Chapter Text
In retrospect, watching John get backhanded by Ellie was something much less violent than what Angel had feared. As John sat on his ass on the floor, nursing his now-reddened cheek, the young siren stood in front of her father, facing the angry woman with a sympathetic and curious smile on her face. “So you’re Moxxi’s daughter? The Moxxi?”
“That’d be me, cutie.” despite the anger her mother’s ex sparked in her, Ellie returned the girl’s smile. Angel huffed and put her hands on her hips, thinking back to the past, “Gosh, how long has it been since they hung out? Ten years?”
“Nine, actually.” John supplied from behind her, drawing a pair of stares onto himself- one curious and the other annoyed.
“What he said.” the mechanic agreed sourly, scrunching her button nose and making Angel’s heart flutter.
“I can’t believe we never met.” the siren said, clearly mourning all the years they could have spent being friends with.
“Never was the one to hang out around Moxxi, she got too… assertive.”
Ellie’s comment got a snort out of the other, “Don’t I know assertive parents.” John’s weak, “Hey!” went ignored as the siren crossed her arms and shared a knowing look with the taller woman. There was a short pause, followed by a thought suddenly striking Angel; she held up a finger and grinned triumphantly at Ellie, “Okay wait… isn’t she a way better tech whiz than dad, though?”
A louder and offended “Hey!” from John and a delighted laugh from Ellie confirmed Angel’s question and she let out an amused giggle. She turned to grace John with a response as well, “Come on, dad. It’s always good to accept one’s flaws.”
“I don’t have any flaws!”
“And that,” Ellie pointed a finger at the man, “Is why you’re an asshole.” John finally gave up trying to argue with the woman and simply let out an agonized grunt, which gave Angel the opportunity to cut in: “Do you think you can contact your mom and convince her to help us out?”
The mechanic hummed thoughtfully, tapping a finger to her chin and swaying on her feet, “I can.” she answered lazily, “But what’s in it for me? I mean, my ma’s just annoying as any other parent out there.”
“How about a date? Whenever we get to see each other again?” John let out an indignant squawk and honestly, Angel couldn’t believe she had just said that either. Judging by the blush on Ellie’s plump cheeks (that nearly matched Angel’s own reddened face), her offer was good enough.
“Deal.” Ellie finally said with a wink, “I’ll hold you to it.”
“Ellie? Sweetheart, I’m thrilled that you called and I really, really want to hear what you’ve been up to, but I’m a little busy right now.” Moxxi drawled into her ECHO, not bothering to look at the screen and trying to keep up with her usual nonchalant-yet-hot attitude while watching the group of people sitting in one of the booths at her bar.
“Heyyyy, Moxx.” The woman’s well-shaped brows nearly met in annoyance at the voice, surprise and anger battling for dominance in her chest. Why was John, of all people, calling her from Ellie’s line?
“John?!” she hissed, finally ducking behind the counter and looking at her ECHO’s screen just as she heard Ellie say “That was just too many Ys, asshole.” There was a scoff from John and she saw three people on the screen, the Jackass himself (minus an eye, wonder what the idiot did to lose it), Ellie-bear (looking damn cute in orange) and-
“Angel?”
“Hi, Auntie Moxxi!” The girl in question gave her a hearty wave and a huge, toothy grin. Moxxi ducked further, taking her ECHO along with her and finally settling on the floor. “What are you doing at Ellie’s place, baby girl? Every bandit and mercenary out there is after you!”
“News travel fast, eh?” John commented sadly, “That’s exactly why we need your help, Moxx.”
“Oh, so the mighty John Lawrence needs the help of a simple technician like me?” The woman spat, her fingers tightening around her ECHO as her beautiful features contorted into an angry frown.
“Look, Moxx, I… I’m really sorry we had to go through a nasty breakup, but I need your help… Desperately.”
Was he… was the damn bastard giving her puppy eyes (or eye, in his case)? And wait… did he just apologize? Moxxi frowned.
“Who are you and what did you do to my ugly ex?”
“I honestly don’t know what Marcus’s been doing…” John said with a small grin, not taking the insult seriously, “But it’s really me.” Moxxi rolled her eyes despite her amused smile and pinched the bridge of her nose, various thoughts already forming in her mind.
“As much as I’d love to help you two just for the sake of your daughter turning out to be such a sweet and smart person (unlike you),” she played along, “I’m a little busy right now.”
“Moxx, come on! I’m not asking you to close up the bar or anything, just a boost-“
“I’m in the middle of a con, John.” Moxxi cut him off, rising on her feet to throw a quick look at the crowded booth.
