Lance Salvator

"'Every good man has this day, when he realizes he must sacrifice his time, his efforts... and maybe his life. But sometimes, just sometimes... the braver choice is to keep living.'"

Lance Salvator, also known as Night Blaster, is one of the two main protagonists of A Few Cruel Twists of Fate.

 

The Genesis Event gave him the ability to absorb and harness certain forms of energy. After he is suddenly approached by mysterious time traveler Dwight Tockman, he embarks on a mission to save his classmates when Dwight reveals that their futures are threatened.

Background
Lance was born on November 29, 2001. He spent 10 years in an international school in Springfort City. At some point, he met Bailey Desmond, and the two became close friends and almost lovers, before a certain event caused a bitter falling-out and the two never talked again. After some time, Lance and his parents later moved to Newheart City to start anew.

Lance was one of many who became superhumans after the Genesis Event. As the energy blasts struck his body, he entered a coma and underwent metamorphosis for about a month until he awoke and gained his powers. While not an aspiring hero, he used his powers to help people, whether saving them from harm or simply helping them with day-to-day things. However, he didn't go around fighting violent criminals or supervillains, as he thought it was out of his league.

Lance met Dwight, who claimed to hail from the future and was a time traveler. Not willing to waste any time convincing him, Dwight brings Lance to the year 2022, where an organization called The Gauntlet of Supervillains had committed several terrorist acts around the world, conquering and destroying all opposition. The most infamous supervillain among them, 'Dystopia', used to be one of Lance's classmates. Dwight tells Lance that he can avoid this future from ever happening by manipulating current events to change the future outcome and prevent his classmate, whoever it was, from becoming Dystopia with the help of a device that gradually revealed information about volatile points in the timeline that can be manipulated.

Original Timeline
In the original timeline Dwight lived in, Lance was a nobody who was killed in one of The Gauntlet's terrorist attacks in Newheart City.

Appearance
Lance is a teenager of Hispanic ethnicity. He is 5'7" and is initially slightly overweight, but gradually sheds weight over time. He has almond-shaped, green eyes. His hair is brown, thick, and curly.

Outfits
In school, Lance wears the standard male NCPS costume. He often also wears glasses, and accessorizes with black winter gloves.

Costume
Lance's first costume variant has him wear athletic wear and a ski mask with holes cut for eyes. He also carries a backpack that carries his Joule harness, with wires attached to his V2 Expulsor Gauntlets.

Lance's second costume variant (end of Vol. 1) has him wear differently-colored and styled athletic wear, while adding elbow and knee pads as well as shin guards. His mask is now divided into three columns; the center portion is blue, the sides are black, and yellow lines go down his eyes. His backpack is still there, with the addition of a harness that goes over his chest with a 'δ' symbol attached to it, located at the center of his chest area. The wires connecting his Joule unit and Expulsor gauntlets are strapped to Lance's arms. The V3 Expulsor Gauntlets are bulkier and more rectangular, with a deuteranopic meter display.

Personality
Lance suffers from a ‘hero syndrome’, being a considerate, generous, and selfless altruist at heart. The only thing that holds him back is his social anxiety and fear of people, especially with their expectations of him. To make up for it, Lance possesses a natural aura that compels those around him to be comfortable and open, which surprises even him. Despite all this, Lance’s innate desire to help others extends to even strangers, going the extra mile to help whether it involves sacrificing his time and energy just to help, or even his well-being in dangerous situations.

Though Lance can be very shy and awkward, he has a great deal of empathy and understanding of the people around him. He likes to take his time getting to know someone, whether directly by engaging in a meaningful conversation, patiently listening to them, and uncovering their interests, or indirect observation. Some people would even go as far as saying that Lance makes for a good leader because of how considerate he is, but he himself doesn’t believe it. He gets genuinely surprised about how fast people become open around him, bringing out their true selves and talking about personal things. This understanding is attributed to his wariness of other people as he takes care to not damage the positive impressions that he can leave on them.

