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.
Booker loved card games. For him it started with Witchcraft: the Collection. Oh he had so many decks. His favorite, of course, was a combination Marsh and Peninsula deck. They worked surprisingly well together and helped him to win quite a few college tournaments.
Gotchamon was another fun card game. Really the video game was better but he could understand the appeal of someone wanting to turn it into a card game. It was a collecting cash cow.
But did Perry Hotter really need a collectable card game? Whatever. That was besides the point. The point was that Chō-No-Joō was a in a league all its own.
He loved the game. Little more simplified than W:tC but fun nonetheless! The cartoon was great (well the first run was) and the game was fairly complementary. He couldn't count the amount of money he spent buying boxes of cards in those early days, just to formulate the perfect deck. They certainly had his number. And then...things changed.
New gaming aspects were created, some more complicated than the last. Booker could follow the rules pretty easily but it was all just so unnecessary; attempts to make the game more interesting. It was all so frivolous. So while the game changed, Booker only followed by a limited degree. He would stubbornly remain the last of the old guard - even in the face of his teasing sister's rhetoric.
He scoffed, looking to his sister dressed as the series protagonist. "I'd be more impressed if you actually remembered what Metronom summoning does." He did. He just didn't believe it to be a valid form of the game.
For his biting words, Booker still smirked. Dressed in his splayed white leather trenchcoat, bound black top, and far too tight slacks, he was the living facade of the genderswapped antagonist. Though he was supposed to be arrogant and stubborn, his smile to his sister was genuine. So much weird has been going on that he was thankful to have this semblance of normalcy.
Touring the tournament grounds elated Booker. He grinned and gave thumbs up to the number of players who milled about. For as competitive as the game could be, Booker didn’t call in for that. Whether he was playing against a friend or a hated rival, he was the epitome of good-natured cheer -- which was probably what was throwing some people off of his cosplay choice.
Of course, Nessa still tried to get under his skin with every step. He snickered, waving off her comments about the various other summoning methods and how he seemed to be the player caught out of time. His response was merely a shrug and a bright smile.
”Yeah, yeah,” he chuckled. ”Mock all you like, dear sister, there’s nothing wrong with the classics. Besides, someone here has to represent the superior way to play.” He gave her a cheeky grin as they pressed on. It didn’t escape his attention that he was receiving some rather odd looks. With a sigh he whispered to his sister. ”Had a feeling this would happen. People generally love a gender-swap cosplay but portraying Seiko Taiga as a dude is causing a stir in the ero-lesbian-fandom lurking about. Guess they don’t want to imagine Yuni in a Cis relationship.” A pause. Then a shudder. ”Eh. Maybe I should have gone for a different character.” Another pause and then a sigh. ”Then again, is there any character in that cartoon they don’t ship Yuni with?”
There was no chance for Javier to finish his question. The fool. How dare he even consider asking a question when Booker was getting ready to hug him. That’s just how that goes. Holding the other man in his strong arms, Booker held him tight to his chest, lifting him up and off the ground. Javi didn’t react unfavorably to it, and instead just chuckled along with Booker’s antics and allowed it to happen.
Good. That meant he was nearly done being broken into Booker’s constant need for random hugs. The quicker they got that out of the way, the better. Still holding Javi up in the air in his tight bear hug, Booker shook his head.
”Nah, I don’t think so. I mean, don’t get me wrong,” he waggled his eyebrows. ”You are incredibly sexy in a tie…” he paused, momentarily lost in his own thoughts. Wait, what were they talking about? Date night! That’s right. ”...anyways, sorry, happy memory,” he smirked and finally set Javier down. ”But no. I don’t think you’ll need one.”
Another kiss to the man’s cheeks and Booker whirled around, returning to the depths of his bedroom where he pulled out an undershirt and finally slipped it on over his bare chest. After tucking the shirt into his pants, he turned and started to collect his nice shirt for the evening. He started to button it up while he turned to his boyfriend to answer his question.
