Name: Ian Magnus
Codename: Penumbra
Age: 65
Date of Birth: August 21, 1947
Height: 5'6
Weight: 195
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark brown
Place of Origin: Portland, Oregon
Nationality/Race: African American
Classification/Origin of Powers: Mutant
Status: Other
Occupation: Thief [mostly retired], restoring paintings, owns a few art galleries around the country, art appraiser.
Personality Profile: Quiet and withdrawn. He prefers to keep to himself and tend to his own business instead of meddling in someone else's. Rarely does he have anything to share and if he does it's likely he'll still keep quiet. The troubles he's experienced in his life have made him bitter and jaded. The only thing he truly cares about is art, fine cigars and enjoying the luxurious things in life. He looks down on virtually everyone, considering them unimportant until they've proven otherwise. He refuses to repeat or rephrase anything. Speaks in hushed tones and never raises his voice even if the other party can't hear him.
Physical Description: Ian's an average height and weight. Attractive and with an erect posture, he makes sure to use his body language to communicate he's the guy in charge. His posture makes up for his quiet nature, speaking where he doesn't.
Always wears a suit that varies in color but tends to be black or grey. It's questionable if he owns anything other than suits. And he has to look good no matter what the situation is, taking the extra time to preen and straighten himself up even in a life or death struggle. He always has a black leather satchel hanging from his shoulder. Always. The exterior's worn, scuffed and bears the marks of being carried around for many years. There's been repair jobs done on it and some have left remnants of that. The brass latches are original.
Picture
Tattoos:
- * Eclipse on the back of his neck. Usually hidden by a collared shirt and his long hair.
General Power Information: Born to steal
Ability One: Wall walking
- * Works by changing the physical makeup of whatever wall or obstacle he touches to allow a person or object to pass through.
* Affects a circular area roughly 7 feet across. When an area is 'softened' it ripples like a stone tossed into a pond. For the duration that the wall's in a passable state it remains watery, reacting to air currents or touch.
* A load bearing wall can continue to stay solid even after being effected.
* Stays active roughly 5 minutes after Ian breaks contact with it. If he keeps his hand on the wall, the section will remain passable by himself, others, or objects.
- * Alters a satchel he carries to allow it to hold any amount of items that fit into the main opening. An unlimited number of items can be stored this way without affecting the weight of the bag.
* The items can be recalled at will. He can reach into the bag with a specific item in mind and his fingers will close around the correct one so it can be retrieved. The bag can also be opened and shaken. If used this way, the selected items fall out.
* Ian is the only person who can use the bag. Anyone trying to pickpocket him will find a normal lining and the bag completely empty.
Magnification:
- * Limited magnification without the use of special equipment. With some time to focus and adjust his eyes, he can see items at 2x, 4x or 8x their usual size.
* Brings out the minor imperfections that would normally take a magnifying scope or other tools to see. Especially useful in his day-to-day job of detecting fakes, restoring paintings, and other professions.
* Ensures he'll never need glasses, reading or otherwise, even through his later years.
- * Works by placing his fingers around the object that he intends to peer into, hands on either side of the object. As long as he can get sufficiently good contact it doesn't take long to get an image.
* Produces a high quality image that can viewed from multiple angles. The better conductor the target is, the better of an image it will produce.
* Helps if he doesn't have his eyes open as the x-ray doesn't rely on sight but instead minute electrical impulses.
Drawbacks & Weaknesses:
Wall walking:
- * A wall is left 'soft' for only 5 minutes after he removes his hand from it. Anything caught in the wall when it goes solid again is stuck there. Living creatures can lose limbs, perish almost instantly, objects are ruined. He's also subject to this! If he can't make it through a wall in time it can slam shut on him just as easily as it would anything else.
* Passing through a wall is very difficult like walking across the deep side of a pool.
* Only inanimate objects can be traversed in this way. The powers will not activate if used on a living thing.
* A larger section of wall can be 'softened' but he'd have to affect one area, move to another, use his powers on that section of wall. The timer would start ticking down on each part of wall that's been changed unless he kept revisiting the spots.
- * The satchel is the only one that's been altered in this way. Ian cannot produce any other pocket dimensions. If his bag is destroyed, he will lose this aspect forever.
* Only items that fit into the bag can be stored in that manner. Trying to shove something that's too big inside will only result in damage to the bag.
* Only Ian can retrieve stored items. If it's stolen, when he dies, if he can't get the items himself, they'll be gone forever unless he can fetch them at a later date. Items aren't teleported elsewhere or reached by any other means.
Magnification:
- * Not terribly strong. The equivalent of a dissecting microscope.
* If used for longer than a couple of minutes he'll develop a headache and his eyes will grow sore. The longer it goes, the worse his pain will get. If allowed to get too bad it will linger even after his power's disengaged. While unlikely, it can get bad enough to leave him injured or even suffer a period of temporary blindness.
