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 various puncture woulds hurt Ryoga, and he was starting to bleed. However his body was large and most of the wounds were shallow, he could keep going, keep fighting. He had too, that little voice in his head kept going, filling his mind with anger and hate, keeping him from being able to think straight at all. Fight, thrash, smash, break, it was all he could imagine right now. Well besides how offensive this woman was, her arrogance was like venom, burning at him with each of her actions. The two beasts brawled like an epic monster movie, Isabel digging her spikes into Ryoga's flesh as he returned the favor and lifted the skeletal witch into the air, finally slamming her back down and regaining his footing.
She was nothing before him, nothing! He could do this, throw everything at her and show her the fury of a God. His words burned the girl as hers burned him, as she quickly claimed she didn't need anyone. He laughed maliciously "You need all the help you can get human" He spat that last word at her, remembering how it had offended her. So the little creature despised her physical nature? Too bad, you couldn't escape your birthrite and she would always be a mortal. His slamming of her shield staggered the girl for a moment, proving that Ryoga could overwhelm her if he put his weight into it. However the woman didn't quit, struggling and spitting more words at him as he began to overpower her. He laughed, hiding his own pain behind it.
"My shape was your only hope worm, only a dragon can match a dragon!" Ryoga roared, putting everything he had into trying slam the girl and grapple her for more damage, however it seemed the bone witch had another trick up her sleeves. She insulted him, calling him a gecko as her attack changed. He howled in confusion as the bones he was holding dissolved into dust and were replaced by a bunch of spikes, like multiple barbed wires trying to wrap up his wings and head. He had to back up, giving ground to the woman as he attempted to keep her spikes from catching him. However it was no use, Ryoga was large and these litle spines dug deep into his right wing. You couldn't tell but he winced as blood began to escape his wing and claw.
Ryoga had to escape, to tear these spikes from his flesh and kill this woman! His peripheral vision realized the car was still behind him, keeping him in place like a leash. He quickly turned his left wing, grasping the vehicle with his claw and lifting. With just his wing it was difficult, the vehicle groaning as Ryoga was stuck trying to lift it and fight off Isabel. He felt the pressure on his tail lift for a moment, and Ryoga lashed out desperately, turning his hips and body to fling the mass of flesh and scales at Isabel. This wasn't a graceful move, and the spikes digging into his flesh were happy to tear more as he thrashed about. But in return, his tail, heavy and wide as a log was flung right at Isabel's dragon armor, he wanted to crack this girl's shell like a turtle. He needed to come back down on her, bring all his weight and pull the wretched woman right out of her armor before he could hope to end her constant assault on his divine flesh.
It seemed Kyle would have his own moment in the fight though, his small form once more ignored as the two titans clashed. His new position would give him a great view of the brawl, especially Ryoga escaping his earlier trap and Isabel's latest injury on the beast. His right hand was screaming in pain, at least it would be after the adrenaline died down in his system.
The clash of titans that was waging on just a story below him was enough to drown out pretty much everything else. The crash of bone against the thick armor of flesh, the pained roars of Ryoga, the smash and crash as they collided into the pavement, parked cars and basically anything that wasn't anchored down with poles as thick as Kyle's waist. It was turning into a rather awesome display of how much collateral damage the two could create, just from slamming away at one another.
Reaching the fire escape hadn't hard, nor had scaling it so that Kyle was on the first floor portion, staring out over the two brawling beasts below him. Climbing quickly as something Kyle was good at, as was traversing fields of chaos like the ones below. Thank you for the gift of parkour. From his new vantage, Kyle could truly assess the situation below...and gave him a vantage from which to strike from if need be.
Things had changed for Isabel in his brief break from combat. From what Kyle could tell, the pain her ram had caused to Ryoga had only seemed to strength his ire rather then force him to back down. He'd found purchase against her spiked shield and with a strength Kyle hoped he wouldn't be introduced to personally, slammed her bone form down upon the pavement below. The blow barely put a crack in her armor but it did stun her, enough for Ryoga to use his weight to his advantage. Isabel, not one to be outdone, countered quickly enough, turning her shield into a mass of slithering spikes that attacked Ryoga with a newfound fury.
But even that didn't seem to be enough. She pierced flesh surely enough, especially when Ryoga turned away from her to free his tail. But he seemed to ignore the pain, adrenaline and fury driving him...and when his tail came free, it came out with a temper. Kyle winced inwardly as he heard the crack against bone, the thick armor shattering in the spot where the tail had made contact. Kyle couldn't even imagine the force it had taken to do that to Isabel's armor, let alone what it did as a result; send her tumbling away.
