The First of Seven (CLOSED)

A white-haired, white eyed young man paced through Central Park, staring up at the shrinking, abandoned tree that used to be the base of operations for Titans United before them and Unregistered were forced to merge and the Tree's residents moved into the Tower. Due to this being a recent development, it was outside of Zazriel's notice, and now the Reaper angel was gazing up at the abandoned tree, attempting to figure out what to do next.

Earlier...

David Constantine sat up in his bed from another freakish dream, sweat beading on his forehead. How was he supposed to focus on his studies at the University when he kept getting these weird dreams every night? The student was at his wits end... and he was so exhausted. He had been to a sleep doctor who's tests came up inconclusive, and he was simply recommended to take some sleeping pills. But even those didn't work. Before he had gone to bed, David had taken enough melatonin to knock out a horse (metaphorically), and despite all odds he was still wide awake at 3am with a 7 foot tall apparition at the foot of his bed, ethereal with wings spread wide.

"What in the hell are you?" the student cried, backed up to the headboard as far as he could go in fear.

The apparition outstretched a long, ethereal arm, pointing at him. "I am Zazriel..." it's voice seemed to echo, "You have been chosen to serve the divine, child..." In that moment, Zazriel's ethereal form rushed forward, overtaking his mentally exhausted vessel.
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Zazriel was about to leave when he saw Kristen fly over him, seemingly patrolling the park for any suspicious occurrences. Narrowing his eyes, the Reaper angel turned in the direction that the Nephilim girl was headed and started to briskly walk to wherever she was going. If he could neutralize her this early in the mission, it would only leave the dark Nephilim Khariel left for the others to take care of.
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Kristen landed next to a large boulder where she saw a couple of rowdy thugs vandalizing the natural structure with spray paint and graffiti. Sometimes hero work wasn't all demon slayings and saving the city from apocalyptic terrorist groups. Sometimes it was putting vandals in their place and teaching them a stern lesson, too.
"Okay, so you know this is municipal property, right? You can't just deface a boulder like this in the middle of broad daylight with people around on a property like this. Aren't there designated walls downtown you can express your creativity on?"

The vandals jumped when they saw the armoured form of Kristen. "S-Seraphim?! Right, well. Those walls get boring sometimes, ya know what I'm sayin'?" their leader spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever excuse it takes, right? Well, I caught you, so. Go on and get this cleaned up, eh?"

The vandals nodded meekly, not wishing to incur the wrath of the hero. Not that Kristen would really hurt them. She kept an eye on them as they went back to their van and returned with cleaning supplies. The Nephilim gave an amused look, has this happened to them before? They seemed prepared for this scenario.

Suddenly, Kristen heard footsteps from behind her. Turning, she glanced back to see who it was.

Toji strides up, his old self back in shape after the mission to Japan, to find his final weapon form. After that trip, he'd visited Ruins grave, and talked. Talked about all he'd wanted to do with her. All the sights they would have seen, all the fun they would have had, all the love they would have felt.Then, he said goodbye, with a smile and wet eyes.Now, here he was, nearly, if not fully, healed, and it showed in the huge, teasing grin and his returned loud, joking tone." Oh, shame on you,sis! These guys, they are men of vision, artists!"

Kristen smiled at Toji, happy that he had his old self back again. "Good afternoon, Lightning Wolf." she greeted him, using his codename in the presence of the vandals who were now cleaning the graffiti off of the boulder. "You know I'm just answering a complaint from the park ranger and general populace. Just doing my job." she said conversationally and with a light tone.

