redheadspy:

It was hard to believe Anya and James were turning eighteen. It felt like yesterday that she had just delivered Anya and was holding a small bundle with a tuft of red hair. Kids grew up way too fast.

It wasn't surprising that Anya didn't plan anything and James said he didn't want a fuss. Anya had finals on Monday and Tuesday and needed to study. Natasha never had to worry about Anya and school. Except for of course the times she got expelled. The kids also had significant others they would want to spend time with. Which meant an adjustment had to be made to the celebrations.

Natasha opted for lunch with Tony and all of the kids as their birthday celebrations. This way they all had the evening free to do something with their significant others if they choose to and didn't need to spend it with the old folks.

As for gifts...well the kids could be impossible to shop for, but Natasha went with withe tried and true things. James got new clothes and a new gaming system from her. For Anya Natasha went with a promise for a shopping trip in the near future for new fall clothes.

ministryoftruth:

“…The damage here in Fargo, Georgia is catastrophic tonight. Reports are still coming in, but the latest casualty toll is over 2,000. Military planes are being loaded with supplies and moved in from as far away as New York at this time.” Adrian Carver says solemnly, looking directly into the camera.

“Behind me, you can see the damage that occurred yesterday morning.” Adrian says, and the camera pans around the area to show the husks of ruined buildings, rubble, and emergency crews helping people to medical tents. The camera returns to Adrian, his eyes slowly misting.

“ Eyewitness accounts say that a battle between rival groups of mutants reached a fever pitch before a bomb or explosives of some kind were activated. Investigators are still researching the cause of this disaster; more information will come as this story develops. My name is Adrian Carver, signing off from Fargo, Georgia.” he says.

 “Good night and God Bless.”

swashbuckler:

Steve had, frankly, been joyriding.  But when one was an Avenger, with access to incredible technology, including the latest model Sky-Cycle, one could joyride now and then.  Of course, if anyone asked, he was on patrol. 

The sounds of gunshots broke his train of thought and he looked down to see a shoot-out between some kind of gang and the police.  He could help here.  The guys had a lot of guns--big ones, military models of some kind--and the cops were pinned down.  He quickly set  a program into the Sky-Cycle's auto-pilot.

The Cycle swooped low and he jumped off it, firing a pair of arrows in the process.  The Cycle itself continued its arc and parked itself in the air.  One net arrow wrapped up a trio of gang members, while the other, a glue arrow, insured another gun wouldn't fire.  Fists made sure the guy holding that gun was out of the fight.

He pulled his vibranium boomerangs and threw them, quickly disarming more of the gun men and catching them when they returned to his hands.  The others rushed him now and he relied on his batons and his martial arts skills.  He used the bow and arrows so often, people tended to forget that he had other skills too.  He received his share of blows, but he gave better than he got, putting everything his dad and Uncle Steve had taught him to incredibly good use.

Steve had his severe doubts about what he was doing leading the Avengers, hell, even being an Avenger at all.  Even with all his gear, he was the least super-powerful of the Avengers (or maybe second most, compared to Spector).  What the hell was he doing fighting Skrulls or the Masters of Evil or whatever? 

But this?  Fighting your regular old garden variety thugs?  This he had a damn good handle on.  Here, at least, he knew he could make headway, make a difference.

<I><b>BANG!</i></b>

That was...  that...  that kinda...  hurt...  A lot.

He looked down and saw that the bullet had penetrated the kevlar weave of his uniform entirely.  Had to have been a pretty powerful round then.  And... oh.  Wow.  That was a lot of blood.  Really hurt.

He found himself slumping forward to the ground, faintly aware of the cops moving toward him...

super_wren:

Aine had set up a workshop for herself in the garage at the Avenger’s manor. When she had asked about setting one up for herself she had been offered a lab but she had turn that down. Aine felt that labs were just to clean and she liked working in garages better and she was a bit more of a mechanic than a lab person which probably explained why she liked to work with classic rock music in the background.

She had to projects she was currently working on one was a fun project of coming up with an easily way to change the color of her solid sound constructs on her harness. The other project was a far way off making a sonic resonance bomb. She had only just finished planning the first prototype and was in the process of actually making the first one.

nextgen_holiday:

Mothers are the place that we call home.
On them we rest our heads and close our eyes.
There's no one else who grants the same soft peace,
Happiness, contentment, sweet release,
Erasing nighttime tears with lullabies,
Restoring the bright sun that makes us bloom. - Anonymous

toni_rhodes:

Robots had her surrounded, each one with a different material for its skin or a different weapon mounted on it, but Toni Rhodes was not afraid.  The first one was the easiest; she took it down with a simple electrical blast, shorting out all of its systems at once.  Another electrical blast gave her some space, but didn't have the effect on the rest that it had on the first.

