The Secret Wars.

Night had fallen now; the perfect time for his ‘operation.’

Henry rolled his shirtsleeves up; in spite of the cool autumn air, he was sweating. That was no surprise. He’d been told if he dragged himself back he’d be shot dead ‘like the filth you are.’ Like the damn mage sympathizer he was. Of course, anyone who considered the existence of demons had to be on their side, and everyone knew it was all the mages’ faults, right?

And they’d caught him at a horrible time, when they found him – his weapons were back in his apartment in the inner city. He was weaponless. A horrible situation if he wanted to live very long outside the city.

Barker rubbed his palms together. Still, he was one among many, right? He doubted most people knew his face, he’d just have to be careful as he got close to his apartment.

And when entering the city itself, of course. The whole place was walled in and the borders were lit with oil lanterns – the only way in was through the main gate. There were too many people to keep track of, so they only registered enemies of the city. He could only hope that they hadn’t had time to add his name and face to that list.

He straightened his tie and kept his hands out of his pockets as he casually approached the gate. The man on guard seemed horribly bored, his eyes blank as he looked at Henry approaching. His aura was flat and blue. They don’t know me yet.

“Name?” he asked, and Henry hesitated a moment.

“Daniel Larsson,” he said. “Non-resident.”

The man shrugged, looking over at him. “Open your coat?”

Henry held open his jacket, showing he had no weapons underneath it. “Go ahead,” the man said. “Side gate here is unlocked,” he said, jerking his head over his shoulder. Next to the massive, steam powered gate they opened during the day was another simple barred door, and Henry nodded his thanks before he walked past the guard and into the city.

The city rose above him, ramshackle apartment buildings thrown up along the roads, many of them looking like they were only moments from tumbling over. Even now at this late hour there were people out, most of them prostitutes and men looking for prostitutes. Guards sat on horses at corners, mostly, but further in the city were larger metal watch towers, looming over the city almost threateningly. To his eyes, even in the dark, the city was awash with color – the auras of all the people on the street like splashes of paint on a canvas.

Alright. Now what. If he was gonna get near his apartment he needed some disguise. Or at least something to cover his face.

His eyes wandered to the two guards sitting on horses nearby. There was the obvious, at least, assuming he could take one of them out. One of the two guards looked over at him lazily, his eyes hidden behind the reflective goggles he wore.

Henry swallowed. Nah. Better to find someone else. As if he needed to add attacking a guard to his record. He looked away from the man, turning and walking down the street.

As he passed by a brothel one of the girls standing outside called to him, and he didn’t look over at her. Instead, he looked up, seeing a young man standing on the other side of the road, staring over at the brothel almost longingly. He wore a short brown coat and an aviator’s helmet with goggles – an airman on leave in the city. A young one, too; he couldn’t have been much older than 16, and much too small for Henry to steal his clothes. But at least he could take the goggles. That was a start.

He turned to go over to the kid. “Out of money?” he asked as he approached, gesturing over his shoulder towards the brothel. The kid looked embarrassed. “Someone cheated you outta your pay, didn’t he,” he said, and the boy shakily nodded. Henry reached into his pocket as if reaching for his wallet. “I ain’t supposed to do this,” he said after some hesitation. “I’ll lend you some cash, aight? Follow me a sec.”

Henry turned, and footsteps behind him told him that the boy was following. He led him down into an alley and fumbled around in his pocket as he turned toward the boy.

“Ah, sir, it’s alright,” the boy said, clearly nervous now.

“No, no, I insist,” Henry muttered, before he turned and decked the kid in the jaw.

He fell to the ground unconscious, and Henry knelt to check the kid was breathing. “Sorry, lad,” he muttered, removing the kids goggles and his helmet. The helmet was too small, but the goggles worked, and he was able to fit into the kid’s jacket, though it was comically short on him. Better than nothing.

He picked up the kid and cautiously stepped out, waiting until the nearby guards weren’t looking towards him to set the kid’s body out in the street. Hopefully there he wouldn’t get mugged. Alright. Now to the hard part.

Henry pulled the goggles down over his eyes, the goggles amplifying his distance vision somewhat. It would have been immensely useful up in the air, where the wind was always in your face and it was hard to see past your own airship to one you were fighting against.

He grimaced as he thought back to those days - the number of men he knew that had been killed by sky pirates was ridiculous. A waste of life. Hell, he had seen a few new midshipmen fall to their death because they forgot to clip themselves to the rigging. He thought it would be an adventure. It wasn't anything of the sort.

He tried to look casual as he approached the block where his apartment was on, slumping slightly to make himself look smaller. Hopefully he wouldn't be recognized...

His apartment complex was guarded, of course, locked down after he was chased out, and Henry looked up to the third floor window longingly. If only he could get up there...

