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.
One of the unspoken benefits of the elementals spatial awareness was that he could focus it in a particular direction in a manner not unlike a telescope. Although doing so typically cost him a measure of awareness of his surrounding environment, environment the technique was not without its particular uses. Case in point, he was able to tell just a few moments after his call that Isabel was indeed moving, if not perhaps as fast as he’d like. Since she was actually moving however he let her be; having the buxom brunette actually come when he called when still a novel concept and he would relish for as long as he could.
“You’re a monster.”
The elemental couldn’t help but roll his eyes as his petulant protégé grumbled and slouched into the passenger, slamming her door hard enough to actually rattle the glass. “Coming from you I’ll take that as a compliment.” He replied, not releasing his blithe cheer as he started the ignition and the truck rumbled into life. “There’s coffee in the cup holder and breakfast under the seat if you’re interested” he added, reversing without looking as he put the truck back on the road. “Try not to spill anything.”
Arriving back at the warehouse Zephyr took a moment to retrieve a bag from the bed of the truck before leading Isabel inside and swiftly motioned the girl towards the far end of the warehouse as he hit lights, dispelling the lingering gloom and revealing a the source of the hessians good cheer as the hum of halogen lights filled the air.
“I took the liberty of rearranging one or two items after you left” he began conversationally, striding past the shapely soubrette as he approached the mangled and still slightly smoking remains of a wrought iron shipping crate. “Imagine my surprise when I found that one of these things was not like the others.”
The elemental raised a hand and snapped his fingers conjuring a sudden gale which swept through the interior, collecting every mote of dust and loose speck of dirt as it went, becoming a veritable wave of detritus as it bore down on the two mutants only to part and pass over them a moment before it would have covered them in grime. In its wake though the wind had cleared the majority of the debris from the remains of the shipping crate, exposing the outline of a modest crater centred on what was clearly a collapsed tunnel entrance.
“Someone went to an awful lot of trouble to hide something.” The elemental leaned against another, mostly intact crate and folded his arms as he looked at Isabel expectantly. “I want to know what it was.”
“Start digging.”
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."
Silence of any sort was practically unheard of in Sanctuary. Given the sheer number and variety of individuals it housed there was always something on, whether it be a crazed Canadian killer riding an over sized monitor lizard as the vanguard of a horde of mutated creatures or merely an innocuous series of explosions, Sanctuary’s halls were never quiet.
Which is why it was probably best that, at 5:00am, the tenebrous peace in Isabel’s room was shattered by the sudden deep bass melody of a guitar echoing through the air. Who knows what kind of chaos could have occurred had the silence been allowed to fester much longer?
When at last the soubrettes ringtone died away, either due to passage of time or an actual answer, Zephyr spoke; his voice deliberately carrying a cheerful tone that was practically obnoxious for how early it was. “Ah Isabel, a pleasure to have you among the waking. I do hope you slept well because we’ve a good deal to do today.”
There was a brief pause as the elemental sipped his coffee and shifted the baseball cap he’d worn for today so the brim blocked the rising sun before continuing. “I’d like you to meet me by the truck in the usual alley in the next oh...” He raised the sleeves of the denim jacket he’d donned and glanced at his watch. “fifteen minutes? Try to wear something old.”
The elemental lowered the phone, paused as he considered what was most likely to happen and then added, “And no lollygagging please, unless you’d rather I come fetch you.”
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 couldn’t quite stop the slight smirk which tugged at his lips as Isabel gasped her answer in between rapid, panting, breaths that did nothing to help him maintain eye contact. Still, he managed... mostly, and gifted the gamine with an irritated yet amused glare for her cheek. The ingénue had surprising way with words at times that, while admittedly petulant and puerile, could also be strangely endearing, even if it was utterly unintentional. “Cute.” He told her in a wry tone, “but you’re only half right.” Reaching over without warning he delivered a light flick to her nose, prompting a weary squeak from the soubrette as she clapped a hand over her face, a move which only served to spread the dirt and grime from the floor onto her features, a disservice she clearly blamed on the hessian if the weak glare was anything to go by.