For a brief moment, Ryoga and Isabel were separated. And Isabel looked stunned from the blow. Ryoga was already bracing himself to leap onto once again...unless something drew his attention again. Kyle didn't hesitate. He was already on the railing of the fire escape, bracing his legs before pushing himself off and over the dragon, hands slamming together in front of him before he drew them back over his head.
"That's right; I asked for her help. And I wouldn't be afraid to do it again." Now, Kyle may not have been the smartest person around. He was clever when he needed to be, fairly street smart when it came to most matters. Sure, he didn't always make the best of choices, but everyone made mistakes. But what Kyle shined at was making use of his abilities to their fullest extent. He practiced, he experimented, he improvised. As a result, he had a few tricks up his sleeve that some wouldn't expect. Such as now.
With his hands clasped behind his head, palm to palm, Kyle started releasing his energy. But he kept his palms held hard together, keeping it from being truly released. It was tricky and physically hard to do...but then, his body had been built for just this sort of thing. And as he came down over Ryoga, Kyle suddenly swung his arms over his head in a downward slashing motion...even as he opened up his hands just at the top, giving the pent up energy a way to break free. And break free it did, bursting out into what would look like a blade of his energy slamming down towards Ryoga's neck; energy and the force behind the blade.
Landing near Isabel, Kyle made certain he was clear of the direct charging path before he flung another blast of energy at Ryoga's head again, aiming to further distract him. "And she truly doesn't need to copy you to beat you. She'd crush you easily even without your form. Pretty pathetic for a god really, that such a "mortal" form could slap him silly."
Isabel was seeing red by the time the dragon spit out the word 'human' for the second time in their encounter. Her bones were tearing him apart and yet he still had the audacity to claim that she was a mere human, that her borrowed form and uninvited help were the only reasons she was standing her ground in the fight. She was livid, her temper spiking so quickly that she allowed the dragon's tugging on the bones tearing at him to help pull her to her feet without realizing that in doing so he was swinging his large tail right at her.
She didn't have any time to get out of the way of the incoming appendage. She'd hardly even comprehended its advance before it hit her like a ton of bricks and sent her tumbling backward, the mass of spines ripping their way through the dragon's flesh as they were taken with her. The pavement did little to damage her armor as she bounced off of the asphalt several times before rolling to a rest. The tail, however had hit her across her midsection hard enough to crack the bone and knock the wind out of her.
Forte had time to deliver whatever attack it was he'd been planning as she gasped for breath and struggled to get to her feet, mending her armor and willing the sharp pain in her stomach to fade. The reptilian feet encasing her boots faded as she struggled to get her feet under her, the rubber soles providing a better grip than the bone. She was just about done with her current shape anyway.
She was nearly on her feet when the young man landed nearby, though she paid him little mind. Her attention was focused entirely on the dragon, her temper not having subsided in the least. She was furious and she wasn't even close to being done with the fight yet.
"You don't like being so evenly matched with me like this? You don't like my dragon skin? That's fine. I don't like it either. So let's try this instead," she hissed. As she spoke spines started erupting from her armor, dissolving the dragon visage, encasing her form and spreading outward, each barbed and flexible like the shield she'd given up.
Isabel had turned herself into a mass of vine-like spindles of bone, each spike shifting and twisting around her as it it were a living thing. Her shape was lost amidst the bones, instead becoming a writhing mass of barbed danger. She lost a good deal of visibility, but she hadn't been knocked too far away from her target and she knew the general direction she needed to move in.
She charged the dragon for a second time, several of the bones extending like her spider limbs to propel her along. He's pissed her off and now he was going to pay. She was going to rip him to shreds as soon as she got close enough and he'd have a hell of a time getting any kind of grip on her without doing further damage to himself, which is exactly what she wanted. She was going to kill a dragon.
I’m just a well-adjusted gal who likes to leave a serious amount of mayhem in her wake.
The bleeding was starting to affect Ryoga, his adrenaline fueled brawl sapping his strength faster with each passing minute he and Isabel clashed. The pain all over his body but especially in his wing was starting to overpower the fury the parasite on his head was poisoning him with. Why was he fighting these two mutants? Why did he hate this Sanctuary? He didn't have time to clear his foggy thoughts, having caught a blow on Isabel and sending the woman flying back. Her bones tore into his wrist and wing, blood gushing from the wounds and throbbing. He wouldn't even be able to walk on it now it was so bad. To be injured so much was infuriating. However before he could follow through with his momentum and land a real blow on Isabel, Kyle made a move.
