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.
Heeeeyyyy, so... what were we doing for our date again tonight? Haha
She felt like a literal representation of the 'this is fine' meme, right then.
She'd just gotten home from work after pissing off her boss and being slapped with some really weird amnesia stuff, and now had to deal with... a date? Juniper didn't date. Hadn't for over 4 years. But, because what Cora had told her, now she was doubtful. She didn't wanna make an ass out of herself and hurt someone she cared about because a punishment had gone wrong, right? So, she sent a little text to the number that was attached to the name she had been told was the person she was seeing.
Xaiver. It didn't ring any bells, but just looking at the history of things she had sent... well, there were a lot of eggplants in there, so it was plausible maybe?
It didn't help that she found a pair of pants, boxers, and a towel she didn't recognize at all in her apartment when she got home. Superhero themed. Definitely didn't belong to her sort-roommate Blue... which, actually, thinking about Blue raise even more questions!
She got a text back, and like she suspected this Xavier guy couldn't remember her either. She shot him back a short explanation and reaffirmed her question. She wasn't about to push anyone into a date she was already nervous about if it was gonna be weird.
Mighta made my boss angry and she did like a voodoo thing and gave us amnesia I guess? lol Apparently we had plans before that. I understand if u don't wanna tho
"... This is still weird, Clyde."
Juniper didn't own a full-length mirror in her apartment. Heck, she didn't even own any medium-sized mirrors. The biggest one was in her bathroom and it was mounted to the wall. So, now that she was actually in a dress for the second time in her life, she wasn't even sure if it looked good. Was that bad? It felt terrible. She wasn't used to trying to doll herself up quite this much, even with semi-regular excursions out on the town.
She was also still really, really confused. Since when had she had a boyfriend?? The last one she could remember was some guy back in Alabama who has lasted all of three days. I couldn't even remember his name. Now, all of a sudden, she was apparently dating? How long had that been going on? Was.... was she okay with dating again??
So many questions. Absolutely zero answers.
She'd stopped by a shop and picked up something that felt... um... like date clothes? All she had were pants and large sweatshirts and as comfy as she would be, she didn't think those were about to impress anyone. The dress she found at that little Korean shop down the street seemed cute enough, and she kinda felt like she was cheating since the skirt was actually a pair of shorts... Still, it fit the bill in her mind. The sleeves were long enough to cover her scar, and not too hot either. She decided to leave her hair down since it was freshly blonde again and applied minimal makeup. Just a little foundation and concealer for the scars, and a simple black wing with some mascara. She tended to @#$& it all up if she tried to get too creative, anyway. Sneakers with ankle socks finished her look, and she sat down on her couch to worry away the rest of the time. He confirmed their date, sorta... and she squinted at his question about who she was. Who was she? Uh... that was a very complicated question in this situation.
Juniper
She replied shortly and frowned. She didn't know how to answer otherwise.
Where do you wanna meet?
What... what did you even do on a date? She'd only really ever dated Mason for a while, and back then they had been poor and young, and anything even remotely date-like had been filled with pretty poor life choices. Blueberry and Clyde hopped up onto the couch to wait with her or struggled up in Clyde's case. She texted away, trying to wade through the confusion to hammer out details and play the weirdest game of 20 questions of her life.
... do you wear superhero themed stuff? Cuz there's some stuff at my place I don't recognize
He was eating dinner. Veggies. Dinner was a fairly boring deal for someone that took their health as serious as he did. He took another bite of a beet and chewed silently, his expression slowly going a little flat as he got this strange feeling like he'd forgotten something really important. Nervously he glanced around to see if it was his cat about to ambush him. Nope, Mili was sitting on the window sill linking her paws. He didn't let his vision linger, that usually meant getting attacked. Odd, though, if it wasn't her, what was it, then?
<Heeeeyyyy, so... what were we doing for our date again tonight? Haha>
He chewed his beet a few more times before staring down at the text quietly for a second.
<Uhmmm.>
<Mighta made my boss angry and she did like a voodoo thing and gave us amnesia I guess? lol Apparently we had plans before that. I understand if u don't wanna tho>
...what? He... had amnesia? Nope, pretty sure he knew who he was... then again, he'd just felt like he'd forgotten someone. He scrolled through the texts for a second, and his eyes slowly widened. Holy cow. He had a girlfriend. He had a girlfriend, and he'd FORGOTTEN about her.
