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.
>>”Almost the level of enthusiasm I was looking for. Danger.... two hard hats? You want some vests as well? Last thing we need is an OSHA complaint.”
Javi knew that he was embarrassing himself in front of a professional vigilante. But one way he had learned to cope with anxiety was to put safety above peer pressure. If he was going to run into a collapsing building, real or otherwise, he was at least going to put a damn hat on. "If it's good enough for firefighters, it's good enough for me."
>>”I’ll go first. Think of it like a giant 3-D puzzle. We just need to get to the other side."
They walked in. The door fell clean off the hinges, and the inside of the building was not much better. Sam walked in first and Javier followed, keeping an eye out for... anything that could jump, or fall, or explode on them. It was nerve-wrecking. Why did people do this day after day? Of course he knew the answer: to help others. Still, it was not as much fun as Sam made it out to be.
Javi jumped as a piece of fake ceiling gave way and landed just ahead. The stairs creaked, and the handle looked ready to fall too. Javi pushed it away instead of holding on, the metal bending at his hands. "So... who are we looking for?"
Javi stared at the building. It had been condemned even before the alleged disaster scenario. The last thing he wanted to do was go inside, even if it was just a simulation. He was not the kind of person to run into burning buildings.
>>”Not too bad, I can turn down the settings but I found it’s easier to access abilities in stressful situations. I mean, if you prefer we can sit in rush hour traffic with the bridges down to one lane. I might lose it before you can tap into your super strength though. I hate traffic.”
Javier blinked. He was not sure he saw the connection between traffic and super strength. He did not like traffic either, but he was the kind of person to sit patiently in his car and listen to some music. Sam was clearly not that kinda person.
>>”Will you die? No, I won’t let that happen and the room won’t let that happen. Could you get injured if the whole place falls on you? Probably, again I’m gonna be behind you and I ran this a dozen times before. Only real things in here are you and me. Everything else is just a hard light construct.”
So, it wouldn't kill him, but if the building came down it was still gonna hurt. Javier was not sure how far Sam would allow the simulation to go before he ended it. Did he believe injury was a learning experience? There was a reason Javier never played team sports...
>>”Ready to get strong?”
"Not really" he sighed. He didn't want to do any of this. He never wanted to be a superhero. But he did want to learn about his powers, how they worked, or rather, why they didn't work. And this was the place to do it.
It's safe. It's not real. It's totally safe. It's a controlled environment. It's not gonna kill you. It's safe.
"Alright." Javi sighed "Do I get like, a hard hat or something...?"
For a moment Javier felt ashamed. Sam would surely give up trying to work on his powers now that they turned out to be useless for a fight. Or rather, Javi's attitude was useless for a fight. Same thing.
>>”You’re still human, everyone is good at fighting. Just need the proper motivation. Computer, give us a disaster scenario. Little confrontation as possible.”
"A disa...?"
>>”There was a drug den that took out a city block a few years ago. Luckily it was the warehouse district so no one other than the ones making the stuff were injured. Unfortunately the area wasn’t taken care of properly nothing was guarded or roped off so some people saw it as an opportunity to loot the building.”
The whole thing was very realistic. Javi smelled smoke, felt the heat of fire, the dust in the air. He stared, trying to wrap his mind around the simulation. What did Sam expect him to do?
>>”Got five people that need to be escorted out and have nothing collapse on them. Think of this like carrying groceries?”
Javier froze.
Did he know?... How would Sam know? It had been on the news, he could have looked it up if he had done some kind of a background check on Javier. Was he doing this on purpose? Sure, this was a warehouse rather than the MIT Chemistry lab, but it brought back memories that made Javier turn pale. He had done it back then. But just for a short while. And then his strength gave out. He swallowed, remembering the time he woke up at the hospital.
>>”Small every day things? Like fighting a giant Lemur? So what counts as small everyday things then? When do you really have to?”
"Like... carrying groceries?" Javi ventured. He could carry heavier things than others, even though his powers did not come in handy very often. Those tasks, he had no problem with. But when it came to emergencies, or extraordinary feats... his powers had a tendency to break in the worst moment.
