Leon Scott Kennedy

Prime universe
(Capcom's primary storyline)

Biography	Development	Gameplay	Quotes	Appearances	Gallery	Further notes

Leon Scott Kennedy
jp name	レオン・スコット・ケネディ
Biographical information
Race/Nationality:	Caucasian/American
Occupation:	Police Officer (1998) US-STRATCOM Agent (1998-2011) DSO Agent (2011-)
Status:	Alive
Biological information
Sex:	Male
Blood type:	A
Height:	178 cm (5 ft 10 in) 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Mass:	70.2 kg (155 lb) 75 kg (165 lb)
Other Information
First appearance:	Resident Evil 2 (1998)
Last appearance:	Resident Evil 3 (mentioned)
Voice:	Paul Haddad (RE2) Paul Mercier (RE4, Degeneration, DC) Christian Lanz (ORC) Matthew Mercer (RE6, Damnation, Rev2, Vendetta) Nick Apostolides (RE2 Remake) Jin Yamanoi (Japanese dub; Degeneration) Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese dub; ORC, Damnation, RE6, Rev2, RE2 Remake)
Portrayer:	Brad Renfro (RE2 ad)
Modelled after (Model):	Christian Duerre (RE4) Bart Voitila (RE6) Eduard Badaluta (RE2 Remake)
Mocap:	Teruaki Ogawa (RE4) R.C. Ormond (Degeneration) Jason Faunt (RE6, Vendetta) Kevin Dorman (Damnation) Nick Apostolides (RE2 Remake)

For other results, see Leon Kennedy (disambiguation).

"I'm gonna scrub this virus from the face of the earth." — Leon to Claire, after the Harvardville outbreak.

Leon Scott Kennedy is an American Federal Agent currently employed with the Division of Security Operations (D.S.O.), a counterterrorism agency with direct Presidential oversight. Kennedy is a known survivor of the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident, then as a police officer. Following his escape, he was offered a job in a US-STRATCOM team devoted to anti-B.O.W. combat, and served it until 2011 in repeated operations around the world.

Quick Answers

What is Leon Scott Kennedy's first day like as a Raccoon City Police Officer?

Leon's first day as a Raccoon City Police Officer was not what he expected. He had no travel plans or apartment in the city, broke up with his girlfriend, and woke up hungover in a motel on the afternoon of September 29th.

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How did Leon meet Claire Redfield?

Leon met Claire Redfield while driving into Raccoon City. They both encountered zombies and sought shelter at the Raccoon Police Station.

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Who did Leon meet in the police station?

In the police station, Leon encountered Lt. Marvin Branagh, Elliot Edward, and Police Chief Brian Irons. He also met a young girl named Sherry Birkin.

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Who did Leon meet in the police station's basement?

In the police station's basement, Leon met Ada Wong, a corporate spy from a rival company. They later encountered Ben Bertolucci, a journalist who had uncovered information on a conspiracy between Umbrella USA and the local police.

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Where did Leon and Ada go after leaving the police station?

Leon and Ada went to the city's sewers, where they found transport to NEST, Umbrella's laboratory dedicated to G-Virus research.

Provided by: Fandom

Biography

Early life

Not much is known about Leon's life prior to his enlisting in the police academy. Upon graduating from the police academy at the age of 21, Kennedy requested assignment to work for the Raccoon Police Department. His reason of choice was because of the widely publicized murders taking place in and around the Arklay Mountains.

Raccoon City Incident

This section is based on a game with branching story paths, or several games with conflicting accounts. For more detail on differing portrayals, see this page.

"This is not how I imagined my first day..." — Leon commenting on his first day as a Raccoon City Police Officer

Kennedy had no travel plans or apartment in Raccoon City, and in the hasty departure, his girlfriend broke up with him. Stopping at a motel for the night, he passed out from heavy-drinking and woke up on the afternoon of the 29th of September, on a Tuesday. Kennedy continued driving into the city hungover and now late for reporting in to the station. In one count of events, his journey to Raccoon City took place a week after a confusing phone call urging him not to come in to work. Driving through Arklay County, he passed through the highway blockade erected by the United States Army and Army National Guard, which had fallen due to the chaos within the city.

Leon arrives at Raccoon City.

Accounts differ as to when Kennedy realised the crisis in the city. In one account, he drove southwards into the city as normal and was surrounded by Zombies while investigating a body in the middle of the unusually quiet main road. Retreating into an alleyway he met Claire Redfield, another newcomer, who was herself fleeing from Zombies within a diner. They commandeered an RPD cruiser and drove to the Raccoon Police Station to seek shelter and answers. In another account, a similar event occurred at the Mizoil Gas Station just outside the city, and they hijacked an Arklay County Sheriff's Department patrol car instead. Whichever the reality was, the car was destroyed when a gasoline tanker collided with it, and the two were separated and travelled to the police station independently.

Kennedy investigating the police station with a Zombie close behind him.

The station itself had already fallen to the Zombies, and the only unzombified police officers were the injured Lt. Marvin Branagh; Elliot Edward, and Police Chief Brian Irons. It is uncertain if he met anyone, but had he met Lt. Branagh he would have been briefed on current events before becoming a Zombie. During investigation, Kennedy ran into a young girl - Sherry Birkin - and removed any thoughts of suicide from his mind, should his death prevent the girl's escape in future. In the police station's basement, Kennedy met Ada Wong, a corporate spy from one of Umbrella's rival companies sent to steal the G-Virus. To protect the mission, he was not told the truth about her mission. In one account, Wong claimed to be looking for her missing boyfriend, Dr. John Clemens, unaware he had perished in the Mansion Incident. In another, she claimed to be an FBI agent looking for proof of Umbrella USA's illegal bioweapons project. Whichever the reason, she became aware of Ben Bertolucci, a freelance journalist who she believed had uncovered useful information for her mission while spying on Umbrella researchers. Bertolucci was able to uncover information on a conspiracy between Umbrella USA and the local police, which was the reason for his arrest, but not enough for her mission.

