brit_sorcerer:

The annual tradition of Rate the Babe was usually held at the Avengers mansion, but this year it would be held at Excalibur's headquarters in London. Quinn was more than happy to play host and set up refreshments. There was of course plenty of beer and it was accompanied by pub food.

Quinn was already on his fourth beer when the guys started arriving.

nextgen_misc:

Kal flew the ship to the rendezvous point to meet up with the other team. The affects of the time distortion were quite evident on the faces and in the hair of the members of her team. They all had more wrinkles and gray in their hair. Some were a little worse than others.

She brought the ship down on the small planet and they waited for the others.

nextgen_misc:

After the Avengers got the Kree into containment they headed into space to find out what was going on. Kal brought them to Titan and from there to Knowehere. They arrived suddenly out of the blue in the middle of the station. The alarms went off at the sudden appearance of strangers in the station.

anyastark:

Anya loved birthdays. Her own of course, but she loved others birthdays even more. Buck's just happened to fall on Labor Day this year which meant that Anya actually had the day off and didn't have to have Sunny work a miracle with her schedule. She was up before the sun, because sleep was something she didn't do well, and climbed on her bike. She drove the four hours down to New York and sent Buck a message to meet her outside Misha's warehouse.

nextgen_kree:

A small scouting party of five resurrected Kree came to Earth. They had come for one reason. To kill as many living beings as they could and swell their numbers. They descended upon New York City.

onearmofhydra:

Things were going according to plan. Viper was quite please by the way things were progressing. Alliances had been made. Plans were laid and the attack against the RenTech factory had been a great decoy. The real attack had been on another RenTech factory where working Zero Point Energy Modules were being stored. Once she had her hands on an energy source powerful enough to power the weapon scientists had develop she could initiate the next part of her plan.

The weapon was almost powerful enough to blacken a large city, but Olivia had other plans. More important plans. The ZPEM was put into the weapon and the weapon was on a large cargo ship in the Atlantic a few miles off the coast of New York Habor. The weapon was powered up.

A blinding white light shot forth from the weapon and blazed a trail across the sky. The light slammed into the Helicarrier, SHIELD's flying fortress.

While the distraction of the impact of the ion pulse slammed into the Helicarrier, a small flying craft came in right behind the blinding white light. It landed on the deck while panic and chaos broke out on the flying fortress.

anyastark:

Anya had the famouse "Stark Up To Something Look" (tm) on her face as the elevator doors opened. This had taken some planning and a quite a bit a lot of help on Sunny's part. The man was a godsend and Anya would never let him go. She'd sell her soul to keep him working for her if she had to.

"Come on," she said with a mischievous smile. She grabbed Buck's hand and gave it a tug.

fleetfootmac:

The call from Atlantis came in from Atlantis while Mac was working out at Avengers mansion. And so here he was, standing in front of the screen at a sort of parade-rest, hearing his sovereign cousin's information and instructions, and answering questions in turn,

"Understood, Majesty. I completely agree. This should be in and out, not take a lot of people. I can handle it. And honestly, Sir, I don't mean to sound chauvinistic, but Nim and Korra don't need to ... hear that kind of language, literally and not. I'll contact you when it's done, Majesty."

And with a traditional Atlantean salute, and the call closed, Mac just grabbed his helmet and got ready to head out.

nextgen_parent:

The S.H.I.E.L.D. field team would receive an urgent summons to report to the main briefing room.

nextgen_holiday:

"A simple 'I love you' means more than money." – Frank Sinatra

anyastark:

"Well it was a good game," Anya said to Buck as the clock wound down to zero. The Ravens won the game, though she had been rooting for San Francisco. Her team, the Giants, didn't make it and she wasn't a fan of either game, but she was a fan of a good game and it had been one. They had watched the game from a luxury box with a very large spread of food and a wide variety of foods.

