strengthening the shield (shield division)

[thormundsson]

The winds were blowing stiffly from the north and the cold air they brought with them made men shudder and stay indoors. The wind was a perfect headway for Strawberry island for any ship approaching and this was a welcome gust for the inhabitants of the large vessel heading towards the island. The large ships bore the flag of the World Government but it was not a marine vessel, it was a transporter for some prisoners as well as other folk that were in need of transport towards the island.

Thor drew his large marine coat closer around him. He was thankful for the chilling wind that ensured that the ship made all haste towards the island but his wounds were aching in the cold weather. He hadn't quite recovered from that lightning strike he had received in Pecos Town, despite a week of recovering. He didn't quite like it, being a native of North-Blue he was used to cold and the feeling of pain that filled him in the cold weather was certainly not one to be cherished.

Still, he needed to get to the island as soon as he could. He had heard that the pirates that he had fought at Pecos Town had headed towards this island. It wasn't just the pain of losing, it was the pain of not making sure that the pirates got what they deserved. He hated the fact that despite all of his strength and the fact that these pirates were beneath him he had still lost, all because of a freak accident. His face was a mask of grim determination as he notice the island they were heading for begin to appear in the distance. Even if he could see it he knew there were a good two hours before he would arrive there. He turned back from the stern of the ship and took a slow walk towards the main deck. There were a lot of civilians on the ship, and a few squads of marines as well, here to escort some low level prisoners to Strawberry island before being shipped off to one of the Marine's detainment centers.

There was some ruckus going on as well as a few marines playing games on a few boxes on the port side. The men were quick to jump up and salute as the noticed his rank, realizing that he outranked all of them save perhaps for the captain of the ship. “justice cannot be carried out by slackers, if you have time to play then you have time to train, step to it!” Thor said as he passed the marines, stopping a few steps in front of the wheel, surveying the main deck and the activities going on.

[Tim Curry]

Time had passed swiftly since Barnett had left his life of luxury and buisness to start afresh.
Though he had taken with him just enough funds to make his way to the grand line a run in with a notorious and ruthless pirate group had left him with neither money nor transportation in spite of his feircest efforts.
Thus, he was now building up his fortune once more in a way that seemed easiest on this island, Gambling.
He hadn't much experience and as such ended up losing several times but his innate mental prowess allowed him to improve rapidly, putting him in the top rankings of the island's players.
The game was known as "Armada" and was similar to the classic game of Shogi.
The twist here was that certain units could attack at a distance within their set range.
This meant that both players were constantly on edge and that games often shifted between one player being fully on the offensive to defensive in a single turn.
Barnett was now facing his strongest foe yet, he seemed to ba a marine strategist of some kind and it showed.
He played using gambits that Barnett had never even concieved possible, but he little ability to adapt plans on the go so when Barnett threw a screw ball the man had no idea how to react.
The match was close fought and had soon ganered the attention of almost all the crew, causing one of the superiors to shout down, “Justice cannot be carried out by slackers, if you have time to play then you have time to train, step to it!”
This had no effect as the men were completely focused on the game, to add to that they seemed to have little respect for the man, "Perhaps he was introduced to them recently?"
Still, the crewmen who were watching other games stood up and saluted near instantly so he was obviously a man of high ranking.
Barnett visualised the perfect move then, and ended the game swiftly to the excited shoutings of the crew.
It seems that the strategist had never been defeated before and they were just waiting for someone to take him down a peg.
Barnett had little care for this so he stood and collected his earnings...
(OOC Sorry for the lacklustre post, it seems that rping board games is more difficult than I had originally imagined ^^")

[thormundsson]

The harbor was coming into view and the trip would finally be over. The thought of hunting down the pirates was a welcome one but Thor couldn't help but feel uneasy about things. Whilst he was a skilled fighter and his powers made him more or less invulnerable to lesser foes he had never been the investigative sort. This had not proved to be a problem so far since he had neither been working on his own nor had the pirates that he had been chasing then been discreet enough so he had always had a clear target.

But now it was different, he was on his own, seeing as the rest of the shield were locating Ensign Li and some were simply missing. He was going to have to find someone with the brains and speed of mind to make up for his lack in investigative resources. And fate it seemed, had decided to offer him a chance at just such an individual.

