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.
With the issue of nightwear solved for the moment Zephyr endeavored to returned his attention to the documents he'd been given and once again searching for any links between Brezean and the various corporate entities in his region. It was slow, unrewarding work considering that all he had to go off of was the European equivalent of a 10-K which realistically was little more than a lengthy summary of a businesses financial state at the end of the prior year.
Still there were hints of what he wanted, the occasional footnote mentioning abrupt new tax savings or unusually high losses on the divestiture of a small and newly branch of operations coinciding with the presentation of various senate bills. By themselves they were small, inconsequential things but bring them together and add a certain amount of cynicism and they could weave quite an interesting tableau. The only problem was that none of it was concrete, for that he'd need corporate book entries or bank statements, obtaining either of those however were more trouble than they were worth.
Sighing the elemental closed the laptop and rubbed his temples, a tired glance outside showed the sun was in the process of setting and jetlag was finally beginning to take hold. An inaudible yawn escaped the hessians lips as he rose from his seat and slowly stretched his limbs before wearily meandering his way towards the shower, pausing briefly after cracking open the door to cast a cursory look at Katrina who simply mumbled softly in her sleep before rolling away from the narrow slit of light cast by the bathroom.
The place was not quite as clean as it could have been, a single glance made it quite apparent that his young protégé had been in no state to care about how she left the facilities. Granted there was no that much damage she could do and aside from soaked socks the occasional puddle was far from an issue. No, the true annoyance was that the showers supply of hot water appeared to have been significantly drained during Katrina's turn and so the elementals own ablutions were cut somewhat shorter than he would have liked.
Despite this though the mixture of the waters steaming heat and gentle hiss had allowed him to enjoy some degree of relaxation and by the time he had emerged a comfortable haze had settled over his thoughts while a final handful of painkillers managed to dull the constant migraine, thus allowing the wearied mercenary to slip into his own bed and easily fade into sleep where he soon became heedless of everything around him.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Katrina woke with a start. The snakes that had been constricting her were simply the sheets that had managed to twist themselves up around her as she had tossed and turned. She took a deep breath, trying to get the hammering in her chest to settle down again. She knew it hadn't been real, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling of that there was danger around every corner. She shouldn't have come. She knew she shouldn't have.
It was dark in the room, the only light a sickly green glow that came from the digital alarm clock and a pin prick of bright blue from what appeared to be a light on a laptop. The room was quiet, save for the sound of Zephyr's quiet breathing. And the creaking footsteps in the hallway. And was that a hissing noise?
As fast as she could scamper, Katrina was at the edge of Zephyr's big bed. In another moment she was slipping under the covers as quickly and quietly as she could, until they were up to her nose. That was a little better, but it would be best if...she scooted over until her hand touched the areomancer's where it rested on his pillow. There, that was better.
The footsteps faded away into the night and quiet reigned once again. It didn't take long for Katrina to fall asleep again.
An establishment of the Marriott's caliber generally spared no expense in ensuring their accommodations were more than a step above simply being commodious and it was an effort which clearly showed when one first entered their premises. Everything from the comforting pliability of the furnishings to the faint yet reassuring silence afforded by the thickened windows down to the indistinct but pervasive redolent aroma culminated in the creation of an environment designed to place a guest at their ease and allow a peaceful slumber.
The key motivation behind such opulent spending was not merely to permit the charging of higher fees, though admittedly that did play a relevant part, primarily though the management of the Marriott well knew their target audience; largely affluent characters visiting the rapidly developing capitol on international business. Jetlag was a common malady for such individuals which would often lead to restless nights and an unhealthy accumulation of stress and, in general, was just unproductive.
The Marriot establishment therefore offered at least a partial remedy to this situation by providing the style of lodgings described above, however whilst a malacissant environment can go a significant way towards assisting a more natural state of sleep, it is by no means a guarantee of uninterrupted rest. When combined with the somniferous effects of excessive, non-prescribed painkillers however the odds of a sustained sleep increased markedly.
The slight shifting of the mattress as it accommodated a new body went entirely unheeded, likewise the minor motion of sheets and duvet elicited little more than a short stir from the quiescent elemental as his head strayed to a more comfortable position on the arm beneath his elbow. When the hand of that same arm abruptly entered the grip of another, smaller palm, the hessians eyes briefly drifted open but without seeing, and soon fell closed once again.
