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.
Not leaving per say, more like giving a heads up. With my classes turning towards their essays being due, and midterms coming, I'm being overwhelmed by work, school and the other site I frequent. This does not mean I won't be posting, just it may take me a bit longer for some over others.
Please bare with me until my life balances out @_@
How do I end up in the same place I was a few days ago, a place that sent me back home with a few more scars then I had before? Oh right, because its fun.
That thought was one among the many as Kyle drove his bike down the darkened roads and alleys that lined the darkest and most wicked place of New York city. The shadows hid the homeless, the small time drug dealers and petty thugs looking for that quick buck, the junkies and the whores. The small trash not even worth his time; his reason for being down here was for those that employed those small timers for a much bigger criminal enterprise, the head honchos. Crime bosses, big time players brought in by those kinds of people...or like his last visit here, mutants with an attitude and powers to match.
His last journey here, his first into this part of town since his arrival, had yielded a better catch then he'd even hoped to find. A woman by the name of Isabel, a woman with the looks to back her fiery personality. If Kyle had had the time to ponder it, he might have realized how attractive she was...but all he saw at the time was how powerful the Isabel was. Her ability had pushed him to his limits, in fact, he'd lost that fight more or less albeit by his own choice near the end to prevent either of them from dying for such petty reasons. At his request, she'd yielded a way to contact her before leaving and even though he doubted she'd meant it, his desire to face someone as strong as her again had overpowered that thought.
But that was not his reason for being down here today. He'd said he'd contact her in a week and he intended to do just that. For now though, he had returned to the darkness of the city in order to see what else he could find. The chances of finding a golden egg like Isabel had been was slim, his luck wasn't likely that good. But he'd settle with a good brawl or finding a way to a head honcho that he could knock off the streets for kicks. He'd done it enough over the years to have a decent feel for finding his way to those kind of guys, even more how some of their structures worked. In the absence of facing down a fellow mutant, that would suffice.
Behind his helmeted visor he studied the people wandering the streets, trying to pick the one with the body language that would set him or her apart from the rest. Mostly all he saw was the same weak trash that he could almost pity if he didn't know that most of them chose this kind of life. Those that didn't, well, he felt for them but knew that the only one's who could help them were themselves or others better suited to it then him.
Except for the woman walking down the street out of the corner of his eye. He'd only caught a glance of her, but it was enough for him to notice that she stood out compared to the rest of the riffraff her. Slowing his bike to the side of the road, he powered it off and glanced around for the woman, his eyes shifting from person to corner to shadow. They finally fell again on the same woman and making sure his bike was secure, hopped off his bike and started off in pursuit of her.
This woman stood out amongst all these slummers....and he wanted to know why.
The night was actually perfect for once. That had seemed to be a rarity Kyle had yet to experience since arriving at this city. Some days it was pouring rain, others it was chilly beyond belief and then of course, there were the days that it was absolutely humid or extremely windy. None of those conditions were ideal for any kind of training or scouring of the city, though that had not stopped Kyle from doing so anyway. It had made it slightly more difficult through, to do some of his more advanced training due to the harsh conditions.
Tonight was the exception. It was cool, but a kind of cool that didn't make your skin burn in response. The wind was light, the occasional strong breeze giving life to a body that was overheated and covered in sweat. It wasn't raining and there was no humidity to speak of. It was, for all intents and purposes, a good day for Kyle to do what he knew needed to be done.
He'd only been in this city for a short while and yet, he'd already been handed his first defeat. Technically, it had been more of a draw, neither side would have walked away from that fight without serious injuries, or in the worse case, walked away at all, but Kyle had conceded the point to the woman he had fought. Isabel was her name. And while he had accepted that she had for all intents and purposes been the winner of that fight, it didn't mean he didn't consider the fact that they had been close to taking each other out. He was a man; he could accept that he lost. What he would not accept is allowing himself to fail again.
He had to be faster. Stronger. Smarter. For that, he needed to train his body. And today was the first day in that journey.
