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 smiled, the swords were ridiculously large, but they had a purpose. With a little chuckle, ”That one especially, but to be fair, it's a training tool for the real thing, which is much lighter. The actual ones were used to cut the ends of pikes so they could close into melee range.” Kaz took the sword by the main hilt at first before switching his grip to the secondary hilt, it was easier to transport it that way. On their way to the case, ”They should be scared, it keeps them breathing.”
The nod of understanding Kaz had given at Noel's answer turned into a small shudder when she mentioned an old, undying mutant. ”Gah, yeah, I've met one of them.” Of course Kaz was thinking of Hunter, the old vampire who survived having a whale dropped on him. Seriously, who survives that? A freaking whale. A monster that's what. ”Always seem to know more, and do more than I ever could. Damned unfair it is. We get one lifetime, they have hundreds.”
Kaz stuck the giant sword into the ground, knelt down in front of the case and moved a few things around in it, he wasn't worried about nicking any of the blades, almost all of them were practice blades anyway, but they also had sheathes or coverings. ”I don't think I have any foils in here.” He looked to Noel with a lopsided smirk, ”I've never been much of a fencer, can't put much power into the things. They're only really good for poking people, like giant toothpicks.”
”Shorter swords huh?” Kaz turned and looked the woman over. She didn't seem to have a lot of upper body strength to her so a short blade would probably work well for her, her legs though, ”Nice legs.” He said grinning, ”Ever used a spear or glaive? You've got the legs for it.” Turning back to the case he lifted one of the layers up and revealed even more weapons. Grabbing two items he turned back to Noel as she spoke again. ”Who's else would they be? People don't leave cases of weapons laying around all willy-nilly.”
Laughing Kaz held out two swords, one in each hand. ”Wealthy mutant, quite. Assassin, no. Assassins get paid.” Kaz winked and smirked to show he was joking around. It was true though, murderers didn't get paid to kill, they did it for...reasons, assassinations were a job, and like any job, you get paid for your work. Kaz had never done any sort of assassination. ”I don't have a gladius, just a generic European shortsword and a wakizashi. Well, at least that all I have with me right now.”
”I have to say, I didn't expect anyone that stopped to show any real interest in what I was doing. You do this sort of thing often?”
Panu's reactions to the subject of his parents, his squirming, straitening his clothes, and trying to make himself smaller only reinforced Kaz's idea that something had happened to the boy that involved his parents. He was sure that the parents were not just temporarily out of the picture, but they were completely gone. Either they deserted the boy, died, or possibly tried to kill him. Those were options that Kaz thought of. Of course he knew those weren't the only possibilities, but they seemed like obvious ones.
The 'Responsible Adult' Panu mentioned had Kaz looking at the boy sideways. There was no way Kaz was just going to let the boy go to this 'adult' that may or may not exist, Kaz was leaning toward not existing. He sat back in his chair, eating, thinking, and watched the boy. Did he really expect Kaz to just let him go to this 'adult' just like that? Heck, did he think Kaz would let him go alone? 'It's like he doesn't know about big cities at all, didn't even consider what could happen to a kid like him.' Kaz looked the small child over again: Young, fair skin, blonde, blue eyes, cute, a good catch for those people that were into human trafficking, when they found out he was a mutant and what he could do... Kaz shook his head almost imperceptibly. 'Seriously kid, you're a headache.'
”If I let you help make this place better you'd still be able to come in, which would defeat the purpose of security.” Kaz watched Panu's posture change, like someone lifting themselves up, steeling themselves, as he met Kaz's eyes. Mostly. It could be simply that the boy didn't like to make eye contact, there were plenty of people like that, or it could be something else entirely.
Looking at the clock Kaz figured it would be a bad idea to make a decision about the boy right away. ”Panu. I'm not going to let you go out into the city all by yourself to this mysterious 'Responsible Adult'. I'll want to meet them, but it can wait until tomorrow.” Kaz pointed in the direction of the guest rooms. ”Pick whichever one you want, you'll stay here for the night. Play games, watch a few movies, whatever. Just don't cause me problems or trouble. Don't leave.” Kaz gave the boy a very stern look before grabbing more food.
