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.
A moment after Jayden darted forward, yet another gunshot went off, the bullet grazing her in the shoulder. Thank whatever supernatural deity that might have been out there for touch scales combined with drunken shooters. Pain blossomed and crimson blood began to flow but the wound was minor. Probably.
There was too much going on for her to notice that the other guy waited just a tiny amount before he propelled himself forward as well. She went for the gun, he went for the kidney shot and by virtue of teamwork, their attacker fell to the ground in a heap. With barely a thought, her head transformed into that of a panther and she bit down on the gunman's wrist, warm life blood spurting into his mouth. She spat it out as he howled in pain, tiny wrist bones cracking at the pressure of her bite.
"Serves you right, bastard!" She kicked the gun away, pulling herself to her feet. Looking around, it didn't take long to realize her temporary 'ally' had fled. "And you're a bastard too!" She yelled the last out, loud as she could, hoping he'd here. Nope, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference in his life but it made her feel better to curse him out.
Well, it sure was fun to scare the living crap out of people every once in a while. The look of shear terror on his face sent a shiver of glee through her body. She'd have to remember to do this sort of thing more often. Then the woman delivered a much deserved gift right between the idiots legs and she could help but grin at her. Something told her she was going to like this woman.
Black scales melted back into pale skin and within moments a more or less normal, if still somewhat eccentric, woman stood in the place of the shadow monster that had been there only moments before. "Don't mention it, bastard clearly deserved it. By the looks of things, I think you could have taken care of yourself though." A wink of appreciation.
As fun as it sometimes was to engender a little terror, it was always refreshing to meet someone who didn't exhibit fear at her less human traits. "I'm Darkshift. Mind if I ask your name?"
"You've defended yourself," Darkshift replied, voice firm. "He attacked you, not the other way around. You aren't the bad guy here, remember that." She wanted to get out of there and get out of there fast. Yes, it was plenty sad that the man had gotten eviscerated and probably the wolf man had gone a little overboard, but her words were true, damn it! It wasn't really his fault, he hadn't started any of this just worked to defend himself. The longer the two of them stood there with the body the greater the chance of people showing up and calling the cops on them. That was not what she needed and she was pretty sure he didn't either.
"Look, we've all lost control of our powers once or twice and sometimes people have gotten hurt because of it but that doesn't' make you a monster it makes you someone who makes mistakes. We've all been there. But we have to leave and we have to leave now. Once gone, we can call for medical attention. If we leave now he'll probably make it." So maybe that last part was a bit of an exaggeration given that she had absolutely no idea how serious his wounds were or what was or was not likely to make it, but it sounded good and hopefully it was enough to get him to move.
Darkshift probably should have expected that having a precog they wouldn't be able to surprise their targets. It was abundantly clear that they had been expected and the little gang was well prepared for their arrival. This was her trial by fire, to prove herself useful both to Aura and to the Order. Failure was not an option.
When Aura cut open the door, it was not unexpected to see their target of rescue tied up on the bed. What was unexpected, at least to her, was the two humans rapidly transforming into things that were more than merely human. Of course she had heard of M before, who hadn't? But this was the first she had encountered of the drug in person. Well, it would certainly make things more interesting.
"I'll take him," Darkshift spoke rapidly, pointing at at the werewolf whose transformation was just completed. Apparently he had the same idea as, before she could react, he darted towards her moving almost impossibly fast. He crashed into her hard as she braced herself, forcing her back several inches. If not for her tough hide, she might had a far worse time. As it was, she let out a growl and prepared to show him what it mean to be a real mutant.
The words 'this form' implied that he had another form at his disposal. Interesting. Unfortunately he also made clear that dodging bullets was not an option. Too bad, that would have made things much easier, not to mention less dangerous. Not that her life was ever easy.
The plan he came up with sounded pretty similar to the one she might suggest. Could she trust him though, was the question. It wasn't like they knew each other beyond some random encounter in which she had gotten him into a whole lot more trouble than he probably would have gotten into on her own. Still, what choice did she have?
