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.
Van was clearly having the time of his life and as long as Juka was making someone happy, he was happy. He did one more barrel role for good measure (had to give Van his money's worth, so to speak) before slowing down to a more leisurely pace, drifting along peacefully far above the city. Even though he had all ready realized it, he was definitely glad to confirm the fact that the other man was not about to let go and "test" how bouncy he really was. "So, where to?" he asked.
"You are sooooo lucky."
Juka grinned back, always glad to be the center of attention. "I like to think so. But you know, every power comes with its drawbacks." He was most certainly not going to mention the whole wiggly hair incident. With his luck Van would get so freaked out he'd accidentally let go of Juka's arm and plummet to his doom, having forgotten just how high up they really were and the fact that he couldn't fly on his own (or at least Juka assumed he couldn't fly on his own).
"I'm sure being stretchy must be pretty cool also. You could be the amazing Rubber Band Man!" It was amazing the wide variety of different powers out there, no two exactly the same. Juka figured they were kind of like finger prints; each individual and unique. Even the other telekinetic he'd met, Shana, had powers much different than his own. He had bubbles which were certainly lovely and amazing in their own right, but she wasn't constrained by bubbles, the dear hearted blue haired woman could simply think and things would move around. Similar and yet different all at the same time.
"Where do you get your clothes? If you don't mind my asking..."
It wasn't the question Juka was expecting, but it was a good question nevertheless and he approved, if only in his own head. The man clearly had an eye for fashion. "You'd be surprised what you can find in second hand stores. I just sort of find a little here and a little there and what I can't find I make myself. Especially lately I find I have more spare time than I used to." Owing, of course, to the fact that he no longer needed to sleep. Who knew the kind of boredom that could result in having 8 more hours a day to play with? For that matter, who know how important sleep schedules were to keeping a proper handle on time passing?
So, putting mice (and other things) to sleep was a check. So far Juka knew that he could both make living things more awake and more sleepy, up to and including actually putting them to sleep. It took a while but there could still be some potential uses for both aspects of that particular power. Maybe he could put enemies to sleep instead of simply hitting them repeatedly with blunt objects? Of course, maybe that wasn't the most practical thing to do given that usually enemies weren't willing to simply sit there for 3 or 4 minutes while they slowly and peacefully got more tired and then passed out. No, the unfortunate thing about enemies is that they were usually trying to do some kind of physical damage to you, thus the fact that they were enemies and not friends or innocent bystanders. Unfortunate, really, since putting them to sleep would be far less traumatic than clobbering them over the head until they fell unconscious.
OK, so with that figured out what was next on his list of experiments? Juka decided that he would continue his living things experiment for the time being. He had the most experience affecting living things anyway, even if that living thing happened to be himself. So, in that case the plant he had brought along was next. Unbubbling the mouse (still sleeping in its cage) he opted to bubble the plant next. Since he appeared to be some sort of time manipulator, it stood to reason that he could manipulate time, right? And by time, he meant that he could make a flower bloom before it was natural. As luck (and careful planning) would have it, there just happened to be an unopened bud on the plant for him to work with.
Once again Juka began thinking very strongly about forcing the flower to bloom. The thoughts weren't any more detailed than that, really, but after several minutes had passed there appeared to be no change in the state of the flower. Just as he was about to give out, he thought the green tendril the bud was attached to might have been a little longer. For that matter, he thought he felt something else as well, an unnatural pull of energy, for lack of a better way to describe it. He was pretty sure that something was happening, it just wasn't happening all that quickly. So, perhaps he could manipulate time but he just couldn't manipulate it quickly. He tried to figure out how long it had taken to put the mouse to sleep, about 4 or 5 minutes by his estimation, as compared to how long it would normally take a mouse to go to sleep naturally. Two or three hours maybe? Or perhaps more? The flower, on the other hand, might take a couple of days to bloom on its own, so it stood to reason it would take a few hours to force it to bloom. Maybe? He was here to figure out what he could do and was in no rush, so he decided to give it at least a couple of hours.
After a full hour had passed Juka was certain that the tendril the bud was attached to had most certainly gotten longer and the bud itself was most definitely larger and closer to the point of blooming. It took, perhaps, another hour and a half after that point for the flower to finally emerge from its little green shell in full blooming glory. Another success, all be it a success that took a little longer than expected. So, his time manipulation went beyond controlling bodily functions it seemed. The question was, what did blooming flowers equate to in a non-plant subject? Increasing phsical maturity? Aging? Also, how long would it normally take a flower like that to bloom? Juka was no expert by any means but maybe he would have to ask Kai. Surely the little plant-mancer could tell him and in knowing that he would have a better idea about how much he was able to affect time.
