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.
Humming softly to herself, she followed along behind him for a while, content with sipping from her bottle and wiggling her way back into her Hoodie. It was cold from the still wet blood, but at least it didn't show as much as it did on her white tanktop. After a while, he needed the assistance she was there to provide, and without a word stepped up to help. He was taller than her by a good measure, but not un-godly tall, thanks to her own height. Also... having two inches of rubber under her heels also helped her cause...
She let him lead her toward a building, and a fancy one at that! She tried to control herself as her intoxication level rose, tugging her hood up into place over her messy hair. Following closely, she didn't protest one bit at his grip on her. She was far to concerned with getting access to a bathroom, where hopefully there would be a shower, and maybe that couch she had been thinking about earlier. On approaching the doorman, she kept her arms at her sides, bottle mostly hidden by her legs, and smiled cheerily at the doorman. Though she was well on her way to being drunk, she was still aware enough of her surroundings to notice that the whole things didn't quite feel right... and had a brief moment of hesitation about whether going into the building with the assassin was all that good of an idea.
But, before she could chicken out on what was already started, the front door was opened and she was guided in by the arm. “Play along,”
Play along? Yeah, okay. She could do that. She nodded slightly, one eyebrow hovering slightly above the other in lazy curiosity, and did as she was told. She was pretty good at acting, actually, when she had too. Standing silently by his side, letting her eyes wander a little bit around the place, she caught sight of the Clerk's roving eyes and a smile curved her red painted lips. The twenty five year old winked at him, and shifted on her feet, letting her free hand rest on one pale, uncovered hip. Even with all of her practice at being a "gold digger", she was caught off guard by the squeeze n' pat that Rafael suddenly dropped on her. Megan squeaked, but managed to pull it off like it was a pleasant surprise, and not the kind that made her shoot an icy promise of death at him with her eyes. Forcing a softy, sultry giggle, she squeezed herself closer to him and wrapped her rum carrying arm around his back.
“You got that right, Picked up this little firecracker at the Chimera Club. Practically begged me to come back here. You ever been?”
That name sounded familiar... Megan was fairly sure he had directed her to start working there at some point during the first time she had met. With that thought in mind, she knew exactly how to act. Like a cheap floozy, more or less. Grinning playfully, she turned and pressed herself into her companion, laying a hand on the front of his suit, and fiddle with one of his suits buttons.
Her grin grew at the clerks parting words, and as she was led off she peeked over her shoulder and blew a kiss in his direction. Then, turning back around, she dropped the smile and scowled. "...You enjoyed that." She muttered, tapping her nails on the glass bottle in her hand. On approaching the elevator, two other people appeared around a corner ahead of them. Two average looking men, clean shaven and in slick grey and black suits. They were also heading for the elevator.... Megan eyed them for a moment, before slipping back into the ....role... she had been given. Giddily giggly and keeping a little too close to him for comfort on her part. The two men were obviously going for an elevator ride with them, and since this was not her territory, she was more than willing to let him handle things like he had with the Clerk. And... by the looks the two were giving them, their thoughts were running along similar paths....
Her brisk escape walk slowed gradually to a halt, and then a complete stop when her new spidery friend decided he wasn't going to budge one inch further. Turning, she tugged on the leash.. which proved to do nothing. Funny thing about spiders was that they could have pretty good grip on things if they wanted, and rough concrete + spider feet were winning the tug O war battle at the moment. "...oh, come on you little Sh*it... " As she stood there, making a pretty good obstacle for people to have to walk around, her children peeked out of their various hiding places within her shaggy hair. A fe braves souls even scampered down her arm and the leash, to check out the HUGE spidery cousin she was wrestling with.
Megan finally gave up and resorted to hefting the giant arachnid up with both arms, and just sort of lugging it along with her. The jostling movement knocked the little eight legged hitch hikers from the leash, and onto the pavement. As she stepped over them the trail of web the big spider had been laying down stuck them to the sidewalk. Megan heard little desperate howls in her mind, the spiders thinking they were about to be eaten, and she stopped and turned. Ice blue eyes landed on the silken trail, which wrapped around the corner... back the way she had come. "...You smart little bastard!" Cursing under her breath, she took off running...if you could call it running anyway. The added weight and girth of the kidnapped spider was causing problems. Looots of problems, but if he had left any kind of trail, she needed to split as soon as possible.
