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 still couldn’t forgive the literary world for allowing the atrocity that was “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” to come into being. Again, he understood the reasoning behind it but it wasn’t something he was willing to accept anymore. You didn’t need to pander to the audience to try to get them to understand it, instead maybe just start reteaching those healthy habits of reading and thinking instead of offering everything the fast and loose way. It just irritated the educated man so much to see how the world was just...giving up. But, this wasn’t the most opportune time to grumble about such things.
>>"Truly? There is another?! Please do!"
Booker proudly handed the book over to her. It was a true edition, one of his favorites too. No zombies, no ninjas, no flashy attempts at an emo-cover. It just a nice, thick book. The page ends were gilded and the thick cover had the title laid out in nice, bold letters with the illustration of a peacock feather embossed on the cover. It any book would represent the time and honor that this class should possess, it’s this one; and he was happy to hand it off to Andrea.
>>"Thank you. I daresay I was a bit disappointed when I thought there was only one version...I hope it lacks the Ninjas too. I am afraid that fad never caught on with me and my old ways."
He chuckled. ”It warms my heart to hear you say that,” he beamed proudly. ”Don’t get me wrong; I like a good ninja and a good zombie story, but smooshed together into a classic...I just...I can’t.” It was clear that he was a man who appreciated books and the classics as they were. It was also apparently that he had come across far too many people to enjoyed what is disliked far too many times.
>>"You must love your job very much. It shows in your eyes."
Booker smiled. He liked to hear that. Most thought he was pretentious and in love with a dying art form, but for him it was the essential product of civilization. One cannot exist without the written word and so he tended to have high standards for it. That was why, past all the muck and annoyances he was given, he was thankful that some people could see his real passion as a good thing.
”Thank you,” he admitted. ”I’m glad you can see that.” Another beaming smile and Booker began to lead her towards their next destination. ”And I do. It has kind of always been my dream and...it feels good to have accomplished it.” He glanced over his shoulder to her. ”You? Are you doing what you’ve dreamed?”
This outing wasn’t necessarily so that he could get into his sister’s mindset, but more to just offer her a chance to step away from the thing that was irritating her the most. There was a catharsis in screaming out your frustrations, but it could only last so long. At the end of the day, Nessa needed to take a break from screaming so that she could finally just breathe; it was just as effective.
When he saw that she finally looked calm and peaceful, enjoying the fruit salad ice cream, he asked the dreaded question: how was she? It could have gone in either direction. She could either open up or she could shut down and it would be a long, quiet walk home. Booker was prepared for both, having seen both sides fo the Nessa Coin, but to his relief she sighed and took a thoughtful lick of her ice cream. It wasn’t long after that that she found her voice again.
>> ”I’m… better than I think I’ve been acting, I guess...There’s plenty of love and support out there. That’s not even talking about the team and Gina and you. Plenty of people have been really good about this and good to me.”
He nodded. Nessa was surrounded by understanding and loving people. That was probably the most important aspect of all this. But there was always that sick fascination with wondering how the other side was going to react. It was a human failing to need to know...
>>”I think I’ve been seeking out the hate, which is dumb. Clearly...I think I just wanted confirmation. I knew people like that were out there. The transphobes and the mutant haters… do they have a phobe name? Genophobe? I dunno, anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. I just… I’ve avoided all this hate for so long, and I feel like I should see it. Some people don’t get the choice. Non-passing trans girls. Mutant girls like Gina.”
Booker frowned. He knew what she was talking about but he was lucky enough to not have had to experience it for himself. Did he go out with men? Sure. Did he receive a few looks whenever he would hold hands with Javier or was seen kissing Chris out in public? Definitely. But Booker had always been the lucky type to never receive the full brunt of that kind of hate. Maybe it was his stature, maybe his sunny demeanor, whatever the case, there were few, if any, times that Booker B. Bookman had to raise his fists or shout back at some fearmonger.
Unfortunately for people like Nessa and Gina, they weren’t as lucky. Nessa faced the cruelty of her parents and not the collective voice of the unenlightened side of the internet. Gina, god bless her sweet soul, stuck out like a sore thumb but she rode it like a expert surfer on tsunami. No matter how you handled it, it was a hell of a thing to experience.
>>”I guess I couldn’t help but feel like, if I want to own who I am, I have to see that hate and understand what some of my brothers and sisters in this go through.”
