The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Welldrinker Cult
A shadowy group is gaining power, drawing in people who are curious, vulnerable, or malicious, and turning them into Mystics. They are recruiting people into their ranks to spread the influence of magic in the world, but for what end goal?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
From the moment vacuuming ended Rowan's regaling of his undersea adventures to the moment of the door knock, Cafas had been darting between emptying bottles and moving dangerous things to higher shelves. He just had so many sharp or small objects. The X-man was so glad he didn't own a gun, he was paranoid enough about the amount of blades in his apartment. He'd just put the last of the bottles into the recycling when the rap of small knuckles on wood demanded attention.
Guess that'll have to do...
Cafas swung the door open, beamed briefly at Maya before dropping into a crouch. He wrapped an arm under Rowan's butt and lifted him easily. His other arm pulled a rather tired and translucent Maya into a hug. Both received a light squeeze. A muffled "Hey sweetie." found its way into Maya's hair, along with a kiss.
Cafas released Maya and turned his head to face Rowan, face serious. "So, what happened to the squid-lion?" the Metal manipulator carried the boy and his bag inside. The myriad questions fought with the desire to keep telling his story (which he assured Cafas was totally true) as they found their way to the lounge-room. If there was one part of the story that Cafas was totally convinced about, it was that Rowan could in fact talk underwater.
Probably in space too.
He set Rowan down on the couch, which lasted all of half a second. The boy was standing in a heartbeat, exaggerated actions going with his exaggerated story. He didn't notice Cafas twitch slightly at the shoes on his couch. Not so much as a pause for breath as Cafas picked him up, sat him back on his butt, and began removing the offending shoes. "No shoes on couches please buddy." He managed to interject, and got only a nodding in reply. The show simply had to go on. Cafas had to know all about the mermaid soldiers!
Did she ever imagine her life would come to this? Shuffling around practically homeless, practically jobless, child in-tow, and with a movie star breathing warm greetings into her scalp?
Not in a million years.
Which was about the same amount of time it'd take for Maya to be convinced to give it up.
"Not a squid-lion, a long arm squid that was also part lion-"
She noticed a tang in the air as soon as Cafas had stepped away. It hadn't come from him, though. And not blood. It was just a pervasive sour smell in the apartment. The elemental tried not to, but her eyes went straight for the cabinet. The cabinet wasn't there. She swept the room visually, but it hadn't moved unless it'd moved out of the living room.
Maya closed the door behind herself. She had no bags. She practically lived here already... sometimes. Usually. Maya rocked back and forth on her heels soaking in the experience of seeing her son and her significant other engaging on the couch.
This was what things were supposed to be like.
"Hey, Ro. Did you bring your markers or your crayons?"
"MARKERS!" He didn't mind interrupting stories, when he got to answer questions that he was good at.
"Could you draw up a picture? I don't want to forget one single detail of what you just said."
"But I'm not done yet."
"Then it'll probably take more than one piece of paper, huh?"
In the moment where Rowan tried to process how many pages he'd need, Maya tried to communicate with hand signals and eye gestures that Cafas' apartment smelled like alcohol. Big time.
Maya was making gestures, and Cafas felt unreasonably guilty about them. He tried to sign back but gave up when he had managed to confuse himself about what he'd been miming. Rather, he cracked the windows overlooking the park to let the (relatively) fresh air in. It hit him like... Well, like frigid New York air hitting an Australian who had been in central heating all day. Said Australian walked away from the window, ruffled Rowan's hair on the way through, and wrapped Maya in a hug.
"One of the bottles broke and ruined your note," he offered in way of explanation. Clearly the rest had to go after that, his voice said. "You wanna assist the venting process?" Who better than an air elemental when you needed airflow in your house? Sure, a few tax forms and some fan mail might be thrown around, but he'd live.
Meanwhile, Rowan had found his pages and his markers. That was Cafas' cue. He gave a final squeeze and let go reluctantly, trotting back over to Rowan, waiting impatiently to continue his story, now with illustrations! Those were all going on the fridge. Every last one. He would have to move some of the fan art elsewhere. The photos of him and Maya weren't going anywhere though.
"Okay, then what happened?"
~~~
Technically, it had been Sunday for three whole minutes. Cafas had his favourite air elemental pulled close to his chest, and consequently a face full of hair to try and speak past. All in all the day had gone well enough. The spare room nearest the Master bedroom had been made up (which involved removing more than a few sharp bits of metal) they'd eaten, they'd played, they'd spent longer than Cafas had ever thought it was possible to take putting Rowan to bed. He smiled and tried to find a more comfy spot on the pillow.
