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 Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
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.
Mansion. A single word loaded with emotion that was passed around the city. It traveled on the winds in all circles and surroundings, for they were everywhere. Some people spoke of it with fear, as tehe place where the abominations go -those were the normals, all the average Joes in the streets standing above the ignorant crowd for scarcely any other reason then pure knowledge. He could understand them well. As a matter of fact his understanding ran so deep that on first sight of the encirclement around the grounds a shiver of anticipation went down his spine.- Today, or rather for the last few days, he had been one of exactly those. The average men that looked at brick and wood in fear from the shadows as if it were a fremd substance. He knew it was not different from any other. It was those facts that exempted him from the group of all other Joes even more then his genome. It was that which made all the difference.
He had surveyed this building for day, camping out at different sites, changing locations constantly. Surveyed inhabitants that moved about the grounds from the umbra cover of trees and shrubs where the sound of daily school activities had barely touched him. He had been looking for any sign of them being inmates, but had only found happy students playing and big grounds that definitively need attention. Students did most of the care as far as he could see. Inadequate. He had become slightly distrusting to offers that sounded too good to be true, but the continuing depletion of funds and lack of a manner to replenish them had finally driven him out of his hiding to seek out this chance. The binoculars he had wrapped around his neck left his shoulders feeling liberated now and he flexed them to adapt them to the new weight as his mind felt lighter not burdened with the thought of keeping them out of the sun any more felt refreshed. That in part was also due to the shower he had taken after his little woodland exercise. It had taken blinks until the water had run clear and he had felt ready for what he wanted to try now. Regardless of any former insecurities he was now standing in front of the very gate he had found intimidating earlier. Much earlier maybe. It greeted him like an old friend now.
Do I really want to do this? He looked at the buzzer- at cold metal casing and hard wire. It made him think of young Shin and of Vega of course. Their two faces. Their actions. Their gestures. His acquaintances from... earlier. Both had told him about this place. Both had some things in common that made him worry. An ideology. It was nothing he would not be able to adapt to in one way or the other. An underlying firmness that made him think of ice. That would be the more troublesome. He pressed the buzzer and waited for an answer from inside. The new gardener was there. Maybe.
His voice pcarried his insecurity inside as little spikes in a current. "Uhmmm. Hello."
Birdia watcheriouis: a sub species of the genus homo, these rare creatures are often spotted in areas with a high concentration of trees. The are easily identifiable by the binoculars with which they look at birds and their long attention spans. They often remain in one location looking through their binoculars for hours, even returning to the same location again and again in hopes of sighting rare avian specimens.
—North American Bird Watchers Guide
This particular specimen was acting a little strangely. Usually this particular type of creature wasn't seen in this neighborhood. If he wanted to see scarlet tanagers, he should know that they don't stray this far from the park. If he wanted to watch pigeons, well, then this place was as good as any in the city. There were even a few of them sharing a perch with a young illusionist on top of the wall surrounding the mansion.
Little known fact: the oak tree next to the wall that surrounded the mansion was very easy to climb, providing easy access to the top of the wall.
Katrina was lying on her stomach on top of the wall, enjoying the summer weather and watching the people on both sides of the wide brick barrier. She had a book with her, a vampire romance novel of some sort- the latest one that all the girls her age were drooling over, but she wasn't reading it. She had gotten bored with it and was spending some time people watching instead. On the inside of the wall there was a basketball game going on. One of the new British students was playing with his shirt off, not that Katrina was noticing, or anything. Outside the wall, a bird watcher caught her attention.
Well known fact: bird watchers were supposed to watch birds.
This one was watching the mansion. And unless the cute British boy without a shirt on was about to sprout wings and fly away, there really wasn't much reason for him to be training his binoculars over there. Not when there were perfectly good pigeons to be looking at up here on the wall.
After a few minutes, the bird watcher made his way to the gate, paused, then pressed the buzzer and spoke into the intercom.
>>>”Uhmmm. Hello.”
“Hello,” Katrina called from her perch up on the wall.
