nextgen_misc:

General Kendrick stared at the phone for a time, almost as if willing it to give him an answer that would solve everything, but in the end he knew there was no easy solution to this. In war sometimes you had to make sacrifices in order to achieve a more important objective. It didn't get more important than this. Finally with a sigh, he puts in the call to the Genoshan Embassy.

ng_xtremists:

Cape Citadel, Florida, home to a portion of the United States nuclear arsenal.  Notable for being the first public target of the then-terrorist mutant Magneto and the first public appearance of the X-Men who battled him there.  Not especially remarkable in and of itself, but quite notable in that the events there first brought the idea of mutants and the causes involved to the public attention.  It was a day that changed everything.

In the decades since, the stock of mutants has risen and fallen, sometimes with a fair amount of public support, sometimes with even those who called themselves heroes a little afraid to show themselves in public.  In the time since, Magneto had gone from a wanted and hated terrorist to a leader of men, with a nation of his own.  The X-Men continued their fight for mutant rights and equality, trying to show the world that they to, could be heroes. 

Today... today was going to be a day for the history books again.

It began with a flash of energy in the middle of the base, a teleportation device, and the appearance of seven women.  One, monstrous like a giant frog.  Another, taller than all the rest and built like a truck.  A slender, pale woman in red and a similar looking woman with blue hair.  Another, a blonde, staying at the fringes.  Another, a beautiful red haired woman.

And last, in crimson and purple armor, cape trailing behind her, and dark helmet upon her head.  She floated on the air on currents of magnetic force, looking at the world like she owned it all.  In scant moments, they defeated the soldiers who came to challenge them, mutant powers making it all too easy.

One of the others, the frog-woman, pulled out a small, camera-like device and pointed it at her.

She raised a hand, and a magnetic force field sprang into existence around the base, bent just enough to allow her transmission through.  It would soon be appearing on every television in the country.

"People of the United States, I am Magneta, daughter of Magneto.  And for too long have you oppressed our people!  Today, as my father once did, we mutants strike back to take what is ours!  My X-Tremists and I have seized your nuclear arsenal.  We demand the total surrender of your government, or else I shall unleash them upon you.  Today is a call for all mutants to join us!  Rise up!  Rise up and join our cause!  Cast down your human oppressors!

To the government of the United States... you have twenty-four hours to abdicate.  You know what shall happen if my terms are not met."

The transmission ended there.

nextgen_misc:

Gbadu and her followers gathered outside a small unknown temple in the desert near the ancient site of Akkaba. Inside one of the ancient temples the mutant known as En Sabah Nur lay in a state of suspended animation. Today they were here to awaken Apocalypse and unleash him on the world.

treadlightly:

They'd done their scouting. They've put up all the defenses they could, and put themselves in a position to attack. Buck has reviewed what they have on hand, and the situations exploding around them.

"Alright, folks, thank you for your patience. I know its been a tense situation waiting and doing patrol work... but I think we've identified some key points in the enemy strategy. We're still going to have to be careful. We're dealing with major influences here, but...

Alpha Flight... and their current guests, should be obvious. There's every sign that more of the Great Beasts will be awoken... that's a top priority situation.

X-Men... and the Genoshans - in following up the uprisings earlier, we've identified a 'Cult of Apocalypse', who took the whole massive fight before as a sign its time for En Sabbah Nur's awakening. We've located some of their likely strike points, your leadership has marked maps.


Champions and Thunderbolts, we've located a massive danger in the Red Lord. Its been determined that it will likely take both teams to deal with it.

Nightstalkers and Big Hero 6, we have a second target of the same type, Sakhmet. You two are on that.

SHIELD will be picking up on all of the general monitoring, crowd safety and control, and other work we've been doing in the lead up to this.

Finally, Avengers, Defenders and FF - you're with me. We're targeting the masterminds behind this.

Any questions?"

nextgen_misc:

Once the Champions returned to their headquarters and destroyed the Quantum Mirror returning all the heroes to normal. Once that was done they called a meeting of the superhero teams. Irina transported the Champions to the Avengers Mansion and volunteered to provide transportation for the other teams.

not_adorable:

The first thing had been Gio's insistence that the dinner take place in Genosha, for security reasons. That had been a non-issue for him to agree to. Then there was some discussion of a menu, and the headcount range. The seating arrangement had nearly been the source of a small anxiety attack, before Andrew helpfully intervened.

It had taken multiple jumps, both the day before and the day of the dinner, but Angelo had assembled everything he needed for dinner. Mother's kitchen was the next best thing, of course, but it wasn't his kitchen. Besides that, there was a balance of ingredients he wanted to buy the day of, fresh, rather than drop them off the day before. Genosha was, of course, the most beautiful country in the world, but as Andrew had pointed out, it was somewhat lacking in cattle, and even some poultry. It was amazing what putting together a large scale tapas-French fusion meal did to calm his mind and keep it off the Worst Possible Outcomes of the dinner.

Plus, his girlfriend loved watching him prep and cook, which made him feel wonderful. True to his word, he'd let her help to the best of her ability, which also included making sure Mother didn't lift a finger so far as dinner preparation went. He left it to Andrew and Gio to handle any interim small-talk until he put the first course, a simple set of salads, out.

He gave Charlotte a brief kiss before they headed out, ringing a dinner bell before grabbing the tray of dishes and heading to the dinner table, set for a very decent number of people. Angelo, Charlotte, Gio, Andrew, Sengai, Rikki, Simon, Magneto, Paris, Carmella, and three extra seats kept ready in case Alex, Lorna, or (for a very slim chance of likelihood) Raven made themselves present.

"Dinner, is served."