perenawska:

Irina opened a portal inside the Champions' Headquarters and she and the Salem's Seven went through it.

notafailure:

Dad had given her a quick ride back to Earth for a visit. And at her request, when she needed a Business Break from Denver, he dropped her off quite a ways away from home.
New Orleans grocery stores. So handy. One brown paper bag full of pralines, one filled with containers of pre-mixed spices. And just a quick trip to the liquor section. She's not going to buy anything from the liquor section. That would be illegal. But she's a paying customer of the store. And she's going to stand here with a notebook and a lot of staring as she sorts through the bottles of scotch and bourbon.
Jean-Louise sketches. She's checked the chemistry books enough to spot ethanol. But there's so much more to it than that.

quitethecharmer:

Vincent strolled down the streets of New Orleans. It had been years since he'd been in the city. Sure, all the super teams had done their part in helping with recovery efforts, but he'd never seen the city as unspoiled as now. Hm. City. It didn't seem like the right word. It was more like a town that just stretched on and on. It was charming, that way. Food, alcohol, and people. Even without demigod senses anymore the air was rich with smells; it didn't smell badly, just enormously. And there was music. Music just about everywhere. It was a nice place to take it easy.

Of course, he wasn't there to take it easy. He'd picked up the trail of something during one of his meditations, headed from New York towards this city. Nothing so heavy on the mystical scale of things that he felt like he needed to alert Strange or Mistress Jennifer, or sound an alert, but just... something there. He'd grabbed his general gear and followed in pursuit of it. He hadn't been out in the field on his own enough lately, so a tracking expedition was certainly something he could use. Honestly, he was glad for the diversion. He'd been feeling stagnant as of late. Sure, school was progressing nicely, and he was even starting to make peace with his duties as the heir to Latveria, but he'd still been unable to shake the feeling that he was still just following a course someone else had set out for him.

Maybe... maybe it was time for something else.

His introspection is halted by a string of shrill squeals from a nearby bar with a 'Ladies Night' banner over the door. A bit off the pitch he'd expect for just drunken partying. Harmless but ridiculously bright bolts of green and blue light start hurtling out the windows and swinging front doors. He set his jaw and ran for the door, only to get bowled over by a sudden tide of humanity pouring out from it. He was completely blindsided, and ended up knocked on his rear. He caught site of the people fleeing. Each of them had something changed in their eyes. One green, one blue, devoid of any features. The partiers started going mad up and down the street. Senseless damage, tearing of clothes, and all manner of singing and screaming. Not malicious, but overwhelmingly vast, and spreading.

"...Oh Hel..." He knew what it was now, and he was going to need backup to contain them all.

aceofhearts:

Etoile planned a trip with a few friends to luxury resort to Bora Bora. Suddenly her friends backed out due to personal reasons. Etoile wasn't going to let this stop her from going on a much needed vacation. She packed up what is needed for her trip and took a very long plane ride and soon a boat ride to get to the main island. This island would have one of the best luxury resorts.

She suffered from a bit of jet lag, immediately she after getting set up in her little hut. She slept a good day, a very much needed rest. Etoile freshened up, slipping into one of her many bikini's, pulling on a pair of short-shorts and a tank top. Today would be the day for her to get her munch and sunshine on.

This place is pure heaven right now. She is glade she came here, even if she is alone.

devilonstrings:

Jo spread out a blanket and took her sneakers off. Even if she could still feel the grass crunch underneath her weight, it was a stretch of unseasonable warmth, and the sun was shining. She was able to dress relatively lightly and get out to enjoy the day. Ferries in the distance, tourists and day-trippers milling about, and at least half a dozen restaurants' grease traps filling the air from the middle distance. She was still in need of a new violin bow, but there was no reason she couldn't get out and take it easy while working on some arrangements. She digs out her notepad and gets to work, humming to herself, the notes carrying on the breezes around her.

aceofhearts:

Etoile's world has been thrown into a loop, the days she had suddenly appeared at the front gate of Xavier's. She was sent here, not only to escape from being caught, but to gain more help from Xavier. Also, she wanted to lead a decent semi-normal life as a young mutant. University, building friendships, possibly love? Mainly, she wanted to be a part of the X-Men team. Both her parents were part of them for years, she felt the need to follow along.

