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.
Well, not where looks were concerned, but her 'beast' side was also triggered by emotion. Her triggers were anger and fear instead of sorrow and she also wished she had a different mutation. Her last point made him think a little though. What would have happened if someone else had his 'gift' or if he were irresponsible enough not to give a damn about other people and used his mutation liberally?
He'd have more than two thralls, that's for sure. His dogs could surely kill if he commanded them to and what would stop him from turning a human into a thrall? And after having a couple of those carrying weapons and willing to give their 'lives' for him, what would stop him from getting his hands on a mutant thrall? Would their powers still work after getting turned into thralls? Why not? Eventually he could get an army of animals, people and mutants, all bigger and stronger than they originally were and obedient to his every whim, his every command and he would be able to see through their eyes and hear through their ears, in safety, as his army grew exponentially finding him better victims to turn into slaves.
Who would stop him then?
The very thought was sickening. Only he could stop himself from letting something as nightmarish like that happen.
"That's a lot of responsibility to put on my shoulders" he said. "I know there's mutants who have cool powers that can help people, like putting out fires or help the police, but yours and mine... they're not only uncontrollable at times, they're downright dangerous. Can you help people when you're thinking like a beast? Can I help people when I'm... when I'm..." he stuttered, realizing he had been very vague about what he could do, trying to keep it under wraps as usual.
"...when I'm making undead slaves?"
He didn't know what sort of reaction she'd have to that. She had been nice with Tinaker, would she still be nice to him if she knew the dog was not even 'alive'? At least in the full sense of the word?
"He died when he got hit by a car" he said, regarding his smaller dog. "That one died of natural causes" he added, pointing at Astor. "They're only good because I order them to be good, but if I was as dark as my mutation is, they'd have no qualms being really bad. I don't think they have a conscience or anything. That's my job."
Well, now that it was all in the open, maybe she'd feel like sharing as well, since Miles was curious anyway.
"What happens when your... 'other side' takes over?" He asked, tapping the side of his head, just like she had done with hers. "Do you remember everything?"
Posted by Shamrock on Dec 31, 2012 17:16:45 GMT -6
Gamma Mutant
331
0
Jul 28, 2013 9:16:19 GMT -6
Miles was just as afraid of himself as she was of herself; it was kind of nice to be able to talk to someone who truly understood how much that fear weighed on her.
Regan sighed softly as she listened to Miles speak more about his mutation, and boy there was a lot more to him as well! They were so very similar in such different ways, it was rather remarkable. She took in what Miles had said, nodding to his comments about other powers that were actually helpful to others. She pondered his questions and when he mentioned that his dogs were undead thralls, she looked up at them with a small amount of sadness in her eyes.
Regan patted Tinaker on the head softly and called Astor over to her with a “kissing” noise so she could pet him as well. She placed her clawed hands under Tinaker’s chin and held his face up to her own so she could look him in the eyes as she spoke. “Miles I truly believe that every mutation has a useful purpose. Maybe we don’t know what ours is just yet, but there must be a reason that we have them. Yes it is a very heavy cross to bear, it’s uncomfortable, but they were given to us for a reason.”
Still studying Tinker’s eyes Regan smiled softly and rubbed her pink feline nose against his cold black one with a giggle, “You know Miles, I think that there is still a part of them left inside of them. I don’t think you give them the full credit that they deserve. Besides, even dogs that are alive are just extensions of their owners.” She turned her gaze to Miles and smiled with Tinaker’s head still in her hands, “A bad owner will raise a bad dog, just as a good owner will raise a good one. Your thralls are an extention of you Miles, if you are a good person they will be good as well.”
Letting go of Tinaker’s head, Regan sat back against the wall and flopped her arms over her knees casually. She let out a little sigh as she thought of how to explain it to him; she had never had to explain it before.
