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.
“You look stupid, Cariño,” Miguel laughed and clapped his hands together, rocking backwards on the barstool.
“And you love me anyway,” Nick grinned, positioning the top hat to sit farther onto his brow. It had been a gag gift from another member of the team, Madelyn; a nod to his powers and their common association with magic. With a wink, he removed the hat and pulled an illusion of a rabbit out of it before taking a bow and returning to his seat.
“Maybe I shouldn’t,” Miguel teased. “If you’re going to do that, at least pull out something good, like a million dollars or a new car.”
Nick chuckled, set the hat down on the countertop and paused for a moment before saying anything else. He rested his hand atop his boyfriend’s and began to speak, “I don’t have a million dollars, but I do have the greatest guy in the world. The greatest guy who I wouldn't ever want to lose."
Nick stopped for a beat. His heart pounded. He'd been planning exactly what to say for ages. "What would you say to us… taking the next step? I mean, it’s been two years, and I was thinking… what if we got a plac-”
His proposition had been cut off by a sudden intruder. The door to the kitchen slammed, altering both men to the stranger’s presence. Nick whipped around to face them.
It was a man. He was tall, with no particularly recognizable features, but he wore a large trench coat that hung loosely over his misshapen body. Or, perhaps it wasn’t his body at all. There was something… on him. Strapped to him, perhaps.
“Stay here a second,” Nick whispered to Miguel. He intended to handle the situation. Show off, as it were, all that he’d learned over his time with the X-Men. He liked feeling helpful. Especially if Miguel would see it.
Cautiously, he approached the man. “Can I help you?” He asked, waving a hand in front of his face.
The man’s head whipped around to face him. He seemed surprised, as if he legitimately hadn’t been expecting anyone to be there. He seemed to fumble with something in his jacket, a device of some kind…
A device! That was what was strapped to his chest! Nick could see the flash of his SUPER badge, the hardened look in his eyes, and most importantly, the object strapped to his chest. It wasn’t difficult to piece the rest together.
“Miguel get down!” Nick shouted, but it was too late. He could feel the heat of the fire on his back, the force of the explosion going through the room.
Then, all of a sudden, he couldn’t. His ears registered something, words coming from where Miguel had been sitting. “I lo-” were the only two syllables that were able to leave his boyfriend’s lips.
Nick should have been feeling the explosion overtake him. The burning sensation of the fire. Or even some falling debris. He felt none of it. Instead, he felt safe. Protected, even.
He turned his head to see that he had been covered by a layer of blue energy. A protective shield; one put up by Miguel. Nick breathed a sigh of relief. That meant that he was okay, too. If he had shielded Nick, then he must’ve shielded himself, too, right?
Only, there was no shimmer of blue energy peeking out from under the debris. No screams or struggles or any signs of life… except…
There was a hand. It was undeniably Miguel’s hand. Nick felt his breath catch in his throat. He didn’t care about the base or anyone else in it. At that moment, there was only one thing in the world that he cared about.
He inched forward along the floor, making his way to him. He grabbed the free hand with his own left and squeezed it tightly. “Miguel, Miguel… please,” he heard his own voice say. It felt somehow disconnected from him. The whole situation felt like a dream.
There was no response on the other end. Warm tears trailed down the man’s cheeks as he continued to squeeze the hand and yell, trying to elicit any kind of response from him.
Before he knew it, the universe was working against him again. What little of the structure above them that had survived shifted and collapsed. It tumbled to the ground, on top of the exposed limbs of Nick. Again, he heard his own voice ring out, but it was no longer words coming from his mouth.
Natalie held the pad of paper upright so that Noel could sketch something on it. The pad shook a little under the pressure of her drawing but was otherwise steady.
As soon as she was finished, Noel dropped the pen. Natalie turned the paper around and looked at everything the woman had drawn. There was actually quite a bit more information on the pad of paper than she had expected to see.
A map of where she had drawn, I.D. badges, barcodes, and other things cluttered up the space. Natalie didn't really know what to make of it all, but she was sure that a paralegal would be able to scrounge something up to make a case. They were on the right track.
"This is great, Noel," Natalie said as she continued to scan the page. It was more than she had hoped for, actually. Especially with how uncommunicative she had been. Natalie actually couldn't even remember telling her anything...
"Thank you," the woman nodded and then stood from her chair. It seemed like that was probably all she was going to get from Noel, and she wasn't going to push it. Judging from the pen drop, she probably wouldn't even be awake for very long. "I'll let you get some rest."