>>”Doing me a favor now. This helps me as well. Might have a kid in the future with something similar to what you’re going through. Makes it just that much easier to help them. Care to go again?”
"Maybe it's the confrontation?" Javi ventured, looking at the golem "Maybe I'm just not good at fighting. I can lift things. Or throw things. Maybe my powers are just not for fighting people?..."
The singing felt... natural. It was just the thing to to, to express how he felt. Booker smiled as he looked up, and they sang together, in sync with the music and the words. Somewhere in the back of his mind Javi was aware that he would never, ever sing in public, and yet, here he was doing it. They just reached the end of the chorus when he stepped back into Booker's aura.
The magic disappeared. As if someone cut the recording, the lights changed back to their normal dim, the guy at the piano kept playing but without the... extra volume, and Javier suddenly realized that he had been singing out loud in front of a whole lot of people. Even though the patrons did not seem to care much, he flushed deep red and fumbled, managing to put one cocktail on the table before he knocked over the other one.
>>”I just tell him what I want him to do. He figures how to do that himself.”
Alright, so the golem was not fully... managed by Sam. That sounded bad, but it also sounded like a more superficial connection. One that would not directly hurt Sam if the golem was hurt. Which made sense. Javi was less nervous now about making a mistake, and eventually, he worked up the courage to punch a hole through the block of ice.
Sam applauded.
>>”Can’t usually pierce the golems with knives and bullets catch in them. However you managed to punch a hole in him.”
He did. Javi knew his powers were capable of this, and more, on a good day; the problem was, he never knew when the good day, or good moment, came around.
>>”How’d you feel in that moment?” Angry? Happy? Nothing?”
"Umm... not sure?"
Annoyed, more than anything, but he was not going to tell Sam that.
>>”My powers can be affected by my mental state. Golem’s are a bit more aggressive and things get colder faster when I’m pissed off. Maybe something similar happens with you.”
"I... don't think so?" Javi mused over the question "... I never thought about that before. I just... I usually use my powers when I really have to. Or for... small, everyday things."
It had been a spur of the moment decision, but how difficult could ordering drinks be? Quite difficult, actually, if the bartender started asking questions Javi did not know the answer to, like whether he wanted this or that in the drink. In that case, he would have to admit defeat and return to Booker. But for now, he was willing to try.
>>“Hi sweetie. What can I getcha?”
"Hello" Javi gave a shy, friendly smile. She seemed nice. So far, so good. "I'd like a Rainbow Paradise, please. For him." he glanced back towards Booker as clarification, hoping she would not ask difficult questions. That was a solid tactic, right.
"Sure thing! And for you?"
"Uhh..." Javi blinked, panicking slightly "Same as him...?"
"Sure" Melody grinned, getting to work on the two cocktails. "He seems like a nice guy." she added with a smile.
"He really is." Javi smiled back. It was sometimes hard to believe Booker was real.
The two colorful drinks were mixed and decorated (complete with the little umbrellas), and as she handed them to Javi, she patted him on the hand. "Have fun!"
Javi turned, balancing the two drinks, and smiled at Booker across the room. It was always easy to smile at him. Someone at the piano struck up some opening notes, and the lights seemed to change, the other patrons fading into the background as Javi carried the drinks, and the music carried Javi. Before he knew it, he was singing, only to himself, as if he was thinking out loud, in song, and it was a totally normal, socially accepted thing to do.
"There's a calm surrender To the rush of day When the heat of a rolling wind can be turned away An enchanted moment And it sees me through It's enough for this restless worrier Just to be with you..."
They walked in, hand in hand, to explore whether the High Note deserved its reputation. Javier relaxed as Booker pulled him along; it was comfortable to be around him, especially with the knowledge that he was always more than eager to take on the burden of social interactions. The two of them moved among the small tables until they found a free one in a corner. So far, so good. Javier smiled as they settled down.
>>”Here, this looks like a great spot. Get a good view of the entire bar, right?”
"Indeed. I think we might have to get our drinks at the bar, though" he noted, looking around. There was a friendly-looking young woman at the bar, mixing drinks.
