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.
Garrett stood and looked at his apartment. There wasn't much to it. Most of it was still packed in boxes, a telltale indication of his inability to settle in one spot. He felt as if he had been a dandelion seed, floating aimlessly in the wind. Now, though, he felt as if a new wind was carrying him. Its origin or direction unknown, it carried him far from here, off to a place which had the possibility of not existing outside of Garrett's mind. Garrett hoped the memory and imagery was enough to make it real.
Making his way downstairs, he glanced at his watch as he let himself in to the Clinic's back door. He had scheduled a meeting with Sebastian to make him aware of what had passed since his departure at the Clinic. Since the place wasn't really open, beyond what it might say in the window, Garrett chose the plush seats of the waiting room to speak with his friend. A steaming cup of coffee his companion, he found himself looking at the floor often. Be it disappointment or mental preparation, it lingered in his eyes wherever they looked.
His mind did much wandering as of late. The events of the bank robbery had really shaken him to his core. He had willfully taken life. It wasn't even necessary. His mind drifted back to the men whose bodies had gone in the smelting pit with the barrels of Haywire. Somehow that time seemed so far away to him. Besides, the lives saved by the virus' destruction outweighed the lives of those men. Garrett would have died himself to avoid the eventual mutant slaughter which could have occurred.
By changing the events which led to that future, it made it an alternate time stream. The Colony did not exist. Maya was married to Sebastian. Most importantly, the monastery which Garrett had spent two years in might exist now. With no Haywire mutants or global panic, there were no strike teams burning the monastery to the ground or slaughtering its peaceful members. Garrett wanted to see the best part of his dreams take flight. This meant a great journey was in store for him.
Posted by Sebastian on Feb 12, 2010 23:49:47 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
730
0
May 18, 2013 11:53:12 GMT -6
The winds had changed again. This time, they blew Sebastian back home again. After a tumultuous tour of Europe it was good to be back in New York. The had apartment seemed very empty and lonely when they had arrived back... for about five minutes, until they brought their luggage inside and started brewing a pot of tea. It was instantly like a home again. And then there was the fact that Ghost was there with him. Anywhere she went with him, it felt like home.
Other things that had been out of place and out of sorts were slowly, slowly getting back to normal again; they just didn't feel normal yet. The wonders and the horrors they had seen, while still very fresh, seemed very far away right now, as if they had happened in a different world separate from this one. Things here seemed so mundane, it would take a little time to get used to them again after all they had been through.
It was strange to think that just a few days ago he had been leading warriors into a heroic rescue mission and today he was making a cup of tea before a meeting with Garrett to discuss clinic business.
The unicorn man carefully tread down the stairs to the waiting room to find Garrett already seated there and waiting for him. Sebastian gave him a respectful nod, almost a bow but not quite, and sat down in the chair adjacent to the neural manipulator's.
"Hello, my friend. It is good to see you again." Sebastian smiled warmly, thinking that he had used that phrase not so long ago when Garett had been the one coming home after a long absence.
"I hope time has treated you well since the last I saw you. I never imagined that I would be gone for such an extended period of time," Sebastian paused while he shifted around to find a position that let him wrap his tail comfortably around to the side where it wasn't squished, "Thank you so much, by the way, for taking such good care of everything here. The place looks great."
The man appeared before too long, wearing the look of age and wisdom as always. Garrett wondered if time worked the same for an immortal, how precious a moment could possibly be when there was no clock ticking. Ever the agent of optimism, the unicorn gave him a trace of a bow as he took the seat adjacent. "Hello, my friend. It is good to see you again." Garrett smiled in the voice's direction. It was good to see him again. " Hopefully the tiem comes when you do not have to say that so often."
As Sebastian moved about, no doubt looking for a spot where his tail could avoid being sat on, he lamented his long absence, which Garrett recalled as being a point of resentment in the not so distant past. However, as recent as it may have been, it seemed as ancient as the Colony, more displaced from time than anything else."Thank you so much, by the way, for taking such good care of everything here. The place looks great." Enough with the internalizing, Garrett thought to himself.
" Well, thanks. I have been avoiding the actual Clinic, as it seems that I am useless in that regard without your healing. However, while you were gone, I did get my EMT certificate from the state. It's a long haul to paramedic, but it is a start. I did get most of the apartments rented. So far we have Kealey Quinn and Pluto of the infamous clones, not including you and Maya's apartment or my own. The last one is vacant but it is still under repair. Had some kind of psychotic vandal in there. I chased her off, but...anyway, try to overlook the blood stains." A glimmer of a smirk appeared as Garrett mulled over the irony of what he had just said.
