"What's our ETA Joker?" Commander Victoria Shepard asked the Flight Lieutenant as she stepped into the cockpit of the new and improved Normandy SR-2. She was followed by her "XO" Miranda Lawson, who only got the job because there were literally no other options. If someone told Victoria a week ago that she'd be working with Ceberus she'd have… done nothing really because a week ago she was dead. Or close enough to it that there was no distinguishing between the two.

Immediately, she tried to push the thoughts from her mind. She still wasn't ready to face the facts. She had been killed. Literally and clinically fucking dead. Yet, here she stood in a vastly improved version of her trusty frigate that had died right alongside her two years ago. Joker was here flying just as expertly as before, maybe even a little better thanks to the shackled AI that he was begrudgingly forced to accept. Hell, even good ol' Doctor Chakwas was down in the med bay.

It was fucking surreal.

Mind blowing.

Impossible.

But, it was happening all the same and whether she liked it or not there was yet another boogeyman plaguing the galaxy that she had to deal with. A boogeyman, mind you, that was possibly related to the other boogeyman that was already scratching at the door.

"ETA: Three minutes, Commander." Said a voice that was most certainly not Joker, pulling her from her rapidly spiraling train of thought.

"Hey! HAL 9000, she asked me. You don't hear me going around telling the Commander what every room on the ship is for… ETA: Three minutes, Commander." Shepard couldn't hide her smirk at Joker's indignation.

`Leave it to Joker to get angry about his work being done for him.' She thought to herself. "Thank you kindly, EDI. Guess you gotta be quicker than that Joker." Victoria teased the pilot.

"Yeah. well sorry I don't form thoughts at the speed of light. Must've missed that software update."

Victoria chuckled.

"EDI, do you have any other information for us about the nature of the signal before we arrive." Asked Miranda, completely ignoring the antics of the other two humans beside her.

"All relevant information remains the same: Alliance satellites picked up a faint signal of unknown origin at the edge of the Sol System. The signal, while inherently strange, was made even more so by the fact that it seemed to be classical Earth music dated back to the eighteenth century. Rather than waste time sending an official ship out to investigate, Admiral Steven Hackett elected to ask Commander Shepard to investigate as a means of reestablishing contact and rapport between herself and the Human Systems Alliance."

"Hey, what do you wanna bet we'll find Beethoven himself out here, I mean if Shepard can come back to life anything's possible." Quipped Joker.

That elicited a chuckle from Victoria. "My money's on Mozart returning to finish his Requiem."

Miranda rolled her eyes, "Do you two take anything seriously." Though she was fighting off a smirk of her own rather successfully.

"What's there to be serious about? It's just some random signal in the middle of space, for all we know somebody could've spaced a radio by accident. We're only doing this to show the Alliance that they can still call on us in the future if need be. Relax." Shepard said to the scantily clad brunette.

"I still say we should be prepared for anything."

"Commander, we are arriving at the source of the signal." EDI informed as the ship slowed to a crawl. "However, as we draw closer I am picking up some rather strange readings."

"Well don't keep us waiting. What do you see?" Victoria asked in anticipation.

"The source seems to be… I think it's a human." The shock was evident across all their faces.

Shepard was the first to break out of her stupor, "What do you mean a human? Is there no ship around?"

"If you head down to the Port Observation room on the crew deck, the object should be in view."

Shepard and Miranda were already rushing to the elevator before the AI had even finished her sentence. They jumped in with Jacob who just happened to be headed to the mess hall to get some food.

"Woah, what's the rush, Commander?" He asked as the two women nearly plowed into him.

"That signal Hackett sent us to find is apparently a guy that got spaced. We're heading to Port Observation to get a closer look."

Jacob looked wide-eyed before shrugging. "Shit, count me in."

After what felt like an eternity the three finally arrived on the crew deck. "Did Cerberus run out of money when they got to the elevator? Fucking things slower than the original."

"Commander, I'm picking up life signs, whoever they are, they're still alive!" EDI called out from the speakers.

"What the fuck is going on?" Victoria mumbled as she rushed to the Observation room. When the door opened and the trio rushed in Kasumi jumped in fright as she had been sitting down reading one of her books. The first thing Shepard did upon gaining command of the new Normandy, was head to the Citadel to check in with Councilor Anderson and inform him that she was in fact still alive. It was pure coincidence that one of the people in the dossiers she had been given for building her team was also on the Citadel. Kasumi Goto, Master Thief extraordinaire. She seemed nice enough by Victoria's account, though they hadn't yet had the opportunity to have any meaningful conversation.

"What the hell happened?!" She asked but was completely ignored as Shepard, Miranda, and Jacob laid eyes on the source of the signal.

"Is… is that a robot?" Jacob asked bewildered. No one could fault him for thinking so for floating out in the void of space was a giant suit of retro-futuristic armor. It was still a ways away so Victoria couldn't tell just how big it was, but if she had to hazard a guess she'd say it was about the size of a Krogan Battlemaster. It was colored navy blue except for what looked like the Red, White & Blue of the American flag on its massive shoulder plates. There was a symbol on the right side of the breast plate that she couldn't quite make out from this distance but it almost looked like a star. The helmet was unlike anything Victoria had seen before, well the entire thing was abnormal but doubly so for the helmet. It was almost bug-like in design with beady black eyes that seemed to stare into her soul while still appearing lifeless.

It was unnerving to say the least.

"EDI? You said this thing was alive?" Shepard asked the AI.

"Yes Commander. I'm picking up a pulse although it is slowing. If you intend to rescue them I suggest you act quickly." EDI suggested.

"Alright then, EDI I want you to get everybody out of the Shuttle Bay and then depressurize it. You're gonna line us up with it and open the door and I'm gonna reel it in with my biotics." She wasted no more time as she rushed back to the elevator and pressed the button to the Captain's Cabin. Her mind was racing. Who is this person, where'd they come from, what's with the armor and patriotism to a nation that technically doesn't exist anymore. So many questions and if this fucking elevator didn't hurry up then she'd never get the answers.

At long last the elevator arrived at the top and Victoria raced to put on her armor. Whereas most N7 graduates would forgo the basic armor almost immediately after leaving The Villa, Victoria rather liked the aesthetic it provided along with the added protection and ease of movement compared to other, more bulky armors. The only modification she made was to replace the red stripe running down the right arm with a deep purple to match her biotics. It also helped that the basic armor is naturally more reliable than most others. Even still her fighting style relied mostly on not getting hit so this worked out just fine for her.

She rushed back to the elevator and once again had to wait for the damn thing to come back up from Deck 3 where the crew in the Shuttle Bay got off. "EDI!?" She called out.

"Yes, Commander?" The AI answered.

"Remind me to get these elevators sped up the next we're in port."

"Would you like for me to activate the secondary hydraulics?"

At that moment a vein on Victoria's forehead appeared and looked fit to burst. "Why in fuck's name wasn't that on by default?"

"It was supposed to be used for emergency situations as it uses extra power."

"How much?"

"Secondary hydraulics use an extra 1.3% of power."

By this point Victoria's frustration was peaking to the point where her Biotics were visibly rolling across her body in waves. "EDI. Do not, under any circumstances, turn off the secondary hydraulics!"

