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.
He usually barged right in. It was his room, after all. And he was currently occupying it. Sort of. Mostly Zaid was, but he'd been back at the Mansion way more ever since. So he was surprised, hand on doorknob, to hear his name spoken in a female voice.
His first thought was Gwen, but before his name, he'd heard that Zaid was genuine and lovely. While that was objectively true, Gwen likely hadn't said a kind word in her entire life. So... now he was eavesdropping? That wasn't his style.
"Uh. Knock knock?" He jimmied the handle and bumped the door open with his hip since his hands were very much full.
Seeing someone in a memory and seeing someone in the flesh was a strange sensation. They'd never met, and yet Jude knew Andrea immediately. He'd seen a couple of what had to be her worst moments.
Well then. This surprise would be good cheer for two survivors. Not just one.
"You must be Andrea. I'm Jude... in- er... well, in case that wasn't obvious." A tiny little set of near see-through knives flexed over the ridge of Jude's large box and caught his dangling scarf. "I brought Zaid a present, but I think there might just be enough to go around. I hope."
He set the box down and 8 sets of eyes turned toward impending freedom. Kittens. They could only be weeks old and they looked to be the result of a printer running fast out of toner: Two orange tabbys, orange with a white tummy, orange with white socks and tummy and tail tip, 3 with varying orange and white blobs, and a single snow white kitten that had hooked herself into Jude's scarf so thoroughly that when he stood, she came with him.
The mewling started immediately.
He disliked cats in general, but when he'd seen the box... "I found them in the dumpster! And I figured... is kitten therapy a thing?" Even Jude couldn't leave a whole box full of cats in the dumpster. He did his best to unhook the little fiesty one that had his scarf.
Jude wheezed and watched the exchange. Her smile, what he could see of it, was endearing: a little too wide, maybe. Just enough teeth. Not worth hiding at all.
The squeaky screech of a marker, however, could go right back to the hell it came from. "Augh. Leave me. I think... I think I'm dying." Jude dramatically reached to the light and pathetically passed out, tongue lolling with his less-than-believable death.
DocProf snorted. "Thank you for your help today. Clearly, this one needs looking after."
"I do not." Jude's head popped up, he glanced at Celeste and then re-died.
Okay. The jig was up. He sat up and wobbled for a moment as the blood rushed wherever it wasn't. He just couldn't stand his legs hanging out of his rolled up jeans. The nerve! "You could have at least rolled down the pants legs, old man."
"Eh. Not my thing."
Jude noticed that somewhere between his dramatic not-quite-death and re-life the lizard folk had scarpered off. All the better. With his pants settled, the copycat turned to the doctor one last time.
"So I'm good to go?"
"Next time bring me present from the city at least."
"What do you like?" Jude swung his legs over the side of the bed and turned to ask Celeste, "Do you know what he likes?" He got his feet under him and shoved off... and crumpled right back down to his hands and knees.
DocProf guffawed from behind his desk and Jude's ears turned pink with embarrassment.
"Bullets are different, though. Each one could mean a lot. Or nothing at all since most of ours are shot at targets." Still, there were rules and BlacTac skirted enough of them that they didn't need to be breaking the easy, if annoying to follow, ones.
Belonging...
> "...If you have it, you should hold onto it..."
He hadn't really put that together. But it was purpose and there was real trust there, hard won over a few difficult incidents. It was one of the longest steady jobs he'd had that wasn't government-based or in a dream.
"Yeah..." And then, once more with feeling. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I fit there in a weird way, I guess."
> "The flip side is my job I guess. I don't hate it, but nothing about it makes me feel like this is what I want to keep doing..."
That was disheartening to hear. No one wanted to be stuck somewhere. But it seemed too early to be asking about specifics and details that strangers typically kept close to their chest. He elaborated a little, but Jude knew a thing or two about balance a budget... maybe he'd offer. Later. When it seemed more appropriate.
