G.H.O.S.T.: The Vaknar War

Family Reunion

It was currently 12:34 in the morning in Rome. Usually, low murmurs could be heard in the streets at this time as it rained, except for the loud crunching sound drowning them out.

The police were in pursuit of the source of the sound leading to an alley in the back of the Basilica di San Giovanni Cathedral. At the center of the murder scene stood Stalax.

"P-PLEASE, I BEG YOU!!!" Dennis Ford cried.

The multi-billionaire had landed in Rome not even two hours before he found himself at the hand of Stalax. Stalax extended his arm as his diamond blood stalactite-covered body rippled with a crunch to a sword, and with a swing Dennis found himself missing a left arm.

"ARGH!"

Dennis lay on the dirty pavement bleeding out as he looked upon his assailant.

"Where. Is. He.", Stalax said coldly.

Dennis scoffed, "You think I would tell you if I could?"

The sirens were growing louder through the rain.

"Alright...enough."

"NO-N-NOOO, I heard through the feeds that he was planning on releasing something in Grim City!"

"Much Obliged." Without a second to waste, Stalax swung his blood blade once again towards the billionaire.

"WAIT, N-" *SHINK* *CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNNNCH*.

Dennis Ford lay on his knees, with multiple blood-red stalactites sticking out his body as Stalax unsheathed his blade from his heart.

"Hrnnn" the red figure murmured as he watched the billionaire slump to the pavement. Stalax looked up in the sky and with a ripple of his body, his stalactite mirrored the scenery around him. As he flickered away an officer pulled up out of his vehicle with his weapon trained at the assassin.

"FREEZE!", it was pointless as the only thing in sight was the disfigured body of Dennis Ford surrounded by glittering blood leaked out onto the pavement. As the police were investigating the horror show they found themselves in, Stalax uncloaked and was in the process of boarding his private military-grade jet cloaked on the hill looking upon the city.

As he primed the Jet, he pulled up the pad to locate his target, Malcolm Bridger. Stalax had garnered a reputation in the dark web as the Red Demon, a feared mercenary that haunted even the highest officials in power. He wasn't always the Red Demon before he used to be Victor Saint, a simple mercenary for hire...before he got a contract to kill Malcolm. This wasn't a regular contract he was on now, this was a vendetta with his buyer Anitta Van Ross. They both wanted the billionaire dead and it was a redemption for both of them after their failed contract before with Malcolm. The Demon stared coldly in deep thought as he flew out and into his next destination, Grim City.

Grim City

The sky was brewing in a static brew as Grim City was in for a night of heavy rain, Xavier didn't mind in the comfort of his hyperjet, but he preferred flying in his suit to the plane. It wasn't his choice, but R & D needed to test the jet... and he kind of owed them after a malfunction incident with a new chest plate he was working on. Xavier was currently on a recon mission from the higher-ups at G.H.O.S.T., there were recent reports of an attempt at the assassination of Malcolm Bridger. Xavier knew why they sent him to all the agents in the organization. The world knew him as the Maven, an agent of G.H.O.S.T. while selecting people in the organization knew him as Xavier Bridger, son of his estranged father Malcolm Bridger. Xavier set his long locs aside and tied them into a bun as he swung the jet around a building. He sighed as he scratched his growing gruff beard with his black complexion. He was going to hate shaving after this mission. Almost no one knew who Maven was because of the lengths he took to keep his secret identity, resulting in his worldwide alias as the Ghost's blade. He was only 19 but he didn't join the organization through want, rather he was introduced to his step-father and head of the G.H.O.S.T. Shadow Elites, Grim.
Xavier became an agent as a result of an attempt on his life, ever since Grim had met his mother, he warned her that his life would endanger her and him. The truth of it crept close as one day a stray missile hit the street and his friend Jade was killed before his eyes. Grim paid for the funeral services and disappeared from their lives until Xavier signed up to be trained. The guilt and anger in Xavier had him vow to protect those he loved and never feel as useless as he did watching his friend bleed out while Grim arrived to fight the terrorist. As of now, his mother was one of the only people who knew her son was an agent of G.H.O.S.T. Grim had been missing from G.H.O.S.T. for a while now on a mission so Xavier barely got enough time to hang out with him.
Xavier wondered if it was Grim who assigned him on this mission, but his thoughts came to a halt as his sensors blared in his jet. After tapping on the alert, a CCTV pulled up with his father giving a speech at the Grim monument in the city's square. While looking around the feed, Xavier maneuvered the jet towards the square as pieces of his specially made suit were attached around his seat and planted itself on his body. The suit was made of military-grade fiber chromium metal that reflected like a mirror on his blank faceplate, illuminating in blue through a network of lights running through the suit expanding in webs with a holster strap covering his chest and a prototype cybernetic pistol in the holster. Xavier had built it by himself, being one of the only powerless agents in G.H.O.S.T. He realized he had to be on the same level to at least be able to fight the threats that lurked in the shadows.
As he arrived at the square, another alert appeared on his screen as he saw a figure posted on the rooftop next to the monument. Without a second thought, The bottom of Xavier's plane opened as he dove toward the mysterious individual, unsheathing a blade from the back of his strap. Xavier threw two square beacons around the area and as he somersaulted onto the building he looked up to see an annoyed but unsurprised Stalax with a state-of-the-art sniper rifle that was attached to his stalactite arm.