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.
I feel like crying. I just got back to the site and what happens? I have to leave again!!! Somebody shoot me..
In a nutshell I have started to work on a novel a while ago and in an effort to get it done I have been removing stuff from my schedule so I would have time to work on that book. It's getting to the point that I might not be able to get on here and respond to anything maybe once a month... and forcing you guys to wait that long for a post isn't appropriate if you ask me. So... guess this is goodbye until the novel is done.
"Un-freaking-believable." Alex said to himself as he quickly made his way down a flight of stairs that led into the New York City subways. Not that long ago he had been resting at the X-mansion, nursing the wound he got on his leg when he had tried to help a doctor named Zelda save a child. That child needed saving not from just the public but also himself since his mutation had just revealed itself and thus he didn't have any control over it... and managed to give Alex quite the gash on his left hip as a result. Zelda stitched him up, but he still needed to let his leg heal.
So when he got a message saying that some of his belongings were at his old pottery shop that he had left over 5 years ago, he was more then reluctant to get up. He was also suspicious; how could he of left belongings there when he left the city 5 years ago and they were still there after all this time? And how the heck was it traced back to him?? He sold that shop before he left and because it was in an unstable neighborhood it was bound to change hands repeatably. It made no sense at all! Then again back then he didn't do much to cover his tracks. He rarely did since he always found it hard to hide... that and most of the people that would want his head on a platter he was capable of defeating or escaping from. He didn't need to worry about anyone quite yet.
However he curiosity about what he could've left behind at his old shop got the better of him, so he now found himself making his way through the crowded underground of the subway tunnels to board a train to make his way down a cramped metal tube. Oh well, could've been worse.
As a matter of fact it was rather empty for a subway train once he got on board. In most cases it there wasn't any elbow room in the cars, but for once there was some. There were even free seats to claim instead of being forced to stand. Taking the opportunity Alex took a seat, folded his arms across his chest, and got ready for a really long ride since his stop was almost at the other end of the line. Still feeling drained from his bout of helping Zelda from earlier, Alex's eyes were quickly starting to droop as he sat there, the movement of the subway car felt like it was rocking him to sleep. It was even getting to the point that he failed to notice that the subway car kept getting more and more crowded, to the point that it wouldn't be long before someone got pushed up against him.
To say that Zelda's complements were making Alex feel a little prideful would be an understatement, however he attempted to not allow it to go to his head. They had a kid to deliver to the hospital, and he needed medical attention himself. Without any sort of pain killers or bandages, Alex's thigh felt like it was on fire and the only thing that was slowing the flow of blood was his hand and sleeve.
Still though, he tried to stay positive. "Thank you for choosing Malachite Transportation. Fasten your seat belts and please enjoy the trip." Alex stated as a bit of malachite extended across Zelda and the kid to keep them in their seat, though it was fairly loose since it was technically a solid rod of gemstone. However it wasn't like they would need it since 17 miles an hour was literally a running pace... albeit a fast running pace for someone that was really fit but still a running pace. As the trio made their way down the street like this they quickly got stares from every single person they passed. And who could blame them for staring? They were on a bright green double wheelchair that had no motor and yet it was moving faster then most people could run! And it was dead silent too... save for the occasional grunt of pain coming from Alex when ever they hit a bump.
When they pulled up to the hospital Alex took them directly to the emergency doors, still getting stares from everyone. As the malachite seat belts detached and retracted back into the rest of the construct Alex said "Last stop! Everybody out!" However he didn't stand up until Zelda and the kid did so. When they did he got even more stares from everyone as the entire double wheelchair construct just seem to melt and retract into his forearms. However the moment he was finished and his eyes stopped glowing, Alex winced and looked down at his thigh... and the entire pant leg of his blue jeans on that side was red, making the injury look far worse then it actually was. His adrenaline was tapering off too, so anything that was helping him block out the pain from his wound was vanishing too.