Watching his sister for a moment, Booker sighed as she turned his gaze forward and looked out over the street again. He watched as people passed, some mutants, some not, and took another lick of his frozen treat. He was contemplative for a few moments before he lowered his cone. Taking up the napkin he dabbed his lips before he spoke up.
”’Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom…’ -- Gandhi.” Another lap of his cone and he finally turned to her, a small smile on his lips. ”You’ve taken your stand, Nessa. And you’ll always stand for those who need to be stood up for...but that doesn’t mean you need to keep subjecting yourself to that much hate. They wouldn’t want that...Gina wouldn’t want that…” Reaching other, his hand found her shoulder where he gave her a soft squeeze. ”...and your brother doesn’t want that.”
>>”First of all, I was feeling bold, and secondly, there was that blonde working, and I wanted to impress her.”
Booker snickered. He knew of his sister’s attempts to impress others. It was legendary, to be honest. The blonde who worked behind the counter was cute, he could see that, but there was no way that he was going to waste his hard earned money on some nasty tasting ice cream. Let’s face it, while they couldn’t sell this stuff unless (someone) liked it, Booker wasn’t about to be that one person. So he would rather go for flavors that he knew went well together, no matter who it was behind the counter.
So he shrugged his shoulders. ”I’m sure Gina will love to hear that.” He was teasing, of course. There was nothing wrong with a harmless look here and there and he knew his sister well enough to know that she wouldn’t take things beyond that. She had been cheated on before, one incident had been fairly heartbreaking and recent. As much as Nessa like to look, she wasn’t going to hurt anyone she was with. Gina’s heart would be safe.
Once their ice cream was in hand, Booker took a lick, grabbed a few napkins, and headed out the door, to the sitting area. There was a delicate balance between moving the napkins into his hands, making sure he didn’t drop his ice cream, and slipping his wallet back into his pocket -- but he managed it with only a single drop of ice cream narrowly missing his leg and splashing on the concrete below. Another lick and he made his way to an empty table, Nessa close behind.
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to push her. She was going through a rough patch and he knew that whenever she was that he needed to give her her space and let her come to him. She would eventually, except for those times when he quite literally needed to carry her out of her funk. But he had a feeling he wouldn’t have to wait too long this time. This wasn’t absolutely devastating news that she was getting over, just a disappointment with most of humanity -- which he was familiar with.
>>”Okay, you win; I think I needed to get out of the apartment for a bit. This is nice.”
He smirked. Approaching the seats he pulled one out for Nessa before he took one across from her. With a small sigh on his lips, he took another lick and turned his gaze to the street just on the other side of the sidewalk. He was contemplative for a moment, simply enjoying the air as it began to cool and the feeling of the light upon his skin. It really was nice out here.
”I’m glad you approve,” he smiled. ”And I especially love hearing those magical words: I win.” There was a pause before he gave her a more concerned look. ”How are you doing?”
>>"I must agree entirely. This city is certainly very strange compared to my hometown. So much more... lively. But, I would not change that at all. It is fascinating that each city has its own personality...Though... I did fit in very well with the people from Wisconsin. No one would tell me why though."
Booker arched his eyebrow but still wore a smile upon his features. As he listened to Andrea talk, he found her rather enchanting. She was the very epitome of an outsider looking in and sure enough she did find that New York was both an enticing and a confusing place. Booker loved his city but there were sometimes a few too many strange things, even for his like. But it would never be enough to dissuade him from living here. He lived through what seemed like earth-shattering events and he always survived. That was the mentality he needed to carry with him.
He moved into the towering aisles, mumbling the literature call numbers under his breath as his expert eyes roamed over the tagged spines of the books in front of him. He was one the hunt for books and that always took the lion’s share of his attention. It was what made him a particularly good finder. That didn’t mean he wasn’t listening, though.
>>"I have heard good things about Jane Eyre, and I very much loved 'Villette'. The woman has such a way with words, and an interesting take on romance."
”Definitely,” Booker replied with a grin. ”And if you like tragedy and an ‘interesting take on romance’ then this is certainly an excellent novel to jump into.” His eyes scanned the shelves until he found the precise number he was looking for, made a sound of success and pulled it free from the shelf. The exact copy he was after. He handed it out to Andrea so she could look through it before moving on to the next.
