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.
Katrina, practically bouncing with anticipation as she came out of her miniature personal illusion trance, watched her brothers' reactions to her gift. Sometimes giving presents was more exciting than getting them, especially the home made kind. She was relieved that they liked their gift, and was pleased with their reactions. The hugs and the thank yous and the we'll-try-them-on-right-aways were the best return gift she could have hoped for.
She didn't realize that the glances they were giving each other were conspiring ones. She didn't expect anything back. Besides, they had just paid for her cab, which had cost them about ten times more than she had originally paid for the entire set of earrings at a store where almost everything else had been either pink or purple. Was there an equivalent store where boys with pierced ears got their jewelry? She'd certainly never seen a male braving the narrow aisles and flocks of middle school girls that seem to frequent the store where Katrina usually found her sparklies.
Perhaps the best reaction was Mars, who gave her a special hug, made all the better because he hadn't wanted to share her with anyone else. She smiled shyly when he said she had a talent. “Thanks Mars,” she said in a small voice that matched his gentle tones.
Even Saturn seemed almost excited to receive his gift. Katrina grinned mischievously at him after his comment about getting used to her little illusion birds flying around with messages. He might have to get used to it. She might start sending them just to torment him once in awhile. “Get used to what?” Maybe the other six would tease him for seeing things. The thought of the other six tormenting him was almost as amusing as the thought of doing it herself.
The last of the seven to come crowding out in the hallway was Jupiter, according to the earring that were left on the card. The belated brother appeared, mumbling and stumbling backwards, apparently fresh from bed. As soon as he appeared, he disappeared behind a big red hand.
“Hey, what's that for Saturn?” He'd been wearing pants, she was pretty sure. She only barely caught a glimpse of him though before her vision had been obstructed. She was tempted, for a brief moment, to lick his hand. A moment later, though, the hand was lifted and the seven brother had reappeared fully clothed.
“Hi Kat!” he said a little too loudly, patting her on the head.
“Good morning! Isn't it a little late to be waking up for the day? Or a little early for bed?” She blinked up into his bleary eyes. Weaving, plus sleeping at odd hours, plus bleary eyes, plus extra loud voices. She shook her head at him with a mock stern expression. “You're as bad as Saturn, with the vices. Just don't lift any heavy machinery for awhile.”
“So if we have a sleep over, where will we be sleeping?” Katrina poked her head into one of their rooms, curiously. It was a messy one, without much extra room on the floor for even one extra person to sleep, let alone a whole posse of rather large people and one small one. “Do you have a living room somewhere in this big place?”
It felt more like trying to impress a mob boss with parlor tricks than an interview to become the bodyguard of a country's president. This was the final stage, where she got to perform her tricks in front of the president himself. Zhang Xiao sat impassively on a comfortable chair behind a long table. On either side he was flanked by his important advisors sitting in slightly less comfortable chairs. There were guards standing around, ready to take care of her if they suspected anything fishy. They had even brought a translator, in case Katrina's rudimentary knowledge of Mandarin was inadequate. She'd been practicing for a year and a half or so, but she was not fluent by any means. She appreciated the efforts they made for her.
She bowed deeply upon entering the room. The president barely acknowledged her with a slightly raised eyebrow. The man next to the president stood. He was a thin man with a thin mustache. He was tall compared to the other men at the table, but probably stood no more than two inches taller than Katrina. He had a raspy voice and he did not enunciate the different tones of his words very clearly. Luckily the translator seemed to be able to decipher the meanings behind his imprecise speech, giving Katrina a second chance to hear the words. “You are not Chinese? You have no relatives who are Chinese?”
The young illusionist answered no to both questions. They had asked the same questions in previous interviews and continued to do so for approximately ten more questions. She assumed it was for the sake propriety; if they hadn't already determined that she was not out to avenge a lost loved one she wouldn't have made it to this final round of interviews. As soon as the tall thin man was seeming convinced that she was not seeking vengeance he sat down again in his chair.
The second man to Zhang's left stood. With effort, Katrina noted. Even by America's standards the man was fat. By China's standards he was simply enormous. She didn't need the translator to tell her what he had said. She'd already heard the phrase “Demonstration, please” several times now. For the first time she smiled confidently in the president's direction. She had a feeling he would like her brand of demonstration.
