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 vampyremage on Sept 1, 2010 9:47:12 GMT -6
Guest
As Meld squeezed the consciousness out of the first of her three enemies, she was both surprised and pleased to see bullets simply bouncing into Nathan and clattering to the floor. It was an invulnerability she wished she could have for herself though she knew in gaining it she would be forced to give up other things. No, she was content with what she had but that didn't mean she couldn't admire the gifts of others.
Looking down at her victim, Meld realized that he had finally stopped moving so she dropped him to the ground in a crumpled heap. It was her intent to leave him alive and she could see by the shallow rise and fall of his chest that she'd succeeded. As far as also leaving him in a healthy state, well, that was something else entirely. They had attacked her, not the other way around for once, and that meant they had earned any sort of injury or misfortune that fell upon them.
Returning her attention swiftly to the battle at hand, Meld quickly assessed the situation. It was looking much better for her side of the fight than she was certain her assassins would have preferred. Not only had she unexpectedly found an ally, which she was sure was not in the game plans for them, but her enemies had run out of bullets. Not only that, but one of them was all ready lying unconscious on the ground. Nathan, despite his obvious lack of combat training, appeared to be doing all right if for no other reason than she was fairly certain knives wouldn't hurt him any more than bullets had. Which left her with the third and final stalker.
Meld turned her attention to the third figure, just as well covered as the other two had been, a dark and sadistic expression on her face. She enjoyed hand to hand combat best of all. Her enemy was armed with a pair of foot long knives, one in each hand, and from the way he handled them and the way he moved, Meld could tell he knew what he was doing. Being the professional that he was, she suspected the blades might be poisoned, which made it imperative that she not get cut even once by them.
Meld charged, tail lashing out at her enemy. Shockingly, he actually managed to doge and came in close with one of his knives which clanged off of her metal shield. She continued to press her attack, dodging her foes attempts to kill her while her foe managed to dodge her own attempts. He was one of the most well trained humans she had ever had the pleasure of fighting, however in the end it was only a matter of time. Well armed and armored or not, it was inevitable that eventually one of her many blades would find a home in the soft skin of her foe and that was exactly what happened. Her enemy was just a shade to slow in dodging her lethal bladed shield and it came up just below his neck, creating a dark red line as blood began poring out, first slowly and then faster. The man clutched at the wound, not immediately fatal, before gesturing frantically at the only other dark clad figuring remaining on his feet. He disengaged from Meld and she could see he intended to run.
The knife struck hard with a loud *clang* as it caught Nathan a wicked blow to the neck. Had he been in his more vulnerable human form, it would have slashed through his artery. As it was, however, he was made of solid titanium and barely felt the impact. The knife skittered down his skin, showering sparks but leaving no marks. The assassin spun and lashed out again, swinging it round, this time towards the side of his chest.
Nathan raised an arm to try and block, but slowly. Too slowly. The point of the knife, with whirling force struck his side, expertly positioned between two of his ribs. He felt the steel tip scratching him like a pinprick, but it reverberated off and could no more pierce his skin than the bullets had been able to. This didn’t stop Nathan from being scared. His opponent was a killer. Trained and clearly dangerous. Nathan brought his hands up into a kung-fu pose, taking a jab at his opponent.
The foe easily ducked his arm, slid under his (admittedly feeble) guard and once again tried his luck with the knife, holding it 2-handed and striking with all of his not inconsiderable strength right for Nathan’s sternum. Nathan tried to step backwards, but remembered too late that he was against a wall. The knife struck him squarely and, held in 2 hands, with such a solid blow behind it, the predictable happened.
The knife snapped about an inch from the hilt. The blade flew off into the depths of the warehouse and stuck half into a crate. The combat-veteran discarded the handle. Nathan saw the words K-Bar engraved and wondered what they meant. Refusing to give up, Nathan’s twice-disarmed opponent adopted some martial stance. A real one, unlike Nathan’s. Whoever had paid these guys was getting their money’s worth. Most guys would probably have quit and cut their losses once they found an indestructible opponent.
