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.
I think you're severely over estimating my mutation...I'm not nearly that strong. I mean I train almost every day, with my mutation but I don't think of combat when I'm doing it. And what do you mean revenge? It was too dark for them to get a look at me. At least...I think so..."
"Victory against superior numbers does not soley rely on brute strength."Said Hades. "For example you were in a forrest just now, if you had simply crouched behind some nearby trees and called/summoned one of your "animal Friends" to make some noise that would have distracted them. Next you could start playing to their fears. A swarm of ants crawling over them or a heard of snakes would have cooled their anger." Hades paused "Playing on their natural fear of the dark and the typical fear of things that could be poisonous would have given you a great advantage. Now if you Had wanted to say incapacitate or kill them that would be another matter, still achievable but you would probably use a different tactic."
Hades paused to take another bite and then continued. "I saw one of the members filming the scene with his iPhone. He was just a groupie and ran away when your creepy crawlies started coming out. I lifted a drivers license off one of your attackers, he belongs to the local chapter of a mutant hate group. Guess who is within the top ten of their hit list?" Hades said with a slight smirk. He slid the phone over so Alex could see the web page and the slightly blurry but recognizable mug shot of Alex with a look of fear on his face turning to run.
Hades seemed to stumble out the door and sway unsteadily from side to side. Some one laughed in the darkness and took a swing at him. Just by change Hades seemed to stumble out of the way, at the same time he lost his balance and spun, one of his feet flying up. Just by chance that foot impacted the genitals of an attacker. Hades promptly fell over one one foot and two hands, his other foot flying up in the air, and miraculously hit another attacker on this chin. Hades was making effective use of the much dramatized Chinese martial art the drunken fist. He looked over and saw the girl who was the cause of all of this get slapped and hurl, apparently she was not faking her drunkenness. Sigh, discipline and restraint, where were they these days. Hades wondered at that point if he was too old. He also saw a biker built like a tank with arms like pile-drivers and probably the strength to match slowly lumber towards the girl, grinning and holding up ridiculously studded knuckledusters. If he hit her, she would be history.
Why was he caring, Hades wondered to himself. Time was when he would have casually used her as a diversion then just vanished. He did not get involved with passersby as a rule. Was she that attractive? He was not sure, did she intrigue him so? Perhaps. Was he getting soft? Perhaps he had been alone far too long. All these thoughts and more were going through his head, it turns out that he was slightly relaxed and mellowed by the whisky. Once you had the drunken fist down, not much thought was needed, you just.. reacted. All that came crashing to a halt when a stray fist struck him on the side of the face, spinning him round and snapping him back to the present. Instead of stunning him, it actually cleared his head. he stood shaking his head as yet another biker tried to stab him. the situation came rushing back to his previously alcohol relaxed brain. Girl, knuckle duster, man with knife. He whipped out a towel and trapped the mans knife arm and deftly disarmed him. then spinning him on the end of the towel he swung he would be stabber into another and then used that very same thug as a pivot, to spin himself round. Flipping the knife in his hand with practiced ease Hades used the extra velocity to hurl the dagger at said tank/pile driver combo. Crucifying the descending wrist that was about to mash fair lady's head into pulp, nailing it between the bikers radius and ulna. Well that was the girl safe for the moment.
Taking advantage of a slight lull in the fighting, Hades quickly tied a know in the long towel he was holding and dunked the whole thing in a nearby bucked of ice water that had previously held champagne. The situation was becoming challenging. He did have a hidden weapon, the scorpions tail but once that came out, body parts inevitably started flying and he did not want the attention that would bring. He was trying to keep a LOW profile having just recently returned from, well... the dead. He would be at an advantage the more of his enemies that thought him dead there were. On the other hand he had at some point decided that he would not leave the troublemaker, the girl, to the mercy of the bikers. At the same time he needed to end the conflict as soon as possible before more bikers came and joined the fight. Training was all well and good, but even the best killer in the world could be mobbed and killed. He would have to improvise. He hoped that the lady would come to her senses, if he had to carry her away that would make the situation most inconvenient.
