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.
Kaz's gaze flicked to Noel's phone when she held it out. He gave it a quick once over, trying to pick out anything that seemed immediately important. It didn't take long, it wasn't a long note, short enough that he didn't have to look at it more closely, but he did anyway, making sure to memorize what he could. Kaz felt a little slighted when he noted his place on the list compared to Izzy's, though for a mutant hating group, it made sense. She was always more stab-happy than he was. Then he remembered that she had mentioned something about the number of names. 'Top 20 isn't so bad I guess, even if I'm at the bottom of that 20.'
'You like being on a hit list? You want to be a higher priority target? Are you nuts?'
'Considering I'm talking to myself like this, I'd have to say yes to that.'
Noel answered his snippy questions with a completely honest and silly answer, and all he could do is sit there with his mouth hanging open a little, while the rest of his face showed his...confused disbelief. Tasting memories... Nope. That was not one Kaz would have ever in his life imagined any mutant doing. It was, unique, to say the least, and weird. Very weird, very odd. And also, not very psychic-like, at least not to him. He guessed it made a sort of sense, memory is in the brain, abilities to access, control or manipulate the mind were psychic in a broad sense, but still...
'You're doing it again...' He thought to himself with a mental laugh at himself.
'Yeah, yeah...I can't help it. I can't like figure this one.'
'Who can ever really figure out brain-tappers?' Kaz's only response to that was a mental shrug.
'She said taste right? Ya think she could eat them too?'
They had apparently both been silent for a bit of time, not long, maybe a minute or three, but then she spoke. Well, asked a question, a barbed question, though it probably wasn't meant to be. Was probably suppose to be probing, information digging, maybe somewhat defensive because of his reaction. Maybe she was trying to provoke him..
Pursing his lips he looked at her sideways before looking away and to the roof between his feet. Kaz sighed, ”Better to ask what type hasn't screwed me over. Telepaths have rifled through my head and memories. I've been imprisoned inside my own mind while my body was used. Had my perceptions, ideas, and my identity twisted and warped. Had memories...altered. Been made to do, feel, think things I normally wouldn't.” Putting his elbows on his knees he pressed and rubbed his temples. ”And I couldn't do anything about it, couldn't stop it from happening, couldn't break out of it. Every time, I'd resist as hard as I could, and.... To know that your efforts mean nothing, that the most you might, MIGHT, accomplish is maybe to annoy them a little, maybe make them work just fractionally harder.”
Kaz gave Noel a skewed glance, ”That's why I don't like psychics.” After a momentary pause, he gave a short 'heh' of a laugh, ”But they're all dead now, and I'm still here, I'm still..me.” Mostly. He still wasn't sure if he was still completely himself, not all the time at least. And they weren't all dead. Nicki hadn't screwed him over the same way the rest had, but her disappearance did hurt him just the same. Though he had given up hope of ever seeing her again, he refused to believe she was dead, and kept money flowing to certain people to keep their eyes, ears, and everything else open for any news or information regarding her.
His back straighten when he finally noticed her eyes. He had looked at her, looked in her direction, but he hadn't made eye contact with her the whole time they had been on the roof. The brain itch had stopped. His thoughts clicked into place. Words from the scuffle popped up from his memory.
“Don’t look her in the eyes!”
“Haha, funny. She *@#$ed with his brain, man. Again.”
Realization hit him. He had the pieces, but he hadn't put them together. Their words, and how the men acted, Baldy seeming to completely forget about Noel, No-fingers concerned more with Mr. Knife-in-my-neck. They had been there for Noel, had been ready for a fight. Neither of them going for their target like they should have.
He just put it together. She didn't just taste memories, she manipulated them somehow. Kaz opened his mouth to..
To...
To...
What?
Kaz's brows furrowed as he looked around.
”What the hell?” Kaz stood up, fast. Too fast. He began to fall over, head pounding. He caught himself, bracing his arm on something metal. They were on a roof somewhere. Where? He had no clue, he'd have to move around, go to the street to figure that out. But at least they had made good their escape from the gun wielding humans and the park.
”Ow!” A shock of light pain, made worse by surprise, shot up his arm. He shook it a little before he lifted it and looked at himself. He had quite a few small scratches all over his arm. Arms, he corrected himself when he looked to his other arm. 'And probably the rest of me too by the looks of it.' So he had shifted again, spread out the hurts, and the way his head felt, it had to have been recent. Which meant that however they got to the roof, they hadn't been there long. But why couldn't he remember? Had he taken that much of a beating that shifting made him black out and forget?
What about.. He turned and looked, finding her right away. ”Hey, you okay? Didn't get hit did...Your face is covered with blood, what happened?” He moved towards her. The blood didn't look like was coming from her head, head wounds would still be bleeding, no marks on her face, lips? He looked, still smooth and whole, so no split lip. ”You look like you could use a shower.” He laughed stupidly and looked at himself, seeing the blood on his shirt where No-fingers had sliced himself on the knife, ”Huh, so could I, I guess.”
Flopping down onto the rooftop, ”So...should we go somewhere else first, or can you tell me here, what that was all about?” He quirked a brow at her.
Kaz was watching Noel through narrowed, suspicious eyes. When she lowered her hand and spoke, he relaxed. Not a lot, but enough that he wasn't basically glaring at her. 'So not like Nicki? She has to touch the person for it to work... Direct contact? Would clothes block her?' He assumed they would since she had asked if he had touched one of the guys, skin-to-skin. So as long as she didn't touch him he was safe. Probability. Even thinking that, Kaz felt like he was forgetting something, something important. It was itching the back of his throbbing head. Try as he might, he couldn't drag it out.
When she wrapped her arms around herself Kaz's face softened more. He was sure she wasn't faking it, the way she spoke seemed, pained. Maybe she did get hurt after all, he thought and felt a little bit of regret for thinking she could handle herself. He was sure if he had stepped in, he wouldn't have gotten his bells wrung, not to mention... Just thinking about it made him wince a little and shield his crotch a tiny bit. It was a completely involuntary action.
