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.
Posted by Seizure on Sept 16, 2009 19:12:17 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
957
6
May 8, 2023 14:31:42 GMT -6
Just as Garrett began to speak of the incident, he saw thin, nimble fingers reaching over to cover his hand. He was pleased not to have a flutter of hope in his chest. It was just Maya's attempt to cover his tapping fingers. She must have thought twice of it, pulling her fingers back. When he turned to face her, having spilled the beans, as it were, the look on both her and the waitress' faces was nearly identical. Maya did her usual best of covering it up as melodrama.
For the waitress and his legal status' sake, Garrett nodded." Melodrama, of course." He had a sip of the coffee and made a pleasant face as he did indeed enjoy it. " Mmm, it is robust." The waitress had no more interest in him though, a look of skittish caution covering her features as she made herself scarce. Once the two of them were alone again, he clarified his answer." No, it wasn't melodrama. However, I am not sure if she is dead or not. How do you think I got the Haywire samples so quickly? She had them and refused to give them up. She taunted me and refused. So, I shot her. If I see her again, I'll shoot her again."
"It's hard to believe you shot her... or anyone shot her for that matter." Garrett simply shrugged and looked at his coffee as he blew cool air across the top of it. " Is it so bad if she is dead? Personally, I have no idea. I wanted the keycard for the bulk of the virus and the sample she had on her person. After that, I really didn't care about how she turned up. For the answer as to her status, I would ask your Sebastian. He was there with her after I left. He may have even healed her." While Garrett knew good and well that Syn was not dead, due to Sebastian's comments about her mere unconsciousness and the lack of blood, he thought it best for Sebastian to clarify that. No reason to snitch out a friend. Especially in what appeared to be the beginnings of a relationship.
Your Sebastian? "He's as much your Sebastian as he is mine." Perhaps even more so because of their business relations and constant close relations. Sebastian was to Garrett as Ghost was to Aurum. Simple as that. The thought was kind of funny to her that anyone could be so wholly associated with another.
"But I'll ask." She swallowed a bite of lunch. No need to make the death of a tyrant more than it should be. Stranger's deaths were easier to dismiss. And by Garrett's own admission, Sebastian had the opportunity to heal her. Sebastian was an efficient healer. There should be no reason for the woman to be dead ergo Garrett was not a murderer. Problem solved. There was quiche to be had.
As soon as it left garrett's mouth, he regretted it. Not only because of its rude quality, but it displayed, if his time in various factions hadn't, how weak he had become." I apologize, Maya. I shouldn't have said that about him." He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He started to let his guard down a little. Life was fragile and could end tomorrow. These are not the types of last words he wanted to speak. He looked at her as she ate.
" Let me say a few things I should have said right away. First, I realize that things are over between us, outside of friendship. I'm sorry for my behavior about it over the past few months, but prior to you, my life was isolation and hospitals. You were my first and only girlfriend, if I can go as far as to call you that. So, I don't really have the experience to have any sort of reference on how to act. My parents are out of the loop and I never had a father type to look up to and give me advice and that Hallmark crap."
Garrett took a long gulp of his coffee. He let it burn a little, as he needed the fire to push him onward, places he would not venture on his own."You are also the closest friendship I have had thus far, which only compounds the previous problem.I feel like I can talk to you about things and I hope I always can. I have several chips on my shoulders and though I know it is unhealthy and I do my damnedest to let things go, it just isn't that easy for me." He crossed his arms and laid his head on them, like a student in a dark classroom. The wrought iron crisscross pattern of the table and his legs and feet beneath served as a backdrop to his vision.
" Two organizations have labeled me a traitor and both times I was doing what I felt was right. I never turned on any of you and hurt you when I was in the Order and I don't recall seeking any of them out when I was at the Mansion. It makes it seem to me that it is easier for others to place blame on an individual rather than look at their own faults. But since I am the traitor, no one cares to hear my side." It was flowing easier now, now that he didn't have to look into her eyes.
"First, I realize that things are over between us, outside of friendship...."
Was that not what they had decided that rainy day when they last were slated to go out for drinks? Ghost ate away carefully at her quiche so that the crust was distributed as evenly as possible throughout the delightful snack. She hoped her bread pudding wouldn't take too long.
Ghost did feel a bit guilty about her being Garrett's first girlfriend. They had both come from a land of isolation. It was no wonder they had found each other. "Well, you live and you learn." Her words may not have been the kindest, but the tone made up for it.
