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.
One sentence and Jude was already pretty sure this chick could whoop his *ss. His eyes flicked over to Sveta as she walked ahead with the new potential. Okay, both of them could probably kick his *ss, but for entirely differing reasons.
"Où l'as-tu appris le francais?" Jude asked where she learned French, mostly because it seemed so few people found it worth the effort. The Columbian, he could guess might be a mother tongue considering the accent, but French had some archaic rules that even a native born Frenchman like himself oft forgot, especially without regular access to another native speaker.
Jude trailed the two women into the CLASS area, surprised that Lenna had been at the Mansion. True, he didn't really hang out there, but he thought he knew the students for the most part. As the years went on, especially since the age kerfuffle, he was losing touch there.
"She may be overqualified." He offered the opinion quietly to Sveta since it was her show, but he wasn't exactly hiding his impressed face from Lenna. Still. If Haven could afford her, and provided she didn't turn out to be a psychopath, she'd definitely be an asset.
Posted by Jude on Feb 11, 2021 17:09:22 GMT -6
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Omega Mutant
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Zaid
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Sveta introduced herself while Jude made himself comfortable with the contents of Miss Kadick's personal belongings. This was an unusual amount of guns to carry on a normal day in Haven. Maybe par for the course when BlacTac housed Alpha team, but too many for one person's everyday carry, surely. Jude noted that each was in working order, well oiled and maintained. He also noted that it wasn't just guns. A baton and a few knives of varying fanciness were respectfully sheathed or otherwise stowed.
He scanned the paperwork, noting some familiar issues with his employer's papers and ignoring the barbs against current security. Well, now she was going to experience a double check. He rummaged around for anything hidden, extra weight or lumps...
"Lenna has been de-aged." Not that it would be a problem, but sometimes there was an unknown amount of baggage with a de-aged mutant. With the evidence so clearly in front of him, it seemed stupid not to put it out there.
It bothered him to give the weapons back, but ultimately Jude closed the bag and returned the parcel in its entirety.
"She's also a mutant. I'm sure that would have come up sooner rather than later, so now that we're all on the same page, let's all take a stroll down to CLASS and see what you can do, Lenna." He couldn't guess the power without taking a taste, but he could feel his power straining to be allowed to touch. Both were things
"I'm Jude, you've already met Sveta. You come with recommendations, but we'll still be interested to see what you can do." And more importantly, how she reacted under stress, especially being so young and having lost some personal experience. "Ladies first." He motioned so that he could walk behind them.
Neither of the energies sounded like mutant powers he'd heard of. Jude let his power roam again, casting as wide as he could and making his power jump over Zaid’s so he wouldn’t latch on.
Again. Nothing unusual. It just... It didn't make sense.
"This is... frustrating." He admitted. "I'm used to having answers or at least a little more information than this. I feel like, even if we did end up shredding your gatchamon- would it be worth it to get out of here? Isn’t this our own home? We’d want right back in… I can't even tell if we're somewhere else or are we just not seeing things as they truly are?"
He frowned at the potion list, having thrown exactly two things in so far. They were detailed instructions: a quarter stir counter-clockwise, bring to a boil, only then add the crushed essence of dittany- that one was in a bottle. But if they didn’t have the energy or whatever… did that mean this was destined to fail?
"Okay. Pro and con time. What if we just… take this as a small vacation? At what point do we start getting worried?”
Posted by Jude on Feb 7, 2021 14:58:39 GMT -6
Tempest likes this
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"I know." And a part of him wished she would try to trick him. Then, at least, he'd know she was serious.
She was and wasn't ready. That reinstalled his usual smirk. He could just let go, it would snap back in place like a pop, but she had a point. Instead, Jude closed his eyes and tried to visualize that same arm that reached out to grab powers, but this time it was reaching out to gently set it back into place. As soon as he'd let go, he slurped that arm back into place and locked it down.
See? He'd grown.
A familiar coffee buzz rolled over him.
"If there's nothing else, I'll have my people call your people. Or, just let me know when you're in need of recruiting."
Sveta wouldn't mind him being there? Jude blinked as he desperately tried to keep himself from spiraling down his usual insecurities. Just because she said she wanted to keep him, didn't mean anything. He really needed to stop jumping into things any time that someone expressed that they wanted him around in some capacity. After all, her amusement over the whole situation was obvious. Her laughter still rang in the back of his ears.
"The Ranger worked for both BlacTac and Haven for a time. I don't see why they have to be mutually exclusive." It was possible. He'd seen Michael have his cake and eat it too and that had worked out, for the most part.
Was he seriously considering this?