Ben was soon after killed by a mutant, with accounts differing as to if it was Dr. William Birkin; a G parasite, or the T-00 B.O.W. sent to kill survivors in the station. Kennedy and Wong continued on to the city's sewers, where they found transport to NEST, Umbrella's laboratory dedicated to G-Virus research. Kennedy was left to do much of the work himself when in the laboratory; though he himself had suffered a gunshot wound, Wong's leg injury made her unable to continue.

Leon, Claire and Sherry escape the Raccoon City after eliminating mutant Birkin.

During the exploration of the laboratory, Kennedy became aware of Wong's real mission when she cornered, seeking the virus. Accounts differ as to if she fell off a shaft or was knocked out by the T-00, or even both. What is known, however is that she successfully escaped the facility as it began to self-destruct, but lost the G-Virus sample. Fleeing to NEST's bottom platform, Kennedy was reunited with Claire and the young Sherry, who had been infected with G-Virus but was vaccinated by DEVIL to halt her mutations. The facility was destroyed, with Dr. William Birkin perishing soon after.

STRATCOM recruitment

"Hey! It's up to us to take out Umbrella!" — Leon to Claire and Sherry, after escaping Umbrella Lab using a Galaxie 5000.

Leon being questioned by the US government.

Following the Raccoon City incident, Claire and Kennedy split up, and she continued her search for Chris, while Kennedy continued to look after Sherry. Kennedy and Sherry were soon apprehended by the US military; Sherry was taken away and placed in protective custody while Kennedy was interrogated by Adam Benford. Apparently, Kennedy never mentioned Claire or Wong, but the government was interested in recruiting him, since he now possessed the experience they were looking for. Kennedy accepted, but only on condition that Sherry was kept in good hands.

His subsequent training as a government agent turned him from a simple police rookie into an expert special agent. He became much more competent in terms of weapons handling and unarmed combat, specifically knife combat.

In November 1998, Kennedy sent a friend of his, detective Ark Thompson out to investigate Umbrella's facilities on Sheena Island. The following month, Claire set out for Europe to continue her search for Chris. She was captured by Umbrella after being caught trespassing in the Umbrella facility in Paris. While on the island prison of Rockfort Island, Claire sent Kennedy an e-mail asking him to inform Chris of her location so that he could come and rescue her. Kennedy managed to track Chris down personally, and told him of Claire's situation, and Chris headed for Rockfort Island after her.

Operation Javier

"The virus continues to grow... Altering its form, strengthening perpetually until the day comes when it can be destroyed."

Kennedy and Krauser in South America, 2002.

In 2002, before the destruction of the Russian branch of Umbrella, Kennedy was sent to a small South American country as part of a secret military detachment after the headquarters were informed that a former researcher from Umbrella contacted a man named Javier Hidalgo. Due to the difficult nature of the operation, Jack Krauser, a seasoned operative with a history of brave service, was selected to be Kennedy's partner.

Krauser and Kennedy were sent on a mission by the U.S. government to infiltrate this small South American country. Finding Javier was their objective since he was a drug lord who has taken control over a large area of the jungle. He ruled the entire area absolutely. The small government was unable to do anything about Javier's control of the drug trade, so Krauser and Kennedy have been called in. The U.S. government had received information that a former Umbrella researcher had somehow entered the region. Sources indicated that something strange was going on, but no accurate information could be obtained. Unwilling to risk a Bio-hazardous outbreak, a secret military agency paired Kennedy and Krauser and sent them into this volatile region to determine what, if anything, was going on.

They later found themselves having to cooperate as a two-man cell in a t-Virus outbreak. Kennedy also met a mysterious girl called Manuela, who seemed to be the only survivor of the village, though it was unknown why she didn't escape. Manuela turned out to be Javier's daughter; she contracted a rare disease, and was kept alive by her father through the t-Veronica Virus. While exploring Javier's compound, Kennedy opened up to Krauser about his hellish night in Raccoon City, as well as Claire's encounter with the t-Veronica Virus to explain how Umbrella's B.O.W.s worked.

Eventually, Kennedy and Krauser fought Javier after the crime lord combined himself with a plant infected with the t-Veronica Virus. Manuela assisted them by unleashing the effects of the Virus on her father. Javier was killed, and Manuela was taken into government custody. Kennedy lost his partnership with Krauser after the latter is discharged from an injury during the mission. Sometime later that year, Kennedy learned that his former partner died in an accident.

Los Iluminados

"Guess that's a local's way of breaking the ice. Anyway, you know what this is all about. My assignment is to search for the President's missing daughter." — Leon to a pair of Spanish police officers assigned to him.

Kennedy in Spain, 2004.

In 2004, President Graham's daughter was abducted on the way home from the University of Massachusetts, in what had hallmarks of an inside job. American spies reported having seen the girl, Ashley Graham, in Spain and tracked her to an isolated, rural community. With all government agents being thoroughly investigated to identify the mole, Kennedy was sent alone to investigate the area.