"Understood Commander."

WIth that cleared up Victoria stepped into the elevator and enjoyed the quickest elevator ride she felt since leaving Earth. "Alright EDI, prepare to open the hangar door." Seconds later the air began to vent from the room and Victoria's helmet activated to provide her with fresh oxygen.

Slowly the giant hangar door began to fall and out in the black void of space floated the hulking suit of armor.

"Okay, V. You got this, just gotta pull him in. I mean how heavy can he be?" She psyched herself up as she began to pool Biotic energies into her hands, focusing on trying not to damage the armor and only affect the gravitational pull. After all, she very rarely used her biotics for anything other than destruction. She took aim and threw her fist forward and a ball of purple energy shot out and hooked onto the leg of the armor and with all of her strength she pulled to reel it in.

Even with the added benefit of the weightlessness that space provides the suit of armor was still incredibly heavy. Victoria ended up having to seriously exert herself just to move the damn thing.

Finally, after much effort, she managed to get the armor inside the ship. "EDI!" She yelled out, not bothering to explain what she needed. A moment later the door shut and air began to flood the Shuttle Bay once again. "God, that was difficult. Alright EDI, send Miranda and Jacob down and start running some more scans. See if you can find a way to open this thing."

Victoria slumped to the ground and removed her helmet as she waited for the two Cerberus agents to arrive. She ran her fingers through her black, pixie cut hair as her mind raced with all the possibilities of who the person inside was, where they came from, who made the armor and, most importantly, whether or not they'd be willing to help in the fight against the Collectors.

"Shit just keeps getting weirder."

-XXXXXXX-

(Not too long ago in a Universe not so far away)

Today is a momentous day for the Wasteland, not just the Commonwealth, but all of Post-War America. Today after many years of hard work and technological innovation, the combined powers of The Commonwealth, New Vegas, and The Capital Wasteland embark on a journey to hopeful salvation. Back in 2289 a low level Institute scientist by the name of Vernon Jones was running diagnostics on the Molecular Relay when suddenly a glowing blue rock the size of a basketball appeared in a violent explosion that cost him an arm. This rock sparked the discussion of the possibility of Alternate Realities.

Of course the Multiverse Theory has always been around, even long before the Great War, but this discovery provided undeniable proof that there are realities where certain substances and elements exist that aren't present in what was now dubbed as "Fallout Earth." Of course that name relied on this other reality having its own version of Earth, hopefully one that hadn't been nuked to Hell.

Once this discovery was made it was immediately brought to the attention of the Director of The Institute, Marcus Greene who was quick to sign off on gathering the resources required to open a passage between Fallout Earth and whatever reality the stone came from. Work began immediately, and didn't stop for seven whole years.

-XXXXXXX-

Marcus Greene, The Sole Survivor of Vault 111, General of The Commonwealth Minutemen, Railroad Heavy, and Director of The Institute. In 2287 he rose from Vault 111 and went on a mad dash across the Commonwealth in search of his kidnapped son. Along the way he made many friends and enemies and without even intending became the symbol of all that is good in the

world.

-XXXXXXX-

In 2290 it was brought to Marcus's attention that there existed a pre-war research center somewhere in Nevada that may have helpful information. It was apparently run by a group of mad scientists who more than likely would have been doing some kind of crazy experiment along the lines of what they were trying to achieve. This prompted Marcus to begin planning an expedition to Big Mountain to search for anything that may aid the research team.

To do so he called upon the help of Elder Wander Ainsley of the Brotherhood of Steel to see if it would be possible to use The Prydwen to take him across the breadth of America.

-XXXXXXX-

Wander Ainsley, or as he is more commonly known, The Lone Wanderer was chosen to take leadership over The Brotherhood of Steel after Marcus defeated the former Elder Arthur Maxson in combat to usurp the throne and put an end to the war brewing between The Brotherhood, The Institute, The Railroad, and even the always peaceful Minutemen.

Although he had rightfully challenged and defeated Maxson, he knew that there would be many members of the Brotherhood who would not concede to his rule. Ergo, he turned his power over to a man who shared his views of the world and also commanded the unending respect of every single man, woman and child in the Brotherhood of Steel.

Where Maxson wanted to simply destroy The Institute and all the technological advancements they had made, Wander understood the necessity of holding onto their knowledge and using it to rebuild the world.

With that conflict quelled, Marcus went on to talk the Institute into releasing all 3rd Gen Synths into the hands of The Railroad where they could be given new lives away from captivity. Arguing that, whether they meant to or not, they had created fully sentient beings who were being kept as slaves. That was another crisis averted, and finally allowed the Commonwealth to begin working toward a collective peace.

-XXXXXXX-

Wander agreed, understanding that this mission may provide hope to a world that had gone too long without any.

However, when they reached Big MT they discovered that not only was it still operational, it was protected by an army of one-wheeled robots with massive guns and cartoonish soldier faces on a screen. Despite how ridiculous they looked they put up a strong fight along with the creepy robot scorpions they also had at their side.

But neither of those threats could hold a candle to the woman with the 38 on her back. She was impossibly deadly, matched only by The Lone Wanderer and The Sole Survivor themselves and even they struggled against her. The three of them fought for a full 24 hours, all Commonwealth and Robot forces called back to avoid collateral, before Marcus had the bright idea to try and talk to the woman and explain why they had come. Of course this came after they were all at the point of exhaustion and were coming to terms with the fact they might never actually kill each other.

Marcus and Wander then found out that the woman's name was Cassandra, the infamous Courier Six.

-XXXXXXX-

Cassandra Ryder, the woman who brought two nations to their knees. The stories surrounding her are those of legend. They say she kicked down the door of Caesar's Fort and carved a bloody swath straight to the man himself and put a full clip between his eyes. Or the time she raced through the artillery bombardment of The Boomers and within a few days earned their trust and their support in the upcoming war.

She now stands at the head of an Independent New Vegas, ensuring that the people of the Mojave live free and healthy lives without the threat of imminent war looming over their heads. Having instilled the fear of God and herself in the hearts of every raider, thug, or lowlife allowed her time to begin rebuilding and providing a better way of life for all.

-XXXXXXX-

Once things were cleared up and the situation was explained, Cassandra was quick to offer her help along with that of the Think Tank. Afterwards work sped up considerably, the Think Tank, though eccentric they may be, were still some of the most brilliant minds of the pre-war era. Partnered up with the fresh, and still sane, minds of The Institute made cracking the secrets of the multiverse a cakewalk.

However, there were other advancements that needed to be made. Specifically to the armor of "The Wanderers." It was decided early on that they would be sent through one-by-one to ensure safety and hopefully broker an agreement with whatever heads of state they may find on the other side. So, three new styles of Power Armor were developed, the X-111, the X-101, and the X-38. This type was specifically designed to withstand virtually any environment. With state of the art cooling and heating systems, a massive supply of oxygen and even hermetic sealing, the person inside would be protected from virtually anything, even the harsh vacuum of space itself.

Holographic interfaces inside the helmets allowed for in depth understanding of the armor's status as well as monitoring the vitals of the wearer. The user can scan the armaments and potential capabilities of enemies and using what the scientists call a 'Dumb AI,' can even provide insight on potential weakpoints and real time strategies when facing overwhelming odds.

