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.
> "Sorry, as I said, I'm grouchy when I don't eat."
“Good thing you’re eating, then,” she replies neutrally, indicating Kitra’s steak. “And apology accepted, Kitra. Been here a while?”
> "So why the sketches of random people? Is that part of your mutation?"
“Nope, just a hobby. Like I said, it relaxes me… haven’t really had a chance to indulge since getting to town, what with all the crazy machines trying to kill me and stuff.” She thinks about the question for a second, and adds “What kind of mutation would involve sketching?”
Sonya/Teresa raises a irritated eyebrow and her smile disappears. "Oh? Anything else of mine you want to order destroyed, or just the sketch?" Not that she has any particular attachment to the sketch, but the girl's peremptory tone does nothing to encourage her to be cooperative. "Maybe I should poke my eyes out while I'm at it, O Mistress With No Name?"
> "Not bad, but it looks like your food is getting a bit on the neglected side. May I sit?"
Sonya/Teresa grins back at the new girl. "Sure, but you have to promise not to make fun of my sketches. I’m not very good, but it’s relaxing, you know? I’m Teresa, by the way. Just arrived today."
She looks the girl over attentively and starts sketching rapidly. Between her reddish-brown hair, purple and green feathers, and complicated-color eyes, this turns into a flurry of colored-pencil swapping. "Heh. Need the whole box to get you on paperm huh?"
(( OOC: Happening shortly after Hide and Seek is over, before the Putto rescue. Open to anyone, but intended for Kitra. ))
Sonya/Teresa is no longer entirely sure what she expected to find once she made it into the Resistance’s inner sanctum – or, well, outer sanctum, at least – but the reality is at once pleasant and disappointing.
The pleasant part is actually seeing mutants, even obvious mutants like Abyss, wandering around like they belonged, training together, etc.. She’d gotten some of that back in Sanctuary before it was destroyed, but only for a couple of days, and she’d forgotten how much she missed it – especially by comparison to the Camps. The disappointing part is the pervasive sense of waiting. Everyone she talks to is either training or waiting to be told what to do next, and it’s getting on her nerves.
So while she’s here, she’s been throwing herself into the self-assigned task of getting to know as many of the Lab’s residents as she can. Lately, she’s been combining that job with picking up a hobby she hasn’t really had a chance to exercise since before her new life started… she’s noticed that people don’t mind being inspected quite so much if their inspector has a sketchpad in hand.
Besides, while Sonya’s never been a great artist – and her new status as a shapeshifting, mind-stealing mutant doesn’t seem to have changed that in any way – she genuinely enjoys drawing, especially faces. It’s relaxing, it centers her, and she hasn’t had the opportunity to indulge in something she genuinely enjoys for quite some time.
Which explains why she’s sitting alone at a large table, with a rare steak and a baked potato largely neglected to her left, and a large sketchpad and a collection of colored pencils to her right, drawing quick portraits of people as they eat their dinners.
This is getting ridiculous, Sonya/Teresa thinks to herself.
She’d been following Cyra, who had been following Abyss, for a few dozen yards when someone appeared on her heels, apparently engaged in the same project. Whoever it was seemed in way better shape than Teresa (which seems to describe everyone she’s met so far, which is a little embarrassing), and besides Sonya was curious… so she’d pulled off to one side and allowed the horde to run past her.
The first person to pass is a woman Sonya doesn’t know, a slim blond who moves with efficiency and intent and a barely concealed air of wildness. That woman slows down to talk to the figure behind her, and she blinks in astonishment at the sight of Abyss.
Aren’t we chasing him?
That throws her for a moment until she remembers Abyss’ introduction of his clone-brothers. Though she hadn’t expected them to be competing with each other, there’s no reason she can think of why they shouldn’t.
On the other hand, maybe the first Abyss was an illusion? Maybe this team had split up somehow and Katrina had taken on Abyss’ appearance to create confusion. It’s something Sonya herself would probably have done, if she’d been willing to reveal her true abilities for a game.
Of course, without physical contact there’s no way to be sure. Even then, there’s no guarantee… after all, Abyss had been shaking the floor pretty seriously as he barreled past, so if that was an illusion then Katrina can create illusory vibrations as well as sound and images. So, why shouldn’t she be able to fool the sense of touch, as well?
