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.
Who was this girl? The way she laughed, it was like Silhouette could feel her smile through the darkness. Knowing she earned that smile left a flutter in the thief's chest she was unsure of what to do with. In the end, she decided ignoring it to plant a kiss on Zero's cheek was the best course of action. Just a totally normal moment with the woman trying to arrest her.
"Hey, I've never been caught," she pointed out through a yawn. "Not until The Hardy Boys figure out that door anyway." Evidently, the patrolling security was not trusted enough to know the access codes to the room. They would get it from a superior eventually, she guessed, but so far they were stuck trying to demand their way in. Maybe they had enough time for another... oh who was she kidding? Zero had left her thoroughly spent. "And what else would I say? They had to know I was doing something important."
Zero the Anti-Gravity Vigilante, also known as: Something Important.
Somehow content to relax until she was officially busted and piece things together from there, the haze of her afterglow only cleared up when Zero asked an obvious question. "Kind of," she admitted, ready to give too many details of her powers to a woman she should not trust with them. "It's like I can hop. Hippity-hop into one shadow and out of another. But... there's no shadow in here. It's too dark without..."
The grabbing for her neck.
Duh.
Grinning, Silhouette somehow begrudgingly freed herself from athletic limbs and scrambled to where two catsuits were bunched up on the floor. It took some feeling around to tell them apart, but the presence of LED lights woven in was a dead giveaway. She fumbled around, trying to guess where she would put a switch if her stealth suit doubled as a Christmas tree and...
"Aha!" The suit lit up, flashing and creating enough light to fill the small space. "Now we can... um... yeah..."
Silhouette lost her train of thought, finally able to see the very naked form of the woman she had indulged in for the better part of an hour. Seeing her now, recognizing by sight all the little places her hands had learned first, Silhouette was surprised. She was also blushing. Who was this girl? They were both nude, but at least they made the choice to keep their masks for some modesty.
Leaving Zero now to get caught was an option. It would be a funny option, too, but Silhouette knew she did not have it in her. Despite Zero literally trying to catch her and bring her in, Silhouette did not want to leave her to be caught alone. Who would antagonize her next heist?
Silhouette's bare tan skin melted into dark shadow. She felt around inside the LED-lit suit, but... "You dropped it along the way, you tricky fox." Minx? What was a sexy sneaky animal? On second thought, she fundamentally disliked that question.
She removed one of the LEDs and placed it on the floor. "Fine, you win this time, Zero. We're tied," she admitted, offering her hand to the vigilante. A small half-wall was casting a shadow now, allowing Silhouette to lead them into the darkness, and almost immediately out on a nearby rooftop from the shadow of a chimney.
Somehow managing to pull the suits along with them before they vanished, Stephanie looked down at the blinking suit as she turned the lights off and let her body shift back. The New York air was crisp and cool on her skin that still felt so hot. Zero's touch lingered. "You know, I have half a mind to take your suit as a souvenier and let you float home like that." She wouldn't though. Silhouette tossed the suit to Zero in the lowlight of the evening. She did not want to share that sight with anyone tonight.
It should not have happened. This went against every good decision a thief could realistically make when dealing with a crime fighter. She was accustomed to banter and teasing, but here she was giggling and relaxing her guard with an enemy. Not just any enemy; her nemesis.
And she could not care less. It never even occurred to her to act differently, because this felt surprisingly natural. When a waving hand seemed to brush Silhouette's side, she even squirmed. She wanted to say, "Careful, that tickles," but words were hard to come by when she realized she had initiated a kiss and a warm hand was resting against her hip. Zero kissed her back, and Silhouette realized she was glad.
The dark made some things challenging, but that just let them giggle their way through quickening kisses and fumbling to get each other out of skintight costumes.
The masks stayed on, of course.
[<3]
Well.
That was a treat.
In all the ways her conquest at the club did nothing for Stephanie, what Silhouette just did (loudly) in a small darkened panic room did everything for her. Sated her hunger, easied her mind. Hell, if sex could clear her pores and water her crops, it probably would have done that too.
