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!" 

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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_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.

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.

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.

nextgen_holiday:

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." JFK

In America today is a day for being thankful for the things in people's lives. Today was a day to celebrate family, friends, prosperity and health with food, family and friends. It is a time to reflect on what is important us and to recognize the gratitude we hold for having those things in our lives.

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:

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:

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.

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 found themselves dressed in Arthurian clothing. They were in an outdoor market place in the middle of Camelot. Nearby two young men are arguing one dressed finely like a knight and the other more humbly.

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.

brit_sorcerer:

Quinn had been a couch slug since the World Cup started. He slept, ate and breathed football since the opening game. It was only his favorite sport and he watched it whenever he could. He remembered his father taking him to Manchester United games for as long as he could remember. It was one of the few father/son bonding times he had with his dad.

Today he was in his boxers and stretched out on the couch. He had a six pack of beer, a plate full of fish and chips and a bag of crisps. He was set for the game.

Now to sit back and watch Greece play Argentina.

sophie_lebeau:


It had been a looong few weeks for Sophie. She had returned to the states and her home at the school to tell her parents she was joining a team in europe. There is no way I am allowing my teenage daughter to go live in some country with a group of men I have never met! Sophie had mentioned that her mother did know a few of these people, including some of the guys but it was still a battle. Her father was not by any means alright with the situation, but knew Sophie well enough that she had to do it.

She also told them about not getting into RISD, and her mother stated that she was running away from her problems. Sure the failure had been one of the things that sent her to help out in the first place, but already Sophie loved these people. They were all real down to earth people, that liked her as she was. Granted they could do without the power surges but they liked her non the less.

Having won the fight with some of her fathers help, Sophie was back on the other side of the pond ready to see a welcoming face.

glinting:

Tamara sat on the sofa, a mess of papers in front of her.

Currently, she was only in the United Kingdom on a passport. If she wanted to stay there and work, she'd need a visa. Mom and Dad had been great in sending her money to help her get started, but she couldn't leech off of her parents forever, or rely on her teammates to always be able to front her cash if she needed it.

But damn, that was a lot of paperwork.

Mother's maiden name....mother's country of birth....father's occupation....

Tamara heaved a sigh. This could take awhile.

nextgen_shield:

Dressed in street clothes and looking as non-threatening as possible, Rob Woolverton knocked on the Excalibur's front door. He had a pet carrier in one hand and a bag slung over his shoulder. He had left a message on Jenny's voice mail, but she hadn't replied. He took no response to mean she still hadn't forgiven him for objecting to her sudden move into what seemed to be little more than a coed dorm with a group of strangers.

Since he had this morning free, he decided to drop in and get a better idea of how things stood between them, and between her and her new acquaintances.

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

brit_sorcerer:

Quinn opened a portal and brought them all to Limbo.

They arrived in Limbo on what was a plain that stretched out in front of a castle. Nothing grew on the plain. It was dirt and rocks for as far as the eye could see. Demons moved about in the distance and along the battlements of the castle. For now they didn't notice the newcomers.

brit_sorcerer:

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Quinn screamed and sat up. It took him a few seconds to realize that it had been a dream. His breathing was quick and a little labored. Sweat beaded on his body and a chill passed over him from the cooler air.

What the bloody hell?

Quinn rubbed his face with both hands.

nextgen_russia:

The people of Russia were in a festive mood and they had reason to be. Their tsar, Tsar Mikhail Petrovich Romanov, was getting married to Duchess Tatyana Sergeyeva. The past few months had been spent planning and getting ready for this day. They were happy to see their tsar get married and would be even happier when the tsar and the tsarina had an heir. The newly restored Imperial family needed stability and the marriage today was the first step in providing that stability.

The wedding ceremony lasted over an hour in the Assumption Cathedral. Immediately after Mikhail and Tatyana were pronounced man and wife, Tatyana was crowned empress. The procession left the cathedral and the newly wed couple and newly crowned empress greeted the people from the Red Porch.

The royal family was given time to change and refresh themselves before heading to the Grand Kremlin Palace for the wedding banquet. Dinner was an elaborate affair and lasted for two hours.

After dinner the royal family and guests made their way to the grand ballroom for the ball. The royal family was introduced and then the tsar and tsarina entered. They danced the first dance together and then the royal family was invited to dance with their partners. The guests would be invited to dance in the next song.

brit_sorcerer:

Quinn stepped out of the portal and looked around. Avalon was almost a reflection of England on Earth, but there were still many differences. The inhabitants were much different and the cities were gone. Quinn looked at his fellow...teammates or just companions? He didn't know and at this point he didn't care much.

"Stay close. I'm going to teleport us to a spot just outside of Morgan's castle. Once we get there, expect resistance." He wasn't quite sure if Morgan was responsible for destroying Braddock Manor, but his gut told him it was her. He had sensed the residue from a portal to Avalon and this Morgan could have as much animosity toward Captain Britain as the Morgan he knew. A part of him wondered if it was the same Morgan and if this was the same Otherworld.

anyastark:


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

Hey Dork,

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

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

Let me know how many are coming.


Anya.

nextgen_misc:

The half moon was hazy behind high cirrus clouds and the air had a slight chill to it. The night around Braddock Manor was still and quiet, but it wouldn't last. A portal opened and demons poured out along with the stench of brimstone. They headed directly for the manor house.

Ripples of magic spread out from the center. Fire cut through the darkness. Demonic screams and roars shattered the silence.

When it was over Braddock Manor lay in smoldering ruins and there were no signs of the residents.