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.
Lenna rolled down her window, and flashed labs clearance for the front gate. Once that was taken care of, the gate rose.
The cab pulled up the drive, towards the main complex. On either side of the driveway, apple trees lined the way. The land around them was landscaped beautifully, with wide open green, and footpaths for residents of the lab grounds to walk. A low stone wall ran along the area, dividing it off from the storehouses, employee living areas, and lesser labs.
The cab pulled up to a stop near the entrance, and Lenna got out. She offered Henrietta a calming smile. She was sure there was a lot to absorb. "They do a lot of humanitarian work here," she commented. "At Mondragon Labs." They walked through the entrance, and into the brightly-lit foyer.
"Have a seat," Lenna gestured to the chairs in the waiting area. She walked up to the front desk, and announced her presence and situation to the nine-fingered secretary. Noin Mortman nodded, and sent someone to alert Mr. Caleb Swartz to their presence.
Lenna's message to Slate was simple. She had someone interested in pursuing a career in the more Humanitarian realm of his operations. She was a nice girl who could move things with her hair.
Lenna returned to the waiting area with Henrietta. A short while later, a hulking German man with short dark hair approached the two.
"Mr. Swartz will see you, now." He announced.
Lenna smirked at Henrietta, and rose from her seat. She followed the German through the halls, to the board room. They entered.
As it turned out, the Colombian drug trade operated fairly well without him. He was not sure why he was surprised. Only, the number in his ledger seemed very large. Not unusually large by any means: it was simply the sum of what had been earned, while he'd been in Romania. It had accrued predictably during those months. He was simply used to seeing the total on a monthly basis, rather than a quarterly; he had failed to grasp the larger math. It occurred to Slate that he was very rich.
Huh.
"Mr. Swartz?" A guard interrupted, after politely knocking on the door several times, and then inviting himself in. This was something that occasionally had to be done: Mondragon Lab's CEO sometimes failed to answer the first knock. Or the fifth.
The brown-haired teenager looked up, with a startled blink. "Yes?"
"Ms. Lenna is here. She's brought a... potential humanitarian recruit."
"Ah."
"Shall I send them in?"
"Yes, please." The teenager answered.
When the pair of women came in, the nineteen year old was seated at his usual spot: one seat off from the head of the table. He rose cordially to welcome them, offering his hand to the new comer before gesturing to the chairs. "Welcome to Mondragon Labs. I'm Slate Swartz. Ms. Lenna, it's always a pleasure to see you. Please, both of you, have a seat."
His ledger was still open. There was nothing particularly suspicious about it: notes were written in a careful hand in the margins, hypothesizing where and how the funds should be used, and slightly more tangential things. Romania--local reconstruction? Refugee safe houses/Pax Academy? America--donation to Mansion? Note: discuss Cerebra training with Sam. No, there was nothing particularly suspicious about it, and no mention of where the money was from.
Henrietta and Lenna were led by a man to a room with a table. At the head of this table sat a young man who couldn’t have been much older than her. He introduced himself as Slate Swartz. She blinked as he greeted Lenna. Is he the person she was talking about? He looks so young and..familiar. The brunette tried to place him. Who..? An image of Calley flashed in her mind. He looked just like Calley. He had been the first person she had met when she arrived in New York, so she’d probably never forget him.
For a moment, she just looked at the boy. “Um, I’m sorry if I seem rude. You look like someone I’ve met. Almost exactly, maybe even exactly.” The girl decided to leave out the part that had to do with the prince costume she had seen Calley wearing. “Anyway, I’m Henrietta Braun. It’s very nice to meet you.” She took the man’s hand in her own and shook it. He gestured to sit down. Henri glanced behind her to make sure the chair was behind her before taking a seat.
She noticed a ledger. It looked very full and there was a large number. Henrietta moved her eyes away almost immediately. She hoped that he hadn’t seen and thought she was trying to be nosey. That was the last thing she was trying to do. She wanted to make a good impression. Henri was really hoping that she could be of some help to other mutants and if he could make it happen, she’d have to get him to like her.
“Lenna was telling me you have a more humanitarian group here. I’d really like to do something good for other mutants, but I wouldn’t want to hurt people, necessarily. I’m not sure if you need to ask me any questions or see a demonstration of my power or not. Feel free to ask away.” The brunette glanced around the room and then smiled at the young man. “I have to say, I’m very impressed. I had no idea you would be so young. You already seem so very successful at such an early age. I hope that doesn’t offend you at all.” She meant it with the upmost respect and it was obvious by her tone.