"I don't know where you live, but a coffee shop isn't a bad way to be. Especially if the boss knows your situation. Hell, a boss can make or break a job. Isn't that how that saying goes?" Jude swallowed hard. The Ranger was coming home eventually, right? "Eventually something else will come along. I believe that. But, I also believe that it's not gonna come all by itself. You gotta go try new things. Do a thing that's scary or... I dunno? Apply for a job you don't think you'll keep?" That sounded like really bad advice now that it was out of his mouth.
"Did you ever think about what you wanted to do as a kid? Like, pie in the sky crazy, no holds barred... back when you didn't know what limits or job eligibility meant... what'd you want to do then?"
Action? Oh hell no. Not that he'd say that, but it felt inappropriate at the moment. Japanese animation was more than tempting, especially with subtitles on. Maybe he could pick up a word or a phrase?
"Cooking. The Great Finnish Food-off is exactly my speed right now. I need to learn from the basics up." Plus Ghost loved that kind of stuff. He wasn't entirely unaware of how these kinds of shows went as a result. He'd just never taken an interest himself until now.
Jude shimmied himself into place until he was comfortable holding the phone out where they both could see it, balanced on Zaid's chest. The home cooks were being introduced while Zaid snacked on another scone. That was a good sign, right? Jude leaned his head against the side of Zaid's and was careful to focus on the show. He was quickly forming opinions of the chefs. The disorganized hot mess that had already broken a bowl? Yeah she would probably be out in the first round.
"What do you think of...?" But he realized that Zaid's breathing had evened out. He was like a kid, fighting desperately against sleep and falling for it anyway.
Jude let his temple fall against Zaid's and he let himself worry. There was plenty to bounce between so he hit them all: they were new, he was too into it, Zaid wouldn't stay here forever, Jude couldn't protect him always, and where the heck did his boss go? Jude had long since been an adult, but... now that it was thrust upon him so fully and so suddenly, he wasn't so sure about how it was going this time around...
He shut off the cooking show after the first episode and opened up the hiragana language flash cards he'd downloaded. It was quiet, but he wasn't focusing well, eventually dozing off himself.
Jude offered the phone like a peace offering and it was accepted. Bullet dodged. For now. Jude hesitated, more than on egg shells. He was messing this up, he was sure of it.
Was that... a tummy rumble? Pocket scones to the rescue. Jude pulled out a scone and pressed it between Zaid's hands with an encouraging half-smile. Food was a safe middle ground, right? His other hand tried to figure out what to download. There weren't that many popular streaming services out there, right? He set about downloading all of them. He just went down the line clicking download because his phone data space was far less important than this. Far, far less important.
"Here." He maneuvered Zaid toward the bed and set his phone down beside the other boy.
He knew it was over the top. The apps were still loading. It was a single bed. Still, they'd make it work. Jude hopped up to nab the pillow from the top bunk and rolled the side table closer so he could unload the rest of the scones. It wasn't a perfect replica of the sorta hospital set up downstairs, but it was... begrudgingly acceptable. This time, though, Jude snuck in between Zaid and the headboard.
"I got my GED in the end. It's not as big a deal as you might think, but then I was convinced no one would hire me without one." As far as Jude knew Zaid was living well within his means. His gut told him that even full time at a coffee shop probably wasn't the most margin for a comfortable life, but it was likely a liveable one. Assuming he got to keep tips. Was New York a tip-keeping state? He'd never really thought about that before...
And there was the loose end that Jude had wondered about. Zaid's parents were officially out of the picture. That was... a few years ago at least. Making it in the city as a kid was rough. He did know that first hand. He might insist that parents were overrated if Zaid hadn't sounded still sad about it. He wasn't completely insensitive. It was just that his bio parents weren't ever in the picture and the substitutes he'd idolized went 1 part crazy murderous.
Time and time again life had proved to him that he should stop trying to connect with others and just do his own thing. And yet... here he was again. Trying.
"Most of what I picked up from those guys is a bunch of new and creative insults. Not to mention a very specific set of skills... like filing papers, and reloading magazines, the difference between a magazine and a clip, and counting bullets. So. much. counting." Really. It wasn't like he was out there in the practice shoot house. He'd only just let them badger him into training with them at all.
