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.
The city of New York had many problems. Even with the recent absence of their resident bonemancer destruction and violence were practically a way of life… or not as the case may be. This then led to higher costs; for such things always come at price which, more often than not, is ultimately born by the individual. Individuals who either needed to make sacrifices or become destitute, the latter occurring with depressing frequency which in turn led to the various ghetto districts spreading like webs from over eager spiders that stretched the already strained NYPD to its limits.
Yes, there were numerous problems; a lack of libations however was not one of them.
Whether it be by land by sea or by air, over nine million litres of alcohol entered the city every day and was delivered to over fifty thousand different establishments to serve a population of more than eight million. This was not a city which simply shared the belief that alcohol was both cause and solution to its problems, this was the city that had actually created the creed.
Never let it be said that nothing ever came of such indulgences however, even the common and coarsest collection of crap could conceal an unknown gem; a diamond in the rough.
As a small bell chimed above his head and his eyes roamed the bar, Zephyr couldn’t help but reflect that, while ‘Dudley’s’ certainly seemed to fit the latter, little more than idle curiosity and a faint lead suggested it contained anything valuable enough for the former.
The place was far from expansive, yet it managed the cramped confines with the same blunt pragmatism that was all but innate to establishments of its nature; tables cut just short enough to be inconvenient, the bar a few inches thinner than it might be and the odd mirror along the wall to give the illusion of space.
The place was serviceable but no more than that. It was by no means the worst location he’d visited (that particular honour went to a literal hole in the wall at the bottom of Moscow’s sewer system) and so the elemental felt no hesitation in seating himself towards the back of the bar near the kitchen.
Granted it wasn’t the best seat in the house, but it did put his back to a wall and let him keep an eye one everyone else, such as the lovely lissome blonde that was currently strutting towards him.
Perhaps the night wouldn’t be a complete loss after all.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at Isabel’s almost habitual contrariness Zephyr instead kept his focus on the table before him as he finished assembling the second weapon. He’d long become accustomed to ignoring the gamines more puerile behaviour; it was nothing more than an attempt tp get a rise out of him; a cry for attention really. Deny her that attention and she became, if not more willing to listen, at least more likely.
Ever since the brief break he’d granted the shapely soubrette two weeks he’d pondered on and off how best with her return. By this stage he felt he’d rather made his point with the endurance training; it was a punishment, a means of recourse whenever she happened to displease him more than usual and also tended to leave her too tired to get up to her usual mischief.
Now that the break was over however, he was intending for something of a fresh start. Isabel knew the sessions could be grueling yes, but now he wanted her to learn that it wasn’t all they could be. To that end he’d introduced something he knew would appeal to her.
“They’re called paintball guns Isabel.” He’d informed as he placed the first fished model in her surprised hands. “They work in much the same manner as any other gun.”
"I don't want this. I don't use guns. Guns are human weapons,"
The statement caused a slight smile to tug at the elementals lips and he replied without looking up from the second weapon. “As are cars, motorcycles and television, yet you seem have no problem using those. A gun is merely weapon Isabel, who made it rarely matters, what’s important… is how it’s used.”
He trailed off at that point, giving the gamine a moment to think through the implications. She wasn’t as smart as some, but she was learning and he’d found she could follow clues readily enough, although at times they had to be stamped on her face.
Still, he hadn’t quite thought the girl capable of literally shooting herself in the foot, something akin to falling up a flight of stairs and the elemental found he couldn’t quite restrain a chuckle which was fortunately eclipsed by the brunettes own cursing which proved to be both rather vocal and strangely creative.
Entertaining as the expletives were though he knew better than to let the girls poor mood gather steam. “Calm down Isabel, they’re called paintball guns for a reason, with your shoes I doubt you’ll even have a bruise.” He told her with a tone of gentle authority as he loaded a sack of pellets into the second finished weapon before resting it against his shoulder with the barrel pointed at the ceiling.
Tempting though it was to simply set about adjusting the soubrettes grip experience had taught him that Isabel rarely reacted well when someone intruded her personal space. In a best case scenario she’d simply freeze, confused and uncertain. On the other hand she could just as easily jump out of her skin and take a swing at him and he’d rather avoid having to replace one of the guns so soon.
