nextgen_misc:

The day was going like any normal summer day in Salem Center. The sun was out, it was hot and the residents of the small town in Westchester county went about their daily business. It was not to last.

A small pinpoint of light appeared in the middle of Main St and started to grow. It quickly expanded causing traffic to stop and the citizens to stop and stare. The light continued to grow until it was the size of a three story building.

A moment later things started coming out of the bright portal.

pym_kitten:

Chris had sent out an e-mail to all the other students that she was putting together a day-trip to the city for shopping, with the promise of dinner and deserts that were entirely bad for them. She'd called Pauline as well, in case she was free to meet them once they got in.

She waited in the foyer of the Institute for anyone who was going to join her.

_tsunami_:

Sylvie was the sister Cait never had. The two had known each other since they were in diapers and Cait wasn't about to let Sylvie's birthday pass without some fanfare. Cait had the gifts ready well in advance and had put her sewing skills to work to make Sylvie a new blouse and a matching long skirt. She had also got Corey's help in creating a necklace of polished colored stones.

Cait of course made a batch of Sylvie's favorite cookies along with cupcakes. She made sure the one for Sylvie had a candle on it and gave the rest out to the other X-ers.

nextgen_holiday:

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

nextgen_adult:

After Jennifer Kale had confirmed that Vincent's experiment was not the cause of the unusual situation, they'd moved on to the Sorcerer Supreme. After a cursory examination of Vincent and the magical imprint left upon him, Strange seemed oddly amused by the turn of events, considering it's rather benign tone overall.

"This cannot be allowed to stand indefinitely, however. I should be able to perform a spell of soul-mending, which should rectify the problem. We'll need the true cause of this, however..." He steps away from his fellow mages, and Kristoff, and conjures a portal.

"Quinn. Come here now. I have some questions for you." When an individual could raise as much trouble as that one could, it behooved Strange to keep a feeler out as to his location.

anyastark:

Word about certain things spread fast in the cape community and Anya learned that Vernique and Svalin were getting married, in Asgard, and Svalin was expecting a baby. This of course meant one thing. There had to be a party to celebrate both things and Anya was the perfect one to throw it. Anya had known Vernique since forever and there had been many marathon shopping trips.

She sent invitations out to the female members of the X-Men, Champions, Avengers, West Coast Avengers, Defenders, X-Force, Alpha Flight, Excalibur, Fantastic Four, Sammy and Alice in SHIELD, Kelly and Melissa. It was also the first get together the Thunderbolts would be hosting.

The renovated firehouse in Cambridge was cleaned from top to bottom and supplies were laid in. Stephanie was given cart blanch on the menu and snacks. Anya and Molly went shopping for the drinks and for gifts for Vernique and Svalin. Since the crowd was very varied they got a wide selection of sodas, juices, beer and also picked up a lot of water. Anya even booked rooms at a nearby hotel just in case people didn't want to make the trip home that night. Anya had spoken to Irina and arranged for pick up of the various team members around the world.

Saturday rolled around and Anya was up at the crack of dawn double checking everything. Then she headed down to the lab until the first ladies arrived.

pym_kitten:

Chris had successfully cornered her prey. She'd baited her trap skillfully, and now there was no way out for her quarry.

She sat down next to Rachel and elbowed her, grabbing a bag of chocolates she'd picked up in her after-V-Day shopping spree. "So spill... how was the trifecta?" She grins.

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."

smallestbear:

David normally didn't fuss about anything. He was a very stable kid. Nothing got to him and he didn't have any problems.

That was at least how he acted. But he did have problems. Sometimes he had nightmares. He had no idea what he should do about this thing with Rachel, Starbridge, and Torn Ear. He also had become aware that his little secret was becoming more of an issue. It kind of pissed him off.

He just wanted to be a normal guy. Like that was ever going to happen though. No matter how much Misha and Rose wanted things to be normal for him David was just as much aware that things just wouldn't ever be that way.

Which might be why he was in one of the studies right now late at night. Sleep was not happening when he could feel that restless streak taking hold. Especially when he was trying to work things out in his head and fighting to calm his nerves.