Meanwhile, Zazriel caught up to Kristen, hiding behind a nearby tree. His eyes narrowed. This was Lightning Wolf, one of the Titans that the Reaper angel had done research on before making his move that day. According to the information gathered by the Reaper, Lightning Wolf was a half-Okamian, a half-demon. Zazriel snorted. If the Nephilim targets were affiliating themselves with demons, it was an even greater reason to get this mission done quickly. But for now, he would observe, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Toji grins back." Indeed, madam Seraphim. It is a good afternoon." At her response, he shrugs." Ah...if its a complaint, then there's nothing to do....Even I cannot stand against Beauracy...all that red tape...." He shudders comically, then looks at the disappearing graffiti." Not that bad though...I look toward seeing you guys art again. On the designated walls, of course."

Kristen nodded at Toji's words. She knew that creativity was essential in a lot of things, but it had to be controlled.

When the graffiti gang had finished cleaning, Kristen allowed them to leave with a stern warning. Meanwhile, Zazriel had formed a plan to get close to the Nephilim girl without raising too much suspicion. Walking up behind them, the Reaper assumed the demeanor of a superfan.

"Wow, is it really you? It really is, isn't it? It's Seraphim!"

Kristen whirled around, looking at the owner of the voice. Her cyan eyes met with sparkling silver ones that shone with excitement. "Do I know you?"

She then remembered her title as a Titan probably gave her a lot of renown. "Oh, of course. Yes I am she." she gave an awkward smile, not knowing how to deal with fans.

Toji waves goodbye to the artists, then hears a voice, turning around. Aaaaaah, a fan. He grins, looking at his sister. He wouldn't be mean by teasing her....okay, maybe a little. "Aaaaw, my sisters got a fan!! What a amazing occasion!!I think I've got a tear in my eye!" He cheerefuly shakes her hand, stealthily passing autograph material to her in case the guy was wanting one and didn't have the supplies.There was the chance shed get him back, but oh well.

Another figure was there at the park. A rather dapper looking gentleman who would go mostly unnoticed if not for his absurd height. That and the fact his face was mostly covered by bandages. He was still settling in and getting a feel for the area. Find all the best tourist places, find all the best secluded areas to drink the souls of said tourists, the best places to lie in wait- and of course the names and capabilities of potential threats to his future kingdom. He believed the best place to start was in a newspaper, which may have actually been what was concealing his presence so well.

That or his small entourage of a pair of pale and stone faced goons in sunglasses. Someone of his statue couldn't take chances with being accosted by some wretched rapscallion. He had seen the vandals from before for awhile and had briefly pondered adding them to his army. Their taste in art clashed with his, so he saw no reason they should retain any of their "higher" brain functions when his musings were cut short by Kristen's arrival. He didn't know who she was, but he felt his body bristle as if in anticipation. "Tony, who is that young lady right there?" Horrace asked one of his cohorts.

The thug turned in Kristen's direction and frowned. "That's Seraphim. Some kinda angel I think," Tony replied. Not everyone Horrace soul drained was left a zombified shell. Typically they were, but only by his choice. You could never be too careful when giving someone a chance of immortality. If you thought getting stabbed in the back was bad, just imagine a possible eternity of it. So in essence, both of his cohorts were Wights like him.

He was not fond of this turn of events. Angels meant holiness, and holiness meant burning- he hated getting burned. Not because it hurt, but because it made posing as a living mortal... more difficult. That and it was harder to move around without muscles. The situation was made more irksome when she was joined by an obvious ally. "That's Lightning Wolf. The gang I used to run with got into a scrap with him. Couldn't lay a hand on him, it was like- over in a flash," one of his cohorts explained before Horrace even thought about asking. This was not an ideal situation to be in. For now Horrace would wait and see what transpired. Maybe with luck a comet would fall and fatally injure the lot of them....

Kristen sweatdropped a little as Toji secretly passed her autographing materials in case this fan wanted something to be signed while teasing her about having fans. "Oh come on now, brother. You probably have scores more fans than I do." she replied.

She then turned to Zazriel, who still maintained the cheesy, excited grin on his face. "Well... would you like an autograph?" It was then that it would be blatantly obvious that the Nephilim had no experience in handling fans, as usually the fan would ask for the autograph and not be asked if they wanted an autograph.