She understood that there was a learning curve and she sincerely hoped he would be able to take something positive away from their time together in the present. "Next time try not to run off with all your decisions on your own. Relationships take two people to have." That seemed like basic logic, but it was surprising how many people forgot that.
Garrett closed himself off physically with his arms on the table and his head on his arms, but he seemed able to speak more freely this way. So Ghost let him. She watched his jaw muscles pull on the skin around his ears as he spoke, the organs bobbing slightly with each word. It might have been humorous had the tone of the afternoon not been so serious.
"I'm not sure you're labeled as traitor to the X-men. Maybe I'm projecting, though since I never did..." She had wracked her brain forward and backward as to why he left, though. For some reason "I was doing what I felt was right" just wasn't explanation enough for Ghost. He'd seemed so set for X leadership and then suddenly he had jumped ship. More sand on the wind. It hardly mattered now.
What was really ironic about Garrett saying that he had never hurt the X-men after he left to join the Order, was that he had hurt more of them as an X-man due to haywire. It hadn't been his fault... not really with the demon and all. But it was something to worry over some dark night. He sounded very sincere, but Ghost was apt to believe people and more inclined to believe the people she loved.
"I do maintain what I told you the last time we met. I will always remain your friend." Because he needed one and because she would always care. There was very little she could think for him to do that would make her an enemy of his. "And a friend's first and foremost obligation is to hear their friend's side of things... if you have want to share, that is."
A waiter with messy blond hair brought up Ghost's bread pudding. It seemed they had thoroughly scared off their first attendant.
Posted by Seizure on Sept 20, 2009 17:25:28 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
957
6
May 8, 2023 14:31:42 GMT -6
Maya's words were comforting, but she kept eating all the while. It seemed to Garrett that as much progress as he believed he had made in driving a wedge between his heart and mind in her case was a mere drop in the bucket on her end. She was right about relationships as well. It took two to tango, two to make a thing go right. Garrett was terrible at being aware of others and their feelings. His mind was such a war torn battlefield that friends and enemies seemed to wear the same colors.
"I'm not sure you're labeled as traitor to the X-men. Maybe I'm projecting, though since I never did..."That made him feel a little better. He hadn't returned to the Mansion since he left it. He had assumed that his leaving and joining the Order was enough to drive a stake in their collective hearts. After the Haywire incident, it seemed like many of them lost interest in him as an ally or friend anyway. If they didn't lose trust, they certainly projected the opposite to him on a daily basis. His forearms were a comfort and he felt better already, not looking at her.
"I do maintain what I told you the last time we met. I will always remain your friend and a friend's first and foremost obligation is to hear their friend's side of things... if you want to share, that is." His head moved up and down from its position." I left the Mansion and all of you because I was completely disgusted by the events at Raina's birthday party. I already felt like an outcast due to the Haywire incident, so maybe that at least gave me some perspective." Speaking the truth finally, to anyone, was filling him with courage. Real courage, not the faces he wore for others. His head lifted and he looked at her again, straightening his posture." The golden doors of the Sanctuary were reason enough for everyone to start attacking each other with a murderous intent. Mutants fought each other, tooth and nail, over a stupid reason. Even if there was a good reason, the idea of we mutants killing ourselves is just so...stupid."
The fires of his will and intention began to smolder again. It was a good feeling. " I made a mistake going over there, but I felt they had it half right. Come to think of it, the X's do as well. The amalgamated concept is that all mutants are created equal.We are the minority, it's been a small amount of time since the Camps. Humans are just looking for another angle. Not all of them. But the ones that make things happen, lawmakers and the military. Then everyone has an even more vicious battle on the steps of KP." Garrett blinked several times, as if to punctuate the sheer stupidity of the situation. " The last battle on those steps is what prompted the humans to enact that cursed law and herd us up like cattle. Then we behave in the same herd like fashion and do the exact same thing again. It's like we want to be chained."
Raina's birthday had been a disaster. Ghost hadn't shown up on time and once she had shown, everything was chaos. She'd done practically nothing to help in the defense of the mansion, what could she do? She kept the shadow man from strangling her and that was about it. She'd met a man that was as good as a brick wall when she tried to help Tricity not suffocate. And then Tricity had somehow managed to get Syn talking.