Curled up on the carpeted floor of the space, still tangle with a very warm, very bare figure, Silhouette felt no sense of urgency. They were in trouble, right? She should be trying to bail now. Why was she running her fingers through Raine's hair? "You know, you led me to believe you were a good girl," she murmered softly. "I feel tricked."
Silhouette could not make out Zero's face in the darkness. Even if she was not wearing that nifty little mask, her eyes could not adjust enough to get an impression of the woman she was looking at. All she could do was trust her other senses, which meant she was determined to be as touchy as she needed to be with the vigilante. When she felt her reaching for her own neck, Silhouette could not piece together why in the alcohol-laced moment, but she knew she wanted to interfere. Keeping one hand square on Raine's chest, she tried to grab for Zero's hand or wrist to keep it away-- ideally against whatever the nearest wall was in this pitch-black box.
The thief wanted to be annoyed at the interference of some do-gooder who had her number all night. It should have been so easy. Why did she have to dead-ass call Silhouette daddy?
Trying hard to stay serious, the hero's snort broke Silhouette. She devolved into a fit of giggling against her will. "You actual fucking dork." She leaned forward, unintentionally bonking her forehead with Zero's. She muttered a, "Sorry," through her laughter.
And she was already here. She was so close. If their foreheads were pressed together, that meant that soft sensation she was feeling was Zero's breath against her lips. The career criminal was still grinning like a fool when she followed what felt natural and inched forward to eliminate the distance between her lips and the soft kiss of her nemesis.
It was hypocritical considering they were in the same position, but Stephanie was expecting her client to be older. As a young small business owner, she respected a young woman making her money, but Stephanie had the added income from her illicit business. Dreya was just an honest woman putting in her honest work. Whoever ran the business, they must have trusted this young woman with expensive products.
She also took her work seriously, which Stephanie could respect. ”I appreciate the thought, but there was nothing anyone could have done to keep me from getting lost, I promise.” Can’t take the AV out of the girl, right?
The job was explained, and it all sounded cut and dry. Taking photos of small objects was its own skill, but it did come with fewer variables than large landscapes, and were far simpler than portraits and photoshoots. She would gladly accept the gloves to preserve her subjects. ”Classy. Black velvet will contrast the jewelry well. If you’d like to share the gems and trinkets I might be capturing today, I promise to take care of them like I was handling the crown jewels.” Ugh, thief goals.
While she slipped gloves on, Stephanie wanted to engage with her employer. Being personable was rarely a flaw with these freelance jobs. ”Are you a New York native? Or did the call of bright lights and shiny jewelry bring you from anywhere special. Ready, by the by.” She could chat and set up a scene. It was the actual act when she needed focus.
With the door closed, Silhouette was finally understanding the situation she was in. A panic room, designed to lock down completely. This was the furthest thing from a way out and it was pitch-black inside. Frustrated, she flicked on the panel near the door. Lights? Door controls?
A passcode. She needed some kind of passcode to do anything, which meant she was stuck. It was lucky she had gotten over her childhood fear of the dark, but it did not ease her nerves.
The surprise of Zero's voice reminded Silhouette she was not alone in the room. It was small, but there was still plenty of space to move her knee, freeing the vigilante. "I guess. They look around the building, get back here, figure out how to unlock us, and we get arrested in some rich asshole's mansion." Annoyed, she reached out to find some purchase, pulling Zero close by her outfit. "Just had to be a pest, didn't ya, sugar? Couldn't let me turn around a shitty night here? Is this what you wanted?"
This was an unfair race and Zero knew it. She had her gravity tricks, but the halls were too dark for Silhouette to take advantage of, like some lame human. Thankfully, they were both on equal footing as intruders. Steph looked up Zero in her off time, but the vigilante was not part of the government approved and sanctioned X-Team Super Friends Force Go, making her just as suspect here as the thief. Actually, with the stolen envelope in her costume, Zero was somehow more questionable. It was a shame Silhouette could not think of a good way to abuse that.