"I suppose...I'm just worried about messing something up."
Now that was something that Juka had never before considered. Messing something up? He supposed having a stretchy body might mean potential for messing something up, especially if some parts of his body happened to not be as stretchy as other parts. Imaging what could happen, for example, if his body returned to its usual non-stretchy self somehow...wrong was not a pretty image. He had never considered such potential problems when he first learned about his own power, though that may have had more to do with how young he was when he first discovered it (young and quite without fear) rather than the fact that bubbles were utterly without risk. What would have happened had he lost concentration in those early days? Now, of course, it was pretty much second nature to manifest a bubble and direct its movement, but way back then? He suppressed a shudder at the mental image of Juka bits all over the ground.
"I don't know, we could test out my bouncing capabilities if I let go..."
Juka blinked at Van, shaking the rather disturbing images out of his head. It took him a moment to realize that the other man was not being serious. At least, he chose to decide that Van wasn't being serious otherwise he may just have more problems than Juka would be able to help him with. "Do me a favour," he said, just in case he had misread the other's intentions, "and don't test that out today. If you must discover whether or not you're bouncy, maybe do so in a way that's a little safer just in case?" Surely he must see the logic of that, right? Juka didn't want to be responsible for the unfortunate and far too early demise of a fellow mutant due to falling from a bubble.
Juka took Van's laughter as a sign that he was the type to enjoy an exciting roller coaster and thus it was an invitation to show off a little bit. Distant sirens could be heard below, but they were of little consequence. How could a mere cop in a car catch a boy (well two boys this time) in a bubble? The bubble shot up, picking up speed as it rose higher and higher into the air. The city fell away far below them, people and buildings alike starting to get that toylike appearance that came with being so far away. Once he was far enough above the city so that even pedestrians who happened to look up wouldn't be able to identify them, Juka did a couple of barrel roles in the bubble, looking at Van to find out if he was enjoying himself or was terrified for his life and intending to alter his technique accordingly.
"I feel like Glinda or whatever her name was from 'The Wizard of Oz'. Although I guess you're more suited for the role..."
Juka grinned and giggled happily in reply. "Well, if you really want some fashion assistance, you know I'd love to help you. Whatever you desire, I'm here to be of assistance."
The first thing Juka did upon arriving at his little patch of forest was to land, unbubble and put his various tools and objects out in front of him. He felt...fear. It was odd and, he knew, irrational. What did he really have to be afraid of? It wasn't like he had anyone with him that he might accidentally hurt with his strange new ability and so far his bubbles hadn't done anything to hurt himself. Yet, still it was there. Things were changing in his life far faster and drastically than he had previously thought possible which might have been fine except for the fact that his powers were changing right along with him. For years his bubbles had been predicable and wonderful and now, right when his life was at its most tumultuous, they had decided to do something strange and unpredictable and frightening.
Knowing that there was really nothing he could do about it, however, Juka took a deep breath and resigned himself to his fate, whatever that may be. Life he could control, at least to some degree, but his powers were something he was stuck with and just had to make the best of. Besides, time control was something pretty cool right? How many people would kill for a power like that? Or at least, he imagined time control would be a cool power and the brief glimpses of the fact that his power appeared to be some kind of time control reinforced that impression. Now, if only he could figure out what exactly that meant and what exactly he could do with such a gift then he might have something to brag about. Or rather, something else to brag about.
Juka spent a long minute looking at his supplies before rebubbling himself. The question was, where was he supposed to begin? Something simple, he decided, something similar to what his bubbles were all ready doing. He knew that his bubbles made it so he didn't have to sleep anymore but what if they could also do the reverse? The mouse was what he needed to test that theory, which was currently sitting there staring curiously at him from inside his little cage. He bubbled the little critter, cage and all, and began thinking very strongly about making the mouse go to sleep. Really, he had no idea what he was doing, but strong thoughts had worked before when he had tried to experiment to logic stated that, maybe, it would work again. A minute past and then a second and the mouse still seemed mouselike and very much awake. Except...was it a little more lathargic than it had been a minute ago?
