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.
Sloth wasn't going to stop... she knew that... but, what was she supposed to do? Someone had tried to mug her, she was only acting in self defense... or... maybe it was only self defense until they stopped breathing. She heard the male gasp, and felt the white snake tighten again. Something popped, like a bone from a socket... and her stomach flip flopped. Was it her fault, that they had attacked her?
"...Sloth..." She muttered, her voice small and tight, and turned. "..Let him go..." It was a stretch, expecting the snake to understand, or listen for that matter. It was clear that she had caught them off guard... in a way she had won. There was no point in continuing the struggle. Lifting one hand to her face, her removed her glasses, and laid the other upon Sloth's thick body. The snake tensed for a moment, before relaxing. He had just been about to try and swallow the guys head- jaw unhinged and all... but his host was distracting him. Andrea removed her glasses, dropping sad orange eyes to meet the males.
He was young.. with a few scars dotting his face here and there. She assumed he must have had a hard life- which was why he and his fellows had attacked her. It was... sad. The anger washed away from her heart and was swiftly replaced with guilt for her actions. She pulled sloth away, un-looping the confused snake from around the guys shoulders before it had a chance to realize what was going on. Once the serpent had been removed, the male slumped to his knees and cracked an eye open to look up at her. It only took one glance, and he went stiff as a board. She sighed, unaware of what the other two men were up to, and struggled with sloth to get him back around her shoulders. ~ Tyler froze upon hearing a man's voice pop up from behind him. He palmed his gun as he took a few surprised steps forward then turned and pointed it at the new figure. Some guy... who didn't really look all that intimidating. "Man, are you crazy!?" His voice shook slightly, as he tried to put on a brave front. The streetlight closest to the pair flickered, casting sudden darkness over the alley. It frightened the boy so much that he lost his nerve and fired a single shot at the wall- trying to scare the new guy away with a show of violence. "I ain't joking man... I'll take you out if you don't scram."
The third boy had more of less recovered from the pain of being blinded by her venom... Fear and panic overtook him, followed swiftly by a burst of anger. Andrea finally noticed he figures off behind her when the shot was fired by the boy. She flinched, gasped, and pulled Sloth closer to her. The boy she had blinded heard the shot and more of less freaked out. Sudden blindness could do that to a person... Reaching to his side, he pulled out his own knife- one that was two inches smaller than the six inch blade on the ground- and got to his feet. He started swinging wildly with the knife, hearing Andrea's sharp intake of breath. A lucky strike sent the blade neatly through her coat and sliced a good gash into her right arm. The sudden attack caught her off guard, and sent her crashing to the ground.
Three men.. against two mutants. Andrea shifted nervously again, staking a few more steps closer to Trench. She hadn't noticed his creating the ball of...whatever it was, but she sure did notice when he threw it- and the effect it had on the ladder. He had closed off the exit! ...that meant the men couldn't be scared back up the ladder. '...oh jeez...' Sloth shifted around her shoulders until he was able to clearly spot the advancing men.
She stepped out of the way, expecting her trench coat clad sewer companion to do the same when a knife was produced... but he didn't. She sucked in a breath so fast it sounded like a soft scream. He had been stabbed! The other two men, who were more than confident in their companions shanking skill, rounded on her. One took hold of her arm, while the other turned to see what the knife wielding man was screaming about and Sloth jumped into action.
The white snake uncoiled like a bolt of lightning, latching onto the throat of the man holding her. he uttered a little gurgle as his airway was shut off, while Andrea shook her arm loose from the mans grasp and darted forward. The rushing sewer water lay right behind him- so it only took a little push to shove him off balance and into the water. Sloth didn't want to release his newly acquired prey, but the jerking of Andreas shove tore his many teeth from the man's throat- which took some of the flesh with them. The man was quickly swept away with the water, flailing and grunting all the way.
The other had turned to help his screaming partner wrench the knife from Trenches gut. Both men were panicked, and the sight of the yellow, crawling thing quickly overtaking the man's arm was not helping matters. Andrea could only stand, and watch... too frightened to budge from her current stop. The men screamed again, and the voices up top suddenly quieted. "...Someone help! The mutant is eating Fred!" She squeezed her eyes shut, her hands slapping over her ears. If he kept screaming more people would come!... If this didn't stop soon... they would get in trouble.. so much trouble.. Fear swelled in her chest, and everything seemed to be moving too quickly. Her fingers brushed her glasses... and she realized how she could shut the men up... if they didn't stop screaming soon...