“Come please,” she stated confidently in Mandarin as she gestured for one of the guards to step forward into the center of the room. From her pocket she removed a small chain necklace with a charm hanging from it. “This makes him invisible. It also makes others nearby sick if they come close.” Katrina slipped then necklace and the Chinese man turned invisible. Was it her imagination or was Zhang sitting up a little straighter? Katrina felt a haunting pang of nausea and lightheadedness, but at half intensity it was only enough to make her uncomfortable. Anyone else standing within ten feet would be slightly more than uncomfortable. Guard number two, for example.
Katrina stepped out of the ten foot radius of her charm, and motioned for one of the other guards to come forward. She was careful not to chose someone she had already let play this part in the previous rounds of her “interview”. Unwittingly, the second guard stepped toward the place where his comrade had previously been standing, and was in actuality still standing. As soon as he got to the ten foot mark, his face turned an unhealthy shade. With the combined effects of dizziness and nausea he didn't keep his feet for long. He didn't keep his lunch for long either. The poor guy apparently he had a weak stomach, as it hadn't had quite that effect on anyone before. The president was definitely sitting up straight now. His eyebrows were also migrating northwards toward his hairline, though his mouth remained turned downward in an impassive frown.
Katrina stepped forward to remove the chain from the invisible guard who had started to wave his hand in front of the green face of his fallen comrade. He straightened when he saw her coming and let her take the chain from his neck. Instantly he reappeared in the eyes of the observers. Sensing his job was finished, he bowed and returned to his place at the wall. The man on the floor, stood hastily and hurried back to his own place bowing on the way, embarrassed at the spectacle and the mess he had made.
“Last,” Katrina spoke as she beckoned for one more guard to come forward. A young man, no older than herself stepped forward bravely. His face was unsure, but he did not back down when the young American gestured with her pale slender hand for him to come forward. He had no idea what she had in store for him.
Katrina whispered “sorry” in Mandarin so only he could hear. She remembered the pain she had felt one summer ten years ago when a certain neural manipulator lost control of his powers. It had felt like every square inch of her skin was being stabbed, like every bone was splintering, like every muscle was on fire. When the young illusionist replicated this feeling on the young guard, she limited the pain to one finger. She hated doing it, but she refrained from showing any signs of this on her face as best she could.
The young guard fought a similar battle to keep his own face straight, but quickly lost. His brow creased and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Katrina couldn't blame him. Even the phantom pain in her small finger was difficult to bear. Within seconds the guard lost his composure and yelled. It sounded like the Chinese word for finger, but Katrina couldn't quite tell and the translator didn't bother to help her with that one. It didn't really matter, though, for the moment he shouted, Katrina let the pain illusion fade away. They both breathed a sigh of relief and the young man backed up, not even bothering to bow.
Katrina hadn't noticed when the president had stood up. The expression on his face was difficult to decipher. It was no longer apathetic, more like a mixture of surprise and not-quite-happiness-not-quite-fear. If she had to guess, she might also label that glint in his eye as greed, but she couldn't be certain. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Zhang leaned over to speak with the interpreter, keeping his eyes on the illusionist the entire time. Katrina couldn't tell what he was saying over the din of the talking. She could not have pinpointed the exact moment the commotion had begun, only that there was a general stir amidst those at the table and another amidst the guards, echoing it. The interpreter came forward to speak to her, and let her know that a decision would be made and she would be informed within three days. During that time, she should remain at the government provided housing in which she had been residing since starting the interview process. Katrina nodded, then left the room to wait out her three days and wonder if Sara had also made it to the final interview.
>>>“Can’t say no to you…” he said as he patted Katrina on the head, “Take a few deep breaths, I’ll get you there before anything happens to him I promise.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
She did as Sam told her and took a few deep breaths. The panic she had initially felt was starting to fade, not really because of the extra oxygen, but because she felt like she was now doing something about the problem. She was taking at least some control over the situation and the path before her was clear. All she had to do was follow the path to its completion and follow Sam to the hanger.
