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.
"Homepage does look a lil' web 2.0, honestly." Will chuckled as Kealey commented on the website that provided some information on The Mansion. Will hadn't gotten a lot from it, little more than what you'd expect an out of date school website. Suppose keeping a webpage polished and up-to-date wasn't quite as much of a priority as stopping world ending threats. Who would have thought?
Some of the tension Will had been carrying ebbed further as he was led through the surprisingly ordinary halls, and he could feel the bunched muscles in his shoulders finally allowed to relax. It made sense, this place -was-, in the end, just a school after all, but with all the rumors about this place and the aura of mystique and grandeur about it, he'd almost have expected the walls and doors to be made of polished chrome, like some high tech, futuristic space station. Or else see kids and teachers flying about, wild displays of mutant powers thrown everywhere. Instead, it was like being given a tour of a nice, but mundane building. Haven had seemed a lot more impressive when he'd been there for his brief stay.
Maybe Kealey had arranged for things to be a bit more subdued for his coming here? Or maybe a lot of the stories were wildly overblown. Could be a bit of both, too.
"Eh, social media says an awful lot of nonsense. Mostly people sayin' they go here or did go here is what I was readin'. Get everythin' from obvious lies that you're kidnappin' or buildin' a secret army, to some crazy stuff like fightin' holograms, to people just ventin' about juggling exams and power trainin'." Will took the offered seat, only having to consider Kealey's offers of drinks for a moment. He could smell how burnt the coffee was from here, and he doubted it had been a particularly great batch to begin with.
Will was a little surprised to hear Kealey offhanded mention her family. On some level he knew that every member of the X-Men and The Mansion was just a regular person under it all, but it was still odd to think about the person behind the uniform. Humanizing. (Or would it be mutantizing? Hm. Shame he wasn't a linguist.) She had a husband and a baby. The kid less than a year old too. And even so, she was out on the front lines, risking her life? Jeez, her partner must wind up half crazy with worry every time she had to suit up on X business.
"Water'd be great." He answered, shrugging his way out of his jacket and leaving it to hang over the back of the chair he was sat in, tugging at and smoothing out the sleeves of his hoodie that had gotten bunched up beneath the outerwear. "How long y'been doin' this then, if y'don't mind me askin'?" Will said, leaning forward a bit in his seat, evidently finding a question to ask in spite of what he'd said earlier.
As Kealey empathized with and apologized to Will about texting him out of the blue, part of what she said cut through his curiosity as he was peering about The Mansion's grounds and the exterior of the building. She said that she'd tried conventional methods and that they hadn't worked. That the options she'd initially tried weren't very forthcoming with the information. What that meant didn't click fully in his head right away, but there was a nagging suspicion that started to creep up in the back of his mind, feeding the trepidation from earlier.
It wasn't enough though, to make him worry, just wonder, as he was guided forward into The Mansion proper. Impressive looking foyer. (This -was- a foyer, right?) It felt vaguely familiar, though he wasn't sure if that was because he'd seen a shot of it from some headline or somewhere online, or if it was just because it looked like your run-of-the-mill entrance to a place this fancy. Double staircase. Lots of warm wood. Even to his enhanced senses, it all seemed positively mundane at first glance. Fancy, sure, but if he hadn't known this place by reputation, there would be nothing that would tip him off.
Kealey continued, and the next bit sounded a bit more like a practiced line. Something that would be said to nervous people walking through the doors the first time. People like him, or maybe to parents of younger mutants. That this place was a school first, meant to help people exist in a world that might be hard for them to navigate, or a world that might not be ready for them.
Yeah, the world had a tendency to dig it's heels in and resist anything that wasn't exactly like the way it was before, didn't it?
Still, it eased the tension of the 'interview' vibe he'd gotten earlier. Kealey's casual dress helping with that too. It was a lot harder to feel too uptight when everyone was in sweaters and casual denim. "Honestly, wouldn't know much of where to start askin'." Will admitted with a shrug, curiously peering about the room before settling back on the shorter woman. Well, he -could- ask how often the X-Men needed to pull in civilians to help with threats, but... that seemed rude. "I mean, I've read the pamphlets and the pitch on the website and all... Stuff people post on Seenit, though, y'know. Grain of salt with that."
Will nerves were easing, bit by bit, or at least being pushed down in favor of curiosity and excitement. It wasn't as though he hadn't thought about running off here when he was younger in hopes of getting help, but his anxieties and paranoia kept him from doing so. "So, y'can assume I know the general vibe. And y'can pry, I'll answer what I can." It didn't meant to be said aloud that the 'can' in that sentence really meant 'want'.
