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 Liz Sundance on Jun 28, 2012 21:27:31 GMT -6
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(((OOC: This is to explain the year-long absence of Elizabeth IC-wise)))
Elizabeth flopped her suitcases onto her bed. Her new bed, that is. It wasn’t the same bed she used to have at the mansion. In fact, the room wasn’t even the same one she had had. No, she gave that up a long time ago. She was pretty sure somebody else had taken it already. Wouldn’t the first thing the school would do for new boarding students be to put them up in the first available room? And her room had been very available. Haylee wasn’t very hard to get along with, and, well, since Liz no longer needed it....
It didn’t matter now. What was done was done. All in the past. Water under the bridge. History. No, memories. Liz blinked away a tear before it could form as she placed her last container on top of her dresser. The inhabitant squawked as the cage jostled before the girl could right it. With barely a moment’s thought, she sent a ray of ease at the bird. “It’s okay, Nico. You’re done moving. We’re here for good.”
She smiled for the bird’s sake. At least, that’s what she told herself. She was okay. She had to be okay. Everything was going to be okay. Right.
Liz blinked and went back to her suitcases. Unzip. Open. Start taking clothes out. yeah, she could do that. All she had to do was worry about separating underclothes from normal clothes, skirts from jeans, stuff like that. She didn’t have to think about why she came back to the mansion. No, that wasn’t safe, but clothes were.
While putting her socks in the top drawer of the dresser, she caught Nico staring at her. He seemed....so unlike himself. He wasn’t furtively looking around the room or his cage, searching for any means to cause mischief. He was prattling on with any of the few words he knew. He wasn’t pacing back and forth on his perch. In fact, he seemed....sad.
She stood up straight and gently placed her hand on the cage. She opened a small stream of joy and peace towards the bird, attempting to cheer him up. “You remember this place, right? Well, not this room, but the mansion? And the grounds outside? We lived here last year.” Last year... The words stuck in her head. Her attempts to cheat and cheer up Nico seemed to be failing. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t know what to do to make you happy.” It was the first time her power didn’t work on a normal animal. Were her powers starting to fail? Or...could it be...
“No, I’m not happy,” she breathed. She ripped her shields up as high as they could go. The last she wanted was a depressed parrot on her dresser. But the realization that she wasn’t happen felt like a blow to her gut. Psychologists always said that recognizing that there is a problem is the first step to overcoming it, though, right? Elizabeth’s eyes began watering and she dropped to the floor and threw her back against her bed. Well what do they know?
But she did need to get herself under control. She could do it. She could be tough. After all, she made the trip from New Jersey all the way to new York by herself, didn’t she? Elizabeth Sundance, professional Damsel-In-Distress--twice held hostage, twice hunted by vicious mutants, once a near-victim of an angry mob--had braved the populace at large while handling two massive suitcases and a birdcage. All by herself. She had even registered at the mansion on her lonesome. She could make it. She could survive.
Even if she had to sit on the floor of her newly acquired room and psychoanalyze herself to death.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jun 28, 2012 22:06:18 GMT -6
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It probably all started at the end of the last summer.
Elizabeth had received a call from her mother. Uncle Tobias had been involved in a car accident. The driver of a semi had been on the road the entire night, fighting sleep in order to make his delivery on schedule. Bad traffic, he claimed. As he came down the street he finally nodded off, unable to push off sleep for any longer. Yes, he should’ve just pulled over or something and take a nap, but he thought he could stay awake just long enough.
Uncle Tobias had been on his way to go into work early. He was drinking his coffee and halfway across the intersection (since his light was green) when a massive semi barreled into him. He never had a chance. The semi ran right over the car, crushing him completely. The front half of the car was demolished and looked only slightly better than its driver. The occupant was identified only from his wallet and license plate.
When her mother called, Liz had broken down. Uncle Tobias was her favorite uncle. As a little girl, he’d always pull quarters and dollars from behind her ears and praise her “magical ears”. When she spent the night with him and Aunt Leah, he would let her eat ice cream for breakfast (whenever Aunt Leah wasn’t around). He always had time for her and she spent many a weekend at his house. He and Aunt Leah frequently traveled, since they didn’t have any kids, and so their house was full of the oddest stuff. Genuine Chinese Dragon bones in the living room. African witch-doctor masks hanging by the pots in the kitchen. A rock garden with a koi pond in the backyard. A flying carpet in the foyer that nobody knew the magic words for. Uncle Tobias was always fun. She loved him.
And now he was gone.
A full five minutes later, once her sobs had diminished, she agreed to have her mom drive up to get her for the funeral.
