nextgen_misc:

There's a piece of paper and a pen attached to a bulletin board. Across the top is written:

New Year's Resolutions
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Anonymous entries accepted.

nextgen_deviant:

The brides were clad in white and lined up in front of the altar. A semi-circle of priests stood behind the brides and were chanting. The magic in the air became more powerful as the priests chanted. A small circle appeared in the air before the brides and started to get bigger.

Standing behind the priests was a large group of deviants. They were witnessing the rebirth of their god into the mortal realm. It was an honor and privilege to be witness to this historic moment.

nextgen_holiday:

The beginning of a New Year, a time for new hopes, new experiences to come. A time to reflect on times past, remembering fond memories happily and trying to put less pleasant thoughts and experiences in the past.

It is a time of renewal, a time of rebirth. And for much of the world, it is a time of celebration. This is no less true for the super hero set as anyone else. If anything, they just have that much bigger of things to look forward to.

anyastark:

As usual after dealing with something related to Temujin, Anya hid out in the lab. This was the lab at the condo because she didn't have access to the lab at the Avengers' mansion. Though with Jarvis' help, she did manage to get her suit out. It wasn't a problem getting it to the condo. There may have been a very short fast flight to the roof of the building.

Dad said she couldn't use the suit (the short flight wasn't using it per se, it was transporting it), but he didn't say anything about working on it, or building herself a new suit. So she locked herself away in the lab and started working on her old suit and started building a new one. She needed to be prepared for the next time Temujin showed his face.

She slept an hour here and there. An hour of sleep allowed her to rest, but it wasn't enough time for the nightmares to start. As usual she lost track of time and days. Mom delivered food on a regular basis. If she hadn't, Anya would have forgotten to eat.

Anya stared blankly at the new set of boots. There was something she wanted to do, but she couldn't think at the moment.

old_saint_nick:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Christmas Day is a Christian holiday, it's true, but it also has become increasingly secular. It is an opportunity for love, charity, and goodwill.

There is some debate within mystical circles if there is indeed such a creature as the embodiment of Christmas Giving known as Santa Claus. But whether or not there is such a being, the spirit of giving itself is very real, be it incarnated in a fat man in a red suit or not.

Throughout this small blue planet of Earth, people have brought trees into their homes, decorated them with lights and ornaments, and placed them in locations of honor. Stockings have been placed on the chimneys. And gifts have been placed under the tree.

Some are looking forward more to the receiving than the giving. But for many, it is the act of giving which warms them, which fills them with the holiday spirit.

Each person, in their own way, becomes a part of this spirit of giving. Each person, in their own way, becomes Santa Claus.

old_saint_nick:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Christmas Day is a Christian holiday, it's true, but it also has become increasingly secular. It is an opportunity for love, charity, and goodwill, even in New York City, arguably the most skeptical city in the country.

There is some debate within mystical circles if there is indeed such a creature as the embodiment of Christmas Giving known as Santa Claus. But whether or not there is such a being, the spirit of giving itself is very real, be it incarnated in a fat man in a red suit or not.

Throughout this small blue planet of Earth, people have brought trees into their homes, decorated them with lights and ornaments, and placed them in locations of honor. Stockings have been placed on the chimneys. And gifts have been placed under the tree.

Some are looking forward more to the receiving than the giving. But for many, it is the act of giving which warms them, which fills them with the holiday spirit.

Each person, in their own way, becomes a part of this spirit of giving. Each person, in their own way, becomes Santa Claus.

The Avengers mansion is decorated in lights, made all the more beautiful by the snow capping the roof and lying on the ground. As for the Avengers themselves...

nextgen_deviant:

It was time to bring Set back into the world and bring about a new age for the Earth. Mammals would no longer be the dominant species and humans, those foul evolved apes, will be slaves once more. Slaves like they used to be before the accursed Celestials wiped out most of the deviants and lizard men.