Was there anything that Lee could help with? A petty, still scared part of Will's brain wanted him to snap at her, to tell her she could not drag him into situations like that the next time, to leave him well enough alone the next time a world ending threat decided it wanted to rear it's head in New York. Had it been a few days ago, when his emotions were a bit more raw and tender, he might have. As it was, he pushed the impulse down and away. It wouldn't be fair. The situation had been extraordinary, everyone had been searching for any help at all.
Besides, he hadn't been forcedto do anything. Simply asked to come along, and then before he knew it he had been neck deep into everything. He could have said no, walked away. He hadn't. That was on him.
"I dunno." Will said after giving the question a moment of consideration, the man shaking his head slightly. "I mean, it all worked out, right?" Will said lamely, knowing it wasn't really the answer to what was being asked. "Didn't even get so banged up I needed to foot a medical bill, and s'far as I can tell, no magical mumbo jumbo followin' me away from there."
Will knew, on some level, he was being stubborn. Stupid even. Trying to deflect and half-truth his way past this. If he hadn't wanted some help, he wouldn't have agreed to the meeting, instead he'd just be holed up in his room, sleeping too little and chewing his nails down to the quick as he watched and re-watched all the footage he could find of the events that had erupted across the city caused by the ancient mystic.
Habits die hard though, and Will picked at a ragged, too short nail as he felt Lee's attention still on him. "You an' Tarin manage okay?" Will said, trying to shift the conversation slightly, "S'not like either of you are part of the costume crew either, right?"
Seeing Kealey stride down to meet him in casual clothes, as opposed to the X-Uniform the other day made Will mentally falter for a half second. Certainly the day he'd met Kealey, she was the second scariest person on the scene... At least the second scariest on their side. But without the uniform and the serious situation, Kealey seemed a lot less... Scary? Threatening? Imposing. That was the word. (What was it with short, intimidating women showing up in his life lately?)
It wasn't so shocking that Will stumbled or lost his stride, but it did help smooth the raw edge of his nerves. He supposed he didn't expect her to be in the uniform 24/7 - but he also didn't have another mental image to work off of. And meeting up with short, professionally cheerful woman in a sweater and jeans, rather than a uniformed member of the X-Men was certainly less stressful, even if it didn't change the facts of who he was meeting. Brains were funny like that.
"Yeah, just Will." The man confirmed with a nod and a smile, listening intently as Kealey introduced herself and apologized if she had made him uncomfortable at all with the invitation. She had, but, Will didn't think he was showing it. He was pretty good at keeping that sort of thing off of his face. Good guess maybe? Or just something that got said, most people would probably be a bit nervous here. Kealey went on to explain that Will had impressed her at the Museum and that he'd been invited to see if he wanted to know more about The Mansion.
Will could feel conflicting pride and incredulousness at the praise. He'd only been following other people's orders or acting on blind instinct at the Museum. Part of him was still wondering how he'd made it out in tact, so to hear someone telling him he'd done well was difficult to digest. And, this was just a... friendly invitation? Will was suspicious about that. The tone on the texts had been awfully professional. But she -was- representing the place as a whole, and maybe she just a bit prim and proper?
"And nah, didn't bother me any with the invite." Will lied, accepting Kealey's outstretched hand in a quick handshake, pulling back to stuff both hands now into his jacket, trying to present his body language as casual and relaxed as he could. "Just a surprise, yeah?" Will paused, peering past Kealey a moment to take a look around, curious and admittedly a bit excited, but also using the moment to collect his thoughts. "Can't say I'm not curious, at least. Lotta rumors, be neat to know which ones are true."
The rest of Will's week had passed in a bit of a blur, the lingering restlessness from the events of the museum combining with the gnawing anxiety of the upcoming meeting making it impossible to focus on much more than getting through the day-by-day. In the first week or two following the events at the museum, he'd fallen back into some bad habits. Sleeping little. Obsessing over the attacks that had occurred beforehand, scouring the internet for clips and footage and fixating on all the different accounts from people, real and fake both. It was a lot like he'd been following the riots back when he was in high school. As though knowing more would somehow make it make sense, or help him process, even if he knew it was more like picking at a scab.
Luckily, unlike back then, he wasn't alone in it this time. Some talks with friends and people who could relate got him out of his own head and gave him an outlet. Still, Will was hardly at 100% and adding another thing to worry about had set him back to trawling the internet for what might be in store for him. Searches for vigilant law, temporary deputizing and all sorts of emergency response type things had brought up either unsatisfying answers or documents hundreds of pages thick and written in legal wording so intensely it may as well have been an entirely different language.