Taking mostly just black clothing and Nico, Liz was ready the next day. They made it back home in time for the viewing, held in the local Baptist church her Uncle and Aunt attended. It could’ve been a joyous occasion, being able to see family members for the first time in years. After all, her family was spread all throughout New England, Oregon, Texas, and Alabama. Cousins she’d forgotten, relatives-in-law she’d never met before, tiny little babies she’d only heard about; it could’ve still been a nice time. And it probably was--for other friends and family of Uncle Tobias. But not for Liz. It was like losing a much older brother. Her tears never stopped flowing.
In fact, unaware of it as she was, due to her mind being full of the image of the closed-casket that contained her uncle, she was the reason that nobody heard any birds or bugs during the entire funeral. It was the first time in the history of the funeral that the animal residents had mourned the loss of a man as well.
Then the party happened. Uncle tobias had always tried to make everyone happy, and so he’d always talked about having a party when he died, because he didn’t want anyone to be sad. But it didn’t work for Liz. She had spent the entire time, sitting on the end of the couch in the corner with Uncle Tobias’ two German Shepherds at her feet, trying to hide her face from everyone. If anyone noticed that the two dogs never moved from their spot the entire time, or that the koi in the pond in the back seemed to be hiding, or that the neighbors’ dogs never once barked in complaint of all the noise and strange people at the house, then they certainly never attributed it to the grieving girl on the couch.
When the party finally ended and everyone went home, Liz went straight to her room, never once noticing how the cat fled her arrival, despite its regular friendliness toward even strangers. She had cried for hours before just sitting up and rocking back and forth. A chunk of her life was gone. Intellectually, she knew everything would be okay, but it was Uncle Tobias! It wasn’t going to be okay!
Liz cried herself to sleep that night, and when her mother peeked in to check on her, her pillow was stained with tears.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jun 29, 2012 18:43:51 GMT -6
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In the morning, Elizabeth woke to the all-too-bright sun streaming through her windows and burning into her eyes. She blinked a few times, attempting to quickly adjust her vision to a well-illuminated room. For just a moment, a smile formed on her lips as she greeted the new day. But it vanished when she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and felt the barely noticeable salty tracks of tears.
And thus started a new day. Shuffling out of her room in a zombie-like state, Liz made it to breakfast and woodenly nibbled at her eggs and toast. They tasted like cardboard and rubber. She could feel her father staring at her, as her lack of appetite was unusual, but she didn’t care. Uncle Tobias would never eat again.
She pushed back her chair and, leaving her food at the table, fled to her room before collapsing on her bed face-first.
She didn’t know how long she lay there crying. At one point she must’ve fallen asleep, because she woke up when a hand gently shook her shoulder. Sitting up, she realized that it was her aunt. Aunt Leah. With only a sad smile, the short-haired brunette opened her arms and a sobbing blonde mutant fell into them.
Leah wrapped her arms around her niece and rested her cheek on Elizabeth’s head. “It’s alright,” she whispered, “I miss him too.” The woman remained on the edge of the bed, gently rocking back and forth and rubbing Liz’ back. Tears of her own flowed down her face, matching those of the teen who was crying into her shoulder. She didn’t say anything else; she didn’t need to. Leah knew that there was a time and a place for everything, and at the moment Liz just needed to cry.
And maybe she did too.
After all, it was her husband that had died. Tragically. Even though Liz had been like an adopted daughter at times, it was a harsh blow to Leah. After twenty-four years with the greatest man on the planet, she had suddenly been left with nothing but memories. But they were wonderful memories indeed. Tobias had been a Godsend to her. He made her happy, even when spelunking in caves in Argentina or catching octopi in the Great Barrier Reef or when he would tell utterly ridiculous stories about finding the Fountain of Youth and the Holy Grail.
But oh Lordy! She was sad yet glad that she wasn’t struck down like Liz! But then, she’d faced death before. At 13, her maternal grandmother had died. It had nearly killed her, just like Liz was now. And then at 16, two of her friends had been ran over by a drunk driver. Again, she had barely recovered. To her knowledge, this was the first death Liz had experienced. And to have had it happen to one of the people she was closest too...
Oh you poor girl. Leah kissed the girl’s hair and closed her eyes. She would be there for Elizabeth. She understood what she was going through better than anyone else. Everything would be okay.
Liz hugged her aunt tighter as she poured out her grief.