Orochi looked up, Kyle leaping from a building toward him. The dragon growled and bared his fangs at Kyle, but he couldn't react fast enough to dodge the beheading coming for him. A glorious blow was struck, a blade of energy fresh from Kyle's fingertips making contact with his neck. The energy smashed against his flesh, part of it again being absorbed by Ryoga's unique cellular make up, bits of electrical sparks rushing over his flesh, and seemingly absorbed into the spines around Ryoga's neck. This close up a soft blue glow deep inside the spines would be visible, but the force of Kyle's blow was not negated. The blade smashed the dragon's neck, and though Kyle didn't have nearly enough weight to compete with Ryoga normally, his powerful ability allowed him to smash Ryoga down into the ground.
Kyle jumped back to observe his blow, looking for a dead headless dragon. But instead from the dust Ryoga rose once more, his voice ragged but still powerful. "Pathetic...No little human, you're pathetic. Your power does nothing to me! I feast upon it just like I do the power of the sun!" Ryoga laughed, however the cracked scales falling from his throat and the bits of blood dripping from his gums told a different story. Ryoga was running out of steam, and Kyle's energy was dulled but not defeated. Ryoga was hurting, and he couldn't hide behind his wrath for much longer.
Even if she hated the insinuation that she needed help from anyone, once more Isabel had the moment to catch her breath. Each time Orochi made a blow against her, Kyle made an opening for her to recover, she'd had the advantage the entire fight, and now the bell at the end of the fight might be ringing in her ears. She morphed once more, no longer a dragon, or a mockery of one. This was a form all her own, and the dragon showed his reaction. Ryoga feared nothing, but the confusion in his mind and the pain of his body left him with the truth, he was losing a fight. A God was losing to a mortal, that thought alone was a more powerful blow than any of Isabel's stab wounds.
The tentacle horror of blade and bone charged Ryoga one last time, and the dragon backed up, the first time he gave ground to Isabel freely. He stretched and extended his wings, roaring at the woman as she came at him once more. "Why won't you fall? Why do you keep fighting? Why!?" Ryoga couldn't even hold his anger together at this point, pain, confusion, rage, were all swirling around in his brain, and he was losing the fight to each of them. Ryoga would bite, claw and kick, but now he could be brought down. The question was, how would Isabel claim her victory?
Kyle watched quietly as Ryoga raged from the latest set of attacks against him. It was a rage born of confusion, pain and the stubborn willingness to still believe that the battle was still in ones favor. One look at Ryoga would tell any sane person otherwise; he was bloodied all over from the various wounds that Isabel had inflicted on him, his icor coloring the pavement below him in its colors. He wasn't leaking enough for it to be fatal at this point but if he wasn't put down solid soon, the only way he would go down would be when his heart had beat its last.
Although Kyle's attack had taken on the form of an energy blade, it was more like a hammer in terms of comparison. Kyle's energy was not meant to cut; it was born of energy that fueled his muscles. And while it might feel like it was burning on contact or spark between his fingers when he unleashed it, it's nature was entirely kinetic in form. So when Kyle had slammed his blade down on Ryoga's neck, it was if he'd dropped a log on him at high speed. It wouldn't behead...but it would break bone and rattle the brain. Kyle had noted something when he'd hit him from above as well; there was something atop Ryoga's head. Something that wiggled and moved when Ryoga was hit. Something alive.
Rage, by the way, while a great thing to have to fire one up, is never an emotion to use wholeheartedly in combat. Rage means when things don't go your way, you get angrier. While you may be a destructive force of nature, you also don't tend to think things through, make sloppy moves that are disguised behind the pure rage against the unprepared. In this case, in his rage, Ryoga revealed something that would have been better off kept to himself. Kyle's energy was feeding Ryoga's body. Not to heal it or anything...but it would explain why his stamina had not faltered before Isabel's relentless attack. But it's not useless against him; my attacks speak otherwise.
Isabel, for her part, was suddenly alive with a whole new form. Abandoning the dragon skin she had donned to mock and combat Ryoga, Isabel had now turned into something that most people would see in their nightmares. A mass of swirling bone, shaped likes vines but slithering around her like serpents, it was clear that Isabel was going to hammer Ryoga behind an attack that he could not counter while protecting herself with ease. It was an offensive form that would be defensive purely due to its attacking nature and with Ryoga already reeling, it would most likely be his end.
It also gave Kyle the opening he needed. Oh, he was gonna get hurt on this one.
He was moving only moments after Isabel had charged the dragon, dodging to the side while Isabel attacked Ryoga with all the violent fury she could muster. Ryoga, for his part, was throwing back as best as he could...but he wouldn't last long against that onslaught. Passing the pair, Kyle jumped onto the hood of a nearby car, spinning to face the two as they waged war with one another. Timing would be everything here. Wait...wait...there! As Ryoga managed to push back Isabel's attack for a moment, Kyle jumped from his perch with a short running start...right onto Ryoga's back, just as the beast howled about why Isabel would not fall.