He had been watching a duel between a passenger, most likely a merchant of some sort, Thor couldn't quite tell and a strategist that was accompanying the marines. The game they were playing was somewhat familiar to him and Thor was amazed at how quickly the merchant had adapted to the far superior, in the beginning anyways, player and bested him. A small smile appeared on his lips as he approached the man as he was about to stand up, the crowd of marines admiring the turn of the match.

"Did you not hear what I said, marine!" Thor said with a commanding, stern tone in his voice as he grabbed one of the marines by his neck, lifting him up. "I said go train! disobey orders again and I'll toss you all off this ship, do you understand me!?" He said with menace filling his voice. The rest of the men were quick to jump to his orders as he turned his stern gaze at them. When they were gone and the scene had quieted down a bit he walked to the merchant, who was now sitting on the starboard rim of the ship.

"I can tell a sharp mind when I see one and I can also tell by the state of your attire that you are in search of some fortune, perhaps to regains something you lost?" Thor said as he took up position slightly to the left of the man and let his hands slide into his pockets. "I have an assignment of sorts here in Strawberry island. I won't cut around the bushes with this so let me just say that I am hunting pirates. A dangerous bunch who have been pillaging nearby islands." Thor continued, the merchant seemed to be listening so he decided to continue. "I need a quick mind to help me track down these villains and you seem like a perfect fit. I won't ask you to help out of the kindness of your heart since I have lost all faith in such things. Here is my offer; help me capture them and take them down and I guarantee that you can keep whatever money comes from their bounties as well as a marine salary whilst you are assisting me in the endeavor. How does that sound?" He finished and waited patiently for the man's response.

(OOC: sorry about the marathon post but I hope this would satisfy Barnett and yes, I realized myself that I couldn't write about the game either )

[Tim Curry]

"I can tell a sharp mind when I see one and I can also tell by the state of your attire that you are in search of some fortune, perhaps to regains something you lost?
I have an assignment of sorts here in Strawberry island. I won't cut around the bushes with this so let me just say that I am hunting pirates. A dangerous bunch who have been pillaging nearby islands.
I need a quick mind to help me track down these villains and you seem like a perfect fit. I won't ask you to help out of the kindness of your heart since I have lost all faith in such things. Here is my offer; help me capture them and take them down and I guarantee that you can keep whatever money comes from their bounties as well as a marine salary whilst you are assisting me in the endeavor. How does that sound?"

Barnett paused for a moment, taking in everything this man just said before saying, "You sure know how to take a lot from a little huh? Lucky for you most of what you say is about right and I'm certainly in need of some cash."

"You've got yourself a deal my friend. If you're looking for a group of cut-throats such as them the best place to start is in a bar by the name of; "The Bleeding Pike".
Stuffing the money pouch in his pocket, Barnett started to walk towards the edge of town, to the docklands.
Upon reaching the bar marked by a large sign overhead he threw open the swinging doors, "Evening gents!"
Just as soon as he had passed the doors he was sent right back through them thanks to a swift punch to the face from an unruly thug.
"I want my money back! You done conned me out of a lot of money ya' hear?"
Barnett pushed his nose back into it's correct positionb before picking himself up, "Bill, I would hardly call defeating you in a fair game of skill conning."
"There you go again with your fancy words, fact of the matter is that you dun' cheated, now pay up or I'll have to take it by force!"
"Listen, you have nothing to gain from beating up a man such as myself, in fact you might just find yourself a hell of a lot worse off than when you started."
"How do you reckon?"
"My good friend over here is the toughest man I've ever known, I once saw him take out a whole crew of pirates by himself. I went to help him but..." Barnett shrugged and shook his head, "He had already beaten them all."
Barnett was just speaking in a way as best to avoid an unnecessary fight, though he guessed he wasn't far off in what he was saying.
"So, do you really want to bring that kind of trouble upon yourself?"
Bill looked the marine up and down before stopping and spitting at the floor in front of his feet.
"Doesn't look so tough to me."
Barnett sighed, "Show him..."
Barnett leaned over to the marine, "What was your name?"