The two stayed that way for over an hour before the younger finally drifted into slumber. Extricating herself carefully from the exhausted teen, Leah quietly turned the lights off and left the room, closing the door behind her. Now she was going to go home, sit in Tobias’ armchair, and just remember all of the good times they had had together.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jun 29, 2012 23:51:26 GMT -6
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The slumbering teen slowly ceased her fling with the Sandman. Cracking her eyes open carefully, lest they be seared by the sun, she was slightly surprised that only faint moonlight filtered in through her blinds and curtains. Rolling over onto her back, Elizabeth tilted her head until she could see the window.
The common sight of the lights from a quiet neighborhood at night softly shone onto her ceiling. Tossing her head to the other side of her pillow, she managed to look at her alarm clock. 12:43 am. She returned her gaze to the ceiling with a sigh. An entire day wasted. Asleep. But it wasn’t really a waste, now, was it? She barely remembered running from breakfast and crying. Waking up and hugging her aunt and crying. Crying until she could cry no more. And now...now she didn’t feel like crying.
It felt like there was a sheer curtain in front of Liz now, with the empath on one side and the accident on the other. Still there, just within reach, but not harsh or scalding. Like her curtains kept the worst of the sunlight out during the day. Maybe all she had needed was a good, long sleep. She had definitely been emotionally exhausted, if not physically. Or maybe she’d just needed to get it all out. And there had been so much of it.
Liz flipped over onto her side. Sometime while she was asleep, someone had put a cover over Nico’s cage. Not a peep could be heard from him. She allowed herself to smile at the thought of her bird. How content he must be, being home once again after so long at the mansion....
Unasked for, yet not pushed away, memories of her year began pushing to the front of her mind.
There was that first moment, when she and her mom were given a tour of the mansion by Fade. And that first encounter with Carrick. That was a particularly fond memory. she could still remember the sheen of light on his golden feathers and that sparkle of mischief in his multi-colored eyes.
Then there was Haylee and memories of talking late at night with Oreos and milk. Memories of reaching out and befriending Agnes. Of talking to Amber. To Carrick. Spending time with friends. Experimenting with powers. Eating bird seed with Carrick. Possessing a German Shepherd. Angua. A crow. A lizard. Meeting Mirror. Rachel. Others. Warm, positive feelings bubbled up inside of Liz and she smiled for the first time in days.
But then came the other memories, once the floodgates were open. Getting kidnapped by muggers. Rescued by Carrick. Held hostage by gunmen at the movies. Being rescued by Meld, her shiny and metallic savior. The time when she and Amber had scared off the creepy man with the killer deathworms. That other time when she and Amber had fallen beneath an angry mob of mutant-haters, only to be rescued by a size-shifting man. The church service that ended with a massive fire. That evening that would’ve been a nice semi-date with Carrick, but turned out with her being nearly mauled by a lion-man. And the time she and Angua had watched their newfound friend be burnt to death, for the sole purpose of existing and being itself.
The memories fought amongst themselves, vying to take up the most room. That lovely moment there. The gut-wrenching second there. The terrifying experience over there. That happy time then. But despite their lack of uniformity, Liz, in her self-reflective state, picked out two connected threads that wove everything together. One, she was nearly constantly in danger. And two, she could never get by on her own. Not once, in all those traumatizing events, had she been able to rescue herself. Not once. Despite all the learning to use her abilities and such she was supposed to have accumulated over the year, none of it did any good. Possessing an animal? Oh yeah, like that would stop bullets and fire. Screaming for help? Like that worked against the lion. Kicking, hitting, slapping? That worked for two seconds against the kidnappers.
With those two plucked threads, Liz decided. I can’t go back to the mansion. Or else she’d end up like Uncle Tobias; killed in a tragic, unavoidable accident. how would her parents take that? As it was, they never knew what had happened to her in New York. Since there had never been any real damage and the scenarios could (hopefully) never occur again, she had conveniently “forgotten” to mention them. Besides, her parents would’ve pulled her out of school.
But maybe that would’ve been better. Then those things could never have happened to her. And she wouldn’t have made those friends either...It didn’t matter. If something would ever happen to her, something that not even DocProf could fix, then her parents would be destroyed. I’m doing this for them, she told herself. She half believed it. I just can’t go back. I can’t end up like Uncle Tobias.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jul 2, 2012 0:10:59 GMT -6
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When the sun finally arose on that morning, Elizabeth was already up. By the time her parents made their way downstairs, they were greeted by homemade biscuits and gravy, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and sausage links. Fresh coffee was in the pot and each place setting had all the required utensils and a glass of milk. Needless to say, the atmosphere was entirely different than the day before.
