[h2]C H A P T E R [s]1[/s][/h2]
[b]N o t   A   S i n g l e   S t a r[/b]
_________________________________
[h3]Fort Hood, Texas
—- // JANUARY 23[/h3][@Zoey White]
"[i][color=black]Let's get the show on the road.[/color][/i]" Antoine rolled his eyes and replied rolling out black ski masks from his pocket, tossing one to 2 and then reaching up to place one over his own face.

"[i][color=salmon]I brought my own.[/color][/i]" Akasha quickly noted, donning their own ski mask. They'd then quickly fire the handler and 2 a kawaii peace sign before jogging towards the very home the operation revolved around. 

There were flower hedges around the face of the building, creating natural barriers around windows to dissuade any curious or ill-willed perpetrators from peering within. This wouldn't be a problem for our 2 though as nature as a whole bent to her whim. Akasha had the knowledge of this, turning towards her and quietly gesturing towards a window close to their garage. L a u n d r y   R o o m. Such a serious operation just to break into a lowly military leader's home, where his wife and children likely safely slept in peace without a worry in the world.

Antoine on the other hand made his way to the rear of the house, shuffling through thick grass and layers of sandspur which stuck to every part of him. Eventually he would reach his own window, exposed, small, but he could squeeze in if he was careful. He drew a six inch, thin, tactical knife from his waist and pressed it carefully through below the screen layer over the glass popping it out. Then the knife's tip would even more carefully be wedged in the space between the two glass panels. His gloved hand would slowly add pressure till it reached the locking mechanism and then he would quickly pull up to unlock the window. Then, like a snake Antoine reached his forebody through the bathroom window ending up in the Master Bedroom's shower within their bathroom. Shower curtains of dark-green and navy blue patterns blocked vision of his entry, and he quietly sat with quiet breathing before pressing a button attached to his belt. 

On Akasha's waist a faint green light would be triggered by Antoine's device, marking his successful entry, infiltration was his forte after all.  She would dust her hands for a moment as she waited for 2 to breach the window that had been directed towards. "[i][color=salmon]Your keeper is in, let us hope he fulfills his job so we may fulfill ours.[/color][/i]"

[hr][h3]???, Romania
Midnight// JANUARY 24[/h3][@OwO]
As the wall came crashing down and the reinforced steel flying into the building as the charge detonated, soldiers within ducked and dived for cover. Six screamed orders at them, and while in most scenarios they would just ignore the creature- this was life for death. They screamed primal roars in defiance of their fate, aiming their rifles out into the smoke firing aimlessly outside in hopes of taking down their enemies before they could breach their building. There were a few groans and yelps in pain, but not as many as those soldiers would have liked and the sounds could have very well came from the ongoing battle going on outside. 

The telekinetic boy would sense something strange as the smoke rose and clouds of stone residue blew in the snowy wind. His eyes were drawn towards the snowy ground below curiously, unknowingly, but the urges of instinct drew him to run towards the soldiers that were positioned for cover behind the snow-train. It was a short jog away, the distance would take only a minute to cover but could that minute be all it took for his own demise. The boy was young, but not entirely dumb, he made a break for it watching the ground and generally behind him as he sprinted and slipped on snow as adrenaline pumped through his veins screaming 'D a n g e r!'. 

Meanwhile, a car would just be making its way into the battlefield. Rifle fire would make its way to the moving vehicle, piercing the glass and aluminum along the good until the driver came to an abrupt stop. The driver armed himself opening the door and ducking behind it for cover before aiming through the window to fire at a group of stationary rifleman that were firing at them in particular. It was quite the distance to aim with his small handgun, though he'd luckily hit one of ten men in the shoulder, knocking them down and taking them out of the battle. Out of the rear door came out Six's handler, a smile of almost relief painted boldly across his chubby face. He held no gun, instead within his fingers were several throwing knives. Gunfire would make it's way to him, and inhumanly the man dodged each bullet ease. It was an eerie sight, no gun, bladed weapons, his advance was a calm casual stride as he tossed one blade at a time effortlessly at the rifleman who fired- striking three directly between the eyes at nigh unavoidable speed. The fourth was hit in the hand, which was due to him raising his arms up to aim at the man he would survive but lose a few fingers instead.