”...I don't remember.” Kaz raised a skeptical brow and gave her a 'Nope, not buying it' look. The look turned into a furrow browed, curious look at the mention of the blood. Kaz was wondering how she could do the brain-rummaging through blood that was no longer inside the person it came from. There needs to be a living brain, a living person for that...right?
And then she put the blood in her mouth.
He didn't even try to hide his reaction. He was surprised and a little weirded out, and it showed. He knew there were mutants with strange abilities, but they all seemed to make some sort of twisted sense, or at least once he got a few bits of info, he could form a decent understanding of their abilities. Not Noel's though. She was a self-proclaimed psychic, who needed to physically touch a person, but blood in her mouth seemed to work just as well. Yeah, he was lost. He decided he was going to stop trying to figure her's out on his own and just ask straight questions about it. Besides not making himself more confused in the process, it also allowed him to do less intensive thinking, which was good, thinking was painful at the moment.
While he wanted to have answers right then, the blood thing had been a deliberate act, so it had a purpose. Instead of speaking, Kaz leaned back, watched and listened. He was so intent on hearing what she said and what the words meant, that he barely noticed the shift in her speech. She had gone from her own voice, to something sort of distant, emotionless sounding, to...not herself at all.
Whatever she had done, he was getting what had asked for: Answers.
While he continued to pay attention, he repeated certain words over and over in his head, adding more any time she said something that seemed important. He wasn't liking any of what he was hearing. He wasn't surprised that stupid humans would do something stupid because of some ripped clothes. It was this 'List' that he was most interested in, and he wanted to know who, or what, the Bird Hunters were. Find that out, and he'd find out how they knew him. After that it would just be a matter of finding them, and killing them, and destroying every bit of info they had.
When she put her hands over her eyes again, it made the back of his brain itch again, yet he still couldn't remember what he was suppose to remember. If he ignored the whole blood-in-mouth thing, touching something to relive, see, or experience past events, it made sense, and it seemed familiar. He knew there was a word for it...psycomancy? psycotelemetry? psychosis?
'Do you even know what you're trying to think of?'
'Yeah, obviously, or else it wouldn't have come to mind at all.'
'Yeah, right, keep telling yourself that, maybe you'll believe it. Besides, didn't you say you weren't going to try and figure it out anymore? Look how long that lasted.'
'Bite me.'
He turned to face her, ”Hit lists aren't a good thing. Know anything besides, 'there's a list'? Like names or other info?” He knew he was being a little snippy, unnecessarily so, but he was also obviously interested in knowing. 'Why is she covering her eyes again? Headache?' Eyes...eyes...something about eyes... Kaz couldn't help but look at her, trying to look her in the eyes through her hands. The itching wouldn't go away.
He'd wait until she gave him what he asked for, but as soon as she did, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out anymore and blurt the question out: ”What the hell was that with the blood? Were you going to like put my hand in your mouth?” It was probably going to be the most impolite way he had ever questioned a mutant about their abilities.
Kaz didn't bother to remove the 'wings' as they ran, he did however have them flow out behind him once they were out of range, so they didn't act like air breaks. He was focusing so much on getting away that he missed Noel's 'stormtrooper' comment. If he had heard it, and had been feeling better, he probably would have laughed. Of course she was wrong, they had hit him, more than a few times, but from her perspective it must have seemed like they were missing.
Kaz went past a few places before finally stopping on a roof with other roofs blocking the view of the streets below. Hopefully they were far enough away they couldn't catch up, and if they were following somehow, he hoped this would help them to be overlooked.
Moving a bit gingerly, Kaz set Noel down with some air vent duct work at her back. The way she pressed her hands against her eyes made him wonder if something had happened to her, or if this was the first time she had been apart of...whatever the hell that had been. Bloody, it was bloody. 'So maybe she's not good with blood?' He really didn't know, but he wasn't going to push either.
Before he dropped to the roof a few feet from her, he made his body reabsorb the wings, the bullets that were lodged in them fell with soft 'plunk'ing sounds. There wasn't much real damage, they hadn't made it through the membranes or bone, at least not completely. Most of them had merely been flattened against the skin with just enough force to slip under the outer later of skin and stay there. Even still, having bullet holes, even small ones wasn't something he'd want to deal with. So with his headache getting worse with every change he made to himself, he forced the wounds to disperse over the rest of his body, turning a few slightly annoying wounds into a lot of tiny scratches. Even the tenderness and slight bruising he felt on his skull dispersed so much it didn't cause him any more trouble.
”What?” Kaz said lamely as he leaned back against the vent-work-stuff. ”Touch one? I..” He thought back through what had happened. Had he touched one of them? Their clothes yes, their skin? ”I don't think I did, wh-”
”I'm a psychic.”
”Oh...that figures. Should have guessed that.” Kaz's tone made it obvious he wasn't exactly thrilled at the information. It almost sounded similar to what Nicki could do, picking up information in a similar way, but Noel apparently did it with what?
”Uhh....Yeah, how about not.” There was no missing it this time, his voice was almost hostile. ”I don't like people poking around in my head. I like it even less when I don't have a clue what's going on. Ugnn,” Kaz leaned forward, putting his head between his knees as he gripped his head, ”Especially not while my head is pounding like a jack-hammer!” He didn't yell, but he didn't need to, the intensity of 'jack-hammer' expressed how much it hurt.
”Why..ah....shit..uh....Tell me what the hell that was all about huh? Why were they waiting for you?”
Kaz's head was ringing like a bell as he looked around. For a few moments he couldn't make much sense of the things around him. Everything was just a little too bright or too loud or sharp. ”God I hate headshots,” Kaz said as he gingerly rubbed his head where the bat had hit him. ”when I'm on the receiving end.” Speaking about the bat he looked for it and found it on the ground a few feet away. Kaz's skull was pretty thick, add in his weight, and how bent and dented the bat was, he figured Baldy had the arms of some Major League hitter.
”Car.”
