nextgen_parent:

Charles Xavier, head of the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning and mentor of the X-Men, had been busy in the recent days. Together with an old friend, Erik Lehnsherr, the two of them pushed the anti-human groups into action. Attacks on humans started happening all around New York City.

In Times Square the MLF appeared and started attacking the sea of people in the "Crossroads of the World". They also targeted the nearby Police and fire stations to hinder efforts to control the chaos they were creating.

Down on Wall Street the Brotherhood started attacking the bankers and investment brokers.

Leading the attacks on humans were Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr.

Mutants attacking humans prompted responses from anti-mutant groups such as the Friends of Humanity, the Church of Purity and other pro-human groups.

The streets of New York quickly became a battleground between humans and mutants.

smallestbear:

David is out on the town. He had no after noon classes and wanted burgers and chili cheese fries. What more could a guy want?

Oh yeah also there was this new waitress who is just really cute. He thinks she's his age so he has been very shyly flirting with her every time he comes here. Honestly he thinks he's terrible with women but he can make her laugh and smile so that's good enough for him.

Now he is on his way back to his car. He is well fed and feeling pretty good. He tosses and catches his car keys in his hand the air changes just a bit though.

He can smell something on the wind. His good mood is shattered and he frowns just a bit. Something is up.

marvel_girl:

For future reference for all involved, it is never considered a good idea to play Scrabble with a literate, well-read prince.  Board games have been the destruction of many a relationship, though this round had not quite progressed that far.  However, Rachel was definitely beginning to feel like a backwater hick by comparison.

She looked at the tiles that Starbridge had put down on the Scrabble board and frowned.  "That is so not a word."

nextgen_misc:

The Guardians of the Galaxy had managed to make it back to Knowhere Station with their guests, the X-Men and one Shi'art citizen. The visitors were shown to temporary quarters and given a chance to rest a bit after their battle.

The next day they were asked to meet in a conference room.

nextgen_misc:

Abel dropped them out of a space warp as close to Earth as possible. The ship shook as it entered the upper atmosphere and the hull started to heat up and started to glow red. Azura helped Alex pilot the ship through the turbulence. She hoped the rust bucket held together.

Once they were past the initial barrier and slowed down a bit, they set a course straight for Xavier's. They ignored hails from local enforcement agencies and continued on their way. Their passenger, the Shi'ar, had been antsy during the whole trip and seemed a little relieved once they arrived. It didn't last long and he fretted until they arrived over Xavier's.

Their timing was perfect. They arrived just in time to see the Imperial Guard standing off with the X-Men and Prince Starbridge. Azura shoved their Shi'ar guest into her seat and ordered him to take over. She grabbed her gun and Godslayer and raced for the hatch.

Alex gave the flying of the ship to their guest and raced after Azura. Once they were low enough the Guardians of the Galaxy exited the ship to help Prince Starbridge and the X-Men.

nextgen_cosmic:

The ship exited the space-warp behind Earth's Moon. It carried the whole of a civilization long thought extinct. The civilization was one bent on the destruction of the Shi'ar race and its empire. Today would be the first salvo in their efforts to achieve their goals.

"We have arrived at Earth," Brother said to Eldest.

"Excellent. Prepare the assault team. I want the prince killed before the day is over," Eldest said and left the bridge. He had planned for this day for so long. They would finally eradicate the cursed Shi'ar from existence.

A few moments later three smaller ships exited from the larger ship and sped toward Earth. They entered the atmosphere and headed toward their destination in New York state. Eldest looked on with anticipation. It was exhilarating to finally take action against their ancient enemy.

Once they were close enough they opened fire. The blasts weren't to destroy the buildings on the ground, but more to cause confusion. Eldest wasn't about to kill the prince from a distance. He wanted the honor of killing the Shi'ar prince up close and personal.

marvel_girl:

Okay, so, yeah.  This being in a real relationship thing?  Pretty dang nice.  It didn't hurt to have the mess that had been the Mojoverse long behind them, though she admittedly still felt kinda bad about David.  Not so much that it colored her current relationship with Starbridge, but certainly a thought now and then.

