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.
The magnificently decorated golden doors swung inward to reveal Cormack, eyes rapidly scanning over the interior of the room beyond. His suspicions were confirmed. He'd heard of this building and its golden doors, but no human he spoke to could tell him what it looked like on the inside. Thinking that strange enough, he was able to enter the building without any trouble, which meant one thing...
There was something entirely different about him and the people who had never seen the inside. He was a mutant, and since he was able to enter so freely, he imagined this could be the location of the whispered Order he'd heard so much about in recent times. A mutant supremacist group, if he were to understand correctly. He had no doubt in his mind that he did; being that wrong on anything was highly unlikely.
Walking into the foyer, he shut the doors behind him and felt his body adjust to the new temperature. Cracking his neck from the tension gathering there, he sighed in comfort and looked around some more, taking off his scarf and straightening his vicar's coat. That article of clothing was perhaps the only thing that was commonly seen worn by the Irishman on a regular basis. No one knew why, really, and he wasn't keen on telling anyone just yet, if ever...
"Hello?" He called out, hearing his accent bounce back to him from the lavishly decorated walls and tiled floors. The soft light from the overhead fixtures cast an air of sophistication quite uncommon to the sight of the mercenary pyrokinetic.
Walking up to a painting on the wall, he cocked his head to the side and examined it a little closer. At first sight, it appeared to be a Van Gogh, more specifically, "Starry Night," by the Dutch artist, but Cormack's eyes had seen enough classical art in the monastery to find what he was looking for right away.
A single stray brush-stroke went against the typical, spiraling strokes seen in Van Goghs, and he shook his head. A clever forgery, but it wasn't the real thing. Judging from the fact that it was hanging on the wall in so conspicious a setting, the owner obviously thought it to be authentic.
"Heh. Clever forgery. Shame it's worthless, though. Might have fetched a decent profit..."
Posted by amaranta on Mar 29, 2010 22:38:20 GMT -6
Guest
Jaxon, fresh from taking a walk with Romeo, emerged from the garage and was on her way to get a snack when she heard a voice call out from the foyer. Waiting a moment, she realized that no one else must be around or whoever it was wouldn't have needed to call out. Biting her lip briefly, she realized that it fell to her to greet whoever it was, despite probably not being the best person for the job. Romeo was already off, probably going to nap somewhere, the silly dog, so she had no reason to not go help. I'm better than nothing, right? Jax shrugged and turned down the hall towards the front of the building, rather than back towards the kitchen.
With a breath meant to bolster her, she tidied her hair as best as she could in the few short moments. A few strands had fallen loose from the high ponytail at the back of her head and she wearing jeans and tee-shirt that had seen better days, and a rare pair of flats, if she had an option Jaxon would have rather had time to go change but she didn't want to be responsible for someone leaving. Someone had been there for her.
Turning the corner, she found a man examining a painting on the wall. Trying to look welcoming, she smiled and moved to stand by him, looking at the painting, just as he spoke. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. I didn't even know this was here… So much for her observation skills. And of course it was a forgery.
She was torn between saying something sage and wise about things being worth more than money, or a simple greeting. In the end she went with what she knew how to do. "Of course it is fake. Last I heard, the real one was still in the Louvre." Jax didn't feel the need to mention that she had seen it there because she didn't want to sound snobby, but she couldn't help the French way the word had come out. Glancing at him she tried to merge her factoid with a real greeting, and gloss over the fact that she had let her privileged upbringing show.
"Hello. I'm Jaxon." She paused, certain it was going to sound strange, but said it anyway. "Welcome to the Sanctuary."
Cormack turned his gaze to the woman next to him and he wordlessly straightened out, looking down at the considerably shorter girl. Saying nothing for a long while, he eventually nodded and quirked his eyebrow in mild amusement. He hadn't expected someone to stop by so suddenly.
"In the Louvre, indeed. Though, truth be told, I've never been a fan of such niceties as paintings. Makes for decent collateral, but that's about the extent of it."
Turning his body away from the painting to face the woman who had identified herself as Jaxon, he simply inclined his head to her and let his eyes trace her face for just a fraction of a second.
"Pleasure meeting you, lass. The name's Cormack O'Rourke. Friends call me Cor. You can call me Cormack."