Instead, he merely stayed where he was, allowing the table to act as a barrier between them as he dug a pair of transparent oval helmets from the bottom of the duffel bag, donning one himself before lightly tossing the other to Isabel.
“I thought we might try something a little different this time, something I believe you’ll enjoy.” His words were slightly muffled by the helmet though still clear. “Think of it as a game, we each have around 100 shots and the objective is to paint each other as thoroughly as possible.”
Taking a small step back the hessian reached up and flicked the safety off his own weapon as he leaned back and placed his weight on one foot. “There are no real rules; almost anything goes but you can’t destroy the warehouse or leave it until we both run out of ammo.”
“I’m betting you’ll get a real kick out of it.”
So saying Zephyr swung his leg into the table between them, launching it upwards with unnatural force which it sent it spinning like a flipped coin and carried it right past Isabel’s head, distracting her for just long enough that by the time she looked back, he was already gone.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Suppressing a sigh at the redhead’s half-witted response Zephyr continued his steady mental count as he watched the girls chest rise and fall with each weary breath. Now that she was in no danger of drowning on a mouthful of water the gamines coughing had subsided quickly in favor of a far more relaxed and regular rhythm. Had she not been staring blankly at the ceiling the hessian might have thought she’d fallen asleep again. Still, this lack of reaction was troublesome.
Stepping away from the wall with a slight frown on his features the elemental came to stand just behind the soubrettes head. After a moment watching the girls glazed gaze he moved one hand into her field of vision, extending one finger and slowly moving it back and forth while gathering a ball of oxygen into his free hand.
“Please try to follow my finger Ms. Sinnocent,” He spoke smoothly this time, forgoing his earlier austerity in favor of a slower, more calming cadence and after a moment or two the redheads eyes finally seemed to focus. “Left to right and back again… very good.”
The girl had a concussion; far from surprising given the rather colourful bruise decorating her temple, but he’d hoped her mutation might make her more resilient than she appeared , or at least leave her somewhat lucid, still her current condition did present a number of opportunities in and of itself.
Whether he’d be able to take advantage of them though was another thing entirely.
“I’m afraid you might have a concussion Miss, can you tell me the last thing you remember?”
As for myself, I probably should have posted here a week ago but in any case my schedule's gotten rather hectic lately and I'm afraid I don't see myself getting much time until the end of the month or so. I may manage the occasional post but nothings certain at the moment.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
In the midst of carving out another apple slice Zephyr paused and a brief look of surprise flickered across his countenance before he slowly lifted his gaze and took in the gleeful expression on Isabel’s face as she met his eyes without hesitation. That more than anything was what caught the elementals interest and caused him to arch an eyebrow.
“Indeed?” The word wasn’t mocking, or even skeptical, it simply carried a note of honest curiosity as the hessian set aside his apple and gave the girl his full attention and waited for her rationale.
Barely a beat later she gave it, her voice gradually gaining in both volume and enthusiasm as she poked at every loophole she could find and did her best to throw it in his face. By the time she’d finished the soubrette was almost bouncing in her seat as she stared at him with delighted defiance as she waited for him to react, to challenge her, to deny what she done.
He clapped.
It wasn’t the overly energetic gesture one might witness during a festival or in a stadium. No, this was more measured; a slow but no less genuine expression of approval that reflected the grin which tugged at the elementals own lips as he leaned back and regarded the gamine with no small amount of satisfaction.
She was learning.
“Nicely done Isabel, that was well thought out.” He congratulated, allowing her a brief moment of glory before he gently took her down a peg. Learning to think around a problem was all well and good but she hadn’t yet grasped the concept of a gracious victory or, more succinctly, to quite when you’re ahead. “However, it’s bad form to change a deal after the fact so we’ll stay with two weeks.”
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Still keeping his hands hidden behind his arms Zephyr tilted his head slightly as he leveled his sister a short questioning glance when she failed to grasp the implications. He’d purposefully ignored mention of the missing unicorn. Bringing the horned bastard into the discussion wouldn’t help things given that Maya still insisted on defending him and an argument wasn’t what he wanted with her right now.
