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.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Feb 14, 2022 21:30:49 GMT -6
X-Men
Metazoa
Chartreuse
Straight
949
9
Apr 12, 2024 15:17:35 GMT -6
Zek
The torrent of sorrow lasted mere moments before the floodwalls snapped back into place, but the damage was done. A tear rolled down Elizabeth’s own cheek as she fell into the sadness, the sadness she could so plainly see reflected on Hercules’s face. It wasn’t the kind of sadness th*at made one burst into blubbering or wailing, at least not for Liz, but instead it was that deep mourning, the kind that echoed through the soul.
She allowed it to wash over her, soaking through her, and then slowly, drop by drop, she gathered it up into a single pool. She sank her metaphysical feet in it, allowing it to splash against her, but it was contained to her and her alone.
Zorro’s tail wagged once as he was patted by the man with the big hands (it made him a very excellent petter). The squirrel threw off its momentary lapse of concentration and continued its run along the high wire. The other dogs obeyed their masters and started walking along again.
Liz just smiled, a sad, sweet smile. She set the rescued pen aside and just laid her hand on Hercules’s. “You are amazing,” she said quietly. Zorro’s tail thumped once against the ground. Hundreds of people he…shared a connection with? That had to be devastating on levels Liz could only partially understand. She’d been in minds before that had suffered losses, and she’d felt them intensely as if they’d been hers, but there was still always that level of disconnect.
But Hercules? Hercules had experienced it all firsthand.
She squeezed slightly. Not that it would matter - with his strength, she could whale on him with all her might and he probably wouldn’t notice - but the intent was the important part. “And we’re going to do everything we can to ensure that William has such a life,” she said resolutely, staring into Hercules’s green hues. She didn’t dare say such a thing as “that will never happen again” or “you’ve never had me in your life” or any of those statements that would’ve sounded amazing in a movie. She was more pragmatic. She could not guarantee the safety of anyone, not even herself. The X-Men couldn’t even do that. They could give William (and Hercules) every tool they possibly could to survive in a strange and changing world though.
Elizabeth coughed and dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. “So when you said William summoned the hellhound, how does that work again?” she asked, her voice a little raw but otherwise pushing on. She wasn’t trying to hide from hard topics. She just wasn’t going to let them cast a pallor over the day. Life was too short. She picked up her pen and tapped her notebook. “He summoned you through a…totem…right? What kind of totem do you use for hellhounds?”
There was warmth in her touch, one of understanding and the god of strength smiled warmly feeling the momentary sadness washed away like footprints disappearing into the rising tides. ”I’m a god. I have to be.” Hercules joked.
She squeezed his hand and he turned it to catch hers, it wasn’t to rival her strength it was to just be there in the moment. A short moment, that the God would remember more than some of his masters. Even the shortest of moments stood out and could be the most important to him. ”Well said Elizabeth! Well said!” his voice getting more confident with each second they held hands.
The moment ended with her clearing her eyes. Hercules didn’t bother to clean at his, he was proud of his ability to cry still. Most gods forgot how to eons ago.
”Ah! Yes, the beast.” he said clearing his throat and continuing on with conversation, ”It varies on what kind of spirit he summons, first he had to connect with it, pour some magic into the item of power.” Hercules looked to Zorro as an example and caught the dogs attention.
”Now this is all from me watching and listening to the exchanges over the centuries. Several books of first hand experiences had confirmed this as well.” he added throwing out a bit more information than before, ”The magic that is offered entices the spirit, if the spirit and summoner can come to an agreement then a pact can be made. If not... well, those situations never end well for either party.” he shook his head.
”For example, Zorro and I right now are looking at each other.” Hercules lowered his hand before the dogs nose and waited for a reaction from the little beast, either a sniff or a lick before opening his hand and petting the dog on the head. ”The connection is made, both parties wait until the other decides if they are friend or foe before accepting or deny the pact. If Zorro was to bite me that would be the end of it and I’d withdraw my power, my hand. If there is a positive interaction, well I could call on him when I choose.” Hercules finished by leaning over with both hands and petting the good boy. ”Yes, you are a magnificent companion!”