After her tussle with the guard, Silhouette saw Zero land on the ceiling… less than gracefully. At least they were both having off nights. She ran toward the vigilante and could not stop her momentum when Zero suddenly pivoted back to her, colliding with the cat burglar and taking her to the ground. She had caught her. Again. Now, Zero had full control, and decided what came next.
Like a kiss. What a treat, indeed. Her lips were exceptionally soft, unlike the kiss. The forceful meeting of lips caught Silhouette by surprise, but instinct reacted before thought and she returned the kiss, oblivious to the situation outside of it. Zero tasted sweet, and there was still that familiar, intoxicating scent making it hard to think or care about thinking.
“Hey!”
Who was that?
As Silhouette barely processed the voice, Zero reacted by tugging on Silhouette’s zipper. She felt a ripple of goosebumps as more open air hit her skin until it it her: the zipper was not just being tugged down, it was being tugged up. Along with the rest of her.
Damn gravity girl. Without control, her body was sent hurtling toward a new guard as a weightless projectile moving only through momentum. Zero was off, which was rude considering everything she had just left Silhouette to deal with, internally and externally. When Silhouette heard the thud of someone hitting a wall behind her, she thought it was just good karma.
The guard, thankfully, was not expecting what he got with a full-grown woman flying through the air at him in the dark. He did the logical thing, and for Silhouette, the perfect thing. A flashlight was raised and pointed at the catsuited criminal, letting her shift into a shadow. It was risky; if he turned the light off, she’d be forcibly transformed back and knocked out.
He did not have that kind of time. As a shadow, Silhouette wrapped around his head, reforming as a person so she was sitting on his shoulders with her calves and thighs squeezing his neck. He flailed around, but she was able to get a hand on his flashlight. How did she not keep one of these with her? It seemed so obvious now.
Still clearly weightless, she realized she was losing a lot of time she could be using to catch Zero. ”Thank you for your time, sorry, gotta run!” Repositioning herself, crawling all over the guard like a monkey, she got to his back and used all four limbs to push herself off him so she could fly down the hall as quickly as possible. Her angle was poor, and she bounced off of one wall, the floor, the other wall, and the ceiling. She could only do her best to land on a shoulder, hand, or foot when possible. She would be feeling this in the morning.
Meeting a T-Junction, Silhouette looked both ways and saw Zero further along down a hall that ended in a slightly cracked sliding door. A way out?
Flicking the flashlight on, she left it on the ground when she bounced off it, flashing the light in Zero’s direction. There was a very nice and very cliche suit of armor at the junction, so Silhouette kicked off of it to change course toward Zero, knocking the suit apart with a clatter. Whatever, rich people problems. With the light shining in this direction, she was able to return to shadowform, negating the lack of gravity when she hit a wall and melded into it.
The shadow traveled along the wall, emerging when it got close enough to smack into Raine. She would have loved to say something quippy, but there was no time with Silhouette knocking Raine into a shadow cast by the new lightsource. The two entered the shadow and almost immediately emerged on the other side of the partially agar door.
There was barely any light in the room, so Silhouette almost immediately swapped back to her normal self. The return of her optimal hearing let her hear guards approaching. In a panic, realizing she was in some kind of deadend, she saw a panel with a button next to the door and slammed it. With a weighty mechanical whirring, the door closed behind them.
“What the-- where did those bitches go?”
“Check down that hall. The panic room was already closed, right?”
“Yeah. I think. Pretty sure, but hey, if they’re in there, they ain’t getting out, right?”
While clients liked their photographers to walk a more casual line than their other contractors, that did not mean they were looking for someone who was not punctual. Showing up when you were supposed to was the first step in ensuring you might be hired again. It also kept the meeting from starting on the wrong foot and spiraling from there.
Her greeting was met with an invitation to get set up. It also notably did not prompt her employer to move any closer. She expected the gap in distance to be bridged by the woman in charge, so if she was keeping her distance, Stephanie would let her do that. Things were being kept professional, based on the email exchange where she only got the business name.