After a third minute Juka was certain that it was, indeed, not moving as much as it had been previously and, finally, it fell asleep entirely. He jumped up in excitement, whooping into the silent woods. So, test one was complete and successful: Not only could he make things and people less tired, but if given enough time he could also put them to sleep. He wasn't yet certain what that meant to him or what he could do with that knowledge, but it was step one to understanding his new power.
Juka followed the blue girl in his floating bubble, remaining quiet and pensive. Quiet was an unusual state for him but given all that had happened that night, it only seemed natural. There was so much to think about, so much about the world that he hadn't previously considered. Before he had had only the barest glimpses of the darker side of the world, but now he felt he was beginning to truly see things for the way that they actually were. It was...an unusual feeling. He hadn't yet decided if that was a good or a bad thing.
You wonder about my methods don't you? truth be told , I question them as well sometimes.
Juka stopped in front of the building and watched as the young women went inside. He turned his attention back to Abyss as the big red mutant spoke. "You do?" Juka blinked in genuine surprise. The man had seemed so very sure of himself it seemed unusual to even consider the fact that he might question some of his own actions.
"If you question your own methods than why do you continue to do it? Surely there must be some other way in which you can prove your point without actually killing people?"
Juka was almost getting the impression that Van wasn't completely happy with the powers he had. Why should he be unhappy though? Stretchyness was pretty awesome, in Juka's not entirely professional opinion. Tendrils that ended in bubbles were one thing, but there were certain things that tendrils simply couldn't do. Really, anything that involved a great deal of manual dexterity or, you know, a thumb, to start off with. Besides, what was the use in being unhappy with something that you really couldn't change? Make the best of it was pretty much the philosophy of the day. Sure, Juka would love to be able to change into a griffin like the griffin boy or become all misty like his Ghosty, or maybe even turn his skin red like his Prince Venus, but he couldn't do any of those things and didn't really expect to be able to any time soon, so he'd just have to make due with what he could do. Maybe it was easier for him though, since what he could do was so plainly and completely awesomely amazing. Nevertheless, stretchy was nothing to look down upon.
"I'm not totally sure how super is super stretchy yet--but I'm nervous about trying it out."
"Sometimes you just need to take a chance and go with it," Juka nodded sagely at his own advice. It was, perhaps, advice that he should really consider taking for himself, given the fact that his bubbles had so recently become time bubbles. Another flashback of wiggly haired Andrea entered his mind briefly and he began, for a moment, to regret his offer of a ride away from the scene of the crime that was entirely not their fault. But no, surely wiggly hair was a one time occurrence, right? He'd just have to be extra careful and make sure his bubble only floated like it was supposed to and didn't do anything weird like it was not supposed to do.
"You have a--That would be pretty sweet."
Juka grinned, always pleased to impress and amaze. "Just give me one quick moment." He rose up into the air, looking for a nearby roof in which to deposit his anvils. One advantage of using anvils as weapons is that, wherever he deposited them, they were heavy enough that not to many were likely to try and steal them. Still, he preferred to drop them somewhere people weren't too likely to look in the first place, such as roofs. Perfect roof/anvil storing facility found, he let his anvils gently down and then returned below to Van.
"Now, where were we." Juka unbubbled for a moment and gently took Van's hand, stepping close so as to ensure that both were within the acceptable radius of the bubble. "Don't let go of my hand. If you let go you'll fall through the bottom of the bubble and I don't think either of us want that." With one final impish grin, he once again bubbled, this time the bubble encompassing both himself and Van. "Hold on tight." He began rising into the air, not doing anything to drastic until he found it if Van was one of those who wanted the ride of his life or one who would prefer a nice and easy ride with no tricks or risks (not that anything he did was all that risky anyway, its just that some had weak stomachs).
It was time to figure out what was going on with his bubbles. For months Juka's bubbles had been doing some rather unusual things. Oh, they were still just as bubbly and floaty as they ever were and the still kept him nice and warm and dry when the needed to, but the problem was that they had started to do other things as well. Or rather, maybe problem was overstating the matter a little, but that didn't change the fact that they were doing things that they had never done in the past. For example, because of his wonderful little bubbles, he no longer felt the need to eat or sleep or whenever he did feel any of those needs, he simply spent a little time in his bubble and they would magically disappear. He hadn't slept in...he couldn't even remember the last time he had actually slept, but it was sometime before his battle with Aura.