The armor also allows for the integration of the Pip-Boy's digitization feature which allows each Wanderer to store their weapons and armor and call them out at will. As well as magnetic clamps on various parts of the armor to allow easy access without scrolling through the weapon list.

In emergency situations the armor will enter a lockdown and the wearer will be placed in a stasis condition until outward sensors deemed the environment to be safe. In this state an incredibly powerful energy shield, courtesy of technology taken from Mothership Zeta mixed with the force fields from Big MT, will activate around the wearer so that even if the armor itself was breached the person inside will be perfectly safe from any physical attack.

The amount of technological innovation involved in this project was probably enough to simply get civilization on the right check all on its own. However, everyone involved was committed to accessing the multiverse and all the potential it held. So they continued to work. While the scientists and engineers and all the other eggheads worked on the "Trans-dimensional Molecular Relay" that left The Wanderers to work on ensuring that chaos didn't reign in their respective territories while they were away.

They each went back to their own homes and organizations to smooth out any wrinkles that may arise while they were gone. For Marcus that meant cleaning up all remaining Raiders, specifically the gangs that had holed up recently in Nuka World. That was easy enough with the new X-111 Power Armor, their primitive weapons couldn't even dent the armor of the suit. In only a few hours Nuka World was wiped clean of all Raiders and the slaves were set free. The Minutemen then moved in to provide support for the now liberated slaves and Nuka World was set to become a thriving new settlement/military outpost.

Wander returned to the Capital Wasteland intent on ironing out any wrinkles on his command of the Brotherhood. He needed to ensure that while he was gone they would resort back to their base xenophobic, fanatical tendencies. This meant ensuring that the person who was left in charge in his absence held the same core values as himself and the other Wanderers. Who better than the recently resurfaced Sarah Lyons. She was forced into hiding by the former Brotherhood Outcasts when they began plotting her downfall so that the Brotherhood could be brought back under the command of the last true Maxson. She faked her death and ceased any and all contact with anyone affiliated with the Brotherhood. When rumor began circulating around the Wasteland that the Lone Wanderer was now at the head of the Brotherhood, she took her chances and revealed herself to her old friend. He was ecstatic to see her alive and well and she was quickly brought back into the fold. Her first act was to weed out the corruption of those that conspired against her and bring their dark deeds into the light. Needless to say, Wander was confident in leaving her in charge while he was gone.

Cassandra's job was very reminiscent of Marcus's, only instead of Raiders she needed to deal with the remnants of the Legion. They were already running scared with their tails between their legs after she handed Lanius his ass at Hoover Dam, but every now and again she'd have to fight off an attempted assassination, which implied there was still some semblance of an organized contingent of soldiers. So she went hunting, and the bastards didn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, just when she thought her job was done, the NCR decided it was time to try and take back New Vegas by force. Rather than wage a long and drawn out war she strolled into Shady Sands in her new X-38 Power Armor and an army of Securitrons at her back and cut a bloody swath to the Capitol Building in much the same way as she had done to Caesar. When she left Shady Sands, the entire NCR began to crumble soon after. She was now ready to embark on the mission.

-XXXXXXX-

Shepard - Normandy SR-2 Shuttle Bay - 2 Hours Later

"This shield is damn tough, Commander. It's like trying to take down a dreadnought with a pistol. The only good news I have is that scans say the vitals inside of the person inside are solid. All we can do now is wait for them to wake up." Explained Kenneth Donnelly, one of the resident engineers aboard this new Normandy. As soon as Shepard gave the all clear Miranda, Jacob, Chakwas, and Daniels and Donnely (affectionately nicknamed Danielly by the Commander after only a few conversations with the pair) charged into the room to run scans.

"Ugh, I hate waiting games. Is there any other information you can give me? Specs on the armor." Victoria asked. Her curiosity was absolutely piqued and would no doubt remain so until their mysterious rescue woke up.

"It's incredible! We can't get too deep into the inner workings because of the shield, but just from looking at it we can tell that the armor alone could probably hold up against an Atlas Mech." Said Donnelly. He didn't mention it out loud but the sight of the thing was nerve racking, it stood at around 9 feet tall and looked far too human for comfort. The Atlas Mechs, while certainly taller and wider, were clearly robotic in nature and allowed the pilot's face to be seen. This thing completely encased the person inside, stopping anyone from seeing their expression. The human-like shape bothered Donnelly because there was nothing in the galaxy as horrifying as a pissed off, heavily armed human. War-like species such as the Turians and Krogan were, for the most part, predictable in their anger, but humans - even untrained ones - had a capacity for violence and mayhem that was simply unmatched.

"The hydraulic systems allow for a wide range of movement. We won't know for certain until we see it in action, but I think the suit will allow the user to move almost as if they weren't wearing a 2 ton suit of armor." Said Gabby Daniels the more level headed half of the engineering duo.

"Get this, Shepard, it runs on nuclear fusion! This thing could power a small settlement for decades before it even began to run out of juice. It's basically a miniature nuclear reactor."

"Should we be worried about radiation?" Asked Shepard cautiously.

"Not at all, the suit has excellent radiation shielding. Not a single rad escapes it. I've never seen anything like it. If we're assuming that the person inside is human based off of the obvious patriotic paint job, then it begs the question of just where they came from. The Alliance, or any species for that matter, has nothing like this in their arsenal." Said Daniels.

"So then the question we're still left with is just where did they come from." Victoria cupped her chin in thought as her mind raced through possibilities. Had this been during the hunt for Saren she would've immediately assumed Cerberus involvement. Of course now she was working with Cerberus and they clearly had no idea what was going on. Some other shadowy human organization, maybe? One with an infatuation for a bygone nation. She was born on Mindoir so she really didn't know much about the old United States of America but she couldn't imagine that an obsession for the ways of old was good in any capacity. Humanity had come so far since the discovery of life outside its solar system and had actually managed to come together in a way that would've once seemed impossible. Any organization that wanted to do away with that progress was immediately put on her watch list.

"Commander, we are nearing Omega." Said the Normandy's resident AI over her omni-tool.

"Thank you, EDI. Tell Kasumi to gear up. I'm taking her with me on this one." She then turned to Miranda who was looking over the diagnostics of the armor with a different team of engineers. "You too, hotness. You're coming with me."

Miranda, already informed of Shepard's eccentricities, ignored the nickname in favor of replying with her desire to remain on board the Normandy. "I think it would be better for me to remain on board the Normandy at this time, Shepard. If the person inside this armor wakes up while the both of us are gone and turns out to be hostile it would be best if one of us were here to organize everyone on board."

Victoria couldn't find any fault in her logic and thus conceded. "Fair enough. I guess I'll take Jacob instead. EDI, inform Jacob that he'll be accompanying me and Kasumi to recruit the people on Omega."

"Right away, Commander."

"If they wake up you are to contact me immediately. I don't want you filling their head with any Cerberus propaganda while I can't do anything about it." Shepard said to the Cerberus Operative, a stoney look in her eyes that dared the woman to disobey.