[thormundsson]

After a while the man finally answered and Thor couldn't help but be satisfied with the answer. The man agreed and seemed to get right to the point. As the ship sailed into harbor the man mentioned a particular bar where they'd have the most luck in finding a lead on the pirates.

The sun was high in the air as they entered the bar. The young man entered first and then went flying back out as a man hit him straight in the nose. The man who hit him was an obvious drunk and a gambler and didn't seem too great at the games, at least according to the young man from the ship.

Then the discussion came to Thor, as the young man that was assisting him apparently wasn't capable or skilled enough to fight this guy. Thor was about to step in when the man spat on the ground before him. "he doesn't look so though" the man said as his companion stepped to his side. "Show him..."the young man leaned over to Thor's side "..what's your name again?"

"The name is Thor and I'll catch yours after I take care of this little problem" Thor said as he turned back to the drunkard that was threatening them. The man wasn't quite as tall as Thor and he doubted that he had his training either so Thor was a bit puzzled as to what made him so confident in winning this fight. It had to be the alcohol, if anything. "I suggest you take a loooong nap and forget all about this imaginary debt you have with my fellow here" Thor said as he grabbed the man by his neck, spinning around and sending him flying across the room, straight into the nearest wall.


"The next man man who has any debts with my friend here goes the same way, or do I have to reach for my weapon?!" Thor said with a thunder in his voice. Not waiting for an answer he directed his companion, who's name was apparently Barnett, to the counter. "Time for you to work your magic, my friend" He said, turning around to see if there was anybody in the bar that had a bone to pick with him for tossing the drunk into a wall. The man was staggering to his feet and didn't seem all to happy with his trip.

"don't make me beat you down again!"

[Tim Curry]

"The name is Thor and I'll catch yours after I take care of this little problem."
It seemed that Barnett's recent acquaintance was more than able when it came to battle, displaying this through his spinning throw of Bill.
"I suggest you take a loooong nap and forget all about this imaginary debt you have with my fellow here.
The next man man who has any debts with my friend here goes the same way, or do I have to reach for my weapon?!"
At this the bar fell silent, it wasn't exactly the best way to go about an investigation but hey, at least they wouldn't encounter any more trouble.
Or at least, that was how it seemed until Bill staggered back to his feet.
"Don't make me beat you down again!"
Barnett put up his hand to show that he would handle it.
"Listen, you are drunk enough that you aren't recieving the full sensation of pain but let me assure you, when you wake up you will feel a hell of a lot worse so I think it's about time that you stayed down, for your own safety of course."
Deciding not to wound the man, Barnett put up his fists and moved his feet into a more solid stance.
Bill charged in head first while Barnett simply hopped to the side and landed a solid blow to the man's stomach.
Alas, he wasn't too fazed by this and tried to unleash a torrent of blows upon Barnett.
He swayed to avoid them but was forced to take a hop back due to their rapid nature, the man clearly had at least some experience in battle wheras Barnett only had only a minimal amount, especially when it came to fisticuffs.
Still, if Barnett showed himself to be completely inept at battle it would hardly reflect well when it came to the terms of contract.
Deciding to do a bluff, Barnett silently clasped a cube in his pocket after diverting attention elsewhere with his outstreched arm and pointing finger, "Too bad for you, but this is the end."
Bill scoffed at this, "Have yew gone completely crazy?"
Bill rushed forward again but this time Barnett stood firm and waited, just as he went in for a punch Barnett swayed to the side and bent his knees down a bit before springing back up with a mighty uppercut.
Normally this would have dazed him a little, however the nature of the box concealed in his hand caused the man to fly upwards at an alraming rate before hitting the ceiling and crashing back down.
The blowback caused Barnett's arm to fly down but he made it seem as if it was a natural transition from the uppercut, the perfect bluff.
This time Bill was out for the count and it was better that he stayed that way, it was time to start the investigation.
The men in the bar were cheering now so he took a seat at the bar, recieving many a manly smack on the back.
He sat next to a man that he had been in contact with before, a mutually beneficial relationship if you will.
"You were pretty good out there, didn't know you had it in you."
"It just takes a little willpower my friend, nothing simpler than that. Speaking of which, would you like to buy this willpower enhancing elixir?"
"Ha, I'm not falling for that one again."
"Hey, this stuff is legit, it just goes about it by making you feel better so it is easier to muster up."
"In other words it's a tonic?"
"It could be named as such."
The man laughed heartily.
"So, what's with the big guy?"
He motioned towards the marine.
"That's just the reason I came to talk to you, I just got hired to track down a group of pirates."
"And what kind of pirates are these?"
"I shall let my friend fill you in."