She shifted tactics, hitting the next one with a hard blast of infra-red radiation, melting a hole right through its head.  Against the third, she used a microwave burst, producing a similar effect, though with a greater disruption of its circuits.

A fourth unleashed a barrage of missiles, tracking her.  She shifted again, throwing up radio signals at it, manipulating the signal back to the robot, destroying it.  A fifth blasted her with lasers, but she absorbed the first barrage, then took control of the second, sending them right back long their path into the gun-barrel. 

A flier swooped down at her, peppering the area with bullets.  She threw up an electromagnetic screen, deflecting them, and rode those same electromagnetic lines into the air, first blinding the robot with a visible light barrage, then hitting it with an electromagnetic pulse to knock out its memory circuits.

As she landed, she was assaulted by another robot, narrowly avoiding a blow to the head.  She hit it with electricity, light blasts, even radio waves, but those had no effect.  She shifted again, throwing x-rays at it, perceiving the robot's interior like an x-ray technician would.  There.  Weak spot just in the center of its chest.  She grappled some of the scrap metal with an electromagnetic field, and threw it at the robot, taking it down.

When the dust settled, she looked up to the control booth of the Avengers' training room.  Not as fancy as the Danger Room over at Xaiver's, but much more homey.  "How'd I do?"

iron_hide:

Justin arrives at the Manhattan apartment, checking over the address that Mom gave him one more time. He probably should have called to see if she'd be home, but he'd rather she not find a reason not to see him. Of all his "family", Toni is probably the most affected by his appearance, and the person he's spoken to the least of his immediate family. She's checked on him while he was asleep, and helped him out here and there, but they haven't really bonded or anything. He's not sure she wants to, and if it turns out he'll be leaving soon, he could be wasting his time.

But he's never had a sister before, and there's a part of him that needs to know what that's like. This is one of the few upsides to Tina being out of town on business for work; if she was here, Justin might make an excuse to leave and go see her so that he doesn't have to confront this.

Anya says she's cool, so she's cool. he thinks.


Justin knocks on the door and waits for an answer....and hoping he doesn't run into Rhodey's wife.

anyastark:


To: Prince Dork (misha_romanov@xaviers.edu)
From: Anya Stark (anya_stark@starkindustries.com)
Subject: Sun and fun

Hey Dork,

I'm inviting the Avengers to the Tahiti house for a week. You're invited and so are the X-ers.

Leaving 5pm on the 4th. Coming back on Friday the 9th around 1pm.

Let me know how many are coming.


Anya.

toni_rhodes:

This takes place roughly around the same time as the Avengers are rescuing Daniel.


Toni desperately needed someone to talk too, having just come from a check-up at the Xaiver Institute with Doctor McCoy.  Fortunately, of course, there was always Anya.  Who was in her lab.

Not that Toni was surprised.  It was where her workaholic best friend always was, when there wasn't something else to be doing.  She pressed the buzzer.

"You in there, girl?"

shattered:

She's been sleeping a long time. Exactly how long, she's not sure.

But her dreams have not been peaceful. She remembers the pale man with the red jewel in his forehead. She remembers the blue and gray man.

She remembers the blood. The slaughter. Slashing and cutting. Hunting and killing.

And, worst of all, she remembers enjoying it.

The glass shards flash. The blood flows. The blue man laughs, a deep, booming laugh...

Abruptly, she sits up, screaming, tears running down her face, her sheets soaked in sweat. She doesn't know where she is. Strangers are all around her.

She looks at the people nearby, and screams again, terrified.

nextgen_media:

"We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to bring you this breaking report. It seems like a giant, what can only be called a citadel, rose from the very ground itself and covered almost the entire area of Central Park just moments ago. The monstrosity seems to be composed completely out of stone and there are no discernible entrances. What appears to be people on flying robotic horses circle the citadel. Who built this and to what end has yet to be discovered."

_tsunami_:

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!" revelation 6:5-6

It was somehow fitting that her rebirth as a horseman of Lord Apocalypse was on the same day as her first birth into this world. Famine stepped out of the chamber and looked at her new form and smiled. Lord Apocalypse had blessed her with a whole form. Her missing fingers and toes were replaced and her skin was transformed into a pale blue and her hair was dark blue. Appropriate for her, she thought.

She could feel the strength given to her by Lord Apocalypse. She could sense every drop of water in the others in the base. Every drop of water in the air.

A black robotic horse waited for her. It would carry her out into the world and into battle for the glory of Lord Apocalypse.

nextgen_misc:

The media watched the battle from the safety of Ellis Island while on Liberty Island the battle raged on.

borntolead:

As he did every year, whether he had a girlfriend or not, Charlie bought a little something for each of the Avenger girls for Valentine's Day. Nothing too big (he didn't want to deal with angry boyfriends, after all), just a singular rose and a small box of chocolates for each girl.