"Two targets are better than one and he probably isn't aiming so well anyway with all the booze he's consumed." Wishful thinking, maybe. "On three we jump out, I'll go for the gun you can go for the gunman." She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, but what choice did she have?
The gunman, far from being cowed by the sound of sirens (if he even noticed them at all) hadn't stopped with his insane ravings. By now he had run up to the garbage bin the two were hiding behind and starting banging the gun on the metal and taunting his targets.
"All right, one...two...three!" Darkshift darted out, praying her new 'friend' did the same and kept his end of the bargain.
Darkshift tensed seeing the wolf man and the feral look in his eyes. She didn't have a lot of experience with other mutants let alone feral mutants, but ever since starting to work with Aura she had done her research. Feral mutants could, according to the internet, sometimes lose themselves in their instincts and act in a fashion that might otherwise be irrational. "Hey, I'm not here to hurt you." She spoke in soothing quiet tones. That was what she was supposed to do, right? Its not like she had any real experience to go on, she was pretty much just winging it here.
Fortunately the wolf man calmed down and it was only after the immediate danger had dissipated that she realized just how badly the body in front of her had been injured. There was a lot of blood. Where she had left her would be attackers in a state to run off and lick there wounds, this poor man was not nearly so lucky. He was still breathing, so that was something. For how long she couldn't say; she was far from a medical professional.
"We don't want to be here when this man is found," Darkshift spoke quickly, assessing the situation to the best of her ability. "We should get out of her and find a phone to call an ambulance. I think we both want to see him live, but not if it means going to jail ourselves." She was not about to sacrifise herself for some human, let alone some human who would have had them both dead if he had his way.
Good. Now they had both reached the relative safety of the dumpster, sarcasm of her fellow hunted not withstanding. He wasn't wrong in his assessment, in any case. Way to go Jayden, figuring out how to save your hid for another few minutes. Good job. The question was, now what?
"Any chance you've got super speed or super reflexes?" she asked, matching him for every little bit of sarcasm he had displayed only moments ago. One more bullet striking metal with a loud bang followed by some very colorful and loudly uttered words of frustration. How many bullets was that now? 3? 4? And how many bullets were normally stored in guns like that? 6? 8? More? Why hadn't she paid attention to these sorts of things back when she didn't have a mad man shooting at her? Damn her short sightedness anyway.
To compound matters, the faint sound of sirens could be heard in the background, still distant but it wouldn't take long for them to follow the sound of the gunshots. Could her life possibly get any worse? Damn it all!
Pain blossomed through Darkshift's knee and adrenaline raced through her veins. This was the kind of thrill she had been lacking in recent life. This kind of possible life and death situation where to fail was to risk serious injury or worse. To steal from some drunk coming out of a club late at night was one thing but this, this felt like actually living.
With a toothy cat-like grin, claws once again flashed slicing through flesh as if it were nothing. The man with the pipe howled as red blood dropped to the ground in a small stream. Spinning as a pocket knife was propelled towards her neck, she dodged low and bit down on her attackers's calf, coppery blood filling her mouth. It was the first time she had used her powers in such a way, with teeth as a weapon to be used in concert with claws. She spat out the blood, taste lingering on her tongue.
"Leave," she commanded her now far less confident attackers, voice frigid. It didn't take long for them to determine that this was exactly what was in their best interest and they ran in the opposite direction. In the distance, she heard the wolf man make a similar command and started jogging in his direction with a slight limp due to her injured knee. Hopefully he had fared as well as she had.
This wasn't the first time Darkshift had gotten herself involved in a brawl, not by a long shot. It was the first time she had done so with the full and open use of her powers. If there was a hint of anxiety in her mind about the prospect of going up against multiple opponents armed with knives and clubs, and there was, it was overrun with the thrill of anticipation. Here was an opportunity to really test herself and her abilities and, at the same time, help a fellow mutant in trouble.
