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.
It appeared that Celeste had decided to accept the fact that he was avoiding her questions as she changed the topic of conversation. Relief swept over Sam like a wave, he was not good at talking about his mutation. Although he had to admit that he had gotten plenty of practice in trying to describe it since he moved here. Even before moving to the mansion, he had had an encounter with a very interesting person in the form of Noel, which had lead to talk of powers amongst other things. He smiled slightly at the memory; that had been a very random day indeed.
"Do you have any friend in NY?"
He looked back at Celeste because for once this was a question he could imagine coming from any normal teenage girl. It was not a particularly diplomatic question but then again teenagers had minus points when it came to all that kind of stuff. Did he have any friends in New York? No he had only been here a week. Sure he had met a lot of people and some were nice but he did not know them yet. Did he have any friends period? Well not many, if any at all. But that was his fault; he was too used to keeping people at arm’s length.
"Why did you move here?"
Ah that was also a touchy subject. He did not feel like telling people the truth, because admitting the fact that his mother was embarrassed by him and had shipped him off to the other end of the world to get rid of him was not something he was prepared to do. So he had decided to make up a lie that included as much of the truth as possible. He had only had to tell this story a couple of times since he got here but he was getting good at making it sound convincing.
“I moved here to get special tuition;” Into which one needed to read “mutant training” rather than tutition “there was nowhere good enough in the Uk. And seeing as I have only been here a week I have not yet made any friends.”
As he told his now well rehearsed lie he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of lie his mother and step father were telling back home. Oh it was probably something along the line of “He’s gone to study at a great university in New York.” That way everyone would think him privileged and his parents could boast of how bright he was.
“Seriously, Sam how is anyone supposed to know what you have in your head if you don't communicate what you're actually thinking? Not everybody is psychic around here. If you are childish, you should be childish. What's wrong with being what you are?"
He could almost taste the frustration in Noel’s words; she was right of course it was his own fault that he ended up in these kinds of situations. However he couldn’t help it, there was no way that he could break the habit of a lifetime just because she was angry at him. He also found it strange though, that his “lie down and play dead” personality should annoy her so. She was the first person to challenge him on it.
Oh sure he knew that a lot of people thought that he was boring or bland or whatnot. But no one had ever told him to go and get a life before. Maybe it was the fact that she always said what she meant, even if it was not socially correct. As it turns out he was probably her perfect personality opposite and now she was looking at him intently from the seat across from his, expecting an answer to her question.
So Sam what really is wrong with being just yourself? As the question floated through his mind the answer that came to him seemed obvious: Well everything. He was neither handsome nor interesting, the way he dressed apparently gave people the idea he was gay, he had very little sense of humor and possessed an unhealthy dose of self pity at times. So he looked at her and tried to find a more diplomatic way of putting all those ideas into words. Because he knew if he said what he really thought she would scold him again. So once more he found himself telling her half truths, the very things that had landed him in this dilemma in the first place.
“I… well. As it turns out people don’t like who I am, so I’ve given up on trying and decided to just be whoever they want me to be.”
Celeste’s expression told him all he needed to know. He had given himself away and now she was looking at him like a lion ready to go in for the kill. Crap. He kept his gaze fixed directly at her as he had the feeling that something bad might happen if he looked anywhere else. He knew that his staring would probably come across as a bit creepy but he was past caring. And behind his blank stare his mind raced through all of the possible outcomes he could think of. They had only one thing in common and that was an unpleasant ending.
Then just as Celeste seemed about to say something and deliver the killing blow, she stopped. Her mouth was open and she just seemed to freeze, then her eyes glazed over slightly. She closed her mouth gently and tried again. This time though the words came out slowly almost carefully.
"The most famous school with these three characteristics. Private. Across town. Where you can live... Is the mutant mansion. I really do not know the name."
Ah so he had given himself away, blown his own cover. He bit his lip to stop the involuntary curse that tried to escape him. He hadn’t realized that the mansion he now lived at was well known for housing mutants. Although now it seemed obvious. But that was not the issue anymore, now he had to work out what was going on behind those, suddenly hooded, black eyes. He decided to opt for the avoidance tactic.