She would have loved the secret slide entrance as a girl. There hadn't had anything like it the first time she had been in the hanger. Now it seemed kind of like something from a Batman comic or something. Quick, Katgirl, to the X-cave!
>>>“So is this just a pick up? Or do you two have something else you want?”
Katrina turned to look at her feline companion next to her as Sam's attention was divided between them and the various controls in the cockpit. Sara seemed busy looking for hand holds or something. She looked almost as thrilled at the idea of flying as a certain unicorn shifter she knew. They did have a mission to complete in China other than picking up Slate and the students, but it seemed so much less important now.
“We'll see how the rescue mission goes,” she answered matter-of-factly. Then they could think about the mission to guard the life of the Chinese president.
At this point, she was almost ready to do away with Zhang Xiao herself. This whole war was his fault from the very beginning. If it hadn't been for his actions against mutants, there would have been no reason for two idealistic young teachers to lead seven students into the Himalayas in an effort to aid the escaping refugees. There would have been no reason for a young woman to fly halfway round the world to overturn every stone in the tallest mountain range in the world to search for her missing students and fellow teacher. There would be no reason for an illusionist and a puma woman to act as bodyguards for a man they didn't even particularly want alive in the first place.
She really didn't think that she could follow through with the second phase of her China mission. She wasn't even sure it was necessary anymore. They had been trying to prevent a war; now that it had already started was there any point in continuing?
Outside the windows, the school was falling away rapidly as they rose in altitude. Soon, not even cars were visible on the busy New York streets below them. The clouds around them were puffy and white, as if the turbulence and troubles of the people down below had no bearing on them whatsoever.
Aviator Kat climbed up onto Ghost's shoulder. The screws weren't screwed in very tightly, so they weren't to difficult to loosen with her small fingers. She handed the screws and the vent down to Ghost and analyzed the opening. There was room enough for her in there, but not much extra. She'd have to go through to open the door from the other side; Calley probably couldn't do it without opposable thumbs, if that was even the kind of doorknob there was on the inside.
“I'm going to try and squeeze through,” she informed her comrades, then wiggled her way into the vent. She tried to avoid stepping on Ghost's face as she went, she really did.
The rectangular air passage was not roomy at all. In fact, she just barely had enough room to pull and push herself forward with her hands and feet. She couldn't even crawl on her hands and knees. She couldn't turn her head to see if a kitten was following her either. In fact, she almost didn't even have room to breathe, at least it kind of felt like there was no air which was odd in an air duct. It was really dark, too. Her body blocked all the light coming from the hanger behind her.
Luckily, the next vent wasn't far away. In reality it was probably only a few feet on the other side of the door, but it had felt like it was much farther. There was a dim blue light shining through the slats. Her fingers scrambled desperately to find the screws. This time, they were pointed in the opposite direction, so it was more difficult to twist them. She was almost ready to give up and start bashing at it when the first screw came loose and fell with a cheerful pling! on the floor down below. With renewed hope, she went after the other screw. Pling! CLANK! There was no air elemental to pass the vent cover to, this time. Her cramped position meant she had to exit the vent face first. She tried to hang onto the edge with her hands, but they were slippery with sweat from being nervous, and she just ended up tumbling to the ground, landing hard on her posterior.
“Ouch,” she stated to no-one in particular, her voice echoing. As she rubbed her sore back side, she looked around. She was in a short hallway. The doorway was to the left and to the right was the strangest room Katrina had ever seen. The dim blue light that had shown her where she could find the vent illuminated a gigantic sphere room. The hallway continued on, becoming a platform that jutted out into the very center of the sphere with a technothrone at the end.. No wonder it echoed, it was huge! Calley had to see this! Ghost, too!
The aviator hurried back over to the door, and searched for some sort of way to open it. Her hand touched a flat panel and it was scanned by a blue light from top to bottom. It made an unhappy beep, but opened anyway, as if saying “here's the door, now leave”.
She had no intension of leaving just yet. “Ta da! Opened!”
