From his conception, Marcus was destined for great and terrible things.

The Galatons were a thriving conglomerate in the galaxy, investing heavily in the Planet Trade. What planets they decided to keep were enslaved for their resources and wealth, and those that were classified as useless were erased from existence. Despite their outward malevolence, and lack of anything resembling "community," Gale had a thriving economy due to their success in the planet trade. They didn't concern themselves with their own resources. After all, the black rock had little value to begin with, and thousands of planets holding seemingly limitless bounty were ripe for harvest.

It was here, approximately twelve hundred years prior to present time, that things began to grow very tumultuous for the North Quadrant. So began the "Millennium Cleanse," as the Galatons fondly referred to it. During this grim period, planets incapable of sustaining a Galaton colony were destroyed, an often deleterious enterprise to any inhabitants of that planet's solar system. Any race not capable of defending itself was annihilated for weakness. Those powerful enough to put up a fight were warred with until defeated. According to Galaton record, two thousand, four hundred and twenty six planets were destroyed over the span of the millennium.

Lestair and Iliae, the emperor and empress of Planet Gale and its colonies, were well known throughout the North Quadrant for their ruthlessness, as they were the originators of the Millennium Cleanse. So when Marcus first entered the world, it came as no surprise that he took after his parents. But what happened during his tenth year of age shocked even the most hateful of Galatons. Marcus lusted for the throne, almost since his birth. He deemed it necessary to take control at the soonest possible moment, be it by force or otherwise. His parents didn't even have time to feel the flesh melt off of their bones as they were disintegrated.

That was the moment he attained Suscitatis.

Suscitatis or "The Awakening," is akin to a light switch; only instead of illumination and enlightenment, the warrior is plunged into a chasm of malice and hatred. Purged of all light within him, a black hole of seemingly limitless power is created. Marcus thrived in his newfound state, and took his power to new heights. He ruled over the Galaton Empire for a century, delving into the planet trade with an aggression rivaled only by its leader, Frieza. Gale itself fell into a state of disrepair. No one questioned him, or doubted his rule, mostly for fear for their lives. That is, until Marcus began to detest not only those who were weak among other races, but also those of his own kind.

Fighting trials were established to weed out the weakest of his race. They were tournaments, fights to the death, and the victor claimed his prize, the right to live.

At first, the Galatons made sport of it, delight at seeing the more pathetic of his kind slaughtered in combat. But as time went on, a disquieted murmur spread through Gale, and things began to crumble. An underground movement to overthrow Marcus stirred in the shadows. Many Galatons had been killed in the trials, prompting ill feelings toward their emperor. Then, the whispers turned into action.

The riots started small, barely a hundred or so Galatons to an event, and were usually squashed by Marcus' Rominen, the Galaton equivalent to the Gestapo. However, more and more gathered in the violent protests, and the Rominen had difficulty keeping them subdued. As the riots grew larger, Marcus eventually came to the conclusion that ruling this planet and his people was no longer beneficent to him.

The horrific genocide was the first of many.

He was not satisfied with the systematic murder of his own race, so he spread to other worlds, murdering the inhabitants without conscience or restraint. Billions of lives were lost, swallowed in his magenta bursts of malevolent energy. It wasn't until he arrived on a small planet in the Proxima Centauri system that his attitude began to change.

Tetsau was home to a peaceful race called the Ergonites. Before, when he partook in the planet trade, he might have made use of Tetsau for resources. It was rich and abundant with crops, and the people were easily malleable. But after his less-than-congenial attitude adjustment, he would not have spared an expert fighting squad, much less a population of easily enslaved workers.

Two Saiyans also resided on Proxima Centauri, with their daughter, who was little more than two years of age. Jeiden and Selera sensed Marcus approaching, and made their final preparations. Marcus at first treated them as little more than weak opponents, but grew intrigued when he found something laying deep in Jeiden's mind with his own telepathic abilities. They tried in vain to fend him off, but were easily defeated.

Marcus found the underground bunker that their daughter was hidden in, and had every intention of killing his destined opponent when he reached it. However, when he saw her, he could not bring himself to do it. It certainly wasn't because she was a child. In fact, Marcus frequently reveled in his reputation as a slaughterer of children.

For so long he had contented to wander the galaxy without a purpose, destroying every life form that did not escape his gaze. He had always taken a sick pleasure in their demise, up until recently. To his befuddlement, he was beginning to grow bored with his endeavors. In hindsight, perhaps leaving a few alive to torture would have been more amusing, but even he did not believe that the longevity of their suffering had any effect on his current state of mind. When he saw the vision in Jeiden's head, a yearning for a challenge took hold in his blackened heart. But even the promise of a battle was simply not enough for Marcus. It would be all too easy to put a tracking device on her ship, and all too boring to wait impatiently for twenty years. It was this notion that helped him come up with the idea for a galactic scavenger hunt, with Aria as the main prize. He could continue his dirty deeds of annihilating planets along the way, but now, he had something to look for.

And so, he let her live, and sent her into the depths of space, unheeding of her direction, until now. It was a small blip in his senses from this distance, but large enough cause him to awaken from his own deep meditation. It was definitely a power level. That much was clear. But what in the world could generate a power like that?

Unless…

A malevolent smile adorned his features, and a silent cackle erupted from his chest, inaudible in the vacuum of space.