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.
Well, it was settled. Garrett waited patiently for Madlaina to say her apparent goodbyes to Alexandra before slinging her bag over her shoulder and looking up at him with her beautiful violet eyes, a touch of gray in them. They were really something special. He realized he might be staring, so heanswered with the obvious answer. " Well, why don't we go see your room first so you can put your bag down? Would you like me to carry it?"
Either way, the two proceeded up the stairs toward the rooms. Recalling the room that she and Alexandra had selected, garrett fished around in his pocket for the keys. Pulling a ring with several on it, he tried each one until he found the right key. After unlocking the door, he opened it and turned the light on, waiting for her to enter first. Once she did, he followed her, leaving it open behind him. he worked the key off of the ring as she looked around.
Garrett watched Madlaina's eyes brighten as she found a name for her gift. He smiled at her, nodding as she repeated it. he imagined she was repeating it over and over. he could almost see her lips moving slightly under her breath. It was adorable, as was she. Alexandra was accomodating as ever concerning the translation, though he doubted she wanted to stick around forver. That would be fine, as he suspected that the two of them would be just fine alone. He watched her pose the same questions to Madlaina, wondering if she added anything.
Honestly, though, Garrett's attention was focused more on the girl closer to his own age. She seemed to falter momentarily, her eyes looking at Garrett and then seeming to look off into her mind as she accessed something. Was it a secret? Until Garrett could learn some Romanian, it would have to remain one. “I not get sick and not need other food.” Smiling, he nodded in agreement. " Fair enough. I think that covers the basics." he stood and handed the file to Alexandra. " I'm sure you will see Sam before I do."
Turning his attention to Madlaina, he looked down at her and smiled. " Would you like to see more of the Mansion? You can put that map to use." Of course, there would also be less chaperoned visitation, which Garrett preferred. He imagined that there would be some more looks flashed between the women and some more ROmanian spouted, but all he was concerned with was Madlaina's response.
Footsteps padded across a rooftop's tarry surface. Breathing was rapid, adrenaline pushing hard, sweat affixing the mask to his face. The edge was coming closer. So close. TOO CLOSE! The man fell short, falling and catching himself on the edge of the roof, the dizzying heights between the two buildings making his stomach quiver.
--Two days earlier--
The multipierced man strung a measure of tape along Garrett's inseam. " Yeah, those Ren Faire guys can be d**** for sure. I would have just made up some story about the Marquis De Sade. They love that bit." The older man stood up and took a measurement across Garrett's chest. " Don't slouch, please." Garrett stood up straight, looking beyond the freakish tailor into the full length mirror. Even in the quasi darkness of the shop, he could see himself clearly.
It had been a long time coming. He wondered what might have happened if he had gone through with this the first time. Would it have changed anything? Time travel and alternate universes shook their respective heads, though they were grinning all the while. The other man stood back, his painted pinkie nail under his chin. " So let me get this straight. Well, ..yeah, anyway, you do want it to hang loose? You are really going to lose some sensation if I do that.' Garrett chuckled at the sentiment. " Sensation, Sir, is something I will always have at my disposal. I have to be able to fight in it."
The tattooed head turned slightly in a bird-like tilt. "Fight? Like what kind of fight?" Garrett could only shrug. " Just give me plenty of room for maneuverability.' He could see the pieces appearing over his body as he spoke to the tailor. " How's the mask coming along?"
It wasn't until he was fishing behind plates and glasses for his bottle of scotch that Garrett realized Sebastian was in the room. The bottle had been hidden for the obvious reason of out of sight,out of mind. The manipulator was definitely in mind, so time for the bottle to come out. The little cap was unscrewed and landed in the sink with a small clink. The amber liquid poured gratuitously into a glass. Just because he was upset gave Garrett no right to lose control of himself. he had just regained it fully after nearly two years of wrestling with it. He would need every bit of it to maintain himself in front of thousands of angry relatives. Not to mention the authorities.
Returning to the scene, it was more than apparent to him that he was still in shock. Most people that are in shock just act strange and don't know why. Garrett knew why. He knew more than anyone in the world right now. The foremost expert on why Grandpa won't wake up. A stiff shot of the stuff went down the pipe. The jury was still out on whether it was a good idea, but for the moment, yes, it was. he lifted the glass in toast to his fine immortal compatriot. " Sebastian. Do not touch her. Well,--glug-- it's probably alright if you do. It's not like you are going to heal people to death." A ghoulish echo of a giggle rattled around in Garrett's chest. Humor wasn't appropriate, but neither was the alcohol. What kind of card do you get for the guy who just ruined countless lives? He'd ask Syn sometime.
