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.
Posted by Ashton Drake on Jun 22, 2020 8:08:45 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
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899
14
Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
She had asked. He had told her. Cautious, but giving enough to go by, Ashton had detailed the recent events of his life. He had told Miss Swann (it was Miss, right?) about his previous life as a detective. What he had been able to piece together. And the recent case, with the kids. What his sister had told him, of the lady. Archer. And the potential dirty cops who had done her wrong... and him, as it turned out. He told her how he wanted to find and expose the cop.
She listened, thoughtful and patient. And then told him it was a load of crap.
Why would she risk her career trying to expose a crooked cop without evidence?
Why would she risk her career, if he were right and the cop had orchestrated multiple attacks that left people youthful?
Why would she risk her career on someone who might be mistaken. Crazy, or full of crap.
Finally, why would she try and help someone who had yet to truly try and help themselves?
If he wasn’t willing to work with her a little and get evidence, she wasn’t willing to go out on a limb for him to try and shake up the tree. He had been a detective. Surely, he could still do a little sleuthing himself? If the skills had been there once, there was a basis for them to be there again. It’s how the mind works, Swann has told him. Was he a problem solver or not?
If he could find some evidence, maybe she would help. Until then... so here he was, finding it. Shaking things up.
She had given him oooone last piece of advice. Something he might not need, but had gone out to get, all the same. She had told him to get a lawyer. Referred him to some company and a guy called Mellitus? Aurum Mellitus... stripper name if ever he’d heard one. Isn’t Aurum Latin for gold?
Posted by Ashton Drake on Jun 22, 2020 7:11:57 GMT -6
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899
14
Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
“Ashton Drake...” the front desk clerk at the police station trailed. The name sounded familiar. After a second, he got it. “Wait. Like detective drake! But he’s been gone for... you’ve been gone over a month.”
Yep. He had. Was that all?
”Got shrunk.” he said gruffly, and gestured down at himself. His newly deaged, scruffy self. He’d figured out his bank codes, so he’d been able to buy himself the old man’s signature gray ass suit. Looked like a kiddie interviewing for the part of his dads job.
The brown-haired clerk grunted, Abe grimaced.
Ashton explained. ”Got deaged. Amnesia. Took a while to piece the puzzle together. Even longer to sort my life out, and decide if I even wanted to be what I was again. I’ll have to do all the police academy stuff again, I take it. On account of property, and not remembering everything...”
“I’m not sure—“
”Well, find out. Please?”
The guy told him he’d need to make some calls. Ashton had told him he could wait. He went to seat himself down in the police stations waiting room, amid the prostitutes and the other criminals who were also waiting on various things.
This was basically how she had said it would go down. He needed to go down to the station, make some noise, shake a few trees, and see what fell out. It was stupid. But he was desperate. And she would not help him unless he did something for himself. To make sure he wasn’t crazy And full of shit.
—
Mallory Swann, PI, the sign had read. He has read it. That was all it had said. Nothing about missing children, or exposing affairs, or anything else of note. That, he’s read into by the as on the internet. The modern yellow pages.
He’d had to wait. Someone had been seeing her.
The woman ahead of him, the one he’d had to wait on, passed him on the way out. The older woman had stumbled, and dropped her file folder. Before consulting his brain, Ashton had moved forwArd out of his seat to help her father the few scattered papers.
His hand had fallen in an enlarged photograph of a young girl, 16 or 17, though she could have been older. She was striking, with shoulder length grown hair and blue green eyes. The shot was a security camera angle, and wasn’t perfect. It had some graininess to it. He passed it back to the woman with the files. It joined another, better, security camera shot. This time, of the girl in a green bathing suit, indoors at some party. The background seemed vaguely familiar. There was another picture next to that, but mostly covered by the other photos. What he got of it in the split second before she thanked him and snapped the file folder shut looked like an old family photo, with a far younger version of what could have been the same girl... though this ones hair was still mostly blonde, as if time and the sun had yet to darken it.
He hadn’t been most enough to see any writing on the papers with the photos. Just the handful of images... had the suit been familiar? Not the face, but... from the neck... um... down? He couldn’t tell. Fuzzy. Eh. Maybe he’d see someone in a suit like that at a party? But then, he probably wouldn’t have remembered much of the party afterwards.