The heat of another body however is not something which can be easily overlooked, especially by the unconscious mind, and as the ambient temperature continued to drop with the passage of the night Zephyr's body began to withdraw deeper into the warmth of the bed, only to be brought to an unexpected halt as another, smaller form, drew up against his own and soon pressed itself closer to take advantage of any heat it could as the elemental did the same.
When the mornings sun's reflective light finally managed to pierce the curtains and illuminate the room to a sufficient degree the scene it revealed was that of Zephyr sleeping soundlessly on his side, his free arm draped securely across Katrina's back whilst the gamine remained contently nestled against the elementals front, her head tucked intently into the crook of his neck.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
The sun's rays drew stripes across their pillow. Bits of broken sunlight got caught in a petite diamond and reflected rainbows across two sleeping forms. Thin, pale fingers twined through wiry grey fur that dissolved into bare skin under the warmth of the morning's light. Baby blue eyes blinked open, meeting her own cloudy colorless gaze.
“You chased my nightmares away.” -- Katrina's eyes flickered open and her dream melted away. The bare chest in front of her did not. Nor did the tousled brown hair falling across still closed eyes, the thin lips parted slightly to breathe, nor the hand draped across her back.
The little illusionist blinked.
Blinked again.
He was still there.
And then she remembered how she had gotten there. And realized she probably wasn't supposed to be there. And started worrying about how she was supposed to escape when Dio had her thoroughly pinned to the sheets with his unconscious arm.
The brown haired boy stirred and in a panic Katrina did the first thing she could think of doing. She squeezed her eyes shut again and pretended she was still asleep.
For the past few weeks Zephyr's sleep could perhaps most accurately be described as merely an aperture within his memories. He would simply lay down at the end of a day and after what seemed nothing more than a few minutes his eyes would open to the sight of the sun signaling the start of a new day as it crept across the horizon. Though initially the large lapses in time had been somewhat disconcerting the hessian had soon surmised that the shift in his sleep habits was little more than a minor side effect deriving from his slight over use of common painkillers.
The lack of dreams, or his failure to recall any dreams was completely overlooked, had it been noted however the mercenary likely would have counted such a symptom as a plus. For although the elemental possessed a somewhat avant-garde moral code it did not meant his past was entirely free of guilt; everyone had regrets, all that differed was the degree and in the hessian's line of work such things tended to work only in extremes.
Still, the human mind is an amazing thing, it can process an innumerable amount of stimulus, attribute meaning to that which it observes and predict future consequences to a scale far surpassing any other creature. In short it is capable of reasoning, and though such an act is mainly performed by the conscious mind the subconscious has its own unique variant which follows few conventional rules. Thus should it be unable to express itself through its traditional avenue of dreams the subconscious is quite capable of taking more direct action in order to convey its intendment.
Whether the conscious mind heeds such messages however is another subject entirely.
Awareness descended upon Zephyr gradually, much in the same manner that frost gathers upon glass. One of the first sensations to reach the elementals mind was that of warmth and cold as his mind registered the disparity of temperature between the bed and the rest of the room. Sound came next as the hessians ears perceived the subtle yet persistent echoes of outside activity, the muted melody of traffic and idle conversation overlaying the steady rhythms of breath. Touch followed soon after as the Kabal member noted the gentle texture of the sheets upon his back and the soft form pressed against his front...
Confusion abruptly coated the elementals weary mind and his brow furrowed in thought as he attempted to discern the small presence lying beside him, yet the remnants of fatigue in his body forestalled any answers. Eventually though azure eyes flickered and blinked before glancing down at the diminutive figure resting against his chest, idly noting the mussed blonde hair and poorly buttoned shirt before recognition flooded him alongside a new wave of enervated confusion.
"Sarah?"
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Katrina scrunched her nose in confusion, which of course gave away that she was awake or waking up. She let her eyelids flutter open to meet Zephyr's sleepy blue eyed gaze.
“Not Sarah, sorry..” Hopefully he wasn't too disappointed.
She twisted beneath his hand and stretched out. It was warm here, and cozy. She wanted to stay and pretend the outside world didn't exist. No wars, no nightmares, no angry mothers... just sunshine and blankets and older brothers. Kind of.
