Ororo Munroe | Storm | Marvel 1610

Player Information:
Name: Alex
Age: 1,230 (that is to say: over 18)
Contact: reignsdown
Game Cast: Shifu | shifu_sifu | AC (see network and log tag links)

Character Information:
Name: Ororo Munroe | Storm
Canon: Marvel 1610: Ultimate X-Men
Canon Point: After issue # 20; Storm and Beast have broken up and Charles Xavier's faith in his own initiative has been restored after the beating it took from David Xavier's rampage
Age: Late teens
Reference: Marvel Wiki: Ororo Munroe | Storm & The X-Men & Earth-1610

Setting:
Take everything that you know about modern day Earth hold onto it. While you're at it, you might want to shuffle it about in your head, because understanding the world of the Marvel 1610 (Ultimate) comics requires adding, rather than subtracting, from the world that we all know and love.

The current era is comparative to ours, with the core of stories happening after 2000 and prior to 2012. Technology as known by the average user is about the same, with smart phones and iPods scattered aplenty about the population. Politically, the framework's about the same, with ideological variances depending on the country. We have socialism, democracy, communism, fascism... hell, everythingism.

Geographically, things start to differ. Remember that huge white swath of snow and ice at the South Pole? That happens to conceal something we call the Savage Land; mostly undiscovered, this is where primitive people existed in number until recent memory and dinosaurs are occasionally seen. Atlantis also existed, once upon a time, but war with Lumuria did a good job of erasing both empires from the history books. Beyond that, New York still exists, as do many other major urban centers. Here, the major differences come with the existence of different buildings, such as the Baxter Building (headquarters of the Fantastic Four). Suffice to say, a globe of this Earth and ours would look like siblings: A couple differences here and there, but you can tell they're at least related.

Then there are the people. Oh, they're human... for the most part. Mixed in and around are the differences, some taking the form of super soldiers developed during the second World War and others existing as scientific accidents with radioactive spiders that developed incredible wall-scaling abilities and the like. Radiation and chemicals tend to trigger a lot more than long-term health complications here and there's no telling whether being subjected strange substances or situations will result in one developing some pretty amazing powers -- like super strength, or the ability to turn into a raging green monster when your anger management techniques fail. Some take these special abilities and become villainous plagues upon society, while others will don uniforms and step up to protect the innocent.

Understanding where Ororo Munroe fits in this world requires understanding that there's a even larger population of people with special abilities than super soldiers and those impacted by strange, once-in-a-lifetime events. This is known as the mutant population, considered by some to be a step of human evolution as each possesses an activated X-Factor gene -- a genome which unlocks abilities specific to the person that are typically referred to as mutations. There appears no end to the variations and permutations that these mutations take, from influencing appearance to increasing strength to triggering telepathic or telekinetic abilities. Some are weak or unnoticeable, while others can be extremely noticeable and, at times, destructive in nature. Ororo herself possesses extensive meteorological manipulation abilities in addition to the mutation that turned her hair and eyes white. Used for good, her abilities can solve drought and weaken storm damages, but used without that positive focus? Well, she almost fried a playground of kids when using lightning to foil the police.

The existence of these abilities and the eternal question of morality that surrounds the actions of any person more powerful than others has caused quite a ruckus in this world. There's endless fear mongering and discrimination against mutants, for the "normal" population not only fears and hates them, but are encouraged to by their political leaders in the wake of things like terrorist-attacks by extremist factions, such as the Brotherhood of Mutants.

Lead initially by Magneto, a powerful mutant with the ability to manipulate magnetic fields, the Brotherhood is comprised of mutants that believe themselves as better than human, the next step of evolution. They are tired of discrimination and hiding, and operate with the understanding that a heavy-handed approach is the answer to their problems. They've launched attacks on important figures and locations, including the president in Washington, DC.

