5 Marcus

"That's your plan?!!" Mordecai asked in shock. "Hey!! Don't question a great plan!!" Brick shouted as his smile turned a lot more blood thirsty.

"Hey, it's better than anything I could come up with, so works for me." Lilith said, not arguing with being the distraction. "You sure this will work?" Roland asked, not sounding as confident as Brick was with the plan.

"I'm about 90% sure of it, but if you guys got something better then by all means, let's hear it!" Kane asked, getting only silence in return. "That's what I thought, now let's go." He said as he started to lead the way through the tunnel, but was stopped as Roland asked, "Why do you have a kid on your back?"

Not bothering to explain, Kane replied, "Because I felt like it, Roland!! Now if you don't mind, we have more important shit to worry about!" Kane said, not halting in his steps.

Coming out through the the tunnels exit, the first thing Kane saw, was ancient Eridian ruins next to the face of a mountain, but he kind of already expected that from the game. Also like the game, Commandant Steele was standing on a platform with two Crimson Lance soldiers at her side.

As soon as the others got through the tunnel, Steele finally took notice of them, somehow looking like she had planned this moment out and was victorious.

"You have failed to listen to Commandant Steele! I've warned you time and again, yet you persist on ignoring my orders. The contents of the Vault are rightfully the property of the Atlas Corporation, but you... you belong to me." Steele said as she pointed towards the Vault Hunters, then turned her attention to the floating Vault Key next to her.

She extended her hand, causing a burst of light that made the key fragments to merge together and shoot inside the platform she was standing on.

The next thing everyone knew, pieces of rock began to float towards the mountain side, setting themselves into a doorway. Once all the pieces were in place, the doorway lit up in a bright blue glow, forming a rift into a different dimension.

"She works!! Soldier, get your team ready to move inside!" Steele said, foolishly turning away from the vault entrance.

What she failed to see, was a tentacle from the Vault monster coming out of the doorway, but before anyone could react, Kane disappeared from his spot and reappeared in front of her, then two footed her in the face, pushing her body backwards, only to be impaled on the tentacle, which pulled the screaming woman into the mouth of the Destroyer.

She had gotten out a few muffled screams, but she was a lost cause the moment the vault was opened. The Destroyer came out of the vault, killing the two Lance soldiers, then started slamming it's tentacles around, trying to strike Brick and the others.

Kane was hiding behind a giant stone pillar, doing something he prayed to God would work. "Whoever you are that decides this sort of thing, she is worthy of your power! Trust it unto her, and she will guide it, and reach heights in which it has never attained!!" Kane said, practically screaming to the heavens.

What his plan was, was to have Steele's Siren power choose Luna as it's next host, but he wasn't sure how the power chose it's host, or if someone else did it.

He knew once a Siren dies, if the Siren had already chosen a successor, the power would honor the wishes and choose that person as it's next host, but if no host was chosen, the power would seek someone out.

And now here he was, hoping that having Luna right next to Steele when she passed, and talking to the power, would somehow let it happen.

Kane waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. He sighed in defeat, then started doing what they had planned. Teleporting high into the sky, he maneuvered himself so he was directly above the Destroyer, then he brought something out of his inventory.

When he had been in the cave with the final Vault Key fragment, he had glanced at the ceiling of the cave and saw hundreds of Stalagmites, which were basically long stone spikes that hung from the the caves roof.

He had gathered over 20 of the things, each being longer than 15ft, and now he was going to drop them right on the Destroyer. The first one dropped like a brick of lead, quickly gaining speed until it punctured right through one of the two largest tentacles of the Destroyer, causing the thing to thrash around in agony.

Not stopping there, Kane dropped four more. The first one missed the monster entirely by a few inches, but the second one pierced it's side, pinning the thing in one spot.

The third stalagmite was a perfect shot, going right through what Kane guessed was it's head, and the fourth one pierced close to the third one.

Once the fourth one had landed, Brick grabbed his hammer and jumped up as high as he could, then with a crushing blow, he hammered the Stalagmite even further.

Mordeccai and Roland were unleashing every shot they had on the creature's eye, knowing it was the Destroyers greatest weapon, but it's greatest weakness as well.

The whole time they were taking shots, Lilith was phase-walking in and out around the thing, causing large bursts of light which drew the creatures attention.

Brick didn't let up his hammering, jumping from one stalagmite to another, raining blow after blow until finally, the last of the tentacles stopped moving.

As Kane got back down to the ground, he noticed the four Vault Hunters seemed to be in a heated yelling match with the supposed "Guardian Angel", telling her to go to hell.

Brick told her that if he somehow managed to get his hands on her, he would rip her spine out through her mouth. "That's disturbing..." Luna whispered in his ear as he untied her, allowing her to walk around.