Lance is also incredibly smart, though it might not seem like it at first. Being a chronic over-thinker, Lance’s mind and imagination are ‘hyperactive’, and he feels as if he’s always processing at least ten thoughts at any given moment. As a result, he is capable of critical thinking and speedy analyses, being able to think of multiple possibilities and ways to solve problems in any given situation, allowing him to be a skilled at adapting and improvisation. Being very detail-oriented, he’s quick to notice even small details and is able to connect them to form assumptions that make sense. He’s also very open-minded with learning, especially from people with strong opinions, which he believes broadens his thinking and lets him solidify his own opinions better. As such, Lance has a decent amount of knowledge and skill in a number of different fields, whether it be debate, art, or science. However, the many thoughts that fill his head pose their own set of problems. Lance often has difficulties articulating his thoughts as they race on and shift into different ideas before he can finish making his point from a few seconds ago. He also has difficulty arriving to single conclusions due to his willingness to open himself up to many ideas. Lance could be thinking three steps ahead at any time, but he wouldn’t be able to decide which direction to go in.

Whether he realizes it or not, his anxiety and insecurities are responsible for many of his defining traits. As a child, he used to be mocked and bullied for his passionate and genuine interest for ‘nerdy’ things back then and for being ‘dorky’, even by the people closest to him. As a result, he felt like the best solution was to get people to like him, so he would figure out what people liked to see in others the most and adapted to fit those traits. Eventually, this made him very observant of other people, and. Lance is wary of the things he says and does to other people, and is apologetic upon realizing he might’ve offended the other person even a bit.

However, his selflessness is in reality his greatest weakness. His submissiveness, being considerate, and willingness to go the extra mile opens him up for exploitation. While his willingness to sacrifice his admirable, he overdoes it to the point where he takes care of himself less than he does others, losing sleep and time that should be spent doing his own work when he’s helping others instead. This is pushed to an extreme with his heroic tendencies when he’s willing to unnecessarily risk his life over and over again, placing himself in dangerous situations alone, and constantly pushing his body to its limits. He’s always willing to make the sacrifice play for other people, but never for himself. According to his peers, his tendency to endanger himself unnecessarily is, ironically, selfish.

Lance can most simply be described as "an altruist suffering from a severe case of self-destructive hero syndrome". He is generous, altruistic, and selfless. He's very considerate towards others, even willing to make up for their shortcomings and also making him prone to being taken advantage of. He's known for going the extra mile to help, whether he's sacrificing his time, energy, or even his own well-being in dangerous situations. This is taken to extremes when the injuries he sustains become increasingly worse but still kept fighting until he had passed out and Isabelle needed to heal him.

He has decent skills and adaptability, making him an invaluable groupmate in any project. Some may say that he has skill in leadership, but Lance himself doesn't see it. Lance is also very observant and detail-oriented as a result of his anxiety, being quick to notice details and connect clues to form multiple theories. However, he struggles to form single-ended conclusions due to his open-mindedness.

Lance struggles with people's expectations of him as he feels as if he constantly has to live up to them, as he can't stand the thought of someone having to be patient for him, and can't comprehend the idea of having someone else commit or dedicate something to him as if it's selfish - that other people are responsible for who they feel what emotions for, which is out of his control. While usually reserved and secretive with his personal life, Lance can make exceptions for 1-2 close friends when he feels like he needs to. When he makes close friends, he holds onto them dearly. However, he's generally mistrusting as a result of his anxiety and being constantly disappointed and betrayed from past friends and family, and while he can be considerate and open to forgiveness, his trust is hard to regain if ever. Those who fail to regain it get the rare cold, hard gaze and shoulder, as well as an uncharacteristic stern, nonchalant, and unforgiving attitude.

He does feel hurt when he thinks he's being exploited and does get envious, but he adamantly denies these thoughts and feelings as part of his hero complex. He perceives them as 'bad' thoughts, and believes it's wrong for him to feel that way. As a result, he usually tosses these thoughts and feelings aside, choosing to repress them. Lance has intrusive thoughts, and sometimes thinks of doing acts he shouldn't be approving of. His budding anxiety is represented by stylized, incomprehensible noise (to the point that it drowns out almost all other noises in a scene) and worsening static visuals that become larger and more erratic in appearance. It becomes red when approaching an anxiety attack. His habits include covering his mouth with a handkerchief or with his hand, and fiddling, to the point where his fingers even have callouses.

