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.
Jirou sighed "If you're worried about me selling what I might find out, forget it. With the kind of money I'm getting paid to do this job, your boss has already guaranteed my silence. It's bad for business, and one's health, to go around betraying your clientele, and I'm pretty sure whoever your boss is they have the resources to get rid of me if I do." He paused for a moment to let that all sink in before continuing "I like my neck the way it is; not dressed up in the Colombian fashion." he wondered if she knew what a Colombian neck tie was.
Jirou looked up at the waitress as she arrived "You wouldn't happen to have a drink menu would you?" the waitress smiled and nodded as she handed a small black menu to him. Jirou wasn't particularly a fan of drinking while on the job, but in lieu of their objective it would help to keep up some sort of appearance as simply just a customer for now.
"Glenlivet, on ice." A straight scotch on ice would last him a bit longer than a beer or mixer, which also meant he wouldn't even keep a buzz going, but it would at least calm him down a bit. He was still a bit weirded out by Noel's powers. He found himself continually avoiding eye contact with her, like he was playing a game of Hold 'em and didn't want to let slip a tell to the other players. Except here he wasn't hiding anything. He just didn't want to be turned into a vegetable.
Jirou pulled out his wallet and slipped a hundred dollar bill into the drink menu before closing it and handing it back to the waitress "Have you guys hired anybody new recently? Anybody that's been particularly friendly with any off duty boys in blue?"
Jirou raised the bet, sliding six hundred in cash to the center of the table. While he was still intent on letting her set the tone, he wasn't about to let it start off this slow. Never reel the fish in too soon, otherwise you will lose both the bait and the fish. Better to let the fish swallow the hook.
"My parent's also had a saying, 'Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu.' Nothing ventured, nothing gained." He'd played against women before, but they had simply arrived at the tables as arm candy for the men with deep pockets. This Leyla on the other hand was a different animal. Her jewelry and clothing screamed upper class, but there was something about the way she carried herself that didn't quite fit the picture.He caught his attention shifting from the game to the strange interaction between Leyla and the man who had discretely handed her the note. He was curious what that had all been about.
"The game? Straight poker. Not five card draw like we've been playing all night. We place bets and raise until either one of us chooses not. It's far more challenging than Texas Hold'em, Draw, or Stud to me. There are no cards to see, which means there is nothing to base your assumptions on other than the tells of other player."
Jirou placed his elbows on the table, his hands folded in front of his face. "It also means that like life, we must play the hand we are dealt." he sat back in his seat, motioning to the cards with his hand. "The first bet is to you, I believe."
"Cheat you? Believe me, if I wanted to cheat you, I would have done it while there were steal a few other people left at the table. I doubt I would be able to slip anything past you at this point." He dealt out the cards between the two of them.
"Besides..." he looked at his cards "I've never had to cheat to win, and I don't plan on starting." Jirou glanced back up at Leyla, his face void of all emotion. He was no longer playing a simple game of poker anymore, and he was pretty certain she wasn't going to pull any punches.
He placed his hand face down on the table. He would let her set the tone, but he was certain he would be changing it shortly.
Jirou smirked at the thought of his name actually being a joke in somebody else's language. It wasn't uncommon for a foreign sounding name, or word, to sound similar to something else. He knew what his name meant to him, and that was good enough for him.
When she questioned him on his reasons for being there, he shrugged. "A man has to eat to survive doesn't he? Why not make a living doing something I happen to enjoy as well?" he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"And this child is quite capable of handling himself, this I assure you." he mockingly imitated her thick accent as he spoke 'this child'. She had chose not to bite at his theatrics which told him that, as vicious as she was, she still knew when to keep her composure.
Her eye's also never left his. They weren't filled with aggression or hunger, but rather an icy cool determination. She was studying him as much as he was her. It was as if an immovable object was coming face to face with an unstoppable force. And the cards hadn't even been cut yet, much less dealt.
As the last opponent left the table, his tail tucked firmly between his fat and chubby legs, Jirou's stare never left his remaining opponent's figure. She was certainly good, and no doubt a vicious predator. Behind that smile and thick accent, he knew there lurked something uncontrollable and dangerous. Something that would take more than just his own skill to beat. A helluva lot of luck sure wouldn't hurt.
