mishaloganovich:

"Ev'rybody says so." Eight year old Misha tossed his ball up and tried to catch it in his new mitt. "Mommies and Daddies have to be married. So I can't play house with you girls."

nextgen_shield:

The X-Men had informed Shield of the resurgence of the U-Men and since then Donnelly had feelers out to see how extensive the organization was. While on one of these searches some unexpected information fell into their laps. He quickly put in a call to the X-Men.

anyastark:

Anya had been planning Misha's birthday present for some time. It had taken some time to get it set up, but she had managed to get it ready by his birthday. Well, Sunny did most of it. Anya did take Nick out to shop for a present for big brother.

She picked up Nick and the two of them drove out to Xavier's to pick up Prince Dork.

_tsunami_:

Cait entered Sylvie's bedroom and feel back on the bed with a smile on her face. "Life's pretty damn wonderful," she said. She looked at her best friend and grinned. "Hi!"

marvel_girl:

The Blue Area of the Moon

Dusty, nearly lifeless, the remains of what might have once been a mighty civilization.  The Moon today was a battleground.  The X-Men had fought and fought hard for their friend, fought against the might of the Shi'ar Empire and their Imperial Guard.  But for all their fighting, they had doomed themselves anyway.

"Come then!  You fought for this!  For me!  You deserve a chance to behold me in all my glory!"  Flames of psionic fire danced around her, forming into the silhouette of a bird.

"Rachel, please!"  Cait Drake formed what little moisture there was in the air into ice, trying to immobilize her.  "We're your friends!  Let us help you!" 

"Ice, Cait?  Against the fire that beats with the hearts of stars?  Why do you ever try?"  Flames leaped from her hands, incinerating her friend.

Vlad came up behind her, but she spun, blasting him with wave after wave of energy, stripping first flesh, then metal, until there was nothing left. 

Something landed on her back.  Fred.  Placing some device over her head, trying to cloud her thoughts.  Shane fired electricity into her, trying to shake her further.  She grabbed the lightning with her mind, pulling it into Fred until he fell, crispy and dead, to the lunar ground.  She took his pain, turned it back on Shane.  And she took his lightning, drawing more and more out, hurling it into space, until he had nothing left to give, in body or spirit.

A powerful bolt struck her, stunning her for just a moment.  "Really, Misha?  You too, now turn against me?  Haven't I been your friend? Your "wife"?  And you, David, no sense hiding.  I know how much you still care about me."

A fiery talon reached out and grabbed Misha, crushing him inside his iron shell.  Another lifted David from his hiding place, tore him apart.

And then something struck her mind, a piercing thought.   Radiant One... Please.  Do not do this...  I know you are not this.  That you are more than this Force!  You must fight it, before it goes any further...

"Starbridge?"  Her concentration and focus stopped for a moment, as the love of her life stepped into view.  "Please... stop me before I...  Foolish boy!  What is love to the Phoenix?"  She gestured, and scattered him to cosmic dust upon the winds.

She looked up from the Moon.  "Such a delicious planet...  I believe I shall have to sample it!"

And she did.  Seven billion humans, mutants, and others died screaming in fire, never knowing the reasons for their deaths...

And inside, Rachel Summers screamed, "NOOOO...  NOOOO....

"NOOO!"

Rachel sat bolt upright in her bed, drenched in swear and her heart pounding.  It had all felt so real.  She'd killed them all.  Killed Starbridge, Cait, everyone...

Third time this month.

She signed and got herself out of bed.  One quick shower later and she was still to wired to go to sleep.  So even though it was nearly two in the morning, she made her way down to the kitchen and prepared herself a glass of hot chocolate.

quadrimanial:

Sylvie rolled up to Misha's room and knocked on the door.

"Happy Ethically-Ambiguous Western-Hemisphere Holidays Day," she told him when he opened. the door. "Let's go out. Um... I mean, let's go out to Harry's and shoot some pool." Smooth, McCoy. Real smooth.

_tsunami_:

Cait was practically walking on air and she just had to tell someone the good news. That someone would be her best friend.

She went to find Sylvie.

quadrimanial:

Sylvie had not kept her cousin's birthday a secret, but she'd asked everyone not to make enough fuss to scare him.

