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.
Cosmina was wounded but by no means was she an invalid. The guy who had been sitting behind her took to his feet and delivered a kick to gray sweatshirt right after she'd been shot. It was a good kick and a well trained one to Cosmina's savate trained eye. Whoever he was he had sense in him. The first thing he did the moment the gun was loose of gray sweatshirt's hand was pick it up. In an accented voice he ordered an African-American woman to look after Cosmina. Cosmina waved the woman off with a smile. There were other things to be done.
"Don't worry about me. Someone grab that guy's cell phone and tell me if it still works."
The answer, after a minute or two was no. The answer was the same for other such devices. They had no way to contact the police, even if Cosmina didn't want to she was on a bus full of normals that would want to contact them. With the lack of cell phone service established Cosmina had to assume that one of the hijackers was blocking it some how. The man could handle gray sweatshirt. It was difficult for a mutant to hold such a block during combat unless they were practiced at it. No, Cosmina's was now focused on the driver.
Thankfully Cosmina had two things on her side. One, she had a knife in her purse that she dug out and flicked open. Two, she was quite capable of acting while wounded. She knew how long she had before she had to cease activities and it should be just enough time to get the bus stopped and the police called. With her knife fisted in one hand and the other hand pressed to her wound to slow the bleeding Cosmina moved out into the isle. Gray sweatshirt was still down on the floor, muttering an expletive.
Cosmina moved as quickly as she could around the prone man toward the front of the bus. Once she was even with the driver she pressed the blade of the pocket knife to his throat.
"Stop the bus, now. Your partner won't last much longer now that his gun's been taken. Pull over and let us use our cell phones again."
She was glaring hard at the man and the blade was pressed so close that just a tiny bit more pressure would draw blood. Cosmina's side ached and bled from the bullet wound but she ignored it. She'd survived worse wounds.
When Effigy snorted at her remark Cosmina chuckled. He found her teasing just as amusing as she did. That was good for him. She wouldn't have stopped if it made had him uncomfortable. That he enjoyed it in some fashion made things easier on him. Effigy swigged the rest of his rum and reached into his sock. Cosmina watched in curiosity as he withdrew a straight razor. How sharp was it she wondered? It was good to know that he had such a weapon on him. If he decided to fight her then she would know his weapons. Additionally she could simply cut his throat with his own razor.
Effigy wobbled as he stood as though drunk. It could have been affectation meant to trick her into believing him weaker than he was. However it could also easily have been quite real. Without knowing his usual alcohol tolerance Cosmina had no way of knowing. She watched him divest himself of his suit coat, tie, and shoes. Pity he hadn't seen fit to lose the shirt as well. Cosmina gave a tiny smirk and contented herself with her rum and her thoughts. With Effigy off to clean up that left her to precisely that.
The tv flared to life at the touch of a button. It would serve as a diversion for her eyes and background noise for her ears. Additionally, it would help mask any chatter without need for her to use her mutation if she should choose to speak. Cosmina flipped through the channels, eventually settling on a news station whose news was delivered by a tired looking anchor with about as much interest as most of their viewers had in hearing it. It was a decent distraction for her eyes as she thought.
Working would present a challenge. She could take Effigy with her but she doubted he would come willingly. Leaving him here on his own seemed foolish as well. Ah well, it was something to be considered once she could safely leave. Trying to take jobs right now would be foolish. A mercenary couldn't take jobs if she was captured by the police after all. Let alone how much her reputation would decrease if she were caught at all. Effigy was a troublesome toy that would require careful handling. Yet she had a feeling that he would be great fun if he survived.
After a couple of comments, one pertaining to her compliment of his skills and the other mentioning that he had never flown before, Effigy asked whether or not she had a shower. Of course she did. It was a silly question, asking whether she had a shower. A better question would have been whether or not he could use her shower. Cosmina just grinned.
"Of course. It's in the bathroom I pointed out earlier. Feel free to get cleaned up. I don't mind dirty but the sort you're sporting isn't exactly what I would have in mind."