He grabbed the deck and began to shuffle the cards, leaning back into his chair, relaxing and weighing his odds. He shuffled the deck carefully, adding a few tricks for a bit of flair, and for his own amusement. It was an act of posturing, really. He wanted to see how she would react to somebody challenging her that was more than capable of handling himself. He made sure to keep his eye on her the entire time.
"Since it is just you and me now, I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to introduce myself. Call me Jirou." he set the deck down on the table for her to cut. "And who might you be?"
She knew what he was doing, which meant he was right. The only other person left at the table on the, other hand, didn't have a clue as to how hopeless his situation was.
Jirou frowned as he saw their last remaining opponent push what was left in his possession to the center of the table. He glanced between the brunette and the husky gentleman. He turned his cards face up. A simple straight. It was certainly a strong hand. Stronger than the one Jirou'd had, but the subtle tell the woman let slip told him this game would soon be between the two of them.
"I'd prefer to save the pleasantries until after the game." he stared back at her. Waiting for her to reveal her hand. He was curious how her game plan would change when it was a one on one game.
He watched as the bald man to his left threw his cards down. She could certainly call them out, that was for sure. He permitted a smile as he reached up and pulled down the tip of his fedora. He brushed off the half-hearted insult at his ancestry. He'd heard worse as a child.
He watched as the bald man gathered his belongings and left the table, easily still fuming about the hand. That left only three; the fat man, the brunette, and himself. Oh, and a generous amount of cash still on the table.
"And I'm guessing you probably have nothing more than an ace high in your hand." he stared at her and smirked. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a look of glee in the fat man's eyes. He could tell he had bought the lie hook line and sinker. The only question now was whether or not she had something better than that portly fellows straight.
Psychic Mojo? So his partner was a mutant. Jirou couldn't help but wonder if she new he was a mutant as well. She obviously knew more about this mission than he did, and for her to be in possession of a van outfitted with as much hardware as this one was, it wouldn't surprise him if she was actually a full time employee of his current client, but that there would be time to question her later. Right now, he had a job to do.
He parked the van in a nearby parking lot, hopped out of the vehicle, and pocketed the keys. He hated having to go into a situation almost completely blind, but he really didn't have a choice in the matter. He'd just have to trust Noel, she knew more than he did at the moment.
He took the envelope and placed it inside his jacket, in an inner pocket. He wondered what the instructions read. Was it a back up plan or something? He hoped he wouldn't have to find out just yet.
As they approached the bouncer, he reached for his wallet to pay the man but Noel's hand told him otherwise. He looked from Noel to the bouncer, and then back to Noel. The bouncer's pupil's dilated and a stupid groggy expression covered his face. Whatever she had done to him, Jirou hoped he wouldn't have to be on the receiving end.
He brushed past the bouncer, quickly catching up with Noel. They made their way to a table from which the majority of the bar and most of the entrances were visible and sat down with their backs to the wall. It wasn't very busy at the moment, which made it easier to spot people as they came and went. A few of the after work regulars had already trickled in. He leaned over to Noel, and carefully murmured through clenched teeth, The music over the sound system would conceal their conversation well.
"You could have told me about that little trick on the way here. I don't appreciate being surprised like that, especially when I the surprise is you being able to stupefy somebody just by looking at them, and don't even think of pulling that little stunt on me. I'm not too keen on becoming a vegetable anytime soon." He relaxed and looked around the bar a bit more, checking to see if anybody was watching them. They weren't. He turned back to Noel, being sure to keep his emotions and temper under complete control.
"Look, you know more about this situation than I do, and I'm sure there's a reason for that. That's fine, but if you expect me to be of any help here, especially when it comes to asking questions, I'm going to need a little more to go on besides 'The cops busted a few of our locations and this is our only lead.' Otherwise I'm going to have to bluff my way through everything, and that'll only cause problems."
He paused to take another glance around. Nobody knew who he was and he didn't know anybody here, but that didn't mean they wouldn't know Noel. After a minute he continued, his voice soft and calm, so as not to attract attention "The big thing I need to know is, what sort of stuff are we talking about here? I can't go around asking questions if I don't even know what product I'm looking for."
Jirou chuckled as he heard the brunette speak for the first time. She was toying with everybody at that table, like a cat holding a mouse in its claws. And everybody was letting it happen, except him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the portly man sitting next to him turn a bright shade of red. He began to push more cash to the center of the table. He'd be gone in the next few hands.
