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.
As Cafas cleaned, the kitten gradually turned from a mildly disturbing shade of brown to mostly white, if still rather stained, with splotches of orange on her face and hips. And front toes, as if someone wanted to hide the bloodstains of her slain enemies.
"Why should I have to tell them anything? People already talk to me more if I give them my name. Giving her one so I can give it to people is just going to make it worse." Adder edged in a little bit closer to peer at the kitten's lack of tail. Well, apparently not quite a lack; there was a little smushed-up bit. He was on the edge of asking Cafas if she'd be able to balance, but then went to the edge of smacking himself in the face instead. He could balance just fine on two legs, and she had four. Well, he could usually balance on two. There were times when he would be wolf but for headache-y noise and too much everything and then he kept trying to step onto a foreleg but it was a hand and it just didn't work.
That was old, though. That hadn't happened at all recently. It was old enough to at least be partially Before.
But whatever. Cafas was rambling and it didn't all make sense. Adder might not have been able to actually explain irony if put on the spot (not that he'd willingly explain anything if put on the spot) but Cafas had only seen kitten being angry and bitey, so clearly he meant Cuddles to be a Very Much Not Accurate label. Which was stupid. Why call something it wasn't? Except Adder had actually been around for when kitten was tucked into the back of his neck, and since she couldn't really get through his ruff it could almost be cuddly.
But Cuddles was also a stupid name all on its own. Agro he didn't quite get either, but that was more because it didn't sound like a word.
His name was very inaccurate. An adder was apparently a kind of snake, but the only thing he had to do with snakes was that he'd eaten a few over the years. There weren't a ton of snakes around the city. Mostly pigeons and crows. Cats ad rats. Whatever. It had something to do with his Before name, and it wasn't as if he was going to go and change it now. It wasn't as if it'd stop people from trying to talk to him.
He held the towel out for kitten, hesitated long enough to make sure it was covering his already scratched arms as much as possible, and prepared to take back the even tinier ball of rage. "Soaked fur is cold," he said absently. Cafas didn't have fur so he probably wouldn't really know. "It's warm only until the water gets to your skin. Then it takes forever to dry."
Tiny tiny kitten enveloped in giant poofy towel. So much more towel than kitten.
Adder recoiled at the shout, shifting to human both intentionally, to get snake-rock-flower-mint to stop freaking out and because she was REALLY LOUD and his ears hurt and he couldn't actually hold the form because it was too loud.
At any rate, he ended up on two bare feet, partially crouched and clearly torn between bolting and having to rescue kitten/rescue everyone from kitten. He was clean compared to his record but there still seemed to be dirt ground into his skin, and the black lining his eyes still looked more like extreme exhaustion.
He also had a near record lack of clothes on, since his nest-bed happened to be right on top of a heat vent and that was apparently being used now that it was getting cool outside. Also, Cafas had bought him fuzzy pajamas and he didn't want to wear day-clothes with them because apparently that was a weird thing he didn't want to do, harrumph. So what if snakemint had a clear view of his bare chest, very visible bones and multiple layers of casual scars and all?
"She's mine!" he said, half protest and half growl, torn and conflicted and very much stressed out.
No! There were wriggly things that must be attacked! Kitten writhed and fought in the inhumane grip, doing her very best to reach flesh with fang or claw, but the size difference was too great for success.
Didn't stop her from continuing to try, though, and screeching her protest!
Still near the entrance to the library, Adder's ears and tail shot up at the sound of absolute fury and feline bloody murder. Heedless of the now rather furious students in his wake, he jumped onto and over a table rather than going around it, and made for the corner that held the sound of idiot kitten.
He burst into the nook with his jaws open, panting more from WHERE IS KITTEN and CAFAS DOES NOT WANT KITTEN TO MURDER than exertion, yellow eyes wide and searching for the little ball of spotted fur, and generally doing a very good impression of Big Bad Wolf's much more dangerous brother. Meanwhile the very angry kitten meowed rather proudly at her ride-and-food-provider, letting up her flailing for a moment.
She had been asleep. She had been so peaceful, curled up into that tiny ball of spotted fur smaller than his hand, pressed into the curve of his throat where his ruff wasn't so thick as to block all of his body heat. Of course, it was an incredibly dangerous spot, but she was being good and was all yawny and making tiny little mews that weren't nearly as angry as usual, so Adder had let her pick her spot.
When he woke up, though, she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere to be seen or scented. Adder felt confused for a few moments, and then found that the door to the hallway wasn't latched. There was even enough space for a tiny angry kitten to squeeze out without hurting herself.
Adder started running on two feet, as that was the form he'd happened to wake in, but shouldered the door open more while on four feet. The pale wolf veritably (if quietly) exploded into the hallway, turning in a few sharp circles before catching the kitten's scent on the carpet. He took off after her.
