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.
She followed after, head tilted slightly as she pieced together what the woman was saying.
Olivia sure had been surprised by it, and with the developments that came after Shelby felt safe assuming she was delighted by it as well. The blush refused to budge.
She honestly waiting for Jack to tell her to get lost already... but instead she brought up art. The artist watched as she fished around and eventually withdrew a few little carvings. Immediately her curious side emerged and she reached for them as they were offered.
"I do woodcar-zing and such like dat. Which I guess is really diss-erent, 'esides duh naking sings."
She shook her head, not bothering to look as Jack as she studied the figures. ".. It's not really all that different." She started, turning one of them over in her hand. "It all comes from the same place, we just use different implements in order to achieve our visions."
The carvings were fairly detailed, if a little unfinished. She could see the talent in them though, and marveled at how Jack had managed to get some of the intricate parts done. Personally, she could paint pretty dang well. She had a pretty good grasp of proportions and shades. She had dabbled in other forms of art, but tended to do a lot better with things she could mold and push around. Wood, stone... heck, even photography tended to be her weaknesses. She just couldn't get them to look like she wanted them too.
"What do you use to carve them? There are a lot of fine details."
She blinked as he launched into an explanation. Oh... well. This was embarrassing now wasn't it? She'd just assumed he was lacking an x-gene. Her cheeks tinted a tiny bit and she shifted awkwardly on her seat.
At the very least it explained a lot about the court house show down. A plus side was that the way he described his power was, well, neat. Pain control? Access to the nervous system? She briefly wondered how that worked exactly, before abandoning the thought. It wasn't like she was going to ask him to show her how it worked or anything.
...
Nope! Wouldn't even consider it!
...
Maybe she'd ask him when she got to know him a bit better. The artist scratched at her cheek, for the better part ignoring her own thoughts. "Oh! Well... erm, sorry I kinda snap judged you then. I'm not terribly good at picking up on those kinds of things."
The news that Officer Gallagher was also a mutant, and probably one with some kind of extra sensory ability garnered her attention. A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. God, she seriously hoped it wasn't some kind of mind reading ability, because when she'd first met the woman her thoughts hadn't exactly been kind...
"I don't think it's going to be so easy, the 'roach is not exactly well known for giving up, or willingness with diplomacy. He's more of a I'm going to eat you because I'm hungry type of guy from what I've heard."
Yeah, she could speak for that element of his personality first hand. She chose not to comment on it, simply nodding and moving onto what he had said next.
"None taken," She waved his apology away, really not offended in the least. "I mean, you do you and all. I still appreciate that you were even willing to agree to this, given that it doesn't match up with what you normally do." She laughed. It was quite an interesting list, wasn't it? "Personally, i'm rather happy to have people like you looking out for me until it gets resolved." She pointed at him, or rather his arm. "Though, next time I hope not to walk into a mess like that. I'm kind of a fan of boring and normal, even if this city isn't. Maybe I can buy you a coffee instead of you getting shot?"
"The 'roach has people looking for you? Not really surprising, and it could be his cockroach minion thingys...I've heard about them, never actually seen them, we have a file on him"
"You should feel lucky. They aren't pretty." Not when they threatened to eat you as a greeting, that is.
"My advice is not to worry about it too much, but we are going to have to increase your protection, at least two officers with complementing mutations, if the X-Men can't supply you with sufficient escort. That's what I'd recommend, no offense, but vanilla humans aren't going to be great against a powerful mutant like the 'roach."
She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and resisted the urge to pout. While she wasn't exactly surprised about his recommendation, she wasn't happy about it either. Gallagher and Linley being the exceptions, she wasn't generally fond of being trailed by people she didn't know on a regular basis.
Still, she was going to have to deal with it. "Does that mean I wont get to see you or Gallagher again?" She wasn't aware that Linley was actually one of the mutants he had spoken of, as she hadn't really witnessed enough of the fight to come to that conclusion. In her mind Linley was the same as her, albeit much more capable. He'd taken down four mutants on his own, after all.
"I suppose the easier thing to do would be try to work it out so I don't have to leave where they've got me cooped up Probably wouldn't be that hard, and it would cut out the issue of trying to find people to escort me around places." She slid a glance at the paramedics, who were chatting quietly to themselves. She'd wasn't quite willing to divulge any more information in front of strangers than necessary, especially since they knew her real name. Never really knew who you could trust these days.