* Not particularly useful for seeing over a long range. Much more effective when up close to an object or location.
* Requires adequate lighting to be successful. If it's too dim, he won't be able to make out the object.
- * Produces a black and white image. Detail is lost due to this and some images won't come out they way they should. Some of the time it requires more studying than he can take due to studying the produced image.
* The fewer number of fingers in contact with the object the lower quality the image is. It can, in some cases, render the efforts to see inside of an object useless.
* Can leave fingerprints behind as his hands must be pressed against the target.
* Like the magnification it can leave him hurting afterwards. He needs a bit to adjust after using the power.
* If an object isn't very conductive, it won't produce as good of an image and will take more effort to see. Some things, like rubber or plastic, won't produce any image no matter how hard he tries.
Skills:
- * If given enough time to study a painting he can determine if one is fake or not. The way the paint strokes have been placed, the aging of the canvas, the styles used and even the artist. The same extends to sculptures but his expertise is in traditional paintings.
* Excels in fighting but he prefers to avoid getting into any altercations. When he enters a fight he tries to end it as quickly as possible and without injury. Also good with handheld non-mechanical weapons (EX: daggers, blunt weapons]
* Years of practicing his stealth have left him an expert in it. He blends in with his surroundings with a clear mastery as well.
Background:
Ian's childhood was a very normal one. Raised in the wet but artistic Portland he had distractions from the rigors of schoolwork, seeking solace in art and architecture. He's no painter but he can appreciate an exquisite painting more than the average person. At times his passion for art damaged his grades, dropping his solid As to high Bs. The appearance of a mutant power, passing through walls, shocked him but he learned to control it with time.
Everything continued splendidly complete with a scholarship to The Art Institute of Portland so he could study to become an appraiser or even help restore damaged paintings. He hoped to host a gallery for others to display their works and finally fulfill his lifelong dream of being surrounded by splendid art. But after succeeding in obtaining his diploma he didn't get the chance to make that gallery. He got distracted by a smooth talking man named Richard who promised the world to him. The two traveled the world together and even planned to marry at one point. Everything was kittens and sunshine until Ian found out about Richard's other lovers and prospective fiancees. Things didn't end well for Richard.
The next day Ian was found sitting in the cafe he usually enjoyed breakfast in, calmly waiting for the police to show up. He was led out and held in jail while homicide detectives and the fire department sifted through the remains of his apartment. The trial was short with Ian narrating exactly what'd happened. Richard came home from what was likely a night spent cheating to a can of Methylene chloride being splashed in his face. The disoriented Richard was tied down to a chair and left to suffer the chemical's fumes and corrosive action of the chemical-based paint stripper, berated by an enraged Ian. At the end of it Ian lit the pool under the other man on fire and left the building. He was found guilty of manslaughter and pleaded insanity.
With a sentence of 5 years to carry out he accepted his dreams as being quite dead. For a boy that was as introverted and sheltered as he was prison was especially horrific. Even after the first year he had trouble adapting and wound up in the infirmary every month or so for resisting the advances of others and his refusal to serve any of them. In time he met a fellow inmate who agreed to teach him how to defend himself in exchange for help later on down the line. In addition to learning the skills he needed to survive, he made quite a few connections and practiced the art of stealing. Failing an attempt to nick an object or getting caught with it later meant suffering a beating but it was often worth the chance.
Upon being released he realized that there was nobody to help him. No home, no job, no money. Nothing. So he headed to the nearest bank and cased the joint out for a couple of days before making his move. The wall softened, he walked through it and back out again with wads of cash in hand. The going was good...for a while at least. But he eventually got caught and thrown back in prison to serve two more years.
The following years were more productive for him as he learned methods to avoid being caught in addition to the appearance of two more abilities. While playing around with his ability to soften walls he somehow altered a leather satchel so it became a pocket dimension. He tried a few times but was unable to repeat the enchantment. Later on he hypnotized another person using illusions. It took quite a bit of time to master his latest feat but he did in time.
One day his path crossed a young man trying to survive on the streets. Ian decided to take the clueless youth in and educate him in the ways of avoiding a life spent in prison. One less kid in the slammer, one more useful person on the street. And possibly serving him as a bodyguard and to serve him, which is exactly what the older man had in mind. He forced Eberto to get a GED and consider a better education after taking a year or two off to find his way in life.
Nowadays Ian travels the world, continuing his life of crime and to try and make up for the decade he missed out on, leaving Eberto at home to keep an eye on his already amassed wealth of treasures.
Criminal Record: Convicted for grand theft, Diminished responsibility manslaughter [temporary insanity]. Served 5 years for his manslaughter conviction and 2 for grand theft.
Quirks, Extras, Random Character Facts:
- * Technology evades him. He recognizes how useful it can be but he prefers the old fashioned methods to complete any task.
* Isn't French but talks with a French accent anyway.