Miranda simply smirked somewhat cheekily. "Ye of little faith, Commander. I won't try anything underhanded, Shepard. Of course, I will be sending a report back to The Illusive Man once I'm done here."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Of course you will. Can't leave good ol' Timmy in the dark."

"Timmy?" Asked Miranda.

Shepard grinned. "Like it? T.I.M, Tim. I can't wait to say it to his face." The chuckle that escaped her lips was borderline evil.

"For someone so incredibly deadly in combat, you really are childish."

"If you can't have fun every now and again then what's the point in living?" With that last bit of philosophizing Shepard headed toward the elevator. She still needed to prepare her weapons for the upcoming recruitments. Knowing her luck it was almost impossible for there not to be copious amounts of gunfire.

-XXXXXXX-

Marcus - Inside the X-111 Power Armor - 45 Minutes After Shepard's Departure

Marcus's head was reeling. It vaguely reminded him of coming out of cryo all those years ago in Vault 111. As he gathered his senses and the armor's HUD booted up he immediately noticed that he was surrounded on all sides. The people around him seemed human enough, but considering the fact that he had just traveled to another dimension, it was best not to assume anything. He decided to wait and listen for any information about where he was and who these people were.

"Are we certain there is no way to open this armor? For all we know the person inside could be comatose." Following the direction of the Australian accented voice, Marcus saw a brunette woman wearing a skintight white catsuit. On her left arm was a strange glowing hologram that she looked to be typing into. Next to her was a redheaded man of a pale complexion and another woman with auburn colored hair. They both wore a matching uniform which implied they were in some form of regimented organization, even more apparent by the strange orange colored emblem on the shoulders of their short sleeve shirts.

The redheaded man was the next to speak, doing so in a heavy Scottish accent. "The only thing I could recommend would be a very precise EMP to shut down the systems in the armor and possibly disable the lockdown." The auburn haired woman then jumped in to finish for him.

"However, doing so could possibly harm the person inside. I don't think the Commander would be okay with that." While Marcus knew for a fact that the EMP wouldn't do him any physical harm, he could appreciate their desire not to put him in unnecessary danger. It meant that these people, and by extension their aforementioned Commander, were probably trustworthy.

"I'll handle the Commander. Unlocking the secrets of this armor is much more important than her and her stubborn righteousness. How soon can you prepare the EMP?" Aaand he spoke too soon. Clearly this woman was not of the same mind as this Commander. He needed to devise a plan to get out of here. Quickly.

The Scottish man and the auburn haired woman shared a look of hesitation before conceding to the wishes of the brunette. "It… it shouldn't be too hard. We just need to ensure the pulse is regulated to only affect the armor. Too powerful and it could shut down the entire ship, too weak and it won't have any effect on its intended target… We should have it ready in about thirty minutes." Said the auburn woman and then her and her partner walked off toward an elevator in the back of the room.

Thirty minutes. That's all he had to work with. To make matters worse, it seemed he was on a ship of some kind, which meant he was likely far away from any land. Things just got a lot more complicated.

-XXXXXXX-

Shepard - Afterlife Club - Omega Station

Victoria had quickly decided that she despised Aria T'Loak. The arrogant self-assured asari spoke to her as if she was her subordinate, as if Shepard couldn't dispatch her and all her cronies with just a little added effort. Alas, she had more important matters to attend to, so she sucked it and let the old blue lady continue to spew her bravado. When she was finally left it all proved to be worth it as she had gained information on the whereabouts of Dr. Mordin Solus and the vigilante Archangel.

Seeing as Archangel was currently fighting a last stand battle against the three most prominent mercenary outfits on Omega, Victoria decided it would be in hers and his best interest if she went to find him immediately. After signing her and her team up as cannon fodder for the merc groups to throw at the meat grinder that is Archangel, and stopping an aspiring young merc from making the worst and last mistake of his life, she stepped onto the air car that would take them to rendezvous point with the rest of the cannon fodder. Throughout all of this her mind was still stuck on the strange suit of power armor sitting in her ship. She desperately hoped that whoever was inside would at least stay unconscious until she returned. She dreaded to think what would happen if Miranda, and by extension, Tim, got their hands on that kind of tech.

-XXXXXXX-

Marcus - Normandy SR-2 Shuttle Bay - Thirty Minutes Later

Almost thirty minutes to the second the two engineers returned, at least Marcus assumed they were engineers. In the man's hands was a small circular device about as big as a hockey puck with a glowing blue light in the center.

"EMP is ready, Miranda. Though I still think this is a bad idea." He said.

"Noted. Hand it here." Replied the brunette, now named Miranda, took the EMP from the male engineer's hand and stalked over to Marcus.

"Welp, here goes nothing." In an instant the X-111 fully powered up and the bug-like lenses of his helmet lit up in a menacing shade of red. In the next moment he quickly shuffled through his list of weaponry on his internal Pip-Boy and with a flash of green light, Final Judgment appeared in his hands and began spinning up menacingly. "Stay back!" He commanded, his already deep and powerful voice made more intimidating by the synthesization of his helmet.

Immediately every armed guard in the shuttle bay had their weapons trained on him, and all non-combat personnel raced to find whatever cover they could find. Miranda immediately froze in her tracks, her confident smirk wiped from her face as she stared down the barrel of a very large and probably very deadly weapon.

"Woah! Everyone calm down!" She yelled to the soldiers, attempting to regain order. "This all a big misunderstanding, I'm certain we can work this out."

"Sure we can. All you have to do is let me off this ship and I'll be on my way. I've already analyzed your weaponry and you're little peashooters won't do a thing to my armor. Let me go and we won't have to see how well my weapon holds up against your flesh." He was mostly bluffing, while their weapons were largely ineffective in the short term, enough concentrated fire would eventually pose an issue. They had no way of knowing that, however and as such he noticed the looks of trepidation that settled behind the eyes of the soldiers.

"Is that a fact? And what about this EMP here? I assume the only reason you've revealed the fact that you're conscious is because this little device will cause an issue for you." Her devilish smirk had returned and it almost reminded him of Cassandra in a way. Courier Six had a way of conveying her vast superiority over most other people with nothing but a glance and a lopsided smirk. He immediately marked this woman as a threat, if only on the intellectual scale.

"That's a good point. I should rectify that." Without hesitation he suppressed the trigger and burning lances of red light began pouring out of the three barrels of Maxson's former weapon, aimed directly at the device in the woman's hand. Miranda, to her credit, immediately dove out of the way the second his finger twitched to pull the trigger. This showed Marcus that the woman was incredibly perceptive and equally as fast. She moved up a notch on his danger scale.

The second he fired, the guards in the room retaliated, hundreds of rounds pinged off his armor. His HUD barely registered any damage and as such he decided to push his luck. He didn't actually want to kill anyone seeing as it seemed this Miranda woman was going against the wishes of her Commander and therefore everyone here was simply following the orders of the next person in charge. With that in mind he digitized Final Judgment and surged forward, the powerful hydraulics in the suit propelling him to 26mph in only two steps. He collided with the table Miranda had flipped over and hid behind and sent the woman flying through air. He kept chugging along and smacked the rifle out of a guard's hands and grabbed his arm. He spun around and tossed the man into a group of guards to his left, knocking them over like bowling pins. He then dashed over to the male engineer that constructed the EMP and gripped him up by his shirt, pulling him in close to stare into the beady blood red eyes of the X-111.