There was a legend that long ago a seamstress had returned from buying cloth to find a burglar breaking into her house and threatening her kids, in a fit of rage she threw a roll of cloth into a nearby stream, picked it up and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the would be burglar. True or not, there were a number of martial arts that used cloth as a weapon. With the now wet towel held in his hand, Hades lashed out with the knotted end. Recalling the five basics strikes of a cloth or fabric based weapon. He rapidly cleared a circle around him, the knotted end leaving bruises and welts wherever it struck. Suddenly Hades crumpled up the towel and threw it at one of his attackers and used the distraction to close the distance so he could start using more of his martial arts skills. The biker ducked his towel and it ended up gently falling on the face of the Girl. But at this point Hades had closed to striking range, his now black gloved fists a blur and he started to thin out the numbers of the attacking bikers.
"Alright, I guess I could use a bit more help before heading home." A vain attempt at bravado and at least the boy did not have an ego a big as a bus, perhaps he was slightly insecure. Anyhow it was a thing to note.
"So um, how are we doing this?" Sighing, Hades replied. "Based on the motorcycle ride over here your arms and hands are functioning as usual. so unless you have much pain elsewhere I should probably examine your ankle and chest. lets start with the ankle."
After probing for a few minutes Hades pronounced, "Moderately sprained but otherwise ok. I am going to put some ointment on it to relieve the pain and reduce swelling. The wrapping my feel a little tight but it will give your ankle extra support. Change the wrapping every two days or so." Said Hades deftly applying the ointment and wrapping the ankle with a practiced and trained hand. "Now lets move on to your rib-cage, would you mind lifting your shirt?" after a few minutes of probing Hades pronounced."Bruised but nothing broken, minor cuts and scrapes but nothing serious."
Hades moved away, washed his hands then moved towards the small kitchen and started cooking. "You know," said Hades casually. "With little training, and what I observed of your powers, you could have easily have taken on a group twice or three times that size and won. Now they have gotten a good look at you they will be out for revenge."
Soon an appetizing aroma filled the air and Hades approached carrying two bowl of steaming soup and noodles. "Simple chicken broth, noodles, chicken and vegetables if you want it. You will probably be hungry after your... ordeal." Hades placed both bowels on the table and started eating his. He was still mildly indifferent to this youth that he had happened to save, but who knew, he would never offer to train anyone, but if he asked? Hmm at that point in time Hades was not sure what his answer would be. It would more depend on the reason.
While Hades was manhandling Dave, literally, it appeared the girl did have a bit of a conscience. She stepped in front of Dave's friends. Hades could respect that, that took guts, the alcohol helped but the lady had guts. then something interesting happened. from what transpired next it was apparent that the lady was also a mutant, perhaps memory manipulation, or perhaps neurological disruption. Hades made a note to himself to see if could find out what. He was always open to potential assets and/or threats.
Apparently the lady's mutation could only work once or perhaps one at a time, although apparently she could handle herself. From the way she took down the goons, she apparently had some martial arts training and probably sword training. Advanced sword training as well, for a good swordsmen knows how to use all parts of his weapon as a weapon, the hilt, the back, the sheathe. Hades wondered if he could recognize the technique but returned to the present as he sensed that Dave had come up with an answer to his offer.
Hades shook his head and nodded at the bartender. The bartender nodded and made a gesture to the servers. Immediately a wall of bouncers formed between the VIP back rooms and the lounge. The remaining serving staff retreated to cover after depositing a bundle of cloth next to Hades which he promptly pocketed. Then Dave made the move that Hades had been expecting. He tried to kick Hades, who responded by promptly slamming Dave's head solidly into the counter. Hades turned in time to see the lady go streaking out the door althrough past her he saw there was already a ring of bikers in the alley and they seemed to be armed with chains and knives and the like. Oh well, that was a problem that would have to be dealt with when he got there, currently there were a few of Dave;s friends Hades had to deal with now that good old Dve was out of the fight.
The first biker came at Hades with a shattered bottle. With the size of the bikers Hades could not just simply throw them around, but once they lashed out, they put themselves off balance, from that point on they might as well be puppets on a string to Hades, he could make them go wherever he wanted them to. he caught the attackers wrist in the cloth and spun him around like a unsightly, ugly ballerina. During one spin Hades kneed-ed the thug in the genitals. As the bicker bent over Hades punched him in the solar plexus. Well that was what it looked like. In reality what Hades did was to phase his hand in a concealed manner into the biker. Now where was that nerve, Ah! There it was. Hades gave the appropriate nerve a vigorous contact with his phased hand then drew his arm out. All this time his actions were concealed by the body of the biker. Then he spun the biker to face the next biker to come charging along.