>>"I have also been told to check out 'Pride and Prejudice', but I fear the co-worker who told me of it may have been confused about my interests. I am generally not a fan of zombie stories."
He screeched to a stop. Turning back around to face her, a look of surprise and confusion swept over his features? Zombies? Ugh! There has never been a bigger travesty. In some ways he understood the attempts at trying to get a younger generation interested in the classics but really! He shook his head as he moved down a different aisle, making a beeline for a section that it was clear that he was familiar with.
”Trust me, hun, you’ve been given the wrong information.” He explained as she sought a new call number. ”What was described to you was a poor attempt at trying to make a truly beautiful classic more ‘accessible’ to a ‘modern audience’.” Another shudder but he still shared a smile with her, a sweet and trusting one. ”If you want the real ‘Pride and Prejudice’, I’ll hook you up.”
His eyes shot back to the shelf dedicated to several copies of Austen’s works. He peered at each one until finally he found one. His fingers wrapped around a thick, heavy seeming book with a beautiful gilded edges along the page. it was an old copy, that was for sure, but it carried with it an inspiring appearance. Turning to Andrea he handed it out to her.
”If you want some truly interesting romance and beautiful words, then by all means take this one.” He grinned. ’And I promise…no zombies.”
If there was one thing that Booker knew above books it was the history of this library. He loved libraries. It was probably the one good thing that he had received from his parents, a deep love and respect for these gateways to knowledge. Booker carried that with him like a proud badge, one that he would never take off under any circumstances. He loved the library and it showed with the brightness of his smile and the enthusiasm of his words. It was knowledge that he was only too happy to impart to others.
>>"So... this building is over one hundred years old, then?"
He nodded. ”Oh indeed! Impressive isn’t it?” Grinning he pushed on.
>>"There are sublevels? Is it strange to say that it looks so much bigger on the inside?"
Booker chuckled as he turned back around to look over the view. It really was a sight to behold. To see all the marble and the careful work that was put into each and every detail in the library. It was enough to bring anyone a sense of awe. Watching Andrea’s face as she drunk in the experience was honestly the best feeling for him. It meant that he was doing his job right.
As they moved on, he had to inquiry as to her origin. Her general lack of knowledge of one of the most well-known sites in New York City was telling. So he asked if she was new to the city. She seemed a little shy about the answer but easily confessed the veracity of his thoughts.
>>"I am not. Kalispéra, Pos Eísai? My accent used to give me away all the time. I am pleased to say I have gotten better over the years."
He smirked and nodded his head. ”Yeah I wouldn’t have guessed you had an accent until you pointed it out.”
>>"I am originally from Greece. I came here a few years ago looking for help with how to deal with my mutation, and kind of fell in love with the place...I have been a full citizen only for a short time, and I discover new things every day it seems."
A smile grew across his lips. What an interesting young woman. Though Booker respected all mutants, he could see how her particular mutation could indeed be cause for some need of assistance. He couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like to have a mutation that was so she certainly needed to get all the help she could. He could only guess what she found here. Maybe the X-Men? They were there to help mutants everywhere. Surely it would have been a simple enough matter to get in touch with them. They were all about help mutantkind.
But it was heartwarming to know that she found a home here. It allowed the librarian a sense of respect and love for his fellow man. Despite everything, maybe his faith in humanity could be restored.
”Well it warms my heart that you were able to find someplace new to call your home,” he nodded. ”A lot of weird stuff happens here, but I wouldn’t leave it for all the money in the world.” Another pleasing smile and he moved into the book stacks, leading the way towards the literature section of the collection. ”Alright, first stop...Charlotte Bronte!”
>>”Please, you are an independent man, and I wouldn’t want to harm your macho cred by suddenly paying for things.”
Booker chuckled. It didn’t bother him that his sister made more money. It never had. He was actually happy for her. She deserved it. She earned her place in this world and, therefore, earned every right to reap the benefits of it. Most people gave ViewTube stars a rather hard time. They were viewed as time wasters, people who were paid big bucks for doing nothing more than waste their time recording themselves for the internet. While there was some truth as to the nature of what they did, it wasn’t all a bed of roses. Booker watched Nessa when she first started out, watched how she fought to get her videos record, edited, and uploaded. The hours of work lost because she forgot to save or because of a corrupted sound file. Ness earned her place in the world and Booker was all the more respectful of that.