"KEN!" Yelled the female engineer as her partner was lifted off the ground by the hulking metal monster.

"Where are the lifeboats?" He growled in his synthesized voice.

"Th-Th… I-" The man, Ken, was so terrified he couldn't form a cohesive thought.

"We're already docked! The lifepods aren't necessary, just let him go!" This came from Ken's partner who despite the chaos of the situation had a fire in her eyes that threatened absolute destruction if Marcus were to harm her friend. Out of respect for her tenacity he released the utterly terrified man. Not a moment later he was staggered by a tremendous force that collided with his right side and nearly toppled him over. He looked to his right and saw Miranda wreathed in a glowing aura like a violet colored phoenix, right palm stretched out toward him and murder in her blue eyes.

"Stand down!" She commanded him.

"Not gonna happen!" He roared back, already mentally scrolling through his arsenal. He didn't know what was up with her light show, but whatever she had done had nearly knocked him off his feet and that was no easy feat. She just jumped considerably higher on his threat index.

"I thought not." That same strange orange holograph appeared on her arm and she input some command into it and the next thing he knew the X-111 shut down, locking him in place before he could call out a weapon.

"How the f-" Then it dawned on him. When Miranda hit him with whatever strange force, she also attached the EMP to the suit. "Well played. But I don't need the suit to fight!" He hit the manual eject and the back of the X-111 opened up, depositing him out into the recycled air of the ship.

Even without the X-111, Marcus Green was still an imposing man, standing at 6'10 and with enough lean muscle to make a Super Mutant jealous, there was no mistaking the Minutemen General for anything but a very dangerous individual. He wore state of the art Combat Armor developed by the amazing minds of the Institute. It bolstered twice as much protection as the Heavy variant of the standard Combat Armor but was much sleeker, allowing for better ease of movement. It was colored black with a Minutemen symbol on the left side of the chest as well as an American flag decal on the right pauldron which was bigger than the left, resembling a Heavy Combat Armor shoulder piece from the standard set. He of course, wore his iconic Pip-Boy on his left arm, still holding strong despite the hits it's taken over the years.

He surveyed the crowd of soldiers and the pissed off glowing woman with dull, radioactive green colored eyes that portrayed a lifetime of war and conquest. Those eyes, coupled with the jagged scar that looked like someone tried to carve out his right eye, his buzz cut black hair and bushy beard and dark ebony skin gave him the look of a feral animal out for blood. He played into this and with a blood curdling war cry he mentally conjured his Semi Automatic Laser Sniper Rifle "Nora" and opened fire on the enemy, still aiming for non-vital areas. He scored one guard in the shoulder and again in the leg, immediately dropping him to the ground and out of the fight. He quickly ducked into cover behind his stationary armor. One down, eight more to go.

Another technological upgrade provided by the minds of the collective scientists was a neural uplink to the Pip-Boy which allowed the Wanderers to automatically pull out the weapon of their choice without looking down at the Pip-Boy. When inside their armor this was negated by the Pip-Boy's native uplink to the armor's HUD.

Marcus didn't realize it at the time but he had a distinct advantage over the Normandy crew. That advantage being that because light has no mass and therefore no kinetic force, his lasers completely bypassed their kinetic shielding.

Miranda, of course, realized this the moment he started firing with Gatling Laser at the start of this little encounter and relayed this to the guards. "Stay in cover! His lasers will bypass your shields entirely!" She said while ducking lasers on her way to more sturdy cover.

"Lasers?! Where the hell did he get a laser gun?!" Exclaimed one shit-scared soldier cowering behind one of the cargo containers.

"We'll find out once he's incompacitated. Shoot to wound!" After a moment of consideration she reluctantly added. "EDI, inform the Commander of our situation. Tell her to return at her earliest convenience."

"Flight Lieutenant Moreau has already informed the Commander. She is busy recruiting Archangel, however she sounded rather upset."

Miranda growled in frustration. "Of bloody course he did. Fine, just another problem to add to the list."

By this point Marcus had already succeeded in neutralizing three more enemies with the help of VATS. He still hadn't killed anyone, though he was heavily considering it. He decided that remaining in cover would only draw this out for longer than it needed to be. He needed to take out the rest of the guards so he could focus solely on Miranda and her weird powers. With this in mind he magnetically attached Nora to his back and called out Righteous Authority, the Laser Rifle gifted to him by the now Elder Danse that he has since modified into a Short Barrel Laser Pistol. He dashed out of cover, blind firing to suppress the enemy so he could cover the distance before digitizing the weapon again and engaging them in brutal hand-to-hand. He knocked the weapon of the first soldier up into the air thus opening him up to several well placed strikes to the chest and gut. He dropped to the ground with two broken ribs and barely a second later Marcus had surged forward and broke the nose of another with a flying knee before trapping him in an arm clench and swiftly snapping the man's humerus. He finished him off with an elbow to the back of the head that put him out like a light. Next up was the guard that yelled about Marcus's laser weaponry. He ducked low under the mains frantic weapon fire and scored a solid punch to the man's gut that folded him over Marcus's arm. He then proceeded to lift him into the air and chokeslam him back down to the ground, promptly knocking him unconscious.

This all happened in the span of about 5 seconds. Miranda couldn't help but respect the brutal efficiency of the man's movements. For someone so large he moved with surprising speed. Speed that was backed up by his obvious strength. She decided to allow him to finish his dismantling of the soldiers, deciding that it would be easier to fight him without the risk of friendly fire. She didn't have to wait long as the last two soldiers were taken down with the same brutality as the first three. Now it was just her and him.

"You could just let me out. Open the doors and I'll take my armor and be on my way. I have no intentions on killing you either way, but at least this way you get out of this without any broken bones." He knew she wouldn't stand down, her pride and arrogance wouldn't allow it. But at least this way he could say he tried when he managed to speak to this Commander that kept being mentioned.

"I'll open the doors for you… but only if you leave the armor." She smirked. That was really the only thing she cared about, even the relatively short amount of time she'd seen it in action was enough to solidify her need to acquire it and bring it back to The Illusive Man. Of course that wasn't the only bit of wondrous technology he had on him. Those laser weapons and whatever he was using to pull his weapons out of thin air were also points of intrigue. But she was certain that The Illusive Man wouldn't hesitate to send an elite squad of agents to track him down on Omega. He obviously didn't need to know that.

"Did you really think there was any possibility of me actually agreeing to that?" He asked, staring at her as if she was a fool.

"About 12% honestly." She shrugged.

"Nothing ventured, I suppose. Welp, don't say I didn't warn you." He quickly conjured a 10mm Pistol and fired into her kneecaps while charging toward her. He had heard speak of shielding and wanted to see what it was about. His shots were blocked by a strange purple barrier before clattering to the ground. Humming contentedly at the result he was then forced to dodge to the left to avoid a ball of purple energy fired from her palm. Just when Marcus closed the distance, Miranda leapt high into the air and hovered long enough to fire down on him from above with the pistol she had strapped to her hip this entire time. Marcus rolled out of the way and returned fire with the freshly conjured Righteous Authority, forcing Miranda to duck out of the way. Miranda rolled onto a knee and sent a wave of biotic energy flying horizontally at Marcus but he dove over it, rolled and before Miranda could react, had his laser pistol aimed point blank between her eyes.