He shook his head, and moved on. It was hardly likely he’d have been able to help her, and he’d had business.
Mallory Swann showed him in. She’d been Hot. Capital H. In her thirties or forties, with shoulder length blonde hair and a cute face. All the right curves. 30s or 40s was what he’d placed her at, which was strange, because the ad had said Swann investigations had been operating a whole lot longer than the 10 or 20 years she would have been in the business. Maybe it had been passed down? Family business? Or maybe she’d just been 30 or 40 once upon a time, and looked younger than she was.
He’d introduced himself and sat down.
“Well, Mr. Drake.” She’d asked him, with a brief, assessing look. He had not been wearing a suit then. Just jeans and a Yankees shirt. “What can I help you with, today?”
Posted by Ashton Drake on Jun 22, 2020 6:22:23 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
Cinnamon
899
14
Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
Wow. That’s what he thought. Wow.
She had just put it all out there, hadn’t she? Now he felt bad for holding some back. Conflicting emotions ran through him. The want to take a step back, and the want to help her... maybe even protect her, of all things? Even though she sounded... sounded fine mostly, now. Coming back just to figure things out. He was kind of a chauvinist pig wasn’t he? Always seeing damsels in distress where there were just women.
”Whew. That was a mouthful. But... you’re doing better now, right? That’s a lot to take in. But sounds like you need friends. New friends, to replace the lost ones. If they’re lost. I’m not making sense. Point is... hope you find them at the mansion?
Eh. Was that the point? He was starting to feel less romantically inclined towards this woman, and more like a big brother. Sad, but true. She seemed out there, kind of childish, and she hadn’t even seemed to notice a single ounce of flirtation, despite his efforts. Her situation was complicated, and his heart? Yeah. It kind of went out to her. He’d never been a big brother, but maybe this was how that would feel Like. He was Concerned.
”Look. It’s beyond my stop, but if you need help settling in a be getting set up at the mansion... I know next to nothing about the place but that apparently isn’t stopping me from making the offer. Is that weird?”
He got a smack... but the good kind. Not the kind on the face. Sometimes, people do not appreciate aspects of their anatomy being appreciated, but this woman was not one of those types.
He grinned at her comment and her smirk, and did not jump slightly when she swatted him on the keester. He took it in stride.
A low chuckle escaped Ashton. Oh, this woman was fun.
She went to the bidding slips, did her thing, then teased him again and called him stud. ”Heh. What kind of idiot would I to walk away now? I have to see how things end.”
Okay. Any red blooded American male would stare. That didn’t make him a pig.
Ashton didn’t tear his shirt off as fast as he could, to lob it in a trash can or throw it at a passing waiter so he could join Ez faster in the hot tub. But he did loosen his collar, and follow after her. She slipped in. And a moment later, something noteworthy drifted to the top of the water.
Ashton turned and calmly stripped off his loud Hawaiian t-shirt. He folded it and placed it by the side of the tub. Turning back to her, he revealed a fine physique. Military academy, running, and weight training had left a positive effect on him. Even in spite of his love of bacon cheeseburgers.
As he slid into the hot tub, he smiled at her coyly. ”Well, Ez. Looks like you won. You got me out of my shirt, and it didn’t cost you a dime!”
Up until then, he had not been able to tap into his mutation. Ever since he had grown young again. Never with a conscious thought. Now, though, with a few drinks under his belt and a beautiful woman in front of him, it happened by chance. Subconscious, unconscious, whatever. Ashton was by the edge of the hot tub one second, and near her, the next. Right where the bikini top had been. And where he had been, there was the bikini top. The faint scent of cinnamon hung in the air.
Ashton slipped in next to her, to lean against her side of the hot tub with one arm sling out onto the floor outside the tub.
”So Ez. Now that you have me, what follows? I’m dying to see.” he said. And as he leaned there casually, smiling, the phrase ‘step into my parlor, said the spider to the fly’ ran through his mind. He wasn’t certain why.
Posted by Ashton Drake on Jun 8, 2020 4:46:23 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
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Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
She told him he didn’t want her finding anyone, and the way she said it made smile Ashton might have held falter for a moment.