Posted by Martin Stein on Jun 26, 2009 7:45:26 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
760
0
Jul 2, 2013 5:22:49 GMT -6
His greeting was answered easily and instantly by a polite voice. Much too promptly maybe. And the sound quality was very good as well. Strange. He blinked a few times, before looking around. The voice had not come out of the speaker at all. Either there was some mutant around here talking into his head or, much more likely there was a mutant around here somewhere using their voice like any normal, ordinary human should.
It took him a few more seconds, before he found toe culprit to be a small blond girl sitting on the very wall that separated him from the green grass of the grounds, who was watching down from her lofty position. She had some feathered company as well. Interesting. She might just be a student of this school. Not quite what I needed, but quite interesting anyways. He waved at her. Waved with an uncovered arm. Uncovered as in pale white arm. His eyes went wide. Trottel! [ I'm such a half-wit, I should not take risks like these] He quickly covered himself with the gray long armed hoodie that was tied around his hips, revealing a blue jeans with a few green stains underneath. It was only after the process was completed that he looked up again to see that the girl was still there.
“Hey up there!” His voice was friendly and colloquial but somewhat marred by accent. Either by deliberate design, or for the reason of the slight redness that started appearing on his cheeks making his English sounds hard and uncouth. Not that he was bad at forming the lisp sounds of the /θ/ , but some vowels still did not come out right.
“Mind if I join you?” He then asked with a smile and had already grabbed for some gloves in his pockets and put them on in preparation of what there was to come. I just hope it all works out well. I really do. He started climbing the wall without waiting for approval. Between some quickening breathing she could hear the words "Names Martin, and who are you?"
He looked to be just a little older than Calley and Ghost, so if he was a student he would be one of the college aged ones. He had fairly nondescript brown hair and light colored eyes that looked a little greenish from Katrina's angle. Because Katrina also had grey eyes, she recognized that the color sometimes looked different depending on what colors were nearby. The green tones of his clothing probably made the grey in his eyes reflect just a hint of green. Al in all he seemed to be pretty normal looking to her. He was a bit pale, maybe, but so was she and many others of northern European descent.
Katrina was wearing a blue tshirt today with a white skirt so her eyes probably were looking a little blue. She waved back when he waved at her and gave a quizzical little smile when he quickly moved to cover his pale arm with his long sleeve. That was an odd gesture. Perhaps he got burnt by the sun easily. He took out gloves and put them on, too, even though it was warm. Was his a mutation that caused trouble when his skin made contact with something? It would explain the long sleeves.
>>>“Hey up there!”
His voice carried an accent, but that was nothing unusual at the mansion, which apparently had a world wide reputation for being a safe place fr mutants. Not even a week ago three new students had arrived from Great Britain. Now, here was another one that seemed to have decided to check out the place, first with binoculars and then up close after he had deemed it – worthy? Safe?
“Come on up, if you can climb that well,” Katrina invited him. “Though, it is easier on this side where there are trees growing next to the wall. The gate is unlocked at this time of day, too.” A few moments later her company changed as the pigeons flew off as the young man who called himself Martin made his way up to join her on the top of the great brick barrier. She changed positions so she was sitting cross legged, facing him with a friendly smile on her face.
“Welcome to Xavier's Martin. I'm Katrina. What brings you here?”
Posted by Cold Steel on Jun 26, 2009 23:23:20 GMT -6
X-Men
Team Leader of the X-Men Teacher of Self-Defense
color=48D1CC
4,380
107
Sept 11, 2024 5:25:13 GMT -6
The sound of the birds chirping in the air as he swayed back and forth buffered by the gentle breeze that forced him to sway back and forth in his large hammock. The sun shown brightly on his white shirt as he lazily let out a loud yawn as he neglected to do yet more paper work, it was one f those days where men had to be men and slack off like men do! Another yawn as his eyes remained shut as he drifted in and out asleep not really planning on doing anything major for the day other than maybe or maybe not going out on a date with a certain someone. The only company he needed for now however was the hundred and something pound Saint Bernard snoring away like a bear who is trying to hibernate and the large tabby kitty that was sounding similar to a small motor boat.