“Well it is like having another creature in my head. When I let it take over or when it is triggered by something, it’s like I get shoved into the background. For the most part I can monitor what it’s doing, like I’m watching a movie, and if I have enough control I can make it stop, but I have lost complete control before.” She sighed again and rested her head on the wall to look up at the ceiling. “When it takes over completely I don’t remember what happened right away, it comes in flash backs over time and I have to eventually piece it together and face what horrible things I might have done. The sabre tooth isn’t really evil, it’s just a primitive animal reacting on it’s natural instincts, to hunt and to survive. I don’t blame it for what it does, it’s doing what comes naturally to it, but it uses my body and the human part of me has a very hard time accepting that.”
Regan chuckled a little; she hoped that Miles wasn’t freaked out too badly. “Ok I shared a bit, now it’s your turn, what happens to you?” Regan smiled at the little sharing game they were playing, “You tell me more about you and I will tell you more about me, I might even tell you about how the big bad cat looks!” she said with a snicker.
He didn't know if there was reason behind mutation. Sometimes it just seemed like random luck, and it was up to the mutant to decide what he or she wanted to do with it. Surely, while making undead slaves was not exactly the most noble of endeavors, Miles could use his thralls for good, like... using them to find lost people and stuff, so she was right in a way. In the end, it seemed like the 'reason' for mutation was up to the mutant's choice.
She seemed to be quite fine with his revelation though, rubbing her nose with Tinaker's while giggling. Truth be told, he knew very little of what went on through his dog's heads. He couldn't read them at all, so other than linking his senses and giving them orders, the dogs did things their own way, so maybe they DID keep a part of themselves. At least, he hoped they did. Regan's words made him feel really good, since he tried his best to keep his dogs on the side of the angels.
Regan's 'beast' side was something of a split personality of sorts. Primeval and wild, he was lucky she hadn't gone full 'hunt and survive' when he woke her, because he sure looked like prey when he ran off. Miles had only turned 'dark mode' twice in his life and going back to thinking what that felt like, made him a little uneasy, but it was only fair that he shared. He wasn't so fond of opening up like this, but it wasn't so bad when the listener had a similar problem and 'comparing notes' could always help.
"I remember everything" he started, gazing downwards and crossing his legs. "Every single bad choice, every selfish decision... I'm pretty sure it's still me calling the shots, it's just... I'm no longer thinking like me."
It would be difficult to explain without letting her know what really transpired, both physically and mentally when he turned, so he tried to express what he felt and knew so far, as best he could.
"My trigger is sorrow and shock, the sort you'd get after seeing people die or something distressing like that, where your emotions don't let you think straight. When that happens, my skin turns black and I'm told my eyes glow like theirs" he said, pointing at Tinaker. "But that's not all. Suddenly, reaching and touching the dead is my main concern. I didn't notice it much when it happened with Astor, but with this little fellow here, it was pretty obvious. Nothing else matters. I MUST do it and don't care about much else. It calls to me in such a way that I'm helpless to stop it. Deep in the back of my head, I know what I'm doing is wrong and I know it's even... abominable, but once I'm turning a creature into a thrall, I... I can't describe it. I feel... pleasure and relief in ways I can't really compare to anything I've ever felt before."
Now that he was thinking about it, she was definitely right. There was a reason behind this. If someone braver or more reckless than Miles had this mutation, they might feel tempted to use it, again and again, just to get to the pleasure part. It was like a drug and the teenager realized that his morals were not the only thing stopping him from embracing his dark mode. His fear of himself played a big role. His fear of what he could do surpassed his pleasure when he did it.
"I'm supposed to 'practice with my mutation' while in school, but I just stick to training with my dogs. I don't want to turn into that thing. I'm... I'm afraid of it" he confessed, which was really hard for him to do, since being a guy and all, you're usually taught from an early age not to be afraid of things. "I don't want to face it. I don't want to deal with it but that is really what my mutation is all about. What happens if I try to learn how to control it and instead..." he paused as he considered the consequences "... I end up liking it? What happens if it controls me instead?"
Regan thought for a few moments about what Miles had told her about his “dark side”. She crossed her own legs in the “Indian” position and turned so she was sitting to face Miles. “You know Miles, thinking about it, I think I might have a bit of an explanation on your powers. It might not be right, but it’s just my perspective of it.” She smiled softly and then continued. “Your powers have been trigger twice by the deaths of your dogs and you get great pleasure from making them your thralls. I know you are disgusted by it, I can tell that much, but my theory for why you like it so much is that you brought back two of your best friends. Loss is something so terrible, and everyone wants to be able to bring back their loved ones when they pass. You have the ability to bring them back in a way, so it’s only natural that you would feel pleasure from bringing that loved one back.”