Nathan just looked aghast. The knife had broken and he still wouldn’t give up? “Can’t we just call it a draw?” he asked, trying to match his foe’s movements. The masked assailant stepped in quickly, slamming a hand into Nathan’s neck in a vicious throat-strike. Nathan almost felt sorry for him. There was a loud crunching sound and Nathan saw that the man’s thumb and at least one finger were broken.
There came a yelp from the other side of the room, and Nathan’s gaze flicked over to where he saw Meld facing down a single guy. He had no idea what had happened to the other one, and remembered his sole charge had been to stop her from getting flanked. ”Damn it Nathan, step up your game!” his monologue scolded him. He was forced to agree that his sole contribution to this fight had been to perplex one opponent. He was worse than useless, he was letting Meld down.
Nathan stepped forwards and swung a leg out in a wild kick, but his opponent flipped back with his uninjured hand and spun himself into the space behind Nathan, grasping his throat. There was no force behind the blow, instead he seemed to be pinching his neck. Nathan would later realise that this had been a futile attempt at a nerve-pinch. Regardless, Nathan reached back and tried to grab the man’s hand, thinking to throw him over like a Judo throw.
Seeing his nerve grip had no effect, the man dodged Nathan’s clumsy attempt to grab him and warily began circling from the front again. Nathan went for broke and tried a wild swinging haymaker to catch this guy. He had to be hurting from his broken hand, how could he still move so fast? Just as he did, Meld’s opponent gave a second cry, beckoning for a withdrawal and the guy’s attention was momentarily diverted at the worst possible time. Nathan’s poorly aimed fist connected with his shoulder and rather than knocking the man down, which had been his intention, it sent him flying.
The sheer force of the blow instantly pulverised his masked foe’s shoulderblade and forearm. He was picked up and lifted into the air, carried about twenty feet through the warehouse. He collided with a stack of wooden crates, smashed through the first one, his body folding like a puppet as it was blown through the wooden frame and into a second crate. He was only carried halfway through this one, leaving the rear frame untouched. He did knock it off its tower of crates, however, so it fell to the ground, slamming down on the floor. Nathan’s opponent’s arms and legs hanging splayed like a drunken spider over the open top.
Nathan stood there in shock. Just stood there. What had he done?
Posted by vampyremage on Sept 2, 2010 10:08:34 GMT -6
Guest
It bothered Meld to allow an enemy to simply flee for his life, especially when he had seen her safe house. But she had bigger priorities at the moment, and those involved the mutant Nathan. She could always find herself a new safe house and she'd just have to inform Aura that this one was compromised. It was a shame, really, it had seen them through some rather tough times, but when it was time to change things up it was time to change things up. Nothing much to be done about it.
Both Meld and the only other assassin remaining on his feet watched as the man Nathan had been fighting was flung clear across the room, smashing into a crate and ending up on the ground in a crumpled heap. It didn't take Meld long to realize that the man was dead, his head sitting at an utterly unnatural angle, his neck clearly broken. The remaining assassin, having also realized this, took off at a run, fleeing out the front door and into the night. As much as it pained her to do so, Meld let the man run.
The immediate threat having been dealt with, Meld returned to her first victim, still unconscious on the ground. Crouching, she removed the man's mask and was surprised to find, not a man lying there but another woman. Not that it mattered. Taking one of her many claws, she carefully carved an X on the woman's left cheek, so she'd always remember what had caused her unfortunate fate when she woke back up. The woman whimpered but didn't awaken.
"I need to find out clues as to why these people were sent after me," Meld explained to Nathan. "Then we can leave." She searched the woman's pockets and was disappointed to find absolutely nothing. Not surprising considering the fact that they were such professionals, it would be an amateur mistake to keep a keepsake of their employers on their person. Still, it would have made things so much easier. Vow to reduce the lethality of her actions or not, Meld figured it would be appropriate to make an exception for those who were trying to kill her.