>>"Welcome to Mondragon Labs. I'm Slate Swartz. Ms. Lenna, it's always a pleasure to see you. Please, both of you, have a seat."
Lenna offered a polite smile. He still had that ridiculous goatee. Someone needed to tell him it made him look like the Devil. Maybe he already knew?
Lenna started to move towards he seat, but Henrietta's comment stalled her. She looked towards the girl curiously.
>>“Um, I’m sorry if I seem rude. You look like someone I’ve met. Almost exactly, maybe even exactly.”
Someone she... met? Strange. Lenna shrugged it off, and sat down. Her eyes took note of the ledger, and momentarily flashed over the words Romania and Cerebra training with Sam. Lenna idly wondered what a 'Cerebra' was, but moved her focus away from the ledger, back to Slate.
Lenna said nothing. She let Henrietta do all the talking for her. Really, this was all going too easily. Though, there was that 'hurt' word again. Really? Lenna mused wryly. Their organization, hurt something? Slate wouldn't even hurt a fly.
>> “Um, I’m sorry if I seem rude. You look like someone I’ve met. Almost exactly, maybe even exactly. Anyway, I’m Henrietta Braun. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Slate gave a small smile. Not to be confused with a wince. "You have likely met my brother, then. We're twins, as it were." As it were. Yes.
Ms. Braun saw the ledger, and politely lifted her eyes away; Ms. Lenna saw the ledger, and seemed to briefly scan it. Oddly, she had given a similar appraisal to his goatee. Was it off-center? He had asked the guards, and they had assured him that it was not. They would not lie to him: they really could not lie to him. Perhaps it not triangular enough. Perhaps it was too triangular?
The Kabal's Leader self-consciously touched his chin as Ms. Braun began to speak.
>> “Lenna was telling me you have a more humanitarian group here. I’d really like to do something good for other mutants, but I wouldn’t want to hurt people, necessarily. I’m not sure if you need to ask me any questions or see a demonstration of my power or not. Feel free to ask away. ...I have to say, I’m very impressed. I had no idea you would be so young. You already seem so very successful at such an early age. I hope that doesn’t offend you at all.”
Slate returned the smile. "No offense in the least, Ms. Braun. It's something of a family business." Something of. Yes. The Kabal's former leader could certainly be construed as a father figure, and his 'brother' had certainly 'worked here' before him.
"I fear you may have some misconceptions about my organization," he began. "Discrimination is a serious problem in America, but it is not our primary objective. Just as the Kabal is not a black rights group, a Muslim rights group, or a homosexual rights group, we are not a mutant rights group. I aim to help everyone; mutants are included in that, but mutant rights will not always be the target of our missions."
His baby blue eyes sought hers. "If you only wish to aid mutants, and no one else, then the Kabal is not the place for you. I would recommend the X-Men or the Order, in that case." A corner of his mouth quirked up. "Perhaps just the X-Men, actually."
"To address your other misconception: you do not have to hurt anyone, as a Kabal member. Our methods can be... somewhat gray, but we are not a violent criminal organization like the Order." This seemed the appropriate time to inconspicuously shut his ledger. "In the recent Romanian affair, Kabal members worked with the Resistance to organize the concentration camp breakout; we essentially bribed a large part of the government to change its mind about mutant registration, as well. The murders and attacks you may have seen on the news were the work of the Order; the Kabal did no such thing." Except, possibly, for a politician that Martin and Xavia had visited: the man had inexplicably lost his sanity soon after. And some fingers.
His fingers twitched to reopen the ledger, but he settled upon a mental note: arrange meeting with Martin.
His attention turned back to the young woman across from him, "I may ask you to do illegal things, Ms. Braun, but I will never ask you to do something which you are morally opposed to, nor will I ask you to do anything unless I honestly believe it will help."
"Do you have any questions for me?" He asked simply. His questions for her could wait.
Henrietta grinned at Slate. "Honestly, I had never heard of the Kabal until now. I didn't know what the group was called. That's probably why I have so many misconceptions. I technically don't know what it is." She blushed slightly from embarrassment and then gave Lenna a small smile. "She had been telling me there was a place I could do people good where I wouldn't have to hurt anyone. I really like the thought of helping others in a way where I wouldn't have to do something I was morally opposed to."