Straddling the arm of the sofa, he looked over at Effie, who was clearly in shock herself. "Effie, don't kick yourself. You didn't know anymore than I did. I'll take the rap for you anyway. My nerves were the guns. My short sighted ignorance was the trigger. You definitely told me not to touch you." But he did. He looked at Sebastian, unaware of a small tic in his face. " Lori took her blood, Sebastian. Those fools are trying to bring Haywire back from the dead. I only touched her neck for TWO SECONDS!" The glass whipped from Garrett's hand into the wall, shattering. Wow...where did that come from? He knew, but really? He had never had such freedom of expression in the past. Best to have those moments now before he spent the rest of his natural life in a small dark room with a collar on his neck.
Garrett slid into the carpet face first, his breathing slowing. One eyes was closed, pressed into the floor, the other wide open, scouring the available surroundings. Was this why junkies laid on the floor? His elbows tried to get leverage beneath his body to push him up, but his muscles were all spent, as if he had just run a marathon. The best he could manage was to roll over on his back and then shimmy to the corner of the room so he could push his neck up and look over at Effie. "I tell you not to touch me. I tell you it is not good for you." she said, glaring at him "And there you go. I told you. My English may be bad, but not that bad."
He formed words but they didn't come out. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe more. Breathing first, speaking second. Garrett couldn't think of anything that had occurred like that before. He was a newborn, though more reforged with purpose. It was like he was looking at Efimia for the first time again, though with new eyes. " It..was an..accident. I just picked your head up ....to put it on the pillow. I..I thought you might...faint from the blood loss." He still felt something for her, but it was lost in the shadow of her ability. Feeling like he might have more strength, he brought his elbows under him again, the left one rolling over some kind of plastic rectangle.
--CLICK--
The sounds of sirens and panic. The staccato chop of helicopter blades. "--is the scene on the George Washington Bridge. Complete chaos, people scrambling from their cars, trying to understand what just happened. We are all still reeling from the phenomenon that has occurred. Hospitals are overrun with cases of heart attacks and apparent strokes. There has been no word from officials whether this was a terrorist attack. Again, if you are just joining us, New York was just hit by what our sources are calling a 'neural bomb'. There seem to be hundreds, even thousands of casualties among the victims. It is another dark day in our nation's history. Our coverage will continue as the story develops."
Fortunately, Garrett was behind the television and couldn't see the images on the screen.The message was very clear, though. Hundreds of lives were lost and he pulled the trigger. His epiphany was no longer a momentous occasion of joy. It was a stern and sobering wake up call. he pulled himself up by will, walking his way up the wall with his hands until he was standing on shaky legs. He reached out to the edge of the sofa Effie was sitting on, using it as support. His head hung low. " I just became a mass murderer. I need a drink." His feet weakly shuffled in that general direction.
Update: I received information as to what would have just occurred via Hunter's neuroscience expertise. Sorry folks.
Garrett’s amplified powers work on a line similar to and EMP but only effecting organic life forms. Contrary to popular belief EMPs do not simply overload and turn off technology. They overload and turn off all electrical signals. This includes your nervous system. What an EMP does to a person is essentially shut every neural process down, killing them. Most people will be fortunate enough that their brain will restart almost immediately. Then their brain will try and restart their heart. Those with strong healthy hearts will be fine. But the elderly and those with heart problems might not be able to restart their heart. Garrett has just unwittingly kill several thousand people, either due to failure to restart either their heart or their brain or because they suddenly fell unconscious in a dangerous situation. Driving for example. Probably best not to kiss her again.
(And he only touched her! A kiss would have piled on 17 more MS!)
Efimia followed Garrett up the stairs, still holding something on her arm. A bandage. Had the bloodletting just occurred? Lori was going to pay. The Order would in spades."You can't protect me all of the time. Only one that can protect me all of the time is me. And not make mistakes like that. I was...careless."Garrett couldn't completely argue, but still, he could have gone to her earlier, laid it all out for Lori. He still would. There was no doubt in his mind. " Well, don't kick yourself over it now, Effie. You need rest, especially if you just gave blood."
As if on cue, once they reached the top of the stairs, he watched the color drain from her face and she swayed on the spot, dangerously close to the edge of the stairs. Without a thought, he caught her in mid fall and lifted her small frame off the ground. He moved to the end of the hall toward his apartment. He reached under her, lifting her more with the other arm, grasping the doorknob and turning it. As the door opened, Garrett quickly put Effie down gently on his leather couch, then grabbing a few pillows from the corner of the room that he used for meditation. Two went below her legs, raising them, the other beneath her head.
