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.
Kyle couldn't help but let a small frown appear on his face as he listened to Evelyn. Even a small blow to the head could have caused a concussion and those were best dealt with as soon as possible. He would know; he'd gotten his fair share of wallops to the head in his years of combat. Still...from what Kyle gathered, Evelyn would do what Evelyn wanted to do and it would take a serious reason to deter her from it. Heck, she'd almost gotten herself killed several times tonight despite Kyle telling her to stay out of the way.
That brought a small smile to Kyle's face instead of the frown and with a shrug, put his helmet under his one arm and offered the other to her. "Well then, allow me to escort you back. Just give me a moment to hide my bike from prying eyes and throw something on over my...attire. I'd rather avoid certain questions, if you catch my meaning."
Smiling, he'd lead her to where his bike rested. Briefly, he started it up and pulled it around into a nearby parking lot before throwing on a jacket and a pair of pants to hide his unique under armor. His gauntlets and shin guards were removed as well and when he returned to Evelyn, he looked as he did earlier. Once again, he offered her an arm and smiled. "Shall we end this interesting night on a more level note?"
What remained of the van burned brightly in the darkness of night, the tree it was wrapped around slowly joining it in a fiery embrace. Frowning under his mask, Kyle stepped away from Evelyn for a moment, lifting both arms at the burning van. With no indication whatsoever, energy suddenly burst forth from his hands. The two beams smashed into the van with surprising force, knocking it away from the tree it had connected with a grind of metal.
He wasn't done there; closing his hands for a moment, Kyle stepped closer and then swung them sideways in an arc, his energy spraying out from each finger into a wider spread. It wasn't enough to put out the flames, but it did stifle them by a level. Hopefully that would be enough to keep them from spreading too far until the proper authorities could arrive.
A quick check of the men a few yards off showed that, aside from their fallen leader, the men were no worse from wear from the explosion. The cops would likely be able to handle them; they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Satisfied, Kyle moved back to Evelyn and offered her a hand up. Once she was, Kyle pulled the mask covering the lower part of his face down and smiled lightly at her.
"Well, I think its time for one final bit of excitement tonight." Removing his helmet, Kyle clicked a device inside, which returned it to its normal looking appearance. "We should get you to a hospital and have you checked out. But first, I assume we should return what has been taken, shouldn't we?" Eying the bronze pieces, Kyle offered his hand to guide her to where his bike awaited.
Even though Kyle had managed to keep his demeanor calm, cold and distant, the fact that Evelyn's most pressing concern after being kidnapped and tossed around and almost killed was the status of her paintings made a small huff of laughter escape him. "Oddly enough, I'm not surprised that's what worries you the most. Far as I know, they didn't escape with any paintings. One moment."
Standing, Kyle wandered over to the ruined van and ducked inside for a moment. The driver was still slumped over in his seat, a small red line running down his face from the gash on his forehead. Another man was slumped over in the second seat, groaning slightly. Checking him for injuries, Kyle gave him a slight bop on the head to knock him out. He wasn't too badly hurt and now at least the cops would find him.
A moment later, Kyle exited the van, dragging the two men a short distance away before dropping them next to their fallen leader. Returning to the van, Kyle was gone only a moment before returning with the two statues the man had stolen. One had a slight coating of blood on it, so the first thing Kyle did upon returning to Evelyn's side was tilt her forward gently. "You've got a bit of a gash here...I suppose he must have bashed you with the statue. Nothing too serious but we should get you checked out just in case."
He was about to say more when the sound of trickling fluids made his gaze return to the ruined van. Beneath the van, a pool of something was forming...gas most like. Normally, Kyle would have pushed that thought aside...until he saw the small fire from the engine that was burning slowly on the grass. Quick as the devil, Kyle scooped Evelyn up, the statues already in her hands from her inspecting them, and put all the energy he could into his legs to run.
They hadn't gone more than a few feet before the van exploded into brilliant colors, the following shockwave sending both of them forward from the force. Kyle took the worst of it, as he shielded Evelyn from the blast, before sliding behind a nearby tree to avoid the raining debris. Glancing back, Kyle took a moment before turning back to her. "At least one can't say I don't make things interesting. Have you ever ridden a bike before?"