The word pulled Kaz's world together a bit more clearly, enough that it actually started the gears moving. He looked in the direction of the speaker. ”Noe...” He saw the blood all over her, ”Shit, are you okay?” He moved to her and began looking her over quickly. Not seeing any gushing wounds, he looked away from her and to the two men on the ground. One was, now that he looked at him, clearly the source of the blood. Kaz was sure he was going to die and fairly soon. The other was...No-fingers who seemed to still have his fingers. Well that's what Kaz assumed since the guy had taken the time to wrap his sliced hand in some cloth, Kaz had no idea where the cloth came from, but it seemed to be doing some good, though it was thoroughly soaked with his own blood.
Kaz found it hard to care that the three men on the ground were bleeding copious amounts onto Central Park's walkway, not when he noticed their little scuffle had drawn more than a few observers. The waters were keeping their distance, he saw at least one cell phone raised and pointed in their direction. Kaz made a 'Tsk'-ing sound. He wanted to know why Baldy knew his name, he wanted to grab No-fingers and make him talk and hopefully get answers. He wanted to know why these guys had taken the time to follow and wait for Noel and what they had planned to do. Wanted to, but things just weren't straight at that moment, not his head, not the odd look on Noel's face, and not No-fingers, who seemed to be ignoring both of them, asking his buddy stupid things like what happened.
Kaz was forgetting something, but he wasn't sure what. ”Hey, it might be a good idea to leave before someone shows up, eh?” And, of course, just as he was turning to leave, putting a hand out to 'guide' Noel, he heard the car. ”Oh, right. Car.” Looking to Noel and then behind himself, he saw the car jounce as it came to a stop, a few guys hopped out before the thing was fully stopped.
“That's him! It's 20, I told you he was here.” One of the men yelled to the others as he pointed at Kaz. They were all dressed similarly to the downed men near Kaz and Noel.
Kaz's head was clearing quickly and he figured as long as he didn't let one of the goons get a cheep shot in like Baldy had, he could take the lot of them down quickly, without letting any of them near Noel. At least that's what he had thought as he turned to face them and step between them and Noel. That thought shattered when he saw the group draw pistols. The man who had fingered him was shouting about the bleeding men and riling up the group.
Making sure he didn't glance away from them, Kaz focused through the lingering haze in his head. He was going to have to be quick. The throb in his head as he prepared to change had nothing to do with being hit in the head. If they stayed, Noel would most likely get killed, so it was all or nothing.
Kaz ramped up his speed, strength and density as quickly as he could. Turned quickly and put his back to the group. Even before his turn was completed three large 'wings' burst from his back, the membranes and bones of each wing were extremely tough. Each wing covered a large area, overlapping with the others to block them from the group. ”Hold on.” He said to Noel as he moved to pick her up and carry her, an arm behind her shoulders and under her thighs. ”Gonna run for it, okay?” Kaz heard the shots before he felt the impact against his wings, wings that should have been able to stand up to the assault easily. But he could already feel that they wouldn't. His head was too scrambled to get it right. At this rate he hoped he'd be able to run and carry her at the same time.
He knew going to his Hummer would be pointless. Sure they could get to it and get in, but these guys could probably catch up while they did, and then they'd be hard to ditch on the road, or they could follow wherever they went. No, the Hummer would just have to sit and probably get towed, if they could move it. Once they were far enough away, they'd either have to hide somewhere, out run them on foot, or if he could manage it, he'd fly them away.
Kaz's attention moved from the two fleeing and Baldy when one of the guys threw a chain at his head. Ducking and leaning to the side kept the chain from hitting him in the face, but it did catch his shoulder and threw him off balance. Kaz didn't have a chance to do anything about him as he bulled Noel over. His first instinct was to tear the guy off of her, but he checked himself. Noel seemed like she could take care of herself. Besides, Kaz didn't really have much choice in the matter.
Baldy had apparently forgotten all about Noel. When Kaz was distracted by the chain, he had picked up the steel bat one of the fleeing goons had dropped. Kaz figured Baldy hadn't liked how his friend No-fingers had been treated. Why? Because the bat found its way, whistling in a low arc, right between Kaz's legs. It doesn't matter how strong or tough you are, if you're a guy and you don't have some sort of protective gear on, a blow to the crotch, especially an unexpected one, is going to hurt like the sun exploding in your face. Baldy apparently wasn't big solely because he liked to eat fast food.
Kaz let out a groan of pain through his clenched jaw, eyes blinking furiously as he tried to push the sudden sensation away. The blow hadn't seemed to do much more than make him rock back on his heels a bit, but Baldy apparently thought Kaz was going to be out of the fight. So he promptly reeled back and hit Kaz in the side of the head with the bat. Dense, tough skin and bone wasn't a great defense against blows to the head, might not break through, but all the rest still happens. Kaz's leg buckled as spots exploded in his vision. 'This is fucking embarrassing!' He thought to himself as another blow impacted his head, in nearly the same spot as the first.
Kaz got his wits together enough to roll with the third impact. He rolled away from Baldy and stood up a little shakily. Kaz's balance was off and he was still seeing stars and his head pounded with every beat of his heart.
Baldy was smirking with a triumphant gleam in his eye. “Ahh, did little Kazimierz get hurt?”
Kaz looked at Baldy with a mixture of surprise, dumbfoundedness, and irritation. Kaz knew he had to have been hit harder than he thought because he was absolutely sure Baldy had just said his name, his entire first name. No one should know that name.
Kaz raised an arm to block the next swing of the bat. Instead of stopping it,the tip of the bat skipped off his forearm and connected squarely on Kaz's chin, twisting Kaz's head to the side. Numbness ran all through Kaz's jaw before making its way down his neck and over the rest of his body. Staggering, he fell to the side, catching himself with an outstretched arm. He shook his head vigorously to clear it. He realized it wasn't just his balance that was off, but his perception as well. So instead of trying to block or move out of the way of the next swing of the bat, Kaz threw himself away from Baldy.
Landing badly, unbalanced, he fell and rolled even further than he had intended. Baldy was grinning, no, leering at him, with something predatory, something hungry, in his eyes. Kaz did not like that look, didn't like any human looking down on him. More than that, he didn't like that his guy knew him.
