Daniel Herschz



Name: Daniel "Dan" Alan Herschz
Age: 28
Height: 6'
Weight: 194lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown

Birthdate: October 27th
Known Family:
---Richard Herschz (Father)
---Maria Herschz (Mother)
---Jacob Herschz (Brother, younger)
Alliance: Undecided

Intelligence: 2 - Normal
Strength: 2 - Normal
Speed: 2 - Normal
Durability: 2 - Normal
Energy Projection: 6 - Multiple forms
Fighting Ability: 4 - Experienced


     

HISTORY -

Daniel has always been somewhat of a hothead, especially in his younger days. Growing up in a somewhat lower-class neighborhood and attending a middle-class school, he was often picked on and made fun of. Daniel hardly tolerated this, and would fight back at his tormentors. He was constantly in trouble with school administration for fighting instead of walking away. At one point, he was officially expelled from his elementary school for putting one of these kids in the hospital from the extent of the injuries. However, his parents pleaded with the school staff and the parents of the other student (who were shocked at their child's behavior) and were able to have him re-enrolled. Despite Daniel's rough life outside of class, inside he was a model student - a main reason the school allowed him to stay. Dan achieved nearly straight-A's in his classes...though this was not because of higher intelligence, but because he was a hard-worker and did everything he could plus more with his assignments and projects to get the high grade.

Shortly after Daniel turned seven, his parents won a large grant from the government for his father's work, and his mother and father decided to celebrate by giving Daniel a younger brother. So, nine months later, Jacob was born. After that, Daniel found himself torn. He was thankful for the grant, because he was able to enter that middle-to-upper class that he was never a part of, yet he was unhappy for the brother because his parents no longer paid as much attention to him. Thusly, as the two grew, a rough sibling rivalry sparked between them, with Daniel constantly teasing and picking on Jacob (forgetting how it felt for himself). Daniel's parents attempted to quell the rivalry - despite Jacob's apparent lack of caring - but it was fruitless. As the brothers grew together, and Jacob started developing a noticable personality, Daniel grew fond of him and the teasing lessened and lessened until the two were close friends.

By this time, Daniel was eleven and in junior high school. He even had a little girlfriend (his popularity had increased as he developed into his preteens). The school held a dance near the end of that school year and the two went together. Though here, Daniel encountered old school enemies and a fight broke out amongst the crowd of students. The DJ did not notice, and continued playing, the lights continued flashing, and the supervisors did not seem to notice either, because of the close mass of students surrounding the fight. In all the intensity and adrenaline of the fight, Daniel's mutant gene was triggered...and all the lights in the room suddenly brightened intensely, so much so that some of the people within were permanently damaged. All of the lights burst, throwing the room into darkness. Dan was somehow unaffected by the brightened lights and was able to escape without detection.

Daniel knew, somehow, that he had caused what happened at the dance. He just did not know how and could not explain it. He kept it to himself, though...knowing that coming out with that kind of suspicion would be bad for him and his family. So the whole summer after that school year, Daniel hid the secret within his mind. It was only near the end of the summer when Daniel had another incident with light-control: in a movie theater. The horror movie was so intense and so scary, that it triggered his photokinesis and the theater lights suddenly came back up...and became so bright that they burst, like last time. This convinced him that he was the cause. His family was with him this time and, thankfully, they were not harmed - though now Daniel knew how dangerous this could be. Though he hid it, again, until the third occurance. When the new school year started, Daniel was witness to some of the aftermath of what had happened at the dance: whether it be students with visual aids like glasses or shaded lenses, completely blind students, classmates with healing burns and blisters on their faces from the heat of all those bright lights, or students who had not returned to class this year. He felt remorse for the students he had done this to...and was tempted to come to each of them privately to apologize, but quickly thought better of it. The third occurance came as a result of a student-mutant fight on the school grounds. A nearly campus-wide fight had broken out between "normal" students and students who had recently discovered their mutant abilities. Dan, torn, threw himself into it on the mutants' side and, in the fight, the light in the air around him brightened intensely before suddenly darkening completely turning the outside world surrounding him pitch black.