Alex, despite all you are capable of, you're still human. And you bleed like one too. he thought as he bit his lower lip in an attempt to stop himself from letting out a pain filled groan. With that, he glanced over at Zelda and said "Erm... little help?"
Hearing that Allegra's power was uncontrollable and unpredictable, Alex visibly winced and gave the girl an apologetic look. He saw the effects of people with powers that couldn't be controlled, and the results in almost every case was the mutant dying. If it was from the hands of the mutant committing suicide or another person killing them however was different from case to case.
"Unusual pet... well... would a Clydesdale named Gilgamesh count?" Alex asked as he smiled, dropping the name of one of the largest horses on the planet. It was the same breed of horse that pulled the Budweiser carriage seen on TV all the time. It was his favorite breed since they were known to be gentle for their size and thanks to their strength he could ride them while using his power in anyway, shape, or form... and they could handle it.
"Well Alex, if you really want the job, I'd say it's yours. Now technically this wasn't an official interview so you might end up doing another one with one of my... brothers... but it should be relatively painless." Ruddy said with a smile as he held out his hand for Alex to shake, which the gemstone manipulator promptly did. "Thank you sir." Alex stated, but as soon as they ended the handshake Ruddy held up a finger. "However this doesn't make you an X-Man. If you want to become one you'll have to go through the same exact process that every single one of them went through. Having combat experience doesn't give you a free pass." To this Alex nodded in understanding. "I can more then agree to that. I don't like getting the special treatment. I've worked for everything I ever had and I want to keep it that way."
What Ruddy said next however made Alex lift an eyebrow, clearly puzzled. "Also I don't want you trying to teach any of the residence anything along the lines of mutations. Life lessons I'm perfectly happy with, but nothing related to mutation." "Now that's a little surprising. I know quite a bit and even have some experience with teaching new mutants how to control their powers." Alex mentioned, and Ruddy cleared his throat before he explained. "You clearly have combat experience with your powers, but I don't want the younger generation of mutants here to focus on using their powers for combat only, if you know what I mean."
Alex did know what he meant. It was written in Ruddy's eyes that the guy could tell that Alex had killed before... and he had, enough times that he occasionally had trouble sleeping. They had all be murderers and terrorists, but blood was blood. Ruddy didn't want Alex to teach anyone here how to kill and take it lightly.
When the detective's question reached Alex's ears, he quickly frowned and slouched into the chair that was provided for him. "You had to ask the hardest question first didn't you? That question is way more complicated then you think." Alex said with a slight grumble, though this was followed by a sigh and him sitting forwards in his chair. "Alright, for starters there was a mercenary team known as the Harbingers that operated out of a mobile base that would make it's way around the U.S. Unlike typical mercenaries though every single member of it was a mutant whose mutation, or mutations in some cases, were extremely destructive. This allowed them to rake in more money then most mercenaries because they didn't have to spend money on guns, ammo, and some materials. They've also been around for a long time. Like 3 generations long." Alex began as he started to rub his temples, knowing that this conversation was going to give him a headache rather quickly. He knew this question was going to come up eventually but he had expected it to come later... like after the person he was talking to got to know him later.
"Another thing you should know is that mutation within my family is hereditary, so much so that our powers of manipulating gemstones can be almost indistinguishable from one another. As you can imagine an entire family where several family members have the ability to create virtually anything they can think of, and the probability of future generations of that family having identical powers being almost 100%, would be a boon to a mutant mercenary group that was looking to replenish their ranks." Alex said as he started to rub his eyes with his left hand. "And when they started to ask members of my family to join only two people had the nerve to say 'no'... myself and my Dad. Everyone else jumped at it."
Alex fell silent for a moment before continuing. "They had asked me to join 5 years ago, and when Dad and I refused they wanted to test the loyalty of the members of my family that did join... by ordering them to kill my Dad and I. Dad sacrificed himself so I could get away. 4 years later they approached me again... though sometime during those 4 years the Harbingers had gone from mercenaries to terrorists. And to prove their point that they wouldn't take 'no' for an answer this time they butchered my wife and child when I wasn't home." Alex said before pausing again and leaning back in his chair as tears started to form in his eyes.
