A/N: Hey guys. First authors note in the story pops up in chapter 3, weird right? I thought I might apologise for the cliff hanger last chapter. This is my first fan fiction, even though I have been reading them for ages. Last chapter, I was smashing it down, and then I realised I didn't know where I wanted it to go. Since then I have had writers block, but thanks to some help from a friend figuring out what is plausible or not, here it is. It's also probably the longest chapter I'm ever going to write, but we'll have to wait and see. Reviews are greatly appreciated as I am trying to improve my writing just as much as produce something you guys can enjoy. So, read on, and thanks for the support! :D

I awoke slowly, my eyes fluttered like camera shutters and my head throbbed. I was lying on the table in the chamber, and it was the only place left in the whole room that wasn't destroyed, literally. The floor around the computers was covered in glass, all the medical instruments were lying against the walls, bent and in pieces, and the bodies of the surgery team scattered all around like ragdolls thrown unceremoniously aside. Not one of them was breathing or uninjured, with some having been killed by the very equipment they had been holding.

I looked around at them all, my heart heavy. However, while I may have pitied their untimely end, I know that if they had not died, I would not have been able to escape. I suppose everything like that requires a sacrifice.

I stood up off the table, testing my legs. I felt stronger than I had ever before, and there was something else now, an energy that I could sense around me. I could feel it inside me, could feel my body drawing on the energy to heal, recover, and boost my mind and body. I had a flash of intuition then, as I began to look at the marking on my arm closely. I knew a little about the ways Sirens were able to use their power. They were able to harness energy, known as Phase, and bend it to their will so as to be faster, stronger and have amazing powers, with the tattoos a side effect of the power traveling through them for the first time. Each Siren preferred to use this power in a different way, as well as having varying amounts of control over the Phase.

I also knew that none of them were male.
Well, there is a first for everything, right?

I made my way carefully over to each of the scientists, avoiding the glass. I searched each one for equipment, and found a few useful items. First on my list were clothes, which I removed from Doctor Steven. He was the least bloodied and I guessed he must have died from brain damage. The clothes he wore under his jacket fit were simple, but fit me well enough. Just a dark T-shirt, jeans and a belt, socks and boots and his I.D. swipe card. I was especially happy to find his I.D. card, simply because I would be able to open the bloody door out to the rest of the installation. And bloody was not just a figure of speech.

I pulled Jones's mangled body out of the way, and swiped the card. The door slid open slowly, but not all the way. The impact of the body must have bent it. Just how much force did I release? I knew that what I had done was impressive, but this is what really made me think that if I could learn to control my power, I would be a force to reckon with.

Crouching, I looked down the corridor, checking for anything that might be a problem. I saw no people, but there were cameras placed at regular intervals all the way along. The only doors were the one I had just opened and an identical one at the end of the corridor. I also knew from previous experience in this place that the cameras would not only be video, but I.D. and implant scan as well.

I had only just opened the first door, and I was already stuffed. Time to think outside the box, which meant in this case, in the Phase.

I knew that Sirens could alter the Phase in many ways, but only ever did it when they had too, or when showing off. So, I thought I might see just how much control I had. For safeties sake I decided to try on one of the broken computers in the chamber first, in case I stuffed up and set off an alarm or something.

I closed the door again and walked back into the centre of the room. One of the computers on the far side looked fairly intact, so it would be my first target. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the energy in the Phase. I felt that I could move it around the room, and draw it together, but it would always be replaced by more. It was easiest to draw into myself, but much harder to force to separate if not already grouped. So, as I drew some into myself, I opened my eyes, and caught my reflection in the screen. I gasped, and almost lost control of the energy.

I saw myself with my messy uncut brown hair and my stolen clothing, but there was much more now. My eyes were glowing with a bright crimson energy, and my blue tattoos were aglow, but the same colour as they were usually. While that was cool, it was the wings that had appeared that impressed me. They were at least two-and-a-half metres across and had layered colours. Black where the bones of a real wing would be and as crimson as my eyes for where the feathers would be. They moved and shifted like flame, as did the light radiating from my Siren tattoos.

To put it lightly, I was excited. Then I remembered I was still trapped here, with no obvious way out. It was time to get back on task.

