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.
Why was she doing this? Truth was that Agnes didn’t know. Really she should have just let the man go his own way and continued with her patrols. There was no reason to check up on him as they had clearly gotten away from their attackers and now were on the open street. They would be stupid to attack them again and the only one who really had any chance and that was only if the individual had not ended up with a broken limb thanks to being tossed off the roof. The others would never make it down in time. They were in the clear.
So why was she chasing him. At the end of the day, Agnes didn’t know how to answer that question so, instead, she just decided to look at it in a different way. She was challenged and the only appropriate answer that she had was accept it. The competitive part of her didn’t want to give him the benefit of know he could outrace her – she always had a point to prove.
So, she ran. She ran, she dodged, she slipped around objects, people, and structures in her way. She teased him with a lightness in her eyes when she said “On your left”, and kept running with all she had.
He turned out to be extremely skilled. As he ran, the man moved with such ease and fluidity that she had to marvel. Seeing him fight before was one thing, but to see him run seemed to be quite another. The man moved with such a comfort that Agnes almost wished that she could know what that felt like. For her, movement was so practiced, it was robotic to her now. Yes, it looked as if she moved with ease but the majority of her skills came stolen from others. What was it like to truly master something so totally that you felt carefree doing it?
Would she ever know?
Agnes let the thought go as she ran and moved, slipping between buildings and disappearing at one point from the man’s sight in order to take a known shortcut she used time and again. By the time that she arrived at the building, Agnes was glad to see that she was the first one there – but not by much. As she stopped and leaned against the side of the wall, she watched the man take the fence and land on the other side, grinning and looking back for her. She snorted.
Pursing her lips, she whistled / cat called to him from behind, tilting her head. ”What do you so long?”
"So." He huffed and put his hands on his knees. Dangit. He was partially irritated, but mostly just impressed. She was a mother flipping ninja. Just. Poof. There. It was more than a costume.
"So saucy." He grinned and wiped his forehead with the back of a glove. He was in shape, but he hadn't actually worked that hard in a long time. It was a testament to his fitness that he was able to recover after a short rest.
"Okay, ninja-ette. You're fast. I will give you that." All that and a bag of chips, actually. But kids these days didn't say that kind of stuff. He was at least aware enough to know that'd make him un-cooler than he already was. "But how's your aerial?"
The cathedral was ideal. Technically it was closed at this hour, but they only needed the outside and it's over-the-top gothic carvings, merlons, and buttresses. Good God, he loved his buttresses.
Nolan stretched up to reach the first seam between carvings and muscled himself upward with a little help from his sneakers running up against the flat of the stone. He stretched, shimmied, and used the most impressively miniscule hand holds until he could swing a leg over the first of many a stained glass window ledges and the gap beneath it where it met a small jutting lip that marked the top of the wall arcade.
He hooked his feet under the sill, his knees over the lip, and leaned backwards to reach down and offer the ninja an upside-down hand. With a hand, she could pretty much just run up and meet him where he was. Then it'd be her turn to find a way and offer a hand.
The cathedral could be scaled alone, but this was one of the smoother, less decorated sides. Definitely not for beginners.
She was a little out of breath but she didn’t have the heavy, sewer mutant-like breathing thing that the man had going on for him. She knew that he had done his best and, to be honest, it was far better than she ever could have imagined, but she had still managed to beat him; not by much, but beat nonetheless. So with a satisfied grin under her mask, the younger woman quietly slowed her strong, racing heart and crossed her arms over her chest. He seemed a little stunned that she had gotten here first and as the seconds ticked away, it was clear that he had something to say about it.
>> "So…So saucy."
Her grin widened under her mask. Normally Agnes wasn’t this talkative with other people but something about the man actually piqued her interest – and her ability to speak. So with a shrug of her shoulders and a gesture towards him, she tilted her head as she replied.
”And you…you’re almost adequate.” Oh, she could be saucy when she wanted to, especially when it was thrown at her first. But it would seem that their little competition wasn’t quite over yet…
>> "Okay, ninja-ette. You're fast. I will give you that…But how's your aerial?"
She arched her brow? She didn’t say anything but instead kept her mouth shut as she watched the impressive man suddenly begin to scale up the side of the building. He didn’t get too far up and while Agnes was beginning to look and calculate her own route, she was surprised to see him stop and offer a hand down towards her.