Powers

 * Ergo Attribute: Lance can absorb and harness several forms of energy. When he has excess energy that his body doesn't need, he can use it to enhance his own physical traits and fire concentrated blasts of energy. When he has no excess energy to spare, he is in an 'inert' state. When he has spare energy, he is 'charged', and at maximum charge, he is 'fully-charged'.
 * Energy Absorption: Lance can absorb certain types of energy through tactile contact with the source. Forms of energy he can currently absorb and harness are electrical and heat, though his range eventually expands to be able to harness kinetic, sonic, radiant, potential, and even nuclear energy. Upon absorbing energy, Lance enters a 'charged' state, where his physiological prowess is enhanced and he can freely use his powers for offense. Gradually, his energy level depletes, entering an 'inert' state, where he returns to normal and has no spare energy to perform offensive attacks with.
 * Energy Conversion: Lance's cells are capable of converting energy into other forms on a whim so that they can be processed by his body.
 * Energy Capacitance: His cells act as capacitors for high amounts of energy, able to store excess energy that Lance can then use later on.
 * Energy Redirection: Lance can redirect energy throughout his body.
 * Energy Metabolization: Lance can feed on energy. Absorbing energy replenishes his stamina, so whenever he gets tired, he can simply absorb energy from another source to keep him going until his body actually gives out. In some cases, it can even be a substitute for food. While Lance still does eat, directly absorbing energy provides him with a quicker boost, rather than having to wait for body to process food. Additionally, other than getting fat out of the excess energy produced by food, Lance’s excess energy sometimes manifests in ‘energy bleed’, which is excess energy just continuously being emitted from his body and dissipating into the environment.
 * Energy Empowerment: Lance's physiology is enhanced as he absorbs energy, gaining increased strength, endurance, and stamina in his 'charged' state.
 * Superhuman Strength
 * Superhuman Endurance
 * Superhuman Stamina
 * Energy Regeneration: His healing factor is better than that of the average human when he is full of energy, but not to the point where he can heal serious wounds in the heat of battle.
 * Energy Emission: Lance is capable of firing energy blasts or even concentrated beams out of his hands for offense, often producing kickback. The energy blasts are white-hot bolts of plasma that dissipate upon contact. 'Concussion blasts' merely stun the enemy, while 'Combustive blasts' are more volatile and produce a small explosive effect upon impact.
 * Energy Bleed: Lance continuously emits high levels of energy in a fully-charged state, giving him a bioluminescent purple glow. The energy (mostly) harmlessly dissipates into the environment. It’s his body’s way of safely depleting excess energy to prevent harm.
 * Heat Emission: He is also capable of producing heat, as long as he has energy left to burn. This can either be a byproduct of his powers, or intentionally triggered.

Techniques

 * Concussion Blast: A light, offensive energy blast which Lance uses to knock back opponents. He can fire these in rapid succession as the damage they cause dissipate on impact.
 * Combustive Blast: Explosive, volatile, super-heated blasts of energy that cause an AoE damage effect in a small vicinity. Lance expends more energy using this technique than the average energy blast.
 * Concentrated Beam: When 'fully-charged', or at the height of his energy level, Lance can fire a powerful, concentrated, continuous beam of energy. However, this technique is very draining, and after performing it, Lance is usually fatigued and overheated as a result.

