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.
Natalie blinked at him. She really hadn’t considered the option that he was giving her.
She had assumed that the training, like most things in life, would need her to help facilitate it in order to make sure that it would run smoothly (and to ensure that no one was completely botching it), but there was always another option. The Ranger was offering to run it completely independent of her help. He would use CLASS and his military knowledge to do so, and she would have no need to get involved.
As good as it sounded to have no involvement with training Noel and the bug woman (ew), Natalie wasn’t as trusting as someone else in her situation may have been. She paused and crossed her arms over her chest as she jutted out a hip and studied him for a moment.
”I like the idea of not having to do the actual training,” she admitted. The man seemed to have a decent head on his shoulders, even if the accent buried some of the intelligence he clearly possessed. Plus, he had proven his skills already. It was just a matter of being willing to leave all those people to his mercy.
For another moment, she stayed still. Eventually, she came to a conclusion. ”I’ll attend the first few meetings, just to watch. From there, I’ll reassess whether or not I want to leave you in charge of that.” The answer was likely yes, but she wanted to make him sweat a bit. There would be no memory mancer funny business in those training sessions.
Yeah, they had certainly taken their time with things, which meant that Natalie was probably not going to be able to stop in at the office after their meeting as planned. In fact, at that point, it made more sense to just abandon any notion of doing so, since it really didn’t seem like either of them were going anywhere soon. Not with their clothes strewn about the room like that, anyway.
Nate was just unclothed as she was and just as hazy following their activities. He seemed to be almost giddy and dreamy, despite the fact that Natalie knew he wasn’t stupid enough to think that any of that had been a good idea.
They were co-parents and coworkers, meaning they would have to see each other on a regular, if not daily, basis for many, many years to come. The first time that they had slept together had been a given, but a second time changed things. Especially since they were both mostly sober and coherent. They would have to look at each other during I.E. meetings and parent teacher conferences.
It was going to be really difficult to picture him in any other position than lying on his back on the floor, without any sort of cover.
Still, he kept things light and civil. There was none of that bickering just yet, even though it was always waiting just around the corner. It was hard to get away from things when they were that inevitable.
>>”Do you think this constitutes ‘inappropriate use of company property?’”
”Considering what we did to that coffee table, I think it definitely does,” Natalie replied dryly, lying back and rolling onto her side to face him. There was no use pretending that she was leaving anytime soon. She took in a deep breath and tried to think of something to talk about that wouldn’t get them as fired up as the previous discussions had.
Simple. The biggest thing that they had in common.
”Did I tell you that Norah is going to stay over at her friend’s house this weekend?” she asked quietly, suddenly the most civil that she had been that entire evening. She was actually talking about something that scared her a little.
Natalie nodded curtly, noting the tone of his voice. It sounded like he was willing to do whatever she asked, even if it wasn’t your run of the mill sort of thing. ”I will. To start, we’ll probably want to assess the powers of the people that we have at our disposal and then start to work them a little harder.”
The thought of Noel still made her angry. The fact that she had helped her run free was still one of her biggest regrets in life, but there was nothing that she could do about it now. All that she could do was have a little fun insulting her.
The Ranger, surprisingly, caught her reference and got a little protective of his little pet. It was sort of commendable, actually. For whatever reason, he had a thing for women without brains and he was valiantly protecting her from the big bad lawyer lady, even though Lord knew that she could protect herself. At least Noel could be told that her action figure was a gentleman.
”I’ll be in touch,” Natalie nodded as she watched him bandage up his hand. He was a very strange man indeed. Skilled, strong, somewhat knowledgeable on a few things, but he had horrible taste in women. He was doing just fine bandaging his hand, though.
She paused for a second as she thought through how they would proceed with the training. She hadn’t really thought that far ahead yet, and she wasn’t really known for her tactical expertise. Natalie was out of her zone, trying to navigate her way through the strange world of training people with powers. All that she really had to draw on was her limited knowledge of how the army trained soldiers and memories of her private tutoring lessons.
”We’ll… start them off in a big group and then separate them into groups based their skill level. Maybe we’ll do some one-on-one work later down the line,” she decided. She had no idea whether or not it would work, but there was only one real way to find out.
Diplomacy was not going to be an option, which Natalie had anticipated to some degree. If they were a gang, then it wasn’t like they could expect them to want to sit down and have a talk over a glass of sherry. Still, it had been a question worth asking. She sat still for much of the discussion that followed, listening carefully as Devon began to explain logistics and courses of action.
>>”Are we going to be dealing with this matter totally in house, or incorporating outside help? You mentioned your interactions with Alchemist, and I still work at the Mansion. Should we be keeping the X-Men in the know on what to look out for?”