Instead he forced his thoughts back to matter at hand and attempted to elucidate his earlier explanation. “I can’t say I’m surprised; even though you’ve lost part of yourself your mutation compensated and kept you healthy thus, technically, you’re not hurt and so there’s nothing-“
“Aaaahmmaaa!”
The sudden cry caused Zephyr’s gaze snapped back to Rowan just as the boy emptied his lungs and used his pudgy arms to toss the still decapitated puppet across the carpet where it rolled a surprising distance until it came to a rest in front of the TV cabinet.
The elemental eyed his nephew carefully for a few moments as the child began to crawl towards the rather disheveled puppet at a speed that would have made an arthritic tortoise green with envy. “Quite an arm he’s got there,” He commented casually, turning his eyes back to Maya while keeping track of the boy in the back of his mind.
“But as I was saying, you’re not technically hurt so there’s nothing to heal, however I think it may be possible to consolidate what’s left of you.” He held up an ethereal hand as he continued, “As you know when we’re like this it’s possible to heal ourselves to extent.” He paused for a moment search for an analogy before his eyes fell back to Rowan.
“Think of it as reorganizing a lego model that’s been smashed. Normally we put those pieces back where they were,” The phantom fingers on his hand slowly to reform began to reform. “However, if we want to, we can change the design and put the pieces somewhere else instead.” His fingers once again began fading from view, this time however they seemed to flow towards his thumb which quickly returned to full solidarity.
“In doing that we’d theoretically restore a part of you completely and create an injury somewhere else, an injury that could be healed.” He paused a moment to let that idea sink as he briefly turned his attention back to Rowan and dragged the sprawled wizard puppet just a few inches out of the boys reach before doing so again, and again as he tried to lead Nephew past the rather expensive TV he’d previously been crawling towards.
“As for healers well, Sebastian and the Doctor aren’t the only healers in the city or even necessarily the best. Honestly it’s a question of whether you’re willing to try.”
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Zephyr regarded the brunette quietly for a few moments as she continued to stare into her lap. He’d wondered when the girl would finally work up both the nerve and wit to question his own motives; he’d honestly begun to doubt whether she was capable of stepping beyond her own perspective to try and wrap her mind around the aims and motivations of others.
Still, despite the fact it was rather late in coming, the gamine had managed it and so she deserved an answer of sorts. “Why? That’s a rather broad question.” he commented idly as he took an apple from its plate and shined it against his shirt while purposefully ignoring her childish accusation. “As for why you, well... why not you?”
He quickly held up a hand to forestall any insults or other indignant behavior, “I don’t say that to tease you Isabel.” He continued with a gentle tone of sincerity as he tried to catch her eye. “You’ve asked an excellent question which shows you’re thinking, but if I just give you the answer then there’s no reason for you to think any further and no reason for you to learn.”
He let himself trail off at that point, debating how much farther he needed to drive the point home. Duskmoors attention span was short enough but her temper was even more so and if he persisted in implying she wasn’t using her head there was a good chance she’d either begin sulking or simply try to storm out of the room, which would be problematic for several reasons.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t help you though, I just want you to try and come up with your own answers first. Then we can talk about them and whether they make sense.” He paused for a moment weighing his next words against the girls own inclinations before he followed with “In fact, depending on how involved the question is we could skip your morning routine to discuss it, just as we’re doing now. “
He fell silent again after that, content to give the gamine time to consider his words as he began to cut the apple in his hand; running two fingers across its surface, leaving thin fissures which then let him take a slice of the fruit.
After a time though, when the buxom brunette still hadn’t spoken the elemental felt that it might be best to try and move things along, introspection was all well and good, but there was one more topic he wanted to address while he still had the girl as a captive audience.
“Now, as for the ‘nonsense’ you mentioned, I want you to consider this; over the past several years you’ve made it well known that you have no qualms killing humans to sate your bloodlust,” And it was bloodlust, there was no real point in pretending it was anything else and the hessian had no intention of even trying, not when his ‘wager’ had worked so well.