Dusk... the sky was slowly turning shades of red and orange, and dark clouds had rolled in to blot out what light was left. Street lights were just flickering to life up and down the street while the handful of scattered people still outside quickly excused themselves to the safety of their homes. Cars that looked like too much money had been put into them, with shining rims and booming stereos creeped like predators up and down the streets, while people of the shadier variety lounged on porches and out in front of apartment buildings...
One red coated figure was a little uncertain about how she was supposed to react to such obvious poverty- so she chose to ignore it. Something rare had happened, and the timid Greek had awoken on the wrong side of the bed that morning. Events that had happened in the all to recent past were plaguing her like a murder of crows, cawing incessantly in her head. ...reminding her of her own thoughtless actions. A dark mood resided just under her skin, making it crawl and itch like she needed a shower. She didn't know how to fix it or make it go away, so she had resorted to stomping around the city until she was tired enough to go back home and sleep.
Her serpents shared her temperament, she could tell, as they were coiled and tensed under her hood. Even sloth seemed to be tighter around her shoulders than usual, with his head tucked just out of sight beneath her hair... People still out and about gave her funny looks, she wasn't exactly surprised. She stood out like a sore thumb clad in a raincoat- when it was clearly not raining. Come to think of it, it probably didn't help that the more and more her figure filled back in, the less her old stash of clothing seemed to fit her. Brown and green cargo shorts that covered her up to the knees, and a tank top seemed to be the only things that fit her anymore.
Her braided sandals made little sound and she marched along, until she turned down a gravel alley in between a run down house and a shady looking apartment complex. It's funny, how listening to the sound of your own feet can bring your attention to other things around you. She heard the crunching of her own steps and then suddenly, as she was nearing the middle of the alley, she heard the sound of other feet closing in behind her.
"Ey, hand over your valuables and we won't have to get rough with you..." A classic, if cliche line to hear. Andrea stopped in her tracks... but didn't quite feel like turning around. The anger she had been feeling lately bubbled to life within her chest again, causing her snakes her writhe and hiss softly. Sloth uncoiled himself from around her shoulders so he could better attack if needed, and waited for the prey to appear before him. "Hey! Did you hear me?" Without waiting for her to respond, one of the three kids- all in their twenties- strode forward and grabbed for her hood. He held a six inch blade in his hand, and brought it up threatening as he yanked the red hood down.... He didn't have a chance to use it. Vana launched forward and sank his inch long fangs into the guys cheek, while Hubris opened his jaws wide and spat a stream of venom over the guys shoulder- hitting one the fellows and he started forward to help his buddy.
The venom struck true, and that boy found himself suddenly blind, and in quite a lot of pain. Andrea felt her chest seize up, but couldn't bear to turn herself around. Sloth took her stillness as permission to launch his own attach, and before the boy behind her knew what was happening he found himself suddenly wrapped up in a nice, tight snake hug. The knife slipped from his hand and he let out a fear filled scream when Sloth started constricting... The last boy, who hadn't been struck, was torn between rubbing, fighting, and moving to help his friends... Before to long, he slowly started to reach behind to the back of his belt... he was aware that there were a few orange eyed snakes watching him- but he had a small pistol tucked into his pants...
“Other than that, I usually try and wait until I'm tired enough to just fall asleep straight away, before the fear can kick in.”
His friend, this Trip... She wondered what such an affliction would be like. Never to sleep because of a mutation... but still had, in some way, seemed to have helped the male she was sitting across the table from. She sometimes wished her own affliction had held such positive side effects.... Her frown deepened at the mention of his running away, and for once she wondered exactly how old Mat was. The way he spoke of the act made it seem distant... but one could never truly tell these days. He moved on before she could collect her thoughts on the matter, so she held her tongue...
“That's what makes it interesting though, isn't it? I mean, if we were the same, or if we had lived the same lives, then it'd be like talking to myself. And I'd much rather talk to you.”
It was suddenly harder to frown. The corners of her mouth tipped gently upwards in a smile, and she ceased poking at her food. Whether it was a polite gesture, or if he truly meant it, it still felt good. She had always been so awkward in the conversation department- stumbling over her words, or forgetting what she was saying right in the middle of saying it... not to mention how hard it was for her to open up to people. "Thank you. I... enjoy talking to you too."
“I can't see any reason not to be. You ask me some questions, I give you an answer. I have no real need for secrecy.”“Besides, who could say no to a sweet thing like you?”