Leaving her two children behind, trapped against the sidewalk, she made it to the end of the block and crossed the street, before dodging into a small shop. A meat, shop, as it turned out to be. She ran straight for the counter, slapping on her most desperate mask. "Help me! Please! There's a man after me... he's trying to kill my pet!" The man behind the counter was caught off guard by her sudden appearance, but also by the giant wiggling spider she was holding. It only took him a moment to fall for her plea however, seeing the simulated fear in her eyes caused the hero in him to don a cake and take flight. Circling around the counter, he set his butcher knife down and headed for the front door. "Don't worry, I'll keep him away from you." He stepped outside and glanced around, looking for any suspicious looking men.
He left the blond in the shop alone, and once the door had closed Megan rounded the counter and headed for the back door. She was out in the alley in seconds, eying which way to go, and decided on left. Sadly, she had chosen wrong. The alley ended with a brick wall ways down.
"... Vinegar?" She repeated quietly. Maybe roach would have some of that at home... to like... splash in peoples eyes, or drown cats in or whatever it was that he did whenever she wasn't around. She grinned and was about to remark on his knowledge on proper laundry techniques, maybe try to form some kind of insult out of it and add a little pink polka dot apron for good measure, but... then she actually stated to wonder if she even owned vinegar. Seriously... who even cooked with that stuff these days? With a giggle, she let a scar speckled forearm flop over her eyes, and let the other fall into her lap. Her head was starting to swim a little. Which, she figured, was probably due to having neglected to eat anything before gulping down those few drinks at the bar. They were starting to sink in, and with the continuing swigs of rum...
Hooboy, she was in for one killer hangover in the morning. She didn't even notice when they slowed to a stop, but did hear the breaks squeak lightly in protest. Picking her head back up, her arm flopped back to her side and her vision swam for a moment. Yup. She was well on her way to being drunk.
Then Rafael started to get up, muttering about how it was his stop, and she found herself frowning. The party was literally just starting inside, and he was leaving? Getting wasted by yourself always sucked... she knew first hand. But... then he dropped back onto the seat unexpectedly.
Either the stuff he had been dosed with was back with a vengeance, or he was a super lightweight... or the two were interacting funny. While the small, annoying sober part of her chimed in with the logical answer, Drunk Megan latched onto the super lightweight excuse. Cuz' it was far funnier. Without a word, she grabbed the rum bottle, it's cap, and her coat, and then scurried over and opened the door. She offered him help out, waiting to see if he needed to drape an arm over her shoulder, or if he wanted help at all. The driver was out and holding the door for them, utterly uncaring at their state yet again. "Would you like me to wait, ma'am?" He asked. She paused, contemplating that question. The driver only knew where Ken lived... and she wasn't going back there any time soon. She considered just telling him to take her somewhere else, but... then he could relay that information to an angry, humiliated Ken. Which she didn't want happening either. So, instead, she shook her head at him swiftly. No, better to linger around Mr. Mcpunchface here, and let Ken deal with that if he decided to come snooping around.
The driver nodded, and shut the door behind them. "If you don't mind my asking, am I to still pick up your other... friend later?" He questioned, causing her to raise an eyebrow at the implications. As far as she was concerned, Kennith could remain passed out in his little back room all night, or for the next week... Or, he could just not wake up at all! As that would make everything much, much easier for her. But she couldn't tell the fancy-shmancy cabby that.
"Yeah... he should be ready for pick up in...oh... a few hours I'd say... Thanks, Goodnight!" She let her larger companion more or less lead the way, or at least point her in the direction of where to go. She figured she would just lurk around his place for a while, then slip off and head home once she was a little more sober. Heck, maybe she'd even steal his couch, since it looked like he was going to pass out any second anyway!