Another sip of her rum, another large grin. Men were so fun to tease. Effigy was no exception to this. He was younger than her. Enough to where he could easily pass as a true younger brother to her, instead of the false front they'd put up for the cops. However that didn't mean he was too young for her interest. She wouldn't have flirted quite so much with him if that were the case. In fact she might have simply killed him and escaped on her own.
His life was hanging by such a perilous thread when he was near her. Perhaps he could tell. Some people were perceptive enough. Most weren't. Her numerous ex-targets were evidence of that. Perhaps it had something to do with being a mutant. Mutants did seem to be more perceptive of others as a whole. It could be that the lifestyle led by many forced this sort of learning on them. Either that or it was just a coincidence. Those happened fairly frequently too.
Cosmina adjusted her sitting position on the couch. How would it be to have a roommate? Even if it was only for a few days Cosmina had never shared her place of living with anyone outside of her family. Her family was long dead she was used to living on her own. She'd only shared space with others for short periods of time ever since and never her own space. Cosmina's smile tugged back up into a grin for a moment or two. Perhaps it would be fun. After all, having a new toy around was always fun until you got bored with it.
While Cosmina worked on getting into position without being noticed one of the passengers provided an excellent distraction. The business man whose phone had been rendered useless tried to play the hero. He stood and charged gray sweatshirt. Cosmina almost sneered at him. What a fool to boldly charge someone who was very likely armed. Gray sweatshirt proved her right by drawing and very quickly firing on the man. It didn't matter to Cosmina. She'd put herself where she wanted to be during the all together brief exchange.
Gray sweatshirt yelled about him being in charge while the businessman groaned on the floor. It didn't appear to be a fatal wound. At least not yet. If he wasn't treated soon it would be fatal. For now however he would live. The gun complicated matters but not overmuch. As long as she had an opening it would be simple enough to take the gun from him. Once she had the gun it would all be over. That is unless he also happened to be a mutant. Cosmina could deal with that too. Guns did still kill mutants. Well, there were a few mutants who were protected from gun shots by their mutations. Not a likely issue. Something to consider should it prove true.
Cosmina's breath exited her body in a quiet woosh. Gray sweatshirt was very nearly at her side now. His gun hand was right beside her. It would be easy enough to grab the gun and wrench it from his unsuspecting hand. This hijacker was all to eager to assert his authority. He fired without hesitation. He'd used a gun before and planning had probably gone into this. In her estimation though he was making a mistake in yelling and trying to assert himself like that. The gun would have been enough. Yelling like that was only bound to drive more people to the same action the businessman had taken. Fear was a useful but unpredictable tool. It made some people meek but it made others brave and eager to stamp out the source of their fear.
The gun was just level with Cosmina. She took her chance. Her hand darted out and grabbed the man's gun hand. He glared hard at her.
"Let go!"
Cosmina shot out of her seat to get a better grip. As best she could she kept the gun pointed away from others but it didn't really matter to her if someone was injured. Gray sweatshirt fired in an attempt to get her to let go. The bullet hit nothing save a window. A second shot ripped through Cosmina's side. She winced at the pain but continued her struggle for the gun.
Because she'd used the jaguar to escape from a robbery recently Cosmina had taken to using public transport for a while. She didn't think anyone had seen her and Effigy escape in the gray vehicle but better safe than sorry. For another couple of weeks she would take taxis and ride buses until she was sure that the cops had forgotten about the heist. As such she was on a bus at that very moment. She'd taken care of what few errands she had to run in town. The bus was mostly empty. At the last stop they'd only picked up one more passenger. He was obviously some form of Hispanic or Latino but beyond that Cosmina was unable to discern.