“You're kind of like a brother, you know” Katrina observed out loud, punctuating her sentence with a still sleepy yawn.
With his thoughts still in a slight daze the elementals sapphire gaze wavered momentarily as he blinked in an effort to remove the nights grit from his eyes while his mind listlessly attempted to make sense of the soft voice. How had his sister gotten- No, not his sister, that was good wasn't it? But if this wasn't Sara then who- Wait, where were they? He'd been doing something hadn't he? Why did his head feel as though it was in a gradually tightening vice? He couldn't think, he needed to clear his head.
A sizeable yawn impeded the worn mercenary's chaotic criss-crossing trains of thought and he glanced down again as his vision began to drift into sharper focus. The petite figure in his arms remained much the same as it had been before; blonde, svelte and somewhat lacking in appropriate attire, a sense of familiarity clung to the child yet it wasn't until the she stretched that her hair fell free of her features and a name rose from the elementals mind as recognition flowed through him.
"Katrina."
It wasn't a question for Zephyr couldn't determine which of the many he wanted to ask first. It was a simply a statement coloured with the elements of surprise, confusion, curiosity and other emotions which shaded the hessians own assembling cogitations.
There was something strangely... soothing, about the bantam body contentedly nestled against him. There was more to it than the mere warmth the gamines body provided, though that was certainly a welcome benefit given the frigid surrounding temperature. It was difficult to express what he was experiencing; an odd sense of peace mingled with nostalgic half recollections of another petite form resting gratefully within his embrace, content with whatever comfort he could provide.
This wasn't the same as then though regardless of how similar it might feel; memories of the previous day at last began to surface and Zephyr stirred slightly, adjusting to Katrina's new position and allowing his arm to fall away from the drowsy jejune. Despite how great the resemblance might be Katrina was not his sister. That was the simple truth of the matter and he'd acknowledged it many times before yet that didn't-
“You're kind of like a brother, you know”[/color]
The elementals thoughts shattered. Wide azure eyes shot down to the adolescents somnolent countenance just as the girl yawned and placed her head back into the hollow of his neck. A slow breath escaped the hessian and his arm returned to the gamines back with a soft but insistent embrace. Vaguely he was aware of a more alert and discerning portion of his mind urging him to leave the bed, that there was something he had to do, though what precisely eluded him.
Eventually however the steadily increasing pressure surrounding his own skull persuaded the elemental to depart the warm confines of the bed and so it was with a certain amount of reluctance that he released Katrina with a half hearted comment about starting the day before pushing himself into a sitting position and raising a single hand to massage his temples. His eyes surveyed the room and after alighting upon, and making use of, the small alabaster of painkillers resting upon the nightstand the elemental wandered towards the shower.
Work, alas, beckoned.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Her comment hung on the air for a few moments while they both sleepily contemplated it. It was kind of a shimmery thought, in Katrina's opinion. She imagined that it was a sparkly smoke that dissipated slowly with the breeze of Dio's movement; first a hug, then sitting up.
Did they have to get up already? Apparently so.
Katrina slowly sat up and simply watched as Dio headed towards the bathroom, popping a couple more pills before he stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water.
Hadn't he taken a shower the night before? Hadn't he also taken a lot of those pills yesterday, too?
Curious, the blonde gamine padded softly over to the counter where the bottle stood sentinel on the counter. It was simply ibuprofen, the miracle drug as Katrina's mom called it. There wasn't much harm in that, so long as he ate something with it.
Beneath the bottle, the room service menu beckoned. A quick glance revealed that the options were delicious, at least if the pictures were of any indication, and they lacked any price tags. Maybe that meant it was all included in the price of the room.
Katrina dialed 0 on the room phone and swiftly ordered a number two and a number nine. And just in case Zephyr didn't like those, a number seventeen as well. Options were always a bonus.
With no particular sense of urgency the elemental moved listlessly under the near scalding streams of water, enjoy the sensation of stiff limbs and muscles loosening under the welcoming warmth whilst the crushing feeling enveloping his skull gradually began to diminish as the painkillers swiftly worked their way through his empty system. The thought of simply idling away an hour or two like this was tempting, sadly though it was unlikely the hot water would last quite that long.