She reminded him that they weren't a cult and he nodded, feeling somehow more and more vulnerable. Yeah, the last time he'd been on a team that hadn't worked out either. This was stupid. He needed to stop.
"We'll redraw the contract to assist in recruitment." He took a deep, cleansing breath. "Ready for your power back?"
He actually laughed when she deadpanned about buying BlacTac.
"We're not for sale last I checked, sorry. We don't have the manpower to extend our contract outside the grounds of the building at our current employee count. I could hire more if that's what you want, but then you're in our pocket forever. You want to stand on your own and I want to help that happen." Maybe that was bad for business, but he just didn't care. They made enough that BlacTac didn't always have be a slave to the money.
She did seem at least a little worried about the business, which was absolutely not her business.
"Look, the facility still needs to be secured. We're not going anywhere unless you want us to. And you don't have the personnel. Yet." But the contract had always stipulated that if Haven was able to take on that responsibility, they'd give BlacTac a few months notice before cutting them loose.
> "I've got enough juice to put on a show."
That she did. And it was none of his business when she exercised that privilege. "Showiness helps. I wouldn't count on Tempest any time soon, but at least you know you're reliable."
> "Get my own team huh?"
"You could stand to recruit a few more combat types." And Jude was weirdly qualified to help with a team, considering his X-training. If she wanted to, that was.
While Zaid's concerns sounded valid, it was ultimately an immaterial concern in Jude's eyes. Not because he wasn’t into materials. He definitely loved nice things. But...
”They're just things, Zaid. No matter what things they used to be, they're all replaceable." He skimmed the ingredients list with his finger.
Maybe his sentiment was born of his early years where he had nothing. Maybe they were a testament to his middle years where he was uprooted with, again, nothing. Zaid had brought boxes and nostalgia to their combined household while Jude had mostly brought clothes and a few utilitarian offerings. By way of space, the last few years he’d lived in just a few boxes.
Jude hesitated with his finger over the instructions.
”This says we have to channel ace-i-scion energy-” he squinted and struggled through the pronunciation ”-and invocation energy into the cauldron. Is that in a bottle somewhere…?”
The truth was, they just didn't know one way or the other about any of it.
"No. Just that first owl and I didn't even see it. Just you?" Jude surveyed the shelves for a moment before making a snap decision.
"I think we should try to make a potion." Jude grabbed the baby root, freaky little thing that is was, he had an odd urge to grate it. "We might as well, right? There's got to be a book somewhere. Maybe we look for clues in the things that appeared?"
It was a best guess and better than standing around feeling like a dummy.
Jude made his way over to one of the benches and set the baby root down. Baby root rolled backwards and did not complain to be laying on its face.
"Mmmm. Here. There's a potion of free movement? Maybe that's not quite right." He flipped a few more aged parchment pages. "Okay. This is called Liquid Escape Rope." That sounded promising, right?
They should clearly start selling a premium anti-mafia package. She tried to rib him about BlacTac's reputation, but they paid for that with blood. A little mumbling rumor from the mob was going to cost them zero in business.
"No, it wouldn't do for you to have to double pay... you're right." Jude tapped his chin for a moment. "You talked about wanting Haven to be able to stand on its own and able to defend itself. You want to be respected? You don't bring in someone else to enforce for you outside of these walls. I was thinking more like training. Leveraging the strengths you guys have in PR, you can call a meeting with the mob and lay down watever law you want. Get some of your members trained up for enforcement of the rules you lay down. You're not going to get out of this with totally clean hands, but that sounds more doable than a double hostile takeover."
The best part about running a black-ops type of corporation was the lack of any and all social niceties. Annnnd that's why Jude was in the position he was: in a room full of the ends-justify-the-means people, Jude was a veritable charismatic god by comparison. He did the people side of the business, as far as that needed to be done. Like now in this type of face-to-face meeting.
However, as far as Jude was concerned, they hadn't been hired to protect a reputation. If he was, he would have urged Sveta to chose better phrasing than "in bed with the mafia." Not that THAT was any of his business anymore...
"I see your point and I understand that it's your job to advocate for your side of this partnership. It's mine to advocate for Blackforest Tactical and hopefully find a middle ground we can both agree to. From BlacTac's point of view, we signed on to protect a property and its people while on premises, not start or end a war." And of course, there was always the business side of things. It made him feel slimy to upsell to Sveta of all people, but this was a bigger deal than just adding an extra guy in the parking entrance.
"I think you know we do more than just security, though. And being in the position I am, I know you have resources as well if you're willing to apply them. I'm not sure if a joint effort would help or hurt, honestly. I need to stress that something on this level is not covered in our base agreement." So. What did Sveta want to do about that?