That might be a lost cause.
The covers were perhaps a smidge too thick. Luckily, Maya was a pretty good heat sink. Comfy, pretty, very much right there with him heat sink. That was the best kind. He ran his thumb over her hip bone just to double check she was there, because it really did seem like a dream. It always seemed like a dream. Maybe that was what made weekends so terrible, the thought that he might wake up and find it that way forever. His hand tracked down to hold her thigh gently.
I think that might be a lost cause.
"So, you guys want to stay here while your room dries out? Maybe longer if you like... You know, as a suggestion." Though given the Mansion seemed to recover from explosions every other year, he doubted a bit of flooding would take too long for the maintenance team to dry up.
Cafas knew he probably wasn't thinking about what that would actually entail. He was also entirely aware that he was just letting himself get swept up in the feeling of actually having a family. It wasn't every day he got to feel that way. It was also likely the days he'd be able to were limited. He wanted to be swept up in them, live them to the fullest.
Seriously not even slightly consider the logistics.
Things were quiet. After all the hand gestures, eyebrows, and air venting, they'd all settled down eventually. Rowan went to the guest room with the usual amount of bedtime protesting and Maya found herself in her favorite spot a whole day ahead of schedule.
Maybe the swells and dips of their bodies hadn't been made for each other, but they fit just about perfect for right now. She liked to hear him breathe. She liked hearing his heart beat strong and solid.
Despite his shuffling, Maya's eyes were heavy when he spoke. It took a second to trickle down through her consciousness. It sounded good. Oh and how great would it be for Cafas and Rowan to really get to know each other? Not just visit?
She rolled her forehead down against his skin as if that would keep him from feeling her eyebrows drawing together. "I-" want that very much. "-don't want you to enable codependent behavior from me."
Hey. She was as surprised as he was on this one, but it was true. She'd relied too much on Sebastian. She'd trusted him too much. Now, when she had so little to offer... when the most she was contributing was... herself? Rowan? What?
The elemental breathed heavily and pushed herself up, elbows wobbling in an effort to keep herself and the weight of the blanket up. She'd needed to see his face, his eyes.
"Love you." She tried to reassure him that this wasn't a no, but Maya remembered that she'd loved Sebastian too, once. That thought sent her arguments in a jumble. "Is it too much to ask... can I...? I mean, the Full Circle." Was it too much to hope that she'd be a contributing factor to this... whatever it was?
Cafas stared up at Maya's propped up face trying to run that sentence through his brain. Not the first one, that one made enough sense. It was the last one, the broken one. He blinked at the dark room for a moment, then smiled. It was hard not to when looking into her eyes. "I'm gonna need that one again. Maybe with more verbs." Cafas brushed some hair out of her face, but it just fell back like he hadn't even tried.
"And I love you too. I will do my best not to enable codependent behaviour. Once I figure out exactly what that constitutes." He leaned up and planted a kiss on her cheek, lips barely brushing her skin. Flopping back down landed his head somewhere slightly more comfortable. His eyes found hers again, brown hidden in red, all hidden by darkness. "It wasn't really my intention. This was just... Really nice. I didn't know what to expect when you called, I don't think I could have predicted how right it would feel."
A sigh escaped his lips. He'd long given up hoping Maya wouldn't notice. "It kinda made me think about moving to L.A. again. Settling down, being a normal every day movie star." He smiled at how ridiculous that phrase was, but it was brief, "Leaving the X-men... But I can't... They're going to need me, I can feel it." His eyes drifted away. He didn't want her to see quite how deep that sentiment ran.
"Sorry, you were saying, something about full circle. I get so carried away, I gotta stop that."
She felt a little too wobbly when she felt so twisty inside. It made it difficult to maintain a push-up. So Maya reseated herself atop Mt. Cafas' stomach and settled her legs around his ribcage. There. Now she could put her hands beside his head, one on either side. She tried too, to push her hair out of the way, but the best she managed was to get it all to one side. White hair cascaded between them and the alarm clock. It made this a moment suspended from time.
"I'd say that the phrase 'normal every day movie star' is an oxymoron if you hadn't taken me there and if we hadn't seen what's-his-face at that Starbucks." She eased herself down, internally. Physically, she still kept a hand's span between them.
Maya was making this too big a thing in her head, she was sure.
"I always thought you'd be a good house dad." Visions of aprons danced in her head. Just Cafas and aprons. Her cheeks flushed all the way up to the tips of her ears.