Syn. Possibly dead, but maybe not, Syn. If there had been fault, would it have been hers for getting so grouchy about doors? It more than likely didn't even matter. These big rumbles seemed to be happening at least once a year. Maybe it was some lunar cycle thing or a breaking point of the antagonization that happened between factions. Ghost sighed and more played with her bread pudding than ate it. She more liked the taste than was hungry.
"I don't know what to do about the big fights that keep breaking out. At least it's only between responsible parties instead of dragging in other from the outside world." To Ghost, mutants fighting mutants was a million times better than mutants taking innocent hostages (human or mutant) or something of the like. Really it could have been worse. The Mansion had even avoided destruction excepting the lawn. And grass was easy to re-grow.
"I'd like to say that you weren't an outcast after the haywire incident, but it wasn't me. I would have liked you to stay and prove yourself, though." In the end, had his running away been a cowardly thing? She carved mountains in her pudding.
"I know you know this, but to me fighting at all seems sort of stupid. But I think they do it out of impatience more than anything else. A non-aggressive way takes longer to be sure and it isn't an easy road to take. It would feel like faster results if you take it with your own hands." But it was never the same as when the person holding onto the idea that was wrong discarded it of their own free will.
Posted by Seizure on Sept 21, 2009 15:53:57 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
957
6
May 8, 2023 14:31:42 GMT -6
Maya had no more clue about the origins of the yearly wars than Garrett did. At least that made it a mystery, like Easter Island. He would have to take his issues to every mutant he could come across to find some answers. It was a piece of the puzzle. Not a precious border or corner piece, but a valid one, all the same."I'd like to say that you weren't an outcast after the haywire incident, but it wasn't me. I would have liked you to stay and prove yourself, though." This struck Garrett. Not as odd or in a bad way. It just struck him as if the words had force.
He folded his hands and thought about what he would say before he said it. An ounce of prevention was worth a ton of miscommunication, as the two were prone to. "Prove myself? To you? To the team? I'm not sure I follow. Had I not gone to the Sanctuary, I would have lacked in an important part of my belief system. The value of mutants, as a race and a separate entity as opposed to humanity." Garrett had often thought, in his many private moments, that he could have ended up as a leader and a force of good among the X-Men. However, being a force of good did not require allegiance to a faction, he had found.
"I know you know this, but to me fighting at all seems sort of stupid. But I think they do it out of impatience more than anything else. A non-aggressive way takes longer to be sure and it isn't an easy road to take. It would feel like faster results if you take it with your own hands." Was he really that lost in this conversation?" I completely agree with you that violence is not the answer. It is indeed a hard and lonely road to take. No fanfare, no pats on the back. You just do it because it is the right thing to do. I don't know what this it is, though. What do you mean when you say it would feel like a faster result if you take it with your hands?" He wore a truthful face of ignorance or misunderstanding, whichever it was.
"To the people at the Mansion, kids, teachers, teammates. Not that you had anything to prove, but that they had something yet to learn from you. That every gift is unique and every tool potentially dangerous as well as potentially helpful." And they more than likely most still needed the object lesson. Garrett hadn't returned to the Mansion in quite some time. Not that he couldn't do good outside of it it all, but sometimes it wasn't about that.
"It isn't about getting fulfillment of being a good person or building up your belief system, though I suppose you can't function properly without a solid base of beliefs..." She was getting side tracked and realized it. Ghost had to take a second to re-rail the train. "It's just about doing right. Not what is right for you or for me, but what is most right for all."
"...I don't know what this it is, though. What do you mean when you say it would feel like a faster result if you take it with your hands?"[/color]
Ghost smeared at her face pulling her cheek to the side as she thought. This was really not her area of expertise. Grand concepts that seemed to make a whole lot of sense in her head sometimes didn't translate very well into words. "Mmm. Let me try again a different way. The Order. They do things fast and hard and sloppy. They get physical results because they choose physical means of implementing their ideas. Physical results seem more" She waffled her hand. "productive... at times. While the X-men are often putting out the Order's fires while trying to work on the way people think and perceive mutants as a whole. It, I guess in this case, refers to the futility of the cycle we're in because of the conflicting nature of the ways that each group has decided to implement essentially the same idea... give or take a few human lives."
"I don't think the Order will get lasting results. They may at times get results, but unless the people choose for themselves what to believe, the very act of rebelling against them will invite more antagonism." She scratched her head. "I think."