Either way Sam couldn’t sleep nor did he feel the need to get up, he was lazy for the day all the work he had to do could be put off till later nothing really needed to call for is immediate attention. The birds suddenly stopped chirping for a brief moment as Bruno jumped up and sniffed the air and growled slightly. “What is it boy,” he asked not really moving his eyes still shut, hoping that it was nothing more than a dream. The birds started up again as the wind picked up and Bruno let out a loud bark.
Jumping up in surprise the cat on his chest was disturbed and let out an angry meow, as she to wanted to see what was going on. Sam opened his eyes and squinted into the shade as he looked to see his big dog running full blast to the wall near the main gate. Picking up Cammie and setting her down he smiled and said, “So much for a day off….”
As he approached the wall Bruno from the looks of it found Katrina and another man sitting on the wall. Letting out a loud scary bark at the unfamiliar man Sam looked up to him and said, “Hello there!” his attention turned to Bruno and he said, “Be good!” the dog looked up to Kat and let out a small whine before curling up under the tree nearest the wall the place where Cammie had already deemed appropriate for a good napping place.
Ignoring his two pets now and turning his attention to Katrina and someone he thought was sort of familiar, “It’s Martin right?” Sam asked curiously as he turned his attention back to Katrina, “Can I ask what you two are doing up there?”
Posted by Martin Stein on Jun 27, 2009 7:17:08 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
760
0
Jul 2, 2013 5:22:49 GMT -6
His hands and feet found little spaces in between the bricks of the wall and with all agility and dexterity that a late teenager like him could muster climbing the wall presented some, but not innumerate problems, so after a few more seconds he was able to draw his feet under his body while facing the younger woman sitting on the wall. She was smiling quite nicely and seemed not taken aback by his sudden appearance. Quite a peculiar mansion this was, where even the small girls were not afraid of strangers. On the other hand she probably would not have to be. Which sane stranger would dare attack someone at a place like this? None if he knew the reputation of the place.
The sun had warmed the stone beneath him and the wind was blowing nicely. All seemed intent on making this place show its ideal sides. “Thank you.” The stranger flashed another one of his quick and fleeting smiles at her. “I came here...” He trailed off as his eyes focused on a spot over her shoulder. A dog came running in their direction from the main area. A big dog from the looks of it. A big and dangerous dog that was apparently quite watchful of these premises. A quick “Don't be surprised.” was the only thing he could mutter in the direction of his companion, before a horridly loud and angered BARK! Was echoing through the grounds. This was not good at all, but luckily they were sitting on a brick wall. Dogs this size did not climb, did they?
Before both of them had a chance to react the dogs master called it to order thankfully as he came strolling toward them over the grass and it retreated like... well a dog called to order. He raised his eyebrow. It was a well trained dog then. His eyes shifted away from the now harmless would be foe to the man walking their way. He looked dangerous. Maybe it was just his size, but he surely would be someone thank could take him out. Or could try and see that there was more to him then met the eye. Both were options he would not enjoy exploring. For now he simply waved at the man. That was until he heard him call out his name. His wave faultered and died, hands clenching to fists in his lap.
Katrina was very used to strangers at the mansion by now. In fact, ever since she had found out she was a mutant, she was constantly meeting new people. Some eventually became friends with some, acquaintances of others, and some she never saw again. Mutants were drifters, constantly moving in and out and all about, so the stream of new faces became the norm. Katrina was always friendly toward them, always open to making new friendships. Even if the other person was only going to stay for a short while she hoped that while they were here at least it would be a pleasant experience. There were so many unpleasant experiences mutants went through, they deserved some pleasantness once in awhile. She was not afraid of strangers, even if she maybe should be.
Martin was a good climber. Katrina never would have had the strength or athleticism to pull herself up the wall like he did. Even though it took him a fair few minutes to accomplish it, she was impressed. Relatively quickly he had joined her on top of the wall.
>>>Thank you.” ... “I came here...”