Arriving with two municipal Madridian police officers, Kennedy was almost immediately attacked by the local villagers who forced the two officers into a ravine. The approach to the village uncovered evidence of multiple murders performed by the villagers as a whole. Over the course of the day it was uncovered that the villagers were followers of a neopagan cult called Los Iluminados. Led by its Prophet, Osmund Saddler and his lieutenants Fr. Bitores Mendez and Ramon Salazar, they implanted a genetically-engineered parasite called a Plaga into members as part of their baptismal ceremonies to ensure obedience, before ordering them to kill all intruders to protect their research.

Kennedy himself was taken captive by the cult immediately after finding a hostage and implanted with one of the Plagas in the Prophet Saddler's hopes he would become useful. The reason for this was not widely known, even to his lieutenants, and the villagers were more than willing to continue trying to kill him. His fellow hostage who he escaped with, Dr. Luis Sera, was a mole within the Prophet Saddler's bioweapons development program and was captured trying to escape with a stolen Dominant species Plaga egg in exchange for being rescued by The Organisation, a secretive group Dr. Albert Wesker was connected with. Unwilling at the time to reveal this information, he instead lied about being a former Madridian police officer held captive.

Leon and Ashley are found by Saddler.

Kennedy's search through the village suggested Graham was being held within a chapel, but it would be over six hours before he was able to get inside after passing out, possibly from complications involving the Plaga. Inside he quickly released Graham from captivity, but the two were confronted by the Prophet Saddler, who revealed that he and Graham were both implanted with Plaga eggs, with the intention of Graham being released back to the United States as a mole who could expand his power base. The two attempted to escape from the village, but soon found that a government helicopter on stand-by to pick them up had been shot-down, which Leon theorised could only be the mole's doing. This act forced them to seek shelter for the night, initially in a secluded house and later in the nearby castle. Along the way Kennedy was forced to fight Fr. Mendez, who was angry at the loss of his congregation.

During exploration of the castle, the government radio frequency was jammed, the mole having detailed knowledge of their radio frequencies. Soon after, Kennedy was introduced to Salazar, a young noblemen who controlled the castle and boasted an army of monks armed with medieval weaponry. Graham herself was taken hostage repeatedly, leaving Kennedy on his own for much of the night. Near the courtyard, he ran into Wong, who he quickly deduced was working with Dr. Wesker's group, who was the agent sent to retrieve Dr. Sera's egg sample. Dr. Sera himself was killed soon after by the Prophet Saddler, who saw no reason to keep him alive when he saw he had the sample in his hand. The Prophet Saddler then left to Los Iluminados' research complex on a nearby island with Graham, while Kennedy was forced to explore the entire fortress from the ruins of an ancient underground city to a Cathedral on a tower. After killing Salazar, who's body had merged into the "Queen Plaga", Kennedy travelled to the island with Wong in search of Graham once more.

Leon faces Krauser in a knife fight.

In the exploration of the island, Kennedy was able to rescue Graham from her prison cell and fought B.O.W. byproducts of Plaga experimentation such as the Regeneradores. After travelling through a warehouse district where plans to set up a navy were in place, Graham was again taken captive, this time with the Prophet Saddler directly controlling her by manipulating her Plaga. In the pursuit, Kennedy was confronted by non-other than Krauser, who had joined the Organisation after his experience in South America and faked his death. Krauser had been the original agent tackled with obtaining a Dominant species Plaga sample and took part in the kidnapping of Graham to get it, with Wong being sent in to take over the mission when he was determined to be a liability after becoming the host of that very Plaga sample.

As the sun rose, Kennedy's fight against Los Iluminados continued with him seriously wounding Krauser following a mutation though mistook him for dead. Wong would later kill him. With the radio jamming ceased, Kennedy got in contact with a second government helicopter which launched an assault on the cult's militia before being destroyed by a rocket launcher on the Prophet Saddler's orders. Taking clues left by Dr. Sera for anyone storming the island, Kennedy and Graham were able to find the original equipment designed to kill prototype Plagas and freed themselves of the parasites.

Leon and Ashley escape the Los Illuminados.

The cult leader was himself killed by a rocket launcher with the help of Wong after Graham's rescue. Kennedy's retrieval of the egg sample from the remains was short-lived, and Wong herself turned on him to complete her mission, though she ensured he had a means of escaping the island with Graham in the form of a jet-ski. The two escaped as a series of explosive charges planted by Wong caused the complex's destruction, bringing about cave-ins. After being picked up by the government, Kennedy's report on the Plagas, dubbed the "Kennedy Report", was shared with the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance to ensure a defence against the Plagas in future.

Kennedy would later become aware of survivors of the cult in the region, who gained interest in bioterrorism. Refugees who had fled the cult also returned home to their village, but were parasitised by the Plagas, making the region dangerous once more.

Harvardville and WilPharma

"Shoot 'em in the head." — Leon advising the SRT on how to handle the by-product of a t-Virus outbreak.

In the year following the 2004 Terragrigia Panic, the threat of bioterrorism was on the increase. Former Umbrella researchers were suspected of selling bioweapons onto the black market, requiring ever more radical countermeasures. The US government entered an agreement with the pharmaceutical giant WilPharma Corporation to mass-produce a t-Vaccine that could eliminate the operational effectiveness of Umbrella's lead viral weapon. In August 2005, soldiers loyal to General Miguel Grandé got their hands on t-Virus and triggered an outbreak in India, which was halted thanks to WilPharma's vaccine.

Kennedy working with the S.R.T..

In November 2005, a coordinated terrorist attack took place at Harvardville Airport, causing a riot in the terminal as well as a plane crash. USARMIID confirmed a t-Virus strain was responsible, and the 75th Ranger Regiment was deployed to WilPharma to wipe out the Zombies with WilPharma ordered to vaccinate each solder as well as civilians in quarantine. President Graham also sent in Kennedy to oversee the operations due to his familiarity with fighting Zombies. Kennedy lead a police team into the airport to rescue five survivors ahead of the Ranger attack, and succeeded with the rescue of Senator Ron Davis and his old friend, Claire Redfield.

