How Vault Joined the Sentinel Six

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Vault did not join the Sentinel Six because they were recruiting.

She joined because she wouldn’t stop showing up.



Before the Team Knew Her Name

Vault had been operating independently for months before the Sentinel Six noticed her—if “noticed” is the right word. They kept encountering the results of her actions:

  • A mugging stopped with the assailant neatly disarmed and zip-tied.
  • A warehouse fire where everyone got out before first responders arrived.
  • A gang lookout found unconscious on a rooftop, bruises precise and nonlethal.

No calling card. No attempt at publicity. Just efficient, oddly cheerful heroics in places the Sentinel Six didn’t always reach.

Knight Wing was the first to connect the dots.


First Contact: The Interference

The actual meeting happened during a messy street-level operation involving a smuggling ring using sewer access points beneath the city.

The Sentinel Six had a plan.

Vault did not know that plan.

She dropped into the middle of it anyway—literally—vaulting out of a maintenance shaft, staff spinning, disabling two smugglers before Indy even realized someone else was moving at high speed.

What followed was chaos:

  • Indy nearly collided with her at full sprint.
  • Cinderblock mistook her for a hostile and almost grabbed her mid-leap.
  • Echo shouted at both of them to stop improvising.
  • Fuchsia felt a burst of excitement and nerves that definitely didn’t belong to anyone on the team.

Vault landed, beamed behind her mask, and said:

“Oh—hi! You’re the Sentinel Five, right? I’ve been trying to figure out how to meet you.”


Why She Stayed

They told her—firmly—to leave.

She didn’t argue.

She just… kept helping.

  • Extracted a civilian when part of the tunnel collapsed.
  • Took a hit meant for Knight Wing.
  • Recovered from injuries that should have sidelined her—and jumped back in anyway.

By the time the operation ended, no one could honestly say she’d made things worse.

That unsettled them.



The Question of Trust

Afterward, they confronted her on a rooftop.

Vault explained—openly, almost eagerly:

She wasn’t trained by anyone.

She wasn’t sponsored.

She didn’t have a mentor or a legacy.

 She just knew she could heal fast, move fast, and shouldn’t waste that.

Echo was skeptical.

Indy was impressed.

Cinderblock liked her confidence.

Knight Wing worried she’d get herself killed.

Fuchsia felt something quieter: recognition.

Vault reminded her of who they all were at the beginning.


The Trial Period (That Wasn’t Called That)

They didn’t offer her membership.

They offered rules.

  • Show up when called—not whenever she felt like it.
  • Follow the plan, even if she disagreed.
  • Learn extraction and restraint before escalation.
  • Accept that healing didn’t make her invincible.

Vault agreed instantly.

Too instantly, honestly.


The Moment That Made It Official

The real turning point came weeks later, during a warehouse raid that went sideways fast.

A secondary explosion cut off escape routes. Smoke, panic, structural failure—the kind of situation that brought back bad memories for the team.

Vault was closest to the exit.

She didn’t take it.

Instead, she turned back—again and again—pulling teammates out of danger, absorbing injuries that would have sidelined anyone else, never once breaking formation.

When Fuchsia ordered a retreat, Vault didn’t argue.

She obeyed.

On the roof afterward, bruised and grinning through pain, Vault said:

“Next time, I’ll be faster.”

Echo corrected her.

“Next time, you’ll wait.”

Vault nodded.
 

And meant it.


Why the Sentinel Five/Six Let Her In

Not because she was powerful.
 

Not because she was fearless.

Because she was teachable.

Because she respected the team.

Because she didn’t see them as idols—but as partners.

Because when it mattered, she chose them over proving herself.

They didn’t announce it. They didn’t make a speech.

Knight Wing just handed her a spare comm unit.

Fuchsia added her to the roster.

Indy started calling out her position like she’d always been there.

And Vault—rookie, healer, leaper—became the sixth Sentinel.

Not the strongest.

Not the fastest.

But the one who reminded them that joining a team isn’t about being ready—

It’s about being willing to learn.

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