Hermit Craft Rising AU: Solomon "Impulse" Vanderbilt
Art by the amazing @honeybeebuddy!
“It was amazing, that’s why I did it.”
A former criminal defense lawyer moonlighting as a vigilante turned private mercenary for ConCorp Security Consulting with a little too much mental baggage from his days as the former. Solomon underwent voluntary cyborg conversion at a somewhat minimal level during the events of Hermit Craft: Civil War. During the events of Rising, his internal augmentations became more extensive, although outwardly, he remains normal-looking and almost indistinguishable from unaltered humans. Aside from the usual suite of superhuman powers granted by cybernetic enhancements (enhanced speed and agility, senses, strength, durability, endurance, etc.), Solomon can also attack blindingly fast for short periods and can channel short-range electrical arcs over a few meters if given a power source to draw from. These abilities gave him the nickname "Impulse," which subsequently stuck.
Perhaps a little too friendly and easygoing for his own good - although not a passive nor naive individual, as he’s been burned (literally and figuratively) more than once before by his enemies. He tends to get hung up on his past mistakes, especially the "mac-n'-cheese incident." Carries a far nastier alternate persona known as "Eyesore" that re-emerges during the story, although he brings it under control by the time of the Joebraltar Incident.
Age: 38
Hometown: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Signature weapon: Initially, a pair of 8-foot collapsible quarterstaves. These are composed of carbon steel, reinforced via ultra-high-frequency resonant vibration modules that counteract the effects of other similar weapons. Later, he trades the quarterstaves out for a diamond sword single teal-colored (anodized niobium-plated) carbon steel blade with improved resonant technology.