They both walked towards the pile of tentacles, and to Kane's surprise, they found the mangled remains of Steele. Kane was a little bummed that Luna hadn't gotten her powers.

His disappointment was halted when Luna reached forward and touched Steele's tattooed arm. Kane watched in fascination as Luna's arm started glowing like a Christmas tree, but it quickly turned into panic as a wave of force erupted from the little girl and threw him a few feet away, only ending because he teleported away from the blast.

The other four Vault Hunters were not so lucky, as they found themselves being smashed against the side of the mountain, but to their relief, the pressure disappeared after a moment.

Before anyone could ask what was going on, they all heard a loud "YES!!!" from Kane, followed by the man appearing next to Luna and spinning her around in his arms.

"YOU DID IT!!" Kane said happily, practically squeezing the life out of the poor girl. For once it was him initiating the contact instead of her, probably explaining the million dollar smile she sported.

"I hate to break this up, but what the hell just happened?" Roland asked, as all four Vault Hunters gathered near Kane and Luna, all of them wondering the same thing.

Still high from the excitement, Kane said "What you've just witnessed was the birth of a new Siren!! For those of you who didn't know, Steele was a Siren, and now that she's dead, her powers have passed on, choosing Luna as their next host!!"

Needless to say, the four Vault Hunters were shocked. "H-How is that possible?" Lilith asked, her mind still not being able to comprehend the sight of the little girl with blue tattoos on her arm.

"Really? Just think about yourself here. You weren't born a Siren, you became one. That was your power, choosing you to become it's next host. No two powers are the same, and yet for some reason, 999 times out of 1000, the power will almost always choose a girl as their host. Sexist bastards..." Kane said, grumbling the last part.

"Incredible!" Lilith said, going over to inspect Luna, but was stopped when Kane picked up Luna and tied her to his back. "Sorry, but I wanna go, so see ya'll later." Kane said as he grabbed the vault key.

"Head back to Tannis. I'll make sure she knows you helped and you'll get paid for all this crap." Kane added as he checked and made sure there was nothing left of value. He did notice that the Destroyer's eye was still in really good shape, and Jack would probably still be able to use it for his laser, but he didn't really care.

He was gonna be away from Pandora and it's moon, Elpis, for the next few years, but he would return when the other group of Vault Hunters showed up.

"You promised you'd take me flying again!!" Brick said just as Kane was gonna teleport away. "*Sigh* Fine... Meet me in New Haven in... lets say 5 days. I'll prepare the flight suit and everything else, sound good?" Kane said, getting a fist pump from Brick. "Hell ya!!!" Brick said, obviously agreeing.

Getting back to his little base in the mountains, Kane untied Luna and the two of them walked inside the building after deactivating a few security measures, then went to the living room.

"So... any questions you got for me?" Kane asked, looking to Luna. She had been awful quiet since she became a Siren, and Kane wanted to see what she was thinking.

"... Was this your plan? For me to become a Siren?" She finally asked after a long moment of silence.

"It wasn't originally. I didn't really think of it until after I sent you to Marcus, which changed a few of my plans. You becoming a Siren was just a hopeful thought, but there was a chance, so I took it." Kane answered, getting a nod from her.

"Why did you want me to become a Siren, and what exactly does being a Siren mean?" She asked, sounding more calm than Kane would have thought.

"In this universe, strength is power, and that goes 100 times more so here on Pandora. Sirens are some of the most powerful beings ever created, and I was thinking you would be able to survive a lot better if you had a power like me." He said, earning widened eyes in response.

"YOU'RE A SIREN?!!" She asked excitedly. He laughed at her question before he answered, "Of course. You think people can just teleport like I do?"

She just shrugged her shoulders at that. She was only 6 years old, and most of her life she was hidden away, so the lack of knowledge of how the universe worked was understandable. Everything she knew was from watching people, reading books, and ever since meeting Kane, the ECHO-NET.

"What's your power, and what's mine, and how do they compare?!" Luna asked, a little excitedly. "My power is spatial manipulation. To be honest, I've barely scratched the surface of my power, so I couldn't tell you everything I can do. As for your power, I have no idea, so I can't compare them, but we can go test them out." He said, getting a happy smile in return.

(A.N. It never actually said what Steele's power was, and I couldn't find it anywhere, so I'm gonna make it what I want it to be. Don't Like it, fuck off!)

He helped her outside, then they went to a clearing a short distance away from the main building. "Okay, what you need to do, is feel inside of yourself for an energy that feels so.... warm and comforting, then try and move it towards your tattoo's. Got it?" Kane said, to which Luna hesitantly nodded.