As Baldy stalked forward to continue beating Kaz's battered head, Kaz knew doing anything fancy wasn't going to work well. So instead of evading, Kaz exploded into motion, heading straight for Baldy. The bat missed Kaz as he barreled into the big guy. Because his balance and perception was off, he didn't hit squarely, but he did get a hold of Baldy's clothes. Before the man could shake him off or hit him with the bad, Kaz planted his feet, lifted and slammed the man onto the ground with all the strength he could, which was quite a bit less than it should have been, his body not responding the way it should. Weak or not, Baldy didn't move from where Kaz put him, and by the blood Kaz could see and smell, he might not move again, or maybe he would eventually, head wounds tend to bleed a lot even when they are very small.
Kaz almost stomped on the man's neck, but decided it would be better if he didn't. Instead he looked around to get his barrings and to see if Noel was okay or if she needed help.
The kid wasn't dying or freaking out, though he didn't seem to like being in the pool. Kaz really didn't understand why, there was nothing, that he could see, intimidating or uncomfortable about pools. ”No, not yet. I'm gonna teach you how to swim, or at least try.” Holding up the arm floats, ”Come over here, I'll put these on ya.”
When Panu reached him, he slid one of the floats onto each of the boy's arms, all the way to the middle of his upper arm. ”Watch what I do any then try it, those things will keep you afloat by themselves, so don't worry about drowning.” Kaz stepped a few feet away from Panu, turned, lifted his legs and let his body rotate in the water until he was laying in the water. His arms were held out away from his body a bit, legs straight up, both mostly stiff. Kaz took an extra large breath and his upper body rose noticeably in the water, ”The more air in your lungs the higher your chest and head will be.” Turning his head a little to look at Panu from the corner of his eye, ”The less air...” Kaz said as he expelled most of the air from his lungs, his body sinking lower and lower until he began to sink, and had to work to stay afloat. Breathing normally again he balanced out in the water, floating easily on the surface. ”See? Pretty easy.”
Relaxing his legs he stood up once again moved behind Panu. ”Your turn.” Kaz put a hand behind the boy's back, ”I'll make sure you don't go under completely until you get the hang of it.” Kaz remembered when he first learned to swim, floating seemed pointless to him, it also took him a bit to get the hang of it. After he did, he was given a foam board to hold onto, as he kicked his feet in the water. At first he did almost nothing but slap the water with his feet and barely moved. Once that was over and he was able to propel himself with some efficiency, he laid his chest on the board and they put another board under his legs so all he could do is use his arms to move himself forward. Kaz didn't have another board to use for Panu, but that's what the smaller noodles were for.
Kaz was three or four when he learned to swim, and it had taken him a while, same as everyone else in the class. He knew Panu wasn't going to 'get it' all in one day, might not even be able to really learn, but he was quite a few years older than Kaz had been, so Kaz figured he would learn faster. He knew it would probably take a while, but there was no concern that Panu would get cold, the pool was heated. Kaz also figured that as long as the kid was doing this, even if he disliked it, he wouldn't be sitting in the room being bored or getting into some sort of mischief, and hopefully it would tired the boy out enough to sleep without Kaz having to be too on guard.
If he let the kid live past tomorrow, knowing how to swim, even badly, was something everyone should know, it could literally save your life. So Kaz showed, taught and helped the boy until the kid was tired and so pruned up he looked like an old man. ”Why don't you go take a shower before going to bed.”
Kaz like to think of himself as being observant, especially when it came to those he faced off against, but until everything was packed away he hadn't noticed the cut on her shoulder, or the tattoos, or the bruises that he instantly knew he hadn't inflicted. He wondered if he would have noticed them if he hadn't seen her stretching her neck and shoulders which called his attention to them. He realized that he had begun frowning after noticing them all, partially due to not noticing them before and partially because he wondered where they had come from. Cuts like her's weren't something you got accidentally in the kitchen. He was curious enough to ask about them, but decided that whatever happened might be a prickly subject, and if she didn't volunteer the information, he'd leave it alone.
Grinning, ”I aim to please m'dear.” He said as he gave her a little bow and tip of the head. He waved off her comment, ”But you did. An unexpected good time, and you showed me a few things I hadn't known before. I'd call us even.” If she had tried to give the escrima sticks back to him, he would have pointedly ignored them until she relented. Reaching down he grabbed the case's sturdy leather wrapped kevlar strap, once off the ground and they began walking he slung the strap over his shoulder and head, adjusted it and had the case laying across his back at a slant, similar to how someone might carry a sword. The weight of case had him leaning forward at the waist just a bit. Kaz might be ridiculously strong, but physics was still a thing and he still had to play by its rules.
Kaz looked askew at Noel when she began teasing him about the case. It was something he did so often it really didn't seem like that big of a deal to him, but apparently it was to normal people. When she did an impression of him, he couldn't help but snort out a laugh before it turned into a real laugh. ”Well, it is nothing, to me at least. But it is damned awkward, keep feeling like I'm gonna fall backwards unless I lean really far over.” He made an exaggerated show of leaning forward while taking heavy, deliberate steps, while trying not to fall over.
After stowing the case in the Hummer they began walking toward the pizza parlor Noel had suggested. ”Pizza is the king of foods...After steak...or..maybe bacon is.” Kaz's face was quite serious as he spoke. Turning to her, ”What do you think? Bacon or pizza, which one reigns supreme?”
Kaz wasn't as distracted as Noel was, he had seen the cliche Hell's Angels wannabes ahead of them, but he hadn't given them more than a passing thought. If he had, he would not only have realized it was a very, very odd thing to see them in Central Park, but that they were men on a mission, their attention clearly on Noel.
They had been standing off to the side of the path until the two of them came close. When the largest of the group stepped in front of Noel, blocking her path, Kaz looked the guy up and down. He was probably suppose to seem imposing with the leather, bald head, beefy frame, and scars.
“Going somewhere?” The man said in a gruff voice. Without moving his body much, Kaz looked from the man to Noel. The scar he sported didn't look as fresh as Noel's, but Kaz took a monumentally small mental leap and figured both were from the same incident and that Noel had given it to the burly man.
“Remember me pumkin?” 'Really? Did he really just say that?' Kaz mentally groaned at the words. There was no question now, there was definitely something going on here he didn't know about.