The van hadn't made it far into the park. Without its back wheels, the speed of the vehicle had been edged away greatly upon the road and the soft grass of the park finished what the concrete had begun. It was a miracle that the vehicle didn't manage to turn itself upside down in all the spinning and swirling it did on route to its final stop. That or the driver's skill. What it did do, however, was manage to wrap its front end around a large tree, the front wrapped out the trunk like lovers. Smoke drifted from its engine and more came from the metal rims which were still hissing.
Kyle was a shadow amongst the trees, covering the park quickly to reach the van's location. It wasn't hard to find, what with the trail it had left in the grass and the smoke in the distance. Kyle hoped that Evelyn hadn't been hurt too badly in the crash; he would have found that unfortunate. With a little luck, she'd be fine and the robbers would be...
The scream that pierced the night ended that thought dead in its tracks. Kyle's pace went from quick to swift in an instant, his body a dark blur as he covered those last few yards to the crippled van. Just in time too; the leader of the crew was dragging Evelyn from the vehicle. She was giving him the fight of it, but Kyle could tell she was shaken from the crash. The man was as well, but the advantage was falling back into his court. And he was livid. Kyle heard it in his voice even as he closed that final distance, energy in hand.
"You annoying little...my men beaten, my plan screwed. All because of you and that damned mutant. So now I'm gonna drag your ass into the woods, have some fun and then put my fist down your throat! And I really hope you cho.."
What he hoped never got said, because in that instance, Kyle was there. The man had realized it at the last second, but he was no where near fast enough to stop the hand that gripped his face, his palm to the man's mouth. "Choke on this." Kyle's hand flashed and the man's eyes went wide as his energy sprayed right into the man's open mouth. For a moment, every orifice on the man's face glowed...before Kyle's energy made sure he wouldn't be hurting anyone again.
As the man's body slumped to the ground, Kyle took a moment to check the status of the driver before dropping to a knee beside Evelyn, putting a hand on her cheek. "Are you alright?"
In some distant part of his mind, Kyle had been hoping the man was all show, despite his appearance. That would have made things easy for him, a quick bout that he could win before making his escape.
But that was in the distant part of his mind and a small portion of it at that. The rest of his mind, the part that usually dominated all thought, relished the fact that his foe had the skill to give him something he'd not had in a while. A good fight. Thugs were never good enough, more muscle then brains, believing that if you were big enough, no one could put you down. Failing that, they believed numbers would win the game; one man against ten was surely a win for the ten. Even the few individuals that Kyle had faced lately, while interesting in different aspects, were not enough to be a challenge to him.
But this man was. That was clear in his first strikes and his quick reaction to Kyle's own, dodging the worst of the blows to take only minor damage. He didn't waste time either in the following moments. No sooner had Kyle's attack ended did the man begin his own sequence anew. A sweeping roundhouse was his first method of attack, a low down move that was easy to hop over. The incoming uppercut was harder.
Of the options Kyle had avaliable, he choose the simple one. Shifting his body slightly, Kyle slipped to the side, the blow glancing off his stomach ever so slightly as he moved clear. By his actions, Kyle also managed to avoid the grab for his helmet, while drawing his own arm back in the process. Stopping his swing sideways by planting his foot, Kyle swung a hard left at the man, followed by a sharp uppercut of his own. It was looking like this dance was going to take a while.
As the last of the wannable robbers hit the floor in a bumbling heap, Kyle took a brief moment to survey the situation. Of the seven men he'd encountered inside, his eyes counted six laying on the floor around him, either moaning in pain or simply lying still; whether or not they were still breathing wasn't as much a concern to him. As threats, they had been completely neutralized for the time being, a fact that he ensured by giving the ones still conscious a swift kick to the head.
Satisfied that they were down for the count, Kyle turned to seek out the leader; he'd seen the man avoiding getting involved in the brawl earlier, but his hands had been preoccupied at the time to do anything about it. Now it was clear that the man had fled or was in the process of doing so. He would have to get outside fast to head him off before...
A sudden thud caught his attention, his entire body snapping around to face the source of the sound. Barely, he managed to catch a glimpse of someone booking it down the halls, the leader most like. But what caught Kyle's eye was the fact that he was carrying something over his shoulder; a piece of stolen art perhaps? Inwardly, he frowned; he had told Evelyn he wouldn't let them take or steal anything. Kyle disliked to be proven a liar.