Even though Kaz hadn't directed the words at Panu, or asked him about Kalli's whereabouts, he gave Kaz the answer rather quickly and a very detailed answer at that. Kaz looked at Panu, eyes narrowed marginally. He knew the only way Panu could have that information was if he could see Kalli at that moment, and the only way to do that would be through the cameras. Kaz felt a little slow when he realized what that meant. The kid wasn't just controlling the electronics, he was interfacing with them, directly connected to them. Which made sense he supposed, it meant that nothing digital was safe from the kid, how far his control went, what information he could get, and all that was still unknown. Kaz had the impression that Panu hadn't gone through his security, he had just completely bypasses them. Since the boy wasn't physically touching or connected to any of Kaz's systems, it meant that anything within his range was subject to his command, so even if there was a physical barrier between him and the system, he could still access it without having to go through or around the physical barrier. Panu was a walking, talking, thinking security breach.
All of that also told Kaz that Panu was paranoid enough about Kalli to have been watching her the entire time, and that he could do many things at once. 'I wonder how many different tasks he can do at one time..'
Panu answered Kaz's questions easily enough, but seemed to fidget and straighten himself and his clothes when it came to his parents. 'So parents are a sensitive topic...' Sighing, ”Want to or not, if I'm to figure out what to do with you Panu, I need to know. If your parents aren't in the picture, then a guardian or caretaker.”
Kaz was a bit surprised when Panu asked a question of his own, a fairly good one Kaz had to admit. Letting out a grunt of a sigh, ”Most people never notice the place in the first place. Those that do and try to get in can't. Only one person has made it inside before you and they did not come out of it whole, left a whole bunch of metal bits inside their guts after being electrocuted quite badly.” Kaz shrugged at Panu. ”But to be honest, you're the first person I've met that can do what you can do, and electronic security securing the physical barriers has always worked better than just having a key to a door.” Eating another slice of pizza sandwich, ”If I let you live, and leave here, I'll have to change that.”
Kaz's grin grew as everyone but the woman ran away from the 'Crazy bastard'. The woman though smiled right back as the sword stopped, she hadn't moved one bit from where she stood. He had seen her eyes tracking the sword's progress. Kaz figured she had to be quite bold and fearless, or knew a little something about swords, or maybe thrown objects. Whichever it was he liked it. The sword hadn't landed where it did by chance or accident, Kaz had chosen the spot as an invitation of sorts. Human or not, it didn't matter to him when it came to martial arts or swordplay.
Kaz gave the woman a polite nod when she introduced herself. ”It very well could be German. I'm not exactly sure if that's what that type of sword is actually called, but I like the word and it does seem to fit.” He spoke with a smirk on his face and a little shrug.
When she asked if she could..approach/touch/grab the sword Kaz shifted his stance to the exact opposite of his previous one, ”Sure, go for it. I wouldn't have let it go otherwise. It's much heavier than it looks.” The brunette found out how true the statement was moments later. For a few seconds the sword didn't seem to budge at all, Kaz was almost certain the woman would give up when she couldn't get it out at which point Kaz would take it and dismiss her out of hand. But she kept at it and after working it out little by little the blade finally pulled free, a few small clumps of earth stubbornly sticking to the steel.
It looked to Kaz that Noel was going to be overbalanced and fall when she lifted the weapon, but after a few moments she got a proper grip on it and centered herself. It was clear that she had never held one that big in her hands before, but she had the right idea, he was impressed. Even more so when she swung the blade and didn't fall over. Laughing a bit, ”They're all useful, but I do have something less unwieldy.” Kaz motioned with is still extended hand toward the case before dropping the arm and moving toward the woman. As he closed the distance, he held a hand out for the blade. ”Name's Kaz by the way.”
On the way to the case, ”You know a bit about swords it take it. Did'ja learn on your own or take classes?” As they got closer all manner of weapons could be seen inside it, most of them were recognizable even if a person didn't know what they were called. ”Do you have a preference or favorite?”
Though the Zweihander had a secondary hilt on the blade, it really was not made or meant to be used as the main or only hilt. The large sword didn't move right when used that way, Kaz still made it a point focus on just that hilt. Why? Because it was awkward and strange and different. If he could get to a point where he could use the overly large Zweihander easily and smoothly then if he ever found himself using a normal one, it would be an absolute breeze. While physical strength was necessary to wield such a large blade, it isn't as important as most people assume. Technique and proper use were the key. Even a small person could wield it well, if not for very long, if they knew how. That being the case, Kaz's strength allowed him to swing the massive blade as easy as a fencer does a foil, the blade whistling with every swing.
Many people had stopped to watch and then leave after a time, some just watched, others talked, some tried to talk to him. He hadn't responded to anyone who had tried to speak to him. Why should he? They said nothing that interested him, never asked anything but stupid, pointless questions. One person had even compared him to some anime and video game characters, which had been mildly entertaining for a minute or two, but it hadn't been enough for him to stop what he was doing.