Yeah, not happening. David's zen master like state of mind was just not returning right now. Joy. It was Uncle Hank's chili, he swears to God.

nextgen_misc:

It started as a large blast of magical energy in London, but it quickly spread outward. It started slowly, but it quickly gained speed and eventually it would travel over the whole planet.

son_of_discord:

X-Force, plus Foxx, sped toward the Land of the Rising Sun with all due haste to rescue Rose. Joey is quite during the flight, ready to do whatever is necessary to save his woman the moment they touch down. Honestly, he doesn't have a plan besides "find Rose, kill whoever took her, bring Rose home."

That doesn't bother him much, because X-Force has operated on less of a plan than this before and come out all right.

"Are we there yet, Ana-Pants?" Joey asks, utterly serious for once. He was ready to throw down.
 

pym_kitten:

Chris stepped off the train onto the platform at Grand Central, heading up the ramp into the main concourse. Time for Date Number 3 with Pauline. It had been a slightly awkward conversation after she'd realized what she'd said, but she'd gotten them tickets to an art-house double feature of both Disney Fantasia movies. The unofficial word was also that the original cut's "Sunflower" sequences of Pastoral Symphony would be shown during the intermission.

She headed for the clock and information booth in the center of the concourse, an eye out for her date.

son_of_discord:

Three days after Rose’s disappearance, Joey Allerdyce is a worried man. Coming home from Misha’s and finding out that she didn’t come home worried him a little, but he knew Rose could and would take care of herself. If she’d called during the first or the second day, Joey would have just chalked it up to Rose wanting a bit more time and space to sort out her own head. He would have given her as much time as she needed as long as they could set some time to talk.

( Read more... )

nextgen_holiday:

There were certain traditions that were kept around the holidays and then there were traditions. The annual New Year's Day snowball fight was a long standing tradition at Xavier's Institude For Higher Learning. For the past six years the girls have won the fight, but this year the boys have a new player on their side and he's one that may tip the scales in their favor.

Dawn broke over the grounds and the sun climbed into the sky. It would be a warm bright day and perfect for a snowball fight.

At high noon the players on each side gathered on opposite ends of the grounds.

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.
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19.
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+

Anonymous entries accepted.

pym_kitten:

Chris had always thought that the six day interval between Christmas and New Year's was the hardest section of days on the calendar to get anything done at all. However, this year on the 28th, she had something she damn sure wasn't going to miss. Pauline had invited her to come to one of her shows, and to go out afterward for sandwiches and whatever else.

For fun, and to make sure Pauline saw her there, she'd brought along a sign with a picture of a kitten with "I CAN HAZ!" pasted beneath it.

She couldn't help but grin as the band was introduced and brought out.

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.

particlegirl:

nextgen_holiday:

“We’re here outside the Four Seasons Hotel in New York where the who’s who is gathered tonight. Celebrities, royals and superheroes have all turned out for the annual Maria Stark Foundation Winter Charity event benefiting Toys for Tots.

It’s truly an all-star gala here tonight.

New York’s own princess, Anya Stark, was seen being escorted by what appears to be her new flame, actor Austin Cain. Her brother and currently second in line to the Russian throne, Mikhail Romanov, was seen entering the party with Lyta Worthington, heiress to Worthington Industries. Tony and Natasha Stark, parents of a new baby, are making their first public appearance since the birth of their son.

Mackenzie Rider, a prince of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, is escorting Ms. Andrea Denker of the Fantastic Four tonight. Kristoff Vernard, leader of the Fantastic Four, was seen in attendance with his wife Cassandra and their son Scotty. Vincent Amorason, heir to Latveria, arrived alongside his brother and was seen escorting a member of the Defenders, Asleif Thorsdottir. The rest of the Fantastic Four are here too with their dates, though Miss Valeria Richards is not in attendance. Franklin Richards is in attendance and is escorting one Miss Gill.

Los Angeles’ own superhero team, the Defenders are in attendance as well. Arriving with her team is Grace Danvers, daughter of Hollywood hunk Simon Williams and she is being escorted by teammate, Eiltin. The two Asgardian princesses and daughters of Thor, Asleif and Aridis, are also attending the festivities with their team.
Akilah Munore, the crown princess of Wakanda, is here tonight with her steady flame, Daniel Sherwood a member of the Young Avengers. The other Young Avengers are in attendance tonight with their dates, alongside the adult Avengers.