I mean, at least they had a date or something. He looked over the text. A lot of him reminding her it was time to leave for class... a few texts checking on her. Some asking if it was a good time to come over... Lots of memes about sex. Like. An unhealthy number of eggplant emojis and sex memes. Wow. He'd lost his virginity to her, then? Odd, he still felt like a virgin... What did a virgin feel like, anyway? He realized he hadn't responded yet.
<Oh! No no no! I, mean, if we had plans. Of course!>
He paused and stared down at the plate of veggies in front of him, and pushed it to the side. Apparently he had other plans... He rubbed his forehead for a second, and then texted again.
<So... Who are you? Sorry.>
<... What name do you have me under on your phone??>
He tilted his head to either side. What was fair... Juni... Huh.
<...Juni>
<Juniper>
<Right, haha, that makes sense. Guess I have a pet name for you, huh?> He furrowed his brow. F#$% that was an awkward text. Get ahold of yourself, Xavier. She asked where he wanted to meet, and he looked up at the ceiling as if a good answer would be there. Wow, this was pretty hard, wasn't it? He looked down at the next text that name and scratched the back of his head for a second before replying.
<Yup, that's me! Wow, so this is real, then... Um. What's your address? I can come pick you up if you want!>
He set his phone down, and then looked around. Crap, he wasn't ready for a date! Without another word he bolted off to take a quick shower and get dressed.
Wow, so he like... used all the punctuation with his texts, didn't he? Should she feel bad about the number of 'K' texts she was seeing, and how she didn't bother to spell things like 'you' out all the way most of the time?
God, if she was already getting worked up about @#$%ing words, it was going to be a long night, wasn't it?
She sent along with her address, even though it felt silly for some reason she couldn't put a finger on. And then she proceeded to spend the rest of the time going through the pictures on her phone. She recognized a few of the faces that appeared among all of the thousands of memes in there... but one she didn't know. Maybe that was her mystery boyfriend?
... He looked entirely too happy to be attached to her in any way, shape, or form. Had they been dating long??
She had a ton of selfies on there, or him, April, and Blue. She recognized a lot of the places in the background too, which just upped the weirdness factor a lot. Man, Cora's power was terrifying!
I hope u don't mind cats... I have 2 and they are both shameless flirts
He had really floofy hair. It was cute. Why did that feel weird to say? He was also wearing a weird costume thing in some pictures. What was that about?
She scrolled past another picture she'd candidly snuck of Blue, and wrinkled her nose in thought. Was... she cheating on this guy? She certainly hadn't been sleeping around as much lately because the new meds had kinda killed her libido a lot, but there had been a few instances at least. Were they in an open relationship? Mason had kinda been like that... so she wouldn't be too surprised. Eh, that was easier to latch onto for the moment instead of jumping to the conclusion that she was a horrible person.
Er, well, that kind of horrible person. She knew she was horrible in other ways.
Actually, that brought up new problems. How much did this guy actually know about her, before he forgot? They seemed pretty close based on the stuff she was seeing on her phone. That was concerning.
A knock at her door drew her out of her thoughts and she blinked. He hadn't texted back, so... who was that?
Shuffling over with her cats on her feels, she started the process of unlocking all of her locks and pulled the door open.
"...oh."
She probably looked like a bit of an idiot standing there blinking up at him, but... well, he was really fricken tall!
"...hi." She might have blushed a bit, and while she was distracted Clyde and Berry rushed out and attacked his legs with loud purring and affection.
Okay.. So... her address was his address. Wait, no... Next door? Where... All the sex sounds came from? Uhm... Okay. What? He finished getting dressed and look down at his phone, raising an eyebrow at the cat text.
Very strange given the context of his thoughts. Nope, not going there.
He figured it was better to jump into this before he talked himself out of it, and just walked on over next door, knocking a few times and waiting there quietly. A short girl opened the door, and he smiled without even really thinking about it. She was cute, I mean, that wasn't what really attracted him to people, but it wasn't a bad thing, you know?
His smile widened when the cats pushed past, and he said. "Hi!" As he crouched down to pet them. "Clyde! Wow, how could I have forgotten about where I met you!" He pet the one eyed cat softly, looking over to the other one. "Blueberry... Right. I have your sister." He didn't have any context past that... Maybe it had something to do with his apparent amnesia? He looked up to Juniper for a second, and then stood. "Uh, so... right. I guess we are going on a date then?" He looked around for a second before scratching the back of his head and letting his arm hang on his neck after.