Behind her came a familiar voice. It belonged to Sam Johnson, but for some reason it sounded quieter than normal, almost as if it was hollow. It was also less friendly than normal. Much less friendly. “You're not supposed to be here,” it growled in its semitransparent way.
Katrina spun around, wide eyed. Sure enough, there was Sam walking toward her as if he had just been sitting in the technochair. He was glaring menacingly. Katrina gulped and backed up, then froze again when she remembered that the electric pit trap was still back there behind her. “Oh hi there,” she stammered stupidly. “You're looking kind of, umm, see through today.” Why was he see through?
Katrina scowled when Saturn called her dangerous. “I'm nothing of the kind.” She would never hurt anyone, and she'd prefer it if she wasn't ever forced to do it either. If her powers were strong enough that she could be called “dangerous” by a man who could probably move mountains if they got in his way it only provided further reason to keep those powers on the down low. Actually the thought that she might be dangerous scared her just a little.
“There's nothing dangerous about turning invisible,” she finished lamely in case anyone had been listening in on the exchange.
Saturn earned himself another scowl for messing with Ryuichi, even if it was just a little. “I don't think he's dangerous either. So there. The only dangerous thing around here is your cigarettes.”
The young teen tried to wipe the scowl off her face before her red skinned lizard friend reappeared, but it was hard. The storm clouds just seemed to keep gathering around her. Perhaps she had just stayed too late at the ball and was turning back into a pumpkin. She glanced up at the big golden-lit clock. It wasn't that late yet, she was just starting to feel like it was.
>>>"Hello Katrina." ... "Sir."
The look in the young boy's glittering black eyes when he said 'sir' matched the look in Saturn's eye when he had threatened to scoop her up and run away with her. Was that protectiveness, from both of them? Something in those black eyes seemed to click, as if he'd made a decision, and he started putting his shoes back on.
>>>"Do you want to dance?"
Katrina's eyebrows unknit themselves in favor of an arched position.
“Oh.” She was a little surprised, but not against the idea. “Sure. I'd like that.” She started walking toward Ryuichi and the dance floor, then turned back to give Saturn a hug quickly before leaving. “You behave now, mister.” She used her best serious voice. It indicated that if he didn't listen to her he'd be in big trouble. Calley had been in that position once; he could attest that it wasn't a good position to be in.
With her stern warning out of the way, Katrina was ready to head to the dance floor. She turned and saw... no she didn't see anything. There was no bare backside of a seven foot tall man standing in the middle of the dance floor. She couldn't believe that her imagination would create such a thing, nor could she believe that something like that could be real. Therefore it must not exist.
Exist or not, Katrina turned her head away blushing. “Err, maybe over there would be the best place to dance,” she pointed in the opposite direction of the indecency.
Oi. I got behind from being sick, and this week is crazy on top of that. I've got a dress rehearsal tonight for chorus and a baseball game tomorrow night. (Go Twins!) Things will be normal on Thursday and then I'm going home for the weekend, which means extra family time, less MRO time. Sorry for keeping people waiting this week. I'll do my best Thursday to get caught up, if I don't just fall asleep from exhaustion.
The little voice of the thirteen year old seemed to have more summoning power than the might voice of one void opener. The thunderous voice received only two inquisitive voices in return. The call of the blonde teen caused a stampede of red to come trampling down the hallway.
Pluto reached her first. She could always tell Pluto apart, even without any particular clothing or accessories to set him apart; he always had a goofy smile that seemed crafted just for her. The two of them had been paired up during the hide and seek training mission during the resistance and had all sorts of fun wreaking havoc and making mischief. Not to mention sharing their deepest and darkest secrets like a pair of school girls at a slumber party, though Pluto's and by extension all of the brothers' secrets had been much darker than her own.
“Plutooo!” Katrina squeaked as he swung her into the air and grinned as he swayed her back and forth. “It's been forever!” It was hard to believe that the grinning girl had been in tears not long ago. It seemed she had made the right choice of places to go when running away from home.
>>>“Kat! What are youdoing here? I mean not that its is bad just unexpected.”