Hearing the sounds of garbled speech at a distance not far away, she knew she had to act fast. If she was reasonably confident of dispatching her assailants there was no such assurance of the stranger and she was, in theory, doing this to help him. Time, it seemed, was of the essence.
"Come on, what are you waiting for," Darkshift yelled, getting impatient as the thugs tried to gather their courage. All at once the four of them charged. Damn. She had been hoping they'd be stupid thugs and attack one or two at a time. She'd been stupid and careless and left her back open.
A pocket knife coming from directly in front of her was easily deflected with a scaled arm. A pipe from the man beside him was ducked under and she managed to draw first blood, leaving four deep red ribbons of blood down his arm. Unfortunately her eyes couldn't be everywhere and she didn't see the man behind her in order to block a pipe shot to the back of her knee. The joint buckled and she fell to one knee, wincing in pain.
Darkshift felt more anger at the bigots attacking the wolf then she would have expected. It bubbled up inside her, pushing against her barriers and begging to be let out. How dare they? How dare they make an innocent mutant into a victim? How dare they claim to be better than him simply because they were human? How dare no one step in to help? Living in poverty and forced onto the streets by her step-father and mother, injustice was something she was all too familiar with. Well, it was time to take things into her own hands. When the scales of justice were tipped in someone else's favour, it was time to break those scales and start fresh.
The wolf man took off down the alley and the group of bigots decided it was best to split the group. Well, that suited her just fine. 4 squishy humans armed with knives and pipes? She could deal with that. The growl she let out was decidedly less feral but no less menacing in its intent. She crouched low, claws out, waiting for one of the thugs to make the first move. No use taking unnecessary risks, after all.
About an hour before sunset, Darkshift made her way out to Central Park. It wasn't one of her usual haunts but, as she awoke from her her slumbers that evening the thought had occurred to her that, perhaps, it would be a good place to train. Not, of course, to train in combat but rather to train in stealth and, perhaps, once everyone began to clear from the park as the night grew deeper, to train in other things as well.
Taking a cab to the park, she was dropped off nearby and began heading inside, following one of the smaller paths. Taking a leasurally pace, she reflected upon the recent changes in her life. For the first time, she had direction and a cause. She could admit to herself, when Aura had suggested she start working for her in helping mutants, it hadn't initially been about the cause it had been about the money. As the weeks went on, however, she was warming up to it in ways she could never have expected. She could use her power to do some good for her people.
Spotting a large, beautiful tree just off the path, she peered up and considered the merit of climbing it and hiding among its branches. Deciding that it would suit her needs perfectly, small black claws grew from her hands. She was starting to be more comfortable using her powers in person. She stood there, waiting until a couple passed before preparing to scale the tree.
Mutants sure were interesting and a human robot who actually had to be plugged in to recharge was not something Jayden ever thought to encounter. Perhaps it was time to do away with all expectations where mutants were concerned. Anything was possible.
"Don't worry about the money." Weird to be able to say that. It probably wouldn't last but best not to focus on that just as it was best not to focus on the fact that there was probably still a bot outside hunting them. She wasn't prepared to do jail time, not at all. Was that a sound she heard outside? A commotion? Maybe. Best to try to ignore it and maybe it would go away. Probably wishful thinking.
"I guess there are always drawbacks. If I'm covered in scales or thick fur, sometimes its hard for me to feel things too. There are no nerve endings, or whatever, in scales. Keeps me from getting hurt too badly when I'm doing something stupid thought." She let out a nervous laugh, taking a sip of her coffee. Stupid things was a far too common descriptor in her life.
It had been a long time since Darkshift had enough money to consider upgrading her technology. The laptop that was currently sitting in her bedroom had been 'liberated' a couple of years ago from the house of a woman who should have had the money for something modern but didn't. 2 years ago it had been buggy and slow, now it barely ran at all. Recent employment with Aura and her Order a few weeks ago meant actual money coming in which meant she could finally replace the piece of junk. Strange feeling to be actually buying something of worth rather than preparing herself to steal a new one. Very strange feeling.