These actions have only fanned the fire, triggering initiatives such as the Sentinels -- giant robots designed and program to find mutants by scanning the genetic code of a person. Once identified, they then capture or eliminate the mutant and often to the cheers of human onlookers. Without intervention, this initiative would likely only prompt others and result in the systematic identification, registration, and possible elimination of the mutant race.

Enter Professor Charles Xavier, his Institute for Gifted Children, and the X-Men -- the counterforce to Magneto and his Brotherhood (though they had one been of a like mind; messy history, trust me). Charles Xavier is a powerful mutant with primarily telepathic abilities and he is one that retains compassion for the human race despite the fear and discrimination. He feels that peaceful integration and alliances are the answer to the unrest and uses his school -- funded by powerful organisations, including the Hellfire Club -- as a secret sanctuary where mutants can live and learn both scholastic pursuits and how to control their abilities, which often manifest during puberty.

With Sentinels wandering the States in search of mutants, it's hard to imagine how a school filled with red-flagged genetic codes has escaped notice. Attribute that to Xavier's telepathy misleading minds and the unique uniforms that most of the students get to wear. A differing standard of technology, these outfits are often form-fitting and are explained as capable of concealing the X-Factor in their DNA on a surface scan. (That said, any mutant wearing such a uniform and using powers with visible impact will still be identified and attacked.)

There's a second purpose to the institute, and it's one that raises questions about the morality of it. Students old, skilled, or powerful enough are then brought into the X-Men team that Xavier leads. Formed to find and protect mutants while pushing the mutant agenda (acceptance and equality for all), they are frequently dispatched as both search-and-rescue and crisis response teams. Comprised of powerful mutants -- such as Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Colossus, Beast, Wolverine and Storm (say hi to Ororo) -- they are often the only ones capable of intervening directly against Magneto's Brotherhood.

Above all, their intent and purpose is to raise awareness and soothe the anti-mutant sentiment, inadvertantly helped along by Magneto when he does silly things like attack the president of the United States. When the X-Men save the day, they strike a huge blow against negative perception of mutants and make huge strides towards gaining civil rights and freedoms. (Because everything with X-Men comes down to civil rights themes.)

The X-Men are not the only team working to right wrongs, nor the Brotherhood to cause them, though both focus primarily on the mutant issue. There are other factions, from Weapon X (tapping the abilities of mutants to create soldiers) to the Ultimates (a team of metas, humans, and mutants that does the whole save-the-world, right-the-wrongs deal on a prominent and more commercial scale). Interestingly, both operations are associated with S.H.I.E.L.D. -- a secretive espionage and weapons research organisation that pokes its nose in every abnormal or unexplained incident that arises.

This is not the limit of the universe, merely the focus on Earth in the present. Beyond it and Ororo's role are alien civilisations such as the Chitauri currently infiltrating humanity disguised as the locals to prepare for a takeover attempt. Then there are the Asgardians, an extremely long-lived race with access to multiple realms, of which Earth (Midgard) is merely one. These are perceived as Norse gods by most humans, but only the Odinsons (Thor, Loki, Balder) are hanging around this realm and all of them are distant from her.

See what I mean about adding rather than subtracting?

Personality:
Those of you familiar with the Ororo Munroe of X-Men movies, various animated series, and the 616 comicverse might want to hang up every perception that you have about the character. The name and appearance may be the same, but the Ororo from the Ultimate-1610 comicverse lacks the experience, background, and development that might make her the familiar staple.

When defined by the public eye, Ororo Munroe is a young mutant living in a world that discriminates against her and hates the one thing about herself that she cannot change. She can no more dismiss her mutation than her nationality (Morrocan, for the record) and the fact that people hold this against her as some personal affront to their sensibilities has helped her develop a thick skin against the barbs and the judgements cast against her. This is not to say that she is one-hundred percent confident and outgoing, just that she emerges from scathing insults and discrimination more or less intact. On the long-term, it once served to make her cautious about using her powers, but working with the X-Men has been dismantling these walls and aversions while encouraging her to employ the abilities that evolution has bequeathed her.