"[color=Black]Now,[/color] [color=gray]where is my[/color] [color=Black]Six?[/color]"

[hr][h3]Several Miles from Varkhaus, Finland [Wilderness]
Midnight // JANUARY 24[/h3][@ERode]
"[color=forestgreen]What a terrifying power you have there. That's some X-Men shit.[/color]" The pilot grunted as he took aim at the defenseless men and women whom had all of their belongings reaped away from them effortless by the boy.

The man advanced out towards the people, he was pretty quick for someone who was just complaining about the cold and hunger a few moments ago. Maybe it was the thought of food, warmer clothing, or perhaps just the thrill of battle. Nonetheless, he quickly made headway on their fleeing positions and fired his handgun at the left leg of a larger blonde, fair-skinned, male causing his sprints to be briskly interrupted. The german man had become airborne flying forward with the propulsion of his run and smacking into the ground with a slide across frost below.

The others would be left to 13 or free to flee back to wherever they came from. Though, the pilot would focus all his efforts on the wounded man on the ground. He lurched over him as he squatted down and extended a hand over the man's head, his clutch grasped into the german's golden locks tugging his head up by his hair and turning it manually to make him face the pilot. "[i][color=forestgreen]Strange for you guys to get information about the church. Maybe someone a few notches up on the totem pole, but the very bottom? Who hired you - no - who hired your organization to go after the kid?[/color][/i]"

"[i]We aren't after the kid.[/i]" He groaned.

"[i][color=forestgreen]Then wh- Augustine.[/color][/i]" He dropped the wounded man on his face, turning back to 13 with a loud audible shout into his direction, echoing through the forest. "[i][color=forestgreen]They're after the Saint! We're heading in her direction![/color][/i]" He would then fire another round into the blonde man's other legs completely disabling him from leaving the tree he laid under.

[hr][h3]St. Peterburgh, Russia
Midnight // JANUARY, 23[/h3][@Rune_Alchemist][@Kazemitsu]
The explosion of shadow would erupt from the guard's shoulder. While metal would warp out from the point of explosion, the innards, cables, fibers, and other workings within the guards were resilient. Of course, recognizing their target's response to target their cores was acted upon. The plating that was grounded in defense quickly raised up and spun back to guards' chests and shoulders and their speed revitalized as they quickly took to a speedier offense against the shadow-wielding promised child. Two in particular took the vanguard, dashing towards him with ex-shaped attacks slashes of their armaments. All the while, simultaneously the the others would begin to surround number 3. 

"[i]If my toys were that easy to break, I would have never been hired to bring you guys in.[/i]" The rough voice spoke nonchalantly over the loudspeaker system. Punctuating his statement were a series of loud, exaggerated, mocking laughs that cracked and buzzed through the microphone he spoke into. "[i]Also, there's no point destroying all the cameras. My Gardna's eyes are my eyes, so unless you plan on trying to tear their heads off, I'll be seeing a whole lot of you. Also, you, on the third floor-- 11, that's right, I know what your subject names are! Good luck trying to corrode my toys, they were specifically created with durability in mind.[/i]"

Upon the third floor as 11 charged in for a flank, the guards spun into action at the ready though one unlucky Gardna would be leaped upon and barraged with layers of her noxious substance. While the innards would take some time to corrode, the reinforced plating covering the gardna would take the brunt of acidic residue without any issue. Though like the gardna on the lower floors, realizing that their enemy was aiming for their vital locations-- the wounded gardna would pull back to their rear of their formation while two would chase after the figure who dipped away.

