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.
"That's two votes for tight shorts then," Allegra laughed. "See you there.
Before heading to the pool, Allegra knew she had to get her phone back or she'd go crazy. She ran to the counselor's office where they had her phone waiting for her. Apparently the mutant bug woman had turned it in. Even more thankful, the mutant bug woman was in the counselor's office and Allegra didn't have to face her.
Allegra took a handkerchief out of her purse and covered her hand before taking it. She'd have to wash her phone off for fear of getting mutant bug cooties.
She shuddered at the thought but tried to calm herself by remember that soon she would be relaxing by the pool with her new friend.
"Hey! Shoe Claustrophobia is a very serious condition! Stop laughing," Allegra answered laughing even louder than Derek. "My god, do you think the staff here would be so inhumane that they'd let me and my shoes suffer."
Derek had a good point that if Allegra sought therapy on her own that she would be more likely to participate and to get more out of it. "I am going through a lot," she said. "I think I could really use some counseling. If my life wasn't crazy enough, it'll probably get worse once I start school here."
"I really miss snuggling with my babies," Allegra said thinking about her dogs. "Could you snuggle with a black bear using your powers or would there be a danger of it attacking you?"
"I'm a freshman," Allegra answered his question. It made her feel so young since Derek had most likely been out of high school for a few years. She hoped he didn't consider her an immature kid. "Are you in college now? It seems like things are a little different here. They don't seem to be divided by age or grade. In my one class , there were a couple kids younger than me and some older. Oh, and there was a robot too. That was different."
"Of course I'm here for you, Derek," Allegra said. "I look out for my friends no matter what. The people I care for are more important than anything."
"I kind of figured that the idea of hot boys in speedos would be enough to motivate you," Allegra laughed. "I bet it'd even get you to do homework, Note to myself. Rent some hot boys so Derek will do my homework for me. Ok, I'm gonna change and I've got to get my phone then let's meet at the pool in about 20 minutes."
She was tempted to ask Derek to come with her to get her phone but she felt that scary mutants; even buggy mutants were something she had to get used to. She couldn't hide behind Derek or anyone else.
Allegra thought about what Derek said. If her shoe collection didn’t constitute a special need, she didn’t know what did. But his suggestion made a lot more sense. Why not just ask for a bigger room? Genius!
“Good idea. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll just tell them that my shoes are claustrophobic and they just cannot live like that. It would be cruel and unusual punishment to coop them up like that."
Derek was right that her self image wasn’t healthy. “Maybe I should talk to a school guidance counselor,” she said considering his suggestion. “My mom makes me see a shrink but it doesn’t do any good. I just go to make mom happy. It just makes her feel good for me to go. She’s paying someone to care for me so she doesn’t have to. Maybe if I see someone on my own terms, it’d be better.”
“You’re right about animals,” Allegra said. “They’re so full of unconditional love. You can totally trust them. They don’t even think of backstabbing. It must be really cool to be able to communicate with them on a deeper level. I don’t think I’d be much help with science or math but if you need a study buddy, I’m your gal. I need somebody to help motivate me to study more.”
“Aw thanks,” Allegra said when Derek complimented her. It was hard for her to believe that anyone would be attracted to her. She had gone her whole life being told otherwise. She needed to try to change that.
“You're not whining and complaining, Derek. People have obviously said hateful things to you and no one should have to listen to that; least of all someone as wonderful as you. I can’t know what you are going through but I’ve had to deal with bullies and yeah, it gets tiring. But anyone who tries to hurt you has problems of their own. You can’t let pathetic people drag you down. Tell you what. Anyone says anything to you and they’ll have to mess with me. “
Allegra smiled. “Don’t believe me? A football player dumped one of my best friends so I let him have it.” She shook her fist in the air then smiled again. “Hey, I watch out for the people I care about. I just look incredibly stylish while I’m doing it.”
“Yeah, you’re right that was very emotional but if you ever need anyone to vent to, I’m here, okay? Don’t think anything of it. So, what do you say we have some fun around here? It’s warmed up quite a bit since yesterday. What do you think about checking out the pool? Warm sun. Relaxing beach chairs. Maybe some hot boys in speedos. C’mon you know you want to.”
“I think I’d be worried to have someone shrink my shoes,” Allegra said. “What if they un-shrink them and they don’t fit anymore. No, I think I need a much bigger room. I read on the school’s website that they will make accommodations for people with special needs. I think having as many shoes as I do should give me a special accommodation, don’t you?”