The slightest shadow of a frown passed over her face as she answered, “I ran away from home. Only for one night, though. Abyss can tell you all the details later, if you're curious.” The shadow was gone the moment the two clones who had been hot on Pluto's tail started flicking his ears as he swung her back and forth. Katrina wondered if it was Venus who was calling her a “lady”. She chuckled. She wouldn't be one of those for a few years yet, but leave it to him to flatter everyone under the sun.
“Wha?!” Suddenly Pluto was just as airborne as Katrina had been. Katrina was airborne squared as brother lifted brother lifted illusionist. Could they all seven stack up like that? If each Abyss lifted another, how tall would they be? Somehow in her mind they would similar to monkies that had escaped their barrel” if they did that. In any case, the technique worked and she was soon on the ground again. With her new found freedom to move about, she bounded from red man to red man, giving each a hug.
“I brought you all a present! It was supposed to be for Christmas, but, you know.” She shrugged, then pointed at Neptune, who still had the presents. “He's got them.” She rolled back and forth on the balls of her feet in anticipation. “They help people to tell you all apart, unless you don't want them to. I made them myself! It's the first time I've made anything like them.”
Somehow the hallway wasn't as crowded as it should have been. There were still a couple of brothers still missing. (She couldn't help but think of them as “her” brothers; Pluto had even called her little sister just now.) It would be difficult to concentrate, but perhaps while they were distracted by trying to get presents away from Neptune, she could grab a moment of quiet with her own thoughts.
She stared at one of the open doors, imagining the two that hadn't appeared yet. Perhaps they were lounging on their beds reading Darwin's Theory or the Art of War. Maybe they were surfing the internet looking for anime to download or writing for an RP site they had joined. If one of them were smoking, he'd be in big trouble. She didn't know for certain what they were up to, but they needed to get their lazy red tails out here. If they were home, that is. Two clones appeared in her mind and she focused on them, ignoring the mob in the hallway. Carefully she formed a familiar little illusion of a paper crane cupped in her hand. It flapped its wings, then zoomed forward. It skirted around the red mob she was ignoring and into each of the open doors. “Come out, come out,” it squawked in a bird like rendition of Katrina's voice.
Only the two clones that were missing should be able to see and hear it as it made its rounds through the bedrooms. If Katrina was doing it correctly. She'd never tried sending a secret illusion to two people at once before. She was concentrating rather hard on fulfilling her task. To those in the hall, it probably looked like she was suddenly staring off into space suddenly.
Abyss kept up with the questions fairly well, passing level one. The next time she'd up the curiosity to level two.
Katrina did as she was told and imagined six sisters wanting her shoes. For an only child who secretly liked to be the center of attention and most certainly enjoyed having her own things, the thought was disturbing. If there were six more of her around, would the cuteness be divided amidst them, or multiplied as was the awesomeness of seven Abyss? They wouldn't wear the same clothes, though. The young illusionist was certain they would want to be individualized so much that they would pick different styles, or even resort to illusion-colored hair and mismatched haircuts. Or rather, she'd make the other six look different. She liked herself the way she was.
“Maybe one sister would be okay. I think I'd choose have six or seven brothers rather than sisters.” Perhaps even a dozen brothers, if they were cool like Abyss, Calley, Slate, Kaz, Ryuichi, and Fausto. The corners of her pink little mouth twitched downward at the thought of Fausto, currently off in a foreign country fighting to make the world a better place. She wondered if he was okay. She also wondered if “brother” was the right word for him. She hadn't thought about him as more than a friend until Valentine's Day, and then she had simply become confused about what he was. Thinking of him as like a brother seemed to fit pretty well though for now.
“I could see how being in the void would be relaxing.” As long as there weren't cute earth manipulators in there to read her every thought. Or acid mouths or chameleon boys for that matter. On second thought, perhaps the privacy of one's own mind was best, at least though the adolescent and teen years.
The little blonde followed the big red man out past the garbage can and eventually into a hallway lined with doors, some open, others closed.
>>>“Hey You Guys!”...
...thundered the almighty voice of Neptune, summoning his brothers. Katrina waited for the floor to stop vibrating then added, “Hellooooo!”