"You're telling me." She shook herself off, silently praising his quick thinking. She was starting to feel uncomfortably wet. She set about peeling off the wet bits and digging out the sweater she'd brought. Once she was feeling less soggy. She peered out at where he was talking about. On the horizon, past the sea of dark trees and lingering low hanging clouds, was a bright blob of light. A glance to the side a bit showed a dimmer, similar blob of light.
"Yep! And that over there is Tacoma by the looks of it." She pointed to it, while envisioning a mental map in her head. "Funny thing is that Tacoma is actually closer to us where we currently are, but they have less lights."
She left him to marvel for a moment, while walking a few paces away. They were surrounded by snow, and while the cold factor had been adjusted, she kinda liked the idea of snuggling to watch stars together on something more comfortable. "Computer, import one pen stylus."
Before her appeared a slim white pen. She took it, fiddling with it for a moment. While it looked like a simple pen at first glance, it was modeled after the type of stylus' used for digital art. She clicked a little button on the side and a little box window appeared above the tip of the pen. [Build] Another little box popped up and she shifted through a few simple texture options with a finger.
She walked a little ways away, angled the brush down and held down yet another button as she moved the pen back and forth in front of her. Layers of what looked like grass started to appear. She moved about until she had a good sized portion of the stuff down, before tucking the pen into her pocket. She glanced over her shoulder at Saph to see what he was doing, then dropped her bag and started to unpack. Out came two large, soft blankets. Out came a little box with various snacks tucked away inside. Out came the other thermos. She set up a little cuddle spot in the grass, unscrewed the lid from her bottle and took a sip. Her tea was still hot, even!
Her attention turned back to her boyfriend. She smiled. "So, what do you think?" Above her the sky was decorated to the brim with stars. The milky way stood out like a beautiful scar, stretching from one edge of the horizon to the opposite side. She watched as a shooting star arched quickly across the sky.
She saw the grin coming and attempted to point at him threateningly. "Saph, Don't you Da--Ahh!"
She toppled over easily, vanishing into the white fluff with a poof of snow dust. In came Saph after her and she couldn't help but laugh. It really helped that he'd raised the temp.. she'd have to thank him later for--
CraaaaaaaaacK
The snow around them rumbled slightly. She speared Saph with a questioning look shortly before the whole snowy face of the mountain they were on started to move.
"OhSH-" She was cut off as the snow picked up speed, rushing down it's more frozen under layers like water on ice.
Watching him think, she felt a warm little smile tugging at her lips. He looked like a puppy, fixated on a toy he couldn't reach. After a moment he gave her his answer and she giggled. "One sec." She let her pack slid back off her shoulders and fished his thermos out, handing it to him and then grabbing her backpack back up.
"Computer, move to coordinate 23A, elevation 14,300." The world blurred around them for a moment, before re-adjusting to her direction. When everything re-set they were just down the crest of the hill from the summit of the mountain. The snow crackled under them, before caving in and sinking the both of them up to mid-thigh. Well, Saph was mid-thigh. She was in up to her waist.
"Ahh!" There was snow in her pants! She flailed wildly for a moment before setting to work at getting herself out.
It took a while, but eventually Shelby managed to get over most of the bitterness she still held toward Olivia. During the weeks following their breakup both girls had wisely chosen to stay away from one another. Shelby found herself spending more time with Derrick again, back in the Arcade they both held dear.
She met him after school one such day, slinging her backpack off and dropping it at her feet as she slid onto a stool next to him. He was munching away on a pile of nachos. "Hey." He nodded at her, not bothering to vocalize a greeting as he ate. She glanced around the room, eyeballing which games were open. I was packed today.
"Jeez, looks like the junior high squad is here." Never mind that she had once been one of that crowd. Derrick nodded, scooping the last cheese-piled chip into her mouth. "Right? S'like they all scheduled a meeting here to something."
Chuckling, she ordered a soda for herself from the teen behind the counter. "So what do you want to play today? Looks like most of the good games are taken already."
He was silent for a while. She squinted at him and started to catch on that something was different. Why did he seem nervous? After a moments pause, he finally answered her. "We could go into the black light room. Play air hockey until some of the games open up?"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully, reaching for the bottled soda as it was set down and finally nodded. "Sure! It'll be an adventure."
They stood and collected their things before moseying on into the dark wing of the building.
