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.
Zek tromped down the side ledge of the big ol’ sewer just on the outskirts of town. He’d been here several times before, usually on Tuesdays. That’s when his book club met. Although one of those times he’d shown up for cooking lessons and he’d ended up having to recuse Juniper and Corbin from a naked dancing lady. But hey, Zek had gotten a sweet staff out of it.
Speaking of a sweet staff…
He flicked the switch on it and the end lit up with little lights that started flashing in a myriad of colors. Immediately the rounded tunnel lit up like a rave and some R&B started blasting. He usually just used chemical lights or headlamps or something when coming down here, but the staff was new and he wanted to use it.
He didn’t know what the ladies in his book club used. Maybe oil lamps or something? Eh, he never asked.
Speaking of things beneath his notice…
He flicked a hand and a scarlet ball of light burst into existence. It bounced off a wall and then vanished with a flash, leaving a cat-bird-guy standing there. “We’re almost at the book club,” Zek said, walking past him and reaching into his jacket and pulling out the bag of snacks. He snagged the last piece of bacon-wrapped-bacon and popped it into his mouth. “You know, in case you need to prepare for the ladies. Agatha can be pretty fearsome at first.” His voice was a little nasal. That might’ve been due to the giant clothespin that was crammed onto it.
Posted by Carrick on Sept 26, 2021 10:49:41 GMT -6
S.U.P.E.R.
S.U.P.E.R. Intern
PRINCESS AMETHYST
1,411
20
May 18, 2024 11:50:14 GMT -6
CS
”**************kkkkk” he said as he appeared in a flash of light. Carrick had gotten balled again and once again he found himself in the most foul smelling place on earth. ”Stop doing that! How long was I gone?” he asked looking around for a sign for how long he had been balled up in Zek’s pocket dimension.
Zek was eating something Carrick could only assume was bacon. Every time he tried smelling anything he immediately felt like he was going to throw up from the smell. Why was he down here again. ”Book club?” he didn’t read anything recently and even if he did the last thing he wanted to do was sit around and discuss what he had read.
”Told ya I didn’t want ta go!” he said irritated he was in the sewers again. He didn’t do small spaces and anything he couldn’t fly in was considered small. Not only that but he was pretty sure Amythest wouldn’t come anywhere near him after he got out of the smelly tunnels.
”Well, I’m sure she’ll be charmed by me. I am an angel.” he said reluctantly despite the smell he was hungry because he knew Zek anywhere he went there were probably snacks. ”How long is this book club?” he asked holding his wings tight to his body and out of anything that would make it smell more.
Zek shrugged as Birdbrain whined. “I dunno,” he said, briefly pulling his trenchaot’s sleeve up and glancing at a bare wrist. “Definitely less than a day. It was right before that leprechaun attacked.” Zek vaguely recalled having eaten a meal around the time he’d vanished Custer. So that narrowed it down to about six or seven times in the past twenty-ish hours.
He turned and looked at the winged wonder with a blank look. He blinked. “Well if you didn’t want to come, you should’ve said something!” he said in disbelief. “Like, I don’t know, ‘hey I don’t want to go - put that down! PUT THAT DOWN! DON’T THROW THAT BALL!’ “ He paused. “Thought you were just playing hard to get. You know. Like a cat.” That poor princess from Georgia - bad communication was the main reason relationships ended. She could do better.
R&B kept blasting around and Zek made no move to shut it off or lower the volume. THat was because he liked it and not at all because he couldn’t find the volume control. “At least this time you’ve got your clothes,” Zek pointed out as he kept trudging along stone and occasional gunk. It was definitely for the best - Zek was gonna go blind if he saw that guy’s sun-bright body again.
He swallowed the last bit of bacon and chucked its bag into a nearby puddle of goo before moving on. Much of the remaining snacks were vegetable sticks, so naturally Zek was saving those for the ladies. “You just keep telling yourself that,” Zek said seriously. Sometimes it was better to let a friend believe their own delusions, as long as they didn’t hurt anyone. And if they did hurt anyone, well, that could be fun too.