Moving quickly, Kyle burst after the man, unleashing a bolt at a nearby glass case as he passed it. The bolt wasn't meant for anything big or flashy...but it did shatter the glass casing around some vase of sorts and sending an alarm blaring through the museum. With any luck, that would bring the still unaware guards up in monitor running or calling for the police. The defeated men were handled. Kyle's task lay elsewhere.
He made it outside just in time to catch the leader throwing his stolen item into the back of their getaway van. His glimpse was brief, but in that brief moment, Kyle was able to notice that the item he was throwing into his van was flexible...and human. Kyle had promised he wouldn't let them take any of the priceless gems within; that incluced the gem that was named Evelyn. Things this night just didn't want to go right. Shaking his head, Kyle took off for the nearby alley as the van slipped into the night traffic.
Moments later, Kyle was roaring after it, his bike weaving past cars as he fought to keep the van in sight. There were at least two men left, he knew. One was driving, the other was the leader...there might have been more, but for now, Kyle was unable to tell. Normally, Kyle would have just blasted the van, but with Evelyn inside, that risk was too great. But tires, on the other hand. Racing up, Kyle kept pace with the van until it was near a clean stretch near the park...then his hand lashed out, sending two bolts of energy at the rear tires. They rumbled and popped, sparks spraying off the metal rims as the van veered off into the park.
Pulling his bike to a stop, Kyle quickly headed into the trees to find where the van had eventually met a tree.
"Valid point. I sometimes forget that because of my power, what seems to be light exercise to me might as well be a marathon for others. Still, there should be some way for us to spar on a higher level without making it difficult to do other things in the day.
Noel's question gave pause to Kyle's words and thoughts(thankfully not his motor functions). It wasn't that the idea was terrible or anything of the sort. It was actually a good idea that had not occured to him for this matter. What gave pause to him is the questions she phrased after; had he never told her he was currently living in Sanctuary and as such, was aware of the Danger Room within and what uses it held for training?
The possibly was there that he HAD told her, but that memory had managed to get itself lost or erased, as her power was liable to do from time to time. Or he had never told her that he'd made a place for himself there since arriving in the city. Either way, it didn't much change the answer he was about to give.
"It's called a Danger Room; it puts you into a real life scenario without actually putting you in real danger...unless you lower the safety setting. I'm quite familiar with it and Sanctuary. I've been there for a while now.
It's an interesting proposal. And not a bad alternative to my suggestion. I don't see why we can't make use of it. Are you up for visiting the Sanctuary today, if only to get the lay of the land and yourself settled?"
It wasn't hard to take off a shirt without removing a helmet when the shirt had buttons. All one had to do was slip, slip, slip and boom, the shirt was gone while the helmet remained. Why Kyle hadn't just taken off the helmet too was a two fold choice for now; it hid who he was in case he had to make a getaway and it gave his head a little more extra protection. It was weird to be wearing it without the rest of his outfit, but the pros outweighed the cons in this situation.
While the motion might have been cliched, that didn't stop the man from suddenly launching himself towards Kyle, closing the distance between them in several quick steps. Most people might have been caught off guard or paralyzed by this; Kyle wasn't most people. As the hook for his stomach came in, Kyle's arm came up, catching the hook on the inside track as he deflected the blow aside with a snap of his arm.
The incoming elbow met the same fate; Kyle's other arm came up and he caught the elbow with his forearm, flexing the muscle in his arms to prevent the elbow from reaching its desired target. Kyle didn't wait for his shirtless foe to gather himself from the attack. His free arm snapped up and sent a quick jab for his foe's stomach, which would follow into a sudden palm strike in a one-two succession.
Whether the move was a hit or a miss, Kyle was already making sure he would be retreating a step or two in the wake of the attack. One to gather room to maneuever if need be and two to give himself more room to wind up for following strikes.
One gun left between the six men that were still able to move. From a statistical standpoint, only one gun, and one that was currently jammed at that, between six men that were all armed before put the ball firmly in Kyle's court. Kyle knew otherwise; one gun jammed could quickly become unjammed at any moment. And only one gun was needed to turn things south for him and Evelyn real quick.
His eyes never left the men even as Evelyn whispered to him their status, his eyes locating each in turn as she pointed them out. Broken ribs, a shattered nose, a dislocated shoulder and a concussion were not injuries to take lightly...but all of them were starting to stand and even a wounded dog might yet have bite in it.
"This is nothing. I'm not even angry yet. But staying on my good side is not a bad idea either."