( Race, life's a race, and I'm gonna win )

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?"

fullmoonfever:

New Orleans. Not one of Greg's favorite cities. It was usually too warm, too humid and the smells were almost overwhelming. If he could have avoided it he would have, but his prey had come to this cesspool and Greg had no choice but to follow.

A vampire had left a trail of corpses in Seattle and Greg had gotten close. The vampire fled and Greg had tracked him to New Orleans following the corpses the vampire left in his wake.

Greg stood outside the club he had seen the vampire enter earlier and waited for him to come back out.

Unknown to Greg, someone watched him and had set a trap for Greg to walk into.

nextgen_adult:

Slowly news of the theft of the Quantum Mirror reached Akantha and she knew that it could be behind the erratic behavior of some of the world's super heroes. She booked a flight and then she was on the plane to New Orleans to visit the Champions.

starry_twilight:

The Starry Twilight concert had started off perfectly and the crowd was loving it and after playing songs for about an hour. It was at this point that they began using their instruments to start a riot with the massive crowd.

It would make for a great distraction while they went out and stole a few things they needed. Plus they would be out of the city before anyone could connect any of this with them.

orderofphoenix:

Moriarty was pleased that his plans were going so well. Then again he knew they would. He was Moriarty after all and all others paled in comparison when it came to brains. His plans were foolproof and in the end he would get what he wanted.

Today the object of his attention was Calabdbolg in the castle of King John in Limerick, Ireland. He was not at the castle, but he was keeping an eye on his team. No way would he put himself in danger or at risk of getting caught.

The team entered the building, but unknown to Moriarty and the team the silent alarm was tripped and had alerted authorities. In Chicago an antique dealer got notified of the robbery in progress and called the Champions of New Orleans.

perenawska:

Irina and Jenny returned to Nova Roma after checking out the shop in New Orleans and then in Chicago. Their trip had been unsuccessful in retrieving the knife, but they did learn a few things. Once they reappeared in Nova Roma they were escorted to Senator Aquilla's residence. There they were given a chance to bathe and given food to eat. After they were escorted to a room where Corey, Nick and Rose were waiting.

nextgen_parent:

Lucius Antonius Aquilla rarely ventured out of the city of Nova Roma deep in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, but his mission was quite urgent and had brought him New Orleans. His grandson Cornelius lived here with his teammates and Lucius needed their help.

With little difficulty he made his way through the city and eventually came to the headquarters of the Champions. He double checked the address and satisfied that he was at the right place he knocked on the door.

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.

irondragon:

It had been ten years since Rose had last seen America. She had been in a celestial city for all that time. She had been a warrior in training for eight of those years. For two years she had been seen as a warrior.

She had been respected. Then she had been told of a possibility for her future and that she could return to Earth now. Ignoring something that may be she focused on leaving.

Then on getting to America.

That was how she had found out about this cult. And the girl that was going to be killed to bring fourth a dark power. She couldn't let that happen.

So she got inside and waited. Waited for something to happen so she could free the girl and used her chi to mask her aura. She couldn't let them know she was actually one of the good guys. Not until the girl was free.

And suddenly it becomes obvious that she will have help. That shouldn't have her smiling this much but given the fact she knows she might not be able to take them all on at once she is strangely okay with this.

from_hell:

This post takes place after the events of "Spirits of Vengeance".


The pain of the transformation still hasn't worn off by the time Austin Caine regains consciousness. He sits up and looks at his surroundings as the sunlight streams through the window across the room.

First thing he notices is that this is a motel room, so he at least had the good sense to not crash out on the road somewhere. The next thing he notices is that the coffee table a few feet away has a bottle of vodka and a bottle of tequila on it. Both are about half full. Just a few inches from that is his handgun. Again, he'd had the good sense to at least keep the shotgun under the bed.

"That explains why I want to puke so badly..." Austin says to no one in particular, trying to pull himself off the floor. As it does, it hits him all at once.

The screams, the hellfire, the burning...fighting the man with the black coat and staff...nearly killing him...the sons of bitches that murdered Sarah...

It all combines to send Austin scrambling for the bathroom, where he gets sick for a time.

sandcastlegod:

Corey faced it. She deserved to know. He had to tell Marlow about this. So he called, holding the geneology sketchbook with him.

vicious_cycle:

The couple dates so far with Aine have gone well. There was drinking - lots of drinking - and they're both flirty, outgoing drunks. There was karaoke, there was table dancing. All in all, this worked.
Relations with Irina are, in Nick's mind, perfect. No strings, no fuss. Lots of vodka. Now and then, she shows up naked. It works, and she's right there.