’Oh it’s this great place I heard about from a coworker. ‘The High Note’,” he said with a grin. ”She said that there are spontaneous musical numbers there. Probably some kind of avant-garde theme. But I figured it sounded like a good place to grab a drink before heading to dinner?” he suggested. ”Afterwards we can get a river-side table at Azure Chef Lounge! I already made the reservations. Sound yummy?”
It was date night! Booker could not have been more relieved that it was. There was a lot going on in the city and he needed a sufficient kind of distraction. Nessa had returned to her teenage self, the library was going crazy trying to figure out what to do about the number of materials that were now considered “lost” because people had deaged and couldn’t be held accountable for missing fines, and other such nonsense. It was to a point where Booker needed a glass of wine and even a sympathy neck massage from his empathic boyfriend after work.
But tonight? Tonight he wasn’t going to allow any work to broach his lips. It is the night before the weekend and he was looking forward to just being out with the hottest guy he knew. A surefire balm for a shitty week.
Booker had already showered and was now standing in his bedroom, clad in his Z-Team boxers and mulling over what he was going to wear. His muscular physique was half-buried in his closet, pulling out one of his favorite navy-colored jackets when he frowned. Ugh, the mustard stain on the lapel. That’s right. On one of their previous dates Booker had accidentally spilled a bit of mustard on his jacket. They had a good laugh about it, but it was a stain he had yet to conquer.
One day he would, but it would not be this day.
After a moment or two, an idea struck. He pulled out his brown jacket and mustard yellow shirt. Hah! Talk about fighting fire with fire. Laying his clothes out on the bed, Booker grabbed his slacks, slipped those on just as he heard footsteps near his open door. He peered over to see Javier and gave him a wide, broad grin.
”Javi!” It was hard to believe he was an adapted. After all, how did he manage to clear the twenty feet from where he was to the bedroom door in under a microsecond? As well as wrap his strong arms around Javi, lift him into the air and pull him into a tight hug. ”I’m so excited, babe! It’s date night!”
Booker smiled encouragingly as he looked at his sister. He really was lucky to have her. It was admittedly tragic that she fell victim to this deaging phenomena but at least she made it back to him in one piece and she wasn’t in some government lab or being brainwashed into some kind of assassin a la Manchurian Candidate. Oof, his sister as a sleeper agent assassin. While that sounded pretty cool, it was hardly the most believable option.
Whatever. That wasn’t the case now. She was home, she was safe, and the mansion would help figure out what to do with her. He couldn’t have been more grateful for that. But first there was going to be some calls to make. Booker would allow Nessa her privacy as he really didn’t want to eavesdrop on those conversations.
But a hug would come first. As she leaned closer, Booker wrapped her in his much larger arms and pulled her close into a tightening hug. He would be there for her through all of this, as much as he could. Surely it shouldn’t be that difficult for her to find some normalcy again. POW Block Party should be pretty understanding and, if not, the Mansion or himself, will surely help to get her onto her feet again.
”Of course,” he said softly, patting the back of her hair and sighing. ”I’ll always be here for you, kiddo.”
As she leaned back and began to voice her admiration for her phone, he had to crack a smile. He shook his head as he leaned back, grabbing a chip to munch on.
”Wait until you see all the new social media apps. Pretty sure I won’t hear from you for days,” he chuckled. He then reached over, ruffled her hair and got up. ”Listen, make your calls but I insist you stay here tonight. I’ll make some dinner, you can meet Javi, and tomorrow I’ll take you to the Mansion so we can see where to go from here. Good? Good. Just make yourself at home...lord knows you did it plenty the last few years.”
Booker loved to dance but he knew, even with the aid of his adapted aura, that he wouldn’t be able to beat this kid. He was younger, more agile by nature, Booker didn’t stand a chance. Not that he was a sore loser but really he didn’t want to tink $20 worth of quarters into a single game cabinet in hopes of getting a score remotely close to Zaid’s. That wasn’t going to do either of them any favors; it was better to just squash that idea now and concede victory to him.