Donald Trump arrived with his wife and is one of many other famous faces to arrive. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Hugh Jackman, Jack Nicholson, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift are just a few celebrities who have made an appearance here tonight.

It’s truly a party of the who’s who and it’s all for a great cause.”

whosperfectnow:

The jumps were dizzying as were the changes in her physiology.  The additional abilities were leaving her, almost being written out of her dna.  It would have been a huge relief except leaping through time was equally as draining so when Tina landed in 1776, she landed face first in the mud and she was perfectly content to stay right there.

Until she was yanked up by her hair demanding to know where the hell she'd come from.

It was a familiar-seeming voice and when she was able to see the face the voice belonged to she understood why: Sebastian Shaw clearly looked like one of his ancestors.  Enough so that Tina turned on the diamond armor at will--a first--and punched him right in the face.

By the time X-Force dropped in, Tina was in a full on brawl with this Shaw and his fellow soldiers to the point that all she could see or hear was the fight at hand.  It...wasn't going well.

pym_kitten:

Chris smiles to herself as she checks herself out in the mirror. The dress was a little lighter than winter called for, but it was a small price to pay. She could put together a throw or jacket to coordinate with it if she had to. For the most part though, she was done. She'd managed to find the materials she'd been looking for for the gift for her date, and her own threads were done.

Not wanting to come down from her creative high just yet, she put up a message on the bulletin board in the common area that she was taking requests on accessories for the party. She tacked on a few photos of stuff she had already made, just to pad her cred a little bit.

nextgen_misc:

After some discussion with the team, they decided to jump to the London Blitz in an attempt to meet up with Christina at the end of her time jumps, to catch her before she was stuck wherever Dave had sent her.  Jenny had no trouble bringing the team along--she could take up to six "passengers" safely at one time--but once they actually arrived, that's where her expertise ended.  This was, after all, a different universe and while the generalities were much the same, some details were bound to be different.

"Remember guys, do not trust what you know about history.  It's only a guide here, not fact."

In a blink they were on the streets of London. A quick check of a newspaper gave them the date: 29 December, 1940.  It was a perfect match to the book Tina'd been reading, a book about the Second Great Fire of London.  The team was just hours away from the devastating air raid.

"Christina appears to be getting herself involved in notable events, my money's on her being at St. Paul's Catherdral.  It was famously spared in the raid by the efforts of firefighters."

Orienting herself a bit, Jenny started leading the group as unobtrusively as possible towards the landmark.

indie_minor:

Pauline dialed the number she'd been given.

anyastark:

Anya didn't have many traditions in her family, unless you counted being a bastard as one of them. The Avengers however did have a few time honored traditions that must be kept going. Sure saving the world from alien invasions, beating up the world level threats and other heroic things were some of those traditions, but not everything could be about beating up the bad guys. One such non-heroic thing was Rate the Hunk.

Each year the female Avengers got together and rated their fellow male Avengers. The new generation had eagerly picked up and kept this tradition going. However, they had expanded it a bit.

The day after Thanksgiving was a perfect day to avoid shopping crowds, take over the rec room, banish the males and look at pictures of them. Anya had run it last year and she took it upon herself to do it again this year. Invitations went out to fellow female heroes. Avengers, X-Women, Defenders, Champions and Thunderbolts all got invitations to come to New York to Rate the Hunk.

Food, drink and snacks were laid in. Signs were put up on the doors and electronic surveillance was set up to see if males dared to interrupt.

Anya settled in on one of the couches and queued up the stash of photos she had collected in the past year.

pym_kitten:

Chris shook her head for the fifth time at ideas of anyone from the Institute to ask, but if there were any prime candidates, it just wasn't jumping out at her. She'd already gotten some ideas for dress designs, more mainstream-classy than her personal tastes, but they should show well, but as for someone's arm to be on, she was coming up empty.

Then again... there was someone who might be able to help.

She dialed up an old friend.