”Okay...” He trailed.
She did not elaborate, much. Well, now he just felt like an ass.
Ashton cleared his throat as the bus rattled on. ”So, anyways. I’ve told you my story... do you have a story? Or do you just want to keep being the mysterious girl who can read me like a book.”
Like a book. A phrase far less likely to pique interest than, say, READ MY MIND. See? He could be tactful, for her.
He wasn’t going to ask for help, let alone from some stranger he’d only just met. She seemed like she had her own problems to contend with.
Posted by Ashton Drake on May 29, 2020 11:00:24 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
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14
Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
The girl seemed tense. Well. If she read minds, like he thought, being in a crowded place would exacerbate the problems therein. Many voices. Many minds. Many many. He made a mental note to be patient.
The girl spoke. She knew his name. Well, if she knew his sister's name, his name wasn't so unlikely. He smirked.
The smirk slipped, when she called him detective. He took her hand to shake it, all the same.
"That's a pretty name. Caitlyn. And please. Just call me Ashton. I haven't been a detective in... whew. Weeks. I'm not sure what I am, after I deaged."
He paused for a second, and let that sink in. Part of him thought, 'gee. Wouldn't she be useful if you needed to help find the people that did this to you?'
Another part of him thought 'That's pretty terrible. Using her like that. Be ashamed.'
He was ashamed, a little.
He glanced around. No one had heard him talk about deaging, and no one seemed to be listening. He let go of the hand, and sat back against his chair. Ashton looked at her, considering things.
"So. Basically. My story is that I was helping someone. A friend. And because I helped them, some bad men got back at me with all of this." Ashton gestured to himself. All of him. He smiled sardonically. "Been trying to find them. To keep them from doing this to anyone else ever again. But I'm having no luck... was considering hiring a detective. Because detective, I am not."
Posted by Ashton Drake on May 24, 2020 22:30:39 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
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899
14
Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
The kiss, was a success. Good. She had no complaints about it, after it was done. No slaps readied, or punches to the face. He had not misread.
Her response only fueled his boldness. Rugby? Fishing? Polka? Hot yoga. Took him till the last two to get that she was teasing, and trying for innuendo. Ashton has never heard the first few, but forbidden polka? Hot yoga? Hot yoga was pretty blatant. He got her drift.
Ashton chuckled, a low warm laugh. He got ready to say something. Something clever. But then, she leaned closer and kissed him again. And that all fluttered away.
They kissed like that for a few moments. When they finally broke the contact, he smiled at her and rested a hand on her cheek.
”Hot yoga?” He said, teasingly. ”That like Twister, combined with strip poker or something? Heh. Sounds like fun. But no, not that. I was just thinking maybe we could get out of here. I think I’ve got a bottle of jack back home. Or we could pop into a convenience store along the way if there was something in particular you like. This place is nice. But my place has better music.”
Please, let it have better music. And ambience. Not some horse crap garbage rat pack music and Sinatra like some old grandfather time’s collection would have, on Vinyl.
Posted by Ashton Drake on May 23, 2020 14:42:50 GMT -6
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He caught the wince, but wasn't sure why it had even happened. What, was Cold Steel a person? Sounded like a Fridge. Or maybe some really crappy knives that said they were from Japan, but were actually from some knockoff place. Like China.
The thoughts about who, or what, a Cold Steel was, vanished at the woman's comment. How much for a nigh with you?
She corrected herself pretty quickly there. An amended "date", instead of "night." It was not quickly enough to prevent him from that bright smile he sent her way.
'One need not act TOO desperate, Ashton' he mentally chided himself. He dialed it back a hair. No need to chase her away.
"I don't know, Ez. Let's see how things play out. Not hating the company, at the moment." Ashton said warmly.
The woman went back to skimming the prize list. Smirked at something. Fancy shopping spree, huh?
Something came over him, some loosening of his inhibitions. He couldn't help himself. She had set the comment up oh so nicely. And he felt, Bold.
>>"I'm sure the stuck-up Karens would love to see me in their world squeezing my Latina ass into their expensive dresses." She had said.