But these days, it was a certain Shi'ar prince than held her thoughts.  And more often than not, shared them too.  Having telepathic powers and a boyfriend with something of the same made of a level of connection Rachel never would have thought possible.  Of course, considering she was person non gratta back in his galaxy (or possibly public enemy number 1, she wasn't quite sure)...  Well, she wasn't going to think about that.

As for tonight?  Well, as nights on the town went, this one was really good.  Granted, she hadn't had too many dates to compare it to, but she knew what she liked.

Rachel looked up from her food.  "This is nice," she said.  "...And I've said that already, haven't I?"

marvel_girl:

In spite of all her efforts, Rachel had come no closer to freeing herself than when she'd started.  Three rounds of Mojo's sadistic game had passed in all, and she'd picked Starbridge, David, and Torn Ear once each, trying to give them what respite she could.  And each time, they had survived the challenge.  As had Sweepzweak. 

It was enough to drive a girl mad.

And perhaps the worst thing of all?  She'd actually already made up her mind before they'd gotten kidnapped.  She might have hemmed and hawed a bit, but when it came down to it, she realized who she wanted as her boyfriend.

As the guys returned to the contest area, she resumed marshaling what little psychic power she could.

ng_mojoverse:

A studio announcer's voice cut through the crowd.  "And now, it's time to play the Mojoverse's new favorite game show....  DATE OR DEATH!  Where we try to match up one fabulous lady with one of our lucky contestants!  The winner gains her heart, the losers gain a one-way ticket to the afterlife!  And now, let's give a very special Mojoverse welcome to our host... The Host!"
( *Applause* )

_tsunami_:

Cait had made two dozen of Rachel's favorite cookies and had put them in a small basket. She also made Rachel a new emerald green dress that would go well with her hair and eyes. The last thing Cait got one of her oldest and closest friends was a $25 gift card to iTunes. She put the items and a card in Rachel's room.

ng_mojoverse:

"Crap, crap, crap, really bad crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, porn, crap, crap, crappy porn, crap, crap, crap.."

Each of the words was punctuated by a click of a remote and the changing of a channel.  Mojo, supreme ruler of the Mojoverse and master programmer supreme, sultan of the air waves, tip top tv exec, and the person responsible for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, was not happy.

"Why are my ratings DOWN?!" he bellowed.  He looked left.  He looked right.  And he realized that there was no one around to listen to his rantings.  "DOMO!   DOMO!  DOMO!"

"You bellowed, oh bulbous one?" Major Domo, his majordomo asked, appearing behind him with enough quietness that the great Mojo was forced to jerk in surprise.

"What have I told you about sneaking up on me?!" he demanded.

"I was making plenty of noise, oh supreme one.  Doubtless you were simply engaged in creating superior programming and did not hear me."

"Yes, well... yeah, I was.  But why are my ratings DOWN?!"  He gestured toward the tvs.    "I mean, I've got people out there readings books!  Dead trees!  And this FaceSpace and myBook and tweeter-de-dee?!  What's wrong with these people?!  Why aren't they watching?!  I need a new show.  I need inspiration.  Something that will really put the butts back in the seats.  And then something that will keep them there.  Maybe some kind of glue...  Domo, look into super-glue suppliers.  Tell them we'll take everything they have.  Literally. Or else I'll send Spiral after them!"

Domo sighed.  He was used to dealing Mojo's moods.  And he knew just the thing to bring him out of it.  "If I may offer a suggestion, oh Video Master?"

Mojo seemed unresponsive, so Domo took the initiative and waved a remote in front of his face, large yellow eyes following its every move.  He turned the TV on.