As the Sundances all sat down to eat, Elizabeth broke the news after Grace was said. She was not going to return to the school that year. She had put in quite a bit of thought and decided that she needed to be home. With family. She felt that her empathy was under enough control that she could function normally, even with large amounts of animals nearby. And it would give her a chance to catch up with all of her friends still in the area.
The only thing she left out was that it was safer than returning to the mansion.
Two days later, Liz and her mother drove back to the school. Liz packed everything up while her mother formally withdrew her. Elizabeth said many goodbyes as she passed people in the halls and by the time they were back in the car, fresh tears dotted her cheeks. On the way home, she realized that she was really going to miss all of her new friends. And Carrick. especially him.
But she sucked it up. She could still get in touch with them. She would only be a single text away, after all. And just about everyone had internet. And she was doing this for a lot of good reasons. Really. It was just a small sacrifice she’d have to live with. Family came first. Right?
Once back at home, Elizabeth took her time unpacking and preparing her room to live in again. Her sombrero went on its hook. Her sunglasses went back to their places on the rack on her desk. Everything went back to the way it was the year before. And everything was going to be the same, except better. Even without Uncle--No. She wasn’t going to think about that at the moment. She was making some changes. No matter what, she was going to hold her head up high and be the best person she could be. And she would take care of herself and her family, too.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jul 2, 2012 21:56:04 GMT -6
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The school year started off most wonderfully. Junior year. She was an upperclassman. This was going to be her year to shine. Seniors had their minds focused on college and their futures, but juniors only had to look forward to being seniors. In the meantime, Liz was going to enjoy every moment of the new year.
Having been enrolled weeks before the year started, Liz started right on time with everybody else. And it had been the biggest surprise to her friends. She had kept her return a secret and the surprise on everyones’ faces made Elizabeth feel like her decision had been well worth it. Emily had remained attached to her side during all four of their shared classes, and that had been after she had greeted the returning blonde with a flying tackle.
Fortunately, due to her high grades at the Mansion, and based on recommendations from her 9th grade teachers, Liz had been able to skip the summer reading work required for her AP classes. As much as a relief as that was, Liz still had a bit of catching up to do in the classes. But she did it. She wasn’t one to procrastinate or put off work without a good reason. That’s one of the reasons she ranked number eleven in her grade, even after a year’s absence.
Even with her extensive workload at school, she joined the volleyball team in the fall. She got involved in Beta and the school’s peer-tutoring program. She even got a part-time job at the local pound and was working on getting her driver’s liscense. All in all, it was looking to be everything she wanted out of the school year.
But even at home, things were looking brighter than they had before Liz had enrolled at Xavier’s Sister School. The Fuzz was slowly starting to come around to her (after a constant, shameless flow of treats and goodies). Her parents seemed to smile more. Aunt Jane began spending more time with the trio, coming over at least once a week for dinner and talking. Liz had even managed to clean out the attic and had hosted a yard sale all by herself. $132 made its way into the family’s pockets that day.
Elizabeth also constantly worked on her powers, too. The pound was an excellent place for that. After all, if she could hold it together after spending hours with all those poor, dejected animals, and still be able to smile, then she could handle anything. In theory. And her boss always said that the animals always seemed much happier whenever Liz was working. They usually managed to get more of them adopted at the same time, too.
Thanksgiving came and went. The Sundance clan went to Elizabeth’s grandparents house for dinner along with Aunt Jane, her father’s two brothers and sister, and all of their kids as well. It was wonderful seeing that part of the family together again for a happy occasion. And the Black friday shopping the next day was excellent as well.
Finals at school came up and Liz busted her butt off in study for them. She aced them all, even her original piano composition for Orchestra. All three kids that she tutored on Tuesdays and Thursdays passed their finals too. It had made her so proud.
Finally, Christmas arrived. No description could do it justice.
All in all, that first semester turned out to be the greatest one Liz had ever had, both at school and at home. She’d made many friends, gotten involved in many things, and generally had a blast the entire time. And she had never been in danger. Nobody had shot, kidnapped, assaulted, scared, or otherwise brought harm to her in any way. Everything was perfect!
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jul 4, 2012 23:33:35 GMT -6
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His name was Russell Crane. He was a new student. He sat beside Elizabeth in Art History. Across from her in Government class. Up two seats and over one in AP Lit. On her other side in Orchestra. His locker was seven to the left of hers, number 327. He liked singing and was equally fond of country and rock. He not only played the cello for class, but he also carried a ukulele around the school and often played it between classes. Specifically after Art History, Government, his third period Anatomy and Physiology class, before/during/after lunch, and after school on the way to his car. Liz only knew this stuff because she watched him. THere was something funny about the guy.