“Thanks, I really miss Angelique,” Allegra said. “I sometimes think my mom is mean to me but it’s true my sister was so much better than me. Sometimes I think I deserve what I get.”
Allegra was excited when Derek said he could give her pointed on communicating with animals. “I think it’d be great if I could communicate with my dogs better. I guess when you think about it, we’re so different from animals that it’s almost like we’re from different planets but we still get along great. Sometimes I like being with animals better than people. Dogs make more sense in a lot of ways. And they’re not as mean.”
“Maybe you can look at some of the designs I’ve drawn,” Allegra asked Derek. “I don’t have any training or anything. I just drew pictures of stuff I think would be cool to wear. And you’d be the perfect vet. Do you have any idea how scared my babies get when we take them to the vet for their yearly check up. You could naturally calm them down. When I was a kid, I thought about being a veterinarian but, you know, science and math. Ick! Not fun. I’d rather just play with the dogs.”
“You’re not that much older than me, not that I’m pushing,” Allegra said. “I think it's great we're becoming friends and I'm not looking for anything more. I guess it’s hard when I see all my friends dating and then my mom telling me I’m ugly and I’ll never get a guy. Of course, she couldn’t make things work with my dad so I guess she’s not the expert on relationship, huh?”
“Sounds awesome not having someone else tell you who you are,” Allegra said. “I should be the same way.” She didn’t sound too confident. All of her life, she depended on the approval of others. She wasn’t sure she could reinvent herself without someone else telling her how to do it and that it was okay. “What the hell is wrong with being black and gay? I think anyone who judges you for that is not only a backwards racist pig. They have serious problems of their own.”
Allegra noticed she didn’t mention how it was okay for Derek to be a mutant and was wondering if she had problems of her own.
“Look, you can’t help how you are born but it’s what you do that’s important.,” she said. “There are wonderful people that just happen to be gay and some awful people that just happen to be gay. Their gayness doesn’t mean anything. It’s how they treat others that really matters. I don’t care if you’re black, white, green, straight or whatever. That’s just how you were born and being gay is no better or worse than being straight. But you’ve made me feel so much better and you’re been so nice to me. That’s who you truly are. And who you are is so incredible.”
Derek asked Allegra how many pairs of shoes she had. “I’m not really sure,” she answered truthfully. “If I see a pair I fall in love with, I just buy them. I’ve got a shoe closet back home. I only have one closet here and it's even smaller than my shoe closet. Somehow I have to fit everything I own into it. It’s just not going to work.”
“My sister, Angelique…..she’s gone. She just died one night in her sleep. Peacefully,” Allegra said though her tone showed she didn’t believe that. “I miss her so much. My mom gets drunk a lot and when she does she always reminds me that I should have been the one that died. She’s probably right. Angelique was incredible.”
Derek assured Allegra that she was wonderful and that made her smile. “Thank you. I’m really trying to work on feeling better about myself. Maybe this can be a new beginning for me. How did you say it? This could be a place where you can be who you want to be. Maybe this place can be like that for me too. You’re certainly helping me with that, so thank you.”
“My friends say that the dogs bark because they hate my singing,” Allegra laughed. “Hey, do you think you could teach me how to read animal body language better or is it just something you can do because of your powers?”
“I love the code name,” Allegra said. “Yeah, I’ve always wanted to be a fashion designer since I was little. Angelique modeled and I got to meet Betsey Johnson once and she was so cool and gave me some tips. I told the counselor here that I definitely want to keep my art class so I’m gonna ask my art teacher, Mr. Holloway, about it. My mom pushed me into going into acting and modeling like my sister, but I really think fashion design is what I want to do. Maybe it’s for the best that I’m here. I can start to be myself instead of a clone of my sister.”
“So what do you want to do?” Allegra asked. “Did you want to do something with animals? You seem to really like them and you’ve obviously got a talent for it.”
Derek tried to let her down easy when she admitted she had a crush on him. “You know, I’m 15 and I’ve never had a boyfriend in my entire life,” Allegra admitted. “Some of my friends have dated a bunch of times and Angelique had a steady boyfriend when she was 13. I wonder if I’m too old to ever find someone. My mom says I’m fat and ugly. I’ll probably die an old maid.”
“I guess I’m sheltered where I grew up,” Allegra said. “No one thinks twice if someone is gay or straight or both or neither. I’ve always thought the whole world was like that even though deep down I know it’s not. I’m sorry you grew up somewhere that they tell you that you can’t be who you are. I hope this place is gonna be a new beginning for you. For both of us. I know I’ve found a great friend today so things are really looking up.”