“The book club is about three feet long,” Zek said without thinking. Then froze for half a second and stared frantically at Carl. How did he know about their sacred relic?! The item their organization was named for? Oh, oh he was smarter than he looked! Which is not what Zek usually thought about Featherbutt.
“Er, nevermind, nevermind. You’ll find out,” Zek said as he turned a corner and spied the entrance to the room, just off the tunnel. It was easy to see because the heavy metal door was wide open and liberally coated in reddish and vaguely blackish brown paint or something. It showed up very well in the flashing lights and smelled vaguely iron-y, which Zek thought was a nice feature.. “There we go! Ooo, looks like Mary’s been redecorating! She really likes things with scents, although metal usually isn’t her go-to.”
The answer wasn’t helpful at all. ”And look I told ya then, just because he was Irish doesn’t make him a leprechaun.” the fact that the said leprechaun sat at the end of a rainbow and was constantly trying to make a bet with them made him such. That and he was a foot tall.
”Well ya did try ta take his gold. I’d be pretty pissed off if someone was trying ta steal from me horde... if I had one... which I don’t.” his eyes squinted and he made sure not to make eye contact with Zek. For once he was happy he was in the sewers with the bad lighting. Carrick had some treasures all his forms thought was important.
”Part cat.” he corrected. ”Yeah, let’s the get the guy whose afraid of small places with the enhanced sense of smell into the smallest smelliest place on earth outside of Jersey.” he rolled his cat like eyes and kept walking making sure to avoid whatever the nearest rat was floating on. ”I do have me clothes.” he agreed. Ones that he’d have to burn after they left the book club.
”I will, and I’m gonna keep telling ya as well. Till ya stop bringing me down here. Next ta useless here.” he said reaching into his pocket and pulled his flask of choice. It was one way to drown out everything that was down here.
”Huh?” three foot long book club? Carrick’s tail flicked behind him as Zek made a point to stare at the shifter. Did Carrick do something wrong? Oblivious to the fact that there could be a club made of books. That would just be.... the thief eyed the R&B disco staff and decided nothing was that out of the ordinary anymore.
”Time to put on the charm.” Carrick sighed as they walked up to a metal door with streaks of color on it. Clearly whoever owned the place was bad at it. Half the door wasn’t even painted. Lazy. That’s what that was. ”Ladies, how are ya doing today!” he asked as he practically pushed through the blood smelling door. ”Whose ready to talk about books!?!” the hairs stood on the back of Carrick’s neck something was... different.
Zek frowned momentarily. “Irish? I thought he was German,” he said. He shrugged, tapping his musical light staff against the concrete floor in time with the beat. “And I’m just saying, if he didn’t want people to take his gold, he shouldn’t have left it just sitting there in a big ol’ cauldron.” Seriously, who had cauldrons anymore? Respectable folks used dumpsters. Respectable people also didn’t dodge every single golden light thrown at them. The jerk.
Although Crisper’s comment did get a side eye from Zek. Well, if that’s what he wanted to call his girlfriend, that wasn’t any of Zek’s business. Not that Zek had necessarily thought about stealing from her, but it was really Calvin’s insistence that he wasn’t dating her that caught Zek’s attention. He shrugged with one shoulder. Eh. Not his business. The dude was a cat--part cat-- and part mixed up so it was probably only fair he wasn’t all right in the head.
Zek was a step behind the Winged Wonder and he entered just as Birdcat’s voice finishing echoing around the chamber.
It was a squat, squarish room, maybe the size of a very small basketball court. Cinderblock walls, concrete floor and ceiling. Giant metal pipes occasionally coming in from the walls and exiting through said floor and ceiling. Smelled like nothing because Zek had a clothespin over his nose still and was breathing through his mouth. Dingy fluorescent bulbs hung from the ceiling and there was a massive switch on the wall by the door. All in all, it was what you’d expect to find in a giant sewer servicing a major metropolitan area.