His hand still glowing, Kyle's expression remained neutral throughtout the exchange between their leader and Evelyn. By the end of it, Kyle wanted to put his hand to his face in the classic facepalm that had become normal terminlogy in today's society. Refraining from doing that, Kyle kept his eyes on their leader, watching the man pointing the gun at Evelyn out of the corner of his eye. "I apologize; you must have misunderstood me. I wasn't giving you a choice; you will surrender or suffer. As for the woman, she's doing a good job of almost getting herself hurt without your empty threats. Simply, whether I said yes or not, she would put herself into harm's way for these paintings and likely not regret it."
Before any of them had a chance to react, Kyle's hand flashed as the energy he'd stored there snapped out at the man holding the gun towards Evelyn. He unleashed two blasts in quick succession; the first removed the gun from his hand rather violently, while the second caught him dead in the chest and sent him crashing to a heap in the hall over. Once again, Kyle's hand turned purple in the darkness, only this time it was pointed at their leader. "You won't be hurting her nor leaving with anything of value. I gave you a chance...and now you join the relics."
And once again, Kyle was upon them, only this time, flashes of purple energy burst forth from his hands instead of fists or kicks, sprawling them in every direction in moaning heaps before turning to search for the leader.
With the lights gone, Kyle's eyes didn't take long to adjust to the darkness that now covered almost every inch of the museum. The men he was descending upon would soon have the same advantage but Kyle wasn't intending on giving them the length of time to gain it. No sooner were the lights out and Kyle had silently dropped one of the men into a twitching log on the floor, he had used one of the nearby odd sculptures to drop amongst the men and unleashed hell.
Kyle was a fighter by nature. He had spent many years fighting, perfecting his technique...and recently he was far more dangerous than ever. Kyle now struck faster, stronger and knew where to hit a man to put him in the pain. First things came first; his blows came down hard and sharp onto the arms of the men that held guns. There was a sharp crack from two of the men as Kyle's blows made their wrists buckle and their fingers numb, weapons clacking to the floor as the echoes bounced off the quiet halls.
One man went down cringing as Kyle used his blade to give his arm a nasty but non-fatal gash. A solid kick to his jaw put him out cold as he stared in shock and tears at his arm. Three down, four to go. By now, their leader was openly shouting at his guys to grab what they could and go. One of them was darting off to do that; the other three were busy with the sudden shadow that was flinging blows at them. To their credit, the three men were starting to work as a team, even without their guns.
Kyle calmly faced the men down, blocking and moving to keep the men guessing. Blows came in from his sides, but they were quick, panicked blows; every time one didn't make the right contact or found nothing, they threw more blows in an attempt to take Kyle down. That was exactly what Kyle had been waiting for. His hands sparked lightly before he unleashed his energy, smashing two of the men into each other while their leader was knocked off balance by his collapsing team mates.
That's when Evelyn shouted. Snapping his head around, Kyle managed to just make her out, a few steps away. And she wasn't alone. The man who had broken off from the others had been trying to make off with a painting...and Evelyn had stopped him. She had succeeded in stalling him at least...and buying Kyle enough time to make his way over to them just in time to catch that swinging arm across his chest before smashing the man in the wall hard(avoiding the paintings entirely thankfully.)
"Be careful; you could have been hurt." A low purple light slowly started filling the space around them as Kyle's left hand began emitting energy, the hand raised to point at the leader who was trying to get his comrades back to their feet. The light drew their attention but it also stopped them in their tracks as Kyle stared at them coldly...even as the light illuminated the dripping red from his right shoulder where the knife the man had been wielding had made contact.
"One chance. Surrender now...or join your friends. Make your choice quick."
The man Kyle had put into the museum floor might have been dead. He wasn't moving but Kyle hadn't thought he put him down that hard. Still...no sleep would be lost. His life just might, however, if he didn't deal with the others. As his eyes played across the fidgeting lights and the grumbling men, Kyle found himself musing how this had come about.
Upon his arrival, Kyle's plan had been simple enough. Use the shadows to help neutralize the men one by one, to take advantage of confusion and stealth to chip away at their numbers until only a few remained. The man on the roof had proven no trouble; he didn't even have time to register Kyle's presence before Kyle had fallen on him, clubbing him with a solid kick to the jaw to rumble his brain before flattening him with a punch to the same. He would be out for hours and it hadn't been hard to use plastic cuffs to restrain him.
