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.
Once he had spoken the words he saw them register with Maya and saw her expression change. Kaz wasn't surprised in the least that she was uncomfortable with the concept. As one of the X-Men it pretty much ran counter to what they worked towards. Though her reaction was quite different than Sam's had been, which did intrigue him. Maybe he was more jaded or hadn't thought it through or he thought the pros outweighed the cons. Whatever their differences at least he and Sam were on the same page when it came to some things.
Maya...
For a few moments after she removed her hand from his with, what seemed to Kaz, a sort of finality, he watched her. He watched as thoughts rolled through her head, he could see it in her eyes. Kaz didn't even think to begin forming words or questions or anything else, he just waited.
”Kaz, it's not my place to...”
And there it was. In another place, at another time, if it were another person, or if it were a human, Kaz probably would have smiled, maybe even laughed a little. Instead the kept a polite, neutral expression as he looked her in the eyes as she spoke.
Kaz appreciated that she wasn't knocking the idea outright or implying it was a bad idea. At the same time he felt a small bit of annoyance, he didn't think he had reason to be annoyed, but he couldn't help feeling it anyway.
When Kaz was sure that Maya wasn't going to add anymore Kaz smiled and gave her a very slight tip of his head. ”Considering what we are, you have every right to say something about it. Your opinion and concerns are completely valid. That said, I feel I need to expand on it a bit.”
Kaz sat a little straighter in his seat, clasping his hands in front of him on the table. Kaz tried to slip into his 'businessman' tone of voice, but it ended up being a softer than he intended. ”The Corydon Estates here in New York are mutant only, to a degree. I would have to check to be sure but I believe the current percentage of mutant to human is 70 to 30, not counting children under 18. Any mutant is welcome in the Estates, as well as their immediate family. The only humans we deny residency to are those who are those are anti-mutant. When a child who is not a mutant turns 18, they will have the option of taking employment with one of my companies within the city or leaving the Estates, with a six month grace period to find employment and housing, longer in the winter or if they are still attending school.”
Turning one hand palm up, ”Currently the Estates do not have any educational facilities beyond a moderately sized, combined, day care and Pre-K facility. If the residents express a desire for such facilities in the future, I will provide them, but for now, children have to commute to schools outside the Estates. This is one of the reasons the Corydon Estates is public knowledge, unlike communities in other countries.”
Kaz's posture slumped a little and he looked away from Maya. After a few slow, deliberate breaths, ”To be perfectly honest Maya, I don't believe mutants and humans can achieve equality right now, or in the near future, if ever. But I hope it does happen, sooner than later. Fact is, it won't happen until mutants are...” Kaz closed his mouth, and opened it again a few times before starting again. ”Mutants with visible mutations as mild as myself, often find it difficult to get approved for a house or have humans sell their homes to them, and it's even worse for those of us that are even less human looking. Jobs can be similarly difficult. I've had a few of my human employees buy houses so they can turn around and resell them to mutants who've been denied multiple times. So...I would like mutants and humans to coexist in equality, but until that happens,” Kaz's shrug seemed a bit resigned, defeated, ”It's not perfect, but it's the best I can do right now.”
Kaz followed Panu's directions to Jaager Worldwide easily enough. In reality he followed the GPS directions, but since Panu had input the address, he gave the boy the credit. The ease with which Panu did it and how convenient it was to not have to say or type in where he wanted to go was not lost on Kaz, and he thought of it as a positive point in favor of the kid. He needed as many of those positives as he cold possibly get. His use of his abilities was just another reminder to Kaz why he needed to be careful with Panu around.
There wasn't a lot of talk between the two occupants of the 'Vet during the drive. Kaz was pointedly not thinking about what the immediate future would hold. Instead he paid close attention to the road and driving. That just meant he kept himself from driving too recklessly. Well, that and the fact there was a child riding with him. No matter what he felt for or about Panu, Kaz could not understand why people would drive crazy with children in a vehicle, it was beyond stupidity.
If Kaz hadn't known about Panu's abilities he might have thought they were expected and being watched as he pulled the car up to and into the underground parking area. As it was, he wasn't surprised when, without making any movements, the doors opened almost as soon as they approached them. A similar thing happened with the elevator when they entered it. Sure it was possible that it just happened to be sitting, waiting, on the same floor they parked when they parked, but it was unlikely. Kaz found himself wishing Panu would stop doing those things, at least for a while.