“Yet last night," He continued, his tone steadily becoming more serious, “you spent over four hours in a bar dealing with the advances of any number of ignorant individuals and you didn’t kill a single one.”
He paused again, leaning forward, trying once more to catch the shapely soubrettes eyes to convey just how important her restraint had been. “Even if you didn’t win the wager Isabel you displayed remarkable self-control…”
Perhaps it had been the change in tone, or the shift in his posture, maybe even an honest sense of disbelief but regardless of what caused it at that point the girl finally lifted her gaze and azure eyes met honey brown just as the elemental uttered the words the words he’d planned since the wagers beginning.
“Be proud of that.”
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
‘Ghosting’ was one of the first aspects of his mutation he’d ever really struggled with, everything before it; flight, vacuums, even oxygen manipulation had come to him almost instinctively if somewhat clumsily at first. With the ethereal state though… it was something he hadn’t even realized was possible until he’d seen it and even after that the entire concept had been alien to him.
Still, as he held Maya’s hand in his own and watched her amber eyes screw shut he couldn’t help smirking at the irony of the situation. Only a few years ago she’d been holding his hand and guiding him through the transformation as he felt himself unravel and fought the urge to panic.
He’d come a long a way since then and though his sister would likely always be faster, his own fear of the incorporeal state had made him far more cautious, and it showed as he forced the transformation to crawl across Ghost’s body at a snail’s pace instead of the usual quicksilver speed he knew she favoured. Haste was all well and good but it caused you to miss things and right now he couldn’t afford that.
By the time he finished Rowan had resorted to bashing his previously ‘magical’ puppet on the floor and Maya had grown visibly nervous which was quite an achievement for someone resembling little more than a wisp of a human outline, yet the unnatural quaver in her voice wasn’t entirely from her lack of vocal chords.
"Is it bad?"
“Give me a moment.” Zephyr words were calm but distracted as he focused on combing through Ghost’s essence and carefully began piecing her back together. This was where he’d be able to truly take stock of his sisters condition, and as she slowly began to reform he found himself far less hopeful than he had been.
She’d lost so much, every part of her he tried to draw her back to flesh and bone, he was lucky if he found more than half of what he needed. The rest simply was… gone, and her mutation was forced to compensate for its absence.
It was a sobering realization and he found himself searching for something he could do to help, but there were limits to what he could do, he couldn’t create flesh and blood from thin air, he could only take what already existed and if she’d already lost those parts of herself, well... she’d just need a donor.
He finished bringing Ghost back and once she was again fully seated on the couch rather than simply hovering above it, he spared a quick glance at her hands before releasing it and folding his arms to hide his own hands. “I’m afraid there’s good news and bad news.” he told her solemnly as he leaned back into the corner of the couch. “The bad news is there’s only a little over half of you left, though you don’t seem to be losing any more which is a blessing in and of itself.”
He then paused for a moment, giving her time to process his words. “That’s not the good news though” He continued, and his tone became just ever so slightly smug as he said it. “The good news, is I believe I can reverse it, at least if you’re hands are anything to go by.” He nodded down at Ghost hands as he finished and couldn’t help the slight smirk grin which worked its way onto his face as he again saw that, while still pale and somewhat insubstantial, the skin around her hands was noticeably more solid than the rest of her.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Striding briskly down the dull cement hallway with Duskmoor just behind him, Zephyr’s gaze swept from left to right, ostensibly scanning the rows of worn placards beside each garage sized steel door while actually searching the rooms beyond as he sought for one which, if not empty, at least wasn’t fully occupied.
After spending perhaps ten minutes pacing through the veritable maze of concrete walls, he eventually found what he was looking for and crouched down beside a door, placing his hand over the lock which secured it to floor and shifting the tumblers with an application of solid air.
As the garage style door folded upwards in segments he gestured Duskmoor into the rooms dark confines as he sought for a light switch. “In here, set her up on a table and leave the helmet on.
One of the key problems which plagued every city was the issue of space and the fact that there was never enough of it. No more so was this true than for NYC which had always faced very definitive borders, it was ironic in a way, the same waterways and shipping lanes which had helped turn the area into a vast metropolis were now an impediment to the city’s development, more of a hindrance than a help.