[thormundsson]

Thor watched the drunk stagger back to his feet, apparently he had decided that the first blow hadn't been enough and wanted more. "Why do these useless idiots never learn" Thor couldn't help but think as he took a step forward. The young man, whose name he still did not know, raised his hand a bit, signaling that he would handle the drunk. "So he can fight as well, interesting" Thor though, a slight look of surprise on his face as he watched the man put his fists up.

The fight was a bit awkward. The drunk obviously had some experience fighting, most likely in brawls, but the young investigator didn't seem trained at all. At most it looked like he had watched a bit of fighting. The fight was almost amusing and there seemed to be few chuckling drunks at the corner tables that found this somewhat funny. They silenced instantly as Thor met their eyes with a stern gaze. The fight didn't look like it would go in the young man's favor and so Thor prepared himself to step in. Maybe he underestimated the man and so he decided to give him a few more seconds. He took a few hits but it seemed like his quick thinking saved him yet again as he managed to take down the drunk with a well placed blow. It would seem that Thor would have to take the brunt of the fighting if they happened to run into trouble. It suited him just fine.

The young man sat down on a nearby table and began conversing with a man that had been watching the fight. Apparently this was his contact or at least a person who knew of the young investigator. They exchanged some pleasantries and chatted a bit before the man motioned towards Thor and asked what business they had here. The young investigator mentioned that he had been hired to hunt down pirates and Thor approached the table as the man asked him to elaborate on these pirates. He grabbed a chair and sat down. He put his cap on the table and began describing the pirates.

"The men I hunt are a group of pirates that raided Pecos Town about 8 days ago. They were a ruthless bunch and one of my comrades was captured in the ensuing struggle. I fought them to a standstill but trickery and pure luck led them to escape, though their main fighters should be very injured or weak. The two men I faced were their Captain and his Second Mate, their names being Bardolf and Nathaniel respectively. I gathered this from what I could remember of the two of the conversing as well as accounts from civilians that encountered them. I know they sailed towards this island and I intend to capture them, either here or catch them as they flee. Are there any other specifics you would need to know or do you remember these pirates?" Thor said in a hushed voice, making sure that nobody save for the three of them could here his story.

[Tim Curry]

"The men I hunt are a group of pirates that raided Pecos Town about 8 days ago. They were a ruthless bunch and one of my comrades was captured in the ensuing struggle. I fought them to a standstill but trickery and pure luck led them to escape, though their main fighters should be very injured or weak. The two men I faced were their Captain and his Second Mate, their names being Bardolf and Nathaniel respectively. I gathered this from what I could remember of the two of the conversing as well as accounts from civilians that encountered them. I know they sailed towards this island and I intend to capture them, either here or catch them as they flee. Are there any other specifics you would need to know or do you remember these pirates?"
A look of fear shot across the man's face before dissapearing under a veil of confidence.
"Bardolf huh? I've heard about him before, seems he came in not so long ago for a rest stop."
The words were immaculately pronounced to the point where it seemed as if they had been rehearsed.
Barnett sighed, "I can tell that you've made contact with them, clearly not in the way you were expecting though."
He moved closer to the man and adopted a stern look, "Our job is to take them down and I swear that you will not be harmed in the slightest, on top of that we can offer a considerable reward for your co-operation."
Barnett looked at Thor and moved his head back so that he could back up that statement.
"So what's it going to be, revenge and reward or cowardice and regret?"
The man fell silent for a while before speaking up with, "Alright, I can tell you where to find them but no matter what you can't reveal that I showed you the way."
"I would die first."
Barnett grinned at the man.
"They're holed up in a run down warehouse near the shipping yards, it has a sign on the front with the name "Berkley And Sons" etched into it."
With that Barnett patted him on the shoulder and stood up from his stool, "You'll get your reward once we get back from taking down these b*******."
"That doesn't give me much to look forward to then."
The two shared a grim laugh before Barnett departed with Thor in tow.
"Let's get moving."
(OOC There shall be a twist in the next post so I would appreciate it if you don't jump the gun, sorry for restricting what you can post about ^^")