Besides, it wasn’t as if an Information Professional was making chicken feed. Maybe it wasn’t as much as Nessa right now, but the future of his librarianship would only continue to grow and grow. And as much as he didn’t want it to happen, the popularity of an internet celebrity wasn’t the longest. Not that he would rub that in her face or anything. Especially not right now. So, yes, he would treat her to ice cream. It as the least he could do.
Once off the elevator, Booker wrapped his arm around her, squishing her body into his as he marched on towards the doors of the building. She didn’t have to talk about what she was feeling if she didn’t want to. The only thing he wanted was to ensure that she knew he was there whenever she needed him. And, beforelong, his hug was returned and the librarian smiled wide.
>>”Thanks, bro.”
”Gotcha fam…” he then tilted his head. ”That is how you young people say it, right?” He smirked. It didn’t bother him at all if he sounded like some dad trying to make himself sound cool. Nessa may be embarrassed, especially with how loud he said it, but that was her problem.
----
‘Da Vinci’s Cona Lisa’. The name was ridiculous, and some of the flavors were off-the-wall, hipster stuff, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t choice ice cream. The parlor itself harkened back to the old ice cream shoppe days: walls painted white, smoother tiled countertop, and a man behind the counter in a pressed white and red-striped suit. It almost felt like walking into the past; well, almost...the overly large handlebar music and smartwatch the guy wore was a dead giveaway. Still, despite those minor flaws, it was a place that Booker certainly didn’t mind being.
He stood in line next to his sister, looking over the menu options. The flavors weren’t exactly the most well know: Coconut Sticky Rice, Sweet Potato Cashew, Fried Chicken and Waffles, Bone Marrow and Bourbon Smoked Cherry, Lavender Honey, and as Booker continued to look over the list, he finally nodded and glanced to Nessa at his side.
”Oh I’m definitely getting a scoop of the Bacon Caramel Maple,” he nodded definitely. ”The Honey Jalapeno Pickle was a little out there.” He eyed her. ”I still can’t believe you ordered that last time.”
Booker loved the New York Public Library. He had loved it every since he was a kid. He had learned the insides and outs and had made it his busy to always be up to date with it. It was a skill that served him well throughout his schooling and, yes, even helped in landing him this job. Truly this was a man who had found his place in the world and he was more than contented with it. It was reflected upon his features, with the way that he smiled and how his eyes danced with glee at the sight of everything around him; he was a man in love with his work.
As he led Andrea on, more comfortable that he wasn’t making her miserable with his aura, he led the way towards the first stop, but not without grabbing a few of the choice pamphlets for her to leaf through. Eagerly she took them from him and, as she peered through them, he had to smile. It was rare that he met someone who was so interested in library and it was an energy he tried to soak up whenever he could.
>>"How long have you worked here, Mr. Booker?"
”A couple of years now,” he admitted before continuing on. ”I used to work in the college library and stuck with it until I got my degree. By the time I was graduated and had my Master’s in hand, it was pretty simply to apply here. Everyone was so nice and they took a chance because of how enthusiastic I was.” He chuckled at the thought. ”Glad they did though,” he said as he marched up the stairs and stopped to gesture at the view of the marble entry way. ”I could hardly be denied this view from work everyday.”
He smirked as he looked back to her. She certainly seemed inspired by the library but soon enough there were the sounds of careful chirping from her pocket. After a few failed attempts of trying to ignore it, she quickly shot a text back before a look of apology fell across her eyes. There was a no talking on cellphones rule but he would let her slide as they weren’t actually in one of the study areas. Besides, she hardly seemed like a troublemaker so he said nothing on the matter.
They moved on but before he got two steps away, her voice rang out once more...
>> "If you don't mind me asking... was this building always a library? It is... so very big"
He nodded. ”Actually,” he said with interest. ”The original building on this site was the Croton Distributing Reservoir that was established in 1842.” There was such pure knowledge in Booker’s voice that it was hard to not listen to him. ”However when the reservoir became defunct, and the city decided on wanting a more central library, the old reservoir was demolished and this building was erected in its place in 1901.” He smirked as he whispered. ”If you go down to the lower levels, you can actually see some of the original foundation left behind by the Croton Reservoir. Super interesting stuff!” He beamed proudly then turned and led on towards the literature section of the stacks. But not before he glanced back to her. ”Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself? Are you new to this area?”