The upshot of this however was that once one wandered away from the Manhattan peninsula space, while still at a premium, became far more affordable and a number of enterprising individuals had implemented storage facilities which one could rent for a range of prices depending on various factors.
In this particular case Zephyr had chosen a storage complex in the Brooklyn area barely a stone’s throw from sanctuary in city terms just a handful of blocks away from Sanctuary itself. It had once been a rather reputable place, a favourite of students, small business and others who needed to store things for possibly months at a time. Unfortunately, the other had been rather remiss in meeting the Order’s ‘insurance’ payments, and what with one thing and another, the entire facility had become quite run down until it was practically abandoned.
In short it was perfect for an improvised interrogation.
Unfortunately, even with a spur of the moment event such as this, there was still a degree of preparation involved. Duskmoor hadn’t been terribly informative during their short trip but she’d at least had a rudimentary understanding of Allison’s mutation. Ink manipulation was by no means the strangest power the elemental had come across, but it did make disarming the girl somewhat troublesome.
He’d sent Isabel away for this; given that the soubrette seemed to consider the redhead a friend the elemental doubted the bonemancer would have liked what he was about to do. So he’d convinced her to wait outside by simply pointing out the fact that she had a tattoo, Allison controlled ink, and he wasn’t about to hand the redhead a potential weapon. Duskmoor hadn’t been happy but as she hadn’t come up with a counter argument she’d done as he said.
Looking down at the unconscious redhead as she lay chained to a bone white table, Zephyr tracked the steady rise and fall of the girls chest as he lifted one of her tattooed arms, ignoring the slight rattle of the cuffs and chains while he carefully ran his free hand over the limb. As he did so the ink stained flesh gradually lost its colour, becoming translucent as a thin black vapor seemed to rise from the girl’s skin and gathered around the elementals hand.
By the time he reached her shoulder the redheads arm looked like something from an anatomy lecture; the various muscles and bones were clearly visible, even moving as Zephyr turned the limb back and forth until he abruptly drew his hand away and casually flicked the black cloud off his fingers and into a bucket in the corner of the room where it landed with a wet splash. He'd be sure to remove it before the girl awoke.
At the same time Allison’s skin abruptly snapped back into view, now completely clean and a healthy shade of pink as though it had received a slight carpet burn; evidence that he’d not been overly careful in drawing out the ink. Still, the entire process had taken perhaps two minutes at best mean he had -he paused for a moment to measure the girls figure- call it half an hour at most if she’d tattooed every inch of skin he couldn’t see and dyed her hair.
Best to get on with it really.
Moving over towards Allison’s head he removed the helmet covering her face, tossing it away as his fingers traced the lines of her throat and jaw which slowly began to fade as he repeated the process, barely even noticing the clatter of the helmet as it rolled into a corner.
The rest of the redhead’s clothes followed soon after.
---
Sometime later...
Zephyr rested against the rooms far wall, a contemplative expression on his features as he stared down at Allison and swallowed a second pair of pills, chasing them down with a sip from a water bottle he'd had Isabel fetch.
He considered the redhead for a few more moments, debating how long it would likely take her to wake on her own and how much time he could afford before he simply shrugged and upended the remainder of the water bottle over her head.
“Time to wake up Ms. Sinnocent you have a good many questions to answer.”
“Yes” he replied wryly, “You made that quite clear when you woke up.” He’d met a few screamers in his time and while all of them were rather piercing one way or another, Isabel had managed to leave his ears ringing almost until she’d left the shower, it wasn’t something he’d forget in a hurry. The girl had lungs.
Watching the brunettes own slight wince Zephyr somehow doubted she’d be forgetting any time sooner either and for a brief moment he toyed with the idea of voicing his silent comments about just how vocal she’d been before dismissing it. There’d be time to tease Duskmoor later when she wasn’t in quite such a state, for now he needed to keep her calm and rational as possible which, admittedly, was easier said than done.