Managing a silent chuckle Zephyr merely shook his head as he idly drew a white handkerchief from his jacket and dropped it over the girls head before standing back up. “On your feet Isabel, let’s see if you can figure out the other half before we’re done. Don’t worry you have plenty time.”
And so it went; Zephyr ran Duskmoor through one crushing exercise after the next, from squats to press ups, crunches to jumping jacks he pushed her until the soubrettes body was visibly trembling from exhaustion and she could hardly do more than groan after each new command and even that only barely.
It took far longer than the elemental had expected, but three hours after they’d started the gamines body finally gave out and she collapsed on her side, chest heaving and eyes barely open as she wheezed and tried to gulp down as much air as possible. The girl was so drained that she scarcely did more than blink when Zephyr crouched down beside her once again, and when she failed to take the offered bottle of water he held it lightly to her lips, forcing her to sip slowly.
“Easy now, that was quite the performance.” He told her quietly, breaking the stuttered silence as a gentle, barely tangible force, shifted the spent soubrette into a sitting position. “You certainly deserve a rest but not quite yet,” He couldn’t afford to have her rest yet, if she didn’t wind her muscles down first they’d kill her when she woke up and she’d be useless for the next few days. She needed to stretch, or failing that a scalding bath.
As he carefully hauled the exhausted gamine to her feet in a vain effort to have her stand he tried rousing her again. "Come on Isabel, no time to sleep yet, if you don't start stretching I'll do it for you."
Note to self, install hot tub; it can only make things better.
After his rather ill handled attempt to deal with Duskmoor a few days ago Zephyr had spent some time pondering the issue and come to the conclusion that a hands off punishment would likely serve as a better deterrent to the gamine’s poor behavior. The girl disliked him enough already and physical beatings, while likely effective, would only garner further animosity, all of it aimed squarely on his head.
In looking for alternative he’d come across a number of military training manuals, all of which had been designed to tackle the issue of how one could keep a number of lethal individuals in check. The recurring theme had been surprisingly simple, namely, run them into the ground until they couldn't think straight.
Still as he watched Isabel complete her eighth lap of building, slowing only to remove her hoodie hurl it at his head, the hessian decided that there had to be a faster way to work the ingénue down. After all, she’d practically been under house arrest for the past two months, and he knew that she’d spent almost all of it confined to her room. She should have collapsed after the first fifteen minutes yet she was still going half an hour later.
"If this is about me punching you in your dumb face, I'm sorry.”
Zephyr leaned back against a pillar, a breath satisfaction leaving him as he caught the note of fatigue in the brunettes tone. It wouldn’t be long now. “Less talking, more running” he told her, a slight singsong rhythm to his words, as invisible swat was delivered to her backside, prompting the buxom brunette to speed up again for a few short seconds, causing no small amount of bouncing beneath her tank top, lifting it with every other step and flashing the emerald green tattoo which adorned her hips.
“She really hasn't worn the proper attire for this”, he thought to himself, conveniently ignoring that he’d requested her current garments, instead watching her go by, azure eyes fixed on the appealing motions of her figure gave her. “Maybe I should have given her some forewarning?”
He watched her go by again, azure eyes passing over her tanktop and how it clung to her skin, highlighting the rather appealing motions her figure gave her. “Then again, this does teach her a valuable lesson.”
"This sucks and I'm getting really tired.”
“It’s called exercise Isabel. I thought you’d be familiar with concept.”
”I wanna stop.”
“And I want-”
”Please.”
Zephyr fell silent at that, his expression turning impassive as he watched the exhausted soubrette stagger through the rest of her lap, her gasps becoming louder and more frequent as she drew closer, her arms and legs struggled to rise. The hessian didn’t say a word until she finally managed to draw level with him.
“You can stop.” His words echoed lightly across the warehouse as he made his way over to the gamine, crouching down next to where she’d collapsed the moment she’d heard him.
A look of immense satisfaction overtook Zephyr’s features as he watched understanding dawn over Isabel. A smirk tugging at his lips when she jumped at his last words and barely suppress a chuckle rocking his shoulders when her back stiffened as his words hit home then, in the moment between one second and the next, she was gone; sprinting far faster than the elemental had expected as she dashed for cover behind a stack of crates by one of the warehouse walls, a hundred meters away.