She felt Miles’s pain, she truly did. When the sabre tooth took over her mind, it was an amazing feeling of being free and without consequence, but being free like that also made Regan afraid, deep down she was truly human and not a beast, so she too needed to learn control.
“Miles it’s ok to be afraid, really it is. I am terrified of losing control of myself to the sabre tooth, but at the same time I need her. She has twice my strength, speed, agility, and fangs. She can do things that I could never do on my own. She also has even better sight, smell, and hearing as me and can heal twice as fast from injury. She really is an amazing part of me, but I need to learn to control her. Maybe in your “dark” state you can make deeper connections to your thralls, you just have to try. Maybe you can bring on that side of you without having to lose a loved one or without being near the dead and in a safe place where you can’t hurt anyone. You really don’t know what good you could do unless you try.”
Regan thought about what she had just said and realized she was preaching to the choir. Here she was telling Miles to try and find a way to channel his power for good even though it scared him half to death and she was in the same boat! She was so afraid of letting the sabre tooth have any control that she didn’t see what potential it had to do good, she just had to try.
Regan went on to explain her take on the 'pleasure' issue when he raised the dead. She was sitting in front of him now and what she said made a lot of sense, but he wondered if it was true. In a way, he wished she had hit the nail right on the head, since that made it all the better, but the sort of pleasure he felt was just as strange as the urge he had to turn the dead in his dark mode. Figuring this out would need experimentation and he always hesitated at the thought of experimenting with his mutation. He also had doubts, because you feel happy and relieved when you save someone from certain death but the kicker there is... the saved someone must remain the same.
"I don't know" he admitted, realizing how negligent he had been all this time, refusing to figure things out and just letting sleeping dogs lie (Hah! Pun!). "I wish it was that way, I really do, but... they don't come back like they were. You have no idea how these two were when they lived and breathed and played and wagged their tails. They were so happy and dog like. Right now Tinaker would have been lying on his back right here, next to my leg, demanding a belly rub. Astor would probably have his giant head on your lap, chewing up his favorite toy. They were true, loyal, happy friends. Right now, they're obedient shadows of what they were. I still hope beyond hope that there's still something of their old selves inside, but most of it is gone and when I brought them back..." he paused, looking down and avoiding her gaze, blinking a little too fast to keep his eyes dry. "... I was sad. I was scared. The pleasure and relief were gone with my dark self and as soon as I was back to normal, I was really conflicted about what I had done."
Her other observation made much more sense and knowing she was scared of her saber tooth made it easier for him to speak about his fears. It also made her talk about her own wild self and from what she let on... she seemed to have turned into the saber tooth at least more than twice, compared to him.
"That I do know" he admitted, rocking himself forward a little, a clear sign that he felt guilty of not even trying to control his power. It just seemed so easy to bottle things up and hope it never reared its ugly head again, but where emotions were concerned, you never really know if they'll stay bottled up forever. "But the potential of things just going wrong or of me doing something really unpredictable is high, I guess. I don't think like myself when I'm in dark mode but I'm still responsible of my actions and feel just as guilty when I'm out of it. This would need a lot of planning, but I guess it's possible."
He then wondered if asking this next question was overstepping his boundaries, since who knows what she would confess or if she would be willing to answer, but he threw it out anyway.
"What's the worst you have ever done as the saber tooth?"
Shrugging her shoulders a little, Regan looked over at Tinaker and thought about what Miles had said. “Well it was just my own little theory, I could be wrong after all.” She could see the pain Miles felt for his dogs and she wondered if Miles ever treated his dogs like he had treated them when they were alive. She decided to test this theory for herself; she did like testing her crazy ideas out sometimes, as long as no one got hurt. “Miles, do you treat your dogs like you did when they were alive? Do you rub their bellies and play with them like you used to? What if you filled their minds with the memories you have of them when they were living? Maybe they would remember, maybe those things would spark their souls, it’s a maybe, but isn’t it worth trying if it would make you feel better?” She looked over at Tinaker and then back at Miles with an encouraging smile, “Why don’t you try calling him over to your side and rub his belly? Don’t do it like you do it when you command them as thralls, do it like he’s just as alive as he was before he was hit by that car.”