“Anyway, it’s nice of you to take me home. I hope it’s not too far out of your way.”
He had decided not to give her an answer to her questions and hidden behind the politeness that was his best weapon. He turned slightly away from her now and tried to study the changing scenery through the tinted glass. It was hard to be sure where they were, mainly because he had only been here for a week, but at least they were clear of the city center. Surely they would get to the mansion soon.
As Noel told him which lines they needed to take, he felt relieved that he had managed to clear up any misunderstandings. He quite liked Noel; she was so… well free. She didn’t seem to care what people thought and in today’s modern way of living that gave you a form of freedom. Sam felt glad for her but also more than a little sad for himself. His whole life was built around what people thought of him and how they saw him. He did not like he belonged to himself in so much as he did not try and be the person he wanted to be but more like the person others wanted him to be.
So he had been a polite and obedient son, a good student. He had done community service and helped those in need. But never had he helped himself and things had gotten worse since he had come into his powers. It had been a shock to find out that he was not his mother’s most beloved person, because realistically if your mother does not love you that much who else will.
As he followed Noel through the station towards the trains, he tried very hard to push that dark train of thought from his mind. But then again he needn’t have worried for his companion once again uttered a statement that made him cringe.
"Sorry again about the kiss. Since you don't swing that way, I assume that makes it worse."
He closed his eyes and took a breath to summon some patience. Otherwise he felt like he might either sit down and laugh hysterically or start shouting at her. As it turned out he had neglected to mention his preference for girls in his previous statement and that omission had been deliberate. He had not wanted to sound like an overly defensive teenager that was offended by what she had said. He was and he had tried to hide it and now she thought he was gay. Great.
As they made their way through the crowd and pushed onto the train, he debated whether there was any point in trying to correct this new misunderstanding or whether he was just going to let it slide. It wasn’t as if he would see her again and he was a bit tired of explaining everything. But his pride wouldn’t quite leave well enough alone. So he looked for a way to explain it to her without there being any possible misunderstanding. In the end he opted for the truth.
“Look the kiss thing it’s fine. I’m not gay so I’m not offended… I didn’t go on about liking girls earlier because I thought it would sound childish.”
As the doors to the train closed Sam found himself looking at his shoes again.
Celeste seemed to consider his words for a moment. He wondered if the word “private” had scored him some snob points with the little rich girl. Surely it had to be better than if he had told her he went to some public establishment. Ah well what did it matter anyway, he had only been there a few days and up until then he had been in a public school. He was common and proud of it.
Then her expression changed, as if some idea had just come to her. Her eyes went wide for a second then narrowed and she turned her gaze back to him. He could tell that whatever she was going to say next would probably not make him happy. As a preventive measure he plastered a lovely fixed smile on his face and studied the mini bar with a neutral gaze.
"Are you a mutant?"
The question hit him like a fist. It made him feel sick and he was glad that he had been looking away from her. He knew he did not have the ability to hide his surprise and shock at the question but he was at least glad that she did not get to see the despair that now shone in his eyes. How was he going to answer that? Some people hated mutants and could even become violent around them. Whatever he answered he would have to be careful, because Celeste was not only powerful but she was volatile as well. He tried to school his features into the fake smile he had been wearing before and turned back to face her.
“Why do you ask?”
He kept his tone as polite as possible and tried as hard as possible not to give himself away.
Once Sam had finished examining the interior of the limousine, he turned his attention back to Celeste. She was looking at him intently with just the hint of a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. What was she thinking about? Whatever it was, Sam could be sure that it did not bode well for him.
"Sam, where do you live?"
It was a question he had been expecting for how else was she going to drive him there but there was something in her eyes as she said it that made him uneasy. Was it curiosity he saw there or something altogether stranger? Well it made no difference now, he was committed. He was just about to reply when with a little smile she turned to the mini bar located opposite him.
The thing was huge; it took up an entire side of the car. There were bottles of all sizes and Sam felt pretty sure that the price of any one of them would have made him feel faint. He watched as she went unerringly to a set of sparkling bottles, although “sparkling” may have been an understatement. When she handed him one he thanked her and then turned to inspect what he had just been given. The bottle was decorated with those Swarovski crystals all the stars seemed mad about these days and frosted as if to hide what was inside. To preserve its mystery.