Less expected were the nine fold-up chairs in a circle. A few more were pushed off to the side of the wall. There was a table near them, ready for snacks and refreshments. Well actually Zek expected all of this. He’d been to the book club before, after all. But you probably wouldn’t expect it.
But Zek didn’t expect to see nobody there. He checked the skin of his wrist. “Huh, they should’ve been here already,” he said nasally, what with the clothespin and all. Then he smacked his forehead. “Oh, duh! Today’s Thursday, right? El oh el, book club is only on Tuesdays. My bad!”
He stepped over a bright puddle of what might’ve been kool-aid or ketchup and turned back to Crow. “But hey, it’s a nice place, right?” He swept his disco staff around and the flashing lights continued to erratically dance all over the place. The R&B switched songs (not that you could tell) and he noticed a new addition to the wall. “Oh, looks like Mary also set up some chains. Oh wow, is it getting to be Halloween time already? Guess that explains all those dolls in the corner over there.”
”How can ya forget what day it is, it’s on taco day!” he threw his hands up his ears picking up the annoying humming from the florescent fixtures. The smells were getting worse the more they stood in the room. The chairs were empty, which was disappointing. There’d be no one to charm here and thus no reason to stick around.
Carrick’s mismatched eyes traveled the darkness and found a old wooden table with some tools on it before looking to the chains on the wall and then his eyes blurred as the light adjusted to the dolls in the corner. Carrick looked away and pulled out his flask. ”Wonder why the book club needs chains.” he asked looking around more feeling even more uncomfortable as he eyed the lack of space above them. At least it beat the tunnels.
‘Flight!’ his beast form shouted from the back of his mind. His hairs were standing on end and he noticed it now. The lone figure standing in the rotating lights from the staff. It was a clown.... holding a red balloon. ”****! Geez mate! Ya ****ing scared the **** out of me! Not that ya could tell with the smell but...” Carrick sighed slightly ignoring the call to flee. ”Zeeky, seems you weren’t the only one who forgot what day it is.” the clown didn’t smile but just stood there holding the balloon.
”Not a very happy clown.” Carrick said disappointed in his lack of enthusiasm for the profession Carrick had been surrounded by for a good chunk of his life.
“Taco day? Is that a new holiday? Weird,” Zek said, shrugging. Wasn’t every day taco day? Zek couldn’t think of a single day when tacos weren’t appropriate. And speaking of refreshments, he made his way over to the table and proceeded to pull out a scarlet orb of energy and set it on the table. Immediately a giant picnic basket appeared, filled with any number of snacks and finger foods, some home made, other purchased, and still more swiped when people weren’t looking.
“Just because book club isn’t today doesn’t mean we can’t still eat,” he declared wisely, pulling a napkin out of a sleeve and tucking it into his shirt.
“I think the better question is why wouldn’t a book club need chains?” Zek shot back. In his experience, it never hurt to have chains around. Book club discussions could get very heated sometimes and he knew for a fact Janet kept a switchblade in her purse at all times.
As he finished setting up some fish fingers and custard, there was commotion and Carl was acting like a part chicken, part scaredy-cat. Zek swiveled his head completely around. “You did what? Aw, don’t tell me you’re gonna need to take your pants off again!” he whined. That was definitely not something he needed to see, especially given the circumstances for requiring removal.
He glanced over at the clown and blinked. “Oh hey Susan. What brings you here?”
The clown turned to Zek and studied him for a moment. “My name is not Susan. And you should not be here.”
Zek shrugged. “No problemo, Roberto. I get that alot,” he said. “Well, I guess we’ll be going then. Didn’t realize you had the room booked today. Good luck with the balloon and stuff.”
He swiveled his head back around.
“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere,” the clown said in a particularly skin-crawling fashion.
Then the lights and music stopped as the staff died, leaving them all in darkness and silence.
‘Flight!’ the hairs on the back of his neck tried to leave said neck as the his beast form shouted for them to run. Carrick however didn’t he had gotten rather good at not listening to what the voices said, in his head and out of it. When the music and lights died out they were submerged in total darkness. Not that it mattered too much to the shifter given his ‘night-vision’ his eyes adjusted in seconds but it was enough time to lose the clown.