Posted by Seizure on Sept 21, 2009 17:25:48 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
957
6
May 8, 2023 14:31:42 GMT -6
"To the people at the Mansion, kids, teachers, teammates. Not that you had anything to prove, but that they had something yet to learn from you. That every gift is unique and every tool potentially dangerous as well as potentially helpful." It seemed that both of them had changed greatly. Long gone was the shy, quiet girl, smoothing her skirt and speaking in hushed tones. A hardened leader had emerged. Not so hard as to lose her soft touch, never that. Experience and understanding now spoke through her lips. It had a softening effect on Garrett, to be sure.
" I would be happy to visit the Mansion again and help educate others. It wouldn't hurt to see old friends again as well. How's Neena doing?" Neena had been one of his greatest allies, helping him to understand the baby steps of control. Control was a neverending process for Garrett and every day was a step in the right direction. Listening to Maya explain herself really opened his mind. She was so..knowledgeable about the subject. The same things that he had turned over and over in his mind were being spoken to him now.
It seemed to Garrett that all of his isolation and introspection had done nothing for him except put him farther behind in his own progression and search for truth. He tried to imagine how much farther ahead he might be had he remained at the Mansion and continued in his thought process as an exchange of ideas as opposed to this beating his head against the wall that he seemed to be so fond of." Well, that was quite an explanation. I have to admit, I really have underestimated you. I had some idea in my head of the girl I knew in the future and the past and tried to mash that together into something else in my head, rather than just speak to the intelligent woman who sits before me. You've grown in many ways and I look forward to making your acquaintance all over again." He unlocked his hands and eased back in his chair, the rigidity of his posture melting as easily as it had formed.
" On to other matters. I hope you don't mind the intrusion, but I noticed an anomaly in your chest, where your nerve bundles have been damaged. What happened?"
Ghost sighed at the mention of Neena. "She's so busy. All the time here and there that it's like she's never there at all." And that was a real tragedy. The Mansion just wasn't quite the same place without her. "Sam has really stepped up as a leader, but the residents change almost day to day." She couldn't quite remember who had been there when Garrett had been there. Were Shin and Ari? Kasumi? Some of the people she saw day to day, at least in passing, he might not even have any idea that they even existed.
"I would like that, if you visited some time. You don't have to live there to be a positive influence." And she firmly believed that he could be a positive influence no matter what he might have done during his time with the Order.
Ghost ducked her head, a familiar movement to dodge the compliment. "And here I thought I was doing a poor job of it." Her cheeks glowed rosy and the bread pudding sculpture was suddenly very interesting to her.
"I hope you don't mind the intrusion, but I noticed an anomaly in your chest, where your nerve bundles have been damaged. What happened?"
Did he mean the tattoo on her back? Or the bullet? Surely he had seen the bullet's damage before. Or... no, it was most likely the green eyed man's doing. Ghost sighed, her pleasure and pride at her growth deflating with the thought. "I was reckless and overconfident. I trusted someone I ought not to have trusted and his ability has marked me." She would have shown him the silvery streaks across her stomach if she wouldn't flash the passersby on the street and traffic too. The bad thing about a good view was that it typically worked both ways.
"I could explain further if you are interested." At least it made for an interesting story. Ghost jabbed at the pudding, leaving the spoon standing stark upright. It was her white flag of defeat. She scooted the half cup out toward the center of the table and went to instead nurse her iced tea.
Posted by Seizure on Sept 23, 2009 14:40:54 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
957
6
May 8, 2023 14:31:42 GMT -6
It was a shame that Neena wasn't a constant over at the Mansion. It probably had something to do with its lack of stability, as far as residents or otherwise. No one did it like Miss Jenkins. Training youths during the day, surveying the grounds at night. No one had made such an impact on him. Not even Maya." It's nice to hear that Sam is growing up. I'm sure he still chases the ladies. Heh. It will be nice to see him again. I will definitely take you up on the offer to visit. Perhaps I can give a lecture or something for the kids. I'd really like to help any way I can." Short of joining the team again, of course. There were just too many political agendas involved with Garrett to let go of . His time could be divided between the Mansion and the Clinic.
His complimentary words struck Maya, though she ducked her head as if to avoid them. Some things never changed. He smiled in receipt of the rosy glow of her cheeks. The glow and her posture both dissipated at the mention of the anomaly."I was reckless and overconfident. I trusted someone I ought not to have trusted and his ability has marked me. I could explain further if you are interested." His ability marked me. A mutant had hurt Maya. Worse still, he had hurt her after she had opened her precarious circle of trust.