He was startled into silence by the large Saint Bernard that ran over, barking suspiciously, to inspect the newcomer. No matter how big a dog he was, Bruno wasn't going to be able to reach them all the way up here. Katrina wasn't afraid of strangers and she wasn't afraid of dogs either. Even big dogs like this one that weighed more than she did quickly became her friends when they found out that she knew exactly where to scratch to relieve all of their itches and that she was an avid player of tug-o-war and fetch.
“Bruno, down boy. Sit,” she commanded, but Sam appeared behind him with another command that sent him off to lie down under the tree that had been her ladder.
Sam was Bruno's owner and one of the young adults that lived at the mansion. He was too old to be a student now by a few years, and he taught self defense classes. He was a natural leader that people at the mansion seemed to look up to and listen to. He had a certain charisma that made people want to follow him and a charm that made him agreeable to almost everyone. Katrina knew of a fair number of the girl students who had crushes on him, too. As for herself, she admired him and looked up to him as if he was an older brother. For some reason, unlike some of the other teachers and adults at the mansion that she wasn't as close to, Katrina wanted him to be able to be proud of her.
>>>“Can I ask what you two are doing up there?”
Katrina grinned down at him. “You can ask, but I'll probably answer before you get the real question out. We are people watching, enjoying the sunshine, and making our introductions. Care to join us? ” She turned back to Martin, who seemed to have tensed up for some reason.
Her smile wavered as his wave died. “This is Sam,” she added in a voice that had lost a small touch of its exuberance. What had happened there?
>>>“How do you know my name?”
It was confusion, it seemed, that had caused his funny reaction to Sam's approach. Katrina interrupted before Sam could say anything, trying to smooth over the uncomfortable feeling the new comer had.
“You just said it, and then so did I. He probably heard one of us say it before Bruno... you know,” she waved her hand toward where the dog and the cat were currently lying in the shade. Katrina looked to Sam and bit her lip, as if expecting a confirmation or a contradiction to her hypothesis.
Posted by Cold Steel on Jul 8, 2009 0:00:09 GMT -6
X-Men
Team Leader of the X-Men Teacher of Self-Defense
color=48D1CC
4,380
107
Sept 11, 2024 5:25:13 GMT -6
As the sun continued to shine Sam winched slightly and raised a hand over his eyes as he continued to gaze up at the figures of Katrina and Martin, both of which he had met before, Katrina more than a dozen times before while as Martin was once before although quite recently. The meeting defiantly took place of this he was sure. ”Think I can stick around for a bit…” he said calmly as he walked closer to the wall now confident that Bruno would stay put seeing as Cammie was now curled up on his back.
Blinking was all he could do; he had met Martin before right? So why was the man so unsure of their meeting. Shaking his head slightly as he quirked an eyebrow to Katrina and speaking clearly Sam said, ”Kat I think I met him before… it was at Ghost’s book store re-opening… I was working register and you were looking for a German edition of a book…” pausing and thinking hard to try and remember the title Martin was searching for at the time Sam shrugged slightly and said, “I want to say something written by a Faust, but I could be mistaken,” pausing again he continued to recall the events of that day, ”Then my brother hit a protester and then we had a rather nice discussion about peace and how power corrupts.”
Shrugging slightly as Sam walked over to the wall he activated his powers creating small stairs wide enough and stable enough to hold his body weight as he began his ascension to the wall where both Katrina and Martin sat. ”I can’t remember the exact date but unless you have a look-a-like we defiantly met.” As he approached the wall level he walked onto it and extended a hand to Martin, ”But if you forgot me I suppose proper introductions are in order again?” extending his hand to Martin he smiled and said, ”My name is Sam.”
After the handshake or would be shake he sat down on the wall in between Martin and Katrina and turned his attention to the young woman next to him, ”So what kind of people would you be watching?” he asked as a simple wave of his hand caused the small pillars of ice to shatter into tiny frozen specks of water on the ground, which would soon melt due to the sun beating upon them.