On the table next to her, Natalie placed a business card, and then smoothed her shirt. "If you think of anything else, call that number."
Posted by Natalie Ross on May 6, 2017 0:34:44 GMT -6
Delta Mutant
thistle / gainsboro
Straight
Nate
150
135
Jul 15, 2018 16:05:42 GMT -6
Lix
Like her mother, Norah had an aptitude for all things English. She excelled in her spelling class, and she was always the first person to answer any question about spelling or grammar. Whenever Natalie went to volunteer in her classroom, she was blown away by how much she knew at such a young age.
She also had an aptitude for art, and Natalie knew exactly where that came from, but it wasn't the time or place to comment on that.
She hadn't been surprised when Norah had come home to tell her that she'd won the spelling bee. Proud? Definitely proud. Surprised? Not even a little.
From across the table, she shot Nate a look after his slip-up. Sure, there was no way that Norah would catch on, but he was skirting the line; playing with fire. If he was already making mistakes after less than an hour with her, then who knew what he would do after a longer period of time? It became obvious to Natalie that she would have to tell Norah the truth sooner rather than later.
There went her plan, right down the drain. Then again, that was life, wasn't it? Having to constantly readjust to accommodate changes? Maybe it would be a good thing. She had wanted Norah to have a father more than anything, anyway, and she was young. She would adjust.
"Of course you can make her a bracelet. Do you remember what I taught you before? With the thread and the knots?" Natalie inquired. The Chinese staircase. A horribly outdated name, but it was a relatively simple way to make a bracelet with embroidery thread, and it was something that she had been able to teach her six-year-old. To some degree, anyway. She often made mistakes, but that wasn't a big deal at all.
"I think so, but that one doesn't have beads! Hailey made me one with beads!" Norah exclaimed, distraught by the very idea of a bracelet that was not adorned with the shiniest of objects.
Natalie paused for a second before continuing, "I think I know how we could add beads. Do you want to try it with me?" She had never attempted it before, but she was fairly certain that she knew of a way to make it work.
Norah considered her proposition before nodding. "Okay," she agreed before looking back at Nate. "Do you want to make some, mister Nate? If we all eat our food really fast then we can make lots before bed!"
The girl's face lit up as she talked. It seemed that the more the thought about the idea, the more excited she became about it.
Tick, tick, tick, the seconds went by. Far too slow. They couldn't go that slowly, could they? That didn't seem normal. They hadn't gone that slow before... He picked up the clock on top of the piano and shook it, trying to see if there were any loose cogs floating around that would cause the disturbance.
Nicholas' thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a loud cough. There were a few people standing nearby, waiting for him to continue playing. That was all he had to do. Play the piano. Maybe sing something. Not too difficult, right?
Easier said than done. Nick set the clock back down on top of the piano and let his fingers rest gingerly on the keys. He'd already played the two pieces that he had memorised the best, but people expected him to keep playing. That was who he was - the guy that came to that mall every once and a while to play piano at that blue baby grand. It earned him a few extra bucks and made him feel like he was doing something again. People really seemed to like his music.
When he played, anyway.
He stroked the keys gently, trying to come up with some kind, any kind of pattern that would resemble a song. He looked up for a second - a mistake. They were staring at him. He didn't like it when they stared. It made him... it made him worse.
For a minute, just a brief minute, he considered making them believe that he wasn't there, but the moment was fleeting. He didn't really want that. In fact, he wanted them to know that he was there. Maybe if someone knew that he was alive, he wouldn't wind up alone and dead in his apartment.
Focus! He had to focus! Music notes!
The man panicked and played a G major triad in an arpeggio. The rest of the chords followed, copying the pattern. He hadn't intended to play that song. It just... came to him, and then he was playing it.
The words tumbled out in a similar suit. Before knew it, he was playing Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. It seemed to be popular with the crowd, though, since more people had already gathered around him, their phones out to record his song, his requiem.
Miguel's face flashed in his mind. Strike two for the day, but it was alright. He had gone four hours without thinking of him.
Character's full name: Nicholas Matthew Ross Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: Loki, Nick Gender: Male Age: 28 Date of Birth: 11/12/1988 Birthplace/ Home/ Place of origin: Chicago, Illinois, USA Nationality: American Ethnicity/ Cultural Heritage: Czech, Irish, Italian, English (caucasian).