After remaining silent for a moment to make sure he wouldn't start crying, Alex resumed spilling the beans. "Not long afterwards the FBI and MRC approached me to help them take down the Harbingers. Officially I was a consultant to help them track down the Harbingers through the members I knew really well. Unofficially... they wanted a mutant among them so in case word got out that the government was trying to take down a group of mutants. That way they could say something along the lines of 'we were only after the bad mutants and to prove it we have a good mutant helping us.' The fact that they picked someone who wanted justice just meant that they didn't have to find a way to motivate me to help."
"So... wanna ask anything or do you want me to continue?" Alex asked modestly, knowing he just dumped a bunch of information on the guy and he might need time to process it all.
Hearing what Zelda said about the X-Mansion made Alex do a double take, followed by a small smile slowly crossing his face. "Guess that means we're gonna be seeing each other repeatably." he said with a smile, then glanced down at his hip, winced slightly, and nodded. "No argument here, but I'd prefer to make sure the kid is safe first." he said with a nod as he gently padded the kid's back. As the police cleared away the barriers Alex's gaze shifted to Zelda, and he couldn't help but smile out of respect.
However when she picked up the kid and started to run, he didn't give any argument and quickly followed. He hated those META bots since they acted as if everyone was a criminal and would shoot first and act questions never. He took more then a bullet or two from those things when he was with the MRC, and one point he demanded that they leave the bots behind on their missions. Finally a protocol was installed onto the bots to never shoot at anyone that was colored a malachite green, but it meant that Alex had to keep his malachite visible at all times to avoid getting shot. It worked, but the question was did these bots have that protocol? If they did then they could just walk away under a malachite shield. However Alex didn't want to test that out since if they didn't have it they turn everyone into Swiss cheese.
"I can do more then make a lock pick." he said as a malachite rod extended to the lock, and barely a second later the rod rotated with the sound of a click. Alex opened the door and pulled the malachite away form the door to reveal that the end of the rod and grown into a key! Inside there were a few people that looked like they were part of a gang, and this was confirmed when they started to draw guns with an angry look on their faces. However before they could fully draw their weapons all 4 of them found their weapons encased within a malachite crystal though their hands were still free, and each crystal had a gemstone rod leading back to Alex's right hand. "Boys, don't bother. You can let us pass through or we can have some serious problems." Alex stated, followed by every single rod spouting spikes. "Take your pick." The only response that they got was all four gangsters letting go of their weapons and running.
"After you and get going." Alex said as he used his free hand to apply pressure to his injured hip as he dropped the weapons and recalled the malachite. Glancing over his shoulder where he could hear the sound of a META bot and realizing that he couldn't run, and knowing that Zelda wouldn't be able to either carrying a kid, Alex made up his mind; it was time to put his power to use.
With that he recalled the gemstone cane, slammed his fists together so he could fuse his two malachite bracers into one large hunk of gemstone, and quickly created what could be called a gemstone wheelchair under him... and thanks to the fact he could control the wheels he quickly took off after Zelda at 16 miles an hour, about the pace of a full blown sprint of the average Joe. As he moved he continued to make his malachite grow. so by the time he had caught with her he had grown another malachite seat behind his own so it looked like a sort of wheel chair train that was held up by 4 wheels. "Get aboard! I can move us at 17 miles an hour with this thing."
Sure, he knew it looked ridiculous but he also knew it would work.
Finally the kid started to talk... and what he said was what Alex had expected; his family now viewed him as a monster and kicked him out. No one asked to be a mutant, no one gets the option to choose. Either you are or you aren't. Seriously it's just another form of racism to hate a mutant... and that's why Alex wanted to do his best to end it. It was a very complicated process but he was doing his best. How he just had to keep going.