Dating Aine, on the other hand, is kind of a pain - she's on the other coast, and he's not a sappy e-mails kind of guy - and suspects its not her style either. He likes the drive, but it still takes time. And, then there's the fact he knows a teleporter.

He called to set up a meeting at one of Aine's favorite bars, and let her know Irina was coming along - drinks were on him. After all, if she's likely to have a huge problem with the fact that he's sleeping with Irina, at least while they're in casual stages, then dating a demonblood likely isn't the best idea anyway.

sandcastlegod:

The little voodoo shop off Rampart was packed full of aesthetically fascinating stuff. Corey couldn't resist. Besides, from what he knew of it, the religion itself -- if not necessarily some of the associated magical practices -- made a lot of sense to him. Pouring out the first sip of milk or wine, offering up shot glasses of rum... he could connect.

He picked up a book of voodoun iconography and dusted it off. Under it was another, dustier book, the leather cover all scarred. Corey picked that up, too, and opened it. Oooh, nice pictures! All sketchy and... bizarre. Not quite Escher or Geigeresque, but interesting. There were family trees the back sections, with hand notes. ...And then Corey spotted the name 'Nicholas Scratch of New Salem.'

Wasn't that Nick's father's name? His really disgusting babykiller-wannabe father?

"Celeste, how much for the freaky antique history-sketchbook?"
"What? Oh, that. I don't even know where that came from; it was Mom's. Let's just price it the same as the art books."
"Okay...I think I'll take it."

super_wren:

Nick was coming up for a second night and Aine decided to do something a little different. Aine had told all her teammates and other friends that she was going out to a club she really liked with Nick if they wanted to come. She has also told Nick he could invite some people up with him if he wanted and she was pretty sure they could stay the night at the WCA HQ.

sandcastlegod:

The sculpture was coming along beautifully, but was resulting in Corey's keeping odd hours. It was around three a.m. when he stumbled to the kitchen to fix himself some chili-cocoa. He soon noticed he wasn't alone.

"Harmony? What's wrong?"

nextgen_misc:

The moon was rising over the city of New Orleans, however, it wasn't the only thing rising in the city tonight. Corpses were rising from their resting places and starting to move through the city. Decaying flesh hung from rotting bones as they shambled through the streets. At first the tourists thought it was a joke or some sort of production, but when the zombies started grabbing tourists and started biting they knew otherwise.

Elsewhere restless spirits moved around and in their anger and anguish stirring up objects and moving them around. Some discarded trashed hit tourists and sent them running. The spirits were encouraged by this and became more and more violent.

The source of this unrest moved through the streets behind Baron Samedi in the form of a cult. He controlled the zombies and the spirits and they had summoned him. The leader of the cult was quite pleased at the chaos that was now present in the streets of New Orleans.

perenawska:

Corey's birthday was easy to remember. Fittingly, it was on Earth Day and Irina and Lyta had been /planning/. Corey was like a little brother to them and they were going to make sure that his birthday was celebrated with a big fuss.

Irina left the catering and party supply part to Lyta. Organization was not one of Irina's strong points, it almost wasn't a point at all. Irina took care of the guests. She had delivered invitations to all of Corey's friends in Westchester and his family in Nova Roma last week with a promise to transport them if they wanted to go. She didn't mind playing taxi for events like this.

Corey wasn't hard to get a gift for, but the kid didn't think much about new clothes or shoes for himself, so in addition to an Ark Irina got him some clothes and shoes. She also got him some shade-grown chocolate bars.

When it was time, she went to fetch the invited guests.

super_wren:

After all the craziness that the past month has had with the dimensional or time displaced or whatever it was she didn’t really understand it avengers getting back. Then there was preparing for and doing the big move over to the west coast and getting set up there. Aine finally had some free time to have some fun and since Luna seemed like she really had to catch up on her reading she decided to be nice and not drag her out to do something.

When the guys did their rate the babe event that bad boy looking guy that she had rather liked and though looked like a lot of fun from rate the hunk had left her his number in to give him a call in case she might want to do something.