After a moment Hercules sat upright and grabbed his coffee and sipped it once more, ”Mine go by many names, William knows them as the Bracers of Hercules. They hardly fit on his arms, it’s adorable!” Hercules roared with laughter before stopping to talk about his source of jealousy, ”Shadow? Willam’s Shadow was summoned at a charity event, through a metallic stone. A ball in short.” he chuckled.
”It all depends on what was important to the summon. I personally wore the bracers, a gift from my mother when I left home to search for glory and purpose!” he said proudly, ”Sometimes the item is created by mages as a prison for the summons. It all depends on the caster really.” leaning over he studied her notes and smiled, ”You have very beautiful handwriting.”
Posted by Liz Sundance on Feb 15, 2022 13:19:38 GMT -6
X-Men
Metazoa
Chartreuse
Straight
949
9
Apr 12, 2024 15:17:35 GMT -6
Zek
Elizabeth scrawled fast and furiously. There was so much to write down! She wasn’t as worried about making sense of everything, or even properly organizing all the information at the moment. She’d go through these notes at a later time and properly annotate them. What mattered most was just getting the raw information down. Getting Hercules to talk wasn’t hard, but getting him on just the right wavelength where they were both talking about the same thing sometimes was. Besides, the man knew more about magic than Liz could hope to guess, so any time he brought up anything new, her ears were never perkier.
Zorro did indeed sniff the proffered hand. He even licked it. Then his tongue lolled out and he started sitting up, all the better to be petted by the expert petter. All the foreign sadness was gone, swept away by the endless wellspring of joy that dogs possess. That alone earned another smile from Liz, who paused in her scribing just long enough to watch the man and the dog bond. She drank in the happiness and allowed it to sprinkle her soul.
“It’s interesting, but the process of summoning sounds remarkably like my own abilities,” Elizabeth said as she stopped writing and took up her own drink. The chocolate wasn’t quite as hot anymore, so she took a nice pull from it. “Barring possession, I cannot force an animal to do anything. It has to understand what I want and then choose to do it. Oh yes, I can alter its mood and implant thoughts in its head, but anything other than triggering primal needs or base impulses requires a mutual relationship.”
Liz finally started removing the plastic wrap from her brownie. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of bribes I had to offer Huninn and Muninn to get them to be okay with obeying my commands!”she laughed as she tore off part of the brownie and popped it in her mouth. Even so, I think those ravens mostly just listen to me from sheer boredom and a desire for excitement.”
The blonde joined her companion in laughter. “You mean…you mean, William took a magic ball to a ball and then fetched a magic dog?” she said, her eyes blazing bright. “That’s hysterical!” She didn’t knock her drink over with her fist as it slammed the table, but she came close.
She ate another chunk of brownie and got back to writing. “So once you’ve summoned something, do you have to keep the totem with you? Like whoever holds a djinn’s lamp controls the djinn?” she asked, jotting down the totem rules. She smiled demurely and tossed her hair as Hercules admired her penmanship. “Why thank you,” she said cheekily. Her handwriting was acceptable. Not bad, but it wouldn’t win awards. Still, it was nice to be complimented.
“Do you happen to know of any of these books on magic?” she said. “Like where they would be today? I’d dearly love to study one or two, to get another viewpoint on this stuff.”
If the god ever recorded notes he would have done so then and there however the prince of power prided himself on his memory along with his strength. Most writing utensils failed to stay in one piece under his hands guidance. They were built for mortals after all not gods.
Hercules almost spat out his coffee at the mention of Odin’s eyes in the world. Having bumped into the the god several times he didn’t have the fondest memories of him. The Norse god was tricky and might have taken advantage of Hercules once or twice. ”THE Huninn and Muninn?!?” asking for clarification. Hercules owed the one-eyed god a few words and maybe a fist or two. Not many get to say they grifted the strongest god of all the pantheons and live to brag about it.
Raising his eyebrows after a moment and turning the conversation back to his youngest master William he chuckled as well, ”Yes, Ha! They did play fetch while the place was being robbed”! Hercules nodded his head recalling the incident that led to the summoning stone falling into William’s possession. Luckily when they played fetch Shadow kept William from harm so that he and Svetlana could handled the mobsters that tried to keep the boy hostage. ”It was a eventful day! I enjoyed myself greatly in the battle!” recalling the men that didn’t even try to best him.