But he really seemed to want to play. Rather than press on a dance game, he asked if there were any other games that he would be willing to play? Admittedly a fair amount of them had Booker’s initials (B.B.B.) in the top ranking scores. Some of them even had him at 1st place. It was a good feeling but one he knew would eventually require having to defend.
He smirked as he looked up, tucking the clipboard under his arm and looking across the arcade. There were a number of games that he loved, and some that would hopefully allow him some sort of edge since it wouldn’t require dancing. His eidetic memory and dexterous fingers should be enough to balance against this youthful upstart.
”Hrm…” he said as he looked about. ”I have a little time. How about…’Lead Slug’?” He pointed to the arcade cabinet with cartoon commandos gunning down armies of villains. It was a 2-D side scrolling and though the two wouldn’t be battling against one another, each player had their own score bar. He smirked. ”First player to 20,000,000 points is the winner?”
Booker and Nessa were close but in most respects he tried to give her space when it came to her relationships. Of course he met them and could be a contact, but aside from a few indiscretions on both sides, he did his best to not be too involved. But Becca was a different story. The both of them had become quick friends, sharing many fandoms and the like. Some even thought that Becca was dating both Booker siblings at the same time, which wasn’t true, they were just all that close.
It damn near broke his heart when Nessa revealed what had happened. To know that his friend had cheated on his sister, it sucked. It forced him, then and there, to pick a side. And, let’s face it, he wasn’t going to take Becca’s side in the matter. So he embodied the “good brother” trope and stayed by Nessa’s side, and attempted to refute all attempts by Becca to maintain any kind of friendship.
That didn’t last. At the end of the day, as much of a big brother as he was, he was also a decent person. Becca had messaged him a few times, not desperately but enough to want to apologize, and stated that she knew what she did was wrong. It was her apologies that really pulled Booker back in.
He knew she was sorry and while that wouldn’t completely forgive her cheating on his sister, he wasn’t the type to hold a grudge on anyone (unless they were his parents). So when Nessa inquired how Becca was handling the aftermath, he shared a small smile with her.
”Little of column A and B?” he said, shaking his hand. ”Not long after the big blow up she contacted me to apologize and wanted me to pass it along. You were happy with Gina and seemed to let it go. She definitely felt sorry about what she did.” He agreed. ”Though I dunno if she learned learned her lesson. I didn’t get details but her and her ex apparently had their own bad blow up before splitting. Now she’s dating one of the X-Men who also work at the mansion, Mirror is their name.”
Okay. They had a plan. it honestly caused him to breathe in relief. Not just because his sister wasn’t going to be moving back in (there was a small, guilty part of him that was thankful), but because she would be around people who were more qualified to help her. Booker would have been there for her, but despite the fact that he was her brother and he could cancel out her abilities, he didn’t have the skillset to manage a young woman who has suddenly be deaged back to her teenage years. Where to even begin?
The Mansion. They could take care of her. They were taking care of a lot of people like her. Even if she wasn’t going there for classes, they could at least help get her on her feet. Just a bit of stability around her peers before she went out into the world on her own. Definitely it was the better idea.
However, there was one tiny, itty, bitty little drawback that he really needed to tell her about: her ex. She and Becca were hot and heavy for a while. The way that Nessa gushed about her, well, almost reached ad nauseum levels. It was to the point that Booker almost believed it could be more than just a few casual dates. Even Booker was becoming Becca’s friend! And then, well…
He sighed and then offered his sister a warm smile. ”She definitely screwed up,” he said.
He really didn’t know how good an idea it was to tell his sister that her ex cheated on her, but it was better than sending her in there blindfolded. That wouldn’t be fair at all. Squaring his shoulders, he continued on.