It was an advantage, actually, that his excess energy allowed him to keep going for longer periods of time. It let him work those muscles beyond their limits and strengthen them on a level higher then the average man....it basically let him do twice as much work to his body in half the time. And since a good's night rest recovered his body and his energy reserves, he could do it every single day. He would train hard and the next time he ran into Isabel, well...he'd have the W that time.
For the first part of his training, he had decided to work on his agility. As such, he had driven down to the old warehouse district, where all manner of obstacles lay for him to use to practice his parkour and train his leg muscles by running around the place. Parking a decent ways away, he'd locked his bike up and then ran the rest of the way, the first step in his regiment. By the time he'd made it to the area he wanted to start off at, his muscles were starting to itch a bit, but otherwise he felt nothing from them anywhere near exhaustion. What he did notice however was the small gathering of people that were staring with their mouths hanging open at the warehouses themselves. Slowing to a stop, Kyle tilted his head to watch what they were looking at...and stared for a moment himself before smiling widely.
His training session was about to get a whole lot more interesting. For dancing across that obstacle course of twists, turns and dangerous ledges was a woman, moving across with the effort of a graceful acrobat. Without even thinking, Kyle stalked closer and folded his arms to watch...for now.
Nibbling away at the remnants of the sandwich, Kyle stepped into line to follow Agnes from the kitchen, tossing the wrapper the sandwich had come in into the trash on his way out. He had to brush a few crumbs from the spot they'd fallen on his shirt, though he was careful to collect them in his hand and throw them out as well. This place was spotless and it wouldn't do him any good first impression wise to be seen making a mess.
With that in mind, he licked the final crumbs and the taste of the sandwich's making from his lips before letting his eyes follow where Agnes's hand was guiding them to look.
The tour from there was fairly simple, but that was no surprise. It was just a house after all, a massive and extraordinary house, but a house nonetheless. While its internal structure would be much larger then your average house, everything you came across was standard to houses. Bathrooms, the kitchen, the entryway, the areas for storage along various hallways. Still, despite the simple nature of the tour, what made it better then average was just how above the norm the house was. There were more rooms then Kyle dared to count and each of them didn't seem to be used needlessly. It was impressive, to say the least, and he knew there was likely more to see that would be twice as good as this.
When they reached the stairs and Agnes indicated where they went, Kyle took a few steps forward to glance up them to see how high they went, then descended back down and chuckled. "The personal rooms are up there huh? What, no co-ed dorms? That's not very fun." Chuckling and making it obvious that he was joking, Kyle glanced up the stairs again before continuing.
"Well, if I'm lucky, I'll get a roommate that I can get along with. Otherwise there might be some accidents and arguing in the future. Anyway...I think its time we meet these greeters or whatever they're called. And maybe while we're at it, you can tell me about who's in charge of this whole place. I'm curious to know who's got the power to hold this place down."
The energy in his hands cracked and sparked across the palms of his hands, that strange purple aura covering them from fingertip to wrist. The energy was just begging to be let free, to unleash its fury upon whatever or whoever got into its directed path. It was only through his strength of will and control over his power that it wasn't doing just that.
The sirens were getting closer now and for a moment, Kyle actually suspected that he'd have to close off the alley and continue the fight, knowing full well that he was actually starting to push the limits of how much energy he could expend. If he had to go full tilt just to be able to penetrate her defenses, he would run out of juice very quickly and then, well, he'd be a puddle on the wall when she got through with him. He'd go down fighting if it did come to that though.
For the first time today, however, something went truly right. Instead of attacking or denying his request, Isabel....granted it. Granted, she averted her eyes and looked instead to the sky, likely judging how she was going to get away. There was a good chance she was lying about the whole affair just to escape...but the pros of letting her go outweighed the cons in this case. Besides, he knew her name, knew her face, knew to a degree what kind of person she was...if he was persistent, he could find her again easily enough.
Isabel broke free one of her bone vines, severing it into two pieces, then taking a small chunk of that and did something to the small piece of bone in her hands. Without even missing a beat, she suddenly tossed that small piece of bone his way, an act that made him step forward a bit and calmly snatch the item from the air to examine it. Kyle let that grin line his blood lined face as he glanced at the bone. And the number embedded into it.