The priests knew what needed to be done. One of the special deviants, those modified to better fight for Set, would accompany them and take the brides into custody. Teleporting was much easier now that Set’s influence in the world was getting stronger. The priests did it now with very little effort.

The priests teleported in near the brides, they were marked and easy to find now, and once they were alone, a small spell was cast and the bride went unconscious. The priest’s escort picked her up and the trio teleported back to Lemuria.
It had only taken a matter of moments to retrieve all seven brides.

Once they were back in Lemuria, the brides had been dressed in white dresses and cloaks and prepared for the coming of their lord Set. They were then arranged around the serpent crown and the ritual began.

nextgen_holiday:

The grand ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel on 57 East 57th street was festively decorated for the holidays. A series of lit candles on every table gave off warm light and the dulcet tones of a jazz ensemble filled the room.

People, the upper elite of New York society, Hollywood celebrities, musicians, politicians and New York’s own superheroes moved around the room. People sat at tables and talked, while some moved gracefully around the large dance floor.

Tables loaded with unwrapped and unopened toys lined one wall and at one end stood a very large decorated Christmas tree. Wrapped presents sat under the tree, but they were just empty boxes wrapped for decoration. Mistletoe hung from the ceiling near the tree and people stopped to kiss.

The air was light and the mood happy and festive.

swashbuckler:

Turnabout was, as they said, fair play.  So Steve had gathered the Avengers guys (and put in a call to Vincent of the FF since Val and Andrea had attended the girls' night, as well as Misha), set up the projector, provided plenty of unhealthy snakes, and generally had quite the time playing party planner. 

"All right, gentlemen," he said to assembled group, "and I use the term loosely in some of your cases, we are here for one purpose and one purpose in particular.  Last week, our colleagues in crime fighting conducted the time honored tradition of "Rate the Hunks" amongst those of us on the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Defenders.  So tonight, we men-folk must unite...

"And...

"Rate...

"the...

"Babes!"

ladydevil:

Eliza was frantic in her search for some sun glasses and some warm clothing so she could go shopping. She pulled on a coat and shoved some gloves into her pocket and bounced out of her room with a purse stuck under one arm. She stops and stands by a window looking outside. It really did look chilly but she had to get out there to pick up something for the charity ball.

She wonders for a moment if she can recruit someone to go with her on this little trip. She smiles to herself and searches the mansion looking for Iason before she looses her nerve. There's no reason to not ask him to go with her. It's just to pick up some toys.

"Iason?"

nextgen_misc:

The city of London was seeing something straight out of a few horror films. A combination of a Romero zombie film and An American Werewolf in London, sort of. Zombies shambled and shuffled through the streets of London searching out delicious, juicy, squishy brains. Howls drifted up over the sounds of the city from North Surrey in the south to Enfield in the north part of the city. Werewolves and zombies littered the streets and the citizens rightfully locked themselves inside. Any civilian outside was considered fair game and prey to the monsters now roaming the city.

A seedy looking man stood outside of Lillywhites in Piccadilly Circus holding what looked to be a piece of very old parchment. He read the page and the unlucky citizens that happened to be passing by transformed into werewolves or zombies.

nextgen_adult:

Captain America called a meeting of the Young Avengers. As chairman of the Avengers it was his duty and responsibility to tell them what had happened with one of their own and the consequences. He waited in the conference room.

nightingalesong:

It's been a couple days since the assault on SHIELD. Nightingale hasn't been seen by the Avengers since then.

But eventually, things need to be sorted out. So against his own better judgment, Qamar uses Nightingale's Avengers pass to get into the Hydrobase, then finds himself approaching Sammy's room. He takes several seconds to calm his heart, then knocks on the door.

nextgen_misc:

All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween as it has been come to be called, is a popular holiday with children and adults alike. It is a holiday that had its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain or Summer's End. Samhain celebrated the end of the "lighter half" of the year and the beginning of the "darker half".