He settled into the seat behind her and the bus was off. No one really talked that much. It was quiet. The only noise to be heard was a business man chattering away on his cell phone. This was fine with Cosmina. She sat in her seat and smiled cheerfully. At least she did so until the bus driver took a harsh turn and amongst the various reactions the business man seemed puzzled about his phone. Cosmina noticed this as the man in the sweatshirt that she hadn't been paying attention to told him not to try and call the cops.
What were the odds that a cell phone would go out at precisely the moment a pair of hijackers took over a bus? It had to be more than a lucky coincidence for the pair of them. Oh yes there had to be a pair. The gray sweatshirt had only stood up after the bus driver had taken the sharp turn. The bus driver hadn't required any pressuring. The driver was in on it with the man in the sweatshirt. Cosmina disliked betting but she would put money on one of them having a gun, likely the man in the sweatshirt.
If she'd been orchestrating a hijacking and she only had one gun the man working the isle would be the one she would give it to. He could move more quickly and freely than the driver could. If someone decided to be brave then gray sweatshirt could deal with it more efficiently while the driver kept driving. Cosmina didn't like opposing criminals unless she was paid. This would be a free job and she hated that. However, she wasn't about to let herself get taken hostage. While gray sweatshirt walked up the isle toward the front of the bus Cosmina moved slowly and deliberately to the edge of her seat where she would have a better shot at intercepting him before he could draw his gun.
That could work. Possibly give Mina a chance to show off her fighting skills and give him the false impression that she's a good person. I don't think it has been done and even if it has one more plot like it won't hurt.
I don't really have any plots for Mina at the moment. As for ideas...well Mina can easily show up nearly anywhere so that's not a problem. It would likely be best for Adrian to meet Mina when she's having a day off. Little chance of anything but him being repelled by her if he encounters her when she's in job mode so to speak.
Well I'm happy to involve either Andrew or Cosmina with this. Andrew's a genuinely nice guy with a few issues. He's also about eight years younger than Adrian so that would probably affect how they interacted.
Cosmina would be interesting to see because she's always smiling as well. Difference being that Cosmina's smiling is just a mask. A mask that is very well used and hard to take off but a mask none the less. They're about the same age. If you're willing to have Adrian's heart broken or have him have to work insanely hard to convince the gal that a loving relationship isn't a death sentence the she's also a possibility for the romantic sideplot. Not a good possibility but a possibility *chuckle*
So his hobby and his job were one and the same? Well that made things easy. It also explained the looks he gave his works. Effigy seemed to love his works after some fashion. Not smart but he hadn't had cause to learn that Cosmina supposed. Loving something was simply put the best way to lose that thing. Cosmina had loved her father and she'd lost him. She'd loved her mother and her mother had locked her up in their house and seen to it that she hadn't gotten to see sun for around two years or so. Anyone she'd cared about after that fashion had disappointed her in some fashion. It was safer not to love.
"You are quite talented at it."
It was foolish of him to sell them below cost. His creations could quite easily sell for a lot of coin. If he was diligent he could probably have enough to start renting a store to sell them within a month. It made no sense to her at all. What could be greater than money? There was very little that couldn't be done if one had enough money. Anything that couldn't be done without it probably wasn't worth it. If she'd had enough money she could have saved her father. Knowing as she now did that he was either alive somewhere and waiting for her to find him or waiting to return to life it wasn't such a large problem anymore. However money was still incredibly important. He wouldn't have had to die in the first place if they'd had it. Dying was painful after all.
"My hobbies or interests? I like meeting new people, rollercoasters, and flying."
Effigy asked about her statement of him being her roommate and for his sake she decided to clarify. After all, she couldn't have him leaving and getting picked up by the police. It was a gamble to leave him alive at all but one she was willing to take as long as he was interesting and/or profitable.
"The police will be looking for us. Going to ground is advised and if you're here then I know you won't be found!"
Her voice was chirpy and betrayed nothing of her true motivations for wanting to keep him there. Let Effigy believe she was besotted with him or something. After all that talking Cosmina finally took the refill that he offered. The rum was starting to go to her head somewhat but not enough to compromise her yet. She sat, smiling placidly at Effigy, wondering what his response to her perfectly rational statement would be.