"School's not for everyone." He confirmed. It had been a chore, but he'd done it all again because he'd felt he'd had to. And then bombed out at the end of it all anyway. What a constant source of disappointment he was.
"But in getting a job, I feel like I finally found somewhere to... be? If that makes sense?" Or maybe he meant a place where he belonged. That was an odd thought. Did he belong with those guys?
"I mean, there's plenty of people who do college and find out it's not for them, but I guarantee most of the people don't go in totally decided on where they belong and what they should do. If you want to go take a class, take a class. But just surviving sucks. Just getting up and going through the motions sucks. You gotta have something you're excited about..." Not that Jude was a college counselor or anything. Just an interested party.
Animated... idols. It simply did not compute. Animated ones? Like fake? But why like fake when real life was twice as wonderfully weird?
"I thought about working with police. It's part of the X-way." But the thought of Zaid running around and yelling at people because of their culinary failures had Jude snorting into Zaid's hair as he drew himself closer.
"With enough practice even you can sound like a proper TV Celebrity Chef." Jude was of the opinion that with enough will there was always gonna be a way.
What was promising to be a fun conversation in getting Zaid some swearing practice quickly devolved to Zaid falling apart. It wasn't the swearing. It probably wasn't the anything beyond circumstances that had a tendency to sneak up and tear things down when least expected. But Jude had experienced very little by way of unearned personal grief, all things considered. Yeah, he'd had to mourn a few things, but a lot of those were his fault too... this... this was not Zaid's fault. Jude did his best not to panic.
Ok. He was totally panicking.
"I- No. Wait. Yes! Computer. Uhh, uhhh." His hands were occupied, gripping Zaid tightly, as if by holding him close he might keep anything else from breaking down. He looked around, but this wasn't a physical problem. No tape or staples would fix this. He pulled away and Jude knew he was totally blowing it. He didn't know Japanese, but he knew tone. That was anger... disappointment?
Jude was pretty sure he was turning colors again and the urge to bolt out of the door had to be bunny related. Only Zaid wasn't that kind of threat.
He didn't want to leave, even to get a computer and a distraction. He was somehow sure that if he left, Zaid wouldn't be here when he came back.
Jude's taste in decor was unflappable. He scoffed at the rebuke in mock offense.
"The girl in that photo is like a million years old now and never my crush. I was trying to get her to teach me to beat people up once. So maybe you could count her as an idol of sorts? Definitely not one that the x-men ever wanted. Hah." He ran around the room with Zaid in tow checking the window and that there were sheets on the beds. The bathroom door was open, not all rooms had them but it was a necessity when you were this isolated.
"I mostly put it up to annoy my roommates because she was, like, public enemy number 1 for a while there. I had, let's see... a guy who literally ate paste. I wonder what happened to him? Also a guy that made snow when he danced. They tried to put the people who would have the least amount of impact on everyone, but nothing ever worked long term. Eventually I just got to be alone." Technically. In reality he'd broken all kinds of rules by harboring a homeless girl. Still, it wasn't a bad setup.
"So. What do you think?" He was weirdly nervous in asking. "I get... that I don't get it, you know? People will tell you that in a little bit of time it won't hurt so bad. So- so you need to be in a place where you can pass time safely." He rocked from the balls of his feet to the heels, trying not to over explain or under explain and probably still managing to do both all at once.
Jude drew his shoulders up, self conscious about his own shadow. Whose life was he ruining? Probably not Zaid's based on the sounds he was making. That made it just a bit better.
"I don't think you'll have the same trouble here. A few kids have tails of their own... and I don't think there are any babies? Might change in a few months, but you'd be surprised. Maybe it's different now, but no one wanted to be caught crying when I was here. It's sort of an us versus them, kids V adults. Someone cries, we all got in trouble." He shivered appreciatively at the breath on his ears. They were sensitive and he wasn't soon to forget that. But he was determined to explain how things were here. They weren't bad. Just different.
Jude's nose twitched at the smell of nearby food. It might have been mid-day, but Jude was wrung out. If Jude was wrung out, Zaid had to be doubly so.
> "Can we see your old room?"