Then she could raid his fridge and surprise him with eggs in the morning... or whatever it was that friendly people did for each other after getting wasted the night before.
Picking up the bottle, she uncapped it and wiped the lip off with her shirt, then took a little swig herself. It was a little manly, but whatever. Her cup was out of range and she was lazy.
Plus, she had been granted permission to play nurse maid! Dragging the open bottle with her, she switched seats. Choosing to plop down next to him on the seat instead of patching him up from her own. Crossing her legs under her, she reached out and took his hand by the parts that weren't burned, reaching for another thick strand of silk. This time however, she pulled more slowly, allowing it to come out finer and softer. Burns were a lot different than cuts. Cuts didn't generally hurt in her experience unless you bumped it, or tore it open more. Burns though, oh man, they sucked. She could still feel the way her lip had burned after she had pierced it herself.
Slowly, she wound the fine silk around his palm, until it was thoroughly covered. Then she branched out to any other injured area's until he was bandaged quite soundly. Yanking the end of the thread from her mouth, with just a tiny bit of sticky saliva on it, she pressed it securely closed. "...there, that should hold until you get it patched up for good."
Sitting back, she took another swig from the bottle. Her head tipped back onto the seat, and she let her eyes close for a moment, slipping into contemplation. She was fairly tired herself, but still mostly hyped up on adrenaline. She tried to imagine everything that had just happened. Go back through it and analyze the crap out of it, real psychological stuff.... but revisiting the newly created memories did nothing. She didn't feel guilt really, nor did she think she would be having any nightmares.., because seriously, if she didn't dream about the sh*t she had already gone through, then she was pretty sure this stuff wouldn't phase her.
The only thing she could really still feel from the whole experience was pain, and excitement. That devious, twisted kind of joy people got from watching cars wreak, that most never admitted to. She grinned, and with her eyes still closed laughed softly. "That was kind of fun. If a complete pain in the ass. You must get paid an arm and a leg to do that kind of thing all the time." Raising the bottle to her lips, she snatched another gulp, before holding it back out for him to take. Then she tucked her hands behind her head and sighed contently. With help from her intoxicating friend, she was starting to feel much, much better.
"...wish blood was easier to get out." She muttered, touching the little healing wounds that were scattered across the base of her neck and back. She lost so many good shirts that way.... such a shame.
She nodded in reply to him, smiled and gladly accepted the leash. Icy eyes followed him as he entered the shop, watching as he stopped and spoke with someone. Probably about his sandwich. Yuck. All of that bread would have dire consequences later, unless he managed to walk it all off putting up "Lost Spider" signs on light poled and windows all over the neighborhood.
With a devious smirk in place, she turned back to the arachnid. She was tempted to prod at it, just to make sure it was actually a big lovable spider, and not another animal in a very good costume. She had been tricked before... by a museum, too! But, one look at the fangs and the beady gleaming eyes told her that it was not fake. It was real. Very, beautifully real... and it was now hers.
Setting her paper aside, she tugged at the leash of the big thing, wondering if it would follow willingly, with it's master off somewhere. It seemed to like her enough... which kind of weirded her out and pleased her at the same time. It'd take little to no training at all! No effort! Yay!
A small handful of people approached, walking lazily down the sidewalk, and she cast a glance there way. They were chattering to themselves, to absorbed in conversation to notice that they were about to walk past a giant monstrosity of a spider. Or, maybe they just didn't care. After all, New York had it's own bipedal giant cockroach man walking the streets, abducting people right and left. Who was going to notice one doggish eight legged pet, with that kind of monstrosity running around?
She waited for them to cross in front of the shop window, then stood and followed along, tugging Mr. Spider along with her and leaving behind her cup and paper on the bench.
~Meanwhile~
Inside the shop, the weasely, greasy little man that had been approached by some sort of under cover operative, stood tensely by the window with his face shoved into a little book. He was nervous, and the fact that his hands were shaking ever so slightly gave it away. He had never been approached like that, or put in such a position before. He was excited and jittery, and more than a little wary all at the same time. The thought that he was helping someone important in some way had triggered a rush of adrenaline in him that his scrawny frame just didn't know what to deal with.
