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.
Celeste nodded as Katrina continued her speech. Fortunately the young woman noted the problem without her having to point it out rudely... she had never been good at reading people, or reacting without hurting them and that had not improved with the destruction of more than half of humanity. Her wealth had vanished from one day to another, leaving her alone with her beauty and youth. Two things she could not share with anyone since the earth was not a good place for the boys of her generation and status. She may never find love... a glimpse of anger crossed her face again when she remembered one more time the love between Katrina and Slate, but this time she immediately forced it to disappear because she was her new friend.
Knowing the If clause could fail, she imagined a small birthday party where the few guests struggle with death on the slippery surface of the zeppelin. So Celeste attempted to push the party in a direction a little more favorable. "If we do it on the ground, we can use my speakers for the music." With much grace, the little girl pointed toward the small MP3 while her lips wore a pleading smile. She could not allow that after three long years of cheating death at the hands of radiation and murderers, she would be killed by a drunk or a strong breeze.
Before she could think of more ways to die on a zeppelin, Katrina brought her back to reality. "Of course I ..." The girl started to answer, until she saw the little zeppelin that appeared out of nowhere. The words stuck on her throat. There was no way to avoid the surprise that her powers provoked in her, nor the jealousy that arose each time she saw Katrina´s skills. While the young woman was able to change the world around her, she was only able to modify the surface of things... and that if she had another object to steal its color. Once she got over the initial shock, Celeste managed to see that the floating vessel was an identical copy of the very popular flying bar. Then, when her eyes had barely gotten used to the vision of that wonder, the young woman change their colors transforming the boring old zeppelin in the most cheerful thing that had ever sailed the skies.
Smiling at the demonstration of that colorful magic, she nodded to produce moments later another paper notebook from another of the drawers. Then, the girl revealed a range of colors that overshadowed even her bright imaginary colors. Each line had a different hue with a different texture. The golden from gold, a silver bright gray, a silky red, shades of wood. From the rarest combinations of colors and textures to the classic colors of the rainbow that were also displayed in several textures. The list was almost endless, all thanks to a little duplication trick. She had several notebooks full of colors but that particular compendium was her favorites. "You can pick any color you like." Announced the child with pride in her voice, trying to dazzle the girl as much as Katrina did with her.
Even the powerful smell of Vodka was not able to hide the foul stench emanating from the mutant. Despite being at the end of the limousine, Celeste was almost able to hear imaginary cries coming from the nasty wound of the mutant. The blood. That vermillion liquid smelled bad, almost like death, and what was worse, it was the fact that it was everywhere. His clothes were stained with blood in many places like the floor and the couch that had gone from a beautiful pearly white to a dirty red that was extremely unpleasant.
It was then that she noticed the strange look her friend was giving to her. The smell of death and the strong odor of alcohol did not help her to focus enough to resolve the puzzle but if anything was clear, was that Sam was trying to ask her something. Perhaps he wanted to apologize for having deceived her in that vile way or maybe he just had another dying friend that she could move to a hospital. Yes, it was surely the second. So Celeste moved her eyes away from him to put her gaze into the farthest point of the limo. The door was the only way to escape that deathly trap.
Although she wanted to get away from that post apocalyptic part of the city, the limousine moved toward the very heart of that dark zone leaving civilization behind to venture into streets that grew with darkness with each step. While the lights of the houses became scarcer and the street lights began to flash by the clear lack of maintenance, the lights of the limo fend off the shadows with ease as if they were carrying two small suns and not manmade objects.
When she was managing to forget the whole situation, the mutant broke the silence by asking the two of them. Knowing that Sam did not have the answer to that question, Celeste had the obligation to reply. She opened her mouth before thinking the words, a serious error, since the words that escaped from her throat were harsh and accusatory as if the mutant was bleeding on purpose. "You should be more concerned with remembering your blood type. You will need extra blood." And she knew very well that the corresponding tests could make them lost valuable seconds. Still, she felt the over aggressiveness of her words, so she added further information in an attempt to delete the first sentence. "Just a few blocks away. It is a small clinic specialized in discretion..." At least the mutant had chosen an excellent alley to bleed out, of course it was not located in one of the safest places of the city, but that had become an advantage because the place they needed to reach was located near that shadowy area.