When he felt Panu's tiny, frail hand touch his and hold it the way only children can do, Kaz felt guilty, and a little ashamed. Those feelings got worse when the kid spoke.
”Thank you for not murder me.”
'Don't thank me yet kid...' Kaz thought to himself bitterly. The rest of what Panu had said registered with him, and he couldn't help but look down at the boy. He curled his fingers and held Panu's hand and smile at him a little. ”Not maybe a little scary kid. I'm freaking terrifying.” After a short, quiet laugh, ”I'm sure Kalli liked having someone new to sleep with.”
Kaz was saved from having to say anything more or letting an awkward silence fall when the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
Immediately Kaz felt a bit under dressed and found himself wishing he had changed into something a little more professional before they left. His red button-up, black jeans, silver belt, and silver accented boots were quality items and would normally work quite well for most meetings. This one though, this felt like a suit and tie type place.
That aside, the most interesting thing he saw before stepping from the elevator was a humanoid white tiger...in a suit. 'That's unexpected...' Though surprised by the tiger's presence he had not missed the man standing near the elevator. From his posture and expression Kaz was certain he was what passed for security here. 'Even security is decked out...definitely under dressed.'
With his hand still holding Panu's he moved towards Jaager's office. ”Maybe we should leave and come back wearing suits so we fit in with everyone here. What do ya think?” Kaz walked right past the tiger right up to the officer doors and opening them. Inside he got his first look at who he assumed was Ambrose Jaager.
Pale skin, dark hair, odd eyes, mid 20's..maybe late 20's if he was the type to look younger than he actually was. He looked like he was in relatively good shape considering his position. Kaz had met a number of business owners who were quite a bit out of shape for one reason or another and he had half expected the same of this man.
”Ambrose Jaager I assume.” Kaz paused for a few short moments before he continued. ”I'll get right to it. Panu here thought it would be a good, fun idea to break into my property, take over my systems and threaten me with my own defenses. In most cases I would just have killed whoever did those things, but considering he's a child, I'd rather not. So I'm here to get your assurance something like this won't happen again, that you can be trusted and that you can keep Panu in check.”
Kaz inhaled deliberately before releasing it. ”It would be simple, if it weren't for how he did it. The boy controls technology, a technomancer I guess. Which makes him a liability, a security risk, dangerous, and a threat. If you cannot convince me, here and now...I'll kill him and remove the threat he poses.” Kaz said the last words while looking down at Panu. He didn't dislike Panu, and he would follow through with his words, but he hoped that Jaager would be able to convince him that Panu was and would be contained and controlled in the future.
Letting out a sharp exhalation Kaz shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking Isabel's posture. This meeting was not going well and Kaz couldn't see it getting better any time soon. Part of him was regretting calling out to her and catching up to her. He hadn't expected a warm welcome from her, but he didn't think she'd be hostile towards him either. He hadn't had a reason for wanting to grab her attention and talk to her, at least not beyond just to say 'Hi' and catch up a bit maybe.
He knew why he did it, even if he didn't want to admit it. Most of the people he had known before his absence were gone, so seeing a familiar face, especially one he had fought beside, made him feel a little better. 'Nostalgic.' Kaz blinked as the word popped into his head. 'Yeah, that does seem to fit doesn't it. Don't know why I should feel that way, or let it make me do something stupid.'
After realizing the emotion he felt, irritation came hot on its heels. ”Izzy, I would love to see you try to kill me. But before you do, I think you've got something wrong. I didn't desert the you or the Order. I never betrayed any of you or gave any information to the Kabal, nor did I stab any of you in the back. The Order wasn't for me and if I had stayed while not being completely committed I would have been doing you all a disservice, and that would have been disloyal. So my leaving on amicable terms was in both of our best interests.”
”From what I can see and what I've heard, it's a good thing I did leave. I'm changing things, helping mutants across the globe, little by little. So yes, I think I've earned something, since I'm still fulfilling the goals the Order had when we first came together.” 'At least what I believed and understood them to be.'