But a good plan lasts only until first contact with the enemy. Kyle had been content to wait for his chance to strike, but that had been before Evelyn's arrival. If they'd only restrained her, Kyle would have stuck to his guns...but instead they were opting to silence her for good. It had been a slight battle in his minds whether or not to let them do it, to strike early and reveal himself while saving her in the process or letting her die and leaving the element of surprise on his side. In the end, his choice had been made. Now he was staring at six angry men, half terrifed at his arrival, half angry that they were dealing with another kink in their perfect plan.
With all those lights, it was easy to count the number of enemies and know their general location. However, the lights shining in his face made it hard to make out their body shapes and in that same notion, where their weapons might be. He heard the devices being cocked, knew that their guns were being trained on him even as he stood there, silent, his head tilted down so that his helmet shaded his eyes from them. It was gonna be a close call to take out those weapons...and with Evelyn behind him, it was going to be even more difficult. At the moment, she was a liability.
That was his thoughts until Evelyn all but gave him all the information he could have needed. His expression didn't change under the mask that covered up to his nose, but internally he was almost estatic. It wasn't every day the key to the fight practically told you everything you needed to win. "Valuable information. I'm beginning to like your power more and more. Now take cover; this might get chaotic."
Even as he spoke, his fingertips had been gathering energy. Each of them glowed a dim purple, a fact hidden by the fact that he kept them low and just out of the light shining in his face. His body gave away nothing, even as the men were shouting at him now to move, get down, don't try anything funny. Only one man wasn't shouting; the man he'd kicked back into the group. No sooner was Evelyn out of the line of direct fire did Kyle move; darting off to the side out of the light, his hands snapping up. Bolts of light shot out from his finger tips, aimed at those flashlights. Men cursed, lights fell to the floor and snapped out, one of them even dropped this gun. Some of them fired, before a harsh voice rang out against them.
"Idiots, don't just fire blindly! You could damage the goods! Pair up and stick close...bastard took out our lights. Probably a mutant...watch yourself and get ready to leave. If you get a clear shot though, of him or the girl...kill them."
The men all murmmered in agreement before grabbing the man next to them to carry out their leaders orders. Only where there once was six, five men remained. From the shadows, Kyle waited...waited...and then sprung, fists and feet a blur of motion as he brought the heat down on the men.
The man had done his recon well. Before him and his buddies had even entered the museum, he knew exactly which pieces they were going to make a run for, where they were located and where the cameras and guards would be. The cameras had been easy enough to cover up with still images and by knowing the timing of the guard's patrols, the men were easily able to subdue them through several well placed ambushes. As for the alarms, they were tough but in the end, they had been bypassed as well, all in thanks to the techman on their team.
It had been well after dark when the men had made their move on the museum. A group of ten men, a large group by any robbing standards, had been planning this move for months, carefully planning every single step. Seven of them went in, while two remained behind in their getaway vehicle while the last was nearby, monitoring things from outside and listening for trouble on a police scanner. The rooftop man could see down streets clear in any direction, so he was there first line of defense in case trouble was coming.
He never did see the shadow that descended down upon him.
Inside the museum, things were going just as planned for the robbers. The guards had been neutralized and several of their target paintings were already being loaded up for transport to their getaway vehicle. Each of them was armed, but most of them had their weapons away now; only two still had them in hand and they weren't expecting to have to use them any more than they already had. Those two were on watch, keeping an eye out for possible kinks to their plan, while the other five continued to carefully remove the pieces and prep them.
Not a one of them could see the shadow that lurked just out of sight, waiting for his chance to strike.
Not a one of them, the shadow included, expected Evelyn to suddenly appear with a broom in hand and challenge the intruders.
The first reaction was shock. The men hadn't expected this woman to appear and for a moment, they all froze as they expected her to suddenly scream and bolt. When she didn't, guns were suddenly raised as two of the men were suddenly on her, one snatching the broom from her hands as his partner kept his weapon trained on her. The other five just snickered a little before their leader told them to stow it and get back to work. Of them all, he was the one who was angry with this development. He kicked her over before his comrade with the gun on her turned to him.
"What should we do with this one boss?"
"We didn't come here to take hostages. Make sure she doesn't shout out but don't use a gun. We don't want to attract attention. Make it quick."
Glancing at one another, the one man shrugged before pouncing onto Evelyn and putting his hands around her throat. "Sorry about this but...you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'll make this quick though."