Leaving her house in search of a computer store, she kept a few subtle visible sings of being a mutant active without being overwhelming. The message she had received from Aura was loud and clear: She should not be ashamed of being a mutant and she should not hide in the shadows. One day, maybe, she'd be comfortable walking out in public covered in black scales or fur, but that was not today. So instead, she opted for black cat claws on each of her fingers and left it at that. Subtle, but noticeable if one cared to look.
Darkshift had not gone out with the intent of looking for trouble that afternoon. She had gone it with very legal and very innocent intent of dropping some money and upgrading her laptop. Unfortunately, trouble had a way of finding her or, perhaps, she just happened to have an unhealthy attraction to trouble. Whatever reasons for self-sabotage might have been lurking within her sub-conscious, when she saw the wolf-man get tackled by some rude anti-mutant bigot and his friends, the choice to not act was not an option. Almost before she had time to consider her actions, black scales covered her body and her head transformed into one resembling a black panther. "Care to continue your little game with the numbers more even?" Ok, so even numbers might have been just a bit of an exaggeration but she couldn't let the wolf-man take a beating from a bunch of inconsiderate jerks without stepping in to help.
As with so many night before, Darkshift found herself outside at night in an alley next to one of the local bars. Covered from head to tow in black scales, she stood in the shadow of a dumper across the street, watching the comings and goings of the bar. Silent and still, no one saw her. Without giving them any reason to, no one bothered to look into the shadows in search of someone or something that didn't belong and even if they did, night black scales blended perfectly with the darkness.
Once, in the not so distant pass, she would have been standing there in search of her next target, someone who looked appropriately wealthy and appropriately intoxicated in order to mug for whatever worldly possessions they might have on their person. Tonight this was not her intent, not since she had agreed to work for Aura and her Order and be paid handsomely for it. Tonight she wasn't exactly sure what her intent was and so she stood and watched and followed her own thoughts in circles in her own mind.
Darkshift didn't realize how much pent of aggression she had inside her until she saw some inconsiderate dick run directly into a lady exiting the bar. She could swear it looked intentional. Maybe the whole mutant vigilante super hero thing was getting into her head more strongly than she had realized or maybe she just wanted an excuse to get into a fight. Regardless of motivation, she didn't have a chance to fully consider what she was doing before she walked out of the shadows to confront the man.
"You should probably apologize to the nice lady." Black clawed fingers twitched, anticipating confrontation. That sounded like a lovely way to spend an evening, now that she really stopped to consider. Sometimes you just needed and excuse to hit something.
Tonight should have been a night like any other. If Darkshift had been a sane human being (or mutant, for that matter) it would have been. She would have been at home or lurking the shadows waiting to mug someone or otherwise doing something out of the public eye. Street punk she might be, but even so she preferred to stick to the shadows.
Tonight was not a normal night, however. Blame Aura, her new employer, for that one. Something about helping mutants who couldn't help themselves. Something else about being proud of being a mutant and coming out of the shadows because they more mutants who were open and proud the fewer mutants there would be who would need the kind of help she and Aura and Aura's Order could offer. She loved being a mutant. She loved her powers. She didn't love using her powers in public.
But it was kind of her responsibility now, wasn't it? In joining the Order, she stood for something that went beyond making money and having fun. Mutant vigilante super hero is what she'd begun calling herself inside her own head, mostly in jest, but somehow jest had come to mean something a little more serious. Damn this whole morals and values thing anyway, it just made things complicated! Life was simpler when profit and fun were the only things that mattered.
So, around 10 at night and covered in pitch black scales, Darkshift walked into one of the local coffee shops, mutant status on display or all to see. People stared. She felt uncomfortable inside her own skin. Her skin itched with the discomfort and she wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run in the other direction, back to the safety of her own home and her nice, normal human skin. But she couldn't do that. Nope. Not an option. Stubborn as she was, she ignored the stares and the play of anxieties within her own head, walked through the door and into the lineup to get herself a coffee.