Only after Meld had completed her search of the assassin did she return her attention to Nathan to see how he was doing. It was, she assumed, the first time he had ever killed anyone and she knew that could be traumatic. Her own first kill she remembered only vaguely, enough to recall the trauma the effect had on her mind and not much else. Of course, that mostly had to do with the fact that her mind had been wiped some months before and many of her memories still hadn't returned to her.
For the longest time Nathan simply replayed the image in his head over and over. He swung, the man turned, he caught him and the man fell to the floor. That should have happened. It was meant to happen, damn it. But that wasn’t what HAD happened. The guy had flown through the air like a ragdoll and been battered on impact. Nathan was vaguely aware of Meld kneeling over a combatant, as one fled the warehouse, but his eyes were in one place, and one place alone.
His own opponent lay very still, dust settling on his splayed limbs as he hung out of the crate. He wasn’t moving but that didn’t mean…He was still…He couldn’t be…dead? Nu-uh. No way. He was, like, sleeping or something. Maybe Nathan had knocked him into a coma, or maybe he was just unconscious. That had to be it. Understandable, too, since he’d hit his head pretty damn hard.
The sadistic voice of Nathan’s conscience came to bear with all it’s venomous sting. Emerging from somewhere deep in the pit of his mind, it voiced the obvious to the willingly oblivious. “He’s not breathing, is he, Nathan? And, what have we here…look at the angle of his head. That doesn’t look exactly…natural, now does it?” Nathan stared at the corpse some more. Willing time to flow backwards.
A leaden feeling began to settle in. Like the feeling when you lose a bet for a lot of money, and realise you can’t pay. Like the feeling you get when you wake up late and realise you’re too late to catch your flight, and are going to miss your own wedding. Like the feeling you get when you stare someone down and know your next sentence could be your last. Like the feeling you get when you’ve said one sentence too many in anger and wish you could just take it back. And then again, it was nothing like any of those things.
Those things were limited. Those things were finite and no matter how bad you felt, you knew that you could get over them, given enough time. They were leaden feelings in his stomach. This was a leaden feeling in his soul. It was like a weight that sat there. These assassins hadn’t pierced his skin but the attack had had an effect more devastating than any wound could have been. Nathan had killed a man.
He wasn’t a killer. He knew that in his heart. He was a nice boy from England, in way over his head. He didn’t have the killer instinct necessary. And yet, kill he had. Sure, he hadn’t meant to. Sure, it was in self-defence, and sure, the guy had been really trying quite hard to kill him. That didn’t make it right. That couldn’t make it right. Meld was in front of him now, and said something that he didn’t catch.
What had he done? What had been done to him? He didn’t have the POWER to throw a man across a room. The faint hope settled in that Meld might have been responsible for his drastic increase in strength, but then he remembered the crate. That should have warned him. That should have told him he was…changed. In more ways than one. And now changed again. He felt sick. He felt physically ill. He didn’t know it was possible to feel like this. He’d taken another man’s life. He wanted to break down and cry. He fell to his knees, the concrete floor cracking with the weight of his sudden collapse, but no tears fell from his cold metal eyes. Not one.
Posted by vampyremage on Sept 3, 2010 9:12:27 GMT -6
Guest
For all Meld's experience fighting and killing, she wasn't half as experienced in consoling traumatized mutants after their own first kill. For that matter, she couldn't recall ever having to console a traumatized mutant before, for that reason or any other. Aura was her most frequent partner and that girl killed more than she did and it had even less of an impact on her psyche, though perhaps that was because her psyche was all ready so scarred and battered that it wasn't possible to harm it any more. Even Cafas, a relative rookie when it came to such things, had managed to keep his composure. But Nathan was just a kid and, watching him, it was clear that he wasn't at all prepared for this sort of eventuality.