... though at the moment the most he could do was dig his heels into the ground and brace himself as his malachite wall was shotgunned by a bunch of metal shards that could pass for steak knives. Every single blade embedded itself into the shield, creating large cracks in the shield so it seemed as though the shield would shatter. Instead the cracks slowly closed as the shield seemed to heel itself. Moments later all the blades were pushed out of the shield and fell to the ground as Alex peeked around the edge of his shield to see that Zelda had managed to get the relaxer into the kid.
Letting out a sigh of relief he recalled the shield back into his arms, and created a cane to help support his weight so he didn't put it all onto his injured hip. Half walking, half limping, Alex made it to the kid and Zelda. "Abel, there is a school held within a mansion that is close by. They help mutants learn to control their powers. I work there too so if you decide to go there I'll always be available to talk while I'm in the building."
As he spoke Alex heard the sound of a moving vehicle that seemed to have a powerful engine, as if it was meant to transport something that was heavy. Please tell me that is just another ambulance. Alex thought as he glanced over at Zelda with a look that said he'd keep them all safe if the situation began to turn south.
Hearing Allegra mention what happened when she first discovered her powers Alex gave her an apologetic look. "Geez. Sorry. to hear that. That's rough. It ain't easy to get over either, if ever. I've found that the next best thing to do is to figure out how to put these wacky powers for good. It ain't easy and the world might still hate us for being born differently, but we're trying." Alex stated, and Ruddy nodded in approval. "Well said. A bit preachy but well said." Alex only smiled and shrugged... and chose to not respond to the 'rightfully deserved' comment that was made since that sounded like blind greed to him. He wasn't working here yet, so in truth he didn't have the right to school her on how selfish that line of thinking was.
Though he had to smile again when she mentioned how cute pigs were. "Well maybe you'd want a miniature pig as a pet. They really don't play fetch like puppy dogs, but they are very intelligent. You just need to make sure that you give it a bunch of water. Seriously, they are notorious for getting into anything to get a drink of water."
Finally Ruddy nodded. "I can't think of anyone else better either. That and no one else has asked for this position. Just one question last question for you Alex; you are aware that some of the stuff you'll have to clean up will be unusual due to our mutant students, right?" To that Alex smiled again as his eyes began to glow green. "Don't worry, I've got it. Besides if I need another pair of hands, I can get them..." he said, and then his malachite bracers grew out to cover his hands, then seemed to crawl up his sleeves, and then finally growing into another pair of arms with fully functional hands that were attached to his shoulders. Tiny bits of gemstone were still in contact with his skin though. "... in more ways then one."
Ruddy only chuckled... then stared when Alex said "By the way, how did neither of you get that earlier pun? I accidentally said commode and then made a flushed pun. How did neither of you catch that?" Ruddy groaned as he executed a face palm that was bound to leave a bruise. "Because it was a horrid pun!" Alex only grinned. "Expect way more of them if you hire me."
Alex looked down at the blade when that question came up. He had fought several dozen people with his power... some where simply held at bay, while others were hurt... and there were quite a few that he had killed. How could he tell this kid that he had spilled blood several dozen times? The answer was he couldn't bring himself to say it, so he simply stated what he had done with the katana construct. "Just once, and that was when I first discovered my power so I didn't know how to control it back then."
As Allegra spoke up about needing diamonds to live, Alex couldn't help but give her an 'oh really?' look as he recalled the katana and turned his powers off. [colore=green]"Careful kid. Greed has a way of biting one's self in the rear."[/color] Alex said with a look that said 'I tried that an it backfired.'
Then Alex smirked. "Yeah, pigs can be hard to handle, but they can be cute as well." Alex said, then Ruddy chuckled. "Nah nah nah. Revenge of the Pork." Which promptly earned a grin from Alex. "Attack of the swines? Allegra your up for the next Star Wars movie name changed to being pig themed."