His words sank in, and almost instantly her cheeks turned dark brown. It was suddenly quite hard to think, and she couldn't help but giggle. She took a drink of her water to try and calm herself... She watched as he tested out his own meal, and was pleasantly surprised by his reaction- enough so that she laughed and tried to forget about her burning cheeks. "Do I?" She questioned, as a genuine smile lit up her face. Andrea accepted his plate, and picked up a clean fork to spear herself a little bit of the meat. She eyed the little morsel for a moment, knowing full well that she could have and would have taken a lot more had it not been his food, before she popped it into her mouth. She tasted butter, salt and pepper... an unknown spice that left a pleasant burning sensation, and garlic.. "..This is... duck?" She questioned, not entirely sure right off the bat. "I am sure it is duck..." Still savoring the flavor, she pushed her own plate across the table his way. "I have had mine many times before... You should try it though."
Sharing.... that was something new that she had never done before. The Greek found that it was all kinds of exciting, and much better than simply wolfing down her food as fast as humanly possible. Which, as she had found out, she could do pretty fast. While he sampled her dish, she recalled the glass rose at her side and turned to fish it out from under her coat. She didn't want it getting squished, or falling off and smashing on the floor. It was while she was holding the little trinket that he popped his next question... “Can I ask a personal question,”“Do you resent your mutation? If that's too personal, you don't have to answer.”
Her smile dulled... but for some reason the usual sadness that accompanied such thoughts stayed far away. She felt it in her chest- a cold little ball of pent up feelings... but that is where it stayed. "...It is personal, but I do not mind telling you." She adopted almost a shameful expression, and tinkered with the flower in her grasp. "...I do in some ways... It must seem silly though- most think it is..." Like Saph... and the majority of the people she had met on her adventure in the states.
"...but... Rhodes is not like New York. People who were different were shunned by most in my community... I learned early on through my parents, that my.. mutation... would bring only negative attention." It was hard... to tiptoe around everything in her past, without at least hinting at it in some way... Andrea sighed, and dropped her hands to her lap. "I do...resent.. what I am sometimes... I wish with all of my heart that I could simply shed my skin and just be me for once."
So many memories, and most of them were...bland. "But, I have always been this way. I was born with this shade of skin, with these eyes. I am only human, so I can control my feelings only as much as the girl who does not like having freckles, or the boy who wishes he had been born with e different color of hair." She took a little pause, and washed the feelings down with a sip of water. "I cannot say I have had a terrible life, though... I was lucky to have parents who sheltered be from the world until I-...well, I guess in a way I also ran away..." From her home... from the one place that she had ever been truly safe- even if she had been greatly unhappy. She squirmed for a moment, not liking how thoughts of home made the ball in her chest triple in size. It was becoming hard to breath... She had spoken enough about herself, and she had answered his question. It was time to shift the attention back onto him, had a question of her own to retaliate with.
"...What about you? Did... your mutation have something to do with you running away?"
His words set her at ease a little... but not for the same reasons he apparently thought. She would have corrected him, set his mind at easy by letting him know that she was purely worried for their health, and not about getting sued in the distant future... but it was probably best that he figured she was afraid of such consequences. He once again calmed her nerves when he put himself before her and the cameras she so feared. Jorge... was turning out to be a very nice fellow. She couldn’t imagine someone thinking he was a jerk, unless they had done something wrong and incurred his wrath. They approached a car swiftly, his car, she assumed... She could feel eyes on her- probably from the media...
“Just have a seat, okay? You’re behind the police tape, none of the cameras can get a clear shot of you from this point. Just let me go get the doctor okay? Just sit tight, I will be right back.”
He didn’t have to say it twice. She slipped into the seat without a word, and brought her knees to her chest to further hide herself from the people around. Her human shield wandered off while she watched... and she felt all of the courage she had mustered up wash away with the drizzle of rain still coming down. She was alone... and surrounded by news piranha. The flight response reared its ugly head once more, pushing at her to jump to her feet and make a break for it, but there was very little chance she’d get away before someone caught her, or a mic was shoved into her face. Squeezing orange eyes shut, she shook her head and turned her attention back to Jorge when she realized he was still within sight.
He was speaking to another man. They were sharing a laugh... she felt her heard sink for a moment. Insecurity and a smidgen of paranoid rang in her ears. She tried her hardest to bury those feelings as Jorge headed back, with the Doctor on his heels... A short introduction was interrupted, and she head the man speak for the first time. “Tut, tut, Detective, I believe I can introduce myself.”
The new man came closer, and her eyes shifted warily from the doctor to the cop. He seemed to have been warned of her snakes- either that or he was well used to dangerous mutations and knew to keep a safe distance. She eyed him once more, refusing to uncurl her knees from under her chin.