The second unfortunate attacker got the full force of the first biker's "Hades induced", shotgun style, projectile vomit.You see when Hades phased any part of his body and swept it through people they could experience waves of vertigo and pain, by concentrating Hades could "stimulate" certain nerves in the human body, Hades had perfected it into a very effective and brutal torture technique and near the stomach area was a cluster of nerves that if stimulated would induce spectacular projectile vomit. Although fir the best show stopping results it was preferable that the victim have a heavy meal as opposed to just snacks and alcohol but beggars cannot be choosers.
Having expended his one shot human vomit cannon, Hades knocked him out and dealt with the next next biker by tripping him up with a towel. Now came the time for a change of tactics. Hades stood up and suddenly started swaying and stumbling. Holding a silly grin on his face he made the come and get me sign while slowly backing in a stumbling fashion towards the door and where the lady appeared to be ringed by a growing group of bikers. Hades could play drunk very convincingly when he needed to.
Hades Current Threads: Slurr Noel uses Hades as a scapegoat (never a wise idea) Everybody's a Bit Broken Noel gets a view into Hades past as he attempts to learn more about it himself Retrival Contract Hades gets put with Cold Steel on a contract mission. Desperate Hades meets Alex while saving him from a beating Master Apprentice Hades continues Training Alex under the guise Kevin Wong after Alex gets arrested The Gang Strikes Back Hades meets Aura in this glorious violence filled thread Of Mercs and Men Hades and Noel Meet Rummy and take revenge on the betrayer The case of Jagger Worldwide vs Glont Interational Hades meets Jagger to discuss a business proposal? The New York Job Hades meets a young but surprisingly skilled assassin.
Hades was relaxing. He was in a good bar which he had frequencted before. In fact a while ago he had introduced a rather wealthy deaf friend to the place. The deaf friend in question had become a loyal patron Vaterland ever since and as Simon tipped well, Hades by association was liked in Vaterland.
One thing Hades enjoyed about Vaterland was that they sold an excellent 20 year old aged burbon called Pappr Van Winkle . He was relaxing and treating himself. He had come back after 5 years of being incorpreal after all. His musings of various memories was interupted by a sudden movement that he spied from the corner of his eye. He turned in time to witness a tumbler bounce and fragment off the head of a stocky character. He backtracked the trajectory and found the culprit and was in time to see her point to him. Apparently he was the scapegoat of tonight.
Hades turned to regard the victium who was built like a wrestler and wearing a Harley Davidson leather jacket. There was a large Harley Davidson ralley in NY, with riders coming from all over the USA to attend. Thankfully this bar was small so all in all there were about 20-30 bikers at Vaterland. As the victium stood up, Hades caught the name "DAVE" stencelled on the back of the jacket. As Dave turned in his direction, directed by the oh so guilty female who looked to be about 30 or so and seemed to have a profussion of pericings on each ear, Hades noted with a sigh that Dave's T-shirt read "Proud to be a 1%er" followed by an impressive list of bars and clubs that he had been banned from.Time seemed to slow down as Hades analysed the situation. With osmeone less agressive, Hades would consider playing the scared cowering patron, who offered to buy the offenede a round of drinks or two. With the look in Dave's eyes and as evidenced from his shitr, he would try to punch Hades anyway and judging by his current state of inebriation he would not know when to stop. There were situations where it would better to take a hit but this was not one of them. Hades also did not fancy going to the other extreme. Oh sure he could probably kill most of the people here, but he did not like calling that sort of attention from the authourities and besides he did want to return to this bar again. He would need to go to option C.
Having analysed the situation, which had taken a second or two and observing that Dave and his friends wobbly progress would take a minute or so to get to him Hades flicked his hand at the bartender to catch his attention and started to rapidly sign. "Will try to keep damage minimal. Apologies." The bartender's reply surprised him. "These ******** have been harassing my staff all evening, take care of them without demolishing my bar and next time drinks are on me." Hades allowed himself a smile, the offer was generous especially considering Hades taste in drinks was not cheap. He signed back "Very well, I need some towels, if anything happens to me the girl picks up my tab." "As it should be." came the reply.