”Should I?” Kaz glanced at Noel when she spoke. He wasn't sure if her glance to him was a way to ask for his help or just to see what he was doing or if she was trying to tell him not to do anything. As far as Kaz was concerned at that moment, he might like Noel as far as he knew her, enjoyed sparing with her and enjoyed her company up to the current moment, but the situation was a conflict between humans. It wasn't his problem. He wouldn't let them kill or seriously injure her, but until it went to that point, he'd stay out of it.
Kaz watched the short exchange between the two while he kept an eye on the other four men in the group. They really did look like a group of scum-bags, Kaz wondered if he would be doing the world a favor if he killed them all, right then. It didn't take much wondering, he would be doing the world a favor. If it came to it, he could, and would, kill them, if he felt inclined to do so.
Kaz was snapped out of his personal musings when one of them shouted something about not looking into Noel's eyes. That was important. So when the doubled up chain was swung at her head, Kaz's arm shot out and caught the metal links in his hand well before it would have connected with her unprotected skull. Turning his look at her, ”You're a mutant?” Going by the shouted words, it was true, but he wanted confirmation. Not that he'd wait for it before acting. If there was a possibility that she was, Kaz would act first and find out later.
The man holding the chain looked at Kaz in surprise, whether because he had caught the chain or because of how fast Kaz's arm had moved, or maybe it was something else entirely. Kaz thought he might have seen a very slight light of recognition in the man's eyes. For his part, Kaz noticed the chain was wrapped around the man's hand as he gripped it. Pulling hard on the chain took the man's balance and chain from him, nearly dislocating his shoulder in the process, and brought him into Kaz's reach. ”It's not polite to hit a lady.” Whipping the chain around the man's neck he pulled him close, out of reach of Noel.
Kaz's face was stony when he looked at Q-ball. ”We got a problem here baldy? Why don't you tell me what your issue is with my friend here, hmm? Or would you prefer I snapped this moron's neck?” Kaz watched the other men bristle at his words and brandish a couple knives and at least one had a bat that he could see.
The one Kaz held close to him with the chain around his neck, had apparently been concealing a knife as well because Kaz felt it when the blade jabbed at his gut, cutting yet another hole in his shirt. It was the man who cried out when the blade failed to pierce Kaz's skin. His hand had slid off the grip and along the blade when it stopped suddenly against Kaz's body. Releasing his hold on the chain and the man, Kaz spun him away a few steps before kicking him in the back. The man landed in a heap some 15ft away, bleeding from the large, very deep gashes in his fingers. ”Humans,” He looked away from the man, ”Are you all that stupid?”
Kaz picked up the knife at his feet, holding it out, hilt first, toward Noel before setting the chain to spinning at his side.
Kaz could tell the two different blades were throwing Noel off a bit, if she was use to dual wielding. If she wasn't, Kaz was a bit impressed. Most people couldn't handle two at once, either they used one and nearly forgot about the second or they got 'tangled up', the second weapon getting in the way of the first. The difference in weight and styles of the blades Noel held were what seemed to be her biggest issue, though after the first couple strikes she seemed to be getting over that. Either she really had sunk a lot of time into this sort of weapons training or she had a natural knack.
Kaz returned her smile with one of his own.
When Noel began to drop low and break his hold on her wrist, he could have used the rod to rotate her arm, move to the side and put her in another hold, locking her arm out straight in an easy position to break the elbow or strike a painful or deadly blow against her neck and head. Instead he let her slide out as he watched as the blade swing in her hand to be taken up in a reversed grip. In practice the move wasn't difficult, but in a fight, even a friendly sparring match, it was a gamble, the wielder could be disarmed easily as the blade swung. Kaz didn't go after that blade, he was curious what she'd do with it.
He had not expected Noel to let one of the blades go, did not expect her to retreat the way she had, did not expect her to use the discarded short sword as a springboard of sorts. Kaz had begun moving forward when she reversed direction and came right at him, the wakizashi in a draw position at her side. It was something he was familiar with, though he had doubts it could reach the same speeds during the draw as it could if it had been sheathed at the beginning of the draw. It was still fast and Kaz had only enough time to twist his body and move to the side opposite her drawing arm. He felt when the wakizashi's blade skimmed across his skintight shirt, parting the fabric in a short, clean line. If his skin hadn't been hardened the blade would have drawn blood, not a lot of blood, but a little, it would have been a superficial cut. He wouldn't have cared about being cut if it had happened, if you weren't prepared for it to happen, you had no right to play with real blades.
Kaz didn't back away after the strike, instead he continued his twist and struck out at the side of Noel's head in a mostly glancing blow meant to disorient though it could just as easily break bone, as the second one moved in to the back of her head in a smashing blow meant to break the skull and damage the brain inside. Of course neither strike would land with anything more than a light tap.
Kaz moved away after a few heartbeats to a neutral distance, one that would allow her to continue if she wanted, but also showed he had disengaged. If she wanted to continue he would, but, ”Well,” He said as he put a finger through the cut in his shirt and tugged at it a little, smiling, ”I have to say, I'm a bit impressed. That wasn't something I've ever seen anyone but myself do.” Kaz motioned to the wrist he had trapped. ”Mind if I show you how to get out of that hold without opening yourself up?”
When she gave him permission, he showed her not only what he could have done, strike at her neck or head to disable, disorient, or kill, break the wrist, elbow, bones in the upper or lower arm, or shoulder, he showed her how to get out of it safely, and then how to counter it. He also informed her that many of the escrima techniques could be used with knives and daggers instead of the sticks.
After showing her he took a stance and invited her to come at him again.
Back and forth they went, a series of short exchanges, some taking longer than others. After each one he showed a counter or how to get out of a hold or offered some other advice. It wasn't one sided though, more than once he asked her show him something she had done, asked why she had done it, and followed along as she repeated it. If she offered to show him how to counter, deflect, parry, or avoid something, he would listen, but he never asked, he liked to figure out that sort of thing on his own.