Kaz pointed a finger at the woman. ”It doesn't seem like the Order has accomplished anything worthwhile in nearly a decade. Except rack up a body count numbering in the hundreds or thousands. What happened? Didn't the Order mean something once? Wasn't the goal to change things to make the world better for mutants? When did the Order become a refuge for self-serving mass-murderers with no higher purpose?”
Kaz gave Maya a slight smile as she squeezed his hand.
What was it about a simple touch, a little squeeze, a slight pat on the shoulder that allowed those actions to convey so many things while still being relatively ambiguous? Those little gestures could give support, thanks, reassurance, warning, threat, show affection or trust, and so much more. It held so much meaning, more quickly and simply than words could convey in a similar amount of time. Those actions, unlike words, crossed boarders and worlds. It didn't matter where someone came from, whether they were rich or poor, spoke similar languages or not, what culture they're from, everyone understands.
Those little things are what really mattered, not a someones ethnicity, their country of origin, political ideals, religious beliefs... These things they could all relate to were the proof of their connection, of what was important.
Shaking his head a bit, ”You don't owe me anything Maya. I help where I can, and if I sometimes show special interest and attention to someone, or a friend, then..” Kaz shrugged one shoulder.
”Please tell me you've had a better time than me in the last few years?”
Kaz watched as Maya gave his hand another squeeze before taking her hand from his. He knew what that had been, but he couldn't help but feel a very small twinge of loss when their hands no longer touched. It was so much easier knowing what mattered, to feel connected when in contact with another person.
'Of course that's another way Tara got to you.' That thought caused Kaz's eye to twitch in time with the small flinch that Kaz tried to turn into a shrug. ”In some ways yes and others, not so much.” To give himself a little time he popped a few cheese curds into his mouth and chewed. They had cooled off considerably since they had arrived, and he assumed the mini-dogs would be the same way. 'Oh well.'
After chasing the food down with a long pull from his drink Kaz let out a breath. ”There's a lot that I don't remember for about a year...maybe two years..after Romania. I wasn't in control of my own mind, or body, for much of that time, and the little I do remember is quite jumbled. Once I was in control again I didn't feel right, didn't think I should come back, and until recently I hadn't planned on returning.”
”I had never really thought about mutants outside of the US, but that changed after Romania. I realized that mutants all over were being put in similar situations, even if the operations were much smaller. Whenever I heard of or found out about mutants being imprisoned, killed, or slaved out..I stopped it, and offered what help I could to the mutants who had been used and abused.” Kaz looked at his glass and smiled faintly. ”At some point I realized that I could do more to help if I stopped acting like a violent vigilante. I began focusing my money on buying businesses in a number of countries, then employing any and every mutant I could and putting them where their abilities could be best used.”
Looking at Maya again, ”That eventually lead to me having a number of mutant only communities built in a few countries, including the most recent here in New York, where mutants live together, protected by their own, and given the same opportunities humans are. With all of the companies I own taken into consideration, I don't think it would be far from the truth to say I am the single largest employer of mutants in the world. I prioritize mutant over human employees regardless of skills or knowledge. I..uh..” Kaz felt his ears heat up a bit, ”I'm tooting my own horn now....sorry.”
Kaz, 'Spike', snorted at the woman in front of him. ”A normal life? Sister, you're in the wrong city for that. There's nothing 'normal' about this place or the people living here.” His statement was more true than even he could believe. The people of NYC were crazy, every last one of them. With all the crap that had happened within the city, he was surprised anyone wanted to live there. When someone would comment about how New Yorkers have 'seen everything', they may have been joking, but it wasn't far from the truth. With the city's high concentration of mutants, they were constantly bombarded with the weird and unexpected.
Shaking his head, ”Can you blame them? It's what humans do. Their primitive minds react the same way they have for thousands of years. When they don't understand or comprehend something, they fear it. Because they fear it, they hate it. It's how they deal with being weak.” Spreading his arms, ”We're the closest things to gods humans know. Of course they're terrified and want to kill us, that's how humans always react.”