>>”This is nice... Ooooh, they make Rainbow Paradises here!”
"That sounds... festive?" Javi chuckled. Booker never had a taste for anything boring. He looked at his own menu for a moment. "You know what? I'Ll go get you one."
Sam was manipulating the ice golem with his powers. Javier had a basic idea of how it all worked; he had been factoring it into the outfit designs, after all. But it was one thing to calculate it on paper, and a whole other thing to be on the receiving end...
>>”Well? Better hit him back of move. He’s not as good at holding back as I am. Just a heads up.”
"Aren't you..." Javier scrambled back from the upper cut "Controlling it?"
How could the golem have less self-restraint if it was just an ice puppet moved by Sam? It made no sense. Also, it was still attacking. Javier held up his arms again to protect himself. What was the point of this exercise? Was he supposed to attack? He could probably smash the ice creature. He'd done harder things with his power. Whenever his power actually worked. Oh well. This was going to end sooner of he tried. Javier gathered his strength and aimed a punch at the golem.
The punch had not been very painful, but it had been unexpected, and Javier did not really like to get hit even on a good day. There was a reason he had never really done any martial arts. Sam, on the other hand, did not seem like he was going to give up that easily.
>>”Ow? You know I hit kids harder than that when we practice. Thought you were supposed to be super strong? So your powers don’t work all the time? Big deal. Focus.”
Easier said than done. Javier was not even sure what he was supposed to focus on. Could someone just... will himself into being stronger? How did that work?
>>”I get your worried about hurting me. Appreciate it. One of the reasons I want you to figure out how to turn it on and off. I’m way more durable than anyone else out there. I have to be. Someone has to do the heroics.”
Ice covered Sam's body. If Javier had not been about to get on the receiving end of his powers, he would have been fascinated by the physics of it all. But Sam gave him no time. He was still trying to turn this into a sparring session.
>>”Again.”
This time, only the ice moved. It moved like... a golem, of some sort, but there was no person behind it. It aimed a punch at Javier, and, since he really did not want to get punched again, Javier raised his arms, blocking. It was a sloppy move at best, but it did stop the golem's momentum. At least he hoped he was not hurting Sam in the process somehow...
Javier blinked, unsure how to respond. Why wouldn't it matter whether this was safe? He was sure Sam did not want to hurt him, and he sure did not want to accidentally hurt Sam. Safety was always important.
>>”I’m only better trained because I was forced into as a kid. If I didn’t train I couldn’t be around people. They froze. Trial by Ice?”
Sam took on a fighting stance again, and Javier tucked his note pad away, since it was clear now that he had not been summoned here for a costume design project. He was still not sure he wanted to do any of this. Learn to use his powers... sure, at least well enough to figure out when and how they cut off. But there had to be a way to experiment with that without punching another person, right?
>>”Partners not opponents. We will be helping each other get better. If I can teach kids that blow things up by touching them I’m pretty sure I can handle someone who can sometimes lift things.”
"I'd rather just... test my powers on something first...?" Javier ventured, but it was already too late.
>>”It’ll be fine. Safety is on.”
It really wasn't. Javier, too stunned to do anything, blinked, and then Sam's fist connected with his torso. It wasn't a strong punch, but it was unexpected, and it made Javier double over as he staggered back. "Ow!"
It was hard to explain how his powers worked - or rather, didn't work. There was no rhyme or reason for how strength worked in one moment, and cut out in the other, even when he would have sorely needed his abilities. Javier felt embarrassed about having such a classic superpower, and having it practically useless.
>>”Sounds more like operator error then.”
He blinked, looking a little taken aback as Sam stated that. Did he just...?
>>”Look, this is more for my benefit than anything. I just need someone to practice with is all. Great for stress relief. Who knows you might even give you some clarity with your powers. Don’t want to brag or nothing but I am a pretty good teacher.”
Javier pursed his lips. He would have agreed to work out with Sam, really, but the kind of working out he was talking about involved... a lot of things other than just weights and jogging.
"Is that... would that even be safe?" he ventured, hesitantly "I never know when my powers kick in or... go away. You are much better trained than I am."