Ugh. The X-Men. They were a faction of idiots in tights that were stupid enough to believe that they would be able to do anything by staying above everything else and only associating themselves with the purest of sorts (she wasn’t surprised that Nate’s stint with them hadn’t gone far). They were misguided pseudo-celebrities that needed a dose of reality, and Natalie couldn’t understand why Devon wanted to associate with them. It seemed beneath what they were building.
Thankfully, he was smart enough not to get them involved in something small and below the radar. Haven was still new and developing, and the last thing that they needed was to get the press involved in something like that. Because God knew, where the X-Men went, the press followed. There were even forums where people discussed their personal lives (not that Natalie had looked at those. Ever. Definitely not.), and one of them was even a movie star.
”We don’t want the X-Men in on something like this,” Natalie reiterated. ”They make stupid, foolish moves, and the last thing that we need is for someone to decide to look into Haven because someone followed Cold Steel around with their mePhone.”
>>“Based on the expectation of the location and what’s contained or done within we can reach out to our membership for their specific talents. There’s a diner for example that is something we can tip the mayor’s office to. There’s a relay center that’s masking as a call center that might be good for Noel to stop in at, for example.”
Ugh. Noel. Devon was still making up reasons for her to be ‘useful’ to them. It all sounded like a load of bull**** to Natalie, though. She was a useless woman, plain and simple.
”I have contacts that can tip the mayor off without anyone ever knowing that Haven was involved in something as shady as this,” Natalie offered. ”There’s no need for someone associated with Haven to show their face on this one.” Noel needed to stay inside where she belonged.
The two of them walked down the hallway toward one of the many first aid stations that were in the building. They weren’t clearly marked, since it would be strange for a building that should have no other use than for community and charity work, but as a member of the I.E., it was Natalie’s responsibility to know the layout of the building well enough to navigate it in scenarios like that one. She knew where she was going, and it seemed that the Ranger did too.
Natalie, as always, stayed rather detached, preferring to walk one step ahead of him with her arms at her sides. She may have just watched him beat up a gorilla, but she had no qualms about walking in front of him.
>>”Was there somethin’ else y’ needed?”
She’d stayed silent until he’d asked, having intended to wait until they were out of earshot of any potential third-party members. With a quick glance around, she made the executive decision that they were likely safe talking in hushed tones.
”Devon has requested that we create a training simulation for new Haven recruits,” Natalie explained. ”I’ll be creating illusions, and you’ll be handling the physical aspects. I expect that you’re equipped to do that.” The display in the conference room had been proof enough. Devon hadn’t exaggerated his skill at all, and he'd been useful in a pinch.
They’d reached one of the first aid stations, so Natalie opened the door for him before continuing. ”I have a busy schedule, so I’m going to be setting the dates and times. I assume that your-” she looked at the wall with a look of projected disdain as she thought of one of the women she liked least in the world ”-ankle biter will be alright if I steal you for a few hours every now and then.”
Really, she didn’t know what he saw in Noel. Sure, he didn’t seem like he had a whole lot going on upstairs, but anyone could do better than her.
It was evident from the moment that they were close that they had both been anticipating that moment. Why they had waited so long was unclear, but finally touching like that felt like a release of pent-up tension. With both of egos aside, they could finally let go of their inhibitions and experience what they'd both wanted for all too long.
From the moment that he'd come back into her life, Natalie had wanted to make Nate feel. She wasn't sure whether she'd wanted to make him feel pleasure or pain (or maybe a little bit of both), but it was all coming out as she tore off his shirt.
As promised, there were teeth in her neck, and she'd lost her breath. There was no turning back now. They were all in, and Natalie was alright with that. The more it went on, the more she realized how long they'd been denying themselves that experience. All of the memories of that first time came flooding back, and it was like they were still there, seven years earlier.
>>”Enjoy your time on top. It won’t last, sugar.”
"Shut up and get over yourself," Natalie growled as she undid her zipper and covered his mouth with her own.
Natalie lay on her back and caught her breath as she stared up at the ceiling. The room was silent except for the sounds of their breathing, which was a far cry from what it had been just a few minutes prior. Natalie stayed where she was for a minute or two, letting what had just happened sink in. Before, she hadn't thought about what it might mean for their working and personal relationship, but as she looked between Nate and her clothes that were strewn about the room, she couldn't help but think about the consequences.
Maybe, just maybe, they would be able to continue to keep real feelings out of the situation and continue on like they had been before.
She didn't feel like getting dressed just yet, so she sat up instead, glancing at Nate again. "Do you have anywhere you need to be?" she asked to get the ball rolling as she reached for her wine.
With the distance between them closed, there was no buffer to stop the obvious sexual tension. Nothing to stop them when Nate stood up and was suddenly face to face with her, close enough to touch. Natalie didn't exactly do anything to stop it, either. She wanted to see how far he would go down the dangerous line. She seriously doubted that he would cross it, though.