Actually, it's safe to say that Ororo is not one-hundred percent anything. Youth and inexperience combined with the discrimination against mutants and illegal immigrants have made her careful, even hesitant, about making important, life-altering decisions. Resilient, but self-conscious; she seeks safe and normal alternatives as a comfort mechanism. Her relationship with Beast is a good example of this, as she complained about wanting to just make-out with her boyfriend like normal couples do when their conversations turned too technical. She seeks some sense of normalcy in relationships, desiring some form of romantic attachment, though she often engages in the same petty arguments that teen couples fall into because she's not necessarily afraid of confrontation or, as noted later, of speaking her mind.

What she lacks more than anything is guidance and nurturing. Life has been a survival gauntlet for her and that reflects in her inability to live in much more beyond the moment, maybe the day, and this is never with more than one or two others on her mind to worry about. Put in a situation where others depend on her, she falters and descends into panic and self consciousness. Leadership is not her forte, though with careful conditioning it might be. Until then, give her a leader and she will react to their orders to the best of her ability. Give her a patient teacher and she will grow as a person, as a mutant. Give her a path that she can believe in and she will walk it.

Funny to think of someone so in need of guidance as having conviction, but with Ororo? That's definitely something she is capable of; she tends to speak her mind and stick with it. When pressured to join the Brotherhood, she told them to get packing and Marvel Girl experienced the same shutdown when she broke Ororo out of jail on Xavier's orders. Sure, she believes deep down that mutants are homo superior -- the next step -- but she sees no point in terrorising the population with that fact. The fact that the X-Men help them instead are why she adheres with Xavier's teachings despite the rollercoaster of popular acceptance that mutantkind is trying to master.

She's had her moments of doubt, blaming telepathy for her uncharacteristic dedication to the cause, but Ororo has been growing as an inherently good person from these teachings and by what the X-Men do to better the world. She doesn't always recognise that growth within herself, used to the static state that saw her make ends meet by the necessary means over the years. Back then, flight-or-fight tended to be the only acceptable reaction and she has a habit of being caught up in it. Fear may not dominate her, but it runs through her when facing Sentinels and she has no shame in fighting from hiding. She wants to survive -- to live -- and the chances of walking away from a battle are greatly lessened when your opponent can see you.

Ororo prefers not to live in those moments, where insecurity and danger could consume her, but to live in the present and have fun while she can. With mutant popularity on the rise, she has been blooming in the public spotlight, responding well to the media attention and the ability to an "out" mutant that can rollerblade in public without (much) fear of reprisal. She is young still and has an almost childish enjoyment of things like mastering her abilities, taking joy in the suggestion that she might fly by manipulating the air currents. She's a teenager, full of hopes and dreams that she conceals under that standard, slight rebellious nature that many teenagers possess.

Typically, it manifests in the way she phrases things with sass, having developed something of a reputation on the team for sly remarks and sarcastic observations. When you live with some of the most powerful telepaths that mutantkind has yet produced, your thoughts tend to be the first thing they hear anyways. Beyond that, there doesn't seem much point to filtering her words when the world's ready to judge her by her skin tone or her powers. She tries not to judge back, but sharp remarks come all too easily to her, even when all she meant to do was define the line between humans and mutants (because they might be able to live in harmony, but they are inherently different creatures in her mind).

Take away the attitude and the self confidence issues? Ororo is a troubled, but smart young woman with a lot of potential. She learned to speak English from John Wayne movies on television and expands her meteorological arsenal by reading complex books on weather phenomenon. She restrained herself from using her abilities to keep from hurting others, a sign of inherent goodness. Yes, she's emotional and capable of overreaction, even of being consumed by anger, sadness, or fear. But she's still a good person that's just as capable of losing her temper and making bad choices as the next person her age. These are how people learn and, frankly? She still has much to learn.