“One, two, three…”
Zephyr spent the next few moments simply watching, silently keeping count as he took in the brunettes figure, feet slamming heel to toe against the linoleum, back bent forward and head down as her arms pumped against the air.
“…Nine, ten. Not good enough”
The moment the thought formed he was gone, the stale air in the warehouse coalescing under his feet, lifting him a scant few inches over the floor just before he streaked after the sprinting soubrette, covering the distance between one breath and the next as he appeared at Isabel side just before she reached the shipping containers and began to slow.
“Did I say you could stop?” He growled still gliding after the panting gamine as his leg snapped out and his foot connected with her backside, earning a startled yelp as the girl stumbled back into a sprint.
“That’s right, run as fast you can Isabel.” His words chased after her, following on their own current of air as the elemental hovered in place with his arms crossed. “Otherwise I’ll deal with you… personally.
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."
Ignoring Isabel’s juvenile whining for fourth time in as many minutes Zephyr kept his eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead as he eased the vehicles clutch and urged the worn pickup truck back into life as the lights above changed from crimson to green.
“Nothing of the sort.” He replied blandly as he guided the truck down yet another back street. “You’re an incredibly active individual Isabel, it simply isn’t in your nature to remain quiet or quiescent for any length of time and asking you to do is foolish, so I thought we’d try something else.”
At last pulling the car to a stop the hessian none to gently forced his door open and stepped out onto the cracked paving of the road which surrounded the building in front of him. Standing at a little over three stories in height and taking up what would be most of a city block the ancient brick building had clearly seen better days.
Rather expecting some form puerile tirade about the structures appearance Zephyr preemptively raised a finger to silence the girl without looking at her. “Appearances are often deceiving Isabel, I know it looks like a decrepit shed, but that’s too our benefit, and if you’d bothered you’ll notice that it’s done better than most other buildings.”
Indeed, the storehouse had fared far better during the riots than its neighbors, most of which had collapsed into ungainly heaps of corrugated metal and singed shingles, having been blown down and then burnt by unnaturally strong winds which fanned flames from the adjacent industrial district.
Not that the elemental would know anything about that of course. It was just a happy coincidence that he’d happened to be one of the few willing to purchase the entirety of the surrounding area for a mere tenth of its original value after in the wake of the riots unseemly destruction.
Signaling the soubrette to follow him Zephyr approached the crippled chain link fence which guarded the perimeter, easily walking over a section which had been bent almost to the ground and then unlocking one of the side doors built into the brick structure, ushering Isabel inside before letting the door slam shut.
There was utter darkness for a brief second until the hessian questing hand the necessary switch and rows of halogen lights flickered into life along the ceiling revealing a wide expanse of space obstructed only by the occasional pillar and scattered collection of shipping crates.
“Welcome to your new home from home.” He announced, stepping back to the gamines side as she blinked and tried to restore her vision. “You’ll be spending a good deal of time here working off all you’re pent up energy and frustration. In fact you won’t be leaving until I tell you too. Now…”
The elementals voice abruptly dropped several degrees as he took on an unmistakable threatening tone as he leaned towards Isabel’s ear and whispered. “Start running.”
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."
He’d honestly it would be a little more satisfying, as it turned out though kissing Isabel was like kissing warm ice. The gamine had given a single gratifying squeak of surprise the moment she’d realized what was happening, but the moment he’d caught her lips she’d simply shut down, practically freezing in place with her mouth still parted in shock.
By the time she finally gathered her wits to push him away the hessian didn’t fight her, merely accepting the motion as he stood back and stared at the girl as she seemed to shrink in on herself.
When she’d caught him off guard at the beginning of the riots the elemental had thought she’d somehow managed to work past her phobia of intimacy, even if her kiss had been more of a bite if anything. Looking at her now though it was clear that wasn’t the case.
“I hate you.”
A simple statement, absent of any true anger or passion. There were any number of things he could have said in response, that she shouldn’t start games she didn’t want to continue was a recurring theme, yet as he looked at her Zephyr found himself shaking his head.
