John watched from the observation window above the shuttle bay as his people got ready to spar. He knew from personal experience that his brother was a formidable warrior, but he also knew how dangerous his crew was. Zaeed took a spot to his right, silently staring as the two three-man teams prepped and Marcus paced like a caged tiger.
"Fifty on the boy," Zaeed said with a grin; the man loved long odds and a good bet.
"Make it a hundred and you got a bet," Kasumi retorted, uncloaking to Shepard's left. He felt Tali come up behind him, obviously not feeling the same level of confidence as her companions.
"Are you sure about this Shepard? We don't know how strong he is, no matter what happened to him."
"Don't worry, it's just sparring. Besides, I have a feeling were about to be in for a treat."
-IN THE SHUTTLE BAY-
Marcus paced and loosened up, eager for the chance to show off his skills and blow off some steam. He looked at the two groups he was about to fight. The fighters were huddled together, obviously coming up with a battle plan to use their respective talents to take him down efficiently. He didn't bother using his enhanced senses to try and listen in; he didn't need to cheat to win. The biotics didn't seem to be communicating at all, and he could sense some tension between the two humans. The brunette smelled familiar, but he couldn't place where the scent. The tattooed one simply stared at him, like she was sizing him up for more than just a fight. The asari sat and meditated, glowing blue with biotic energy. He turned his back to them and peeled off his t-shirt, not wanting to ruin one of his only shirts. The wolf whistles coming from the women were something he hadn't quite expected, but they didn't go unappreciated.
The first match was hand-to-hand. Marcus stood in the center of the makeshift ring as the trio surrounded him, and opened up with some nonchalant banter.
"Before we get started, I believe some introductions are in order. Seeing as, despite what happens here, I will be serving with you gentlemen, I'd at least like to know the names of the men who's asses I'm about to kick." Grunt, in his own way, obliged him.
"Ha! Check out the quad on this one! You know me and Garrus boy. The human is Jacob Taylor. Now let's see if you can back up that big talk!" and with that, the massive krogan charged. Not to be outdone, Marcus took off at a run and met him head on. The two collided at full steam and, to everyone's shock, Marcus drove Grunt back a few steps. The two struggled for a few seconds before the massive human brought a fierce uppercut to Grunt's meaty jaw. As he stumbled back, both Jacob and Garrus danced in to take his place, and thus the exchange began. Garrus, Jacob, and Grunt were all brilliant fighters and landed more than a few solid hits and kicks, but Marcus was a machine, dodging and countering the vast majority of their attacks and returning with his own. Before long, all four were bruised and bloody before Marcus finally floored Jacob, caught Garrus with a roundhouse, and tackled Grunt with so much force he picked his massive frame off the ground before slamming him to the ground. Shepard called an end to it, seeing more than enough. Marcus picked his teammates off the ground and slapped them each on the back good-naturedly, sharing a few laughs as they nursed their wounds. Marcus walked back to the ring, waiting for the biotics.
They slowly and deliberately encircled him, much more cautious than the brawlers. He couldn't help but notice the incredible figures surrounding him, but he felt this was another tactic of the women, trying to draw his focus. The asari spoke up, offering their introductions.
"I must say young one, you are an honorable and formidable opponent, one that I look forward to dueling. My name is Samara, and I am an asari justicar." After Samara's show of respect, which he answered with a bow of his own, the tattooed one spoke,
"You can call me Jack. I gotta say, hotshot, if your body is made for more than fighting, you need to come visit and let me take it for a test ride sometime," winking to stress the point. Even at twenty-one years old, Marcus blushed like an awkward teenager, drawing a giggle from Jack. Finally, the other human spoke as she circled.
"Marcus, my name is Miranda Lawson, Shepard's XO and…"
"What...What did you just say?" Marcus snapped. He hadn't heard that name in over a year, but it still enraged him to his core. Before Miranda could answer, he flared his biotics and started towards her. Before he let the rage blind him, he heard his brother over the intercom.
"Stand down Marcus, she has every reason to hate the man as much as you do. Calm down and I will let her tell you her own horror stories about Henry Lawson." Marcus didn't take his eyes off her one second, impressed that she refused to break his gaze as well. He could see her understanding, her pity, hell even her pain. He bowed lowest to her and offered his apologies,
"Forgive, Ms. Lawson, though I will be taking up that offer to hear your story. Forget this little incident, and I'll forget the fact that you're sleeping with my brother." He knew he'd struck gold with that comment as she turned ghost white.