"I'm honestly pretty confused about what's going on..." Did he... hug her? Was that a thing? How did they greet each other? This was about to be just about the most awkward thing ever.
She remembered Berry's orange little buddy... hadn't thought about her in a bit, and... couldn't remember who she'd given her away to. A boyfriend, apparently.
She watched him interact with the cats and some of her nerves calmed a little. She liked him enough to give him a cat, apparently, and she liked cats more than she did people most days. That must have meant that she was at least a little comfortable around him, right?
Juni stooped and scooped up Clyde, trudging back inside to put him in his cat bed. He's been a little bit stiffer as of late and sometimes just laid down wherever he was to take naps. Berry scampered in behind her and immediately piled on top of the older cat into a snuggle pile.
She retrieved her phone and tucked it away in her pocket with her little wallet.
"Uh, yeah... Sorry, I guess. This all happened cuz I cheated at a climbing wall." The short blonde fiddled with her sleeves a bit. "I didn't think it'd have an effect on anyone else." Classic her. Doing something stupid and managing to take someone else down with her.
"We really don't have to go, you know... I don't wanna make you uncomfortable all things considered..."
Lord, what were they even supposed to talk about? She glanced around awkwardly at her living room. Her guitar and recently acquired ukelele were propped in the corner by the window. As stress relieving as it would be, she didn't wanna bore him with poor renditions of songs.
She spotted the heart and glitter decorated card on her wall and got even more awkward. Right... he must have given that to her, then? She couldn't remember getting it from anywhere else.
"Truth be told, I've never been on like, an actual date before.. or, well, that I can remember? so, um, I don't even know where to start... Christ what a mess..."
How long did the amnesia last again? Hadn't Cora told her at some point? "The whole forgetting thing is only supposed to be temporary... so, that's good right?"
"Ah, well... Yeah. I have her. I suppose if you asked her, she's got me... For hunting practice, and randomly attacking at 3am." He smiled a bit, rubbing a little scratch on his wrist from said cat. He stood awkwardly for a moment after she grabbed Clyde and walked into her apartment.
A short glance around gave him time to think about how awkward he was being. If they were girlfriend and boyfriend he was probably allowed in her place. A short nod and a nervouse stutter step was preceeded by him following her in. His eyes landed on the heart on the wall... right. He remembered buying the supplies for that, didn't he. Dang, this was strange.
His eyes lit up a bit. "Oh, do you play the guitar?" Right, they should probably get to know each other. "I know a little bit, but I guess I never spent the time to really get any good. The, uh, superheroing thing sorta held my focus."
She mentioned they didn't have to go, and he shook his head. "No, it's fine! Honestly, I think it'll be nice, right? Sorta a second first date kinda thing."
He motioned to the door, smiling with a bit of unexpected fondness as she mentioned never having been on a date before. "Heh heh, I don't know, I don't recall dating a whole lot either. I guess we can throw something together, though, right?"
He honestly didn't know if they had any reservations anywhere, so he sorta threw a plan together. "Yeah! Maybe we'll remember each other half way through the date and have a good laugh!"
She glanced at Berry, who was flopped over on top of Clyde on his back, with paws stretched every which way. "Huh.. you musta got the energetic one, then. Berry just lays around all day and begs for food." She snickered, and her attention shifted to her instruments.
"Yeah! I learned to play, er... well, out of boredom, I guess. Stress relief, you know?" But, he'd said something more interesting than that.
"Super-heroing?" She blinked, and an imaginary lightbulb clicked on above her head. "Oh! That explains all the pictures!" She fished her phone back out and brought up the photos again. Specifically, one that had like a quarter of her face in it, with a decent shot of him behind in what she assumed was his...er... costume? Outfit?... Uniform???
"These make more sense now then. I was wondering why you have a visor on." She swiped to another that had a bit of a cape in it.
...wait... was she dating a hero? With her past!?
Was.. was it hot in here all of a sudden? "Haha.. that's really cool though. I don't have the guts to do something like that. Though..." Ah, there was that fog again though. She was going to that school where the X's lived and worked. Why? How'd that happened anyway? She could vaguely muster up a theory that a friend had convinced her or something. Had... that been him?
"... I wonder if we met at school? I'm working on getting my GED." Don't tell him how @#$%ing stupid you are, Juniper! Don't do it!