[thormundsson]

Thor listened to the two men exchange words and discuss the possible location of the pirates. The man's hesitation to tell them right away seemed to stem from a deep fear of these pirates and Thor could only imagine the ruthlessness these men would sink to.

He however needed the information and was ready to beat it out of the man if he wouldn't say but it seemed that his young friends had a way with words. He talked the man into telling them where they were, using both money and a sense of security to back the up his claim. The conversation ended, the two men exchanged some joke and then Thor and the young man rose from their seats and headed outside.

The day was beautiful although a few clouds marred the otherwise clear blue sky. The town seemed to be a bustling place and almost everyone seemed to rush to their daily works, not minding but certainly avoiding, Thor as he moved through the street. He turned to the young man as they walked along the road.

"can you at least spit out your name while we're walking"

[Tim Curry]

"Can you at least spit out your name while we're walking"

"Ah, sorry about that. It seems that I forgot completely with all this commotion. The name is Barnett Kaufman, belated greetings Thor."
Before the conversation could continue Barnett recognised a sign, "Berkley and sons, just like he said."
The warehouse was certainly run down, the colours on the walls ran and the few windows that remained had dusted up to a point where they were indiscernable from the rest of the wall.
"Certainly looks like a good place to hide, seems as if it hasn't been touched in years."
This wasn't entirely correct, there were sections of wall covered in ornate grafitti and many bottles of rum lying around the ground outside the front.
"Let's be courteous and introduce ourselves."
A wild grin crept across Barnett's face before he kicked the slightly ajar warehouse door all the way in, causing it to slam against the wall inside.
"Evening gents."
A flock of thugs all looked simulatneously before taking on a look of anger and intimidation.
Several of them started to stand up, some gripped various weapons.
"Looks like this is going to get out of hand fast." Barnett thought.
"Listen we're just looking for men by the name of Bardolf and Nathaniel, ring any bells?"
The crowd stayed silent, slowly creeping towards the entrance with malice in their eyes.
There were about 50 in all, Buck had little to no chance by himself, even if he took full use of his artillery, as such the outcome of this fight rested on the strength of Thor, which was indicernable at the time.
Bardolf was truly working from a disadvantageous position, for all he knew these could have been his final moments yet he somehow felt a strange calm inside himself.
It was almost as if he had detatched himself from his body and was viewing the proceedings from an unbiased perspective, this allowed him to see things he would have otherwise missed such as the fact that 4 of the men in particular were far more aggresive than the others and were most likely to attack first.
"*sigh* I guess it's too late to just try and talk this out now huh?"
This caused the 4 he had previously noticed to leap forward, just as he had expected.
Planning for this, Barnett already had his short swords or "Saxs".
Apparantly they were based on the giant's weaponry but that was beside the point at that point.
When you leap you lose all control of your movements so all Barnett had to do was extend his two arms to pierce two of the leapers, he stabbed into their sides to prevent a fatality however.
As he had thought, by the time he had taken his blades out it was too late to stop the other two but they had aimed for Thor so this was a good chance to gauge his ability in battle.
It seemed that there was no one of particular value in the room, though Barnett had little ability to identify strength without clear displays he saw no one that could have been strong enough to defeat the mighty Thor.
Barnett chuckled to himself, he just realised that he had placed himself in a situation of incredible danger without a second thought, "Such a nice change of pace from before."
After the initial attack the other men were inspired to attack also, it seemed as if it was time to unveil his ace in the hole.
"Hold onto something Thor." Barnett quietly said to him.
Placing a small box on the floor Barnett took a leap back and pressed himself against the wall with a little spare time before the wind bomb timer ended, setting it off.
The sudden blast of wind sent goons flying in every direction, the closer they were the stronger the impact and the higher they flew as it spread out in every direction.
Many were knocked out by it, some groaned in pain but two men stood firm.
"What kind of ******* party trick was that!?!"
He seemed more than a little angry.
The loudmouthed one pulled out a buterfly knife before displaying it and spinning it around with a flourish.
"What were you just saying about party tricks?"
A visible artery appeared on his forehead, it looked as if it was about to burst.
"I'LL KEEEL YOUU."
"As much as I would like to take you up on that challenge my friend here is more suited to the task, my apologies."
The other man that stood firm sighed, "You may think yourself something of a strategist but your gambits are worth little more than the strategies a child might employ in a game of chase if you do not have the power to back them up."
"Oh? How do you figure?"
The man seemed to dissapear then, into a haze of silence.
He blinked back into view in front of Barnett, "It's simple, you're far too weak."
The man punched Barnett in the stomach, sending him spiralling backwards and causing him to lose control of his stomach and his lunch.
The man waited patiently for Barnett to stagger to his feet.
"There are some fights that you must take on yourself lest you sacrifice the integrity of your forces, this just happens to be such a battle."
"I guess you aren't all talk either, but I still have enough tricks up my sleeves to take care of you."
The man sighed again, "Such a pity that I have to eliminate a man such as yourself before even a hint of his potential could be reached."

