bornlucky:

Casey had given himself the night of from work. Sometimes it was good to be the boss. So he was sitting at the bar having a few drinks and had invited Quinn to come out as well. He had spent the morning playing with Sean which had been a lot of fun. But he was passed out a sleep now with the babysitter for the night. He had a half pint of beer in sitting in front of him right now that he was working on and would probably finish soon.

nextgen_holiday:

Each year toward the end of December people come together with friends and family to celebrate and exchange gifts. The atmosphere is light, merry and there is plenty of cheer to go around. Holiday music fills the air while bright colorful lights light up the nights. Mistletoe is placed in strategic locations and people are willing caught under it.

It's a time of celebration, even for superheroes.

brit_sorcerer:

The annual tradition of Rate the Babe was usually held at the Avengers mansion, but this year it would be held at Excalibur's headquarters in London. Quinn was more than happy to play host and set up refreshments. There was of course plenty of beer and it was accompanied by pub food.

Quinn was already on his fourth beer when the guys started arriving.

bornlucky:

Casey was out drinking with Flynn. They were both at his pub enjoying some free drinks. Casey was dropping shots of whiskey pretty fast getting ready to talk to some cute American girls on the other side of the pub.

lion_heart:

Jenny hadn't meant to wander away from Mum in the park, but seeing a small kid facing off a big ugly kid and his friends kind of made her mad.

nextgen_misc:

All over England skeletons from the fifteenth century began to rise from their graves and start to match on London. They began with laying siege of Buckingham Place and the Tower of London using weaponry from their time period.

nextgen_holiday:

“Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers and fathering is a very important stage in their development.” – David Gottesman

brit_sorcerer:

Quinn grabbed two beers from the fridge and headed into the rec room of Excal's HQ. He fell onto the couch and turned on the Manchester United game. He opened a beer and took a long pull from it.

Now this was the life.

ng_mojoverse:

 "Whaaaaat!? What do you mean viewership is down!?" Mojo screamed at the ever-stoic Major Domo. "Did they not see all Armageddon-esque that just happened!? I gave them full coverage of that and you're telling me the ratings are down!?"

Major Domo calmly took a handkerchief and wiped his face of Mojo-spit. "There was an influx of viewership during that time, Grand Obesity, but with it over, people are exhausted and prefer a little cheer, pep, and outright silliness."

"Don't tell me what my viewers need, Domo!" Mojo strokes his chin, idly scurrying about on his spider-legs. "I got it! People need cheer, pep, and silliness! In short, they need crack! Lots and lots of crack! Let's see, who's consistently come through on that front..aha! Excalibur! Their antics always get a good response! What are they doing now!?"

"They disbanded, sir."

"What!? Why the hell didn't someone tell me that!? Who's in charge of monitoring the UK!?"

As if one cue. "So baby, want to go hang out sometime? Number 45? Please, she didn't mean anything to me, beautiful. So how about-yargh!" And said supervisor drone just got blown to kingdom come by an irate Mojo.

"We need an Excalibur team! Alright, let's do this the old-fashioned way. I'll send a huge force to invade the UK and force local heroes to team up. It's a classic and the nerds will appreciate it. We'll ignore the whiners on the forums. Get to it! I want my funny accents on display, now!" 

bornlucky:

Casey was in New York to check out some clubs to get some ideas for his own plans for expansion. Plus it was a good time to visit some friends who had moved to the States. It had been a fun trip so far though he did miss Sean who was staying with his parents. He was kind of worried he might have trouble getting him back later.

A friend of his had insisted on setting him up on a date. So he was supposed to meet up with his date at the central park zoo. He was taking some pictures of the animals on his phone while he waited.

nextgen_misc:

Night settled over London and the British Museum was closed for the evening. Cleaning crews moved quickly and efficiently through the hallways and galleries. Nothing seemed amiss and it was another night just like many others.

Suddenly the alarms started going off and large steel doors closed all over the museum. The police were automatically notified and a call went out to Excalibur.

bornlucky:

Even though he had been busy taking care of Sean and helping run the Pub Casey still remembered his friend’s birthdays. He thought it was kind of funny that Jenny and Joe’s birthdays happened to be the same day who would have thought.

For Joe he had gotten a keg of good beer and a hot blind date whenever Joe had the time.