The shadows had grown long and begun to disappear by the time they were finally done, Kaz sported more than a few little cuts in his shirt and pants, and though he could only guess, he suspected Noel would be sporting a few bruises herself.
Kaz bowed to Noel, not deeply, but still respectfully, when she was ready to stop. Smiling, ”I didn't expect to have this much fun. You hungry? My treat.” Even if she turned his offer down, Kaz knew he had to eat soon, he could feel it in his gut. Though he hadn't pushed himself much or shifted his body often, he still needed a lot of food.
Kaz broke the giant sword down and stowed it in the case along with the dirk, shortsword, and wakizashi. When the case was closed he still had the escrima sticks in hand. Those he held out to Noel, ”A gift. They fit what you mentioned; Practical and easily concealed, and easily dismissed by others. “
Kaz Corydon would probably be somewhere between 25 and 5 on the list. He's been out of the public eye for years, but he did take part in both of the KP battles as well as publicly fought the Stalker bots. Though he relied mostly on his mutation in the past, he was seen bristling with weapons, legal and illegal. Going by the vehicles he drives, the quality of clothing, and if anyone tracked it down, the half a million he handed to Ghost for the bookstore with out batting an eye, he is quite wealthy.
Scheme of one kind or another was definitely an Order thing to do, but an insurance fraud scheme wasn't the type he would normally associate with the group, or its members. Or its leaders that he knew. Kaz went through his mind of who might have come up with the idea, but he was drawing a blank. The last person could remember leading the Order was Syn, and it didn't seem like her sort of thing, but he didn't really know her that well, so....
”I did something similar around my place years ago...think I've got most of a two mile radius all bought up. I haven't pushed many of the people out, they make good cover, and bring in some income which I've used for other things. But building a development from scratch allows me to avoid a lot of unnecessary and undesirable actions. Not to mention I'm able to set it up how I want, with room for everything instead of trying to pigeon hole it all in.”
He was a bit surprised that Aura so easily spoke about her trial and incarceration. Even the totals, of what was known at least, made him look at the girl again. To Kaz, Aura had a bit of an innocent face, like that of a kid sister on some tv sitcom. She looked too young to have racked up that many murders. She said it so casually, with no attempt to cover for herself, that Kaz found that he didn't doubt her in the least, though he couldn't help but think there was more too it than just simple murder sprees. ”I remember hearing about Izzy's trial, but I never knew they had tried two of the Order. I have to admit I'm surprised, how'd Sam make that happen? Were you acquitted or something? How'd you get out?”
Kaz was going to leave off and let her respond to his questions when a thought hit him and he couldn't keep himself form asking, ”I know the Stalkers had raided Sanctuary years ago, but is the Order a full public figure now? Known about and where you're located?” He would be surprised if the answer was 'No', but it would make him feel relieved at the same time.
”A cure? Is that even possible?” If it was Kaz could see how many mutants would feel threatened by it, himself included, if it were used maliciously and weaponized, if it could be weaponized. But he knew there were some mutants what would welcome it, like Iris. All she had wanted was to live a normal life, to not fear loosing control of herself to the gems in her back, to not worry about going out of control and hurting other people. ”I've met quite a few mutants who would gladly take a cure if it were handed to them. I don't agree and I'd never want it, but I can't fault any who would. I'd be more concerned with how it was used on those who didn't want it.... Who's trying to make it? Any idea how far along they are?” Rubbing his chin a little, ”Killing everyone would solve the Mutant vs Human problem, I can't argue with that...but it wouldn't happen.”
Kaz was about to ask what she meant by 'aura' when she made it apparent. At first he thought it was coming from her body somehow, like expelling air or sweat, but it was always there surrounding her, fully transparent to be seen. It seemed solid and somewhat nebulous at the same time, giving the impression that he could pass his hand right through it without disturbing the aura in the slightest. Maybe he could. He continued to watch as she changed its shape from an axe to a sword and then what looked to Kaz like a maul. He moved his hand to rap the knuckles of one hand against the thing. It felt solid. ”That seems quite handy and versatile. Could be hard to keep up with if you can change it so easily.”
He looked at the robot again, ”How hard can that thing hit?” Kaz's exposed skin seemed to tighten as he increased the density of his body tissues, his hand growing slightly larger until he could grip the cannon ball easily in one hand at which point he began to crushing it, slowly, with as much effort as a human would an empty pop can. His hand wasn't large enough to cover the whole of it, so as he made a fist his fingers tore clearly defined groves in the metal. As he compressed the steel in his hand, he continued to gather what wasn't in his fist with his fingers until he had crushed the entirety of the steel sphere into a lump roughly the size of a softball.
Kaz might have been showing off, just as she had been, but it was also a fair trade. She had shown him a bit of what she could do, and it was only fair to do the same. ”I'd be happy to help you find that limit if you'd like.” Dropping the lump of metal, he clinched his enlarged fist as he reshaped his other hand's fingers into a series of long blade-like digits, as most of that hand's forearm thickened and seemed to become covered in tough looking plates. His offer wasn't completely altruistic or unselfish, helping Aura would allow him to gauge her abilities personally, which was never a bad thing to know.
Kaz honestly didn't mind that Panu had taken a slice of his pizza sandwich, but the boy could have asked. Reminding himself that Panu was still a child, he shook his head slightly and smirked a little as the boy went to change, taking his pop and the slice of pizza with him. He didn't know if Panu was listening to him through the intercoms or not, but he spoke just in case. ”Ya know, if you wanted a slice, all you had to do was ask Panu. The worst I'd say is 'No', so you'd have a 50-50 chance of a 'Yes'.” He took the rest of the pizza and pizza rolls up to the roof with him and set them on the bar table once it was raised.
When Panu finally came up onto the roof Kaz quirked a brow at him. It wasn't that cool of a night to need a hoodie, and the boy still wore his headphones. Kaz began to wonder if he ever took the things off. There was no way the boy didn't guess what Kaz had intended. ”Why don't you put your hoodie and headphones and whatnot over here on the chair.” Kaz got up and moved to the chest off to the side the roof. Opening it he pulled out a small wake board, big enough to rest the upper part of his chest on, but small enough for a child to hold onto while swimming, a couple pool noodles, and a pair of inflatable arm floats.