"But you know, I'm curious myself as to why you took that consultant job. Having the position as a consultant for the MRC and the FBI is something that is almost unheard of." Ruddy asked, causing Alex to look back and forth between the two before he let out a sigh and answered honestly... if a little vague. "My... wife and child... they got caught in the cross fire between a group of mutant extremists and law enforcement. I... I didn't want anyone to suffer that type of pain again but I also didn't want everyone to view mutants as killing machines." Alex stated before looking over at Ruddy. "Having a mutant bring those mutants to justice would send a message; not all mutants are evil, and don't judge the whole by the actions of a few." Once Alex had finished Ruddy had remained silent for a moment before placing a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Dude, sorry. That's rough." Alex only nodded before saying "Can we... change to topic?"
So the topic got changed to the cleaning position, and once again Ruddy was chuckling, followed by him winking at Allegra. "I think I might!" Ruddy said, then Alex shrugged as he said. "Sorry. The pressure of a sudden interview left me feeling a little... flushed." This was followed by Alex perfectly mimicking the troll face grin.
Ah, so this Zelda was aware of the X-Men's mansion? That was good. This meant that once the kid was gotten off the streets, they could get him to the mansion where he could learn to control his powers without having to worry about harming others. However if the police and MRC wouldn't allow the kid out of their sight, then Alex would be willing to help the kid control his powers. Mutations were hereditary in his family and every single time one showed up it was controlled differently. It got to the point that his great uncle had wrote a book on different ways on how mutants could control their power, and Alex's dad had added to it... and Alex had it in his backpack. Surely something in there could help him help this kid.
As Zelda spoke however, several shards of metal suddenly went flying out of the kid. Alex had lifted his hands and started to form his malachite into a shield, but despite how fast he could make it he couldn't bring it up in time to block all of the shards of metal. Several had gotten embedded into the green gemstone shield... but one had slipped passed the shield before it had widened enough to catch all the shards of metal and it slashed into Alex's left thigh. The slash wasn't deep at all, but it was long. The malachite manipulator let out a pain filled grunt and grasped his wounded thigh. If the situation had been less tense he might of cracked a joke at his own expense, like saying 'that was a cut above the rest,' but now was the worst time to make a joke.
Seeing the police tense up and a few of them tightening their grips on their guns... and even grabbing their radios and calling for backup. Great, now those META bots really were on their way if they weren't already. He had to get Zelda closer so she could give him that injection... but how?
He could think of only one thing, and he started to walk faster to towards the kid... or more like limp since his thigh ached so much. "Alright," Alex said through clenched teeth. "My powers are capable of stopping yours." he said as he gave the malachite shield a small shake, causing the metal to fall out of it, and then the shield quickly repaired itself so it was completely pristine. "So with that in mind, keep your eyes on me. Look only at me, nothing else. Focus everything on me. If you feel like you are about to let loose another blade, aim it at me. My powers can stop it. No one else will get hurt." Alex said quickly as the shield increased in size till it was 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide, and a foot thick... and yet Alex was moving it as if it was nothing.
"I'm also willing to create a cocoon of my power around you to stop any chance of those blades hurting anyone else, but I won't unless you give me permission to do so."
Before the gruff police officer could respond to Alex's request a voice from a third party cut in, prompting Alex to spin on his heel to see the speaker. The man looked middle aged and a bit weathered but on the other hand that didn't mean he was down and out. If anything it most likely meant that this guy had plenty of experience and could handle himself in a scuffle.