Jenny had gotten a rather nice bottle of French wine. He had called his mom’s friend Alain for help there. He also left a note promising a great night out for her and her boyfriend next time he was in the city.

There was also a card from him with Sean’s name signed by him for both of them.

bloody_irony:

The television was on -- it was rugby.  The Tricolors were playing.  Dmitri was in a comfortable chair.  There was booze on the small round table next to him.  So far, so good.  Dmitri had been enjoying a day of good sport on the television.

bornlucky:

Before they had gone out to the Cookout of course Excalibur had remembered Tamara's birthday was today and since they were eight hours ahead of where the defenders where they had a little time to celebrate with some cake and ice cream.

Casey had gotten Tamara a hundred dollars in cash as spending money and a few light prisms that he that she might like.

brit_sorcerer:

There had been an invitation for Excalibur to attend a cookout with the Defenders for Independence Day. Quinn was a Brit by birth, but he had spent half of his life in New York. He considered himself a Yankee as well as a Brit.

When it was time he teleported all from Excalibur who wanted to go to the Defenders compound. Quinn was looking forward to a day in the sun, on the beach and watching girls in bikinis with a lot of good food on hand. Not to mention Asgardian mead. It would truly be a wonderful day.

They arrived in a flash right outside the gates to the compound. It was rude to arrive inside the gates and Quinn didn't feel like fighting. He was a lover, not a fighter.

nextgen_holiday:

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." -- Unknown

bornlucky:

Yesterday night Casey got a call on the phone. It was happening right now. He was quite the mixture of emotion as he rushed his way out the door and made sure to tell someone what was going on. Sure he technically probably didn’t need to be there for a while still but he was going to be there through the long night ahead of them.

It had been quite the delivery and he had heard new insults about himself that he had never heard or even thought of before. He just took the very punishment and was very glad her nails were currently cut short. He tried to be as supportive and helpful as he could, not that he was certain how helpful that was exactly.

About mid-morning May 29th Sean Oran Flynn was born, a healthy little baby boy. The first time Casey held him he could help but feel some pride in the little lad and attachment to him. He could easily see his features in Sean and he really didn’t want to let go.

He spent much of the early afternoon doing some paperwork and making some of the first big decisions of Sean’s young life. He could only pray he was making the right choices.

Later that day he called of the Excal HQ telling them that he was coming back and he was bringing with him someone he wanted them all to meet and if someone could set up a video camera for him that would be great.

That evening Casey opened to doors to the HQ with one hand the other arm busy holding a currently quiet bundled up baby.

marlow:

Or just the Sorceress!

After dropping Andy off at Excalibur, Marlow sent herself to pub she'd heard about. She didn't know if Quinn or his friend would be there, but it seemed like a neighborly thing to do when in England.

She appeared in a corner and looked around to see if anyone noticed before making her way to the bar. She sat herself down and turned a smile on the person behind it. "Do you have mead?"

brit_sorcerer:

It had been a /very/ interesting few days, but Quinn was ready to go home. It's not that he wasn't enjoying himself, it was that he missed home. He missed his own bed, his teammates and beer. It was definitely time to go home.

Quinn leaned over and kissed Fiona. "Not that I'm having a good time, luv, but I think it's time my mate and I head home."

nextgen_holiday:

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

brit_sorcerer:

Quinn tossed the rag he had been using to wipe down the bar in the sink and looked around. It had been another busy night as every night had been since they opened. The bar was doing well and every night saw the place full of people, music and laughter.

"You ready, mate?" he asked Casey. "It's bloody time to go home."

bornlucky:

It had taken Casey and Quinn a bit of work and a lot of money but the had gotten their pub up and going and gotten all the paperwork done on it and done a bit of advertising for tonight their grand opening. Excal and anyone else they knew had been invited too. They were probably going to be giving out a lot of free drinks that first night.

Casey was currently helping man the bar while being very sociable and having a few himself. It was early and the place was already hopping.

girlspy:

Vegas had been a fun break from normal hectic schedule that Alice had working for SHIELD. But a couple of days later, it was back to business.

Alice was in her room, working on writing up a report when she heard a knock on her door.

"Coming," she said, getting up from her desk to answer it. She smiled when she saw who was on the other side. "Hi Grandpa." She gave him a hug.

nextgen_misc:

The invitations to THE wedding of the year went out today. Heads of state, diplomats and dignitaries from all over the world would be receiving invitations. The fervor over the wedding was building and would reach a peak when Kate Middleton walked down the isle.

bornlucky:

Casey and Quinn had been talking about doing this type of thing for a while long before they even had plans for what they were going to do with the winning.