”Not always, it’s easier to channel magic the closer the totem of power is to the caster. If I was a normal summon I’d also have to keep closer to my master, however I’m able to create multiple totems for multiple masters. Just once I sever our bond the item reverts back to normal. Given that, I can move freely and away from my masters if I so wish it.” Hercules boasted into his coffee.
”It’s easier to call someone if you have your phone on you, correct?” Hercules asked rhetorically. It was, he already knew the answer.
”And that is only if the three wishes are granted. If I was to hold a Djinn lamp after you did it would matter not unless you completed your three wishes.” he paused for a moment, ”And I would never try to make a wish from a Djinn. Honeyed lies.” elaborating a bit on it before sinking in his chair slightly.
”I have a friend searching for books. His results so far have fallen short. Most who own actual books on magic, either know what they have and guard them jealously or know not what they have and keep it locked away in an attic somewhere.” he sighed, ”William has resorted to finding images on the internet. If the library of Alexandria were still around today I’d say that would be the best place to search. That however is impossible seeing as I might have had a hand in destroying it.” his hand covered his face to hide the little shame he showed.
”If I do find a book you’ll be the fourth to know.” Hercules nodded sagely before adding, ”Do you wish to learn magic?” she would be an excellent addition to his list of masters.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Feb 17, 2022 7:59:57 GMT -6
X-Men
Metazoa
Chartreuse
Straight
949
9
Apr 12, 2024 15:17:35 GMT -6
Zek
Elizabeth blinked a few times. Well, she knew the ravens were notorious, but she hadn’t expected that kind of reaction. “Well yeah, Huninn and Muninn,” she repeated. Her brow slightly furrowed. “You’ve met them before.” Or at least one of them. Liz had used Huninn as a walkie-talkie (or should that be flying-talkie?) to stop Sam and Hercules from having a throwdown on the mansion’s front lawn the second time she met Hercules.
It was then her turn to nearly spit out her drink. “What?” Liz said sputtering and grinning. “The ball got robbed and there was a battle? How on Earth did I not hear about this?” She sat back in her chair. That clinched it. She was going to incorporate a current events project with her students. Whoever brought in the most interesting news article from the past twenty-four hours would get extra credit or be able to leave class fifteen minutes early that day. Or something. This was the kind of thing Liz needed to know more about!
“Got it,” Liz said nodding. On a new page, she sorted out a couple of columns and began assigning attributes to them. One column for Hercules and one for non-Herculean summons. She was starting to get a better understanding of the intricacies of magic, at least in how they pertain to summoning people and things. She was confident there were many other fields of magic that she was still going to be swamped in.
“The phone analogy makes sense,” she said, smiling at the modern reference. She jotted that part down too. “Also, confirmed that djinni exist or existed and that they live up to popular modern legends about their attributes. Good to know in case I ever get my hands on one of their lamps.”
Her pen scratched to a halt. She gave Hercules her undivided attention. “Wait, you mean it’s possible for me to learn magic?” Liz asked. “I thought I couldn’t because I was a mutant. I mean, yes, I’d love to explore magic - it sounds incredible!”
The god frowned for a moment trying to recall the birds of Odin and the last time he saw them. They were.... not those birds. The ones he had met had to be different. They would have shouted his presence to alert the ‘all-father’ and seeing as they did not they weren’t the same. More than likely Muninn would have tried to pluck out Hercules eyes again if it was.
”Well, everything but the ball. William might have stolen it before then to bond with the creature before he got abducted.” Hercules recalled smiling at Elizabeth’s reaction. It wasn’t often he got to surprise her in such a way. ”Do you’re birds tell you everything?” he jested before explaining a bit more, ”We went to a charity auction for Haven. It was a good thing I was there, or the ‘Mob’ would have gotten away with it. Nothing but a bunch of poor misguided souls.” there was not one there that was a challenge for the god. Even with Svetlana and William under his watchful eye.
The analogy made sense to him as well after it was explained by William so there was no doubt that Elizabeth would have understood it as well.
”It is hard to kill a Djinn.” Hercules said flatly into his coffee as he took another sip. A former master had gotten an unlucky run in with one and Hercules of course had to intervene. ”They are like a lot of creatures of the old world. They just want to be left alone.” Hercules summed up. ”I’d say a lot still exist, just don’t make themselves known and it isn’t always lamps. Anything is a suitable home for them. The create their own space.” he finished before roaring with laughter again.