Watching him react to her ability only fueled her amusement. Watching him try to continue singing only to stop and then try speaking was probably the high point in Cosmina's opinion. Eventually he laughed though. His response to her taunt afterward marked him down as a very fun toy. He'd leaned in so close to her that anyone observing the scene would have thought they would have been kissing in a matter of seconds. Instead he merely grinned and said that maybe he would have and maybe he wouldn't have. Cosmina grinned in response.
This toy learned. That meant he'd be fun for much longer than those one trick toys she'd played with in the past. They only did one thing and broke quickly. Effigy seemed like he knew more than one trick and would be fun to play with for a lot longer. So few were the people in her line of business that she'd met who could take a little teasing. So with a smirk she sat down on the couch as well, right beside him within the reach of that arm he'd slung across the back of her couch.
Cosmina focused her gaze on the fellow mutant beside her. Where to take the conversation now? There were so many things she could say or do. Which one to choose? She took another mouthful of liquor while she decided.
"So, job? Hobbies? Certainly I should get to know my new roommate better. No matter how long or short his stay might be."
If he stayed this amusing then Cosmina might be tempted to keep him around after the police gave up their search. If he proved himself to be profitable then she may just not let him leave. If neither held true then he'd be better off dead. It would be a pity if it came to that. Cosmina was enjoying his company and it would be a pain to hunt him down again after he came back to life. She had a theory that people didn't come back in the same place they were buried. Otherwise she would have found her father by now. Either that or they simply took a very long time to come back. It would be a pain to wait for someone as amusing as Effigy to crop up again but doable. Her security was more important than her amusement.
It turned out that she was right about his mutation. He put it in such a way that made it sound like he was lacking wits. However then he went and proved that he had some form of intellect by listing off what he could and couldn’t use in terms that no one of small intellect would use. Cosmina had to applaud him for trying to sound like a fool. Fools were often overlooked and underestimated. That meant that they had a distinct advantage in some cases. It hadn’t worked because she was used to such things. Why Cosmina had even played the part herself once or twice. Nothing complex or living. That likely meant he was constrained to natural materials. There might be a few manmade things he could use but by and large he probably couldn’t handle them.
Cosmina watched him as he sat on the couch and rapped on the glass table in front of him. The figures he produced were incredibly detailed and very beautiful as they danced around the table. While he watched the figures she watched him. He looked proud. Whatever else could be said about him he obviously enjoyed using his ability to create such things. They were rather pretty to look at. He could probably make a decent amount of money selling such things. If he dedicated himself to making and selling such trinkets then he could probably be off of the street in no time. He looked back at her and asked her just how quiet her power could go. That was something of a silly question but she would allow it.
As if to force her to use her ability he began to sing. It was loud. It was bad. It made Cosmina want to wince. She didn’t though. Instead she pondered what to do. She could certainly use her powers to stop him. That was one way to cease the cacophonous racket and demonstrate just how very quiet she could make things. Then again she could always just kiss him. That had done wonders for his compliance at the store and it had simply been a kiss on the cheek. Just how much more of an effect would she have if she kissed him on the lips, she wondered? Maybe another time. For now Cosmina decided to humor him. Without batting an eyelash she focused her abilities on him and stopped the sound emanating from him. The precious silence returned and Cosmina walked over to Effigy.
“Perfect silence.”
He wouldn’t hear her but since she was in front of him he could see her mouth move. It was merely to illustrate the point that not only could he no longer contaminate the air with his subpar singing and neither could he hear a thing either. After a moment she released the canceling effect. She continued to stand in front of him, leaning in closer.
“You know, I could have just kissed you. I imagine that would have worked just as well.”
It was with a chuckle that Cosmina took another drink of her rum. Effigy was fun to tease.