She had invited Buck of course, but also anyone from the Avengers, Big Hero 6, Champions, Thunderbolts, Alpha Flight, Nightstalkers, Defenders, Future Foundation, X-Men, anyone else who wanted to go and she even extended an invitation to the Genoshan embassy. After saving the world on almost daily basis, they could all use some fun and a chance to kick back and relax.

anyastark:

CES was a BIG deal every year, but this year it was even a bigger deal for Anya. Stark Inc's computer division had a booth as usual, but right next to it Renaissance Tech had a booth. Anya was showing off the new operating system her company developed and hoped to get it some attention. So far it was working. People were interested and liked what they saw.

The best part about CES, outside the really cool electronic toys of course, was that it took place in Vegas. Vegas was one of her favorite places, even though she wasn't old enough to gamble. It wasn't about the gambling. It was about the lights, the shows, the people and the food. Of course the shopping was important too. Anya wasn't one to pass up a trip to Vegas.

It was a busy week for Anya and Sunny. There were lunches and dinners with industry leaders and a few celebrities that happened to be in town. Now it was Friday and the show was over and the weekend had started. A weekend in Vegas to relax was just what she needed. Along with her boyfriend. She had contacted Buck earlier in the week to see if he could make it out this weekend and was happy that he could. She had spent the week praying to whatever deity would answer that things would be quiet so Buck could make it out.

There was enough time after her last meeting of the day and the time Buck got here for a quick nap. It had been a long week. She hit the pillow and was asleep in no time.

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.

nextgen_holiday:


You are cordially invited to attend the 28th annual Maria Stark Foundation's Winter Charity event.

Four Seasons Hotel
57 East 57th Street
New York, NY 10022

Friday 21st of September
Seven O'clock pm - Midnight

Formal dress required.

Please bring a donation for Toys for Tots.


The grand ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel on 57 East 57th street was festively decorated for the holidays. A series of lit candles on every table gave off warm light and the dulcet tones of a jazz ensemble filled the room.

People, the upper elite of New York society, Hollywood celebrities, musicians, politicians and even superheroes moved around the room. People sat at tables and talked, while some moved gracefully around the large dance floor.

Tables loaded with unwrapped and unopened toys lined one wall and at one end stood a very large decorated Christmas tree. Wrapped presents sat under the tree, but they were just empty boxes wrapped for decoration. Mistletoe hung from the ceiling near the tree and people stopped to kiss.

The air was light and the mood happy and festive.

treadlightly:

So, Anya talked him into hosting this year... so Avengers Mansion is all set up for a proper party in the main lounge. Extra couches set around the giant screen, plenty of food - ranging from the chips and soda to the pretzels and beer.

The front doors are left watched, but open, and invitations have been sent out to the guys on all the teams the Avengers are in contact with... so... potentially a lot of people.

junoslace:

 She had slept alright the night before and the bed was more comfortable then her own. Now she was freshened up and ready to face the day in her favorite beige pants, purple button up top, black shoes and winning Stark grin. This was how her Tony taught her to take on new situations. She wanted to make a good first impression on what might be a team of people that she would be working with plus it was the Avengers, all her father ever talked about and her dream team.   She headed down to the rec room and hoped she wasn’t late.

anyastark:

The car arrived at the Avengers mansion to pick Buck up and take him to the airport where the private jet was waiting. A few hours later the jet would touch down in San Francisco airport where Anya would be waiting for him holding a sign that said "Buck Rogers" on it.

nextgen_misc:


You are cordially invited to attend

Terra Nova Charity Fundraiser

Twenty-Fourth of September Two Thousand Twelve

New York Botanical Gardens' Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

Seven pm until one am.

Formal dress required

anyastark:

Anya had done a little spying on Buck's car to determine what he needed for his car. True she had given him a birthday present earlier, but she wanted to get him something on his birthday. She made a list of what parts he needed and had them all delivered. When he went into the garage he would find the boxes of parts and a note saying happy birthday.

nextgen_misc:

The Avengers, future and present set off for Castle Zemo. Miranda and Bobby had tracked the unusual radiation and the energy signature of the stolen time traveling device to that location and it was now time to stop Hadelinde and her crew from destroying the future.