"I believe that's checkmate." He smirked slyly at her.

"You won't pull the trigger. You've already expressed the desire not to kill anyone." She countered, looking past the weapon to look into his steel colored eyes.

"You wanna bet your life on that?" He said darkly.

"...Not particularly." With the most subtle of movements, Miranda sent out a weak Stasis, freezing Marcus in place for only a second, but a second was all she needed to get back to her feet and just as Marcus came out of the Stasis he was hit with a biotically charged kick across the jaw that sent him flying to the other end of the shuttle bay. He crashed into the wall and dropped to the ground with a thud. The shuttle bay fell silent for the first time in what felt like an eternity and the non-combat personnel finally stuck their heads up to see if the fight was truly over and the mad man had been put down. "It's alright everyone, the party's over. Donnelly, Daniels, dust yourselves off and start conducting detailed scans on that armor. The rest of you get these soldiers up to the med bay. I'll check on our guest."

She marched over to where Marcus had fallen limp to the ground. She had put enough force into that kick to knock the head off a Krogan. Shepard would be upset, but she was certain she'd get over it at the prospect of receiving the armor after it was thoroughly studied and reverse engineered. As she neared the man's corpse she was met with a sight that nearly froze her blood in her veins. The man was still alive! Not only that, but he was staring into her soul with a look that could crumble mountains.

"You. Fucking. Bitch!" In the next second he called for his laser pistol and let loose two burning hot lasers that shot clean through both her knees, causing her to scream in agony as she dropped to the ground. "Everybody fucking freeze!" He commanded, still holding his gun at Miranda's head. And they did, as if the order had come from God himself. The only sounds in the room were the pained groans of Miranda. "All I want is for someone to let me out of here. It's as simple as that. Can any one of you do that for me?"

-XXXXXXX-

Shepard - Normandy SR-2 Med Bay - 35 Minutes Later

By the time Shepard returned to the ship, with an injured Garrus in tow, the man was already gone, along with his armor. The entire guard detail of the ship had been thoroughly dismantled, Miranda had two new holes in her knees, and Donnelly was balled up in a corner slowly going insane. 'How the fuck had this gone so wrong?' She thought to herself. The story she'd been told was unbelievable, as was the security footage that Joker showed as further proof. Laser guns. Brutal CQC. Pulling weapons out of thin air. Tanking a Biotic kick to the chin! Just who the fuck was this guy?

"ARGH! Shepard, you need to find him." Miranda grunted as she sat up on her bed. "Cerberus needs that man's tech. Think of what humanity can do with just that armor alone? If we can mass produce it our ground forces would be nigh-unstoppable." She said through gritted teeth. She had opted for a lighter dose of painkillers so she could remain lucid enough to discuss things with Victoria. She was beginning to regret that decision.

"Seriously? When are you going to understand that I don't work for Cerberus? Our end goals do not align, and when I go and track down this man it will not be for your sake, but for his. He's clearly lost and confused and the last thing he needs is to be hunted down for his possessions. For a genetically engineered, 'perfect human', you're sorely lacking in social skills and common sense." With that she turned and marched out the door, intent on finding the man and clearing up the confusion.

-XXXXXXX-

Marcus - Slums - Omega Station

Marcus was surprised at how well he was taking his situation. Almost immediately after escaping from the ship he quickly realized that he was not on a boat but was, in fact, on a spaceship. Said spaceship was docked on a space station likely lightyears away from Earth, if Earth even existed in this universe; he could only assume that it did, seeing as he had quantifiable proof of human existence. The space station was a hub of alien activity, there were big aliens, small aliens, pretty blue women, ugly rock lizard things. An assortment of different creatures, all of whom spoke different languages that he could not hope to understand. As such he wandered aimlessly through the streets. His Power Armor was dematerialized in a special 3x3x3 cube for safe storage and was clipped onto his utility belt.

Though the initial shock of being in space and surrounded by aliens was substantial, he'd quickly recovered from it. After all, many of the creatures of the Wasteland were damn near alien compared to what they used to be. Super Mutants, Ghouls, fucking Deathclaws. They had all become regular sites for him and proof that life would find a way no matter what. Not to mention that he'd been to Mothership Zeta with Wander and witnessed the Zetan engineers with his own eyes. They were admittedly very cliche to the alien invasion movies of the time, but they still proved the existence of extraterrestrial life.

As he continued through the station he came upon a disagreement between what looked like a human woman and one of the tall skinny aliens with the head spikes. He couldn't understand the alien, but he could somewhat piece together what was going on just from the woman's words.

"Why can't I go in? I live here."

[Bored Alien words]

'It's like Piper all over again.' He thought with a quiet chuckle.

"I just need to pick up my things before the looters get to them."

[Annoyed Alien Words]

"The plague doesn't affect humans so I don't see wh-"

[Loud Annoyed Alien Words]

"UGH! Fine, whatever." She turned and stormed off, clearly annoyed. She leveled a glare at Marcus before she got a good look at him and quickly scurried past him, avoiding any further contact with the bellicose individual. Marcus ignored her as he went over his thoughts in his head.

'She mentioned something about a plague that doesn't affect humans. Last I checked I was human, though with all the mutations who even knows if I qualify anymore. Still, it would be the safest place to hide all things considered. I just have to get past the doorman. A little brute force usually does the trick."

He donned a deadly gaze, stood to his full height and stalked toward the alien. The alien, to his credit, only allowed a quick widening of his eyes in surprise before reeling it back in standing his ground. He held his hand out and spoke in a commanding tone, trying to halt Marcus in his tracks. Marcus responded by stepping up and gripping the alien by the throat and lifting him off the ground. He spoke in an animalistic growl, dripping with violence and malcontent. "Stay out of my way." He dropped the thoroughly stunned alien to the ground in a heap and kept walking on into the quarantined section of the station.

-XXXXXXX-

Shepard - Afterlife Club - Omega Station - 15 Minutes Later

"Shepard. Why do you continue to pester me?" Aria rolled her eyes as Shepard once again stepped into her "office."

"Trust me, Aria, I don't want to see your face again either. However, if you point me in the right direction just this one last time I'll be out of your hair, err… crest." Shepard said, correcting her colloquialism.

Aria stared hard back at the woman, sizing her up and, if Shepard had to guess judging by the barely concealed lust in the Asari's eyes, undressing her with her eyes. Victoria was aware of her beauty, how could she not be, she rarely used it to her advantage though. Preferring to let her fists, weapons, and words sway others to her side. Still the option always remained, she stood at an impressive 6 '0, tall for a human woman, slightly more than average for an Asari. Being of mixed African, Italian, and Japanese descent afforded her a nice light skin tone that changed from sun-kissed white, to just barely brown in different lighting, as well as striking facial features that gave her an exotic beauty. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of hazel and practically glowed with confidence and authority, portraying the strength of will that came with being a natural born leader.

"What is it that you want, oh great and mighty Commander?"