That particular area, which had been converted from a bunch of cubical offices into one large room, was a much different area from the rest of the Arcade. It was completely back-lit. The only light came from various neon signs scattered around the room and glow-lights that had been fixed to the edges of the games.
They moved over to an open air hockey table and set their things down. "So how many rounds?"
She took another sip of her drink and grabbed her paddle. Derrick shuffled around on his side for a second, "Four?"
She nodded and tossed a token in. When the puck popped out she went first.
"Hey... are you okay?" She eyed him across the table between knocking the puck around. He shrugged, avoiding eye contact with her. She squinted at him and when he knocked the puck back the next time she trapped it under her paddle.
"....Derrick." Her tone caused him to look up, startled, and when he caught her staring he ran a hand though his hair. After a short, agonized pause, he dropped the paddle and wandered around to her side of the table.
"H-hey.. so... well, I've been thinking." He shifted nervously on his feet. She turned, starting to feel nervous herself. He continued on, "... I mean, we've known each other for a long time, right?" She nodded, eyeing him warily.
"And well, you know with you being single and all now..." Her brows flew up in surprise. He... he was going to.... Was he?!
"I was kinda hoping that maybe you and I... we..." His face turned red. "Look, i'm not good with words like other people. Will you be my girlfriend, Shelby?"
He was.
She gaped at him like a startled fish for a while, hands nervously playing with the dyed ends of her hair as she struggled to think about what to say. He got considerably more nervous the longer she was ilent, and after a solid minute of it he shifted and turned as if to go. She jerked out to grab his arm.
"Wait! Derrick, wait..." He turned back, a pinched expression on his face. He thought she was going o reject him. "It's okay Shelby, I shouldn't have asked."
"I will."
"It was really stupid on my part-- waitwhat?" She nodded, smiling slightly. "I'll be your girlfriend."
His arms flew into the air, hands fisted in excitement. "WOOOO!"
She laughed as he did a little circle, and reached out to take his arm again. Gently she drew him to her, her heart nervously pattering inside her chest. Should she had said yes? He was her first friend in this area. He'd stuck with her through thick and thin.... he was her best friend. Was it a good idea? She didn't know. Did she care...?
Seven months into their relationship things fell apart.
They were fully back in school for the year, and Shelby was starting to get the feeling that Olivia was avoiding her. She didn't see her in the morning, or at lunch, or after school as everyone piled into buses to head home. The only time she actively saw her girlfriend anymore was during weekends, and it was always some sort of indoor date. The movies. A board game at home. A pizza and horror flick marathon.
She was feeling mighty conflicted, but chose not to say anything about it right at first. Not until she'd finally run into Olivia during school hours and had been introduced to another girl as a 'friend'. Shame like no other had crept into her chest, latching on and obscuring all other feelings. She was hurt, and Olivia chose to wave it off.
That day after school she confronted the mutant about it.
"Olivia, hey... can we..um. can we talk?" She was standing next to the bus Olivia needed to take home. She had been determined not to let her escape again. The other girl frowned, casting a glance over at one of her other friends. "Sure, I guess." When Shelby turned and walked away, Olivia followed.
She'd gone to the closest female bathroom, shutting and locking the door to prevent anyone else from stumbling upon their conversation.
"Look, Shell... I know what you are probably thinking..." Olivia started, setting her backpack down and reaching for the ginger.
"Do you?" Shelby shot back, stepping out of reach. "Why don't you tell me what i'm thinking then, Olivia?" The bird mutant huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against a stall.
"Okay, fine. Look, I know that we haven't really been spending a whole lot of time together lately... but, well, I've been busy. School work and the like, and I've got other friends I have to keep up with too."
"I'm your girlfriend!" Shelby spat back venomously, clenching her fists at her side. "I shouldn't be an after thought!" Olivia winced at the loudness of her voice, but she pressed on before she could cut in.
"I think you're ashamed of us! Of me!" Olivia's feathers ruffled and she stood from her lean and clenched her claws at her side as well.
"I am not!" Shelby cut back in taking a step forward. "Then whey did you introduce me as a friend to those other girls?!" The bird girl opened her mouth to reply, thought better of it, and closed it again. Her cheeks flushed and she looked away.
Shelby felt her anger deflate. "Why have you been avoiding me?"
A few tense moments of silence followed in which neither of them spoke. Then, quietly, Olivia started to speak. "I was gonna tell you, Shell." She sighed through her nose and raked her claws through her feathers.