"I'd love to help all types of people. I have nothing against non-mutants." She fidgeted in her chair and stared at her lap for a moment. "I've just felt a little targeted lately and I'm starting to get sick of it. It would be amazing if everyone could just accept each other. Hating other people isn't going to make anyone happier." The brunette felt her eyes sting as if she was going to cry. She blinked a few times to make the feeling go away. It didn't completely work. All she could think of was how repulsed her mother had seemed by her daughter's mutation.
"M-..My mother and I haven't spoken for months. She sent me to New York in November when people found out about my power. If I could help people so they don't have to feel like a freak, I would be so happy. For that to happen though, I guess mutants can't keep hate for humans. That's not what I have at all, actually. Just sadness most of the time." Henrietta was staring at the table's surface, trying not to feel pathetic. I have to behave like an adult. You're by yourself like one, so act like one. Forcing a smile on her face, she looked at the two Kabal members. "That's just how I feel..."
Twin brother. Lenna made a mental note. She idly wondered if this brother of Slate also had the stubble trouble? Not that the goatee wasn't perfectly triangular... she just didn't appreciate its geometric perfection to as great an extent as some. He'd looked fine without it.
Her focus shifted from Henrietta back to Slate as he responded to Henrietta's statement. He'd set her straight, Lenna theorized.
Her theory hit the cutting room floor. Slate started telling Henrietta far too much. She'd said 'humanitarian', had she not? Someone obviously hadn't given Slate that 'full message'. Stating their organization's name and all that, right off the bat. This was a sixteen-year old girl he was talking to, sheesh.
Lenna sat back and let him continue. If he was going to blab, the least she could do was listen and absorb it all. It was more exposition than she'd heard from him in a while. It was nice being enlightened on her group's aims, really. Why couldn't be share information like this all the time?
Lenna's eyes shifted discretely to Henrietta as Slate concluded with a statement.
>>"I may ask you to do illegal things, Ms. Braun, but I will never ask you to do something which you are morally opposed to, nor will I ask you to do anything unless I honestly believe it will help."
Illegal things. He'd gone out and said it. Lenna crossed her arms. What would Henrietta think about that, she wondered. It would be really awkward if the person she'd brought to talk with Slate about humanitarian projects was scared off by Slate's own version of helping the world.
But, then Henrietta was cool with it. Lenna closed her eyes, then reopened them.
What. A girl that didn't run when illegal things were mentioned, and gray areas brought up. This girl really was... shame Lenna didn't have any shades to put on for this thought tangent... a breath of fresh hair.
Then, she started talking about her mother, and her voice cracked. Lenna uncrossed her arms, and rested them on the table.
Mutants and humans might never be able to look at each other without contempt... Lenna juxtaposed the thought with Henrietta's own wish. But they certainly can live in peace. The worst degree, that was.
It was just a thought.
Lenna put on a comforting look for Henrietta. "If you work with us, you'll be able to see results. We'll bring about positive change. You just have to stick with it, and be strong. If you need help with that," Lenna smirked. "I could show you the ropes."
The young woman looked as if she was going to cry. Slate sincerely, sincerely hoped she did not. He was not entirely certain of what to do with a crying young woman. You could not order it taken care of: that, he suspected, would make matters worse.
>> "M-..My mother and I haven't spoken for months. She sent me to New York in November when people found out about my power. If I could help people so they don't have to feel like a freak, I would be so happy. For that to happen though, I guess mutants can't keep hate for humans. That's not what I have at all, actually. Just sadness most of the time. That's just how I feel..."
Slate's lips instinctively cringed upwards to return her forced smile. Please do not cry, he fervently hoped, rather unaware that the thought might easily be overheard by either of the women. More easily for Henrietta than Lenna.
"I'm sorry. Not all humans hate mutants, just as not all mutants are the sort of killers that taint all of our reputations. To truly fix issues of discrimination, I believe we must correct it early. I am funding schools to that effect--schools that integrate both humans and mutants, as opposed to the Mansion, which simply caters to mutant children."
Please, please, please do not cry. Again, he was somewhat careless with his thoughts.
He felt unbounded exponential relief when, at last, Lenna rejoined the conversation. She was a woman: she could help her fellow... emotionally gendered individual.
Lenna offered to show Henrietta the ropes. She turned to the woman and smiled a ‘thank you’. It was nice to think that she cared, even if she didn’t really. Of course, why would you offer to hang around someone you don’t want to? That wouldn’t be smart and Lenna seemed very smart. The brunette glanced at Slate. He had a weird expression on his face that kind of looked like a cross between a snarl and a smile. She almost giggled, but looked down again and smirked slightly.