“Hey, I am so not a drama queen!” Allegra laughed as she batted away the insects. “Okay, maybe I am. Just a little.” She was glad Derek was able to call her out on stuff just like her best friends were. He was real and that was comforting. “I’m never gonna like bugs though. If you can talk to them, ask them why they’re so gross and creepy. And why they think it’s okay to just crawl on people without asking. Ick!”
Derek admitted he was afraid of not being good enough. “Why would you think that?” Allegra asked. “You’re incredible. Afraid of not being good enough is pretty much me and my entire life. Every second I think about what I’m doing wrong or how I look or what people are thinking about me. Is that how it’s like for you too? I hope not.”
"Plastic bins for all my shoes?" Allegra asked. "I'm gonna need a lot of bins. I can't believe people actually live in tiny rooms like this. They must not have a lot of shoes."
Allegra sighed. "I don't know if my mom means well. She's trying to recapture her glory days and she's using me to do it. I'm a poor substitute. My sister was beautiful and fun and I'm just...." Allegra's voice trailed off and she replayed all her mom's insults in her head.
"So what's animal body language? I mean, I know some. Like if a dog hold her head up and her tail is down and her mouth is open slightly, then she's happy and relaxed. But it sounds like you are able to understand a whole lot more than that. I really can't wait for you to meet my babies. I mean my dogs, of course. There's so many things I've wanted to tell them. Like why do they always bark when I sing? You don't think they hate my singing, do you?"
"You know, maybe we should find a nearby shelter and volunteer. I think that would be a lot of fun, especially with your powers."
Derek asked Allegra if she had a code name. "Yeah, they gave me one. Catalyst." She had been meaning to look up what that word meant. She remembered it from Chemistry class but that was about it. If only she had her phone with her, she could look it up.
"Designer? I love it!" Allegra exclaimed. "You know, I actually want to be a fashion designer. I'm good with art and I love fashion so I think it would be a perfect fit for me and that's a perfect code name. Thank you. It's so much better than some word I have no idea what it means."
"Anyway, I'm gonna find out more about my powers when I go for a full exam with this guy named DocProf or ProfDoc or SneezyBashfulGrumpyDoc. But from what they can tell, they know how to use the powers they get, but I can't really control what the powers are going to be. I only used it once and, well, it was kinda scary."
Allegra was hurt that Derek didn't like her 'in that way' but she didn't blame him. "It's not your fault," she said. "It's mine. I really don't have a lot of experience with guys so it was just me being stupid. Oh, and you being naturally charming. The guy that scoops you up is gonna be one lucky boy. And I won't tell anyone that you're gay if you don't want me to. Where I'm from, it isn't even an issue but I guess I'm kind of sheltered in Beverly Hills. I know that's not the same everywhere. I just don't get it. You can't help who you like. I don't understand why people make a big deal about it but I guess I'm preaching to the choir, huh?"
"Anyway, I know you don't like 'like' me, but I hope we can be friends. I'm really enjoying talking to you and you might not know it but you've really helped me a lot. I've really be stressed and lonely since I got here and it just feels good to connect with someone."
"Maybe they're harmless but I HATE bugs!" Allegra cried. "Some people are scared of clowns which makes no sense because they're just normal people in a suit. I'm scared of bugs because they look like scary aliens and they can crawl in your nose and... GET OFF ME!" She shook her arm and the insect that was crawling up it took flight.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to shout. Some people say I can be a drama queen sometimes. Oh, and I am really scared of spiders who some people say aren't bugs. And roaches are the worst." She smiled as she held out her finger hoping one of the butterflies would decide to fly on it. "So now you know my deepest darkest fear. Your turn."
Shard The gaggle of giggling girls invaded the beach making their presence known with high pitched yelps and excited screams.
"What an awwww-some day!" one shouted as the others claimed their spaces. In an instant a large stretch of beach was occupied by four blankets, a cooler and a wagon full of beach essentials.
Allegra and her friend, Rayna, spread out on one of the towels. Some people joked that the two were almost interchangeable. Both had long blonde hair and were usually in an outward state of glee and perkiness. The two were close as sisters so they didn’t really mind the slight insult though Allegra, as always, worried about any kind of insult.