“My name is Dr. Amos, but you can call me Christopher. Now, I hear you’re a little afraid of hurting me should I check head, correct? Well, if you give me your hand, a toe if you like, I can diagnose just like that,”
She was already shaking her head, before he even finished. The expression on her face wasn’t one of fear though, but a sad little smile. “...I cannot.” She paused, unsure of exactly how to explain the situation. “I cannot give you my hand, because I cannot touch things without my gloves on.” As if to prove a point, she raised one and and wiggled her clothed fingers apologetically. “If you so wish, I could give you a toe... but that seems a little unsanitary...” Not to mention comical. The very idea made her laugh a little. Never in her life had she ever considered letting someone, especially a perfect stranger, touch her feet. Not even with dire circumstances in mind. Not only was it a little gross, seeing as she had been walking around all day in somewhat unclean shoes, but she was cursed with being horribly ticklish. She had to remind herself that she was doing this as partial pay back to Jorge, for all he had done for her, and forced herself to drop her legs from her chest.
"Or any part of my leg, really.... I am sorry to make things so difficult, Doctor."
“You do have a point there, Andrea. You know, I do know another doctor, a mutant doctor that works for the precinct. He can finds out if there is anything wrong without having to get too close to that noggin of yours. Would that put you more at ease?”
A mutant doctor? She was reminded of the mansion, in a small sad way. "...That would, actually, thank you..." Her tension eased again, and she smiled at him- a true smile this time. Sloth tugged at her neck, as he was still interested in the male... and being attached to Andrea was proving to be a problem when he wanted to state that curiosity. Clicking her tongue at the serpent, she tugged him back with a gentle hand. "...He is very interested in you, Jorge. His name is Sloth... he's a... bit more kind than the others."
If only because of the trauma he had been dealt after being newly born. Andrea stood, feeling drenched through and through.. but at least warm. She owned him for that, as well as for saving her. Which... brought to light another thing that was bothering her... "Jorge," She started, as she stepped from the shed and turned her chin to the sky. It was only drizzling a little now- a misting of rain. She started across the roof at his side. "...Then men that caused all of this... are... they okay as well?"
An odd question, she knew... It did feel a little weird to worry about a group of people who had tried to injure others, even kill... but she had done harm to two of them- and she felt just terrible for it. She also did not wish to start sprouting tails, or scales due to her actions.. "I know.. that I hurt one of them, maybe two... I was not able to judge what damage I left behind..." Descending the staircase that led back down into the building seemed easier than climbing it had been. She stopped just inside the doorway, glancing down at the small smudge of blood that had been left behind from the man who had held her captive getting shot.
He was gone though... as was the other man who had vanished shortly before Jorge had shown himself. They continued on, past the staircase, far away from the room she had Amber had taken shelter in, and eventually to the next floor down. Someone had picked up and folded her coat- she found it sitting upon the bottom step. "...Ah.. My coat~" With a little thankful smile, she slipped out of his coat and handed it back, before stooping to pick up her own. A little shake cleaned off most of the water that it had collected and she slipped it on. It was good to feel them reassuring shelter of her old raincoat... it was, in a way, like a security blanket to her. With it on, she felt safe.... and hidden. As they moved on, she pulled her hood up. The last flight of stairs brought them to the last floor, and Andrea's nerves were suddenly on edge again.
People were everywhere. Red and blue lights flashing against the walls... she saw people out on the street and moved herself behind Jorge. She could see a new's van out there.. behind the cop cars. The last thing she needed was her face plastered all over the tv back at the mansion. "... There are so many people..." She whispered uneasily, keeping her voice loud enough for Jorge to hear. "... and cameras..."
Trench...foot?... That was an odd name. Very odd, actually. "...Yes... my hair is... alive, I suppose." Though, her actual hair had appeared to hold life, even before the snakes. While newly named 'Trench' commented on her hair... with words she had never heard before, she patted the while serpent around her neck. Sloth seemed uneasy, and was kind of starting to crush her shoulders because of it. "It is nice to meet you, Trench foot." ...That name sounded odd on her tongue, and didn't bring pretty images to mind. She would certainly have to question him (she was going to assume it was male, based on the voice and what she could see if his facial features in the dark) later on if that was his actual name, or just some kind of code name.
The voice came from above again, once again pointed at her. Her nose wrinkled, and she tilted her chin up to glare in the general direction of the man and his angry mob. "...We are not monsters, silly man..." Her mumble was barely audible against the sound sewer water rushing along, and the ranting from above... but it helped to make her feel just a little bit better.