"It was an accident," Meld offered him. She simply wasn't a comforting person, she didn't have a maternal instinct in her body. She didn't expect to live long past 30 and if she had always made an exception to her killing for children, that didn't mean she knew how to act around them. Not that Nathan was a child, of course, but he was still vulnerable the way those who haven't been scarred by the world were.
"He would have killed either one of us without hesitation if given the chance. You have to know that right?" Logic, Meld hoped, would be her ally. Her first kill had also been self defense and it had also been something of an accident. There had been no one there to try and comfort her, however. She had been forced to deal with it all on her own. Or so her fractured memories told her.
"We should probably leave." The words were said gently, she didn't want to startle him any more than the day's events all ready had. The body would have to be cleaned up, of course, but she would let Aura know about that once they got back to Sanctuary. For the time being she had more important things to worry about, like a stunned and horrified metal mutant. "I don't think we'll encounter any more trouble but we need to get back to Sanctuary." He needed a place to stay and she needed to report to Lori. Assassins were not good, not good at all.
Still on his knees, Nathan caught himself up on everything that had happened while he’d been zoned out. His brain kicked slowly from it’s neutral idling into first and started rumbling down the highway after the crash. All the previous lanes of mental traffic had been closed down so that he could deal with the breakdown, so the roads were pretty much empty. He therefore went ahead uncertainly. He wasn’t really sure where to go from here.
Meld was making logical arguments. Convincing, logical arguments, but he’d also tried these arguments on himself. No dice. He knew what he’d done was inexcusable. He’d ended another human’s life. That wasn’t like totalling a car, that was something that he’d never be able to get over. Meld’s words were little consolation. Not that he didn’t appreciate the sentiment, but she just wasn’t very good at it.
She was trying though. He couldn’t stay here forever, and as he closed his eyes and focused, he felt the familiar sensation coursing through him. Like molten treacle. The inner warming light suffused his entire body and he felt himself changing back to human form, his skin blending seamlessly from titanium into flesh, blood beginning to pump once more through his body.
He gasped suddenly as the transformation took its toll. He rubbed his chest where the bullets had hit him, feeling the shock of impact all over again. No pain, and no damage, but the shock of the wounds he would have suffered were replayed all over his body as his brain tried to make sense of what had just happened to him. Shakily, he stood, barely noticing the imprints of his knees in the concrete warehouse floor.
He stood, panting. He’d been in a fight, and took all the exertion from that at once. It took him a little while to catch his breath.
>> "I don't think we'll encounter any more trouble but we need to get back to Sanctuary."
Meld was offering him an escape from this thought and he took it. He took a step forwards, shaking now from something which had nothing to do with fatigue. He gripped a crate for support and swallowed. Meld was right. He couldn’t stay here. He had to get out. To go with her, to the Sanctuary. When he was there he could break down, but this wasn’t the place. He had to keep it together until he got there.
Posted by vampyremage on Sept 4, 2010 7:09:49 GMT -6
Guest
Meld just wasn't very good at being comforting and she knew that for a fact. She was serious, all business and a skilled fighter and killer besides. Sure, her first kill had distressed her and perhaps even the couple after that, but they had occurred such a long time ago that they were little more than distant memories. How could she offer comfort and consolation when the reasons for needing such were little more than fleeting memories? She had killed so very many times, countless victims, dozens of victims, that it was simply a part of life. It was what it was and all she could offer were arguments as to why Nathan's first kill was justified. She could only d so much.
"I"m sorry you had to be dragged into the middle of that," Meld stated. That much, at least, was true. Her own desire to live was a sorry excuse for bringing an innocent mutant into the middle of her own personal war zone. She felt vaguely ashamed that she had even agreed to allow the young metal mutant to help, she really should have known better. Although he may have been older than Aura, Aura he was not. Her friend was a seasoned killer and soldier long before she had ever met Meld and her age, therefore, was very deceiving. This man was different, he was still young and very very niave. She should have known better. Now all she could do was make a vain attempt to make up for her mistake by bringing her to Sanctuary. At least there he would have a safe place to stay.