Appearance
Hair color and style: Dark brown hair, kept short so that he doesn't have to think about it. He doesn’t pay much attention to his hair. He typically goes a couple of days between shaving. Skin Tone: Moderately pale. Eye Color: Blue, almost too intensely so. Height: 6’2” Build: Nick used to be quite muscular, but over the years, he’s lost a great deal of weight. He looks frail now. Visible mutation: N/A Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: A bird tattoo on the left side of his chest that rarely sees the light of day (the result of a college party that he doesn’t remember much of); large scars running up his left leg, burn scars on his left arm, and surgical scars on his chest. Other features: Nick’s features are sunken and he usually looks gaunt, like he hasn’t eaten or slept in some time. He has a bad limp and walks with a cane.
Everyday clothing style: Nick doesn’t think about his clothing much anymore. He will usually wear a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, but he doesn’t usually look at what colour or style they are. Uniform: N/A Sleepwear: Whatever he falls asleep in. If he falls asleep. Miscellaneous clothing: He keeps a crumpled photograph in his pocket at all times; a cane.
Character
Personality: Nick is a broken individual. Since his ordeal with the X-Men, he’s never been the same. He floats through life, almost expecting it to end at any moment. He has a great deal of trouble believing people and will be cautious in most situations. His movements are very shaky. Hobbies/ Interests: When he’s feeling up to it, playing the piano and writing poetry. He also bakes. Job or part time job and description: He works odd jobs, but mostly he lives off of welfare. Fears/ phobias/ concerns: Most anything at this point; Nick is jumpy and easily scared. He doesn’t do relationships anymore. Special talents: Piano playing, singing, baking. He can no longer dance.
Morality
Good/ bad/ neutral/ other: Neutral. Nick was once as good as they come, but he’s retreated into himself. He doesn’t get involved in other people’s business now.
Mutations
Mutation description: Unchanged.
Physical Abilities
General Physical Capabilities: All poor. Nick is often distracted, and his injuries prevent him from fighting back effectively. He also will often choose not to use his powers. Fighting Style: He was a trained combatant back in the day, but it’s all useless now. Fighting Style Pros/Cons: N/A
History Of Your Character
Nicholas was born to a wealthy family in one of the nicer areas of Chicago. He spent his entire childhood there, enjoying all the things that the world had to offer him. He received everything he wanted, and never had to worry about a thing. At school, he was popular and well-liked. An attractive, rich party boy who wasn’t particularly mean or particularly nice. He danced after school and on weekends, but still diligently completed all of his homework. The world laid itself at his feet.
When it was discovered that he was a mutant, not much changed. His parents believed that mutants should have the same rights as humans, so they displayed that when raising their son. They took him to people that could tutor him and help him to use his powers effectively, and soon they became as much a part of him as anything else.
Nicholas graduated with nearly top marks in his class and then chose to stay local for University. He attended the University of Chicago for political science and continued to live as he had in high school. He partied constantly and floundered around for a bit until one fateful night at the end of his first year.
There was a guy. There was always a guy, wasn’t there? He met him at an art show that he attended with a few friends, and ended up spending the night with him. That guy was Miguel Free, aka Blitz, an X-Man.
Miguel and Nicholas fell hard and fast. Miguel introduced him to the team, and Nicholas quickly fell in line. Despite his former stance of neutrality, Nick found that he really believed in the things that the X-Men fought for, and he wasn’t just joining for his boyfriend. Soon, he was a full X-Man, taking on the name of Loki and training daily.
Charmed by the idea of fighting for justice physically rather than mentally, Nicholas dropped out of school and picked up day jobs on the side to support a future life. Things seemed to be going so well.
That was, until the X-base was attacked.
Nicholas and Miguel had been standing in the kitchen when an intruder walked in. Alarmed, Nicholas approached them, but it was too late. The SUPER agent detonated a bomb, and the base was destroyed.
However, Miguel had reacted in just enough time to use his powers of protective field generation to protect Nick, but not himself. He, along with the majority of the team, perished that night.
Nick awoke in the hospital, alive, but injured to a large extent. His left leg had been mangled, his arm burned, and he had many internal injuries that needed to be healed. From that point forward, he was not the same mentally or physically.
When he was released from the hospital, Nick found it difficult to deal with everyday life. Everything he knew - his lover, his family, his home, had been destroyed. He began to drink and use his powers to replay the moment when everything went wrong over and over to see if he could have done anything differently.