He let Zaid lead, comfortable to just observe for the now.
"As far as we know we didn't start it. Are we responsible for ending things? Or will it time out? Whatever this is, it started... so it probably has to end...? Right?" Unless it was, like, a mutated escape room or dream or something. Since Zaid hadn't taken him up on earlier pinching, he was forced to pinch himself. And yeah, it hurt. Jude frowned harder as his brain started to over boil. There was more hallway then there had any right to be.
"Did we teleport somewhere?" They finally opened up into a room, partially their bedroom and partially something very incredibly funky. Jude let Zaid's hand slip away to poke around in what appeared to be a cupboard (Their closet, usually? He guessed it had a similar footprint, but did that even matter? none of the rest of the house did.)
The walls were shelves and the shelves were further divided into tiny little cubbies. Some held unspeakable horrors like a dried plant that looked like a fetus— He checked. It had roots. It was a plant, but it still gave him the heebies. The other shelves held things like a single winter glove. A pair of Jude's fancy work shoes....
"Hmm. Is this your phone?" Jude reached for what looked like a very flat confection. A chocolate bar maybe? Had Zaid gotten a new phone case?
It seemed nerd culture had fully prepared Zaid to take charge of the situation. Jude was glad because he felt completely out of his depth. Maybe the mutant out-ranged him? Illusions with a long range. He could get behind that theory, but... why? The letter was addressed to them both. What did somebody get out of this kind of prank?
"Yeah. The uh- the door. That's a solid plan." He had to laugh at the fact that his co-workers were not the ideal choice here. But... what if the comicon friends didn't like him?
It was crazy interesting that Zaid's pan remained a pan. That felt like a clue somehow. Like maybe they should start touching stuff before it was too late? or did touching things un-do the transformation? Jude gave the painting of a lady a poke as they passed and nearly jumped out of his pants when she urged him to stop and be serious.
Thoroughly creeped, Jude offered his hand to Zaid. "Maybe we should hold hands? I don't want a wall to grow between us." It was definitely for their mutual benefit and not because Zaid was navigating all the weirdness much better than Jude was. Nope.
Through the hall (that was much more hall than they'd previously had) there looked to be a wooden double front door gate type thing. Of course it was barred with a heavy iron crossbar. Reaching toward the brace, Jude's fingers smashed against nothing in particular. He stopped and felt and it was like a smooth, invisible bubble barrier, slightly springy but perfectly able to hold against a punch.
A quick peek out the side window, which was no wider than an arrow slit, showed that it dark outside in this world. It had not been dark before, they'd only just gotten up, right? Only after he looked back did he notice the parchment tacked above the crossbar.
"Curfew is in effect and no students will be permissed to roam the grounds until 5am eastern wizard time." He read aloud. "Huh. Uhm. You think someone else might be able to come in?" Was their front door locked when all this started?
“You realize- It’s considerably…” Jude sighed and took a mental step back. “Have you thought through the implications of that request? It would be much, much easier to make peace with a side. Choose the lesser evil, pay the racket, backstab them when they grow complacent if you like, but introducing Haven as a third party smack in the middle of a turf war… well, puts you smack in the middle. You make Haven a target when it really doesn’t have to be.”
A tendon strained tight in Jude's neck as he ground his teeth. Mental figures for doubling guards, which exits might need additional attention… protection was so much harder than offensive objective. However, he wasn’t about to plan a door-to-door visit of any known mob location.
Jude was confused, understandably so considering that his own eyes and power were contradicting one another. Every time he blinked something was different. He could watch as carefully as he dared and somehow, without his being able to explain the how or when, they still changed into something else.
Zaid jumped after the letter, which was passed to Jude, before his boyfriend grabbed up a frying pan. He hefted the cast iron like he might hit somebody, but... there was no one to hit.
"It's not me, I don't think." Jude held up his hands, which reminded him of the letter he still held. He finally cracked it open.
"Snogparts School of Wizardcraft and Witchery," he read aloud, confused at the old-timey paper and what must be hand-written inked letters that were alternatingly sprawling and then cramped as they ran out of space. "From Headmistress Sioban Kipperling, Order of Morgana, First Class. Dear Messers Wylde and Coilin, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Snogparts School of Wizardcraft and... is this a joke?" He turned it over to see more writing on the back. It seemed like a school shopping list, but had fanciful made up stuff like "dragon hide gloves" and spellbooks.
By the time he looked up, the kitchen seemed to have fully transformed into some kind of great hall many times the size of what should have fit inside their brownstone.
