Vexen

Image by 童夢 on Pixiv

Original Name: Even Rimewind         
Elemental Power: Ice                                  
Weapon: Shield             
Number: Four                
Position: Head Scientist

Vexen is Number Four in Organization XIII, one of the founding members of the Fangirl extermination squad as well as one of the small group of scientists who first began research into the Fangirl menace well over a decade ago.  He is the Organization's head scientist, constantly researching and experimenting with various things in pursuit of further knowledge about the Fangirls, the Organization's powers, and various other subjects.  Prior to Marluxia's joining, he was also in charge of medical duties for the Organization, patching up injured members after battle and performing routine medical examinations and even minor surgery from time to time.

He is among the oldest members of the Organization and is known for his long, almost-graying dirty-blonde hair, his high cheekbones, and his bright green eyes which often bulge when his face takes on various expressions.  He has a slight twitch in his left eye which causes it to bulge a bit more than the other at times, a relic of an injury sustained in his younger years.  He is rather tall, standing only an inch shorter than Xaldin, though he is not nearly as muscular as Number Three and often stands with a bit of a slouch (especially when wielding his heavy shield) which makes him appear shorter than he actually is.

Vexen is devoted to the pursuit of knowledge above all else, even making understanding the inner workings of the Fangirl menace a priority over simply destroying them.  For this reason, he is one of a handful of members to express great interest in the development of a "cure" for Fangirlism -- a way to revert Fangirls back into normal people, or perhaps to prevent them from ever transforming in the first place.  He comes across as a bit arrogant at times, but can back this up both in his laboratory and on the battlefield -- he was responsible for designing and building both the Dimensional Hippievan and the Fangirl Detection System, and also oversaw the Fangirl Disconnection Project which led to Xion's induction into the Organization and the discovery of "incomplete Fangirls."  In a bit of a contrast to the nature of his elemental power, Vexen has been known to have a fiery temper at times, snapping at those who doubt his abilities and not hesitating to enter battle when he or other Organization members are threatened.  When dealing with those less knowledgeable than himself, Vexen has the potential to be either amazingly patient or quickly irritated depending on the other person's interest in the knowledge the old scientist has to offer (or lack thereof.)  Among the members of the Organization, Vexen is closest to Lexaeus and Zexion, who he often goes to for assistance with various projects.  In the Organization's earlier days, he had a similar relationship with Xemnas, though their disagreement on the best method of dealing with the Fangirls and the way that Vexen has been repeatedly pushed out of the second-in-command spot (first by Xigbar and later by Saix) has distanced them somewhat.  He has grown close to his trainees as well, having a great deal of trust in their abilities in all areas and often letting them operate in his place when he is busy elsewhere.

History

     Vexen was originally known by the name Even Rimewind, and during his many years of life he found himself in a variety of unusual situations that would shape his later duties in Organization XIII.  During his high school and college years he took part in frequent boxing matches, honing his hand-to-hand combat skills (which would later serve him well against the Fangirls) as well as taking a variety of high-level science and education-related classes.  After many years of college and several blows to the head which caused him to develop an odd twitch in one eye, he would put boxing aside for the moment and instead focused on his career in teaching.  After holding a teaching job in the same school that Ansem was principal of for several years, he had his first encounter with the Fangirls when one of his young female students unexpectedly cornered him in the classroom and transformed into a Glomper, attempting to drain his life with her hugs.  Even fought back, drawing upon his experience as a boxer in order to pummel the lone Fangirl into submission and eventually destroy her altogether.

     Not long after this event, Ansem discovered an injured and amnesiac Xehanort on the school's doorstep, a battered survivor from a Fangirl swarm that had happened somewhere not far away.  The two took him in and nursed him back to health, and soon afterward Vexen -- along with Ansem and the newly-recovered Xehanort -- began their investigation into the many mysteries surrounding the beings known as Fangirls.  This Fangirl research group soon began to grow, first adding the elves Braig and Dilan (who had been researching methods for fighting the creatures) and later the Italian architect Elaeus Sabato and the orphaned prodigy Ienzo Boccaccio who he had taken under his wing.  After a disagreement between Xehanort and Ansem, however, the group was divided; Even and the others stuck with Xehanort and founded the group that became known as Organization XIII, while Ansem set off on his own to develop a different method of fighting the Fangirls.