None of them had actually bothered to ask him any questions that he was interested in, until a new female voice shouted out to him. A glance over his shoulder pinpointed her location near a gathering of a handful of people. He made eye contact with her for half a heartbeat while he continued to move. The people around her seemed to be taken aback, leaning away from her as their body language screamed, 'It wasn't me!'
Increasing the speed at which he moved the blade, he began putting it through a series of spins using the secondary and main hilt in alternating patterns, letting the blade's tip barely score the ground in a series of parallel lines. He moved in a small circle, scoring the ground with every step. Once the circle was complete he stepped into the center of it, looked at the woman, ”Zweihander.” Kaz let the blade go into the air. It went high into the air before gravity's pull changed its direction and it fell, blade first into the ground a dozen steps or so in front of the woman. The blade had sunk two feet into the soft earth, the hilt quivered slightly as it settled.
Kaz stood still in the center of his circle of scored earth, one hand behind his back, the other one held out straight from his side, his head turned in line with his outstretched arm, his body turned sideways at the woman. He was a line, an arrow pointed at her, ”What are you called?” He said with a smile.
With Panu's acceptance of the situation and his word that he wouldn't run Kaz felt something inside of him relax a bit. Kaz hadn't realized until then that he had felt like a wire under high tension. He knew of course that Panu could be lying to him, but Kaz didn't get that impression. He genuinely seemed like a decent kid, if he were older Kaz might believe him capable of that sort of deception, of making the conscious effort to appear and act the way he did. Kaz admitted to himself it was still a possibility, but so remote as to be thrown away.
“Thank you for food,”
Kaz nodded slightly in a 'your welcome' sort of way while he moved a hand in a slightly dismissive gesture before snorting loudly at Panu's next words. The short quickly turned into a laugh, a short belly laugh. Smiling broadly at the boy, ”You..you really thought she was going to eat you?” He took a sip of pop before putting it down, ”You don't know cats do you? She wanted you to pet her.” A short pause, ”Probably.” Kalli might have wanted to play fetch or something.
He turned a bit in the chair to look back toward the kitchen, his ears already knew the answer he sought as he looked for Kalli. The big Savannah always devoured canned food quickly, as if she thought it would be taken away before she could finish. “Wonder where she went...” He said under his breath before reaching for his tablet to check the cameras, realizing part way through the movement that it was inside the busted Hummer. “Probably in her room.” His hearing might be supernaturally sharp, but cats were natural ninjas, able to be nearly perfectly silent when they felt like it.
”Where were you going by yourself kid? You can't be older than 10. Where are your parents?” Kaz had a thought that he didn't like, but one that wouldn't be unlikely for one reason or another. ”Do you have parents?”
Kaz stood in a 'secluded' area of Central Park. Secluded being relative in a place like Central Park, there was nowhere secluded, only places less frequented than others. The sun was still up and shining, but it would be going down in three or four hours Even at night, the place was still visited often with many people sticking to the best lit areas while the unscrupulous slunk in the shadows.
Kaz had driven to the park in his backup Hummer, since his encounter with Panu had left his favorite one busted up. While it was being repaired, if it could be repaired at least, he was driving the less heavily reinforced and less powerful one, but it got the job done. Having found a clearing not too far from one of the many running trails he set the large steel case down. The thing was a massive thing, five feet long, a foot and a half thick, and two feet wide. There was no way two or four large strong men would be able to pick the thing up without a lot of effort and probably throwing out their backs in the process. Inside it was a collection of various weapons included swords and knives, various pole and staff type weapons, as well as some other miscellaneous things. Almost everything in the case was illegal in some way. Most of the things in it were modular which made them impractical for use in actual combat, but made them perfect for practicing with. And that was exactly what Kaz intended to do with them, practice.
~~~~~~~~~
Over the time he had been in the spot Kaz had gone through various swords and pole weapons including a scythe and halberd as well as attaching a sword blade to the end of one pole which was quite impractical, but kind of fun too. He had acquired a few viewers from time to time, though when he made it clear he didn't care for them to be there or completely ignored them they left him alone. An officer had come over to him after he had just put the modified Zweihander together and closed the case. The officer threatened to do...something, Kaz hadn't paid him much attention, telling the officer if he thought he or the whole NYPC could take him on, he would be happy to deal with them, and if not, to buzz of and go eat some donuts. Since no one had come to try and haul him off, Kaz assumed the cop found a good donut shop to drown his inadequacy in.