Which ordinarily wouldn’t be enough to fool Sonya, granted, unless Katrina can also fool her special genetic senses. Which seems unlikely… at least, Sonya can’t imagine how anyone could produce an illusion of something they’d never themselves experienced. Then again, she’s discovering, mutations are tricky. And anyway, it’s a moot point for this particular exercise, given the gloves she’s currently wearing.
Behind them are three others, none of whom seem familiar… a nondescript girl, a tall blond teen, and a guy in his twenties with a funky haircut. Her own team caroms along with them. It’s interesting comparing the two – Hades and Kaz and Cyra all seem to be in peak physical condition, not only running full-tilt but looking impressive while they do it. The other team doesn’t… the blond boy is stumbling, the older guy looks like he’s reaching his physical limits, even the intent-looking woman who was leading the pack seems to be as tired as Sonya herself.
Meanwhile, they’re all shouting back and forth to each other… another way they differ from her own team, she notes, which doesn’t coordinate with itself much. Interesting.
Abyss and the blond woman peel off from the rest of the horde and start searching… for what, exactly, Sonya isn’t sure. Still, this might give her an opportunity to get to know the woman, and to see Abyss – whichever one of them he is – in action. So she follows them. "Mind another pair of eyes? Or do other team members have cooties in this little game?"
(( OOC: Kaz – I’m happy to jump ahead to wherever. Just post something describing the jump and where we end up and I’ll cheerfully go on from there.))
Abyss’ sudden arrival and equally sudden departure comes as something of a shock to Sonya/Teresa; by the time she realizes that this isn’t an attack he’s already barreled through the exit, leaving her standing there looking slightly foolish.
"Well. That was… unexpected."
> " I say we follow him. He seemed to be in a hurry. What's the worst that can happen?" "
Cyra has a point, Sonya decides.
Of course, it was probably a trap -- after all, Abyss seemed to still have all his strength, which made him part of the exercise rather than a fellow participant -- but really what did it matter? It wasn’t like there was any real cost to losing this particular game.
"Fine with me," she says with a shrug, and follows Cyra.
> “From what I understand, she's more the art type, than the physical.”
Sonya/Teresa nods to Kaz. "Good to know. In that case, my little toreador trick might work on Kat better than it did on Cyra." Thinking about it some more, she adds "Though it looks like all y’all have some pretty impressive moves, yourselves, so maybe I’ll just stay out of the way if it comes down to that."
She nods again at Kaz’s summary of the situation, somewhat pleased by his evolving management style. "Well, I’ll go along with pretty much anything, but if nobody else has an opinion, I vote for heading straight to the center." Privately, she figures Kaz is right about meeting the other teams that way, which is her primary goal in this exercise anyway.
"So, unless anyone disagrees?" She starts moving in the appropriate direction.
Sonya/Teresa blinks in astonishment as Cyra catches the tapestry and hurls it back at her, harder and faster. She tries to dodge but ends up tripping over her own feet as the fabric tangles around her. Man, she’s good!
"Heh." She tries not to appear too embarrassed as she untangles herself and gets back to her feet. "So, I guess the lesson here is that the plan works OK if Katrina is as bad at dodging as I am, but not if she’s as good at dodging as Cyra is." She shrugs. "I guess that’s something. Anybody know if the invisible girl is a martial artist?"
> "All right boys and girls. All pointy and exploding objects, > coiling whippy toys, and other things collectively classified > as 'weapons' go in the box. Your group is officially grounded > for two minutes. Starting now."
Sonya/Teresa sighs as their weapons are collected… by, she notices, a robot that had previously been cloaked. So, Katrina isn’t the only invisible thing running around this area. Good to know. "Well, I guess that answers my question about cheating, then."
She’s more annoyed by the delay than by the loss of her tranq-pistol… well, its temporary loss, anyway… but decides to make use of the time. "Hey, Cyra… while we're stuck here anyway, I want to practice with this cloak-the-invisible-girl trick. Try to dodge, OK?" Without further warning she whips the tapestry off of her waist and tosses it like a wheel of pizza dough in Cyra’s direction.