No stranger to specially tailored pants, Sylvie left him a new pair and translations of some of the latest genetics research out of Europe.

quadrimanial:

"Okay. It's a werewolf movie, so I'm calling dibs on 'Shot of forming claws followed by shot of shirt-ripping followed by howlshot' for my center square. You'll have to put it on a corner and pick something else for center," Sylvie asserted as she crawled onto the couch next to Misha and the popcorn, her Bingo card in her hand in the process of being filled by both left hands.

_tsunami_:

Cait made a large batch of Sylvie's favorite cookies early in the morning of Sylvie's birthday. Along with the cookies Cait got her a new scarf, pink of course, and a new pink bracelet.

Humming happily, Cait went to deliver the gifts.

echokinetic:

After their little picnic and... the events that transpired during and after, Sasha felt sooner was better than later to break the news to Sylvie. As one of her besties, Sylvie would think she was hiding it if she put off telling her. Of course, the fact that the other party in this equation was her cousin, well, that was just another very viable reason why now was better than a week from now. Or never.

Regardless, she still wasn't looking forward to it. So she baked. Because really, bad news always went better with something to shove in your mouth. And Sylvie did love her pies. And her cookies. So... one pie and two dozen cookies later, Sasha was bringing her attempted-bribe to Sylvie's door with a soft knock.

_tsunami_:

Cait woke shaking and screaming. It was only a dream, but it had felt so real. She dreamed that she had been back in Sinister's lab and he had been experimenting on her. Though to her it felt akin to torture. He had done things to her that didn't happen when she was under his care, but she couldn't control her dreams.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, the scene shifted and she was Apocalypse's captive. It was ten times worse than being in Sinister's care. She screamed as Apocalypse started transforming her into one of his horsemen.

Cait woke screaming.

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.

The stars and celebrities are out tonight to help a good cause.

Donald Trump arrived with his wife and is one of many other famous faces to arrive. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Ryan Reynolds, Julia Roberts, Chris Evans, Patrick Stewart, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift are just a few celebrities who have made an appearance here tonight.

Miss Anya Stark, the organizer of this event arrived with Mr. James Rogers and both had arms full of gifts. Other public heroes are out in attendance and supporting a good cause. Members of the Avengers, Defenders, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four and other teams are in attendance.

This party also has royal guests. His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Mikhail Loganovich is in attendance with a lovely lady on each arm. Princess Nimue of Atlantis is here tonight and is being escorted by Mason Jeffries of Alpha Flight. Prince Mackenzie of Atlantis is also in attendance and is escorting Miss Andrea Denker of the Fantastic Four. Vincent Vernard, heir to Latveria, is also in attendance tonight. We even have otherworld royalty in attendance as the children of Thor are here tonight as well.

It is a night to have fun and help a wonderful charity."

anyastark:

For a lot of people the day after Thanksgiving meant hitting the stores and getting great deals on items that would most likely be Christmas presents. For the female Avengers and others the day after Thanksgiving meant a different tradition. They would gather and rate the hunkiness of the male members of the various teams.

Anya had sent out invitations to the females on the other teams well in advanced and made arrangements for food and refreshments.

Once the day arrived she and the Thunderbolts traveled down to New York and gathered at the Avengers Mansion. Anya readied the slide show and waited for everyone to assemble.

nextgen_holiday:

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.

_tsunami_:

Autumn had come to Westchester county in New York. The leaves were changing colors and the air had gotten considerably cooler. Cait loved autumn because it meant pumpkins and baking. Cait had been up before the sun and had started on her yearly batch of pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pies and pumpkin spice cookies. In addition to the pumpkin items, Cait also whipped up batches of apple spice muffins and apple crisp.

The kitchen was warm and filled with the smell of the baked goods. Cait had made enough for the residents of Xavier's and put together a care package for Corey and the Champions. Irina was going to stop by later to pick it up for them.