It wasn’t long before he had driven himself insane. Six months after the incident, Nick was committed to a mental hospital, where he spent the next six years, in and out of a psychotic state.
Near the end of his treatment, the doctors found a combination of medications that seemed to work on him and keep him stable, and he was deemed okay to rejoin society. He was released in 2015 and has spent the last two years wandering New York, working odd jobs, and searching for some sort of meaning.
He had never completely returned to the person he once was.
Roleplay Where did you learn about this site?: Google Do you have any other characters on MRO, if so who: Juliette, Astrid, Bailey, Natalie, mod Elixir Sample RP:
Posted by Natalie Ross on Apr 30, 2017 18:02:56 GMT -6
Delta Mutant
thistle / gainsboro
Straight
Nate
150
135
Jul 15, 2018 16:05:42 GMT -6
Lix
The room blurred suddenly and then came back into focus, leaving Natalie with just the slightest hint of a headache. She sat back and blinked it away quickly, feeling the muscles around her eyes go back to normal.
What had-
She cocked her head at the woman. What had they been talking about? She couldn’t quite remember…
There was a pain in her wrist, but it didn’t bother her much, for some reason. She couldn’t remember where it came from, or why it seemed to be coming from a bite mark. When was she bitten? Ah, it didn’t matter. She was doing…
What was she doing again? Oh, yes. She was talking to her client.
”Can you tell me anything more about what happened, Noel? Anything you might remember? You can write it down, if you’d like,” she said, her voice slightly more airy than usual.
Natalie bent down to retrieve her notepad and pen from the floor where they seemed to have fallen. She didn’t remember them falling, but she brushed it off, figuring she may have knocked it when she turned around, or something.
”Sorry, I think I’m just a little out of it,” Natalie admitted with an anxious smile, ”do you ever get like that? Like the world is sort of spinning and you’re not going fast enough? That doesn’t make any sense.”
The attorney set the notepad and pen down on the bed next to Noel and then rubbed her temples. What was she doing? She never talked that much to clients. She shook her head, trying to snap out of whatever funk she was in and get her head back in the game. She was supposed to be working with a client, after all, not having a mental breakdown in front of her.
Natalie's heart stopped beating for a brief moment. She knew the words that were being spewed at her. She knew all of them. They were stolen from a moment when she had been standing in her former boss's office.
There was absolutely no way that the woman could have been there; that could have heard the conversation. There was no way that she could have repeated it verbatim to Natalie after being hopped up on painkillers. So how on earth was she doing it?
Natalie's lips rolled inward and she stared at Noel with utter hatred. What was it, some kind of cruel joke enacted by Mrs Watson as a revenge plot? Something put on by one of the partners, trying to bring her down? Her powers going haywire? A strange mutation of some kind?
Whatever it was, she refused to let it put her off her stride.
Natalie sat straight in her chair, brushed her hair behind her shoulders, and then looked the woman dead in the eyes, paying not attention to the strung together sentence that she'd just uttered.
"I don't know what kind of sick joke this is, but I refuse to let it go on. Tell me how you just did that, or so help me god, I will leave you without representation. You can go to the fucking state, for all I care."
There was no way that she was going to get away with whatever long-term thing she was pulling. Clearly she did speak English, and clearly, she did have some idea of what was going on. Natalie had just been bitten and had one of her worst memories dredged out of the depths, so she was in no mood for games.
Posted by Natalie Ross on Apr 24, 2017 20:25:17 GMT -6
Delta Mutant
thistle / gainsboro
Straight
Nate
150
135
Jul 15, 2018 16:05:42 GMT -6
Lix
Natalie looked up at Nate as he backed her up. She raised an eyebrow at him, not about to argue with his wive’s tale. The erudite woman was used to having to argue her point alone, but it was nice to have someone else agreeing with her. Even if he was feeding their daughter partial misinformation.
”Thank you,” she nodded at the compliment. She did have to admit that it tasted good. She absolutely was not trying to impress anyone. Absolutely not. She was a temple; the Pantheon. There was no way that she was subconsciously seeking the approval of an old flame that meant nothing to her.
Norah wiggled around in her chair as she ate her food, looking between the two adults at the table. She pushed her carrots around her plate, trying to make it look like she was eating more of them than she was.
”So, Norah, how was your day?” Natalie prompted, using her fork to guide some carrots onto the girl’s utensil. She received a frown, but she didn’t pay it any mind.