“No, you don’t.” He told her with unusual lenity in his voice as he took a short step closer. “Because as soon as I finish talking you’re going to fall asleep and forget I was ever here.”
He caught her as she fell and made sure to let down gently amongst the scattered beer bottles and burnt blankets. Given the evidence around her he rather doubted the soubrette would question the state of her room when she woke up, but just to play on the safe side he took one of the candles from her bathroom, lighting it briefly and spilling some of the wax around the blankets before blowing it out and tossing amidst the mass of burnt cloth.
He left Isabel’s room a few moments later; waiting to be sure the corridor was clear before stepping out and shutting the door quietly behind him. He’d give her another day or two of rest before calling on her again, now that compulsion was directly influencing the girl’s actions he needed some time to think very carefully about how he was going to handle her.
As the mass of spines surrounding Isabel gradually receded into the gamine’s skin, a grim smile slowly spread across Zephyr’s features as he rose to his feet. Things were finally coming together it seemed, and not a moment too soon; he’d handled this far too carelessly and there was more than one loose end that needed to be dealt with.
Stalking back into the soubrettes room the elemental moved through the darkness without a sound, his sixth sense allowing him to easily avoid the mess of liquor bottles, discarded clothes and other detritus the ingénue had scattered about the floor as he closed in on the brunette, his words once more whispering themselves in her ear.
“You know Isabel, before last week I was starting to think you were making real progress. You’d gone months without a public rampage and you were learning new skills.”
Just as she’d been told, Duskmoor had returned to her corner. The smoldering pile of blankets which had originally smoked her out had been shoved only a few feet away as she slouched against the two walls with her arms crossed beneath her generous chest and what the hessian thought was a scowl on her lips, though he couldn’t be certain. Facial expressions were always difficult to read with his other sense.
“I’m not going to ask you why you did it, that’s a conversation for another time. I will remind you of a few ground rules.“
Coming to a stop in the opposite corner Zephyr regarded the soubrette quietly for a few moments as he considered his next words. The problem with commands such as the one he was about to give was that they couldn’t be too vague or it else it might stop the girl from functioning, yet nor could it be too specific or he’d run the chance that she or someone else would find a loophole to exploit.
“You can’t kill me Duskmoor, we both know that, but it’s a nuisance every time you try. So from now you are forbidden from raising a hand against me, literally or figuratively unless I tell you otherwise. Nod if you understand.”
The girl did and the elemental released a silent breath, it wasn’t a perfect commend he knew, but hopefully it would do for the time being until he had the time to come up with something better.
“Secondly, you’re contribution to the riots has all but undone you’re good behavior over the last few months. I don’t care what you do in private Duskmoor, but unless your life depends on it you are forbidden from going on public rampages. If I never see you in the news again it will be too soon. Nod if you understand.”
When the buxom brunette nodded once more the overhead lights finally flickered back to life, throwing the scene into harsh relief as the two mutants regarded each other from their respective corners. And as his azure eyes trailed from her bare feet to the emerald tattoo across her naked hips, up past her scarcely covered bust to her scowling face, the elemental noticed for the first time just how little the shapely soubrette was wearing.
The realization caused him to hesitate for just a split second, uncertain whether he should continue with what he’d had planned but after a moment he dismissed the thought. He’d seen her in less than this before and besides he was only going to return a favour, nothing more.
Mind set Zephyr pushed himself away from the wall, striding straight towards Isabel until he was less than a foot away, his eyes never leaving hers as she continued to scowl up at him, her face showing nothing but anger and frustration.
Right until he kissed her.
Whoever said turnabout wasn’t fair play?
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."
Life it seemed, was full of surprises, and though the elemental tended to dislike them in general, for once he found he couldn’t argue against this unexpected turn of events. Days when the gamine even pretended to listen were rare enough and one’s where she actually did were even more so. As Duskmoor stomped into her corner though the elemental couldn’t remember a time before now when the girl had actually done as she told without having to drag her (literally in most cases) every step of the way.
No wait, there had been one other time, when they’d come back from Chicag-
"You're mad because I punched you in your stupid face… I got the better of you and you don't like it."