As Nathan faded back into his human flesh and blood form, Meld was careful not to touch him again with her titanium limbs. One life or death situation was quite enough, she was certain. Instead she held open the door to the warehouse leading outside. It was still night and the darkness would work in their favour. "Are you able to safely sit in a car while I drive us back to Sanctuary?" Meld asked. It was too far to easily walk but with her electric hand, stealing a car was almost pathetically easy.
>> "Are you able to safely sit in a car while I drive us back to Sanctuary?"
Meld held the door open for Nathan as he walked outside. He felt numb, and the sun seemed brighter than normal. He stood in the alley and thought for a second. “So long as I’m not touching metal, I should be fine.” he said. He didn’t care much either way. He’d shown his mutation in public and it hadn’t been any different here. In a way it was worse. At least in London he knew his way around. He knew where to avoid, and he knew how to fit in. Here, he would be an outsider even without his mutation.
It’s not even as if coming here had been a mistake. It was the best option he’d had, and he was with someone who was willing to take him to the ‘Sanctuary’ wherever that was. It was a hiding place for mutants. It was where he belonged. Not in the sense of belonging to a family, but in the sense that monkeys belonged in a zoo. Meld had told him he was special. Sure he was. Like the kids licking the windows at the back of the bus.
He remembered everyone’s horrified expressions, the fear and the panic. He hadn’t understood the nature of this resentment. Why did they hate him? He hadn’t done anything to them! Couldn’t they understand that this was a cross for him to bear? But now he knew. He was the one who didn’t understand. He was a danger. To everyone around him. The looks of hatred and horror were justified. They knew what he was, better than he did himself. It was better then, by far, that he go to the sanctuary.
There, people would know what he was, and wouldn’t judge him. He could spend his time looking for a cure, perhaps, or even seeking absolution. Regardless, he had managed a plane ride, and so long as he was careful, he could definitely manage a car ride. “How far is it to your car?” Nathan asked, looking over to Meld.
Posted by vampyremage on Sept 4, 2010 7:32:46 GMT -6
Guest
"Not far," Meld answered. Of course, she didn't actually own a car but unless he specifically asked or noticed anything unusual, she wasn't about to say a thing. Her electric hand took care of everything for her and although she still regretted, just a little, the taking of said hand from a fellow mutant, he had brought it on himself by first taking her hand. She hadn't killed him, of course, because she didn't kill mutants any more than she killed children, but it had been a fitting punishment for taking her own hand first. Here she was with the power to take the limbs and the powers of other mutants but she had too strong of morals to actually do it. Now that was irony for you.
The problems many mutants faced of not being able to control their powers wasn't something that Meld had ever had to deal with, not really. Sure, there had been a brief period of time when she had first gotten her hand that it insisted on blowing up electronics without her desiring it to do so, but that was minor compared to what most had to go through. Her true power, her flesh melding, was something that didn't require that sort of practice. It was all about learning to craft the perfect flesh meld, that which would give her the most advantages with the least disadvantages and if she had gone through some partially unsuccessful melds in the past, none of them had been truly dangerous. Her biggest problem was her lack of a sense of touch and even that was mostly just dangerous to her.
Even though Meld didn't have any particular vehicle in mind, she walked forward with a purpose, acting as if she knew exactly where she was going. In no time at all she found what she was looking for, a newish car, nothing too exceptional, but one with electronic locks. A touch of her hand to the car lock and it opened. Climbing in, she unlocked the other lock the old fashioned way and another touch to the ignition and the car purred to life. Her hand wasn't so good when it came to power electronics on their own for long periods of time nor with turning on large numbers of electronics, but it was just about perfect for jacking cars. She waited for Nathan to climb in beside her. If he didn't notice the lack of keys she wouldn't say anything at all and just let him assume this was her vehicle. No harm there, really.