Cait worked on cleaning up the kitchen.

dark_scion:

 Fred was currently in the X-Men's lab, which frankly he pent the bulk of his time, studying some DNA strands he exposed to experimental splicing efforts. If it worked, it could be the first step in his efforts to use gene therapy as a means to stabilize human mutation. He scratched his ear, noting it had begun to become a little pointed at the tip, yet another result of his own unstable genetics. He put the thought out of his mind as he typed in some calculations.

quadrimanial:

When they got home, Sylvie thanked Misha, but decided right out to introduce Fred to Dad. Dad wasn't exactly hard to find.

dark_scion:

More and more Friedrich had grown disenfranchised with his family's methods of pushing the mutant agenda.  While Friedrich was hardly squeamish, in fact violence had little affect on him, but said action should serve a higher reason for the pursuit of mutant survival. While he wasn't sure he could say he loved his brother, Nicholas, he had a deep respect for him. The fact of the matter was, his habit of killing human sympathizers along with "wannabe-human" mutants seemed more petty than for any higher purpose. While Friedrich shared his brother's contempt for said individuals, in the end his continued crusade was not feasible.

His father was even more dissappointing. While Nicholas on some level may feel he's helping the mutant cause, Friedrich did not get the same impression from his father, no matter what he personally claimed. After long observation Friedrich came to the conclusion that his father was, in the end, a sadistic lunatic. He respected the man's brilliance, but his pattern of behavior increasingly confirmed the truth to Friedrich. The Dark Beast didn't care a wit about his people. To him "the cause" was simply a pretext to perform all manner of grotesque experiments to push the mutant genome. Not to help his people, but for his own curiosity and sick enjoyment. Friedrich's own modified mutations were proof of that. Granted Friedrich had intiated his own "inhuman" experiments, but at least they served a higher purpose.

Then one day, Friedrich believed enough was enough. He would never be able to properly aid his people within the confines of his home or with the limited doctrine of Gene Nation. No, he needed a new perspective. While leaving the only home he knew was difficult, it had to be done. So one day, with a disguise he'd been preparing to cover his animal-like legs and claws, Friedrich set out to find someone who could properly see to it his efforts were truly working for mutant benefit. Though in truth, he had little idea of where to go, hence his search. He had a few options, but wasn't sure which would be the most feasible.

Unable to make a solid decision without more information, Friedrich decided a visit to the library would be prudent. Perhaps there would be articles and studies he could utilize. He walked a little awkwardly, he wasn't used to walking like the average human, into the building. He made doubly sure nothing was visible before entering.

quadrimanial:

Sylvie liked her new pink Hello Kitty barrettes. Misha had had to excuse himself for just a moment, so she was turning herself around in her chair, taking in all the sights of the street.

_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.

hotlittlehands:

"I should warn you," Amiko told her colleagues, "My brother can be... very American, despite his mixed heritage."

And then the receptionist announces the visitors, and Amiko is rather literally jumping off the walls getting over there. "MISHA!"

quadrimanial:

Sylvie was downright gleeful when they touched down in Tokyo. Bright lights, big city! Fascinating linguistic differences all around her! After some prattling about this, she clears her throat. "So, hotel first, or Amiko's HQ first?"

_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.

mishaloganovich:

Misha's birthday gift from Dad, which included a stash of Mopar parts for Darlene, was a directive to go to Japan and check on Amiko. Phone calls were one thing, but Logan wanted a real idea of what was going on with a Deathstrike around and considered that his presence might create unwanted attention for Amiko. Misha, however, was a likable, friendly representative. Almost harmless in his natural state. And far too noticeable to the social media for almost anybody to have serious plans of kidnapping and torture.

Misha thought the idea would be fun. He liked Amiko a great deal and worried about her too. Sisters were delicate creatures, and if any of them found out he thought that, his life would be hell until they had something new to torment him over.

On his way upstairs to pack and make arrangements for the trip (as well as call his guard so she wouldn't have a tizzy), he found Sylvie making her way through the first floor toward the kitchen.

Idea struck bell tones. "Hey," he said. "I know I owe you a dinner out. How would you like fish and chips with a side of sushi?"

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

anyastark:

Brother Dork Number One's birthday was today. Anya wasn't sure exactly what the family plans were, but Anya was out at Xavier's in the morning to deliver his gifts to him. She had of course put some thought into his gifts. She couldn't get Misha just anything.