The darker side of Garrett churned beneath his countenance at the thought. Maya's being shot by humans was a sad thing, a thing that could be rectified and ultimately forgiven. Another mutant, though, that was something that heated his blood with anger. It was enough of an afterthought to be fairly imperceptible, but he indeed wanted details about this transgressor. " I would like to hear about it, if you don't mind telling. Especially about this mutant that hurt you."
It got easier with each telling. So it wouldn't be as hard as it had been. That didn't mean she was completely comfortable with the idea, though. "I happened to be near the site of a bus explosion. Naturally I went to help extinguish the flame." Ghost ran her hands through her hair and added quickly. "From a safe distance, of course." Garrett would have killed her if she'd died being that reckless.
"There was a horrible pileup and the emergency crews were having trouble getting through. It was pretty awful." And people had died in that bus. There was absolutely nothing she could have done for them besides die beside them. "A hydrant was broken and water was everywhere. My X-communicator took a swim so back up was out unless I left for a pay phone." The only reason she mentioned a lack of backup was that Sam had really reamed for her that one. Clearly, Ghost had needed that second opinion.
"Once the fire was out, we were moving burn victims to the ambulances. Like I said, the traffic was gnarly. I got some help from a man who led us off toward a store. Said someone could help there. Anyway, he tried to... uh.. strangle me. But that was less than fruitful for both parties since I started draining his body of air in response." Without being able to inhale, she hadn't been able to change states. It was an interesting predicament that resulted in both parties gasping for air.
"He-I uhh..." Ghost scratched her head. She couldn't rightly recall why she'd thrown him out the window. Had he said something? Time was leeching the mundane details from her already. "He went out through the window. I hate to break other people's property. It's sort of jumbled. I don't know what his mutation was, but he took a swipe at me while I was ghosted. Naturally, I didn't notice anything different. But Aurum was there. And I became solid after... a van tried to run me over..."
She wrinkled her nose. "solidity wasn't a good idea, but i guess i would have bled out without ever knowing if i'd stayed ghosted. Anyway, he tried to use me as a hostage. Knife at the throat. My hands were occupied at the wound." There was no need to talk of peekaboo intestines. Ghost shifted in her chair. "Aurum was there first. He walks that way to work sometimes. He called Shin and Koga from the Full Circle and... I guess they called Sebastian." She hadn't thought too hard about how the calvary came. Never look a gift Unicorn in the mouth. "Not a whole lot left to the story after that." So she shrugged and took a meager sip from her tea.
Posted by Seizure on Sept 30, 2009 18:41:13 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
957
6
May 8, 2023 14:31:42 GMT -6
Garrett listened to the story with interest. His focus was as a razor to the details. The images of this ..person..luring Maya somewhere dark and hurting her was enough to make his nerves stand on end, aching to pounce on this poor excuse for a man and show him what pain looked like. He did his best to mask the abhorrence of the idea of her being opened up in such a way. It seemed so visceral and surreal. It wasn't an image he wished to linger on for the obvious reason and the not so obvious.
Garrett had told Sebastian that he had killed his other self. Of course, this was merely an illusion, a banner of victory over the demon that was for onlookers only. Though he had all but obliterated the darkest face within himself at the hands of Abyss, it was both naive and foolish to believe that it was gone. He could never be a virgin, washed anew in the light of good feelings. As long as kept his inner defenses strong and kept himself free and clear from things that could influence the sinister traces, all was well. Hearing the story was unfortunately one of these triggers that could send him backward in his progression.
" I am truly sorry to hear about your ordeal and wish I could have been there to help you. I'm here now though and I imagine we will be seeing more of each other." He waved the second waiter back over and handed him sufficent paper to clear things for the two of them, leaving a large tip that he requested this guy and the previous waitress split with his apologies. He rolled his neck in a full circle to alleviate some of the climbing tension in his spine." I'm glad we got to talk. I need to take care of some things though regarding the clinic. I will definitely visit the Mansion before long, so between here and there, I'm sure we will see each other before long." He stood and tried to ignore the fact that she wasn't finished. They could depart from there with a nice hug or she could remain. Either way he was leaving before darker parts told him to stay for specifics about her aggressor.