Oh man, did Regan ever know how Miles felt about being unpredictable and guilty about her actions. She lived like that every day and she had spent at least half of her life as the sabre tooth. “I truly know how you feel Miles. I never know what is going to happen when I let the sabre tooth out, I try my best to control her from the background, but there is always the potential for her to blatantly ignore me and do whatever she wants to do. She is just wild and needs to me tamed.” Regan placed a clawed hand on Miles’s knee and tried to give him some comfort, “I truly believe that you should try to plan a safe way to channel your powers Miles, to try and control them like I have to control my sabre tooth. I would be happy to help you if you would like me to.”
Regan sat back and took her hand off of Miles’s knee. Wow, that was a tough question to answer. How was she going to answer that? She thought for a few moments and smiled as she thought of a funnier moment as the sabre tooth, “One time when I was locked up as a side show attraction in Ireland, I coughed up a nasty looking hairball on the mayor of Dublin.” Regan laughed and shook her head, “I have attacked a few people unintentionally, but the worst thing I have done so far is killed a lot of animals.” She sighed and looked past Miles and out the window, her eyes welled up with a few tears and she tried to blink them away. “Just this morning I killed a beautiful stag out in the woods because I needed to eat. Taking a life, any life, even an animal’s life is not something that sits well with me. I needed to do it to survive, but it is a horrible and chilling thing to watch the life drain from a living creature’s eyes.” Regan shuddered and wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her fur covered hand.
Regan suggested a 'friendlier' approach to dealing with his dogs but Miles was slowly shaking his head as she spoke, clearly signaling that he already had tried.
"The very first day" he said. "The day Astor died, he was very sick and old and he passed away on my lap. I had stayed home and my dad couldn't make it in time to take him to the vet again. I was so confused, I didn't know what was happening, but once I'd done the deed and turned back to normal... I tried to 'snap Astor out of it'" he added as he tried to explain himself.
He had tried, mostly because he was worried about what his dad would say the moment he saw the dog. Everything he said, the dog obeyed, but he did so in an almost robotic fashion. All that 'happy wiggling' dogs did when they saw their master come home, all those ear-perking, tongue-lolling, head-tilting, tail-wagging moments were gone. If Miles told the dog to 'stay still', he did so in such a way that he looked like a piece of furniture. How do you 'snap' an animal out of that? There were moments however, where he'd notice small glimpses of his dogs. Tinaker used to prowl when he was alive and still did so once in a while after death. Astor had always been firecely loyal and still was, so they were not completely lost causes.
"I can't read their minds, so I can't fill it with anything. However, it's as if they could read mine and know what I want. If I rub Tinaker's belly, he'll just stay there and if I tell him to shake his leg as I rub him, he will, it just won't happen from his own volition. I've done all of these things a few times but it's disheartening. When they don't react like they used to, instead of inspiring me to continue it just reminds me of what I've lost."
She placed her hand on his knee as she spoke and it was curious how the same fluffy hand from this very collected and sensible woman could also lash out in an uncontrolled, bestial rage. She needed to tame it and she offered to help him train his own dark self.
"We could do that. It's not something I'm eager to try out but I think it has to be done. And maybe I could help you tame your saber tooth! I could... er... I could..." he stuttered, trying to figure out a way where he could be helpful instead of just prey when she turned. "I could ... do stuff, I guess."
It wasn't until she answered what she had done as the beast that Miles realized it might have been too personal a question. She joked about it a bit, since not everything she had done was wild and vicious, but she had done those as well. She was visibly affected telling it, using his same blinking trick and then being unable to hold them in, wiping the tears with her hand. Killing other people and turning them into thralls was his greatest fear and one she shared as well (at least the killing part). She had done so with animals and thoroughly despised it. Miles was moved.