On this evening the barriers between this world and the Otherworld were believed to be thin and the spirits, good and bad, of the dead could pass through. The spirits of the family's ancestors were welcomed in while evil and bad spirits were warded off by the wearing of masks and costumes. The costumes and masks disguised one as a harmful spirit and avoided harm from others.

It was also a harvest celebration and time to take stock of food stores for the winter. Livestock were slaughtered and the meat prepared for storage. It was the final harvest of the year and the crops were then stored for the winter. Celebrations included bonfires and tales of the family's ancestors.

It was a celebration of the dead and of the harvest.

Today we dress up in scary and not so scary costumes and masks and go door to door for candy or attend costume parties. It is a night for revelry, pranks and fun.

In New York every Halloween a charity masquerade ball was held. The proceeds benefited local charities that helped those who were more unfortunate than others.

nextgen_misc:

All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween as it has been come to be called, is a popular holiday with children and adults alike. It is a holiday that had its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain or Summer's End. Samhain celebrated the end of the "lighter half" of the year and the beginning of the "darker half".

On this evening the barriers between this world and the Otherworld were believed to be thin and the spirits, good and bad, of the dead could pass through. The spirits of the family's ancestors were welcomed in while evil and bad spirits were warded off by the wearing of masks and costumes. The costumes and masks disguised one as a harmful spirit and avoided harm from others.

It was also a harvest celebration and time to take stock of food stores for the winter. Livestock were slaughtered and the meat prepared for storage. It was the final harvest of the year and the crops were then stored for the winter. Celebrations included bonfires and tales of the family's ancestors.

It was a celebration of the dead and of the harvest.

Today we dress up in scary and not so scary costumes and masks and go door to door for candy or attend costume parties. It is a night for revelry, pranks and fun.

The Avengers' mansion was decorated appropriately to celebrate the holiday. Spiderwebs (fake of course), jack-o-lanterns, ghoulish dummies of witches, mummies, vampires and other images right out of horror movies were strategically placed. Artificial smoke floated inches above the floor and swirled around objects and legs. The front stoop was well lit inviting trick-or-treaters.

anyastark:

Anya sat on the metal guardrail alongside route 80 and looked up at the stars. They were so many of them and they were so bright out here in…she didn’t even know where the hell here was. It could be Pennsylvania or even Ohio for that matter. Either way, it was the middle of fucking nowhere at a few minutes after three in the morning. What the hell was she doing? Had she finally lost her mind?

The worst part about it all? She wasn’t even sure exactly how she got out here. The past few hours were a blur thanks to little sleep and vodka.

She remembered hiding away in the lab and wanting to be alone, but people were constantly knocking on the door. She knew they cared and were concerned after her recent run in with Temujin, but she didn’t want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to be left alone.

She slept a little, but when she did the nightmares came rushing back. The same nightmares that had plagued her for the past year were back in full force. They had subsided a bit since her last run in with Temujin, but seeing him again made them as bad as they ever were.

She tried to do school work or write code, but she couldn’t focus. Lack of sleep, the vodka she drank to help her get what little sleep she did get, and…why the hell did she open that cabinet? Once she laid her eyes on that suit of armor the anger spiked and things became blurry. She vaguely remembered holding the helmet in her hands a few moments before throwing it into one of the wall displays. There was a shower of sparks and the smell of ozone filled the lab.

The next thing she knew she was in her car and racing through the city. She had to get out of there. Get away from him and everyone else.

She remembered leaving the city and crossing into New Jersey. Between the vodka from earlier and the speed at which she was driving, New Jersey along route 80 was a dark blur. At some point she had to have crossed into Pennsylvania. She didn’t know when it happened, only that it did. There may have been a tollbooth but the details were very fuzzy.

The car sped along as if the Devil himself was chasing it. But the Devil was chasing her and he would never stop. He would always be there and would always be coming for her. Him and the rest of the demons and she had to try to get away from all of them.