He was too dang gorgeous!
His hair was as black as the soul of midnight, slightly curled and short. His eyes were the color of and as deep as an ocean and glinted like moonlight off the surface of it. Liz was especially observant of this, because he tended to wink at her a lot. He also smiled at her with a higher frequency than he did to other people, showing off the dazzling smile that could put toothpaste commercials to shame. His face always appeared in shadows, due to the small growth of scruff adorning it.
His attire struck the eye as well. Vests and button-up shirts or simple trendy t-shirts framed his well-proportioned physique. Dark jeans were his preferred taste in legwear. He always wore a leather thong with a crucifix around his neck. An ebony-and-silver watch sat on his wrist. He had the most adorable dimple on his left cheek. His mouth would twitch charmingly when he tried to hide a smile. He had a way of lighting up an entire room just by walking into it. His voice sounded like a songbird’s dream (and she would know, having had possessed one before).
Yeah, one could say that he was more than interesting to Elizabeth. But he had that effect on everybody. Other girls practically threw themselves at him. The soccer, tennis, and track teams all tried to recruit him. The debaters almost got him. Elderly female teachers would get tickled to death when he called them “ma’am”. People just seemed to instantly like him and look up to him.
And then he started sitting at Elizabeth’s table at lunch. Now, that wasn’t a problem, or even suspicious. He was getting to be close buddies with Jarod. And he and Emily had hit it off right away. Amy, Julia, and Derreck seemed to like him as well. But had it been her imagination that Liz would frequently catch him staring at her a bit longer than normal? Her alarms began going off. She noticed his rather frequent attention towards her quite a bit after the first few weeks of the new semester. Being a past-victim of many unfortunate events, Liz was rather paranoid.
Until Russell asked her out.
It took two seconds to answer. In the first second: disbelief, relief, worry, anticipation, elation, joy, nervousness, confusion, shock. In the second second: Carrick. What about him? Well, there was nothing official. And they didn’t really have anything, right? So this was okay.
“Yes,” she had said.
And so they were the newest couple in the class. They carpooled to school. Russell walked her to classes that were near him. They sat right beside each other at lunch. They surprised each other with little gifts for no reason at all. They texted for hours each night. They left humorous little messages in the other’s locker. They had dinners together. They went to movies together. They grew close. (Well, as close as two people can really get after only knowing them for two months.)
Liz actually considered him a possibility to be Mr. Right. He was intelligent, funny, exceedingly handsome. He was suave and charming, always knew the right thing to say, and so happy to be around. He usually had some song on his mind that he’d sing for Liz, occasionally getting her to join him in private duets. They had so much in common, from music to favorite books and movies to food preferences, even to sports and politics. Everything was just going right, you know?
Until one day, during one of their texting sessions. Liz had been feeling guilty. After all, they seemed to be serious about their relationship (not in the physical way, mind you) and Elizabeth felt terrible for holding back a single secret. As far as Russell knew, they told each other everything. Except that one thing, buried deep under memories and locked away by promises. But finally, when the right opportunity came up in conversation, she told him.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jul 5, 2012 22:51:44 GMT -6
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Elizabeth did not hear from Russell for the rest of the night.
In the morning, while waiting in her living room for Russell to come by and pick her up for school, she turned on the news, expecting on to catch a little bit of it before her boyfriend would should up. Fifteen minutes later, during the morning traffic report, he had not arrived. A quick text queried as to where exactly the boy was. No reply.
Liz ended up driving to school herself and made it to class a single second before the tardy bell rang.
Throughout the class, Liz noticed something strange. Russell wouldn’t look at her. Not even once. He never even passed a note over. In fact, he seemed to be sitting as far away from her as possible while still remaining in his desk. It felt like there was a cold wall between them.
But the frosty glares from the majority of her classmates whenever the teacher looked away were even worse.
Everywhere she went that morning treated her with the same effect. The open hostility on faces as she walked by. The way clusters of kids would fall silent as she passed. The way sweet little Alicia nearly shrieked in terror when Liz helped her pick up her fallen books. The scowls from classmates. How students completely ignored her in class discussions. How the freshmen stared at her warily, like antelope stared at a curious lion.
And Russell never once even looked her way, except for the burning, smoldering, yet frigid, distant gaze he gave her exactly once in Government when he thought she wasn’t looking.
Unsurprisingly, he did not join Liz and her friends at lunch. But that’s when her friends gave her the low-down.