With his book as a shield between himself, the glass, and the odd ball girl out on the bench, he continually peeked out from behind it to check on her. She was just sitting there, casual as could be. Which, since the other guy seemed to think it, made her very suspicious. Squinting at her from behind smudged glasses, he looked back down to his book, his eyes scanning through a few sentences on thermal dynamics. He lost himself in that for a moent, and when he looked up, he was startled to find that the bench was no unoccupied, save for a few pigeons fighting over the contents of a coffee cup.
"Ah! Ah!! Mister!" Nearly throwing his book into the air, he shuffled quickly and awkwardly over to the man who has asked him to watch the girl, and flaps his arms in a panic. "She's gone! I-I swear I only took my eyes off of her for a second! I blinked! That's all!"
Climbing onto the longest seat in the car, she crawled over to a cleaverly hidden container tucked into the corner of the seat. Since it curved around practically every inch of the inside of the limo, there was plenty of room for her to claim an entire wall for herself, and let him claim his own.
"You heard the man, corner of fourth and Wabasha." As the driver pulled them away from the curb, and the crime scene, she let herself relax a little. Digging through the container, she tossed a bunch of little things ken had stored in there, small pouches of white stuff, big pouched of green things, a few packs of random bullets, and so on, until she found what she was looking for. A nearly full bottle of spiced rum. Yum!
She flopped back onto her seat, casually pressing the window up button until the driver could no longer see or hear them. She dug around in a compartment above one of the window, withdrawing a small glass, and poured herself a delicious, mind numbing drink. She also downed it in record time, and poured another, before looking back at Rafael.
He didn't look so well. Like he was already drunk, and she hadn't even offered him any. Her lips twitched into a half smirk, and she screwed the cap back on and tossed the bottle onto the seat next to him.
"You look like hell." She commented, laying back with her cup balanced on her stomach with her hands. She stared at the ceiling above, the shaded skylight, and chuckled. "I'd say that you're in no shape to be wandering around in that condition, and that you should probably crash for the night at my place... but that would kind of count as mercy, or pity or something... wouldn't it?"
Even with a cup full of rum swashing around in her stomach, warming her from the inside out, the pain her body was in was slowly starting to creep back out of hiding. Cursing under her breath, she wiggled back up into a sitting position and finished her second glass off, thoroughly enjoying the way it burned a path down her throat, and slipped her hoodie off. The tank top underneath had been splotched with blood as well, which was annoying, but she had a nasty looking wound to clean.
Or at least patch up. Activating her silk gland, she reached into her mouth nonchalantly and started pulling the thick strands of silk out, twirling them around a her finger as she went. When she had enough, she pulled at it until it resembled a gauzy pad. Then she pressed it to the wound. It stuck due to drying blood, and she set about spinning more silk around it to hold it in place. When she was done, after a few moments, she turned from inspecting the bandage and eyed Rafael's wounds. He didn't seem to have many from what she could see... save for pretty nasty monkey hand burns.
"...I could patch that up for you, if you'd like.."
Before she could really deal with any of the complicated bull she was feeling, Another blade flew out of nowhere and ended the confusing scenario for her. The guy slumped to the floor, dead as a doornail, and she let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
God... having someone else do it was just sooooo much easier.
“Mercy won’t get you anywhere in this world, except a quicker pace to the grave, Don’t forget that. Next time, don’t pick up a gun unless you’re intent to use it.”
She glanced down at the gun in her hand, snorted, and tucked it into the back of her pants. No use wasting a perfectly good weapon. He did have a point though, she guessed... Any other situation would have gotten her killed for hesitating like that. Though... that knowledge didn't make it any less hard.
Maybe she'd remember it though. ...maybe. Striding over to the dead man, she yanked her knife from the body and stuffed it back into her boot, blood and all. She'd clean it later, when they weren't surrounded by blood and corpses. Turning back to her partner in crime, or... rather the other way around, she stopped short behind him and silently watched what he was doing.