Posted by Martin Stein on Jul 9, 2009 16:14:37 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
760
0
Jul 2, 2013 5:22:49 GMT -6
== Sorry for lameness of post==
Sensory Input Warning: Detecting awkwardness at highly dangerous levels. The looks that young Katrina shot back and forth between the two males was certainly concerning. Concerning enough for him to utter a lame “Maybe.” in her direction, before the almost-adult was too close to be able to understand their every word. As everyone else she tried to be so polite and to gloss over his little mishap, for apparently the tow glaring ones had met before, for he could not remember having spoken too audibly for someone farther away to hear. And most certainly not if a dog was around to arrive first at the scene. Some of those senses really had to be amazing. Oh yes. Amazing mishaps. They happened frequently. He always forgot something. Maybe it was just a name, some minor incident or a whole meeting. His hands untangled and while one wandered in his pocket and grasped the book tightly, the other made a quick uncommunicative gesture. Just a little magic trick, to keep the eyes off the important things. To keep unwanted attention from his life.
If that book ever went missing he would be in big trouble. Just usual thoughts. Stray ones. Trouble as in ice man coming up stairs of said material appearing out of the blue, sweet air. That did ring bell so to speak. Maybe they had actually met before. But at his words about Faust he had to grin, widened it into a thankful nod for Katrina, before adding in polite notes: “Faust is considered part of the classic canon of reading.” Announced with intended vagueness it was, as correcting the mistake could only end in more awkwardness, which he was desperate to avoid right now. So he widened the grin into a smile for Sam, and with one hand-incidentally it was the one that had just supplied the flourishing gesture- made its way in his direction, while another hand left the pocket of the book. His handshake was firm this time around, the eyes shining with brightness, reflecting the green surroundings.
“Oh we are watching all kinds of people. Ordinary people mostly.” It might sound like a contradiction. Might. “As they are interesting, right Katrina?” He turned again to the younger girl and gave her a conspirational blink. Maybe she could play well. Maybe he was just playing her. But that was not his was. You did not manipulate children that way. Quickly that glance changed into a stare at the demise of the ice-steps. Him on the other side, presented a whole new set of problems to solve.
Sam possessed not super-hearing, but super-memory. Well, not really. He showed off his actual mutation by creating an ice stair that let him climb up to the top of the wall with them. The good memory was something that came in different measures in each person, whether they were mutants or not. Perhaps his super-memory explanation would quell Martin's discomfort that Sam had been spying on them or reading their minds or something.
Katrina could see that three people sitting on a wall might make things a little more difficult. Not the sitting part, so much as the conversing. It was just a little bit harder to look at the person who was talking when someone would be sitting in the middle blocking the view. As it turned out, the monkey in the middle was Sam. Sam's ice staircase brought him up right between them. Katrina twisted around so her legs were dangling off the edge as she faced the mansion. If she leaned forward, she could still see Martin around Sam when he was talking. There, she thought, That'll probably work. It was a little awkward, but they'd survive. Hardly any introductions were ever managed without at least a small dose of awkwardness. It was almost unnatural not to have at least a little. They'd get over that part soon enough, most likely.
She looked down at the ice staircase, missing Martin's flourishing hand gestures. Already the surface was wet, once Sam stopped controlling the ice, the sun quickly converted the ice back into water once again. She felt a small pang of jealousy as she watched the ice begin to melt. Sam was so confident in himself and in his powers and using his ability was just a part of everyday life for him. He could even have fun with it. He never seemed to worry that others might be spying on him, trying to find out his weaknesses or figure out what he could do. Perhaps he was just confident that he could handle anything, good or bad, that came from people knowing what he could do. His abilities were a part of him that he seemed proud of, and he didn't mind sharing that information with anyone even those he had just met. Was confidence and pride something you got once you were older, or was it something you had to have from the very beginning?
>>>“So what kind of people would you be watching?”
With a wave of his hand, Sam let the ice staircase shatter and fall, expediting the melting process.
>>>“Oh we are watching all kinds of people. Ordinary people mostly. As they are interesting, right Katrina?”