The hotel was like a palace, and Fausto lead her through it as if he owned the whole place. He knew right where to go and the hotel staff knew just what to do. They even had a key ready to hand to him on the way to the elevator. Like clockwork, the young lead singer made his way down the hall, and with a practiced hand roused a sleeping guitarist on his way past. Like someone who had done it dozens of times before, he effortlessly located the card reader and swiped the key grating them access to room fifteen.
The inside of the apartment was every bit as lavish as the lobby of the hotel had been. There were plush leather armchairs circled around the dual display of an ornate fireplace with a large flat screen television hanging above the mantle. In another corner of the room sat a full sized grand piano. The lid was down and an english ivy spread its tendrils across the top. Both the piano and the plant were dusty.
Less dusty were the drum set, guitar, speakers, and microphone that sat ready to be used next to the window. In all likelihood, this was where the band practiced. Katrina wondered if the people staying in the rooms below or above could hear the music, or whether the plush hotel was insulated enough that even the sound of a rock band could be muffled by the walls.
Best of all, to Katrina were the windows. The ceiling was tall enough that she could have sat on Abyss' shoulders and just barely been able to touch the ceiling. The windows were floor to ceiling windows that spanned the entire height. Outside was a gorgeous view of Central Park and the surrounding buildings. “Wow,” Katrina whispered to herself. It was amazing that in a room full of expensive things her favorite would be the free view.
The girl that had been sitting sprawled in one of the chairs as she spoke on the phone finished her call to order enough food for the party, then came to greet them.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Katrina shook her hand and smiled. A sleepy boy came up behind them, waving and mumbling. Katrina waved back to him too with a grin. For a group that was going to be a famous band, they all seemed so normal. Though, Cielle already seemed to be comfortable with the rich part of the rich and famous deal.
“So, this is where you write your music and practice your songs? It's really cool. I could see why Fausto would want to skip school and hang out here instead.”
Katrina wasn't an expert at telling the Abysses apart. Mentally she kicked herself for not bringing the gift she had made for them that would have helped her with that issue. She knew this wasn't Pluto or Neptune, because either of them would have had not trouble giving her the full version of that smile. Probably it wasn't Venus either, because from the interaction she had once overheard between Venus and Tris, there was no way that particular septuplet would be at a party and not be chasing after someone in a slinky dress. Since she wasn't sure, she started calling him Grumpy, at least mentally. Katrina was pretty grumpy herself, so she may have been a hypocrite for calling him that, but she didn't particularly care at the moment.
It seemed from the big red man's description that he and Ryuichi hadn't hit it off particularly well. Though, Katrina could easily understand how the lizard boy could have gotten sassy with the way the big guy was acting. Katrina was feeling a little sassy herself. She wasn't feeling particularly great about herself at the moment, considering she had quite possibly just broken her friend's heart and wouldn't get a chance to apologize or even see him for a long time. Her patience was as short as the red monkey tails were long.
“Well, you shouldn't smoke. If anything is foolish, it's smoking. Especially inside where other people have to breath the same air as you.” [glare]Thirteen-year-old glare of retribution.
>>>“Oh, that was cool earlier, I thought I was going crazy for a moment, trying to find you.”
Oh. [/glare] “Well, thanks I guess. I was up on the balcony. I failed the first attempt to do that; I guess there were too many people watching. I think I figured out how to send a message like that so only one person can hear it, though. I have to practice some more, since I'm not sure exactly how it worked,” this response was slightly less snippy. Changing subjects was a fairly effective way to temporarily distract her.
The teen illusionist looked where the big red man indicated. It was difficult for her to see through the tall crowd, so she wasn't sure who he was talking about at first when he asked about the telekinesis or phasing. After a moment of craning her neck she saw a familiar flash of red on someone much shorter that the original bearers of that hue.
“Oh. Ryooichi? He climbs walls and changes colors. I'm not sure what else he can do. Maybe he has telekinesis or phasing abilities,” she added a shrug to punctuate the end of her sentence. “Why do you ask?”
Tattoos were not part of the flesh? That concept took the young blonde a few moments to wrap her brain around. They seemed pretty fleshy to her, until Abyss added that clothing also did not carry over from one brother to the next either. Perhaps the needle going into the skin could leave a mark on the skin of all the brothers, but the actual ink of the tattoo was like clothing that wasn't really part of the body, just trapped under the skin without really being a part of it. Not like hair and scars which actually had Abyss' DNA in them.