Posted by Sebastian on Mar 20, 2010 0:23:24 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
730
0
May 18, 2013 11:53:12 GMT -6
Tail settled, Sebastian took a trial sip of his tea. It burned his mouth, which caused an instant rush of cold to his taste buds. An odd sensation, but one that he was used to by now. He was always trying to drink it while it was still too hot.
“Do you have to take classes to be a paramedic, then? I've been studying for the medical school entrance exams,” between planning sessions and pacing sessions, when medical terms helped to fill his brain so full and tire him out so thoroughly there was no space or time left to dwell on the imagined images of his wife in a concentration camp.
“It will be good to get back to business here.” He much preferred the business of healing broken bones from bicycle mishaps to the necessity of trying to healing mortal wounds incurred in desperate battles. It would be much better to avoid such battles in the future, rather than instigate them. “It sounds like the landlord business has kept you busy. Psychotic vandal? That sounds...exciting,” maybe not the most accurate term, “Bloodstains I can handle, but its probably for the best that the crazy home wrecker is gone.” She was gone, right? Sebastian raised an eyebrow, interested to see if Garrett elaborated at all on his story.
He took another trial sip of the tea, while his tail gave a satisfied flick.
“What do you think, then, about opening up the clinic side of this place to the public? Should we have a ceremony or do anything special like that? We have to get the word out that we are open, but I don't know how those things are done around here, exactly.”
His tail seemingly sated, the horned one proceeded to sip at his tea and converse. Always the quintessential gentleman. Of course, if he really was immortal, he had plenty of experience in this department. “Do you have to take classes to be a paramedic, then? I've been studying for the medical school entrance exams."The same natural curiosity, a complete lack of jadedness that Garrett snuggled like Linus' security blanket. It was terribly impressive. " I'm glad to hear that. Your ability doesn't really need anything to aid it, but having the medical knowledge to know when to heal something and when to let it heal on its own will do you good. The paramedic courses will take about a year and a half, but it will allow me to assist more than I can as an EMT." He took a sip of his coffee and let it sit to cool.
"It sounds like the landlord business has kept you busy. Psychotic vandal? That sounds...exciting. Bloodstains I can handle, but its probably for the best that the crazy home wrecker is gone.” It was a strange event that had occurred that night. " It was a very odd occurrence. I think she must have gotten in after a resident or something. Hard to tell. She was pacing and talking to herself. The blood came from self inflicted wounds as far as I could tell. She started smashing up the apartment and then she set it on fire. So... I got my gun and told her to get out or I would shoot her. Which she did. Very strange. She went out the window, though there was fire all over. I suppose it should surprise me, but after being dragged by the leg across three states, nothing really does."
His hand went reflexively to his leg, in remembrance of its trauma. " Oh, speaking of going back to business, do you think we could somehow get this metal rod out of my leg? When you healed it up, the bone still had the rod screwed in. It isn't necessarily vital, but to be honest, I don't want to face Lori again with a metal rod in my leg. Seems pretty foolish. Also I am fairly sure that we shall cross paths again, but on different sides of the coin." His mind was focused on change, becoming the man he set out to be long ago. The man he was in the future, the man he was in the past. There was danger in the present, its presence sparked with life, the ever-present moment. Perhaps China could remain in his heart and mind, while the people around him who needed him now could take precedence.
Posted by Sebastian on Mar 23, 2010 19:44:44 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
730
0
May 18, 2013 11:53:12 GMT -6
Sebastian chuckled at the idea that he didn't really need medical knowledge, "That's what I thought, too, but I keep coming up against things that I can't heal. I'm hoping that learning about modern medicine will help in situations where my ability does little good."
He set his cup down on the table to let it cool a little further before he tempted its temperature again and steepled his fingers against his lips as he listened to the recount of the adventure of the vandal. She did seem to be an odd character, but then the world was full of those.
Garrett's question about his leg made him raise a brow. Lori? Ah yes, the new girl that had stepped up to take charge of the Order. Garrett was not on as good a terms with her as Sebastian, and that was likely only because she still considered Sebastian useful. He was still friends with several of the members that lived t the Sanctuary and it would feel wrong to refuse them his healing services simply because he did not believe in their ideals.