Gesturing to the building around them with a wave of his hand, the Irishman seemed bored with the surroundings and added, "I've heard the Order has the right idea. The human-coddling mutants like the X-Men are traitors to our kind. They want to brand us like cattle and prepare us as instruments of war for the corrupt governments, and the sapien-lovers just intend to let it happen... I think an example needs to be made. So, that's why I'm here. Looks like you're short on manpower."
He smirked at her and then looked back to the painting for just a moment longer. A fake, an insult to the real Starry Night; just like the X-Men were an insult to mutant-kind. Flicking open his lighter, Cormack formed a tiny stream of flame that shot out and consumed the forged painting in an instant, burning the paper to ashes in the span of a few heartbeats. When it was nothing more than a pile of dust, the flame leapt back into Cormack's hand and he formed a fist, extinguishing the flames with impunity.
Posted by amaranta on Mar 29, 2010 23:54:27 GMT -6
Guest
The long pause before his response would have been unnerving if she hadn't been raised around similar exchanges, but Jax only felt mildly annoyed at what she assumed was an attempt at intimidation. After all, he could have easily overpowered her physically, why would he need to use such non-verbal tactics as well. Maybe it had been a mistake to try to greet someone on her own for the first time.
His accent hadn't been immediately apparent to Jaxon, but after he spoke again, she felt the tingle at the back of her neck and ignored it. She always had a thing for accents, and damned if it didn't get her in trouble. And this guy was radiating trouble. Unfortunately, Jax didn't have a great radar for people. She was about to add her own comment on paintings when he gave her his name.
I think I've been insulted… Jax resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Wouldn't be very helpful to be rude, despite what she deemed to be provocation. Well you aren’t my friend either, Mr. Manners.
Without warning Jax found herself neck deep in a sudden discourse on humans and the X-men. Already feeling a little put-out by this man, she chose to take his 'short' comment personally. She felt her proverbial hackles rise, and his burning of the painting was just the spark she needed to fuel her own little tirade. Oh, I'll give you a warm up, Fire Boy.
Rising up on her toes to get as much height as she could, which still wasn't much, Jaxon pointed a finger at him accusingly, but didn't go so far as to poke him in the chest… But she really really wanted to. "HEY! Look, CORmack, I don't care who you think you are, but you can't just waltz in here and burn other people's things!" She narrowed her eyes at him in a glare, her emphasis on his name intentional.
Sinking back to a more balanced position, with her feet flat on the floor, Jax put her hands on her hips before speaking in a more appropriate volume, starting her own list. "Now. One: I don't know what you mean by Order but if you want to talk to the X-men about their policies, go there. Two: If you don't like humans, you better deal with it or live in a cave, because they are everywhere.- Three: I hate to tell you this, but all governments are corrupt. I forgot what number I was on because I'm mad but if you want an example made of you, I'm sure I can arrange it."
There was a rational voice telling her that this all might be a misunderstanding, but that tiny voice was stifled by the outraged ones that were currently telling at her to yell at him some more. "And since we aren’t friends, don't call me 'lass'… and yes, I'm short!" Jaxon belated realized that some of this anger might be displaced when she found herself breathing hard. She wasn't going to apologize, at least not right now, but she didn't want to keep fighting either.
"How about we be civil to each other while I give you a tour, at least until I can find someone else to help you?"
Watching her lose her temper was very satifying to Cormack. He chuckled as she shouted at him and almost lost his composure when she tried to level her height with his own. Fat chance of that, really. He was unusually tall for someone of his heritage. This woman, Jaxon, was a fun toy if nothing else. Such little control over her emotions... Nice outbursts like that would have gotten him noticed and killed back in Cork by the British for being an IRA sympathizer.
At last, he smiled at her and ruffled her hair good-naturedly. "Hahaha! You're a fiesty one, aren't you? Good, good. I like that. You don't know how frustrating it is being surrounded by meek, woe-is-me types of folk. So much more boring otherwise, yes? Truly."
Looking back at the ashes, he seemed to realize that she had gotten worked up over that. "Oh, yeah. As for the fake painting, I can arrange for the real one to be... relocated here. No trouble, really. Just a house-warming gift from me- and France, I guess- to you. I like your style, Jaxon. Now... About that tour, hm?"
Posted by amaranta on Mar 30, 2010 22:44:22 GMT -6
Guest
He was laughing at her… Not surprising really, if Jax had been watching someone else do the exact same thing she would have laughed too. Although she was annoyed at him, her anger now redirected itself towards her for falling for his game. Realizing this her face flushed and she pulled away from the touch at the top of her head.