"Can I hug you?" he asked, feeling she needed more than just words of comfort. "Never mind, come 'ere" he said, moving forward and wrapping his arms around her in a gentle fashion, shyness or bestial side be damned.
"You share my fears and my burden" he said, patting her back. "I'd just like you to know, you have a friend in me. We don't know what the future holds, but we can help each other train, so we don't have to face our worst fears, at least alone" he added.
He then broke the embrace and sat back, a smile plastered in his face.
"This might sound selfish of me, but after talking to you, I'm kinda glad I pushed you off the couch!"
Regan sighed softly as Miles shook his head and told her he had already tried to make his dogs come back to the lively selves they used to be. Her shoulders slouched and she frowned, she wanted to help and yet she could not help in this situation. It really bummed her out, but she was glad he had at least tried. “I’m sorry Miles; I wish I could help make them what they were before. I’m glad you tried though.”
She felt so heavy hearted for Miles. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to have brought back his best friends for them to only be a shadow of what they used to be. Regan was at a bit of a loss for words for the first time since they had met and started talking. She hoped that one day Miles would find a way to control his dark side and maybe even find a way to make peace with himself for what he did to Astor ad Tinaker, in the end it wasn’t really his fault so he shouldn’t blame himself, but like Regan, he did.
Regan chuckled as Miles stuttered on an offer to return her help with some of his own. She thought it was sweet of him, though she wasn’t sure if it was the best idea. She would need safe conditions as well in order to not hurt him. “Sure, if we can think of a way that it will be safe for you and the dogs.” The last thing she wanted to do was hurt someone because of the sabre tooth.
After she finished telling Miles the hard truth about her wild side, he asked to hug her only to scrap that and hug her anyways. She gave him a hug back and patted him on the back as well; they did share the same burdens and fears though slightly different. “I’m glad that I don’t have to go through this alone anymore, and neither do you Miles, you have a friend in me as well, anytime you need one.” She said with a warm smile.
Releasing the embrace, Regan smiled softly at Miles and then burst out laughing at his comment about pushing her off the couch. “Oh geez Miles! In truth though, I’m glad you did too.”
This was probably the first time Miles had been so open with anyone regarding his mutation. The few times he had spoken about it, he had been elusive and tried to derail the conversation but this time he felt she was a kindred spirit of sorts. Going through the same issues as him, dealing with the remorse of having another side that was not entirely under their control. He would certainly take her up on her offer, even though just thinking about purposefully letting his dark mode take over gave him the shivers. He wondered if once he did that, she would still look at him the same way. Then again, he also wondered if he would look at her the same way if she ever went full saber tooth.
He had to. It wasn't her choice, her fault or her own mind. To him, this here, this right now, was the real Regan. She giggled, she was caring, thoughtful, understanding and it was this girl who would remain in his mind forever as his friend. If she ever turned into the saber tooth, he would do anything in his power to calm her down and turn her back, just like she would do anything to help him control his own demons.
Miles got up from the floor and yawned.
"Thanks, Regan, for everything. You're a good ear to talk to" he said. "But I think we can continue where we left off. You can have the couch if you want! I'll go bunk in on a friend's bed" he added with a grin.
As he started to walk out of the room, his dogs began to follow. He stopped, then mentally commanded them to turn and look at Regan.
"Say bye!"
Both dogs raised their paws and waved them at the Tiger girl. Who's to say cats and dogs couldn't get along?
Regan smiled softly at Miles as he got up and walked out of the room, she giggled and waved back to the dogs before they left as well. She had made a very special friend indeed today. He managed to make her feel like she was not alone when she had to fight for control of her own mind. It was such a comforting feeling.
Getting up off of the floor, Regan stretched her arms above her head and looked at the couch. Suddenly it wasn’t so appealing anymore. Instead she decided that she was going to head to the admitting office and sign up to live at the mansion. Then she would have a room of her own where she wouldn’t get spooked and freak out on another unsuspecting mutant. Though that did end up in her becoming friends with Miles in the end. Without a second thought, Regan turned and headed out of the living room and towards the admitting office, she was finally home.