“A con? Since when do you do cons?”
“Since thatsnoneofyourbusiness, John.”
“Come ooooonnnnnn Moooooooxx.”
The bar owner paused sulking as she caught her accomplice’s stare across the bar and smiled to herself, “Okay, John. This is gonna be risky, but I’ll help you if you two help me with this con.”
“We’re wanted all over the freaking universe, Moxx! How could we actually con people? We can’t even go in public!”
Moxxi gave him a sly smile, “Well, you see…”
“Why did you say you… quit Hyperion?” the tall, nearly-enchanting woman asked, the bar’s lights bouncing off of her amber brown skin elegantly. Her piercing, electric blue eyes found the warm, mint colored ones of her counterpart, studying the younger woman intently. “Mrs… Strauss, correct?”
The said ‘Mrs Strauss’ almost tipped her head at her current prey, remembering she wasn’t wearing one at the last moment. A dark shade of red dusting her deep bronze cheeks, she gave the woman an encouraging smile, “It was just not working for us, Ms Hammerlock. We wanted a decent life and Hyperion did not give us one.”
The blond man sitting next to ‘Mrs Strauss’ gave a hearty nod, “The conditions we were working in were just not good for a happy life, and definitely far from a proper one for our future children.” He patted the woman’s hand fondly, the wedding ring on his finger glinting slightly.
Fiona (A.K.A. Mrs Strauss) shot Mr Strauss (the idiot who went by the name of August in real life) an incredulous look, trying to convey her thoughts along with it.
What the fuck, August?!?
Ms Hammerlock (who so lovingly went by the name of Baroness Aurelia Hammerlock among these peasants) gave the duo a mocking smile, “Leaving such a grand company for children?” She turned towards her brother (who was down for being called literally anything if it meant he could part ways with his sister) and let out a shrill laugh which was enough for Sir Hammerlock to see what she was thinking.
Can you believe these peasants and their simple life choices?
Fiona shot the Hammerlocks an apologetic grin, shrugging her shoulders innocently. August puffed up his chest, clearly offended by his future kids being insulted, only to be stopped by the voice crackling in his ear just as he was about to shot back a snarky reply.
“Don’t forget about the deeeeaaaaallll!” the low, sing-song voice of Sasha, Fiona’s younger sister came through, sounding as stiff and strained as her posture. She shot an angry look at the Strausses from where she sat across the bar, unnoticed by the regal siblings.
Fiona cleared her throat and laced her fingers on the table, looking both Hammerlocks in the eye, “What matters right now is that we need the money (“For our children!” August unhelpfully supplied) and you want to find this siren and her father.”
“I wonder what they want to do with them, honestly.” Sasha said, reaching for her glass of iced tea lazily.
“Why do you exactly want them, anyway?” August echoed her question, idly scratching his beard, “For power? Money? Fame?”
The Baroness’s laugh rang throughout the bar again, the sound even higher than the deep base thrumming from the speakers. “Oh, darling, I already have all of those!” She leaned on the desk and towards the duo, a dark glint passing her eyes, “I’m simply bored and this seems like the proper amount of fun I want to have!” Sir Hammerlock looked helpless as he sighed and ran a hand through his mighty mustache.
“Moxx, for god’s sake, those are the Hammerlocks! They hunt bounties for fun.” John nearly whined, “There has to be another way.”
“I can’t possibly let the chance of milking a couple of rich so-called-aristocrats fly from my hands, John.” Moxxi said, throwing another look at the con going on before ducking behind the counter again. “I want to help, but I can’t do that right now, unless you join us.”
“We’re in.” The hard voice of Angel surprised the others, making it clear that her decision was final. John went to object, only to be stopped by his daughter, “No, dad. I know this is dangerous, but we need their help. Plus, we need money for supplies; we didn’t bring much along with us and you know it.” John heaved a huge sigh, rubbing his face with both hands.
“How long till we reach Moxx’s bar?” he asked, finally giving up.
“Have no fear. We will deliver you to Gracious Mother in two hours.” Ouranos said, already turning to march towards the bandit technical parked outside.
“That’s right! Follow us!” Hermes added, already vibrating with joy.
“Great, I’ll alert the team.” Moxxi said with a pleased smile. Blowing a loving kiss to Ellie, she ended the call and appeared behind the counter. Sasha raised an eyebrow questioningly, which prompted Moxxi to join their line. “Change of plans, everyone. We actually have the siren and her father.” August choked on his rakk ale, forcing Fiona to pat his back none too gently. “But we’re not gonna hand them to these posh people, we’ll be in a mutually beneficial relationship. Yes, Sasha, that’s more important than the money, so close your mouth and sit down.” She idly grabbed a couple of bottles and started making a mix for herself, this was gonna be a long night. “We’re still getting their money, though, don’t be afraid. We’re just… making the deal take a little longer than expected.”