He turned his smile into Zaid's shoulder, more than pleased.
> "You make me say the stupidest things, you know that?"
"Ghost says only the people in our hearts can make us stupid laugh. I'll take stupid words as a close second." He planted a quick kiss on Zaid's cheek. Funny, just a couple words and he felt like he could bench press the moon. He climbed down first and offered his hand. Zaid needed safety. Jude needed to know he was still there.
"My room is... er, was in the boy's hall, furthest down. They almost never fill up all the rooms. Unless they need to segregate someone else for safety, it's probably empty." He offered a smile that seemed somehow younger and more innocent than his usual as he stuffed some scones in his pockets for later.
"Rule number one, don't pass up a free meal." DocProf might enjoy the rest so he left it and tugged Zaid into the hallway and toward the main front hallway with its sweeping double stairs.
"That way is the girl's hall. They have it good. Their back stairs lead down to the classrooms which are empty at night. The boy's hall," he pulled them up the stairs in the direction opposite for the girl's hall, "is on top of administration and security. And the back stairs lead to the adults. Can't imagine why..." He teased and pulled them to the side as a goo girl sludged by. He felt the rhythm of being here again and hadn't realized that it was a part of him.
"I almost never come back except to visit the doctor or grab a power. I don't think I've been up these stairs in... years." The hallway upstairs was richly carpeted with a runner carpet making it just that much extra. Tiny tables, vases with flowers, and other decorations no boy would ever choose himself decorated their journey. The door numbers counted down until they reached around a slight bend and hit the end of the Mansion. The window at the end of the hall looked out toward the field house and could juuuuust barely catch a glimpse of the pool.
To the left, room 2. "This one was me." Behind them was room 1 which he'd honestly never seen occupied. He knocked just in case, but the door just creaked open. Maybe it was the bunny senses, but it smelled a bit musty. He noticed that his Bone Bikini Babe poster was still up, albeit with one corner sagging. The room had bunk beds and a wooden floor and a window that looked straight out toward the field behind the Mansion, but was otherwise empty.
"She knows almost everybody." He complained, sulking more than he wanted to, but not yet feeling like he could shake it off. He put his cheek on Zaid's shoulder which put his ears somewhere in Zaid's hair. The ears were more troublesome than he gave them credit. One twitched, oddly tickled by a stray lock. "It's hard to not live in that shadow."
As far as time went, Jude wasn't the most up-to-the moment either. Ghost made it sound like a school day. "How could it possibly be a normal, average school day when the world only just finished crashing down?"
He clicked on his phone screen, showing an artsy lock screen that was cleared with Jude's thumb print. Inside, his background was Zaid eating noodles with only Jude's elbow still in the shot. He was meaning to share the time and date rather than the photo, but it was what it was.
"Buuuuuuut. This isn't about me. This is about you. Being safe and living it large in free mutant protected housing. Sure it's full of paste eaters, but the adult hall is quieter. Oh! You wanna go see my old room? Or pick out one for yourself? I know where they keep the keys."
Was he trying to distract Zaid? Maybe. But what else could he do? They couldn't just spill the tea in bed all day. Rehashing the past was an obvious no-go. Jude was alllll about the future, baby.
At the mention of dogs, Ghost raised an eyebrow at Jude and Jude finally found use for his tea. Taking a drink was a fantastic way to put something between himself and his adopted mother. She had neither been invited to a potluck, nor been updated about his furry friends. Her eye brow was asking him why his boss wasn't back yet, but since Jude didn't know and was trying not to worry... He took another drink.
"Hmm. I don't know Everyman Espresso, but SoHo's so trendy. I did run a bookstore slash coffee shop off 57th near Carnegie Hall for maybe 8 years? That got too spendy with repairs, unfortunately. Riots and the alternate universe sucking stuff up and everything? Plus, we're getting ready to move to LA."
Jude choked on his tea. It could have been in reaction to Zaid realizing that his job was potentially in peril, or that Andrea was still MIA, or the move. Or maybe all three realizations all at once.
"I- we didn't find Andrea. The snake-haired girl, right?" Ghost's turn to choke on her tea.