Celeste knew very well all the false courtesies and rules that tell them how to sit or to drink tea, rules governing every movement that turned everything into a boring dance, slow and complicated. But why to use all that in front of mere commoners? Why? Despite the doubts, she could not deny that extreme sweetness was working wonders with the employees. Almost better than fear. Yeah, maybe they worked more enthusiastic for her false sweetness, but... Where was the satisfaction of seeing the terror on their faces? Where? Celeste could not see it. And it was the woman´s fault. She had calmed everyone with her aura of "Countess" as if that title was too special. It was easy to buy a title.
She also knew so well knew that the greeting she used was just needed in from of the Queen herself. But since it had fallen into disuse, she took it for herself. So when the woman rushed to stop her practiced bow, the child could not avoid to feel disgusted.
Showing a distinct lack of originality that made the girl lose the little respect she had for the woman, she pronounced her own name with a foreign accent. It was not necessary to compare accents with Sam, another person who had a slight England´s accent to know she was from there, every syllable of her short name was loaded with that heavy, sticky pronunciation she hated. Of course it was not glamorous like the beautiful music created by her beloved Italian.
Using all her willpower, she channeled her anger toward her words to turn them into a sweet poison. "How sweet." Said the girl, with a devilish smile on her lips. "You thought it was for you?" She giggled. "It is my trademark presentation card for queens and commoners alike." Of course she never had crossed path with a queen, so the greeting had been used with more commoners than members of the royal family. Still, Celeste loved the expressions of bewilderment and unease that simple bow caused on people of a lesser social status.
Celeste was about to contradict her again, wanting to have the last word in the "discussion" but by the attitude of her bodyguards who kept changing his weight from one foot to another, she knew he was extremely uncomfortable, certainly for her previous commentary. So she resisted the desire to stay and continue the fight, moving away to the couch where she sat to wait.
The more she looked at her, the more she hated her. There was no way to took her eyes away from her. Each of her movements and words were an insult to her. How could she behave like that? And why did she thought that drinking tea was cool? She drank tea every morning and it was not something to celebrate. Still Celeste wanted one, and silently cursed the employee for not treating her as the Countess. No, as the Queen she was.
Like her initial smile, totally carefree and contagious, her laughter was very relaxing. It was an invitation to forget all her problems and release all the tension. Almost without realizing, Celeste began to laugh along with her. It was as if she was under a spell and was not able to stop but surprisingly she did not care at all. She could not remember the last time she had laughed so naturally, but she was sure that shared laughter would not be forgotten easily.
Gradually her laughter shrank in strength and extension until she was able to imprison it within the confines of her throat. With a small blush still on her cheeks, Celeste listened attentively as Katrina retaliated with more mockery, drawing a small smile on her lips that threatened to become another laugh.
Even knowing that she was joking, Celeste could not help but feeling a twinge of pain when she heard the words "an old painting" used to describe one of the most famous paintings created in the history of mankind. Maybe trying to hold on to that pride, she responded with enthusiasm and stubbornness. "Of course I want it." With hope in her face, she did a small pause to do the math. Then the truth hit her changing her was to a hopeless mask."But I do not have enough beans." She smiled again, discovering it was easier each time.
The world inside the notebook was moving with excruciating slowness as all the machinery of the device worked hard to keep the machine running. The effort of each piece was admirable but never ceased to produce irritating noises. Even so, the computer connected with the Mp3´s memory. She was so excited by the idea of being able to hear her music again that she began to surf the multiples folders on her hard drives. There where a lot of classic songs mixed with all the great symphonies she loved so much.
That was when her new friend spoke once more, reminding her that she was still there. Embarrassed for having forgotten all his attention Celeste focused on Katrina again. The color of her cheeks disappeared and for a moment, she was left speechless. She was terrified of the idea of leaving the bunker even when she knew there was no radiation around. She toyed with the possibility of refusing but knowing she was trapped, she finally nodded. "I think it is a wonderful idea..." "...to step into a flying machine while a bunch of people drink until they get blind." Fortunately she achieved to hide the second part of her reply.
I was thinking, maybe the owners of the island could feed them by putting food in certain places... perhaps in boxes or containers/craters, and they could inform the general location through speakers in the collars. That way, mutants that can be take off thier collars would have a very good reason to keep them.