"Because we're that stubborn." Kyle only had a moment to strike, what with Isabel's attacks coming back once again, her bone lashing towards them both now. Drawing his left hand back and using his right to hold on for everything he had, Kyle's elbow suddenly exploded as he released his energy from there. A new trick, one he had recently discovered as his power had evolved, which he used to suddenly rocket his descending fist into the back of Ryoga's head with the force of sledgehammer. It would surely stun the beast, if only for a few moments, but that was all he needed. Bone flew past him, lashing his own skin(Isabel wouldn't think twice about spearing him too in this situation, no doubt) with cuts, but Kyle ignored them as he grabbed the strange thing atop Ryoga's head in his right hand and released a burst of energy right into it.
The thing made some kind of a high pitched squeal before Kyle pulled back hard, ripping the thing from Ryoga's head with a little pop and crushing it between his fingers. As the thing suddenly faded into nothing, Kyle pushed off from Ryoga just in time to avoid being skewered by Isabel's attack, flinging a solid bolt of energy into her whirling mess of bones to draw her attention. His landing wasn't pretty; he had to release a quick burst of energy from his back to soften his landing on the car he found himself slamming onto(the windshield wasn't happy to have him on it). Ignoring the slight protest from his back, Kyle shouted at Isabel.
"Isabel, hold off! I don't think he was doing this completely of his free will! Besides, he'd beaten. You've won. He won't be able to fight back for a while." Hopefully she'd listen...it was 50/50 at best.
Isabel's charge was not to be deterred by the dragon's posturing and shouting. She wasn't going to let herself be stopped until she crashed into something and fortunately for her the dragon decided to retreat backward instead of to the side, which kept him right in the line of fire. The retreat did nothing to support the fierce facade he was trying to put on as he bellowed at her.
"You threaten my home, you insult me on my doorstep. I've killed for less," she shouted over the furious scrabbling of bone against pavement before she slammed into the over-sized reptile. As soon as she found flesh she was ripping, tearing, skewering anything and everything she could find while the dragon thrashed and roared. All the biting and clawing did little to deter her, just as it did little to harm her. Any time she was torn away from him and shoved back, she simply threw herself back into the brawl. She meant to kill the bastard.
She was vaguely aware of Forte having jumped back into the fray for one reason or another, but she didn't bother to spare any attention on him. If he was stupid enough to get in her way, then she wasn't going to expend any effort on trying not to kill him while she tore the dragon apart. It was no skin off her back if he got maimed or worse. It would be his own damn fault and she'd leave him bleeding on the sidewalk next to the reptile.
As she was pushed back again she braced a number of bone tips against the pavement to prevent herself from sliding back too far. She was fully prepared to jump back into the fight when a bolt of energy caught her from the side and made her pause briefly, more out of anger than anything else. The writhing mass of bone turned in Forte's direction so she could see him from where he had landed on a nearby windshield. She could hear him shouting, but she wasn't all that impressed by what was being said.
The mass of bone split down the middle and separated in front of her, curling around to mass behind her so that she could be seen while she glared at the young man that was attempting to end the fight. "You stay the hell out of this," she warned, her gaze sweeping back and forth between him and the dragon so she could keep the reptile in her sights. She couldn't care less what his intentions were. He'd still threatened and insulted her and her anger hadn't yet subsided. Beaten or not she wasn't ready to give up the fight yet. "This bastard is dead. And if you don't stay out of my way you will be, too."
I’m just a well-adjusted gal who likes to leave a serious amount of mayhem in her wake.
Ryoga's posture never admitted defeat, never showed weakness, the dragon seemed as eager to go down fighting as Isabel was to kill him. However the rage that had fueled this brawl had dwindled, it's fire sputtering out as the parasite attached to his skull starting losing it's hold to all the damage Ryoga had suffered. The bone creature smashed into him once more, dozens of spines and spikes stabbing and cutting at his flesh, his scales stopping some of the assault but enough damage would be done. Ryoga's mind couldn't begin to comprehend that sinking feeling in his gut, that this fight was lost. He bit and clawed at Isabel as best he could, but his blows lacked the power they had originally, and the woman had every advantage now.
"A God threatens what he wants, insults pathetic mortals, and claims whatever he wishes!" The dragon roared at Isabel, his voice hollow but still defiant.