They were going to Vegas.

They had gotten one of the really nice suites at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino so that they would both have their own rooms in case they needed them for later.

They also had a couple thousand dollars each to get started. Casey wasn’t too worried about losing with his luck.

They also had some ideas for what they might do later after they did a lot of gambling.

They left a note for the rest of the team telling them they had gone to Vegas. They didn’t tell them in person since they might have tried to stop them but what could possibly have to them while they were in Vegas.

strongbox:

Jordan didn't at all mind the looks of the woman who bought him, though it looked like she was talking to a friend... who he also doesn't mind a bit. However, observing certain other details, something else grabs his attention.

He heads over to the girl in the wheelchair. Well, the one that isn't Mel.

"Miss McCoy?"

nextgen_holiday:


I arise from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are shining bright.
I arise from dreams of thee,
And a spirit in my feet
Hath led me -- who knows how?
To thy chamber window, Sweet!

The wandering airs they faint
On the dark, the silent stream--
And the Champak's odours
Like sweet thoughts in a dream;
The nightingale's complaint,
It dies upon her heart,
As I must on thine,
O belovèd as thou art!

O lift me from the grass!
I die! I faint! I fail!
Let thy love in kisses rain
On my lips and eyelids pale.
My cheek is cold and white, alas!
My heart beats loud and fast:
O press it to thine own again,
Where it will break at last!

Percy Bysshe Shelley

nextgen_parent:

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first annual Maria Stark Foundation Charity Auction. I'm Alison Blaire and your host for tonight's festivities. Prepare yourselves for a night of fun to help a worthy cause. In just a few minutes many very handsome men will be brought out one by one for your chance to win a date with one of them.

Before we begin I would like to bring out Her Imperial Highness Anya Stark. Miss Stark helped arranged tonight's event and will give you a little more information on the charity organization tonight's proceeds will help."

Anya walked out on stage and smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Blaire. All of the proceeds from tonight's event will go directly to Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières. This organization was created in 1971 in France to benefit the citizens of the world. The organization is committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation all across the globe. MSF operates independently of any political, military, or religious agendas.

I'm happy to announce on behalf of the Maria Stark Foundation, that all money collected here tonight will be matched dollar for dollar by the Maria Stark Foundation."

"Thank you Miss Stark and that is a very generous offer by the Maria Stark Foundation. Now it's time to begin. So open those wallets and let's bring out our first man." Anya left the stage and went to take her seat.

"First we have the son of Captain America Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. James Romanov-Rogers is currently an Avenger and has recently moved to Seattle to lead the West Coast Avengers."

"Let's start the bidding at a hundred dollars."

anyastark:

Anya entered the luxurious suite they had in The Four Seasons Paris and dropped her bags near her bedroom door. She walked over and fell on the couch. Paris was their second stop on their weekend shopping trip. They had spent a day in Milan (Vernique needed Italian shoes), now a day in Paris and then the last day in London. Having a teleporter on call to get them from one city to another in the blink of an eye sure had made traveling easier and allowed more time for shopping.

Shop they did.

Anya had bought a lot in each city and had most of it shipped home already. There was no way she would have been able to carry even half of it. It was a good thing she had gone through her closets before they had left. At least she would have room for it all.

"Okay, Vernique. It's time for you to dish about your adventures. Meet any hunks? Get lucky with said hunks?"

nextgen_media:

"This is a special report for breaking news in London," the reporter says as all local programming is interrupted. "It seems like London is being invaded by what looks to be Daleks from the popular show Dr. Who, Klingons from Stark Trek, Weevils from Torchwood and there's even a report about a dragon flying over the city. What appears to be an army of strangely dress soldiers is moving through the streets along with the thousands of other things from popular television shows. Police and security forces are out in full force, but we urge residents to stay inside and stay off the streets."

The broadcast moves to show each of the groups moving through the streets of London and the citizen screaming as they try to flee.

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.

nextgen_holiday:

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.

glinting:

Tamara was in her room, curled up in her bed, reading a book. She had had a busy day, going shopping to get food and drinks (mostly beer, of course), for the small New Year's Eve party the team was having. She had also done a little shopping for herself, as she needed some new winter clothes.