By this time Dave and two of his friends hand lumbered over and a few more of the biker gang were starting to look round. "You got somn' to say to me?" Hades did not reply and took another sip of the fine bourbon. It would be shame to waste it, and ironically if things played out how he suspected they would the extra alcohol would help. Dave was right behind Hades now, Hades still sipping his drink. Dave reached out one beefy hand and put it on Hades head, his fingers splayed on top of Hades head as if he was contemplating crushing it. "I said..." He never finished. In one smooth motion Hades reached both hands to grip Dave's wrist, stood, spun and sat again. The next thing Dave knew he was sitting straight (Probably the best posture in all of his existence) and stiffly next to the bald guy with one of his arms behind his back in a very painful arm lock.
"I have nothing to say to you, I did not throw that glass, although i doubt you believe me. What say I buy you a round of drinks or tow and we forget about this whole incident eh?" as Dave contemplated Hades words through his alcohol fogged brain, Hades glanced around to see how Dave's two friends and the rest of the gang were taking the situation.
Throughout the ride Hades was observing the teen. He had some backbone. Hades was liking what he saw. He just might have the potential to become something. If the teen asked to be trained, well Hades just might agree. From the way the teen held on during the ride back he was nervous but trying to hide it. It was time to be reassuring, something that Hades did not usually bother with. Better to be matter of fact.
"Ah, I-I guess. I mean how do I know your not planning something weird. I mean, thanks for the rescue, but the name Reaper doesn't exactly evoke someone without ill intent. No offense."
Hades slowed and turned to the teen, for the first time pulling back his hoodie so the teen could see his face. At the comment he smiled slightly.
"If you must know Reaper is one of my call signs and not my name." He sighed slightly, but then again the youth had a point.
"What should I call you? Anyhow, if I wished you harm I could have easily left you to your attackers. Or alternatively I could have just killed the whole group of you, victim and attacker alike. It would make no difference to me. The fact that I not only dealt with your attackers and also brought you away from the immediate area should tell you that I mean you no harm. But if you are uncomfortable say the word and I will drop you off at a nearby bus stop and you will not see me again. The choice is yours."
Hades awaited the teens reply. After disarming the attackers he had lifted a driving license or two. From how the attackers behaved, he suspected that they were part of a larger group and that a few of them had gotten a good look at Alex. The fact that they had been defeated by someone other than Alex would have reinforced the point that Alex was a potential target. Hades suspected that they would come after Alex again, until they found him and the next time that happened they would not stop until He was either dead or close to it. Hades had brought the teen here to a unused cabin as a chance to understand the teen more. He had shown some courage in the face of his attackers and his power, or what Hades had observed of it could become a very useful asset if properly trained. But Hades would not force anything. If the teen wanted he would stay true to his word and drop the teen off where he wanted to go. Although he suspected that if he did so the teen;s life expectancy would be rather short. But at that point it would not matter. Hades generally only offered a very few people aid, and a chance, if they turned it down, it was not a big deal to him.
"It is a handy skill to be able to 'arrange' weather, that would be appreciated. I agree with your assessment the attack plan. And if required I would be more than happy to utilize any available skills to advance the mission." Replied Hades smirking in return. He was mollified that CS appeared to be as professional as he had heard, he had no time for amateurs.
"Do you have any information as to what exactly we are recovering. If it is something that is not transportable by hand I may need to make alternative arrangements."
This was probably the most important point and the main reason why Hades had not tried to close the meeting before now. If it was something that was hand carry size then the primary or secondary escape vehicles (ATV's and Dirt bikes respectively) would suffice and the pickup, small helicopter, would be fine. If it was anything bigger he would have to move additional resources into play. But considering the sizable compensation for the job and the connections it would open, that was a small price to pay.
"Is there any equipment that you require for this mission or will you be bringing your own? I can provide additional guns, tools, equipment, medical supplies, explosives etc. Finally are there any additional resources you wish to call in, additions to the team etc? If so let me know and I will make preparations accordingly. If all is in order and unless you have alternative travel arrangements, let us meet at the following location for pickup in three days." Said Hades displaying an address on the table before powering the down the projector and preparing to leave.