The collar should have a good reason for the mutants to keep it. Otherwise each mutant would find a way to take it off.
I suggested collars because clothes would tear apart or get dirty, maybe blocking or losing the camera... plus Gug do not use shirts. With collars you have a similar view than the player\victim and would not be that easy to take off.
For a moment, Celeste expected to receive an absent hug like the ones her father used to gave her but Katrina gift her with a healthy squeeze. Her voice was the perfect signal to know that it was time to finish the moment, so she dutifully walked away with clumsy steps, away from her possible new friend. But before, she dedicated a deep and meaningful stare to the young woman. "If you tell someone, I'll kill you." After the delivery of the mental message, Celeste softened her gaze and returned to her place behind the desk.
Despite being able to take everything for free, she preferred to listen and reward the women, perhaps clearly influenced by the wonderful gifts she had brought. "Are you going to steal the Mona Lisa?" Teased the girl while wondering if these pieces of art would still exist. Then she opened a drawer and searched for a specific book among the many that rested there that were of different brand and sizes. She took a blue notebook reserved for the stock of utility objects.
With certainty Celeste passed the pages quickly until she found the corresponding letters. The book was divided into the different letters of the alphabet to speed up searches and entry or exit of goods. First C, then R. "I have a crowbar and a rope, but I have not boots." She did not even bother to look in the corresponding book, she knew very well that Maxine had taken the last pair. No one had changed shoes since then.
"Sure." Opening another drawer of the desk, Celeste produced a huge notebook so ancient that seemed to have been taken from a museum, and so damaged that it probably came out from a dumpster. Still, when the girl connect it, a small red light started to flash. Then, all the small parts began to vibrate and produce a discordant symphony of chirps and whistles, until finally the screen lit, showing the logo of the operating system and then the desktop and its wallpaper. A beautiful beach.
Then, Celeste introduced the USB from the Mp3 in the only port that was still working. Moments later, a small light lit at the base of the device indicating that it was working. "It works." Conclude the child, giving her another of her tender smiles. Not only she would be able to listen to her favorite music, but would be able to greatly improve the moral of that little company.
The time of the short contact with the mutant seemed to extend forever, paralyzing her in place, making her unable to step away or deny the support he needed so desperately. Then when she thought that his skin had fused with her and therefore would no longer be able to separate from him, the mutant rose, helped by Sam. And though she wished to express her discontent with tears and cries, the worried face of his friend reminded her that she ought not to. At least not in his presence.
Although it seemed that the mutant was unable to stand alone, he constantly refused to accept the help of the man trying to save his life. That attitude was simply incomprehensible, almost stupid but she realized that the man had nothing but his pride and he seemed to be willing to keep it even if it killed him. That simple thought saddened her. She almost felt sorry for that man, but still she could not manage to feel good about his closeness.
Of all the thoughts that passed through her head, none could make her ignore the warm, sticky liquid that stained her arm. The substance was simply disgusting, and its constant presence threatened to make her sick but even when the color had left her cheeks, she was able to keep her dinner in her stomach. Somehow.
As if he had read her mind, Sam verbalized one of her thoughts. They must get out of there. Fast. Celeste nodded energetically, and without saying a word entered the limo as fast as she could. At the door, Malcolm was looking at everything with disapproval. Fortunately his paycheck depended on his discretion so the driver did not say a single word. Still his eyes said it all. Nothing was of his liking, or of Celeste´s liking, but they had agreed to help that human... mutant.
The girl felt safe as she got inside the limousine since it was a place she knew so well that she could almost imagine the beautiful interior with an ample couch and full mini bar. Once inside, she slid to the deepest part, away from the door and near the driver. It was then that she realized her mistake; she had no way to get down the limo without passing at the mutant side.
In an attempt to calm her nerves, Celeste moved to the minibar, where she took a bottle of vodka and poured it over her arm carefully, trying to make the liquid fall in the small drainage below the ice machine. The alcohol may help her get rid of all the germs of that man and so avoid a slow death in a hospital bed.
The only consolation for her was the fact that the man only grabbed her arm. If he had fallen over her, she would be fully covered on his vomit and blood. Trying to find comfort in that fact, Celeste watched in horror as the rebel mutant not only refused to stop bleeding over her expensive limousine, but also smeared his blood on the beautiful couch. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop and maybe yell some other things, but she could not find the strength to insult the mutant, even if he was wounded. "I need to burn the car."