During the airport cleanup, Kennedy received updated information from Ingrid Hannigan that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had arrested a soldier in General Grandé's army in Los Angeles and was holding him for questioning. Soon, he received word that there was to be a major bioweapons attack across the United States if the government refused to reveal its involvement in the original t-Virus Project. When a WilPharma truck exploded in a bombing, Kennedy began investigating Dr. Curtis Miller, an opponent of WilPharma who had been sighted at the airport during the attack. Driving up to Dr. Miller's house with Dr. Miller's younger sister, S.R.T. member Angela Miller, the two found it had burnt to the ground, preventing a search there. They soon after were alerted to an explosion at WilPharma's Air Dome Laboratory on the city outskirts, and set off there.

Leon and Angela flee the fury of mutant Curtis.

Kennedy and a Ranger squad made their way into the WilPharma laboratory, which had been heavily damaged in a bombing, causing a t-Virus outbreak there. Redfield was the only remaining uninfected survivor, being sheltered on the top floor of the building, with chief researcher Dr. Frederic Downing believed dead in the bombing. Dr. Miller was found on the ground floor, having infected himself with the Golgotha Virus, something obtained on the black-market. The G-mutant wiped out the Ranger squad and began hunting down his sister, who he instinctively needed as a tool to propagate his new species. Kennedy was able to keep Angela from her brother, and the two made their way into an underground access way to escape him. Due to the elaborate biohazard containment measures put in place by the architects, Dr. Miller was killed after falling down a shaft into an oncoming explosion.

Leon and Claire say goodbye.

In the aftermath of the attack, Kennedy and Redfield became aware that something was out of place. Hannigan reported in that General Grandé's had finally caved in to the FBI interrogation and revealed he was merely a courier for taking the t-Virus, t-Vaccine and G-Virus out of the country. Evidence implicated not Dr. Miller, but Dr. Downing, having apparently faked his death in the bombing to escape with samples. Kennedy, Angela and Redfield drove on to the courier's intended deal site and found Dr. Downing waiting. He was subsequently arrested, and confessed to being an employee of NEST, having stolen a G-Virus sample and changed his name during his escape from Raccoon City. The India outbreak had been masterminded by Dr. Miller as a means of advertising both the t-Virus and t-Vaccine, with Dr. Miller being radicalised to carry out further attacks in the United States as a further confirmation. Following his arrest, WilPharma Corporation collapsed and was purchased by Tricell.

Eastern Slav Republic

"Well then, I guess my only option is to lose my American citizenship for a while." — Leon to Ingrid Hannigan regarding the United States pulling their troops out of the Eastern Slav Republic.

Counter-terrorism policy changed in the presidency of President Adam Benford, a friend of Kennedy's who had recruited him into USSTRATCOM. The Anti-Umbrella Pursuit and Investigation Unit was disbanded, and its agents transferred to the newly-founded Division of Security Operations at the start of 2011.

Leon during his mission to the Eastern Slav Republic.

In February 2011, the US began investigating allegations rebel forces in the Eastern Slav Republic's ongoing civil war were using bio-weapons. Kennedy was ordered out of his vacation to meet up with a CIA agent, "Scarecrow", and use any information to aid in his investigation. The situation reversed soon after Kennedy's arrival, when the government ordered its agents pull out of the country. Kennedy ignored these orders and made his way through the war-torn Holigrad. He succeeded in meeting with Scarecrow, but he soon died of wounds stemming from an attack by Lickers, and could only utter the word "beekeeper". Soon after, Kennedy was captured by Ivan Judanovich, the rebel leader, who was using a Dominant species Plaga to control the parasitised Lickers.

Kennedy woke up in a basement tied-up, and guarded by Alexander Kozachenko and "JD", who were concerned about why an American would be sent into the area. The intended interrogation failed to take place when the house became target to a search by the Eastern Slav army. Kennedy himself took note of Judanovich, who sat in the room coughing, and immediately suspected he was deteriorating due to bio-weaponry. The three rebels abandoned their basement hideout and proceeded through tunnels to escape the Army, with Kennedy following them. In the tunnels, Kennedy was attacked by a Ganado, a former rebel leader named Chenkov who's mind had been taken over by the parasite. Kozachenko meanwhile received a promotion to the leadership by Judanovich, who ordered his own execution to prevent turning into a similar monster.

Kennedy is surrendered and interrogated by Alexander and JD.

Kennedy and JD escaped the tunnels on their own, headed to a church the rebels were using as a base. The two evaded a number of Ganados, and bore witness to the unforeseen effects of the rebels' use of them, seeing numerous civilians implanting parasites into captives. When they arrived at the church, JD accused Kennedy of being behind what had happened to the people of the town. Kennedy informed him of the Plaga, telling him that it was a parasite infecting the bodies of those people. He also told JD of the harsh truth that those infected will never be human again the most one could achieve is to remove the spinal cord and hoping for paralysis. At that moment, Buddy entered the church with two other members of the resistance, a third watching Kennedy from above. Buddy informed JD that Kennedy was telling the truth, then told Kennedy that he had more questions for him. Responding that he perhaps this time they can get to the truth, Buddy promptly punched Kennedy and had the other rebels take him hostage again.