"Hello, Stark Industries? I found a dead bug inside my mp3 player, and I refuse to stand for that sort of thing from you people."

nextgen_misc:

When X-Force returned they had attempted to use Anastasia's idea to find Christina using Cerebro. Jenny, the same girl Tina had been hanging out with when the anomaly hit Cerebro in the first place, scanned several times, but found nothing. It was as though Tina had disappeared.

She did, however, find something interesting on the website the team had cryptically been given.

"Hey, guys? New events have shown up on this site since I first loaded it. Take a look."

whosperfectnow:

Since Summers still didn't want Christina doing anything combat-oriented but couldn't put her on desk duty either (not to mention still couldn't pin the unusual disappearance...and later discovery of the remains of his car on her) he put her in the only other place he figured he could keep her out of trouble: Cerebro duty. For the last week she'd been spending her days up with Jenny Elston and she still wasn't quite sure what Elston did, powers-wise.  She was a telepath to be sure, but when asked about anything else, she'd clam up, shrug her shoulders, and say she didn't have the greatest social skills so Professor Xavier figured she was best off monitoring Cerebro--but she was glad for the company.  Cerebro was, most of the time, boring.

"So your latest power acquisition is omnilingualism, huh?"  The girls had taken to playing poker during some of the really quiet moments.  Jenny kept winning and looked up at Tina over her cards as she awaited an answer.

"Yeah.  My boyfriend loves it because I can talk dirty to him in a ton of languages now."

"I'm surprised you haven't picked up some weird armor plating, dating a Rhodes.  They're kinda close with the Starks."

"I do diamond armor.  And I only pick up other mutant powers.  Not technological genius.  And how do you know anything about the Rhodes and Starks?" 

Jenny just smiled.  "Same way I just beat you.  Again."  She tapped her temple.  "Are you sure you're a telepath?  You don't seem to do a lot of mind-reading."

"Spent way too much time in my childhood doing it.  Dammit, you did win again."  Tina started to gather up the cards when the Cerebro alert went off, loudly. The two girls rushed to look at the console.

"Oh shit, that can't be right."  Jenny's eyes widened.  "Yesterday, there were five low-level mutant signatures there.  Now..."

Tina tapped the glass.

"Now it looks like a power bomb went off."  The two girls looked at each other.  Last time this had happened, it was Fargo.  Tina started out of the room.   "I'll get Summers."

***

Ten minutes later, Tina was banging on Summers' office door.

pym_kitten:

Chris sat cross-legged in the middle of the Institute's backyard. It was a a little cool for just the workout outfit she was in, but it was tolerable. Whatever the x-gene treatment had done to her, it had done more than just make her a mutant. It was mixing with the magical effects passed down from her mother.

She took a deep breath as she tried to focus again. So far the changes had been sporadic. Partial shifts instead of the full transformation. Claws and eyes were easy, but she needed to get more control over it. Just stay calm, breathe, and let the changes come.

She starts at her toes. She feels her skin ripple as the fur grows and nails turn to claws. Like tensing a muscle, she embraces the sensation, then slowly lets it go as she wills the change up along her calves, over her knees, into her thighs. She can feel her legs strengthening. She fidgets as the tail comes out, adjusting her seating as her legs return to normal.

Her breathing gets heavier as the tail vanishes again, and she opens her eyes, realizing how much of a sweat she'd broken into.

"This... is gonna take some work."

aerosmithette:

Ororo Munroe had not forgotten about the X-Men while in Wakanda.  It was true that she had no visited them in a long time, and that she could not visit them now.  However, her daughter was more than capable.  Akilah arrived at the mansion with a tote bag and a sealed envelope.  She waited at the front gate after making it known she had arrived, however unexpected it was.

nextgen_parent:

To say that Scott had found the results of X-Force's mission distressing was an understatement. There was the fact that Nathan had played them; Scott was inclined to give his son the benefit of the doubt, but when he went and did something like this, using the students to carry out his own plans, well...

There was the appearance of a new group of Mutant terrorists. Especially one led by a woman styling herself after Magneto. In these troubling times, most of the so-called "evil" or revolutionary mutant groups had had the good sense to go to ground. Worse, the woman was bound to attract Magneto's attention, or worse, that of his followers. The very presence of a revolutionary cloaking herself in the Master of Magnetism's old standard could set the world of Mutants ablaze, with sides being chosen all around. It might well lead to a mutant civil war.