”You both were good for awhile. But…she...cheated on you,” he said cautiously. ”With her ex. For a while. But at least you definitely got the last word in, from what you told me.” Offered her a warm smile he reached over to hook her into a hug. ”Doubt she fully recovered from it.”
Booker snickered. Yes. That was decidedly a move their parents would make. They were the best at communication, unless they were being judgmental jerks about coming out. Booker they simply believed had entered a phase that he would grow out of eventually. Nessa, however, Booker always felt so bad she got the brunt of it. That was a deciding reason that he wanted nothing more to do with them.
Nessa communicating, though, that was her decision. He wanted to protect her, keep her away from those cruel people who practically tossed her out on the street. But he couldn't fight all her battles. Not even that one. She was stronger than she thought herself to be, so deep down, he knew she'd be okay.
This, however, was certainly going to be interesting. She was effectively living a large portion of her life again. This was going to be an interesting rerun.
Nessa of course had questions about Xavier's. That and how her coming out had been taken. He had seen the video. Seen the comments and listened as she vented to him. She could handle herself online but luckily those cruel words she did receive were drowned out by the applause.
"Pretty positive for the most part. Did a AMA and demonstration and all that. There were always going to be those trolls who try to stir the pot but," he gave her an encouraging smile. "You and the people you surround yourself with have been amazing. Honestly you won more followers than lost. Even I may consider resubscribing," he joked.
But Xavier's. He was sure than had worse than a telepath who required eye contact. He had only gone a couple times, when he and Becca were still good friends, but after the break up, he chose his side and hadn't been their sense. The school could handle her, but that wasnt what worried him. There was a certain ex that actually came to mind.
"Uuugh, well, I'm sure Xavier's can handle anything you throw at them. Most of their teachers are pretty famous, and the students they care for are pretty powerful," he bit his lip, looked guilty, the hung his head. "But I should probably let you know...you had...well...a pretty harsh break up with one of the staff there…"
Booker was more than willing to help Nessa when she needed it. Even though he had just gotten her out the door, if she needed a place to live, then he was going to go ahead and offer his home to her. It was as simple as that. But it seemed that she wasn’t fully willing to take him up on his offer just yet. She didn’t want to impose on his life (that was a first) and considered what other options were available to her. While he was sure that someone at her job might take her in, deep down he felt like she was going to need more help than that.
She needed people who dealt with this level of weird all the time. People who were equipped to handle this kind of thing. Who barely winced when something strange happened. She needed…
That was it. It may be a little weird given that she had a failed relationship with one of them, but why wouldn’t they take her in? They helped people in crisis. Surely they could help Nessa. He actually warmed to the idea but after he told his sister, he looked into her face and saw -- surprise.
At first he was confused as to why she seemed so shocked but eventually she mumbled about her being so unprepared to know that he knew she was a mutant. Crap. That’s right. He knew that. Nessa had only recently told him that she was a mutant and that was something that had certainly caught him off guard. She had known for so long but kept it as a secret. Secrets were not something they really had. But he got passed it. She had her reasons and he could respect that.
Now, it seems, she was back to that uncomfortable space of secrecy. And he had just outed her. He winced, but offered her a kind smile.
”Yeah,” he said. ”You told me a couple years ago. It was a surprise but I was glad you felt like you could finally trust me with that secret.” It was after he said that he reached out, offering Nessa a comforting hand on her shoulder. ”And...then you told the world on ViewTube. So...guess that isn’t so much a secret anymore, eh?”[/b]
He tried to play it off as not being a big deal but he knew that a lot of that was going to be hard to process. Especially when it came to their parents which is what she jumped to next. She was cautious, questioning how much their parents knew. He offered her a consoling smile.
”They don’t know. As far as I know,” he said with a shrug. ”You told me they sent some correspondence but don’t think you replied. They were only writing to you because some P.I. they found us and you said something about them wanting to come see them to ‘talk’. You said you replied but I didn’t read it.”