"Yeah, you're right. I've never really been one for planning things out a whole lot, anyway."
...Damnit.
He brought up ice cream and she thought about Matteo. She lit up a bit and stashed her phone away again. "Oh! Yeah, actually! There's this guy who runs a little cart around here! I wonder if he's out today..."
Matteo probably was. He was always out when she was out and about. "He usually hangs around and catches people as they leave places from dinner. Charges less than a lot of places for fancy desserts."
She found herself staring and shifted slightly. "So... um... wanna hold hands or something?"
"I get that." So she was stressed? No, no thinking like that. I mean, he had always sorta told himself he'd only date someone if he could see himself spending the rest of his life with them. He didn't recall ever changing his mind about that, so he had to honestly look at this person and ask himself what about her had made him feel that way.
She asked about super heroing. His eyes lit up like a christmas tree. What had he been thinking about. "Yeah! It's my goal in life to become an honest to goodness super hero!" He leaned in as she showed him pictures, and his eyes damn near popped out of his head. "No way! Is that the grey phantom!? Ohhhh, and the crimson fang and his crew! That's amazing!" How could he have forgotten about that?! Now that he thought of it he sort of recalled some of it. "I actually fought them?! You must have been there with me... wow..." He was blown away.
He tilted his head. "I mean, we are neighbors... I would have come over to say hi day one! How long have you been going to Xaviers?" Wait, she was going to the mansion? For her GED? He wouldn't judge... More importantly, it meant she was a mutant. He grinned widely. "Ohh! What's your power?"
He paused for a second. Wait, weren't they supposed to be going on a date?
Her mentioning of Matteo made him nod a bit. "Yep, and he's always showing you pictures of his family! I thought he'd be a good first stop!" As he stepped out, holding the door open for her, she asked about holding hands. Without another word, he scooped up her hand in his, and started walking. "So, you live in the city... You have an apartment with two cats, and you are going to school. You have a job, because you mentioned your boss... What else do you do? For fun?"
Really adorable, ya know? When he got going like that, that is. IT was kinda cute watching him gush about it, though she got a little distracted by the villain names.
"I was there. I... don't remember why though. Musta been because of you, I guess." Her nose ached suddenly for a moment. "I got punched by that red one. He might be old, but he's got a helluva hook still."
"I've been going there a few months now." Wow, time really flew didn't it? Or, maybe all that math had melted her brain a bit. He asked about her power and she grinned widely. How to show him, though?
"Wanna see a magic trick?" She glanced around for ideas and her eyes landed on her empty coffee table. Eh, it'd do in a pinch. Leaning over slightly, she touched it, phased it, and picked it up like it didn't weigh anything. Then, she turned and pushed it slightly into the nearest wall and left it fused there.
"Ta-da~! I can phase things. Myself, people, objects... magic!" Cue jazz hands.
They headed out after that (she didn't bother to put her coffee table back yet, that cats would get a kick out of it anyway) and tried not to focus too much on him holding her hand. She'd... she'd asked, so it was her fault anyway.
"Yeah, that one! He's adorable. Have you seen his latest grandbaby? That kid doubled in size in a few weeks, I swear."
She blushed a teensy bit as he recounted everything he he knew about her so far. It was really simplified and she wished that it was all. If her wiki page consisted of only those sentences she'd die happy, probably.
"I have two jobs, actually... I recently quit one so I had to replace it."
'Quitting' being a fake online cam girl had been pretty easy. She'd just deleted all of her fake sites and emails. Finding a job to replace robbing banks had been considerably harder. What did she do for fun, though?
.... what could she say that wasn't explicitly illegal? She stared ahead, wide-eyed for a moment. "I... like rock climbing and running... and music, of course... and I like traveling a lot. This is the 15th state I've lived in."
... was that bad? That sounded bad once it was out of her mouth. Ah @#$%.
"W-what about you, though? The first three apply to you, too. And you wanna be a hero, too. What's you're power like?"
They ended up in the newly fixed elevator, and when the hit the ground floor and the doors opened... there was Saul. The short, slightly greasy looking old man gave them a quizzical look as he stepped out of the way slightly.
Huh, she'd been there for the meeting with the Grey Phantom? I guess that was why he didn't remember it well. His eyes widened when she said she'd gotten punched. "Yikes, he used to be a boxer! Wait, does that mean we fought them together?"