She got him a t-shirt that had "Professional Shopping Bag Carrier" on the front. There always had to be a joke gift. For his real present she got him a trip to Sydney, Australia for him and Lyta. First class all the way. She figured they were due for a real vacation.

She stopped by the garage to say hi to Darlene and promised upgrades soon. They chatted for awhile and then Anya said her goodbyes and headed up to the main building.

nextgen_misc:

The resort looked like any other Caribbean resort except for the people walking around. Some openly displayed use of their powers while others sported opening physical mutations. They laughed and talked, clearly having a good time, unaware that more sinister things were happening not far away.

When the X-Men arrive they will be greeted with smiles, but no one will have any information on their two missing members.

quadrimanial:

Sylvie and Corey had called each other about this. He was there that afternoon with a cake and a stone bracelet. Sylvie had a book full of pictures of ice sculpture.

Cait wasn't getting away without some celebrating.

from_hell:

Austin Caine wakes up the morning after the Auction, his head full of rocks and his mouth feeling like cotton. He'd gone almost two years without a drunken bender of any kind and he couldn't, for the life of him, remember why he'd wanted to get drunk. He was better than this.

Getting wasted like that was something Tommy would do.

( Read more... )( Read more... )</div>

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_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."

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.

_tsunami_:

Mid to late December was a busy time of the year and not just for the Christians. Saturnalia for Cait, Corey and Rufus started on the 17th of December and unlike Christmas that lasted one day, Saturnalia lasted for seven days. Tradition was to make and give out small gifts. Each year Cait hit the kitchen and baked favorite treats of the residents of Xavier's.

This year she hit the kitchen in the middle of the night. It was the only time of the day where there wouldn't be people going in and out all of the time and she could concentrate on what she needed to do. The hours slipped by and Cait worked quickly and efficiently. She made enough to give to Rufus to hand out as well. She knew her brother and knew enough to cover his back.

Morning came and Cait finished up and then cleaned up after herself. She didn't want to leave a messy kitchen behind her.

She went to deliver the Saturnalia goodies.

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.

indigogirl:

Gretchen needed it. She really needed it.

So she'd asked around among the Alternate-Xavier's kids (she should probably keep trying to stop thinking of it like that), touched on all the conversational points that made Rose more likely to go along with something, and was currently seated in a lovely little establishment that reputedly had great Asian barbecue as well.

Gott in Himmel, they had everything. Even the LeBlanc cover of the song she was looking for. That was good. She liked the more upbeat tempo, although she tended to sing the original, cleaner lyrics.

So the lighting near the little 'stage' area dimmed a bit as Gretchen strutted up for a very enthusiastic rendition of "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking."

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.

mishaloganovich:

Like his father, Misha did all his best thinking when he was moving. He ran five miles and turned up in the back to strip off his shirt and shoes, and dive into the pool. He pulled himself out and lay back on the concrete lip to keep thinking.

He was getting nowhere with it.

kidfuzzy:

The chapel at Xaiver's was smallish, but functional.  And it was where Mina found herself now, kneeling in prayer.  She was still in shock, truthfully.  And her father was like the walking dead himself.  He barely spoke, barely seemed to acknowledge the rest of the world.  At least her mom was home now, trying her best to help them both.

"God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.

Amen. "

Her poor brother, who had never quite seemed comfortable in his own skin, who had seemed so frightened and skittish so much of the time.  Her brother.  She never thought of the fact that they hadn't shared the same mother.  He had been her brother and that was all that had mattered.  And now he was gone.

An accident, they said it was.  She wanted to believe that.  Wanted to believe it with all her heart.  But none of it changed the fact that her brother was dead. 

"Faultless Lord, enduring death for me,
You have consummated the debt of my sins:
Your sacrifice of forgiveness was absolute!
Grant me the strength to also forgive others,
To excuse their transgressions against me.
So I may truly reflect this spiritual fruit,
Obliterate any persistent feelings of malice.
Let each trespass end as a closing chapter,
My continuing on the road of righteousness.
Forgive my sins as I aspire to forgive others.
You are truly archetypical of forgiveness.
You are a most forgiving Lord! "

sound_and_fury:

Cassidy Summers sits out on the porch behind the school, staring out at the forest behind the school. This place is bigger that the compound he lived in until a day or so ago, but his room is small. Too small. Some of the other students seem nice, others don't really say much to him, or ignore him entirely.