"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"Please Miranda, don't insult my intelligence. Of all the women on this ship, you were the only one who looked me strictly in the eyes instead of literally every inch of my body like the rest of the team. That leaves us with a few options: one, you're gay. If that's true, more power too ya, but I think the looks you give my brother, particularly his ass, rule that option out. Two, you find me repulsive, which may very well be true, though Jack's catcalls and the other ladies' ogling makes me doubt. That leaves option three, you're already rutting with someone on this ship. Now, you are obviously a woman who is used to being in charge and giving orders, so the only person who would present a challenge to you is someone you couldn't order around, someone who would take charge for a change, someone like, oh I don't know, the commander of this ship. By the rapidly increasing blush on your cheeks, Detective Marcus is gonna choose option three."
Miranda was struck speechless, a position she could honestly say she had never been in before. Even if she could have formed a coherent retort to Marcus' assumptions, no matter how true, she would have been drowned out by Jack's laughter. Jacob couldn't believe his ears, Garrus chuckled at the young man's perceptiveness, audacity, and his innate ability to melt the "Ice Queen" in under a minute. Up in the observation deck, Zaeed grumbled as he handed over a stack of credits to a cackling Kasumi, Shepard shook his head, which had turned its own impressive shade of crimson, and Tali nervously twisted her hands like she always did when she was busted. After a moment of hilarious uncertainty, John finally composed himself and came over the intercom.
"Alright Marcus, if you're done making my crew an awkward mess let's get back to the combat!"
The massive warrior allowed himself one final chuckle before widening his stance and flaring his biotics. As the women moved all around him, he did his best to keep them in front of him to maintain a line of sight, but he quickly realized this was futile. No matter what he did they would eventually encircle him, so he decided to let his other senses do the work for him. Jack, to no one's surprise, was the first one to attack, using a biotic charge to close the distance and take him down, but Marcus easily sidestepped her, almost sending the convict crashing into Samara. The Justicar used her centuries of experience to deftly avoid a collision while also never turning her back on her opponent, but this confrontation was between those who didn't need physical contact to hurt each other. Marcus caught her midair with a powerful slam, not enough to hurt her but certainly enough to shake her concentration. He threw his massive body at her, trying to take advantage of her weakened state, only to feel his body stopped cold by a very powerful singularity field. He cocked his head, amused by the smug expression that Miranda wore. Before she could do any real damage, he threw a Slam at her, breaking her concentration as she threw up her barrier, effectively releasing the singularity. The massive biotic used the distraction to try and roll to cover, only to be met by another biotic charge from Jack. He went flying across the shuttle bay, smacking into a large stack of ammo crates. He felt his ribs break, but this only enraged him as he heard Jack laugh. Without a second thought, he threw one of the boxes at the sound of her laugh, knowing his aim was true by her scream, "FUCK!" before she leaped out of the way. As he forced himself to look up, he noticed her smirk had evolved into more of a snarl. Oh boy, now it gets interesting. She charged at him again, trying to hit him with a Warp to subdue him. Thankfully, his regenerative DNA had kicked in and partially healed his ribs; he rolled away from her into cover, trying to let his body finish the healing process. Before he got comfortable, he felt himself being lifted slowly off the floor. Damn it, how'd I forget the fuckin' Justicar? He felt himself being lifted up, thankful that she didn't seem interested in paralyzing his limbs, thinking she had him beat.
"Young one, I have lived for almost a thousand years and I have only fought a handful of warriors with your abilities. You are without a doubt a foe worthy of respect and fear, but-" she found herself interrupted by his low, humorless chuckling. Irritated, she addressed him, "I'm sorry, I fail to see where I became amusing." Marcus looked at her and almost felt guilty for annoying her, like a child admonished by their mother. Jack and Miranda had picked themselves up off the ground and standing next to their comrade. Oh, this was going to be sweet.
"Apologies, madam Justicar, I don't find anything you said amusing. What I find amusing is someone with your combat experience letting your guard down." She looked at him with a puzzled expression, only to be caught with a decent sized shockwave, not enough to put her or the other two down, but enough to cause a stumble. When they looked back, they saw Marcus flying towards the ceiling. As soon as his feet made contact, the massive human made a point to make eye contact with the trio before flying to the floor at full biotics-enhanced speed. When he made contact, he released all the energy had gathered while in Samara's grip. The three biotics could do nothing but curse as a massive wall of energy came hurtling at them. Once it hit them, they felt themselves flying backwards at incredible speed. Had they actually hit the walls, their chances of survival would have been slim to none. Thankfully, Marcus caught all three of them in a field of his own, stopping their flight. He brought the three of them within feet of him and gently placed them on the ground. They looked at him in awe; what he just did should have left him exhausted at the very minimum, yet there he stood strong and defiant with a smirk on his face. He reached his hands out, helping them up to their feet before giving each a small bow of respect. Miranda and Samara returned the bow with grace, but Jack answered him the only way she knew how.
"Yep, I'm gonna fuck your brains out junior."