The timeline sorta made sense for them meeting before she came to the school. Neat, he'd inspired her to get her GED? Maybe. The thought made him feel good.
His eyes damn near popped out of his head when she demonstrated her power. "Wow! That's SO COOL!" He restrained himself after a second, and looked over to her with a nervous smile. Did he... nerd out like that around her? Was it too much? "Uhm... You'll have to show me more sometime. It's pretty awesome."
They were holding hands, and he couldnt help but look down to them. Her hands were smaller than his. That made sense. He had boxer's fists, after all. He distracted himself by joining in with her talk about matteo. "Heh heh... Yup! He's been gushing about him all month."
She talked more about herself, and he listened intently. "Two jobs. That's a lot of work! I've... uh, well, I've always been a full time student, so... How old are you?"
"My power? I repel things... well, repulse them away from myself, I guess. I can send things flying pretty far, and can prevent things from touching me by bouncing them away quickly." As the elevator door opened, he smiled to Saul as they passed, not really noticing the look he gave. "Hey Saul! Emily from down the hall said her faucet is leaking again! I told her i'd tell you! We're just, uh, off on our date! Later!"
He headed to the entrance, stepping forward to open the door for her. "Huh, It's a little strange that we are neighbors, huh? What are the odds of that? Hey, who do you think asked out who first?"
"I... suppose so?" Her brow furrowed. It was hard to remember a lot of details. "I... remember being called a sidekick a lot and chasing The Crimson Fang around for an absurdly long time. I don't remember exactly why though. I've never really, like, fought anyone before... so that would be a first I guess." She paused, thinking back.
"No, wait... I can remember other stuff now too. There was that one time someone tried to rob Matteo, and Blondie in that alley, and... a really fuzzy bit about like, a warehouse?" Not being able to remember exact details was massively frustrating. "Ugh, sorry... it's really crappy that I've forgotten stuff." She wanted to know more. Why was she running around, apparently crime-fighting? Did it solely have to do with Xavier? It was hard to tell with the gaps in her memory, especially since it was hard to tell there was a gap in the first place until the separate parts of their story matched up.
His excitement was @#$%ing adorable and kept getting more adorable. Like... nobody had ever reacted to her power like that before! A giggle slipped out before she could stop it. "Thanks... I don't show a lot of people, so I'm glad you think it's neat." It was better than it being weird, or only useful for escaping situations, right? Or that one trick she used to pull peoples clothes of-
Ah. Had.. she done that to him already? Gah! Out of the gutter, Juniper!
She glanced at him sidelong as they talked about jobs, and wondered what to say. If they were dating.. he'd know already, right? So when all the memories came back he'd be sad that she'd lied to him about it... right?
"I'm 19! I.. uh, never went to school when I was younger, so once I was old enough I just kinda hopped into getting jobs where I could. The whole student thing is really new to me. How old are you?" She smiled through the awkward and squeezed his hand a little. "Had to stop robbing banks and get a real job when I moved here, ya know? haha."
....
@#$%@ @%$#%@%^@ @#%@% why had she thought that would be funny?? She tried to shift away from her terrible joke, "Did you always wanna do the hero thing, or just until you started going to the school?"
He explained his power a bit. "Oooh, that sounds like it's really useful in fighting crime!" He was like one big example of the 'i'm rubber, you're glue' saying, wasn't he? "I bet it was really helpful if you played any sports, right?" He looked like he played sports. Like, all of them, probably. Juni'd never played a single sport her whole life.
Saul was there, and due to her paranoid nature, Juniper definitly caught the look. She avoided eye contact a little and filed it away to agonize over later. Maybe Saul didn't like them together? Or, was he surprised? What was it, Saul?!
"Right... thanks, kid. Enjoy your... date?" They moved on and she mentally scooted herself along as well.
"A little weird, I guess. We could have been neighbors first and then.. um.. started dating?" Uhhh, yep, still felt weird on her tongue saying that out loud. She laughed nervously as they made it out onto the sidewalk and started heading in the direction Matteo usually set up shop. "You did mention that you would have come over to say hi from day one, so I'd hedge my bets on you asking first, honestly." She chuckled a bit more as she nerves settled. "But, I mean, you do seem really nice and friendly... and cute... so I don't know for sure? Could have gone either way." Though, she was still puzzling over what exactly could have changed in the span of a few months for her to just... start dating again. Maybe it was just because he was so fricken nice? She certainly hadn't spent a lot of time around people like him before. A lot of dark sarcasm and slightly painful insults tended to dog her when it came to the other friends she'd had in her life. Xavier just didn't come across as the type to even joke like that.