Before the light came on Kaz had turned his head toward the source of the sound. When the officer clicked the light on, Kaz squinted his eyes involuntarily, the light blinding him for a moment before his pupils reacted, narrowing nearly to nonexistence. In that moment Danica had let loose one of her bolts and taken the officer out. Kaz wondered if the woman had used the same strength on the officer as she had when she fired at Kaz. As he watched the officer slump to the ground against the wall, he smiled.
He had begun turning his head and speaking, intent on applauding her action when a voice called out in the night. Apparently the officer's partner was nearby. Kaz sighed. He had a feeling this was going to get worse. Kaz wondered if Danica knew of or cared about the META bots. Again he began to say something when the woman's entire demeanor changed. She went from being meek and afraid to angry and violent. Kaz approved of such reactions in a general sense.
Moving quickly he moved towards the window to jump out and deal with the partner, but was beaten to it by Danica, who's optic blast sent the partner crashing through a series of walls. Kaz could see that the woman was quite dead, had to be. That much force would have crushed her against the first wall, the others just served to further pulverize her. Kaz stopped in his tracks and looked at Danica, surprise evident on his alien face. ”Da~mn.” It wasn't a curse but an exclamation of surprised approval. It was impressive, as was her entire change of attitude.
“What's the world coming to when a girl can't even have a nervous breakdown in peace.”
Kaz barked out a deep rumbling laugh. ”When I suggested busting some heads, I didn't think you'd actually for it.” Kaz paused before shrugging and speaking again, ”You realize they're probably going to get backup from those bots right?” He jumped out of the window followed quickly by Danica.
When he landed Kaz headed straight for the nearest officer. There was a time he would have had no reservations about indiscriminately killing the officers, but that was some time ago. He knew they were just responding to a call, to the death of a human, and because of Danica's actions they were almost certainly on high alert. They'd be ready to defend themselves, and the civilians with their lives, probably expected it too. Of anyone in the city, the people of the NYPD were the craziest of anyone.
There were more cops in the area than he had originally suspected. When he came upon two of them, he stopped within a short lunge of them and spoke. ”Two officers down, probably dead. Do you want to add more to the body count?” The two officers had frozen in place at his sudden appearance, but that had only lasted a fraction of a second before they both reached for their guns. He kept track of each officer, the first one didn't raise his gun, but the second one had it pointing directly at Kaz.
Apparently these two were an experienced team as they moved in unison, without needing to speak. The first of the two began speaking confident that his partner had him covered. ”Of course not, we would prefer to deal with this peacefully. So if you would come with us, peacefu-”
Kaz laughed, ”You're a joke. I'm trying to give you the change to live until tomorrow and you want to arrest me?” He crouched down on all fours, his spines sticking up and out. ”This is not a negotiation, it's an ultimatum. Leave. Now. Or die.” The second officer's head was turned and lilted just a bit to the side and only had one hand on his gun. It was obvious that he was speaking into the mic, requesting backup at their location.
Shaking his head he sighed, ”Stupid humans.” Kaz lunged at the second officer. While he moved fast, he wasn't as fast as he normally was, and because of that, both officers were able to unload a number of shots into Kaz. They didn't penetrate the outer layer of skin, but he felt their impact. Because he aimed at the second one, the first had time to move out of the way enough to not be bowled over by Kaz. The spike on Kaz's arm and leg did clip him though, sending him into a spin as he began to fall over.
Flicking his tail at the falling officer he smashed the spiked end of it into his face, puncturing it in multiple places. A quick movement had the tail wrapped around the officers neck.
Kaz's claws hand buried themselves into the second officer's chest near the connection of the shoulder to the torso. Despite the pain the officer was obviously in, he didn't give into it, instead he fired his gun into Kaz's torso at point blank range. Flattening against Kaz's skin, the bullets fall down onto the officer. When the firearm clicked empty Kaz looked at him, ”I gave you a chance.”
Placing a foot on the man's chest, he took hold of each of the man's shoulders and began to pull. He put his full weight onto the officer's chest, snapping his ribcage as he tore the man's arms off. Standing in the gore Kaz move the first officer forward in front of him. The officer was still alive, grimacing in pain, blood flowing from the puncture wounds on his face. Though he was in obvious pain and being held up by his throat, this man still refused to give in. Raising his hand, and gun, he aimed directly at Kaz's head and fired.
