The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
That was all Booker said to Javier's half-admission about his strength. Maybe he did not get the hint, or maybe he was tactfully avoiding it; either way, Javier did not press the issue. It was unusual for him to even comment on things like that, so he was comfortable with leaving it alone. Especially ecause he doubted he could give a demonstration right now. Booker moved on to talking about people.
>>”Oh, it’s like night and day. Grocery stores, most are just in-and-out. But the farmers market is my favorite. Especially this part, the people watching. Do you ever just watch a random person and make up a story for their daily life? Like this…”
Javier blinked. No, he didn't really... sure, he made up stories, but they were usually stories about what the people were thinking about him, or what they would think of him if he did this, or did not do that. They were not very compelling narratives, but his brain kind of made them on its own. Booker scooted closer and lowered his voice, and Javier listened with mild confusion for what was about to happen.
>>”Did you know that she is Victoria Stork. Mild-mannered homemaker by day and a vigilante known as The Paddler by night? She must be here following a lead on some international produce cartel known to operate in the area.”
Javier chuckled, and then immediately felt ashamed about staring at a random woman and laughing about it. He looked away, trying to pretend she had nothing to do with the conversation. It was strange, how at ease Booker was with doing and saying silly things in plain sight of the public. Did he not worry someone would overhear?... Also, where did he come up with stories like this?... ... Right. Librarian.
"Well, she, um... She doesn't know, but she is being followed." Javier attempted to add his own part of the story. It was a new game, but Booker was excited, and Javier was determined to play "By... another vigilante." he nodded slightly towards a kid, probably 14 or 15, who was meandering around the market, probably waiting for parents to finish shopping. "He just recently discovered that he has mutant powers that let him get glimpses into people's thoughts. And he is a huge fan of The Paddler. He needs a mentor to get... you know. Things. Like training."
The clothes were safely packed away. She locked the suitcase too, which was something Javier would have done too, to keep them extra safe while they were away from the shop. As it was, he placed the suitcase out of sight from the windows, and then locked the shop up, before they started out on their walk. Depending on what her answer was about having an income, he would take her to some of the boutiques he knew did quality work for that price.
>>"I do. I'm an administrative assistant for a CEO. I was quite fortunate and I was taken in pretty quickly after I arrived. Money isn't too big of a deal."
"Oh. Okay then." he blinked. He did not expect a time traveler from the past find employment so quickly... but then again, she seemed like a capable woman, and people were probably interested in her insights.
>>"I am so happy you can help me with this Javier. I appreciate it so dearly. How much do you charge per hour?"
"Oh. Um." Javier was not prepared for that question. He had experience with setting his own prices, which was the upside of running the shop, but he had never really been a fashion consultant before. "Honestly, I don't... usually do things like this." he admitted. God, I probably sound unprofessional now. Setting prices out of the blue sucked, because it was a fine line between getting paid decently, and sounding too greedy. "How about... we just see if this is useful to you at all, first? You might not like any of the options..."
The situation was all-around awkward, but Javier could not restrain his own curiosity. It was not every day that someone like him got to see something special like a superhero uniform. He might have problems with the general concept, but the design aspect was fascinating, especially with transitional powers like hers involved. The costume was not badly made either. He wondered just how... personal it was.
>>"No. But it's stretchy and easy to move in. I can uh... infuse my power? I guess? I can infuse it into things, even other people."
Javier blinked. People? What, she could turn people into smoke? Anything that involve the words infusing and people made him feel slightly uncomfortable, but she seemed like a nice enough person not to be some crazy mutant fanatic.
>>"I'm worried that making alterations would ruin the stretch. Would it... is it maybe crazy to ask... do you do design work here?... I- maybe this was all a bad idea."
She was not sure what she wanted. Oh well, Javier usually wasn't either. But the question had already been asked, and Javier felt an uncharacteristic urge to jump on the opportunity.
"Yes, I do" he answered, then lost his initial momentum "... I mean, yes, I do design too. I've... worked with different kinds of fabrics before, for professional... wear." worked, in college, until he dropped out, that is. Professional wear was not quite as advanced as vigilante uniforms, but the idea behind special materials was the same. And she really seemed to like her freedom of movement. "I could try to come up with something if you have... specific ideas."