"...mutant rights, huh? Didn't take you for activist type." She muttered. Then again, if he had been sent here to off someone, maybe it was supposed to be a falsehood to lead people down the wrong trail? She could think of no other reason as to why he'd have signed it The Unicorn
...Unicorn... really? God.
She felt her skin begin to crawl at the mention of police, and dug her cellphone from her pocket. A quick tapping of a few keys and she had the number of the driver who had dropped her and Ken off at the party. After a quick conversation, he had him on his way to pick them up. Sliding her phone shut, she shoved it back into her pocket and started off toward where ever the exit was. They still had a short walk to get outside, past a deserted front lobby. "... We'll get picked up shortly... "
She picked at her clothes as she slumped along, noticing now that there were little red splotches here and there where blood had gotten on her. Her sweatshirt was particularly saturated and wet, probably from landing on top of the guy she accidentally knifed in the lungs. Since it was black, the red didn't show through at all.. but she definitely felt like she needed a shower. Badly. And she was considering burning all of her current clothing later.
The brisk walk through a few hallways and past a few back rooms led them out into the main lobby. Outside the glass doors, she could see the limo waiting. As it turned out, he had only been parked a few blocks down, and it had taken him no time at all to get to them. "There's our ride.."
Once outside, she waved the driver off and let herself in, leaving the door open for Rafael to climb in as well. The man peeked through the little window inside at her, not really caring about how they looked or the fact that she was leaving the party with someone other than Ken. He had already been paid for his services, so he didn't care who he was driving around.
"Where too?" he asked, waiting to be told a direction.
Trying to calm her breathing to a controlled rate, Megan sat perched and ready on the balls of her heels.
well... not ready, really. She had never done anything like this before. Her heart was pounding away, her limbs were tingling for some reason, and the absence of little spidery voices at back of her head was kind of throwing her off.
It was like that time in the salon, when that strange lady and somehow interfered with her mutation. She could still remember how itchy and twitchy she had felt, like her children were crawling around under her skin. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself, and gripped her knife so hard her knuckles turned white. Waiting was nerve-racking, especially with the sounds of the elevator quickly drawing closer.
When it stopped, she saw Rafael prepare himself, and the doors whooshed gently open. The first man stepped directly into her line of sight, and striking distance. With both hands, she swung her weapon, aiming for his thigh. But...she missed terribly and the blade sank into the crotch of his fancy suit. He fell almost instantly to his knees, buckling over with one of the most anguished groans she had ever heard. The small pistol he had been carrying landed on the carpet not far from her, just as the ear splitting BOOM from her companion's shotgun knocked put the other man down for good.
Snatching up the little silver gun, she turned back to the man she had wounded. Megan raised it, pulled the slide back to chamber a round, and pointed it at the guy... who.. was no longer doubled over. He was watching her silently, little beads of sweat racing down his for head and cheeks.
She froze. Her mind just... stopped. Muddy green eyes were locked on her, and she could swear they were begging for mercy. Considering she had never really been the merciful type... what with mocking the dying, and not really giving a crap about anyone not related to her, she found herself in a rare moment of uncertainty of what to do. He was a bad guy... she knew that. He would probably snuff her out in a heartbeat if he were the one holding the gun.. she knew that too. But she had never killed someone on purpose before, with her own hands. Accidentally? Yes... she could check that off of her things to do list thanks to a certain assassin... And there was no doubt that her children may have had a hand in the taking of a few lives.... But she was pretty sure all of those instances could be chalked up to self defense.
This though... She felt unsure. She was the one with the power to blow him away... and however exciting that had seemed before that very moment, now... now it was unnerving.
The man before her shifted slightly, unable to pull the blade from his wound without further injury, and cast his eyes over to the Assassin. Megan just... stood there. Not quite sure what to do with herself, or the gunman for that matter.