What Trench said next though, made her drop her gaze back to him. "...About to be uncovered?... what does tha-" The sound of feet scuffling by the open manhole reached her ears, and she turned to stare with Trenchfoot. She could hear murmuring voices, and shadows were dancing through the light the manhole let in. She shifted on her feet nervously.
"...Perhaps, this isn't the best place to hold a conversation...?" Someone up above mentioned something about chasing the monster back where she had come from, and she spotted a pair of feet as someone slowly lowered himself into the sewer. That... was not good. She had figured that the appeal of the sewer would keep them away.... Apparently she had been wrong. Andrea stepped back, toward the now semi dressed Trench, and held Sloth to her as he reacted to her uneasiness and hissed at the small group of humans climbing down into the sewer. "There she is!...wait... who's that guy with her?" One man squinted, while his two companions descended the ladder. "...Looks like another freak of nature, guess we get to chase two of them off today!"
Something stepped out in front of her suddenly as she was walking along. Something that looked oddly human shaped, but was purple, wiggly, and gurgling at her while a gross looking slime substance oozed from its mouth. She shrieked and hopped back a few steps, before slapping a gloved hand over her mouth. Her scream bounced off the solid walls around them, and she stared at the creature for a few tense moments. She was unsure of what to do in such a situation... this wasn't an alligator... nor a... person? It was a squirming mass of... something.
...and it had just asked her a question. Instantly, she felt herself relax- just a little. It was a mutant, not a monster.... or at least she hoped it was. There were too many old horror movies locked away in her memory for her to feel even remotely safe until it was made painfully obvious that it was not the creature from the black lagoon, nor the blob. Sloth hissed at the... he?... while her other snakes squirmed around behind her, trying to wiggle out of the ribbon that held them in place on her back.
"...Who am I?" She repeated, dropping her hand away from her lips. "... I am Andrea. Who... are you?" More precisely, what was it? Through the darkness of her sunglasses, she could see a patch of what looked like a face that stood out against the wriggling purple stuff... but that was as much as she could really make out. A very... unique... mutation... if she had ever seen one...
She felt inclined to ask why it was lurking around down in the sewers... but part of her already knew the answer. Probably for the same reason she hid her face and took to the alleys to get around up on the surface. Considering its... sudden appearance and... startling if informal introduction, she couldn't imagine spotting anything like it waltzing around the city sidewalks. She heard the voice up on the street crackle back to like over the loud speaker, and another though struck her. Maybe it had been driven into the shadows like she had?
His kindness was beginning to break her shell, because of this her snakes visibly relaxed. He was kind... and he wasn't prying. It was like he understood her on some level, which made her smile. She found the situation kind of funny, once her nerves had calmed down- or maybe it was the fuzziness in her head. She couldn't really tell anymore. Focusing on the dizzy feeling, she recognized it vaguely. She had felt the same thing when she had been abducted from the mall with Saph. To this day, she still couldn't remember why.. or what had transpired after ward.
"You, a Jerk?" She snorted, a little unbecomingly, and dropped her hands to her lap. "You would be surprised how many people think I am a monster, but that does not mean it is true." She nodded her head at her own words, as if the action validated them, and toyed with the handkerchief in her hands while he explained how Amber was doing. The knowledge that she was safe lifted a good chunk of weight from her shoulders. She sighed happily and let herself relax a little more. "That... is very good to know. I know the girl... it surprised me greatly to run into her under such circumstances."
Jorge mentioned his concern again... and medics. Instantly she stiffened again, and her eyes flicked behind her glasses to the door of the shed despite herself. The subject made her nervous, which made her snakes wiggle anxiously. She reminded herself that she had no reason to act in such a way, since the man had been nothing but kind to her. That... and she could always lie if someone asked her any questions.
"...It... would be silly, for me to make someone climb all of the way up here, when I need come down eventually. Besides," She turned her attention back out to the rain as well, and forced herself to calm down again. Stress would only bring about bad things... ".. I must gather my coat, so you can have yours back, right?" The smile she sent him was... not her best, but it would have to do. The only thing that still bugged her was the concern that weighed heavily on the idea of letting someone get close enough to inspect her injury... She couldn't fathom what she would do if she injured someone while surrounded by police officers... She could imagine the good cop in Jorge, swiftly becoming the bad cop. "Do you think it is a good idea though, for one of the EMT's to get close to me? " She laid a hand on sloths bulky white form around her neck, and frowned at Jorge. "Though I will admit that it is not very often, they have proven that they do not like people getting close to me... especially when I am nervous."
Which was precisely why she was sitting as far away as possible from him, and why she was going to maintain such a distance on the way back down to the street. "...I do not wish to harm anyone, when it is avoidable."