For a few seconds longer than what was really necessary, she stared at the man’s hand. Why was he offering it to her? Did he think that she couldn’t do it? Of course she already was picking out the best route to take to the top most structure but she stopped herself. She just recused this man and he was showing her a good time. There was no need to assume that he was trying to be rude.
The back of her mind shouted at her to continue the competition but something else spurred her own towards the opposite reaction. Stomping her foot against the wall, she kicked herself upward, grabbing onto his hand and allowed herself to be aided in climbing up. Normally Agnes shied away from physical contact but her gloves and her head-to-toe clothing afforded her protection from her abilities trying to take over. She held tight, ignored the sensation of her cells desperately looking for a split seam or tear so that skin-to-skin contact could be made, and hefted herself up.
Once she had managed to plant her foot onto an outcropping, Agnes began to ascend higher. Of course, one good turn deserved another so when she climbed high enough, with still enough space to reach down for him, Agnes turned, held tight, and lowered her arm for him, hand outstretched.
This was stupid and it was risky. Why was she doing this?
This wasn't work that needed words. It was hard climbing, mentally and physically challenging. He could have spoken, but he didn't feel the need. They were communicating with their bodies.
He'd set the pattern by reaching down and offering a gloved hand. She'd accepted that and more; she'd reciprocated with her own. Every time he grabbed hold of her hand, he couldn't help but foster a little flicker of trust. He tried to be just as solid, just as trustworthy. The higher they climbed, the brighter that flame of trust burned.
Eventually, they got the point where their sling-shot approach couldn't continue. The highest parapets and crenulations were delicate and better suited for single-file travel. He let her go first, because buttresses, but also in case she slipped, he wanted to be there. Also, he was getting the inclination that this incredible woman was a hair more competitive than he was. He hadn't actually thought that was possible, but he was willing to indulge that.
Also, having her go first meant that she chose their final destination. How high would it be? A precarious perch? Would she go all out and choose one of the tiny upper roofs that took some dangerous jumps to get to? He couldn't wait to find out.
Agnes moved with surprising cooperation. As she climbed higher, moving in unison with the man, pulling him up when she reached a point too high for him, and vice versa, the two found himself climbing higher and higher. It was an exhilarating feeling. Agnes had forgotten what it was like to do something like this just for the sake of it, the fun of it. She had spent the majority of her life running, dodging Big Brother and fleeing from a relentless government agency. That was enough to take the fun out of any sails, no matter how they bellowed.
She remembered when she first got enough skill to do this, she would do this kind of thing all the time. She would run along rooftops, hop, leap, and twirl in the air. It was probably one of the few times that she actually felt free when she was with her uncle. Where she felt like she would actually just run away from her problems – despite the fact that it couldn’t be further from the truth.
But she was letting herself drift. She kept herself grounded in the moment, slipping up high along the side of the cathedral until finally the pair of them reached a spot that seemed impassable for two people at one. They were going to have to split up if they were going to make it.
A glance and she began to mentally calculate the best route for her to take. Without a word to the man, and a clear indication that this was becoming a competition again, Agnes took her own route. She climbed. She moved with ease, almost as if she had been doing this her entire life. Easily she found footholds and grips that were invisible at a glance and, with persistence, she continued to ascend higher and higher, a flourish to her movements until she had reached the first roof she could gain access to.
Finding sure footing on the inclined roof, she dangling her legs over the end, holding onto the ledge and peering down. She didn’t see him at first, so considering the fact that she didn’t hear him plummeting to his death, she assumed he was fine. So she called out.
”You need help?” she called. ”Maybe Search & Rescue? They could probably strap you into one of those harnesses they use to airlift horses trapped in floods and forest fires.” Beneath her mask, she actually grinned.
It wasn't fair really, but once the agent figured out where the ninja was aiming, he decided to do it anyway.
Nolan swung around to the far side of the parapet they both scaled. Ninja-ette was taking the hard road. He was able to easily hoist himself upward by making use of a devilish gargoyle. The open mouth and horns made it as easy as a ladder and he crested the little roof only seconds after he saw the woman swing her legs over the roof's lip in order to taunt him.
Blast! How did she still manage to beat him?
Silent and sure, Nolan knelt behind her seat and leaned over the ninja's shoulder. He spoke right into her cloth-covered ear.
"I think I got it this time. Thanks, though." The laugh in his words made it clear that he was willing to endure any number of potentially violent responses that he would full-well deserve.