Once she was in place, he turned to go get a ...cold...rag. His hands dropped to his sides as he stood silently, his eyes slightly rolling back in his head. His breathing became shallow and rapid and he sharply dropped to his knees, falling forward and catching himself. His spinal cord raged like a sleeping dragon, driven to life by some great summoner's spell. Outside, there was a car accident on the street. He could hear the metal meeting metal. Birds fell from the sky if they passed over the Clinic, shivering in spasm on its rooftop. It became quiet as people on the sidewalk stopped in their tracks, falling to their knees in a state of nervous overload.
He could no longer focus on people outside or beautiful young Goddess on the couch. His eyes closed as a thin line of drool slipped from his lips. His body shivered and trembled as if he had a lucid fever of madness. Each carpet fiber pressed against the palms of his hands like a luxurious field of silken coils. He focused on his breathing, wrestling with the drop of Divinity that was inside him. Use this moment, Garrett. Focus.[/i] He let his head hang down, feeling the globules of sweat, which appeared as mere beads, sliding over his scalp like giant slugs.
The future's promise. The past's laborious construction. The present's living moment. All one and the same. His body, his mind, his nervous system, his very soul a living entity of power. A force. A force of change. The wave had started somewhere on the other side of the universe and now roiled through his very existence like a great tsunami. All of the opposing ideals took their places on the stage. The seemingly random and jumbled puzzle pieces were shaken...hard.. and dropped on the floor, falling perfectly into place. He was Garrett Theodore Wills. He was Seizure. He was Peacekeeper. The tide rolled off into the horizon and his living universe began to contract, returning slowly to its original state.
((As with little Katrina's colorful parade, a wave of neural supernova buffets the city at the moment of Garrett's epiphany. At that moment, for those two little minutes, he is operating at 51 Mutated Strength. Well...barely handling, but operating nonetheless.))
Her head hung low, her body shivered beneath his touch on her shoulder. He suspected he knew the answer already. Her neural map was writing itself a fraction faster than last time. By the time Efimia spoke, Garrett could see her nerves shivering too. He closed his eyes and did his best to send calming energy through her body."I screw up. I really really screw up." He nodded and listened on, wishing only peace for her."They find me, and take blood from me. And I let them." He knew instantly who they were. However, something seemed off. The original Haywire strain required a tissue sample. DNA could be gleaned from blood as well, but it seemed the Order was up to something different this time. She took a breath and she seemed to level out, his energy still moving through her to help calm her nerves."The blonde woman you talked about."
She hadn't screwed up at all. Letting her know that was most important. Garrett removed his hand from her shoulder. When he did so, his senses magnified. He could hear her heartbeat and her breaths moving in her chest. " It's OK, Effie. Lori is a dangerous woman who kills at will. I think if you had resisted, she might have killed you on the spot. You would have only made her attack more powerful. I'm glad you are safe." His eyes shot to the Clinic door. Perhaps they followed her as well. " I want you to tell me what happened, but first I am closing the Clinic in case you were followed here. "
His movements were quick, measured and precise. First the front door of the Clinic was locked, the sign in the window switched from OPEN to CLOSED. He then made his rounds through the lower part of the building, turning the lights out one by one until only the glow of the monitors lit the room, apart from the daylight outside. he returned to her side. " Follow me. I live upstairs." He made his way to the end of the hall, opening the door for her. Once she was through, he locked the door to the Clinic and also turned the lock on the door leading out to the back parking lot. Before they headed upstairs, he turned to her. " I'm not upset with you, Effie. You did the right thing coming here. I will make sure you stay safe from now on, just as I promised. I should be the one apologizing, as I could have protected you better. OK?" he looked beyond her to the lot. It was all quiet. That didn't mean much in the realm of mutation, though.
Garrett was finally resting in his bed back at the apartment. He had asked DocProf for some time off, since Alexandra had returned. He needed it. Resting was a relative term, however. There was mostly tossing and turning as he thought of Efimia and the day of the picnic. Everything he normally did slipped into the background, melted by the rolling of her tongue over her broken English. He had tried too much coffee to get the feeling back in an artificial way, but all he had succeeded with was heartburn. Then there was the tone of the Clinic door opening. Kealey had not chosen to take the receptionist job and Sebastian had not hired one. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen any of the Csendes clan in a week or two. He rolled over and put the pillow over his head.