But they'd talked about this, hadn't they? X-men don't really retire. Maybe for a while, but not forever. Not unless they were dead or transferred to a different team. "We should have maybe gone to see the local team out west. I dunno. A couple of ours transferred to other places and I hear it's quieter... elsewhere..." But that wasn't what he meant when he said the X's needed him. These X's needed him. There weren't a whole lot of them on active duty right now.
What had she been saying about the Full Circle?
"Maybe I should just... sell." That hadn't been what she'd been saying before, but maybe it was a better option. "Not that it's taking up my time lately. I just mean... I don't know."
With a whuff she finally let her arms collapse and close that little space between them. "I don't want you to feel obligated to take care of the X-men. Or Rowan. Or the store. Or me. I know you want to... now. But things change sometimes... for some people." She was glad to not have to look at him now. Her words sucked in and breathed out against the little prickles of hair regrowth on his chest.
And taking on a child wasn't like taking on a puppy, or a store for that matter.
Maya had been light ever since he'd known her. He'd always assumed it was just related to her power. The fact she kept getting lighter was disconcerting to say the least. It didn't exactly fill Cafas with confidence that they had time left to enjoy their relationship. He wrapped his arms around her once more, eyes boring a hole into the ceiling.
"I'll have to ask you to forgive me then, because I can't do that." The words escaped as a sigh. Sighs were starting to become a theme of the night. "I think you know that. I care enough about random strangers to risk my life for them. I'll give up my dreams for the X-men. For you and Ro..." He paused, because he would burn the world to the ground for them. He would burn it and as they stood in the ashes she wouldn't even be able to look at him, and that would be okay because she was there, unharmed.
"If you want to sell the store, I certainly won't stop you. You do what makes you happy. So long as you're doing that, I'll be there to support you. Even if you kinda wish that wasn't the case." Cafas rolled, depositing Maya back on the mattress. He propped himself on an elbow to look at her, the woman he couldn't bring himself to admit hew as going to lose.
"So, tell me more about how I'd be a great house dad. I want to hear the logic."
She chuckled at his long suffering sigh and self-defense. They'd had this conversation before. They'd probably have it again too. "I know." sounded more like I love you than an admission that they would ever see eye to eye on the point.
Maya would forgive him... for now. Because this was what he wanted for now. She just worried for later. That was all.
"I'll think about it." She got dumped to the side, no longer permitted to cling. Maya left her leg draped across Cafas as an act of defiance. She might feel like she should separate herself from him for his own good, but he made it incredibly difficult to do so.
> "So, tell me more about how I'd be a great house dad..."
"Hmm." She grabbed her pillow with both arms. "I can see it now. You'd hate sweeping, but you'd always keep the kitchen clean so the kids could come home after school, hop off the bus, and have a place to have a snack and do their homework." This was a hypothetical mind space where sunlight streamed in through the windows, bright and cheery yellow. No one had to fight or work or make money and the chores always got done. "The house smells like wood polish and coffee. The kids drink theirs as half hot chocolate. Jude visits for holidays and you'd still make him eat his veggies."
Okay. So maybe there were a few oddities, but it made a nice image in her head.
Warm cozy images accompanied Maya's words in Cafas' head. His hand found her draped leg and briefly considered moving it just to watch her pout at him. Instead he held it while she spoke, though which of them he did that for was a contentious topic in his head.
The impossibly idyllic scene played out in his head, a part of him refusing to relinquish the though it was all attainable. The kitchen with the kids doing homework and eating snack, it was so calm and far from the world he'd gotten himself into.
Kids...
He wasn't sure why the word lingered like that. The scene continued, wood polish and coffee all but tangible scents, hot chocolate mixed in because there was no way he was giving the kids straight coffee. He'd seen the results of that and it was not happening again.
Kids...
There it was again, sticking in his head. What was that about? He shook it off with a laugh at the image of Jude rolling his eyes and haughtily eating broccoli because he was in Cafas' house, under Cafas' roof, and it was good for him. He was only refusing to be contrary anyway, the brat.
Wait... Kids?
There it was, the reason that was sticking. Cafas sat up rather suddenly, holding Maya's leg a bit tighter with what was either excitement or nervousness. He found the elemental's eyes, his own searching for hints where it would seem none were forthcoming. Her honey eyes betrayed nothing. "Wait, Kids? Kidsssss?" Cafas could only account for Rowan that he'd be introduced to, and Jude hardly counted as a kid. The X-man's eyes wandered the direction of his girlfriend's midriff as his brain tried to calculate every possible reason she might have pluralized the word.