”Well, if it isn’t book club and I don’t have to charm the older gals I don’t really see much reason to stay here.” Carrick said shrugging and looking back over to Zek before trying to take the staff from him. Carrick only managed to press one of the buttons as the lights came back on the disco staff. The clown somehow ‘appeared’ in front of him. Much more impressive because Carrick didn’t see him seconds before.
”Whoa!” Carrick jumped backwards away from Zek and the clown as he heard something stick into the table where his hand was seconds before. Carrick was distracted by the clown again. ”Fer **** sakes mate!” he said looking to the clown. ”Should put a bell on ya! Like ya popped out of nowhere!”
Carrick shook his hands and visibly shivered. ”Right, well it was nice meeting ya. Zek we good ta go now?” the shifter asked as his tail flicked behind him.
“Stupid staff,” Zek muttered in the sudden darkness. Because the stupid staff was stupid. Couldn’t even stay on properly. He shook it several times and was getting ready to whack it against the table before Catbird took it. Or at least he assumed it was Birdcat since he’d been talking and was right there beside Zek when the staff was taken. Zek didn’t put up a fight. Who wanted a stupid that was too stupid to make light and music anyways?
But then lights again! And a sudden clown. “Gack!” Zek said as his heart tried to leap out of his chest. “Seriously, Roberto! Ever hear of a personal bubble?” So Zek smashed an orb into the clown and threw the consecutive red orb a couple yards away, where it flashed back into the clown.
“My name is not Roberto! It’s--”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay Tristan, we’re out of here. Have a nice life!” Zek said, turning to snatch his staff back from Craig. As he did, he must’ve pressed a button because the lights went out again. “Aw, dang, Crispin! You broke it again!”
Something whistled over Zek’s head just as he bent forward to inspect the staff in the total darkness. Something metallic struck the concrete wall and there were several sparks. “Oh, I got it!” Zek said as he found another button. Red laser lights burst forth and sepulchral organ music began filling the room.
”Ya know him?” Carrick asked confused by the clown but then realized it was Zek. So if anything Zek knew him. Zek apparently knew everyone and it was just something Carrick was getting used to. Or rather he claimed to know everyone the man did spout a lot of **** which was one of the reasons Carrick enjoyed going on the adventures.
>>>“My name is not Roberto! It’s--”
Seconds later and Carrick realized it was one of those times where Zek didn’t know someone but put on so much confidence he seemed believable. That right there was an art form he too tried to perfect. ”Jensen?” Carrick tried to offer as Zek listed another name. The clown didn’t smile now but looked irritated with the makeup and the hair. ”You should be smiling more... unless yer one of them sad clowns. Do you have a pie somewhere?” Carrick asked curiously sniffing the air as the lights went out again.
”Got something here! Not pie though.” Carrick said covering his nose and looking back to the clown in the dark only to find him not there. Zek already orbed him away meaning what he was looking at was... ‘Flight!’ the voice shouted again as Carrick leaned forward slightly looking at the ground. Was that a chain at his foot? The whistling sound overhead caught his attention and he stood upright again.
”Zekky boy. Did ya throw something at me?” he asked leaning over to his friend who was now playing music from the ‘staff of world break’. ”Ya can’t use that name. The man was responsible fer genocide.” Carrick offered knowing someone would be proud of his ‘PCness’.
”Well creepy the clown.... did he vanish again?” he asked eyeing the lasers that danced everywhere. Some on the wall some on the creepy mutilated dolls that were draped on the walls... his pupils dilated as one danced in front of him and he tried to catch it out of instinct. Instead of a laser light (something that he never could catch) he caught a blade in his hand. Pointy end sticking out through the back of his hand. It was a three count before Carrick processed the pain.
”*********** *******B****!!!!!” Carrick shouted and roared like a lion trying to vent some of the pain that was from someone throwing the knife and he catching it. ”Who throws a knife without warning someone!” he shouted pulling the blade from his hand and holding onto it. ”Where ya at!?! Let me return it!” he shouted looking around. His pupils turning into ‘slits’. ”Zek! Ya see the stupid clown!?!”