The self-destructive Stark genes had finally expressed themselves and she acted without thinking. No sleep, vodka and fast speeds. It was a bad combination and one that would catch up to her quickly enough. She didn’t see the deer until it had run in front of her car. Metal slammed into flesh and bone and tires screeched on the pavement of the highway.

The air bag felt cool against her cheek after it had deployed. That side of her face was still swollen from where Temujin had hit her and it hurt despite the cool feeling of the air bag. The doctors had said it would take some time for the swelling in her cheek to go down and even longer for the bones to mend. Warm liquid ran down the side of her face from her temple and she knew she had been hit by a piece of glass from the windshield when the deer’s antlers had gone through it.

Somehow she managed to open the door and climb out of the car. She stumbled over to the guardrail and sat down. That’s where she was now. Sitting alongside the highway in the middle of nowhere looking up at the stars.

She should call someone. The car wasn’t in any shape to drive, hell, she wasn’t in any shape to drive and she sure in hell wasn’t going to accept a ride from the few tractor-trailers that had pulled over to see if she was all right and to offer assistance. They looked offended when she yelled at them to go away. She imagined at least one called emergency services and it wouldn’t be too long for the cops and ambulance to get here. While it had been a few hours since her last drink, Anya was sure her blood alcohol level was still past the legal limit. She could swear she polished off a full bottle of vodka earlier.

At this point she honestly didn’t care anymore. The self-destruct button had been pressed awhile ago; it had merely been on a delayed timer and hadn’t gone off until now. And it had gone off in a grand fashion to boot. Starks never did anything halfway.

She knew she had to call someone. She knew she should call the one person who would understand her bout of stupidity and self-destructiveness. The delay in calling wasn’t because she thought he’d be mad, she knew he wouldn’t, but she knew he’d be disappointed and that was much worse than being mad. Much worse. Anya hated disappointing her father.

What was she doing? She knew better than this. She knew she couldn’t just run away like this. Actions had consequences and sometimes one paid the consequences for a very long time after something happened. It was similar to Newton’s third law in physics. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

Seeing Doc Samson had helped somewhat. He was someone she wasn’t related to and to whom she could talk to. Every time she thought she was making some progress, Temujin would show his face and she was right back where she was when she first woke up in S.H.I.E.L.D. after she had been rescued from his clutches.

The sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance. They’d be here soon. It was time to make a phone call before they reached her.

She took a deep breath and dialed a number.

nextgen_misc:

Night was settling over the city and in S.H.I.E.L.D. Central the night shift was just coming on duty and settling in for the night. It looked like it was going to be a rather quiet night. Just like last night, the one before that, the one before that and so on.

nextgen_misc:

Three teens were being held by SHIELD and two had been sent to the Eternals' city of Olympia...

swashbuckler:

Steve had, quite perplexingly, been unable to get a hold of Anya all day.  Following that, he'd tried to see if Toni had heard from her, and discovered that neither one of them had.  Further calls up and down the Young Avengers phone tree had left him unable to raise several other members as well.  Hardly any of the comm. cards were working, and with the few that he did, there was something funny about the line.  He knew just enough from his mom to know when a line was being tapped, and he suspected the YA cards were.

He'd gone out to check Hyrdobase, and found it deserted.  Plus, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

All of which had led him back to Avengers' Mansion, for lack of anything better to try.  Maybe one of the adults would know what was going on.

ng_zodiac:

Mikel wasn't dumb enough to strike directly at the Avengers despite having the full force and might of SHIELD at his disposal. They weren't called Earth's Mightiest Heroes for nothing and if he could do this without a direct confrontation, the better his chances were. The best way to take out the Avengers was to divide and conquer one by one and he knew exactly how to do that, starting with the kids.

One by one he would take them out and then use them as leverage against the adults.