Maybe... He turned, walking back down the road and into an alley between buildings, far from his own apartment complex. Maybe he could enter from above?

He studied the side of the building in front of him - made of rough brick on the bottom floors, but further up it turned into smoother wood where a floor had been added. He rubbed his palms together and took off the boy's jacket - it was too small, too restrictive for climbing.

He reached up, grabbing hold of the brick and starting to drag himself up. He should be out of sight while climbing, assuming no one looked down the alley. He was more scared of that than of possibly falling, and he climbed confidently, only slowing down as he reached the wood, adjusting his technique until he pulled himself up onto the roof.

Four buildings down was his apartment complex, and Henry stood up slowly, looking down the row of buildings. He took a breath, backing up from the edge, and ran and leaped across the gap.

He shakily jumped across the other buildings, finally making it to the roof of his building. He lowered himself over the edge of the roof, finding a foothold and starting to climb down to the third floor. Please don't look up, please...

He released the breath he had been holding as he swung himself inside the third floor, choking back a nervous laugh. Alright. He made it. Now to take what he could.

He walked quickly through the small apartment, retrieving his old military rapier and his steam pistol. He belted that at his side and was searching frantically for bullets and money when the sound of a small explosion rang out. He jumped, froze; nothing up here. He cautiously glanced out one of the windows to see the guards below moving around, some of the ones around his apartment moving to go investigate the sounds of chaos.

Hailey chugged her fifth Rugged Medley, quite the strong drink, leaving her some what tipsy but still able to be aware of everything around her. She was used to this kind of sensation after all. 

After slamming some tip on the bar she nods to the bartender and leaves the crummy old building. Once outside, in the alley way, a few men come up to her, apparently pretty drunk, a lot more than Hailey anyway. She rolls her eyes as one of them speaks

"Hey sexy how bout we have a little fu..." not giving him any time to finish, she charges him grabbing his neck and lifting him off the ground. "Don't push your luck jackass, you don't wanna mess with me" she says while looking him straight in the eyes. 

She than releases him but as he falls back down, Haily initiates a head butt, which connects to his head. The sound of the impact was pretty grotesque her metal headband totally crushed the guys face in. She than turns around swiftly and jolts to the next man, who is still processing what just happened.

Midway to the man to red metal gauntlets appear on each of haileys arms, starting at her hands all the way to her elbows. She connects an uppercut to the guys stomach, lifting him off the ground and sending him a few feet away. She blocks a punch conning from her left and hears the hand of the man crush against her gauntlet as he lets out a horrible cry and tumbles backwards, haileys knee breaks through his right rib cage and sends him face first against the wall.

The last man looks at her as if she were a monster and stutters "wha-what are you" in a trembling voice. She smiles at him and says "I've already told you... I'm some one you don't want to mess with." she says joyfully as she grabs the mans face. "ple-please... Don't hurt me... I won't ever bother any one like this again I-I promise!" the comment makes her chuckle "now that's what I wanted to hear, don't forget to remind your friends about the promise you just made Kay?" she pushes him with force backwards making him fall and hit his head on the floor, losing consiousness. 

She walks away, yawns and stretches as he gauntlets dematerialize. A few streets later she hears what sounds like an all out shoot out between two opposing groups. Her eyes widen when she see's a young man jump from a roof into an apartment building. "Better go check on that... " she walks to the building and looks up to the window and yells out "Hey kid!? You okay!?" while arching an eyebrow.

Henry threw himself away from his window as a kid suddenly came flying through it, rolling along the floor of his apartment and falling back into the far wall.

He reached up to check and make sure the goggles were still on nervously. The kid groaned with pain, and a woman shouted up at the apartment as the sounds of combat came closer to them. I don't need this.

He didn't recognize the kid - so he probably wouldn't recognize him. But it didn't take a genius to guess he was involved in the trouble below. "Get out of here," Henry snapped, turning back to his desk and pulling it open, grabbing out several boxes of bullets and shoving them in his pocket as he started to load his gun. Gotta move faster now...

Henry blinked, looking back over at the boy to see lightning crackling from the staff he held. A mage?! Just his luck. If someone walked in they could add that to his record too.

"I'm not gonna shoot you, kid, just take your trouble elsewhere!" he snapped, yanking open another drawer and finding his money pouch, shoving it into his pocket and slamming the desk drawer shut.

Hailey became annoyed as she didn't get any answer, she was about to do something to climb up when she gets shot at by a group of big idiots. "what the fuck do they want, oh the boy I guess.." she materializes boot thrusters and jumps up to the third floor leaving a patch of flames on the ground.