Nathan followed the purposefully striding Meld. It made sense she’d have a car nearby to where her hideout was. She needed to be able to make quick getaways and such. So this was the life of a mutant, huh? Constantly on the run, for fear of assassination? Still, given what he done by accident, he had no excuses to make on behalf of the mutants that he’d read about, going on murderous rampages and killing humans deliberately. And in large amounts. Nathan was lucky he’d wound up with one of the nice ones.
Meld led him to a nice looking Audi. Probably recent, but Nathan had no way of telling. American license plates were different to the ones he knew back home. Meld walked in and entered, popping the side-door for him, so he gingerly tapped it open with his foot, aware that any contact with the metal chassis of the car would trigger his transformation again. Once he was sitting in, the next problem was the seatbelt, but with some delicacy, he clicked himself in and was strapped in and ready to roll.
“Back there…” Nathan began as Meld kicked the engine into gear and began to drive. “I’m sorry I…I killed one of them. I didn’t want to but…And now you’re gonna be wanted. Even more, I mean. I’ve just given you trouble. And I wasn’t even any use to you! I…I’m sorry for the mess I’ve made of things.” he said, despondent. Now he was out of his metal form, he had hormones, nerve endings; all his neural and biological mechanics which were lacking in his metal form. These included tear ducts, which were fully functional.
Nathan started to cry. Not a wailing sound, nor heaving sobs. He looked immensely sad, but made no sound as tears began to roll down his face.
Posted by vampyremage on Sept 5, 2010 9:53:23 GMT -6
Guest
Meld was never so thankful as she was at that moment that the trip to Sanctuary was uneventful. It wasn't so much for her own sake, she was used to people trying to kill her, but for Nathan's. Even though she knew the assassins may have very well been successful if not for the unexpected arrival of the metal mutant, death was something she had long ago accepted as a likely eventuality. Did she want to die? No, of course not, at least not anytime soon. But the fact was, doing what she did, she knew she probably would sooner or later. Eventually one of her enemies would get in a lucky shot or there would be more enemies than she could effectively deal with at any one time. She was likely to die in battle and that was simply a fact of life, whether she liked it or not.
Nathan, however, was clearly not of the same mindset. She could see that he wasn't taking his accidental killing well and she honestly didn't know what to do about it. She wasn't the comforting type, that wasn't her role in the world. All she could hope to do was bring him to Sanctuary where he could be among his own kind and hopefully find some peace and acceptance in what he was and what he'd done. Hopefully time was all he would need in order to come to grips with what had happened. Maybe someone in Sanctuary would be able to help him come to grips with what he'd done, someone who wasn't herself. Lenna, perhaps. Or, well, that was about the only person she could think of that might have a chance of helping.
"Its not your fault," Meld answered Nathan. She wasn't pandering to him, wasn't trying to make him feel better about himself, or at least that wasn't her only reason for saying it. Because, as luck would have it, it just happened to be the truth. "The man that died, he would have killed the both of us if he had the chance. By being there today, you probably saved my life." Then he was crying and Meld was completely at a loss about what to do about it. Her eyes went from paying attention to the road to staring at Nathan and back to the road again. How was she expected to deal with this? She barely understood her own emotions, let alone how to deal with the emotions of anyone else.
Meld finally stopped her borrowed vehicle about a block away from Sanctuary and got out, waiting for Nathan to do the same. She was careful not to touch him again. "Talk to Lenna," Meld suggested as kindly as she could. "I'm sorry, I'm not the best person to talk to about these kinds of things. But Lenna, well, she might be able to help you. The receptionist Lisa, I'll introduce you to her, she'll be able to get you in touch with Lenna." Lenna who could temporarily erase any mutant's power so long as that mutant remained within her aura. Lenna who secretly scared the crap out of her because if she got too close to the woman she would be half paralyzed. But Lenna might just be able to help.