He really wanted to try. But after their initial introduction, he did not want to be too pushy about it.
One minute, it was shouting and conflict, and the next, it was chaos. It only took one flaming book for the whole store to start going up in fire, and people reacted in the worst ways possible. Javier felt adrenaline rush through him as he realized this was real, this was bad, and he could not sidle his way out of it unnoticed.
Some people ran, some broke a window, and smoke was already filling up the space. Javier jumped up, leaving drink and book behind, and looked around for an exit.
>>"Hi. There's a fire at the Full Circle Bookstore and there's... Maybe... 6 of us including staff still inside."
Someone was calling 911. Good. Javier turned, and then heard a crash that made him jump. One of the many bookshelves toppled and fell, starting up a domino effect; heavy cases bumped into each other, too close to fall, and the last one slammed against a pillar that was holding up the ceiling next to the bar. The pillar shuddered and groaned, and paint drizzled into the flames from above.
"Oh, sh*t."
It was only a moment's notice. Javier had no time to consider how on earth he ended up in one of these situations again, which was probably for the better, because if he did, his strength would have failed him. But this time, he knew he could do it. For a bit, anyway. He rushed up to the pillar, holding it up with steady pressure as he leaned heavily against him. It had to be a comical sight, his slight frame against the building structure.
"Go!" he snapped at the people huddling by the bar "Get outside!"
Javier did not mind telling Jack that fancy places made him uncomfortable. They knew each other enough, and besides, Jack had always been friendly and understanding. She had her own issues to deal with, and that made her empathic to other people as well. To Javier, anyway. He tried to return the favor by not overwhelming her with whining, and making sure that the clothes he made for her were all excellent. It was the least he could do.
>>"Iss any-un gaze you a hard tine, I'd kick 'n out. E'en looked at ya weird, gone."
Javier chuckled. He knew she meant it. She was the kind of person that would do it, even if it got her into trouble on the long run.
>>"You jus' let 'e know iss you change your nine-d. Jus' call nee u', and drinks are on nee."
"I'll consider it. Thank you." Javier nodded, going on with his work, and with his thought process and give and take "So... do you want to talk about what happened with your girlfriend? You don't have to..."
Well, the worst was over. Javier was not silently panicking anymore about being yelled at, and the guy had obviously spent his energy raging at someone having touched his bike. Not it was just horribly awkward, as Javi had no idea how to gracefully exit the situation. The whole thing was a mess.
>>”Yeah, alright. I get it. Just… do me a favour and don’t do this to someone else, alright?”
Javier looked at the hand for a moment before he accepted the handshake, paying extra attention not to make it too strong. The last thing he needed was breaking the guy's hand. Unintentionally. His worries were unfounded though, since he felt exhausted from all the emotions at the moment.
"I won't. I... I promise." it sounded lame, like something out of the movie "And sorry again. I hope I did not make you horribly late..."
They both had their cups of tea, and Javier settled down on his own chair, keeping an ear out for the park. There was music still, and some cheering. If he had to guess, he would have ventured that the proposal was going well.
>>”Yeah, New York is a little scary. I’ve been here for more than a year and it’s still a little overwhelming. At least in Dublin people could pronounce my name.”
Irish, then. Not surprising, given the accent, but Javier never ventured to guess. Too many chances to get it wrong and be offensive, and not many to come off as a polite person. So he usually did not comment or ask, unless the person was willing to offer information on where they were from.
"Yeah, they are not doing that great with mine either." Javier chuckled. Sure, people in the Hispanic neighborhoods had no problems, but as for the rest... he had heard some colorful attempts in his life. He could imagine hers would be even worse.
>>”Are you from New York or did you move here too?”
"I'm from here." Javier admitted "Went to... college, for a while, but then I came back. It's not a bad place, if you grew up here. Depends on the neighborhood, of course, the tourist areas are the worst... Are you studying here?"