Bringing him back to her place instead of dumping him somewhere in the city to fend for himself or killing him turned out to be a decent decision on Cosmina’s part. Effigy was in fact rather amusing. He performed one of those silly ‘secret’ handshakes with his manipulated rock hand and then pulled it right out of the counter and presented it to her as a statue of a thumbs up gesture. Cosmina laughed at the handshake and grinned at the sculpture. It would make for an excellent conversation piece for the coffee table. Not only that but it could be a convenient weapon if someone were to ever discover her place of residence. She put her drink down on the counter and accepted the hand. Cosmina then proceeded to walk over to the coffee table and put the hand statue down on its surface just left of center.
“There.”
While she busied herself with that Effigy was quiet. It was only when she returned to the counter that he spoke again. This time it was a guess as to her mutation and a correct one at that. A simple way of saying it but an effective one. Mere moments later he correctly guessed the purpose of her clocks out in the garage. Cosmina smirked and clapped a few times.
“Congratulations you figured it out!” the smirk became a grin for a moment or two, “That’s what the clocks are for. I like having precise control of my abilities and over the years that set up has helped me learn such control.”
Effigy could ask further questions if he wanted. Cosmina wouldn’t give him all the details of her power. He wasn’t a partner on a mission or a vital associate so he didn’t need to know. The fewer the people that knew entirely what she was capable of and her limitations the better. She’d come a long way since the early days. Cosmina had trained furiously to stretch the amount of time she could hold a silence. The fact that she could seemingly go no further than thirty minutes before silence became soft noise was infuriating to Cosmina at times. Other people could throw energy, command lightning, and toss fireballs seemingly without end. Cosmina on the other hand was stuck with a mere hour of power and half of that at half strength. Still, it served its purposes so she couldn’t complain too much.
Cosmina considered Effigy for a moment. She had her guesses as to his abilities from what she’d seen. It wasn’t enough to be certain as to the specifics but a general guess she could make.
“And yourself? Some sort of duplication and animation of inanimate materials?”
She could guess duplication because none of the places she’d seen him use to create his golems had been marred. If he was simply reshaping what was there then the floor of that store likely wouldn’t have been enough to make the two marble men he’d crafted. Animation was a dead giveaway since the things were capable of movement. Cosmina only said inanimate materials because she hadn’t seen him work with living tissue as of yet. He might be able to for all she knew. If that was the case then he’d be a powerful ally to have. If not, well he still had his uses if the duplication angle held true.
It didn't seem like a long time. Not to Cosmina. Then again Cosmina wasn't very concerned about the passing of time in general. She'd been here eleven years and had grown from sixteen to twenty seven here. It didn't really seem to make much difference over all. She was older and nobody questioned her now when she drank or when she flirted with them. That was about it. Perhaps it was different for him. Cosmina didn't really know or care.
"Funny, it hasn't seemed that long to me."
Her voice was warm and cheery and she took another drink of her rum. The tiny smirk on Effigy's face during the toast did not go unnoticed. Perhaps he didn't think the heist was as successful as she did? Cosmina thought it went rather well for an impromptu affair. Only one cop dead in a raid like that was a surprisingly good state of affairs. It could have turned out much worse but Cosmina decided not to point that out. She'd save that for later, just in case he decided to get righteous about it. It would be terribly hypocritical of him but that was just about normal for people. Cosmina had seen it time and again. She'd be called on to ruin someone who decried what she did to them when most times she was hired by someone they'd ruined or the loved one of someone they'd ruined.
Watching him utilize his mutation was rather fascinating. It was only used to refill their glasses which Cosmina took advantage of with a smile at the stone servant. However since her mutation played with less physical forces it interested her to watch it. The process was curious and she'd have to ask him to explain it at some other point. For now, he was wondering what she did for fun.
"Watch tv, wander about the town, enjoy conversations with strangers."
Cosmina gave him a wink to accompany the last phrase in that collection. She did it for no other reason to see how he would react. Learning all she could about someone new was an amusing pass time to her.