In a way... she found that his agreement to follow her both made her happy, and it relaxed her. "Must be a tough day for you, Having to hide from those guys, then the loud police officers suddenly breaking into the scene. Lot to process in a day…”
"...You have no Idea.." She muttered back, watching intently as he showed his powers once more to dry out his jacket. It was fascinating, how with just a wave of his hand he managed to draw out all of the rain that had soaked into the cloth. A power much more useful than her own, that was for certain.
“Especially tough when there’s an old cop man who simply won’t leave you alone. I apologize for that…”
Andrea stared at the shifting orb, before he let it go and it crashed to the floor. It had looked so beautiful, for a moment... and now it was nothing but a shallow puddle on the floor.
The Greek smiled weakly, baring her sharp canines unintentionally and shook her head. "Do not apologize... I appreciate it. It is just... that things ares so very complicated.... It is best that I am left alone." As if they knew they were being talked about, her serpents withdrew into her hair shamefully. Even Sloth slunk back into position around her shoulders. She watched him, her eye lids feeling a lot heavier than they should have, and waited to see what he was going before she reacted. As it happened... he was offering her his coat.
That startled her a little, and also reminded her that her own coat was still floating around downstairs somewhere. Andrea eyed him for a few more moments as he settled himself back down, then dropped her eyes back down to his coat. Rising from her makeshift chair, she stepped over and picked up his jacket. She was hesitant to put it on, and was half tempted to hand it back to him... but habit kicked in and she found shelf slipping her arms into place within its relative warmth.
The kerchief she found as directed, but it proved to be much more distracting. It was clean and white... perfect against the contrast of her dark gloves. She didn't want to dirty it. Listening to him talk, she reclaimed her own seat and nodded her head in agreement. " I wish we had met under more pleasant circumstances, Jorge... You seem like a very caring individual." ...And perhaps another person to avoid in the future. "I am sorry that... that I ran from you. It was as you have said... too much to process."
She shifted in his coat, feeling a little awkward, and turned her attention from the handkerchief to the man who owned it. He was a mutant, one who was either proud of his powers... or who simply held no shame for them. Most were like him, she had noticed. Andrea lifted the clean white square of cloth in her hand, and wiped away at the little gasp on her forehead. Most of the blood had thickened or dried by then, but just the feeling of cleaning the mess away made her feel tons better. "Thank you for saving me..." She added, a little to distracted to keep her voice level. "...Do you know if...the other girl got away alright?"
“I’m sure that you will be, But, I am a cop, I can’t just leave you here, bleeding on the rooftop.”
And that was precisely the problem. He couldn't leave her, and she was pretty much trapped on the roof top. Unless she tried to jump the gap to the shorter neighboring building- which probably wouldn't end on a good note. She dropped her hand from her eyes and watched, on the balls of her feet as if she would make a break for it at the slightest of movements, as he reached inside his coat and withdrew a.... a handkerchief. The clean white linen almost mocked her... and she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. Her father had been the one to press the habit of always having a handkerchief on her person.
She nodded mutely and moved to take a step toward him. Maybe he wasn't a bad cop... like in the movies. Maybe he wouldn't drag her back to the station, plant her under a light much to bright for human eyes, and interrogate her until she broke. She knew she would... Maybe she had put too much movie lore into the situation? Another step, and she heard one of her serpents hiss. Her confusion was wearing off on them... they were dangerous.
"...I cant..." She murmured, back tracking toward the shadows. "...It is too dangerous." But, oh, how she wanted to. It was cold standing by herself... in more than one way. The conversation, no matter how strained, was at least some form of socialization... and he was so nice, too. Nicer than most she had come across in her short time on the streets. Laying a gentle hand of Sloth's body, she attempted to pull him back to her. Now that her burst of energy was wearing off, she was left with the shakes... and more and more dizziness. One hand returned to her head, which was kind of throbbing... Glancing off to her left, she noticed the open door of a shed not far off. "... I think... I need to sit down." She started toward the shed, but stopped and turned guiltily toward Jorge. It would be rude of her to wander off and leave him alone, without offering. "...Would you mind sitting with me?"
The shed itself was big enough for a few people sit sit around, and thankfully mother nature had worked her magic on one of its walls. Andrea moved on in, and sat herself on an upturned bucket in the corner closest to the torn down wall. She didn't want to be too close to the man, least her serpents try and attack him...
She could hear people down below... chatting, talking... someone was barking orders and another was whining about getting shot. Probably one of the gunmen... She had darted across the roof and took shelter behind a large metal box, which had probably some kind of cooling system for the building at one point, that by the time the officer had followed her up she was out of sight.