Probably wasn't something that exactly fit the situation they'd be in anyway.
As such, Thursday was here and Will had no answers and only a vague idea of questions beyond the obvious "Why am I here?".
Stepping out of a well kept compact car, Will thanked his Ryde driver and tugged his jacket a bit more snugly around him, the cool air a sharp contrast to the temperature controlled vehicle he'd just been in. The man took a few moments to peer at the building ahead. The Mansion. It was something that showed up on a lot of pamphlets, pictures, splashed across headlines and the like, but not something he'd seen in person, short of maybe a half second glimpse through a car window. He could feel nervousness bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Felt a little like a job interview, though if that was the case he was a bit underdressed, sticking to a comfortable outfit of jeans, t-shirt and a hoodie, with a jacket thrown atop it all to cut the November wind.
There was excitement too, at getting the chance to see inside this place. There were rumors abound about it, of course, and it was hard to know what was true and what wasn't. Though that was contrasted with a of trepidation, of vulnerability, Will feeling as though by crossing the threshold of the grounds here he'd somehow by announcing to the world he was a mutant, painting a target on his back. He had to stop himself from looking over his shoulder, seeing if anyone was watching him.
Right then, customer service face.
Striding up to the front, Will approached the manned booth with one hand stuffed in the pocket of his jacket to protect his fingers from the cold. "Hey there," he called once he caught the eye of the person who was sitting inside. "I've got an appointment with a Kealey Shinbo? Should be Will on there, maybe William? Six a'clock?"
Will had managed to crunch his way through the stack of cookies (being careful to lean forward to avoid crumbs in the bed), and most of the coffee in the short time between sending his text and getting one back in response. It probably didn't help Will's nerves to be slugging back caffeine like it was water, but he also wasn't about to stop drinking coffee.
Apparently it wasn't urgent. But he noted she was also pretty quick to offer a time. Maybe she was just organized though. Would make sense for someone who had to take charge of things to be a bit meticulous. Or maybe she had people that did that? IT's not like he knew her exact... What, rank? Standing? Title? For all he knew, he'd been risking his life along side one of the people at the top of the charts in the X Organization. Then again, it wasn't like she'd swept in with an army.
He was getting distracted again. Focus Will. Not urgent, but a time and place had been set. She was also politely deflecting the thanks back to him as well. No open talk about what had happened either. Well, the inner details of everything that had gone down were probably some amount of a secret. Probably what this was all about. Paperwork to make sure he didn't say anything, or maybe giving him the details on what he could say. Though honestly, it seemed a bit late for all that? Will could have blanketed social media with eye-witness details by now. Gotten 15 minutes of fame. Maybe.
Well, whatever it was, he'd know more Thursday. Little point in trying to figure out what -might- be. If it was that important, they wouldn't have waited this long. Pondering the date briefly, Will didn't think he had anything on his calendar for the next while, so quickly tapped back a reply.
>> sounds good. Be there thursday. chheers.
He sent it before he could talk himself out of it. Or proof read it. Will looked at the short message, made a face and dropped the phone back atop the comforter beside him. Raising the mug, he realized he'd already powered through the contents without realizing it.
So then. That was that. His already tepid desire to go out had been extinguished by the distraction... but at least it gave his nerves something new to gnaw at while he set a reminder and alarm on his phone for Thursday. Be awkward to miss an invitation like that, for sure.
Will got settled, just a touch out of breath as he'd hurried to get here from the bus he'd taken, having ran a bit from the stop to try and minimize how late he was. All the time in the world the last few days and he was still tardy. Still, Lee didn't seem perturbed by his running behind. One of them had been bound to get there before the other anyway, right?
Still, Will made an effort to smooth out his rumpled t-shirt to try and be a bit more presentable after his impromptu run during the few moments that Lee waited quietly as he got settled.
"How have you been doing?"
Ah. That was a question. Will had answered the texts from Lee that had been asking much the same with partial truths and a bit of reluctance. Complained about some bruises and that his arm still hurt. That he'd been tired. Avoided talking too much about what she had really been asking about. He went to do the same thing again, attempting armoring himself with humor and sarcasm, distance himself from what happened. But Lee followed up with another single word that stopped him.
"Honestly?"
She continued as well, saying that no one in their little rag-tag group had really been expecting what had happened, but that Will might have been one of the least prepared. Which was accurate.