“Oh, yeah. There were all kinds of interesting, normal people outside the wall today,” she gave raised eyebrow look at Martin, returning his conspiratorial look, “and inside there's a basketball game.” A tilt of her chin toward the court across the lawn pointed out which basketball game she meant, though there was only one happening at the moment. As she spoke, the new British boy executed a perfect layup to score two points. Very nice.
“So, Sam is one of our official tour guide type people. He knows pretty much all there is to know about the mansion.” He even had access to the restricted areas. Holograms of him even guarded some of the restricted areas. “If you have any questions or anything, he'd be the person to ask.” She glanced around the greeter at the newcomer again. Did he remember that he hadn't answered her “what brings you here” question yet? Maybe so, maybe not. If he was going to be moving in, there was a whole questionnaire to fill out. Mostly just personal information and mutation description, including the all important question about whether the person's mutation was a danger to themselves or others, and the corresponding question about what, if anything was known, could be done to neutralize that harm. It would only take him ten minutes to fill out the form, and he could have his own bedroom in no time, if that was why he was here.
Posted by Cold Steel on Jul 27, 2009 10:15:30 GMT -6
X-Men
Team Leader of the X-Men Teacher of Self-Defense
color=48D1CC
4,380
107
Sept 11, 2024 5:25:13 GMT -6
(OOC: Kat not sure how your mother would react if you fell or how she would of reacted when I broke your arm, so let me know if it’s not how she would react to it and I will change my post)
As Martin spoke about what kind of people they were watching he noticed that Katrina had to move forward to still be included in the conversation, to avoid her from leaning to far forward Sam leaned back slightly using the back of his feet against the brick as to hold him up. No need for Katrina to get hurt from falling off of the brick wall for leaning so far forward. He didn’t know what kind of balance she possessed but there was no need to test it, less she might fall and he would get an ear full from her mother, who still blamed Sam for breaking her arm not to long ago.
”Ordinary huh?” Sam asked with a grin on his face as he looked from Martin to Katrina, he had doubts how many ‘Ordinary’ people where around the mansion both behind the walls and in front of. Turning his head slightly to watch the mutant he brought to the mansion not to long ago he let out a small grin at the perfectly executed lay up. The sudden urge to play basketball came over him as he watched the new students he brought from over seas enjoy the nice bright weather. Something in his opinion they never got back home. He had been to United Kingdom several times in his life and every time he went to visit ninety percent of the trip had seemed to be filled with rain. He knew that was not always the case but he couldn’t help think that way.
A small whine caught his attention as Bruno let out another soft whine under the tree as the Cammie was continuing to sprawl out on the large dogs back. Sam turned his head and watched as Bruno looked up with sad eyes and let out another whine. Trying to ignore the whining that the dog was letting out Sam continued on looking either forward or to the two sitting next to him.
The introduction Katrina just gave him snapped his attention back to them, ”Katrina is being modest, she might know about as much as me,” he turned and gave Katrina a small wink knowing full well that she has a tendency to find the restricted areas of the mansion, like the X-Jet hanger being one of the few examples. Turning his attention to Martin he smiled and asked, ”So are you in need for safe place to stay or are you just here to look around?” regardless of the reason for Martin being here Sam was more than happy to help him with whatever he might need and he was almost certain Katrina would be more than willing to help as well.
Posted by Martin Stein on Jul 27, 2009 16:17:28 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
760
0
Jul 2, 2013 5:22:49 GMT -6
The talk on the wall began to require some considerable acrobatic effort from all parties involved to allow for continuation. It was rather strange how both of his two companions were trying to accommodate each other and him due to the rather uncommon location of their little chat, while he had finally secured the diary and began flipping the pages, occasionally shooting glances upwards at them to make sure they were still involved in the process of deciding who was going to provide room to whom. It was a relief to see that he was not the only one capable off odd actions as the resumed oddness made his mouth twitch. Distaste? Unlikely. Twisting round each other they were almost woven into a dance, and a quite modern one at that, with Sam -As was befitting- finally deciding on taking the lead and bending backwards to allow for clear vision between Katrina and himself. As for himself: He felt no need to show them that he was quite capable of walking on thin lines right now and remained in his position. By the time the process was finished, the timemancer had returned the book to his pockets and was now trying to make sense of the information that was written in it in his own hand, nothing of which had been retained by his momentary memory. He obviously did know this person named Sam. And it appeared that he either had a decent memorization ability or he was rather notable. He did not want to decide on which option was the more favorable, since both carried obvious disadvantages. And he did not want to participate in their little game any more then was necessary, therefore his reaction to the display was a folding of gloves in his laps. Hands included of course.