(OCC hope you dont mind the slight Gmodding, if you want I can go back and change stuff)
"W-wait, wait up!" The pannicked youth cried. "Where are we going? Who are you?"
Questions, questions, always so many questions. Without turning Hades replied. "We are leaving the area in case more arrive and to see to your wounds. You may call me Reaper."
After a few minutes of walking they reached a spot with a dirt trail. Hades vanished into the bushes and soon reappeared pushing what looked like a modified dirt bike.
"Can you ride?" Hades asked tossing Alex a helmet. He put his own on. He was testing a new gadget that he had recently purchased. Owning a web of tech companies was useful at times. This bike interacted with the helmet to provide night vision to the wearer, the bike, which was also a prototype, was electric. Upon receiving the affirmative from the teen, Hades instructed him "Hold on tight." Waited for him to mount and then they were off. The electric bike accelerating smoothly and silently. Quietly Hades was impressed, the night vision system on the helmet display was clear and good and the bike was performing well within spec.
A short and quick ride later Hades pulled up next to an out of the way small log cabin. After stowing the bike in the garage he gestured for the teen to follow him into the basement where there was a surprisingly well stocked medical layout to one corner. A majority of the space was taken up b y what was obviously a training setup with various closed cabinets lining the walls and a small kitchen in another corner. "If you want I can take a look at those wounds." Said Hades.
Hades was training in the forest, at night, alone, far from human civilization. It wasn't as though he needed the training, but he would never let himself get slack. In his line of work,
getting slopy got you killed. Even if he retired at this instant, he had made enough enemies to last a lifetime, if they could ever find him. Eventially they would, but he would cross that
bridge when he got to it.
He was nearing the end of his run when he heard voices and flashes of light. It was not difficult if one mastered the art of silent running in the forrest. It was all about foot placement.
The distant voices sounded taunting, perhaps hunters and hunted? Intregued Hades started to follow, never running on their trail but keeping parallel to it. He overtook a group of people
and moved ahead of them, they appared to be chasing a lone male, probably teenager. From the way both of thenm were running Hades immediately knew they had no training. It was more than
likely that the larger group were bullys from their pathetic taunts. Their unfortunate victim was a mutant, and one with a very useful power at that. There was also something about his character. With training he could become a very useful asset. Besides Hades was not getting any younger and no matter how good you are everyone meets their end. Hades idly wondered if he was getting soft after all these years. He decided to interviene, he would rescue the troubled teen and if he turned out to be suitable and interested, offer him the chance of training.
Most of the bullys were grouped around the victum, also not the most effective way of beating someone to a pult but that was beside the point. There was one gang member holding a baseball bat circling the group ready to bat away any "creatures" that appeared. It him that Hades decided to strike first. He stepped out of the shadows, the kid already high on adrenaline and battle fever swuung at him. Hades promptly grabbed the kids wrist and shattered his elbow. He screamed to high heaven.
Deftly catching the bat, Hades unleashed a two handed swing, just for the fun of it. Bat met diaphram at speed, forcing air out of lungs, eliciting a cross between a further cry of pain and an "omph". Bat carried through to force body backwards with momentum to meet big tree. Bat compressed body between tree and bat. The group of teens stopped and turned to Hades who was wearing a black hoodie with the hood up and cargo pants. Various taunts were shouted and weapons brandished. Alex was temporarily forgotten. Hades grabbed the bat and threw it to Alex. Implying that he should use it as a crutch and to defend himself if needed. To the taunts he just shrugged his shoulders as if to say "So?" and started walking slowly forward towards the teens. The first one lunged with a knife, Hades caught his knife hand, pulled him close and drove his knee into the attackers rapidly falling face before pushing him away. then he procedded to deal with them, never breaking stride, leaving bones broken, joints dislocated. He dismantled them without even breaking sweat or breathing hard.
Reaching Alex he asked in a low voice "Are you hurt? Can you walk?" as he deftly and rapidly disarmed the trap and freed Alex from his confinement. "We should leave here. Come." He said as he started to move off not looking back to see if Alex was following.