[thormundsson]

"At least I know his name" was the thought running through Thor's head as they walked into the large warehouse. Rundown as the place had seemed from the outside there was plenty of activity inside, with roughly 50 bandits sitting around there. They all seemed very quick to grab their weapons as they noticed Thor's attire. The large coat marked with the insignia of the Marines didn't give much away as to the purpose of his entrance. Barnett apparently wanted to end this as peacefully as possible but even if that had succeeded Thor would have taken these men down. They were living outside of the law and therefor deserved nothing but pain.

Fortunately the bandits seemed to think the two of them would be easy targets, advancing on them despite Barnett's talks of a calm discussion. The hint of irony in his voice didn't go amiss with Thor as 4 of the men charged, two at Barnett and two at himself. He grabbed his hammer from it's safe place on his back and noted that Barnett has drawn some sort of blade. Apparently he was going to fight these men. The unskilled nature of his stance didn't do much to assure Thor but first he had to deal with the two men who were throwing themselves at him.

He grabbed his hammer by the very edge of the handle and spun around. The added momentum of the swing as well as the greater reach of his hammer meant that he got the a blow in before the men could do much. The hammer slammed into the side of one of them and sent him flying into the other and through the nearest support beam. The house creaked and shook a bit and it seemed like there wasn't much holding the old building up. As he tossed back the assailants he noted at the corner of his eye when Barnett managed to wound both of the men by simply using their own charge against them. Effective against men so obviously not trained but wouldn't hold up against an experienced fighter. Thor looked away just as Barnett remarked something about a trick and hefted his hammer again.

The sound of wind and shock was like a cannon had gone off inside the warehouse. The blast of wind almost took him off the ground but he managed to maintain his posture through the havoc. Most of the bandits were blown away by the blast though none of them seemed to be all too wounded by the blast, it being more of a shock attack than anything powerful. There were however a couple of men who seemed to withstand the blast and headed right for Barnett. Despite taking a blow to the chest and being sent reeling there was a fire in Barnett's eyes as he stood up. His claim on this fight meant that Thor shouldn't interfere. The blast and the wind hadn't done much to ensure the safety of the house and the old building was creaking like a sinking ship.

"That leaves these 42 punks for me to take down, huh" he thought to himself as he put his hammer away. He hated using his powers against such weak foes but he needed to take them down fast. Not only for the sake of getting on with the mission but even more because Barnett might get overwhelmed if he tried taking them all out with his hammer alone. "Barnett, you might want to duck for a moment, I cannot guarantee perfect accuracy here!" his voice thundered across the old building as he took a step forward. The bandits were already getting back up, though some seemed to disoriented to fight quite yet.