They needed a plan. He was usually good at that, plans. Whether a party, cleaning up a mess, maybe just setting up his day, Booker was pretty good about formulating a list of ideas and hoping from there. Now that they covered the first of the heavy stuff, they had to think of practicalities. Apparently living with Gina was going to be out of the question (too awkward). So what did that leave her?
His home. It wouldn't be the first time. He could still remember when he offered her the apartment. It was going to be a lifestyle change but he marveled at how easy it was to get used to. Despite their occasional disagreements, he could admit that he grew accustomed to having her around..
Not that he was quick to let her back in. When she mentioned how she wanted to be respectful and avoid any accidentally walk-ins, he froze up. God. Maybe he should look into whatever was deaging people and sign up? Wouldn't it be great to forget to many, many embarrassing moments?
No. Bad idea.
He smirked. "No husband. We are still feeling things out but they've been going well. Hence why the moving in."
It wouldn't be that big of a change. Nessa hadn't been gone that long. But for how much he wanted to keep an eye on her, in the end it was her decision. So he nodded and wrecked his brain to consider an alternative. As much as he would have liked to have put her up in her own apartment himself, he didn't make THAT much money.
She mused about moving in with coworkers when an idea struck. She needed to be with like minded people. Why not the Mansion?
He shrugged. "You can always move in to the Mansion. You know the one that takes in all the mutant kids?" He said it so nonchalantly that it didn't occur to him that she only recently came out as a mutant. He pressed on. "They're taking in a bunch of mutants who are going through this with free room and board. Probably be the safest place for you, especially if your powers have changed any. They'll help you cope."
He didn’t know why he was worried. No matter what, no matter what happened to her, he loved his sister. Any doubt about him needing to be used to her or being unable to cope wafted away the second that he gave her that full hug and laughed at her poor joke. It was going to be difficult to deal with eight years of lost memories, but at the end of the day, this was his sister and he was going to love her no matter what. It just was terrible that she was going to have to go through something like this. But at least she wasn’t going to have to do it alone.
With an encouraging smile he tried to tell her a bit more about Gina but even as he explained the gargoyle mutant to his sister, it was as if he were talking about a complete stranger. Nessa merely looked at him, her eyes flashing between the phone and his face. He could see that there was no recognition there. It was hard to watch but he wouldn’t be doing his brotherly duty if he had neglected to do this.
At the end, he could hear the truth behind his sister’s words. As much as they had built a life together, she wasn’t the same person that fell in love with Gina. It was true, Nessa was always his sister but the confidence that she exuded after just eight years of experiences was certainly missing now. It was something she was going to have to learn all over again.
He sighed, watching her, offering her a lopsided smile. Reaching over he quickly ruffled her hair affectionately. ”Well, I can say this, you’re already more mature than how I remembered eight years ago,” he grinned. ”And as you know, I don’t forget things.” He nodded. With a sigh he leaned back in the sofa again. ”You know, you can stay here with me, until you get on your feet like you said. I’m sure three of us can share this space.” He paused. ”Three. Shit. That’s right. You don’t remember Javier, do you?”
He arched his brow. Of course the two first comments she would make regarded the attractiveness of both herself and Gina. Whatever. He didnt comment on it. Gina was cute but he would never say his sister his "hot". The idea alone made him shiver. But he could appreciate how much hard work she put in to attaining the body she always wanted. That he would compliment her on.
But that reminded him of the cruelest point in all of this. His sister was different. She was still his sister but she wasn't the sister he knew anymore. She was an older edition, one that he could remember in perfect clarity but also one that firmly lived in the past these last eight years. Now he was going to have to get used to this for...who knows how long! Forever? How was that fair to her? To everything she built? It angered him to know that was taken away from her.