Tentatively he opened it, half expecting it to be some crazy color like gold or silver or something. Although he had to admit that crazy colored drinks nowadays were a common thing. He took a sip, not even really tasting it and then smiled quietly at Celeste.
“I live across town at a private boarding school. I’ve just moved there from London.”
There, he had managed to avoid commenting on the drink and had given her the information she wanted. Now it was her move.
He watched as the tinted windows slowly sunk into the doorframe of the car, to expose Celeste’s face to the cold winter day. She looked up at him in an almost nonchalant manner as if she had just happened to run into him in the street. Sam decided this was just another strange facet of her personality, this ability to pretend that nothing was wrong. He sighed and was about to tell her just to take her bags and go when she cut in first.
"Can I drive you home?"
He blinked at her stupidly… once, twice. Had she really just erased the last ten minutes from her mind? Why on earth would she decide to take him home, when he had just told her that her entire view of the world offended him? However before he could even begin to put together an answer the limousine driver had pulled open the door for him and was waiting patiently for him to enter the enormous car.
"Thanks for bringing my bags."
She took the bags from him and put them away at her feet, all the while staring at him with a frigid smile on her face. That look scared him and he was just about to politely decline her offer when an army of store clerks armed with bags started making their way towards him. So he was left with two choices: get in the car or die crushed by a mountain of shopping. Neither option was particularly appealing but the small thing that made up his mind was that at least one option was warm. He turned back to Celeste and gave her his best smile.
“No problem. I’ve never been in a limousine before and since you offered a ride home sound nice”
He knew he sounded like such a country boy just then, even though he had only ever lived in the city, but it was the truth. He had never been in a limo and he was a bit intrigued. So he slid himself into the leather furnished interior, making sure not to sit too close to Celeste and looked around. It really was huge in here and very, very flashy.
"Does that mean you don't have a preference between men and women?"
Sam flushed, embarrassed by such a question. Of course he had a preference, all that he had meant to say was that the image was so blurred it was indistinguishable. God, how did this girl’s brain function? Why did she always seem to pick up on the most personal thing he said and make it sound so bad? He was about to reply and tell her she was mistaken, when he noticed that she was busy moving away from him and towards the subway map.
"You don't need like, dress socks or anything do you?"
Well at least she was doing her best to get them to where they needed to go. Although it seemed that he was paying for this help with his personal information. He looked at the map and tried to see if he recognized any of the station names. He had taken the time to study a tube map but he still found that he would have to more or less guess which station to get off at. He looked sideways at Noel and hoped that she had a better grip on this maze than he had.
“Any socks are fine and by the way I do have a preference. All I meant to say was that the image was blurred.”
He knew he probably sounded huffy and childish but he also felt that he needed to clear up this misunderstanding as fast as possible. It was not that he was interested in her but in his book it was never a good thing to have a hot girl believe you’re gay.
“So which way do we go? I’m not bad with subways but I don’t really know the lines here yet.”
As he changed back into his own clothes, Sam’s anger seemed to fade. He had told the poor deluded girl what he felt and now he was just empty. He had not waited to see what her reaction had been but he could guess that it was not good. He sighed, did he want to apologize? Or was he going to stick to his guns and let her face reality? If she had been a guy it would have been so much easier, girls had that fragility to them that made it hard for him to hurt their feelings.
He left the clothes that the store attendant had selected for him in a neat pile in the changing room. Putting the damned things back on their hangers was just too much of a pain right now. He made sure he had dressed correctly, smoothed some stray bit of hair down and looked around to make sure he was not forgetting anything. It was then that he spotted the two bags resting in the corner next to his own. Celeste’s bags, the ones she had insisted he carry. Well it looked like she would have to carry them herself from now on. Bending over he picked them up, then turned and made his way out of the cubicle.
The scene that met his eye was one of utter chaos. Celeste was gone and the store was in frantic motion. Some of the store attendants were actually running from one place to the next collecting bags and the manager was stood in the entrance shouting orders. Sam made his way through the chaos untouched, all the while he looked around to see if he could spot Celeste. But she was nowhere to be seen, so the only way to find out where she might have gone was to ask someone. He walked up to the manager, who seemed to pale slightly at his approach.