The words had barely left the man's mouth before a hand was suddenly against his face. Before the shock could truly register on him, that hand slammed him violently down to the floor while his comrade was suddenly flying back amongst the others from a hard kick to his stomach. "Not as quick as this I'm afraid." The source of the voice was all but masked in darkness, save for the glint of purple that illuminated one eye. The men turned to this new intruder, their flashlights snapping on. In the light of those devices, the blades on his arm shone brightly, half of him covered in shadow and light. He didn't turn from the men, but in the short time after his arrival, Kyle had helped Evelyn to her feet, his body shielding her from them.
Oh, but wasn't she quite the wicked little devil. Evelyn, from first appearances and the way she had talked and acted, had given off the image of an innocent and sweet girl, one who was shy in her own right and preferred the company of paintings to that of others. Considering her gift, that would not have been surprising. If she could hear these echoes all the time, being around people constantly, especially larger groups of them, would have been enough to drive anyone insane.
But as Kyle knew, first impressions were usually just a mask, a disguise for what a person was really like in the long term. She may have had an angelic appearance and mannerisms, but after talking to her for just this short while, Kyle had seen that a mischevious side lurked just beneath that surface. Beneath his own mask, Kyle smiled inwardly. There was far more to this girl then meets the eye...and she had piqued his interest.
Following in her wake, Kyle soon found himself part of the gathering flow of people making for the exit doors. The man he'd been following was already out the doors; whether or not the lack of him doing anything was a blessing or trouble to come plagued his mind. Shoving it aside, he nodded to Evelyn and flashed a small smile her way. "You do make things harder to come by, I'll give you that. But no great reward comes without challenge and this one should not be hard to solve. When I do, I would enjoy meeting under different circumstances. You are a mysterious young lady in your own right and it would be a pleasure to see what other mysteries await discovery. Enjoy your evening."
Turning, Kyle headed back outside, taking the steps in easy time as he made his way to where his bike was waiting for him. All in all, he had expected trouble. Instead, he'd encountered something far different. The thought brought a small smile to his face as he glanced back up at the numbers of the museum. As soon as he had them, he drifted his mind to what the number was on Sherlock Holmes door...he might have to pay a visit to a book store or the internet for that one. Still, it was an easy puzzle and she'd be hearing from him soon enough.
Just as he was about to pull away on his bike, he caught a glimpse of the man again, getting into a dark black van that pulled around the corner. Driving slowly, Kyle passed by just in time to hear the man speaking to someone in the van before the door closed and traffic took him. "It's on. Tonight, soon as its dark. A few guards, shouldn't be trouble. All those paintings just for us."
The other man didn't speak much or at least, Kyle didn't hear much. But he heard what he needed to hear. "Call the boys." And just like that, Kyle was past them and into traffic...but now he wasn't going to go very far. Trouble was indeed the flavor of the night...and it seems he might run into Evelyn sooner than he expected.
When Evelyn wandered to the next picture in line, Kyle was soon to follow. His eyes briefly glanced from her to the man once again, to confirm that he was still there and still not being a source of trouble, before bringing them back to bear on Evelyn and this new portrait. Like the one before it, the picture was vague but enticing to the eyes, its message cleverly hidden beneath the facade of color. No doubt Evelyn knew it but to Kyle, the meaning was still lost.
That slight coloring of the cheeks had caught him unawares. Most the woman Kyle had encountered as of late were oft not to do that, whether it be because they were above such petty things as blushing or too emotional cut off for them to rise. It had been a while since Kyle had dealt with someone who was...for lack of a better word, normal, in a sense.
Everything else got pushed aside as Evelyn addressed his deal. An answer to his question in exchange of an answer to one of hers, that had been the deal. And on her end, she did not disappoint. Calm as the water on a windless day, Kyle watched and listened and took in everything Evelyn told him, his mind taking this new information in stride even as the implications behind it tore open new paths in his mind. Her ability to read people came from a mutation; though it was likely that she was capable of reading into people in the exact manner she had described before as well. If her power was as she described it, it would make Evelyn invaluable in any number of places or circles. She could tell if men were lying, prove things that science could falter at, know secrets that one might wish to hide. Kyle knew, in the depths of his mind, that such a person could be a valuable friend...or the most frightening of foes.