Booker cared about his sister, more than she would ever probably realize. For him, he had always blamed himself for leaving her behind when he went off to college. He never liked what their parents did to her and made it a personal mission to keep her safe. But when he left, he felt almost split in two by the decision. How could he just abandon her to the mess that was their homelife? But at the same time, how could he deny himself the opportunity of going out and earning his place in the world? She would never blame him, and had said as much, but there was still that protectiveness that Booker held. He would do what he could to keep her safe.
In this case, that meant disconnecting her from the flood of poisonous comments that were littering her videos. There were plenty of good ones, sure, but he knew his sister well enough to know that she would seek out those jabs just so she could shout back at her computer screen. No, this wasn’t healthy. For as cathartic as a good scream can be, she needed a break to get some perspective. Ice cream was a good way to get perspective.
He ignored the daggers with which she glared at him and instead kept his eyes forward. It was only when they had passed at least one floor that he muttered the focus of their expedition -- ice cream. With an additional notice that her phone wasn’t there either, he could hear the wheels clicking in her mind.
A small glance and she spotted the whisper of a smile on her lips. It was a begrudging one, however, and he couldn’t blame her: he did just scoop her up out of her bed and sling her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
>> ”We also don’t have my wallet, so this better at least be your treat. Plus, I don’t have my ID, so there goes any hope of buying myself some rum raisin.”
He snorted. ”Please, you act like this is my first kidnapping…” A light-hearted chuckle filled the air. ”...don’t worry. I got you.” He then paused. ”Of course with how much money you actually make, you should probably be treating me more often, but that’s something for us to discuss later.”
He finally turned to her and gave her a sheepish grin. He loved his sister and he only wanted what was best for her. As the elevator dinged and he stepped out, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a loving squeeze against his much bulkier body. He wouldn’t let her go until she hugged back, even if that meant that they walked like this the entire way to the ice cream shop around the corner.
This was an intervention. That meant that Booker was going to be faced with some resistance, but resistance from his sister was something he had grown more than used to. When they were kids, they had the usual sibling fights and, being the big brother, that often meant forcing his young sibling into servitude. Oh but Nessa always had a resistance to her. He had grown to expect it. The only time he would truly worry would be in its absence. That was not the case right now, he was thankful to see.
>>”Ack! What? No! Where are you even taking me? These are pajama shorts!”
The lumbering librarian ignored all protest and flailing as he easily carried his sister out of her room. At her grumblings that she was in inappropriate attire, a he knelt down, flung a pair of her jeans over her head (still not putting her down) before he knelt and picked up a pair of her shoes. Like that, they were out of the door where Booker kicked it closed behind him and locked it with his free hand. In making his way down the hall, towards the elevator, he gave a cheery smile to their elderly neighbor, the nosey Mrs. Whitman who despised Nessa’s drunken gaming sessions, but whom Booker still offered bright smiles.
”Afternoon Mrs. Freeman. Lovely day, isn’t it?” Nessa’s protests rang out from his shoulder as he carried her onward and into the elevator. It was only when the doors closed that he then that he set her down onto her feet and turned around so that she could make herself presentable to the world outside their building.
There was a huff in the air. As soon as it was safe to look, he turned back but kept his gaze forward and towards the door. Hands clasped in front of him, he didn’t at all look like the type who have forcefully pulled a young woman from her apartment and carried her against her will into an elevator. As a matter of fact, he just always looked like that bright ray of sunshine that he always was.
>>”I’m asking in protest and do not support this unjust abduction, but where are you taking me?”
”Out,” he said simply.
He had seen Nessa in worse states. The break-up with Becca had been a terrible one, but one that she managed to work herself out of (with some help). And while this current mood wasn’t as bad as her break-up phase, it required action nonetheless. There was no way he was going to let Nessa continue to fester and angrily scream at her computer screen. She needed outside, she needed good things, she needed…
”Ice cream.” He continued. He then turned and gave her a sidelong smile. He didn’t need to say anything else and simply turned his head forward again. Nessa would talk when she was ready. In the meantime he would just wait. ”And don’t bother checking your pockets,” he smirked. ”I made sure to leave your phone in the apartment.”
>>"That is very kind of you. Not many bother with thinking such things through these days. Too much on everyone's plate, I suppose."