She was just about to turn off the lamp on her bedside table and call it a night, when she heard something outside of her window.

She was pretty sure that it was singing. And...a lute?

Tamara pulled on her bathrobe, walking over to the window and opening it. And saw the knight from when the team fought the "dragon". The one that she had kissed on the cheek.

And he was now singing to her, outside of her window. It was kind of sweet, actually.

nextgen_holiday:

Christmas. Yule. Saturnalia. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. Many cultures have celebrated and still celebrate a winter festival. There have been many names for it over the millennia. No matter the name it is a time to come together and celebrate with feasts and gifts with friends and loved ones.

Each culture has a legendary figure who would deliver gifts to children during this time. In Russia and some Slavic cultures he is known as Ded Moroz, Grandfather Frost, and comes not on Christmas but on New Year’s along with his granddaughter Snegurochka, or ‘”Snow Maiden”. In the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe he is known as Father Christmas. In the Netherlands and Belgium he is known as Saint Nicholas or “Sinterklaas” and in France he is known as Père Noël. In the United States we know him as Santa Claus.

No matter the name or who is delivering gifts, it is the season of peace, joy and togetherness. It is the season for thinking about loved ones, friends and those less fortunate. It is a time to witness the goodness and generosity the human race is capable of. It is a time for peace on Earth and goodwill toward man.

bornlucky:

Casey was in a great mood and very excited when he walked into the pub that Excalibur often frequented. He had gotten to learn some really exciting news at least as far as he was concerned. It was the kind of new that probably meant he was going to be buying everyone a couple rounds of drinks.

Today had been the first ultra-sound which meant it was the first time he had seen his baby and was actually making him feel more ready for this. In addition to that the doctors had been able to find out something important, it was a boy.

next_avenger:

With Charlie gone and as a male member of the Avengers, in addition to being the leader, it was up to James to uphold a few traditions that didn't have to deal with battling bad guys. Though he had to admit that he would rather be fighting bad guys than doing this. It just wasn't his thing.

He wasn't as industrious as Anya, but James had managed to collect the necessary photos. It hadn't been easy and a part of him felt like he was cheating on Val.

Invitations were sent to the Avengers, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, Champions, Excalibur the X-Men and the Defenders guys.

With the help of Jarvis food and drink was laid in. James made sure they had a wide variety of pizza, chips, pretzels and drinks.

He loaded the photos in and took care of the security systems. The girls were not allowed to watch. Now all that was left was people showing up.

bornlucky:

Casey had gotten a call that some of his stuff had survived the destruction of his apartment. It had taken them a while to give him the call and even longer for him to find the money and the time to be able to get there. He didn’t want to ask for help getting there like he was pretty sure he could get.

He had talked to the guys who had been holding his stuff and pick which stuff he wanted to keep and ship home and what could be just thrown out or donated it hadn’t taken long so he had a couple of days in New York to himself away from the craziness of him life in England.

Since the bars weren’t open yet he headed to a café for a bit. Maybe getting or making himself an Irish coffee. Who knows maybe he would find someone neat to talk too.

k_nnnn_iggits:

Arthur and his “Knights” had been going around “helping” and “saving” people. Of course most of those had been staged either by them or by the leprechauns. The only ones that weren’t were things like helping cats out of trees and helping old ladies cross the street though even some of those had been staged.

Though they still hadn’t made much progress with their goal the needed something big to really get people’s attention. The leprechauns told Arthur to keep on the lookout for something big. What that meant Arthur didn’t know.

Later that day a Dragon started attacking London.

bornlucky:

It was Quinn’s birthday today so Casey thought he would be nice and got him a case of English beer that he knew Quinn liked and a case of really good Irish beer just because. He hoped Quinn would be nice enough to share after all beer is better with people than by yourself.

brit_sorcerer:

Quinn left two cases of Irish beer on Casey's bed and a note that said 'Happy Birthday, Irish' on it. Everyone deserved a little something on their birthday and beer was the best gift of all. Quinn just hoped Casey would share.

brit_sorcerer:

Oktoberfest. It was like Christmas to some of the members of Excalibur. Better than Christmas actually. Oktoberfest was about two things. Beer and food. Three if you really liked women. So it was a given that Excalibur would be going to Oktoberfest. No other team drank more than they did.