> "Good eye Teresa." Sonya/Teresa nods her thanks, and watches Kaz do a remarkably impressive Indiana Jones impression as he brings several lengths of cloth down to floor level, and privately upgrades her evaluation of the man. He can acknowledge his teammates, after all… and he doesn’t hesitate… and he doesn’t just rely on his mutation.
The more she watches him in action, the less she ever wants to come up against him. And, she reminds herself, he’s a subordinate. Somehow, Kaz doesn’t strike her as the sort of guy to accept second place unless the guy on top was something really impressive. Unless he’s just waiting for an opening, she realizes. Who knows, maybe he is Hunter’s weakness.
One thing she does know is that she doesn’t want to be the one to try to turn him.
She picks up one of the tapestries and ties it around her waist like a skirt, then looks speculatively at Kaz. "So, I know we’re not supposed to use our mutant abilities in here – not that it makes much difference in my case anyway – but is using weapons considered cheating?" She pulls her trank pistol out by way of specificity.
> “Just my opinion, I say we go that way."
"Suits me." Since nobody has volunteered any information about their dungeon-crawling skills, Sonya goes ahead and takes the lead. Privately, she suspects Kaz is better qualified, but she doesn’t comment -- this way she may get some information about how protective he is of his teammates.
(( OOC: Fixed. Names get very confusing when posting Sonya. ))
>> “I don't see any other choice, [..] if we go back, we can try another >> route. This time, though, let's try and not get too distracted by decoys and the like.” > “Shall we continue our search?”
"Yeah, let’s roll. " A few minutes later they’re back at the entrance lobby.
"So, if anybody here is particularly good at spotting traps and stuff, I’d suggest they take point. Otherwise," she shrugs, "I might as well… I don’t have any special funky dungeon-traversing skills, which I guess makes me as dispensable as the next person."
She decides to wait a few moments before moving on, to see if anyone volunteers, and in the meantime changes the subject. "Meanwhile, I think Tempest is right – if we see another invisible little girl we need a better plan than just chasing after her. We need to steal the initiative."
Looking around the lobby she notices a selection of tapestries and banners hanging from the walls. "For example, we could each carry one of those with us, and try to, you know, circle her around. Least we’d know which direction she was going, that way, and maybe we get lucky and she tangles up in the cloth." She shrugs again and adds "Unless anyone’s got a better plan?"
> "Some people used their Taken names as their actual name, forsaking their given name.”
Sonya/Teresa nods at that, remembering her earlier conversation with Abyss, and also realizing that she was doing exactly the same thing herself in order to protect her family. She adds to Tempest "Yeah, you’re absolutely right, Kaz… sorry, didn’t mean to be a bitch. Just teasing. Welcome to the team, Temp…" she extends a gloved hand in Tempest’s direction, but her attempt at an apology trails off into a confused little noise in her throat as Kaz strips off half his clothes and starts shape-shifting into some strange demon-looking thing before leaving altogether "…est?"
Well, I guess that tells me what his mutation is. She’s left a bit ill at ease by the way he moves, so liquid and light like he’s water flowing and floating on the ground… not to mention the whole demon-form thing. Abyss had described Hunter as “not as fast as Kaz,” but she hadn’t quite realized how much that was damning with faint praise until she saw him in action. And he may have claimed not to be super-strong, but the way he leaps over the entire hedge-maze in a single bound belies that. Even with her newly discovered (and still quite mysterious) martial-arts moves, she wouldn’t be able to stand up to that guy for a second, and the only way he’d take a bullet is if someone sniped him from a distance. If Hunter was anything like that… well, no wonder Syn wanted to know his weaknesses.
So, OK. Now I know. Strong, fast, enhanced senses, demon-form She continues talking to the new arrival while Kaz is away. "To catch you up: we’re supposed to catch an invisible little girl named Katrina. We saw her a minute ago running this way, or at least thought we did – Kaz thinks it might not have been her in the first place – but either way she’s led us into a dead end, maybe a trap. So, back the way we came to the main lobby seems our best choice, unless you know something we don’t?" She starts heading in that direction herself, and it doesn’t take long for Kaz to return from whatever his sudden urgent mission was (which, judging from the expression on his face, she would rather know nothing about).
