[b]Character Name:[/b] Ichi-gou [b]Codename:[/b] Talisman [b]Race:[/b] Stealthed Synthetic Fire-Ant Hybrid / Android [b]Sex:[/b] N/A [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Height:[/b] 7ft [b]Carapace Color:[/b] Molted red and black [b]Age:[/b] Human years, 25 [b]Eyes:[/b] Black, compound in appearance [b]Power type:[/b] Plasma / Electron Control / Brute Strength / Really Fucking Fast / Poison / Mild Metaphysics [b]Physical Description:[/b] Cut and dry, he's a mix of human and insectoid features. In detail: Ichi's head is covered in glossy and almost shell-like material that's a mix of red and black streaks, and slightly teardrop shape. Above his eyes at the forehead is a pair of antennae about a foot long that are often swept back over his head, or twitching two and fro. Below them and shading his human sized black compound eyes are sets of rather sharp edged ridges. His mouth is a pair of mandibles that complete the tear-drop-ish shape of his head. Ichi's torso and arms are roughly humanoid, in proportion (slightly bigger than most average human beings), but he features an extra set of arms about midway down his sides, giving him a total of four. Each hand, instead of having five fingers, features a triangular arrangement of three thicker and very sharp graspers. Each of his joints, from neck, to shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, all of them in other words, have a startling degree of flexibility and rotational range. His chest, back, thighs, shins, biceps, forearms, and the back of his neck are covered in armored shell similar to the carapace covering his face. Most of his body sports a multitude of tiny raised spikes or sharpened ridges. He stands digitigrade on clawed, two-toed feet, clad in Lockardized-titanium toed boots. He is completely sexless, having no need to reproduce. A person with psionic abilities, or the ability to sense life in the area around them would be able to tell Ichi isn't a true living creature, and that's only if they're looking him dead on. Ichi's body emits no energy signature, period. Radar doesn't reflect off him; scanning equipment doesn't register a thing, psychics can't read him or his mind (he is a robot after all), he has no body heat, he has no ki; if you can't feel souls then you're not gonna feel him coming up behind you with a knife aimed at your kidneys. Those that are able to feel the souls of those in their vicinity would also detect that while no longer of the human race, and not 'alive' as most organic beings would define life, Ichi-gou does indeed possess a soul to call his own. Ichi's 'flesh' is made of a polymer that mimics and surpasses normal living tissue. It is extremely durable; his muscles, bones, and organs are extremely resistant to damage. If any damage does occur, the polymer based compounds can be regrown and regenerate much like ordinary healing. The regeneration works by use of stored or environmentally obtained compounds, and can extend to whole limbs or organs if the trauma is severe enough. Ichi-gou does have a brain, but his processing and data storage is not centralized there. Distributed throughout his body is a series of nervous modules; a disassociated nervous system that governs his bodily control, memory, and ability to assimilate new data. Hard, crushing hits will turn his head, but it's extremely difficult to dizzy or stun him, and next to impossible to actually KO him with a strike. Assaults that are exceptionally brutal however will scramble his vision, jam his thinking processes, and result in a momentary freeze-up while his neurons reset themselves (which happens, make no mistake, very, very quickly). While his minds do register damage incurred, Ichi-gou does not feel pain. He merely has a heads-up display within his vision that not only adjusts his point of view between numerous different choices of sight, but also shows the current status of his body. Everything from temperature, power reserves, communication channels for his augmented receiver/transmitter, and the like. Depending upon what 'mode' or mood Ichi is in, his eyes will change. When in his normal, casual mode such as talking with others or going about daily routine, they are expressionless black and multi-faceted nodules. When in combat his eyes will glow a dark, ruby red. When combat has ceased and a killing blow is about to be struck, or the fight is set to go completely out of control, Ichi's eyes will recede to a deep, jet black. In addition to what particular operating mode he is running; the use of his Trait Sphere (covered in the Abilities section), will make his eyes glow a variety of different colors or change appearance entirely (just because I find that spiffy and cool). [b]Equipment and clothing:[/b] Ichi-gou is the type to only carry the essentials. When out on a mission or in day to day life, he'll stick with his black and custom-cut coveralls and boots simply out of convenience. When carrying anything necessary to meet his goals it will likely be in his pockets or attached to the heavy-duty nylon belt strapped around his waist. What he carries on almost all missions however, and has become his signature battle implement, is the a handgun named [i]Sprawlz.