"I believe I can remove the metal, though it will be painful and possibly messy. I am not yet an experienced surgeon, but I am completely confident that whatever it takes to get it out, I can heal it back to normal in the end. I suppose it depends on how impatient you are to have it removed, whether you'd rather wait until I have the medical training or you'd rather do it sooner." Also, if they were going to perform surgery on Garrett's leg, he'd have to make sure to warn Maya what he was going to do beforehand so she didn't come down to find an impromptu surgery in progress.
More agreement and cool breezes from the immortal. Of course, only one of them had pertinent information that could make the conversation go south. Garrett's elbow itched over the thought, the stitches pulling slightly at the fabric of his shirt. All it would take would be a friendly handshake to have the wound heal over, but he preferred to have a souvenir to show his friend. It was a slippery slope, diplomacy. Hopefully Garrett could make his way without too many cuts or bruises.
"I believe I can remove the metal, though it will be painful and possibly messy. I am not yet an experienced surgeon, but I am completely confident that whatever it takes to get it out, I can heal it back to normal in the end. I suppose it depends on how impatient you are to have it removed, whether you'd rather wait until I have the medical training or you'd rather do it sooner." This seemed to be a pleasant avenue to traverse before descending into the craggy canyons ahead. " I had a third alternative in mind, actually, which included your wife's assistance. First of all, pain is not an issue, of course. So, we can work past that. Messy, well most things are, even with the best intentions. Considering the mess that my leg was before my surgeries, I think it should be fine. I was thinking that she might be able to grasp the rod and make it intangible, leaving only the places where it was and the incisions for you to heal. What do you think of that?"
Garrett's face remained neutral with a lingering smile and look of general confidence, while his mind continued to turn around the ideas concerning his colleague. Sebastian had healed for the Sanctuary without harboring their ideals, so perhaps there really was just a simple explanation for Stein's behavior and the lies concerning Mondragon. Fortunately, as bright as his soul was getting, Garrett still retained his general cautiousness and suspicion. It would be foolish to believe that someone who had been alive for over one thousand years couldn't hide lies. Even someone as aloof and benevolent as Sebastian.
Posted by Sebastian on Mar 28, 2010 23:28:19 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
730
0
May 18, 2013 11:53:12 GMT -6
Sebastian considered the possibilities in Garrett's words. He could imagine that course of action working, but imagination and reality were vastly different things.
“In theory, I think it could work. We would have to ask Maya, though. It sounds like that would require quite a bit of control to grasp just the metal bits and nothing around it that shouldn't come out. She would be the best judge as to whether or not that is something she could do.”
If it wasn't, he might have to do surgery anyway. Several worst case scenarios played through his head; the more unpleasant involved leg jigsaw puzzles, the even more unpleasant included images of trying to separate his friend's leg from his wife's arm. Sebastian's tail wrapped and clenched around his chair leg. He did not need to be imagining those kinds of things. There had been enough worst-case scenario imaginings in Romania, for awhile it would be nice to think of brighter things.
“Tell me, we had been planning an event for the official opening of the clinic. Do you still want to do that, or should we just open the doors and be done with it? There are benefits to both, of course. The first gets the clinic's name out so people are aware of what we're doing, the second gets us out of the tedious planning and set up stages faster so the actual healing can begin. Thoughts?”
Well, he seemed to be open to the idea, anyway. Garrett could certainly understand Sebastian's apprehension as to his wife putting her hand in the man's leg and what could happen in the worst circumstances." I believe Maya has the potential to succeed. Of course, we'll ask. It just lives in the same vein as what we do. I think we should always consider using mutants and their gifts when we can." That was what set their clinic apart from the mundane sort in the first place, in Garrett's mind anyway.
Sebastian changed gears, bringing to light the idea of a Grand Opening type of event. Garrett vaguely recalled the mention of such an event in the past, but some time had passed since then. " Perhaps we should have some sort of event. At least it would get some of our prospective clients together. It would also bring our services to the forefront of thosem utant minds that may need us in the future. As far as planning, I can't imagine it being too difficult to let some people know and get that done." Everything was going so well. Why ruin it? Because his arm still itched and so did his curiosity.
Smiling and taking another sip of coffee, Garrett added, " Will Mr. Stein be there?"
Posted by Sebastian on Mar 30, 2010 22:50:15 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
730
0
May 18, 2013 11:53:12 GMT -6
Potential, yes. Enough control, maybe. Only Maya would be able to tell them for certain. Sebastian simply nodded to the statement about creatively using mutant abilities. He'd seen a lot of miracles performed by creatively combining powers, had even been part of one such miracle recently; he wasn't about to discount the possibilities.