Sonya/Teresa hears the new arrival’s footsteps as they approach and turns around to investigate.
> “Erm. Hello. I think you're my team? I'm...er....Tempest. > I'm a new addition to your team. I just arrived at the labs."
The accent is British and the voice somewhat nervous; the speaker young and blond and fairly cute. Well, at least he isn’t sneaking up on us… that’s something. Sonya really has no way of knowing whether he’s really part of their team, or some kind of spy or saboteur the folks running this outfit are sending to infiltrate them.
Though ultimately she supposes that it doesn’t really matter – she also has no way of knowing whether any of the folks she started out with are really plants, after all. It would be one hell of a trick to pull during what’s supposed to be a teamwork exercise, but maybe they’re actually trying to demonstrate that really you can’t trust anyone. Teamwork exercises for psychotics, or some such thing. Maybe later we’ll do a trust fall where you let the person smack their head against the floor.
"Hi, er-Tempest. I’m uh-Teresa, this here is um-Kaz, that’s hmm-Cyra, and the guy throwing rocks is er-Hades. I’m guessing that you and he get to form the ‘don’t like to use our real names in public’ club – or are those your given names? "
> "IF it was Kat, then no. I doubt it'd be an actual dead end, > at least not for her. If it's trapped, then she probably knows > what to do or how to get around it. Though what makes you > think that was/is Kat? I can't tell if it is or isn't her, not with > my senses all screwy.”
Sonya isn’t quite sure how to respond to that. He’s the one who knows the girl in the first place, shouldn’t he be able to recognize her? Unless his senses have been so handicapped that she can actually see better than he can? That seems unlikely.
He probably means the little girl might be some sort of decoy. Sonya isn’t sure whether he has some actual reason to suspect that, or if he’s just professionally paranoid, but either way she decides to follow his lead on the matter… for one thing, he knows more about the setup here than she does; for another she’s more interested in learning about Kaz than she is in ‘winning’ the competition.
So she nods "Good point."
> "whether we choose to go in or go another direction, we should be careful." > “I’ll second that.”
"Well, it’s hard to argue with careful. And whoever that little invisible girl was, letting her choose the path we take probably isn’t a great idea." As Hades continues the pebble strategy, Sonya steps back out into the hall, looking around for some other plausible-seeming direction to travel in.
> "Hold up. Don't go rushing blindly into what could be a trap. > Caution is a friend at the moment."
Sonya/Teresa blinks in surprise as Kaz adopts the pebble-tossing strategy, then intercepts Cyra’s headlong rush into who-knows-what, all without insulting anyone. Heh… OK, maybe I misjudged him before. First impressions can be wrong, after all…
She’s also impressed by his speed; even with the cuffs weighing him down he moves like a blur. She can’t quite decide whether he’s unusually strong or not… at first he seemed to be, but the more she watches him move, the more convinced she becomes that that was an illusion.
I wonder what wearing that body would feel like…, she muses idly. Certainly, if Kaz is Hunter’s lieutenant, getting close to him would be a way to find out more about Hunter. Who knows, maybe Kaz will turn out to be more ambitious than loyal – not that she has much to offer his ambition at the moment.
Of course, all of that is for the future. In the present, Kaz’s version of the pebble-trick works even better than Hades had, revealing an injured girl who Sonya assumes is Katrina. A moment later the girl runs into an adjacent room and knocks over an implausibly arranged collection of suits of armor.
That’s weird, she thinks to herself, I would think whoever was running this little exercise would know the layout of the place, not get suckered by something like that. Which means we’re probably being suckered, ourselves. Unless it’s also supposed to be a test for her? Sonya isn’t entirely clear about how this exercise is put together… but Kaz had said he’d helped organize it.
"Wait up a sec… I smell a rat. Kaz, you helped set this thing up: would Katrina just run into a dead end like this, if it wasn’t some sort of trap?"
(( ooc: New, Improved Sonya! Now with bonus formatting for actual speech! ))