There was still no sign of her newfound friend. Sitting on the edge of the building, looking out over the expanse of the city, for a moment she forgot why she was up here. It was a nice view, a wonderful place to be, and just allow herself to think and let her thoughts drift away with the wind. Agnes so rarely took a moment to just breathe as she always felt like she needed to be on the move. This was especially true due to her line of work and never allowing herself a moment to just sit and thinking. To be still was to be lazy and that was not a state she could allow herself to be in.
However, she wasn’t here to just sit and admire the view. Instead she was sitting here, waiting to see if her new friend was still climbing the building. So, with her usual amount of sass, the young woman shouted out over the edge, inquiring if he had needed help making it to the top. She was sure that emergency services had some manner of getting him off the side of the building.
It was just her way to bust people chops. She did it with her team all the time, however rarely with strangers. Truth was that right now she didn’t know why she was giving the stranger a tough time and nowhere in her mind did it connect that she was actually having “fun” doing this. Clearly this was a complicated instance that she wasn’t quite sure how to handle. But whatever. She wouldn’t give it the time of thought at the moment.
Tilting her head to the side, she sighed as she waited the man to climb to the top, but was startled when she felt a suddenly shift in the air behind her. Her shoulders tensed, her eyes immediately zeroed in, and Agnes felt her body reacting to the presence of someone with combat skill being far too close to her.
>> "I think I got it this time. Thanks, though."
She turned, fast, her eyes narrowed and her body immediately slipping into a defensive position. It only took a fraction of a second for her to register the light-sounding voice and the appearance of the man she had been waiting for, but still she was prepared for an attack. People didn’t get that close to her, no one did, not unless she was the one initiating it. To have someone creep up on her that closely was…well…unnerving.
She eyed him, closely, scrutinizing the man but trying to keep her paranoia from digging its claws deeper into her mind. Slowly, carefully, she allowed herself to calm, but she was still a coiled spring ready to jump at a moment’s notice. She gave him a small nod of greeting.
”Well, glad to see you didn’t fall and die,” she muttered. ”Otherwise saving you earlier would have been a real waste of my night.”
Seeing only her eyes wasn't a problem when her eyes and body were so incredibly expressive.
She turned and they were only a handspan away from touching noses. Ninja-ette was tense. Tiger maul your face off tense. Nolan watched as she made herself relax increment by increment. What a good little X she was. Not attacking ruthlessly or without provocation. He was right to have argued that SUPER should leave them to their own devices.
The ninja girl narrowed her eyes like she was looking right through him. Usually telepaths had a hard time with his head. Had she heard that?
"I would hate to inconvenience you with my untimely death." He bat his eyelashes at her, a perfect accompaniment to his sweet tone.
The Agent leaned away and found a seat just out of polite reach. She was all covered as much as he was despite the late spring heat. He sure hoped that she wasn't a telepath or worse a psychometric like him. He didn't wand her to see what a crummy X-man he'd been when she was being a good little X now.
Nolan swung his legs over the edge of the world in a mirror of his ninja friend and took a moment to breathe. He stretched up and leaned back to change the view away from the streets he tried every day to protect. Instead he opted to look at the starless, murky sky. An airplane trail was the only thing that marred the empty void. He kept his legs swinging out over the air.
Nolan might be okay with the man he'd turned out to be, he might not. It was hard to say when there were some moments in his life that were such glaring failures.
"Can't help but notice you're a ninja. So's there a story there or are you hiding hot pink hair and glitter dandruff??" Mmm. He lolled his head against his biceps in order to imagine ninja-ette with hot pink hair. Oh. Yeah. He could get behind that. "Hair dye is getting so good these days."
She continued to narrow her eyes at the man, her mistrust flaring to attention as she watched him keep a respectable distance again. Again, Agnes wasn’t sure what to make of this man. She found him a little obnoxious, but at the same time there was something about him that kept her from outright fleeing. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that so she mostly found herself struggling to understand why she didn’t just leave him on this rooftop and continue her rounds. After all, it wasn’t as if the crime in the city of New York was taking a break every time she felt like sitting and enjoying the view.
But, she said nothing of these thoughts and simply tried to focus on just keeping herself safe. So, with her back planted against a rather decorative outcropping that surveyed the picturesque view of New York, she watched the man as he took a seat away from her from, gazing out over the city. Again, she started to relax just a little more a she turned her head, following his line of sight to look at the skyline.
>> "I would hate to inconvenience you with my untimely death."