He lifted his gaze from the bone just in time to catch Isabel starting to make a move to one of the nearby fire escapes. Kyle considered for a moment cutting her off, thought better of it since it would break his deal and pocketed the number before folding his arms across his chest to watch her go. As she did, he decided to let one more thing be said. "I know you don't think so, but it was a pleasure meeting you today Isabel. I'll see you in a week, if you find interest enough to see what I offer at that time.
And, just so you know....I do recognize that my life was sparred today. I concede this round to you and as such, now owe you a favor. Do not hesitate to ask for it as you see fit."
In all honestly, Kyle had expected in the moments following his sharp words and quite utterly absurd request that he'd be dangling from a bone spear through his neck and Isabel would be doubled over in pain as his energy remolded her facial image. Isabel had an easy to pick at temper and his sarcasm in reply to her serious demand to back off likely forced another blood vessel to surge to the surface of her skin. The laugh had come of its own devices, but Kyle didn't doubt that it drew another vessel to rise.
All that added up to the conclusion that this fight would end with his death and, with any luck, her's if his energy managed to burn away enough of her skin before his body and life faded. Still, he'd be content knowing that in his death he managed to make her suffer...it would be the least he could do to assist the world when he was gone.
That was, of course, if he was planning on dying here. However, no matter what he said, he had no intentions of letting his life end so quickly, not when things were truly just getting interesting. There was still much he could learn at the mansion and, as Isabel had proved, there were people with powers on par or stronger then his own. These people he could use as a way to test himself and, considering the way Isabel acted, a way to help people in the process if he could manage to actually defeat said people.
With that in mind, Kyle had slowly been moving his free left hand back, creeping it to the point where it was in perfect position to send a small bolt from his fingers that would remove that pesky needle from his neck on the off chance, that you know, Isabel didn't listen to his request. Like said before, he really didn't think she would even consider that. And as soon as he was clear, he would make sure he was "clear" by letting the energy go. If she got hurt in the process, well, she was the one who rejected his offer. Call it karma coming back to bite her.
To his surprise though, the needle didn't pierce his neck as he expected. Instead, he was suddenly yanked backwards by an unseen force, though the slight scrapping against his skin told him her bone needle was responsible for the act. Snapping his fingers on his left hand, a small bolt of energy shot free, clipping the needle and snapping it free from his collar. As he came to a stop, he lifted his hand to aim at Isabel, ready to unleash his attack in response to hers...and saw only her retreating deeper into her maze of bones and spikes. He blinked in honest surprise, baffled...and then he laughed and lowered his hand, killing the power surge gathered there before places his hand on his hip.
"Well, that was the most surprising move of all today Isabel. I was betting my stars that we'd both be lying here for dead as a result of that...and yet, as you've done numerous times today, you've completely blown past my expectations.
Now, I can tell from that scowl that you dislike me calling you pretty of what not. Honestly, your looks don't mean a thing to me; I was intrigued by how it tweaked you into attacking. What you are, however, is both strong and fierce some. I have a slight idea now why you're considered as such...and I like that. As much as its wounds my pride to admit it, for now, your a lot tougher then me. And your bone power....wow, it is truly outstanding and wonderful, a fitting power for such a ruthless beauty such as yourself.
Now, I can hear the police coming and, though I'm supposed to be the good guy, I've lost this fight and have no say in whether or not you escape. However.....I can still stall you long enough for them and likely mutant backup to arrive. As you are now, that would put you in a bad spot. You can see that I'm right; so I'll make you an offer. Promise to meet me one week from today, in that building across the street and I'll assist you in escaping instead of distracting you. Of course, you'll leave me a way to contact you so I can collect on my end. And before you ask, my reasons are simple. You intrigue me. I want to see more. Now....is that acceptable or shall we continue this death dance?"
As if to emphasize his point, both hands glowed heavily with energy, his target obvious when he pointed at them; the fire escapes on either side of the alley. If he went full force, he'd bring a wall of debris down that would block her escape if she said no and the fight would continue. Till death took either of them.
