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Ignis And The Numbers
Ignis
Ignis
Kenon Streiss: Mark my words, Cole, you will never know peace nor prosperity.
The cruel and manipulative twin brother of Cole, Ignis / Kenon Streiss is the head of the Human Machine Front and all its affiliates, on top of numerous other proxy forces. Ignis seems to have his eye on this Earth in particular for some reason, desiring to subvert and control it through his proxies, as he has done before. An adept manipulator of minds both through his powers and his behaviors, Ignis in the first round did not even need to commit to the field himself.
- Arch-Enemy: Cole and Ignis have animosity that spans numerous worlds, dimensions and possibly years by now due to the peculiarities of time via dimensional travel.
- He is also a very personal foe for Iona and Viv, due to his Flaw Exploitation.
- The Chessmaster: A version where it's obvious he has other things he's doing. Well into the fight with his agent Metallic Raider, he simply shuffled Metallic Raider out through a portal, seeming to say he needed the Raider somewhere else, alluding to more going on than just fighting Squad 4. He literally moves his minions around as he needs them.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Vivian gets a few good licks in on Kenon, but then he dials it up by using his gravity to flatten her into quite a disturbing condition.
- Dark Messiah: Many of his lower ranking soldiers and cat's paws attach a certain religious reverence to him, praising him as if they're praising a god, leading dark, burning revels in his honor. Many have such a view, and from across numerous viewpoints, from metahuman supremacists to human supremacists who think he's a patron deity for them. It tells that their politics and views are nothing but tools for Ignis to use.
- Dimension Lord: Ignis' reign extends over numerous alternate worlds and universes, giving him by necessity of such a tremendous clutch of incredible resources; he doesn't need to charge the ground level kids in the Human-Machine Front anything for their "demo" implants.
- Evil Brit: Ignis' speech carries numerous British inflections, which makes sense considering he was raised there.
- Evil Twin: To Cole - exactly identical, biological twin to be precise.
- Flaw Exploitation: How Ignis handles his enemies. He knew Iona was selfish, temperamental, driven by her own emotional needs, and prone to blowing up. So he made sure every time she did, even if it costed him a proxy, it would be in a way he could exploit. And luring Viv out, he knew she was eager to prove herself and had an ego derived from being a robot, thus leading her right to him.
- Foil: The Hot-Blooded and Impatient Cole vs. the chilly, intellectual and patient Ignis. This even extends to how they use their powers; Cole hits things really, really hard, while Ignis more enjoys subverting and messing with someone's composition or crushing them under fundamental forces.
- Gravity Master: Ignis seems to enjoy flattening people with gravity - he used it oppressively in his fight with Vivian, and when Bellpepper looked to be getting somewhere he interceded and crushed him with gravity from his place on high.
- It's Personal: Between him and Cole - the two have literally fought across the multiverse, making whole worlds their battlefield for the worse.
- Manipulative Bastard: "Those who desire someone to hate...are the easiest to manipulate." Ignis is capable both with and without his powers in making people do things. He didn't really have to make Iona do anything spectacular; more, he just worked with what he knew.
- Master of Illusion: Capable of projecting mental illusions on to people, such that they might not even notice anything changed in their perception. He made Iona see Cole as Ignis, and let her take care of everything for him.
- Mind over Matter: Capable of doing so to a finely honed degree; just touching Viv's arms let him afflict her with rust, and he seems to have a predilection for crushing people with enhanced gravity.
- Nay-Theist: Ignis is actively hostile to the Gods, deigning to cast them down and slay them - replacing their worship with veneration for powerful humans in a rather social darwinist system.
- Orcus on His Throne: Played with; Ignis doesn't actually need to do much - he can coordinate his minions, direct them, and lead them tactically from insanely far away, and still intervene in the fights going on. So he seems to be just situated on his throne, but functionally he's never too far away to do what needs to be done for his plans.
- Psychic Powers: Far more reliable ones than Cole's, and possibly more powerful than him.
- Smug Smiler: Little can knock Ignis' smile off of his face. Even getting slugged in the face by Vivian, he gets back up, laughs, and says she caught him monologuing.
- Tin Tyrant: Stands tall in a suit of shifting mercury armor - the armor serves a purpose in protecting him and decreasing the number of things he needs to focus on.
- True Companions: An odd fact about Ignis and his minions is that he legitimately is friends with his underlings and regards them as companions in his quest to conquer worlds. The Numbers are basically his true believers who know what he's all about.
Metallic Raider
Number 11 of Ignis' Elites
Metallic Raider is a long time member of Ignis' forces, having been found on a world consumed by zealotry and fervor. The man who became Metallic Raider was due to be executed for heresy, but Ignis rescued his scalded body from the burning stake. He was mostly replaced with cybernetics as a result, becoming the tremendous and intimidating Metallic Raider. He now serves Ignis as a personal enforcer and hatchet man.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: His axe is capable of cutting through anything.
- Chrome Champion: Ignis' metallic champion.
- Co-Dragons: The first of Ignis' Co-Dragons, the Numbers, to be seen. He does not disappoint.
- Cyborg: Though given what happened to him, very little of his biological self remains.
- Flaming Sword: Or at least a flaming axe. Apparently the axe was literally forged through a sun, and used auspicious materials for its creation.
- Made of Iron: Takes a hit from the Lance and barely winces at it. He in general takes a lot of punishment and fights back against the heroes quite well.
- Mighty Glacier: At a first glance. He's big, he's tough, and he's slow moving, wielding a gigantic axe burning with an unnatural fire at the blade...
- Lightning Bruiser: However he can telekinetically control that axe wherever it is, meaning he can throw it through the air and turn it into a devastating fast moving projectile.
- The Quiet One: Never once utters a word in his fight with the heroes.
- Throwing Your Weapon Always Works: At least when you can telekinetically command the weapon in question.
- True Companions: One odd bit about Ignis' organization is that they all agree with their boss, and rather than being tricked, fearing him, being manipulated one way or another, all of Ignis' men like and respect him. Metallic Raider in particular reveres Ignis for saving his life.
Footsoldiers
Cooper Landry
Brazen Civilian
Cooper is a young human, having no metahuman abilities and a bit of a complex about that. He has joined the Human-Machine Front purely out of I Just Want to Be Special, and made friends with the referentially named Biggs and Wedge. Cooper has undertaken a number of Amplifications from Ignis' organization, but not enough to visibly alter him.
- Cyborg: Currently low scale, he has a new mechanical spine, implants in his arms and legs, and additions to his nervous system to give him Super-Reflexes. Nothing visible, but he is a lot stronger than a normal human.
- Enemy Mine: Unknowingly, his alliance with Cole is basically this.
- Hot-Blooded: Very ready to jump into a fight or push back against someone being aggressive, to a fault.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Doesn't know much about the higher ups, like his friends, and even made friends with his technical boss' archnemesis brother.
- La Résistance: He and his friends are ready to form a La Résistance cell against the Saviors.