As for clothes, it dawned on her that it must get expensive to buy seven of everything, especially considering their size. They probably needed to have things taylored as well, so clothing would fit properly over their bulk without ripping every time they flexed a muscle. They would need tail holes added to their pants as well. That probably made trying things on in the store a bit difficult.
"Do you guys like to match clothing, or do you all have your own style? Do you borrow each other's stuff since you are all the same size? Do you each have your own rooms, or do the others sleep in the abyss? Do you all go shopping together?"
Questions were like bunnies. Once you had one or two, it wasn't long before a whole bunch of them were hopping around. Katrina closed her mouth before any more cute fuzzy questions could escape their hutch. She had learned in about sixth grade that most people couldn't keep up with quite that many questions in a row, with the exception of Calley whose brain could easily keep track of questions and could even answer them in reverse order if he wanted.
Katrina eyed the cup warily. If she ate one more bite she was likely to explode. "It's okay, I'm full," she answered Abyss' guilty apology for helping her with so much of the ice cream. "Let's go find the others. I want to see if they like them, too!" She bounced in her seat at least once from excitement. If hanging out with Abybss was awesome, hanging out with the whole gang was awesome to the seventh power, which the math impaired girl was still fairly certain was even greater than awesome times seven.
Making plans for two person game quickly became pointless as the recreation room started to fill up with other people. The first person to arrive was someone Katrina instantly recognized from their time together in the resistance. Her black and red hair was unmistakable and even coordinated with her clothing choice for the evening, though if Katrina remembered correctly she liked to stick to her favorite color scheme most of the time. Syn and Katrina had not talked often during their time living in the same building, with the exception of one conversation they'd had in the library. The young illusionist didn't remember exactly what thy had talked about, but she had come away from the conversation feeling like Syn was a very trustworthy person and a good listener, the combined effect making her someone who would be good to person in whom to confide. If Katrina knew her a little better, that was. Personally, she preferred to tell all her deepest darkest secrets to Abyss, if she had any. Syn remembered her, too.
"I'm fine," Katrina responded. She hadn't been when she had arrived, but she was fine now. "I came to visit for the night, so I could see all the people I don't get to see any more." Especially Abyss. She hadn't known Garrett was here, he'd had been a bonus.
Another girl in comfortable clothes had appeared at some point while she was speaking. This one Katrina had only seen in passing before, literally. She'd been visiting with Abyss and another big tall guy on the balcony of the Valentine's Day party when she and Koga had squeezed past them to get closer to the band.
>>>"Having a party and you didn't invite me, Garrett? Ever heard of 'the more the merrier'?"
Katrina waved to the tall bow bedecked girl, "You can join us," she called from her cozy nest on the couch where she was snuggled under a blanket. Her wave and invitation were extended to the third girl that arrived right after her. Things were starting to get lively.
The newest girl Katrina had never seen at all. She had pretty ginger hair that kind of fluufed because it was so full of body. She wasn't as tall as the other girls, and was closer to the height of Katrina's mother. She had striking green eyes, similar to jade where Syn's looked more emerald to the young illusionist. She was playing with s shiny pink ball of something that looked like a combination of light and cotton candy. The little illusionist was not shy about leaning forward and staring with her head cocked to one side, trying to figure out the mystery. Garrett was probably staring at her too, but Katrina wouldn't have noticed if he was.
Failing to deduce the properties of the stuff on her own, she resorted to asking, “What is that?”
She was too busy puzzling about the pink glowing what-ever-it-was to notice the next newcomer who had taken up a position leaning against a wall nearby. In a game of assassins, Katrina would probably have been the first to die. She would then, perhaps, learn her lesson about watching her surroundings and survive to be the champion in a later game. That is, if she could learn not to be so easily distracted by shiny things. Perhaps Calley had rubbed off on her more than she realized.