Stephanie got right to business then, unzipping her bag and pulling out her equipment to get settled in. As she set up a small tripod, she was given a little more insight as to who she was dealing with. ”Dreya,” she repeated, committing the name to memory. ”Love the name. And I found the place just fine. Well, with a bit of work; I’m still adjusting to navigating the city.” She was, in many ways, still a newcomer to the city in more ways than one.
”I’m Stephanie. Which you may know based on our emails, unless you weren’t the one I had the pleasure of corresponding with?” Her contact never offered a name, after all.
The right choice would have been to act quickly and decisively while she was in a position of strength. Being coy and flirting was always fun on the job in the rare opportunities where she could do it, but Silhouette knew the mission should come first.
Despite that logical understanding, Silhouette’s logical brain was struggling to find an opportunity for input. Zero was an intoxicant, clouding her judgement with a pleasant scent and a jawline that was just begging for a trail of kisses. Silhouette had taken sexual frustrations with her into the field before, but she was a professional. She knew how to control herself. Why now? Why was she so willing to play this dangerous game with her gravitationally-adept vigilante?
The moment was hanging there, and for a second, Silhouette was convinced she could feel Zero’s mind ready to give in and join her in her flirtatious games. That was before a sudden shift of gravity flipped the thief’s stomach as she hit the ground hard, her feet catching the initial impact before she wobbled and fell against her side. The same side that hit the wall. That probably hurt, but alcohol was doing a good job of numbing her. It did not help how queasy the sudden shift of equilibrium made her.
Zero slipped the envelope into her suit, which… well, that was another reason to hate that damn suit. (The second was for serving as the thing keeping her vigilante clothed.) After her denial of Silhouette’s advances, Zero shifted toward the door and Silhouette tried to reestablish herself.
And then the door opened. Right. Guards. Silhouette stumbled back, but Zero plummeted forward, tumbling straight toward the guard. He was not ready; the impact took him off his feet and knocked him hard back into the doorframe. He fell, slightly dazed, while Zero made it out through the door.
Silhouette could cut her losses. She could leave. Of course, she jumped forward and leapt over the guard’s body, mumbling, ”Take five, big guy, I’ve got her.” Silhouette kicked off the wall to change her momentum and take off down the hall, following Zero. She had to do this without her powers, but she would manage: it was her turn as the cat to Zero’s mouse.
Stephanie’s dayjob was important. She reminded herself of that when she got up in the morning and dropped her daughter off at daycare so she could go to her small studio. The morning ritual was always bittersweet because Steph loved Malia, but now it came with an extra element of awkwardness because of a certain friend she had successfully ruined things with. Good job, Stephanie.
With that added downside, it was very tempting to cut her photography work and live off her nightjob. As much as she would like the cop-out solution, having a public life was important for keeping undue attention off her affairs. She also genuinely loved photography. She needed to focus on that more, which was why she scanned listings for freelance photography requests.
It was not a complicated job, but the details spoke to Steph. The jewelry was gorgeous and she could work with that. It was also a cash only job, which did little to bolster her rapport with the IRS, but not every job had to be on the books, clearly. When Steph saw examples of the plain photographs she was going to be replacing, she knew she could offer something better, and the examples she sent proved that.
From what Stephanie could gather, the woman she was dealing with was professional, but not upscale. The choice of a conference room as a meeting space, therefore, was unexpected. Maybe her client was ambitious? Entrepreneurial, even? At least they were interesting enough to make the meeting a change of pace from drop-ins to the studio.
Enjoying a day that was only cool rather than straight-up cold (to the southerner, at least. She opted for a peach cardigan rather than one of her heavier peacoats. Being a photographer called for an interesting balance between professional and casual. Clients wanted her to be artsy but able to get a job done and look the part. For that, she wore nice black capris and a knotted-front white top. Across the whole outfit, of course, was her large canvas bag that carried her photography equipment.
When Stephanie arrived at the large office building, she offered her name to the front desk and received instructions on where to proceed. After a brief trip down the wrong hallway, the photographer found the frosted glass door with the correct number on the outside. After knocking, she risked opening the door and poking her head in.