TU VISHAN, KEELIAI, AND STORM:
Things were looking up for mutants back home and, with the exception of relationship troubles, for Ororo as well. Public opinion was up, her control over her mutant abilities was improving, and they were all free from the Weapon X program.

And then the turtle came a-knocking.

Fished out of the ocean and told that she's dead or dreaming? Ororo's going to be bummed, likely to sulk for a bit and avoid noticeably using her powers (never can tell when someone scream mutant for it) while she figures out her place in it. The weather might be a bit overcast for the interim, as it tends to reflect her mood, whoops.

The lady can adjust, all said and done. Chances all that she'll be fine, might even cautiously scout about at night in her X-Men uniform. Cheesy as it is, she might even admit to being codenamed Storm (and quick to mention that it's not even as bad as being called CYCLOPS). She's apt to assume that she falls in the 'dreaming' category, as things had been healthy and fine before she arrived.

Appearance: Storm in her fashionable X-Men uniform

Abilities:
The Weatherman's Always Wrong:
Blame Ororo if the weatherman forecast sun and it happens to rain instead. Mind, she looks innocent enough and most assume her mutation to be limited to the white of her hair and eyes, but let's not judge a book solely by her cover (or, in this case, her secondary mutation).

Ororo's primary mutation is meteorological control, which is the fanciest way to say that she controls the weather. This tends to be localised, with her body being the focal point and her range being assumed to the ol' "far is the eye can see" definition -- proven during The Tomorrow People, when she took out Sentinels with ball lightning with 10+ city blocks distance between her and her targets.

Environmental factors have little influence over her capabilities, for she is easily capable of creating rain during a drought and snow during a heat wave. It's more of a mind over matter thing, really. If she's panicked and wanting a blizzard to cover five blocks, she might end up summoning sleet that peters out after ten meters or so. There's also a cost to it -- the greater the focus or more intense her desire to have it done, the more it takes from her. The first time that she struck down Sentinels, the effort of one lightning bolt caused her to faint. However, her mind (like any good muscle) merely needs to exercise itself in this regard to built up stamina (see her next serious encounter, when she struck multiple Sentinels with multiple, precisely targeting instances of ball lightning without fading once).

As the ball lightning suggests, one can do a lot more than merely make it rain when they can control the weather. Ororo knows how to use various atmospheric phenomenon both offensively and defensively thanks to training in the Danger Room (a simulation room for the X-Men to teach them to react appropriately under pressure). She favours lighting in the offensive, but does not shy from calling in fog or winds to raise her defense. There are other practical applications of this ability, including her most recent and favourite: Flying on air currents that she controls. Pretty neat, huh?

The majority of her weather manipulation occurs only under conscious thought, but Ororo's moods can influence the general feel of it. If she's feeling down? Clouds might start crowding in. If she's happy? Sunshine and lollipops, baby.

The Amazing Athletic X-Men:
All mutants residing at the institute are expected to train their bodies as much as their abilities and Ororo is no exception. On the athletic scale of one-to-meta, she sits at the human ten. She's no Olympic contender, but she can do run laps around the more sedentary citizens of Keeliai; her strength is just above average for a female of her age and build. The only area where she might rate an eleven is hardiness, but that's from the wear and tear of taking on Sentinels and then being a pawn of Weapon X more than natural ability.

Why Buy When You Can Jack It?
Ororo was a career youth that specialised in the fine art of vehicle theft and, just like riding a bicycle, it's hard to forget the best ways to steal it in the first place. She's been clean since signing on with Xavier and plans to stay that way, but the skills are there. Chances are she could figure out the ignition systems of the kedan vehicles and jack them too, but why do that when she can fly?