Though usually she didn't mind being touched, enjoyed physical contact for the most part, this was not a usual situation. She didn't like to be touched when she was angry, after the exchange she found it odd that he would take such a familiarity with her, and she was embarrassed… There really was no excuse for his behavior but hers hadn't been much better, if at all. Her only defense was that it had been a rough couple of days months, but even then she should know better than to let someone bait her.
"Yeah, well…" A host of witty replies came to mind, but Jaxon found herself not wanting to say any of them. She sighed, wondering if she was actually wishing her life was a little more boring. That just made her feel pathetic, and she really didn't need to feel fragile and pathetic. It seemed like a bad combo. "It's not like I was trying to please you so don't get a big head." The words were delivered with less vigor than they might seem to require, and she glanced at where the painting had hung and shook her head.
"It wasn't mine, though I wish it had been. It was wonderful." Van Gogh was one of her favorite artists, which was one of the reasons she had been so surprised to have not noticed the painting before. Starry Night and Crows Over Cornfields were her favorites. Shaking her head at his offer, she smirked. "No, if I accepted that offer I'd want a fake like that on. Just because I think it would chafe you to get it for me." And I don't need any house warming, thank you, I'd rather not be Cinderella. She hadn't missed his play on words, but she didn't dare tempt him to make her sleep in ashes.
With a tilt of her head she nodded in the direction of the hall, turning and strolling towards it and the more frequented areas it led to. "Come on then."
Making it a point to remember that Van Gogh was one of her favorites, Cormack simply took the extra seconds while she was talking to examine her body language more closely while listening to her defend her actions. It was funny seeing her so flustered. Being a former man of the cloth, Cormack always appreciated when people showed their true selves without meaning to do so.
Nodding as she said she didn't think he'd get her the painting, he simply smirked and didn't bother saying anything to her at all. She didn't really know just how far he'd go to prove a point; he'd taken fingers from mobsters just because they shorted him by a couple of bucks in payments. To show that he wasn't just some thug, he'd break into Fort Knox and get every last pound of gold inside for the Order- of course, he'd keep some for himself, too...
Deciding on his next move, Cormack put his lighter back in his pocket with a noticeable movement to show that he was giving her the benefit of the doubt. He was "unarmed" at the moment, and that was good enough for most, he'd discovered. He just wondered if it was good enough for her.
"Thank you, Miss Jaxon. Lead the way, if you will. I'll follow right behind you."
((permission given to auto-post that Cormack follows her wherever she goes for the tour.))
Posted by amaranta on Mar 31, 2010 22:53:08 GMT -6
Guest
((Sorry this took so long, I was trying to do 8 things at once. Should be faster by Friday because I'll be on break for a week.))
The look on his face was… disconcerting, but he put his lighter away, so Jax decided not to dwell on whatever was going on in his mind. It was probably something she didn't want to know anyway, like, burning libraries or something equally heinous.
With the equivalent of a mental shrug, she turned to give him the tour. Hoping he wouldn't stay behind her the whole time, or at least if he did he wouldn't be quiet the whole time, she pointed at Lisa's desk which was vacant. "Usually, Lisa, sits over there. She's the only non-mutant but… Don't mess with her."
Moving down the hall she pointed out another door that went to the garage and also outside. "And here's the garages, with cars and stuff… No need to go in there, right?" A lot of people in the Sanctuary had nice vehicles, herself included, there was a mustang that Jax was particularly enamored of despite having a car already. Needless to say she didn't want to let him have too much time in an area full of gas fumes and things that would look pretty when they blew up. She ushered him away rather quickly, not giving him much chance to object. "Okay, boring stuff, let's go this way."
Next she led him into the kitchen and dining area. That should be a safe place for him to be. There was a fire extinguisher under the sink, and Jax wasn't afraid to use it on him. "And here's where all the eating happens. There aren’t written rules, but generally anything is up for grabs as long as it doesn't have a name or something on it. And if something runs out let someone know, clean up after yourself… the basics." Jaxon shrugged. He looks like he should know the basics of living co-operatively with others…. Please know the basics… Please?