Her doubts were misplaced.
Suddenly, there was a hand on her thigh, squeezing hard as he pulled it off of the ground. Natalie let out a small noise of surprise, but regained her composure quickly. Natalie didn't like being manhandled, but there were exceptions. In that circumstance, it felt like something that they'd been holding themselves back from doing. Like it had needed to happen for a while to diffuse the tension.
Only, the tension just grew the closer they got. She'd figured that if they got a little closer, the air would clear up again, and they'd be free to return to their drinking and bickering. The closer they got, the more Natalie had trouble breathing, and the more she wanted his hands in other places. Dammit, why did his eyes have to look like that?
She no longer had the upper hand. She'd lost it when he took her leg off the floor and use his hand to steady her. If she just moved the right way, then she could get back to... oh, who was she kidding? She didn't want that.
>>”You’re talking a lot about the past. I wonder… Do you still have that bite?”
Natalie forced her leg out of his grasp and shoved him back down on the seat. Fiercely, she stepped forward and climbed onto his lap, straddling him. "I guess you'll have to find out," she breathed into his ear before pressing her mouth to his.
The air between them seemed to have softened somehow. They had been arguing, shooting comments back and forth, but it had come to a bit of a standstill. All that Natalie had to do was remind him that she really did put their daughter first, whatever he may have thought about her. It wasn't to make him feel bad or to win any argument (although it was a welcome side effect), but it was simply because it was the truth. Norah came before everything.
Apparently feeling similarly, Nate claimed the same thing. That he would never bring someone home when Norah was there. Convenient that he only claimed such a thing after Natalie had explained her own reservations. She rolled her eyes ever so slightly as she turned to the side and took another sip of her wine. She supposed that they would see if he was being truthful down the road. It was just a shame that Norah would be the one that would have to suffer if he wasn't.
>>”For your information, I am very selective with my bedmates,”
"Selective in the sense that they need to be able to join you in bed? Sure, I'll believe that," Natalie snarked in response. The moment of truce had passed, giving way to more snide comments. They were always on the same page, though, since it hadn't taken long for Nate to take the same route as she had.
>>”I’ve raised my standards over the years. You know what they say about sharks and lawyers, after all. They’re both cold-blooded.”
Natalie quirked her head casually and took a step closer to the man. "Oh, but sometimes shark bites feel so good, don't they?" Natalie pointed out, putting a little more emotion in her voice than usual. She was close enough to smell the scotch on his breath by that point, and she knew what she was doing. It was fun to toy with people sometimes, especially when there was a moment to gain the upper hand. "But you remember that, don't you?"
Posted by Natalie Ross on Jul 7, 2017 9:29:38 GMT -6
Delta Mutant
thistle / gainsboro
Straight
Nate
150
135
Jul 15, 2018 16:05:42 GMT -6
Lix
Nate was infuriating. Every single comment that was supposed to wear him down and get him to cave was simply sent back at her with the same level of wit and self-confidence that she prided herself on. Infuriating, but also so strangely enjoyable.
Usually, Natalie found herself at the top of the food chain. There were few people that could keep up with her in a conversation, and she found herself considering them beneath her. It was a comfortable way to live, but also a little lonely and boring. As much as Nate was making her work, it was in the best possible way. Part of her wanted to crush him, and another part wanted them to be able to keep going like that forever. Yet another part of her wanted to shove him down onto the couch, but she wasn’t entertaining those images.
She raised an eyebrow at his comment about her having many names to remember during college. Yes, they had met during a time in her life when she was a little lost, and a little promiscuous. There had been several other paternity tests issued before Nate, even though she had known from an early point in Norah’s life exactly who her father was. There was no denying it.
As much as she may have wanted to, though, he was right. She didn’t remember a lot from that time. It was just lucky that she had remembered what Nate had looked like (though his fake name had slipped her mind) so she’d been able to stop him that day.
Yes, she had been making a dig at the women in his life. Natalie tried her best not to let herself think about Nate in those ways, but sometimes it was difficult, especially when he kept himself looking like that. Seeing him with that many beautiful women hanging off of him wasn’t something that she enjoyed all that much. Meanwhile, he just seemed to use the opportunity to rub it in further. ”Oh wow, lucky girl. Her dad may be sleeping with anything that moves, but at least the walls are soundproof,” she continued, trying to keep her face straight as to not let on how much the idea was bothering her.
The idea actually bothered her quite a bit. She didn’t want to have to imagine Nate with anyone else if at all possible. She knew that she had no right to want that, though. They weren’t together, and they had no claim on each other. There was nothing in writing or in stone. All she had to use as ammunition was Norah.
>>”Are you sure I’m the one we should be worried about? With how vocal you are, are you certain your neighbors aren’t the ones talking? I can’t imagine the men you’re luring into your bed.”