“Is it true what everyone’s saying?” Emily asked quietly. Derreck and the others just looked at Elizabeth, identical expressions of hurt on their faces.
“Is what true?” the blonde replied.
“That you’re...a mutant?”
The world froze. Wha-huh? How on Earth did--? Oh my gosh, what will--? Who di--? “Russell,” she stated, keeping her voice firm, despite its longing to quiver. The girl blinked and lowered her head so she was staring right at the table. “Yeah, I am.”
An explosion of emotions erupted from the admission. Amy was furious that Liz had never told any of them, her best friends! Emily felt pain, hurt by the very same fact, nearly to the point of tears. Julia, her eyes full of sympathy, said nothing but reached over to grasp Elizabeth’s hand. Derreck just looked away. Elizabeth....well, she could do nothing. She gripped Julia’s hand tightly and then lowered her head even further, sinking into her seat and fighting the tears.
Yeah, she should’ve told them. But she’d promised her parents that she’d never tell anyone. And a Sundance always kept her promises. And maybe she just wanted to be normal, like everyone else. She was still a teenager just like them, right? Even though she’d betrayed them. And now the whole school knew her secret.
But a low, calmly stated question brought her head up. “Is the rest of it true, then?” Derreck asked.
“What else?” Liz whispered.
“Did you try to sleep with him? By using your mutant mind powers?”
“What? No...oh God!” Horror and despair wrenched her voice and Liz dropped her head into her face. There was nothing to hold back the tears and the sobs. “Thank God,” she heard Derreck’s ay, just a moment before his strong arms wrapped around her, rubbing her back as she turned her sobs toward his chest.
She heard her other friends as well. “We knew that stuff Russell was saying isn’t true,” Julia told her. She left out the fact that Elizabeth’s mutated status had been true. Liz could’ve kissed her for that. “And we’ve got your back.” And Liz knew that they did.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jul 9, 2012 21:09:55 GMT -6
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Sept 9, 2024 8:03:10 GMT -6
Zek
Somehow, Elizabeth managed to get through lunch. Even after some kid “accidentally” slipped and dumped part of his lunch all across her back. Emily and Julia got as much off as they could, but her shirt was still a mess. Amy snuck her out of the cafeteria and out to her car. Liz and Amy, fortunately, wore the same size and Amy just happened to have a spare change of clothes in her car.
But as she returned to her locker in order to get her books for her next class, Liz burst into tears ago. Crude drawings covered her locker. Explicit jeers, taunts, and insults created a terrible mural of graphic graffiti, intent on destroying Liz. What was going on? Did so many people really believe those awful things? How could they be like this?
She fought to maintain a blank expression, drawing upon the serenity of a sparrow in its nest outside the school. Students repeated their earlier performances; never coming close to her, blasting her with silent and intense hostility and accusations. But now, as the rumors and gossip had had an entire half-day to grow and multiply, the name-calling began.
It was never blatant. Never to her face. Probably because they were all scared that she’d use her “mutant mind powers” on them. The notion of threatening to use such powers had briefly danced amongst Elizabeth’s thoughts, but that’d only make things worse. And it would make her feel worse. If such a thing is possible.
But as Liz walked down the halls toward her next class, she heard snippets of conversation, most of it derogatory in nature, and all aimed at her. Words she’d never heard before, but could extrapolate the meaning of based off of context and tone. Words she’d heard before, but would never say herself. Words she’d never have expected to hear coming from the mouths of some of the people who used to be her friends.
She slipped into class and went to her assigned seat. Thoughts turned inward and she mostly ignored the day’s lesson.
Is the whole school against me? They really think I....tried to...do THAT? A cacophony emotions. Disbelief that anyone would think that she, Goody-two-shoes Liz would ever even do that. Anger that people would so quickly turn against her. Sorrow that so many people had. And it’s not even about me being a mutant. That I could understand. But everyone thinks I tried to coerce Russell to... Tears slid down her cheeks, but if anyone noticed that day, they didn’t care.
The cold shoulder routine continued for the rest of the day. That was the other thing that Liz couldn’t believe. She knew that Russell had always had a certain...effect...on people, but to such an extent that he corrupted the entire school and twisted them against her? Destroying her entire reputation with a single lie? She’d even caught a few teachers giving her disapproving stares.
Why, why, why couldn’t she have fallen for a different guy? She’d liked Russell. She could’ve imagined a future with him. But no more. There probably wasn’t a future for her at all in town anymore. Somehow everybody (except her dear, dear friends) had sided with Russell. She’d be named Liar. Already she was Mutant. Freak. And other capitalized titles.