“Excuse me I’m looking for the blonde girl, you know the one I came with.”
The man just looked at him; then without a word he pointed towards the door. So she had left without him had she? What he had said must really have offended her. Oh well, he would see if she was still in sight and give her bags back. If not he would keep them and that would teach her to entrust her things to the first stranger she runs into. He headed for the exit.
Once outside he found himself faced with a large, black limousine. Ah so this must be the “car”. Slowly he walked up to it; there was no way to tell if little Miss rich had any body guards hidden in there. However as he drew nearer no one came out to confront him, so he reached out and tapped on the tinted glass. Holding up the bags, he spoke not knowing if she could hear him or not.
She pursed her lips at him as if to reprimand him again. Then the moment seemed to pass and the anger that had been building just died. Maybe she had decided what he was saying was not so unreasonable; that it was ok for others to have different view points from her own. He found that he was holding his breath, waiting to see what she would say next. When she finally did speak it was in a quiet subdued tone.
"Sam, would you like to die without leaving a trace in the world?"
The question seemed odd and as he had not been expecting it he had to take a moment to think. Leaving a trace on the world? Had he ever wanted to do something like that? Could he even if he wanted to? Somehow the whole thing made him a bit angry. Why would he need to leave a trace on the world, what would it matter if he didn’t. Why did she care?
“I don’t care about that. I do my best to live correctly. I don’t steal or lie and I try and to be helpful. But apparently that’s not enough for you. Do I need to be a hero in order to be someone good?”
He did not really know why he was having an argument with a spoiled teenage girl but she had struck a nerve. He had a hard enough time feeling normal and worthwhile most of the time, so being told that he should become extraordinary was just too much.
“Besides I really do not see how looking ridiculous in these clothes is going to help me achieve greatness.”
He turned on his heel and closed the dressing room door behind him. The poor shop assistant let out a small squeak and looked despairingly at him. He didn’t care; he just wanted to be Sam again. These clothes cost more than any normal person would make in a month. It was just too extreme for him; he was not ready to live in a fairy tale.
The spoiled brat attitude was back. He watched as Celeste seemed to puff herself up, ready to attack. He watched as the reprimand built up inside her ready to burst all at once. He had, of course, brought this upon himself but it was not going to be easy to deal with.
"No."
The floodgates had burst. That “no” should have been accompanied by a stomp of a tiny foot. He wondered how she had not developed that habit it made the whole spoiled brat thing look a bit lacking. However in his imagination she did it anyway. He wondered what exactly she was going to say next.
"I'm not really sure of seeing the same person. Are you Sam? "
Uh… what? Her change of attitude was sudden and it threw him completely. She’d gone from scolding to nonchalant in 2 seconds flat. He had no idea if she had lost her mind or if she was just teasing him. The confusion he felt must have read on his face because she then explained her unexpected comment.
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on Society."
Well one thing was for sure he never went anywhere naked. And as for influence in society, he was quite happy not having any; although he would quite happily have done without the whole “mutant” thing. But he did not think that Celeste would be able to understand that he was happy just being average. So he wondered if he should bother to try and explain it to her or not. It would probably be a waste of breath but he tried anyway.
“I like my usual clothes, they make me… normal. I have no need to be influential.”
He looked at her in an appealing fashion, hoping that she would get where he was coming from.
Ah yet another person who had not liked what his power could show them. Well he just hoped that she would not blame him, it’s not like he had any control over whose face he adopted. He braced himself for the possible accusation to come. But as it turned out his fears were unfounded; Noel continued on along her train of thought.
"I saw someone that's like teacher to me. I mean, like dad level of love, no way like lover level. That's just... yeah."
So it was more respect than love in her case then. It was possible; his power seemed to pick up on all positive type feelings as well as their intensity. He had after all only mentioned the lover option as an example, although it was the most common. In Noel’s case it was probable that he respect for this person outweighed any love she felt for other; for after all it was not possible to limit humans to a single love.
"So you're telling me I don't really love-love anybody?"