However it seemed that fate had a different intention for this fight, as Kyle once more stopped the flow of the fight as he hopped atop the dragon to assault the very crown adorning his skull. Ryoga was unaware of the parasite nestled behind his crown, but he could feel Kyle as he smashed into the back of his head. Ryoga's spirit broke, the force of a blow to the head was dangerous to any organism, even a draconic God. Ryoga's eyes went blank for a moment, and as if his strings had been cut, the beast surrendered to Isabel's assault, falling limp. The dragon could mutter nothing in response to Kyle's defiance or blow, and his form fell limp against bone and ground.
As the dragon sat unconcious, Kyle and Isabel had their own confrontation. Isabel wanted more blood while the man believed there was more at work here than met the eye, and he was correct. However when Isabel claimed Ryoga was dead, the dragon found his strength return enough to stir him awake. He coughed up some more blood, his flesh starting to chill as he approached dangerous levels of damage. "No...I am not." The dragon's voice was weak, and his tone lacked any of his earlier anger. Ryoga was confused, trying to piece together what happened as his logical mind came back online. "A God does not die..." He coughed, laying flat upon the Earth in his wounded state. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't continue to struggle against the woman's tenacity or the man's ingenuity. And a Japanese always held to the honor of battle, especially a Japanese God. "But I yield to you" Those words sounded like you'd have to pull them out of his mouth with plyers, the self injury to his pride worse than anything Isabel had inflicted.
The dragon stared at Isabel with his eyes, the amber orbs filled with a mixture of contempt, and begrudging respect for her power. "Where...where am I?" The dragon questioned, his memory defective both from parasitic control as well as oxygen deprivation from blood loss. "My strength is gone, but I must know why I came here." He remembered something, an urge, a craving for violence against a place known as Sanctuary. "What is this Sanctuary, and why did I hate it?" Ryoga wasn't so much talking to Isabel or Kyle, but himself, trying to right his thoughts before this wretched bone creature came after him once more. Her power and tenacity, it was beyond anything he had ever seen. If she was some sort of demon, perhaps an Oni, she might answer his questions in the high of her victory. Anything to recover and avoid the one true fear he had, an honorless death.
Attacking Isabel was never a wise course of action. Anyone who'd ever encountered her personally or heard the stories of her exploits would have known that attacking her was to invite death upon oneself. There were surely plenty of voiceless souls now that would have attested to that.
Kyle had done it without hesitation. He knew, in the enraged state she was in, the attack was more then likely to draw her ire onto him in a storm of bone bladed fury. But he also knew that in such a state, only something as drastic and foolish at that would get her attention as well. She had already proven she'd ignore his voice if she could, in fact his very presence. But the moment he'd attacked her, suddenly he was a threat. A small one to her perhaps, in her eyes, but a threat nevertheless and as such, something she could no longer ignore.
Guess he was lucky she opted to warn him off rather then spear him in principle alone.
"There is something more at play here then a lizard with an anger problem. He's beaten. The best he can do against you now is curse, wheeze and sputter and last I checked, those weren't much of a threat against you. You made your point about who's stronger.
In any case, I'm not going to get out of the way. Not until I get answers. If you try, I'll try to stop you. I'll probably die." His hands sparked with energy as he walked up to place himself between Isabel and Ryoga, staring unconcerned at the woman before him, bone weaponry and all. If it came down to combat, Kyle doubted he could win right now. He'd used a series of his hardest hitting moves in order to play his part in the battle, a fact that had taken a toll on his body; his breathing had quickened, a rare thing for him when he was careful with his ability. Isabel, for her part, was probably stinging in her own way, but if it came down to it, Kyle was at the disadvantage. But..."But I'll make you regret it before I go down. That I promise."
Before things could come down to violence, their wounded enemy managed to regain his senses...and not just his conscious sense. Whatever Kyle had ripped out of him, the loss of it seemingly had brought Ryoga back to a state where his brain ruled over his actions rather then his rage. As Kyle turned his head to glance at the beast, keeping most of his attention on Isabel just in case, Kyle watched as the dragon, who a moment ago had been spewing his superiority over them, was now yielding the contest. Yes...something most certainly had changed.
"This place, Sanctuary, is a haven for mutants seeking solace from the world at large. In a way, its like the mansion the X-men reside in...save we don't teach here. We only offer, as it were...Sanctuary." Then, turning so as to speak to both of them at the same time, Kyle dropped what was left of the parasite he'd crushed in his hand to the pavement; the remains quickly evaporated into nothing. "I ripped that from his head. The moment I did, whatever rage that was powering him seemed to have faded. I think he was "controlled" to come here and attack us.