He smiled and shrugged his shoulders thankfully. ”I do what I can. Personal experience and all that.”
It really hit him hard how much Juliette suffered when he was around. He liked the woman very much. Damn near almost loved her. But the look on her face whenever they spent too much time together and had to part -- it was painful to see. Booker knew then that he couldn’t do this to another mutant so it made him extra cautious when he learned he was around one. With Andrea it was pretty easy to see she was a mutant, as well as the effects of his field. While normally this would cause him to be extra cautious, her calm demeanor and easy smile was enough quell his own fears. She was fine.
As Booker turned and started to lead her, he inquired if she had been to this library before. Her wide eyes and genuine awe of the New York Public Library was enough for him to know she hadn’t been here before.
>>"I have not, unfortunately. Due to certain aspects of my mutation, I tend to stick to only a few places most of the time. I was not aware such a place existed here."
”Oh...he said with genuine surprise.” The New York Public Library was kind of a staple of the city. The marble lions out front practically symbolized the metropolis. He could understand someone with her mutation never coming in, but never even hearing of it? That struck him as odd. But only briefly. Maybe she was more a visitor and not native to the city? That would explain a lot. And, that being the case, she clearly needed the tour.
>>"I have not! I have been by this area many times, but I was not aware it was a library."
Interesting. Booker pushed the thought away and gave her a brilliant smile to match her own. ”Then by all means let me introduce you two.” He grinned. He stopped by a passing stand to pluck out a couple of choice pamphlets. Once he approved of them he handed them off to her. If she was going to learn about this place, then he was going to make sure that it was only the most choice information.
>>"Oh, do you need this?"
They pressed on but not before Andrea stopped him to inquire if she needed her lists of requests. Booker glanced down but shook his head.
Booker shook his head, smiling sweetly. ”Nope!” he said cheerily, tapping the side of his head. ”All locked in here. I know precisely where we are going.” He stopped before choosing a direction. ”Let’s start with Literature, then move our way to Medical items.”
Booker always believed that his sister was strong. Everything that she went through, the dark corners she found herself in, the fear and anger and sadness, it was enough to have ended weaker souls. But through it all, Nessa managed to pick herself up and carry on until she found a comfortable balance. She found herself, made a niche for her life, and it was the most heroic and encouraging thing that Booker had ever been privy to witness. It made him proud to be her brother. Unfortunately, not everyone took the same view he had. Whether from ignorance or sheer cruelty, there were those who didn’t, nor couldn’t, understand.
It was hard to come out to your family and friends. Admittedly, Booker took the fact that she was a mutant a little hard at first. Not because he didn’t care for mutants, but because she had kept it a secret for so long. But the two of them managed to work through it. However, when you’re an internet personality, coming out in several different fronts, all at once, it was bound to leave you open for some truly cruel jabs.
Nessa road the wave well at first, a few trolls here and there, nothing she wasn’t used to hearing when she was first transitioning. But it seemed that for every kind-hearted and thankful message, there was a particularly thick barbed one that would sneak in. That was what Booker was listening to now. The jagged comments that Nessa exposed herself to whenever her eyes fell just a few clicks below her video and into the comments section. Honestly, she should have disabled that feature by now.
Booker could hear the cursing from her room. As a matter of fact, he had heard it since she posted her video and the flames started to spread. He tried telling her not to worry about it, that it was just human nature and that the hate would eventually be smothered out by her true fans. For a second it seemed to work but his sister had the deepcut flaw of being unable to look away for long. Eventually the cursing would start up again and Booker would find himself unsure as to what to do next.
Eventually...he grew tired of it. Booker was an understanding man, he knew people did what they had to to process bad events. But enough was enough. Sitting on the couch, trying to watch his latest episode of ‘Paranormal’ (seriously, greatest show in existence as proved by the fact it is going into its fourteenth season), Booker kept hearing that stream of consistent obscenities. She needed to stop.
So, hefting himself up from the couch, the jean and t-shirt clad Booker carefully slipped on his sneakers, ran his fingers through his hair, and stepped up to her door. He didn’t bother to knock. Instead he just calmly opened her door, walked in without a word, and then immediately scooped her up, slinging his sister over his shoulder like a ragdoll. Wordlessly he left the room and closed the door behind them.
It was time to take a break from that ****ing computer.