“So, you’re not going to get in trouble for ditching class?” Rayna asked her friend. It was Allegra’s third day in New York and she was thrilled that one of her BFFs had come to visit. The only downside was that Rayna had hitched a ride with Kristii and her friends. Kristii was actually a friend of Allegra’s deceased sister and Kristii had always looked down on Allegra. Actually Kristii looked down on everyone. She was a model. Having a job that entailed standing there and getting your picture taken basically made you superior to everyone else. At the very least, it made Kristii quite rich. Allegra lived in a small mansion in Beverly Hills. Compared to Kristii's many homes, it was a doghouse.
This week Kristii had a shoot in NYC and Rayna asked if she could tag along. So she, Kristii and a few of the model’s friends hopped a private jet to New York. Allegra was thrilled her friend was here since she was so homesick. It was even worth dealing with Kristii and her snide comments.
“No, I won’t get in trouble,” Allegra answered as she slathered on the sunscreen. “My class schedule is really messed up so they’re working on getting it straight for me which means I get a day off. Thank god I won’t have to sit through Home Ec again.”
“Home Ec? Sounds like an easy A to me,” Rayna commented. Allegra just rolled her eyes.
As the two old friends got caught up, the other girls ran along the beach and set up the volleyball nets. Kristii and her friends couldn’t help but catch sight of Jayden and certainly couldn’t help but comment. Loudly.
“Oh my god. What’s that on her head? A sea urchin?”
“No, I think it’s some kind of hair..”
“The 80’s are calling and they want their hair back.”
“No they’re not. No one wants that hair.”
“No wonder she’s alone.”
“What’s with the black bikini? Come to the beach to get depressed much?”
“Oh my god! Look at her hands? What kind of sh*t is that?”
“Must be a creepy goth thing.”
“I think she’s trying to be a punk.”
“Same thing. If it walks like a freak....”
“C’mon guys. Leave her alone.”
“Rachel, would you like me to uninvite you. Then you'd have to walk back to California instead of flying in my private jet. Besides, the bitch brought all this on herself looking like that.”
“So true. Kristii! What kind of message is she sending out to the world?”
“Maybe she’s trying to say ‘I’m a mutie.’ I wouldn’t be surprised.”
"I bet she's a mutie and a serial killer."
“I just think you guys are being a little rude. Can't you just leave her alone?.”
“Not asking for your opinion, Rachel. Besides, she's ruining this perfect beach by being so hideous. And if she's ruining this perfect beach, then she's ruining my perfect day. That's uncalled for.”
The girls continued to laugh and make insightful comments. Allegra shook her head. “I can’t take any more of this,” she said. She reached into the cooler pushing aside some ice, wine and beers and grabbed a bottle with pink liquid inside.
“What are you doing?” Rayna asked.
“I’m going to apologize,” Allegra answered and hopped off the blanket and walked over to Jayden.
Come on, girl. You’ve got to stop picking up strays,” Rayna laughed.
Allegra didn’t listen. She also tried very hard to ignore Kristii and her friends' comments. Allegra was afraid she'd get made fun of too and maybe this wasn't the smartest thing to do. But she had already committed to this so she walked the few extra steps to Jayden's blanket.
“Hey, there. I just wanted to say I’m really sorry for how those girls are acting,” Allegra said. She wasn’t about to call them her friends. “Anyway, I brought a peace offering,” She handed Jayden the bright pink bottle. “It’s a bottled Guava Mango Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie. It’s yum!”
“Well, I’m a huge fan of nightlife, shopping eating and fun things,” Allegra smiled. “A double big fan of shopping so I’d love to check out the Crabtree Mall. It totally sucks that there is no room for all my clothes in the tiny little dorm room they gave me. I was going to ask the guidance counselor for a bigger room but she was busy.” This certainly lent credence to Derek’s theory that the closets in Beverly Hills were the size of mini department stores. Allegra’s came pretty close.
“I honestly tell my mom as little as possible which doesn’t work that well since she’ll keep prying until she gets it out of me,” Allegra said. “So annoying.”
Allegra blushed when Derek told her she was pretty. “You know you’re pretty nice yourself. Hot, actually if you don’t mind me saying.” She blushed even more. Allegra could be very outgoing but she was very shy around boys. She never had a boyfriend in all her 15 years and the only date she went on was a complete disaster. But she could see herself with someone like Derek.