[/i] A heavy duty rail-pistol [i]Sprawlz[/i] is always strapped to Ichi-gou's right-thigh in a tactical draw holster. Ready to be brought free with the grip at the exact level of his hand, most of the weapon is concealed from view in fracture-proof polymer shell. When revealed the handle is shown to be a black checkered grip, entirely of metal, and laced with neural receptors that sync with the nerves in its wielder's hands (programmed solely to respond to Ichi-gou's touch and command. If picked up by anyone else the gun itself will respond in a manner that can only be described as 'Damn that's fucking mean'). There is no trigger mechanism for the firearm, as [i]Sprawlz[/i] instead relies on the thoughts of the one holding it to be fired. The bulk of the body narrows for nearly a foot; tapering from a wide base to an opening of the bore that is .68 caliber. It looks like a triangular thick, heavy, black, and polished pendulum with a handle attached at the base; the inner components of which are hidden from sight and entirely encased in Lockardized-titanium. [b]Personality:[/b] He lets other people know he is very confident in his abilities and himself. He is cocky, arrogant, direct in his actions and words, and very likely offensive to 50-75% of the people he meets. But when one observes his actions and his actions only, Ichi clearly possesses a strong sense of responsibility, duty, and loyalty to those above and below him in whatever hierarchy he's operating within. He will perform any mission he is assigned with all the effort he can muster, and help any of his allies in any way he can, be it cheering them up, loaning them money (with the clear stipulation they pay him back of course), or jumping into a brawl. His mouth however tells a complete opposite story. He never, ever, [i]ever[/i] shuts up. Ichi will talk trash to anyone/thing, and feel next to no guilt about it (sometimes, but even then it's not much). He will happily crack jokes about friends made, judgments made by superiors, or daily life. God forbid an enemy is faced with his attitude. In the event he is in a one on one fight, Ichi-gou will redouble his efforts to be annoying and offensive, simply to get an opponent to fly off the handle and leave themselves open. The great variety of life-forms he knows he will encounter doesn't bother Ichi at all. He'll accept anyone or anything as a friend as long as he can be sure they won't betray either him or others close to him. A person doesn't have to be human for him to develop a close bond. When looking at the people around him now, Ichi's thoughts are that as long as they can still display feelings for those around that don't revolve around blood, death, and pretty designs made of internal organs, them he'll treat everyone the same. So long as they can put up with his mouth anyway. [u]Capabilities:[/u] [b]Capabilities fluctuate according to the way the character is being used, and the setting. If I'm doing a regular and casual roleplay, most of them can be entirely absent. If it's something that does involve danger, and does permit powers, then they can be present to whatever degree the setting allows. And if someone wants to have a ridiculously crazy power brawl they can be bumped to that scale too.[/b] [b]Plasma Control and Direction[/b] Ichi is; at the basic level, a technological pyrokinetic or Fire Elemental. He uses Plasma however, which is a kind of fire few Elementals ever progress to working with. Plasma energy can be emitted from any point on his body, but it is most effectively focused when fired from his hands, feet, and eyes. The control over the path the plasma takes is accomplished via his Electron Direction/Dissolution Control System (the EDDCS), allowing him [i]extremely[/i] efficient governing of the energy fields and substance of the volatile matter over an extraordinary range and volume. While the plasma produced by his power core is hot enough to destroy almost anything it touches under normal circumstance, Ichi-gou has the capability to control when, how, and where the transfer of heat takes place. If it even takes place at all. Now that the Technocrats have made further progress in restructuring his bodily systems, the EDDCS has received an upgrade as well. Ichi can now also shape his energies into specific forms, and the EDDCS itself can been weaponized with a dramatic increase in the types of radiation it produces, plus incredible levels of magnetic force. (OOC Note: He's a blaster; like Android #17 from DBZ. Plasma is the only source of energy I could think of that would mimic what the DBZ Artificial Humans used to attack and defend on the level that the Z-Warriors could.) [b]Electron Control and Direction[/b] To prevent mass and uncontrolled destruction from taking place by the use of his plasma, Ichi was given a system to control the damage it inflicted. That system has now been modified to inflict damage on its own, or otherwise aide Ichi. By controlling electron exchanges in his vicinity, Ichi can start, stop, slow down, or otherwise control chemical reactions nearby; increase/decrease heat levels in matter, or even perform remote hacking on electronic systems he isn't in direct contact with. Modification to the system has now enabled him to emit specific forms of radiation, control them with either intensification or dampening, and his antennae drastically increase the extent to which he can detect ambient energy fields. [b]Programming[/b] Ichi has enough battle programming crammed into his head to ensure that no form of warfare was out of his skill-setting. As needed he can analyze, adjust, or shift and his physical fighting style to gain the best advantage possible over a foe in a one on one (or several on one) encounter. To make the EDDCS as effective as possible he's also been imprinted with detailed chemistry, biology, and EMF information. If a situation occurs that's outside his scope of knowledge however he's usually stuck with making do and adapting as well as he can; because even though he can communicate with local sources of electronic information a rapid download can actually end up crippling him. Absorbing new