on purpose, Gwen had actually succeeded in winning Sommers over therefore ranking higher in his books than the others. He treated her like he would have his own daughter.
Gwen was having the time of her life. She was part of a team. She was relied on and better yet, she was earning money. She couldn’t have asked for more. But, unfortunately at the time she found herself running into a guy who would do more than change her current life. He’d set her on a whole new future path entirely. The blonde was out on a job. She’d been after a drug dealer who owed Sommers money. After chasing the man down the street, he opted for a new route and headed into oncoming traffic. This was a great distraction as people came to view the scene; she was able to sneak his bag away containing Sommers cash. However, as she went to leave a guy popped up and tried to fight her for the goods. She’d have never forgot him from that day and found it pretty hard to. Travis Payne. She pinned him as the local hero and a major pain in her ass. The two were at logger heads as Travis tried to open her eyes as to how inappropriate her behaviour was. At first she wasn’t having any of it but eventually it seemed like the man hit a nerve and managed to get into her. Of course she still left with the bag but she left with more than that. She suddenly had a lot to think about.
As time drifted on, it seemed that her role within Sommers gang began to slip. She wasn’t sure about her place anymore. Thanks to Travis, she seemed to feel as if she suddenly had a conscience. He had been right. She had wasted her life doing nothing. In the years to come, where would she be? alone? She needed to change. Her life was a mess. Gwen began to distance herself slowly from Sommers and Jake. Once more, this did not go unnoticed. Sommers began to fret. He was wondering if the woman was working for someone else. It got worse for her thereafter. The suspicion of deceit kicked in amongst the group. She’d be sent on missions to find that they were not as she had expected. That the brief that was given to her did not match the situation and as a result she got hurt countless times. Sommers sabotaged her on purpose as a way of getting back at her. She was cowardly to still stay and take it.
At the time she wouldn’t have admitted it but she was glad to bump into Travis again a good few months later. Though, this time it seemed that he wasn’t the guy she had met before. He seemed so trapped in his current place. He was so down in the dumps. It was weird for her. She wasn’t used to being the person to give out advice but soon found herself doing just that. He was the complete opposite to her yet given the chance they seemed to get on well, maybe a little too well. After this time around one incident in particular, initiated by Travis caused her to make her decision. She wanted out. She could do better.
Unfortunately it was just too little too late. She should have done it months ago. She went weeks without seeing the gang. She didn’t return anyone’s calls and eventually Sommers got fed up with her games. One evening she was disturbed from her sleep by a trespasser in her home. She had slept through the entire thing only to wake to find him hovering over her. The last thing she saw before his fist was his face. She’d never forget that face. She’d know it anywhere. It was Jake. The woman woke to find her home a wreck and herself not much better off.
The woman had no idea what to do with herself. She had never been this way. She had never been so vulnerable and out of control. She had for years now known her place only to now be left with nothing. Things didn’t remain that way for long, though. Things in her life seemed to switch around quickly, which was lucky for her. It was even better that the switch around involved Travis again. As much as she fingered that guy for an idiot the first time she met him, she had grown incredibly fond of him and soon realised such feelings to be mutual. It was with Travis's help that she set herself back on the right track. Gwen no longer went about breaking the law or doing things for her own selfish needs. No, she had a real job now. She helped people and that gave her the best feeling she’d ever had. Way better than any buzz you’d get from robbing a bank that was for sure.
Recent Events[]
Facts of Interest[]
- Gwen and Travis have been dating since September 2009, they married May 8th 2011 at Gotham Hall, NYC.