If he was, we have a serious problem Isabel. I heard reports that something like this happened around the same time we were attacked...people suddenly going into fits of pure rage, humans and mutants alike, attacking one another. If that is related to this then...I think the people who attacked us know they failed. Which means....they'll be coming after us again."
Isabel continued to glare at Forte as he separated himself from the wreck of the car and stepped directly into the path between her and the dragon that was now lying on the ground. She wasn't at all opposed to momentarily replacing one target for another if it meant getting her way, though as run down and beaten the pair seemed to be respectively it wouldn't be much of a fight anymore. "You talk big, but you wouldn't be able to back it up," she replied, more than confident in her own abilities and her capacity to do harm.
Her attention shifted down to the dragon as he seemed to come to, a sneer settling across her features as he brought up his supposed god status yet again. The big lizard was no god. Gods did not lose street fights and they didn't bleed. He was just a mutant with an over-inflated opinion of himself and she was more than willing to knock him down as many pegs as was necessary. "Shut up. You're no more a god than I am. Keep taking like that and I'll show you how very wrong you are. You're lucky this fool stopped me when he did or you'd be just another corpse I've left to rot in the street."
She was still fuming, the fight having ended on terms that were not her own and leaving her feeling less than satisfied with the carnage she'd caused. Bleeding and incapacitated weren't nearly as good as dead. The only thing that managed to pull her attention away from her would-be murder victim and redirect her anger was the mention of the possible involvement of the group of mutants that had been involved in her fight at the Park not too long ago. "I'd like to see them try," she spat, resisting the urge to glance around for any potential culprits involved in the dragon's attack.
Begrudgingly she withdrew the mass of spines that had gathered behind her, leaving only the layer of armor covering her akin as her feet hit the ground. The fight had fizzled out and lost its appeal whether she liked it or not. She'd have been far too distracted by thoughts of the mutants with the zodiac aliases even if she wanted to continue anyway.
"If he can peel himself off the sidewalk he can borrow the Infirmary inside. But if he crosses me again he's roadkill." With a huff she turned her back on the pair and headed for the Sanctuary doors.
I’m just a well-adjusted gal who likes to leave a serious amount of mayhem in her wake.
Ryoga's vision was blurred, but he could still make out the two exchanging words and mannerisms as he tried to recover his breath enough to move. His body had never been so injured before, and for the briefest of moments he felt mortal. It seemed the man had more honor than the woman, who was a creature of rage and bloodlust. How trivial he thought. He coughed a few more times and spoke up as Kyle began to answer his questions. So Sanctuary was another home for mutants, why had he come to destroy it then? And then he remembered the word controlled. Burning anger once more filled his eyes as he spoke to Kyle. "You're telling me I was manipulated?" His words were harsh, the dishonor and idea of being controlled could drive him mad once if he wasn't careful.
The woman spat more insults at him, to have been defeated by someone so vulgar, another stain on his honor. This trip his Mother sent him on was turning out to be unbearable, constantly dishonored and disrespected. And now to be bested by these two peasants. His heart was awash with a mixture of anger and shame. He turned his head to return Isabel's venomous words to her. "I AM a God, and killing this form wouldn't change that woman." His eyes narrowed and stared at her, this frail little woman held so much power? She turly must be a demon in a woman's body. Ryoga began to stir, trying to hold his weight up, but struggling with the serious wounds on his right wing. "Arrogance is unbecoming of a woman, even a demon." He spoke, though his tone began to calm down once more. She might be some low born creature, but he was not, and honor dictated his action here.
The woman was intending to leave after offering him the use of their Infirmary, an odd gesture considering her attitude. He spoke up "Wait." A simple word, spoken with authority and power. He didn't like what he'd have to do, but to redeem himself he had to do it. He walked forward, towards Isabel. His gait was slow, and he stumbled, but he could still move. He couldn't allow her to leave just yet, not until his honor was restored. "I would speak to you woman." He again spoke making sure to get her attention, and to get her to face him. Staring down at her he spoke with his voice suddenly losing much of the domineering volume it held previously. "Your threats and insults are meaningless, but under someone else's control I have attacked your home and you. And I have lost to you, all of this brings shame to myself and my Godhood." These words were like glue in his throat, his pride adamantly trying to keep him from speaking them.
The dragon dropped to the ground, bowing his head and entire form to Isabel in submission. "I am honor-bound to redeem my name, I owe you a debt." To be commanded by this creature, her arrogance like a foul rot, he could barely stand it. "Command me so I might redeem myself." He slowly rose himself back off the ground, before turning to Kyle. "And you as well little man, You helped her to defeat me, and stopped her from landing a finishing blow. I owe you as well." He growled, furious to be indebted to two human mutants.