”Why not? It’s just another form of knowledge. Though, from my understanding unless you drink from the ‘well’ it is hard to channel. You might be better off just learning it and using it in theory like me.” Hercules bragged sitting up straight and offered his hand for the pen and paper. He wasn’t going to cast anything, he couldn’t. Just a glyph he knew by heart. It also happened to occasional drift across his heart.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Feb 20, 2022 9:31:58 GMT -6
X-Men
Metazoa
Chartreuse
Straight
949
9
Apr 12, 2024 15:17:35 GMT -6
Zek
Elizabeth’s eyes glimmered in understanding. “Ah, Haven and the mob. Enough said,” she said. She wasn’t super familiar with Haven, but in addition to when it made the headlines for things such as open-access facilities for the mutant public, she heard the occasional scuttlebutt from other teachers and the X-Men at the mansion. Mutant organizations had a tendency to keep major incidents out of the public eye whenever possible, in order to preserve positive public relations. Liz wasn’t sure she agreed with that practice, but she understood it. The mob was similar though, and that parallel development is what she didn’t like.
The blonde flipped to a prior page in her notebook, one where she’d been keeping a list of various entities that Hercules had stated were real, such as gryphons and stymphalian birds. She scrawled out the words vampire and djinn as well. “By create their own space, do you mean like a pocket dimension? Or do they create the object that contains them themselves?” she said automatically as she wrote out details in a very tiny script by the word Djinn. She still suspected that all these mythical creatures that Hercules mentioned meeting were some form of mutant, but even that was still pretty impressive.
“Have you met many, uh, creatures of the old world?” she asked.
Elizabeth’s face fell and she devoured a chunk of brownie as a consolation. “Ah, so I can learn magic, I just can’t do it,” she said with a wry smile. “Dang. I was getting my hopes up for nothing.” She passed her notebook and pen over to Hercules. “Still, it’s fun learning new things. Teach me, O Ancient One,” she teased.
”I know not the specifics, I just know space is not what it is to us.” Hercules said recalling his self traveling the ‘other’ plane of existence when he waited for a masters call or worse when he retreated there to heal to prevent killing said masters.
”They find their objects from my understanding. I’ve chanced upon items that contain nothing one day and an angry Djinn the next. It happened twice, thankfully I found the it the second time before anyone else did.” he didn’t talk about the first one. That master didn’t heed his warnings.
Hercules looked to the paper and squinted for a moment remembering the sigil for ‘bond’ in other languages it might have been read as ‘love’ ‘imprisonment’ or a many other things. He just knew it in ‘her’ language.
The drawing came to life under the guidance of the son of Zeus. If he had meant it as a spell it would matter not. He no longer had the ability to create spells like this anymore. Even before he ascended it was an art that was difficult to grasp for the giant. ”It means many things to many mortals and gods, but what matters is the way the one casting intends it. Intention is one of the most powerful things when casting a spell.” Hercules said repeating what was drilled into his head when he was a young demi-god.
”This is ‘bond’ in old, old, Greek. Before there was the Greek alphabet, when magic ran rampant. There was the language of the gods and titans. I’ve seen it’s kind less and less over the centuries.” he said swooping the last loop and finishing the sigil. ”’She’ meant it to be a prison sentence.” it was why he could only stay on this plane while he was bonded.
Going back to creatures of the old world his facial features struggled to find the best emotion to show ”Far too many and far too few if that makes sense.” Hercules said eyeing the paper. Even as he finished writing it to him it started to change in his mind as if he was reading it differently after he finished it. It was part of the ‘curse’. Anything that had to do with said curse became impossible to read to him. Sure one ‘letter’ or symbol could become clear but the longer that he thought about it the more obstructed it became.
”Most legends and stories have truth to them. Just they get fabricated through the ages. As I said on our first date, most of my exploits I didn’t accomplish on my own. Easier to remember the one who is still there. Those old world creatures, some you’d call mutants others, were altered by magic. In fact most Gryphon’s I encountered were the result of alchemic experiments. Others summoned.”