The spiders...er... apology caught her off guard. It was smarter than she had thought, if it could do that. She eyed the man once more, before allowing a small smile to curve her lips. It was unique, and though she hardly thought she'd be able to replicate it, she was pretty sure she wanted it.
.. now... if she could just get it away from the owner.
>>""Um, well, anyway, I'm going to grab a sandwich. Again, I'm sorry about that."
Perfect. "Oh, don't worry about it. No harm done. Say, if you're going in there, I could watch him for you. I don't mind pets of the eight legged variety, and i'm not really going anywhere for a while..."
She smiled and folded her paper in her lap, setting her coffee to the side for a moment. If he took up her offer to spider sit for him, then she'd have a pretty clear window of time with which to drag the big brute off somewhere safe. Definitely not roaches apartment... oooh no. The bugs would reenact Gulliver's travels on the giant spider the moment she turned her back.
She eyed the things fangs as well, not quite worried about the venom it might have, but the severity of it's bite. It'd be like getting shanked twice, and she was not willing yo go through that. No... she'd have to avoid that mouth area, if it wiggled around too much.
Her eyes rose to the man again, with the mischievous little twinkle that always seemed to show up when she got funny ideas like this. "... What'dya say?"
She was happily poking around in the back section of her paper, sipping at her cup and counting how many people had been listed in the obituaries since yesterday, when she felt a funny tugging at her leg. The twenty five year old ignored it at first, thinking it was some dirty pigeon trying to beg her for food.
Ugh... they were just as bad as the poor, if only less vocal.
After a moment though, she began to realize that the pecking she'd be feeling from annoying birds, didn't feel right. It felt more like... pawing. Like... sharp little things scraping on her skin, but not stabbing. Like little probing pedipalps...
That... made her blink, and lower her paper. What she saw, was... shocking? Naw... Surprising? Maybe... Overwhelming? Yes! That hit the nail on the head. Her heart damn near jumped into her throat, and for the first (and last) time in her life Megan actually squealed a little. In fear? Nope! In absolute, overwhelming, filled-to-the-brim joy!
There was a giant F-ing spider, just drooling away happily on her leg. A three foot long spider. She was either dreaming... or dead, and Mr. Biggerthanathreeyearold, had just dug his way out of her chest.
>>"I'm sorry, ma'am!"
....and then that happened. Before she could lean in and snuggle that cute pile of spider, some guy wandered up and ruined it. Shaking her leg free of any clinging spider drool as he tugged the big arachnid back with... a leash?
She cocked an eyebrow, and gave him a quick once over. He didn't look like the type who hung around with eight legged Araneae. "No problem..." She muttered, and eyed the spider again, watching as it did all of it's little spidery things. Or... big spidery things, in this case. It seemed to have some intelligence, more so than the average arachnid. Maybe the same level as her own children... though hopefully not. She turned her eyes to the man again, effectively curious.
"...I hope you know that you're dragging a giant spider around on that leash... because if not, I'm pretty sure it ate your dog."
The ground met them quickly, and she couldn't have been more thankful. The current there-is-an-elevator-coming-down-on-us problem kind of ruined all traces of happiness or relief.
Megan slipped off of Rafael's shoulder as soon as she was able, and stared up into the black void above them. Her children were muttering incoherent nonsense about stairs and closing doorways, so she wasn't getting anything very useful from them.
Above them, the elevator and it's occupants were on their way quickly down. They hit the silk she had left stuck to the walls, but it did little more than stretch and slow them down for a moment or two, before snapping. Though she was able to easily support her own weight on it, it didn't hold very well against something as heavy as the elevator.
Knowing that time was a factor, she hurried over to the door and squished herself in between Rafael and the metal. Planting one booted foot against the side of the door, she slipped her fingers into a little crack he had managed to create with all of his fist pounding, and pushed with her foot, while pulling with her back and arms.
Between the two combines efforts, though mostly his, they managed to get the doors to part. Megan pulled with all of her might, earning herself a new little tear in her knife wound, and scooted with her back against the door until they got it open wide enough for them both to fit through.