... She hadn't wanted him to follow her, either.
“Andrea, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a police officer, okay? I just want to help you get home so you can forget what happened tonight. Don’t be scared of that man, he’s not going to do a thing to you, understand?”
Damn... damn, damn! A hushed Greek curse slipped past her lips, and she was thankful that the falling rain covered it up. She knew she was safe... at least from that oaf who had assaulted her earlier... but... She wasn't safe from the law. Not until she found a way to become a citizen, at least. The man continued... and mentioned something that made her fear lessen... a little. She didn't have to come down? Maybe, just maybe things wouldn't work out in the way that she feared. She shifted a little as her legs threatened to buckle, and stumbled over a bucket with a wrench in it that she hadn't noticed in her panic. The clattering of noise no doubt brought his attention her way... and she cursed again under her breath.
There was no use hiding anymore, it seemed. Slowly, she creeped to the corner of her hiding place, and peeked out. Sloth chose to do the same, with his hand sized white head poking out from around the corner. She spotted Jorge, toward the middle of the roof, and took a moment to let herself catch her breath before she took a few nervous steps out into the open. "...You do not need to worry about me.. I am fine." From behind her glasses, she studied him. He seemed relaxed... unimposing, non threatening. His words had felt sincere, just as they had when he had been speaking to her before. She on the other hand was a mess of conflicting emotions. She wanted to thank him properly... but she also wanted to run. Her posture was defensive at best, and she was still shaking like a twig in a windstorm.
What else could she say, to make him leave? Avarice curled up over her head, inadvertently bumping into the gash under he bangs. The wound was jostled just enough that new blood creeped out and a little dribble dripped down into her left eye. She hissed under her breath, and raised a gloved hand to wipe the substance away from behind her glasses. Sloth took an interest with the male out before him, and slithered around Andrea's shoulders until he could support and reach out toward Jorge with a long pink tongue licking the air for a scent. "...I... will be fine.." Perhaps she was anemic... she always seemed to be bleeding .. more red meat would be required in her diet from now on.
The day had started off in a relatively ordinary, unexciting manner. People hurrying here and there, clad in suits and dresses with briefcases, backpacks, and purses in hand. Nothing extraordinary had really happened, until outside a small courthouse all hell broke loose. A convicted criminal, who happened to hold a mutant title, was being taken from the building in handcuffs after a verdict had been reached. He had been found guilty for three home invasions, and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The crowd outside cheered as he was led down the building's steps, until a voice boomed out from a loud speaker and a mob of people raised large signs high into the air.
"Mutants will be our downfall!" One man boomed, his head and shoulders high above the crowd as he stepped up onto a wooden crate. "This man is one of them! They cause us nothing but pain and suffering!" The crowd cheered as he launched into a tirade against mutation capable people, and the signs bounced about angrily as the criminal was secured within a squad car, and taken swiftly away from the scene... The crowd didn't break up, instead, they followed their megaphone wielding leader as he marched down the street, into more populated parts of the city.
Andrea heard them before she saw them. With her hair pulled back, snakes and all, into a low ponytail, she looked up from the book she had been reading to try and locate the source of the loud, angry voice booming across the street. Someone was growling anti mutant gibberish... political issues, religious issues... She felt the hair on the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Being a bright green beacon of mutant heritage, she knew for a fact she would attract attention. The Greek glanced around her as people stopped what they were doing to pay attention to the booming voice, and growing crowd. The urge to leave became incessant. Standing swiftly, she shrugged her raincoat back on, slipping her hood up just as the group of Anti Mutant supporters came into full view. "They have infiltrated every nook and cranny of our society! The girl who serves you coffee at your favorite coffee shop could be a Muti! The men and women you work with could as well! Even the children in our schools are subjected to these heathen creatures!"
Her feet had been leading her away... off into an alley where the shadows offered her safety... but the words the man spoke stopped her. Heathen?... He assumed that those like she were monsters? Her nose wrinkled, and she felt anger boil to life in her chest. Andrea had her own views on mutations and the like... but she was person, if a afflicted one. Her friends were mutant, but not monsters. The man babbled on, his little mob of supporters cheering at the end of every hate filled rant, and Andrea could only watch and listen. A man in passing bumped into her shoulder, knocking the hood from her head, and shuffled off with a mumbled apology. The twenty three year old wasn't able to pull her hood up fast enough, and the mod turn its many eyes on her. "THERE! You see! This woman thinks to blend in with the covering of her face! She seeks to slither her way into our hearts, and take down our morals and our- ...our very FOUNDATION!"