Zek held up a hand and stared at it in the near darkness. “Nope, didn’t throw anything,” he said after a moment. Was his hand being traitorous again? Like, Zek didn’t have a problem throwing things at Carry, but there wasn’t a point so far. Really, Zek was more concerned that his hand was doing something without his supervision - if it was gonna do something Zek wanted to be there to watch it!
“Can’t use what name?” Zek asked as he tried to find the door. He pivoted on a heel and he briefly felt something rush past him, but he’d already spun out of the way. “Jensen? Fine. Hey Ackles! How d’we get outta here?” Zek yelled.
Then he immediately dropped because Crackerjack yelled so much louder and better (even if he sounded a bit rough). The yell was fresh and vibrant and drowned out the staff music for several seconds as it rebounded around the chamber.
Zek waited a moment for it to die down. Then he had to wait longer until Birdcat stopped complaining about random knife throws. “Nope, don’t see the clown. Then again, I can’t see in the dark,” Zek shrugged. He yelled again, “Hey Ackles! Getcher butt over here! How do we get out?”
“You don’t!” a voice giggled from behind him. Two hands appeared on Zek’s head and they suddenly twisted violently, snapping Zek’s head around until he could see over his shoulder.
“Well that’s just not true,” Zek said, before smacking another ball onto Ackles’s arm. “Yo, Cittenburg, I found the clown!” Another red light flashed into being in his hand and he lobbed it in the general direction he thought Caspar was at. The ball flashed away and a clown-like silhouette fell several feet to the floor on his head.
Carrick watched threw pained expression as two hands shot up behind Zek’s head and twisted as much as possible. If it was anyone else it would have killed them. Zek however wasn’t someone else, he had a weird neck thing. The Irishman always thought it was due to intense training, similar to a contortionist but Zek could only do it with his neck.
Pulling the knife from his hand he growled as Zek flashed the clown away then brought him back into this world. The clown clearly wasn’t ready for the random transport. Mainly because he landed on his head with a loud crack then the body flopped. ”Would have stuck the landing if he was part cat.” using his own skills to he returned the knife to the sender which was the limp clown. ”Here’s yer knife back.” the knife sunk into the clown. There was no reaction...
”Couldn’t happen to a nicer clown.” Carrick mused as he looked to his hand then back to Zek. ”Let’s just leave the way we came. Pretty sure the door is...” Carrick pointed his nonwounded hand towards where he thought the door was then instantly regretted it when he was stabbed in said hand to mirror the other. ”****** ****** ****** *******” Carrick shouted again as he raised one hand to look at the knife wound to the other.
Rearing around he assumed it was the limp clown. ”I’m gonna kill ‘em!” the shifter’s appendages whirled as he turned only to see in the dark the clown with the knife in his butt where he left it seconds ago. ”Whose throwing knives if this clown is already dead!”
There was another creepy clown giggle, “It’s me” Carrick turned again and saw another clown running towards Zek with a knife out. ”Clown behind ya!” he hoped Zek realized that Carrick wasn’t behind him.
Birdcat failed to catch the clown, although he did at least manage to give the clown’s knife back to him. That was thoughtful, if amateurish. Why not just keep the knife? You could never have too many knives. “That was thoughtful, if amateurish,” Zek said clinically. “Why not just keep the knife? You can never have too many knives.” He opened one side of his trenchcoat in demonstration. In the weak red light of the staff, seven or eight different knives glinted.
Zek spun his head back around until it faced the same direction as his body. Right about then Clay started describing where the door was. Zek frowned. Those were not directional words. Those were fun words, but not applicable words. He shook his head. “No, I’d say the door is actually #$^*@(#* @*#($*%*#(#((( _!(#4+=@^$$ instead,” he said. Those were some very applicable words. He took out a wireless microphone and dropped it on the floor with a slight bang.