"Look, I just don't know if we are working out as a couple, you know?" Shelby felt an icy spear lance through her chest and her hands went limp at her sides. "I mean, you need a lot more than I can really give... and well..." She didn't need to finish.
Shelby carefully schooled hr expression into disinterest, dragging her gaze away from the girl. A beat of silence passed before she found the words she wanted to say.
"...It's okay." Olivia blinked at her, she pressed on. "It's fine... I... we don't have to continue if you don't want to." She stooped to pick up her bag, slinging it onto her shoulder quickly.
"Shell..." Olivia stepped toward her, reaching out to grab the girls arm as she turned to start unlocking the door.
"I'm fine, Olivia." She turned back, forcing on a smile. The mutant stared at her, eyes searching her face. "Shell, I want us to still be.. well, you know... I want us to still be friends."
Inwardly Shelby cringed. Her smile faltered slightly, but she nodded nonetheless. "Sure."
They parted then, going their separate ways as they walked home.
She was a nervous puddle of goo. Not only was this her first date, but she also happened to be dating a girl and a mutant to boot! She wasn't exactly sure how to deal with that. At her age, even just holding hands with a boy was supposed to send people off into a tissy fit.
Somehow Olivia always managed to make it better, though. She had a knack for glossing over all the fine print and turning something very stressful into a wonderful time.
How she had managed to convince Shelby that sneaking out in the dead of night was a good idea was an entirely different story, though.
"You going to tell me where we are going now?" She muttered as she dropped down from the ladder of the fire escape. Her apartment was a few floors up. Olivia just grinned, her feathers flexing against her skin, and pressed a bundle of something into Shelby's arms.
She glanced down and noticed it was an outfit of some sort. What looked like a black tube top and skirt, made from the same fake leather material, and a long sleeved fishnet... thing, that was supposed to go over the top of it. There was a little plastic card on top of the pile, and when she squinted at it she noticed that it had her face on it. "..Oooooh no, Olivia. No."
The bird-mutant's grin just widened and she lifted a pair of black pumps up. "...Pleeease?"
--
Thirty minutes later they were waiting in line at one of the clubs down the street, and Shelby was trying to adjust the bottom of her throw-over to cover more thigh. It was see through, so the action didn't help much. Olivia was in a two piece of some sort, the colors of which matched the color of her feathers. The artist sighed for the upteenth time and attempted to get her rapidly beating heart under control. She'd never used a fake ID before. It was nerve wracking. What if they got caught?
Turns out the guy checking ID's at the front of the line didn't even bother checking theirs. He grumbled a 'Go in' and pointed a thumb at the door. The two girls spared each other a look before hurrying inside.
Inside it was dark, light up by varying shades of neon. There was a crowd right at the front of the building, where the line for the bar started and where the bathrooms were located. Olivia wasted no time snatching her hand and dragging her toward the line for booze. As they shuffled along with the flow of traffic, the bird mutant chattered excitedly about practically everything. Shelby nodded along, smiling warmly as she watched the light play off of the many feathers on her girlfriends body. It was enchanting, really. When they eventually reached the bar they mimed the group that had gone before them, asking for drinks with long elaborate names, and attempting to down them quickly. Before they left they'd managed to get a few free shots in, too.
Shelby was already swimming by the time they actually made it onto the dance floor. The music was impossibly loud; she could feel the bass thumping around inside of her. Mingling with her bones. They carved a path to a nice little spot on the inside of the dance floor, and the Olivia turned to her. Shelby felt her breath leave her in one little whoosh.
She was so beautiful. Like a modern goddess. A spectrum of light that played on her features and made her truly shine. She felt her face flush red, and with a laugh like tinkling lights Olivia wrapped her in a snug embrace. The teen swallowed thickly, settling her hands on the other girls hips, and let her eyes slide closed as they swayed to the music.
The song shifted a few moments later, one of the more popular thump thumping songs of the year. Olivia moved again and Shelby opened her eyes. There was her pretty bird girl, bouncing along with the beat. With a laugh Shelby joined in.
--
A few hours later found the artist snuggled into a dark corner of the club. Her head was swimming, and she honestly had no clue how she'd even gotten there from the dance floor. It didn't matter a whole lot n the long run, anyway, seeing as Olivia was currently half straddling her pressing heated kissed into her neck. The both of them had foolishly gone over the top with their drink choices, and both were sure to pay for it in the morning. Right now though... there were other things on her mind.