Once all of them were inside, the driver closed the door gently and surrounded the vehicle to move to the driver's seat. "Call Hambleton, tell him we are almost there." While he started the engine, the obedient employee called the doctor to inform him of their early arrival. Moments later, the limousine was moving toward the clinic.
Although the bunker was prepared to withstand several years of isolation, the addition of three more people to feed had diminished her supplies alarmingly, so each one of Katrina´s gift was worth its weight in gold. Not that gold would be of any help. Celeste knew very well that the supply problems the lesser of her problems so if that was the price for the company, including a cook and two errand boys like, she was glad to pay it. Sometimes before bed, she asked herself how things would have ended if not for Sarah, Juka and Slate. Perhaps she would be crazy or dead by starvation, unable to open a can of tuna without cutting off her fingers.
Standing across the counter, Celeste put her best poker face, preparing herself to dismiss any article deemed worthy by Katrina. That way she could always pay less for everything. The first objects were exactly what she expected, towels and sheets that would be of use but that were nothing she could enjoy. Then came several batteries of different brands. Some were rechargeable, some not, but all were highly required and sometimes more valuable than canned food. The toilet paper was exactly the brand that she liked, as soft as a piece of cloud. She would keep it just for her.
Despite the undeniable usefulness of many of the objects, Celeste was able to keep her face as serious as she could and she would had been able to maintain it throughout the day if Katrina had not surprised her with a brand of shampoo she used daily back when money was worth something. A silly smile crossed over her face as she took the bottle and put it away from the other objects. It was then that she noticed again how dirty and disheveled was her visitor. Maybe she could let her use the shower with no cost...
After seeing the shampoo that in the past had been more expensive than gasoline, the pen seemed a simple stick. In fact it looked so simple at first sight that Celeste was about to leave it with the things she was not interested in until she caught a couple of its details with her peripheral vision. It was not great, but it looked weird enough to be part of her prized possessions. With a quick movement the girl drew a doodle in her hand, more common than paper, to check if it still worked the pushed the pen toward the growing pile of things for her. It was almost like shopping. Almost.
Katrina also produced a shaving cream that might interest Slate or Juka, but that article was soon eclipsed by the appearance of a bottle of Scotch that reminded her of her father. The memory was so strong that she wanted to threw it against the wall and watch it shatter. If not for her father she would been dead, maybe. But at the same time she hated him from being in another continent at the time of the explosion. Now, without any way to communicate she had no way to know if he was alive or not. Soon her calculating mind took control of the situation to tell her wild side that the bottle could be useful to negotiate with Zephyr. So she put aside the idea of destroying the object.
Katrina´s words were the exact words the strange used when he exchanged that unexploded nuclear bomb for some food. So Celeste's eyes grew with anticipation, expecting anything from a panda cub to another bomb, but the young woman produced something even more incredible than both of these things combined. An Mp3.
The battery of her old phone had stopped working about a year ago, and the notebook Juka had found was not working properly and produced a horrible sound like a giant bee that dwarfed all the great symphonies she wanted to hear. So when she saw the little device in her hands, she could not suppress the silly smile that took home in her lips, neither to avoid snapping the device from her in a very impolite way.
Her guest continued talking about thing without importance as breakfast, but Celeste was still mesmerized by the possibilities raised by that divine artifact. She observed it with a huge smile from ear to ear for a few seconds and once she manage to land again on planet earth; she attacked the young woman with an unexpected hug. "Thank you." She said, hugging her harder, clearly forgetting their stormy relationship. And then she said it one more time. "Thank you." Just in case she did not hear her. Despite she had a piano, a limousine and all kinds of expensive clothes, she could not think of a best gift than that small yet wonderful Mp3.
The link created with the modern cellphone was still active, generating meaningless sounds and voices that the girl could barely hear. It was almost as if the man she had called was speaking in a strange language, almost alien that she was not able to decipher. Celeste knew that he was speaking to her, and the tone of his voice told her that he wanted to know something, but every word he uttered was strange to her. She waited for a few seconds there, just listening to the strange talk through that device, but then she slowly began to forget what she was supposed to accomplish with the device. "It's not even a weapon." She thought as her hand slowly descended until the digitalized voice was no longer there.