It had been a lot easier to skulk through the conversation with half-truths when it was texts, and he didn't have Lee staring him down across the table. Will tugged at one of the sleeves of his t-shirt, fidgeting. Something about her tone just made it feel near impossible to get away with lying, or even omitting the truth.
Fine. Honesty then. "Little less sore now, arm's still buggin' me a bit, but..." Will started, giving his upper left arm a demonstrative tap. The still healing injury there had technically happened the day before the museum, but the events of the day had hardly helped it. "But things coulda gone a whole lot worse, so... So guess I'm still just tryin' to wrap my head around the fact I'm still standin' after everything that happened?"
Will sounded a little uncertain, as though bringing up the fact that he'd escaped from the situation might make the universe aware he'd gotten away, more or less unscathed, and suddenly try to correct it's error. There was more as well, that he was still coming to grips with, trying to adjust to. His world had -greatly- changed in 24 hours that week or two ago, and try as he might, the proverbial genie couldn't be put back in the bottle.
More than a week, but less than two. Will hadn't kept as close an eye on the clock or calendar, he hadn't had much reason to, but he was certain it hadn't been a full two weeks by the time his phone had lit up with an unfamiliar, but saved, number. Lee.
Was she allowed to actually intentionally reach out like this? The last few times they'd found one another had been entirely by chance. It almost seemed like it was breaking some kind of rule.
Nonetheless, when the first text had come in Will had read it thorough and answered casually. "I'm all good. Bit banged up. No big." That sort of thing. But his words became less guarded and more candid as they messaged back and forth for a bit. She was -awfully- good at that. Eventually it culminated in an invitation to meet in the meat, and Will had agreed. It wasn't as though he had much to do with his workplace still in shambles. Sure, he could try badgering Quin more, but she had heaps on her plate just with her usual schedule, not to mention everything that this emergency had added.
Plus he was pretty sure if he tried to wriggle his way out of meeting up, Lee would just find him anyway. Or at least the forces of the world would have them collide. That's not to say he was dreading it, just that everything still felt raw, and weird and scary since everything that had gone down at the museum, and the day before. Will was still trying to contextualize it all and put it into place.
As such, he was a few minutes late, firing off a quick text a minute past the agreed upon time in apology.
>> Sry, be ther in a few
Finding the place, and Lee, Will skipped grabbing a drink (at least for the time) and headed straight for the table, slipping into the chair across from Lee. "Hey, long time no see, eh? Sorry 'bout the hold up."
Will puzzled over the name for a few seconds as he thought back to the blur of a day that had been his experience at the museum. Lee and Quin, he knew by name for certain, but most of the rest he'd mostly filled in in his head with nicknames or vague descriptions. This definitely wasn't "Fred". The texting mannerisms alone told him that much, and Will doubted a polite invitation was that person's style. It wasn't Other Will either, because... well, he remembered that name.
Who did that leave? The guy all up in riot gear. The ghost summoning person that had been with Lee. And the X-Lady. Ah. Right, that was probably the ticket, considering the contents of the text.
Will read the text a second time. Now that he could put a face to the words and actually focus on what was being asked, rather than just skimming them while the rest of his brain tried to scramble for details.
Met at the museum. Reaching out on behalf of the mansion. (No, wait "The Mansion". Capitals. Definitive article.) Sit down and talk. Reach back out.
Will was suddenly glad he'd spent the last few hours in a lazy daze, as the aimless anxiety suddenly had something to focus on. What could someone from The Mansion even want to talk to him about? And how had she managed to get his number anyway? Will was positive he hadn't given it out, and he'd come away from the day with his phone. Maybe Kealey knew Quin? Not likely. Lee then? That... Seemed possible? Will would have thought Lee wouldn't be the type to give out information like that, but maybe this was something serious? Or did Other Will hack his phone with some kind of electricity shenanigans?
Had he broken some kind of rule, or law, or some sort of weird mutant etiquette thing that he wasn't aware of? Some sort of behavior during the whole... event? Event sounded about right for a PG title of the day. Will would choose other words, mostly.
Wait. Why was he going immediately to something he'd done wrong? Will read the words a third time. Nothing sounded accusatory. And if it had really been an issue, something would have been said at the time, right? Or much sooner than this. Probably just some kind of legal type stuff that had to be done because he'd gotten all tangled up in things. Right? That made... sense? Something about vigilantism and civilian endangerment... He thought he could half-remember some things he'd asked Quin about how that all worked sometime in between the trouble that had gone down at the museum and now.