Ashton's smile had tailspinned down into a lopsided grin. "Well, it is a lovely ass." He agreed sincerely. His voice dropped a peg as he leaned in towards her, to joke with her about the whole thing. "Knowing the stuck up women in this world, they would HATE having you there in front of them. They would all be horribly jealous."
They couldn't have that, these, what was it, Karens? He hadn't heard the term. But he could guess at the idea. Grumpy women! All them Karens, mad at Ez cuz she was too hot. Steering their men's eyes away from them, elsewhere. He didn't say that part out loud, though. Lest Ez note her notable power over the lesser sex, and wander off.
Posted by Ashton Drake on May 11, 2020 7:31:20 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
Cinnamon
899
14
Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
Oh. He felt a little sheepish now. She had not understood what he’d been thinking. Not entirely. Just bits and pieces.
How... useful.
And she had just blurted our eBay he’d been saying... not that he hadn’t blurted anything out already or anything. Ashton scratched at his cheek.
Hrm.
She repeated the question, and Ashton nodded at her. Thought, AT her, ‘yes.’
”Kind of.” He verbally amended.
Looked like she was getting ready to leave on the bus, but wanted to hear more. Ashton rose and grabbed his bags.
”It’s my bus too, kiddo. I can sit with you and tell you my tale if you’d like?” He said. Without waiting to hear a reply, Ashton joined the group of people filing onto the bus. He sat down, but kept the aisle seat open in case she wanted to sit. Even if it meant stuffing his clothing bags on the floor by his feet.
Posted by Ashton Drake on May 4, 2020 7:25:27 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
Cinnamon
899
14
Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
Ashton shushed alright. He shushed right into the supposed sanctity of his own head. But he finished what he’d been saying first, before he finished his thought.
He wouldn’t get them in trouble. He hadn’t ever even SEEN any anti-mutant violence. That he was aware of. If his older self had, say, been in an upside-down car while a t-rex rampaged around New York, protecting itself due to riots aimed at... something. Some reaction to some mutant getting hurt or targeted or... something... he had no idea.
Okay, she said. She got it. 20 was important.
”Thank you,” Ashton muttered. Finally. Finally, someone would say it. ”20 IS important. You wouldn’t even understand how hard it is to suddenly lose twenty years and go from age forty to age 20. I keep not getting references, and being disturbed by the music on the radio. It’s just strange...”
There was a hiss of brakes as the bus stopped nearby.
Posted by Ashton Drake on May 4, 2020 6:17:10 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
Cinnamon
899
14
Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
The smile spread across his face. ”Headache is feelin’ much better.” Ashton said. ”Thank you.”
He couldn’t even remember what he’d had a headache about, anymore. And if he could, go away, go away. He could quash it.
”So. More drinks? Because I heard about a good tequila chaser. Sangrita. We could play a little with that, or—“ He chuckled. Left her hanging for a moment.
A sangrita was a two part shot. You took a shot of tequila, then follow it with a mixer containing orange juice... or tomato, if you are more into that sort of thing. The taste combination they had going on right now would make that seem more like a Bloody Mary aftertaste to him, which was something. The orange was the original. Orange and lime, with grenadine syrup and a little hot sauce or chili powder for extra kick. He was more interested in the original than the Americanized version with tomato juice. But of course— there’s always another option.
”We could also go do something else. Or. Hold on— you got something.” He reached up to brush at a hair hanging in her eyes, and went in for a kiss.
Oh, he liked her. She had an attitude, which he appreciated. Mentioned stolen money, which was ehhhh. And commented on teased him and called him handsome, which was nice. Yeah, he appreciated many things about her.
If he had still been a cop, he might have commented on the whole stolen money thing. Something very policeman-like, probably ending with the phrase ‘can and will be held against you.’ But he wasn’t about that life, any more. So he kind of forgot about it.
Opportunities or goods, she had said. Ashton idly wondered what opportunities meant. He didn’t dwell on it for too long, though. Because there were other, non-auction-related, opportunities presenting themselves.
He chuckled at her joke, and a bit of the Irish in him slipped into his reply. ”I’m Ashton. And I’d be glad to help you out, beautiful. As for the shirt... well, I won’t be wearing it in the hot tub. Maybe if we were to head that way in a bit...” He smiled, and turned away from her to scrutinize the different things on the silent auction tables. Playing hard to get. ”What is a cold steel? Gee. Nobody has bid on it yet. Should I do a dollar?” He picked up a pen.