"A-A-Andrea? Gorgon? Green skin? Big snake named Sloth?" She had her phone out now, a relic of the stone age in the form of a red candybar style dumb phone. Jude watched curiously as she texted. "She lived here a while, did you know that?"
Jude shook his head. He hadn't really noticed the adults who often came and went. He'd really just seen her in the memories. Realizing that his hand was shaking because the bunny boy next to him was shaking hard enough for the both of them, Jude abandoned his tea back to the tray and put his arm back around him. It was alarming, actually, to go from chatting to shaking so fast. Jude fished out his phone, a much sleeker and more modern model.
"I can look up the shop's number if you want? You don't have to say anything. I can handle your Layne if you need."
Ghost frowned at her phone and did something else before putting it away. She obviously was not done, but more obviously did not want to be rude.
"Aww. Jude told you about Rhys and Ro?" She looked again at the ears, putting two and two together all at once. "OH! Of course he did. Should I go... find them? Would you like to meet them? They're probably shooting blunted arrows at each other in the yard, or... did you hear the bell? Third period? I should go help clean up the lunch stuff and then I'll go talk with the police about Andrea."
"Ghost." Jude hugged his bunny for safety, feeling silly and 9 years old all over again. "You're moving to LA?"
She stopped, half in and half out of her chair and set a hand on Jude's knee.
"Well, you're all grown up now. I sold the shop, and... we figured we'd give Cafas' career a real shot. Be a family. You will always be my priority one, but you never really let me be mom."
Which was his own fault, really. Jude sulked.
"I'll send the kids in once I catch them." And she swapped to Japanese, bowing again before she disappeared out the door. "It was so nice to meet you, please take care of my foolish son. He acts tough, but he's quite melty on the inside."
Ghost, seeing that the bed was quite full, pulled up a chair before wrapping her hands around her own tea cup. Tea wasn't always the answer as Jude was growing up, but it had been an often enough solution that it hadn't been all that surprising when Jude had learned of Ghost's British heritage.
Jude used his free hand to un-muss his hair. Well, he tried. There were ears involved and that made it surprisingly more difficult.
”I would love to hear more about you, Zaid. Where do you work? Have you seen Jude’s apartment? Isn’t it so cute?”
At first, Jude was motivated to stubbornly NOT let go, but as Zaid started to move, drink, and reach for things he realized that functionally it just wasn’t going to work. At least he got to be parked hip-to-hip. Jude tried to give Zaid a shy but encouraging smile. It was pretty obvious that he hadn’t said much to Ghost about Zaid, but then… Jude and Ghost didn’t talk very regularly anymore.
And Jude was not shy about the scones or clotted cream, he helped himself to both. The jelly could stay where it was. It did not appear to be of the quality he actually liked. The tea also could wait in his opinion.
His legs kicked and his eyes screwed up shut tightly. If DocProf hadn’t been there with a solid hand at his shoulder, he was not guaranteed to have stayed on the gurney. A rush of healing surged through his exposed legs, no doubt restoring proper blood flow or artery-something-something. Jude sagged against the paper covered pillow, exhausted.
”Maybe don’t go find that one again.” Jude’s dismissive little half-wave was more than enough to signal that he wasn’t dead, just salty. That was enough to earn him a second hefty shoulder pat and DocProf turned to Celeste for some polite chit-chat while Jude came back to earth.
”You look like you’re doing well. Have you had any issues since we last met? Or did this rascal just selfishly enlist your help?” Jude noticed that DocProf had set up each question and comment in a way that facilitated a yes or no answer. So, he did have a heart. He just wasn’t wasting it on Jude.
Had Jude ever brought a boy home before? No. In fact, Jude had only ever brought home people who needed help, who he believed needed to be here, even just temporarily. Jude did not, however, share Zaid’s insecurity there. As Ghost waited at the door he quickly whispered under his breath, loud enough for his bunny ears. Hopefully not loud enough for hers, though he knew she had her ways...