He walked into the United Nations headquarters on First Avenue between 42nd and 48th Streets armed with files of information. Information was the best weapon and Mikel had enough to hopefully bring down the Avengers without a single punch thrown. Confident of his plan, he walked through the front door to keep his appointment with the Secretary General.

cosmic_son:

Not needing to sleep is definitely a benefit in preparing for an event of this size. The tables have been laid out on the lawns since last night, the chicken has been marinating, the burgers and brats are laid out, and the giant multi-section grill is all laid out. But his real work has been on the ribs. His latest experiment in building on his culinary hobby, he started them with a black pepper and cajun spice rub, moved on to homemade bbq sauce of hot and sweet pepper mix, and has been slow cooking the ribs most of the night.

All is about ready as the time arrives for people to start arriving, and Jarvis and his helpers have most of the tables set and the salads, condiments and party trays laid out. Informed of the time, Iason starts laying out the rest of the meat in segregated sections, readying to serve the first arrivals.

notinplainsight:

Kalypso took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. Cold air was always good for clearing the head and the polluted air from lungs. Kalypso hovered far above New York, high enough that the city was just a speck of light in the dark. Mom had said the cold thing was a racial trait of theirs. Apparently Eternals liked high cold places and Kalypso appeared to be no exception.

She took another deep breath and closed her eyes. Everything was so peaceful up here. The troubles and cares withered away in the cold.

The summer had been a busy one. Mom's business was really taking off and Kal had been pressed into slave labor for much of the summer. Not that she minded much. She'd do anything for her mother. It had always been the two of them versus everyone else. Though now it was Mom, Kal and Jack against everyone else.

She smiled at the thought of Jack. The man had become such a huge part of Kal's life and she loved him beyond words. It was even worth the few bouts of interference from her mother. Mom hadn't even tried to move Kal back in with Jack again. Which Kal was very thankful for.

Kalypso looked up at dark sky above and at the stars. She smiled and started going up.

anyastark:

Anya had to admit to herself that it was a great way to spend the weekend and her birthday. Tahiti was absolutely perfect. It was just the kind of weekend they needed after that battle with the three hundred foot monster.

They left New York at 9pm and had a brief layover in LA to refuel the jet. Then they were back in the air and landing in Tahiti hours later. They all found bedrooms and crashed.

This morning afternoon Anya rolled out of bed, grabbed coffee and poured herself into a chaise on the beach. She had been in the same place ever since. Staff, a maid and a chef, were hired for the weekend so the house would stay relatively clean and they wouldn't starve. Not that they would starve, Anya just didn't want to make any of them have to worry about the cooking duties.

Anya yawned and thought about heading up to the house. Naw. It would require too much energy.

nextgen_deviant:

The citizens of Memphis, TN were trying to stay cool on a hot summer's day. The temperature reached 90 degrees with about 85% humidity. It was a hot sticky day and the citizens sought relief from the heat wherever they could. Some sought it in the air conditioned buildings while other sought it in water.

Tourists to the city took in the local sights. Some wandered through Graceland and others walked along Beale Street in the heat. Some took a cruise on the Tunica Queen Riverboat. These poor unfortunate souls would be the first to discover the impending doom that was about to strike the city.

The waters of the mighty Mississippi churned and foamed formed. A few moments later a shape emerged from the muddy waters. The riverboat was tossed about and slowly the monster emerged from the water and climbed up the east bank. It slowly pulled itself up to its full 300' height and looked at the city below. It let out a mighty roar and started destroying buildings.

ngmastersofevil:

The attack on the Young Avengers had been successful. The Stark girl, the Rogers boy and the Rhodes girl were all successfully taken. Temujin would be along shortly to pick up the Starkling. Hadelinde would deal with the Rhodes girl and the Rogers boy would be executed. It had been a good day and was about to get better.

Egghead had set everything up in Times Square while Hadelinde and the others retrieved the three young Avengers.