Reaching out she turned Olivia's chin up toward her, effectively releasing her from the massive hickey she had left behind on Shelby's neck. Her lips met Olivia's with enough passion to rival the bird-mutant, and the two of them were swallowed by sensations. Heat... touch... the tickling feeling of fingers on her neck and arms that left tracks of goosebumps in their wake.
The night dissolved into a blurry dream sequence, things she had only ever imagined. When both of them awoke the next day they were in Olivia's room, buried under a hoard of fluffy blankets. Her head was pounding, but she wriggled closer to the girl, looping an arm over her stomach affectionately.
'I love you.
She spoke the words silently, letting them echo in her head. Olivia was oblivious, her chin propped up on the crown of Shebly's head, snoring slightly.
"I remember basically taking out a group of mutants, then there were two of you, and then I fainted, did I have double vision?"
"Nope, I was being accosted by myself when you came rushing out." She pursed her lips, leaning on the rails of the stretcher bed he was on. Her coat was missing, as she'd decided to just leave it at the scene when the ambulance had shows up. It had too much red on it now. "Turns out it was a guy who had just temporarily made himself look like me. I don't really get what that was all about though."
"did you get your notaries signed off? You needed those."
The artist blinked, leaning back quickly as he sat up. Out of everything that had happened he was worried about her papers? She laughed. "No.. It was chaos when I walked in." Shaking her head, she moved out of the way as a paramedic leaned into try and get Linley to lay back down.
"That's okay though, i'm sure I can get them signed somewhere else." If they ever let her leave the school again after this. "And I think due to the circumstances they'll probably let it slide if they are a little late."
She sat back in her seat, fiddling with her hands in her lap. "Hey, so... about when you passed out..." She supposed now was as good a time as any to tell him. "Shortly after you conked out one of the guys i'm assuming you defeated kinda.. sorta.. talked to me." Gloated and vaguely threatened counted as talking, right?
"He knew who I was. It kinda sounded like a certain someone has people out in the city looking for me." She tried to word it as innocently as possible. She didn't want to jump to conclusions again and make everything worse if it wasn't really that important.
Seattle, 2006, mid summer. Shelby had settled comfortably into her home. School was out for the summer, which left her with a lot of free time on her hands. Given that she was 16 and had two best friends that lived only a few blocks from her, that free time usually translated into hanging out with them.
Today was special, however. Today there was to be a massive protest in Pioneer square. It had to do with how the city had been handling a growing homeless population and very obvious racism towards obvious mutants. Seattle had always had a rather large homeless population, but in the months leading up to the protest many had seen a steady rise in the laying off and firing of mutants, the inability to get a job elsewhere, and thus, due to those two factors, a rise in the number of mutants who quickly found themselves without a place to live. Tension over it was slowly tearing the city apart from the inside, and yet no one wanted to talk about it out loud.
Seattle had always prided itself as being one of the most open, welcoming, equality driven cities in the US. It didn't like having it's dirty laundry out where the public could see it.
How did Shelby factor into all of that? Olivia had invited her along to be a part of the protest.
Olivia, being an un-ashamed visible mutant, was actually the head of her own mutant rights group called 'Code Blue'. Most were teenagers, around the same age as her, but a few were older adults. She'd approached quite a few of them on the streets. The name of the group she felt was quite fitting, given the situation. A code blue in a hospital for example, was the immediate need for resuscitation. It was exactly what she felt the city needed.
Shelby had agreed to go along mostly because her friend had asked. It also helped that she was curious to see what a protest looked like in person, having only ever seen them on tv.
...It might have also helped that she was crushing pretty hard on the girl, and secretly hoped that participation in the rally would garner Olivia's attention.
When they had arrived tension was already thick on the street. Olivia's group was 50 or more people strong, and they had staged a peaceful protest directly in the road that ran through the square. Visible mutants were spread out loosely, packing tighter toward the center of the road. Many had signs, one woman was marching up and down the line with a loud speaker, shouting phrases to get the group riled up. Shelby had never seen anything of the like before, and dutifully made sure to remain glues to Olivia's side as the girl included herself in the crowd.
From what the teen could see she was only of the few non-mutants of the group. There were a few speckled here and there, but they were far out numbered. It struck a raw nerve inside her. Olivia had always been outspoken when it came to the may troubles her kind often faced. It had just never really seemed real until she was smack in the middle of it, listening to people shout their frustrations.