Posted by Ashton Drake on Apr 24, 2020 22:57:13 GMT -6
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Ashton’s eyes drifted around the room as he drank his beer. People were arriving left and right. A pretty redhead in a pretty red swimsuit—and oh wait. Was she pregnant? He passed his gaze on to the next person. (And before you judge, and figure he had things against pregnant women, no. It was more the idea that some woman with a baby bump most likely knew some man who had put it there. Which meant that, more often than not, they were taken. So he moved on out of Respect.) so there.
The next person was a blonde in a green swimsuit with a teeny skirt. She spoke to the redhead. Ashton moved on, just people watching for the moment. Seeing who knew who, and how they interacted. Listening to the music.
Auburn haired girl, dark-haired girl in a cute honeycomb-themed swimsuit (was there a story there?), another blonde, a dude. He hopped his gaze over to several other interesting people who had filed in while he hadn’t been paying attention. A woman with leopard print skin walked hand in hand with a man with zebra stripes. Had they changed themselves just for the combination, or were they simply made for each other, he wondered. They were followed by a man with a giraffes neck. Part of their party? A man with vibrant red skin strutted his stuff into the room in a European bathing suit, next. Um. Okay. Ashton turned his focus back to the people around the bar, and settled back on the woman with the space kitty kit. She was talking to the blonde he’d noticed briefly, from earlier.
He thought about approaching, to join in on their conversation, but... decided it was likely private. What with the way they kept looking at each other with purposeful, questing looks and all. So he’d just talk to them later if the night went that way. No reason to be weird and hang around the bar, waiting for lulls in conversations to stick out his hand and say hi. The night was young, and so was he. Har dee harr harr. He finished his beer and placed it gently on the bar top for disposal. Then, he sauntered off into the party to find someone interesting to speak with.
He headed for the outskirts of the room. What was this auction thing about? Ashton stopped a few feet away from the woman in the white bikini. The one with the dark hair and the beer.
”So what’s this auction thing about?” He smiled at her. ”I skipped the required reading that highlighted all the events of the night. Just saw hot tub, and planned accordingly. People just bidding on... what, art and certificates for painting classes and rock climbing lessons? Never done a silent auction before.”
He’d heard of silent auctions, yes. But participated? No. He usually avoided parties that were about that, on principle. They were usually for the social elite. Or small churches. Not that he was opposed to bidding on a tray of brownies if push came to shove.
Posted by Ashton Drake on Apr 23, 2020 14:35:14 GMT -6
Alpha Mutant
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Nov 23, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -6
Mugen
He told her to go ahead, so she did.
“You and Archer were working on a case. Or Archer was. And you sort of inserted yourself into the equation at the end. Like a jerk.” She eyed him. Ashton kept quiet.
He had no idea how things had been like between him and Archer other than what his sister had told him. If she told him he was an ass, her word was gold and he was a golden ass.
“Kids were disappearing. According to you, things in the investigation kept going wrong. Even when you found a place with some people in the organization, you found pushback from within. Higher up. And—“
“Well,” she said. “Archer probably had it worse. What with not actually being a cop. You told me something happened. She got changed... and... got a whole lot younger. Which apparently is something that is going around.” Another pointed look. Ashton looked away.
”So she got turned into... a kid? Why? Who would do that? How would they do that?” Ashton asked. He had questions. Dozens, if not hundreds, of questions.
Alice sighed. “I wish I knew. But I think she dug too deep and got involved with things people within the force... or within big government... did not want her involved in. You thought... and I think... she got too close. She found a group that had been kidnapping children for trafficking, and— well. They got her back.”
”Maybe it was all a setup from the start?” Ashton ventured. Alice raised and lowered one shoulder.
“Could be. Could be a lot of things. What I DO know, is that you tried to help her and you raised a giant stink about it back at the precinct. And next thing you know, you’re young too. So—“ She met his eyes. “What do these two things have in common?”
He stared at her for a second. Then, he said tone disbelieving. ”You think a dirty cop did this?”