Which was exactly why she was giving him a call right now.

ng_avatars:

Wrath, being the most feared of the seven, led the ceremony in the abandoned warehouse. The seven demons stood around Harold Jenkins and chanted while their followers stood in a circle around them. Harold was a criminal of the worst sort and had just finished killing a family of four when the demons grabbed him and offered him great power. They chanted along with their demon masters.

Wrath held the Medallion of Power and with it they would being a new Vengeance into the world. This one would serve them and their goals and hopefully distract the Ghost Rider and his companions. The city wasn't big enough for the demons and the Champions and New Orleans was the perfect city for them. Vegas was too showy and over the top for most their tastes.

The voice rose in volume until the ceremony reached it's climax. There was a bright burst of flame around Harold and when it died down Vengeance stood in place.

"Go," Wrath said. "Your job is just beginning. There is a city awaiting you. We have even provided you a motorcycle."

Vengeance nodded and climbed onto the waiting bike. The bike roared to life and Vengeance rode out of the warehouse.

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.
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
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+

Anonymous entries accepted.

nextgen_holiday:

Christmas. Yule. Saturnalia. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. Many cultures have celebrated and still celebrate a winter festival. There have been many names for it over the millennia. No matter the name it is a time to come together and celebrate with feasts and gifts with friends and loved ones.

Each culture has a legendary figure who would deliver gifts to children during this time. In Russia and some Slavic cultures he is known as Ded Moroz, Grandfather Frost, and comes not on Christmas but on New Year’s along with his granddaughter Snegurochka, or ‘”Snow Maiden”. In the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe he is known as Father Christmas. In the Netherlands and Belgium he is known as Saint Nicholas or “Sinterklaas” and in France he is known as Père Noël. In the United States we know him as Santa Claus.

No matter the name or who is delivering gifts, it is the season of peace, joy and togetherness. It is the season for thinking about loved ones, friends and those less fortunate. It is a time to witness the goodness and generosity the human race is capable of. It is a time for peace on Earth and goodwill toward man.

next_avenger:

With Charlie gone and as a male member of the Avengers, in addition to being the leader, it was up to James to uphold a few traditions that didn't have to deal with battling bad guys. Though he had to admit that he would rather be fighting bad guys than doing this. It just wasn't his thing.

He wasn't as industrious as Anya, but James had managed to collect the necessary photos. It hadn't been easy and a part of him felt like he was cheating on Val.

Invitations were sent to the Avengers, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, Champions, Excalibur the X-Men and the Defenders guys.

With the help of Jarvis food and drink was laid in. James made sure they had a wide variety of pizza, chips, pretzels and drinks.

He loaded the photos in and took care of the security systems. The girls were not allowed to watch. Now all that was left was people showing up.

perenawska:

Irina had gotten to know Lyta pretty well in the past eleven months the Champions had been together, including finding out when her birthday was. The day had finally rolled around. Irina had gone with a pair of Prada Motorcycle Boots for if and when her boyfriend took her for a ride. She also gave her a card that promised transportation to anywhere in the world, a trip to the spa and a night of drinking.

She coordinated with Corey for the food for the celebration. Corey was cooking dinner and Irina had taken the responsibility of getting the cake. Finding Lyta's favorite kind of cake had been a little difficult to find out, but she had managed to do it. She and Corey got everything ready, assembled the Champions and called Lyta downstairs.

perenawska:

Irina and Lyta returned to the Champions headquarters and informed the other members about running into the visitor from the other dimension and that the bad Avengers were here and on the loose. It took a little bit of time to explain it all, but by the time they were finished their guests had arrived.

They were shown in and they all gathered in what was once the main room of the nightclub.

perenawska:

Their first planned shopping trip had been a disaster. Not the end of the world type of disaster, but enough of one to qualify as a disaster. Now that they had been home for a short while, Irina grabbed Lyta for another shopping trip. This one, however, would be in New Orleans. No teleporting or portals involved what so ever.

Shopping was an active sport and it required drinks and food. There was a pause from the day's activity to grab some food and a few drinks in the French Quarter. Irina let Lyta pick the place and within no time they were seated and cooling off with some potent drinks.

"The best part about shopping," Irina said with a grin before she downed her shot of vodka.

nextgen_holiday:

New Orleans was all about great food and Labor Day was a great excuse to indulge in great food. The Champions, like the other teams and people across the United States, were celebrating Labor Day. Their celebration was on the rooftop of their headquarters instead of on a beach or a lawn.