But worst of all, however, was the state of the team itself. Joey had been grievously injured. Tina was exhibiting strange side effects and it was possible the others would be experiencing the same. And even Rose was not her usual self, having retreated more into herself, in a way Scott had only seen in Logan a few times before.

The meeting with the team was a casual one, to hopefully keep them at ease. But this would not be easy. Not with the personalities that made up the team.

"Thank-you all for meeting like this," he said. "I know the last few days haven't been easy, and I want it known I appreciate the efforts you all put through. If the X-Tremists hadn't appeared, I have little doubt I'd be congratulating you on a job well done. You took a situation full of unknowns and performed above and beyond the call."

He frowned. "Unfortunately, in the wake of as many unknowns as we're currently facing here, and in light of giving you all time to recover... we have decided to temporarily suspend you all from field status; restoration of such... will come when we feel it safe, for both you and everyone else."

wild_rose:

Rose begged off anything after dinner with Brad, saying she had an early class in the morning.  A complete lie, but he bought it hook, line, and sinker.  They needed to mobilize as quickly as possible, and the lab would be mostly deserted in just a few hours.   Brad might possibly still be there, but she was more than prepared to deal with that.

It did not take long for the team to assemble, staging just outside the lab complex and just out of range of security cameras and the like.  Their stealth uniforms--which had been carefully and completely hidden away in their luggage--were the go to clothes of the day.  The black and gray suits would provide a measure of stealth and electronic misdirection.  Each contained a small mask, with various vision settings, though Rose's mask mimicked the lines of her usual pointy eared one.

"Okay," she said.  "We all know we need to shut this down.  That means smashing or confiscating any samples, destroying the computers, and otherwise makin' as a big a mess as possible.  And if there's anybody there...  we take them down as quickly as we can without killin' 'em.  We'll clean up anything we have to after we slow them back to the stone age."

She looked to Tina.  "Your move, chief."

wild_rose:

For the members of X-Force, the previous night had been extremely successful.  Each, in their own way, had gathered pieces of information which helped to make the larger puzzle a little more clear.

1) Rose had determined through a conversation with one of the lead scientists that not only did the X-Gene therapy work, but that it was largely being purposed as a means of suppressing the x-gene in others, with the possibility of adding powers to an individual being more of a side project.  She had also wrangled herself an invitation to see the lab up close and personal.

2) Tina and Joey had, in what even Rose would admit was a spectacular piece of subterfuge, learned that not only was there workings in place to get the therapy to the outside world, but Tina had secured herself a job within the lab on the promise of a favorable negotiation with regards to this deal.

3) Anastasia had managed to secure a security badge for the lab.  It would be some time before this was missed.  With Tina having gained access and her skills, this might have turned out to be redundant, but as each had been operating individually, some duplication was to be understandable.

4) And Chris...  had listened to rumors and confirmed that there was interest among the population in the therapy.  She also had a much more pleasant evening than any of the others had in their interactions with the natives.

In ones and twos, the group had passed the bits of information on to each other and begun to hatch a plan.  Rose and Tina would both be able to be in the lab at the same time easily enough.  Between Tina's technopathic abilities and experience, and Rose's own skillset, they could decide how to proceed from there.  The others would hold back on stand-by, ready to come with a moment's call and gain access either through Tina or through the stolen card. 

It was a solid plan.  It was supposed to just be about gathering info.  What could go wrong?

wild_rose:

With the fake backgrounds and IDs Summers and the rest of the crew, getting into Providence (Rose and Tina inserted in one group, Chris and Annie inserted in another, and Joey with his own plan) as part of differing immigrant groups had proven surprisingly easy.  Fake IDs listed them all as a little bit older than they were, but not impossibly so.  They'd passed the background checks, taken aptitude tests, and been given various placements within Providence society.

Per the initial meeting outline, they'd purposefully avoided each other for the first three days on the island itself.  Now, however, it was time to meet.