The anger she had felt was quickly replaced by fear, as some of the people in the group turned to face her, and advanced a few steps. The alley was just behind her... she had a clear escape route... but, they wouldn't just attack her, would they? One child at his mothers side, stooped and picked up a little chunk of concrete that had come off of the curb. Her hopes that they were still peaceful, if loud mouthed, people were dashes when the little girl cursed at her and lobbed the concrete her way. One strike to the forehead later, Andrea took flight into the alley like the hounds of hell were at her heels. She didn't know if they would follow, but up ahead she spotted a peculiar sight- and open man hole in the middle of the alley. Hiding was better than running, in some situations, and without much thought she slipped herself into the hole and climbed down into the sewers below. It was dark... and wet... and smelled more than a little putrid. She could heard the echo of the crowd above cheering, as well as the sound of the man with the megaphone as he ranted about her swift departure being a sure sign of cowardice and guilt.
"Such violent people..." Which had left a little bleeding wound, that stung, she noticed. Tucking her book up under her arm, she removed a glove and dabbed at her forehead with her fingers. The red of blood on green skin reminded her of Christmas in a morbid way... She let her feet carry her down a little cement pathway, hopefully toward an exit. While she walked, she couldn't help but keep an eye on the flowing water at her side... she had heard stories of Gators in the sewers... and she didn't much want to find out if they were true.
Everything moved too quickly for Andrea... Her airway was suddenly clamped shut by an arm.. she could hear water, and then see water as it leaped up to surge around her. Then, the arm was gone from around her throat.. and her snakes were huddling close to her- reacting to the sudden appearance of the water wall. She felt little droplets of water, heard gun fire, and did the best she could to support herself on weak legs within the liquid cyclone.
The man who had held her was not so lucky. Everything came crashing down around him, his friends gone, plan of escape thwarted. The officers bullet ripped through his shoulder before he even had his finger on the trigger properly... who would'a figured- seems the cop was a quick draw. All he could do was drop to his knees, then plop back against the wall behind him. The pain from hos wounds was over whelming... and for some reason he couldn't move his right arm. He briefly recalled what he had seen the green chick do to his buddy way back in the other room, and panic filled his chest. Sure, he could take getting sent back to prison... but from the lack of movement and feeling in his arm? He liked having both fully functional... With the hand that was now minus one gun, he reached over- though it hurt like hell due to getting capped in the shoulder- and let his fingers tell him the damage that had been done.
In three places, the crook of his elbow, his wrist and in the meaty part of his forearm, he had been bitten. On the surface he felt nothing, even deeper down into the arm was dead... but the arms that remained fleshy hurt like bloody hell, and he knew just who to blame. "What the @&%#! Do you SEE what she did to me?!" If he couldn't escape, he was sure as hell going to try and talk his way out of a lengthy stay at the big house... His eyes were trained on the cop at he drew closer and kicked the fallen gun out of the way. "I have half a mind to sue her, IN FACT, I want a LAWYER." He was no idiot... he had heard of cases in which criminals had won against people who had used excessive force in retaliation... maybe he could even get the cop to kick him a few times, and add another charge to the growing list in his head. "Ya hear that 'Honey'?! What was her name... Andrea...right?" He laughed, one that was strained with pain, and spat at the officers feet.
Andrea on the other hand, was regaining a small amount of strength. She was alive... and in one piece for the most part, but that wasn't the end of her problems. The protective water shield dropped slowly, and she was able to get a better look at her rescuer. He looked kind... if professional... but she couldn't trust him. Cops were people of the law.. and she was very much breaking it by simply being in the country...not to mention a few other things. She stared at him, slack jawed, and felt adrenalin pumping back into her arms and legs. Her breathing was too heavy, she'd surely pass out if she wasn't careful, and fingers, toes and the occasional eye were twitching from her nerves being shot. Then, what the man said struck her. Lawsuits... courts... more law. More threats to her well being, her secrecy. She felt a panic attack coming on, and did the only thing she could think of... She bolted for the door.
It wasn't much of an exit though, the stairs than led down had been robbed of its ladder to the street below, which only left up. "Ha, you see how grateful she is?... Guess no one likes cops these days, Eh piggy?" The man jeered, pondering on if he should try and drag up the energy to spit at Jorge again. Outside, Andrea ignored the rain and the chill from it splashing against her T-shirt and jeans and pushed herself quickly up the stairs until she was forced to climb onto the roof. Her situation went from bad to worse, when she realized that the only other exit down was on the side closer to the red and blue lights, flashing up from the street below.
I am up for any type of thread, anytime with either character!