Crawling out of the elevator shaft, she threw herself to the side, out of the way of Rafael's exit, and pressed her back against the wall. The elevator was coming down whether they liked it or not, and with the doors pried open it was all the more easy for their pursuers to chase after. Shifting into a better stance for stabbing at things, she grasped her knife in both hands and waited for the elevator to come down and greet them. She'd be prepared to stab the first thing she say, be it leg, stomach, or freaking face...
It had been a while since she had last visited the apartment on her own, weeks maybe. Mostly, she kept to her various safe houses, or places where there were always a good number of people. Like bars, and all night diners.
The lock clicked, and she let the door swing open. A silent room greeted her... messy, but in a purposeful way. The pile of knives was still sitting beside the door, some still stuck in the wall. The sight brought a small smirk to her lips. With everything changing... it felt good to know that a few select things never would.
Gently pushing the door shut behind her, she moved inside and set her purse down on the kitchen table. Everything still looked the same, if a little different... but the feeling was gone. She missed living with him terribly, even if all he ever did was give her headaches. For some reason he had grown on her, a dangerous thing, she knew... but she couldn't help it. A small part of her heart cared fro the over grown bug. Even if she would never admit to it.
Marching past the kitchen, down the hall and into her bedroom. There was something she needed, and she intended to get it and leave.
Stepping into the doorway of her room, however, changed her mind.
The bedroom was dark, with only the light from a street lamp outside her window illuminating the various objects in her room. She reached out and flicked the light switch up. A lone oak dresser, a blue desk, and her bed greeted her in the sudden bath of light. She eyed the floor, seeing the tell-tale signs of cockroach travel, and smiled. "...How many times...?" Roach had always been always been terrible at keeping his bugs out of her room. Stepping inside, she looked around. Her walls and ceiling were still covered in cobweb. She sighed, feeling an odd sense of comfort wash over her.
Striding across her carpet, she went to the desk and opened a small drawer near the top. Inside was a small velvet pouch, which after she opened it, revealed a little golden heart locket. The twenty five year old swept her bleached hair out of the way, and clasped it around her neck, discarding the pouch back into its drawer.
The necklace had been a gift from her mother, many years ago. Before... before she had left home. Her eyes, almost against her will, turned and glanced at the ruffles of her bed skirts. She stood for a few quiet moments staring, before giving into the temptation. Kneeling beside her bed, she reached under and pulled lengthy box. Untying the blue ribbon holding it shut, she set the lid aside and looked solemnly upon it's contents.
Inside was an old lace wedding dress, passed down from her grandmother, and a small ring box. She picked up the white dress, feeling the chiffon and lace under her fingers. Spreading the dress out on her bed, her fingers lingered on the collar. Finger nails dragging across the tiny pearls that had been sewn into the fabric.
Then, her eyes dropped to the box.
Picking it up, she popped the lid open and stared at the small silver ring inside. She could remember everything about it. The day he had given it to her, and the way she had reacted. She could remember telling him that she loved it, and how she had asked for something without a diamond.
The tears came then, taking her by surprise and burning her eyes with wet mascara and eyeliner. A sob hiccuped its way out from her throat, and she curled in on herself, draping her arms over the white dress sprawled out on her bed.
If she had just stayed... none of this would have happened. One quick wedding, and a lifetime of adapting... she could have gotten used to it. They would have had a billion kids, with little mutant powers of their own, and they would have lived in a little white house with a little white fence. The American dream, right?
... but it wasn't her dream. She didn't want a bunch of kids... she didn't want a little house, and a wish-wash predictable life.
She wanted to travel the world. She wanted to be a movie star, a singer, a magician! Anything... anything but a mom. Anything but a stay at home wife. Why didn't he understand that? She had left him all those years ago to escape exactly that fate, because she didn't want to give up her freedom so soon, and... because she was afraid. She was afraid of commitment. Of being being with one person for the rest of her life. And the fact that Trent had been so absolutely sure that he was ready for that kind of life? Terrifying.