Since that time his bubbles had been doing other things as well. He had discovered, through an unfortunate little experiment, that if someone else was bubbles he could temporarily eliminate their need for food and sleep as well, completely reversing the effects of going for long periods of time without such things. Unfortunately that little event had also resulted in the poor deer Andrea's hair starting to wiggle and move in a rather disturbing fashion which had so freaked Juka out and made him feel so guilty that he hadn't done any further experiments on others of that nature. The small number of experiments that he had done with his power since discovering it had let him to the understanding that he could somehow affect how time operated within his bubbles, but the practical uses of such a power still escaped him, beyond, of course, negating certain bodily needs. Thus, the reason for this little expedition.
Juka had collected up a number of different objects for this little adventure of his, so that he would have a variety of things with which to experiment on. They included such things as a flower, complete with flower pot, a mouse (which he would be very careful not to hurt of course) complete with little mouse cage, some matches, and a handful of other miscellaneous objects that he had put into a backpack and carried with him. He now found himself in an area several miles outside of the city itself (it was difficult to tell the exact distance since he'd floated there in usual fashion) in the middle of a forest. Here, he hoped, he would be able to experiment in peace with nothing and no one to bother him. Hopefully by the time he returned to the city he would have a better idea of what his new bubblely power was capable of.
For the first time Juka and Neko seemed to have made a real difference in the battle. His Shadow Ball, in addition to having struck rather solidly, had the added advantage of putting his opponent on the defensive. In addition to that, it was something that wouldn't risk the sensitive heart that made up his drifblim.
“Liana, Vine Whip again!”
Given his opponent's apparent vulnerability, Juka decided that it was time to end this battle once and for all and hopefully in definitive fashion. Could his Neko take another vine whip? Hopefully. He was counting on the fact that his drifblim either had enough hp left to survive the strike or that his final secret move would shock his opponent enough for the attempted vine whip to fail.
Once again Neko charged Liana however this time, a moment before his pokemon would hit, a loud off tune trumpet sounded out of the radio that made up its insides. It was an astonish attack that also happened to be his fourth and final move and, if it wasn't sufficient to end the battle now hopefully it would at least cause his enemy to flinch thus preventing its attempted vine whip.
Juka's lovely sisters certainly seemed to be appreciating everything that he was throwing their way, not that there had been any doubt of course. Still, all in all he had to admit that he was being every bit the perfect wing man just as he had promised to do. Well, maybe perfect was over stating it just a tad as he did have to be careful not to overshadow his two companions and thus pull their lady's attention away from them; but if women happened to be attracted to him was it really his fault? Really, who could blame them for being attracted to someone simultaneously so fabulous and talented.
Juka's worry about the others' keeping the attention of the other two women, however, seemed to be largely without merit. He spared the other two men a glance just to make sure they were holding there own and grinned his encouragement at Saph and his fate speech and glass trick. He felt just a pang of guilt at the fact that he was basically encouraging his friend two manipulate the girl into believe that she was getting something out of this that wasn't going to pan out in the end but managed to suppress it, possible a sign of the amount alcohol currently in his system. Completely sober and he was pretty sure that he would never let such unethical actions happen. Pretty sure. Maybe. Or maybe not. That, of course, was the alcohol talking again.
Ice cube man (which would forever more be his name in Juka's mind) was likewise wooing his lady first with a display of frozen butterfly and then by asking her to dance. Not being one to be showed up, Juka decided that he, too, should go and dance but first a much more important event need occur. Mainly, the emptying of all the liquid he had put into his system since getting to the club. "My lovely ladies," Juka state, wrapping his arms around both girls' shoulders, "I promise I am not abandoning you but must take my leave for the barest of moments. If you would excuse me." He began to walk towards the bathroom, stopping to turn around a blow a kiss first to Jess and then to Erika.
In normal circumstances using the bathroom should have been a rather simple and predictable occurrence. Even in drunken circumstances it should have been a rather simple and predicable occurrence since Juka obviously wasn't drunk enough for it not to be. In the life of a mutant, however, the normal was not always either simple or predicable which was sometimes a good thing and sometimes not so much though it was almost always an interesting thing.