Hadelinde and the rest arrived right after their successful attack on the Avengers. She dropped the Rogers kid in the middle of the hovering platform and turned toward the crowd in the streets below. Enforcer held the Stark girl. Stark would have a front row seat at her brother's execution. Frenzy held the Rhodes girl. Hadelinde would deal with her after this.

"Attention world," she said, her voice amplified by a small device attached to the neck of her suit. The event was also being transmitted around the world via satellite thanks to Egghead.

"Years ago Captain America killed my father. Today justice will be served as his son pays for his crime."

Hadelinde motioned for Enforcer to ready the Rogers kid. Egghead had constructed a modern guillotine. Hadelinde had always been a fan of be-headings.

anyastark:

A night out at a club was a preemptive move on Anya's part. She didn't need hear her two keepers nagging her about not getting out and not having a social life, so she arranged a night out at a club for anyone who wanted to come along. She had even sent a text to Prince Dork to let him know the X-kids were invited. It was an 18+ club even though Anya and Toni weren't technically 18 yet. Fake IDs were wonderful things.

The punk and alternative music was loud and Anya could barely hear herself think. She had picked CBGB because of the music. She was feeling energetic and good and the music had to suit her mood. The place looked like a graffiti paradise and was a total dive. It was absolutely perfect for her mood.

She practically bounced up to the bar to get a soda.

jackmurdock:

Jack didn't do fancy restaurants on his own. He asked Kalypso for recommendations and she suggested The Capital Grille for their first dinner. A little more fancy than he was accustomed to, but there would be time later for ordering in Chinese and watching ninja movies. They should have at least one nice dinner on the Murdock side. It would make Dad happy to know they were getting along, and he'd smooth it over with Mom later.

Kalypso would meet them at the restaurant with her cousin if he was coming. Jack took a taxi to the Avengers mansion to pick up Eliza and then to the restaurant. It promised to be a good evening for all of them.

anyastark:

Anya sent out a text message and an email to the Young Avengers with instructions to take the Underground Airbase Shuttle out to the Hydrobase.

It had taken close to two weeks of long hours and hard work to get the main part of the base livable again. The place had been used for storage for years and unused equipment and dust had collected. Power was still functioning (from the nuclear power plant) which was always a good thing. They had managed to get two of the buildings cleaned out and ready for residents. Anya focused mainly on the communication and computer center while Sammy, Toni and Iason focused on the connected building that housed the hospital, living quarters and cafeteria.

The water purification plant was running fine and they would have fresh water to drink. The two hangars, motor pool, and the research and development buildings hadn't been touched yet. They could be worked on when they got to them. They did have the whole summer before people had to go to school.

There was still that pesky detail of telling her father or Uncle Steve about using the base. While she waited for the others to arrive, she sent an email to her dad and Uncle Steve about using the base and to come see the renovations they made.

sammyfury:

Sammy dozed on a chaise lounge set on the sun deck, a pair of dark glasses firmly in place. A file folder (Mikel Fury) and a notebook (creating new files on their visitors) rested on her stomach. Her cell phone was inside the pair of shoes next to the lounge. For the moment it was the one quiet spot, other than her room, that she could find to relax and get some sun after their recent tussles with both MoE and the Asgardians. She still wasn't happy she'd given back the sword. It had been taken fairly and would have looked nice mounted on the wall over her bed as a trophy. But it was a pacifying gesture, and God knew those Asgardians needed pacifiers.

She was sporting more than one souvenir of her recent activities. Along with the bruises from her fight with the MoE power shifter, she somewhere, somehow during Sarah's last hurrah managed to get a tattoo of a clock face on her hip. There was a vague memory of telling a bald, overly tattooed man (in Amsterdam maybe?) to put it on her ass, but her ass needed to sit down so it was moved to her hip. She discovered it while drying off after a shower, catching sight of her backside in the mirror. The tiny symbol was right were she couldn't hide it if she wore a bikini. It was a nice piece of work, clear and detailed for its size. The clock hands marked the devil's hour, 3am. Hah! Her devilish? Not lately.