The gesture was futile, his hand wasn't steady and Kaz barely had to tilt his head downward to deflect every shot. Frowning Kaz knocked the gun from his hand, and using the same hand he grabbed the officer's head and smashed it into the ground. Kaz hopped up and dug his claws into the side of a building. He was curious to see what sort of mayhem Danica was causing.
It was a colossal effort not to laugh when Sam spoke those words. They were completely untrue. There were plenty of people who were above the law. People with Political Immunity were such people. Another group of people were the rich. With enough money it was possible for someone to get off completely or have the consequences so diminished as to be almost nothing, just a slap on the wrist in many cases. Kaz was one such person. At this point, if anyone had come after him for things he had done in the past, he had the money to bury it until it went away, or to pay people off, or to force the issue to go away using any number of methods.
Still, Sam's words made sense and he was spot on for why they'd go after a kid like Alex instead of someone like Kaz. He had to remind him himself that they had apparently gone after Aura and Isabel, without much success, or no lasting success at least. Kaz didn't give voice to his thoughts, instead nodding with an understanding expression as Sam spoke. Only when the man was finished did he speak, ”Hopefully when this is over a different point will be made than the one they want to make. Just keep me in the loop Sam, when the trial is, any significant changes or concerns,” Kaz waved a hand in a 'that sort of thing' gesture. ”I'll do what I can to help out.”
Kaz had no idea Abyss, or any of his brothers, were held in such regard by the Mansionites. He was especially surprised to hear that Pluto lived at the Mansion. Apparently the Abyss-bros didn't all follow the Order way of life. That being the case, Kaz wondered what the rest of them were doing and gave him hope that he'd encounter his old friend again at some point.
It took a few moments more to realize what Sam had said, ”A future dream? Again?” He vaguely remembered what happened years ago. Try as he might though, he couldn't remember more than a few disjointed memories of that experience. As the years went on, he could recall less and less of it. There were times he wondered if it had ever happened at all or if he had imagined, dreamed, it all. The only reason he hadn't dismissed it entirely as a figment of his imagination was what happened when he awoke from it and the brawl at KP.
Sam seemed to have strong reaction as he spoke even that little bit about the future dream. Kaz felt the urge to ask him about it but refrained from doing so. He knew something about dealing with painful memories. He'd leave the man alone and not pry. Instead of saying anything Kaz gave Sam's glass and the bottle a significant look before giving Sam an understanding glance.
”I don't doubt it. They did seem to get along with the children at Sanctuary quite well. I was wondering the 'Byss-bros were doing since I returned, glad to hear at least one of them is alright and still around.” Looking at his hands, Kaz's voice became a little quieter, ”So many people I had known are gone now. Makes me feel a bit out of place.” Looking up again, ”Ya know what I mean?”
Shaking his head a little, not in negation of anything, just to clear it. ”Back to something you said earlier, I can't guarantee anything because of my own work, but I could stop by when I have the chance or try to work it into my schedule to be at least a semi-regular thing, and help out around here as a part-time Staffer.”
I'm sorry to everyone I owe posts to, things have kept cropping up and keeping me away. I don't see it calming down until after this holiday season is over (I hope I'll have the time to post soon).
Kaz watched as Maya seemed to put herself together and bring her emotions under control once again. He couldn't help but wonder how often she was doing that. How much was she bottling up? She had listened quietly, only nodding to what he had said, not correcting him or adding more or...anything. From her response, or lack of it, he was left to assume what he had guessed had been correct.
On one hand he was a bit proud he had guessed so well, on the other hand, he knew he wasn't that good at reading people or situations. There had to be something else. Something to explain the why she was so upset.
Or maybe it was just because he had never had kids, so he couldn't understand how deep that feels hole went, or how big it was. Kaz had to admit to himself that that was probably the real reason for his lack of comprehension. That and his constant paranoia and suspicion. Even if there was more going on, Kaz couldn't honestly expect Maya to tell him everything right now. They hadn't seen or spoken each other in years, and even before he left, they hadn't exactly been close. Kaz was honestly surprised that she had told him as much as she had. She hardly knew him, but she felt comfortable enough to confide in him, at least a little.