Juka did manage to safely make his way into the bathroom without incident but then...suddenly he found himself inside his bubble. He blinked, quite unsure why his bubble might have appeared quite against his own will. A second blink as he commanded it to once again disappear and it quite intentionally refused him. A sliver of fear went through his mind as he remembered the last time his bubble had refused to depart and how long it had taken for it to finally disappear that last time. For an entire month, give or take a few days, he had been stuck in it. Now, in a club full of what he assumed were regular humans, his bubble was once again refusing to leave. Quite unsure what to do about this problem he could think of only one thing: Call Saph and hope he could come to the rescue and actually do something to help. And that was exactly what he did, dialing Saph's number and hoping against hope that he had his phone on him.
I have no issues with that. Just be sure to link me to the thread once you've to the first post up and written otherwise, absent minded as I sometimes am, I may end up missing it.
Its all part of our evil plant to confuse and baffle you mwahahahahahahaha! But seriously, you could always do a thread with two or even all three of us depending on what was thought of and what the scenario was.
Juka floated over to the man he had injured with his anvil attack to ensure that he was still breathing. Clearly the man was out cold but his breath was even and steady which was a good sign. A broken bone or two was nothing less than what he deserved to receive given what he had tried to do to poor Van and who knew how many other unfortunate mutants in the past, but he had no desire to injure the man permanently or, gods forbid, actually kill the man. Juke knew very well how dangerous his anvils could be if he wasn't careful with them. The trick was to strike his enemies with just enough force to make them regret their evil ways but still have a chance to reform them.
"You carry anvils around with you? But aren't they heavy?"
Thug number one confirmed to still be alive and in more or less good health, considering, Juka grinned back at Van. All was once again well in the world and that meant his sense of humour and good nature had returned in full force. "Oh, I couldn't actually lift an anvil on my own," he answered in amusement. "Apparently my soap bubbles are stronger than they look though. So, I take it your power is being super stretchy?" It was a little weird perhaps but also rather cool.
"We should probably call an ambulance or something...right"
Juka nodded his agreement, got out his cell phone and dialed 911. The conversation he had with the woman was relatively short. He gave the address of where the incident had taken place but none of the details regarding how, exactly, the man had gotten injured. A thought occurred to him, suddenly, that perhaps he should start wearing a mask and a costume so as to be less recognizable. After all, how many Japanese guys in dresses could there be around New York City?
"We should probably leave before the ambulance gets here," Juka stated. "They might not believe us when we say we were only defending ourselves. You want a lift?"
Things began occurring almost too fast for Juka to properly follow and for just a moment he rethought his intent to become a proper super hero. Sure, he was uniquely equiped to deal with vandals, purse snatchers and all manner of other minor criminals, but it just wasn't fair when guns were brought into the picture. What could a boy in a bubble do against a weapon that could fire bullets from long distances at high velocities? Hope that his reflexes were fast enough that he could get an anvil over to intercept said bullet before the bullet intercepted his fleshy vulnerable body? Somehow that didn't seem like the best plan he had ever come up with.
Thankfully, however, this time around Juka's reflexes actually were fast enough to avoid being shot at although that probably had more to do with the fact that he had taken the thug by complete surprise rather than the fact that his reflexes were actually all that good. Still, no cause to complain when it came to the very posative fact of not being shot. Thug number one went down with an audible thud as anvil collided with flesh and gun went flying. Most likely anvil colliding with flesh would result in a broken bone or two but, really, that was exactly what the man deserved. Hopefully he would remember this and, in the future, not attack defenseless mutants.
Before Juka could even think to dive at the gun or at another one of the thugs, for that matter, a very long arm snaked out and grabbed it from the ground. Wait...a long arm...belonging to Van? Juka blinked and suddenly the pieces began to fall into place. Apparently Van was some kind of super stretchy mutant (or something) and the thugs must have seen him be all stretchy-like. A little weird to be sure, but not an overt threat surely? Then again, people like that didn't really need an excuse to cause trouble.
"Juka, are you alright?"
Just that quickly Van was in control of the gun and Juka took stalk of himself and his own physical well being. "I think so," he answered. "No bullets through me at least." The remaining thugs seemed not nearly so sure of themselves now that they were one man down and no longer in control of the weapon. They stood around muttering for a moment before turning heel and fleeing, leaving their unconcisous comrade in arms on the ground in a fallen heap.
(OOC: I'm going with the idea that your limbs went back to normal around the time Juka appeared so he hasn't realized what you can do yet. If you need me to make a change let me know.)