She rolled her eyes but there was the small flick of a smirk underneath her mask as she kept staring out at the twinkling stars caught on the sides of the buildings. She said nothing. She knew that she could sound harsh but that was only because she really wasn’t sure how to interact with people most of the time.
However, she did feel his eyes open her again. A glance over and she found him gazing up a the stars above, before a impish grin swept over his lips. Her eyebrow arched as she watched him with all the scrutiny of a scientist with a lab rat.
>>"Can't help but notice you're a ninja. So's there a story there or are you hiding hot pink hair and glitter dandruff?? Hair dye is getting so good these days."t
As strange as it was, she was tired of narrowing her eyes at this man. Why was she still here? Why hadn’t she just shoved him off the building already? She guessed it would be a bad thing, not that Red was barking in her ear about having the moral high ground had any effect on her, it was more that it would have been a waste after she went through the trouble of putting her life on the line. Still…the man was pushing it…
She shook her head. ”Not pink, nor is there glitter,” she said. She tilted her head as she watched him. ”I take it you watch a lot of anime?”
She was quicker to come back at him than any other time, but it was still not normal. She was one big verbal hesitation. Nolan was getting the sense that this ninja wasn't exactly the trusting sort. As much as Nolan would love to play the long game to get her to open up, he knew that he didn't have to. This might be his only chance. He could do it the long way, which would ultimately be better for everyone. Or he could do it now.
"I don’t think I’ve watched anime since college." He managed to sound teasing and offended, both. And in those few words he put a memory, one that was very precious to Nolan and had helped shape him into the silly man he was today.
He had a perfect moment of clarity as he’d been on the phone with a receptionist who could not keep her sh*t together. Human or mutant, everyone just wanted to be liked, loved, or acknowledged on some level. Her inane sobs made him realized that it couldn’t end there. People want to love in return. He didn’t have to be shy. He just needed to not be a jerk.
Then, he had to trigger that memory. Help it settle in and become a part of her.
”Hey. I'm serious. I get that it’s vigilante code or something to not ask, but are you okay? The get up is cool and all. Just... we gotta look out for each other, okay? Show a little love.”
>> "I don’t think I’ve watched anime since college."
She smirked. This time it was a little easier but there was still a lingering suspicion in the woman’s eyes. It wasn’t so much that she found the man to be a threat, it was more that she was always suspicious. It was how she managed to stay alive this whole time, to evade capture. Sure it wasn’t the best kind of life, but it was the only life that she knew. Most didn’t care for the manner in which she did things, always telling her that she needed to loosen up and be more open. But to her it wasn’t as simple as all that. You can’t just unlearn what you’ve known your entire life.
With his admission that he hadn’t seen anime since he was in college, Agnes allowed herself to relax just a little more. She was facing him, sitting with her knees up, her arms resting across them. It was clear that while she was more relaxed, she was ready to jump to attention if it was needed. The man was…nice so far, but Agnes had met nice people who proved to be jerks before – and worse. Clearly her shaded her experiences.
So she sat in silence. She wouldn’t stay long. This was nice, yes, but she wasn’t going to push her luck – despite the fact that she actually found the man to be attractive. That was shame of it, really. Agnes didn’t trust anyone that she had found physically pleasing because of the one time she had. But just because she wouldn’t act on those feelings, it didn’t mean that she didn’t have those thoughts. Ideally she could feel her thoughts slipping into subject matter she wasn’t fully aware of and quickly had to stop herself.
This wasn’t the place for such things. Maybe she really should leave…
>> ”Hey. I'm serious. I get that it’s vigilante code or something to not ask, but are you okay? The get up is cool and all. Just... we gotta look out for each other, okay? Show a little love.”
The words slipped into her ears, traveled down the ear canals, and firmly planted themselves in the exact right portions of her brain. She didn’t know what was going on, that a strange sensation had overcome her. Maybe if she had been on her guard better she would have known something was going on, but because she was already beset by strange emotions, there was little she could do other than let herself be swept over by them.
Trust. Acceptance. Comfort. Words and feelings that the woman had only spare amounts of began to multiply like bunnies in a dark room filled with Marvin Gaye music. It didn’t occur her why, but her trust in the individual began to grow a little. She had rescued him, after all, and a rescuee wouldn’t turn out to be some undercover agent or anything, right? On top of that, he was being so patient. What he said made a lot of sense – they really should look out for one another. The best way to do that was to build trust and trust could only be built when face-to-face.