Inventory:
One (1) form-fitting X-Men uniform with a built-in tracker and communicator in the X-badge on it, both of which will be useless as anything more than parts here.
One (1) set of fashionable attire commonly seen on the young folk of her world, worn atop the X-Men uniform.
One (1) purse with the secrets of the universe contained within! And, by that I mean some make-up, some cash, her ID, and Xavier's credit card for X-Men emergencies. Her last use of it? Buying a super expensive outfit for a media interview.

Suite: Earth Sector; two stories at max. Ororo can be taciturn and sassy both, giving her an edge and inclusion within the population. She'll fit right in and push back if people grump at her and, let's face it, a kedan having a bad day is a thousand times better than an anti-mutant asshole.

In-Character Samples:
Third Person:

Tell her six months ago that she would be riding the wind some three hundred feet off the ground and Ororo would have laughed at the idea. Her? flying? Impossible! Maybe her powers had the potential, but after nearly electrocuting a playground of twelve-year-olds in her flight from the cops, she'd sworn off using it for more than a few quick tricks. The idea of unleashing it with any modicum of control had seemed ridiculous, but she'd also been too preoccupied with being arrested by the cops and what that would mean for a mutant like her to do more than lip service to the problem. Then Marvel Girl came along to bust her out and the world changed faster than she thought possible.

Six months, that was it.

All of that felt like a lifetime ago, and she shed those old concerns as she rose into the air above the Xavier Institute and reached for the clouds. They eagerly stretched and surged towards her hand and she laughed -- light, childish -- with the sheer joy that she'd discovered in using her powers under Xavier's guidance and protection. The instinctive influence had been one thing, but having concious control that grew more precise the more that she practised buoyed her far higher than the air currently could.

She smiled. Maybe, in time, she could hit that ceiling. The thick meterological text on her nightstand that she near devoured nightly contained many secrets about the weather that helped her unlock her skills, so maybe (just maybe) it could help her navigate the thinner air and lesser oxygen the higher that she went.

Storm, congratulations on reaching a new record elevation.

Ororo let the air pressure shift about her, resting high above the ground as she heard Xavier in her head. A small smile touched her lips as some part of her found pleasure in the compliment, but it faded as the doubt settled in that this could not be only encouragement. "What do you need, professor?" she asked. He would pick the words from her head, but she found it easier to say it aloud, taking the effort to organise them in English and not Moroccan-Arabic.

A surge of amusement in her mind. I could understand you either way.

"It's good practice," she defended, shrugging a shoulder and turning slowly in the air. "I can't just borrow languages from people like you do."

The amusement faded into purpose as he relented that point, momentarily to her. I was wondering if you might come down to the main foyer. There is an issue of a drought and I think you could provide some valuable assistance with your unique abilities.

Despite her carefully event expression, his statement piqued both interest and concern in her mind. The idea of helping, not harming, sounded so much better than the combat that her life as an X-Man had been filled with, but the idea of taking on a widespread drought? That sounded daunting. She bit her lip and directed the currents to shift, lowering her steadily towards the ground. "I'll be right there," she said, deciding that she could at least try. Xavier had his eccentricities, but when he decided one of his students was ready for something, he'd generally been right. Maybe he'd be right here too.


Network:

[There's no way that Ororo will broadcast "Cyclops/Marvel Girl/Beast/Iceman/Colossus, do you read me?" on an open network. Look, it was weird enough to hear it where she came from, but Xavier had reasons. Codenames worked to protect the X-Men, but there are no X-Men here. No weird telepathic voices greeted her when she woke up and she's seen no one familiar on the network. She's not even sure there are mutants here, so it's a risk to come online with her white hair and eyes, which she rolls when the video comes up.]

These kedan guys seem nice, but can I get a second opinion on the job thing? [She leans back in her chair, bracing her boots against the edge of her desk, running her fingers through her hair.]

Last time I woke up somewhere strange and had to do a few hours "work" -- [She brackets the word with finger quotes.] -- for secure room and board really didn't work for me or my friends.

[Weapon X project, she's looking at you.]