He sighed. His upset demeanor was not lost upon his sister. After shaking off tortilla chip dust, her arms opened and she pulled him in for a hug. Honestly he was a little shocked. Not because she was giving him a hug, but because she was comforting him. She was the one who lost years of her life! Shouldn't this be reversed?
Still, he couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Gratefully he hugged her close, pulling her in tight and firm. He was a good hugger, often only stopping when people began to flail and breathless pat his back in a desperate plea for air. So he hugged his sister. He always hugged his sister, but it didn't escape his attention that this was different. Again, he was hugging his past sister...and his current one. This would take some getting used to.
A grin cracked his lips as she joked about her situation and trying to see the brighter side of it. God, he couldn't help his chuckle, shaking his head and burying his face in her hair. If she wouldn't have a big hang up about this, then he would do his best to stop comparing her to the Nessa he knew. That wouldn't be fair to her. No matter what, he was her brother and he would help her.
"Trust me…" he sighed as he unfurled his arms from around her, leaning back in his seat. "...you'll need more than just your feet under you to reach my level of awesome."
Gina. As much as he didn't want keep on talking about such a painful subject, it couldn't be avoided. Nessa inquired, in a way, assuming that her relationship with her was more than just a fling. He sighed and nodded his head.
"Yeah, you did. She's awesome. Was there for you during a...pretty rough time." It was probably best he didn't delve into the soap opera her life had descended into as he explained. "Then when she moved back to California to help her mother, it didn't take you long to follow after her. Honestly, never seen you happier."
Sitting across from his sister, Booker was a little at a loss for what to say. He was talking to his sister from eight years ago! The sister he knew and spoke to only a few days ago was gone, replaced by this old version. And it wasn’t a case of being cloned or shot put through time, this was his actual, living, breathing sister. And now with so much time taking away from her, he had to find some place to begin talking to her. Some ground that he could start building the foundation of her life and memories again.
The most recent and powerful thing he could think of was her current girlfriend. They had moved out to California together before deciding to come back. The fact that Gina wasn’t with Nessa wasn’t all that alarming. Conventions could be a hard life to stomach if you weren’t prepared for it. Damn it would have made things a smidge easier if she had been there.
The only thing he could be thankful for was that whoever this “Shay” was had helped her. If they had any any way taken advantage of his sister, he would have tore this city apart. At least she was safe and with him as opposed to wandering around a time she didn’t recognize.
”Afraid I don’t know ‘Shay’,” he said. ”Glad that they were able to get you someplace safe, though.”
But here came the big question. Gina. Gina hadn’t had been at the convention and Nessa knew the name was in her phone. But the look in her eyes, the blankness, it was as if she were just reading a random name in the phonebook. Damn.
With a sigh he stood up and moved to sit on the couch next to his sister. Pulling out his phone, he flipped through a few random photos in his gallery, mainly of the library, scenery, Javier, in search of a particular photograph. As he did so, he explained.
”Jesus, I don’t know where to start…” he said. ”...Um...okay. Nessa...you are kind of a gaming nerd celeb. Member of the POW Block Party. That’s why you were at the convention. And...well...you actually just came back from a couple years out in California...with your girlfriend….Gina…” He turned his phone to her, showing her a picture that Nessa had sent him from California. It was her and Gina, the gray skinned, gargoyle girl. ”Recently, like, very recently, you came back. And what you’re going through has happened to a lot of other people. No one knows what’s causing it or why, but you know, New York is weird, especially in the last few years. Just…” he looked at her a bit sadly. ”I...honestly didn’t think it would ever hit so close to home.”
This was honestly the last thing that Booker had expected to see today. When he got the text from his sister, he had thought at its most dire that something has happened between her and Gina. Shame since the gargoyle mutant was a sweetheart. But now Booker was almost wishing that were the case. This wasn’t something simple like a break-up or catching someone cheating, thus was much more world breaking. His sister was young again. Seemingly she had fallen victim to the same affliction that many people were cursed without throughout the city. Totally not cool.