--Ping--
A long sigh left the room as Garrett rolled out of bed and slid boxer briefs on. Blackout curtains were pulled back, the afternoon light glaring in. In a moment he had slid on some khaki pants and flip flops, a nondescript yellow T-shirt with a little pocket on the right side chest. He walked out of his bedroom and into his living room, opening and closing the door and making his way down to the Clinic itself. Arriving at the glass door, he entered and tried to compose himself. No reason to take his longing for Efimia out on--- " Efimia?"
His gait toward her increased and at first he smiled, but as he approached her, something didn't seem right. She wasn't smiling at him as he had imagined for the past few days. In fact, she looked quite upset, perhaps even on the verge of tears. Garrett came closer to her, entering the field around her without a thought, instantly awakened from any dregs of slumber. Now it was very clear. Something wrong had happened. His heart sank. " Are you alright? What happened?" His hand reached out and settled on her shoulder. He was very concerned. he had a sinking feeling, considering the circumstances that might have brought her to him. His mind went back to why he gave her the card in the first place.
It appeared that Effie thought about it for a moment. Garrett was probably overloading her with things to think about, but he just couldn't help it. He felt alive and he wanted to share the feeling he had with her. The hand did extend to him and he smiled in thanks for it. Though gloved, the moment the smaller fingers slipped into his hand, Efimia became aglow with her energy. He helped her stand, but didn't release her hand right away. their neural systems were already linking at a breakneck rate, Garrett's own hungry for the link.
The first time had been such a shock, but now that he was buzzing with alcohol, his inhibitions and the usual mess of social interaction just slid away, replaced by a chorus of sensation that filled every nerve in his body with joy. The grass became greener, the wings of insects took on a particular magical buzz that seemed to run in an opposing yet complementing tone to the buzz of his body. Instead of a general springtime scent, every flowering plant seemed to offer their individual gifts in turn, combining to make a very pleasing sensation to his palette. Her own natural scent, the wine, even the lingering scent of the nicotine on her fingers and lips trailed along. No moment overlooked.
" This is how I feel." He looked down at her, smiling. The sensations moving through his body began to mesh into her own, trails of sensory information and the general buzz of energy moved through her body and then worked its way back to him, completing a loop and linking the two mutants in an aura of bliss. He began to walk down the hill with her, still holding her hand. The grass underfoot was felt blade by blade, the slightest breeze or change of wind direction carried over each bead of sweat on his head. Garrett continued to release the inhibitions he normally had with touching people, allowing the full brunt of the sensation to just course naturally between the two of them.
When they reached the bottom of the hill, they stood over the little brook, watching it bubble and flow over rocks. Little water striders skated across the surface of the still pools. The sun overhead, they looked down into the water, their sparkling reflection looking back up at them through the water. " I've wasted so much time on anger and hate. I want to turn the page and experience new things." The essence of the union between them made expressing his inner thoughts very easy. They didn't bump around inside his head like shards of glass. " I don't think we are just going to fall for each other in one day, Efimia. But I also won't let the possibility slip out of my grasp."
"I can tell you why women do it." Garrett looked up and back into her soulful eyes, listening closely. "It is the easiest. For work visa, you need work, for student, you need school. And if you got them, it is still very hard to get visa. Women who are poor can not do all that." That made sense. it was still sad. So many things were sad in the world. Too many people fought so hard against tyranny and oppression and only came back with broken dreams and bloody hands. Garrett took a deep breath and sighed, reaching for his glass and downing the contents.
He looked back at her, the liquid courage purging any doubts. She was smiling at him. It made his heart skip a beat. Not just smiling at something he said or smiling due to the alcohol. It was a direct connection, however brief. As real as touching. "You are sweet. I don't need to marry now. When I find out I am mutant, they switched me to student visa for the Mansion." Something clicked in his head. His head tilted slightly to the side and he looked back at her, conviction and purpose coursing through his look.
" You don't need to marry now? I'm happy for you. I'm also happy for me. He smiled back, the connection between them still tenuous but solid. " So why are you still engaged to Fausto? I haven't heard you mention him once. Which is fine with me. If you are a student and don't wish to marry him, though, why not keep your options open? There are plenty of men who would be proud to be close to you. I know of one in particular." Confidence was coursing through his veins. It was clear now that her engagement was a sham. There was no need to say that. After all, he had said if he upset her he would take her home. He didn't want to go home.
Garrett stood and the alcohol pumped through his body with his heartbeat a couple of times. He looked down at her, hoping that his move would bring about a favorable response. His hand extended to her. " Let's go for a walk."