For the next few minutes, Luna just stood in the center of the clearing with her eyes closed, most likely trying to find the new energy within herself. Kane was getting concerned after a few minutes, but just as he was about to talk to her, Luna extended her right hand, and then released a light blue ball of energy that shot towards a rock, then exploded.

*BOOOOOMMMM!!!*

The both of them stood where they were, their eyes locked onto the crater that formed where the rock had once been. "Well... that's new." Kane said plainly, his mind running through possibilities of what the power could be.

"That was... AWESOME!!" Luna shouted, elated at what she just felt, then added, "It feels like it wants to be shaped, but when I stop controlling it, it will explode."

Kane thought for a moment, then asked "So what happens if you don't stop controlling it, and try to turn it into say, a knife?"

Luna concentrated again, but this time it only took a few seconds before a light blue ball formed in her hand, then slowly started to take the shape of a knife. Granted it wasn't by any means a good looking knife, but it was a knife nonetheless.

"Can you keep controlling the shape while cutting something?" Kane asked curiously. In answer to his question, Luna leaned down and swung the knife at the dirt, causing a small trench to be formed. The knife looked as though it cut through water with absolutely no resistance, and it kept it's form without a problem.

"This is so cool!!" Luna said excitedly. They practiced for another few minutes before Luna got really tired and said she couldn't go on anymore.

"That's okay. You've had a long day, and you still haven't fully recovered. Let's get you in bed, then we can continue this later. I gotta go and talk with Marcus and Tannis anyway." Kane said, getting a thankful smile from Luna.

As he helped her into bed, she said, "Hey, Kane? Thanks for everything you've done for me." He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, but finally decided now would be the time to bite the bullet on this.

"Luna, I really don't know anything about people, nor do I even like most people. I know I could just say, 'you're welcome' and leave, but I want you to know, this is uncomfortable for me and I don't appreciate it."

There was a pause before he added, "However, if you give me enough time, I think I'll come around into letting you hug me once a year." She looked a little downtrodden at that, and asked "Once a year?"

She looked like he had just told her that her cat died, so he said, "Once every two years?" Luna got mad and shouted, "That's not the way you're supposed to go!!" He smirked as he said, "Then how about once every three years?"

Raising her hands into the air, she shouted, "FINE!! FINE!! Once every year will work!!" Happy at his little victory, Kane said, "Good. Now go to bed."

After staying by her side until she fell asleep, Kane set the security system back online, then took off to New Haven.

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Walking through the door of Marcus' shop, Kane was greeted with the feral smile of Marcus. "Greetings my friend!! I heard about the Vault Monster from Roland, and how you played a big part in defeating it." Marcus said, sounding excited for a good story.

"I did, and I'm actually surprised it went as well as it did." Kane said as he walked over to Marcus, who was at his counter like always, unless he was restocking his vending machines.

"HAHAHA!!! I believe it!! I also heard there wasn't much of a reward for the fight either." Marcus said, getting a "Yup" in confirmation from Kane.

"I guess this means I'll be keeping the $10 thousand dollars. No problem, yes?" Marcus asked, his hand going under the counter, probably to a gun in case Kane tried getting the money back.

"Yeah, the moneys yours. We made a deal after all. But I wanted to see if you would be interested in a trade deal?" Kane said, his words causing Marcus to completely change personalities.

"Of course!! Tell old Marcus what you are offering, and what you'll be needing!" Marcus said, already rubbing his hands together in glee.

Still keeping his business persona active, Marcus pulled a bottle of what Kane guessed was alcohol, and poured two glasses, and sliding one over to Kane.

"This is my finest rakk ale, so let us drink!" Marcus said, then drained his glass of the foul smelling liquid. 'God, even the alcohol is fucking terrible here!!' Kane thought as he downed the drink in one go, then threw it right back up, along with the contents of his stomach into the trash bin at his feet.

"I don't wanna seem rude, Marcus, but this stuff is terrible." Kane said, spitting into the trash, trying to get rid of the after-taste. Marcus was just about to argue with him, when Kane put a tall bottle on the counter.

"GlenDronach Single Malt Scotch Whisky Revival Aged 15 Years?" Marcus said, reading the label of the bottle. He had never seen anything like this, so he was kind of at a loss for words, which never happened before.

Finishing with the vile drink he had put in his mouth, Kane turned his attention back to Marcus, who was studying the bottle like an archeologist would study a rare bone.

Ignoring the man, Kane brought out two glasses and taking the bottle from Marcus, he opened it and poured three fingers in each glass of the golden liquid.

"I'd rather not be drinking Rakk piss." Kane said, then took a bigger sip than he usually would have taken, mostly to wash away the lingering taste from before.