Still with a grumble on her lips and a roll of her eyes (Rome wasn’t built in a day), Agnes reached up, grabbing her mask from the top of her head and pulling it off. The cool air kissed her suddenly exposed, pale-colored skin. Short waves of chestnut brown hair fell down to her shoulders, framing her soft features in a waterfall of chocolate. Pink lips stretched thin as her perfect eyebrow arched, again eyeing the man whom she had just rescued. Was this trust? It had to be, right?
Crystalline blue eyed scrutinized him up and down before she finally gestured to her hair. ”See? No pink. No glittery dandruff. Satisfied?”
It... it worked? Everyone was different. Memory was a fickle thing. It was a little like throwing messages in a bottle into the ocean of a person's personality. Sometimes they would wash back up. Sometimes they were swallowed up in the depths.
And sometimes, they pulled their masks off and they were delicately boned little ninja girls.
He tried not to look dumbstruck.
Really, he did.
"I dunno... I can see the brown, but not the glitter. If my power didn't trigger on touch, I'd offer to go all social grooming on you and pick the bugs out." That was a showing of trust wrapped in a joke. Nolan casually mentioned that he was a mutant. It wasn't polite conversation in a world where they weren't a part of your everyday society. Being a mutant explained why he was dressed in long sleeves, pants, and gloves despite the summer heat. It also explained the careful distance.
At this point, on the top of God's house, he figured it was obvious enough that they weren't normal.
Nolan's eyebrows dropped. He'd gotten distracted by the shock of the reveal. "Hey. Don't think I didn't notice that you dodged the question. We're here at confessional." He waggled those eyebrows and spread his hands to indicate their secure location. "Confess."
Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she knew what she was doing was….suspicious. Agnes didn’t reveal her identity to just any Tom, Dick, or Harriet. She had to be protective of who she was and limit the circle of people who she trusted with her identity – that is how she's managed to stay ahead of SUPER for so long. The less people knew about her, the better. And yet, here she was, chatting fairly causally (for her ) and revealing her identity to a handsome stranger. Something was up, deep in her soul she knew that, but her trust towards him was building.
The wind ruffled through her hair. Hey eyes sought out his, wanting, willing herself, top read his thoughts. Agnes scarcely, if ever, cared what people thought about her, however in this instance she found herself curious as to what was going through his head. Was she repulsive to him? Did he simply not care? Did he think she was at least a little pretty? Again, questions Agnes never cared to have answers to before, but now, for some reason, she wanted to know.
Her snark didn't seem to scare him away. She revealed that she didn't have pink hair or glitter like some bouncy Anime girl and inquired if that was what he had been expecting? However he didn't answer right away, and instead seemed too dumbstruck for words. This caused her pale cheeks to slightly color, though she didn't know if it was out of flattery or embarrassment.
>> "I dunno... I can see the brown, but not the glitter. If my power didn't trigger on touch, I'd offer to go all social grooming on you and pick the bugs out."
She stared at him hard for a minute before she just shook her head, turning to look out pet the New York skyline. “You're so f**king weird,” she said with slight amusement towards him.
She did note something, though. He said “my power”; so be was a mutant. A keen eye would notice his outfit and how almost every bit of clothing was covered, much like herself. It seemed that whatever his ability was required skin-to-skin contact. That was a curse she was all to familiar with. And again she could feel the flicker of trust growing…
>>"Hey. Don't think I didn't notice that you dodged the question. We're here at confessional…Confess."
Her attention was brought back. Resting her head against an outcropping of stone, she thought back to what he had initially asked her – was she okay? The only person Agnes tolerated talking her feelings with the Doc, and that took months. Still, she felt something with this guy, whose name she didn't even have; a kindred spirit. A brief moistening of her lips and she prepared to answer but while her trust add growing fast, it still had a ways to go. She stopped before she uttered a syllable, gulped, and instead focused on him.
”Fine. “ was all she said about that, clearly not a sign that there were things fine. ”Power?” she asked, bringing their conversation back to him. ”I guess that means you're a mutant too? What can you do?” She waited for a moment, an almost playful smirk on her lips. ”Confess.”
Words like maiden and nypmh came to mind when a breath of rose colored her cheeks. Ninja-ette had such delicate features and a sweet face that when bad words came out of it, it turned out to be a delightful juxtaposition.