"As you can see, the X-Man called Rachel Summers is engaged in quite the romantic conundrum.  Three different suitors, three different demographics.  The Prince, the Bat Boy, and the Furry.  You could get quite the audience draw with them."

"No, no, no!" Mojo ranted.  "That's a terrible idea!  We need something good!  ...Wait, I've got it!  We'll kidnap the Summers girl and her three boy toys, throw in one of our own, put it on TV.  Call it... Who Wants to Marry a Mutant!  We'll make millions!  Make it happen!  GET ME THAT PHOENIX!"

gildedcage:

Starbridge was dressed in one of the school's old training uniforms, standing in the danger room. He stretched his long, taloned fingers as he warmed up.

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.

gildedcage:

It was late. Starbridge sat in one of the rec areas, reading a Shi'ar sacred text and wishing the goddess Sharra would distract him from a certain goddessesque person who as not his and probably not going to be.

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.

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.

gildedcage:

The images fanned out before Starbridge's eyes, events unfolding into the difference. In over half of the sequences, the west wing of the Institute was completely ripped apart by out of control energy. Emanating from the third floor. From Cassidy's room.

Starbridge came out of the vision in a cold sweat, sitting on his bed in the night. He closed his eyes again, took a deep breath, got up, threw on his dressing-gown, and stepped out of his room and walked toward Cassidy's.
He knocked quietly but firmly.

nextgen_citizen:

Torn Ear had been greatly enjoying his stay with the X-Men. He felt he was learning much about human life. He'd even started wearing their clothes, even if they felt like they were strangling him sometimes. (Only elders wore this much cloth or hide... what was with humans and obsessing about being covered?)

Still, he didn't go out of his way to stifle some of his habits that he thought of as perfectly natural. Of course hunting had been shut down, as requested by Chieftan Xavier, but other things persisted. Like sleeping in shorter intervals than just one long period. It was normal for him to just doze, half wake and wander somewhere else, then lay down again.

Which is why anyone wandering the halls early in the morning would find him curled up on the floor, sleeping peacfully, outside Rachel's room.

gildedcage:

Starbridge came out of the vision with a gasp and reached for his glass of water.

It had just a brief set of flashes, down a single path, this time. Of chasing after some Shi'ar warrior, through the halls of the Institute, and calling him a jackass. Starbridge, as he reflected, couldn't place the person, although he bore a passing resemblance to his royal cousins on his aunt's side. The guy had had Throwback hands, like Deathbird, like Starbridge.
Then Starbridge realized that 'his own' outstretched hand in the vision hadn't been his at all. Shorter fingers. Thin, frail nails.

Maybe it wasn't a vision. Maybe it was just a dream. After all, what could possibly be expected in that possible future, that Starbridge would have cosmetic surgery to get human hands?

mishaloganovich:

Misha flew back to New York after his overnight stop in Moscow to see Mom and Grandpa Ivan. He was there only long enough to shower and change before he packed the stealth suit into Darlene’s trunk and headed out to the institute. He didn’t see Justin at the penthouse, so he left a voice mail saying he wanted to get together and talk. Stark’s words were still fresh and Misha was smart enough to at least explore the idea the man had about asking for Justin’s help in tracking down Weapon X.

On his way home, he stopped at the pizza place in Salem Center to order two dozen pizzas to take back. While they had a hard time getting delivery at the Institute, the place was happy to do carryout orders for them. He was the main culprit for carryout at the institute, and always willing to share.

Arriving home, he carried it all into the dining room and put out the call that there was food and it was getting cold.

gildedcage:

The visit Starbridge had insisted upon had been quiet so far. Time with his father, readjustment to the general Terran and specific Xavier's environment. Trying not to impose in any way on Rachel at what must be a difficult time.

He'd just been playing chess with Moira Hrimharisdottir in the library, and when they were done -- one game each, and one stalemate -- and she said goodbye, he lingered, staring at the board, at his safe-but-trapped king.

"Lovely metaphor," he muttered to himself.