Valeri activated her omni-tool and pulled up the video file of the fight in the shuttle bay, pausing on a clear shot of the man in the suit, and showed it to Aria. "I'm looking for this man. I'm certain one of your guys have seen him, even in passing. He's almost seven feet tall and heavily armored."

Aria, in a bid to make Shepard uncomfortable, stood up, putting her a good two inches above Victoria, and stepped around the woman to peer over her shoulder and look into the omni-tool up close. She spoke in a low voice next to Victoria's ear, "As a matter of fact he does fit the description of a guy that just had a run in with Silas, the Turian that I have guarding the quarantine zone." She slid her hand down Victoria's arm from shoulder to wrist and pulled the omni-tool in closer. "He claims the man walked up to him without a word, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up in full body armor with just one hand. Told him to 'stay out of his way' then marched off into the quarantine zone."

Shepard pushed herself away from the handsy Asari and leveled a baleful glare on the criminal queen. "I'm only gonna say this once, T'Loak, if you ever invade my personal space like that again, I'll kill you. Thank you for the information, may we never meet again." She turned and walked down the stairs but not before Aria got off one last remark.

"Whenever you get tired of the little hero gimmick, I'll be waiting with open arms and a warm bed, Shepard." She laughed heartily as she knew that little comment got under the hero's skin.

Fucking Asari. Why can't they all be as sweet and cutely naive as Liara?

-XXXXXXX-

Marcus - Quarantine Zone - Omega Station

"Hey look, it's a human!" Shouted a Batarian, though Marcus didn't actually know what he said, as he walked down the steps leading to a small courtyard inside the quarantine zone. Up ahead there was yet another trio of armored aliens and just like all the other ones he'd encountered, and subsequently killed, on his short trip through the quarantine zone, they weren't at all happy to see him. They fired on him with their strange, blue streaking weapons and Marcus was immediately in combat mode.

He called for his shotgun, Le Fusil Terribles, preferring not to draw unwanted attention to himself with the use of laser weaponry as the humans on the ship made it seem as though that kind of thing was rare, if it even existed, in this universe. Rather than duck for cover he charged forward, priming and throwing a flashbang ahead of him that exploded on impact with the four eyed alien's head. The flashbang blinded and deafened the whole squad of them, leaving Marcus open to get up close and personal with his devastatingly powerful shotgun. He fired point blank into the face of the alien he hit with the flashbang, obliterating his shields and turning his ugly face into a fine mist. He whipped around and shattered the knee of the next alien with a hard kick, dropping him to the ground before finishing him off with a shot to the chest from within the barrier of his shield. The third alien, the same species as the one at the door to the quarantine zone, had quickly recovered from the concussive force of the flashbang and sought to end Marcus's rampage.

The alien swatted Marcus's weapon to the side before he could fire and swiped at his throat with his sharp talons, but Marcus dodged backwards at the last second and quickly dematerialized his weapon before grabbing the offending limb and trapping it to open him up for a stiff jab to the jaw, or mandible in this case, that rocked the alien's world. Still he would not go down easily. The alien hopped backward to gain some distance and spun around with his right leg high, intent on catching Marcus with the spurs on the back of his legs, but he was too quick for that and parried the kick expertly with his left forearm, then dodged the trio of retaliatory talon swipes. He responded with a lightning quick uppercut from down under that sent the alien stumbling backwards. Marcus charged forward and tackled the alien to the ground, he reached down to hold him by the neck and proceeded to lay into him with world shaking punches.

Marcus noticed that the alien's skin was incredibly tough, almost akin to metal in a way, but it didn't matter, the multitude of mutations he'd garnered since coming out of the vault had made his own skin just as tough and his bone incredibly strong. As he laid into the alien with blow after rage-filled blow, the skin on his knuckles didn't so much as tear as they scraped against the alien's rough hide. Unfortunately, the alien still had enough sense to protect himself and managed to get a lucky swipe on Marcus's throat that surprisingly broke skin, a testament to just how sharp those talons of his were. The sharp talons left two deep gashes on Marcus's throat that immediately had him clutching his leaking windpipe. He stumbled backwards off of the alien, clutching hopelessly at his throat trying to quell the bleeding. He dropped to the ground, choking on his own blood.

The turian, Divetus, was gasping for air on the ground now that the monstrous human had relinquished his stranglehold on his throat. On top of that his skull was aching and that should never have happened. No human could strike a turian's carapace that heavily, that many times without damaging their hand. No human was that massive. At least none that he'd ever seen. That… thing was no human, it was a monster. He was just glad he managed to get that lucky swipe at his jaw with all of his flailing. Divetus rolled over onto all fours and shook his head to clear the fog. "Spirits damned, humans." He cursed with a wheeze.

Slowly he stood back to his feet, stabilizing himself through his swimming head. He noticed that the human had finally stopped choking on his own blood, meaning he succumbed to his injuries. He turned around to survey the corpse, maybe understand what made him so different. His heart all but stopped when he came face to chest with the same man he had just killed. He looked up and saw the lines he carved with his talons on the human's throat quickly sealing up like a zipper on an Asari's dress. The human himself had a look on his face that would've killed Divetus all by itself had the man not grabbed him by the mandibles and brutally ripped them off before reaching his hands into the two new holes and ripping his skull apart with only minimal effort.

-XXXXXXX-

Shepard - Quarantine Zone - Omega Station - 20 Minutes Later

Victoria had seen a lot of violence in her life, from the horrors of Mindoir, then fighting for her life and everyone else's on Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz, witnessing her entire team be devoured on Akuze, and then the debacle on Torfan that nearly got her Star of Terra taken away. She was no stranger to violence. Yet still the sheer brutality she was witnessing from this one man was unbelievable, dismembered limbs, headless bodies, one turian had his mandibles ripped off and his skull split in two. She had no quantifiable proof that it was actually him that did these things, but considering she knew he passed through here, she could only assume.

She continued through the winding halls of the residential and market areas in the quarantine zone, following the trail of carnage left behind by the man, until she came upon a small clinic with several armed guards posted out front. She could only assume that this was where Mordin Solus would be found. "Is this Dr. Solus' clinic?" She asked the human guard by the entrance.

"Yes it is, head on inside, but don't cause any trouble." He said, doing his best to sound intimidating though he clearly had no idea just who he was talking to.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Hey, one more thing. Did you happen to see a seven foot tall, angry black guy come through here?"

The guard's eyes widened dramatically. "Y-you know that guy? I've never seen anyone that huge! Where the hell'd he come from?"

"No idea, but I am trying to find out where he went. Can you help me?"

"Oh yea, he went in to talk to the doc then came back out and went further in through there." He pointed to a doorway to the left.

"Thank you kindly." She headed inside to speak to - and hopefully recruit - Dr. Solus, as well as gain a lead on the mysterious man.

-XXXXXXX-

Marcus - Quarantine Zone - Omega Station - 15 Minutes Earlier

The second Marcus stepped through the door he was immediately assaulted by yet another gang of mercenaries, Blood Pack according to the neurotic alien Doctor. Dr. Solus was quite the character, he spoke incredibly fast and yet still managed to always keep working. Marcus was just glad he had a spare translator for him to use. It apparently had every known language in the galaxy already programmed into it, including most human ones.