As for the grand opening, “Mr. Stein?” Did he mean Martin Stein, the Kabal employee he'd helped recruit months ago and hadn't seen much of since? “I didn't know you knew him. I don't know if he'll be there or not. I would imagine it would be a public gathering, so if he wanted to come I couldn't see a reason why he shouldn't. ”
The unicorn man was a little confused as to why Garrett should inquire about Martin Stein in particular, though. Had he recently met the man or something? Did he have some sort of altercation with him?
“I'm curious, why do you ask?” Sebastian leaned forward to reclaim his teacup from the table once again, then returned to his relaxed position where he sipped the warm beverage. He wasn't suspicious, just curious.
Round and round the mulberry bush the mutant chased the answers....
Immortality surely had benefits besides the obvious one. Centuries of subterfuge and diplomacy dwarfed the young life that sat across from the unicorn. However, Garrett knew something Sebastian did not. Perhaps it was something, perhaps it was a complete paranoid delusion. Either way, he wanted a nice concise answer. No colorful language. Just say I know who he is and here is how he is connected to me. Yeah, maybe he could go out to a telephone pole and see if it knew what time it was.
" While you were gone, I had an accident. I hit someone with the van. I slid during the winter storms. it couldn't be helped. I paid for the repairs to the van and I suppose we were fortunate that the pedestrian I hit was Mr.Stein. I brought him here to try to get him bandaged up before Mondragon picked him up. I called Ingram since you were gone." it did sound pretty bad when it came out of his mouth. Maybe the presentation would help.
Garrett unbuttoned his shirt sleeve and rolled it up slowly, baring the wound and its scar, now pink as it was nearly healed. " Your acquaintance buried a scalpel into my elbow and I almost bled to death." He changed his posture in the chair, turning his body so he faced the immortal head on." he said he was related to Ingram, which I simply cannot believe. he said he knew you as well. So, tell me why I shouldn't suspect something. I can see how it could be coincidence once. maybe twice, though it stretches." He took a long breath and stood, walking toward the window.
Wasn't it better to just put everything out in the open? Even if it was disastrous, keeping secrets from his partner and friend seemed ridiculous. Wasn't he trying to push that part of himself away? It always seemed so futile as one side challenged the other. " you saved me. I recognize and appreciate it. You have always been a gentleman and I appreciate and respect you. I also value your friendship. I've overlooked many things that I don't think just anyone could. Whatever occurred with the Order and your apparent dodging of the bullet there, Maya, being left here to run things while you fly off on an extravagant honeymoon and then I get to live next to the two of you as you snuggle. I can still overlook these things, Sebastian." He really could. The past was stale and useless, short of keeping one's perspective in check through nostalgia.
He turned and looked back at Sebastian, doing his best to keep himself in check. " What I cannot overlook is the fact that someone who knew you and Ingram almost killed me. Also, the fact that he was never to be seen again and I was somehow brought back here. I'm supposed to forget? Forgive? I do it every day, man. I can't overlook whatever is going on behind my back. If we are going to be partners here, we have to trust each other. I'll show my hand if you do." Why drag it on painfully? Just get it all out. Purge it.
Posted by Sebastian on Apr 9, 2010 12:24:48 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
730
0
May 18, 2013 11:53:12 GMT -6
If one asked a telephone pole plainly enough for the time, rather than commenting on the weather, one would have a better chance of getting the answers they were looking for.
The information Garrett gave him on the incident with Stein helped clear some of the fog surrounding the issue, but it left Sebastian with questions. Why would Stein stab someone who was trying to help him? Why would he lie about being related to Ingram? At least, Sebastian was fairly certain that it had been a lie, since the man hadn't known about Mondragon Labs Medical before he had spoken of it with Tarin and Sebastian.
“I cannot pretend to understand the motivations of another man. I met Stein once, several months ago. He was looking for a job, and Mondragon Labs Medical was hiring, at the time he seemed like he'd be a good fit.” Though, if he was getting violent for no reason, it might be time to review his contract. “That seems like enough grounds for him to claim to be my acquaintance, but I do not know him well. It's a large company, and I haven't had much contact with him since. My main interest at the medical facility is researching as much as I can to eventually help keep Maya from disappearing.”