The Zweihander Kaz was currently using was an oversized version of the weapon putting it at just over 6'5” in total length, with a foot long hilt. This particular one had a modified blade, where the first 10in was capable of being used as a secondary hilt so the weapon could be used at closer ranges, it also had it's own guard, though much smaller. The entire thing weighed in at nearly 20lb, double what a normal one did. It was made to be a practice weapon, to get the body use to the oversized thing and condition a person to not tire out quickly when they used the real thing.
Kaz had no formal training in the thing, but he knew enough about swords to take a guess at how a person was suppose to employ such a large sword. At first he did just that, until he got bored and began to do things the sword was never meant for. Things like swinging it one handed.
Kids were difficult to deal with Kaz decided, especially kids who didn't have a fluent grasp on the language you spoke. Kaz knew one language: American English. Sure he picked, and retained, and few words from a few different languages like Japanese and Spanish, but he was nowhere near able to communicate even the simplest ideas in those languages. So while Panu was doing better than he could by magnitudes, it wasn't working very well.
He wasn't sure if it was the language barrier or maybe a cultural one, or maybe something else, but the boy didn't even look at the plate of food though he fidget a bit. Was he waiting for permission? 'There's no way this kid is that polite.' Kaz thought to himself. ”I swear, it seems kids are always hungry, and I'm going to assume you're no different. So eat something.”
Language barriers were difficult to overcome, but Kaz made sure to pay attention when Panu decided to give him a demonstration. Kaz could hear the cameras and mounted weapons in the warehouse move along with the ones he could see in the living room. Kaz's mouth was just slightly agape when everything went back to normal. ”Oh.”
After the little show Panu asked if he could leave. Part of Kaz wanted to say yes, another very small part kind of wanted to throw the boy off the building so he couldn't take control of his stuff ever again, but the winning part of him said, ”Nope, you get to sit here for a bit.” Kaz ate some more before continuing. ”You're a kid, a mutant kid at that, so this is...I don't like this situation. You're dangerous Panu, it's a risk to let you leave. If you really can control all of the electronics here, it's possible you could get into my computer or let someone else in. So you can't leave until I've decided what to do with you.” There was no malice or maliciousness in Kaz's tone, mannerisms, or body language. ”If you run or try to escape, I'll have no choice but to kill you. Please don't make me do that.” The look he gave Panu as he said that was almost pleading.
Kaz crossed his arms over his chest, brows furrowed a bit as he listened to Panu. ”Heh, I suppose that does make getting ideas across a little harder. So you can control things like I can control my body, but what are you controlling exactly? Electricity? Molecular bonds?” Kaz walked over to Panu and gently took the can from the boys hands. He tapped the top of it with two fingers a number of times, waited, did it again, and after waiting a few more seconds cracked it open and offered it back to the boy.
Kaz moved back to the kitchen to check on the pizza rolls, they were nearly done. Money couldn't buy happiness, but it could buy fancy expensive things, like ovens and such that cooked food quick. Having to wait for food was annoying when you were hungry. Grabbing a large plate he began emptying the oven onto it. Putting the plate aside to cool off, he moved to the pizzas and pulled them both out. Moving carefully he took the first one and flipped it toppings down onto the second one. Taking a large curving cutting blade he made four quick, precise rocking motions with it and left the pizza sandwich in eight even slices.
Creating a small arm and hand to hold his pop and another can he pulled from the fridge, he walked to the couch again. Kaz set the pizza rolls down on the small end-table next to Panu before taking a seat in a chair facing the boy and setting the wooden cutting board with pizza on the table in front of him. He set both his opened and unopened cans on the end-table next to him before Kaz made the small arm and hand was absorb back into himself. ”It's not physically bright to you is it. I'm going to take a guess that whatever you control you can...sense... somehow. That would make sense at least. How much control do you have, like, how many things at once, how far away, etc.?” Taking a bite of his pizza sandwich Kaz leaned back in the chair to watch the boy.
When Panu wasn't terrified he seemed almost like a normal child, though a bit more, polite. Kaz didn't have much to go off of for the thought, but seeing the child take his shoes off, set them neatly side-by-side, before putting his feet on the couch didn't really seem like something most kids would do, or even think about. More likely, if they even bothered to take their shoes off, they'd let them drop haphazardly on the floor, kick them off to land wherever, or just toss them away somewhere. Kaz had to admit the kid treated his couch better than he did, Kaz often didn't bother or care to take his shoes off, he could just clean it, unless his shoes were very dirty, then they'd come off, who wants to sit in mud, or worse?