data, or too rapid a stream of complex information can easily surpass the rate at which his new brain can form neural pathways to store the fresh coding; causing Ichi-gou the synthetic equivalent of a stroke, or lapse into a comma. It's a temporary condition, but one which has crippled him in the midst of dangerous situations before. He's also got considerably less reluctance to (and often an annoying compulsion) burrowing underground. [b]Strength[/b] When up close to an opponent Ichi's durable body structure can deliver devastatingly powerful strikes due to the fact that his bones and muscle are harder than most metals, and the fact that the strikes are powered by the same plasma energy supply as his long range attacks. He can hit, really, really, really, really fucking hard. I mean, he will knock someone into the next zip code. Physical durability goes here as well. Ichi's body can take some extreme punishment before being counted out of the fight. He's much heavier as a result of his dense composition though. [b]Venom:[/b] Ichi's body exudes over most of its surface, but most of all the numerous barbs, sharp edges, and mandibles, a coating of a mixture of synthetic compounds similar to poneratoxin, stonustoxin, trachynilysin, and cardioleputin. There is no known antidote for the toxic compound, and while lethal in repeated doses due to cardiopulimary stress and nervous system damage its primary effect is infliction of shear mind-numbing agony. The level of pain inflicted by a single scratch on most living beings can be paralytic, cause loss of consciousness, or immediate and deep shock. Ichi-gou can of course chose to cease the release of the toxin to make touching people less dangerous, or alter their make-up with additional different compounds. The one on constant release, dubbed 'Bite', is simply the default, and its potency is approximately 250x more powerful than the poison of the Bullet Ant ([i]Paraponera clavata[/i]) of the original Terra. [b]Speed[/b] Ichi is in no uncertain terms a fast little SOB. Shooting bullets at something with artificial reflexes and tissue that functions in replacement of CPU is a joke and a half. And while he still walk as lightly on his feet as your average male human he actually has a body mass of over 500lbs. [b]Flight[/b] With the completion of repairs to his neural and energy systems comes ability lacking in the subway, Flight. A low-level electromagnetic distortion by the EDDCS around his body generates a kind of thrust. It allows him fly at high speed and with superb maneuverability. He still doesn't radiate anything in the way of ki or metaphycial energy; but the EM-field he forms is detectable by any who can notice things like it. Coupled with his speed Ichi can circumvent the surface of an Earth-sized planet in several seconds if he maxes himself out. [b]Onboard Systems[/b] Ichi can receive and identify a gamut of detectable information types; from mystical energies, life signs, or transmissions by reconfiguring the receptors within his eyes; or altering their make-up entirely (the antennae on his head feature and enhance this capability). He can also transfer an equally wide variety of data with electronic devices, via generated emitters in his eyes (when he's not blowing things up of course. And the likely reason he'd hook up to other bits of machinery is to make them blow stuff up for him). And this is only used when he cannot remotely control machinery and the like with the EDDCS. This is of course tied with his current programming [b]Nano-Matrix[/b] A constantly interlinked matrix of the microscopic machines is laced through his body. Should he be damaged they will affect extremely rapid repair as a matter of course; and should there be obstructions in the way of full reconstruction they can conduct energy or commands around the damaged areas, while breaking down the intrusive material to make it into replacement synthetic flesh. Ichi can function to an alarmingly efficient capacity even while impaled. And regeneration is so rapid that should an uber sharp and black colored magical blade of death bite into him, his body will almost appear to flow back together in its passing. (Don't whine to me about god-moding crap. As mentioned above, all abilities fluctuate according to the rules of the setting.) [b]The Trait Sphere[/b] The Trait Sphere is a containment crystal modified from matter-storage systems imbedded in Ichi's abdomen approximately where a normal man's prostate would be located.  Connecting the Sphere to his body is a network of synthetic nerves that are specially designed to conduct and transfer supernatural energy; the majority of them culminating in his hands. Previously it was composed of several crystalline shards fused together. Now it is composed of ten layers of grown crystal, one surrounding the layer beneath it. The Sphere does not lock away raw power, such as a familiar or magician's staff would; for use as a battery or reserve source of energy.  It is specially crafted to contain paranormal [i]Aspects[/i];the force contained within gifted or magical items that lends them their unique traits and abilities.  Their 'charms' in other words; but it can contain Aspects of objects that go far beyond the charm level. By contacting an object with either one or both hands of almost any kind, Ichi-gou can draw the Aspect of that item into himself and out of the selected relic, and use that Aspect to affect himself at will.  Because the Sphere is composed of ten layers of crystal; Ichi-gou can absorb, contain, and make use of ten Aspects at any given time.  After ten have been absorbed though, he must discard one Aspect to gain control of another.