He was supposed to have his first school thing today. His stuff with Cafas was on hold until the X-Men dangerous stuff out in the city settled down - riots made Adder quite glad to be safe and sound in here - so his mornings weren't really occupied, but he still couldn't spend forever doing stuff. And he wanted food, but kitten was probably out mauling people right now. Cafas would be very unhappy if Adder let kitten maul people other than him, because Cafas was good at dealing with it. And Adder got whatever happened because he was the one who'd scared off the dog-fighter people.
Okay, okay, where did kitten go? Adder followed the trail down the hall, but it got a little lost amongst a horde of people-footsteps. Kids. Always getting in the way.
He picked up her trail again at the entrance to the library, shifted long enough for a couple of people to kind of stare while he opened the door, and then dropped his wolf nose to the floor again to track kitten, for this place was full of places for her to hide.
And from which to attack. On which note... the little kitten wiggled, set her tiny claws into the cover of the book she was perched on, quite a few feet up on a shelf, and launched herself at some cool moving things that smelled like food and seemed to be attached to someone's head, and made ready to shred!
Cat-ex must have some trick. Or maybe it had something to do with cat tails being so wiggly. Kitten didn't have much of a tail, although with the mud he hadn't noticed if it were mostly missing or just smushed up. He didn't really care either way, as long as she wasn't hurt. And she was complaining about everything else, so she was probably okay.
Adder straightened up, half-folded towel sort of fluffed in his arms, and used it as a cushion to lean against the far edge of the counter. He wasn't even balanced to bolt without warning, for once.
"Name?" Adder tilted his head a little bit at that, ears and eyes flicking between kitten and Cafas. Why would he have a name for her? Wait, think-of. Correction: why would he make up a name for her? Also. "I don't need a name to make her different. She smells like her. And mud. And angry." Lots of angry, more angry than mud even. So much angry.
The tap turned but no one had touched it. Adder glanced at Cafas again, black-lined eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Also metal manipulation, yes, but not quite what Cafas had shown before. A good thing to remember, that fine control.
And immunity to kitten-anger. Adder stifled a tiny, not-even-snarky laugh. And then hesitated, because he couldn't remember doing much of that. And also he had managed to automatically cover it in towel.
Aaaaaaanyways... "She probably got herself all gross just to harass someone." She was trying to twist around to bite Cafas' other hand. He huffed at her, and she hissed at him.
And the cleaner she got, the stronger the angry-smell seemed.
Cafas had dated a shifter? A cat shifter, no less. That would explain why he hadn't ever batted an eye at Adder's handful of unplanned shifts in his presence. Since he'd never intentionally shifted in front of him, other than shifting back to human since he dealt with Cafas as human. Salt softy got wolf, but sometimes human now if he wanted to talk. She wasn't scared of him after all!
"Having a tail as a human must get annoying," Adder mused, trying to imagine it. Especially with how most people sat. Maybe this cat-ex crouched like he did, though. That would solve that problem. Pants would be a problem, though. How could he keep pants on without squishing his tail?
Oh right, Cafas' hands were full of angry!kitten! Adder slipped forward to grab the rubbery plug that smelled faintly of chemical and slime but felt dry, and crammed it into the hole at the bottom of the sink. As for water, well, he had proven a little too well that blue was cold and black was hot. Hm. Maybe it wasn't actually black. Colourblindness, right? Hm. What colour could it be? Probably red, if it wasn't black.
Once the water was running and Adder, at least, was satisfied with the temperature (a little bit shy of bare-skin-scalding), the wolf shifter stepped back and crouched to dry his hands on one of the towels still half piled, half scattered on the floor. Heh, he could still see some of the dents from his teeth in that one.
Well, Cafas certainly seemed... happy. And relieved. About what? Had he been expecting Adder to be illogical and ragey or something?
Harrumph.
"It's worse with a wolf nose," he did admit, rather dismally. At least the kitten was out of reach if she decided she didn't like his tone - hey! She was going to get cat food, she didn't need to scarf down his sausages so fast! She'd already made a big enough dent in that one, and now she was starting on another?
Adder fumed quietly until Cafas magicked her into the air, and then absently scratched at his own starting-to-scab-over scratches. Like thorn-scratches. Everywhere and itchy.
"You know a lot about cats," he said, somewhere between hesitantly, casually, and curiously, as he followed Cafas. From behind the metal manipulator, he flashed a grin at kitten that was only slightly evil. She was going to get clean whether she liked it or not, and she could just try to convince Cafas otherwise!
There was that want again. Thinking about that was best left for later, though. Sometime when he was alone and could think it through, if that was what he ended up doing with it, and there wasn't anyone to watch him and interrupt him and make him guard his expression against them.