Having a teleporter on the team meant that they didn't stick to normal cookout fare. Food from all around the world was bought and brought back. Fruits, vegetables and all different kind of meats were prepared for the celebration. A table and chairs was carried up to the rood in addition to a large grill.

lytaworthington:

Through clever research (also known as sneaking a quick pick at her i.d card when she wasn't looking), Lyta had found out that it was Irina's birthday. While it wasn't thirty, twenty-nine was still a pretty big reason to celebrate. Lyta'd bought her a new pair of brand-new, top of the line throwing knives, and fully intended on taking her out drinking with anyone that wished to join them. It was all on her.

Small box containing the knives in hand, Lyta knocked on Irina's door.

perenawska:

Irina had to concentrate on the image that Lyta had sent to her, but after a few moments she had been able to open a portal to a spot just inside the main building. Her knives had been out and ready when she stepped through. They went flying through the air heading toward the two guards that had been standing near the door. The knives hit them in the chest and they fell to the ground. Stepping through portals and into trouble was quite common for her.

"Let's go," she called back to the others.

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

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

temperence:

It had been over two months since Alisa had come to live with the Champions, and she had changed during that time. She had grown a bit more confident in herself, her stuttering was close to being gone forever, she had gained weight and now looked a bit healthier, and she even had a steady job with good income. Alisa also took Nick's advice and had been attending therapy sessions in the quarter once a week, o help her deal with her past life on the streets of New Orleans, and various other traumas. Alisa felt like a whole new person, almost as though she were reborn and given a better life.

But despite all of these good things, there were still things that urked her. Argo saw her as some best friend, no where near a woman. Ennie refused to see her after his powers went haywire, and she had not spoken to him since. But her biggest urk was that she was still not an official member of the "Champions". She just felt like some live in mechanic at times, but there was no room for complaint. Despite these issues, her life was a 110% better than what it had been.

Dressed in a white tank top which was over a black bra, a pair of army green cargo pants with a black leather belt holding them up, and a pair of black army boots, Alisa was hard at work repairing a neglected Motorcycle engine. She could not believe how people would treat their property like shit. Then again, she came from nothing so when she got anything, she cherished and took care of it. Oh how she wished some of these bike owners could walk a mile in her shoes.

Brushing some of her long auburn hair out of her eyes, she attached a part to her wrench that would allow her to remove stripped bolts. Someone obviously tried to do a home-made repair on this bike, and just did more damage. Part of her wanted to call up the owner and yell at him to buy a new engine. The other part of her knew that with her mutant abilities, she could easily fix the engine... which would make a pretty penny for her, Nick, and the shop.

Turning to her little AM/FM radio she found, Alisa turned it to a rock station she had come to love, blasting "Unwritten Law's" song "Save Me" into the shop as she went back to work on the engine.

uneasy_rider:

There's some inborn sense telling her where to go, and she rides like she's never ridden before. Fully possessed, truly angry, and driven for revenge. Nick is back there keeping up with her, but as she cracks her 21st demon head and crashes through another set of gates leading down to Mephesto's deepest dungeons.

Most of what she picked up in church and reading the Bible was right. There was a lake of fire and souls suffering up demon rules, but this level is something else all together. This is where the Devil puts thought into tormenting the people that really pissed him off. These structures are meant not to torment so much as break and humiliate. One woman screams as she is gang raped over and over again. A proud man is surrounded by faces laughing at him, belittling everything he ever stood for. Another is kept with demon-pigs and forced to eat from a trough. Over and over, people - good people - are made to suffer. Both demon and rider snarl and press forward until they reach a strange quiet place in the middle of this insane place. A house - one of those big, fancy rich places looms in the distance like something from a late night movie. that's when she finally pulls over.

"Ah don't know how ah know," she says to Nick. "But Johnny's in there."

Gates crash closed behind them.

uneasy_rider:

Her first thought when she turns face up is that she got rolled somehow. Someth'n ain't stick'n, like where she was last night. Last thing she can recall, the Devil and some big fiery Ghost-thing were talk'n some lawyer stuff over her an' Johnny for what they'd done to save Daddy and that's when the world exploded. She'd like to write that off as a hangover dream, but that big fiery demon thing has a name and its talk'n to her say'n it don't know where they are either. the only thing it knows is the bike's here and this ain't home. Home is gone and now the apir of 'em are stuck in the French Quarter.

