A-024 Flamers

A lone A-024 instance wandering [LOCATION REDACTED].

## CACG Item File

Item A-024 is the designation given to a small colony of anomalous humanoids found during an excavation in 2021. While their origin remains unknown, it's assumed that it could've been the work of any number of heat based anomalies in the Group's possession. Being entities that are, themselves, a manifestation of flame and heat, A-024 instances can greatly vary in appearance. Some of the most common compositions of their bodies include embers, ash, igneous rock, magma, and even flame. Although humanoid, A-024 instances can have wildly varying sapience and sentience levels, with some instances being borderline animalistic and feral while other instances are perfectly capable of communication and thought (such as Dr. Ignis). Following their discovery, the CACG has contained all known instances of A-024.

Despite being primarily composed of superheated materials, A-024 instances have proven perfectly capable of restricting and projecting their heat. Should an A-024 instance wish to do so, they could easily walk through a wooden shack without setting it alight. But when threatened, A-024 instances can project continuous pillars of flame at hostiles, with the most dangerous capabilities they exhibit being recorded as the ability to [DATA REDACTED]. Almost invariably, A-024 instances suffer from pyromania with severity varying amongst them. Some feral instances will simply burn down forests by instinct alone, with nearly every instance being easily intrigued by external sources of flames. While it has only occurred once in the field, it has been found that A-024 instances can be temporarily stunned and weakened by affecting the flames that make up their body, such as immersing them in water, CO2, and even vacuum.

As A-024 instances could easily burn through operatives just as easily as they do conventional materials, they were immediately issued X classification upon initial containment. To counter their heat-based abilities, all instances of A-024 are to be kept in an array of custom-built enclosures. These enclosures are to have magnetically locking ablative plating, as well as a liquid nitrogen cooling system along its entire structure. In case of technical failure, enclosures are equipped with a "quick-seal" vacuum system to deprive the entire enclosure (and airlock) of the oxygen needed for further combustion. Should this failsafe activate, on-site Task Forces "Fire Breathers" and "Room Service" are to be notified and dispatched immediately.

One of the few instances capable of human-level sentience and thought is Dr. Apollo Ignis, a current employee of the CACG. It's common knowledge that Ignis is a standout specimen of A-024, showing unparalleled levels of intelligence compared to both his feral and sentient counterparts. As a member of the A-024 species, Ignis is perfectly capable of controlling the heat of air around him, as well as his flames.

Why it is that Dr. Ignis is the only instance of A-024 with a mind virtually indistinguishable to humans is unknown, and is currently under intense research. The prevailing theory is a genetic mutation, allowing expanded capacity for thought in Ignis' mind. Despite his sentience and human intelligence, Ignis is still susceptible to his species' love of fire. Records of this support the theory that A-024 instances have absolutely no control over their love for fire, and that it is most likely genetic in nature.