“So you can talk to animals?” she asked. “Wow. What a cool power. Does each animal breed speak their own languages? And do ‘Meow’ or ‘Woof’ mean something? Do animals understand English? How many pets do you have? I can’t wait for you to meet my dogs. I’ve got a Shih Tzu and a Brussels Griffon. They’ll be moving in with me in a week when I get all settled. I miss them so much. Here, let me show you a picture.”
Allegra then remembered she didn’t have her phone. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could survive without it, but she wasn’t going to take any chances running into that creepy bug woman. “I really need to get my phone back,” she lamented.
Derek then asked what she could do and she sighed. “Well, I sent in my blood sample to the school before coming here so they could analyze it. Apparently I’m a mutant DNA manipulator. Basically it means that I can give mutants even more mutant powers.”
She thought about the time she used her powers without meaning to and frowned. She didn't want anything like that to happen ever again. “Don’t worry. It’s not contagious or anything. I think it’s actually pretty worthless. I mean, your power is cool. You can get a job as a dog trainer or one of those people that makes dolphins do tricks. I just make freaks even freakier. I’m sure I’ll be very popular at parties.”
Derek then took Allegra’s hands and her heart beat faster. Literally. She was excited and nervous and for a second actually she even forgot about her phone. Derek told her she was pretty and assured her that she had nothing to be ashamed of. Allegra bit her lip and shivered a bit. It was so beautiful out here and there was a guy that was interested in her saying all the right things. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. He was going to ask her out, wasn’t he? Oh my god! Stay calm!
"... Sometimes I feel like my parents would say that to me if they found out that I'm a mutant and...gay."
“Gay?” Allegra asked. So much for that fantasy. She couldn’t hide the look of disappointment on her face.
“I mean, that’s cool,” Allegra interjected. She was wondering if Derek now thought she was a homophobe too. That was the furthest from the truth and she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea even if it meant admitted she was attracted to him.
“No, it’s all cool. Honestly!” Allegra said nervously. “I’m totally okay with that. It’s just that…. Well, I came real close to asking you out. Maybe, not real close because I’m kind of a wimp and I would have chickened out. But other than my selfish personal reasons for being upset that you don’t like girls, I have no problem with you being gay. My god, it’s hard to believe anyone would. I’ve got gay friends and trans friends and all kinds. I honestly don’t even think any different about it. But I guess some people do, huh? I’m really sorry. Even my mom wouldn’t care but I’m sorry that maybe your folks might. How do you think they would react if you did come out? As gay, I mean. Not as a mutant.”
Allegra wondered for a second why one was okay with her and not the other. She’d never in a million years use a homophobic or racial slur but plenty of times in the past she had joked about freaks and muties. It was hard to think about because Allegra considered herself an accepting and good person. It was true that she had an issue with mutants, though, even though she was one.
The bugs then started buzzing around Allegra and Derek. “Ewwwww! Go away! Go away!” Allegra screamed as she batted the flying specks away from her. She then noticed the butterflies lighting on Derek’s shoulder and head.
Butterflies were awesome. They were pretty and Allegra liked them. She didn’t consider them bugs much like she didn’t really consider herself or Derek mutants.
“Wait, can you talk to the butterflies too?” she asked. “I think they like you.”
“Thank you,” Allegra said when Derek told her she didn’t seem snooty. Sometimes Allegra pretended to be stuck up. It was an act she could play very well but it was only to keep people she didn’t trust away. When she warmed up to someone, she wanted them to see her as she truly was.
“Never been to Raleigh but that’s the capitol, right?” she asked. She wondered how she had picked up that piece of information. She might have been awake in class the day that was covered. “So what’s there to do there? Like if I were to come to visit for just one day, what would you recommend?” Allegra enjoyed traveling, even if it was just in her imagination.
“So, do you miss home?” she asked. “Your family and friends and stuff? Do you have anyone special back home?” Allegra’s hand curled as though she were gripping the phone she didn’t have. She was cursing herself for leaving it behind. Allegra tilted her head away so Derek couldn’t see how upset she looked. She was thinking about all the texts and posts she was missing from her friends back home. Even when she was engrossed in conversation with someone, she’d still multitask to keep up with everyone.
“So, what was it like to discover your powers? What are they, if I may ask?” Allegra had snuck into a few college parties where ‘what’s your major’ was a pretty standard icebreaker. She wondered if this was the same about asking about mutants’ powers or if that was a taboo subject. Though if Derek’s experience discovering his powers was half as traumatic as Allegra’s, she was regretting putting him on the spot by asking him.