She comes crashing in the room as her boots disappear. "ow ow ow.. Damn... " she says rubbing her head, she looks at the mess she made a grins. "woops... Guess I'm still tipsy.." she than notices both guys and looks at them blankly waiting for someone to say something.

Henry jumped as he heard gunshots in the hall and growled under his breath. He glanced out the window again - the building was nearly surrounded now by gonophs. He tried to climb out now and he'd get shot.

Stuck. The only way out was through the hall. So much for my silent exit.

"Get back inside," he started to yell at the kid, when someone suddenly came crashing back in through his window again. He turned and went red as he saw the woman suddenly inside his apartment and what she was wearing - or rather, what she wasn't wearing.

Gunshots down the hall again reminded him of their situation, and two goons suddenly burst through the door into his room. He turned, shooting one in the kneecap and ducking as the other shot back.

Haileys eyes widen as two of the idiots come rushing in, first once gets shot and then the kid sends a bolt discharge but misses. As the second man who wasnt hit gets back up, Hailey spins and materializes a big ass hammer which she uses both hands to swing In her twirl at the rising man, he goes flying out of the room and hits two other men who were coming close on his way out.

She keeps the hammer to support herself being somewhat dizzy after that attack. "ohhh... I don't feel to good..."

Henry cringed as the woman swung the hammer at the man and bowled him out into the hall into two others coming their way. Here's hoping he survived that...

Wait... He blinked, looking over at the glowing red hammer and seeing that sheen to her aura. Another mage. Perfect. The boy's aura didn't have the same glow to it, maybe he was a weaker mage...?

No way could he get out via the street. There was one more floor above them, then the rooftop, so they could climb out from there... "Fine," he said, walking around the boy and out into the hallway. "Upstairs!" he yelled, running for the stairwell.

Hailey growled as she ran to follow the two others.. Might as well go with them.. Their not shooting at me.. Mid way up the stairs she rly get nauseous and says "fuck this how am I supposed to keep up like this!" she shoves her fingers down her throat and pukes down the stairs.

She shivers and says "ugh.. Nasty.. But I feel much better!" she continues climbing up and once on the next floor she looks at the older man waiting to see where he would guide them, he obviously knew this place.

" I'll slow them down" she says with a grin. She materializes a had full of caltrops and throws them down the stairs. " there ya go! Alright where to?!"

Henry grimaced at the girl's antics behind him. I just wanted to get my sword back...

He strode down the hallway to a window at the end of it and smashed it open with his gun. "You mages can do what you like," he said shortly, looking out the window down below them. "Holy... what did you do?!" he asked the boy incredulously as he looked down at the people below.

The coppers seemed to have pulled themselves together and were attacking the others below, but there were still some inside headed up the stairs. Henry hoisted himself out the window and grabbed at the side of the building, pulling himself up to the roof.

Hailey jumps out the window onto the roof on the other side and looks at the two others jumping from roof to roof and sigh's "let's try this again" she materializes thruster boots once again and shoots herself off the roof onto the one two buildings away and lands decently, tumbling forward. "okay not bad not bad..." she tries again, but this time she loses control and nearly hits the boy with the staff on the way down but activates the thrusters again at the last second bouncing a few houses away and crashing into a deserted alway, but she managed to dematerialize her boots and draw a net hooked from one house to the other to catch her fall.

She lays there and slowly breathes in and out... "I think I should go with something a bit less... Explosive..." she says followed by a nervous chuckle.

Henry sighed at the boy's words. Indeed. Now would be a horrible time to get recognized.

The boy's aura was rough, jerky, showing his nerves that he tried to hard to hide, and Henry took off across the roofs. They're not my problem, he reminded himself, but when the girl suddenly blasted forward and fell down between the buildings he stopped himself to make sure she was alive.

She'll be fine, he reminded himself, looking away and leaping across to another building. Now would be the time to turn away and leave these two behind, but the kid... he was so horribly in over his head. You're soft, Barker.

Hailey joined up with the two a few seconds after, just in time to see the boy was leaving his own way.. Se looks over at the other guy and says "I can't help but feel like I should follow him... By the way since were apparently partners in crime the names Hailey, but you can call me Hails" she says with a smile and with a punch to the arm.

"I'm gonna go after him, your free to do as you please, u seem really stressed out though I can provide u a shelter outta town if you need." she nod's at him and goes after the kid.

Henry's jaw dropped as he heard the name the kid said. Idiot's gonna get himself killed! Especially with the city stirred up as it is. "Kid-!"

He'd already taken off, and the girl came up next to him and introduced herself. Henry recoiled. Mages have caused me enough problems already. He only nodded at her words, watching her take off after the kid.

He growled under his breath, adjusting his goggles and taking off after the two of them. Gotta stop him before he gets shot...