Wait wait wait wait WAIT
Adder's ears slid farther and farther back as Cafas rambled off thing after thing after thing. Not angry-back, but definitely... very, very overwhelmed. Kitten biting Cafas too helped a tiny bit, but then Cafas just... took her off, with basically no repercussions. Adder had tried doing just that and she'd mauled him even more!
Clearly Cafas knew what he was talking about with kittens. Adder didn't want to admit that it was almost certainly superior to his plan, but on the other hand, giving in to this meant that he wouldn't have to share his food with her. So there was that.
Adder did his best to consider. He couldn't really consider the specifics of what Cafas was offering, since he wasn't sure what it was, but he could consider whether or not to trust Cafas' experience, knowledge, and opinions. So. Cafas had gotten him out of a fight. Given him food. Got him set up here, all without anything weird or dangerous. He'd given him stuff to do, and their Danger Room training, name notwithstanding, was honestly pretty interesting, and made him feel better. He'd bought him new clothes, including the awesome fuzzy sweater that was tucked safely away because he'd been out running and he only wore the sweater when he was sure it would stay clean because apparently it shouldn't be cleaned too much or something; Adder didn't remember the exact wording. And the phone he still couldn't really figure out, but had yet to admit to Cafas.
In all of that, the only negative that stood out was Cafas' lingering expectation (and intimidation) of stupid shoes. One negative, and even on that Cafas had eased up, and wasn't trying to make him wear them much, just have them. And hadn't even pushed that part yet.
Not a phrase Adder was familiar with, but he thought maybe... Diet was something rich people used when they were eating, but it seemed to be about limiting their food (which was rather silly, in his opinion). Requirements. Well, was Cafas talking about having to limit food?
He glanced at kitten. A lot of it was the muddy, wet fur, but she looked skinny and was very clearly hungry. Why would he want to limit food for her? Assuming she let him. She hadn't exactly indicated a lot of flexibility in will so far.
There was something more important, though. "If she eats it, then that just means I don't have to share." He did not like sharing, especially his food. This right now was a special case. This was bribery to get her off him.
Wait wait wait, cheapest? Adder's ears wavered a little bit. But she had shelter here, and the mansion provided him food, so what else..?
Also, why was Cafas asking about 'keeping' her? "Pretty sure she'd just attach herself to me again if I tried to get her to go back where I found her," he muttered. "Why can't she stay here?" There were other animals-that-weren't-shifters around. Some he only smelled, but he saw plenty. Not-cop-face-shifter had that giant annoying dog. Salt softy had a bunch of tiny fish. He'd smelled mice quite a few times, so kitten could even be more useful than any of them.
Plus more useful than most of the bratty kids here.
"I couldn't get her off," Adder muttered. "I shifted so she couldn't bite me and she just climbed up more and sat on the back of my neck." He was pretty sure it wasn't just him thinking that kitten was now purring much louder.
Salt??? Too much??? Adder glanced back in the sausage. It didn't taste salty to him. And it didn't seem to be bothering kitten. And he'd get her water, so where was the issue? "How would 'cat' food be better? Sausages are good." And filling, and rarely mouldy, and even easily washed off if they got muddy or something. They were basically a super food.
And laundry? Really? He'd just got here, and Cafas was telling him to go do laundry? A faint grumbling growl grew at the back of his throat, rather offended, and kitten growled disturbingly agreeably. Maybe she just liked everything to be angry? That would honestly explain a lot.
"I just got in," he muttered, and then a bit louder: "and she needs it more." Not that he'd put her in a laundry machine. That would be very bad.
Okay, kitten was eating his food, it was his food! and not attached to him. Adder therefore had the opportunity to shift and give his head a sensory break, and also maybe grab the kitten with the towel??? Except she was purring (and kind of angrily squeaking) as she ate, and he really wanted to laugh at her, except then she'd probably attack him.
Well, he should still shift. Because head. And also there was mud on his new pants and he needed to get it out so that they stayed new and -
Door. Noise. Adder turned as he shifted, and ended up looking up at Cafas from a sort of sprawled half-sit on the floor.
Cafas was saying something about classes and kitten. When? When did Cafas think? She was soaked in mud and starving! Did Cafas really think she'd get like that if she'd been here for a while? He huffed. Kitten paused eating, but had resumed by the time he glanced back.
... She was also making a total mess, with little bits of sausage flicked all around her. Was she being a klutz or picky? Why would she be picky?
"She kind of... climbed up my leg while I was out running," he said, dragging his attention back to Cafas. Cafas didn't need to know about the dogfighters he'd kicked. Although there might still be some nose-blood on his heel. He could smell a bit, but that didn't mean there was any visible. "And she bit me."