Javier sat on the bench, munching on the chestnuts, allowing himself to just enjoy the moment without having to make efforts to carry the conversation. Booker was talkative enough for the two of them, and if the silence got uncomfortable for him, he would bring up some other topic, Javier was sure of it. In the meantime, it was nice to sit at the market, watch people, and eat delicious things.
>>”That’s really a large haul you have there. You must be, like, solid muscle to lift all of that. I only carried it for a few seconds and already my bicep is sore,”
Javier watched with a sideways glance as Booker flexed his bicep; it was just as good-looking as the rest of him, and had no trouble carrying the basket.
"I'm stronger than I look" he admitted, leaving it at that. He was not in the habit of coming out as a mutant to people he just met, but he could not help adding a little more. "Sometimes, anyway... it comes and goes."
Right now, it was definitely in a "goes" phase. Javier looked down at his own hands, then sighed a little.
>>”But that’s nice that you support the farmer’s market. I mean, I can’t do all my shopping here, but I can definitely get some good produce for a reasonable price.”
"Yes. I like it a lot." Javier agreed "And it is fun to just watch people, sometimes. Not the same crowd as a grocery store..."
>>“I would prefer to find clothes now… The dresses, they can wait. They traveled through time, they can handle a couple hours being alone,”
"Alright." Javier nodded, carefully placing the dresses back into the case so that they would not be left out in the shop, lying around. He would have to think and plan before he got to work on them anyway, and he did not want to do that while the girl was watching. Being watched while he worked always made things unbearably awkward.
"The are a couple of shops just down the street that would be worth checking out" he suggested "Of course most people go to a mall, because there you can find many shops right on top of each other... but if you are looking for something more unique or fashionable, those shops are a good place to start. Plus, they are run by nice people." he said, picking up his coat "Before we go, I should ask, though... do you... have a job? Or a source of income?... I'm asking because it's easier to look if I know your price range..."
He could see if he could improve the condition of the dresses. To tell the truth, Javier was excited about the project. He would get to work with something from a historical era that did not go through a hundred-odd years of decay. This was a singular opportunity, and he was determined to make the most of it.
>>"Perfect! I am so excited! Hopefully, it will not be too difficult. However, I will reward you handsomely."
Reward you handsomely. People did not talk like that anymore, and the accent only made it better. Javier chuckled a little. He enjoyed the encounter with living history a little too much. Even if said living history tended to shop at Walmart.
>>"I concur... I have been on this... People of Wal-Mart. It is quite embarrassing. I'm not necessarily agreeing with comfortable... At least not the shoes."
"So..." Javier looked up from admiring the dresses again "Would you like me to... accompany you to buy some clothes? Or would you rather I worked on your dresses first?"
Booker took his feeble excuse at face value. Sure, Javier did like supporting local farmers, but that was not really the reason why he tended to spend more than he should have.
>>”Apparently. Keep buying like this and the agriculture community will never falter.”
Javier chuckled a little. Booker did not seem to be judging him (he was starting to get the idea that Booker did not tend to judge anyone), and he was digging through the basket instead. Javier was glad he would lighten the load, because he was not sure he could summon his strength up again, and not sure how long that was going to last.
>>”Well, considering that you have enough sweet potatoes to feed an island nation, maybe I can take some of these? My sister loves sweet potato fries and I have an amazing sweet potato pie recipe that I would like to make this year. Sound good?”
"Sound delicious" Javier answered, then realized with a panicked blink that that was not what Booker was asking "I mean, yeah, sounds good. The potatoes. Sound good. Take them. For your sister."
Seriously, Javier was not on top of his game today. Even less so than usual. In order to not have to look at Booker, he lifted the basket a little, testing to see if it got any lighter without the potatoes. It did. Good.
The girl paused, like she was making some kind of an important decision. Being at a mutant gay bar did not mean that someone was out as either. To be fair, Javier was only kind of out as a mutant himself, given that his powers did not manifest in any dependable way. Having asked hr his question, he now felt bad that she might feel obligated to answer.