He chucked the noodles and board into the shallow end of the pool and stepped over to Panu as he inflated the floats. Taking a breath through his nose, he spoke, ”Since you don't stink,” It wasn't true, everyone stunk to Kaz, but it was a normal stink that all people had. It was those people that were filthy that made his nose wrinkle, that any any worse is what he considered 'stinking'. ”I take it you won't like short out in water. Hop in.” He was going to have the boy put the floats on first, but decided against it. He'd wait until the boy was good and wet, then he'd put them on and have him float on his back to start out.
Kaz put action to his words and dove into the water at an shallow angle, barely making a splash, skimmed the bottom of the shallow end, then pulled a 180 and ended his movement a few feet from the side of the pool. ”You're not afraid of the water are you?” He smiled, hair plastered to his head. ”Don't worry kid, I'm not going to drown you, or let you drown. I'll put the floats on ya once I see that you won't freak out in the water.”
”Sounds like fencing is to you what gymnastics is to me. I still practice every so often, even got my own gymnasium just for it, but I moved onto martial arts and weaponry, and that's what I prefer and have a strong connection and affinity for.”
Kaz found his eyes drawn to Noel's lips as she licked them. Part of him just watched noticing that it was a different action than she had previous done. Another part of him paid attention to them intently, comparing what he felt against what she might be, realizing that to him, there was no reason to moisten his own lips, so why was she? Her lips didn't look in any way dry. His sharp eyes picked that up easily, it was one reason he tended to avoid looking at people too closely, you'll end up seeing things you do not want to.
Was she nervous about something? Kaz didn't think so, she had been quite bold for the most part and hadn't shown any real hesitation in anything. Was she excited for some reason? Possibly, though he didn't know what the reason could be.
An idle, short lived, and easily dismissed thought (like most thoughts), a thought that wasn't fully formed, passed through his mind, '..look....soft..'. Even as the thought flitted away it was drowned out by what he could feel about his own lips, the small scars from being split open a number of times. The small indentations from one of his teeth where he bit the lip in the same place, the same way. The slight roughness over the more general smooth and soft skin of his lips. All of these things went through his head and were gone so fast he hardly had time to grasp that they were thought he had.
Kaz watched Noel as she held both blades, he didn't even need to ask to know that holding both felt awkward. He hadn't expected her to take both, not that he cared that she did, but it surprised him a little. Not only were the hilts different, but the blades were designed for two different forms of combat. That, he knew would make things difficult in actual combat, until you knew what to do, and how to use each one to its best advantage. 'Maybe a dagger would work better for her if she want to use two at once...' He had one in the case...
The girl was right, and he told her so, ”After you learn the weapons, learn how to use them, and once you respect them, there is no reason not to use them with your abilities...if you have abilities.” Kaz shrugged slightly and moved his hand to draw attention to himself, ”I mean, look at me, that's what I do, it's what I've always done. I couldn't ask, let alone tell, anyone else not to do it, not without being a complete hypocrite. But I've also seen what happens when someone doesn't take the time to learn and respect the tool they're using before trying it with their powers...it...wasn't pretty.”
Kaz had to admit to himself he was glad that Noel was free, at least for a while. Not just free, but ready, willing, able, and excited? at the idea of learning something new. While she got a hand free to check her phone, Kaz rummaged in the case and pulled out a Dirk, a slim, 'long' bladed dagger. It was only slightly longer than a traditional western dagger, but its thin blade profile made it look longer than it actually way. If he had a Tanto with him, he would have pulled that out as well, to give Noel the option to choose from.
”Only if you feel comfortable with both. I hadn't expected you to pick both,” Kaz laughed lightly, ”Feel free to use just one, or swap out the Wakizashi,” He motioned to her right hand, and then to the dagger on the ground, ”with the Dirk. The Dirk was a fairly normal companion to a short sword when dual wielding back in the day. Though I'd guess most any dagger compliments a short sword when used that way.”
Weapons.
Her answer was quick and honest. He liked it. He liked how her eyes seemed to glaze over a bit, the reason she did it, he wasn't sure, but he suspected the reason was similar to his own. Kaz suppressed the smirk he felt as she continued, '...real big one...' Yes, it was completely immature, but sometimes thoughts like that just wormed their way in no matter what. Instead of letting the immature smirk show, he looked at her curiously. ”A lot of time huh? You can't be more than...what? 23..25 at the most. When did you start?”
Keeping the Escrima sticks in hand, Kaz followed Noel's lead and began cracking his knuckles, joints, neck, and back, as he took deep breaths to bring his body down to the level of a normal human. It wouldn't be any fun if he didn't. Looking at him no one would able to tell that anything had changed in the man, but he could feel it as he squared off with Noel, bringing the sticks up to mirror her own stance.
Kaz only smiled as she moved her off-hand in a strike, and he moved to double tap the flat of the blade out wide, one toward the end of the blade, the other closer in toward the hilt. Meeting the business end of the blades with wooden sticks was a loosing tactic. Instead Kaz focused on the flats and backs. Escrima's strength was in the quick movements of the tips and using the rod in joint locks, holds, throws, and breaks. Since practical and easily concealment were what Noel was looking for, he was going to show her what these two, innocent looking sticks could do.
He let one of the sticks slide until he held it at its center and used it as a double ended baton as he moved to catch her wrist between the rod and his arm, and keeping the weapon away from his own skin, while using the second rod as a defensive tool, deflecting incoming strikes.
Nodding in the affirmative to Noel's words, ”Very greedy indeed.” Kaz felt he had to honest, ”Though, I can't say I wouldn't take the option to be immortal, or at least live a few hundred years more, if I could. I've only learned a fraction of martial art styles and weapons, I'd love to have the time to learn them all.” Kaz sighed knowing it was a pipe dream. It really would be nice though.