Posted by Liz Sundance on Feb 22, 2022 6:39:33 GMT -6
X-Men
Metazoa
Chartreuse
Straight
949
9
Apr 12, 2024 15:17:35 GMT -6
Zek
There was a curious feeling of entrancement in the air. Oh no, it wasn’t feeling Elizabeth could detect (certainly none of the animals around felt it) and she was pretty sure it wasn’t actually a spell (although she wasn’t sure she’d know what a spell felt like), but as Hercules spoke on about ancient things, she found herself drawn in, just like every time before.
“That’s amazing,” she said, a huge grin on her face as he finished speaking of the djinn. “It’s odd hearing these stories from your perspective though. Really turns things around.” In fact, any Classics historian would tear their ears out in frustration over Hercules tracking mud all over their carefully analyzed primary resources. After what she’d seen from him though, Liz didn’t have any particular reasons to doubt him. Even if he was bragging and exaggerating, did it really matter when even the stories of old were rarely considered more than just myths and legends already? It was the word of Hercules against those old-time writers. And Hercules’s voice could be so loud indeed.
Liz watched in rapture as Hercules drew. The motions were sure and steady under his strong hand but she was still impressed the pen hadn’t snapped or scored the paper already. The end result though? Just a symbol. It….didn’t do anything, but then Liz realized that it probably wouldn’t. Hercules had already said he couldn’t do magic himself. She vaguely recognized it but couldn’t recall where she’d seen it.
“So I take it that’s not Phoenician then,”she noted with only a tinge of amusement. If this was a word written in old, old Greek, then didn’t that make it part of a Greek alphabet? She figured there wasn’t a point in bringing it up - they’d surely be speaking in various different jargons and it didn’t truly matter.
“What do you mean, that magic ran rampant? Does magic no longer do that?” she said, taking the last piece of her brownie and happily devouring it.
“I think I do know what you mean, yes,” the zoopath said. That was a tale as old as time, it seemed. The rare, the unusual, the terrifying. They died. Again and again and again. Humanities’ myths were chock full of stories on how to kill monsters, and so many creatures were classified as such, even if they were innocent. Even in modern times, that was still the case, with mutants in many countries still regularly hunted down.
Still, it was nice to be somewhat validated. Hercules confirmed (at least through his experience) that legends were based on mutants. That had always been the theory Liz had gone with, although now that she had quantifiable proof of magic, she realized she was going to have to open up on some of her other theories. “Magical gryphons,” she shuddered in mock horror. “That sounds terrible. Bad enough that the one I know is a mutant. I couldn’t imagine if he was suddenly popping into existence all over the place or worse - if he had others like him!”
”In which way do they turn?” the son of Zeus asked curiously wondering where her perspective now laid. It was amazing, more so because he did it and the pen didn’t snap. What he wrote however was just a sigil. Loads of mortals were capable of so much more.
”Phoenician was relatively new when these were ancient.” the god stated nodding his head wondering if she knew of the language. ”Too much power resulted in changing some words then adopting a new language and alphabet entirely.” Hercules said recalling what was instructed into him when he ascended. The first few decades of Godhood were pretty boring.
”No, it’s more.... refined?” Hercules asked not sure if that was the right word. ”Higher concentration now? As I have said I can’t channel normally so to me it hasn’t changed much at all. There was a time when everyone knew some kind of magic but that time has long passed.” Hercules said shrugging. He didn’t know if whatever brough magic to this world faded or there was just less to go around. To him it mattered not. What good was magic if he could not use it?
”I’d say more a product of magic. Not magical themselves. That would imply they could cast spells or write.” Hercules turned his hand into a massive fist and then tried to put the writing utensil in between a few of his fingers. ”It would be difficult to write like this, imagine more claws though.” he chuckled thinking about the Gryphons he vanquished writing. ”They were intelligent though, more than most creatures I have faced in battle. Most of them just wanted to be left alone but... I protect humanity and it was tasked.” he said with a sigh into his cup.
”So a mutant. Not a beast that needs slaying?” Hercules asked chuckling at her comment. It seemed she knew the Gryphon well.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Feb 28, 2022 20:49:27 GMT -6
X-Men
Metazoa
Chartreuse
Straight
949
9
Apr 12, 2024 15:17:35 GMT -6
Zek
“Well for one thing, your stories wouldn’t make for as high a quality of musicals,” Elizabeth with a grin and an absentminded twirling of a lock of hair around a finger. “No convenient ‘bound by three wishes’ or overarching plot by your uncle to make you mortal and take over Olympus. I’d almost say your stories lack magic, but then again your stories are literally filled with magic.”