Panu answered Kaz's questions readily enough, though the answers were somewhat vague. Even with the answers they told Kaz almost nothing. ”What do you mean by 'bright like a star'?” There were lights outside the building, mostly street lights and a few lights on his warehouse, but nothing that would light the place up so much that it would draw anyone's attention by itself. ”If I wanted to kick a dog I could, because I can, is that what you mean? You do something because you feel like it?” Kaz understood doing things just because you felt like it, it's how he lived much of his life, but that didn't explain how he was doing it.
Unless...”You're a mutant aren't you.” There was no question in his voice, all he needed was the boy's confirmation. If he controlled the warehouse because he quite literally could naturally do it, then what was he controlling? Matter and the physical world like a telekinetic, some sort of energy control? Kaz considered telepathy for a moment but dismissed it just as quickly, if he could do that there was no reason for him do what Kaz said at all. Kaz did not really like anyone being able to get into his head, telepaths could be very useful, but they were also dangerous.
Kaz watched the can hit the pillow as Panu cowered behind it, ”If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't throw a can at you. Go ahead and pick it up.” Kaz turned away to get some pizza rolls from the freezer and put them in the toaster oven, taking a sip from his can, he laughed a small laugh, ”Though that would be kinda funny, 'This just in, man found dead, a full coke can lodged in his skull,' heh. I should remember that for the future.”
”Probably got some.” He said as he opened the 'pantry closet', which was in reality a large temperature and humidity controlled room. Moving to where the drinks were kept Kaz had to admit he enjoyed the boy's reaction, even if he didn't really get why Panu seemed freaked, or maybe weirded, by his finger. It might not be a bad idea to continue doing similar things, to keep the boy unbalanced. 'On the other hand,' He thought to himself, 'He is just a kid.' He didn't have any cold ginger ale, so he grabbed a couple frozen pizzas and few cans to put in the fridge and put one can into the Chiller. It would take only a few minutes to make the can cold, so Kaz opened the pizzas and threw them into the pizza ovens as soon as they preheated.
Kalli seemed torn between going over to the boy, laying down on the couch, or going over to Kaz when she saw him in the kitchen. Kaz ended her indecision by opening a can of food for her and upended it in a clean bowl for her. She was already running to him as soon as she heard the lid open, waiting patiently, tail twitching rapidly with impatience. As soon as Kaz's hand and the can were clear she went at it, eating as fast as her feline dignity would allow, which was just a little faster than she normally ate.
Looking to the kid, ”So?” He said as he pulled out a cold Coke for himself, popped the tab and took a swig before continuing, ”Answers.” The beep went off when the Chiller was done, Kaz grabbed the can and tossed it to the kid in a light, underhand lob aimed at the pillow Panu seemed to be trying to bond with.
Kaz hadn't expected his words to elicit the response or emotions they had. He felt a little awkward because of it. Aura clearly felt strongly about the idea, strongly in favor and that could come in handy in the future. Before he responded he allowed her the time she needed to collect herself, ”I've done something like this in a few other countries, but this would be the first time it is done publicly... I.. That's why I'm trying to cover all my bases, I don't know what will or might happen, so anything you or the other Orderlings can do would help.” Kaz turned slightly away from Aura, looking down at the floor for a moment before looking back, ”You said you've fought for this sort of thing your whole life.. I've just started. I've had the resources and ability to do something for almost a decade. I've just been too selfish and focused on myself to do anything. I hope I ca-,” Kaz faltered for a moment, ”I hope it's enough.”
After a moment he shook his head, a little more than necessary, ”No need to worry about the city attempting to stop me from doing this, there's nothing they can do to legally stop it at this point. It's no different than any other private housing development. The gangs on the other hand, if you could have Lisa forward any information you have on them to me, I'll see what I can do to deal with them on my end.”
This 'M' thing literally made Kaz's ears twitch when Aura brought it up. Looking at her sharply, one brow raised, ”What? Like some sort of artificial mutant? Is it permanent once they take it? How common and potent is the stuff?” Kaz had no plans for this M stuff, ”I don't know yet, but if they are still technically human, then..I'd probably deny them. Unlike us, there are hundreds of places for them already, no one discriminating against them.”