Do they know what he did in Georgia? Or what he did to Tina?

Could he get to the highway before someone caught him? 

He doesn't want to be rude to Rose and the others, because he's glad they saved him from George and the others, but he's an orphan with a power he can barely control. Professor Xavier told Cassidy that he had an idea on how to help him with that, based on something done for an ally of theirs once upon a time, but that solution will take time to complete. For now, Cassidy has to wait.

That's the hardest part.
 

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

quadrimanial:

The carefully modified dress was pink. Of course.

Sylvie had decided to talk Misha into Katra. Sure, the drinks list was technically longer than the menu, but it was still delicious stuff.

"Thanks again."

poof:

Sometimes, Ellie really hated being SHORT. Not only was it not much fun to have to look up to everyone, and came with about fifty million downright insulting nicknames (like Short-Stack, Shrimp, and Half-Pint, to name a few).

But it absolutely sucked when you wanted something that was out of your reach.

Ellie stared at the jar of cookies, resting at the top of the fridge.

This was simple. All she had to do was teleport up, grab the cookie jar, and then teleport herself back down.

Easy as pie.

Ellie teleported herself up to the top of the fridge. She reached to grab the cookie jar, not knowing that her leg was hanging on of the edge...

She slipped, sending her arm flying into the cookie jar, which landed down on the ground with a giant CRASH, shattering it into little pieces. Ellie hung onto the edges of the fridge for dear life, before teleporting back down in front of the now shattered jar.

Yeah...this didn't exactly look good.

kidfuzzy:

Today, Mina could be found in the gym, putting herself through what could probably be called a fairly intense workout, but what she just called normal.  Numerous rings hung by cables from the ceiling, each at a slightly different height.  She grasped them with hands, feet, and tail, something with just one of those, sometimes with some combination.  Sometimes she would swing, sometimes, she would treat them more like monkey bars. 

Finally reaching the end of them, she flung herself through the air toward the wall, kicking out her feet at the last second to rebound, grabbed the lowest slung ring, and started back the other way at just as frantic a pace.  At the end, she flung herself at the opposite wall, but this time adhered to it, rather than bouncing off.  She took a deep breath, pushed herself off, executed a mid-air flip, and landed on the padded floor below in a crouch.

She stood and took a bow, just in case anyone was watching.

digthefuzz:

Down in the Xavier Mansion Gym, one can find Jake on this calm Saturday afternoon. The fuzzy blue teen is dressed for a work out and jogging on a treadmill. He's got some music coming from his headphones but only one earbud's in a pointed ear.

As he jogs, Jake seems lost off in thought. This leads to accidentally tripping, falling, hitting the belt, and getting shot off the treadmill. Landing somewhat upside down, Jake blinks. "Ow..."

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.

poof:

Ellie could barely contain her excitement. She'd called Daniel earlier in the week and asked him if he wanted to come to the Institute to hang out for the afternoon. And he said yes!

She already knew what they were going to do that afternoon. It just so happened that Ellie was able to copy the codes to get into the Danger Room unsupervised...instead of having to hunt down Misha or Cait or one of the older students to let them in and set a training session for them. A baby level training session. That? Something that a baby could beat? That, just would not do. No, no, no, they needed something challenging! Something fun!

Ellie grinned. This was going to be AWESOME!

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."

dorthyjames:

With some free time, and finally feeling comfortable at school, Dorthy decided it was about time to do some independent practicing. Finding an empty classroom she put a copy of the Webster Dictionary on one of the desks and took a seat four desks away. It was hard enough to move something of that size, and to control its exact movements? Here goes nothing she thought as she concentrated on the large book. In her mind she was reaching out and grabbing the book, lifting it off the desk but nothing happened.

 

Cursing to herself Dorthy mentally shook it off and settled herself back into the chair letting all of her thoughts turn to the book. Steadying her breathing and reaching out to the book through her mind she felt it lift up. She shut her eyes fighting to get the book to levitate, putting all of her energy to the task. She could feel it lift off the desk and opened her eyes; focusing on the sight before her she heard a thump.