Dad would give her all sorts of disapproving looks if he knew. Maybe he already did. Their passing through the club scene hadn't been all that secret.

nextgen_parent:

Sersi returned home from an extended trip abroad. Humans were so entertaining and so full of passion. Eternals were a different story. Frustrating was the word that came to mind. Specifically one Eternal who happened to be her daughter.

Sersi didn't get it. The girl was crazy about the mortal and Jack was such a dear boy. He'd do any mother proud and was just the type of guy any mother would want dating her daughter. So why hadn't the girl moved in with him already? What was she waiting for?

Mortals had such short lives and there was no point wasting time waiting around for things. The kid should have just moved in with him already. School was finished and there was nothing keeping Kalypso home. It was time for Sersi to take matters into her own hands and resolve the situation.

Movers were easy to hire and in no time her daughter's things were moved over to Jack's place. This was done while they weren't around of course. Sersi didn't want to have to deal with the arguments that would have happened. It was much easier this way.

At the moment Sersi was feeling quite pleased and satisfied with herself.

shield_maiden:

Teleporting was always disconcerting and disorientating. One moment they were in Oklahoma and the next they were in New York City right outside of the Avengers mansion.

Tryggvi reared and pawed at the air. Svalin put a hand on his neck and tried to calm him down. "Easy! Calm down Tryggvi! Please."

A second after their arrival the alarm started sounding.

anyastark:

Anya wasn't hiding, but she wasn't exactly making an effort to be social. Since Sarah and Rose left she didn't feel like interacting with people. There had been one exception, but outside of spending a night with Iason, she didn't see much of anyone.

School was officially over as of today. Graduation ceremonies were earlier this evening and now that she didn't have to study or do any more school work, she was free to work and to work on projects. Which was exactly what she was doing now.

Her latest project started when she had taken a quick trip out to the Hydrobase a few days ago to get a few parts out of storage. The place hadn't been used as a base in years and had only been used for storage. Once she was there she started poking around, an idea formed in her mind. She looked around and decided that she could definitely use it as a private lab. She should ask her father, but why ask permission when you can ask forgiveness?

So she started working. Cleaning was the first order of business. The place had a layer of dust almost inch thick. It was hard work and very dirty, but she had managed to get most of the base cleaned out. The next order of business had been moving the items in storage out of the way. That required use of her suit.

Once that was done, the fun stuff started. Working on the computer systems. The hardware was outdated and the software...gods. Some of the computers were running Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. Anya almost cried.

Tonight she packed a cooler of food and set off for the Hydrobase.

She was planning on holing up here for a few days. She let Jarvis know where she was going to be and sent a text to her parents. She planned on working on upgrading the computer hardware for the next few days. The software would be next. Music blared as she pulled out circuit boards and replaced them with new ones.

ngmastersofevil:

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." - Sun Tzu

Hadelinde wasn't one to rush headfirst into things. She liked to know as much as she could about an opponent before she made her move. The Avengers were well known, but the Young Avengers were not. Sure she had files on them and she knew what abilities they had, but she didn't know how they functioned as a team. A person could toss together a team of the most powerful individuals on the planet and it didn't mean they would always win. Teamwork was important, the Avengers had proved this many times, but Hadelinde had no idea how the Young Avengers worked as a team. She had to know how they worked if she was going to defeat them.

Perhaps it was time to test the waters and see what the young hero-wannabes were capable of.

She called on the triplets, Enforcer and Frenzy for this job, using only a portion of her forces. She wasn't going to show her entire hand to the Avengers. Not yet anyway.

Once the plan was in place, she had Jeremy teleport them to right outside of the Avengers' Mansion.

anyastark:

Since Sarah and Rose's departure, Anya alternated between periods of lying on her bed and crying and working on a project in a manic state. She was like a pendulum swinging from one to the other with no middle ground. Food was forgotten about and sleep only came for a few hours after she cried herself to sleep.