His worries under control, though not completely squashed, Will started to craft a reply, got a few words in, cursed and threw his phone down onto his bed with a noiseless thump.
A few minutes later, armed with a coffee and a stack of cheap, store-brand shortbread cookies, he was sat on the edge of his bed, typing out a response with the assistance of sugar and caffeine.
>> Oh hey yeah. The one with the other will right? Dont really know what you need but cant say i dont owe you one. Mansion sounds fine and im free evenings except on weekends. This urgent?
Alright. So maybe it was less for assistance and more just an excuse to snack.
Sure, you could find just about anything you wanted to watch, at any time, starting from wherever you wanted these days. Wouldn't even cost anything, if you were willing to risk venturing into some sketchy looking websites and deal with fuzzy looking video and questionable audio quality. But scrolling aimlessly through lists of shows on some quasi-legal streaming website, or past the various categories of shows on Binge and the like just wasn't the same. You weren't hit with the second or two of whatever was playing on the channel out of the blue. You didn't wind up getting caught up in something you would have never started watching, except some small bit of it caught your eye. You couldn't wind up cycling through the whole bank of channels 2 or 3 times, watching nothing while your brain just processed things in the background.
With a defeated sigh he gave up on trying to find anything that would be actively interesting and clicked over to a stream on Fidgit.tv, some streamer he had followed some months on a whim was playing a game Will was halfway interested in and he let the noise of the game and commentary try and distract him while the rest of his brain whirled.
Will was bored. Well, not exactly. He -was- bored, but more he was... listless? Anxious? Not anxious, but... something, anyway.
How did one be involved in stopping a world ending threat and then just go back to day-to-day life, anyway? It had been weeks, and the whole thing sometimes felt like a half remembered dream, but there was absolutely no denying that it had happened. Since then, he had found himself oscillating between exhausted gratitude that he'd somehow made it out of the whole crazy situations and restless, directionless boredom.
Kind of soured him on museums too. Hopefully that wouldn't last, he'd rather liked strolling through places like that.
Will turned the volume up a few notches on his laptop, hoping to drown out the half formed thoughts in his head as well as the sounds of footsteps in the apartments above him. Maybe he was just cranky because it was getting colder, made it harder to get a good run in without being uncomfortable. Which meant he tending to slack on it. Which meant he tended to be a bit more sensitive to his lead footed upstairs neighbours.
Bah. He could probably use some fresh air regardless. It was already late afternoon and Will had been cooped up the entire time. A day off was nice, but he'd barely dragged himself out of bed in the hours that he'd been up. Too restless to focus, too directionless to do anything with it.
He took a few minutes to get himself together. Put on some socks, a sweater. Comb his fingers through his hair so it looked a little less like he'd been laying about for the last couple hours. Will was just about to grab his wallet when the cellphone on his bed chirped out a blatantly electronic little bleep. A text. Scooping up the phone, he noticed right away it was an unrecognized number. Alright, what dumb scam was it this time?
Unlocking the phone with a few quick thumb taps, he pulled up the message, the expression of exasperated irritation at having to deal with yet another random spam text fading to one of contemplation and surprise as he started reading.
There was a lot happening. People moving, orders still being barked, plans laid out. Will didn't have anything to do, nothing to add. He felt... Well, not useless. He'd done his part, distracted, taken someone down. More or less painlessly, though not without... lets call it discomfort. But now? Will was well out of his element. The people around him either seemed to know each other, be professionals at this sort of stuff, or were Fred. They all snapped to action, more or less working together towards the goal, (Or were Fred) while he was feeling lost without a direct action to take.
And so, when Quin approached with her request, he was almost glad. Made him feel at least like he'd have something to do rather than stuff his hands in his pockets and wait for the next step of the plan. Should he be offering ideas? All that came to mind was half remembered spy movies and action flicks.
"Oh? Oh, right. Sure." Will answered after pulling himself out of his thoughts. Turn things down, easy. Right? His ears were still (figuratively) ringing from the burst of his powers he'd used, and he was adjusting to the slightly duller senses. Somewhat appreciated the fact everything was a bit less sharp around the edges now, with the thinning olfactory chaos in the air around him. "It's not gonna fix anythin' though, so try not to do too much runnin' or you'll make it worse." Was it really a smart idea to be numbing her sense of touch so she could ignore her banged up ribs? No. But it probably wasn't a smart idea for them to be there at all. Better that they could pretend they were at 100%.