From the very short distance between the two of them, Kyle could cleanly see how much damage his constant attacks on her had done. He knew his blasts never really did visible damage unless they constantly hit or one of his stronger and more focused blasts hit, so the fact that anything showed at all was a testament to how many times his attacks had gone through. In a way, it proved himself just as effective as she in inflicting damage on the other.
Still, even he could tell that he was slightly worse off then her. His attacks burns and peeled skin away with time, as well as causing painful bruises wherever they hit enough times or hard enough. Her's cut skin, stabbed through flesh like better and could have easily left him impaled six ways to Sunday in that alley. Plus, they could defend as well as attack, which meant more of his were knocked aside while her's had hit home. The blood dripping from his various wounds proved this...it was a miracle he'd lasted this long.
And thus here they stood. Kyle with his energy ready to erupt and rearrange her face for good, maybe even kill her if he got it off long enough, the woman with her bone spikes posed to skew him from every angle possible. The second one moved, the other would act and more then likely, both of them would end up either dead or heavily crippled. Not exactly the outcome Kyle was seeking at the start but he'd strike her down at the cost of his own life if he had too.
That silence and tension was finally broken when he elected to ask for her name once again while his mind pondered any way he could get out of this mess with the less possible damage. He was in the middle of thinking of something when her response to him came, catching him surprisingly off guard. That already decent grin grew at this, though he fought off the urge to reach in with his other hand and offer to shake her hand. Mostly because he doubted she'd do it, but also because he knew that if she did, she'd likely extend bones from her hand and shred his hand.
That's when he felt the prick. His guard had broken for a moment due to his surprise and in its place, there was a slight pricking feeling at the base of his neck. Kyle didn't need to look to know what it was; Isabel had extended one of her bone spikes to touch the base of his skull, where it intersected his spine. That froze him as the situation clicked. She had him cold. Despite that...despite the threat of death not an inch away...Kyle started laughing. There was a slight darkness to the laugh, but there was also solid amusement in it. Laughing in the face of absolute and total danger.
"Well Isabel, it's my pleasure to meet you. You've been a barrel of endless fun. I, sadly, cannot do as you ask. After all...should I back off, your little needle back there will pierce my neck and I can't have that, can I?" His tone showed he was being a smart ass but it was honestly true. For now. An idea came to mind then, a very risky idea, but one that might buy him the time to get out of this trap. And more to the point, avoid trouble for those sirens in the distance to get closer. Leaning forward a little more, he smiled again.
"Now, if your willing to retract that needle, I think I can see fit to power down my hand. No sense in both of us going down in a bloody mess, right? I'd rather not have to seriously injure a face so full of charm and beauty, masking the dangerous women beneath."
One of the things Kyle hadn't noticed about the kitchen right away, more because the size had caught him by surprise, was how clean the whole setup was. The school was home to numerous students of likely various ages, with various powers that may or may not be controlled at all times and the kitchen itself practically screamed that keeping such a large place clean would be difficult if they slackened in its repair for even a moment. The fact that it was spotless, just like the rest of the mansion he'd seen thus far, told Kyle that like its students, the school took very good care of its environment.
Heck, it was likely the students that helped to keep it so clean. Now that was devotion to a cause. After all, the place could easily look like a world war had gone down in the place if left unchecked.
Agnes's words caused him to whirl himself around slowly to look at her as she spoke, occasionally letting his eyes drift to a little point here or there that his initial inspection of the place had missed. When she trailed off as her explanation finished, Kyle caught that wink and gave a mischievous grin in return.
"Well, lucky me. I just love a fresh meal first thing in the morning. Maybe I can even pick up some cooking tricks. By the way, now that you mention it, I happen to enjoy chocolate milk very much too. Maybe one day we can spend some time together so you can show me just how killer this chocolate milk and possibly how its made."