But.... what had running gotten her? She wasn't free... She wasn't even herself anymore. When she looked into the mirror in the morning, she saw a stranger looking back at her.
Her sobs quieted into sniffles, and she lifted her head from the folds of her bed. Her mascara had run down onto her cheeks. Her eyes were red and watery, and her eyebrows were drawn down into a tight furrow.
Who the hell was he to ruin her happiness? So what if she had wronged him?! Suddenly, the white fabric and pearls of her grandmothers dress infuriated her. The ring box clutched in her hand made her want to break things. The spiders hiding within the darkness of her hood, and in her hair sank in further, earful of their mothers anger. Megan forced herself to her feet, gritting her teeth hard enough to hurt, and slammed her bedside window open. Without a word, she snatched up the antique dress and the silver band, and hurled them out into the dark night.
She stood there a long while after they had vanished beyond the sight of her window, probably into the street below, or some dumpster. She didn't care. She had held onto those things for so long.. letting them disrupt her from the inside out.
She was done with it. With Trent.... with the past. Turning, she didn't even bother to close the window. She simply stormed through the apartment, grabbed her purse and slammed the door as she left.
An average, sunny day. With only a few clouds to dot the skies and allow fickle people to grumble about the weather. It was mid day, and the streets around her were a bit sleepy.
There were enough people out and about for her to blend in easily. Just another blond mop mushing along with all of the other dogs. She even had a coffee cup in one hand, and a paper in the other. Not so out of the ordinary. Very run of the mill.
Just the way it needed to be.
Walking along, bumping shoulders with all of the other unimportant schmutzs as they mulled about their daily lives. Yawning, Megan diverted from meandering momentarily to plop down in a chair outside of a sandwich shop. She was still a little tired from having woken up from an afternoon nap half an hour before.
Crossing her legs, she dug her cell phone out from the pocket of her thigh length cutoff jeans, and to adjust the knife hidden in one calf-high boot. With the metal no longer grating against her ankle, she leaned back and glanced at the time, sipping at her coffee.
She had a whole day to waste... and nothing to do. Roach wasn't going to be home anytime soon, and she wasn't brave enough anymore to be in the apartment for more than a few minutes by herself. Unfolding her newspaper, the twenty five year old reclined back, letting herself sink into her hoodie, and eyeballed the news.
With nowhere to go, and a crap ton of things on her mind, she figured she'd just sit back and wait to see where the day took her for once....
So focused was she on standing her ground, that she didn't notice the door opening, nor did she pay attention to anything her children were saying. She didn't realize what was happening as Rafael pushed her back into the wall and fired a single shot off toward the doorway they had come in. She barely caught a glimpse of the gunman, before she was scooped up off her feet and plopped onto her companions shoulder. Squeaking in surprise, Megan squirmed briefly, before she realized what was happening.
"Hold on."
... and then he leaped into the dark shaft.
If she had owned a set of claws, she would have sank them straight into his back to keep herself anchored. In their absence she wrapped her arms around his neck and screamed a sting of muffled, colorful words into his neck. With her eyes squeezed shut, she didn't see the quick descent. Nor did she see the man who Rafael had shot at looming over them, growing smaller and smaller as he shot down at them into the shaft.
She heard it, though. Bullets whizzing by, twanging off of the surrounding metal. They were actually lucky that it was so dark, as the lack of light was messing up the aim of the gunman.
After a moment of acclimatizing to the feeling of falling to ones death other the shoulder of some big monkey man, (Deja vu, anyone?), she singled out the tell tale voices of her spiders among the panicked thoughts bouncing around her mind. Her eyes snapped open, and flew upwards.
" They are going to start the elevator back up!"
The idea of getting squashed at the bottom of an elevator shaft didn't sound very appealing. With the mass of sticky silk that she had built up in her mouth, she spat it out at one side of the shaft wall as they were passing. It stuck, and the other end swung violently out, sticking to the opposite side.
She didn't have very much faith in it, but at least it was something. Maybe it would gum everything up a little, and give them some time to break through the door at the bottom...