When the shooting started he called for his short barreled combat shotgun, Danger Close. The shotgun was unique in that the barrel was coated with a special substance that coats the slugs it fires and explodes upon impact. The name comes from the fact that it has a very short range and can easily cause damage to the person firing it if they aren't careful. It sported an advanced automatic receiver that afforded better recoil and firing strength, a pistol grip that only someone with Marcus's strength could wield one handed, and lastly a spring ejecting drum magazine. All-in-all Danger Close was a marvel of Wasteland engineering that admittedly should not have ever happened.

In his left hand he called for The Harvester, a one-handed Ripper chainsaw with an extended blade. He ran into fray with a ferocious war cry backed up by the revving of the chainsaw. Rounds pinged off of his armor or left barely noticeable scratches on his toughened skin and all who witnessed what came next, should they have actually survived, would have sworn that the human was a Krogan Battlemaster in disguise.

The first merc to fall was a batarian, Marcus fired into the man's chest with his explosive rounds at close range. He noted that this particular mercenary had no shields as evidenced by the fact that his body exploded with the first shot. He paid it no mind as he quickly dashed to the next enemy, a vorcha and introduced its disgusting flesh to his Ripper, carving out huge chunks of flesh and spraying blood all over the place. When he thought the creature was sufficiently mutilated he stepped back only to notice that the vorcha's wounds were quickly healing, in seconds it was as if he had never touched him. This was much different from Marcus' healing factor which required him to actively focus on the more debilitating wounds to heal them.

Rather than let the surprise consume, he immediately continued his assault this time opting to simply shove his Ripper into the alien's gut and wrench the weapon upwards, splitting the vorcha in half. Before he can move on to the next target he is suddenly impacted by a colossal force on his right side. A Krogan Warrior had charged into his head first sending him stumbling backwards.

"I've only had the opportunity to fight a few of you hairless pyjacks, none have been especially challenging. You are different, human. I can see the violence in your eyes, smell the stench of death on your skin. I hope you do not disappoint." Said the krogan as he pulled a massive hammer off of his back.

"Do all of you frog things talk this much?" Marcus switched his weapons out for a Super Sledge and the two charged for one another. Marcus comes in low, aiming for a body shot, but the krogan sees it coming and blocks with his hammer. He retaliates with a stiff hook to Marcus' jaw but he rolls with it and brings the sledge around in a spinning attack. He followed that up with a strong hit to the alien's head before kicking him hard in the chest. The krogan falls but quickly rolls back onto his knee, shaking his head after the surprisingly powerful hit. With a thunderous war-cry he charges back at Marcus and tackles him to the ground… or at least he tries to but Marcus holds his ground and the two battle fiercely to overpower the other.

"You… are strong… human. Lay down your weapons… and I will allow you to join my krantt. Our foes… shall quake in fear… at the very… mention of our names!" His words fell on deaf ears as Marcus dug deep and mustered his strength and began to push back against the krogan, overpowering him.

"Not interested!" Marcus gripped the krogan by the waist and hefted him into the air, holding him up for several seconds before slamming him down to the ground in a textbook powerbomb from pre-war professional wrestling. Without wasting any time, he pulled out a plasma scattergun and blasted away into the alien's chest. Plasma, unlike laser weaponry, did in fact have mass, and therefore kinetic force. So his first shot was forced to shatter the shields of the krogan, the next five shots, however, quickly burned through his armor, flesh, organs, and eventually the ground underneath. Marcus wasn't aware at the time but when the krogan stepped forth to battle him one-on-one all other combatants ceased fire until the fight was over, per the krogan's orders. Therefore, they were all watching intently as a human, a species that was somewhere between a turian and a drell in natural strength, overpowered a fully grown krogan, lifted him in the air, and slammed him into the ground with enough force to dent the metal flooring.

They were stunned, to say the least.

"Anyone else?!"

-XXXXXXX-

Shepard - Quarantine Zone - Omega Station - 10 Minutes Later

Shepard was closing in on the man, she could feel it. Though admittedly she was somewhat worried. That first room she entered after leaving the area of the clinic was yet another bloodbath. Bifurcated bodies, mangled limbs, violence in forms she never would've imagined in all her vilest nightmares. When she saw the krogan lying on the dented metal floor with a hole through his stomach, she just had to know exactly what happened. She hacked into the nearby camera that had the best view of the site and bore witness to the sheer strength and brutality of the mysterious man.

"What the hell kind of freak of nature can engage a krogan in melee combat and come out on top?" She asked in her mind. The answer was no one, at least no human. Turians? Maybe, their metallic skin offered more protection and they were naturally stronger than most humans. But even then they would never actually attempt it. This man had done the unthinkable, the impossible, the fucking suicidal. She decided right then and there that she needed this man on her team at any cost.

Then the question arose of what she would do if he refused to join. Should someone this violent be allowed to roam freely?

-XXXXXXX-

Marcus - Quarantine Zone - Omega Station - 5 Minutes Later

Marcus quickly came to realize that these spiky aliens were a pain in the ass. They healed quicker than a ghoul in a radstorm and that only served to draw things out much longer than they needed to be. They were made even more annoying when they began firing rockets at him and closing in with flame throwers. He was forced to pull out his armor to avoid taking a rocket to the face.

He bolted underneath an awning, ducking rounds all the way and when he was safely out of the way he pulled the cube off of his hip and pressed the glowing green button on top. A green light emanated from the cube and right before his eyes the X-111 began to take form. It took only a few seconds before the 9 foot tall suit of high tech power armor stood before him in all its menacing glory. The back opened up at his behest and he leapt inside, the armor closing around him with a hiss as the seals pressurized. When he stepped out from cover, the aliens could feel the shift in power in the air.

Marcus, now practically impervious to harm, didn't even call for a weapon as he charged into the fray. He activated the armor's knuckle dusters and internal Tesla Coils and went to work. Electricity crackled across the armor as he came upon the first vorcha and punched clean through his skull and simultaneously sent 1,500 volts of electricity coursing through the body. He tossed the alien's corpse to the side and activated the jump jets on the

He laid complete waste to these aliens, using bodies as shields to close the distance and decimating entire crowds of aliens, painting the entire room red. To his mind this was business as usual, at least by Wasteland standards. This kind of violence was per usual, and odds were if you stepped foot outside of a protected settlement you experienced this and much worse before the day ended.

To Shepard, who was watching the bloody display from the doorway, it was anything but normal. She was no stranger to violence and bloody carnage; Mindoir, Akuze, and Torfan saw to that long ago, but they all seemed tame compared to what this singular man was doing to these Vorcha who were too stupid to realize just how outclassed they were.

Eventually, after much bloodshed, Marcus had finished his mission and the ventilation was back on and pumping the cure through the zone. With no other combatants in sight he finally turned his attention to the woman who had been standing in the doorway watching him.

"Can I help you?"


AN: Thanks for reading. As is the case with mostly everything I've been posting updates will be slow until I can get back on my ADHD medication and gain some kind of control over my thoughts and ideas. But rest assured updates will come soon enough so in the meantime please enjoy this incredibly meaty first chapter.

-illFatedSuccess