Things were getting a little more challenging than Hades had expected for a gang. For the first time since starting this fight, he was faced with a united front. Flama's troops seemed to be the equivelant of a general's elite and behaved as such. They spred out in solid waves filling the alley from wall to wall movving forward in unison each carrying different weapons. Hades could not pull the same trick of weaving through them sowing confusion as he went. No this was a real fight, a descent challenge. Grabbing a pistol from a nearby corpse Hades rapidly and accurately started shooting out the lamps that illumintated his section of the alleyway. There was no way Hades could win in a fair fight and he had no intention of playing fair. He would use every advantage that he had. He quickly stripped off the overcoat that he had been wearing to reveal a black one piece affair. He fulled the two halves of a balaclava up to cover his features, he also loosened the covers of a number of pouches of his suit. He would ahve to become almost one with the shadows to survive this fight.
He took from his pouch what appeared to be a coiled section of thin chain. The chain was a titan ium alloy, light, but very strong. On one end was a teardrop shaped weight, and on the other a curved double edged dagger. This weapon had been used by assassins through the ages both to kill from a distance and to fight when outnumbered. swinging the dagger on a chain gave reach. In a narrow alley like this one could not just swing the dagger in a large circle or one risked getting the dagger caught. Instead Hades employed one of the set of moves of the "Assassin's Dance". If anyone would have been able to observe said dance, it looked graceful, fluid, almost beatuiful. The chain, weight and dagger seemed to crawl over his boddy like a living thing. The particular set of moves have a three word name that losely translated into "Shadows that strike and cut". They involved whirling either or both ends of the weapons rapidly then wrapping them around the body, using limbs and different parts of the body to direct the ends and change momentum. Suddenly Hades lanced his arm forward, and the dagger fley from his hand as if shot from a gun, straight into the throat of a member of the first wave of troops. Hades immediately yanked back on the chain so that the now dead attacker flew forward and slid into the darkness. At the same time he launched the weighted end of the chain dead center into the forhead of another attacker, striking him dead in his tracks.
With the line broken Hades moved in for the kill, appearing from the shadows like his namesake, dagger held in one hand the chain wrapped around the other. Stangling one while killing another with a slash of a dagger. Hades would grab any knives or throw-able weapons that the thugs had then vanish into the shadows. He attacked with no discernible rhythm. As long as he was far enough away from Flama to render his artillery like fireballs inaccurate he was in no hurry. All the while he kept up a steady stream of projectiles aimed at Flama. If a corpse had a gun, Hades would empty the clip at Flama and take out a few of the oncoming thugs. With this strategy he thinned down their numbers. appearing from the shadows, striking from the shadows, sometimes from in front of them, sometimes from behind them, having phased through the walls although he took pains never to be seen doing so.
You see all the while he was eliminating Flama's thugs Hades was analyzing Flama. Searching for weaknesses, learning his rhythms, forming an attack plan. Hades was always thinking ahead.
From the sounds that Hades could faintly hear, the explosions and sprays of blood that seemed to be flying at the other end of the alleyway it would appear that Aura was doing fine. Eventhough he could not see her, he suspected that she might be enjoying herself. He turned back to matters at hand.
Blood letters are a class of weapons that are designed to inflict maximum pain and create and maintain maximum blood loss. They are used in "moral manipulation" especially when the wielder is vastly outnumbered. As such the blades that Hades held in his hand were short swords with a diamond shaped cross section. They were not designed to sever but to cut and pry open the wound. If used for stabbing they would create a unique patterned start shaped would that was almost impossible to close up without competent medical help.