Dan's twelfth birthday immediately followed this...and he knew he could not hide it any longer, especially from the family who has loved him and done everything they could for him this whole time. So, heavy-hearted, he came out to his parents, explaining that he was a mutant and could brighten light. However, in the most unfortunate way, Dan's parents then revealed how much they disliked mutants. They were utterly shocked...and even disgusted with Dan. They threatened to throw him out on the streets if he did not stop being a mutant. When Dan argued that he couldn't, and didn't know how, his parents followed through and threw Dan out of the house, not letting him return to the family. After nearly three days of pleading and screaming for his parents and brother, Dan decided to give up and go elsewhere. He found room at his girlfriend's place, explaining his situation to them, and was able to continue attending school until he finished junior high. However, after that, child services came for him and took him to live in Foster care.

Daniel did not like it here and ran away. He knew he could not return to anybody's house he knew, so Dan attempted to find a place to stay on the streets. He soon found himself employed with local underground drug dealer, Raoul Rodriguez, in the Bronx. Within Raoul's "Crew," Dan had random jobs associated with crime and was paid fairly well. Dan stayed in with some of Raoul's Crew members who were rooming together and was able to continue his schooling. He worked through high school and obtained his diploma. After that, school was out for Daniel...and he focused on working for Raoul and learned how to secretly skim money from the jobs for himself, little by little. But of course, soon, Raoul's men discovered Daniel doing this...and came after him. Luckily, a friend of Dan's, who was helping steal from Raoul, warned Daniel...and Dan was able to escape. But he never saw his friend again. Raoul's men continued coming after Daniel...and eventually caught up with him, only to beat him within inches of death, take the money Dan had stolen and leave him for dead. Daniel was found and taken to the hospital, where he recovered slowly. He told doctors of a hidden stash of money he had stolen to pay for the bill. When Daniel was well enough to be released, he went out to find a real job and worked hard to support himself. He met a young woman who sympathized with his story and they fell in love. He moved into her tiny apartment and the two were happy with each other for a while.

The years passed and, one day, Daniel read an article in the Daily Bugle naming his younger brother, Jacob Herschz, as Raoul Rodriguez's murderer. Dan could hardly believe it...and he followed the story on the news and in the papers and magazines obsessively. He did not seek out his brother, though, fearing that he was a mutant-hater like his parents...why did Jacob not help Daniel way back when their parents threw him out? Finally, though, Dan worked up the courage to go and visit Jacob before the big hearing...and Jacob, indeed, was not happy to see him. Though it was because Jacob blamed Daniel for not staying in touch with him after he left...and was upset that Daniel all of a sudden came back into his life. Dan was confused, but the two of them eventually settled their differences in time for Jacob to be cleared of his charges, as long as Jacob moved to and attended Xavier's Institute For Higher Learning. Daniel decided it would be best if he did the same, to catch up on missed time with his brother.

Though this did not end the run of bad luck Daniel seems to have. Shortly after Dan and Jacob's reunion, Daniel was out in the city when he ran into wanted criminal Robert Hunter, also known as Nitro. The two had an argument that led into a brawl, the climax of which occurred when Nitro exploded. Hunter injured many civilians and severely damaged/destroyed almost a whole block. Miraculously, Daniel survived...but barely. When paramedics arrived, Daniel was rushed to the hospital and treated. He remained in the hospital for months due to complications from the battle. When he returned to the Institute, Daniel found that Jacob had begun acting up and was experiencing strange mood swings. He would find, later, that this was due to the Darkforce energy that Jacob had copied and was building up inside. Jacob then disappeared...and comes back with a stab wound. Jacob explains everything, and the two are able to continue on in their lives as normal.