His eyes followed her as she moved towards the fridge, opening the door swiftly and returning to him a moment later, handing a bottle of water out for him to take. Thanking her and taking the bottle from her hand, he swiftly undid the cap and promptly downed half the bottle before taking a deep breath and a sigh of relief. As he lowered the body, Agnes offered the kitchen to him in order to look for a snack. Smiling, Kyle already knew what he wanted. He'd seen it when she'd opened the door of the fridge. Stepping over to it, he opened the door quickly and reached inside, pulling out a small sandwich that had been untouched. Taking a bite from the end and, on his way back to Agnes, snatching a cookie from nearby, he came to her and nodded politely.
"Many thanks. I was a bit famished." He quickly finished his snack, quickly and cleanly, then licked his lips and sighed in relief. "Much better. Alright then my informative hostess...where to next?"
Forcing the dumpster down the alley was no easy task, though the thing having wheels made it a bit easier then it should have been. Kyle knew he was likely pushing his limits by choosing such an unorthodox attack method, but amongst the few options he had open to him, this plan had the most merits compared to its drawbacks. Sure, it would take a fair amount of energy to work, but less then it would take to hammer that shell open directly. That, and the metal mass he was moving would create its own momentum and strike with more force then he could, allowing for more damage at once. All in all, it was worth the extra energy spent to follow through.
The dumpster did not disappoint. Powered by his energy and having gained speed as a result of it, the metal battering ram slammed into her bone shell with a heavy clang that echoed throughout the night. Garbage was flung clear of the dumpster, bags and all sorts of nasty surprises landing opposite that circular shell. The dumpster broke right into that bony plate in its path, sending pieces of it scattering across the alley.
Movement caught his eye as this happened, turning his eyes to gain a better perspective on what was happening exactly. It didn't take a genius to suspect what he had seen, but clarification was always good. It was the woman, rolling and tumbling away from her protective shell as the dumpster cracked through it and came to a screeching halt about halfway through. Had she not evaded as she did, the dumpster would have made a very nice impression on her body...a bone crunching impression much like it had done to her shell. At least she has the mind to know how to avoid danger. Huh, wonder if I'm that smart. Probably not..I'm still here after all.
She landed in a heap of her own bones, several of them appearing to accidentally harm their wielder. Either way, Kyle was already moving on her, the hand that hadn't been pushing the dumpster already swinging around with an energy blast at the ready. The blood dripping from his head blinded him for a moment in his right eye but he didn't falter, swinging his arm around to unleash that bolt upon her.
The cracking sound of bone extending made him look to the side, just in time to see bones striking out from every which direction towards him. Each of those bones lead back to her, a fact that Kyle took careful note of. Something to remember should he get out of this situation. One spike stabbed through his right shoulder, which he quickly shattered away with a quick bolt of energy, while another grazed his leg, forcing him to shift his angle. The woman had caught his bolt from before, using her arms to take the brunt of the blow...but he wasn't done. Ignoring his stressed limbs, he brought enough energy into his right hand as he'd used to shatter her shield....and taking the chance, he shoved his way in close. The bones came again, his hand swung forward......
And paused with his hand almost close enough to grab her, the energy pointed clearly at her head and throat. From this distance, his attack would have no problem reaching her before she did any protective barrier....but he found himself in trouble as well. Bone spikes were inches from him, several of them having already caused some fairly nasty cuts along his body. With a final little rip, his mask tore as he smiled, the ragged remains falling to the floor. The trail of blood from his head was fully visible, coming from a gash on his forehead down past his eye and over the corner of his grin. And grin he did.
"My my....what a twist of terrible luck. One wrong move and I'm shizkabob, but then again, one wrong move and that face of yours won't look so nice either. Its a lovely little stalemate...don't you think?
Since I didn't get the answer before and since my face isn't hidden anymore, perhaps we can now exchange names? I'm Kyle Albatross...a pleasure to make your fearsome acquaintance. And that name behind that fear would be?"
Complete silence. That was what Kyle got back in response from the armored shell of bone that contained the woman he'd been fighting. Well, not that he had expected her to answer, truthfully, but he figured trying and failing was better then not trying at all. At least there was a chance, a really small one at the time, that she might reply for whatever reason she deemed fit. Lesson learned it seemed, at least for now.