After the first skirmish that had been quick and violent, the world had recovered much of its tranquility, and although the threat of another attack was almost solid she still could see a sudden change in speed. The world was moving at such slowness that was highly irritating. The only thing that seemed to move at the same speed, or faster, was her small heart.
Although she tried to divert her attention away from his words, she could not do it. The strength of his voice covered everything making it impossible to not listen. The sound of his voice alone caused new chills, followed by goosebumps after she understood the meaning.
While still struggling with the horror of the sentence pronounced by the man, her enemy took a new horror from his pocket. The knife danced in his hand to produce later a sharp blade that caressed his thumb with lust. Celeste was so focused on the cold blade and his hands that she could almost feel the cold caress on the skin of her own thumb, as if somehow it was testing her skin even before touching it.
Even her eyes had lost the strength to attack him with the imaginary daggers she always used, or to launch one of the many curses that never worked. Her eyes were not even strong enough to beg for her life, so she had to do it with her throat. Her vocal cords vibrated in a disorderly manner producing an unintelligible growl that after repeating several times became words. "Spare my life..." The efforts of these few words almost seemed to tear her throat, as if the effort to speak was too much for her stressed body. Celeste attempted to negotiate with the creature, but her throat closed denying her the ability to speak, leaving barely enough room to breathe.
While she was focused on the difficult task of breathing, she felt with horror as a supernatural force moved her eyes to align them with those of her enemy. His eyes exerted an impossible magnetism until her soul fell in those two abysses. He advanced towards her, but she did not even move, hypnotized or perhaps too weak from the lost blood. Then his short knife cut both of them at the same time producing a new source of pain that made her forget all her priorities. The cut on her right wrist was so strong that she opened her hand, she drop the Taser, while her left hand dropped the phone to help its mate. Even when she pressed hard, the blood gushed from her fingers, staining both hands with the precious liquid that should never have left her body.
I like this idea a lot. This mini thread/plot is not only a way to relax from the current serious plot but also a way to get some relations between characters. Especially when a character is new, you need to meet a lot of people and sometimes you do not know how to get into a faction or in touch with certain character, this idea is a good moment to create new relationships for future plotting.
The vision of the gloomy shadows devouring all the elements of civilization was a scene able to scare the bravest of her bodyguards, but the worst of the scene was not in the solid darkness behind them, but a few steps away from her location. The skin of the mutant reminded her constantly of a dark swamp filled with dangerous creatures, but also the deep tar pits where more than one ancient creature had succumbed to its density. While he was against the wall, the mass of tar was so similar to these bottomless pits that Celeste could not help but feel the need to step away to avoid falling and being swallowed by the humanoid creature.
Despite being far enough from the half-digested food, the sour odor still had enough strength to fill her eyes with tears. Had she been a dog, she would had died from an over-stimulation of her sense of smell. Fortunately though exceedingly nasty and hard to bear, the smell was not strong enough to kill her. Still, she could not keep her face from showing the repulsion that particular aroma and its owner provoked on her.
The fact that the mutant was unable to perform any action aside from looking hurt manage to comfort her enough to feel safe. If left there, he would probably die, and if the black thing would try something stupid as to attack them, Sam could surely beat the injured mutant easily. It was then that Sam dared to touch the skin of that foul monster, helping him stand. That simple demonstration of strength by the creature was enough for all her fears back, boosting her imagination to guess the future in the nastiest ways possible. With her peripheral vision she could almost see how stealthy black tentacles advanced to strangle her, but every time she looked directly at him, they disappeared. Perhaps a product of his imagination, maybe not.
Fortunately Sam answered her silent questions, so Celeste was able to took her eyes from the monster to put them down over something easier to look upon, like her friend. There was something childlike in the way Sam tried to justify his treachery, he was almost like a child begging his mother for permission to rescue a wounded puppy, but in this case she was not his mother and that thing was not a puppy . Still, the child like begging achieved to awaken an evil smile on her face. The satisfaction that her plea provoked almost justified to cross half the city to finish in a dark alley.