Sebastian massaged his temples, puzzled by the other pieces of the puzzle. “I have no idea why he would claim to be related to Ingram. I don't think that he is. I have no idea why he would have attacked you. I don't know why he disappeared afterwards. I wouldn't have thought he was a violent man from my first impression, but impressions are sometimes wrong and I can hardly claim to have spent an adequate amount of time getting to know him any better than that.” Apparently that had been an oversight.
“I'm sorry I can't shed any more light than that on Mr. Stein.” That was what he was trying to learn about, wasn't it?
Sebastian stood to inspect the nearly healed wound on the other man's elbow, but didn't move to touch it without permission. “Would you like me to finish healing that?”
Garrett stared at the Immortal. His mouth moved but it was just a sort of mumble, like the teacher in Charlie Brown cartoons. Like he was sucking on pebbles while speaking. While Sebastian rubbed his temples and spewed more propaganda, Garrett squeezed the bridge of his nose, anger rising in his throat like bile.What was with this report of explanation? Why not just say sorry? Garrett was utterly fed up with all of this tail chasing. He looked around for some inanimate object to kick. Nothing.
" Just forget it." He sat on the floor, his head hanging. As he looked at the floor, his mind tried to go in several directions at once. He tilted back until he was lying down, looking at the ceiling." Forget Stein. I don't care anymore." He covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow as if shutting out visual stimuli might calm his mind. His head turned slowly from side to side, his frustration cresting like a great wave. Taking a deep breath, he tried ot find his center. What did he really want to know?
" I'm fed up with this lovable old man routine, Sebastian. You can't tell me that after thousands of years of life you are so naive. Try and look at it from my perspective. You get me pumped up about the Clinic and what a great idea it is. Then? You leave with your new wife, who I happened to have been in a relationship with. FOR THREE MONTHS!" His free hand swung down on the floor, making a loud thump." So I am left to just figure it out while you go cavorting around the globe with my ex. Now you return and you act as if I am the one committing offenses."
His arm moved away from his face and he sat up, the painful tingling in his hand removed with a thought. He looked clearly and pointedly at the unicorn. " We are supposed to be friends. Friends don't abandon each other and then show up acting like nothing happened. Friends don't put on airs and friends don't lie." His head turned from side to side as he looked at the empty room they were in. " No one is here. Can we just drop all the bulls*** and just talk like men? If you want to know anything, I will be completely honest. I'm done hiding from life in an office. I want to be the man I was in the future. I have a long, painful journey ahead. But I am going to succeed."
He pushed himself off the floor and walked around the room in no particular pattern. " I admit, I may have instigated some of the bad blood between Stein and I. I definitely hit him with the van. So, that's fine. I deserve what I got. I admit I still hold the belief of mutant superiority as well, though I am trying to put it in perspective, believing we are born to protect humanity, like the demigods of old once did. " He chuckled and put his face in his palm. " You would know about that, wouldn't you?" His general bee like dance of the room terminated before the Immortal. " Can you just talk to me like a man and a friend?"
Posted by Sebastian on Apr 11, 2010 12:25:31 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
730
0
May 18, 2013 11:53:12 GMT -6
>>>"Just forget it. ... I don't care anymore."
Sebastian was taken aback by the sudden outburst of emotion in the other man's voice. Sebastian didn't know how to respond, so when Garrett took a deep breath, all he did was wait for the man to continue. And he did.
He wasn't performing a 'routine', but apparently Sebastian's personality came off as fake to the nerve manipulator. The man did have a point about abandoning him with the clinic for several months, but it certainly hadn't been that long on purpose. They certainly hadn't been 'cavorting'. Garrett didn't want to hear about that right now, he wanted to rant.
Naïve, putting on airs, lies, bull***. The words hurt, especially the true parts.
>>>”Can you just talk to me like a man and a friend?”
He thought he had been talking as a man and a friend. He'd try again.
“Look, we've hardly been back a day. You've hardly asked me how the trip went; you wanted to dive right into a meeting about business. For your information it wasn't all frolicking in meadows and chasing rainbows for three months.” Sebastian took a deep breath.
“We were investigating Maya's dream of the future, trying to make connections with the people she met in Europe, to start with. We met the future X-force members, we tracked down a ten year old French boy, Jude, who was going to grow up to be Maya's partner. Shortly, he'll be coming to live with us.” Sebastian's tail twitched. It really wanted to thrash, but the unicorn man forced himself to hold it still.