The plan was simple. One mixed team of bricks to cause a distraction and the other to sneak in and get the source of the radiation and the time traveling device.

nextgen_misc:

The Avengers, both present and future, had about two hours of downtime before they would regroup and devise a plan to go after Hadelinde and the Masters of Evil. It was time to get wounds seen to and to grab some of Jarvis' famous chocolate chip cookies.

anyastark:

Lunch had been spent with Monkey Boy and Price Dork. The afternoon had been spent with the parents, but the evening and dinner would be spent with Buck. She had made reservations at Delmonico's and even did a little shopping with Mom to get a new dress to wear.

When she was all ready, she headed over to the Avengers Mansion to pick up her boyfriend.

anyastark:

Anya always looked forward to Saturday and her time with Buck. This weekend instead of going out they were going to stay in, eat dinner and watch a movie or two. Buck also mentioned needing to talk about something. That worried her a bit, but she didn't think it was anything bad. The two of them saw each other once a week and Anya thought things were going well.

The Thunderbolts' chef had the day off and Anya had to opt for takeout. She went and picked it up and brought it back to HQ. She went to take a shower and came back to find the food gone. Someone had walked off with it. Dinner was missing and now Anya had to make something. Scrambled eggs it was. They weren't too complicated and she could manage them, right?

nextgen_monster:

Hadelinde was a bit shocked when a future kid, hers no less, showed up and told her of the bleak future. In the future she was in prison as was most of the criminal world. The Avengers had brought peace to the world and there wasn't a place in that world for her or her kind. The main driving force was a future Avenger called Solver Svalinsson, now an infant.

That couldn't stand. The future could not play out that way. She would make sure of it. The Avengers would not win, not as long as she was alive. She had to do something now to prevent that future.

The meteor that had fallen in Texas was the key to changing the future. Her son had mentioned the strange properties to her. In his past the Avengers had disposed of it by flinging it into the sun. Hadelinde had changed that by having her Masters of Evil steal it out from under the Avengers.

It had taken time and the lives of some test subjects, but in the end they had been able to harness the mutating radiation from the rock and get the results they desired. Each of the Masters of Evil's abilities were boosted to higher levels in addition to creating some very strong, almost indestructible mutates. It was time to test the mutates' abilities against the Avengers.

If this test went well, then they could produce an army.

Hadelinde had the mutates teleported to the middle of Central Park. She and the Masters of Evil would be nearby to watch.

anyastark:

It was a baseball game Anya couldn't pass up going to. Her beloved Yankees were playing the Mets and she knew people who would be interested in going. She sent out texts earlier in the week to Misha, Andrea, Mac and Buck to see if they wanted to go. It would be good to get out and relax and not think of work or anything else except the baseball game.

They would have the luxury box to themselves and Anya made sure there was a caterer. There would be plenty of food and plenty to drink.

nextgen_misc:

The small town of Hartley, Texas was not much more than a wide spot in the road that was situated about an hour northwest of Amarillo. The town was small and the surrounding area consisted of mostly ranches and farms and nothing special ever happened in Hartely.

Until a meteorite burned across the west Texas night sky and landed just outside the town on property belonging to one Martin Reynolds. Martin promptly hauled the meteor into town in his pickup. The townspeople all gathered around to see the hunk of space debris that had crashed to Earth.

The strange space rock was put in the center of town and over the next few days it was the center of the talk of the town and the focus of their attention.

charmedlife:

Oh, Bea couldn't be having with this anymore. Not after nearly 71 hours.

She found the number, got on the phone. "Hello, is this Buck Rogers, in whatever century is appropriate?"

nextgen_baddie:

It wasn't fair! He had spent so much time and money making himself invulnerable, to prepare himself to survive the inevitable nuclear holocaust. He had built an empire, amassing great wealth wealth and power. He had been opposed by the so-called superheroes and the idiots that represented the law. He had attempted vengeance but in the end such efforts had been unproductive. In the end, he had decided to take what was left of his empire, and retire to live out the rest of his life in peace, away from self-righteous fools that dogged him. He had purchased ownership of an unmarked island, and had lived there in decadent luxury. But now...