[hr][h3]Tokyo, Japan
Evening// JANUARY 24[/h3][@Melkor]
"[b]9 1 1, What is your emergency?[/b]"
"[b]Yes! There's a monster! GPS our location! Send the military![/b]"
"[b]We've zeroed in on you, forces are on their way![/b]"
"[b]Thank you![/b]"

The crowd of people ran from the faceless amalgamation that outraged within the crowd of people. Some were not so lucky and were consumed by the creature, others were wounded by lashing tendrils, but it wouldn't be long until armed men would show up to kill 5 or atleast constrain him and take him into custody. Somehow. A few people in the crowd even began to livestream the scene with their smartphone, posting the creature on social media, sending it to news sources, it wouldn't be long until the whole thing went viral. Henrietta was going to regret this.

Speaking of her, while in the middle of her investigating within the apartment people would begin flying out of their apartments and running to the elevator as if there were some emergency going on. "[i]The monster is supposed to be a few blocks away! Lets go before the military comes![/i]" Said a very tall japanese man in his mid to late twenties by estimation, following him were a few similar in age though not nearly as tall. Luckily Henrietta caught his eye and he stopped in his tracks as he took interest in the burly looking woman. "[i]Hey there, wanna come see history be made?[/i]" Which the handler flashed a predatory smile towards the man, shaking her head innocently. "[color=black]Would I?[/color]" Then nodding in acceptance, following the group into the elevator and taking the long trip down.

As the crowd exited the apartment building, crowds were beginning to rush through the streets like a living-breathing river. The roars of dialogue and random noises made it difficult to pick anything really useful from the masses, but Henrietta blended in thankfully and followed the flow until it took them to the destination. Her hunt would soon be over, and then the next step would simply be to get her reigns back on him and disappear again. But the fact that this was making news, probably on a national level would result in some consequences. Nonetheless, she would finally make contact with 5, looking at his shell of his former self was a bit of a sight for sore eyes. 

"[i][color=black]Five. You forgot the mission. Get your head together, or you're going to die.[/color][/i]" She spoke just audibly within the roaring crowd of people for 5 to hear, and if he did, her voice would sound soothing to the creature- quelling his nerves and filling him with the sense of euphoria.
[hr][h3]Geneva, Switzerland
Midnight// JANUARY 24[/h3][@Eleven]
“[color=black]There you are, sorry about the wait.[/color]” Emm was the first figure to walk out from the building donning the same smile-faced mask as the man. Then behind him a crowd of surviving figures dressed well, though splatters and stains of blood littered their clothing. Even Emm had some blood around his sleeves and even some sanguine clumps within his hair.

The vibrant lantern would captivate everyone besides Emm, though he still quietly paced towards the girl who sat in rage and shock at the curbside. Typically he would be bitter or indifferent towards the girl but in this moment he quietly paced up behind her and planted a hand onto her head. "[i][color=black]Hey now, if you let your lantern go out of control it'll end up being a real nuisance for both of us.[/color][/i]" His face was hidden by the smiley-face mask, but still a sense of dread would come over 7 as his presence loomed over her.

It was only a few moments after this that the top-hatted man would step out as the last figure. The familiar clacking of heels like a ticking time bomb, as he stopped a few steps behind the promised child and her keeper. "[i][color=grey]The loss of Niko is quite unfortunate. This wasn't at all what we had planned for today, it was supposed to be a nice fancy feast- for us and for them. But it seems there are still some of you orphans who don't want to be subservient to Archangels. I'll be heading home to 1, and then briefing the pope on what's going on. Thank you for disposing of the bodies for me by the way, you were always the most loyal of the dogs Emmanuel.[/color][/i]" The ringmaster looking figure began to laugh hysterically, walking past the two without any words or a wave, simply advancing to a black limousine in the parking lot and entering the rearmost door and driving off.