Will placed a hand on Quin's shoulder and started to do his thing, calling up the constellation of threads that made up her sensory map. Ever so slightly familiar. Making changes were a little easier than the last time. Was he actually getting used to this? Odd thought, but not an entirely unpleasant one. Still, he felt oddly exposed doing it in front of others, in spite of speaking up about what he could do earlier, like his brain was finally catching up with the situation. Either way it was too late.
Will tried to keep his attention from being too strictly focused on his powers, to keep some situation awareness of the others around him as he worked to dull Quin's sense of touch. A bit of a rough way at getting to a painkiller, but it was all he had. He looked up from what he was doing. Guards were down, Lee was making sure they stayed that way, and Tarin's floating friends (ghosts... seriously...) were making sure that the KOed security didn't roast in the summer sun. Conveniently it also made it a little less obvious to any passersby that something had happened if there wasn't a pile of people just out front of the building. "Hopefully we're just playin' lookout and you don't have to strain yourself though."
Will doubted that was true. The X-Lady had said that they'd be needed to clear a path inside. But still, it gave him an idea. It wasn't like having better awareness of the trouble around them would be a bad thing, and while Will had sort of thought the lion's share of that would land on him, he was already going to be linked up with someone...
"Hey, uh. We're prob'ly going to need every edge we can get." Will said as he made the last few adjustments to Quin's sense of touch, but left the mental map hovering there in his mind's eye and his hand lingered on her shoulder. "Y'think you can handle if I give your eyes and ears a tweak? Help me notice any trouble coming?"
Lee stepped forward, acted first. Will had followed, only a moment behind. Distract the one, put them down. Will had expected to hear and feel movement from behind him as he grabbed the guard. Others would surely step up as well, right?
They did, but Will hadn't been prepared for the cacophony that would erupt.
Noises, a flurry of movement from nearly everyone as the ragtag group lurched into action in an attempt at teamwork. There wasn't proper coordination, but it -did- seem like everyone was working towards the same goal. Will heard footsteps as he tried to focus on calling up the link between himself and his target, a mental map of criss-crossing threads forming up in his mind's eye. His inexperience showed, he'd thought he was quick, but seconds were long in a situation like this, and he wasn't used to calling up his abilities at a moment's notice.
The hum and crackle of electricity stabbed his ears as Other Will unleashed on one of the targets. He wasn't sure how much of the whine was within regular hearing range, but the noise cut into his head. Worse, he could smell the charged air and ozone from the other mutant's use of their powers, and Will's concentration wavered, the connection to his own target forming up more slowly than he'd planned as he was distracted by everything around him.
Less than a second passed and cinnamon joined the assault on his senses as Ashton suddenly was up in the thick of things, announcing himself with the crunch of riot shield on flesh. Ah. That's what trading places meant. Neat. But he really could have done without the olfactory combo of ozone and cinnamon.
>>> ”God dammit Jeff! Watch out people, they may be armed!”
That'd be the clatter of metal on pavement behind him then. Yelling. Ashton yelled warnings and instructions, Lee yelled at Ashton and Fred, guards yelled in pain. Somewhere behind him, Fred yelled cheers. Cinnamon. Ozone. It was all overwhelming, but it was the kind of overwhelming he could deal with. Will was glad he wasn't as shaken up as yesterday. Maybe it was having other people in charge to follow, maybe it was having a plan, maybe the adrenaline and panic just hadn't properly hit yet.
The lady in the X-men uniform spoke. The guards were being compelled. It wasn't their fault, but they had to put them down and out for the sake of both sides, the guards might hurt themselves or they might end up hurting themselves.
Will finally got his sensory link locked on the person's wrist, only a few seconds, but a thousand little events. Just in time to hear Jordan ask Will to not hurt them.
Well, that much he could do. Mostly. What he did wouldn't hurt, but it wasn't going to be pleasant. Hopefully Jordan wouldn't remember much of the jolt, though they might wake up wondering why they could smell sounds and taste colours for a few minutes while their system recovered.
With a mental push, Will flooded Jordan's senses with a total overload of sensory energy. Will felt Jordan jerk and then go limp, and he caught the collapsing guard as best he could as their legs went to rubber, easing their descent to the ground.
"One here, but gonna need somethin' to keep this one down for more than a few minutes. Tricks I got don't last that long." Will called out in between the other conversations and orders being thrown about.
That done, he took a few steps back from the thick of things, grateful they were outside so that the open air could clear out the dizzying combined scent of ozone and cinnamon. He never thought he'd appreciate New York smog, but that blend of smells was like toothpaste and orange juice inside his head. At least the use of his powers took the edge off of things, but jeez.