She could feel her chest clenching sympathetically.
Someone handed her a sign, she didn't even know what it said, but she raised it above her head and starting chanting with the rest of the crowd. Olivia hugged her from behind, happy with her friends participation, and Shelby turned a little red. She wasn't aware of the two photographers patrolling around to try and capture the moment.
Things went pretty smoothly for a while after that. There was a pretty big police presence, who were there on either side of the road boxing them in. Further down they were re-directing traffic around the mob. It made the teen nervous for sure, seeing that many cops in riot gear lined up around them, especially after the very public disaster that had been the Battle for Seattle in 1999.
Things didn't get ugly for a little bit longer, however. Three o'clock rolled around and off behind police lines another group had started to gather. That group happened to be most made up of humans, with a mutant or two mixed in. No visible mutations, however. The other group started chanting back at them, an opposing mindset with opposing literature. Their stance was that there wasn't a problem with the city. That everything was fine, and that Olivia's Code Blue was comprised of people who were looking to cause problems for everyone else.
The tension in the air doubled, and as the small squad of cops attempted to get both groups to disperse anger sparked like a struck match. Suddenly things were being hurled at them through the air. Both sides were pressing an attack. Some managed to break through the police line and a full on scuffle broke out. Back up was called, but wouldn't arrive in time.
Olivia was suddenly gone from her side in the chaos, and Shelby flew into a panic. "Olivia!" She turned in a full circled, flinching when a stray can came careening at her from above. "Olivia!"
An officer fired a tear gas grenade into the mass of bodies. Shelby felt it sting her eyes and tried to tug her coat up around her face. The gas spread quickly and quite a few people scattered. Those who were left scuffling were swiftly dealt with via batons and pepper spray.
A large figure loomed over her suddenly and someone latched painfully hard onto her arm, she was whipped around to face an officer in full riot gear. He had a pepper spray canister aimed at her face. "Don't resist!"
Just as quickly a new shape careened into him, and she was free. A clawed hand reached for her own and pulled her swiftly away. The dropped back from the main war-zone, pushing through bodies as they ran. When the reached the other side Olivia stopped suddenly, pulling Shelby to a stop as well.
The next thing she knew Olivia had grabbed both sides of her jaw and dragged her into a wild, energetic kiss. Shelby froze momentarily, before her own hands rose and she threaded her fingers through the other girls soft head feathers.
The blinding flash of a camera bulb brought them out of it a moment later. With lips red and raw from Olivia's attack, eyes puffy from the lingering tear gas, Shelby turned to the camera man with one hand outstretched to try and hide her face. He snapped another picture.
Both pictures ended up in various newspaper articles about the rally within the next few days. The 'Human and Mutant' affair had people whispering for weeks.
She was tucked in a little seat off to he side, head in her hands as they bounced along. The sirens were still blaring above. When she heard him start to stir she glanced up and edged over toward the bed slightly. The paramedics had been more than understanding with letting her ride along. She was worried about him.
Also, to some extent about the apparent criminal presence that seemed to know her name and what she looked like. She shuddered. When he called out a second time she snapped out of her daze and reached over to gently pat his hand. "Hey, i'm right here." She managed a tired smile as she stood a little and leaned over so he could more easily see her.
"Were headed to the hospital so you can get patched up." She started, unsure of exactly how to go about comforting someone in this situation. Heck, she wasn't very good at comforting people in normal amounts of distress!
"The other officers took over clean up. The, um, four people who caused...whatever that was were caught and cuffed. Officer Smith?" She phrased it as a question because she wasn't sure if she was remembering it right. "He wanted me to tell you, 'Good job, Kid'..." She hoped that maybe recounting some of the details would help him. The bad guys were caught, he'd saved the day! Etcetera.
She struggled with the notion of telling him about the big mutant and what he'd said, at least so soon. She could just as easily wait until they got him to the hospital and officially patched up. One way or another she knew it was an important piece of information, and probably imperative to her case.
By the time the fight was over she had been soundly defeated, and a good portion of one snowball had managed to fall into her coat. She could feel it melting on her. She squirmed appropriately. She wasn't sure if he'd cheated or not during the game, but was hedging her bets on not. She'd hit him a few times after all, and that definitely didn't seem normal.
"Well, that was fun." She dusted what was left of the melting snow off of her, pulling her coat away to try and dislodge any stubborn bits from inside. It had grown fairly dark. She could see the coat tails of the sun vanishing around the backside of the mountain.