Nathan heard her, disbelieving. I mean, honestly, how could it not be? He showed up and made things worse. He’d slowed down her escape, knocked her down and made it impossible for her to lose her pursuers. But he wasn’t done there. Oh no, not by a long shot. He had to stay to ‘help’ some more. He let her fight 2 opponents at once, and while she was clearly fighting to incapacitate, he just had to kill his, didn’t he. He’d screwed up and how. He knew it. She was trying to make him feel better, but whatever else it was, it was definitely his fault.
>> "The man that died, he would have killed the both of us if he had the chance. By being there today, you probably saved my life."
Nathan sniffed at this. His eyes still welling, but he wiped the torn remnants of a shirt sleeve across his face. Heh. At least that was still good for something. He was topless in a friend’s car, travelling to a place where he could belong. He’d almost resolved to hate himself forever, and she came out with that. He looked at her, but she was straight-faced, and didn’t seem to be the type to lie to him at all. Not that she wasn’t capable of it, he was just certain she was actually being straight with him. She really believed that, she wasn’t just saying it to make him feel better. Though, honestly, it did.
The tears stopped flowing and his eyes, whilst red, were soon water-free. He needed to look at this from that perspective. It’d eat him up otherwise. He’d taken a life. Sure. He’d also saved one. A life for a life. Was that right, though? What right did he have to place values on a human’s existence. He was trying to balance the scales here with big words like Good and Evil. Useless words. There was no disguising that he’d meant to hit the guy. He wasn’t trying to kill him, but so what? He had. Maybe he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help feeling guilty. The bright ray of hope that he might have saved the life of a woman was the only thing keeping him from tears again now.
Meld pulled up and opened the door for him. He gingerly stepped out and looked up and down the street. Meld acknowledged that she wasn’t the best person to speak to about this. “No, really?” his inner monologue asked, but that mean thought just made him feel worse. Not only had he screwed up big time, but now he was making someone try and console him. Someone who clearly wasn’t comfortable doing so. And all he could find was criticism? Nice, Nathan. Real nice.
She mentioned a woman named Lenna. He tilted his head to one side, almost dislodging another tear, but blinking it back. “Lenna…” he said, testing the name out. “I…I think I should talk to someone. I need to.” he said weakly. “Where can I find Lenna?” he asked, clearly a little distracted. She’d explained but he was having trouble focusing.
Posted by vampyremage on Sept 5, 2010 17:23:19 GMT -6
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Meld felt an acute sense of relief when Nathan finally stopped crying. She wasn't certain if it was something she'd said or not, she was just thankful for the change of direction. Emotions were just so difficult to deal with and irrational besides. She had been accused of being emotionless at times, though it really wasn't true. She just preferred to carefully regulate and control them whenever possible and she couldn't even remember the last time she had actually cried. It just didn't serve any logical purpose what so ever.
Meld held open the gleaming doors of Sanctuary for Nathan to enter, not wanting another metal man incident. Though she wasn't even certain if his power extended to precious metals like gold, possibly something she should inquire about in the future. "I'll call Lenna just as soon as your settled," she assured him.
Once inside Meld flagged Lisa down so that Nathan could be gotten a room. That woman, it seemed never slept. Maybe that was her mysterious power, if she even was a mutant. She was one of the great mysteries of Sanctuary and whatever the truth of her mutant or human heritage, neither she nor anyone who knew were talking. Not that it mattered much anyway, because she did good work within the Sanctuary halls.
As soon as Nathan's room was chosen, Meld led him to it. It wasn't far from her own room an she instructed him not to hesitate to knock on her door if he needed anything. She also showed him where to find the essentials, such as the kitchen, and another other area he wished to know about. Once the grand tour was complete and she was certain he needed nothing else, she retired to her own room. She would call Lenna first thing in the morning to see if she was willing to talk with the poor kid. Hopefully she was better at all the emotional stuff than Meld herself was.