Was it trying to prove or disprove the obvious solution? He couldn't tell.
A giggle fit ensued. "No, no." She tried to gasp it out between bubbles of unending laughter.
His face.
The eyes on the belly.
The sheer panic.
"I would never-" No. This was serious. She cleared her throat and despite having her leg held up at an odd angle, tried to be serious and sit up as well. "I wouldn't do that to you unless you wanted to. You know... Not unless we'd talked about it."
It'd been a slip on her end. Rowan's brother was always there in her perfect imaginings. But it was way better to laugh about Cafas' panic than it was to cry for someone who was never coming back.
Besides, the idea of being pregnant again now was not entirely attractive. But, maybe singleton pregnancies were easier? She'd never really thought to ask Cafas his opinion. If he wanted that. She'd always just assumed the answer was a flat out no. Maybe because when she'd asked about kids before he'd never even imagined it...
Cafas once more flumphed back onto his pillow, energy draining slowly as that... Whatever it had bee, was put to rest. No more kids out of the blue. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that either. Maybe in his idyllic little world, it would be good. Great even. His world was not that one though. His world was full of violence and uncertainty. It was a world he'd do his level best to shield anyone he could from. Yeah, it was probably for the best.
With a brief wriggling of arms around girlfriend Cafas had Maya back atop him. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and gave himself a moment longer to think. It wasn't like he exactly had forever to decide. At least, it didn't seem likely that he did. "Well, you know... You can be as careful as you like, sometimes fate intervenes." A few kisses found their way onto Maya's neck, they were the best way he could think of to assure her he was fine.
"Maybe at some point we should talk about it. In the future, when things are a bit more certain. I've just... I've been fighting for years. Beaten down one day, back and ready to do it again the next. I'm tired of it. I think..." What did he think? Not much of anything, mostly he felt. He felt and he acted. "I think before us, I'd have told you I'd make a terrible father, that I have no idea how to deal with kids, that it's fundamentally un-me. But I don't know, with Ro, and I know I'm really not pulling full duties by any stretch, but I've kinda been thinking..." There was that word again, thinking. Every other aspect of his life he could be decisive in a split second, but now he was thinking.
"It feels kinda right, and yeah... Coffee and wood polish sounds nice."
He peppered kisses against a frozen body. Sometimes fate intervenes? He couldn't be serious. Did he see how careful she was? How careful she made him be? Fate was a twisty and fickle little fiend. Fate had done enough. Maya fully intended to leave fate out of the picture.
She relaxed a bit when he put the decision off until things got to be "more certain." Yes. That was entirely... well, it was just better. Neither of them had mentioned the fact that her little fantasy hadn't included her. That was just a give-in at this point.
>"It feels kinda right..."
No.
She squeezed him tight so there'd be no chance for him to see the mixed bag of emotions she was fighting through. She felt as if her pulse was jumping at the side of her neck under his lips, giving her away.
"You... want kids?" And squeezed tighter. Like... his own? She tightened her grip. But there wasn't time. She held on too tight. Her arms evaporated around him. She didn't sit up, just hugged herself with incorporeal arms that fit where no real arms would.
"I mean it. Cafas, you'd be a good a dad. You're already a better... I mean, your self-sacrificing nature, kindness of spirit, and training as a protector all more than qualify you." Which just made it all that much worse. She couldn't stop the big, warm tears from rolling down her cheeks.
See, he let his mouth say words, and this is how it ended.
Her arms giving way had been perhaps the first sign that actually registered with him that he needed to shut up. Unfortunately for Cafas, the words had already some out of his mouth. He heard her throat tighten, heard the tears in her voice before they started flowing. He searched for some way to make it okay, but his brain only had one answer to his searching.
I told you so...
That's not useful.
He was already holding her, left arm wrapped around her back at her waist. His right hand moved up her back until it was in her hair, then stroked back down. He didn't at all know what to do or say, but he had to do something, didn't he.
"Hey, hey, no it's okay." He crooned, not entirely convinced. "Maya, it's fine, really." He continued, not quite certain which part she was crying about. Cafas cursed his brain for not cooperating. Leaving his mouth to sort out its own messes was frankly cruel. "Kids plural is not the point. I just meant that, if everything comes together and we get the opportunity for a peaceful future, then maybe I'd like to discuss it."
It was impossible to push himself further back in order to meet Maya's eyes. He tried, but the mattress just wasn't having it. It was probably for the best, because his brain had come out of lock-down to throw at him everything standing in the way of that peaceful future, and then he was crying too.