And apparently someone was throwing knives. “Aren’t you the one throwing knives?” Zek asked uncaringly as he walked closer to a wall in feeble attempts to illuminate the place. Honestly, the red laser dots weren’t doing anything except making the room look like it was under attack by radioactive fire ants.
Zek pulled out a headlamp and slapped it onto his face. He clicked it on just as Kevin yelled something about a clown. Zek snapped his head around again and the corresponding sweep of the headlamp’s light flashed into the pale face of the clown, whose knife was aimed straight at Zek’s head.
The knife stabbed through the bulb of the lamp and it shattered, the light blinking out after a small shock of electricity sparked into the clown’s hand. “Aack!” Zek shouted and flung himself forward, swinging his staff around behind him violently and blindly in the newfound darkness. “See? This is why you don’t give knives back to people!”
”The one I gave the knife back to is in his side. Think ya already killed’em.” the shifter growled as he looked around the room that was supposed to be for book club. ”Think there are a few of these sad clowns.” Carrick leapt opened his wings and then landed next to Zek making sure not to startle him too much. If he got balled here he doubted Zek would have been fine on his own.
”Can ya just make some more light?” the shifter asked stepping out of range if Zek still felt like swinging the staff. ”Don’t know why but I can’t see them in the dark not till their close anyways.”
There was more giggling next to him and Carrick leapt before another knife could be thrown or stabbed in anyone's direction. In the wild if a big cat pounced another creature it usually meant it’s death. This wasn’t the case though at least not in this form. The giggling stopped as he pinned the clown. ”How many of ya are there!” the shifter shouted alerting Zek he had one.
The giggling continued again from the clown he had pinned, “A few of us! We just want to play with you!”
‘Fight!’ ”Interesting way of playing!” the shifter said balling up his fist and punching the clown in the nose. The clowns hand that held the knife was pinned and soon let go the more Carrick punched. It was about survival now. If it meant going home to the mansion Carrick didn’t have a problem getting violent. He’d explain everything to the moms or the mansion staff later.
”Zek, found ya another knife.” the shifter said sliding it free from the clowns grasp.
Zek absolutely did feel like swinging his staff around, so it was probably for the best that Catbird didn’t get too close. It was always preferable that people didn’t get too close to Zek.
He swung his staff around and unfortunately didn’t hit anything.
“Maybe you can’t see them in the dark because you’re a birdcat, not a batdog,” Zek pointed out. He then pulled out a series of glow sticks from one of his sleeves and started cracking them. Because he wanted to make light, not because Karen told him too.
“You know, light isn’t so easy to make,” Zek said as he flashed a box into existence. Under the nonexistant beam of his broken headlamp (which he promptly threw in the direction of the person that said they wanted to play), he pulled a camping lantern out of it and flashed the bag away again. He opened the box and pulled out a couple of flaming rags stuffed in bottles. “Will this work?” he said as he started tossing the cocktails all around.
And Craig found another knife. “Well don’t give that one to them! They’ll just throw it or something!” Zek scolded. As it was, he absently slashed out with a knife at a dimly lit clown.
“Oh ho ho, I like how you play!” the clown tittered before dodging away. Zek threw a golden orb at it but missed. He stuck out his lower lip. This wasn’t that fun anymore.
“Hey, I’m getting out of here. Wanna come with?” Zek shouted at his flunky. He didn’t bother waiting for an answer though. He just shrugged and held up a hand.
Pure white light, like a miniature star, coalesced in his hand and he shoved his hand out in front of him. The shining white ball exploded into a six foot tall disc of solid white light, edged in the loveliest of cyans. The light streamed outward like the world’s tackiest LED light display, although the other side of the disc remained in pure darkness.
Zek stepped through the portal and appeared on home plate of his own personal Yankee Stadium, in the middle of a sunny afternoon. Immediately, several thousand monochromatic Zeks cheered his appearance from the stands and he solemnly smiled and waved at them. Ah, it was good to be back.
The portal remained open behind him, mentally attuned to allow Craigslist and Juniper entry alone (not that Juni was there, but Zek always kept her on the list). But he was only going to keep the portal open for a little while longer. Eventually he’d want to get a move on.