Though if the guy was trying to descend on the conversation like a hawk would descend on a bunny, he might quickly discover that this bunny could arm itself with a chainsaw sword when it needed to. Though right now there wasn't any need. "Alex Davis. Nice to meet you. Be right with you." Alex stated, then quickly grabbed his three forms of ID from the officer playing greeter. The guy was far less intimidating now that Alex knew he was named after one of the Three Stooges. "I'll be needing these." Alex quickly stated before he took several long strides to catch up to the detective.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'm good." Alex stated as entered the cubicle. However instead of taking a seat, he turned to face the desk and placed his license, passport, and MRC/FBI consultant ID on the desk in front of the detective. "Before we start, there's one thing I need to get outta the way. Has to do with mutations... or rather mine." Alex stated, and his cyan eyes began to glow green on the spot as he held both hands over the desk. An instant later his malachite bracers slipped out from under his sleeves, down his hands, and landed on the desk with a clunk. Odd thing was that as they were going down his arms they almost seemed to be flexible to the point of being goo-like, though now since they were no longer in contact with Alex's skin they were solid as any gemstone.
"And now that I've disarmed myself, where should we start?" Alex asked as his eyes stopped glowing.
Alex shook his head. "Nah, not real swords." he said as his eyes started to glow green, then grew a katana with his malachite. "Why carry a real one when I can 'em?" he said with a wink and a smirk before retracting the blade and the glow in his eyes vanished. When she mentioned slave labor Alex's smirk vanished. Was that how some people viewed doing simple house chores? "Or you could ask them to give you an allowance for doing the dishes. Besides just because they are loaded doesn't mean that all that money is designated for specific uses. Perhaps all of that money is going into something, like say the special needs of specific mutants. Heck I once knew a mutant that could only digest gold. Extremely expensive diet but on the other hand he had to live."
With the topic going back to his old job Alex sighed and nodded. "It's a hard life, it takes a lot of sacrifice, and in some cases it doesn't give back for those sacrifices. You don't do it for the pay, but to help people... at least that's why I did it." he said, but a little ball of guilt started to well up inside of his heart. He had done it to avenge his wife, daughter, and father. As a result some would say that he wouldn't deserve to have a badge... and he would have trouble arguing the point.
The instant that Alex had mentioned the pigs though, he thought he set of a talking bomb within the girl in front of him. It was like he got hit by a wall of sound... overjoyed sound but still a wall of sound. "I'm sure a few farmers would love to have an extra set of hands to help around the place. However be advised that pigs are all muscle, not fat like many seem to believe. If one gets mad and charges, never let it catch you." Alex said as he rolled his left shoulder. "Also make sure that if you jump out a window to get away from the pig that you know how to take a fall."
"What in the world happened to make that pig run after you?" the doctor asked, now curious.
Alex nibbled on his bottom lip before saying "I was giving her piglet a few apple slices and another piglet want a slice so it squealed loudly... and as a result the mother thought it was in distress and thought I was the cause." Alex started to rub the back of his neck. "Lesson learned. Always stay outside the pens when giving the piglets treats."
He then turned his attention to Allegra. "Speaking of apples and peanut butter, those are good but what are really good are bananas and peanut butter. Especially on a sandwich. A PB & B." That got a puzzled look from Ruddy. "That's an odd combo. I'll have to try that."
However when Allegra gave her opinion of Alex, the doctor smiled before looking at Alex. "Alright, there's your first reference. Got a second one?" In response Alex quickly opened his backpack and pulled out a forest green folder, opened it up, and pulled out an envelope. "Would a letter of recommendation do?"
"That it would." Ruddy said with a smile. He took the envelope, opened it up, took out the letter of recommendation... and Alex swore that if Ruddy's jaw wasn't attached to his face it would've gone through the floor. "How did you get a letter of recommendation from the head of the FBI?"
"Keep reading." Alex said, and Ruddy did so.
"Ah. That's how. Okay that makes sense. A couple of questions though. First off, why should I hire you?"
Alex was ready for that question, but he didn't expect it to be asked now. This was going to be one of the most unorthodox interviews ever if they were doing it right now. "Well I'm dedicated to my work, I always look for ways to improve the quality of my work, I'm happy to lend a hand when ever I'm asked to, I'm willing to work overtime, and I never stray from my ethical commode." Alex said, then blinked before he realized his tongue had slipped. "I mean code! Ethical code!" Alex almost wailed as he slapped himself across the forehead.