That wouldn't keep him from trying though. Even if the chance was small, practically miniscule, there was really no harm in trying to strike a conversation with the woman outside maybe making her madder. Which, actually, would only make the fight easier for him since it could force her to make a mistake in her rage. Considering so far how easy it had been to irk her, he figured it wouldn't take much more to actually make her really snap. Still, just because it could lead her to make a mistake, setting her off could also be very dangerous. Like a cornered mouse when threatened by a cat might fight back with a hidden strength, so could the woman in anger.
Of course, the same was true of him as well.
At least he knew she was still in there. Quiet in might have been following his question, he could still hear her shuffling about in there, the sound muffled heavily by the bone shell, but there nonetheless. The trick was discovering how to crack a shell made of solid bone; he wouldn't be able to do it with his punches or kicks and his energy, while it had proven to be able to crack it, would take a lot of him for likely no gain. After all, she could likely reform the bone just as quickly as he blew through it and he'd only end up exhausting himself. Just like she had made sudden bone spikes from such a thin.....
The gears in his head clicked almost a moment to late. He was halfway into darting back from the shell when the bony barrage of spikes shot out. From the spikes erupted barbs that shot out in every direction, impaling everything in their path. As he booked it in retreat, Kyle charged energy into his hands, enough to create blasts about half the level of the one that had shattered her shield and started tossing them into the spikes and barbs that came to close, trying to give himself room to move. It was not easy at all. The barbs and spikes nicked his skin, leaving small red cuts whenever they did. He cursed silently under his breath, but couldn't help but chuckle. This was getting better by the minute.
The alley was quickly filling up and he was running out of ideas in how to keep ahead of the assault. His answer came in an instant as he passed the dumpster from before. As another spike came his way, he dove. The spike slid past his head as he dove, clipping the mask and shredding through it...by luck it barely remained on, though he could feel the blood starting to flow down. He landed in a heap behind the dumpster, which managed to prevent some of the smaller barbs from hitting him. That's when another idea came to him and without thinking about it too deeply, he acted.
Charging the energy in his hands as fast as he could, he pointed it at the dumpster before him....and fired. The energy hammered into the metal can and, after a moment, started forcing it down the alley towards the bone shell. Being on wheels, the dumpster started gaining speed and at least a ton of solid metal started plowing its way towards the shell, shattering the spikes along the way. And right in its wake came Kyle, reading a burst of energy in his free hand. His plan? Let the dumpster shatter that shell, see if a ton of steel couldn't break some bone and, provided he got the opening, give the woman a friendly smack to her chest with his energy. Chance of success....fifty fifty. But those were odds he'd take anyday.
The focused power erupting from Kyle's hands was like a speeding truck, plowing towards the woman not more then five feet from him. Compared to the small bursts that flicked her arm aside or the semi decent blast he'd used before that had sent her spinning, this blast had enough force to knock a car back a few feet. It was one of his best attacks, short of unleashing his entire supply at once. He rarely, if ever, used that though.
The woman was quicker to react to his attack then he'd expected but in the end, that changed little more then how much damage she took. With a snap of her wrist, the bone whip snapped back around towards her, the spiked weapon grazing his right shoulder as it swung by over his head. Just as his power erupted forth, that bony whip collapsed in on itself, stretching out vertically and horizontally to become what Kyle could only classify as a shield of bone.
The shield managed to form itself into a proper shape just in time to catch the purple stream that smashed into it. However, unlike the quick blasts from before that vanished upon contact, the stream remained constant in its attack as Kyle focused the beam into staying active by pouring his energy into it. Behind the humming of the energy as it made contact with the shield, Kyle could hear a faint cracking which gradually grew louder. Grinning, he pushed a surge through the beam before breaking the attack off. That surge cracked that bone shield wide and more to the point, sent the woman hiding behind it stumbling back as she lost her footing and was knocked onto her respective rear.