Kaz wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that. He felt good about it, warm, like he deserved that sort of trust, but at the same time he felt like he didn't deserve it. He hadn't been around when it mattered, hadn't helped when he could have made a difference. Kaz couldn't help but wonder if he had never left, would she have ever been in her current situation?
Kaz shook off those thoughts. They didn't matter now. It was the past, it happened, it was done, he couldn't change it, couldn't fix his mistakes. All he could do now was go forward, do what he could do to help now, be there if he could.
Reaching out for her hand again, ”I'll help any way I can Maya.” Smiling a little, ”You'll have to let me know if or how I can though, I'm inexperienced in this area. If you need someone to talk or vent to, to get things off your chest, let me know. Or whatever else, just let me know, I'll do what I can.”
”I know what it's like to have to keep going on by yourself, doing what you have to to keep moving forward. It's all we can do sometimes to keep sane. I'm sorry you had to go through that yourself.”
Kaz was surprised the woman seemed take what he said into consideration. From her belligerent attitude he had expected her to blow him off. She didn't loose the attitude, but it did get a bit more tolerable. ”Well Danica...Danica...Never heard that name before,” Kaz shrugged, ”It's not ballsy to walk around like this when this is what I am,” Kaz wasn't one to lie normally and it wasn't entirely a lie, but he didn't exactly feel up to give away his identity just yet. ”I can't hide it, so why should I try?”
Kaz moved forward towards her, slowly, almost in a prowl. ”I know exactly what those humans do to us.” There was so much disgust and contempt in that word that it twisted his face, his lips peeling back from his teeth. ”All the more reason not to hide, to show them I cannot be broken, subdued, or beaten.”
Kaz stopped moving when Danica began to pace around. Sitting back he looked up at her, his head tilted to the side. ”If I understand this right, you were on top of the building, where you weren't suppose to be, and you got caught. That was a guard wasn't it. And then you blasted his now splattered ass over the edge.” Kaz made a pensive face before shrugging it all away, ”My advice for next time, don't push him over the edge, just explode his head or something. You'll draw less attention to yourself that way, if your worried about-” Kaz cut himself off as he turned his head from her.
He heard the sirens and figured they had been called because of what Danica had done. By the sound of it, they would be close enough to investigate within a few minutes. When he looked back he realized the woman had been saying something. Kaz smirked a bit when Danica noticed the sirens and bolted. Kaz always felt a little naked, exposed, when he didn't have his exceptional hearing, which was why he kept it even in this 'Spike' form.
Kaz followed the woman, at a more leisurely pace, not feeling the need to run. If the cops found and caught him, he'd be able to take care of them easily, or at least that's what he assumed. It wouldn't be the best way to test the form out, but it would work. The main reason for taking on a new form, one that was almost completely different from his normal self, was so he could do things and not draw attention to himself or his business interests.
Though Kaz was perfectly fine with his sedate pace, Danica seemed to be becoming more..frantic. Rolling his eyes he sighed and moved faster. He leaped through the window, clearing it and Danica easily in one hop. The sound of his landing was louder than something his size should have been. If Danica had jumped through the window the way Kaz had, she would have slid, or fallen and rolled, much more than Kaz had. It was the little things that if someone paid attention enough, they'd realize something was definitely off. His claws dug into the floor to stop his movement, tail lashes around to keep him balanced.
Standing up he moved towards Danica, flicking dust from his hands and claws. The woman was huddled up, freaking out, and Kaz couldn't understand why. The situation wasn't that bad, hell, they hadn't even been shot at yet. Crouching in front of her he held out a hand, ”Call me Spike. It's as good a name as any I suppose.”
Kaz looked out of the broken window for a moment, ”You've never done anything like this before have you.” He said it was a wry snort of laughter, ”I have, and you'll be fine. No need to freak out over this, and if you are, ya might as well bust up a few cops in the process.”
Kaz blinked a few times before he shook his head slightly. ”That's what this is about? Because I left the Order? Damn you can hold a grudge.” It was looking more and more likely that this meeting, that he had hoped would be at worst neutral, was going to crash and burn. He had no desire to fight Isabel, but he had to admit to himself he was interested to see how she had developed. Still...