Lies lies lies! They were all lies! Liz didn’t even have mind powers! At least, none that could even touch a human’s. But that would only make things worse. Bad enough that everyone thought she’d tried to force Russell to do something, but then they’d rant about her twisting the minds of animals as well, and spying on everybody, or making them serve her.
She’d burn at the stake for sure.
When school let out, she found that her car had been keyed. Water flowed from her eyes the entire trip home. She stormed directly to her room and collapsed on her bed, ignoring the phone call from Emily, who was making sure she’d gotten home okay. All Liz wanted to do was to escape from everything. And so she remained in her room the entire day, ignoring her parents (who’d gotten the story from Emily), and even covering Nico’s cage with a blanket.
That night, she dreamed of being chased by a horde of angry red demons. But at the last second, before they got her, she was rescued by a single figure. A glorious, golden angel.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jul 13, 2012 13:50:35 GMT -6
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Sept 9, 2024 8:03:10 GMT -6
Zek
The year passed laboriously for Elizabeth. People who didn’t know her at all generally shrank away or cringed or otherwise avoided her gaze whenever she passed them in the halls. Fear of her powers manifested itself in the horror of their faces. Liz could always tell, even without being able to sense their emotions. But it still felt like she was drowning in hostility, smothering in enemy territory.
She kept away from her locker. She lugged her books around with her backpack all day long lest they suffer from various substances students would slip into her locker. Damage from condiments packets from the cafeteria and honey from home had such barely been avoided. The locker itself had already been repainted twice, just to get rid of all of the horrific insults and messages that magically appeared in the ink of a Sharpie. It was easier to just stay away from it.
Liz took to wearing hoodies and jackets, even if she wasn’t cold. She wanted to hide her hair from anybody who would try to plant things in it. She’d dealt with chewing gum already. Her apparell began trending towards navys, greys, and black; it was easier to try to blend in with everyone else than to stand out in beautiful, brightly colored dresses and outfits. The less attention she attracted, the better off she was.
Somehow Russell’s influence remained strong, even in the face of people’s memories and beliefs about her. People she’d gone to school with, had had classes with, for up to seven or more years withdrew from her, believing the lies. She’d heard there was a Facebook page up about her, started by some loyal acolyte of Russell’s.
If only she’d never met the boy. Now, Liz had no idea what she’d seen in him. Yes, he was attractive, but, as the old saying went. beauty was only skin-deep. Despite the thrall he seemed to have over everyone, Liz alone knew the truth about him. Beneath that Greek god-like exterior lurked a terrible, traitorous, twisting-the-knife-in-your-back-as-he-shakes-your-hand jerk!
Fortunately, her friends still stuck by her, but even they soon began attracting flak. Guilty by association at its finest. Her life felt like a William Golding novel. The only thing left was to be speared by a pack of stupid, emotion-driven, ignorant kids. She was confident that no navy officer was going to miraculously appear in time to save her. Not with her luck.
In fact, with all the things she’d gone through, this was the worst. Even when kidnapped or nearly killed, there’d always been hope. Whether salvation came quickly in the form of a beautiful gryphon, a dead dinosaur, or even a cyborg woman, hope was always just around the corner. But two months of emotional agony proved that her luck had expired. Russell and his poisonous tongue had not abruptly moved away or become smacked by a bus. No, he still sat on the throne of the school, running everything and everyone.
Including her.
And there was nothing anyone could do about it. A few of the newer faculty members actually believed the stuff. But even after her parents had talked to the principals and the counselors and all of her teachers, nothing had changed. Administration cannot stop the spread of gossip and the tendency to believe a lie. Some kids had gotten detention, white cards, and suspensions due to their more blatant displays of antagonism towards the mutant, but most got by with their torments, but only because they were craftier and left little evidence.
Giving in to ancient instincts, Liz chose to flee such confrontations rather than fight. Not only was she rather poor at fighting, but it could get her into trouble as well and she refused to give anybody that satisfaction. Also, if she fought back, people would only become more convinced that they were right and that she was fighting due to her being guilty. As illogical as it is, that is the way of human nature.
She sat in the back corner of every class. she stopped answering teachers’ questions. She never went to the bathroom at school, managing to always hold it until she got home. Her parents picked her up each day and also took her to school so she wouldn’t have to worry about her car. Emily, Derreck, Julia, and Amy would walk in a circle around her between classes, protecting her from people. They sat all around her at lunch as well, in the far corner of the cafeteria. She skipped out on school-wide events, hiding in a sympathetic teacher’s classroom until the end of the day or the assembly was over. She always walked with her head down and had taken to bringing her iPod to school, so she could listen to music instead of insults and slander.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jul 15, 2012 22:10:02 GMT -6
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Sept 9, 2024 8:03:10 GMT -6
Zek
Never a quitter, Elizabeth slogged through the year, somehow. She finished up the tennis season, but didn’t make it to the championships. Not that it mattered anymore. The girls on the team, while not actually against her, usually treated her like a snake curled up in the middle of the room. She didn’t really want to go with the ones who did qualify for other events.