Ethical commode. That was really rich Alex. Swift, as in not to.
Alex glanced over at the woman and saw her lips moving. Reading lips wasn't the best of his abilities, but he got the gist of it, and nodded. After mouthing the words "MRC consultant." he turned his attention back to the kid. He would play the role of distraction. He had to keep the kid's attention on him and figure out a way to keep him calm. However time wasn't on their side. He knew from experience that the police wouldn't wait long to act... and if META bots arrived it could be all over. He might of helped the FBI and MRC catch a dangerous mutant mercenary group that turned terrorist, but that didn't give him any real authority. If those bots showed up the most he could do was make them hesitate a second or two before they followed their programming... or glitch out. After that he was going to end up being a bullet sponge. At least his Malachite could take a few hits.
Alex shoved those thoughts the back of his mind and began to take slow steps directly towards the kid.
"Discovering that you're a mutant is scary. You suddenly have a brand new part of your body and you have no idea to control it, or if it can be controlled."
Step. Alex glanced at the crowd and police and knew that many of them might think he was lying. He was sure some of them were thinking How could a mutant not know how to control their power? Time to throw it into perspective.
He also saw a few phones and cameras out. Great, so this is gonna end up on the evening news and possibly on YouTube.
"It's just like with a newly born infant. They have legs but the don't know how to walk. They have vocal cords but they don't know how to talk. They have to learn how to control their legs so they can walk. They have to learn to form sounds into words."
Step. He looked back at the kid.
"Trust me, I know how scary it is. I found out I was a mutant in one of the worst ways possible; I almost killed my dad the instant my mutant revealed itself. He had to get a pace maker installed to stay alive. I didn't even know I had it, so how could I control it?"
Step.
"Out of fear of hurting others and out of horror for what I did I ran. I thought I had become a monster."
Step.
"But being a mutant doesn't make me a monster. It only makes me different."
Step.
"The same goes for you. You aren't a monster. You hear me? You are not a monster."
"And this was looking like such a good day too..." Alex grumbled as he stood on the corner of an intersection, his black leather jacket covered in white paint. He wasn't wearing the soiled jacket, but was carrying it in a plastic bag. Only an hour ago he had been wearing it as he was walking through a hardware store as he looked for a new pocket knife. However what was looking to be a nice day had turned on it's ear when a worker at the store dropped the can of paint behind him and it splashed upwards instead of out. While he was mad, the fact that the manager was so apologetic helped Alex relax a little. After giving Alex the money to get a replacement jacket, the gemstone manipulator finally let the guy off the hook and left.
However he was still steamed, and the bad part of Alex's temper was that when he finally got angry it stuck around for a while.
Crossing the street and continuing his walk, Rook was wondering if he should've let them off the hook so easily, however all things considered that employee was fired for this, so getting the cash needed to replace his coat was enough. However he was slightly cold now, and since he had his malachite wrapped around his torso instead of being on his arms, he was finding it slightly hard to breath. It was against his better judgement, but walking around with gemstones on his bare wrists was just stupid. He might as well be walking around with a sign that said 'rob me!' So he kept his malachite hidden under his T-shirt.
As he rounded another bend to get to a good place to wave down a cab, the sight of police cars and other flashing lights quickly caught his attention. Before Alex knew it he was running towards them to see if he could lend a hand. As he did so he saw a woman entering an ambulance on the opposite edge of the barricade while a police officer stepped up to block his path, though when he held up his MRC consultant card the officer allowed Alex to hear what was going on. "13? Oh, that poor kid." That's when Alex made his decision; he would attempt to get the child to calm down and maybe help the child learn to control his powers so he wouldn't be throwing anything else around that could hurt someone. And if he couldn't calm him down... he would have to tranquilize the kid, but he'd be right next to him when he woke up to help talk him through controlling his powers.
This kid wasn't the only one that had a rough time when he's powers emerged. Alex did as well.