Pouring himself another cup of tea while Isabel continued to fidget and stare straight at her lap Zephyr leaned back in his intangible seat and gave the soubrette a measuring look. She was still embarrassed, which was fine and perfectly understandable, but more importantly the shock and hint of fear she’d shown earlier was gone. She was listening, now he simply needed to drive the point home.
“I want you to think back Isabel, consider everything we’ve done these past few months. I’ve been hard yes but I’ve also made you stronger. Every time I’ve pushed you past your limits I’ve always made sure you could get back on your feet.”
“And when you couldn’t, like last night, I stayed. I stayed and I made sure nothing happened to you. I did not abandon you and I never took advantage of you, do you understand? That’s one of the few lines I’ve not yet crossed and I never intend to.”
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Holding his injured arm out to one side Zephyr’s cobalt gaze remained fixed on Allison’s unmoving form as his other hand reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a small grey cylinder roughly the size of an old film roll. He’d thrown her into a wall yes, but with mutants that didn’t necessarily mean anything; he could have thrown Duskmoor through several walls and he doubted it would have done more than piss her off.
Speaking of the soubrette, Zephyr found himself frowning as he watched her dart over to Allison, hastily lifting the wreckage of the TV off the redhead before hesitating, apparently uncertain of whether the other girl could be moved or not. For himself, the elemental found he really couldn’t care less; she wasn’t dead and judging from the lack of blood and steadying breathing she wasn’t going to any time soon.
"What the hell just happened?"
He didn’t reply, merely let the gamines careless accusation hang in the air as he took a single pill from the cylinder in his hand and kept his eyes fixed on the redhead at her feet, deliberately drawing out the silence for several seconds to make it clear he wasn’t the least concerned by the brunettes outburst.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.” His words were deceptively calm as he met the soubrettes storming expression with his own cold gaze and folded his arms. “But this isn’t the time or the place” He gestured impatiently towards Allison. “She needs to be seen to, pick her up and follow me”
So saying the elemental pushed off the wall and began to head down the hallway towards the garage at a measured and unhurried pace as he waited for Isabel to catch up. Much as he might to want to grill the brunette for answers doing so in the middle of Sanctuary would have been foolish. It was bad enough that he’d given everyone present an idea of what he could do, he wasn’t about to let them know how tight a leash he had on Duskmoor herself.
When Isabelfinally did catch up with Allison in tow Zephyr increased his pace as he continued onwards, when they reached the infirmary though the hessian went straight past without missing a beat. “Not one word.” He warned brunette, effectively pre-empting any comments or complaints from the girl as he followed the corridor to Sanctuary’s garage.
On reaching the garage Zephyr wasted little time in running through the list of keys and associated vehicles before choosing on an unassuming sedan with tinted windows. Gesturing Isabel towards the back of the car he deftly opened the trunk. “I’m not taking any chances her.” He told the bonemancer. “Make a helmet for her so she can’t see or scream and then bind her right leg to her left arm and vice versa, then get in the car.”
A few moments later when the soubrette settled into the passenger seat Zephyr started the engine and headed towards the exit, not saying a word until they made it onto the street. “Tell me everything you know about Allison,"
"Starting with why she tried to kill me.”
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
Much as Isabel may have been dreading and delaying their upcoming discourse, Zephyr was in fact rather thankful for the extended lull. It gave him a chance to collect his thoughts, to determine how best to present his argument and, quite crucially, it gave his medication time to take effect, diminishing the dull aches of his body and softening the incessant pounding in his skull to far more manageable levels.
Duskmoor petulance also had one other added benefit, while she’d been sulking under the showers steaming curtain of water, room service had arrived and been diligently set out on the rooms desk along with a copy of the morning paper.
The elemental had just been part way through the mornings news and debating a second cup of tea when Isabel had finally emerged, dragging herself over to the desk with all the enthusiasm of one walking down death row before dropping into empty office chair and adopted what Zephyr had privately begun thinking of as her ‘Little Miss Sulk’ demeanor.
"I hate talking. It sucks."
“And yet, it lets accomplish so much for so little.” He replied as he released a sigh that was parts irritated and amused and placed his paper beside him on the couch. Then, before the soubrette could respond, he lifted his hand in a slight twirling motion, causing the entire desk to swing away from the wall on a hidden pivot as it was gripped by the air, effectively becoming a dining table as it came to rest between the brunette and himself.