"I forgot to ask, but what do you like to do for fun when you aren't doing school or hero stuff?" Gosh... even his face had a genuine sort of kindness to it. Like it was just seeping out of his pores. It was hard not to keep sneaking glances at him as they walked. Thankfully, with her power, she was able to avoid flat out running into anything due to being distracted by him.
This felt really familiar. She could remember doing pretty much the same thing the first time she'd had a crush, too. Just... being enraptured by someone for reasons she didn't fully understand.
His eyes widened at her memories, and he perked up as he spoke through a laugh. "No way! Are we a superhero couple?! Wait, why would you be a sidekick?" He scratched his head at that. She came up with several examples of her helping people, and he couldn't help but grin widely.
"Sounds like you're a hero, Juniper!" He smiled and watched her as she giggled a bit. Okay, he could see it. There was a feeling there. "It really is neat, though. You could do a lot with a power like that."
He listened to her patiently as she talked about her jobs. Wow... So he was dating soomeone older than him, huh? "Heh, well, I'm 17, so I'm still in highschool." He was tall, and well built, so people often thought he was a little older. He silently hoped that didn't throw her off. He chuckled when she mentioned robbing banks, looking more at the elevator around them than her nervous expression as she said it. "Heh, that makes sense! Wouldn't want someone like me, or you actually, to apprehend you!"
Cause someone could crimefight themselves for robbing a bank, clever joke Xavier. Breeze past the stupid joke! Answer the question. "Well, yeah. I always wanted to, and after my mom got sick I guess I sorta used it as an escape, and it grew from there. I actually went to Xaviers for their Superhero focus."
He sort of breezed past that statement. The elevator door opening interrupted the moment, so there wasn't any time to pursue it any further. He smiled when she called him nice and friendly, and then it widened when she called him cute. He looked up as he scratched his cheek. "Heh... I honestly never saw myself asking anyone out... I sorta told myself that I wouldn't let anything other than being a hero be my focus." He looked down to her, and smiled warmly. "You must be something special. I can't wait to get to know you more." It wasn't said with any hubris, though the words themselves might make it seem that way. He meant it. She had to be something amazing if it made him look away from his goals for even a second.
She asked what he did for fun, and he lit up once more. "Oh, all sorts of things! I like to make friends, I like to go to the comic shop and talk to people there, I like sports. I've got access to the danger room, now, so I do that when I can!" He tapped his chin in thought, and then looked over to her again. "That's about it, I guess. What about you? What do you do for fun?"
She shrugged slightly. "I dunno, really. I remember one of them yelling that I cheated because I phased the floor under them, but I don't recall the context for what everyone was yelling and why." Looking back on it now it wasn't nearly as frustrating as it had been in the moment, other than the fuzzy parts she supposed. It was actually kinda funny.
His enthusiasm rubbed off on her a little bit, but not enough to really squash the loud and immediate No you're not that popped up inside and bounded around in her chest. "I suppose... I never really thought of it like that. I've gotten so used to using it to just... run away from things, its hard to see it as being useful in any other way. Before I came here I never really did anything like the stuff I've done here."
It was weird, but she was starting to feel really hopeful that somehow she'd miraculously just, like... gotten better all of the sudden. She had stopped drinking as much, was seeing a therapist now, and was on a medication that she was... okay on. Maybe there were a handful of memories she couldn't remember right now that connected all of the dots as to why she had ended up seemingly more comfortable with dating and with someone who was... very happy. He reminded her of the sun, quite a bit. Warm and bright, but if you stare too long you'll go blind without proper eye protection.
Oh, he was younger than her? Huh. Well, it didn't really bother her much at all. She'd been dating a guy two years older than her at 13 anyway, so... her grasp on things was more than a little skewed. He also ran with her joke about robbing banks and made one of his own, and it took every ounce of self control within her to not immediately counter with a terribly, very dirty joke about how exactly she would apprehend herself, or him apprehending her.
No! Bad Juniper! You're barely past the introductions!