With that in mind he turned to head towards the nearest ambulance, only to see the woman from earlier starting to head towards the kid! Who the heck was she?! Was she qualified for this? Then again was he? However he wasn't sure if she had some sort of way to protect herself from the child while he did. Without thinking about his own safety he had taken a few steps towards the woman before stopping when he realized he entered the danger zone without a plan... or the knock out drug. Alex, this is why you should go back to being a custodian or a potter. he thought as he held out both of his hands at waste level so the kid could see he was unarmed.
"Hey. I'm Alex. Take it easy, I'm not going to do anything. I'm a mutant like you." he said as his cyan eyes began to glow a bright green.
He wasn't taking another step until the kid calmed down a hair or two.
"Bungee jumping?" Alex asked with an eyebrow raised, clearly puzzled. He then shuttered and shook his head. "El nope! Not me! I get enough of an adrenaline rush from swordplay thank you very much." Alex stated flatly. There were some things he could do, and something his just wouldn't approach. In his opinion bungee jumping was the activity of adrenaline junkies, and he wasn't one. Now sky diving was something he could do, but not for the thrill of it, but in case he had to dive headlong into danger.
The instant that Allegra asked why they couldn't just hire someone to do the dishes, Alex stared at her for a moment until he realized that she didn't have a typical life growing up. Technically he didn't either: he came from a family that owned a mansion out in tornado alley. "Well, not everyone actually has the money to spare in order to hire someone to do the dishes or do to all the cooking." Rook answered as he gave the answer his dad had given him when he had asked the same question. "Also it is possible for you to go from having the money to hire someone to do your chores to not having the money in a heartbeat if something happened that took away all of that money, like an expensive operation for example. In that situation you might have to let the cook or cleaner go leaving you to do the cooking and cleaning. It would be good for you to know how in that situation. Besides," Alex continued and then shrugged "There's something satisfying about making your own meals."
When the law enforcement question came up, Alex went silent for a moment and he looked away in thought... and to hide the tear that had formed in his eyes. "My time with law enforcement had been rough... rough enough that I saw enough blood spilled to last a life time. And if I start helping the X-Men I might end up seeing more. I'm taking a custodial job because it will allow me to help a group of heroes while building my tolerance for seeing red again." Rook responded, and finally turned back to face her after he wiped away a tear that had managed to fall halfway down his cheek, and attempted to focus his attention on the young woman in front of him so he wouldn't be thinking about his dead wife and daughter.
So when the conversation was switched to the dogs Alex almost let out a sigh of relief. "I grew up in Kansas. While Dad and I lived in a suburb, the family mansion was out on a plot of farmland where there were several herds we helped raise, like cows, pigs, and of course sheep." Alex stated, then paused before saying. "Incidentally, why is does the saying 'sweat like a pig' exist? I can tell you from personal experience that pigs lack sweat glands! That's why they roll in the mud, it's their only way to cool off!" Alex asked as he started to have a very autistic moment. However when he realized he was he quickly cleared his throat and shook his head to get his focus back.
"I think I can guess what happens in the war room and danger room. I'll keep my distance. Yeah I'd like that website link. And thank you for the offer of food but I'm fine-" Alex began to finish when his stomach growled loudly. Alex blushed out of embarrassment as he glanced down at his gut then slowly raised his eyes to look at Allegra. "Don't you hate it when your body turns you into a lier? I'll take an orange." Alex stated as he scratched the back of his head, hoping that his cheeks stopped turning red.
"If you want something small I'd suggest crackers and peanut butter. It sticks to your ribs a bit longer."
Alex nearly jumped out of his shoes when someone spoke up from behind him, and he quickly whirled around to see a man standing there, leaning against the door frame. "How...?"
"How did I sneak up on you? You were a little too focused. I'm Dr. Kipperling. Sorry for startling you." The man said with a smile, then glanced over Rook's shoulder to look at Allegra. "So, what's your first impression of this guy? Should I bring him on?"