“And how are we gonna do that?” Sasha asked, sounding flabbergasted.
Fiona suddenly slammed her hands onto the table, rising from her seat, “Going after people for fun?! That sounds just wrong, and I’m ex-Hyperion! I can’t work with this!” She moved to leave only to be stopped by August, who caught onto her plan: “Lydia, please… We’re talking about big money here, enough to live a good life away from the company wars.” He batted his eyelashes at her and she honestly couldn’t believe how she managed to fell for this idiot. She stifled a chuckle, schooling her features into a pained expression, “I…” she sighed. “I need time to think. Let’s meet up for breakfast tomorrow and talk again, alright?”
Sir Hammerlock turned to look at his sister with a doubtful look, but the Baroness simply shrugged and got up, “I’ve missed two hours of my beauty sleep for this talk anyway! Breakfast sounds delightful, darling, make sure you find a place that’s not as cheap as this one!”
And with a stack of money thrown onto the table, Aurelia and Alistair Hammerlock were gone.
August slowly sat back down, “What the actual fuck?”
Suffering for a total of eight hours for the day, Timothy and Rhys met up in the latter’s apartment since Timothy was quite sure his was bugged in ways he couldn’t possibly detect. Chewing on a slice of pizza, Rhys hummed thoughtfully. “I wonder how life’s like on Pandora.”
“My guess?” Timothy replied through a mouthful of pizza, “Like skag shit.”
“Come on, bro. Vaughn’s down there helping Hyperion build a proper city! There’s still hope.”
“My god, you’re such a fanboy.”
“My god, you’re a dumbass.”
Bickering like little kids was good for anxiety, Rhys thought as he finally finished his slice and opened up his right palm to give Vaughn the long-awaited ECHO call. Timothy graced him with a hopeful, albeit-wavering smile.
Vaughn picked up on the third ring, the screen opening a virtual door to the man’s living room. The accountant gave Rhys a huge grin, “Hey bro! What’s up? You usually call later than this hour.” Time zones were a bitch when it came to how different the daily cycles were for Pandora, Elpis and Helios.
The cyborg gave his friend a nervous smile, running his hand through his hair, “I need your help, bro. This is some tricky business, so we might need some time to talk properly.”
“Oooookay?”
“Let me introduce you to my friend Timothy first!” Rhys said, motioning for the other man to come closer.
“So this is the famous Vaughn, eh?”
“And you’re the famous Timothy, huh?”
“The one and only. Honored to meet a badass accountant like you.” Finger guns exchanged, mock-shots taken, and Timothy and Vaughn were already getting along just fine. Vaughn laid back on his couch, a curious look in his eyes now, “What did you need me for, bros?”
“A super-secret mission. We need you to be our eyes and ears on Pandora, bro.” Rhys replied, jaw set tight despite his cheery tone. The accountant turned to glance at Timothy, “This is about your brother, isn’t it?” Receiving an affirmative nod, Vaughn sighed and took off his glasses, idly cleaning the lenses with his t-shirt.
“This mission sounds super-dangerous, too, then.” He put on his glasses once he was sure they were clean, “Rhys, we’ll be risking too much; not just our jobs, our lives, too!”
“I know, but we can’t let innocent people get hurt because of some asshole’s personal gain!”
“That asshole you’re talking about is our CEO, Rhys. And- and do you even hear yourself? You sound so… not-Hyperion!”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.” Timothy grinned at Vaughn, shaking his head in amusement. “Look, dude, it’s fine if you don’t want to be a part of this-“
“He wants to be a part of this, he’s just playing hard to get!”
“I’m not! Okay maybe a little, but… this is really dangerous!”
“You’ll just look for any sightings, news and gossip, bro! Just report back to us and we’ll be good!”
“Are you even sure they’re not listening to our calls already?”
“Bro. Come on now! You really think I wouldn’t set up a secure connection for this?”
“Okay, alright, that makes sense. But-“
There was a knock on the door. Vaughn instinctively curled in on himself despite being on the other end and hissed, “Whoisthat?!”
“Why would they knock the door anyway, doorbells are there for a reason!” Timothy grumbled next to him as Rhys turned to scan the door and the person behind it with his ECHO eye.
“Well shit.”
“Open the door, people! This is Commander Axton speaking on behalf of Hyperion Corporation, you’ve been caught committing treachery!”