Liz pulled another pen from her purse (she was a teacher, she always had pens) and began scribbling in the margins around Hercules’s sigil. “You know, I’ve been meaning to start picking up a new language,” Liz said as she filled in Herc’s translated meanings of the sigil. “Think you could teach me this one?” She added a footnote to the referenced “she”.
The blonde ended up pulling her notebook back as Hercules began to expound. “Magic is more refined now? Do you mean the power itself is different? Or has access to it changed?” she rattled off as she wrote. A synapse fired and she glanced up. “Wait, what exactly allows someone to do magic? Is it a birth-thing like my mutation? You said something about drinking from a well?”
She hadn’t paid attention to it mere minutes before - her mind was running in a dozen directions at once - but now some dots were connecting. There were several magical or divine rivers in Greek lore, such as Lethe and Styx, that could change you. Was that what he meant? Were those metaphors for magical power? If he thought she was better off just learning magic like this though….did that mean there were perils to magic just like in those old Greek stories?
Liz brushed her crumbs carefully into the wrapped and tidied up her space. She drank generously from her hot chocolate and then stared at Hercules in contemplation. “....no,” she said after a very carefully considered reasoning. “Nah, he doesn’t deserve slaying. At least not yet. I’ll keep you in mind though in case I change my own mind. Finals are coming up soon after all.” She couldn’t deny the thought of Hercules tossing Carrick around and beating him up a bit was very, very appealing.
”Half brother.” Hercules corrected. How did she know of the failed attempt by ‘Ares’? No uncle of his would have attempt such a thing. If it not for Hera he wouldn’t even been bound as he was. Hercules was a favorite among the gods, and how could he not be? ”That may be true maybe I should enlist the help of a bard?” he chuckled wondering why some of his exploits never made it into song.
”You wish to be bonded to me?” Hercules said misunderstanding her meaning when she tapped the sigil.
”It will be difficult, even when I spoke it as my main language I often misunderstood them.” Hercules said sheepishly scratching the back of his head, ”However, I shall impart my wisdom on you to the best of my abilities!” he finished beaming with a brilliant smile. ”You have taught me much! It is only fair I do the same, O’ Queen of Lizards.” chuckling more he watched her scribble on the pad his hand move back so he could see what she was scribbling.
”Yes.” knowing that wasn’t the best answer but it was the most direct. The path the Son of Zeus walked often. Leaning in a bit Hercules started to whisper, however being as loud as he normally was his voice might have carried further than when he wasn’t trying to draw attention to himself. ”William described it as drinking from a pool of water, one moment he could feel nothing and then he felt ‘everything’ even if the cup was not meant for him. You see after the drink, he could understand and channel magic.” Hercules said sitting back up.
”That is his understanding of it. That is a question to ask the others I have met. I shall share my findings!” she wanted to learn right? While he was not bound to him yet he did like the idea. Elizabeth was a delightful mortal!
”Very well, while I don’t like slaying for the sake of slaying it has been so long since I have been challenged in such a way!” he said standing now that the area was cleaned up. ”Where would you and Zorro like to go today?” he asked wondering what wonders they shall discover today.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Mar 17, 2022 19:06:09 GMT -6
X-Men
Metazoa
Chartreuse
Straight
949
9
Apr 12, 2024 15:17:35 GMT -6
Zek
“Bonded to you?” Liz furrowed her eyebrows for a moment before her eyes widened. “Oh no. No no, that’s not what I meant at all!” she said maybe just a little too quickly. “No, I meant it would be cool to learn this language. Even if it’s deader than Latin, it would be cool to know a magic language. Even if I couldn’t actually use magic myself.”
She shook her head in amusement. It seemed his moniker for her was sticking. First impressions really can be powerful. She matched his beaming smile with a high-voltage grin of her own. “Marvelous! I can’t wait!” she said excitedly, her mood infecting her dog as well. “I’d say don’t worry about how hard it is. I mean, who’s gonna know? Nobody speaks it anymore, right? If you improvise some of it as you go along, I won’t tell a soul.” She mimed zipping her lips and throwing away a key.