Garrett's eyebrows raised as he suddenly reallized what Moskva was. It was obvious that most Americans got this one wrong, so he took some comfort in that. " Ah. Moscow. Okay." He laughed at himself, the wine making that an easy task. He soon poured himself another glass. Garrett smiled more, enthused by the fun the two of them were having. maybe the wine, maybe the field of energy, but definitely her companionship. She choked on her wine, so Garrett leaned over toward her, grabbing a napkin and offering it. He was much closer now, so he pushed himself back up to a seated position, though the action of falling over and resetting might have increased the gap between them by an inch.
She turned her head away from him. More than likely she was embarrassed about the wine. It wasn't a big deal to Garrett, but he gave her space anyway. Maybe she got some on herself and needed to blot."Maybe they have no other way." She turned back to look at him and her dark eyes met his own. "You have any idea how hard is it to come to here, from Russia?" Was that it? Surely she wasn't. Garrett surely wore a look of confusion, unsure of how to proceed at first. He chose optimism.
" No, Efimia, I don't. But I do know a good deal about it, considering the number of applications I went through at the Sanctuary. I do know that many immigrants become citizens every day. Sure, it takes several years to actually become a citizen, but even if you marry a citizen, it takes three years to become one instead of the four or five it would take to do it without marrying someone. I hope I didn't offend you. I just think it is explotiation. It is a way for pigs to use women and discard them, while they want freedom from oppression. Out of the frying pan and into the fire." His eyes turned from hers and he looked out over the grass, the alcohol swinging his mood like a pendulum. " There are working visas and student visas. Lots of ways to become a citizen without ...that. " it wasn't right. Why did so many people have to suffer? Why did one group have to be under another? So many parallels. Garrett sat his glass down, closing his eyes briefly. " Anyway, if you were in that situation, I'd do anything to get you on the road to freedom. No marriage required."
Not so much as a twitch. Whoever she was, she was well aware of her own gifts, which seemed to have something to do with a dampening field. No, a nullifying field. Imemdiately pulling his hand free, Garrett stood and stepped back a pace or two. Still nothing. Not so much as a quiver from his nervous system. There was quivering, but it was currently somewhere deep within his digestive tract. He looked at her seriously, his demeanor that of business. if he didn't have his gifts to rely on, he would use his most effective weapon. Logic.
" Okay, this is a little strange. I'd like a few answers, if you think you can give them to me. First, I applaud your own talents as I have never met another mutant with such a damning ability as your own. That said, I'd really like to know if I am under arrest. I don't see anyone else around, but who knows? Could be plain clothes, for all I know. Second, what does that stand for? The name of the organization you represent. Third, how do you know so much about me? If you know where I am from and what I have done, then your group is in deep. I'd like to know more."
He smiled and nodded at the sentiment of butter's place in the scheme of things. When he listened to Andrea explain her mother's way of cooking, it occurred to Garrett that Andrea had a slight accent. Maybe it was his recent dealings with women of foreign persuasion that gave him a bit of an edge on the topic. "Are you foreign, Andrea? Gordon didn't jump out at me as a foreign name, but as we talk, I swear I can hear the echo of an accent. We've had an influx of nationals lately and it just made me curious."He watched her expert hands work on the skillet's contents, wondering if cooking was a genetic trait. It smelled delicious either way.
She continued to work her culinary magic when she offered a question to him. A poignant and direct one at that. If only the answer were easy. "Well, it's more that I am trying to find an equal potential for my gifts rather than just paralyzing people and wracking them with pain and seizures. I spent plenty of time in the past perfecting that aspect, but realized that I must master both the light and dark side of myself in order to attain a feeling of wholeness. Hope that doesn't sound too spacy." Spacy would be I am a time traveler, studying to retain my former doctor's degree that I used in Antarctica nine years from now.
Garrett listened to her next question and it seemed right up his alley. He was also pleased to hear the food was done, as he was salivating over the finished product. Waiting for her to give him all of the needed items for eating, he smiled at her. " What an excellent job. You are very hospitable. I'll get a drink for myself. You make yourself something, try to quiet that monster in your tummy." He passed her and opened the refrigerator, soon pouring himself a cold glass of skim milk to go with the eggs. As he returned, he sat the glass down and began to eat the meal. " Mmm, delicious. I could definitely turn optic nerves off. Do you think it would help? Once we eat, I'd be happy to attempt to relieve your pain as well. But let's eat for now."
