Dylan Cruise

## Background

### 1988 - 2013: Dylan Cruise

Dylan Cruise is the second child of his family, growing up close & in the shadow of his older brother Timothy. He tagged along wherever Timothy went, as his parents normally forced him to but in time, a true friendship was formed.

While out with his brother one day, Dylan's meathuman powers began to manifest. Unable to control them, his brother was unfortunately killed in the tragic incident. Dylan never fully recovered & was never able to come to terms with being the cause of his brother death. The event had such a devastating effect on the family, as he knew his parents resented him by the way they followed him around the house with their accusing eyes. As a way to get himself out of their lives & to repent for his brother's death, Dylan left home & enrolled in the US Naval Academy. He graduated with honors then got married shortly after to Nicole, a bartender he had met when he was out with his Navy buddies.

After joining the Navy, Dylan eventually became one of the elite SEAL team. His job kept him away from his wife but during one of the few visits he got, Nicole ended up pregnant & gave birth to their daughter Susanna. It was the best day of Dylan's life. Then tragedy struck.

While Dylan was away, his daughter was killed in car accident that also injured his wife. Dylan returned home for awhile to grieve alongside his wife but the marriage soon fell apart as neither was able to accept their daughter was gone. After Nicole served him with divorce papers, Dylan returned back to duty.

Things were not the same for Dylan. His performance level dropped so low that he caused serious injury to himself & those under his command during a high-risk rescue operation. He felt that he had finally hit bottom when he was approached by men in suits. They promised to heal him & provide him with a special suit. In return, he needed to supply them with his tremendous power for various combat operations. All he had to do was follow orders, with the help of a "brain box" in his head.

### 2013 - 2016: Heatwave

Upon leaving the Navy, Dylan became a S.H.O.C. (Special Hazardous Operations Cyborgs) & did International Operations' evil bidding under the control of the "brain box." It's hard to say what exactly happened during his time there as Dylan's was not aware of his actions. However, many of his sightings have matched up with the locations of many high profiled assassinations done by a sniper, Dylan's expertise.

Dylan was the first to be freed when a remorseful doctor removed the brain box from his head & showed Heatwave the error of his ways. With the help of the doctor, he was able to help free other SHOCs. Together, they formed their escape plan & succeeded, though one of the SHOCs was recaptured while holding off I.O. The surviving former SHOCs formed Cyberforce, with the primary goal to take down I.O.

One of the earliest missions of Cyberforce was to rescue Velocity's sister Ballistic, the SHOC that was recaptured during their escape from the clutches of I.O. They were close to saving her many times, with Ballistic almost succeeded in kidnapping Velocity. Eventually, they capture Ballistic, removed her brain-box & added her to the team roster.

## Romantic Relationships

* Nicole Cruise:Girlfriend (2005 - 2008); Wife (2008 - 2012)
* Dominique Thiebaut: Lover (2016)

## Powers & Abilities

* **Metahuman Physiology/Cybernetic Enhancement:** After his injury, I.O. gave him a specially designed suit that made him much more efficient & magnified his powers considerably. Without it, though, he had to be extremely careful of the amount of energy he absorbed because his body would eventually be consumed by the plasma heat. He did not need the suit to absorb & release energy. His metabolism enabled him to do this on his own.
	+ ***Energy Absorption*:** He possesses the ability to absorb solar energy.
	+ ***Energy Blasts*:** The energy absorbs, he can release it as a forced beam of superheated subatomic particles called plasma. This plasma could then be used as a weapon or as a means of self-propelled flight. He could project a plasma beam.
	+ ***Flight*:** He can fly at high speed by riding super-heated air currents.
* **Hand to Hand Combat**
* **Military Protocol:** After graduating, he joined the Navy, remaining there for many years. He eventually joined one of the elite SEAL teams.
* **Stealth**
* **Weaponry**

### Ratings

* **Intelligence:** Unknown
* **Strength:** Unknown
* **Speed:** Unknown
* **Occult:** Unknown
* **Weapons:** Unknown
* **Range:** Unknown
* **Strategy:** Unknown
* **Combat:** Unknown
* **TOTAL:** Unknown

## Trivia

* He has developed a love/hate relationship between Killjoy, the leader of the SHOCs. It's been hinted that shared a relationship when he was a SHOC himself.
* Over the years, he & Stryker have come into conflict many times due to Dylan being a straight shooting military man & Stryker being more of a guerilla fighter.

## Notes

* Dylan Cruise/Heatwave is a character from Top Cow Productions.