    Upon the Organization's formation, Even became Number Four in the group and took on the new identity of Vexen.  In the Organization's early years he served as the group's second-in-command, advising Xemnas on various matters and heading all manner of scientific testing.  It was Vexen who developed the Fangirl Detection System which became vital to the Organization's operation; previous methods of tracking Fangirl activity were slower and less reliable, whereas discovering a method to lock onto Fangirl energy signatures and track them that way meant that the Organization was able to know where Fangirls were appearing anywhere in the world at a moment's notice.  He was also responsible for designing and building the Dimensional Hippievan, which made it possible for members of the Organization to travel rapidly across the world in order to deal with Fangirl swarms before they managed to cause too much damage.  The vast majority of the Organization's technology was invented at least partially by Vexen, from the security systems and Fangirl alarms strewn about the base to an abnormally-strong set of shackles capable of restraining even someone as powerful as a berserk Saix.  Drawing upon his past experience as a  teacher, Vexen also taught classes on the basics of Fangirl extermination to all new recruits, sharing his vast knowledge of the subject with not only his own trainees but those working under his fellow numbered members as well.

   In the year 2005, Vexen and Xemnas worked together on the "Fangirl Disconnection Project," which sought to find out what would happen if a girl was removed from all sources of Internet access after the Fangirlization process had already begun.  The result of this experiment was Xion, an "incomplete Fangirl" who gained Fangirl-like powers and lost her memory, but did not connect to the Fangirl hivemind or lose her individuality like most other Fangirls are known to do.

Powers and abilities

Strength: 7.5/10   
Speed: 5/10  
Endurance: 6.5/10        
Mastery of Powers: 8/10                        
Combat Skill: 8/10              
Defense: 10/10   

    Vexen's elemental power is Ice, allowing him to rapidly sap heat from his surroundings and gather moisture in order to flash-freeze opponents in a block of ice or generate ice-based projectiles or spikes of the cold stuff erupting from the ground.  As a result, he is immune to extreme cold and all manner of cold- or ice-based attacks, with intensely cold climates actually enhancing his powers and increasing his stamina due to the fact that he doesn't need to absorb nearly as much heat from around him to produce the same effect.  He is also capable of controlling preexisting ice and snow, another reason why his powers are enhanced in colder climates.  An unfortunate side-effect of these powers is his vulnerability to heat, which makes him weaken much more quickly than usual in extremely hot weather as well as making fire- or heat-based attacks more dangerous for him than other members.

Vexen's shield "Frozen Pride,"
with handle location detailed

    The weapon he is capable of summoning is a large and rather heavy shield, topped with a series of spikes which make it a good bit more dangerous than an ordinary shield when used to enhance one of his already-formidable punches.  Vexen's shield is nearly indestructible under normal circumstances, with only a sudden impact of incredible force being capable of breaking it; all lesser attacks, even those powerful enough to send Vexen and his shield both flying, will leave little more than surface-level scratches behind.  In addition to using it for defense and as a bludgeoning weapon, Vexen is capable of controlling his shield remotely, causing it to hover at a distance from his body so that he can use both hands for other things while also blocking incoming attacks.

    In addition to his ice-elemental powers, Vexen is one of the handful of Organization members who possesses the power to sense the energy of others.  His version of this useful ability works based on sight; simply by looking at another individual for a few seconds, he is able to detect whether or not they have any unusual powers and get an idea of what level of strength they possess.  With prolonged examination, he becomes able to figure out even more about someone's powers, sometimes even accurately guessing what the dormant powers of a fellow Organization member are before they have actually managed to awaken them.

Special techniques

• Blizzard: A basic ice-elemental technique.  Vexen aims at his opponent with one hand and summons up a swirl of ice crystals and freezing air, which are then launched at their target.
• Freeze: Vexen focuses on one enemy, rapidly cooling the air around them until they are encased in a block of ice.
• Iceburn: Vexen alters the temperature of the air below his opponent's feet, rapidly freezing and thawing in order to create sheets of slippery ice that can easily trip up an unprepared foe.
• Ice Needles: Vexen freezes moisture in the ground, causing it to erupt upward in the form of a sharpened pillar of ice.  If the enemy is able to avoid the first spike, he can create several more in a row by quickly thawing and re-freezing the original.  In some situations, rather than a single spike of ice Vexen will create several at once, or even an enormous spiky glacier-like structure that can hit many enemies all at once.
• Diamond Dust: Vexen chills the air within several yards of his position, causing tiny, sharpened ice crystals to float throughout the area.  Anyone within the attack's range is harmed by both the ice shards and the extreme cold, if they aren't tough enough to resist it.
• Freeze Prison: An advanced form of Freeze and Iceburn combined, Vexen initiates this attack by slamming the palms of his hands against the ground, causing a trail of slippery ice to rapidly spread across it and come to a stop beneath his opponent's feet.  Anyone unfortunate enough to be standing underneath the ice will be surrounded by a hexagonal pillar of ice which freezes them in place and rapidly drains their strength, quickly causing all but the mightiest opponents to lose consciousness.
• Slide Break: Vexen's ultimate technique.  By condensing the moisture in the air around his shield and then freezing it, Vexen creates a massive blade of ice that doubles his reach and makes his shield strikes much more dangerous.  After several blows, the ice blade begins to break, so he shatters it for one final attack that sends icy shrapnel flying everywhere.