“And then, in the middle of all of that, Slate called. He was in Romania, trying to keep them from making the same mistake the United States did when they started throwing mutants in concentration camps. It wasn't going well. We tried to help. It got worse. Maya got captured and thrown into the camps. I spent a month trying to rescue her. I just got her back.” Sebastian's normally flowery sentences were getting shorter and the punctuation between them more distinct. He was letting his emotions get the better of him.
“I'm sorry I left you stuck in an office for so long. I'm sorry that the way I speak and act seems offensive to you. I'm sorry that you still have feelings for Maya. I'm sorry I haven't been a very good friend. I can't do anything about the first three, but I will sincerely try to change the last one of you'll let me.”
“What else do you want to know to be convinced that I'm not putting on airs, lying to you, or keeping secrets from you? Would you like me to recount all the the stories of my past from childhood to current day?”
Garrett stood in front of Sebastian, his body posture one of initiation and engagement. As Sebastian spoke, the sentences at first pleased him, being filled with real emotion and an actual perspective. As they came at him though, the explanations and words began to lap at him, like small waves, each one growing in size and intensity like a tsunami. He actually chuckled a bit at the mention of frolicking and rainbows. the thought had not been vacant from his mind during the time alone.
However, after his deep breath, his next words came like the great rolling mountain on the horizon. The wave of epic legend, found in myths and Discovery Channel documentaries. It hit him with all of the force of the future. It hit him so hard that he forgot to breathe for a moment, until his lungs itched for refreshment and nourishment. Garrett's jaw hung slack, his eyes fixed.
"We were investigating Maya's dream of the future, trying to make connections with the people she met in Europe, to start with. We met the future X-force members, we tracked down a ten year old French boy, Jude, who was going to grow up to be Maya's partner. Shortly, he'll be coming to live with us. His nerves bristled with the realization of destiny. The first validation and confirmation of the truth of the dream. Garrett was so staggered by the force of the wave that he actually moved to the wall and leaned into it. His forehead rolled back and forth across the cool surface, his palms planted into the wall as if he could just push it aside like a set decoration.
Sebastian spoke of Romania. Slate had called them and requested their help. Maya had been in that camp for a month. Sebastian....rescue...sorry...friend....change.......
It was real. The monastery was absolutely there. He was sure of that now. If the X-Force members existed, if Jude existed, it all did. At least in a sense. The Colony could rise again. His breathing became rapid and shallow, tears released from their usually airtight seals. His hand outstretched to his side in Sebastian's direction. " I'm sorry. Thank you. I just wanted you to speak to me. " A small trickle soon turned into a torrent of saltwater. Was he sad? Happy? It was some other emotion. One he wasn't used to and so he couldn't quite define it. Another deep breath filled Garrett's lungs as he slid down the wall to his knees, his head still pressed against the surface.
He let a moment go by of silence as he tried to find his center so he could speak clearly. "I had no idea about anything and I shouldn't have been so coarse. But if I hadn't been, I may have never known. I would know when J--Jude came. " His body convulsed again in a tremor of emotion. The future's pleasures and pains, its sensations which were recorded in his neural network, all seemed to fill him at once until he brimmed over and spilled all over himself. the waves kept coming until even his hands fell to the floor, the water dripping from his eyes as his soul vomited sorrow and a great understanding all at once.
" You couldn't know....how could you know?....it's all real. I love Maya, but only as a friend. That is something you won't ever have to worry over." They were completely different people now, both forever pulled together and apart by dream's rhapsody. " I'm sorry, Sebastian. How could you know?....." He wasn't there, marveling at the great shining domes, surrounded by the complete union of mutant brotherhood in all its glorious splendor. He had been somewhere. But he wasn't there. How could he know?"
His head craned down and rested on folded arms, his posture now one of redemption and prostration. The wheel turned and he turned with it. They all turned with it. As the wave rolled on through time and space, seeking other realities to shatter, Garrett was left in its wake, the cool soothing rhythm of the cosmic ocean rising and falling in time with his breath, pulsing with his heartbeat. His mind became clear and sharp.
" Forgive me for my outburst. My destiny lies clear and defined. I will live here. I will work with you here. But I must also return to the Mansion. I must resume my training to become an X-Man. I must seek peace and the completion of the cycle." He pushed himself up to sit on his knees, his eyes turning before his head to the horned man. " I couldn't ask for a better friend, Sebastian. I won't question your trust again. If you have Maya's implicit trust, you have mine. I can't expect you to feel the same until I can redeem myself. Not for you. For myself, for the world."