"Trickster's Shroud!" Thor shouted as his body exploded into thick white clouds, covering the area in a fog so thick you couldn't see more than half a meter in front of you. The hardy marine flew through the clouds, being one with them and striking left and right. Blows rained in all directions all over the cloud that covered the interior of the building. The barrage of blows lasted for merely half a minute before Thor decided that he had to see if Barnett was still alive.

"I suggest you consider surrender, you scum!" he shouted as the fog merged back together as fast as wind except for a few tatters of clouds that were slowly merging with his body. Almost 20 of the bandits were lying half unconscious on the floor and almost all the others looked like they had been hit a few times as well. He took a quick look in the direction where Barnett had been standing, trying to notice if the man had been hit by his attack.

[Tim Curry]

Barnett hadn't been hit by Thor's attack, no, the thoer man had taken care of that beforehand as Barnett was already sprawled out on the floor from another strike.
The man sighed again, there seemed to be a real feeling of melancholy coming from him, "Is this really all you can do in the face of pure power? Are your plans worth only that?"
Barnett pushed himself up from the floor using the greatest of exertion before staring the man right in his eyes.
"You keep going on and on about my strategy but that's not what I'm known for. No, I am and always have been a buisnessman!"
This stopped the man dead in his tracks, he paused for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter.
It continued on for an extended period until he gathered himself again, "Ah," Wiping a tear from his eye he continued, "And what is a man such as yourself doing in a place like this? Surely you have nothing to gain here?"
Barnett cared little for how the man reacted, "Enough chatter, let's continue!"
"Whoo, you must really have some kind of deathwish, were you layed off from your cushy job or something?"
Barnett charged on with an air bomb at the ready, he had a plan.
The other man seemed to be near pitying him at this point so he made little movement to avoid him.
Barnett dropped the bomb to the floor and uppercutted the man in a single motion, it worked perhaps too well.
The man smoothly leaned back, avoiding the attack by an inch but he was sent flying towards the roof by the air bomb which had been aimed in a single direction and was considerably more powerful than the one he had used on the thug earlier.
But therin lay the problem, the attack also sent Barnett up, though to a lesser degree, before he plummeted back down and failed in an attempt to roll.
This was where his lack of combat training or experience really showed itself, his weapons were his mind and his tools and little else.
In a situation such as this Barnett had no choice but to use do-or-die attack plans, reducing the fight to little more than a gamble where Barnett's only input was to increase his chances of success from nil to a small possibility.
Once Barnett was back on his feet his opponent was only beginning his descent from the ceiling, he hadn't been damaged much but he was in a position of helplessness, it was time to cotinue the assault.
This time Barnett weilded grenadier bombs in an effort to utterly destroy the man.
Barnett was always slow to use these bombs as they cost a considerable amount of money where the air bombs could be re-used but he had no choice, plus he was hoping he could put it under costs when he recieved his payment for completing this mission.
By holding two in one hand he set both alight before spreading them out again before letting them loose right into the falling man's face.

The explosion was blinding, causing Barnett to avert his eyes.
Thick smoke filled the room, tension and anxiety started to build up within Barnett, was he out for the count yet?
Sadly reality offers few favours, despite his hardest efforts Barnett could not succeed in the face of true power.
The man circled behind Barnett silently in the smoke and struck him hard in the back of the head.
The battle was over but the war was far from it and the man knew of this.
The smoke had cleared then, the man stood over Barnett who lay on the floor unconcious, the scene was similar on the other side of the warehouse aside from it being Thor who stood over the knife weilding fellow (OOC Sorry for god modding here but the story needs to move along ^^")
The man laughed for the second time, "I'm too tired to take you on as well, I can tell when it's time to retreat, though..."
The man moved over to Thor at an ungodly speed before picking up the body of his fallen comrade and retreating back again.
"Until we meet again, by the way, your friend might need a bit of help."
With that the man dashed outside and away from the warehouse.

[thormundsson]

(OOC: the god modding is fine with me as long as you don't rp me losing. I don't mind winning )

Thor looked around the area as the two men fled in the blink of an eye. Normally he'd rush to take them out but seeing as Barnett was still unconscious he decided against that. He might be hurt or the bandits might come back if Thor left him unattended. Then there was that shrieking noise that filled the air. "damn him and his usefulness" Thor shrugged as he bent down in a jumping motion.