”None of the others seemed to take it as...personally as you do Isabel.” Kaz's skin darkened even more as he began to change his body. ”Don't tell me you had a crush on me too, like the twins did.” Kaz knew he was egging the bonemancer on now, but he couldn't help it. Keeping a grudge like she did for years, for almost a decade, it was ridiculous and a bit childish. If he had betrayed the Order and caused the members hard or caused the group to dissolve, then maybe he could understand it. But leaving to join up with Hunter? ”I'm free and unattached now, if you're interested.” He couldn't help smirking.
Kaz's arms turned completely black as a smooth, chitin-like armor rose from his skin. His fingertips became tipped with sharp claws as the armor on his forearms thickened and lengthened to protect the elbow without impeding movement. Under his clothing the same armor had appeared, it made his clothes feel tight, putting uncomfortable pressure against him.
”An old Australian dude told me once what they did in his country when two people had an issue, they go 'Have a Biff and a Beer'.” He quirked a brow at her, ”Ya wanna get this out of your system now and then the issue can be dropped, and no more actin' like a human.” Kaz set his feet apart and centered his balance and waited for Isabel to make her decision, to either come at him or drop it.
Kaz had not expected the woman to fire at him. When the shot came Kaz didn't both moving, didn't flinch at all. One of his eyes tracked the shot as it struck the bricks, the other one stayed focused on the mutant. He didn't know if she missed on purpose, if she was a bad shot, or if her surprise and sudden turn caused the shot to go wild. It didn't really matter in any case. From the damage to the bricks Kaz doubted he would have been phased by the blast. He was curious why she had shot first and so readily. Maybe she was on edge, or scared?
”Only those who piss me off...”
Tilting his head a bit as he looked at her, he decided she was scared. She had to be. He heard way to much false bravado in her words, in her tone. She was trying to hard. Was she trying to be intimidating? It was kinda cute. Kaz laughed and grinned, ”Well, I guess I'm in luck then huh, since I'm neither human, nor are we atop a skyscraper.” Making a tilting motion of his head at her hand, ”You can quit that. If I was interested in hurting you, or killing you, I would have done it already, shorty.”
Kaz closed his eyes, tilted his head up and to the side, effectively looking away from the woman, as he used one of his finger claws to scratch an itch on his neck, just behind the corner of his jaw. There was a low 'thrump' of a sound and Kaz opened and eye. He saw her shoot backwards, land and fall, rolling until righted herself. Kaz could not stop himself from smirking, maybe it had been coincidence that her retreat happened just when he had an itch and scratched it. 'Jumpy, literally.'
Kaz didn't move as he watched the woman, in fact his stillness was almost unnatural. Until she moved Kaz had stared at her, the red of his eyes seeming to glow brighter as his attention focused on her. It was the attention a hunter, animal or human, gives to things in its territory. There was no evil or ill intent in the look, but it none the less let it be known they were watching, that they were aware, and that life and death were theirs to give or take.
”Exactly who are you and what do you want?”
When the woman spoke Kaz moved, he yawned. Large, loud, and oddly like a rumbling truck, but it was obviously a yawn. ”Since you didn't,” Kaz was interrupted as another yawn took him and he felt the need to stretch. Going to all fours began stretching in a similar way a cat would, the spines on his back, legs, and tail changed position and quivered for a moment before relaxing back into place when he sat back on his haunches. ” Since you didn't introduce yourself first, which is only polite, you can call me 'Spike'. It is quite appropriate, considering...” Kaz lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers, the knuckle spikes visible. ”I don't want anything really. I had been putting this new body through a test drive when I saw something odd. I wanted to find out what that was, so I came here. Now I've found out what it was. You.” Grinning, ”My turn. Who are you, and why are you so violently twitchy? I won't ask about the human, they probably did something stupid, like always. I'll have to remember the skyscraper thing. I bet the landing was really messy.”
Kaz had apparently poked a very sensitive subject to Maya. More-so than he would have expected. He saw her eyes sparkle from unshed tears, could see her making the effort to hold them back. When he mentioned her reaction, he had thought it would be something simple, but apparently there was a lot more going on with Rowan. People making fun of him because of his looks, treating him like a freak, like a dog. Kaz knew how normal it was for people to treat people like that, just because they were different. He didn't like it, but for some reason it's what humans did.