Whatever train of thought the elemental might have had was abruptly derailed as his features twisted into a scowl as the soubrettes words hit far closer than he would have liked. “You did not-” He began angrily, only to fall silent a moment later as he forced himself to calm down and ignore Duskmoor’s words.
When he’d managed to collect himself the hessian released a silent breath and opened his eyes, staring into the pitch black as he again assembled his thoughts before speaking in a far colder tone.
“That will do Duskmoor. Now retract your spikes and be quiet.”
Still safely hidden from the soubrettes notice, Zephyr had taken to lounging in the brunettes oversized bathtub, his feet resting atop the faucet and arms crossed behind his head as he followed Duskmoors progress.
The hessian had hoped that the girl would clear a path through her room the moment she tried to make her escape from the smoke. Such a move would have left her vulnerable for a few short moments and would have been more than sufficient to bring her down and then relocate her, which had in fact been his original intention.
As always though, the buxom bonemancer excelled in being… difficult, and while it had been fascinating to see the majority of her spines merely warp and twist themselves to let her pass, he couldn’t help but give a low sigh of disappointment when she seemingly tripped over her own two feet and somehow managed to retain the presence of mind to avoid impaling herself as she sprawled across the floor where she then began cursing him as best she could amidst her constant coughs.
“You asshole! Now I know you're completely insane!"
Carried on a thin stream of wind the hessians response whispered itself into the soubrettes ear as though he were right beside her. “Not quite as fun when you’re on the receiving end is it?”
It was little more than a parlor trick in all honesty, a reversal of a cantrip he used to eavesdrop on conversations and which was typically mistaken for ventriloquism on the rare occasion it was caught. Still, as his words caused the gamine to visibly jump, there was no denying it was useful trick, and one he rather needed right now.
This entire episode had gotten rather out of hand. He’d intended to simply show up, give the girl a brief dose of intimidation and then drag her off to a more suitable location once she backed down. Except she hadn’t.
He needed to put a stop to this before Duskmoor did something stupid, such as seeing how long she could hold her breath in the middle of a fire, tripping over her own feet or pinning herself in place when-
Scratch that. He just needed to stop her.
It took barely any effort as he continued to project his voice, injecting a healthy dose of disdain into his words as he did so. “And just think Duskmoor, I’ve hardly done anything yet. Do you really want to keep going? You’re not going to win, just go back to you corner and why I’m doing this. If you get it right I might even forgive you.”
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."
Resting calmly inside the soubrettes bathroom Zephyr’s eyes were closed as he focused his attention on his spatial awareness to follow Duskmoors actions far more clearly than his eyes ever could in the darkness.
He’d put the brunette on the defensive, that in itself wasn’t surprising; she was blind, scared and out of her depth. He’d even had some idea of how she’d react once she got her wits together, yet the speed with which she created her cage and scattered her spikes spoke of a routine so practiced it was almost reflex, which raised a number of questions in and of itself.
Still, that particular line of thought would have to wait. It wouldn’t take the gamine long to realize she’d missed him, and even less time after that before she extended her efforts to the bathroom. He needed to keep her off balance and to do that he needed her out of that cage.
A swift scan of the brunettes room revealed a rather limited number of options, none of which were ideal. As the seconds ticked by however the hessian eventually sighed before drawing his arm back in a slow wrenching motion which grasped the ingénues discarded blankets, tearing them free of the various spikes that had pinned them in place and piling around the base of the girls’ diamond shaped prison.
Barely a heart beat later, a tiny, candle sized flame burst into life as the elemental tossed one of his lighters across and into the mass of cloth which rapidly began to smolder and then smoke as the fire took hold.
Had anyone aside from Zephyr been able to see precisely what was happening they might have wondered just what in the hell the hessian was thinking. Had they been just a tad more observant though they might have also wondered why the flames weren’t spreading beyond Duskmoors corner but instead seemed to be trapped inside a translucent dome that was quickly filling with smoke.
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."
A faint ghost of a smile tugged at the elemental lips as Duskmoor all but leapt out of her skin and fell from the bed when she finally caught sight of him. It wasn’t often that he used his abilities to intrude, but when he did, the reaction was almost always priceless.