After Buddy departed, JD ordered the other soldiers to allow him to speak with Kennedy alone. He was taken outside where JD cut his bindings. Kennedy immediately reacted, slamming JD against the wall and criticizing the methods of the rebel group, using B.O.W.s. Although JD tried to rationalize it and vie for sympathy, Kennedy dismissed it without so much as a thought, telling JD that it was something the two of them would never see eye-to-eye on. As Kennedy prepared to leave, JD told Kennedy of Buddy's past. He explained how the government soldiers attacked the school Buddy used to work at with his fiancé, Irina, thinking the school was to support the rebels. Kennedy found out that when Irina and the school children were killed in the attack, Buddy decided to join the resistance. JD pleaded with Kennedy to save Buddy, to get to the Plaga before him so that he didn't have to see his friend turn into a monster. Returning his machine gun to him, JD told Kennedy that Buddy was heading to the central marketplace where the Council of Elders had left the Plaga for the rebels. Kennedy silently took his gun back and headed off to the marketplace.

Leon and Ada meet once again.

Kennedy arrived at the marketplace to find the case that was holding the Plaga empty. A voice immediately caught Kennedy's attention, causing Kennedy to turn swiftly and attack. The two fought briefly, Wong easily evading Kennedy's attacks as she flipped away and aimed her grappling gun at him. Kennedy finally realized who she was, questioning what Wong was doing in the Eastern Slav Republic. Wong merely retorted with the same question. He immediately followed it up by asking if she was responsible for releasing the Plaga, a notion she found laughable, noting that she wasn't interested in "defective products." Wong spoke briefly and mysteriously about her job, causing Kennedy to ask again why she was there. She flirted briefly with him, asking when they would continue where they left off from "that night." Kennedy smirked and simply told her any time but then. Amused by Kennedy's rejection, Wong made her escape, warning him that the town would be purged soon.

The agent returns to the church to find it most of the inhabitants dead, by the hand of JD. JD tells Kennedy that he merely let his guard down for a second; he returns Kennedy's Gear before he begins to turn. Buddy arrives and blames Kennedy for what happened; however, JD claims Kennedy is not their enemy. JD succumbs to the Plaga and attacks Buddy, however he is promptly killed by Kennedy. Kennedy tries to reason with Buddy, asking him to hand over the Plaga, to which he refuses. The government then began to bomb the area, causing the church to collapse. Buddy escapes, and Kennedy pursues him. Kennedy makes his way to the presidential building, which has been left devastated by the Lickers, leaving hundreds of dead soldiers. Kennedy infiltrates the building, and is then encountered by two Lickers who fail to detect him, until a Soldier reaches for his leg and whimpers in pain. Kennedy runs from them, managing to kill one, and causes the other to fall to its demise after he charges through a door which leads to a massive elevator shaft.

Kennedy and Ada are surrendered by Svetlana's guard.

Kennedy descends into a B.O.W. manufacturing facility. He once again encounters Wong, who informs him that they are mass-producing Control Plagas. Kennedy and Wong are quickly surrounded by guards and confronted by Svetlana Belikova, the President of the Eastern Slav Republic. Wong deactivates the lights to make her escape. Kennedy uses the confusion to shoot at some of Belikova's guards, prompting them to begin firing out of panic, hitting each other indiscriminately, allowing Kennedy to take Belikova hostage. As he attempted to make his escape, he asked Belikova if she was "the beekeeper", the one who released the Plaga. Belikova then realizes that he had no idea who she was and identified herself as the president of the republic before displaying her combat skills to throw him off. A fight ensues between Kennedy and Belikova's guards, which is soon interrupted by Buddy and a horde of Licker's. However, Belikova releases her own B.O.W.s - two advanced Tyrants. This initiated a biohazard alert and the facility began preparations for incineration. Buddy and Kennedy escaped the facility as the two Tyrants incidentally caused the access elevator to fall.

A third Tyrant followed them out and they attempted to fight it. Buddy used Lickers to lure the Tyrant over to a tanker truck full of explosives; Kennedy promptly shot it with incendiary rounds, destroying the creature's Power Limiter. Its power increasing, Buddy drove a tank at it. Kennedy manned the turret and attempted to shoot the Tyrant's head, but the B.O.W. constantly evaded, so Buddy summoned a Licker to cover the Tyrant's face, allowing Kennedy to blow its head off. Climbing out of the tank, Kennedy remarked that after years of fighting B.O.W.s, he never expected to be saved by one. His relief is short-lived, as the earlier two Tyrants soon after emerged from the Presidential Palace. Kennedy attempted to help Buddy flee but they were unable to outrun them. Kennedy drew his combat knife, the only weapon he had left. To his luck, an American plane killed the creatures before they could reach him. At this point Kennedy realized the U.S. government had been watching him the whole time.

Leon talks to Hunnigan about his disgust for US government actions in Eastern Slav Republic.

Watching a joint American-Russian taskforce invade the capital, Buddy asked Kennedy if he knew this would happen. Kennedy stated that if he did he would've remained on vacation. Buddy asks Kennedy to kill him, as he doesn't want to turn. Kennedy refuses; Buddy attempts to shoot himself, only for Kennedy to take his gun. He tells Buddy that he owes it to the people who died alongside him to keep living. Kennedy then shoots Buddy in the spinal cord, severing the Plaga's link to Buddy.

Kennedy returns to his vacation, Hannigan informs him that Belikova has resigned from her position. Kennedy then leaves his apartment.

Global Bioterrorist Attacks

"I can't believe this is happening again. It's just like Raccoon." — Leon to Helena Harper regarding the outbreak at Tall Oaks.

Kennedy during the Tall Oaks Incident.