I returned my attention to the energy, and pulled more into myself. It was whirling and pulsing, but it was still firmly under my control. I could guide it around my body, but it was easiest down my left, and along the tattoos. When I moved it down my arm, it began to speed up of its own accord, trying to burst its way free. I barely held it back, and regained control. I wasn't quite ready to release it just yet. I tried to see if I could do more with the energy, instead of just move and shift it around. It was unruly, and would not do much more than strengthen me or form a concentrated grouping. I was sure I could do more, but I decided that would have to wait until I escaped.

If I escaped.

I guided the energy back to me, and built up a small amount. Enough that it was easy to control, and would hopefully not be too powerful when released. I smiled at my reflection, raised my arm, and let the energy free out my palm.

A pulse of energy shot from my hand, launching across the room in a myriad of blues. It travelled very quickly, and slammed into the computer, shredding bits off just with the initial impact, and obliterated it against the wall. All that was left when I looked at it was a smoking heap of electronics and a lot of shattered glass. I was pleased. If that small amount of Phase energy could do that much damage, I really stood a chance.

I thought again of how the energy looked as it was released, and came up of the perfect name for my power.

Phasepulse.

I returned to the door, opened it with the key card, and looked down the hall. The cameras sat in their places, keeping their silent vigil. I smiled again. They wouldn't be sitting there much longer, if I had anything to say about it.

I looked out of the bottom of the door at the roof above, in case there was a camera sitting in the corner. Sure enough there was. I pulled my head back in, and built up the smallest amount of energy I could, and prepared myself to run. Once I took out that first camera, I would have to move fast. It would only be a matter of time before guards noticed and sent bots or soldiers to intercept me.

Where I was headed, I had no idea. All I knew was that I would find a way out of here, no matter what I had to do.

Moving as quick as I could, I ran forward and slid under the door, turning up towards the camera and releasing the Phasepulse when I had my palm towards it. The camera was shattered and fell loose, swinging by the cables coming from the wall. I turned back down the corridor, and moved towards the next camera. I pulled in a relatively small amount of Phase as I ran. I released the Phasepulse at it, and it was destroyed the same as the others. I made my way quickly down the corridor taking out the cameras with ease.

I got to the door, and tried to see up and down the hall, but the wall extended past the door too far. I would have to open it now and hope for the best.

Readying myself, I swiped Stevens' card and the door slid up quickly and silently. Before I stepped out to look around the corner, I realised that my wings would stick out well before I could see anything. Shit, I nearly forgot about that. I concentrated, and tried to see why the wings appeared when I readied my Phasepulse. I drew in a little, and this time, as I concentrated, I could feel the power being ever so slightly siphoned off by the wings. I cut of the connection and felt them disappear.

Knowing I could cause them to appear and disappear by will, I moved to the door again. I walked out along the left side, and carefully peered out down both ends of the hallway. To the left, there was a stair case, and to the right, there seemed to be security desk with an empty chair. I wondered where the guard went, but really didn't care. Wherever he was, I owed him for the chance to even make it out of there.

I moved quickly across to the stairs and made my down as quickly as I could, without making unnecessary noise. I made it a few levels down without incident, then, just as I began to think I could relax, a door on the level below me burst open. A group of people came out and ran down the stairs; I looked down and caught a glimpse of what I assumed to be a Hyperion Combat Engineer. They hadn't heard me, so I decided to follow them, and see what the commotion was about. Moving quietly enough that they wouldn't be able to hear me over their own running I followed them to the lower levels.

They were very disciplined soldiers. They only noise they made was their combat boots on the floor and their heavy breathing as they ran down the stairs one after another. I kept up easily, my new Siren power allowing me flexibility and control. I'm sure that the enhancers that I had been injected with had a lot to do with it, but the majority of control was from the Phase enhancing my senses and co-ordination.

I heard the soldiers pull to a stop, and begin talking in low voices to each other. I couldn't make out the specific words, but I there seemed to be only one voice. I assumed he was the squad leader issuing his orders, and waited to see what exactly the rest of them would do. I kept moving, so quiet I would only disturb a mouse, and slowly leant around the railing to look down at the soldiers.

They were dressed in the regulation Hyperion yellow combat gear and seemed to outfitted with standard Hyperion weaponry. I also saw that the majority of them had what I guessed were shotguns, with pistols on their hips, as well as little contraptions that glowed slightly, and I realised they were shields. If I was to make it out of here without becoming a bullet riddled bit of meat, I needed to find some combat equipment like that.