With a shrug, she decided she wasn't going to let him ruin her snack and the kitchen was actually empty. Jax wasn't going to waste that chance, and she pushed a strand of hair out of her face before going to the fridge and grabbing an apple. "I'm sure you can guess that the busiest times around here are breakfast, lunch, and dinner… It can take half an hour to make toast when it is crowded, everyone is in each other's way, and lots of people around here aren’t afraid to use their powers. It gets… wild. If you want to eat in a timely manner, I wouldn't do it at the regular times." While she spoke she got a cutting board and a knife, washed then sliced the apple, and put it on a plate with a scoop of peanut butter. Licking her fingers she rinsed the stuff she used and put it in one of the dishwashers.
"Ready for the next one?" She dipped her apple into the peanut butter and bit into it with a wet snap.
Following behind her, Cormack nodded silently as she mentioned the secretary, Lisa. A sapien, working for the Order? Well... humans had their uses, he supposed. More often than not, they paid him to kill each other. He was fine with that, truly. If the non-mutants wanted to literally pay him to wipe them out, fine.
"I'll keep that in mind. Lisa, desk woman, respect. Gotcha."
The garage was an entirely different matter. As soon as she mentioned it, he wanted to go inside and take a look around, but she seemed highly unlikely to show him that part. Oh, well... He didn't have a car, anyway. He always walked or used mass transit when he had to go someplace. A funny notion, cars; so easy to combust just with the spark in the engine. Pitiful little humans had no idea that just behind them, in a taxi, sat a man who hated their guts and could extinguish their lives in the blink of an eye...
But that wasn't his purpose. No, peace was his cause. Peace through any means necessary.
"Sic vis pacem, para bellum..." He whispered to himself, forgetting that he was not alone. Shaking his head to clear away his thoughts, he looked back to Jaxon and smiled a little, following her into the next room.
"Eating, powers, busy. Fend for the self. Understood." Perusing the fridge and the stoves, he opened the cabinet close to the stove and spotted a can of chicken noodle soup. Realizing that he hadn't eaten in almost three days, he made a frown and grabbed the can. "You mind?" Figuring she wouldn't, he searched the nearest drawer to find a spoon. Discovering it in the first try, he grinned to himself and stabbed it into the top of the can, prying it open with ease. When that was done, he simply reached for the knob on the stove and turned it on, igniting the pilot light. Holding out his right hand while his left held the can of soup, the flame leapt from the pilot light and into his grasp. Lowering the size and heat of the flame from a large orange to a small blue, he moved the can over his hand and let the flame tickle the back of his hand.
Since it didn't hurt him, he casually waited for a few seconds and then clenched his fist, putting out the flame. Taking the spoon and dipping it into the can, he tasted the soup and nodded with satisfaction.
"Ahh. That's good. Haven't eaten in quite some time. Thank you, Miss Jaxon." He winked at her and continued to eat, watching her as she ate an apple. "I'm ready whenever you are."
“Yeah sure, go for it.” Nodding when he went for the soup, she was still quite surprised when he stabbed the can with the spoon. So much so that she made a little noise, that might be called a squeak. Then with a soft exhale and a roll of her eyes she motioned to the drawer next to the one he had retrieved the spoon from. “We have can openers… and bowls.”
She just shook her head. If he didn’t want to use dishes that was his own problem, not really something Jaxon felt the need to comment on any further. Despite the first impression she had given him, she didn’t usually go around scolding people and acting like their mother. And she had a little black heart too. Let him cut himself...
When he winked at her, Jaxon’s eyebrows quirked in surprise. At his thanks she gave a shrug, ”Sure thing.” Before she led the way, still happily munching on her snack and assumed he would follow as he had been doing, only now it appeared he would do it with soup. The recreation room was up next geographically.
Using her hip she pushed a half open door the rest of the way to allow them to walk in. “Here’s the Rec room. It can be a pretty cool place to hang out; pool table, big screen, games, fire place, lots of couches obviously. If you want to meet people this would be the place.” The room was full of seating as well as a few small tables and the things she pointed out.
And it was true, many of the residents spent time here when they weren’t in their rooms, and it was the least confrontational of the places in the sanctuary.
With a flourished movement of her hand she grinned. “Gym next.” Jaxon had to wonder if this would be his favorite area. There was a lot of competition for the training areas. First she led him through the regular gym, filled with the same sort of exercise machines that you might find anywhere, though these had modifications to be able to take far more weight and abuse.
Then into the elevator, down a floor, and ”Tah-Dah! The Training room. It’s got all sorts of things in here, holograms and realistic environments, and stuff. I’m told it’s the latest and greatest. You can use your powers as much as you want in there without hurting anything. It’s pretty cool.” Moving to the control panel that was situated outside the actual room, but had a viewing window, she set her plate down on the chair and tapped at the controls.