“So you and your parents don’t get along? If you don’t mind me asking.” It seemed like a very emotionally charged subject for him. “I’m sorry and I can kind of relate. If it means anything, I don’t think you’re strange at all. You’re sweet.”
“Yes, please. Let’s sit down,” she said. She looked out the double glass doors to a path that led to a tiny little park area surrounded by trees and covered in a kaleidoscope of bright flowers. Whoever the gardener was around here, they sure knew what they were doing. Allegra made a note to herself not to drop her botany class.
She sat on a park bench shaded under one of the larger trees. “I don’t really get along with my mom at all,” she said. “Growing up, I was pretty much ignored. My mom gave my older sister all the attention. It used to make me so mad. Sometimes I’d actually wish my sister would die. Well, a few years ago, she did and I miss her every single day. My mom started paying attention to me but most of the time she just tells me how much better, smarter and prettier my sister was and what a big disappointment I turned out to be.”
Allegra breathed the outdoor air deeply before continuing. “Mom would say the only good thing about me was that at least I wasn’t a mutant. Well, guess what. I failed in that too. I'm officially a freak now. So I’ve left my home and all my friends to come here and live with people that are probably going to give me nightmares. Not you, of course. And yeah, I know how bad I sound saying stuff like that. I’m certainly not a mutant hater or anything. I cried after they bombed that mutant shelter in Odessa last year. But I didn’t want this to be my life. I don’t want to be labeled a mutant and I don’t want for this place to be my only option. I want my life back.”
She wiped a tear away. “You are a great listener. Thank you. I didn’t mean to go on and on like that. I hope you don’t think I’m an awful person now.”
"Some mutants barely look human." Allegra had to remember that because in her mind, some of them barely were human. They just seemed like dangerous monsters and Allegra had to remind herself that some of them might not be much different than her. But she was going to remember that at a safe distance.
"Yeah, it's certainly different here," she nodded. "You're right, it's going to take some getting used to." Were bat wings and pitch black zombie eyes going to now be Allegra's new normal? Why couldn't she just be back home with her friends.
"So what is like where you are from ?" Allegra asked. "Are you near the beach? I'm actually from Beverly Hills, but sometimes I tell people L.A. so that don't think I'm all snooty or something. I'm 100% non-snooty. I promise you. If you ever want to visit Cali,you've got a place to stay and I'm a great tour guide."
She reached in her purse for her phone then remembered she had left it in the guidance counselor's office. Her hands were now shaking like an addict who hadn't had their fix in weeks. Allegra's phone was her lifeline and she couldn't believe she left it back where that giant bug thing was. She didn't know if she could summon the courage to go back and get it.
"When I get my phone, I'll show you pictures of back home. I miss it so much." The sadness in her voice was a bit too obvious so she tried to pour on the cheer. Derek seemed excited to be here and she didn't want to bring him down.
"But I love exploring new places and even though I've visited NYC as a tourist, it'll be fun to live here. I'm just a little homesick. So, it sounds like this is gonna be a great adventure for you. Um, so how are you doing with that whole 'getting a handle on your powers' thing. Until last week, I didn't even know I had powers. So I figured this was the best place for me."
Her voice sounded like someone who had been shipped to a leper colony so she tried to smile and bring out her inner cheerleader again. "I'm looking forward to it," she said more to convince herself than Derek. "I really am."
Posted by Allegra on May 31, 2017 17:11:21 GMT -6
Derek Menes likes this
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May 1, 2018 19:37:49 GMT -6
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"Nice to meet you, Derek," Allegra said. She smiled at his southern accent. It was just light enough to sound Southern gentleman as opposed to hick. "I'm Allegra. It's comforting not being the only new person here."
Diverse? Yeah, that was a nice way of putting it. Zombies and bugs and gargoyles. Oh my!
"I've never actually met a mutant before so this place has kind of been a shock for me," Allegra said. She wanted to be as upfront as possible without sounding like a mutant hater. Allegra didn't really hate anyone. There were just some people that scared the hell out of her and she had met a lot of them here so far.
"I've been to North Carolina once when I was a little girl. Place called Nags Head. I loved it. I hung out at the beach all day which is pretty much when I do back home in L.A. I think I'm gonna have a really hard time adjusting to New York winters. So are you excited to be here?"
Allegra figured it was best she ask first and get an idea how Derek felt. Allegra didn't want to rant and rage about how miserable she was so far if it turned out Derek was excited about getting the chance to be among all these 'diverse' mutants.