And gosh darn, if her client was not a very pretty brunette. She would chalk that up as another added perk of the job. ”Good morning! I’m Stephanie Graves, and I believe I’m here to take some gorgeous jewelry photos for you today?”
Trying to take control was not a given with Zero. She was not just going to lay back and let a criminal flip her over without a fight. Silhouette saw a hand coming and tried to turn her head to avoid an impact, only to realize Zero made contact with her chest instead. It was not even a punch, it was just like she was pressing something against...
Oh. Oh frick. Oh fuck. Oh frack, it was one of those weird gravity things!
Sure enough, the next gesture from her rival was directed toward the wall near the door. Through the haze of her liquored-up brain, Silhouette had to act more than she could think. The envelope slipped from her grasp, but she had a higher priority-- grip. Her leg hooked around one of Zero's legs and her arm wrapped around the vigilante. Her hand sought purchase and found a pert backside to grasp just in time for the world to turn sideways.
It was not like Silhouette was being pulled; it was that familiar falling sensation. This was going to become something familiar if she kept doing this with Zero, and apparently, she had a superhero stalker. Clinging to Zero as firmly as she could, they both traveled for the wall. The way they landed was awkward, partially on Silhouette's shoulder and the rest was Raine's back. They collided against the wall with a loud slam. The impact even knocked over what looked to be a very nice vase.
That should be the focus. That was a lot of noise. Instead, there was a fit body in a skintight suit Silhouette was wrapped up in. Despite the momentary daze of landing in the wrong direction, Silhouette found her bearings enough to keep herself "atop" Zero. Well, assuming the wall was the floor. Or was the floor the wall now?
They were further from the window, so Zero's face was cast in darkness. It was close, though. There was a scent, almost familiar, but obscured by the scent of alcohol. That was probably just Silhouette. (Though did she drink a margarita tonight...?)
She had to get her head in the game, because once again, this woman had stolen her prize. Maybe to start, she could stop squeezing her nemesis' ass. Just had to... slip it out from under her. And there, her grip was now on Zero's thigh instead. Better. "You're just determined to be trouble, aren't you, girl scout? I bet that vase was expensive." Silhouette had an eye for that kind of thing, even if a vase was impractical to sneak away with.
Pressing her body against Zero's in an effort to keep her from squirming away too far, Steph's free hand felt around for the envelope Zero might still have on her. "Now instead of fighting, why don't we just take that envelope and run off together?" she asked in a whisper like they did not alert every guard on the floor with their antics. It was not as though either of them was really "meant" to be there, she thought as she felt her hands brush a paper surface.
There were absolutely lovers Stephanie took who were best left anonymous. She was still young. As a criminal vagabond, when teenage hormones hit her, she just wanted a partner. Flirting was fun and personalities were appealing, but at the end of the day, those were not dealbreakers. If you’re just looking for a motorcycle to ride, it’s personality was not the highlight of what you need from it.
With April, it was nice to have some common ground and compatibility. Stephanie found the point of returning to her older-self’s belongings interesting. ”Older me left me a few good outfits, though some of her outfits are a little snug on me. She was living pretty modestly, so I still have to hustle with my photography.” And her thievery, of course.
So often, Steph tried to be in control and in charge. It was easy to forget she was eighteen. April knew that, and she clearly realized she had more experience in the dating field than the single mother. Her advice was not to focus so much on ghosting her one-night stands. At least not the ones she liked.
Stephanie smirked, because it was nice having someone talk to her like she could learn a thing or two. Because heaven help her, she could. ”Well, this sounds like a lot of biased opinions from a gal who wants her number to stay in my phonebook.” Or contacts list, she supposed. Man, Twenty-Twenty. ”Really though, you might have a point. I could use a friend or two.”
After mulling over this potential leniency to her previously held code, April’s sultry suggestion got to her. Leaning over the table, letting her low-cut dress put in some work, Stephanie sighed. ”Let’s see how I feel in the morning. I get the feeling I might wake up in a generous mood.” She was not looking for a long-term f*ckbuddy, but the thought of having a relatable, hot friend did not sound so bad.