Now he was dying from a disease adapted to his body. None of his doctors could cure it. His invulnerable body worked against him as his unique immune system prevented any treatments from heading the illness off. He tried to contract underworld doctors into aiding him, but none could do it. Damon Dran was still a wanted man, but..he would need help from the so-called "legitimate" medical community. There was a doctor, Ian Lennox, who had invented a new kind of vaccine. Dran needed him. He gave the order for his people to kidnap the doctor.

He knew this would attract the hated "heroes" so he put in a call to Calvin Hammer, the Mastermind of the Secret Empire. He would need help, the cost seemed negligible at this point.

notinplainsight:

The scene shifted and Kalypso looked around. The buildings of New York had been destroyed and turned into rubble. The familiar landmarks and buildings were gone. Something had destroyed one of the greatest cities on Earth.

Kal looked around. Where were the Avengers? Why hadn't they stopped this destruction? Where were the Defenders? The X-Men? Any of the other hero teams? Why had they let this happen?

People moved about in the rubble and ruins and Kal desperately sought a familiar face. An elderly gentleman came up to her. He smiled and said her name, but she didn't recognize him. He said her name again and Kal took a closer look at him. "Jack?" No. It couldn't be Jack. Jack wasn't old and this man looked like he was pushing one hundred.

He smiled and nodded. Before he could speak again he started to age more and started turning into dust. "Nooo!" she yelled and reached out a hand. Jack turned completely into dust by the ravages of time and blew away with the wind. Kal's gut twisted into a knot.

There was laughing behind her and she turned to see her uncle standing there. The Mad Titan laughed and destroyed another building.

Kal reached out with her mind to find any Avenger left alive.

anyastark:

Anya was in a bad mood from the argument with Toni about Genosha, but she promised Jimmy she would go to the Giants game with him and do some tailgaiting. The Toni stuff could be pushed back for the evening. Tomorrow she could think about it and deal with it.

The game was in New Orleans which would make it a challenge, but nothing so simple as distance would stop a Stark. This would also be her first Giants game of the year which was a surprise. It was a testament to how busy her life was right now. Usually she didn't miss a game.

She had on a pair of jeans, her favorite boots, a Giants jersey, a matching turtleneck underneath it, and a Giants ballcap. She had a jacket with her as well since it was supposed to be in the mid-40s. It still wouldn't be difficult to recognize her, but maybe it won't be so bad. She was really wearing anything to make her stand out. Blending in was usually a good thing.

She checked herself in the mirror one more time and then headed toward Jimmy's hotel room. Bridget would have made sure everything they needed would be waiting for them downstairs in the rented truck. The woman was a godsend and Anya needed to give her a raise.

She knocked on Jimmy's door.

anyastark:

Anya entered the luxury suite her family always had reserved at the Four Seasons and went straight for the bar. She grabbed a glass and a bottle of vodka. She poured herself some and downed it one gulp. Her hands were shaking and she poured herself another glass and downed that one as well.

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.

nextgen_vampire:

Earlier in the day the owner of the farm, Henry Collins, was working on his farm. He was clearing some land to build a new barn for his cows. His old one wasn't big enough any longer and he had decided to build a new one instead of expanding the old one. Bulldozers and other heavy equipment had been brought in to even out the land he had selected as the site. During the day one of the pieces of heavy equipment unknowingly unearthed something that had been lying in the ground. The wooden stake that had been driven into the cow was knocked out.

When darkness settled over the Collins Farm that evening, the cow that had been unearthed rose from the ground seemingly alive. Bessie, as the cow was known, was free once more and free to hunt down the being that was responsible for her condition. First she needed to feed and make an army to help her in her quest to defeat the Lord of the Vampires.

She ambled toward the old barn and the herd of cows inside.

Three days later the cows that Bessie had killed rose from the dead. Bessie now had the first recruits in her vampire cow army. They went off into the night to recruit more members to their cause.