The little brunette chewed a piece of moist meat, swallowed, and then began to speak. ”I won a contest and Hailey gave me a bracelet!” Norah grinned, repeating the highlights that she’d already told Natalie.
The woman looked back at the man across from her, not bothering to stop the hint of a smile that had spread across her face. Norah was rambling on about the things that had happened at school, but Natalie was more interested in watching Nate’s reaction.
Two male nurses pulled Noel away from Natalie just in time for her to narrowly avoid having her elbow shattered. She wrenched her arm away, inspecting the new marks that had been formed on it. Teeth marks lined her wrist where the woman had chomped down. Around the little indents left, the skin was red and irritated. She let out a huff, recognizing that she would have a nasty, discoloured bruise in a few hours. Natalie was just glad that she was in a place where she could get it disinfected quickly.
She had gotten off lucky, though - she did recognize that. Her elbow joint felt stiff and uncomfortable as she bent it back the correct way. It had very nearly been stopped from being able to bend that way completely.
Since she had pulled her arm back, the illusions had stopped. She concentrating far harder on her free arm.
Then, something snapped her attention back. Noel was yelling something - a name. A name that Natalie hadn’t heard in nearly two years. That name followed by her own.
The woman stood up, watching with a scrutinizing gaze as her client was tied down to her bed. She waved off the nurse with a grimace, not wanting to face the fact that she had been oh so very wrong.
”You can leave now. I’m fine,” she told the nurses gruffly, still holding her wrist.
“Are you sure? You didn’t seem to be fine a minute ago.”
”Go,” Natalie said sharply. She watched the three of them leave, fully aware that one of them was standing just outside of the door. She kept her voice in a rather hushed tone as she sat back down, banking on them not being able to hear her.
”Sure,” Natalie nodded at Nate’s thanks. She’d been watching how he’d interacted with Norah, and she was honestly impressed. Not many people were that enthusiastic about listening to Norah talk about Moana, but he certainly was. If she wasn’t mistaken, she could have even sworn that she saw the hint of a tear in his eye.
However, she was forced to reflect back on her own parenting. She hadn’t paid attention to Norah’s talking about Moana in some time. What did that say about her?
No, she reminded herself, stopping any spiralling thoughts in their tracks. She’d had lots of time to warm up to Norah and hear her talking about the shiny crab. She’d heard enough about the shiny crab to last for several lifetimes. It was Nate’s first time listening to it all. No, she was a good mother. She just wasn’t quite as enamoured with the small things anymore.
She sliced into the roast easily and began to dole out slices that matched the size of the person that they were going to. A small one for Norah, a larger one for Nate, and a mid-sized one for herself. She couldn’t help but notice that it was reminiscent of Goldilocks, of all things. It was so incredibly mundane, it felt… nice. A good change of pace from their usual company of two and the occasional nanny.
She put a few potatoes and carrots on Norah’s plate before adding some to her own. ”I don’t want to eat the carrots!” Norah complained, pushing her plate farther back onto the table.
”One for each of your years being alive or no dessert,” Natalie told her. She was used to that compromise. She made it often, and Norah had come to understand it.
The little girl frowned, but picked up a carrot and put it in her mouth anyway. As usual, she weighed her dessert above the horrible experience of eating her vegetables.
With Norah’s dinner sorted, Natalie sat back down in her seat and glanced up at Nate.
Natalie’s plea for the woman to keep talking was interrupted by a sudden movement. Before she knew it, there were legs wrapped around one of her arm, and she was being forced to hold her arm out for the woman, whose everything she could suddenly see through the breezy hospital gown.
She let out a scream as the woman bit down on her wrist. Bit down. Like a child.
The pain was intense, and accompanied by the bending of her elbow in a direction that it wasn’t supposed to bend and the incredibly uncomfortable hold that the woman had her in.
Instinctively, Natalie panicked. She did several things at once. She used her free arm to smash the call button beside the woman’s bed, then to slap at her wildly and uncoordinatedly. Meanwhile, her mutation was going haywire. She’d made herself disappear, although the woman would still be able to very clearly feel the fact that she was biting down on her, and there were different illusions appearing and disappearing all throughout the room. She wasn’t actually sure what she was sending out anymore. It was anything to distract the woman.
She was most definitely freaking out. Her notepad had been strewn across the floor in all the panic, and her eyes were wild. Clients did not touch Natalie. Clients most certainly did not bite Natalie.