"Do you wanna set up camp here, or go up to the summit to look at the stars?" She was partial to either, really. The clearing they were in was just off to the side of a hiking trail. There were a few spots scattered around where snow hadn't managed to settle on the ground. The summit though, she was sure would be a block of ice by the time they got to it.
"I'd be fine with camping here for a bit. I can show you what I brought!"
Her head whipped around. Officer Linley was back! She could have cried from relief had she not been so damn confused! The other her swore loudly, moving like she was going to lift the arm with the gun in it again. The officer bolted in quickly, however, and delivered the finishing blow. Shelby stumbled away a few steps, turning just in time to see the other her gradually shift into someone else. She cringed.
"That's all of them I think Shelby"
She glanced away from Peck to look at him, still mystified. "Jesus, what exactly happened in there?" She didn't get an answer as a moment later he cried out and seemed to succumb to some type of wound. "Linley!" She was on her knees at his side a moment later, hands hovering over him as she tried to figure out what to do. Where was he hurt? She spotted blood and followed it to it's source.
Her stomach churned and she was forced to look away. "..One.. two... three...four." A deep breath in, deep breath out. She kept counting even as she turned back. It was one of the more useful things a certain nurse had told her. Give herself a rule. She would be okay so long as she kept counting.
"Five... six... seven.." She tugged her coat off, attempting to wrap it gently around his injured arm so she could apply pressure to the wound. She didn't know the first thing about first aid, but was seriously hoping that all of the combined movie knowledge she had would pay off. Put pressure on the wound! Keep him from bleeding out?
... Could a person bleed out from an arm wound?
"...Eight.. nine... ten..." The sirens grew closer. Three cars appeared from down the street, a few META's on their heels, and screeched to a stop in the middle of the road. The door to the closest one opened and a cop came out gun first. "Put your hands up! Get down on the ground!" Startled, she complied instantly.
A few moments later, after the bots had gone in and confirmed the scene was all clear, they were busy rounding all of the mutants up and cuffing them. Shelby had just been released, once they had been able to confirm her story, and was hovering uselessly around where Linley lay. There was an ambulance on the way, but it would be a bit.
Across from her, the largest mutant was sitting on the ground with his back to the side of a cruiser, his arms electro-cuffed behind his back. He took notice of her finally, squinting to get a good look. She missed the sudden recognition that dawned on his face.
"Heheheh. Yur that girly, ain'tcha?" She turned her chin at his chuckling, cautiously glancing at him. The large mutant continued on laughing.
"The eh, artist, was it? The one Roach is lookin' for." He paused a beat, as if thinking about it real hard. "Shelby."
The moment her name rolled off of his tongue she was on high alert. Eyes went wide, pupils narrowed. A cold sweat washed over her.
"Ya know, I woulda thought that someone like you, with who you got after ya, wouldn't be so brazen to just walk around out here with the rest of us." He grinned, large slightly yellowed teeth that were much too big.
She whipped back around when he started laughing again. Deep booming laughter. "One... two...t-three.." She focused on Linley instead, going back to applying direct, even pressure to his wound.
Somewhere in the distance the sounds of ambulance sirens gradually started up.
"Like... it ain't gonna explode any time soon, though, is it? Cause... I been near one of these things when they pop off. Ain't pretty. That one was a lot smaller, too."
She whipped around so quickly her scarf nearly fell off. "You were near an erupting volcano?!" Not gonna lie, she was pretty jealous if he was telling the truth.
"Star gazing? I mean, I've looked up before, and seen pictures. Not a very good view in the city, though. That what this is about?"
She nodded slightly. "Part of it." Pointing at the darkening sky, she chose to elaborate a little more. "The reason you don't get a very good view in the city is from all of the lights. Basically the light we produce interferes with starlight. Makes it so you can't see anything. " The artist pointed to the surrounding sea of trees. "Don't have the same problem out here. trust me, it'll be better than any picture you've ever seen."
... Did the danger room count as a glorified picture?
She glanced over to the side after her brief explanation, attempting to figure out what he was talking about. "Those wha-"
Thwack!
A snowball zipped in and exploded upon contact with her chest. She gaped at it for a second before cackling and reaching down to make over of her own. "Oh, It's on!"
Above them the sky was darkening still, and the brightest stars had already chosen to peek out.