That explained how she could tell his attention had been divided earlier, even if her study of his body manner hadn't been a good enough explanation. With that in mind, literally, did that mean her "echoes" could tell her what he thought of the color of her eyes, of her hair, her face, her body? Kyle may have been colder than most in certain regards, but he was still a man, prone to his mind trailing off into the imagination if left untended. Quick as the thoughts came to light, Kyle shattered them back into pieces across his mind...but it might have been too late. And if she never forgot, as she said, then Kyle might just have left a terrible impression on her for life.
When she was finished and Kyle had finished musing, his eyes on her and the painting in one go, he let her return his question with her own. Kyle had expected her to ask what his interest in the man was or perhaps even what power dwelled within him. Instead, she asked a question that Kyle neither expected nor could have anticpated. It was also the one question that caught him completely flat-footed. For a long moment after, he said nothing, his eyes focused on the painting in front of them, his eyes taking on that distance look of someone who's not entirely in the reality of the moment. When they turned back to Evelyn though, they were sharp and clear....and a little sad.
"There is much more to me then that...though I do not know what yet. In this moment, all I know is that the world is a big place, with problems great and small that hurt both human and mutant alike. I cannot say who's right and who's wrong...but with my own hands, I can only fight what feels wrong to me. Be the victim mutant or human, if I believe the act is dark and terrible, I will do everything I can to stop it. If there's more to me then that, I hope new encounters might help me to discover it. Until then, I will do what I can with what I know and have.
It would seem that the hour is growing later than I thought. I should be going soon, I think. Before I go...would you, by chance, happen to have a way I can, perhaps, call you later?" Not remarkablly flashy or witty, but who needs that when someone could see through that flash with a single glint of their eye?
Kyle, like everyone else, had his good days and his bad days. But it had been a long while since he had a strange day.
Today was one of those days.
It had started out innocently enough. His routine had begun; wake, eat, stretch, shower, the basic necessities of life. Then it was to the gym for his workout routine, followed by a few sessions in the danger room. Somedays he worked himself hard, till even his extended stamina was clawing at the dregs and scraps of energy he might have left. Others, like today, he merely went through the paces, doing a light and simple workout and only a session or two of moderate scenarios in the Danger Room. It was usually on those days that Kyle went out to face real world experiences and problems. So, after a quick lunch, Kyle had gotten on his bike, made sure his outfit was ready in case he needed it and headed out to work during the afternoon.
It was usually late when Kyle finally removed himself for work, but today he had gotten off a little earlier. Which only meant Kyle, armored in the outfit he'd made to hide his identity and give him some other advantages in battle, was peering from rooftops for trouble or listening to the scanner on his bike. Today had been lucky. He'd heard reports of an alarm at a bank not too far from him and no sooner had the bank been named was Kyle streaking down the road for it.
The job on the bank was more professional than most. Four men in, a driver waiting, but their real plan was to escape via the rooftops. Kyle had met them there, four men caught completely unaware as the figure shrouded in darkness descended upon them. Yet despite his advantage of surprise and the advantages being a mutant gave him, the men managed to escape his grasp, save the one caring the money. Kyle had managed to drop him as he tried to flee, his blade leaving the man still upon the roof, the bag dropping in a heap at Kyle's feet. All would have gone well from that point...if the man known as Cold Steel hadn't chosen that moment to show up. Under normal circumstances, Kyle might have been able to simply point out what had happened. Expect he'd been checking to make sure the money was actually in that bag. And the one man he'd killed had been dressed like a guard for his part of the plan. All in all, it didn't make for a really pretty picture.
This is where the day got strange. Strange in the sense that now Kyle and Cold Steel were standing atop the same roof, shoes and shirts discarded to the side(and Kyle's gauntlets as well, although he chose to keep the helmet, funny as it made him look at the moment), staring each other down from either side of the roof. How they had come to this neither man could say, but the deal had been made; if Kyle won, Cold Steel would let him go after he explained the situation. If Cold Steel won, well...Kyle hadn't seen the inside of a jail in a while.
Both men were unknowns to each other. Niether knew the power the other held and although it was technically stated that neither of them would use them, that fact remained unlikely to happen. It was going to be one heck of a fight no doubt; simply looking at the man told Kyle he was a fighter. But then, so was he. Taking a loose stance, Kyle lifted one arm towards Cold Steel and motioned with his fingers. "Indeed. But I'm not the challenger here, so unless you plan to win by boring me to death, perhaps you'd like to see if all that build means anything other than eye candy."