Sadly though the gamines shock didn’t last long, and though he could see the fear and confusion in her eyes as her amber gazed darted between him and locked door at his back, she quickly fell back into character; trying to hide her fright behind anger and false bluster as she always did. Idly the hessian wondered if she was even aware of doing before the thought vanished as he caught her words and his grin faded
“Manners?” He whispered with dark amusement, eyes narrowingly dangerously as he stared the girl down from his post. “Do you really want to try that with me Duskmoor? After what you pulled?”
Rather wisely, the soubrette quickly dropped subject and tried to find a new avenue for her shallow indignation, yet after several tense seconds she all she could manage were petulant cries and impotent demands which had about as much chance as a spark in a monsoon.
“My my,” He replied the cold smile returning, “aren’t you the pretty little hypocrite? Tell me, why should I respect your wishes when you care nothing for others?” He shook his head, cobalt eyes never leaving her gaze as he drew in a breath and slowly exhaled. “No Duskmoor, if you want me gone…”
The overhead lights flickered and died as a switch on the bedside wall abruptly flipped of its own accord, throwing the room into utter darkness.
“You’ll have to do it yourself.”
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."
The mutant riots which had taken over the city had finally begun to wind down during the past few days and as with all senseless violence it came with a cost. Hundreds, human and mutant alike, had died in the ensuing chaos and while the city hadn’t been burnt to the ground, more than a few mutants had taken the opportunity to try their hands at demolition work.
The destruction wasn’t what bothered the elemental though, quite the opposite actually; the destruction meant that he’d manage to acquire a number of properties he’d previously had his eye one for rather reasonable, rock bottom prices.
No what bothered Zephyr was the fact that, when he’d gotten his morning paper, he’d been greeted by Isabels bloody countenance on the front page sitting atop an article decrying the ‘Mutant Extremists’ responsible for the ‘wave of terror’ that had consumed the city, while simultaneously urging for a return to the era of the registration camps.
In all honesty he couldn’t even say he was surprised that the girl had managed to once again make herself a spectacle on national news. A part of him had long resigned itself to the fact that the soubrettes utter lack of subtlety and volatile behavior made her an ideal scapegoat for practically any angel the media wanted to sell.
Another part of him however specifically, the one that recalled the black eye he’d gotten a week earlier, was… less than pleased, by the gamines audacity. Granted he’d been able to reverse the damage fairly easily and he hadn’t been down for more than a few minutes, but it had been more than enough time for the brunette to mingle with Rioters and vanish amongst the chaos.
At least, until now.
He knew he had her the moment he passed through Sanctuary’s infamous golden doors. Even from two floors away it was far too simple to make out the tell tale pattern of breath from within the gamines room. None of the other residents would have dared entered her room while she was away, let alone lie on her bed.
It took the elemental less than five minutes to make his way from the lobby to the sub basement level where Isabel resided. And once he arrived there was no mistaking the door carved with her own name and decorated with a mixture of spikes and police tape which served as both warning and threat to the other inhabitants.
Zephyr however couldn’t care less. Barely even pausing to focused his will, the elemental stalked down the hall straight towards the gamines door and exhaled just before he would have rammed into it, becoming little more than a transparent mist which slipped beneath the gap between floor and door as he darted inside.
He reformed a few scant seconds later, leaning adroitly on the other side of the door straight in front of the soubrette with his arms folded and a dark expression on his face as he waited for the girl to notice him.
She wasn’t going to enjoy this.
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."
Leaning back in his chair with no small amount of satisfaction Zephyr couldn’t quite help the slight smirk which crept across his lips at the soubrette’s unexpectedly tame curse and the hessian couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as he looked at her questioningly. “You almost sound disappointed Isabel, were you hoping for something else?” he asked in a tone so innocent it wouldn’t have fooled a child. As was demonstrated a moment later when the gamine simply scowled in response, for once at a loss for words, leaving the elemental to simply chuckle as he returned to his earlier work.