I watched silently as they lined up beside the door, with three of them with their backs to me, and the one other facing the door. The one at the door yelled out, and burst out the door. There was some intense gunfire, as well as a few bullets bursting through the doorway.

I ran down behind the last soldier began to turn the corner and enter the fray beyond. Just as he was about to bring his gun around and begin firing, I charged my Phasepulse and blasted him in the back, launching him out the door and into his squad mates. They fell into a jumbled heap, trying to untangle themselves from their broken and dying friend. I used their confusion to my advantage and ran forward, charged another, much more powerful Phasepulse, and let it out with a yell. The group of four were thrown against the far wall with a sickening crunch. None of them moved again.

I had let my wings show, and heard another sound beside me. I charged another Pulse and turned toward it, a snarl on my face. I saw nothing, and was going to turn around, but as I did, a blade appeared under my throat. It glowed with a sinister aura, and I could feel the heat radiating off the weapon.

"I move as the wind/ He is under my control/ Step forward friends"

I froze, letting the power dissipate, and my tattoos fade. From behind the pillars around the room came four individuals, all looking very suspicious and a little nervous. They had seen what I did to the Hyperion soldiers, and obviously knew I was dangerous. Hence the sword at my throat.

The first to talk was someone I was incredibly shocked, and yet happy to see. She was a siren, and I could feel a lot of power radiating from her. It was different to mine, more subtle and refined, but the tattoos on that I could see were identical to mine.

"Who are you? And why the hell are you a siren?"

She stared at me with a burning curiosity. Her blue hair framed her face and highlighted her deep blue eyes. She was tall, and moved with grace that was the effect of her power. I did not answer right away but instead looked around at the rest of the group, assessing them each as they stepped forward.

The next was a man slightly taller than the Siren, with sandy blonde hair and what looked like a military ranking on his forehead. He held a dangerous looking assault rifle in his hands with ease, and stood tall and confident. He studied me with intelligent eyes, and I saw an interesting camera contraption on his shoulder. But while he seemed like a very difficult man to kill, he drew half the attention of the man next to him.

He was a midget, or, at least very close. He had wild, dark blue hair pulled into a mohawk and a large similar coloured beard. He frowned at me and had a feral look in his eyes. His orange shirt was stained and torn in places, as were his faded jeans. His red triple barrelled shotgun had a grotesque drawing of teeth running down the side. It had a massive blade that was covered in gore and dented till it was nearly unusable. The man had the look of a berserker and I did not want to cross him.

The girl who stepped forward was an interesting one. She had a mechanized arm and wore something that was suspiciously like a punked out school uniform. Her hair was a bright red and tied into two ponytails. She held a bright blue SMG in her hands, her regular hand on the trigger mechanized supporting the barrel. She looked nervous, her finger was still pressed on the trigger and she stood ready to move quickly.

The only other member of the group was the person behind me, who was obviously adept with a sword.

So, I returned my attention back to the Siren, who stood with obvious impatience.

"You better hurry up and answer, or we'll just leave you here to take on the whole bloody Hyperion army yourself. Who are you? And the more important question, why are you a Siren?"

She stepped forward threateningly, but I could tell she wouldn't hurt me in cold blood. This woman seemed to, refined and graceful to kill a man who had no reason to die.

I chose my words carefully, and spoke as clearly as I could. I was worried that any misunderstanding could be the end of me.

"My name is Fletcher. I have been held captive here by Jack and his army for as long as I can remember. Only a few hours ago, his scientists finally succeeded in the mission he had given them. They apparently were able to combine enough Eridium and weird ass chemicals to create me, the first male Siren. I am not your enemy, and all I want it to escape this bloody lab. So, here I am, and there you are. It seems that we have a shared goal. I can fight, I am powerful, and I'm pretty sure handling a gun isn't too difficult. If we work together, I escape and you gain an ally. Sound like a plan?"

I stood still now waiting for her reaction. She stared at me, indecision written all across here features. The man beside her leaned in and whispered into her ear. I didn't quite catch what he said, but she seemed to come to a decision.

"Step back Zero. Fletcher comes with us."