Rising from the couch Zephyr calmly strode over to take a seat opposite the ingénue, setting himself on a platform of air Isabel looked at the collection of plates in bafflement. “I thought we may as well eat while we talked” He informed simply as he took a set of cutlery and uncovered one of the plates, only to pause briefly at the sullen and suspicious glare she sent him return.
“Isabel… you haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday and it’s now midafternoon. Do you really want to pretend you’re not hungry?”
With that said he ignored the gamine for the next few moments as he occupied himself with a piece of toast as he let the girl make up her mind. When at last she grudgingly began to eat he allowed himself a small smile before he began talking.
“I know this is… rather uncomfortable for you Isabel, trust me I do, but I want to stress that what happened this morning, which was nothing by the way.” He leveled a dry glance at the girl as he purposefully paused to let the fact sink in. “but regardless, what happened this morning and what we talk about here won’t be shared with anyone else unless you want it to.”
“That being said, is there anything you’d like to say before I start?”
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
It had been a while since someone had tried to kill him. No, that wasn’t quite right, on any given week he had a number of tasks which saw him deal with a depressing amount of ignorant or simply suicidal individuals who’d love nothing better than to put him six feet under. Normally though they were lucky if they even saw him considering he could work from a block away or more.
No, he was use to people wanting to kill him, but it had been quite some time since anyone had caught him off guard and gotten close enough to almost pull it off. He couldn’t say he missed the feeling.
Still, when you’re trying to take down mutants, especially versatile ones, almost wasn’t good enough.
Barely an instant after the ink left Allison’s skin and burst through the cookie in her hand Zephyr’s senses began screaming. Nothing natural should have been able to cross the space between them that fast yet a part of him could already see the inks trajectory by the ripple it left in the air as it raced towards his head
It was too close, he couldn’t move out of the way in time and he’d be dead before he even started ghosting. Still he lifted his hand on reflex, sweeping from right to left as he tried to block the tiny dart and was rewarded with a burning pain when the ink hit the skin of his palm and kept going.
Even if it couldn’t stop it though, flesh and blood is still denser than air, the ink slowed even as the elementals arm kept moving and by the time left the back of his hand he’d diverted it to the point that, instead of shooting through his head, the ink cut across his temple as it went out into the corridor.
At the same, as his arm finished its sweeping motion, an unnatural gale surged through the Rec room and crashed into Allison’s side like a linebacker, hauling the redhead off her feet and slamming her into the widescreen TV at the front of the room. Her shoulder went first, crashing into the wall just above the screen with her head following an instant later in a whiplash motion just before her hip collided with the screen, shattering the glass and knocking machine from its frame so that it fell with the girl, landing on top of her when she hit the floor a moment later.
Lisa was not going to be happy.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
For someone who’d spent the prior night trying to replace their blood with alcohol, Isabel proved to be surprisingly spry when she finally woke up. In fact, Zephyr found he was put to mind of a startled cat as the soubrettes entire body seemed to arch and she threw herself off the bed and nearly into an opposing wall.
If he’d been in a better mood the elemental would have given the brunette an 8/10 for distance if nothing else, the wall had been six feet away after all. As things stood though he was currently bruised, winded and his head was carrying a rather unpleasant echo of the girls startled shriek, all of which tended to incline one to quite a poor morning disposition.
Still, he’d dealt with worse; if he could walk away from a collision with a jet he could handle this, he’d have to really given how Duskmoor seemed content to curl into an upright fetal position and use a pillow to do her best impression of an Ostrich hiding its head in the sand.
Ignoring the girls muffled words for the time being Zephyr quietly slid himself out of the bed and moved towards the chair holding his clothes, making no effort to hide himself as he did so. He honestly wasn’t concerned with modesty around Isabel; the girl would bury her head in the sand (or a pillow in this case) out of sheer embarrassment before she tried to catch an eyeful of anything.
Hell, that was half the reason he’d made the wager in the first place.