Both of them moved at the same time, Kyle moving to get back to his feet in case she countered, the woman likely trying to get up so she could counter. As he readied another quick burst of energy, he tensed as the woman brought the arm carrying the broken shield up...and then slammed it into the ground in front of her. Kyle reacted quickly, hopping back to create a little more distance from whatever she had planned and sent two quick blasts of energy her way, hoping to catch her before her attack came.
To his surprise, no attack came at all. To his even greater surprise was what she did next; the bony plate before her suddenly extended from all sides towards her, looping over her head and curving around her sides. His blasts hammered harmlessly into the bony wall before them and as he watched, that bony wall turned into a complete shell around the woman, effectively creating a small bunker of bone from which she could protect herself and likely attack.
Kyle sat there in silence for a moment, pondering what his next move should be. Any other person would have used this chance to get away, Kyle saw it only as another chance to test himself. And perhaps, gain a little information as well. With a flick of his wrist, two small blasts of energy connected with the shell in quick succession into the same spot. As the energy vanished, Kyle studied the spot he'd hit...no damage at all, no sign of the blasts doing anything to that hardened white armor. Most interesting. Stalking slowly around the globe, Kyle let his brain go to work about how to get past this lovely little challenge while his mouth worked to ask questions that had been on his mind.
"Well, this isn't very fun now, is it? But hey, maybe now we can talk a little, be a bit civil and all that random crap.
Your not doing much to prove why I should fear you though, Ms Boney. Which, now that I think about it, is a terrible name for someone as strong as you. So...who exactly should I be fearing or watching out for so I can tremble in my little booties whenever your name is mentioned, hmmm? Do you come with a name that strikes terror into the hearts of all the do-gooders that would stand in your way or do you just make do by looking pretty and people remember that?"
Kyle's eyes were still rolling back and forth over the place he would likely call home in a few short hours. The place, despite its massive size, was remarkably clean as far as he could tell, a feat that surprised him considering the number of people he saw outside who probably lived here. On top of that, they were mutants....and there was a very slim chance all of them had powers like Agnes that wouldn't cause some kind of chaos when unleashed. A credit, more then likely, to whoever was running this place to keep everyone in line then. A most interesting development indeed.
Agnes voice broke him from his study, turning his emerald eyes back on her to listen. Nodding with a grin as she explained what a greeter was to him, he let his eyes wander to watch a pair of young children wander past them, books in hand, chatting between themselves about their day. They cast a look towards Kyle and Agnes, a questionable one towards him at least, then carried on with their walk. Kyle chuckled lightly; a school of all ages it seemed.
"Ah, I see. Guess it makes sense in a way to call them greeters...or quite possibly the secretaries. Or maybe their lawyers....very interesting."
He spent a few more minutes studying the foyer around him, then twisted his head back to Agnes and motioned again for her to lead on. She did so, but only after giving him a little advice about her, as well as motioned to the foyer around them and indicating it as such. With a smile, Kyle nodded and chuckled at her reaction.
"Yes, well, flattery may only get me so far, but it pays to be nice to people. And honestly, can you tell me you aren't liking the comments? Either way, I'll tone it down a bit; but only a bit." That last part was said with a hint of mischief and a pinch of wickedness, with a fine coating of playful teasing on top of it. Having said that, Agnes finished letting him inspect the foyer and then lead him into a well lit room that needed no introduction either. With cabinets lining the walls, pots and pans in plain sight, an oven, microwave, a table for preparing dishes and a fairly sized refrigerator sitting in the corner of the room, Kyle knew exactly where he was.
He'd just never seen a kitchen this size before. Oh how money buys quality.
"Well, I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure this is.....a very popular place to be. A very large popular place to be." His tone would convey that he was joking, or at least he hoped it would. Otherwise he would look pretty silly.
Did he hear her right? Attending to the garden was her job? A most interesting fact indeed...he had figured she attended to it out of personal preference. Did that mean the mansion gave specialized tasks to its students as well as helped them learn how to control their powers...on top of giving them shelter from a world that sometimes didn't agree with their existence.