“Or a dirty DA. Or a dirty police commissioner or mayor. Someone up the totem.”
”Historically speaking, Ashton mumbled under his breath. ”The lower someone is on the totem, the more important they are. Read that somewhere...”
Alice did not even reward that comment with a response. Ashton rubbed the back of his head.
”So, what? I should dig around and find out who did this. Find some rats, shake some cages. See who falls out? Follow the clues back to the source?”
“No.” Alice said harshly. “I think you should stop looking and be more careful. Find a new life. But if you’re going to do the digging (and I know you, so you are), then yeah. I guess you should look for dirty cops and people who would have a grudge against you. Carefully. Don’t just go around asking people ‘hey, know anyone who would have hated Ashton Drake?’ That seems like it would end badly. Be careful!”
Ashton nodded. This would be a lot of work. And he couldn’t just ask people on the force. Couldn’t just try and go back to his old job, either. Or go through academy again. Would have to figure out a new income and sort things out. Maybe dodge calls until he had the guy... pay bills but let the person think he was dead. Or dead enough not to dig.... ugh. This whole thing was a headache. He needed to have a drink.
A little bird had left a message for him in his apartment mailbox. That message had said everything he would need to know about the “hot tub” party Haven was hosting.
Ashton has no clue what Haven was. At the time. Later, he learned. Some group that focused on helping mutants and other stuff. That was enough for him. The little bird must’ve thought he’d get a kick out of the party. He was in the target group, after all. And hey, maybe she’d be there? He’d get to see her again.
He’d been busy since de-aging, but most of it had been fairly mundane stuff. Clothes shopping, job shopping. The hunt for who had organized the deAging was still ongoing. You would think asking around at bars and searching for rats, you would find your source and move on. Nope.
He had spoken to several different guys one might consider walking clues. Shifty individuals with information. He’d bought them several drinks, paid a few bribes, and run up the lead his sister had given him, but... well. More and more, it seemed to him like he ought to simply hire a detective and hand the work over to them. It was a point of pride that ha prevented him from doing so, already. Him having been a detective, after all.
This party... it would be a good excuse to blow off the hard investigation work he’d been doing every night. Blow off some steam. Ashton has found a good swimsuit for it. A pair of black trunks with a palm tree on the side of one leg. A palm tree and some coconuts. Over it, he wore a pair of blue jeans and a loud Hawaiian t-shirt with purple flowers and lots of yellow and red. Felt like he should be wearing something a bit more professional, like a gray suit or something. But— eh. That was just because half his older self’s closet had been gray suits. He wore his leather jacket over it... and decided tonight might also been a good time to engage in some of that Networking his sister had been telling him about. To get his name out there, and help him get a better job than... than a fast food place or something.
He arrived on time. Maybe even a little early. Which was lame, right? Usually, cool people arrived late. The party came with them. But apparently, old man Ashton’s prompt punctuality had rubbed off on him. Must’ve been spread alllll over his bed sheets. Gross.
Ashton flashed his ID, which proved he was old enough to drink. Made it past security, and into the changing rooms. Then, he stripped down to his trunks and the Hawaiian shirt.
Inside the main event area, he looked around. There was a silent auction of sorts going on. And several other things. Hot tubs, all over the place. He’d have to toss his shirt when he changed out of it. If he lost it, that was fine. He’d brought a spare... and a towel. He’d left them in the locker, in a backpack. With other useful stuff like his keys and his wallet. Hey. Old Ashton was apparently giving him aged common sense too.
There was music. Surely, there would be dancing. It was probably older music, but for him who had lost twenty years, not. Old. Enough. It still made him feel out of place. The candles made the whole place feel darker and more mood-oriented. More, intimate, he supposed. Was what they were going for. Like at a fancy restaurant.
Fingers crossed, the night would be good. He saw some women, and one with a bikini with pizza and cats on it. She was kind of cute. Interesting bikini. He did not approach her, however. There was something about the way she held herself. He could not place it. Seemed off. Plus, who just waltzes up to hit on the first interesting person they see at a party? Who does that? He needed to give it at least five minutes first.
Ashton loitered by the bar, with a beer. Bar with a beer. Yep. He felt obvious and naked, in his loud shirt.