After Juliette, Booker made it a point to be as honest with any mutants he came across. Not that the man wasn’t usually a chatterbox, but in these cases he wanted to let mutants know what was happening to them. Most had never met an adapted before. Some have and the results have been traumatic for them. He wasn’t going to be the cause of someone else’s pain again. That he vowed. That was why, once Andrea closed the gap and inspected herself that he immediately inquired after her safety. Was she okay? Did she need a doctor?
>>”Oh, quite the contrary Mr. Booker. I am quite fond of powers like yours. I have met a few others like you before, in passing...It is quite a welcome, refreshing change for me."
He breathed a short sigh of relief. That was certainly good to hear. The woman’s skin shifted, the wriggling in her hair grew still, and whatever protrusions existed in her teeth sank away. She now looked fairly human, no hint of the mythological creature that had stood before him only moments ago. He often wondered how that extreme a shift would feel, but he was glad that she didn’t seem harmed by it.
>>"I can imagine for others it may not be quite as pleasant, however. If you would rather I not stand so close I am more than willing to step out of your... um... how to say it, your bubble?"
He smirked and nodded. ”Yeah, that’s a good name for it.” He then sighed but shook his head. ”No, it doesn’t bother me at all. So long as you’re okay with it, then I am. I just like to give warning and the option first. Like you said, there are some people where it can be very unpleasant. But if you say you’re okay, then so am I!”
A proud, beaming smile crossed his lips. Standing before he, the man stood over six feet, with his short, sandy hair and scruffy five o’clock shadow. He was dressed rather professionally in slacks, his vest and lilac colored shirt. The bowtie around his neck was an eye-catcher though, filled with various heroic symbols from the latest and classic comic books. However, it would be his smile that would be at the center of attention. Broad, pure, and sweet, here was a man who was a living ray of sunshine and he reveled in it.
Clipboard in hands, he turned his waist, beginning to lead the way before he glanced back to Andrea. ”Are you ready? Have you been here before? If not I’ll give you the dime tour.”
Booker could see the look in her eyes. He knew instantly that she was lost. He rattled off a large series of call numbers, numbers that she wasn’t prepared to write down and wasn’t at all prepared to go looking for in this large, mysterious building. Having spent enough years behind this counter to see that look, he knew instantly that his services would be required -- services he was only too happy to give. Though he was initially unsure of helping her further because she was clearly a mutant he didn’t want to throw her abilities out of whack, his overly helpful nature immediately took over.
Without a second thought, Booker offered his assistance. It was only after he did that he remembered his affect on mutants, but seeing the appreciation in her eyes, he knew it was too late to take it back.
>>"If... you are not terribly busy, I would appreciate that ever so much. I regrettably do not have the best sense of direction."
He smirked. ”Of course.” He began to gather his stuff, mainly just his phone and clipboard. There was no need for him to print out or write down the call numbers of those particular items. Booker possessed an eidetic memory so the information was not be forgotten.
>>"And, since I dare say this may take a while with my luck, I am very pleased to meet you. My name is Andrea."
He turned just as she stepped closed. He didn’t really have the time to warn her as she quickly stepped into his field. It had a diameter of ten feet so just stepping in to shake his hand she would begin to change. Andrea, it was a sweet name, and he really hoped that he wasn’t hurting her. He watched carefully, the effects of his adapted field washing over her as his hand slipped into her’s.
”Booker,” he responded with genuine care. ”It’s nice to meet you, Andrea.” he then awkwardly looked her over before a look of apology swept over his features. ”Are you okay? I’m not...hurting you, right?”
Booker loved mutants. But he hated what his powers did to them. There were some that relied on their powers to live or where the absence of their abilities could be deadly. Juliette was one example, his girlfriend before he met Javier. Juliette was sweet and amazing but her powers required that she absorb a certain amount of light everyday. When she was absent from it, she felt it -- and it hurt. Booker had the watch the pain on her face whenever she had to be re-introduced to it. It killed him to see her suffer so things had to end. From then on, Booker made it a point to be honest with any mutants he came across.
This woman was absolutely amazing to look at. She was like a piece of a living, breathing art; a combination of real life and mythology. But as much as he wanted to be mesmerized by the snakes that curled through her hair, he had instinctively had to back up. Not out of fear but out of respect. How would his abilities affect her? No, it was too risky so he would back up a few steps, just until he knew how much he would have to help her.