Energy Forms

 * Heat Form: This is the easiest form of energy for Lance to manage. It might hurt at first as the heat is concentrated on one part of his body trying to absorb it, but the heat eventually dissipates and spreads out. He can then re-concentrate this heat into a single part of his body, like his finger, and it can burn so hot that it could pierce through metal. This is also his most common go-to form for offensive attacks, like combustion blasts. Unfortunately, this is also the type of energy that depletes the fastest. At higher temperatures, Lance starts sweating profusely as part of his body’s natural thermoregulation process to cool him down. At even higher temperatures, it could cause Lance to enter a febrile state and become incapacitated.
 * Electrical Form: Lance particularly dislikes absorbing electrical energy due to the pain and discomfort. Granted, it doesn’t harm him as much as it would the average person, but the overwhelming, shocking pain travels from his hand throughout his entire body in a split second after touching an electrical source. He describes it as ‘his nerves (being) on fire’ as the electricity continues to crackle all throughout his body. The form is ideal for quick, incapacitating attacks, but Lance is never able to absorb much of it at any given time.

Abilities

 * Analysis/Critical Thinking: As a result of his anxiety and overthinking, Lance is very observant and detail-oriented, analyzing situations quicker than most others and is able to arrive to several theories and conclusions because of his open-mindedness and tendency to consider each angle and perspective.
 * Emotional Intelligence: Lance is very understanding of other people's thoughts and emotions. He also has an aura that makes people comfortable enough to be open with him and share very personal details.
 * Indomitable Will: Lance has a well-defined set of personal morals that all revolve around being generous, altruistic, and selfless stemming from his insecurities and desire to please people. This is especially manifested when he constantly sacrifices his own time and energy to help others even when unnecessary or when he's at his limit and should be taking care of himself as well, and when he risks his own well-being to save others. His determination is strong enough that despite not being particularly durable and suffering several serious injuries in battle, he will continue to fight.
 * Hand-to-Hand Combat: Thanks to Gin and Jamie's training, Lance becomes gradually more capable of hand-to-hand combat. His fighting style is adapted to suit his powers: taking advantage of his agility while performing high-impact attacks.

Internal

 * Anxiety: Lance has general mistrust with people as a result of his past relationships and experiences, particularly with his family and close friends. He developed social anxiety, being conscious of his appearance and performance and fearful of authority figures and everyone's expectations of him, as well as intrusive thoughts that keep him awake at night. While he isn't directly affected by them, these thoughts can get particularly disturbing and unpleasant. His mental state worsens later on, causing full-on nervous breakdowns.
 * Stubbornness: He barely listens to anyone else as long as he believes he's helping someone, and as a result can be incredibly reckless in dangerous situations.

External

 * Mild deuteranopia: He was born with a mild red-green colorblindness.
 * Asthma: Lance has mild asthma, limiting his stamina when performing rigorous physical activity as it becomes difficult to breathe.
 * Sleep deprivation/Insomnia: Lance has insomnia and trouble sleeping as his hyperactive imagination and intrusive thoughts usually keep him awake into the late hours. He's known to stay up late as a result of overworking himself and helping others before resting himself as well. As a result, he suffers from occasional disorientation, grogginess, and occasional short-term memory issues.
 * Energy Signature: Lance can be easily tracked by technology employing heat or energy-signature tracking methods.
 * Overheating: He has a tendency to overheat and enter a febrile and fatigued state if he uses his powers for too long, especially after performing a Concentrated Beam attack. This acts as a limit so that he doesn't keep fighting since he can keep absorbing energy whenever he gets tired and still get back in the fight.

Equipment

 * Expulsor Gauntlets: Slightly bulky gauntlets worn on either forearm that help Lance direct and concentrate his energy bleed into condensed blasts of energy. They also display an approximate reading of how much extra energy is stored in his body that he can use for his abilities. The meter uses coloring that is adjusted for Lance's mild deuteranopia.
 * Joule Harness: Lance wears a backpack during school, which is also integrated into his costume. It houses a makeshift support unit that helps him manage his energy input and output. Later, it gets upgraded, housing ‘batteries’ that help store more energy for emergencies. In the event that he is nowhere near any accessible energy sources, he can tap into his batteries for a quick boost.
 * Directed-Energy Grenades: Lance sometimes uses DEGs - devices that absorb his energy and explode after a short fuse. Alternatively, he can also set them off to gain a boost himself.

Trivia

 * His first name, Lance, is taken from the Lancer character archetype, which he is  based off of. His last name, Salvator, is Latin/Polish for 'savior'.