”Heh. I didn't realize I was talking to the head honcho. I'm not surprised Lisa didn't mention it. Giving out that sort of free information about the Order isn't something she'd do, even to a former member.” Kaz waved his hand in a dismissive gesture at Aura's mention of the colorful pasts for the Order members, ”Legally and officially I would most likely have to..disagree, with any actions you might take. But considering what the Order stands for and its actions in the past, I don't think anyone would be surprised if you guys took an interest this.” Kaz chuckled a bit, ”If they really took a close enough look, they'd realize who I am and my colorful past. And that's why we do what needs to be done.” He said the last sentence in a somewhat cool, quiet voice.
Looking to the robot which was standing patiently for orders, Kaz moved to it and grabbed the cannon ball from it. Testing its weight he tossed it effortlessly between his hands. ”It's nice and heavy.” Kaz said as he looked Aura over again, ”You can really take a hit from this?” Of course he wasn't questioning her strength or ability, not really, but he didn't think she had a physical mutation like himself or Abyss. It may be worded differently, but it was still the same, 'What's your mutation?' question.
Sorry for not posting the last two days, been busy with life and work, and will probably be until Monday. I'm hoping I'll get some time to post over the weekend.
Kaz watched the boy move from one curled up position to another back against the couch. He seemed genuinely scared of Kalli which Kaz found quite amusing. The boy seemed intent on folding in on himself. Kaz had wanted to kid to cease and desist, and some fear was good, but he didn't like terrifying kids. Kids were kids, they were generally rather dumb, or at least ignorant, and didn't tend to really think things through or worry about the consequences. Which Kaz could relate to, he lived most of his life like that.
The boy's, Panu's, answers were in line with that train of thought. ”I'm glad you like my warehouse Panu, I'm Kaz.” Kaz's tone was gentle and softer than it had been. Before saying anything else, one of Kaz's fingers grew and changed into a long tentacle like digit. It moved to Panu's head and lifted his chin so the boy was facing Kaz directly, though he didn't seem to look Kaz in the eyes. ”I don't like hurting kids, I don't like scaring kids. But this is my home. If you're the only one here, and no one sent you, how've you been controlling this place and how did you even find it?”
Kaz stood up and stepped back from the boy, his finger returning to normal, ”Wait, don't answer yet, I'll be right back.” Looking to Kalli, who seemed miffed when Kaz stopped petting her, ”Stay.” Moving much faster this time, Kaz went back the armory and disabled the timer. When he came back up he found Kalli once again trying to get the boy to pet her. Sighing, ”If you promise me you'll behave, you can sit on the couch or something, it's more comfortable there, then you can answer my questions.”
After a moment he asked, ”Ya want something to drink?”
Kaz put the riot shield in place as he prepared to exit the armory. Untwisting the steel he braced himself behind the shield, threw the door open and rushed out, ready for an onslaught of...nothing. He moved to cover quickly before assessing the current state of things. The various guns and weapons had all been retracted and he couldn't see any lingering gas in the area. 'Did that....did that really work?' Kaz wasn't foolish enough to set his gear aside, but he did lift the gas-mask from his face a bit and inhale slightly through his nose. There were trace amounts in the air, but too dispersed to do anything. 'There's no way a line that corny and cliche actually worked right? Even if he is a kid, he has to know better than that..right? Maybe he does...'
Kaz moved towards the lift and put his hand near it. There was no sense or sound of obvious electricity running along the surface. If he was quick enough he could get up and out of the shaft onto the floor above without being hit by some trap, probably. So he did just that, stopping on each floor, assessing, and then moving on. When he got to the sixth floor, he had the riot shield in front of his body, the shotgun held up and ready in the other hand. And nothing happened.
”Please call off your guard cat.”
Kaz tilted his head at the voice. It was quiet but unmistakably belonged to the person who had commandeered his warehouse. ”Guard cat?” Kaz said to himself almost silently as he rose from his crouch and looked around. It didn't take long to see what was going on. When he did he began laughing. Kalli was on top of the boy, and he really was a boy, an actual kid, smothering him as she purred all over him. ”Kalli,” Kaz whistled as he leveled the shotgun at the boy. Kalli reluctantly got up after a few moments of squirming herself, stealing all the 'affection' she could get from the boy.
Moving to stand close, Kaz made sure the twin barrels of the gun were in line with the boy's head. ”Don't twitch, don't make me twitch, I might pull the trigger if you do.” He kneeled down, the guns barrels moving away from the boy's head so they weren't pointed directly at him. ”You're the one who took control of my warehouse? Who are you, and who else is with you? What're you doing here? Who are your 'people', did they send you here?” Kalli moved to Kaz's side and began pressing against him, nuzzling her head against his thigh. Kaz absently set the shield aside and began to pet and stroke the large feline where she liked it best.