The rock handed Geo roughly pushed the unmoving ice manipulator off of her tangled up limbs and lifted her up. Katrina stared down at the crumpled form of her fellow mansion resident in horror. What little color she naturally had in her cheeks had completely drained from her face, leaving the young illusionist a very unhealthy looking shade. The expression on her face was twisted with pain and shock. Her breaths came in gasps as she tried to speak, pointing desperately at the prone cold elemental. Panic was beginning to set in once again.
“He... he... Geo...,” she gulped for air, “you... you have to save him. He... he's going to die.”
There was so much blood. She had to stop looking at the blood. It was too red against the snow, too red against the ice that was cracking off his body. She couldn't stop staring. The red kept pulling her eyes downward.
Geo didn't seem to know what to do either. Yelling at an unconscious person wasn't going to help, for was flicking him in the face with all the power of a rocky slap.
>>>“Get up! Get UP,” he was yelling. It wasn't working. It wouldn't work that way.
“Shut up!” Katrina yelled at the rock shifter, her voice ringing with confidence and authority it never would have been able to use just moments ago. “Take him inside. Now.” Again she pointed with her good arm. “Take him inside to the infirmary. If he doesn't get to DocProf as soon as possible...” the temporary boost in her confidence was wearing down. Who was she to be ordering anyone around at a time like this? No. Don't think that. “Just do it Geo. It's the only way. I'll do whatever you say so long as you get him to the mansion healer now.”
The entire way to the mansion, Katrina spent trying desperately to concentrate. If she could just get her brain to stop whirring incessantly, she could perhaps do something to contact Slate. With an ounce of concentration she could possibly send an illusion of a voice intended to be heard only by one person on the other side of the world. She tried to clear her thoughts, to banish all her worries about the students and the refugees, to ignore the thoughts of how to get back to him, to solely focus on this one message.
In her mind's eye, she could see the face of the friend she had known for over ten years, the face that had once belonged to another of her friends, the face of the man she loved. Slate. His perennially tousled brown hair, the baby blue eyes that looked like the sky on a clear summer's day, the set of his chin, the straightness of his back, the feeling of his fur when she scratched his ears... Katrina shook her head and smiled for the first time that morning as if at her own private joke. She hadn't meant to think of him in his grizzled wolfhound form, but the fact that she could smile at all meant that clearing her mind was starting to work.
The illusionist pictured him with closed eyes, standing on a mountain ridge with the wind blowing through his already messy hair. He had just a hint of a smile on his face. It was the way he had looked a day not long before Katrina had left. When they were still both so certain that they could save the world all by themselves.
Thousands of miles away, an almost transparent voice would whisper into the mind of a young psychic healer, if he was listening, Are you safe? I'm coming back to you.
With a screech the cab pulled to a stop in front of a very familiar set of iron gates, completely destroying her concentration. Katrina lurched forward in her seat, completely unprepared for the sudden decrease in velocity. The reality crashed down around her again as she resumed thinking about her purpose for being here. She was calmer now. The meditation had helped reduce her sense of panic, replacing it with a single minded focus. She was going to go get Slate and her students and bring them back from China.
Sara had already arrived, possibly just a few moments before she had. There was the tootsie roll car, and there was the mountain lioness woman, wearing her own skin and looking ready for action with her golden hair blowing in the slight breeze. She was a strong woman and a good friend. If anyone had to be with her today, Katrina was glad it was her.
Sam was also waiting by the gates, looking as if he'd just been playing with his son and his dog. He looked so grown up now; though he'd always been older than Katrina he just seemed as though there was a new look of maturity and responsibility about him. Perhaps being a father had done that to him, had helped him to grow up.
Katrina opened the car door, and a gust of wind flung it open the rest of the way, pulling the handle right out from between her fingertips. Perhaps it was windier than she had expected. Without delay, she hurried over to where her two friends were standing, “A war just broke out over in China, and Slate is there with seven of our students. I'm not sure... I mean... I need to find out if they are safe and we need to get them out as soon as possible. Could... would it be possible for you to fly me over there? The Blackbird is the fastest way I can think of to get in and out again.” Katrina grabbed his hand in both of her own, her grey eyes looked into his pleadingly. “Please, Sam.”