Both of them seemed to be distracted by the events on the nearby basketball court, where some form of competitive match was taking place between the students of the school. Their abilities were befitting their age as far as he could tell, but some signs of mutations -at work or not- were hard to overlook. One of the boys was quite... furry after all, his body boing covered in something that looked like felt? He even had the black wet glistening nose of an animal. Care for some fried Otters noses? He felt a sudden urge to preserve this picture in some way, because as far as he could forethink they would encounter much more difficult times in their lives then this. It was just carefree. Beautiful and quite unlike war.
“Thank you.”.... enter empty space of waiting between the vocalization comments.... “Quite beautiful.” It really was. Then his attention returned to Sam, who, after having been named one of the people in charge of this building, now proposed notions of modesty towards Katrina. “I am quite sure of that.” He therefore voiced his support on the matter of little girls abilities at retrieving and holding on to intelligence. His answer to the question was quite simple though. “Neither.” He had after all surveyed the Mansion to some extent now. Just to make the statement sound less.... absolute, he added another comment belatedly. “But if you would show me around Id appreciate it.” Another pause was left, while he let his gaze fall on the garden again. “I came here looking for work. I am a gardener.” The fact that he was looking for paid work in particular was left unsaid, naturally.
And just maybe, maybe sometime in the future he could be moved to move here, but a few pretty scenes and some nice looking grounds did not entirely dissipate the practiced distrust of 10 years of living in an underground society that was hunted with public approval.
Apparently Martin was really a gardener, not a bird watcher. Well, they had a pretty extensive grounds that required a lot of care. Currently mowing the gigantic lawn and pulling weeds in the pathway were jobs that were assigned as chores for the students. Katrina hadn't ever had to mow the lawn, but she had been in charge of pulling weeds before. It was a tough job, mostly because she felt sorry for the dandelions. They were flowers, too, but no one wanted them around. It was hardly fair, she thought, to commit herbicide just because a plant wasn't as pretty as another or because it was more prolific.
Katrina swung her feet back and forth in a steady rhythm. Her mind and her eyes wandered back to the basketball game. She couldn't tell which team was winning, but both sides were battling heroically. Their movements were fluid as they spun, ducked, dribbled, and jumped. She was never that graceful, at least not when a ball was involved. She was terribly nonathletic. Most of the time she didn't care, but once in awhile she felt a little left out, too nervous to ask to join in because she knew that which ever team she ended up on would have a handicap just from having her on the team.
To her right, Martin and Sam were talking about all the official, boring stuff. Her mind wandered some more.
Posted by Cold Steel on Jul 28, 2009 12:53:50 GMT -6
X-Men
Team Leader of the X-Men Teacher of Self-Defense
color=48D1CC
4,380
107
Sept 11, 2024 5:25:13 GMT -6
Looking from Martin to Katrina he could tell that the young woman was getting bored with the conversation seeing as she could no longer keep focus with them but rather kept her gaze to the basketball courts. ”Gardener huh?” Sam asked curiously as he looked back to Martin and then looked to the grounds, ”I think we could use a gardener,” Sam scanned the grounds as his eyes fixed on the side of the mansion where a few different sets of flowers bloomed around the side of the mansion. He liked flowers, loved how they looked but was never to big on how temperamental they were whenever he activated his powers. It was always like the flowers themselves rejected part of Sam.