Natalie narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn’t exactly celibate, but she wasn’t like she was when she was in college. ”I don’t take men home, Nate,” she explained, her voice slightly more calm than before. These were facts, not digs. If he was going to assume things about her life, then he had to get something straight. ”I don’t take men home to my daughter unless they’re serious. Even then, things don’t happen at the apartment.” It had been a while since she’d brought someone for Norah to meet.
Yes, she was annoyed and wanted to make Nate as annoyed as she was, but there were still lines that she didn’t cross. He needed to know what those were.
They'd won. Of course they'd won; who had expected anything different? It was almost too easy with two mutants that powerful on the same side. Any of her previous thoughts of fear or anxiety had long since been replaced by the Really, it was stupid that Harvey had even entertained the thought of beating them.
"Excellent," Natalie nodded and stood up, straightening out the skirt of her dress. The situation was handled, so there was no reason to prolong it anymore. He'd done what he was supposed to do, so they had no more business. "Alright, I think you've taken enough blows for tonight. We'll get the regular security team to take you out."
She motioned toward the door, making eye contact with the two men that had been instructed not to enter until told, under any circumstances. They entered and took Harvey from Ranger, freeing him up to take a look at his hand.
Natalie let out a deep breath and turned to face the destruction that had been the meeting room just a few minutes prior. "You did well, with all of that going on," she motioned toward the door. "Come on. Let's get your hand sorted."
The Ranger would do the heavy lifting. That was promising, at least. As much as Natalie enjoyed working out, she didn't particularly care to use her limited knowledge of fight training to teach a bunch of hopeful members. That wasn't her style. She made illusions and then left people to their own business, whatever that might be.
Natalie took the file that she'd been handed and began to flip through it, listening attentively to what Devon was explaining. She'd heard rumours of a group trying to come up to fill the void left by the Order. Of course, she didn't pay very much attention to them when it wasn't her business or problem, but now that it was, she made a mental note to keep her ear to the ground for any more of such talk. It was amazing the kinds of things that you could figure out when you knew the right kind of people.
This really wasn't Natalie's normal area of expertise, though. Usually, she dealt with things once they were already somewhere along the legal track. Once people had been blamed and the dust had cleared. She dealt with the aftermath, not normally with plans. It was strange to get a glimpse of the other side. Still, she was willing to do what needed to be done in order to ensure that the streets of New York stayed safe. Well, as safe as they had been before, anyway.
>>“Questions?”
"Yes," Natalie nodded, flipping to the next page in her file. "Do we know what kinds of forces they have up their sleeves? Are we trying to build a S.W.A.T. team or a non-threatening group that could reason with them?"
She wasn't about to send a group of powerful mutants into a situation that called for good communications skills, nor was she going to send in a team that would have their necks snapped if greeted by someone much more powerful. They needed to figure out what exactly it was they were going up against before they finalized any plans.
Oh yes! Posting thread links! Allegra already posted the link for the Charlie/Allegra thread, but here's the link to the Ranger/Natalie thread. (It features a gorilla man.)
If she'd offended Nate with her comment about his female friends, then he wasn't showing it. Her comment about his bimbos went by without so much as a flinch from him. Either he didn't care about his women as much as he let on, or his mind was elsewhere. It was just a question of where.
Natalie didn't have to wonder for long.
Her comment about having to fake things that night oh so long ago had not gone unnoticed. While it wasn't completely true, she thought she'd done a good job of delivering that line. Plus, they were both so drunk that she doubted that he even remembered that one random night from nearly seven years ago. If she hadn't gotten pregnant from it, then she definitely wouldn't have.
It seemed that he remembered it very well, though, as he made digs at their one-off relationship and called her bluff. Natalie raised her eyebrows and stood up from her seat as she mulled over what he'd just said. The noise complaint. She'd completely forgotten about the noise complaint. How on earth had he remembered that?
She took another sip of wine and then continued. "Spending a lot of time in the past these days, Nate?" she taunted, placing a hand on her waist and crossing one heeled foot over another. Could it really have been that he'd spent his own time remembering that moment? Surely it was just thinking about what came from it. As much as she sometimes remembered her initial attraction to him, it wasn't something she considered pursuing (no matter how much she occasionally wanted to). They were co-parents, not drunk people in their twenties.
"I just hope you've learned to pipe down a bit now with your women," Natalie continued, deflecting the comment. "We wouldn't want Norah to be associated with the apartment with all the screaming."
Damn, now her mind was wandering. Parts of that night that had been long forgotten were resurfacing as she stared at Nate. Images just kept coming, and she was finding it hard not to want to get lost in them. She rolled her eyes and glanced down at her wine glass as she tried to push them all from her mind. They were taking it too far. If they continued down that road, there was no telling where it would lead.
(It features a gorilla man.)