However, the 'fan' seemed just as clueless in autograph etiquette, and replied eagerly, "Yes, of course!"

"Right then." Kristen nodded, pulling out the pad of paper and a sharpie, scrawling 'From Seraphim, to-' in messy handwriting before looking up. "Uhm, what's your name?"

"Er, David!" Zazriel replied, using his vessel's name, "David Constantine."

Kristen nodded, finishing the autograph with that name and handing it over with a smile. The character before her seemed slightly suspicious, but it may have just been his nervousness, she wasn't sure. Upon hearing her codename being uttered by another person, her gaze left Zazriel and settled upon a group of men behind her. Well, she was a Titan so it was obvious that many people knew about her. For the moment, she disregarded their presence.

Her attention was brought back to her fan when he started talking to her again, "Oh, I gotta show you something! Follow me!" Zazriel caught the indoctrinated's hand, dragging her in the direction of the rock and past it, further into the woodsy park. The Reaper angel wanted to make his move, but it had to be away from onlookers.

"O-okay?" the Nephilim exclaimed, going along with whatever her fan was doing.

Toji winces at the memory of being swarmed by some girls after a mission awhile ago.The halfling appreciated that people looked up to him, but still, it wasn't pleasant when he was hugged and his hair ruffled repeatedly by people he didn't know. " Don't remind me...." He mutters."I am not fluffy..." He watches as Kristen gives out a autograph,chuckling. She appeared new to this....Note to self, find a way to get her more fans. She deserved recognition as well.He looks at a group of men nearby,hearing his codename. Odd....one of them seemed familiar....Shrugging, the boy blinks as the fan starts dragging his sister off, and follows. He wasn't about to leave her alone, not if he could help it.

Horrace continued to feign ignorance of what was going on, though was still in reality peering over his newspaper to watch. Something was... off here, but the Wight Lord couldn't quite put his bony finger on it. "What you want us to do boss?" Tony asked him. Horrace knew there was a reason he chose to turn Tony. He was always obedient and eager to work for him. And his manners had greatly improved since they first met!

"Patience good sir. It would not be beneficial for us to go into this recklessly," Horrace assured him, already thinking on it. The angel would be a problem for all of them, but the "lightning" wolf could equally pose a problem. His eye turned to the vandals from before as they cleaned up their mess. There wasn't many other people around right now. "Tony, James... let us give these miscreants a higher purpose in life," Horrace suggested making a tent with his fingers.

"You want us to turn them?" the other yet to be named Wight asked with an evil smirk.

"Yes James, but don't hold back on my account. While I do fancy the creative mind, theirs is seriously lacking in... refinement," Horrace replied, giving them the go ahead. He not so subtly implied that they could just take their souls completely, turning them into zombies. Both thugs rose to their feet and made their way over to the vandals whilst they cleaned.

"You guys, come here a second. Tired of being pushed around by that 'holier then you' girly?" James greeted them. Horrace simply smiled as things progressed...

A hooded girl made her way down a small paved path in Central Park. It was usually not that busy, and quite quiet, a large contrast to the area outside of the park. Loud, bustling, filled with people. But today something seemed a bit off. There was a few voices that just seemed to echo loudly, and then there was a strange man, with other strange people around him. He was tall, very tall. She was surprised by his clothing, it was as if he had stepped out of the victorian era itself. His face was covered by a newspaper, and he looked to be reading it. His gangly features seemed off. She didn't feel comfortable walking along the path that went in front of him. She turned off the path, hoping to go around him. As she did, she noticed other pale figures walking towards a group of people cleaning up something. Grafitti maybe?

Whatever was happening, she had a bad feeling about it. Alas, her rabid curiousity got the better of her, as she hid behind a tree behind the strange man, hoping to see what was happening.