>>”It’s not really the bar or the people… it’s me... I’m used to gay clubs. I’m just… I’ve only recently ‘come out.’ As a mutant. Because I am and have been a mutant. So. Yeah.”
So. She came out. To him.
Javier smiled a little. Surprisingly, other people's awkwardness tended to calm him down - he knew what she was feeling, and he knew that he had the ability to make her feel better about it. She was both gay, which she was fine with, and also a mutant, and a little self-conscious about it. They had more in common that Javier first thought.
"Well... congratulations on coming out" Javier smiled, raising his glass to her. Really, being gay or a mutant was still not easy, even in New York, and being both was not the easiest combination to disclose to people. Javier hoped the girl would not run into the kind of people who would make her life miserable about either. He wondered if he should ask what her powers were. Would that show interest, or would it be too personal? Javier had to been around mutants enough to know what the etiquette was about asking about powers. He decided to leave it for later. In case it was something embarrassing, like his own. "We have that in common." he added, sipping his drink. "I guess if you are going to come out, this is a good place to do it..."
Of course Booker did not notice his slip. For one, Javier already had the idea that the librarian was just too damn cheerful and bubbly to notice what he was saying (or to mean any of it), and also he was aware that normal people did not obsess nearly as much about the possible double meanings of their words as Javier tended to. On all counts, it was fine. ... sure, he'd keep obsessing about it, but it was fine on Booker's count anyway.
Now that they had bought the snacks, Javier offered to share his anxiety bounty.
>>”Oh! Yeah! Here… Let’s take a seat there? We can relax, enjoy our snacks, and I can pluck out which goodies of yours I’d like.”
For once, Javier was not the one doing the heavy lifting. Which was both neat and unusual; he did not feel overly anxious, and yet his strength was not... there, somehow. Booker, however, managed to take the basket to the bench, and Javier took a seat, munching on the chestnuts. Once again, he realized how overstuffed the basket was with things he was never going to cook.
"So... take whatever you'd like. I don't think I can eat all of this alone..."
There was no self-pity in the comment. It was simply factual. Obviously, there were more sweet potatoes in there than a single person would have the stomach for.
>>"I do not mind, if you have the time. Or if you have any questions about the mid to late 1800's, I am a basket full of information."
It was still hard to believe that there was someone from the actual 19th century standing in his shop. And not an old person either, but a young woman, who was more than happy to chat about the fact that she had traveled through time. Javier was torn between not being too eager, and wanting to know a whole lot about the times she lived in. Had lived in. First, however, he turned his attention back to the dresses, since that was why she had come in the first place.
>>"Oh, I see. I do need these fixed, though. I would do it myself but I do not know the where, how, or even if we still have the same fabrics and colors. I certainly cannot find it. I also need a loom... I do not know how to use those... Machine things."
"I'll see what I can do." Javier nodded. He would probably have to do a lot of hand stitching, and maybe take a trip to the museum where he had some friends working with preserving fabrics. He could even teach the lady how to use a sewing machine... but that was another offer entirely. Her priority was to learn about current fashion, which is why Javier asked her where she got her attire so far.
>>"Um... Wal-Mart."
"Augh." the sound was involuntary, and Javier immediately regretted passing such judgment, blushing as he looked up "I mean... Wal-Mart is not... um, usually associated with being fashionable. But it is affordable, so it is very good for... comfortable wear."
Javier expected a lot of reactions from the girl to his admission... but not really the hopeful look he received. She looked like she suddenly felt a lot more comfortable around him... or maybe she had just finally decided that he really posed no threat.
>>”I’m the same way. I can’t stand big crowds and I get anxious around people sometimes. It… makes me act… strangely. Sometimes.”
Javier nodded with a small smile. Now, that was something he could relate to.
"Yeah. Me too." Strangely, in a way that included suddenly losing his superpowers and dropping things in embarrassing ways. And then there were the everyday, run-of-the-mill awkward moments as well.
He waited for the girl to pick her tea, then gave her a cup of hot water. He filled another for himself.
"It is... not easy, navigating a big city like that, huh" he added. Crowds, people, and surprise proposals were a lot more likely in places like New York.