If there was one thing Kyle had learned about Isabel, it was that she didn't take being beaten lightly. For Isabel, losing wasn't a word that often found it way into her vocabulary in regards to her...and when it did, it didn't last long. Isabel had to come out on top and if she didn't, then you could bet she'd try and find a way to change that.
Kyle's suggestion regarding the Zodiacs had been a play at that, knowing that his best chance to deflate her from attacking them was to remind her of the people who had beat her before. This her ire was turned to the people who had almost put the bone maiden down for certain...a fact she clearly did not like being reminded of. His assessment of their involvement wasn't a purely uneducated guess; more like a highly logical one. If he was wrong, well, he'd at least managed to deflect her ire for the moment, thus leaving him and their scaly foe alive. For now. But if he wasn't wrong, then there was likely someone watching them now, the mastermind behind this little stunt. And he would have seen that both him and Isabel were still breathing. The jig was up.
Oh well. Kyle hated having to hide anyway. And just like Isabel, he didn't like losing. It wouldn't be happening again if he could help it.
"They tried pretty good last time...we should consider ourselves lucky the only slip they made was oversight regarding our demise."
Her bone form reduced to the armor that covered her skin, the urge to fight seemingly stifled in her, Isabel spun on her heels and started making for the golden doors. Or rather, that had been her plan; the dragon had other things on his mind. Turning slightly, Kyle backed out of the path of the limping beast, eying him cautiously. The loss of the parasite had brought the beast to his senses but the loss still stung on his ego regardless. There was a chance this was a ploy to correct what he viewed as a loss to "lesser beings". The energy flowed through Kyle again, just waiting for release as Kyle folded his arms across his chest to observe whatever the dragon planned to...
He bowed. To Isabel. Of all the things Kyle could have expected from the beast, that had not been one. Considering that he'd spent a fair portion of his rage-induced fight claiming how she was below him and then keeping to that thought even when his senses were restored, this was an unexpected shock. Well...couldn't have predicted that one in a million years. Apparently, the dragon stuck to a code of honor and even though his actions were not entirely of his own choice, he had still attempted an attack on their home and them. This he owed them for his slight...both him and Isabel both.
Raising an eyebrow, Kyle glanced over to Isabel...and he couldn't help but smirk. "Huh...look's like you just got yourself a minion Isabel. Maybe you should let them live more often." Turning back to the dragon, Kyle simply shrugged at the fact tat the dragon owed him one as well. "Hardly worth repaying but I'll keep that in mind. Might come in handy one day."
Demon was one she hadn't heard before, though coming from a guy that thought he was a god she supposed it wasn't the strangest thing that could have come out of his mouth. It was certainly better than 'human' anyway. "Hate to break it to you, Rex, but there's no such thing as gods. All I see is a mutant with a skin condition," she replied, waving a hand dismissively as she continued on her way to the door.
The scraping of scales against wet pavement gave Isabel more pause than the call from a weary beast pretending to be otherwise. Calling her 'woman', however made her take her sweet time turning around to face the reptile that was dragging himself in her direction. She was more than pleased to see that he was having some trouble maneuvering due to the damaged wing on one side. He wouldn't be dragging for too long if he took her offer to use the Infirmary, so she was going to enjoy it while she could. Beaten to a pulp was a more appealing look for someone like him.
She turned to watch him approach, rolling her eyes as he made another comment about his supposed godhood. She'd met deluded people before, but no one quite to this extent. She was just opening her mouth to make another sarcastic remark about his overinflated ego when the dragon suddenly bowed to her, effectively throwing her off guard. She hadn't ever had anyone bow to her willingly before and certainly not while declaring some kind of debt to her. It wasn't entirely unpleasant and she had to smirk at the sight. If giving him some way to fulfill said debt was going to make him feel better then she wasn't in any hurry to give him any favors to do.
"I don't need minions. I can get things done on my own," she replied testily, less than pleased to hear that the dragon thought Forte was on par with her in regards to involvement in the fight and therefore also required a debt fulfillment. "As for the debt, I'll keep it in mind I guess. But for now you'd better keep the hell away from me, scales for brains, or you aren't gonna get the chance to redeem squat."
I’m just a well-adjusted gal who likes to leave a serious amount of mayhem in her wake.
Ryoga's head remained to the ground for a moment, unable to rise till the woman acknowledge his show of submission. And it was infuriating, his body screamed with pain, but the injury to his ego was so much worse. To be indebted to humans was more shameful than anything, though this woman was far more than just human. And whatever she was, was quite monstrous. The man though took a moment to further insult Ryoga by calling him a "minion". A minion was a servant, a tool, and a God was no one's servant, no this was a debt to be repaid from one to the winner of a fight, Ryoga would server NO ONE as a lowly minion. He spoke up with ire, his voice clearly aimed at Kyle. "I am no one's minion, nor will I ever be subjugated again."