>>> ”Anyone want this gun…because I sure as hell don’t.”
Will shook his head at Tarin's question. He didn't have any kind of training with firearms, and the last thing he needed was to blow out his ears in the middle of a fight. Maybe Other Will was a marksman? And Ashton already had a gun, so he might take it.
Will was used to being overwhelmed, but from the outside. Too much stimulus. The world too fast or loud or bright. This was too much -inside- for once. Grappling with what was right, versus what was smart, trying to weight best choices for right now, versus what would be best later. Trying to keep up with names and faces and the barest outlines of skill sets. Too much, too fast.
Still, he had practice at keeping his head on straight even when it felt like his skull would pop. Different, but the same. Try and ignore what didn't matter or couldn't be changed. Worry later. That later pile was gonna spill over at some point, but it just needed to hold for a bit longer.
Quin stepped in after him, speaking on what she could do. Introductions continued. Will had met Lee before this. Just met Tarin moments before. Who else was here? There was another person who shared his first name here too. Electric. William started glowing, and Will turned his gaze away from the purple light. He wasn't sure how bright Other Will would be getting, but it probably wouldn't be good going into the fray with scorched retinas.
Riot Guy seemed like he was more than ready to go, given the gear. Armor, a gun, plus a bag full of stuff that sounded both genuinely useful and a bit bizarre... until Ashton explained his abilities. Some kind of switcheroo teleportation? Well dang, if the goal here was to get something and get out, that seemed pretty much picture perfect for the job. Zip-ties would be good too, Will knew he could put someone down non-lethally, but it didn't always last long, as his encounter with the metal absorbing mutant the other day had demonstrated. But, it was long enough to slap one of those on them.
There was the woman in the X-men uniform, she started talking tactics, giving orders, making plans. Apparently she'd been messing with the employees here, giving them the time they had now to group up and make their plan. And the plan was pretty simple. Light touch with people. No holds barred against Akh and the people or things she summoned. Get the Ankh and take Akh down, or at the very least get the Ankh and get out. With a plan set, Will started to feel better, enough tension leeching from him that he didn't have to focus on keeping his hands from shaking.
Seemed like there was going to be two teams, the woman heading the outfit, Other Will, Lee and Tarin. They'd be going forward into the thick of things, leaving Will and Quin to team up with Riot Guy and... Fred..?
"Fred", in Will's eyes was terrifyingly enthused about the whole situation. The owl-like head spin wasn't doing much to endear him either. But he seemed confident enough, and if Will was getting dragged into things, than any help on their side was a good thing, right?
That was that then. Watch the backs of the people cutting in deep, keep the path clear. Eyes and ears. He could do that.
Then, there was the sound of shoes on asphalt, pebbles skipping over the ground as the guards went from passive to active, beginning their approach. Will hesitated. There was something off about the employees, the customer service smiles that didn't match the look in their eyes. The charcoal scrawls on the badges didn't help either. Magic runes or hieroglyphs? Both maybe? It's not like Will had studied either.
Before he could wonder further, Lee had already made a move. Seemed like she was playing along, feigning disappointment as she got closer. Will took the opportunity to try the same, keeping a few steps back and to the left. Slow, unassuming, trying to seem like he was just interested in the details of the conversation, why they wouldn't be allowed in the museum. The one of the far left, that'd be the mark. Gotta just get within lunging distance, and when they moved, he would.
Lee grabbed someone. Others reacted. Will lunged forward and grabbed his target by the wrist. Had their attention. Now he just needed a couple seconds.
Things were both moving too fast and too slow. The walk to the museum was far enough that Will had time to get stuck in his head, but the situation was piling up too fast and becoming way too wild for him to do any sort of useful thinking or planning. There were still piles of unprocessed bits from yesterday and now they were getting dragged back into something far over their heads.
Exactly how crazy of a situation they were getting dragged into was brought further into light as Lee explained the situation. The King had been brought. The Mystic (Akh, right?) had the Ankh, and there was additional help she'd been able to procure. Or was procuring. Like yesterday? Meatheads and mutants coerced? Or was this more magic, timey stuff that the Akh-Ankh combo could do?
But, even if his brain was scrabbling to get a grip, it seemed like Quin had her head on straight, or at least was thinking productively. Lamenting the lack of plastic on hand and clearly planning ahead. And Lee chimed in with a solid suggestion, using the gift shop. The souvenir laden tourist trap would no doubt be stocked to the gills with overpriced plastic junk. Probably? Unless plastic trinkets had gone the way of the plastic straw? Hopefully not...