By stabbing the blade straight into a body then slashing it out in a diagonal fashion the blade would bring with it a spray of blood that was direct-able. Nothing stops charging attackers like blinding them with the blood of their friends. As usual after emerging from the shadows, Hades first action was to provoke. He slashed the Achilles tendon of a thug with the blade held under hand. He then flipped the blade to over hand and let the unfortunate villein's chin meet the blade "head on" so to speak. He held it there for an instant before letting the blade slide to under hand and the now lifeless body slide off it. Then he was among them. When faced with a superior force one has a number of options. If one has the ability to stand like a rock resisting the waves one can do so. Sadly Hades did not possess such an ability and so he preferred to weave among them. Slash a thug's stomach open and shove him into a friend. The friend is likely to try to save his wounded brother and that means one less person to attack Hades. Hades weaved around and through them, using the fact that he was outnumbered to his advantage. If one was an expert in being lost in a crowd one can make ones self very hard to find indeed. This was however the "M" squad and so were a little more challenging than your regular street thugs. The problem was that they were not full mutants, rather "weekend mutants" ones that tried and failed, pathetically, to be something that they were not. They did not have the experience with their powers to make them dangerous. They never developed a fine control or training with their powers. They were playing with something that they knew little of, more for show and intimidation than a threat, especially to a trained killer.
There was one "speed deamon" that was particularly annoying to Hades, and only Hades's reflexes saved him repeatedly. Then the speed demon made a mistake that many make, he was predictable. Hades estimated where he would strike next then spread his arms and phased, letting the thug charge right through his phased center mass. From the outside it looked like the thug just charged through a transparent greenish, glowing mist. You see moving through Hades when he is phased will not kill you, oh no. It will produce a wave of weakness and a wave of pain. The severity of both depends on various factors. Charging through the center mass though produces rather sever results. Again if the speed deamon had training he might be able to shrug it off. But as it was he faltered and that was the end of him. His head pulled back by the hair bearing his neck to his friends Hades slid the blade horizontally across and pushed him towards his friends.
It was at this point, that Flama caught a vague glimpse of the person who was killing the gang members and proceeded to launch a rapid fire barrage of glowing fireballs towards Hades. It was only by throwing a few unfortunate bodies in the way and some quick reflexes that Hades saved himself from a crispy end. It was then that Hades discovered another thing. Flama did not just throw fireballs, he was throwing globs of plasma. This changed things. This fight now had to be ended as quickly as possible. The longer the fight dragged on the higher the chance of Hades demise. It was time to change tactics. Hades quickly sheathed his blood letters and turned to face the united front of Flama's Goons. He wondered how Aura was getting on.
Hades did not dignify that statement with a reply. From what he had heard, CS seemed to check out, but he would know once they were on the field. Nothing like being in the thick of things to reveal what people were made of.
”No need to go over the resume. I wouldn’t be here unless Rudy said it was necessary we meet before hand. He knows I don’t like working with newbies.”
"Less resume more list of skills for aid in planning, but suit yourself." The guy had an attitude, but Hades preferred to suspend judgement until he had a chance to observe CS's skills. In some cases the attitude was well earned. Hades took out a microprojector attached to a smartphone. It projected images onto the table between them and started the briefing.
"From what the client told me, the group that stole the package is called M.E short for Mutant Exterminatus. Formed by various millionaires had their family or property threatened by mutants. Their goals are self explanatory. They pooled their resources and built a complex in the northern section of Montana, near the Canadian border. The land is private property and patrolled, civilian population is zero, wildlife consists of mountain lions, bears and wolves. On the overhead sat photo the red circles indeicate approximate locations of guard towers. During further recon there was evidence of foot patrols with attack canine units. The complex is built atop a plateau and follows standard layout for secure research facility. Central building for research with multiple stories above and below ground. surround auxiliary buildings including motor pool. Communications consists of a satellite link and a buried fiberoptic land line. The plan is to HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) in in five days, that gives us two to complete any last minute prep and finish preparing the infil and exfil routes. In 7 days due to sunspot activity there will be heavy atmospheric disturbance giving cover when they sat connection goes down. I have also made arrangements for their landline connection to be... disabled at the same time. Until I know more about the package that is all I have. There are no blueprints of the internal structure of the base that I could find. The client mentioned that you might have something on that. Oh and based on their regular cargo deliveries, they have on site power generation capabilities. Presence of adapted cannot be confirmed or ruled out. For the guard towers, shift change is every four hours and check in is every two. Your turn."
Hades was professional. Unspoken was the fact that he had already been there and done visual recon, and had tapped resources to obtain satellite images. He awaited the briefing by his one-eyed contractual partner.