And yes, he was startled. You honestly would be too if you weren’t expecting someone to sneak up on you like this.
>> "No harm done...Quite a few things I am afraid. I am used to much smaller libraries. I am quite lost in here."
He gave her a sweet smile. He loved it when people came here for the first time. And he understood that, yes, it could be intimidating. ”Oh of course. That’s why I’m here. Your sherpa to Mt. Bookstacks.” A cheesy grin followed.
She fiddled about before she produced a list. Booker edged closer to his computer and bent down, tapping and opening the library’s stack directory. As the site came up, he quickly brought up the search engine in preparation for finding her items.
>>"I am searching for quite a few medical books, as well as a few novels that had appeared on the most recent 'top books to read this year' list...Most importantly I am looking for 'Step-up to Medicine', 'On Rounds', 'Rebecca', and 'Jane Eyre'."
He gave her a brilliant smile. ”That’s quite the eclectic collection. Lemme see…” a few clicks and Booker pulled out a few slips of paper and immediately started to jot down Call Numbers, some of them he knew by heart. When he was done, he straightened up. ”Okay, ‘Step-Up’ will be W 18.2 S8273 2008, ‘On Rounds’ is... QZ 39 L363o 2015, both ‘Rebecca’ and ‘Jane Eyre’ would be in our Literature section, PR6007 .U47 R4 1971 and PR4167 .J3 1991. I went with one of our older copies of ‘Jane Eyre’, without a lot of the needless edits.” A brilliant smile followed. However, as he looked over the list an realized just how daunting it would be, his lip twitched into a smile as he eyed her. ”Um...would you like some help? I feel like you’ll be trekking everywhere for these. I can show you around.”
It was once in a lifetime. How could he turn it down? Booker never took the opportunity to cross into the other world. Oh he was tempted. He wanted to live out every fantasy / sci-fi adventure that he had ever read. But there was an inherent problem with that, namely the fact that this whole event was most likely caused by mutants. As much as Booker wanted to crossover, his fears that his adapted aura would negatively affect the spacetime continuum still played heavily in his mind. He didn’t want to be responsible for it closing and trapping people on one side or the other. However, it seemed that it may happen anyways -- he just wouldn’t be responsible.
News was going out everywhere that there were signs of the rip shrinking. People were saying that this was it: either this would be the end of times or it would be the end of just the doorway. Some fled from it. Others accepted it. Booker didn’t think it would be the end of the world, rather, it was just the universe healing itself from something rather...unexpected. Nature had a way of fixing itself so long as people don’t jab obnoxiously at the wound.
So, here he was, standing nearby and licking an ice cream cone. He was fresh off work, wearing charcoal pants and a matching vest while he sported a rather colorful and heroic bowtie. This was a nice way to cap off the day, wasn’t it? Ice cream, a warm day, and witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime celestial phenomena. God he loved New York sometimes.
Getting a good place to stand, Booker wore sunglasses as he peered through the rip. He wasn’t close enough for his aura to affect it, but he could see it very clearly. There were even a few people on the other side who waved at him as they passed, one going so far as to jokingly place her thumb and pinky to her ears and lips in a crude gesture to call her. Obviously that was impossible; he couldn’t imagine how much his carrier would charge for a cross-dimensional call.
He smirked and waved at the person before they vanished from sight and went back to his strawberry-chocolate swirl ice cream waffle cone. But as he lapped up a wayward sprinkle that tried to slink onto his hand, he grumbled, and tabbed at his knuckles with a napkin. His eyes glanced briefly to the rip where he noticed a rather odd scene -- someone was running.
His head tilted, curious. He couldn’t exactly make them out through the sheen of the rift but they seemed to be moving with haste. A prayer was muttered under his lips. He hoped that that wasn’t someone who from this world getting trapped on the other. With a glance to them, at the closing corners of the rip, he turned to look for an authority figure to maybe see if the poor woman could be helped. But before he could flag anyone down he turned back just in time to watch the rip seal.
Booker stood there, staring at the spot, his ice cream still dripping on his fingers. He only caught a clear glimpse of the woman before the tear was gone and, oddly, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she looked a little...familiar. Offering this stranger a silent prayer that she was where she was supposed to be, he headed off and hoped the strange flutter in his stomach would go away with time.