She just laughed it off weakly with no comment instead, and focused on something else. "I'm sorry your mom was sick..." She didn't know how to respond to that. What kinda sickness? Probably not the best thing to ask while going out on a date. "Does that mean you kinda did it for her, then?" Juniper would be the first to admit that she was more of less handicapped when it came to understanding a variety of things. Parent child bonds being one of them. Her's teetered between non-existence and barely there, depending on whether she was having a moment of guilt of not. She squeezed his hand slightly and forced herself to look at him, even if it was easier looking away and trying to avoid the whole conversation. You.. you were supposed to try and support people you liked emotionally, right? Be there for them?
"I understand the whole wanting an escape thing... it's rough sometimes. I started playing guitar not too long after I left home as a way to distract myself from stuff. Still do to this day."
She was distracted, thoroughly, by him calling her special. In a sort of indirect way, since they were getting to know each other again. Mason has had something similar, but different enough that this one hit in an entirely different way. You must be something special.
Ah, @#$%, don't cry!
She blinked rapidly and looked up and away until the urge passed and it was safe to resume talking. "I-its weird, because I thought I was the same way, I didn't really have any intentions of like, dating, or anything... ever again. So this was a pretty big surprise that got dropped on both of us, huh?" She chuckled for lack of anything better to do and shoved her other hand in the pocket of her skirt for comfort.
"I like comics too! Though, I just started kinda getting into them so I don't know a lot yet. I like Manga, too." Finally! Something she could talk about without feeling weird inside! "I've been in the Danger room too!" She admitted, and then paused, and grinned sheepishly. "Though... I kinda snuck in. Someone told me about it and I got curious. I met A teacher in there and she and I fought robots. Did you know that they self destruct if you mess with the wires?"
What a completely normal conversation they were having. What was her life now??
"That's the second time you've asked me about what I like to do for fun." She teased, and grinned widely up at him.
"Ah, that makes sense. There's actually a whole list of conventions to old fashioned Villain battles. Up until Gurin the Terrible broke all of them and started the new generation, and the new wave of superheroes, like the Blue Torch rose up to fight them." What did he like more than history and Super Heroes? Super hero history! He realised he was going off on a super tangent, and pulled himself out of it.
He sort of stayed silent in response to her thoughts on his mother... No, no he hadn't done it for her. He had been selfish. He'd needed to escape and he chose something that made him feel like he was doing the right thing... Better not to think of that.
He let the moment pass.
Xavier, being the less attentive type, didn't catch her near tears for a moment. He'd had to open the door for her, after all. "Well, look at us. Two people who never expected to be in a relationship, walking around all in a relationship and stuff. Like is funny sometimes, isn't it?"
He smiled wide when she said she was into comics. "Oh nice! What have you read?" His expression lost some fire when she said she read manga. He wasn't really into the whole anime manga thing. It would detract from the superhero comics time! His eyes widened when she said she'd snuck into the danger room. "Wow... So, uh, do you... break a lot of rules?" If there was a more goodie two shoes sorta question on the planet you'd have a hard time finding it. He paused and turned a little red when she pointed out he'd asked her about her hobbies twice.
"Heh... Sorry... A little nervous I guess? It's not every day you find out you gave a girlfriend, right?"
"I've read some Above Average Girl stuff... and one or two issues of OwlBearMan comics. But, like I said.. I haven't gotten too far in yet."
He asked if she broke a lot of rules or not and she paled just a bit. That teetered really close to that whole 'does he know about the criminal things I do' territory. "I didn't really mean to break any rules. I met a guy at the school who told me about it and said that I could check it out if I wanted. I didn't realize I needed to have like, a code and stuff, but figured since it could walk through walls it didn't matter much to me?" She didn't laugh, because she wasn't sure if that was supposed to be funny or not. It was just a half-truth she hoped wouldn't get her in trouble.
Actually, wait, she'd slept with Sam before he'd told her that! Oh, god.. she really was cheating on this guy wasn't she??
"But Serena said it was OK and stayed to be my monitor or whatever, and we just went through the scenario she was gonna do anyway. She said she'd talk to Sam about it later."
He blushed, and she was glad she wasn't the only one blushing anymore. "You're fine. It's... a weird scenario."
Ah, but... now, what to talk about? They were walking down the street holding hands and had already re-introduced themselves. Matteo was only a few blocks away this time, which was great because as soon as she spotted his cart she felt a little less stressed. He was always a good ice breaker!
"So what kinda ice cream do you like most? My favorite is mint chocolate chip."