Kennedy met with President Benford at Ivy University in Tall Oaks on Saturday 29 June 2013, where he was informed of the President's new policy for the War on Terror. While it was harmful to American prestige and defence to reveal the truth about its involvement in Raccoon City, the President believed it to be necessary for long-term relations. In the evening President Benford was infected with newly-engineered virus, the Chrysalid Virus, in an apparent terrorist attack just before his speech was due, and reluctantly killed by Kennedy when he tried to kill a Secret Service agent, Helena Harper.

Kennedy escaped the city to the Tall Oaks Cathedral on Harper's advisement, where she led him to a limestone cavern where a bioweapons research facility was based. There she revealed to him her sister had been abducted on the orders of National Security Adviser Derek C. Simmons to force her participation in a plot to assassinate President Benford. Simmons's organisation, The Family, had taken it upon itself to research bioweapons on behalf of the United States in order to guarantee the US beat rival countries such as China in a hypothetical Bio Weapons gap. As footage and accounts of the US Army's action in Raccoon City was useful combat data for B.O.W. manufacturers, Benford's proposal was seen as reckless and a threat to national security. With Simmons controlling the countermeasures for the outbreak, the city of 77,000 was bombed on Sunday morning, wiping away any evidence implicating the Family, and denying the release of footage useful as combat data. An organisation calling itself Neo Umbrella claimed responsibility for the attack, and began another in the Chinese city of Lanshiang.

Leon reunites with Sherry and meets Jake Muller in Lanshiang.

Soon after the bombing, Kennedy and Harper got in touch with Hannigan and had her misreport them as deceased following Simmons' declaration of them as suspects in the attack, having learnt he was bound for China. The two were booked onto a flight to take their investigation to him. On their way to China, things went awry when a Lepotica chrysalid hatched in the plane, infecting all the passengers with the C-Virus. Kennedy and Harper were forced to fight their way through the zombie infested plane, and it eventually crashes close by where Jake Muller and Sherry Birkin happen to be. When the four met, Kennedy asked Sherry what she is doing there, she replied that she was on protective detail. Sherry returned the same question to Kennedy, in which he responded that he and Harper were trying to track down Simmons, the man behind all of the chaos. When Sherry told him that she reported to Simmons, Kennedy asked her where he is and after she hesitated to tell him, he told her that he needed to know, approaching her in a manner that Jake felt he needed to protect Sherry by violently pushing Kennedy away. However Sherry told Jake that Kennedy wasn't just anyone: "He saved my life back in Raccoon City."

Suddenly, Ustanak appeared on the destroyed plane, and the four of them team up to defeat the creature. After a heated battle, Kennedy and Harper were separated from Jake and Sherry when an electrical tower fell on Ustanak. Sherry yelled to Kennedy that she and Jake were meeting Simmons at the Kwun Lung building. Before Kennedy could tell her what to do, the tower exploded. As Harper wondered if they would be alright, Kennedy told her that they would be, as long as Jake was as good as he claimed to be. While making their way to Koocheng, Kennedy and Harper had to search through a whole market for three keys to unlock a door, all while they were being chased by a Rasklapanje. They managed to kill it by forcing it into a grinder.

Leon clashes with Chris Redfield.

When Kennedy and Harper found "Wong," they followed her into a building, dodging several traps along the way. Eventually, they got to a room just in time to see Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans cornering her, whom they believed to be the one responsible for the deaths of Chris' men and the outbreaks that have occurred. Chris had his assault rifle aimed and ready to shoot when Kennedy knocked it out of his hands to prevent him from killing her. They had a brief struggle, ending with the two pointing their guns at each other. Kennedy told Chris to put his gun down, saying that she was a "key witness" and they needed her, but Chris refused and abstractly told Kennedy that she is the one who did all this (referring to the global bio-terrorist attacks). Kennedy disagreed, saying that it was Simmons who was really responsible. Chris yelled that he lost all of his men because of "Wong," and Kennedy responded that he lost over seventy thousand people including the president because of Simmons. After a tense moment "Wong" managed to escape with a flash bomb, and Chris pursued her with no intention of harming her after Kennedy's words. Kennedy and Harper then made their leave to find Simmons.

Reaching the Kwun Lung building, Kennedy assured Harper that it was alright for them to pursue Simmons and let Chris follow "Wong." Going inside, they found Simmons and his henchmen from The Family, and Sherry and Jake joined them shortly afterwards. To answer Sherry's questions, Simmons admitted to be involved in the terrorists attacks, but blamed Kennedy for the president's death. The Family then fired on the four, causing them to hide for cover. When Kennedy and Harper told Sherry and Jake to escape while they stayed behind to fight Simmons, Sherry gave them a chip containing information that could stop the C-Virus. As she and Jake made their escape, Kennedy and Harper open fired on The Family. Then they jumped onto a nearby train to pursue Simmons, who was shot with a C-Virus dart by a J'avo.

Leon and Helena fight against mutant Simmons.

Simmons stumbled away to a passing train and Harper and Kennedy gave pursuit, jumping onto the train after him. As they found him at the front of the train Simmons tried to divert their attention at first by placing blame on Wong, then tried to rationalize his actions. Kennedy and Harper dismissed his remarks as Simmons became more enraged and eventually succumbed to the effects of the enhanced C-Virus, his body rupturing and granting him the ability to mutate into a larger canine-like creature of bone and muscle tissue. Unflinching, Harper prepares to take a final shot at Simmons. The two agents fought with the mutated Simmons throughout the series of train cars, though he showed no signs of stopping and only taunted Harper with her sister's death. He even proved strong enough to knock another series of oncoming train cars off of the railing. Simmons prepared to ram the train they were on head-on, though they managed to trip him up as they opened fire, causing the train to ram him and flip him back on top of the train. His body briefly succumbed to the damage it received and reverted to his human form. He recovered quickly and as he started to mutate, Simmons declared that they have no idea what would happen if he were to die. Kennedy retorted that the world would be better off without him.