The room filled with one of her own simulations, a park in late afternoon that she used to walk Romeo when there was bad weather. Then realizing he might not find it as engaging as she did, she switched it for one of the common battle simulations. It had fake cops and guns and cars… ”You can blow up or burn anything you want in there. I’d suggest getting programmed in so you can control the simulation from inside before you use it on your own though…” Grinning at him impishly, she wondered how he would react to this.
((OOC: let me know if you are tired of these smaller sort of step by step posts and want to skip to the end, okay?))
(OOC: Sorry for my huge delay. I was forced to go camping. >_> Anyway, I'm fine with being vague in lieu of skipping to the end, if that's okay. We can leave Cormack to discover the rest by himself or an Order member.)
As she led him around, Cormack listened furtively while taking his time with his soup. This was entirely unusual, though; Cormack didn't show his manners unless he deemed his company too important to cause a bad impression. In his mind, he'd already taken a strong liking to Jaxon. Something about her attitude put him on edge, and he liked that.
They went to the Rec Room first, and Cormack simply passed his gaze over it. Not really interested in that part of the building for now, he came to understand that people must actually live here... The kitchen could have been for guests or when the members arrived for a gathering, but to reside in the place like a family- that was something entirely unexpected. Still, the Irish pyrokinetic simply filed away the location of the room for reference later.
Next was the gym, and his eyes continued to look around in a half-lidded state, as though the proceedings were as monotonous as a speech given by Ben Stein. He smirked at the weights and other machines, knowing that although he wasn't a mutant based on strength, he was pretty powerful for what he was. Actually paying a little attention to the training equipment, Cormack nodded as Jaxon guided him through. Apparently, she wasn't all that interested in this place, either.
However, the last room she led him to was by far the best. Cormack's eyes widened when she explained all what the Training Room could do. Holograms for any situation? A cheshire grin appeared on his face and he leaned forward slightly when she activated her park simulation. It looked so real... Then, without warning, she pressed another button combination and the park sim shifted into a ful-blown battle scene complete with armed police officers and various explosions.
The flames from the cops' guns and the explosions were perfectly reflected in Cormack's eyes; slowly, his features twisted into an amalgamation of ecstasy and hatred. His right hand pressed against the viewport window, and the fire inside intensified as one of the police officers pulled the trigger at an unknown target. The fire issuing from his gun barrel rolled back onto his arms and set him ablaze. Cormack simply watched silently, a dark look filled with killer intent etched into his features. Turning away from the window and lowering his hand, the simulation went back to normal, as though the cop had never been harmed.
He had been mildly interested, or bored- she couldn’t quite tell which side of that fence he was on, in everything until she showed him the training room. I am such a great guesser… But it wasn’t all that surprising, everyone found the training room amazing. She herself loved it for the simple fact that she could practice summoning her demons without them trashing her room. Clean up was not fun after the first time… then it was just tedious.
Well behaved as he had been, curious in and of itself, Jaxon found it somewhat reassuring to see the cocky, slightly crazy, fire-entranced guy reappear when the battle scene came to life. At least when he was like this he was a little more predictable. The nice guy thing he had going was throwing her off her expectations and making him hard to figure out... Maybe she should cross out the ‘slightly’ but who was she to judge. Everyone around here, including Jaxon, had some issues to work through, and she hadn’t been herself for quite a while. She couldn’t see herself showing off her Achilles heel or sharing secrets, but she would hang out and try to give him the same tolerance she gave to everyone else and expected in return. After all, treat others how you would want to be treated and all that jazz.
Jax chuckled. “Glad you like it. Without this and the people here, I’d be out of luck.” They were in the middle of one of the largest most populous cities in the world, so without a place to practice her own powers and let off a little of the buildup, she would have to exile herself to some remote area. And the people… What could she say about the people here at the Sanctuary? ”They aren’t the most play-by-the-rules-types, but everyone tries to back each other up. Usually in ways that aren’t even a little bit legal. She shook her head slightly at her thoughts.
”If you want to stay, I’m sure Lisa or someone is back upstairs and they can start the paperwork. We can cruise by the resident rooms on the way back when you are done here.” With another grin she tapped a few commands, once he seemed finished playing with the fire, and the scene changed to a museum. They didn’t have a Louvre, but there was a decent representation of the local MOMA, and the exhibits that had been there a few months ago.