Rose--whose fake ID identified her as Elizabeth Howlett--sat down on the park bench that was X-Force's rendezvous point.  She took a long sniff, breathing in the air.  It was cleaner than back in the states, clean like the wilderness.  Whatever Nate was up to here... it sure seemed to her like he was doing something right.

nextgen_parent:

The call went out for the members of X-Force to assemble in the briefing room as soon as possible. When they arrive, they'll find that it is Scott Summers, rather than the Professor, running this meeting. He looks grim, even by Scott Summers standards.

digthefuzz:

"Too hot..." Jake groans to the sky in general. 90+ degree weather plus humidity is bad enough for some people. But for a young man covered in fur...it's bad. As such, Jake has come out to the pool. Definitely a sign that the heat is bad...Jake took off his shirt! That's a shock. The DarkForce wielding mutant is just in bright red board shorts and floating lazily around the pool this warm afternoon.

nextgen_holiday:

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,

He called it ... Dad

_tsunami_:

Rachel was one of Cait's oldest friends. They had known each other since they had been in diapers and Cait considered Rachel a sister she never had. They had even stood as maid of honor for each other when they both married Misha.

It stood to reason that Cait was not going to let Rachel's birthday pass unnoticed.

Cait wasn't exactly one to have readily available funds, but she did manage to be able to get Rachel a small gift in addition to making her a batch of her favorite cookies. The cookies and the small wrapped box containing a charm bracelet with a happiness charm were placed on Rachel's bed along with a card wishing her a happy birthday.

nextgen_baddie:

3:00 am EST Somewhere in  Hills of Southern Georgia....



( Read more... )

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

anyastark:

As always, Anya knew exactly what to get Prince Dork for his birthday. Gifts for him were never hard. Others, like Mom, on the other hand were almost impossible to buy for. The Dork didn't need anything for Darlene or his motorcycle, so she went with something else he loved.

The New York Mets.

Luckily they were playing in New York on the Dork's birthday this year. Coordinating with Lyta, the girlfriend (hee hee the Dork had a girlfriend and one Anya liked), they came up with A Plan. Lyta would distract the Dork and get him to the stadium. Lyta also was responsible for telling the X-ers and making sure they knew The Plan.

The Plan was simple.

Get to the stadium three hours before the game and join battling practice with the team. Then dinner in the private box before the game, and then watch the game from the private box. Snacks and drinks would be served all night.

It would be the perfect birthday for Prince Dork.

She informed the other Brother Dork, Eliza, Dad and Mom of the plans. Mom excused herself from the activity and said she would have lunch with Prince Dork tomorrow. Which if Misha saw Mom, he would send her right home. She looked exhausted today and it was best that she stayed home. She wasn't sure if Eliza and Dad would make it, but the other Brother Dork was going.

She got ready and grabbed James. They arrived at the stadium before everyone else.

lytaworthington:

The Dark Rider Lyta Worthington flew over the citadel.

They had tried to defeat them. The Avengers and the X-Men had gone against the Horsemen and the Dark Riders, thinking that could DARE to challenge them and the Lord Apocalypse, and they had failed.

A number of the upstarts had been killed in the battle. Some had escaped, but she and her fellow Riders would hunt them down...and do to them what they did to their teammates. There were some, that they had captured. Those...they would make an example of. The whole world had to know that anyone who dared to oppose the Lord Apocalypse was doomed to fail.

Lyta touched down on the ground. It was a new age under Apocalypse, and she felt honored that he chose her to be a part of it.

ng_xavier_staff:

After their island adventures, the X-Men had been allowed several days to rest.  But then, Anastasia Summers, Rose Logan, Chris Pym, Christina Frost, John Allerdyce, and Melinda Dynar had all been called into the Professor's presence once more.

"Firstly," he told them when they were all assembled, "I must again apologize for my actions and how they endangered you.  Under Krakoa's influence, I all but sent you to your deaths."

He frowned, still ashamed at his failure to protect his charges.  "But you all performed beyond my wildest expectations, especially considering how few of you had ever worked together before.