"Cloud Cloud no Bifröst" he shouted as his lower part formed into a dense cloud, launching him off the floor and bulldozing through the wall behind Barnett. He grabbed the man as he swept above him and took them both through the hole and into the vacant street. Barnett seemed to be more or less fine even if he was unconscious. It looked as if his wits had saved him again. Behind them the warehouse collapsed into a pile of broken wood and bent metal. The shrieking sound was incredible and Thor could see that people were approaching the site. From the ruins came a chorus of moans as the fallen bandits were buried and trapped.

A young marine came rushing up to Thor as he turned back away from the sight of the wreckage. "Sir, what happened here" was the only thing the marine could muster from his lips as he watched the pile of metal and wood. "Trooper, get a squad of marines down here, clear the men from the rubble and place them all under arrest. They are criminals and need to be dealt with as such. If a report is needed have it sent to Pecos town to the Shield Divisional base there." He finished and the man leaped at his command, rushing back the way he came to find more men to help him.

Thor lugged the unconscious Barnett up against the nearest wall and let his fist materialize into a cloud covering his face. "The wetness and cold should wake him up" Thor thought as he thickened it even more.

(slightly gay, I know but it works.....)

[Tim Curry]

Waking up to find your head in the middle of a cloud is a strange sensation which is is only amplified by the fact that your partner displayed cloud-like abilities earlier.
Of course, that won't stop you from drawing in a deep breath unwittingly in shock, worsening your current situation.
Barnett fell to the floor through Thor, hacking and coughing the alien gas he had inhaled.
Once he had got his bearings back he looked up at Thor, "W-why?! I would have preferred a painful awakening to... THAT!"
Suddenly it hit him, "Wait, what happened? Where are those two gone?"
The answer was not in the least bit appealing to Barnett, his gamble hadn't paid off, though he was in a decent physical shape.
Almost too good in fact, did that man have some kind of other motive when he finished off Buck or was he just too pressed by Thor to do any damage before being forced to flee?
There was little time to ponder it however, as the situation became clearer through the medium of a sudden attack from a hit squad.
The men wore fine suits and carried fine weapons of all types, these were clearly not pirates.
At least, not the pirates that Thor had mentioned anyway, but it was far more likely that these men were part of some sort of organised crime syndicate.
"... That bastard, he just strung us along like puppets on string. He never even knew about those pirates, he just wanted us to attack the mafia."
Barnett regretted how easily he went along with and how strongly he believed that the man knew of Bardolf's band. His acting talent rivaled those of showmen, he knew exactly how intelligent Barnett was so he feigned ignorance in a topic that he truly had no knowledge on.
Barnett was going to beat the truth out of him later, there were still many mysteries surrounding the situation, but for now his priority was to survive.
Not exactly an easy task when you are facing a pack of highly trained mafia hitmen in a less than prime state.

[thormundsson]

Thor merely shrugged at the response from Barnett as the man woke up. he knew that the man was a bit shocked. Not many people knew of devil's fruits and even fewer ever got to experience them so close. It hadn't helped that he had woken up literally enveloped by Thor from the neck up. He seemed to handle it well enough though and Barnett's shock seemed only momentary.

Thor helped him to his feet with one hand but his mind was somewhere else. he could hear a running sound around them. The chance of it being the marines returning was slim as the young man had just run off a moment ago. "One after another the bugs come crawling out of the wood work" Thor sighed as another group of men ran up close, brandishing weapons and surrounding them. The men wore fine clothes and seemed to be well equipped.

Thor knew his powers would most likely be enough to take them down but a hail of bullets would most likely kill Barnett if it came to a fight. He raised his hands at the men. "There is a full company of marines on their way here, you will never make this work. I suggest you surrender now before reinforcements get here" he said with a commanding tone in his voice. He knew that these men would probably not flee from this, they looked to well organized and motivated.

"Any suggestions, Barnett" The commander of Shield whispered to the man as he turned his head from side to side, taking in the full scope of their situation. His coat whipped around him in the wind and despite the strong gale the silence that filled the street was pressing and heavy.