Isabel was hard to read, even for a God, her mood and movements far more powerful and confident than anything Ryoga had encountered so far. But she at least seemed to accept his bow of submission, taking more time to insult and question his Godhood once more. His debt to her was one of the loser in combat, while his debt to Kyle was more one because of his part in saving Ryoga's hide. Though it really didn't matter, either way he owed both of them a favor. Both could easily hold their own in a fight, and even together felled an Earth bound Deity, but a favor was still nice to have in your pocket, especially from the icon of a cult. Ryoga grimaced as he rose his head up once more. "Trust me, I have no desire to spend any more time in your company. A swift request would please me, so I might never look upon you or this place again." He spit out, somewhat literally as some more blood leaked from his jaws, dripping onto the ground beneath him slowly.
The taste was abysmal, this thick iron flavor could only be compared to mortality and weakness, things Ryoga despised feeling. "I will however, accept what generosity you have shown and take your offer of treatment." Ryoga began to hobble off towards Sanctuary, keeping what he hoped was a reasonable distance from Isabel, in no hurry to interact with her anymore. He did stop however realizing he was missing one piece of information he should know. He said his own name first "It is custom in my homeland to give one's name and ask others before any interaction. And though I don't actually care, I would know the names of those who bested me in combat." He snorted, admitting he lost nearly as hard to do as actually losing the fight. "I am Orochi, born of Japan." Even now, battered and broken the dragon spoke as if his name were a treasure to be cherished.
"Who are you, unless you prefer to remain woman and him." He finished spitefully.
Kyle waited quietly as the exchange between Isabel and Ryoga took place, letting her response in her own way to the dragon's word of a debt. He knew that the dragon wasn't going to be her minion, so to speak, but he figured Isabel wouldn't like be turning in the debt anytime soon. Not because she was wise or anything like that, saving it for the proper moment...but because she wouldn't probably care much about it until she suddenly needed the awesome power the dragon had to use against somebody. She always was a "think later, stab now" kind of lady. Effective in the short run, sure but the long term, well...there was a reason she was one of the most targeted mutants around.
Ryoga shouldn't have mentioned that it would please him to have the debt repaid swiftly; anything that would displease him was sure to please Isabel instead. Another reason why that debt wasn't like to fade away quickly As for the one Ryoga owed to him, Kyle decided that saving it now would surely be to the benefit in the future, simply because Kyle had no need of his assistance in anything at the moment. Soon, however...
Stalking up beside the dragon, Kyle started walking towards Sanctuary's doors, shrugging his shoulders at Ryoga's words. "I'm Kyle...but I tend to use Forte when out and about doing what I did to you. Unlike somebody, I don't like having my face plastered on America's Most Wanted. A pleasure to actually meet you though, Orochi. By the way..." he said, making sure he was close to the dragon's head so that his voice didn't carry..."You're probably gonna be on her hook for a while. Don't let it get to you."
Passing Ryoga, Kyle stepped up past Isabel, tipping his head. "You may not have needed my help, but I did need yours. So thank you for that. Besides, look at it this way; my "help" got you the one time services of something that could stand toe to toe with you for a while. I'm sure you'll find a use for him real quickly." Glancing behind him to the destruction they had caused and the city at large, Kyle furrowed his brow as he thought he saw someone suddenly disappearing from a rooftop nearby. Real quickly indeed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From atop his viewpoint, Libra watched. From atop his viewpoint, Libra gawked. And from atop his viewpoint, Libra smiled wickedly at the sight his experiment had brought to light. His dragon had failed in its task, stopped at the mighty doors of Sanctuary by two of its inhabitants, its guardians as it were. But what his dragon failed for in destruction, he had made up for in revealing a great secret.
Isabel Duskmoor and Kyle Albatros were still alive! Cancer and Aries had failed to take down the bone goddess and Capricorn and Taurus had failed to bring down a meddling vigilante that had enough power to complicate things. That meant they had lied on their reports, saying they had assured of the two's demise. Maybe it had seemed that way...the battles had done serious damage to them. But not enough, it would seem.
The raw power of Isabel and the quick thinking of Kyle had even brought a raging dragon to curb...but that mattered not. He was but a pawn. Now it was time to return to the king, reset the board...and move out the knights, the bishops, the rooks. And this time, when they came for those two, their deaths would be assured. This time, Libra knew, they'd rip the hearts from their very chests. Just to be sure.