"But I would like to see you working together again.  Reviewing your files, you all possess a unique variety of skills and talents, many of which are otherwise lacking in the field team.  Skills that are desperately needed now.  Ever since the Apocalypse-incident, mutant manifestations have been on a steady increase and we will not be the only ones to notice this.  Mutant activity in general seems to be on an upswing and this must be responded to.

You six would make an ideal team to assist with this situation, acting as a specialized investigative field team.  When necessary, you will be able to intervene and bring individuals here or otherwise offer the Institute's support.  When necessary, you will be able to act like another team of X-Men and combat threats as necessary.  And... when the situation requires it, you are uniquely qualified to investigation less wholesome things, seedier aspects of the world, by skill and power, and to deal with those as well.

You could be a powerful force... an X-Force, for good."

wild_rose:

By startling coincidence (yeah, right), all three squads had ended up at the cave at nearly the same time.  "Funny meeting you here," Rose muttered.

This was... wrong. Extremely wrong.  An island out to get them?  Missing X-Men?  A brand-new team being put together to go find them?  It all added up to one horrible, horrible possibility.  She'd been told the story often enough growing up, even used the place in question as a staging ground for Danger Room scenarios.

She looked over to Chris and Anastasia, eventually taking in Christina, Melinda, and Joey as well.  She was worried about him.  The others had survived mostly unscathed and she was healing, but he'd taken some hard knocks.  She'd have to keep an eye on him.  Dammit.  How she felt about him... major distraction right now.  And yet, she wouldn't trade him for all the edge it might offer.

"Okay, hands up, this remind anybody of anything from X-Men History 101?"
 

nextgen_misc:

With the speed of the Blackbird, the six X-Men were able to reach the island, located in an otherwise empty stretch of the Pacific Ocean, in almost no time at all. The island looked as though it had been untouched by man for centuries. Thick jungle had grown without limits and a towering volcano could be seen rising from the center. A thick swampland dotted one end. There was no sign of life, no sign of the Blackbird that had brought the other team.

There was an almost sinister feel about the whole thing.

ng_xavier_staff:

John Allerdyce.

Melinda Dyars.

Christina Frost.

Chris Grant-Pym.

Rose Logan.

Anastasia Summers.


To me!

The mental summons went out, calling the six to Professor Xavier's office.  Urgency, unusual in the usually composed founder and headmaster of the Institute, colored the psychic call.  This was not a summons to be refused.

stone_bear:

Halbjorn is definitely all for celebrating having his own body back. Getting Sersi's number was a good start. The night out with Vernique and Svalin was nice as well. But as long as he's on this coast he has one more stop to make. The Avengers may not want him too close to the mansion, but Xavier's put him under no such restriction.
He announces himself at the gates and waits, indicating he's there to see Chris Pym.

nextgen_misc:

The citizens of Nova Roma were responsible residents of the Amazon Rainforest. They didn't waste resources, they used every part of everything, they worked with the land instead of clearing it and they recycled everything they could. They had learned these methods thousands of years ago from the local tribes not long after establishing their settlement.

Citizens from the colony would venture out into the jungle on a daily basis to gather the herbs, plants, fruit and other items they needed. Wood was gathered from the forest floor instead of chopping down trees whenever it was possible.

Today the citizens that ventured out did not return.

_tsunami_:

Cait sat on the shore of the lake and looked out across the water. The temperature reached seventy and the sun was bright. Light danced on the water. Normally Cait would be out on the water, but today she was content to sit on a rock on the shore. Plus she was still adjusting to the change in her powers. She still had hydrokinesis, but it wasn't as strong as it had been. She still had the ability to turn into water. It was weird and she had only tried using it once since she returned to Xavier's.

She knew the other students didn't blame her for what she had done as Famine, but it didn't mean she felt any less guilty about it. She had destroyed numerous crops and villages around the world. People would go without food and some without homes because of her.

Tomorrow she'd go home to Nova Roma with her parents. Some time away and some TLC from Mom and Dad would go a long way. She wasn't sure what Corey was going to do, but she hoped he would go home too. Driving him crazy would make things seem more normal. Though she wasn't sure how normal things would be able to get, especially with her blue hair. She had Jenny try to change it back, but it didn't work.

Cait picked up a stone and skipped it out across the water.

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."