”Ghost’s husband was a cheating pansexual unicorn and her current honeybun plays a vampire and sword wizard in the movies. She has the worst taste in partners so she literally cannot make fun of mine.” Besides, Zaid was possibly the least offensive person on the planet.
Jude shifted to scoot himself up onto the bed next to Zaid, still keeping one arm in place, a clear declaration of ‘this is mine.’ It occurred to him that once upon a time he had been this protective of Ghost. Now, he knew that if it came down to it, he would protect Zaid from Ghost. That felt… significant.
Ghost, for her part, didn’t bat an eye. She mostly fussed about getting the tray in a spot where they might all reach it. She was pulling flowers from her back pocket (Had Jude ever seen her in jeans before?) when Zaid dropped the Japanese bomb. Of course he remembered.
And of course, Ghost now had stars in her eyes. She was easy to win over.
”Uaaaah! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!” And then… she was off. Quick paced and animated, Jude didn’t often get to see Ghost in full on Japanese mode. It made her formal stiffness seem more like it belonged. She bowed and reached toward an ear of Zaid’s with a question… or, or maybe it was a statement? Bah.
There was no power within easy reach that would give Jude the ability to tune in to this conversation so he used his one free arm to inspect the spread. The orange juice, he scooted toward Zaid. Blood sugar, she said. And the tea… hmm. That actually seemed like it might need two hands. It was almost jarring when they changed back to English.
”Please! It’s no effort and Jude never comes to visit me unless he has to.” She ruffled Jude’s hair and he squnched his nose back at her. ”Allow me.” She spread the cups and poured three cups. She’d brought a fourth, but DocProf seemed to have been called elsewhere…
What Ghost said in Japanese: "I am so incredibly happy to meet you. I know you've been through a lot, but I hope you know you are safe and welcome here. Always. And gosh, you're so handsome. I'm so happy right now!"
Jude was sure he turned all kinds of colors. Good enough for Zaid. It was maybe the first time someone had told him that he was fine as he was. Especially when compared to the often hypocritical high standards of the Mansion and the X-men. Where did this bunny come from that he could so easily swoop in and expunge Jude's insecurities? He had faith in Jude. Just leaving a voicemail... just leaving a few crumbs... it hadn't occurred to Jude that Zaid had time for one call, and he'd used it up on him.
He hugged him tighter, too touched to formulate coherent sentences despite a few warbly attempts at words. There were a lot of things that almost happened that Jude was trying really hard not to think about right now. No doubt Zaid was trying quite hard not to think about what already had... after all Jude had done a first pass at healing him. He'd seen it as a silent film, helpless to stop what had already passed.
Jude hadn't regretted his actions exactly, but seeing everything had felt like an absolution. Being here in this moment made it feel more than worth it.
”You didn’t give up.” Jude reminded him. ”You—” You’re stronger than you know seemed inappropriate somehow. Taboo. If he was worried about his own power, as he’d confessed before, Jude didn’t want to add to that worry. Jude pivoted.
”You won’t be mad… if I asked my Ghost to come, would you?” Had he introduced his adoptive mother as Ghost yet? Already he was sensing that was unwelcome and he was backpedaling. ”I’m sorry. I will tell her no.” He moved to fish for his phone, but without letting go it wasn’t going to work.
Jude’s ear telescoped at the sounds, but he knew the voices, the cadence, the happiness. He knew the smells and the setting. This was his childhood. But it wasn’t Zaid’s. Maybe it was a mistake to bring Zaid here after all...
”Knock, knock.” She said it in a sing-songy voice instead of knocking since she carried a massive tray in her hands. A tall, willowy, and pale woman with brown hair pulled back into two low pigtails arrived at the door and waited politely to be invited in. She smiled so freely that her eyes almost disappeared from the apples of her cheeks.
”I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’ve brought orange juice to get that blood sugar going and a pot of tea for warmth, but then I thought we couldn’t have tea without scones and no scones without clotted cream and jelly and… I think I got a bit carried away.” With finger sandwiches and fruit as well, Jude thought that carried away was underselling it a bit.
”Uh- Maya Csendes, the X-man known as Ghost. Ghost, zis is Zaid Wylde.”