A smile on his face, Charlie made his way around Avenger's mansion to deliver each girl her gift.

borntolead:

Keeping true to his promise of a magical evening out on the town to make up for the incident in Las Vegas, Charlie made his way to Toni's room, a small bouquet of flowers in hand.

He's got reservations at nice Italian restaurant and tickets to Wicked. He's dressed in a nice button-down shirt and a pair of black slacks.

Grinning, Charlie knocked on Toni's door.

"Miss Rhodes? Your escort for the evening has arrived."

borntolead:

The Quinjet has been landed and secured in a location where the Avengers can locate it easily.

And thanks to the internet, they're already at the first wedding chapel on Charlie's list, The Temple of Love. Quick 'n easy, while maintain some level of class at the same time. Perfect for Anya.

Inhaling, Charlie threw the doors open, the rest of the Avengers behind him.

"I OBJECT!"

Only to find that the couple currently in standing in front of Elvis exchanging vows aren't Anya and Steve.

borntolead:

About a half-hour after he had overhead Steve and Anya's conversation, the Avengers get a message from Charlie on their comms.

"We've got a situation, team. Steve and Anya's futures are at stake here. Drop whatever it is you're doing and meet me in the lobby. Now." And yes, when Charlie uses a stern tone of voice it means that he means BUSINESS.

They'll find Charlie waiting the lobby, tapping his foot impatiently, keys to one of the Quinjets in one hand...and a list of the most popular quick 'n speedy wedding chapels in Las Vegas in another.

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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

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.

anyastark:

The Avenger and the Fantastic Four girls (and one non-Avenger girl) were camped out in the rec room of the mansion. Normally it'd be the Hydrobase but there was no Jarvis out there and Anya wasn't allowed out there, so they took over the mansion rec room instead. Shopping, Anya's favorite past time, was out due to it being Black Friday. Not even she was brave enough to face the crowds, even in armor. So it was an all-day movie marathon.

The Princess Bride was just finishing and Anya looked to the other girls. "What do we want next?"

toni_rhodes:

It was, all things considered, a pretty good day.  No super-villain attacks, no mad Mandarins, no nothing.  Which was why Toni and some of the other Young Avengers had gone into the city for shopping

It was probably too good to last.

"Okay gang," Toni said.  "Lunch time is upon us.  Suggestions?"

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.

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:

It was a perfect fall afternoon. The thermometer was in the low 60s, the sky was a bright blue and the sun was bright. The trees were vibrant oranges, yellows and reds as they showed off their colors of the season. It was also the time of the year for Dad's birthday and Anya was at a loss of what to get him this year.

It was a great excuse to shop.

Classes finished up early on Fridays and Anya was back in New York by two. Plenty of time to shop, grab dinner and then find something to do for the evening. The first thing she did was grab Toni to drag her along. Anya's free time had been in short supply lately as she got caught up with school and it had been awhile since she had some time with her bestest friend.

The streets and sidewalks were crowded as they made their way down Fifth Avenue.

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.

anyastark:

The first day of classes was done and Anya was tired. She had about three hours of sleep the night before and she had forgotten what it was like to sit through a day of classes. It was amazing what could be forgotten during two months of summer vacation. She had been up at six am and been in the air on her way toward Cambridge by seven thirty. She got back to her room at the Hydrobase and fell onto the bed.

Despite the day being a long one, it had been a good one. Anya enjoyed her classes and looked forward to the challenges they were going to give her. It was an incredible feeling to have started on the next stage of her life. She had taken the first step on the next path to running the company.

She closed her eyes and smiled.

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.

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.

anyastark:

Anya had been kicked out of SHIELD by Mom for a bit. Mom didn't like any of them spending long periods of time there so she put them on a rotation. James was there now while she, Misha and Eliza were not and doing normal things. Anya was doing what she always did when she had free time. Working on computer systems.

The computers at the Hydrobase had been damaged a little in the recent attacks and Anya was working to get them back up. She was also working on improving the security systems. Not to mention working on the warning systems and the intrusion detection systems. It was a lot of work, but she enjoyed it.

Currently she was hunched over a circuit board.

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.

ngmastersofevil:

Hadelinde had been waiting for this day for some time now. It was time to strike at the enemy and strike hard and fast. The last two attacks had been feints and had been to test the enemy's response. She hadn't used her full force against them. There was no need to waste resources and valuable weapons.

Until now.

Now it was time to crush the enemy and achieve their goal.

The Rogers kid and the Stark kid would be theirs. The Rogers kid...Hadelinde had something very special planned for him. The Stark girl would be handed over to Temujin. Hadelinde also wanted another shot at the Rhodes kid. Hadelinde had a score to make even.

Her team except for Egghead and Decibel was with her this time. There was no holding back. The would bring the Young Avengers to their knees and crush them.