He decided to throw the hand and fold. He reclined in his chair as he examined the woman in front of him. She reminded him of a black widow, a man eater. He'd have to be careful with this one.
"Oh I couldn't care less what my neighbor does." he sat there, waiting to see her move. There were only four of them at the table now, which meant if he was going to have any hope of figuring this woman out, he'd have to pay close attention to the next few hands.
"It's just you seem a bit out of place here, and I can't help but pry."
Jirou snatched the keys out of the air and gave the black van a quick glance over. It was the stereotypical reconnaissance van you saw in nearly every single spy movie, which Jirou found amusing. He glanced down at the set of keys. The fuzzy dice were an interesting touch.
He opened up his door and climbed into the driver’s seat. He looked around, familiarizing himself with the vehicle. Thank Jeebus it was an automatic. He hated to drive stick in the city. He didn’t need to look behind the curtain to know what he would find. If the interior was as stereotypical as the exterior, it would be chalk full of goodies they would probably never need. The hula girl was a nice touch as well.
“I was paid to assist you in finding a snitch and getting them to talk. Beyond that, the client wouldn’t say.” He turned the key and started the van. He checked his mirrors and adjusted his seat as best he could. He seriously wished they were taking a car.
“The Box on 5th?” He pulled out on to the street. There was only one place in all of New York City that he had heard of called The Box. It wasn’t far from Lombardi’s Pizzeria. The place was incredibly expensive, and the service was utterly terrible. Not the first place he would think to go to find information, much less a snitch. The price tag for this job was beginning to make a little more sense.
Jirou had been playing this game since he was a just a little kid. The only differences between then and now was the age of the players the fact that they were playing for money and not baseball cards. It was just as easy now as it was back then.
He had kept quiet for most of the game, watching each and every face that sat down at the table. Every so often he'd intentionally throw a hand as a means of enticing people to both stay and waste their money, and to try and draw out those harder to reach tells.
As the night drew on, people came and went, and by the time the long haired brunette strolled in, there wasn't a single player left from the start of the game. That is, except for him. He looked around at the chips and cash each player had accrued over the course of the game.
He chanced a glance at his watch. That brunette was still at the table, and she was vicious. She knew the game well, and at the pace she was knocking out the competition, this game would be over too soon for Jirou's liking.
He eyed the man that had been sitting next to him as he stood up and called it quits. He'd been blowing bets all night, and was definitely a big spender. He watched as he made his way over to the brunette, casually handing her a note. He didn't know what it was all about, he really didn't much care, though he still made a note of it.
He adjusted his fedora as the dealer handed out the cards. His eyes settling on the brunette as she smoked her cigarette.
>”I am not impressed. You don’t look like the reliable type, but it’s not my opinion that matters. It’s the job. Come on.”
The statement came as little surprise to him. As cruel as it sounded, he was more than used to it and it was typically everybody’s first impression upon meeting him. Truth be told, he preferred people to have an initially negative impression, both while doing business and at the card table. It made the moment he actually revealed his hand all that much sweeter. The fact that his partner was also a woman would also add to the level enjoyment.
He was a bit surprised at her refusal to shake his hand though. He looked down at his palm to make sure there was nothing on it before shrugging it off and began to follow. He noticed how she carried herself, and her gait certainly held an air of both superiority and structure. She was definitely all business at the moment, which meant her expectations were probably quite high.
>”So is that ‘Jirou, Himura Jirou’ like ‘Bond, James Bond’?”
Jirou wasn’t expecting the question and initially didn’t get the reference. He grinned as it finally dawned on him. Maybe she wasn’t all business after all.
“Not quite. My family emigrated here from Japan before I was born, but they were quite old fashioned in their ways. In Japanese culture, the family name comes first, followed by the individual’s name. “ he placed his hands behind his head, his fingers laced together as he walked next to her.
>”Noel…Do you drive?”
Noel… so was that her name, or her code name? He assumed it was the latter, though there was no way to be sure. In this line of work, handing out your own name right off the bat to somebody you never met before could prove problematic, but for him that had never really been an issue. As for him being able to drive, he did hold a license, though with New York’s traffic as it was, it was usually easier to just take the bus or hop onto the subway than it was to actually drive anywhere.