Though, not long after this, Jacob disappears again...and Daniel talks to Jacob's doctor, Shinji Mori. He finds out from her that Jacob is bent on finding this evil mutant named Sylar and taking him down. Daniel decides to go out and look for Jacob to try and stop him from doing anything foolish. His search is fruitless...and after checking every single place he knows about, he decides to go back to the home in which they grew up. He is not surprised to find Jacob here, in his old room. The two talk about when they were young and what could have been...a discussion that drives Jacob over the edge. The Darkforce begins to take him over and their parents come in to the room, at which point their father, Richard, attacks Jacob defensively, hitting him in the head with a baseball bat. Jacob healed, apparently, and enveloped the whole room before taking him and Daniel away to an abandoned factory in town.

Jacob held Daniel captive and blamed him for all the wrongs in their lives. The Darkforce grew stronger within him until finally Daniel broke through the layers and barriers surrounding Jacob's true emotions, and Jacob revealed that he felt Daniel abandoned him when his parents threw him out because of his mutant status. Jacob, frustrated at this new level of vulnerability, resounded to attempt to kill his brother. Dan knew he had to get free and try to stop his brother and the virus-like Darkforce energy within him. He cut his binds with his lasers and confronted Jacob by reaching a new level of potential with his photokinesis, actually becoming a being producing an endless amount of pure light. His light fought against Jacob's Darkforce and seemed to be close to defeating Jacob when Gabriel Summers came into the factory and stopped both Daniel and Jacob. Finally, when all was calmed down, Gabriel agreed to forcefully take the Darkforce energy out of Jacob completely. After that, Gabriel had his NYPD detective friend take the two brothers back to the Xavier Institute.


Dan and brother Jacob

POWERS -

Daniel Herschz has the ability to control the atomic particles within light molecules which allows him to control, in essence, light itself. He can make the air anywhere super-bright or pitch dark. He can either use the existing atomic particles in the air, naturally occurring, any artificially-made light particles (light bulbs or the like) or he can create them himself. He can focus the light particles, widen them, narrow them, shape them in any way. So, if he wanted, Dan could create a "glove of light" by gathering or creating light particles around his hand and increase the intensity, creating a very bright hand.

He has the ability to excite the electrons in the atoms in the air, which then releases light, or photons. Dan has learned, over time, to force the electrons to have stimulated emissions and matching the wavelengths and creating what’s referred to as “pure” light. When he has the particles all at the same wavelength, and he moves them through the air at the exact same speed, he creates a laser beam. Dan's lasers aren't powerful yet, probably just enough to burn through lightweight to medium materials, but his aim is to learn to make them much stronger as he grows for potential offensive purposes.

Daniel recently broke through to a new potential when facing his brother in a life-or-death situation. Preparing to possibly take down his own flesh and blood, he thought of the happiest moment he had with Jacob (when they were reunited after thirteen years) and reached into his powers for all he had. Daniel covered his entire body with photons and electrons and supercharged them with energy to ignite them brightly. He pushes even further and the photons merge with his body and he becomes a body of pure light, shining as bright as a star. Once this happens, the light gives off its own energy, instead of relying on Daniel for his energy. Dan took and reused this energy to have an infinite output of energy. The heat that would normally be generated from this type of massive energy output was contained very close to Dan's body, because he was intaking the energy to recycle outward, and the light energy that went outward was devoid of heat. However, if his actual body touches something, it would succumb to the incredible heat. He was able to push Jacob's Darkforce energy back in this form. He also showed a possible ability of flight while in this state.




Dan’s mutation includes a film over the cornea of his own eyes, which protects the innards of his eyes from any damage from any kind of light or radiation, naturally occurring or artificial. Daniel could look directly into the sun and not be harmed. However, sudden changes in light can slightly affect him like any person, Dan is simply more shielded and can "adjust" quicker. This allows Dan to use his powers and not be affected by how bright he makes the air. Dan is also working on a way to make "one-way light." Which, in essence, would involve, for example, darkening only the outward half of the molecules so that those around him cannot see through the darkness, but Dan's side of the molecules would remain normal, allowing him to see still.







In Light and Shadow