Elizabeth jotted down even more stuff as Hercules talked, trying to capture it all. This magic stuff sounded like, well, something out of a fairy tale. You drank from a magic pool and it activated magic powers in you? It sounded similar to the manifestation of a mutation, albeit through purely external forces as opposed to an innate potential, but maybe they were related? If her mutant status disqualified her from learning magic, and if what Hercules said was true and that even understanding it was impossible without the right….genetic quirk? This was nothing like those people like Gemma, who nullified mutant powers. No inherent understanding was needed.
It almost seemed like magic was, well, magical.
Liz started feeling dumb.
The blonde started putting away her notebook and pens, tidying up her place and getting to her feet. She took up Zorro’s leash in one hand (mostly sliding her hand through the handle, for appearance’s sake rather than a need for control) and her hot chocolate in the other. “How about a park?” she said, looking out over the other people around them, many of whom were back to completely ignoring the duo and dog. New Yorkers heard far weirder things every day than what Liz and Hercules had been discussing. “I’d rather like to see this hellhound of Will’s.”
”Oh....” Hercules replied almost sounding disappointed to her quick dismissal of bonding to him. It was true he was a burden to bare. Very few could shoulder the weight and responsibilities that came with being bonded to the greatest protector of mortals in history. He ignored the implications of it and just enjoyed being around Elizabeth. This was fine as well.
”It’s true there are those who thirst for knowledge and some of it might come in hand being at that school. Especially if Young William decides to go there!” it was true there were some things the god tried to teach the boy but it he had a hard time sitting still for lectures and Hercules had nothing but time meaning the boy would pay attention to him eventually.
”Elizabeth! That would be dishonest!” he dismissed the idea of fabricating the parts he couldn’t recall or didn’t. ”I couldn’t do that!” he said truthfully. The god hated to lie to people and instructing someone on the wrong information could potentially be dangerous. Especially when magic was involved.
”I love the park!” Hercules boomed almost seeming more excited than Zorro. One of the things that Hercules loved about this plane of existence was the park. Well nature in general it seemed to be one of the few constants whenever he was summoned. Being summoned in New York City just meant there was less of that. The park was one of the few places he could be surrounded by it.
”Of course you do.” Hercules sighed loudly then chuckled, ”I wonder if you can tame it the way you tame other creatures.” the bell of the door opened and he held the door for them. Followed by a few more people who neglected to thank him for holding the door open. Mortals were so impolite some times. ”I shall arrange it unless you wish me to summon him to the park today?” he asked finally letting go of the door and following the blonde.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Mar 19, 2022 18:48:21 GMT -6
X-Men
Metazoa
Chartreuse
Straight
949
9
Apr 12, 2024 15:17:35 GMT -6
Zek
Elizabeth grinned smugly and unabashedly at Hercules. “Dishonest, lazy, hilarious, or just doing your best, it just depends on how you look at it,” she said with a shrug. “Basically, don’t worry about it or stress out over it. Close enough to an accurate recreation of the language is good enough for me. A pidgin form is sufficient since I can’t make use of the real thing anyways. Apparently.”
The mutant wasn’t ready to take everything Hercules said to the bank (mainly because that bank still didn’t like Hercules after he ripped their vault open), but she decided that the efficacy of a supposed language of magic was something she could test later. No need to try to pin Hercules down about it right now.
“Then to the park we shall go!” Liz said, nowhere near as loudly as Hercules. He attracted many looks for his bellowing voice but Liz figured he didn’t mind and she wasn’t particularly bothered by the attention. She handled just things better these days. Besides, she had two faithful companions with her - who cared what people thought?
“We can certainly find out!” she said enthusiastically as she and Zorro strolled through the politely opened door, pausing just briefly to give Hercules a slight curtsy. They stepped to the side and Zorro began sniffing a signpost as Liz quickly checked her emails, knowing that Hercules would inevitably be holding the door open for some time - the lug was too courteous for his own good at times.
She smiled as he finally broke away and was able to join her. “I think that would be rather fun,” she said, before another thought crossed her mind. “In the event I cannot tame the hellhound, you can. Right?” she said, peering up at him as she started toward the park. They weren’t that far from it, really, and a short jaunt through the December air would feel great.