Silhouette had been so preoccupied with scrambling from her hands and knees, by the time she was standing she was caught by surprise. The shadowcaster was a familiar face, which was enough of a shock. Almost as surprising was how close the vigilante managed to get. If Silhouette stumbled forward, which was a real possibility, she might have bumped noses with the masked crusader.
The way Zero was straddling the window, the thief wondered if her best bet was to try pushing the vigilante out so she could run. Unfortunately, Zero had weird gravity magic, and if she did not, Silhouette would feel guilty for pushing her out of a two-story window. That was not the way, so she carefully took a step back as Zero got her other leg into the room.
A fine leg; bless whoever designed the skintight material she was wearing, because Silhouette could see the definition of those fine-ass legs. She wondered if there was a fine-ass ass to go along with them. Had she had the chance to sneak a peek last time? Probably not; that was the problem with being the mouse to her cat! No booty-glimpsing when you’re the one being chased.
Focus. Zero said something. She was trying to talk her out of committing a crime? Preposterous! She was a crime girl! Silhouette was ready to politely decline before she realized the moonlight-framed hero was throwing herself forward at her prey.
There was not enough light to muster a good shadow, but she could catch Zero’s ankle with a shadowsnare. What did that do? Well, it definitely let Zero’s forward momentum carry her right into Silhouette’s torso, pushing her onto the nice mahogany table.
With her back hitting the surface with a thump, Silhouette fought to get her head in the game. What was her situation? She was pinned. Actually, pinned was generous. Her back was against the table with her legs dangling off the edge. Zero did not have her pinned as much as she had her body laying prone against Silhouette. It was… a lot of contact. Enough to make Silhouette shiver.
Once again. FOCUS. Trying to keep control of her situation, she did have an advantage: the thief had almost a foot of height on her nemesis, (and Zero was totally treading nemesis territory.) She tried to plant her feet on the floor, which she doubted Zero could reach, in hopes of flipping their position. She wanted to get her footing and not be the one pressed between the table and a body. Steph had to fight to get on top of her. This.
”Oh come on. This rich jackass can spare one envelope. I’m just asking for one free pass, as a treat,” she said in a low whisper, leaning toward Zero’s ear in a futile attempt not to lure more potential guard attention.
Silhouette wished she could turn the lights on. The light made her feel safe. When she was a kid, the dark always made her uncomfortable, but now that she was an adult, her power relied on the light. Jobs like this were the reason she had to keep her skills sharp, because he could not rely on her mutation.
Alcohol… well, it had a way of wearing her skills down. She walked lightly and close to the wall to prevent creaking in the hallway, but she caught her shoulder on a doorknob with a muted thud and bit down on her lip to prevent herself from swearing and gathering attention from any nearby parties. She was a world-class thief; she had to control herself!
Silhouette approached an intersection between two halls and poked her head out to check down both directions. She immediately saw a flashlight’s presence turning the corner toward her. Her heartbeat quickened and Silhouette retreated back. The presence of the light was approaching, but for all she knew, this guard was seven-feet-tall and built like a statue. She was confident in her abilities, but after a night of drinking? Sneaky was better. The wise choice was to dive into a nearby room and quietly close the door.
Looking around her to get a grasp of her surroundings, the thief realized… she was in a study! Or an office! One of those rooms only rich people tended to have in their homes. What mattered: she spotted a desk. Clearly, her amazing criminal instincts led her to the right room definitely on purpose. Unless this was the wrong office. Then she was just doing her due diligence. She would decide on a narrative later.
What mattered now was digging through drawers, and Silhouette could do that. A quick scan through found nothing beyond a small key (which she swiped), but if she was stealing something worth stealing, it would not be that easy. She checked for a locked drawer or a secret compartment in one of the drawers, but to no avail.
Trying to think outside of the box, wine gave her a dumb yet plausible idea. Getting down to her knees, she crawled into the leg-space of the desk and felt around the sides of the interior. Much to her surprise, she did find a small crease. A hidden compartment on the side! Honestly, how stupid must it have looked every time this guy got under his desk to get things from here?