He had mentioned a school with both mutant and human children and Henri looked back up at him, with no certain expression on her face. “How would you even go about that? Just not inform the humans of the mutants or would you get children from accepting families?” But, how would that benefit? If they’re already raised to not hate mutants, what’s the point of making them go to school together? She squinted her eyes in thought and leaned back a little in her seat, trying to figure out what his plans were before he had to explain it.
Remembering something else she wanted to ask, the girl sat up a little straighter. “Excuse me, Mr. Swartz?” Henrietta glanced from Lenna back to Slate. “I was curious as to what kind of jobs I would do and if that would make me a Kabal member.” The girl wasn’t really sure what she was going to do. She had been introduced to a man who could help her get a job where she could make a difference, but what would she do if she actually got the job? Would that mean she couldn’t live at the Mansion? Would that make Twyla hate her guts?
“One more question, could I still live and hang out with people from the Mansion? I don’t know where else I’d go and all my friends are there…” Henri trailed off and decided to just wait for answers to all her questions.
Even if Lenna hadn’t overheard the thought, she was right there with Slate in hoping the treat she’d brought home to him didn’t burst into tears. That wouldn’t look good, both for herself, and for Henrietta.
Slate tried his hands at calming her. Lenna had used those same, or similar, points earlier that very day. Giving her examples of what she could accomplish seemed one way to combat crying. After Slate finished, Lenna tried her own method.
She fought emotions with comforting thoughts.
And, for the most part, it worked. Was she… smirking? Just a second ago, she’d been close to tears. Very good, Lenna noted. Because, it was.
She returned the smile. This girl’s mood changes fast…
Her questions made Lenna pause again. She’d let Slate handle those. She had her opinions, but Lenna felt it best to let the man with the goatee share his own. The goatee probably had more sense about these things than her.
As for the last question… Lenna seemed to have an answer, there.
“I think, so long as you didn’t share information about us, and kept all those details on a need-to-know basis, so that only you and the people involved knew, it would be fine. Just know, we may need to check in with you from time to time, to give you missions, and see what’s up…”
Seeing ‘what’s up’ here had a further meaning, beyond asking about her personal life. If she was living at the mansion, she might be able to dig up some information on the X-men. Discretely, of course. She probably wouldn’t even know they were digging when Lenna talked with her. The perfect spy.
Lenna looked to Slate for confirmation. Maybe, he thought differently?
She hoped not. Having someone on the inside of the mansion sounded like a good idea, if they kept up their cover. Lenna had even already offered to show Henrietta the ropes.
'It could be useful,' her mind noted. Possibly, as loud as Slate's mind had urged away tears.
>> “How would you even go about that? Just not inform the humans of the mutants or would you get children from accepting families?”
"By creating a very, very good school, Ms. Braun, in an area where none is available. Education can be a great motivator for families, when it is not a common place thing." As was the case in Colombia. He was not certain how well a Pax Academy in Romania would do. While he was tempted to build one, he was also quite interested in changing their education system as a whole. Now was certainly a good time, and he was in a decent enough position. He would be in an even better one, with a house visit to the education minister. Better yet: a house visit to one of his senator's homes, where the education minister had also been invited. He was sure the man could be made to understand the benefits of raising Romania's children in a more inclusive atmosphere.
She was smiling, now, and smirking. Slate relaxed as the tide of her hormones shifted. He tried to keep himself ready for a resurgence of tears, however. She was a woman, and a teenager. Neither was to be underestimated.
>> “Excuse me, Mr. Swartz? I was curious as to what kind of jobs I would do and if that would make me a Kabal member.”
"You will be a Kabal member as soon as you accept to work for me, Ms. Braun, and will remain such for as long as we both find it beneficial. As for missions, it will depend upon the situation, in large part," Slate explained. "For example, had you been with us in Romania, I would have likely assigned you to helping find the hidden safe houses, and helping mutants then cross the boarder into safer areas." He had trouble envisioning politicians taking her seriously, if he had sent her on bribe missions. He could see scared mutants allowing her to get close, however.
To her question of the Mansion, Slate nodded at Lenna's answer.
"I would prefer that you remained at the Mansion, in fact," he added. "I value education in my employees. I would quite prefer if you graduated high school, and college."
...Something he was not quite sure that he was destined to do. Personally, he had failed a semester at the Mansion, and not gone back. To his credit, he had been busy consolidating his rule of Colombia at the time.