As he dressed the hessian ignored the dull thumping of his hang over as he tried to focus on how best to deal with Duskmoor. He needed to comfort her somehow but the brunette was do damned proud that there wasn’t much he could do without making the situation worse.
Ideally, he’d just leave her be and she’d calm down in her own time. Unfortunately ideals rarely translate into the real world; if he left Isabel as she was now there was a good chance she’d show up in a burqa the next time he saw her, and while that wasn’t bad per se it was rather the opposite of what he’d been hoping to achieve.
‘No,’ he thought as he crafted a small shell of silence and placed a brief call. ‘Much as neither of us wants too, we’ll have to sit down and talk about what happened… which was nothing, absolutely nothing.’
Somehow he doubted she’d appreciate the irony.
Holding back a yawn Zephyr finished buttoning his shirt and glanced at Isabel. The girl still hadn’t moved though she seemed to have calmed down slightly if the rise and fall of her shoulders were any indication. His gaze lingered for a moment as he took in the soubrette’s appearance, azure eyes tracing the length of her bare legs which she’d pulled up against her chest and the naked skin of her sides that wasn’t covered by the mess of sheets she’d taken in her fall from the bed.
Letting out a tired sigh Zephyr gave a small shake of his head and made his way across the room, ignoring Isabel briefly as he stopped at the rooms built in closet, removing a white bathrobe which he then draped over her shoulders before kneeling down in front of her.
“Isabel, Isabel can you look at me?” He offered what he hoped was welcoming smile when he saw her head lift towards him fractionally. “Very good, thank you.”
With deliberate slowness the elemental reached into his jacket and took out a small grey cylinder no larger than an old film container. “Now I’d like us to talk about this but right now I imagine you’re not feeling very well.” He unscrewed the top of the container and tipped two round pills into his palm, holding them low enough for her to see.
“These will get rid of the hang over.” he told her simply, taking one of the pills for himself and clearly swallowing before placing the other on the edge of the pillow she was still using as some kind of shield. “And I think the rest of you will feel worlds better after a hot shower.” He made brief gesture to the bathroom behind her. “Go on, take as long as you want, wall yourself in if you like but when you come out we will talk about this.”
Hopefully sometime after room service arrived.
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
This was far more entertaining than it had any right to be.
He really didn’t see this side of Isabel often enough, she was so antisocial most of the time that an opportunity to tease her like this almost never came up. It was refreshing really, to see her do something other than scowl all the time. He’d had no idea she could pull off the lost puppy look so well, on anyone else he would have said it was cute, on Isabel though…
It was simply priceless.
“Cookies, really?” The elemental made a brief show of letting his gaze drop to the plate in question as he fought down a chuckle. “So a little sugar is all it takes to make you sweeter? I wish I’d known sooner.”
He was going to regret that line later he knew, for now though it was worth it just to see Duskmoor skin gain another several shades of red as her mouth dropped open. Perhaps the best part however was that a few weeks ago he knew she likely would have missed the innuendo entirely, just one look at her face now though it was clear all too aware of the double entendre.
Allison meanwhile appeared to be having just as much fun at Isabel’s expense as he was. The redhead was clearly fighting a losing battle to hide her amusement even as she tried to shift attention away from her bone wielding friend in an effort to buy the blushing brunette a chance to calm down. It was honestly a rather kind gesture he wouldn’t have expected from someone Isabel called a friend… or someone she associated with at least.
Regardless though, there was no reason to ignore the redheads offer, odd tattoos and singing aside, the girl was honestly starting to look like she might just be a good influence on city’s resident cop killer and in Sanctuary that was practically unheard of. He could afford to play polite if it meant finding someone else who could watch Duskmoor from time to time.
Still smirking slightly Zephyr returned Allison’s rather, enthusiastic smile, with an urbane grin of his own. as he held out his hand “Well, with Isabel’s glowing seal of approval how could I possibly say no?” He held out his hand to the redhead motioning for her to throw the cookie as he continued, as he held out his hand “Please, pass it up.”
Cafas: "Zephyr is the king of bad decisions, but if Sebby being weak to ghost is anything to go by, not so amazing at follow through."