There was also the matter of breakfast to consider or, more specifically, the current lack of it. It was at least an easily rectifiable situation though; an establishment of the Marriott's caliber was likely to have a reasonably proficient chef on staff to satisfy at least the room service requests if not the continental breakfast buffet which was doubtlessly on hand in the dining room below. The only question which remained was what precisely to order? The hessians mind drifted back to what little he could recall of the elaborate menu as he dried off and then exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped about his waist.
As the Kabal member emerged however he quickly realized that the luxury of choice had been taken out of his hands. Standing in the center of the spacious room was an ornate wooden cart compromised of several different trays on which a trio of sizeable plates rested. Two of the dishes were crowned by an elaborate sterling dome which effectively concealed their contents from view, the top and most accessible dish however had its cover held aloft by the elemental young protégé, revealing a rather appetizing set of waffles complete with what appeared to be syrup, butter and a glass of coral coloured liquid.
Somewhat taken aback by the gamines... initiative, Zephyr remained silent for a moment, resting against the open doorframe before clearing his throat to attract the girls attention and cocking an eyebrow at her in quizzical manner as he wordlessly waited for a response. When nothing appeared to be immediately forthcoming the mercenary sighed and gave a pointed glance to the two remaining plates.
"I don't suppose you happened to order an omelet or a pot of tea by any chance? Though I suppose coffee would do just as well."
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Katrina contemplated what was under dish number one. She hadn't gotten around to finding out what was under the other two dishes before a dripping Zephyr reappeared with his eyebrow raised wearing nothing but a towel.
“My mom says you shouldn't take ibuprofen on an empty stomach,” she offered by way of explanation. She didn't care if Zephyr thought she was mothering him. Even if he didn't think so, everyone needed someone to be their mom now and then. “I couldn't read the descriptions, so I just ordered by the numbers,” she admitted. She lifted another lid to find a club sandwich-sort-of thing with some unfamiliar looking ingredients.
“There is a pot with something hot in it,” she answered vaguely to his query about tea. She hadn't ordered any, it had just come along with everything else, complimentary style.
“Also, if you're going to eat breakfast, you have to get dressed first.” The little teen put her hands on her hips to emphasize her point. Her own mother never would have let someone sit at the breakfast table in nothing but a towel. Pajamas were tolerable, but towels? Certainly not.
Shaking his head ruefully at the display before him Zephyr momentarily struggled, and failed, to mask his amusement before his lips crept upwards into a slight but noticeable smirk. The warm water and medication had done wonders for his mood and the irony of the situation was far from lost on the damp elemental. Briefly he wondered whether Katrina fully appreciated the subtle comedic value of her attempted role reversal before dismissing the thought from his mind.
Presumably there were a number of individuals who would have reacted somewhat poorly to the gamines demonstration of enterprise, at the moment however the hessian was not one of them. Granted the girl had likely just spent an extortionate amount on a selection of items she knew nothing about all on a sudden whim however, as the money had not been his own and he likely would have acted much the same in any case the mercenary saw little reason to be more than briefly putout.
“Ideally ibuprofen should not be taken on an empty stomach no, however few things in life are ideal and so we make do." The hessian pushed away from the door frame and idly stepped towards the laden trolley, giving one of the remaining plates a cursory glance before shifting his attention to the lightly steaming pot and catching the scent of fresh coffee. “I do appreciate the sentiment however, but in the future try not to make blind purchases.” The elemental moved to pour a dash of the caffeine laced drink-
... if you're going to eat breakfast, you have to get dressed first.
Dio paused and quirked a brow at his young protégé, purposefully meetings the adolescents ashen eyes and treating the girl to an incredulous and slightly taunting expression before then draining the tincture of liquid within his cup. “You need a few more inches before you can use that tone properly and besides you’re hardly one to talk, still it is rather cool in here...
A short time later both elemental and stow away had chosen their meals and were reclining upon the ornately upholstered couch, with the former attired in his habitual dress slacks and shirt and the latter still sporting the oversized button up she’d borrowed the night before. The food was good if somewhat smaller in size than the prices would perhaps suggest and was consumed in short order after which the elemental dismissed the ill dressed gamine to the bathroom and used the temporary solitude to refresh his knowledge of local area.