Perhaps it was time to attempt the GED examination, again.
>> It could be useful.
Indeed, Slate agreed with Lenna's dimly whispered thought, being somewhat more careful of who could hear him. There was that, of course. Slate was never opposed to having another set of eyes and ears working for him.
"Also," he stated simply, "if you wish to join the X-Men, you may still do so. The Kabal will not use all of your free time, as it were."
He was especially unopposed to having more X-Men under his employ.
Slate’s idea made sense to Henri. If there was limited education in an area, people would probably take an option involving mutants. That hadn’t even occurred to the teenager as an option for her question. Henrietta was a smart young lady, but she was still only 16 years-old. She wondered if that bothered either member at all. Though, Slate did seem pretty young. He couldn’t have been too many years older than her and the only thing that made him look very old was his facial hair. His goatee. An image of Van freaking out over facial hair popped into her mind and the girl smiled to herself.
Henrietta glanced down at her hands as she laced her fingers together and apart again and again. “Well, as long as I could still live at the Mansion and I wouldn’t have to hurt anyone, I don’t know why this is a bad thing.” She looked up at Lenna and Slate with a very determined look on her face. “If it can help people and mutants alike, I’d love to have a job.” The girl paused and then smiled. “Besides, my mom always used to nag me about taking on more responsibilities,” she joked.
“I most definitely want to finish high school and go to college. That’s always been in my plans and I wouldn’t change that even for this opportunity or any other one.” The girl made eye contact with Slate. She had to seem like an adult and she was really feeling like one at the moment. This was a big decision for her. “I hope that that doesn’t offend you, but it’s true. I don’t want anything to get in the way of my education. It’s always been very important to me. I’m sure you can understand that.” Henrietta was sitting straight in her chair and holding herself in a very mature way.
Henri smiled at the two people. “I’m wondering what kind of things you’ll need me to do and if there’s anything you need to know about me.” The girl gave a joking smile. “I didn’t really get time to put a resume together. If there’s anything in particular you need to know, just ask away and I’ll answer the best I can.”
The goatee did, indeed, make sense. Its answers, for the most part, seemed good enough for the girl. Hair spoke well to hair, it seemed. Lenna watched Henrietta's reactions carefully. Her lips curved upwards slightly at the mother comment.
More responsibilities. Right.
Her eyes slid over to Slate curiously, when a faint voice seemed to respond to her thought, in her head. It hadn't been particularly loud, but it had been there. Maybe, she'd never noticed that particular talent of his... she threw it up there with dodging questions, and being far-too clever for his own good.
The conversation turned towards further education, a prospect to which Lenna agreed. She'd never gone to college, herself. Never gone to grade school. Never gone to much school at all, in fact, unless one counted the teachers Cortez assigned to train them in various methods of combat, foreign languages, and reading and mathematical skills. If one counted that, perhaps they could call Lenna's education equivalent to that of a high school graduate with excellent language skills?
"Higher education is invaluable," Lenna noted, at Henrietta's comment on her determination to pursue college. A thought blared in the background of her mind. Wish I'd gone. She was smart, of course, but college was nice. It always looked good in the films she watched. With all the books she had a habit of reading, she'd always thought she might fit in. If only she had the time...
On Henrietta's comment, Lenna looked thoughtfully to Slate. Anything we need to know...? "A demonstration, perhaps? I don't think Mr. Swartz has yet had a chance to see your power in action."
It seemed that the girl's philosophy concerning education matched his own. He was not certain why she stated it so firmly after he'd already expressed a similar opinion, but he was not sure what had stopped her from crying, either. Slate assessed that while he did not understand the girl in specific, they seemed to understand each other in general.
He nodded as Lenna spoke. "A demonstration of your ability would be quite useful, yes."
Lenna mentioned showing her ability to Slate and he agreed that it would be a good idea. She glanced at both people, slightly nervous. She pushed her chair back and then stood up. As she stood, her hair began to move wildly. “Well, I can lift things up to 70 pounds and it would take something very hard to cut my hair. Something such as diamond.” The girl smiled.
Henrietta looked from Lenna to Slate. “Is there anything else in particular you’d like to see or know?” The brunette pulled her chair towards her once again and perched on the edge of the seat, in case she had to stand again for some reason. They may want a further demonstration or something of the like. She wondered if he'd find her power interesting, or just lame. She knew that Lenna could negate her, so she decided to just go with moving her locks for now.