Kaz wasn't sure if he had offended the woman with his words. He hadn't meant to, he just wasn't too interested in fencing. ”Whatever gets your foot in the door is a good first step. I've got a decent reach and a heck of a lunge, but fencing just isn't really my style, so I'm slightly bias. I usually go for maximum strength and speed, foils have the speed, but that's about it.” Not that he couldn't use just about every bladed weapon he owned just as easily as a master fencer could use a foil. ”I use to be an assistant instructor at a sword club here in NYC, the same one I trained at, we had a 'don't ask, don't tell, don't show' policy on mutants and abilities. Not to discriminate, but because we didn't care and it didn't matter. They were there to learn swordsmanship. I kept the same policy when I had my own dojo overseas. And like you said, when abilities are mixed in, there can be some crazy fights,” Kaz chuckled a little, ”Don't need a novice mutant screw up with a real blade when they try to do something fancy with their powers.”
If he hadn't been watching Noel, and speaking to her in a somewhat normal way for a few minutes, he might have thought the more-rapid-than-normal blinking was due to something in her eye, maybe. Instead he was absolutely sure it was because of the comment he made about her legs. Kaz found himself thinking of her legs, they most likely weren't superhuman, or even much above the human norm, but they seemed, to him at least, to be fairly strong. Instead of saying anything more, he listened to her answer. ”Heh, true enough. So practicality and, I'm assuming, easily concealed, are selling points for you. I've got something in mind for that, if you're open to it.”
Kaz quirked an eyebrow. 'I'd be surprised?' Yes, he would be, he was curious who carried around and left cases of weaponry laying around.
He had opened his mouth to answer her 'for funzies' question when she told him not to answer it. His eyes crinkled as a big grin spread over his face. ”Yeah, you might be. Keep in mind that ignorance, while bliss, is also dangerous.”
Kaz held out both blades to her, hilts first. ”If they'll work for ya, give'em a try.”
Returning to the case, Kaz pulled out two wood poles, roughly two feet long and 3/4th of an inch thick. ”Why did you then? What made you call out?” He said as he took a stance opposite of her, but not necessarily opposing her. It was an invitation.
'What's with the useful thing?' Kaz pursed his lips as Panu spoke. ' Whether he's useful or not doesn't matter if I can't control him. It's hard enough just to communicate with him as it is let alone learn how to get him to do what I tell him to do without, something, going wrong.'
As Panu got up and walked away, stomped actually, shoes or not, it was still loud to Kaz's ears, ”Egh. Just 'Kaz', or if you have to, Mr. Corydon.” Kaz tilted his head a little and looked at the boy from the corner of his eyes, ”Sounds like a horse stomping around in here.”
If Panu were older Kaz might have considered paying the kid to behave, or something, but Panu was a child and children never really seemed to have a grasp of money. Threats could and most likely would backfire when used on a kid, they were naturally contrary to commands and punishments. Kaz just did not know how Panu could be anything but a risk. The only way Kaz could think to keep Panu in check, besides death, was to lock him up like a dog in a room where he couldn't access anything...which might require one of those infernal collars, and that wasn't an option in Kaz's head. If this adult he spoke of wasn't able to reassure Kaz that Panu could be controlled or at least handled...
Kaz's stomach threatened to revolt at the idea.
”Maybe some sort of telepath could...Fuck, I dunno, tweak his head or something.” But even as he said it Kaz hated the thought. He hated anyone being inside his head, what they could do there, and he had no defense against it. He couldn't willingly subject the boy to that...could he? Without hating himself for it? No. Kaz wished he could get drunk. Drunk people always seemed like they could drown their brains for a while. That seemed like a nice thing from time to time.
Kaz turned to look at the hall where they boy had gone. Why he'd gone straight to the room Kaz had no idea, he said he could do whatever as long as he didn't cause trouble or leave. As Kaz was getting up to make himself a drink the intercom crackled loudly into life. The crackling caused a shiver to run down Kaz's spine. It was not a fun or pleasant sound. Panu's voice, a little louder than it was while he was on the couch, maybe it was because of the intercom, but Kaz thought it might be due to him talking through it, feeling more confident using it as a medium.
The boy's suggestion made sense and Kaz thought it was kind of stupid not to have thought about it before. It was an old warehouse after all, so higher power usage wouldn't be that out of the ordinary to the average Joe. Though the sound came from the whole room, Kaz found himself looking toward the couch where the boy had been sitting. He found himself frowning as he took a drink.
Before Kaz sat down again the intercom started up again, this time without the crackling, thankfully. A small, brief smile came over Kaz for that little mercy. Kaz listened to another of Panu's bits of advice, though this one wasn't as helpful. If Kaz didn't know the intruder was a technomancer like Panu, and turned any of them on, it would be too late, they'd have control of them. If he did know though, he could keep them off and deal with them the old fashioned way.
Kaz had to laugh as the boy spoke again for the third time. ”Indiana Jones, heh.” At least the kid had good taste. He thought a moment about how and what sort of traps he could employ. ”If I was going to do that, I might as well move into a castle, it would fit.” The liquor glass stopped as it touched Kaz's lip as he considered actually having a castle. How gaudy would that be! At the same time, it had some appeal.
Panu's request to come out and get his food and drink had Kaz looking at the clock. 'It hasn't even been half an hour since he put himself in the room, at this rate the kid will probably start to...build some sort of crazy robot or something.' What the kid would do alone, in the room, bored out of his mind kind of worried Kaz. As he headed toward his room, ”Yeah, come and get them.” In the room Kaz went to his closet and searched. At first he avoided Nicki's things, but seeing as all of his clothes would drown the kid in fabric, he finally relented. Nicki hadn't had a ton of clothes there, but there were still quite a few. He found a pair of her shorts that she had worn over her bathing suit. They'd have to be cinched tight since Panu was quite a bit smaller than Nicki had been, but they would work.
Kaz changed into a pair of his own swim trunks before heading back to the living room. ”Change into this, then come up to the roof.” He said as he held out the shorts to the boy. Kaz snagged a couple towels before heading up to the roof and uncovering the pool. The shallow end didn't go more than 15ft into the pool, but it did go along the width of it. While uncovering the pool he had also raised everything else, including the seats and bar. Kaz sat at one of the seats while waiting for Panu. When the boy showed up, ”Can you swim?”
