anyastark:

Anya paced back and forth in the small cell. She was bored. Lady Mandarin and Temujin were gone, but she was being kept here for observation for awhile. At least they had given her the (modified) Kindle she owned.

Though right now she was tired of reading. She just wanted her laptop. If she had her laptop she could be writing code and right now she'd worship the person who brought the laptop to her. She could at least distract herself a little better not to mention get some of the projects she had been meaning to do finished.

She had hoped Sarah would be down to visit so Anya could beg for forgiveness. It tore at her heart and her soul what she did to Sarah. There was penance that needed to be done and forgiveness that needed to be begged for.

They could have at least given her a cell phone so she could talk to people.

Anya grumbled and kept pacing.

dream_catcher:

Everything is still, everything is quiet, aside from the gentle ripple of the water and the crackle of the tiny fires. Lucas sits within a circle drawn into the frozen earth, blessed by the shedding of his own blood as he worked his fingertips bloody doing the carving all by hand, marking the ritual site with his vitality, freely given.
The elements are here in abundance - water from the nearby lake. The frozen ground he sets upon. The tiny fires lit at north, south, east and west marks of the circle.
The Lady Mandarin lies within the circle, stripped of all Earthly things, spread-eagled with her arms pointing northwest and northeast, and her feet pointing southwest and southeast exactly, for she is not right with the world, nor in balance. All of the others have been forbidden to come anywhere near the rite or where they might see it, whether to ogle or whatever other purpose, even her family, though Moira and Danielle have been permitted to stand watch some ways off, just in case. Beyond that, he would have no hostility here - but also no worry, no fear, no darker emotion which might touch the ritual. Those are for the people back in the school.

Anya has been painted in all-natural green dyes here and there, in markings vaguely representative of the Lady Mandarin persona and armor - but other marks as well. Dark marks of a mix of his blood and the stained earth color her eyes, that she might come to see the pure world, each earlobe that she might hear the mother earth and father sky whispering, her lips that she might speak the truth and without poison once more, her throat that the air she breathes might be pure and fill her with the essence of the father, over her heart that it might beat true and strong and pure, over her loins as the gift and curse of the earth mother's fertility where new life enters the world as the mother's greatest gift, over the right hand that it might do good works once more, the left hand that the right shall not be alone, to the sole of her right foot that it might know the mother's touch again and lead along the right path, and the sole of the left foot that it might follow. And a final crimson streak over her brow - when he has fought ten battles, there will be his final battlefield, if he can overcome this terrible dream that long.

Her head is cradled in his lap, both hands resting upon her brow as he goes into meditation, working his way into her troubled dreams, easing himself into the fabric of her mind.

anyastark:

Anger seethed under the calm surface of the redhead sitting in a holding cell at Xavier’s Institute, but she didn’t focus on it. There would be time to act upon it later. There would be time for vengeance after she got out of here.

Lady Mandarin looked calm and serene as she sat in a lotus position with her eyes close in the middle of the cell. Her mind was focusing on the nanites going through the computer systems that controlled the door and locks to the cell and the other systems in the building.

She would get out of here and free her lord from his prison. Then they would deliver vengeance upon those responsible for her lord’s capture and rebuild his empire.

She opened her eyes. It was time. The work done on the systems was complete. She was not going to sit in this cell a moment longer. She unfolded her legs and stood up. A deep breath and a simple command. The locks disengaged and she walked out of the cell toward freedom.

rogue_star:

From the tales of James Rhodes, and the Lady Mandarin armor, Sarah figures out where she's at. The Valley of Spirits, and within it, the palace of the Mandarin. For most, its a forbidden place, and for anyone, a foreboding one. Were it not for it being Anya, she'd likely hesitate here before encroaching further. "Oh Anya, what have you gotten yourself into?" she whispers.

She's gotten herself as patched up as she can. Her jaw is reset, though that was painful. Her rib is wrapped, her leg and forehead bandaged, both bandages already soaking through. Tomorrow, she's going to be one big bruise, if she even lives that long.

At her best, she's driven Temujin off, but he wasn't to be taken lightly. And this time, he has help, she doesn't, and she's definitely not at her best.

Still, she's healthy enough to announce her presence by taking Mjolnir to the front gates, turning them into splinters. Sure, she could be stealthy, but he probably has this place rigged with all manner of traps and security, and she doesn't want to be the one who gets surprised. So she sets to just demolishing things as she goes, to force Temujin to come to her or need a new castle.

"Release Anya, you bastard!"

anyastark:

Hong Kong. Macau. Shanghai.

Lady Mandarin and the Abomination had been busy carrying out the Mandarin's orders. There were pockets of resistance to the Mandarin's control of the Underworld in each city and the two of them were the means by which the Mandarin brought those resisting under his control.

They descended into Beijing and Lady Mandarin set Abomination on the ground before she herself landed.

It was time to carry out her lord's wishes.

rogue_star:

With the members of KISS given the power of rock, and Dr. Doom defeated, the Exiles begin to fade from the world...

Sarah wakes up with a splitting headache. She knows she's sore all over, but can't quite place why. There's a few faint memories of faces, but she can't put a name to any of them. Last thing she remembers was kissing Anya. She has a sense that was a while ago, but everything in between just isn't coming to her.
She's wearing a strange bracelet, but it doesn't seem to do anything - no clues to where she came here from, and no obvious way to remove it. The shield and hammer are in her hands, so at least that's good, though a sign she may have been fighting. That would explain the soreness.

Its daylight out, causing her to blink a couple times against the day as she wakes up more. Open countryside, nothing that will immediately tell her where she's at. Not up for flying quite yet, she starts with trying to stand up.

swashbuckler:

Steve was just a little worried.  He hadn't heard from Anya in a couple days, either by phone or e-mail.  He knew she sometimes ignored both, but...