Although she wanted to left the mutant to die in the alley, she managed to reply as was expected of anyone with at least a shred of compassion. "Okay." Her answer was simple, he could keep the puppy, but her voice hid another very different message. "I'm not going to forget this betrayal." At the precise moment when Sam decided to continue his appeal, the injured mutant lost the balance toward swinging dangerously toward them, threatening to cover both with the strange black substance that composed his body. Fortunately he managed to grab something and about falling, sadly it was her hand that the man grabbed covering her skin in a sticky warm substance. With the fall stopped the mutant achievement to recover an upright position that made him seem almost human, leaving both victims with their disgusts. "Is just blood. Is just blood."
The seating area where Celeste was waiting with her silent bodyguard, was simply magnificent. Each piece of furniture was designed to be a unique piece of art, while the fabrics and carpets were dominated by different embroidery threads of gold and silver that displayed complicated patterns. Even his bodyguard who was prone to display a bored expression, showed now a silly grin as his eyes swept the place capturing every detail. Despite the ruling luxury that in another moment would have greatly pleased her, she could not help but feel extremely unhappy mainly for the absence of her favorite employee but also because she had not another choice but to be the guinea pig of the inexperienced new employee.
The only consolation for her was that she was still able to command and humiliate the other employees, an activity which generated as much as satisfaction as the beautiful words of Peter or his beautiful smile that he used just with her, according to his own words. There was something almost magical in the way the employees succumbed to the pressure of having to fulfill her whims knowing all along that there was no way they could do everything she wanted.
At the precise moment she was punishing the new employee with a flick of her velvety voice, a woman entered the boutique breaking the magic. The atmosphere of nervousness and desperation she had worked so hard to build was destroyed instantly in the presence of that woman. The eyes of the submissive employees, now filled with hope. The attention of all employees, including the inexperienced one , focused on her. Forgetting the little queen.
An animal fury invaded her body in an explosion but before she could jump over the newcomer and destroy her beautiful clothes that eclipsed her own, the woman in charge of the boutique utter a beautiful word. Almost magical. That imaginary spell soon charmed Celeste and all the anger disappeared to make way for a mask of sweetness that softened her expression making it more beautiful. After giving a quick poke with her elbow to her bodyguards to stand up, Celeste gracefully jumped from the couch to the carpet, approaching barefoot to the woman that bore the title of Countess. Using her natural grace and practiced movements, she executed a pronounced curtsy while her lips pronounced her name in that perfect Italian accent she only used at presentations . "Celeste Manfrella" To change seconds later to a perfect English. "It's an honor to meet you"
The call materialized into the room with a very loud and unpleasant sound, it was more like the cry of an enraged demon that any sound that could be produced by her small cellphone but still it was there. Beethoven´s eight symphony had never sounded so bad, so the girl quickly extended her arm away from the hot tub to grab the sophisticated device putting an end to that deafening beat with one movement. The unwelcome call from her friend took her away from her immersion bath to carry her to the cold night air, without giving her enough time to dry her hair properly or find clean clothes to wear. Using the same blue sundress that she had used all day, Celeste marched to support his cause. Nevertheless, that had been the best call she had received.
The content of the call itself was terrible, a wounded man needed her help and Sam had no way to save him. Yet, that distress call meant that he had not thought of her as a child, but as an adult in who he was willing to trust. The idea was both exciting and scary, but it was something she should do to strengthen the friendship with him. Her only concert at that moment was the fact they were using the limousine.
Celeste was still trying to devise a plan to keep the blood of the wounded from staining the leather seats when the limousine stopped for the last time. Seconds later, the driver opened her door so she could leave. It was then that the girl advanced towards the two figures. The standing one should be Sam while the man leaning against the wall was clearly the wounded one.
The shadows crawled to Sam´s face to form a black mask that hide all his features, so she could not be really certain if that man was really him. Still, she moved toward them, achieving to see a little more with each step. The ebony mask soon became no more than a thin grey shadow so she could identify her friend. Contrary to what happened with Sam, the other man´s features seemed to become darker with every step. A mutant. When her mind came to that same conclusion, her feet stopped suddenly. She was still away enough to start to run and let the man die, but since she was close enough for them to see her, she decided to stay. What she could not decide was what upset her more. The betrayal, the mutant or the hot vomit that expelled a foul stench. Finally, she decided it was the betrayal so her eyes fixed on Sam, demanding an explanation.