Van had seemed so nice and understanding when Juka had first met him at the church and he really didn't want to see anything bad happen to the man. There was also the question of why these thugs were even interested in him to begin with. He could see why they might have an issue with himself, floating bubble boy and all that, but Van looked completely normal. Unless he had been using whatever power it was he possessed and these thugs had noticed it?
"Look freak, this doesn't concern you."
Unfortunately Juka didn't exactly have much time to ponder the question of what Van's powers might be as one of the thugs began speaking in a rather threatening manner; his threats decidedly directed at himself. Well, that simply wasn't very nice now was it? "But, my lovely cupcake, I believe this does concern me. You see, that man you seem so intent on beating up is my good friend and I simply can't stand by and watch him be abused, now can I?" He smiled in a most friendly and inviting fashion, if he was to be any judge, just waiting for the explosion. If there was one thing people like this disliked more than mutants, it was other men hitting on them. Especially when those other men were being threatened with physical violence. And was it really so bad to have a little fun with the situation?
Apparently it was a bad idea to have a little fun with the situation as the circumstance went from uncomfortable with thugs and their fists, to downright dangerous as Juka heard the rather distinctive sound of a gun being cocked. Suddenly he wasn't feeling nearly so confident as he was a moment before. Floating bubbles were just not very successful barriers to bullets.
"Didn't you hear me mutie? This doesn't concern you!" Threat oozed from his voice and his gun was pointed directly at Juka. In a moment that might either be considered bravery or sheer absence of logical thought, Juka dived down at the man holding the gun, intent on knocking him to the ground and hopefully out cold with one of his anvils. He could only hope that his bubble moved faster than the man's reflexes. He was also hoping against hope that Van would take the hint from his action and actually do something to help. Please let him have some sort of power that was useful in a fight, oh gods please.
Almost since Juka had first discovered his powers, years ago, he had been riding storms. His bubble, he well know, had some rather unique properties, one of which was that it appeared to be, well, pretty much just as light as the soap bubbles it so closely resembled. That was to say, if he didn't directly concentrate on it and it was a windy day, the wind could pick it up and move it all around, quite resembling the experience of being in a roller coaster but so much better than any roller coaster ever could be. It was one of his favourite past times (when not concerned with fashion or performing of course) to find himself a thunder storm and let the wind push him all about. Not only did his bubble allow for the most amazing ride in the world, but it also kept him dry and comfortable in the process. Ah yes, he truly was blessed.
Late the previous night, however, after a successful patrol of the city streets for any sort of dangerous thugs to stop or innocent maidens to rescue, a thought had occurred to him. If his bubble was light enough to float in the wind would it also be light enough to float on the water? Not only did it seem like a good thing to know in general; one never knew when one would have to use such knowledge, but surfers seemed rather attracted to the idea of surfing. What if he could surf, so to speak, inside is perfectly warm and perfectly dry bubble? The idea was too delicious and too exciting to pass up so, after a brief trip back to his apartment to feed his kitties, he had set out in the direction of Liberty Island.
The advantage of traveling to a far off destination in a floating bubble was, of course, that one could take the most direct route possible. Thus Juka literally went up and then away, not stopping until he reached the edge of the ocean and then beyond the edge where he could land safely away from prying eyes of curious people. This was official experimentation territory and thus not for the prying eyes of curious onlookers, at least not until he had mastered what he was about to attempt. If what he was about to attempt was even possible beyond the confines of his own curious mind.
Taking a deep breath Juka set his bubble down apprehensively and...it floated! He gave an excited clap and may have yelled out an equally excited "whoop" but his dignity would certainly not allow him to admit such a thing to others. It was one of the most unusual experiences in recent memory, feeling waves beneath his floating bubble instead of wind and although the idea might have been similar the sensation was most certainly not. For some time, minutes or hours he wasn't sure nor did he really care, he simply stood in his bubble, bobbing up and down in the waves and grinning like an idiot.
Juka might have remained as he was for minutes or hours longer except for a gradual coming of awareness of a ship passing him by. He was far enough out that he was reasonably certain that he couldn't be seen clearly by the passengers unless their camera zoom lenses just happened, by chance to be tuned on him. Still, he figured that it might be his cue to leave, however reluctantly. It was, in his estimation, a successful trip either way. He sighed before deciding that surely he could stand to remain just a few more minutes.