Enraged, Simmons used his brute strength to dislodge a piece of the train's roof and send it flying towards Kennedy and Harper. Kennedy managed to slide and shoot the debris to knock it off course, giving Harper an opening just as it passed overhead as she fired one bullet directly into the mutated Simmons' head. Becoming distraught with the situation before him as The Family abandoned him, Simmons slipped from the edge of the train and fell on to the tracks, the train running over him in the process. The cars became dislodged from the rails and Harper and Kennedy were forced to leap off and into the water nearby. Alive and exhausted, they pulled themselves ashore just outside of Tatchi. They briefly overlooked the wreckage caused on the bridge railroad before walking up off of the dock, watching as civilians were being escorted to safety by the BSAA. Harper asked Kennedy if the ordeal was finally over to which Kennedy replied, "Yeah... it's over."

Kennedy and Helena amidst in the chaos of the Tatchi outbreak.

Before Harper and Kennedy could relax, Hannigan suddenly contacted them to inform them that Sherry and Jake had been abducted. Harper realized that the files that Sherry gave them had something to do with it and as they looked over the files, she pointed out to Kennedy how the key to stopping the C-Virus actually lies in Jake Muller. As Kennedy tries to get in contact with someone in the BSAA to help rescue them, Harper spots an object in the sky just above. With Chris patched through, Kennedy informed him of their location only to have Chris urgently yell for them to leave the area. The object overhead that Harper spotted was a missile that released the C-Virus in a blue fog over Tatchi, infecting countless people. Kennedy told Chris to find Sherry and Jake and rescue them and Harper overhears as Chris in turn told Kennedy that Wong was dead. Concerned, Harper asked Kennedy if he was alright, but Kennedy only distantly mentioned finding survivors and escaping the city. With the help of some BSAA operatives, Kennedy and Harper manage to avoid the blue fog and escape into a truck with one of the soldiers.

The soldier drives them through the fog to the edge of the danger zone, directing them to the Quad Tower where evacuees were being taken. Chaos reminiscent of Tall Oaks was everywhere as a stray gas tanker knocked them both out briefly. As they came to, infected citizens began to surround them until Wong suddenly appeared in a helicopter, providing them with cover-fire to make their escape. They managed to find their way to a bridge overrun with zombies that would lead directly to the Quad Tower. However, a plane set inside a building dislodged itself, starting a series of explosions that destroyed the bridge. Harper and Kennedy were forced to run, making their way to a BSAA helicopter to escape only to find the pilot was injured. Kennedy took the controls of the failing helicopter, managing to keep it suspended enough to crash through the side of the Quad Tower. Barely escaping the crash, Kennedy and Harper proceeded deeper into the tower.

Kennedy battling the Simmons third mutation.

Harper brings up Kennedy's feelings for Wong. As they entered the Quad Tower, Harper and Kennedy were shocked to find Derek C. Simmons waiting for them. Still greatly angered, he mutated into a new, gigantic form as he witnessed Wong circling overhead in her helicopter. With the help of Wong and the BSAA soldier they met back at the danger zone, they managed to bring Simmons' monstrous mutation down once again. Wong retreated to the roof with her helicopter and Harper hoped the elevator was still operational. Noticing Kennedy's hesitation, she asked him what was wrong but he insisted it was nothing. On the elevator ride up, Harper finally spoke up about Wong, pointing out Kennedy's obvious feelings for her. Before Kennedy could respond, the elevator was blown off course by an explosion, forcing the agents to make a wild leap on top of the neighboring elevator. Together, they climbed the support cable only to witness Wong fighting with Simmons on top of a nearby connecting hallway between two of the towers.

Leon protects Ada during his battle against Simmons fourth mutation.

With Wong evading to another section of the tower, Harper and Kennedy found the opportunity to fire on Simmons from afar until the platform they stopped on began to fall, forcing them to jump back on to the cable. Simmons' attention shifted to the two agents as they climbed further. Harper tried to call out for Wong's help as Wong returned the favor, trying to slow Simmons down with gunfire. It was not long before Simmons went after Wong again, giving Harper and Kennedy the chance to find even ground once more until Kennedy found a way over to help Wong as she was knocked out by Simmons. From afar, Harper could do nothing but provide cover fire for the two while fending off whatever zombies shambled her way. Though Harper was helpless as Simmons managed to knock Kennedy to the edge of the platform, leaving him dangling until Wong came to his rescue. With Simmons dispatched, Wong bid Kennedy a final farewell before departing, though Harper urged him over their comms to go after her. Kennedy refused, stating that he and Harper were sticking together.

Harper urges Kennedy to follow after Wong. Reaching the roof, they discovered Simmons had survived their last encounter, mutated further as he absorbed the bodies of the infected to power himself. Though Simmons briefly blocked their exit, they managed to injure him enough to the point he was defenseless as surrounding undead swarmed and began to feed on him. They took note of the helicopter Wong had left for them and rushed to it, though Simmons - newly mutated into a massive amalgamation of different insects - tried to stop them once more. Noting how Simmons used the bodies of infected to regenerated, they used a loosened lightning rod to impale a zombie as Simmons took it in to regenerate its damaged head. The rod attracted the lightning from the ongoing storm, causing the electrified creature to crash through the floor. They reached the helicopter, but the injured and fully-mutated Simmons rose to try and stop them.