She managed to keep A’s in all of her classes, but just barely. She just didn’t feel the drive to work as hard anymore. And she’d had to teach herself most of the coursework since she usually ignored everything (and everyone) in the class. The peer-tutoring was the only thing Liz quit. Not only did she not want to have to deal with other kids, but the other kids did not want to have to deal with her. Even after all of the help she’d given them, (her being the direct reason many of them were passing their class for the year) they chose to believe that she was screwing with their minds and causing them to fail everything just so she could laugh at how stupid the “normals” were.
Everything else....she let slip away. She rarely stepped foot out of the house. What was the point? Most of the town had heard about her and her “powers.” Judgement would be leveled at her every single time she walked past somebody. In fact, the only place she ever went was to her job at the pound. It was the only place that didn’t make her want to curl up somewhere and die.
Whenever she walked in through the doors, dozens of puppies, dogs, kitties, and cats would start yipping, barking, howling, and meowing, all longing for her attention. Their simple, unbiased, raw adoration and happiness around her was always so infectious. It sloughed off the pressures at school. It raked away at the walls of sullenness erected around herself. And they made her forget.
She was working more hours than was legal, but nobody complained. Her parents and her employer all thought that it was best if Liz worked as much as possible, if only for her health. She was a completely different person, the old person, when she was at the pound.
And the school year finally ended. Tests were over, peers were gone, agony was abating. But the thought of the next year filled Liz with a dread loathing. It infected everything around her. The Fuzz rarely came by her anymore, preferring to slink off to some corner of the house and sulk. Nico stayed quiet, not even daring to mutter a “cheep.” The pound animals began catching on to it. They started howling and mrowing in despair and torment when Liz was around them for long enough.
Then finally, Liz had enough. There was nothing for her at home. She couldn’t go back to school and face all those people again. Not for a year. Not for her senior year, the supposedly best time of her life. There was really only one place she could go, a single place in the entire world where she could feel safe, secure, and accepted.
The School for Gifted Children.
Within a week, Liz was packed and waved her last goodbyes to her parents and Aunt Leah as the Greyhound bus pulled away.
Posted by Liz Sundance on Jul 16, 2012 20:41:48 GMT -6
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Sept 9, 2024 8:03:10 GMT -6
Zek
That chapter of her life was over, yet Elizabeth still could not stop remembering it. Yeah, that was probably why she was sad. Death, the destruction of a wonderful life, and the hideous feelings of unbridled prejudice and disgust leveled at her were excellent candidates for the source of her tears. Because it was true. Liz was not happy. Even though she was back at the mansion, it couldn’t hold a candle to what she had returned from.
She wiped her face, attempting to remove as many tears as possible. Her newly dried eyes strayed to her hands. She pushed the brightly-colored silicone wristbands back down to cover the scars. She wanted to put all of that behind her. Because she never wanted to remember any of it ever again. She had told her parents that she wanted to stay away for a while, hoping everything would pass over if she stayed out of mind for long enough. Tearfully, they had agreed.
So Liz was going to live at the mansion full-time. Not even going home for Christmas break. Or Thanksgiving. Or Easter. Or--
Liz abruptly rolled to her feet. No, that was the end of that unhappy thought-train. She forced a smile onto her face as she glanced at Nico. He eyed her back, warily. Before the grin could vanish, Liz returned to packing. Maybe everything would go away once she was firmly settled in. After all, when you had your toiletry items in the bathroom, that meant you weren’t going anywhere for some time. Right.
Liz started putting the rest of her clothes in the dresser. Everything was perfectly folded. Everything had its place. Everything was put in its place. Even her sombrero. And her various sunglasses. And, hopefully, herself.
This is where I truly belong. Maybe she’d believe that one day. In truth, she had no idea where she belonged. But the mansion was as good of a place as any. At least there, she had friends who would never believe anything about her, as so many of her others had done. And she’d never be outed as a freakish mutant either. It would be a terrible case of the pot and the kettle. And she could look forward to her senior year. There were many excellent teachers at the school.
She just hoped that everything would turn out okay. After all, this was her new home.