One of the little known facts about Duskmoor was that, for all her violence and vitriol, the brunette had something of an Achilles heel regarding intimacy, becoming little more than a blushing violet for a few short seconds before her natural rage resumed. It was a card the elemental tried (and failed) to avoid playing too frequently, but to the gamines credit she had been getting better about it recently, still he’d likely just bought himself half an hours worth of peace if not more constant fidgeting notwithstanding.
At least, that was what he thought until he felt something, two something’s really, pressed up against his chest with a rather pleasant firmness at the same time something gripped his jaw and he found himself once again staring straight at his shapely protégé just as she rammed her lips against his hard enough to knock his head back against the seat in what could only be described as a tooth jarring kiss.
It wasn’t romantic, it certainly wasn’t seductive, in fact he was fairly sure the girl had torn open his lip. None of that however made it any less unexpected and when Isabel abruptly pulled away half a second later the elemental found himself simply staring at her nonplussed, and as the gamine raised her fist he couldn’t help but think one thing.
He clearly hadn’t been teasing her enough.
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."
Scrolling through a multitude of different screens Zephyr’s hands darted back and forth across the keyboard as he tried to keep pace with the markets mercurial mood swings. What he needed was another monitor and not for the first time he cursed himself for indulging Duskmoors constant whining and moving both of them from the library to roof so that she could at least ‘see the fun’.
The reprieve had lasted all of ten minutes as the soubrettes slowly grew wider and wider as she took in the chaos and carnage coursing through the city and she began to literally bounce in her seat as her excitement got the better of her. If it had been any other day, her practically childlike enthusiasm would likely have been quite entertaining. The bouncing in particular was causing rather… interesting things to happen in the vicinity of the brunettes already strained shirt and only served to highlight her already buxom figure.
Unfortunately, this was the day he stood to make a small fortune in the stock market and so his eyes stayed firmly on the screen before him as he scanned the masses of numbers and tracked the plummeting stock prices of various entities, his attention flickering back to his petulant protégé ever few seconds as he used his sixth sense to keep tabs on her.
"Pleeeeee-"
“No.” he replied, cutting the soubrette off for what had be the fifth time in as many minutes so that the response had become almost automatic.
"This is so boring and unfair. Why can't I go and play with everyone else?"
“You asked to come up here Isabel, ”Actually she’d begged him, all but getting down on her knees as she used her surprisingly childish fervor to plead with him to at least see what was happening. Still he knew better than to acknowledge it for what it was, doing so would only be tantamount to pouring fuel on a fire and gamine was proving troublesome enough already. “and I agreed on the stipulation that you would be quiet”
“As for why; the city already enough to deal with, the last thing it is for you to turn it into a charnel house.” That, and the National Guard would be arriving sooner rather than later. Strong as the soubrette was he didn't want to test how she’d fare against armor piercing rounds, or even worse the Stalkers. If those mechanical monstrosities somehow crawled out of whatever decrepit hell they’d been sentenced to he was going to drag both Isabel and Maya out of state, kicking and screaming if need be.
Again though he knew better than to say as much, although he'd done his best to beat it down, Duskmoors ego rivaled his own and she’d likely take his words as a challenge and become even more unmanageable.
Still, with his part said he resolved to tune the girl out for the next few minutes; creating an egg shell thin vacuum around his ears and effectively cutting off all sound as he once again absorbed himself in the world of electronic commerce-
Only to be rather rudely interrupted when something hard and unyielding fell on his shoulder, jarring him from his thoughts, annoying as it was though he knew the girl was being deliberately juvenile and so he ignored her. When she started tugging on his sleeve and made it damn near impossible to type anything however he gave a short sigh of irritation and dropped his carefully crafted shell of silence just in time to hear.
“Pleeeeeeeaase"
There was silence for a few short moments as the girl’s plea died away then, ever so slowly, the elementals neck turned to look at the buxom brunette, her head still resting on his shoulder as she sullenly met his gaze and pouted.
Without saying a word Zephyr lowered his head towards her until they were only a few scant inches apart, to the point where, even with the riots, he could hear when the shapely soubrette suddenly held her breath and saw just how far her amber eyes widened as he leaned in and-
Flicked her nose.
“No.”
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."