“Um, yeah I can drive if I have to. I mean, I have a license… though it’s been a while. I took a cab to get here, but if you’ve got a vehicle I suppose I can be the chauffeur for this mission.” He looked at his watch. It wasn’t rush hour yet, which meant that traffic would be marginally better depending on where they had to go. “Where are you parked and where are we going?”
Jirou continued to lean against the pillar, his fedora pulled down slightly in front of his narrow eyes. He stared at his feet while deep in thought, the poker chip still rolling back and forth across the backs of his fingers. The barren concrete walls echoed with the sound of foot steps, which grew louder and more clear as they approached before stopping right in front of him. As if on cue, the poker chip stopped. Through his peripheral vision he could make out a pair of tennis shoes, and he could hear his partner's feminine voice cut the sudden silence like a knife.
"There's a sucker born every minute." he could hear the irritation in her voice clear as daylight. Definitely frowning. He stood up straight, pocketing the poker chip before crossing both of his arms across his chest. He reached up with his left hand, resting it on the top of his fedora.
"And there's a beggar on every corner." he replied. His tone sharp and crisp. He lifted his hat off of his head slightly and bowed his head respectfully before placing his fedora back in it's rightful place. It was only then that he actually looked directly at his new partner, and he couldn't help but smirk as he saw the frown upon her face. He called it.
"You must be my partner on this job." He recrossed his arms before continuing "And judging by the way you're staring at me you don't seem exactly impressed, now are you?"
He took everything in about her. Her style, her hair, the way she stood, anything that could give him a better picture of who this gal was. He was surprised to be working with a woman for once. That was definitely a first for him. He wasn't quite sure if that would be a good thing or not.
He extended his hand to her "The name's Jirou, Himura Jirou."
When the secretary had explained some of the finer details of the job to Jirou it sounded quite simple really; Find some snitch that was ratting out the client's illicit drug shipments to the police, make him talk, and then summarily ensure he keeps his silence. It was clear cut and dry, and normally Jirou had little trouble with jobs like this. They were relatively easy, fairly low risk, and were typically a one man job... but not this one, which is what puzzled him.
Jirou wondered why his new employer would want to bring in another person into the picture. Did his new client not trust him? It was certainly plausible. After all, they did hand him a blank check to take care of this job, so from a financial stand point they were taking quite a substantial risk on him, so from that perspective it made sense. But what would make this client pay so much to have such a simple job taken care of? He'd handled snitches before, and while occasionally some put up a considerable struggle, he always came out on top in the end. Furthermore they weren't exactly the biggest source of income when compared to other jobs he'd worked. The most he'd ever made off of a job like this was only a couple grand, but this one... this one was more than any job he'd ever opted to take. Heck, it was more than most of his jobs combined! The price tag on this job, which was huge, and in addition to him having a partner to work with meant this job was a VERY big deal to the client, which meant he'd have to play it extra cool and save his trump cards until the end.
He'd worked with partners on big jobs in the past before, and it never hurt to have an extra set of eyes to look out, but he'd learned that it also never hurt to keep at least one eye on them as well, especially when it was somebody you had never worked with or even met before.
The secretary had filled him in on the location for the rendezvous, which was an underground public parking complex nearby. There he would wait for his partner to arrive with the rest of their instructions and from there they would search for their target, together. On his way out the door he had made certain he grabbed a few pieces of vital equipment: A .45 model 1911 pistol, a second magazine, and a few decks of cards.
He hailed a cab and had the cabbie drop him off a couple blocks away from his destination, where he walked the rest of the way. The secretary had refused to divulge what his partner's name was, what they looked like, and what to expect. She simply told him to wait at the northeastern corner of the garage, and lean against the pillar and wait. She also instructed him to remember the answer to the pass phrase upon the second party's arrival.
As he came to the parking garage and hopped over the black and yellow barricade and made his way through the garage until he arrived at the predesignated location. He shoved his hands in his leather jacket pockets and leaned against the support pillar. His narrow eyes glancing from car to car and around every pillar as he waited. He reached up and adjusted his plain black fedora and waited, wondering when his partner would show, and what sort of person they would be.
He pulled out a black and red poker chip from his pocket. The professional grade ones used in high stakes poker tournaments and casinos. He began flipping it like a coin before snatching it out of the air and rolling it with his fingers across the back of his hand, going back and forth from pinky to pointer finger.
"Hopefully this mystery partner gets here soon..."