Agnes dusted off the dirt that had covered the front of her apron as he helped her to her feet, removing that large hat of hers as well to shake her hair out, as well as wipe a fine line of sweat from her brow. Kyle could only smile as he studied her, mindfully noticing the small hover of bugs just outside of his personal bubble. Still cautious it seemed...but that was alright. He'd earn her full trust soon enough and then maybe he wouldn't have to watch out for a possible wasp attack.
He waited quietly for her to gather up her equipment and store it away, then smiled and fell in line behind her as she started off towards the main doors they had come from. Hitching his own bag over his shoulder for a better fit, he stepped up his pace slightly so that he came to her side, matching her pace once he was there. "Thanks for this; I know it's probably a bit of a hassle to be showing some new guy around. I appreciate it though. By the way, its been on mind since you mentioned it but....is the greeter like a teacher or some kind of management person?"
He noticed as they approached the doors that Agnes seemed to have a slightly new spring to her step. Curious...maybe she was warming to his presence faster then he'd guessed. Not a bad thing per say...but there was something to be said about having to earn the proper trust with a bit of work that spoke to him. Maybe he just enjoyed a little challenge to making friends...maybe he was just weird like that. Who knew?
When she creaked open the front doors and stepped inside, Kyle did his best to let his surprise not show on his face. He utterly failed. His mouth dropped ever so slightly and his head twisted left and right as it panned across the massive and detailed entryway before him. The whole place stank of an upper class house...and yet it didn't have that aura of belonging to people who believed money meant everything. It felt more like a fancy home designed to house as many people as possible that required housing. Needless to say, he was impressed.
"My word...this is one welcome I'm happy to accept. This place is astounding!" Glancing over to Agnes, the excitement lining his features could not be hidden. "A wonderful place for a school this is. Add to that the kindness of its members so far...and having a stunning lady be the first of likely many to show me around...makes it even better. So Agnes....what's the first leg of this grand tour?"
Kyle's leg protested the rush towards the woman, the blood on his leg still slightly wet from where it slowly oozed from the cut the woman's blade had inflicted. It stung fiercely, but the adrenaline rush from the battle, combined with the knowledge that letting it get to him would likely cause his death, helped Kyle to push that pain to the back of his mind. The wound wasn't deep, indeed, it was already starting to clot over despite the pressure he was exerting on it. It would still sting for a while, but it was hardly a threat to his well being.
Instead, he focused on what would be a threat to his well being if not properly addressed. His barrage of blasts towards the woman had succeeded in allowing him to close the distance between them, though the plan wasn't going as he'd hoped. Instead of getting caught off guard and knocked off balance by them, the woman had lifted her arm to shield her main body from that bolts, letting her arm suffer in exchange for standing firm before his attack. Not a bad tactic, though one she would be stinging from for a while.
He was drawing his right arm back for the main attack when the woman shifted the arm carrying to bone whip to snap in his direction. At this distance, the main body of the whip was his concern, though there was always the possibility of the end managing to snap around and clip him. One thing at a time. His first thought was to duck and roll under the incoming attack....a thought that had to switch on the fly as the bone whip suddenly added another feature: bony spikes across its entire length.
"My lord, you'll just full of lovely surprises."
The timing was bad for him as the whip snapped around, its spikes now adding in a new factor to have to deal in. Ducking wouldn't work...he couldn't duck low enough to evade the spikes after all. Flipping over would work, partially, though there was a chance he would be clipped and worse yet, forced out of an attacking position. That left him with one tactic...considering the distance between them, it could work. He'd likely take a hit but....well, if this paid off, it would be worth it. He waited till the last second...and then dropped down completely into a slide.
The gravel stung against his hurt leg and he didn't slide to far in general...but he slid the amount of space he needed to make this work. The bony whip snapped over his body, several of those spikes being long enough to leave red gashes on his torso and upper arm...but he'd evaded the worst of it. The main point was this; she was completely exposed at this angle. With a grin, Kyle had already brought his hands together, cupping them one over the other and pointing them at her chest.
"Kamehameha bitch." And a long stream of purple energy burst free from his hands at her.