Actually, the backs of his hands were still bleeding a little bit, and his wrists. So that was probably what he smelled.
The tiny kitten had refused to budge. Eventually, Adder had given up and simply run home. For all of the kitten's size, apparent age, and logical exhaustion, the feel of claws tangled in the thick, coarse fur at the back of his neck and just above his shoulders never faltered.
Y'know, he could respect a stubbornness like that. It was annoying as all get out, and the kitten smelled of a dozen things he really didn't want to think about but if he shifted and made the scents weaker then those claws would be deep in his skin and he'd be just as unable to reach, but the kitten had decided on something and refused everyone else's attempts to change her course.
Even if that course was riding him. With no end in sight. Maybe he'd have to bribe her. Not that he wanted to give up food, but he could steal someone else's food. That might get her off him. Cats liked being clean too, didn't they? But not being wet. Maybe he could bury her in towels. Would that help? He could at least pull out towels without shifting. Keep his skin intact.
All the short blocks home, Adder considered and plotted. The kitten purred from time to time, and squirmed a bit, but never let go and never slipped. And he couldn't turn to actually see, so all he could do was listen and feel.
He slipped back in through the back of the property as the rising sun finally made it over the buildings and trees, and wove his way into the building. His pace quickened as the sounds of awake people grew, and pushed into his room with the success of going unnoticed. Well, without seeing anyone. There were people here who apparently couldn't stop noticing absolutely everything. He didn't envy them, not now.
Okay. Kitten cleaning and stuff. Adder headed into the bathroom, nosing the door open and then carefully rearing up to hook the pads of one forepaw around the handle of the cabinet that had towels. Just the right pressure at the right angle, and it swung open. He gently set his teeth into the entire stack of folded towels and tossed them onto the floor behind him.
Throughout the contortions, the kitten just dug in her claws and muttered something in cat.
Time to see how she liked this. Adder picked up one of the towels again, just by the edge, and flicked it over his back like he was going to dry himself off. It covered the kitten completely, from the sound of very surprised squeaking and hissing.
OW OW OW THOSE CLAWS WERE NOT IN HIS FUR ANYMORE
Ears flat against the his head and tail miserably low, Adder went for his current stash of food. Would kitten like sausage enough to STOP MAULING HIM?
...
The kitten took the towel with her when she dove from his back with eerie accuracy, landing directly on top of the half-eaten preserved sausage.
Helped? "They wouldn't have noticed me at all without you," Adder retorted. Because she'd responded to his comment. Which totally made it all her fault, and there was nothing she could say to convince him otherwise.
But answering her question might make her make less of a fuss when he inevitably left her behind. Because that was what he did. He went away from people with no intention of ever seeing them again.
"Didn't I already say? The ground's cold. And sometimes I'm just more comfortable on four feet. Got a problem with that?" If she did, he'd just leave her behind in this minute and not a future one. People who couldn't wrap their heads around someone sometimes preferring a different aspect of themselves weren't people worth hanging around.
Adder could already feel the back of his neck tightening, hackles he didn't currently show rising in worry, but then Cafas put the shoes off into the vague future and Adder could set the worry aside. Future wasn't now. He'd deal with it then, not now.
He hung back while Cafas went over to the shopperson-who-stared. She was probably still watching him, suspecting him, waiting for an excuse to call security. Let Cafas deal with her. He lurked in the background, hands tucked in the fuzzy sleeves, and watched. And waited. Eventually Cafas turned, and then Adder arranged to be close enough to take the bags.
Clothes. For him. That were both new and not stolen or damaged.
Still a little surreal. And duh he didn't want to keep wearing his old dirty stuff. Did Cafas even need to ask? He would have already been wearing the new stuff if Cafas had let him before. Harrumph.
He stalked back to the changeroom, vaguely grumbling to himself about changing standards. Couldn't wear them then, could wear them now. Really.
Adder stuffed his old clothes into the bag too, since while they might be dirtier and older they weren't in such bad shape as to just abandon them right now, and headed out to continue this head-spinning trip.
Wouldn't be a good father? Well that was a stupid reason. Leaving was clearly what had made him a bad father. Well, there was no accounting for human stupidity. Or the ability of some people to get arrested repeatedly and released repeatedly. Adder refused to risk having to escape from police or the people who came afterwards. He'd never let them touch him again.
Also, other people's insistence on names was so annoyed. It took Adder a moment to decide, more than remember, that Silver-to-salt-softy was bad fat guy. Probably-smelly bad fat guy.
All of this boiled down to one thing, really. "People are stupid," he declared idly, and peeled some more bacon off one of the last burger patties. Bacon was good, even when it got caught between his teeth. Hey, that earlier bit was gone! Score.
...
Except now there was another piece stuck on the other side. There was just no winning.