He had to take this one step at a time. He wasn’t going to leave her out in the cold, never, so instinctively he stepped aside to allow her passage into his home, formerly their home, and closed the door after her. She explained that the last time she had checked it was 2013 and that she had been brought here. At least she found people who were understanding and not looking to take advantage of her.
Shaking his head, he followed Nessa into the room, taking a seat on a nearby chair after she dramatically threw herself onto the couch. She was taking the time jump rather well. For a lot of people, their lives fell apart, some losing so much time that they could scarcely remember their loved ones anymore. Some lost whole families in this process.
”Yeah, eight years,” he sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to organize his thoughts and understand what he could even say.
Where would he even begin? She had a successful career, a loving girlfriend, she had been through some messy relationships but maybe it was better she didn’t know that part. Other than the fact that their parents still tried to get ahold of her, going so far as to higher private investigators, she lived a pretty nice life. With a sigh he stood up and made his way to the kitchen.
”Okay, so, there’s a lot…” he said. He moved around the kitchen, looking for foodstuffs and drink. Eventually he settled on a bottle of soda and a place of chips and salsa that he and Javi had been steadily snacking on since last night. Even in a crisis, he always had to be a good host. ”You said you woke up in a bathroom? Where were you?” he asked cautiously. He moved back into the living room, setting the plate and drink down in front of her. ”Most importantly, were you by yourself? Was anyone named “Gina” with you?”
It had been a good day. As much as he loved being at the library, he equally loved being at home and enjoy days off whenever he could get that. Obviously he didn’t need a lot. He loved his work, the space, and the books, but even he knew the importance of self-care and taking a few moments for yourself. And that was what he was planning on doing today. He had a book he wanted to start, a new video game to play, and a new recipe for dinner that he wanted to try out on Javi when he got off work at his shop. This was a day for relaxation.
Or so he thought.
He knew that his sister was back in New York. She had flown in with her girlfriend, Gina, and the they had dinner the first night together. It was nice to see her, even nicer that she left to her new, separate home, with Gina. Things were going so well for the both of them! However Booker felt the weight in his stomach drop when he got a text from her.
It was innocent enough. She asked where he was. He told her, figuring that she wanted to hang for a little bit, which was fine with him. He could move his plans around for the day for her. But he was bewildered when she inquired what was his address. She could have been screwing with him so he shot some sass back at her, but was met with the same question. He was worried, obviously, and text her address. But when asked what had happened, all he got back was an “I’ll explain when I see you.”
He had no idea what that could mean. Shaking his head, the 31 year-old librarian could only pace his apartment, curious as to what was happening to his sister, milling about as he picked up the room. A few stray clothes, an empty glass or two, Booker had always been the clean-freak of the duo so did didn’t take him long to make his presentable. It wasn’t long before he heard a knock on his door.
Grabbing a clean, d20 “Critical Success” tank top from his dresser, he slipped it on over his bare, muscular chest and approached the door. Upon opening it, the towering librarian in a tank and black sweatpants appeared, his expression already a mask of concern. When he looked at “Nessa” at first he thought maybe it wasn’t her. Just a stranger with a vague familiarity. But in the instant he took to look at her more closely, he knew it was his sister.
It was Nessa. But not the Nessa he knew now. A Nessa that appeared at least half a decade younger. After living with his sister as long as he had, he knew her well. Knew her general shape and appearance. This wasn’t a sister that was as familiar to him anymore considering how hard she worked out to be the woman she wanted to be. Needless to say, it was...confusing.
He stared at her for several long seconds after she greeted him. In response all he could mutter was something about the California sun being more rejuvenating than he thought. But all that stumbled out from his lips was, ”You’re...damn right ’Surprise’,” he said breathlessly. ”Oh...my god...what happened?” Instinctively he opened the door, his protective nature wanting to pull her in and away from the outside world. What was going on?!