Five minutes earlier, Meta had just happened to be off doing something personal when he saw a robbery in progress, Meta creeped into the door behind the man in the ski mask and tapped him on the shoulder. The thug turned around and pointed his gun, but then cried out in surprise when he saw who it was Surprise he then punched the thug in the face and picked up his body, carrying it out of the shop and calling some enforcers to collect him.

With that done he started to make his way back to the tower, but on his way back he saw Toji and Seraphim, a teammate that he only knew by codename, talking to a stranger, he paid it no mind and would move on if there was no reason for him to stay.

Zazriel led Kristen to an enclosed clearing away from the main path of the park. He was about to make his move when he saw that Lightning Wolf had followed, and frowned. It was no matter. If the half-demon interfered, he would be met with the wrath of the heavens. Nevertheless, the Reaper would take no chances.

"Sanctum Negatio: Ira Non Habet Inferno!" Zazriel shouted, whirling around and thrusting out a hand at Toji as an invisible force was launched in his direction. This incantation would nullify any novice level demonic abilities the halfling would be able to use against the Reaper, but it would not last forever. Zazriel was certain it would leave the halfling helpless long enough to get the job done, however.

"What the-!" Kristen exclaimed, recognizing the incantation and drawing Seinaru Hokkaido, her Okamian weapon. An angelic broadsword manifested in a flash of light as Zazriel took hold of it's hilt, bringing it down to clash with the Okamian Steel, sparks flying from the friction.

The Nephilim gritted her teeth, staring Zazriel straight in his steel grey eyes. "Reaper. You have finally shown your face."

"Nephilim. You have finally stopped running from your fate. Are you prepared to face your destiny?" Zazriel answered, now without emotion.

"Brother! Call for backup! He's a Reaper angel, not to be taken lightly!" Kristen called over Zazriel's shoulder to Toji.

"...Abomination. To call that mongrel your own brother, you really do deserve to die." the Reaper growled, tilting his blade to try to cut Kristen without disengaging from her. Seeing what Zazriel was doing, Kristen jumped back, summoning her forcefield of light as cyan light energy licked up her body as if a flame.

((OOC: Post cycles until Anti-Demonic Pulse wears off - 3.))

Toji blinks as Tue guy chants something and a invisible force slams into him. He grunts, then glares, holding up a electricity cloaked hand, only to blink and waggle his fingers.Something seemed off. The boy points, zapping the ground, and growls as just a puff shoots up."You jerk!!!!" He hears her request, then nods,unhooking his communicator." Ey, packmates, were having trouble at my location!! Come give us help,yah?" Putting the phone like device back up, the halfling growls as the Reaper tries to take on his sister. Be careful, cub!! Do not underestimate him! Yah,yah,old man. Gotcha. Toji blurs foward, unleashing a whistling palm strike that though wouldn't do too much damage to a normal human, would sting, and send one flying if it worked. Toji follows up with one each number."One....don't threaten my sister. Two.Dont call her a abomination. Three.Dont swing swords at her. And four...Who do you think you're calling a mongrel, Mr. Got My Halo Stuck Up My Butt?!"

Figures shambled toward the sounds of battle beginning, spreading out and ready to close in on the group. Or they would if Horrace said so. As it stood right now, he was still not keen on the idea of facing off against an angel. But she was a mere child to him. Still- numbers were not in his favor no matter how he tried to rationalize it. But it would be worth it if he could gain the soul of one of the local heroes. Horrace kept his distance, surprisingly hard to spot among the brush due to his thin appearance. Unless you were really looking you'd just assume him to be one of those short, thin trees.

For now Horrace was content to jut wait and watch. The adoring fan from before confirmed his suspicions about being off somehow. But this was could be a sign that things were shifting to their favor. Was it possible to take the soul of an angel? Some reason he doubted it, but wasn't going to rule it out completely. This was an interesting situation regardless. A twig snapping suddenly drew his attention else where. Someone else was here. His one visible eye scanned the brush around him for any signs of movement. How did one of their allies get here so fast?