Leon and Helena leave Tatchi after eliminating Simmons.

The agents managed to finally put an end to things with a rocket launcher left behind by Wong, the blast of the launcher knocking Simmons back and deep into the belly of the tower. As Simmons fell, his body mutated back into his human state just as he was impaled on the obelisk Harper and Kennedy passed earlier, bleeding him out from his wound. Watching Simmons' death, Harper spoke of her finally getting revenge for her sister as Kennedy suggested they get to the helicopter. In the helicopter, the two found a compact left behind by Wong with a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment was a small data disk containing all of the evidence needed to prove that Simmons was behind the bioterrorist attacks, the evidence to ensure Kennedy's innocence. When Kennedy said it would prove both of their innocence, Harper could only sadly remark that she did not need it. Before he could retort, Hannigan called to inform the two of them that a way to stop the C-Virus was found. Before the collapsing Quad Tower could catch up to them completely, they made their escape in Wong's helicopter.

Kennedy returns Harper's gun to her, along with her freedom.

Sometime after surviving the events in China, Harper visited the grave of her sister with Hannigan, Kennedy, and other agents present. Remarking that it is time for her to take responsibility, she thanked Kennedy and said that she was ready to be taken into custody for her crimes. With a nod of approval from Hannigan, Kennedy approached and took Harper's arm, though instead of arresting her, he placed her gun in her hand. Harper was confused, proclaiming that she was an accessory to the attack on the president.

Hannigan informed Harper that upon reviewing the evidence, it was decided that it was not fair to hold Harper responsible for Simmons' crimes and further said that the findings would not be made public. When she tried to protest, Kennedy told her that President Benford would have done the same thing. Hannigan suggested they go join the rest of the team, though before departing Harper gave Wong's compact back to Kennedy, so that he can return it the next time he crosses paths with her.

New York and A-Virus

"When I was a kid, I used to think about the kind of man I'd grow up to be... I never thought my life would turn out this way." — Leon contemplates his life of fighting B.O.W.'s and joining the DSO.

File:Leon Damnation half body.jpg

Leon sad to the death of his squad.

Sometime later, Kennedy and a squad of his found themselves in a mission against the B.O.W.'s in Washington D.C. where the mission went horribly wrong due to a whistle blower. Only Kennedy survived the ordeal and afterward he went throughout the morgue containing his fallen comrades and killed one of them as they turned into a zombie. Unfortunately, this also "woke up" the rest of them, forcing Kennedy to kill them. This left him emotionally scarred. He spent his vacation drinking his days away in a bar in a similar manner to Chris who lost his team in Edonia.

During his vacation, Kennedy was approached by Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers, aiming to consult him about the recent B.O.W. "attacks" in the US and CanWong by Glenn Arias - the viral strain that he was using which allowed him to control them and he was engineered with the aid of a Plaga sample provided by Los Iluminados. Kennedy was reluctant to help them, asking when all of the fighting against the B.O.W.s would even end. It was only after Rebecca's kidnapping that Kennedy agreed to team up with Chris and find the target of Arias' next attack.

Leon during New York Outbreak.

Kennedy and Chris, together with the Silver Dagger team, then went to New York where Arias was planning mass attack through the use of tankers carrying the airborne 'trigger' for the virus. It is there that the team is provided with transportation to help with their mission: a Hummer that Chris took, and a Ducati motorcycle which Kennedy took. After destroying the first fuel truck, Chris, Kennedy and Damian were attacked by infected dogs that swiftly decapitated the latter before turning their attention to Chris. Kennedy revved his bike loudly to attract the dogs before speeding off with them in pursuit, this allowed Chris to continue destroying the virus-filled tanker trucks. Leading the dogs onto the expressway, Kennedy easily dispatched the two infected dogs and rushed to Arias's headquarter to help Chris. Arriving in time to help Chris kill of the remaining zombies of the first wave, the duo were confronted with even more zombies.

Leon is immobilized by the mutant Glenn Arias.

Kennedy and Chris managed to hold them back until Chris decided that time was running out for Rebecca and Kennedy told Chris to go ahead to save Rebecca while he stayed behind to kill the zombies. Delivering sweep kicks after sweep kicks, he killed zombie after zombie. After Arias mutated into a powerful creature, Kennedy arrived just in time at the roof top after killing all the zombies to save Chris from being squeezed to death by Arias, slamming his bike into Arias's legs. Kennedy then skillfully dodged Arias's attacks and even managed to kick Arias in his head. When Arias was grabbing onto the helicopter of Silver Dagger, Kennedy rode his bike at high speed and jumping off the bike at the last minute to allow the bike to slam into Arias. Kennedy then shot the bike, causing it to explode and severely injuring Arias before he was killed by Chris.

After the defeat of Arias, Kennedy looked back upon his life and wondered how long they have to continue fighting B.O.W.s, only for Chris to jokingly reply with a prior comment of Kennedy's about never making plans that far ahead.

Bibliography

• Tahara, Seiji (田原 誠司), ed (1998). BIOHAZARD 2 Official Guide Book. Japan: Famitsu. 
• Sumner, Christian; Shotten, Brian; Owen, Michael, eds (9 November 2005). Resident Evil Archives: Umbrella's Virus Uncovered. Translated by Zpang America, Inc.. BradyGames. ISBN 0744006554. 
• Ōno, Tetsuya; Masui, Kō, eds (31 March 2005). biohazard archives. Famitsu. ISBN 4-906-582-31-1. 
• Davis, H. Leigh, ed (2011). Resident Evil Archives II. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis. Indianapolis: BradyGames. ISBN 0744013216.