Marcus was too curious about the drink, that he completely disregarded Kane and took a small sip of the drink himself, but as soon as the liquid touched his tongue, he froze. Never before had he tasted something like this, and he had looked around for the best.

He rarely ever got drunk, but he was the type of man who loved his drink, so he could tell it was far stronger than anything he had tasted on Pandora. He thought back to his time off planet, and although he had tried stronger drinks, never had he tasted one as good, while still being as strong as this was.

Looking up from the glass, his eyes locked onto Kane's, who was smirking at him. "Pretty good, right?" Kane said, breaking Marcus out of his thoughts. "It's incredible! Who made this?!!" Marcus practically shouted in Kane's face.

"There is no one in the universe that can make a drink like the Scottish." Kane said, getting a confused look from Marcus. "Don't worry about it. They're from my home planet, and they specialize in making alcohol. Got me a supply from there cause I knew I would prefer it to anywhere else, but I didn't think everywhere else would be drinking piss mixed with shit." Kane said, earning a blank look from Marcus.

"How much more of this do you have?" Marcus asked, sounding a little too hopeful.

In response, Kane pulled out 3 more bottles from his bag, as well as another bottle that Marcus hadn't seen before. "I got these on me, but I have more on the planet. I'd be willing to part from these, if our business goes well of course." Kane said, adding a little icing on the cake.

"Go on..." Marcus said, his smile a lot bigger now.

"First thing, I have far too many guns that I've looted over the last few days. A few hundred crates of old shields, guns, ammo, some turrets, and other assortment of weapons and provisions I've claimed from the Crimson Lance. I figured maybe I could get a bit more money off you if I sell in bulk, but it would only be a slight increase."

Kane's words were like music to Marcus. The two of them hashed out the details, and Kane said he could have everything delivered in 24 hours.

"Another thing I wanted to talk about is, I'm going off planet in a few weeks, and I am in need of someone who is going to be on Pandora to acquire something for me. You've heard of Eridium, yes?" Kane asked, getting a nod of confirmation from Marcus.

"Well, after our little escapade in opening the vault, the planet will be generating the stuff a lot more, and it will be in high demand. People across the universe will pay a fortune for the stuff, but I'm willing to pay a bit more. What I want you to do, is collect as much of the stuff as you can, whether it has been refined or not doesn't matter. I am willing to pay top dollar for the stuff, as well as compensate you for any troubles you might have had, say with a few crates of these drinks, as well as a crate or two of some other popular drinks."

Kane finished his proposition to Marcus, whose eyes literally looked like dollar signs. "Eridium... You say it will be worth a fortune soon?" Marcus asked, the greed oozing off his voice.

"Every corporation will want it, but Hyperion is going to stake it's claim on it soon, letting them become the strongest powerhouse in the galaxy, but if you have it stockpiled, you will make more money than you could spend in a life time. The price of the stuff will only increase as the years go by, so holding onto it will only increase your wealth. I will pay whatever the going rate is, plus 10% for finders fee added onto the alcohol, if you sell all you can get your hands on to me. I will collect however much you gather at the end of every year, that way you can still be making money."

Marcus didn't hesitate in the slightest to accept the deal, getting far more than he thought he would get when he agreed to watch a child. He not only got an incredible deal, he got knowledge of what would be sought after, and who the big competition was.

The first thing he did after Kane left was buy up stocks in Hyperion, enough that if the company ever did take off, he would be one rich man. He also purchased any Eridium he could get his hands on, buying it now while it was still cheap.

Needless to say, by the time Hyperion came to Pandora and started Eridium mining, he would be a few steps ahead.

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After leaving Marcus, Kane went to go collect his "reward" from Tannis. He didn't know if it was her, this new universe, him being a Siren or what, but she was without question the greatest fuck he ever had.

She definitely wasn't someone he would settle down with, but with a body like she had and her ability to make his legs go numb from pleasure, he would enjoy himself as much as possible while he could.

Getting to Tannis' place, he let himself in, but sadly she wasn't in the same position as last time. Hell, she wasn't even surprised he came in without knocking.

Looking up from her book, she said "I take it you have done like I asked?" He smirked at her as he closed the door behind him. "Got her right in the face, sending her to her death in the Destroyer's waiting maw." He answered, getting an innocent smile in return.

"How delightful. And the Vault Key?" She asked, already standing to her feet and casually taking her clothes off. Thinking she would put her clothes back on if he denied her the key, he took it out of a bag and placed it on her desk, then started taking off his own clothes.

She looked to the key, then back to him, and without further ado, she began to fulfill her end of the deal. Being his pleasure toy for an entire week... well, he wasn't going to complain at all.