On the one hand, he could hurt Sam by his powers activating at the wrong time. On the other, they could also crap out, and Sam could hurt him with an attack... it just sounded like a bad idea.
>>”Who said we are fighting? I just need someone to practice with. Great for the body and the mind. What’s that saying? Idle hands, Idle mind?”
"Um, I don't..." Sam made some fighting moves, and Javier took half a step back. He had never really been the fighting type, and being in the Danger Room, which he was aware was capable of conjuring up all kinds of combat and disaster scenarios, he was really getting close to the edge of his comfort zone. Besides, he'd never thought of himself as idle.
>>”Not asking you to join the team, dress up in one of your suits and patrol the town. Just asking you to workout with me thats all. Not every day you run into someone with super strength. I practice with you just means I’m more prepared for someone with your skill set... Why didn’t you tell me you were that strong?”
"I'm..." Why didn't he? He never really considered himself strong, that's why. He knew he was a mutant, and one who had spurts of super strength, but it was far from consistent, and therefore useless. Hell, his adapted boyfriend Booker was more physically fit than Javier was, and Booker was a librarian.
>>”You helped people because you could. Javier, nothing to be ashamed of. If anything you should be bragging about it. Would have taken me waaaaayyyyy longer to settle that situation. Proud I get to work with someone like that.”
"I wasn't really thinking" Javier admitted, tucking his pencil behind his ear and scratching his neck awkwardly "To be honest... I'm not really that strong. Or rather I am, but it keeps cutting out, so... it's very unreliable. Never really been useful to lift heavy things in one moment, and drop them on my head the next..."
Javier paused. He'd been in the Danger Room before, but usually as an observer in the god room, trying to get measurements and data for the team's uniforms. When Sam had invited him again, he assumed that was the pan. For a moment he had no clue what trouble he might be referring to. Then he remembered that he had not personally been around Sam since the zoo incident...
"... oh."
Was Sam upset? Javier was just a tailor, not a part of the team, but he did make somewhat of an appearance with the giant lemur. Sam, on his part, continued on as if they were just chatting.
>>”So thinking about needing some more suits for everyone. Similar builds to everyone’s personal specifications but was thinking of needing a stealth suit and a snow suit. Had a run in recently in Russia. I stuck out like a sore thumb. Usually I don’t have trouble when I’m in the snow but, might have had an adapted with me.”
Back to business, then. Javier, trying to act normal, took out his notepad and started writing down some bullet points. This was work, and this was something he was good at. Designing outfits for specific purposes.
>>”Needless, some more stealthier options would be nice depending on what we are doing. Was thinking about using this as an opportunity for you to get a little training in. Looking for some new students and figured it might help you get out trouble faster. If you’re up for it.”
Javier looked up from his notes. Now he was really confused. Was he here to work, or was he here for... training?
"Oh." he shook his head "I... don't really train. Or fight, really. That was just... an accidental thing. I'm really not the vig... um, combat type."
Javier had decidedly gotten more social since he started dating Booker. It sometimes meant compromise; being an introvert, he was perfectly happy staying in on most days and nights, but he also enjoyed spending time with his boyfriend in Booker's natural element - among other people. Or books. The books were better.
>> ”Nah, Crystal didn’t say anything about having to sing. But you know these kinds of places. They’ll probably try for some audience participation but you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
This date night was promising to be good, and he had absolute trust in Booker. If he was feeling uncomfortable, he could always just tell him, and Booker would figure out a way to change things. It was his own personal superpower. Well, that, and the adapted aura.
>>”Look good? Not embarrassed to be seen with me in public yet?”
"Never" Javier grinned, giving Booker a kiss before hey headed out of the apartment. There was a time when he would have made some kind of a joking comment about being embarrassed about going out with someone much more handsome and popular - but Booker, in his own gentle way, had been weaning him off such self-deprecating comments. It was a good thing.
Not long after they left the apartment, the couple was standing at the entrance to the High Note. It looked like an average bar, not too crowded or fancy. Javier looked up at Booker, tilting his head.
"I don't hear any music yet." he said, then took Booker's hand "Let's go see if this place is really as good as they say, hm?..."