Something in his gut, what his dad jokingly called "Hawkeye senses", though, was nagging at him.  And since the last time anything with Anya had happened it had nearly sent Toni into a panic, calling her was out.

So he was going to have to either talk to Anya's dad (scary) or her mom (more scary).

He picked up the phone and dialed the Stark's number.

nextgen_misc:

A text came in to Tony's phone from his daughter's phone.

Up for lunch? Meet me at my apartment at 1. I'll make arrangements for a place here in Cambridge. It's for a surprise for Mom. Love, Anya.

anyastark:

Boston, well Cambridge really, was nice enough but it just wasn’t New York. No place would ever be New York, but MIT was located in Cambridge and that’s where Anya had to be. Anya had enjoyed the past week in New York with her family and Steve. She even had some time to go skydiving with Halbjorn. It had been a nice week off and worth the hard work she had done during Independent Study to get that week off.

Classes started tomorrow. Anya had been looking forward to classes starting, but she did miss New York.

She looked at the new suit of armor she had brought up with her. It was currently stored in a small storage shed not far from her apartment. She couldn’t sleep so she decided to do diagnostics on the flight control systems. She wanted to take it for a flight, but due diligence first. Besides, there was that whole thing about being punished for the DUI thing.

Dad said she couldn’t use a suit, but he didn’t put any bans on building one. It would give her something to do when she needed a break from class work.

She frowned as she looked at the display. The flight stabilizers wouldn’t stay calibrated. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her watch. It was after two am and she had class at eight. Maybe it was time to call it a night and get a few hours of sleep.

She shut down the systems and exited the small storage area. She engaged the security system and locked it up.

nextgen_baddie:

Temujin was a patient man. He wasn't going to be rash and make a sudden move. All of his moves would be planned, calculated and deliberate. Right now he was content to watch and learn Anya's daily routine as she moved about Cambridge.

When the time was right, and only when it was right, he would make his move. She wasn't the only one he wanted to grab. The elder Stark would be taken as well and be made to watch what Temujin had planned for the girl. He would make the elder Stark suffer while he reclaimed his property.

Soon, he thought. Soon he would make his move. He just had to wait until the elder Stark and Anya had some quality bonding time. He knew it wouldn't be long. He could wait.

ng_zodiac:

Wen Leong sat back in his chair and locked his fingers together behind his head. Right now, thanks to Therese, he was in control of almost half the San Francisco underworld. It had taken time, but he was a patient man. Therese was very efficient in changing the minds of the leaders of the various factions.

Tomorrow he had another meeting with another leader. By the end of the day he should have control over another part of the underworld.

old_saint_nick:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Christmas Day is a Christian holiday, it's true, but it also has become increasingly secular. It is an opportunity for love, charity, and goodwill, even in New York City, arguably the most skeptical city in the country.

There is some debate within mystical circles if there is indeed such a creature as the embodiment of Christmas Giving known as Santa Claus. But whether or not there is such a being, the spirit of giving itself is very real, be it incarnated in a fat man in a red suit or not.

Throughout this small blue planet of Earth, people have brought trees into their homes, decorated them with lights and ornaments, and placed them in locations of honor. Stockings have been placed on the chimneys. And gifts have been placed under the tree.

Some are looking forward more to the receiving than the giving. But for many, it is the act of giving which warms them, which fills them with the holiday spirit.

Each person, in their own way, becomes a part of this spirit of giving. Each person, in their own way, becomes Santa Claus.

The Avengers mansion is decorated in lights, made all the more beautiful by the snow capping the roof and lying on the ground. As for the Avengers themselves...

ng_zodiac:

Wen Leong was satisfied with the progress he was making. Thanks to Virgo, he had complete control over one of the Tongs in San Francisco and was well on his way to taking over another one. He could have moved faster, but he was patient. He was in no rush to take over the Tongs all at once. Slow and methodical was much preferable than quick and possibly messy.

Wen didn’t want to attract too much attention. No one except Therese knew all of his plans and he wanted to keep it that way. He didn’t want anyone finding out or be able to predict his next moves. Deception was the key and the way to achieve his goals.

When he was done he would be in full control of the San Francisco underground.

ng_zodiac:

San Francisco. Home of the Golden Gate Bridge, Ghirardelli Chocolates, the Bay Bridge, the San Francisco Giants and the San Francisco 49ers, was the perfect city for Wen Leong to settle in and enact his plans. With Therese's and the others' help, it wouldn't take him long to take control of the tongs of San Francisco.

He had managed to make a few contacts with some local members and through them he had arranged a meeting with a higher up. It wasn't the man in control, but Wen was patient. He didn't mind slowly making his way up through the ranks. In fact, the slower he went, the less of a threat he seemed to pose to them. They wouldn't know what had happened until it was too late and he was in control.

"It's time," he said to Therese. "Let's go."

ng_zodiac:

Scorpio. Aries. Taurus. Gemini. Cancer. Aquarius. All of them had been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and were now imprisoned. Half of the Zodiac were gone. Another one, Capricorn, was back with the Avengers. It left Leo, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Pisces free. Leo had gathered the remaining members of the Zodiac together to talk about their options.

He had something in mind. A fresh start for all of them. Something that wasn't so fool-hearty and stupid as trying to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. Mikel was the one with big plans. Wen was the one who thought on a smaller scale and more realistically. He had been tempted to do what he had in mind alone, but having the others, especially Therese, there would help. She would make things easier for him and his plans.

"We leave for San Francisco tomorrow," he said as they sat around in the kitchen of the small apartment. Wen had set this up a long time ago as a safehouse. Now he was glad he did.

It was time to move on to better things.