Sighing slightly Sam leaned back some more and ended up flipping off of the side of the wall making an attempt to upright himself before he landed on the grounds, unfortunately for Sam he wasn’t fast enough and ended up landing on his rear. ”Ouch!” Sam yelped as he scooted around on his but the way a dog who has worms does in attempts to relieve the pain. After a few moments Sam spotted the large figure of Bruno rushing over to him as the smaller figure of the tabby cat slinked off towards them at her own pace slightly upset that the dog moved.
Looking up the wall Sam called out to the two, ”How about Katrina and I show you around and then get you the paper work, I think we could use a gardener!” Sam said with a smile as he looked from Martin to Katrina, they may be fine without a gardener but part of his job was to welcome all mutants and if the mansion wouldn’t pay him Sam would be happy to pay the man out of his own pocket. But then again odds were they weren’t going to say no to him after all he handled most of the paperwork around the mansion anyways.
Sam looked up to Martin hoping that he would take him up on his offer, the mansion could always use more staff and if Martin wanted Sam would have no problem setting up a room for the man if he should want it. His attention was brought from the wall to the large dog that was now slobbering the side of his face as the cat calmly walked over her tail twitching as she started to purr, ”Yeah I get it Bruno you love me.”
Posted by Martin Stein on Aug 2, 2009 8:28:40 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
760
0
Jul 2, 2013 5:22:49 GMT -6
Sometimes the only strategy was to go all out. Vividly colored images of dreams flashed in his head. Armies fighting. Men fighting. In daylight. There was no fighting in daylight. Dreaming. It was the shadows always, it was a dream after all. Illusions. Somewhere on a wall Martins gaze shifted into a distance as his mind wandered, journeyed away from the mansion, from the people he was with. Focus was on a point in the far distance if it was focus, a point that was only one he could see in the clear skies of the day.
So many paths there were and only one to take. He could see the fires burn in the distance, the fires of war. The roads were leading away, over the hills. Which on would lead to the fire? Which one would lead him to safety? Just walk Martin. Walk and don't look back. Never turn around, set your eyes not on what is lost. It was hard.
Images of memory, dreamings, faded away, as he saw Sam make the fatal shift of barycenter, just as he was about to announce his judgment over him, the decision that was not his. The final words, before the road was clear. Forward left or right? And it was done. Nod. Accepted. The merest flick of movement with his foot started the fatal chain reaction at whose end he lost the connection that kept him upright on the wall and the laws of physics were playing their usual game of tugging and taking. “Watch...” The words died in his throat becoming a rasp. His body did not move, perched on the wall as he was, looking at Sam the way he was, there was no way it would catch up with the commands running through his head anytime soon. Being condemned to watch was one of the things that evoked feelings in him. Helplessness, that shallow sea that was not ever frozen. Calculating, for nothing else was to be done when the body became a useless appendage to the mind that was functioning outside of all laws, ll those judges, those laws that had just announced their sentence over Sam. If one thing could stir him, then it was watching.
SNAP
He forced time back into what he thought might be the normal range. The commands had been written. What followed was execution of a program in all its mechanical gracefulness, cold precision in every move. He was on the wall. Then he was not on the wall, having taken a jump. The earth was not the worst thing to fall on from heights as it was both elastic and hard, especially when covered in green. Yet the fall hurt the timemancer as his angle had not quite been the one he had wanted to land in. He needed a moment for the initial stab to his ankle had been pushed to the back of his own mind by adrenaline. Ankle maybe. Unimportant. His focus went back to Sam who was now both rubbing his behind on the ground and having had carnivorous companions come to his aid. Another shift occurred, and the gardener was back with his dry smirk hinting at the pain in his leg. “Apparently the girl will make the better tour guide. She seems to know where to set her feet as not to fall over them.” While still speaking in a more detached manner, he reached Sam and petted the dog that was liberally dealing out his saliva to alleviate his master pain. In much of the same motion he reached out to rub his gloved appendix over the Ice manipulators head, but refrained from it, had hovering a few inches over the head. “ Are you all right?” His voice was that of a concerned youth again. And somewhere a loud voice in his head cursed his inability at staying cool in all situations.