When everyone was ready and the hotel was booked, Quinn teleported them to Munich. They took a few moments to check in to the hotel and then it was time to hit the beer tents.

bornlucky:

After having had a couple days to get used to the idea of what he had gotten himself into Casey figured now was as good a time as any to let the rest of the Excalibur team know what was going on.  So he let people know that he wanted to talk to them about something.

bornlucky:

Casey had been going to the pub he had met her at every night ever since he had thought he might have gotten her pregnant. For three weeks he had been doing this and he hadn’t seen her that was until tonight anyways.

Casey was sitting at the bar when someone tapped his shoulder, he turn to look at who it was only to get slapped in the face. He had a pretty good guess as to who that was before he got a good look. ( Read more... )

bornlucky:

Life without his luck sucked. Casey honestly couldn’t see how people were able to get by without it. He actually had to look where he was going and watch where he stepped, things he never had to do before since his luck had always taken care of that type of thing for him.

Which was probably why he had fallen down a flight of stairs and sprained his ankle.  It wasn’t too bad a sprain but he was told by the doctor that he should stay off his foot and keep it elevated for a few days.

So Casey was lying on the couch in the Excalibur Headquarters living room with his foot elevated watching TV. He also had a couple beers nearby to drink.

bornlucky:

Casey had been out all night which wasn’t something extremely uncommon when he came tiredly stumbling into the Excalibur headquarters. It had been a rather nice night with a very beautiful woman. He knew they both had a lot of fun. Vanessa was certainly someone to remember.

His walk back had been another story though. He had tripped and fallen flat on his face not once but three times something that never happened to him. But even more weird was that just outside of the Headquarters he twisted his ankle on a step. With his lucky none of that should have happened to him especially not twisting his ankle not like he had.

All of that put together made it seem like something was effect his luck or he had lost it or something. But as far as he knew that shouldn’t be possible, there was only one time he could think of that his mother had lost her luck. That had been when she was first pregnant with him and her luck had transferred to him but she had gotten it back.

It was then it hit him. Feck, I’m going to be a dad. He couldn’t confirm it or anything but it seemed very likely given what was going on. He also was fairly certain given last night how that had happened.  He really should figure out a way to stay in contact with her just in case he was right though all he really knew about her that could help was her first name.

He probably should the rest of Excalibur about his lack of luck. He would keep his thought on why to himself at least until he could confirm it.

nextgen_holiday:

Excalibur had enough Americans on the team to warrant a cookout and most importantly drinking to celebrate their holiday and the end of summer.

A grill was set up and a variety of food prepared including traditional cookout food along with some not so traditional cookout food. Drinks, mostly beer, was put on ice along with soda and water. Tables and chairs were set up on the roof not far from the grill. Music was pumped through the buildings communication systems and an American flag was put up as well.

Later fireworks would be provided by the resident sorcerer.

brit_sorcerer:

Quinn was tired of being in Camelot. Tam and he had to keep a very low profile and Quinn was tired of hiding. While some of the wenches were comely and willing, Quinn wanted to go home. It was time to get the hell out of here. It was time to take matters into his own hands.

Quinn started a spell to take them back home.

nextgen_misc:

Two members of Excalibur woke found themselves dressed in simple clothing from 12^th century England though with a slightly modern feel. They found themselves in a courtyard of a small castle in the town of Locksley. A middle aged man is addressing the crowd explaining why he is going to hang the young man next to him for being an outlaw of Sherwood.

nextgen_misc:

They had stolen their gold that they had so carefully hidden in the mortal world. No one gets away with stealing a Leprechaun’s gold and gets away with it. More over no one steal clan of Leprechauns’ gold and gets away with it.

They had found a few clues which they had used their magic on to find out who had stolen their gold and the spell lead them to the new Excalibur team.

In a blast of light the entire clan appeared inside the Excalibur base. “Give us back our Gold or else,” They demanded angrily.

glinting:

The 1812 Overture played in the background as Tamara walked out to the backyard of Excalibur headquarters, American flag cake in hand. Though they were England, it was still the Fourth of July, which a good number of them celebrated. It was also Tamara's birthday. She was twenty years old today. She'd picked up some cupcakes when she was at the bakery earlier. Singing Happy Birthday wasn't a requirement, but it wouldn't hurt if she got to blow a candle out of one of the cupcakes.

"I come bearing baked goods!" Tamara said with a grin, setting them down on the table.