Well yes and no. He was only saying that she felt more strongly for this person than any other right now. But explaining that was complicated and he did not really know how best to put it. However he was once again saved by Noel’s train of thought, which took her away from the subject of her own love and onto the subject of his.
"Do you love anybody? Can you, like, check out a mirror and find out?"
Of all the places to be discussing his love life, the subway seemed by far the weirdest. However he had quickly learnt that when it came to Noel normal social rule did not seem to apply. So he shouldn’t really have been surprised. He thought about it for a minute, sure as he had grown more used to his powers and what they entailed he had decided to try it on himself, but it had taken him time to come up with the idea. He was somewhat surprised that this was one of the first things that she asked him.
“I’ve tried it a couple of times. The first time I couldn’t even get my power to activate, just… nothing. The second time the image in the mirror was blurred, you could tell it was a person it was so distorted it was impossible to even make out if it was a man or a woman.”
Maybe he just did not love anyone, but that seemed unlikely. It was more probable that his power was not strong enough yet. Or that he had some kind of barrier that prevented it from creating the link needed to get a clear image. Whatever it was he could not be bothered to force the issue. He was ok with just going with his feelings and seeing what came of it.
“I doubt that it’ll work on me. So it looks like I’m doomed to live and love like everyone else.”
The reaction he got from Celeste was not what he had been expecting. He had predicted that she would find something to criticize but instead he watched as her eyes grew wide. Her mouth formed a silent “oh” of surprise. To be honest, Sam did not know if this was good or bad. He had never really had any close “girl” friends, so the intricacies of the female mind remained a mystery to him. But he figured an “oh” was better than being laughed at.
The blonde teenager then grabbed a piece of paper, which had probably been dutifully brought by the store’s staff, and started furiously scribbling. He wondered what exactly she was doing and for a second he hoped that she was not going to attempt to draw him. As it turned out, he shouldn’t have been worried all that was written on the blank paper was the number ten.
"Look at you, I bet you never looked so good. You look like a model. "
He felt at once flattered and a little bit affronted. How could she know that he had never looked this good? To be honest he just felt stupid. Then again he had never been told that he looked like a model. He had never really been told that he was handsome. He knew that it came from the fact that he was more Asian than Caucasian and in London Asians were not seen to be particularly handsome. So he had grown up believing that he was in the norm neither handsome nor ugly and that had worked pretty well for him up until now.
“Me a model? Are you sure you’re looking at the right person?”
He knew he was asking for trouble by contradicting her and that he probably should just have left well enough alone. But for some reason he could not just accept her words, it seemed too farfetched. So as usual he was being stubborn over something trivial.
Sam waited for an answer while watching his surroundings closely. It appeared that the mansion was laid out in a sensible fashion. Every floor had a purpose and was made up mostly of long straight corridors. Sam smiled, it was hard to get lost going in a straight line. Then he turned his attention back to the teenager walking by his side. Darren wore a slightly odd expression for a second, as if turning in his mind what he was about to say. Sam knew of the difficulty of having to explain one’s power, he had had to do it not so long ago.
“I’m stretchy. Like rubber bands.”
Oh, well that was a pretty straightforward mutation, and to Sam it actually seemed like a potentially useful one. As that thought crossed his mind it was quickly followed by another “Am I jealous?”. Maybe? Probably? He had always felt that if you should be a mutant you might as well have a useful power, which explained why he felt so depressed about his own.
He watched Darren extend his arm in front of him and was at once confronted by one of his childhood memories. When he lived in Korea he had had a friend that just loved animé and one of the series had been about a pirate with the ability to stretch out his body. It was strange to remember this now but it was a good memory and it made him smile.
“What about you?”
He had known asking someone else for a description of their power would mean he had to give one of his own; god that was partially why he had asked, to get used to saying it out loud. He took two minutes to think of the best way to proceed. Simple, to the point, maybe a touch of humour? Ok he had it now; taking a breath he tried to explain.
“Mine is nothing cool, like yours. I can… well make myself look like other people. Not that I get to choose who I look like though and really it’s only an illusion.”
Saying in that way made it sound like the world’s most boring power. Well it was not like he enjoyed it anyway.