"I am the cause of this, but you are free to join in"
At this Hades nodded, tapped a fist to his heart and gave her a chest high two figured salute and stepped back into the shadows. He had expected this. He nodded to himself as he ob served Aura take her weapon of choice and noted the pink mist like substance that seemed to form around her. From the way she moved he could tell she had training and from her reaction he could tell that she had survived many fights. He detected no fear in her, this was good.
Hades moved to the shadows in a corner where the south facing alley turned West and waited. As he waited he reviewed his plan.
When someone attacks an organization and does so openly, said group is more likely to band together, such as the case with Aura. If you best and defeat their first group, they are more likely to send another, bigger group. They will band together, make the attacker their common cause and in essence start a war. To defeat such a group, it is better to attack from the shadows, leave them chasing shadows, that way paranoia sets in and the group starts to fragment. Take this scenario. The way to send a message at this stage is to first prime the messengers, these will be the grunts, the less well trained, the cannon fodder. they are easier to incapacitate, easier to break and will make unreliable witnesses. Hades would first break some bones, dislocate some joints, induce concussions, leave them broken in spirit and in body but alive to spread fear. Next the middle tier of the group the veterans Hades would mortallywound, break their bodies, let them bleed to deat in absolute agony. This would induce fear in the witnesses. Finally the leadership, if possible one should attack from the shadows and draw out the fight. The witnesses are already cowering with fear at this point, they will start imagining and magnifying things. You could use a letter opener as a weapon and in their minds it would become a machete, you could be one armed and be on crutches and in their memory you will be a multi-limbed beast. They will survive and fear will spread like cancer through the whole organization.
The group arrived at the alleyway. down each side first came the grunts, the cannon fodder, those wielding knives and swords and chain-mail fists and Uzis, they were the largest in number. Then came the "M" squad looking a little like Bane from Batman as they carried liquid tanks of "M" with injectors on their back, the pumps gurgling to life turning humans into temporary mutants. The Heading up the North alley went Flika's henchmen then Flika himself. and Along the South alley way the same with Flama's thugs. Finally the Bossman appeared with his mechanized suit. It was at this point that Hades realized that it was very likely that Flika and Flama were If not Alpha level mutants then probably at least Beta level. This would be a challenging fight indeed. (OCC: right Aura the North side is all yours, take it away)
Hades waited bare handed until some of the cannon fodder had passed him then he moved. He moved out of the shadows and seemingly casually draped his arm over the shoulder of one of the thugs, then in a lightening move he whipped his arm so that his elbow forced the thugs chim up and in one power move bent his head back so far that he broke the spine. Step one, provocation was complete, now to create some witnesses.
Someone lunged at him with a knife, Hades shied to the side and grabbed the knife hand by the writs while unleashing a lightening jab to the attackers throat. on the way back that same hand moved under the armpit and dislocated the attackers shoulder. the thug caught between gasping for breath and screaming with pain then received an elbow to the stomach which propelled him into those around him. With that Hades was off. He had been trained since young in all the techniques to inflict pain, incapacitate and cause death and he knew them well, having used them for over 80 years. He knew no fear and was trained from birth to have no morality and had no problem inflicting pain on others. Hades was fighting by instinct, this type of fighting required very little thought. He shattered an attackers kneecap then palm striked his head into the nearby wall, giving a concussion but leaving him alive. Another made the mistake of punching with a straight arm, Hades punished such bad form by shattering the elbow of said attacker. He moved through them, over them around them like water, never giving them a clear view of his face. His technique perfect, causing maximum pain in one or two moves. He downed one then rolled over his back to attack the next, chaining his attacks so he was never standing still. sweeping the legs from under one them bringing his heel firmly down on the stomach and solar plexus.
Hades perked up, someone had launched a spinning martial arts kick at him, finally someone with a little training. Hades promptly rewarded such effort by dislocating said persons hip with a painful sucking popping sound. Running the numbers through his mind, Hades estimated that he had made enough witnesses. Behind him was a trail of wounded men, their spirits broken. Moaning, writhing with pain. One was worming along the ground to get away with one dislocated right shoulder and a broken left arm.
It was time for stage two, the blood letting. Hades spun away into the shadows and drew he two blood letters. at the same time he spared a glance over to see how Aura was doing.
(OCC, your turn Aura! Sorry for the long post. The next ones should be shorter)