As the elongated black vehicle pulled off, Emm's facade and he would bring his pampering of the girl's hair to a halt. Happily drawing himself away from 7 and towards the crowd of people whom were continuously drawn towards her, shaking his head. '[i]Such a creepy ability[/i]' he thought to himself, as he stared at the people creepily. Just pawns in the Church's games, that what they all were, and if Niko would have just kept his head down like a good dog they wouldn't have had to kill him in there. But that was in the past now. "[i][color=black]If killing them all will make you feel better, then go ahead.[/color][/i]"

[hr][h3]Liverpool, England
01:00// JANUARY 24[/h3][@Vocab]
"[i][color=gray]You aren't very talkative 14, why not liven up the mood? We won't have much time for talking once we're under the thumb once again- you know, I think you might have social anxiety. Which, if you do there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. You need to live your life to the fullest after-all, also, if you get hungry let me know and we can just snag a transient and you can gobble them down. I'm so lucky to be looking over you- you know that 14?[/color][/i]"
 
The priest was definitely a talker, annoyingly so, and as they reached the forementioned docks they would be met with the sight of tens, twenties of armed forces with standard assault rifles. They patrolled constantly, there weren't even any boats, just armed figured and boxes of merchandise,

They weren't mercenaries, just men and women of this very country trying to make ends meet in one way or another. Gangs and mobs seemed to run Britain in this day and age, and what little government presence was left was filled by people with their hands in these illegal organizations. But calling anything illegal here was a joke, drug-use, prostitution, all of it blatantly filled the streets with nothing keeping them in check. May as well call this place the Kingdom of Sodom at this point, and this priest and his charge were here to purge them-- or atleast just a specific number of them. Their target was [b]Damon Walash[/b], in the past he was a respected bar owner- though the respect of his peers and a surplus in drunkard's money allowed him to use his bar as a front for numerous shady endeavors. Now, years later he had become something of a kingpin and is relentless in his advances around the country as he sells weapons and drugs to even the commonfolk causing the chaos to be even worse. The Priest, and 14, were doing the world a favor in their mission to take this guy out.

"[i][color=gray]You see that building on the most-Eastern side of the docks? That's where our boy is. It likely won't be much trouble for you, but if you'd like- I can take half of these heretics, you can take the other half? Team work! Togetherness, just the two of us- you and I?[/color][/i]"

[hr][h3]Berlin, Germany
01:00// JANUARY 24[/h3][@Savo]
"[i][color=black]He needs to be executed discretely 9. No big scene, no cameras, nothings- just vanish into thin air.[/color][/i]" The handler sat next to his promised child in a room of complete darkness, no windows, no ventilation, it was completely separate from the rest of the world. But they were in Berlin, the busiest most dangerous place in the Germanic Empire. Puppeteers in the most absolute sense, manipulating the inner goings from the shadows and waiting for the opportune moment to pack their shit and move.

9's whole operation was a risk to himself and his handler. Their target was the German Chancellor Cheska Ridenour, a very beloved woman in German coveted by her people with treasured ideals. In the crumbling world she abandoned the faith entirely instead choosing to focus on the state feeding, sheltering, and helping the people while all other resources went into the military. The German's were very similar to Russia in the sense that they didn't wish to be absorbed into their growing empire, but instead took a different approach and allied themselves with a number of nations and opened conversations of unifying under a banner against them. Belgium allied without any issue, even being absorbed into the German Empire though retaining most of it's political structure- though Ridenour still holds power within their country, the Netherlands was a strange case, while they are still highly faithful and agree with a great deal of the church's decisions- they do not agree with their encroachment across the world. The Germanic Empire wasn't really an empire, but it did have a fair amount of power due to the amount of weapons they exported to other countries in Europe who wished to fight the Church. 

"[i][color=black]She should be exiting her car with the bodyguard in 01:30 so be ready. If you fuck this up, we're going to be stuck here for a couple more months.[/color][/i]" He grunted, shaking the red hair from his face. He could barely see the grim sight of the promised child, but he did have faith in his number more than some did. 9 had set his threads into a French Envoy sent to Germany, which despite their neutrality meant nothing. He was a tool for the church to utilize, and his death would be a sacrifice needed for the greater good.