They teleported into the Young Avenger's new base.

anyastark:

The days were starting to blur together and if asked Anya probably couldn't say what day it was. The past few days had been spent in the lab. She worked on tweaking the nanites' code and when the text started blurring and running together she'd take a break by working on Toni's suit. Sleep was had when she got too tired to keep her eyes open. She usually stumbled over to the couch in the lab and faceplanted into it and stayed there for a few hours. Darwin and Schrodinger were her only companions.

She did emerge on occasion to grab some food and take a quick trip to S.HI.E.L.D. to check on the family. Mom was almost back to normal and Dad...well he was stable for now. Anya wanted to get this work on the nanites done as soon as possible. It was slow work because there was so much code to look through and a lot of tweaking to do.

She saved her work and stumbled to the couch. It was time for another nap, but before she passed out she sent a text to Toni. Suit is done. Stop by the lab and pick it up when you get a chance.

Anya fell on the couch and was asleep in no time.

ngmastersofevil:

Hadelinde was a meticulous planner. She knew what she had to accomplish and had devised a plan to reach her first goal. Then she drafted a backup plan in case things went south. There was also a backup plan for the backup plan. She couldn’t fail. She wouldn’t fail. It wasn’t even an option. Plans for the second and third stages had been drafted as well along with backup plans for them.

Beetle had been sent to do recon on the Avengers. With her suit being undetectable and invisible she was the most logical choice for recon. It seemed like things had changed a little since her last excursion against the Avengers. It seemed like the younger ones had moved out of the mansion and onto an island a few miles off shore. It had been a most fortuitous change. The kids were more exposed and the adults weren’t around, leaving them a lot more vulnerable.

Hadelinde would exploit this to her advantage.

She didn’t like the fact that there were a few Avengers she didn’t know about. The files Temujin had provided her weren’t complete. It was another reason for the recon. She had to know what they were capable of.

She looked at the assembled group. Enforcer, Jurassic, Gravedigger, Gargantua, Frenzy, and Titanium Titan were all waiting for the orders to start the attack. She looked at each one of them and nodded.

"Let’s go.”

nextgen_media:

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems the mutant menace has infiltrated higher levels of society than ever expected. Amateur footage (video available on our website) shows Antoinette Rhodes, daughter of Tony Stark's right hand man Jim Rhodes and former Avenger Monica Rambeau, shows her unleashing dangerous mutant abilities in a crowded nightclub! Sources also confirm that the young Miss Rhodes was underage and obviously entered under a fake idea. She was seen with Anya Stark, daughter of Tony Stark, and two individuals who have not yet been identified.

It is unknown what sparked the outburst, but Rhodes demonstrated telekenetic abilities of a most dangerous nature, turning various items and pieces of furniture into lethal weapons...


...

...What other secrets is Tony Stark hiding? Who knows how many other mutants he's keeping under his thumb, just waiting for the right time to use them, should his precious Iron Man ever fail him? Stark Industries stock began to dip when video first made its way onto the internet... CONT ON PAGE 3

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.

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.

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.

rogue_star:

She's been sitting quietly on her bed for three hours now, just staring at it. She turned her comm off first thing, trying to clear her thoughts.

She'd spent ages and all the goodwill she'd gotten from SHIELD trying to find her teammates, and found they weren't on this world.
She'd endured Misha's insistence she just relax, make friends and accept she had a family here now.
She'd started to believe Anya suggesting that maybe, just maybe this was her world now, and had gone through the first stages of mourning her parents and friends.

And she'd been about to ask Anya if she'd help her make plans for her 18th birthday, only a few months away. Her 'sweet 16' was spent invading a Sentinel concentration camp. Freeing all those people was a wonderful feeling, but she also knew most of them wouldn't make it, with or without help from the X-Men and the underground railroad, and they'd almost lost Firefly.
Her 17th was spent in a new world, recently bereft of all the things she'd come to know with the Exiles, along with the fleeting hope of making things ok again. And, of course, watching Anya's birthday party not long before, and feeling horribly out of place.

She'd screwed up her courage, tried to figure out who to invite, and was finally ready to go apologize to her parents at their non-graves, the Tomb of the Uknown Soldier seemed fitting, to ask them to understand that she needed to live her own life. And she'd prepared to ask Anya to help with a real birthday party - and was still debating, with a few butterflies, asking if Anya might even be her 'pretend date' if they did it somewhere private.

And then it showed up, just appearing out of nowhere on her right arm.

She's been in her room since, alternating between crying and trying to find a new reserve of willpower, like she always did. She was a Rogers, after all. This time, it just wasn't there. Only the words it kept telling her.

'Galactus' ship's temporal shields screwed things up, but we're back on track.
You still have work to do, kiddo.
Kiss dreams of a normal life goodbye and let's get back to work.'

Worst of all, she knew exactly what she had to do.

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.