She blindly pawed around for the keyhole and, conveniently, the key from the main drawer opened the lock to the hidden one. That was… just lazy, honestly. She pulled the drawer open, but it locked in place when pulled to far, which resulted in a… thump? That sounded wrong. How did she make that noise? It barely sounded like it even came from the desk, but that was the only logical answer.
Whatever! She had her prize! Carefully, watching for traps or alarms to go off, she withdrew an envelope heavy with legal papers. Pleased with herself, Silhouette shimmed, bottom-first out from under the desk. Before she made it all the way though, she noticed something.
Silhouette noticed shadows. They were her thing. She also noticed when a shadow was not hers, and a new shadow was being cast behind her.
The surprise of it made the burglar shoot up, trying to get to her feet. This promptly banged her head against the underside of the thick mahogany desk. And queue a colorful curse involving mothers and those who loved them.
Slightly dazed, but mostly panicked, Silhouette straightened out and spun around toward the window behind her. To her confusion and horror, she found herself face-to-face with Zero, silhouetted by moonlight.
Having the wherewithal to keep her voice breathy and modified, she whined, ”Do we have to?” She was having a crappy night; couldn’t the vigilante just let her off with a warning?
Probably not. Goodie Two-Shoes. Silhouette backed away from the window toward the door, sure they were not about to have polite discourse on law versus justice.
Stephanie enjoyed a good game of dress-up. She would be lying if she said she did not have an attachment to the catsuit she wore as Silhouette. When she went out to work, she got to dress chic and professional, but it was less common for her to have an excuse to bring out a nice evening dress.
And so, she would enjoy being fancy and glamorous until it was time to remove clothing. It certainly seemed like that was the path tonight. Neither woman was shy about her intentions, so barring April being a surprise bigot or a die-hard pineapple pizza lover, they were in for a very nice hot and heavy night.
Until then, Stephanie genuinely wanted a nice night of conversation, and evidently they had something very unique to bond over. ”I mean, it’s not like I had many things tying me down on the other side when I was this age,” she admitted. ”I was always a bit transient and Malia’s father wasn’t in the picture anyway. I was always sorta starting fresh, and I don't think older me had a ton to lose. I kept the most important thing when Malia de-aged with me. Still, it’s not easy for any of us to start from step one.”
Stephanie took a sip from her wine and shook her head. ”Darnit, April. How am I supposed to ghost you in the morning if I might need you as my de-aged support friend? She smirked, shrugging a shoulder. ”I might have to reconsider sleeping with you. What am I supposed to do? Actually call my one-night stands back? A girl might develop a reputation.” It was an empty threat, of course. Even as she said it, Stephanie’s bedroom eyes were locked on April, only leaving her dining partner’s hazel gaze to drift shamelessly down toward the skin exposed by her dress.
The less-than-discreet shadow traveled along the lantern-lit outer wall, bouncing from window to window until she found an open one. Sure, it was just a crack but seriously, it was February. Whoever lived here, she said he didn't even go into this room. Rich people with houses too big to even need. Whatever it was she was stealing from him, he probably deserved it.
After slipping into what seemed like a changing room of some kind, Silhouette shifted back into her human form before she stepped away from the light of the window. Sloppy and more visible than she should be in that situation, but if you graded on a drunkenness curve, it was forgivable.
She did remember what she was here for, at least: paperwork. It was not glamorous, but it sounded like some kind of real estate conflict and she was not going to lose sleep over playing her role. She had other things to keep her from sleeping. Vivid memories of intimate dancing. The warm skin at her fingertips. The mingling scents of the dancer and the floral perfume on her exposed neck...
Shaking off very distracting thoughts, Silhouette opened the door as quietly as she could manage and slipped onto the hallway, sticking close to the walls. She had to find an office. This was business as usual.
And tonight, business as usual was still not offering the thrill she clearly needed. Maybe she just had to accept a night that started with such promise was going to end unfulfilled.