It had been done to him, repeatedly. When he was very young it hadn't been terrible, at least from what he could remember at that age. It had gotten progressively worse as he got older, the comments, the hate, the beatings. He had been put in the hospital multiple times, broken bones, lacerations, suffocation, internal bleeding...
What bothered Kaz most about what Maya said, was the possibility that mutants were doing it to the boy. She hadn't said who was doing it, just 'people', but to her, people included both humans and mutants. Kaz could deal with humans acting that way, but mutants...He was sure that any mutant who treating Rowan like that should be killed, or at least severely beaten. They had enough problems from humans, they didn't need to make it worse.
Kaz reached across the table to put his hand on hers. He wanted to give the woman a hug, it seemed like she could use one, but there was a table in the way, and that might be too much, too familiar a gesture. Holding her hand, and giving it a gentle squeeze was the best he could think to do.
Kaz had never raised kids, never spent a lot of time around them. He didn't know what to say to help, didn't know if there was anything he could do to help. He was lost. Saying, 'Everything will be fine', 'It'll work out', 'He'll be okay', those things all sounded shallow, sounded like lies to himself. False hopes that he himself didn't believe, so how could he expect Maya to believe them? Kaz doubted she would be so upset about Rowan's situation if she could believe and take comfort in those well-meaning lies.
”You're afraid he'll turn out like his dad. That he'll become some evil terrorist or something similar. Afraid that what these people are doing and saying to him will hurt and scar him, that it will affect who he is and who he could be as he grows up. Worried about how he'll see himself, what he'll think of himself, that maybe because of how he's being treated right now, that he'll think less of himself. That he's less human, less of a mutant.” Kaz's tone wasn't one of statement, the words had a questioning feel to them. He was attempting to see if he understood where she was coming from, to see if he was correctly guessing her fears and concerns.
Kaz took his hand back as he spoke. ”I'd love to tell you that it will all be okay, that he'll turn out fine, and all that jazz, but that would be a lie. Of course it will affect him, change him, mold him.” Kaz shrugged, ”Take it from me, someone who went through similar treatment. It does change how you see yourself. But he has something I never did, a mother who cares, who loves him, who wants the best for him.”
”I've never had kids Maya, probably never will, so I have no experience in that. But I know how important it is to have people who care about you and support you. Judy and Nicki showed me that, gave me that. Rowan has you, and unless I'm completely off the mark, he's got the others from the Mansion as well. People who care about him, and can show him it's alright to be different, who embrace that difference.” Kaz knew he wasn't helping. His words were too cliche. ”If the little bit of support from two women did so much for me, your support as he grows up will help him more than you can imagine.”
”I wish I could do more for you and Rowan...” Kaz sighed and made a very small shrug. He had no idea how to help.
”Security I can do. I'd be glad to do it, or at least have my guys do it. That is their job after all.” He gave Sam a brief, flicker of a smile. ”You don't have to worry about them getting out of hand, they have to be able to handle things without endangering the residents of the Estates.” Leaning back in his chair, ”Why did this become such a big deal? Is there more to Alex's situation than self defense? From the little I know self defense cases happen all the time, and none of them warrant this sort of..publicity. My gut is telling me it's because he is a mutant, and nothing else. Like this whole thing is a sham, an excuse to go after a mutant kid, to make some sort of twisted point.” Kaz drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment, ”I can have a guy inside with you Sam, just in case something happens. That would also give me eyes and ears inside so we can provide assistance if needed.”
Kaz didn't like what Sam was saying about the Order. During the short time he was with them, they always did do things how they wanted, caring nothing for how others saw them. It had had a point, to put mutants on top. They might accomplish that by killing some humans, but they could do it by influencing and manipulating society, sowing chaos with Haywire. If the Order had degenerated into a group of individuals who cared only for their own interests, that meant they had no higher goal anymore.
Kaz shook his head, not liking where his thoughts were going. ”Wait, you know Abyss?” Kaz latched onto that to turn his mind to a different path of thinking.