The door to the room opened, revealing the same nurse that Natalie had sent away earlier walking backwards, wheeling a trolley with some of the things that she was bringing back to the room. As soon as she saw the scene, she let out a scream to match Natalie’s. There was a struggle going on, but she could only see the one woman. It was a frightening scene, to say the least.
Upon seeing the nurse come in, Natalie dropped the illusion that she’d placed on herself. She wasn’t concentrating enough to keep it up for only Noel.
The nurse had already moved on. She was phoning someone on the phone by the door, very clearly calling for backup.
Posted by Natalie Ross on Apr 16, 2017 20:43:49 GMT -6
Delta Mutant
thistle / gainsboro
Straight
Nate
150
135
Jul 15, 2018 16:05:42 GMT -6
Lix
If nothing else, the woman was understanding what she was saying. That was just about all that could be said for their encounter up to that point. There was something about the blank look in her eyes that made Natalie wonder if she’d suffered from some sort of brain damage. She scribbled down a note to ask if the hospital had ordered any sort of scans for her. If the cop had caused some sort of brain injury, then, well… that could be the breakthrough that they needed for her case.
The rest of the conversation, if you could call it that, was all but useless. She claimed that she didn’t have a surname, but it was likely that it was either a lie or she simply couldn’t remember. Either way, she was essentially dealing with a Jane Doe. Perhaps, she realized, she would be able to spin that for a jury.
She shifted in her chair, leaning forward a bit to be able to make eye contact with the woman. Yes, she could definitely appeal to any bleeding hearts. Woman with minimal memories sent to the hospital with brain injuries by a bloodthirsty cop? She barely even needed a last name. In fact, she was almost better off without one.
Before continuing, she took out her phone and set it to record so that she would be able to listen to the conversation later.
”Before the alleged car chase,” Natalie elaborated, careful not to give the woman any reason to confess something to her. She wanted details to help her case, not to make it more difficult for her. ”Do you remember where you were before that? Were there perhaps any witnesses?”
She looked down as the woman pointed to her lap. Or… it wasn’t her lap, actually. It was what she had in her lap.
Natalie handed over her pen and tore off the first page of paper from her pad before passing it to the woman. Maybe she found it easier to communicate through writing? That would be ideal, especially since it seemed like they were getting nowhere with the whole talking thing.
The corners of Natalie’s mouth turned ever so slightly upward as she listened to the conversation between Norah and Nate. She’d raised her daughter to be honest in each situation that it made sense to be honest in, and that was exactly what she was doing.
She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh at Norah’s second statement. The smile that she was nearly wearing freely divulged a dangerous secret. No, she was not a cold hard bitch all the time. In fact, around her daughter, she often smiled. There was a stark difference between her personality at home and her personality everywhere else. It was a little strange to have someone that she would interact with regularly learn that.
She hadn’t told Norah a lot about Nate, but that was mostly because she wanted to leave that task up to him. She didn’t want any sort of prefacing that she did to leave an impact on the girl and give her negative connotations. Any of those would be coming straight from the source.
However, as she watched Nate look at their daughter, she had a strong suspicion that that wasn’t likely to happen of his own volition. The way he looked at her was… something else. It was a look that Natalie wished her own father would have looked at her with.
The woman cleared her throat and shoved any emotion she felt down to the deep pit where they belonged. Cold and steely, she reminded herself, don’t get too attached.
”Come on, Norah. Why don’t you show Nate inside?” she suggested, placing a hand gently on her daughter’s back to usher her inside of their apartment. She turned back to face Nate and nodded toward the inside of her apartment, signaling that it was perfectly fine if he came inside.
”Yeah!” Norah cried excitedly, ”wanna see my new colouring book? It has Moana on it. I got it for a prize at school.”
Natalie smiled to herself as she ventured back into the kitchen, leaving Norah and Nate alone to chat. Once the girl got going on a subject that she liked (such as disney movies) she could talk anyone’s ear off. It was a good way to clear any ice or awkwardness that threatened the relationship between the newly introduced family members.
While the other two occupants of the apartment were busy, the woman pulled the roast out of the oven and set it down on top of the oven. The meat and potatoes still sizzled in the pan, creating a wonder sound and aroma that travelled all through the room. She turned the pots that had vegetables boiling off and drained the water into the sink. Then, carefully, she set the dishes down on the table where there were coasters waiting for them.
”Dinner’s ready whenever you are,” Natalie announced, her voice having returned to its normal, steady state.