She lost track of what day it was and how long exactly it had been since Sarah and Rose left.

In a short year Sarah had become a big part of Anya's life and part of the small inner circle of Anya's best friends. Sarah was like Captain America to her Iron Maiden, like Toni was her Rhodey and...well she still had to find a Pepper.

And Rose...gods. Anya practically grew up with Rose. Another one of her best friends was gone. Probably never to come back.

Anya buried her face in her pillow and cried more.

toni_rhodes:

Antoinette "Toni" Rhodes was officially feeling brain dead as she headed into the kitchen of Avengers mansion.  Finals were coming up in just a few days and, as far as she was concerned, she would be lucky to pass.  Her grades were usually decent, above average to be sure, but nothing stellar, except for auto-shop class.  And even that was more do to a secret application of her mutant abilities--the ability to reshape the elements of technology combined with a certain amount of technological intuition--than anything else.

History?  Maybe she'd do okay there.  Just dates and stuff to memorize.  English?  She'd probably scrape by, her writing skills were decent enough and she'd passed the tests on most of what they've read, except for Shakespeare.  Auto-shop?  That she'd pass.  Science and math?  Well...

She pulled open the fridge and stared at the inside, trying to figure out if anything looked edible.

nextgen_eternal:

Ah, New York.  He hasn't been here in a while.  He hasn't seen some of his little cousins (it had been a long time since trying to find irony in  using 'little' had been funny)  in a while, either.   Never even got a chance to catch up on some of Iason's extraplanetary shenanigans.

And when he found that he and Kalypso were out and about alone, he went right after them.

"Miss me?" He said as he came to a sudden halt on the very street corner they were standing on.

anyastark:

Anya was running on time for a change. At promptly 5:45 she was downstairs in the foyer waiting for Iason. She was dressed in a little black dress, heels and her hair done. It had only taken her an hour to get ready, which for her had to be some sort of record.

They had 6:30 reservations at Mesa Grill. Six would have been difficult to make and they weren't in a rush. Mesa Grill should be extremely busy, it was a Friday night and dinner time, and would be a great opportunity for Iason to watch humans. Anya had to drop the Stark and Romanov names to even get a reservation.

She double checked her appearance. She wasn't nervous, she just knew that there would be paparazzi and she always wanted to look her best.

She waited patiently for Iason.

cosmic_son:

He's been shopping, so he actually has clothes to put in his closet at home. He now has a closet too, albeit temporarily, though he's hoping he'll be able to get a room at Avengers mansion before Aunt Sersi shows up again. He has a hunch that might be awkward, though he's sure he's going to meet her again sooner or later. While he's not a member yet, and doesn't have a room, they have told him people will be about eventually, and told him to make himself comfortable - within reason.

He's stolen a few more of those cookies - this Earth food thing is good, when its not Anya cooking. He had even tried the creme brulee. He's pretty sure he shouldn't have to apply greater-than-human strength in order to bite into something intended as food. He was also pretty sure that sharing some of his father's enhanced senses was temporarily a very, very bad thing.

Other than that though, its been pretty comfortable. He's found the lounge and found the TV remote, and managed to ditch the shirt somewhere along the way - on that, he had to agree with his cousin and Aunt Sersi, humans were weird. Right now, he's just looking through the options humans have for mass entertainment. Seems as good a way as any to learn the culture.

notinplainsight:

Kalypso followed through on her promise to bring Iason to the Avengers. One day after school was out, Kal and Iason trekked over to the Avengers Mansion. It was a nice day for a walk and it allowed Iason to see more of the city. Kal pointed out different things as they walked and they were at the mansion before they knew it.

Kal pressed the buzzer at the gate.

"Hopefully someone is home and they're not out saving the world," she said to him.