> “You're so f**king weird,”
He was caught off guard and barked a laugh that contained a small portion of the memories he'd been trying to save up to put into his next attempt at breaking and entering into her trust. Little moments of joy: sunshine on a lazy day, the smell of rain, looking up over his book on the subway and meeting a stranger's eye and getting a smile in return. He couldn't make someone happy, but he wanted to give this ninja at least a little happiness.
"Good God, woman. My heart can't take that kind of abuse." He was grinning too much for that to be reality, but he couldn't help but take her words for a compliment. What was 'normal' anyway?
His expression soured when she again tried to sidetrack him. Confess? He had so much to confess that Nolan couldn't even begin to start.
"Forgive me ninja, for I have sinned against mutant and against God." He made the sign of the cross. At least he was pretty sure it was the sign of the cross. He wasn't exactly a good little Catholic. "My last confession was probably years ago and these are my sins: I have used my power to learn many different self-defense and gymnastic techniques and I use that to my advantage in my day job where I help teach others to defend themselves."
And there it was. His power laid out on the table. Not his whole power. Taking what he could was freaky enough to people already. Only Uncle Sam could see how very much he could extract from others' heads.
"I also selfishly lured a pretty ninja to one of my favorite places in all of New York so we could talk technique. You obviously have training. What's your style?" And no. He hadn't forgotten that she was fine. He was just going to have to continue to bombard her defenses until she trusted him enough to warrant a little touch.
>> "Good God, woman. My heart can't take that kind of abuse."
The bark of laughter. The sudden wash of joy and happiness and Agnes actually laughed in return. Actually. F**king. LAUGHED. Had her teammates been around, they would have immediately noted that something was off about her. Agnes didn’t laugh, at least not unless it was dripping with sarcasm or like the time Red was caught stripteasing for her mirror-clad husband. Agnes’ laughter was reserved for mocking, not for the actual expression of enjoyment. That just wasn’t the type of person that she was.
But for whatever reason, the man before her managed to awaken such things that she could hardly understand. She didn’t realize he was manipulating her thanks to his X-gene; all she saw was a handsome man who was humorous. She didn’t laugh at him…she laughed with him, which was a first for the hard-edged warrior.
He wanted to know more about her but those were deep, dark secrets that would take so much more than just the beginnings of trust that she was starting to develop. It was a hard battle but she managed to deflect his question with a simple “Fine” before turning the topic of discussion back to him. He was a mutant and she was curious as to what he could do. She had half expected to meet opposition (she would oppose) but the man, surprisingly, would turn out to be an open book.
>>"Forgive me ninja, for I have sinned against mutant and against God…My last confession was probably years ago and these are my sins: I have used my power to learn many different self-defense and gymnastic techniques and I use that to my advantage in my day job where I help teach others to defend themselves."
She arched her brow. She scrutinized him with her eyes. It was strange but she had never really met another mutant like her, another person who could absorb techniques at the touch. It almost seemed too good to be true but while an unaffected Agnes would have been able to lack onto this “coincidence” and paranoia, her trust levels had made her only acceptable skeptical. It was a trick of fate and the universe, not at all the machinations of a diabolical government agent trying to sneak past her defenses.
>> "I also selfishly lured a pretty ninja to one of my favorite places in all of New York so we could talk technique. You obviously have training. What's your style?"
Another compliment. This time the rose colored tint to her cheeks was a little more prominent as she turned her eyes downward, unsure how to process whatever it was she was feeling. Her only experience with such honeyed words had been with people trying to get something from her, either as a scam or to get close enough to hurt her. Strangely this didn’t feel like either of those instances so she was clearly unsure on how to handle it all. A small shake of her head and she lifted her gaze to him again – focus on the question…
At his comment about wanting to talk technique, her training, and what her style was, Agnes had to scoff a little. Her sarcastic demeanor returned, replacing the uncertainty she was feeling before and feeling much most familiar and herself. Her eyes locked onto the man, with one-hundred percent seriousness, as she answered.
”All of them…” she said with a casual shrug of her shoulders. She probably should have left it there but she was feeling unexpectedly chatting now so she explained. ”I can master whatever style I want…” she casually pulled off one of her gloves, flexing her fingers at him. ”…just by touching someone who knows it; including that ‘Cirque du Soleil meets Mortal Kombat’ schtick you’ve got going on Mr…” she suddenly realized she didn’t know his name. She revealed her identity to an absolute, perfect stranger – and yet she didn’t feel all that bad about it.