The sword dropped away from my neck and I was able to relax. The man from behind me stepped forward to join his friends. He was extremely tall, just as thin, and held the long katana with ease. It digitised and he clipped the hilt to his belt, then digistructed a long glowing green sniper rifle. It was a massive and heavy weapon, but he slung it over his shoulder as if weighed no more than a feather.

I rubbed my neck where the sword ha depressed against my skin, "So, if you guys don't mind me asking, who the hell are you, and why are you here?"

They glanced at each other, looks of amusement passing between them.

The man with the assault rifle spoke, chuckling lightly, "I guess you really have been locked up in here for a while. We are vault hunters, and we are in this particular Hyperion base looking for a vault key."

The blue haired man spoke up, "A vault key and some revenge. We've seen some pretty bad things done at Jack's orders, amigo. We have dished out a fair amount of pain, but it's not enough." He shook his head and stared me down.

"Jack is worse than evil, amigo. He needs to die, and he needs to die slow."

I had known this for a while, and thought that maybe these guys needed a little hint on what I had been through.

"Oh, trust me, I know. Probably better than any of you. I will explain everything, but after we escape." I glanced around at them all, making sure they understood I was going to keep my word.

"Look, Fletch. We are going to help and you will make it out of here alive." The Siren spoke quietly; she could feel that I was angry at everything. "My name is Maya. I'm a Siren, a lot like you, but my power is different. Instead of a big blast of energy, I use the phase to pick up and crush enemies, and increase the elemental effects from my weapons."

At this, she showed me her pistol. It was blue and green, with the word DAHL written on the side.

"The green colouring shows it corrosive, which is absolutely awesome against these Hyperion idiots. Here, take it." I grasped it firmly, feeling its weight and balance in my hand. It was comfortable and I had an immediate liking to the weapon. Maya could tell by the look on my face.

"Keep it," She said, smiling at me kindly, "I have another one, and I can tell you have found a favourite." Maya turned back to the blonde man. "Axton, give the kid a shield. He'll need one that isn't a total piece of crap if he's going to make it anywhere here."

The man named Axton smiled, and digitised what I assumed was a shield and handed it to me.

"Here you go bud. Just hook it on your belt, and it will do the rest." I took the shield and slipped it onto my belt, just as he had told me, but nothing happened.

"Ah, Axton, shouldn't I notice something?"

He frowned at me thoughtfully, "You have an ECHO device?"

I shook my head, and he nodded realising the problem. "Well, that would do it. Here," He created another object and handed it to me. "Clip this somewhere that it won't be easily damaged. If that thing gets busted, well, you're really in the shit then."

I hooked it over my belt, just behind my right hip, where all of my body would be between it and any enemies I would be firing at. As it powered up, a few different displays showed up in my field of vision. I could see a health display, which a shield monitor, which displayed about 600, an ammunition monitor the bottom left, and a mini-map in the top right corner.

"If you need ammo, just reach around and touch the ECHO. It should digitise it straight into your palm. If not, shout and Maya will chuck you some."

They all got ready to leave, but I was a little taken aback. "Whoa, whoa, hang on. I still don't know the rest of you yet. How am I supposed to tell you to get out of the way of my Phasepulse if I have no idea who you are?"

"Well, put kid. The short guy is Salvador, that tall one in black is Zero, the red head is Gaige, I'm Axton as you know, and the Siren is Maya as you know also. Now, you got that?"

I nodded to each in turn as he said they're names. They seemed sane enough, and I guess they saw the same in me. I looked at Maya and smiled, happy that I had found people who could actually help me, not just endure with six of us moved over to the staircase I had come down. I suppose we were heading up, pity we couldn't take the elevator.

Axton looked through the gap between the staircases. "Well, I suppose a little cardio can't hurt. Let's get moving guys."

And we began the long, tiring climb to the top. I just hoped I wouldn't have to see that infernal chamber ever again, because never would be too soon.

A/N: Well, there it is. The longest chapter I have written of anything ever. Thanks for reading all the way through, and please, please review, as any advice is greatly appreciated. Any recommendations for story direction would be nice too, as I think I might have a similar problem if I don't get it out of the way quickly. Saying that though, the next chapter should be up in the next few days. Thanks for reading!

~Terrorbyte~