Will could hear voices coming from ahead as the Museum came into view. A few different ones, not close enough to hear distinct words, but enough to tell there were different voices. Jeez, was he really doing this?
The building came into view. Parking lot. People. Vehicles. One in particular that loomed large. Was that thing bigger than the behemoth of a truck he'd been in yesterday? Either way, with the person plastered with riot gear and his heart rate rising, it all seemed like a twisted sort of deja-vu. This vehicle though, was branded with the X-Men insignia. Will wasn't used to seeing that logo in person, especially not when it meant he'd be in the same place as the group it was associated with. This really was a situation that was happening, if they'd been called.
But, it looked like there was a good amount of people? Well, if they were all X-men, anyway... Will's eyes jumped from person to person. The people already at the museum looked serious, focused, ready to go. Well, mostly. There was one person who looked like they were about to start bouncing in their seat with excitement. Will watched as Tarin stepped forward, giving everyone there information and stating he could do more. Ghost stuff, scouting the inside of the museum.
More people inside. Dogs. Something stopping Tarin from scouting the Egyptian wing. There were people outside too. But everyone here seemed ready for the situation. Plus now they had Lee, and Tarin and his ghosts on their side. Maybe it was enough they didn't need his help, or Quin's? Out of their league, right?
So just say it. Say Hey, I'm Will, and I'm not supposed to be here. Walk away.
Besides, end result was either everything was fine, or everything was awful. There was no chance he'd be enough to make enough of a wave to change it all the way from one result to the other. But... there was always the chance that things -did- work out, but not everyone made it back... Ah hell, he'd talked himself into it.
Will raised a hand just over his head in greeting, taking a step towards the group. "Uh, Will here. These two said," he indicated Lee and Tarin with a gesture as he dropped his hand from over his head, "you all needed all the help y'could get. I can manipulate people's senses. Gotta be grabbin' them though. Can't just turn off everyone's eyes from here." It was very, very weird talking openly about what he could do, but, a world ending event seemed like a bad time to be too caught up in his insecurities, but it didn't make him any less nervous.
Ghosts. Will wanted to feel bad for reacting the way he did. The guy had given Quin and Will a warning even, but something just rang so strange about the floating people to his senses that his skin crawled. It hadn't helped that they'd just -popped- into existence. The ghosts looked like people, but tiny details just drove it into uncanny valley. They didn't move quite right, as they floated. He couldn't see or hear them breathe. Even their clothing didn't seem to react to the wind quite properly, and didn't sound exactly like it should when it rubbed together. Maybe some of it was just his imagination, but it utterly skeeved him out.
Will nodded at Quin as she caught up, asking him if she'd been hallucinating, if those were really ghosts that they'd seen. "Seems like..." Will answered, trying to shake the creepy feelings off. "Lee said somethin' when I met her about knowing someone who could see 'em... Guess this is the guy?"
Unfortunately, as Lee and Tarin continued to explain why they were headed to the Museum, ghosts seemed like they'd be the least of his worries.
Yesterday was just a start. Or else a distraction, like Michael had said. Michael had asked Lee and Tarin (so that was the guy's name) to help out with the situation unfolding today. Michael was with others, "the big guns", dealing with a larger threat, while they were dealing with the trouble that was happening this way. Ghosts were out for information. The ancient witch lady had gotten what she'd been after and summoned her King.
But... Will still didn't see gods, goddess or sphinxes (The Spinx? He'd meant to look that up...) on the horizon, or whatever else Michael had said the Mystic had been after, so... maybe things weren't set in stone yet? But dang if this wasn't a -lot- to deal with at the start of the day.
Luckily, there was time to to think, untangle the knots of the problems, as conversations continued and the group walked towards the Museum at a brisk pace. Will still hadn't -agreed- to anything just yet. He and Quin were just walking this way, so, they couldn't be blamed if they just decided to... keep walking and go do what they'd set out for at the start, right? Fetch the laptop, or not, maybe grab something to eat and go back to pretending like the world wasn't in peril?
"I'd thought when things'd started dyin' down last night, Michael or one of their associates had gotten things under control." Will admitted aloud, both in response to Tarin's information as well as to Quin in disbelief that things were not in fact better than yesterday. "If the King's out with Michael, who's makin' trouble at the Museum?" Will said after a brief pause, this time directed towards Lee.
He hoped he'd get some answers, to help him figure out if he wanted to stay or to just run. Lee and Tarin hadn't set a slow pace, and it wouldn't be long at this rate before the four of them were thrust into the thick of things and the decision might be made for him.