"Damn, Roxanne," she murmurs to herself as she flips up the kickstand. "Must'a been some weird highway."

temperence:

It did not take Alisa long to get back to the Workshop. The bus was not crowded, which allowed her to travel faster than usual. Non one seemed to car she looked like she took a jump in a river. The bus was always like that, going by a "Don't ask, don't tell" kind of policy. She dragged her backpack towards the workshop, which she left a couple of hours earlier.

"Guess ah can stay here..." She muttered to herself, using her key to unlock the workshop, then walk inside. She closed the door behind her making sure it was locked securely. "Non like Nick gonna know... 'ell, probably can do more work until ah pass out..."

perenawska:

Irina wasn't one for red hearts, chocolate or gushy romantic stuff. She was more the find a bar and drink vodka type. Which is exactly what Irina did and finding a bar in New Orleans was as easy as throwing a stone and hitting one. At least in the French Quarter anyway.

Irina grabbed a seat in the main bar of Pat O'Brien's and ordered vodka. Not a hurricane or any other fruity mixed drink. She was a simple girl with simple tastes.

nextgen_deviant:

The Eternals had always been a race that sought out the cold. It didn’t come as a surprise that their two cities of Olympia and Polaria were situated in the coldest climates on the planet. Olympia was in Antarctica, well secluded in a very desolate location. Only the most hardy and stubborn of humans would hope to find the city and even then the residents didn’t like interlopers.

The Eternals were a reclusive race, but there were a few who ventured out to mingle among their cousin humans.

Another race, the deviants, were another creation of the Celestial, were the enemies of the Eternals. They wanted to enslave the humans and rule the Earth. The deviants had always been stopped by the Eternals, but the shift of power was now changing.

The Deviants were stronger than they ever had been. They didn’t have the numbers they had had in the past, but now they had powers they never had. Powers that could now help them stand up to the accursed Eternals.

They climbed out of the cold waters and onto the ice shelf and headed for Olympia. An ally waited for them not far from the city.

Today was the day the Eternals would fall and the Deviants would start their rise to power.

vicious_cycle:

Zarathos had dealt with a lot of Murderworld, both with and without Nick. For the first time, he hadn't fought the demon off entirely, and that, just as much as the sights, smells and sounds he'd never forget still haunts him. While he's promised to be back, Nick has been getting his few things together for a road trip. Open road, strong drink and time to forget is just what the situation calls for.

ng_murderworld:

The van that turned down the street in front of the Champion's home looked like any other brown delivery truck. Black and gold letters painting it's side and a man in a uniform consisting of a hat, button-up shirt and shorts the same drab color of his van looking as bored as one could with his job. The van stopped just short of the former night club's entrance. The delivery driver turned around in his seat and rummaged around for the small package he had for the inhabitants.

Hopping out of his van, 10x10 box tucked under his arm, he headed to the door and rapped on it three times. Not waiting for an answer - there was no signature confirmation requested - he set it on the top step and went back to his van, signed off on his clipboard and started the vehicle up.

By the time the door to the old club opened, he was already driving away to carry on with the rest of his deliveries.

The brown cardboard box, ten inches by exactly ten inches was addressed to The Most Worthy 'Champion' and weighed perhaps three pounds at the most. There was no return address.

sandcastlegod:

They'd started moving into the renovated abandoned restaurant/nightclub covered scrap metal. Corey'd even arranged a recycling dumpster next to the regular one. Once the kitchen was finally covered in his explanatory signs -- one explanation of food storage and recycling having the very direct heading 'You Will Not Waste' -- he took an awful lot of sorted bags of packaging out to said recycling dumpster.

vicious_cycle:

Its been a long ride, though as the Rider goes, a fast one. The trail led him, eventually, to the outskirts of New Orleans, and, of all things, an abandoned amusement park. Before exploring too far, he lets the flems die out, returning to his mortal guise, and hits the nearest payphone to let the team know where he's at.

nextgen_misc:

"Today we cut the ribbon and open a new shelter for the homeless here in Manhattan. The facility has two hundred, yes, two hundred beds and a kitchen that can feed all of them. New York will not ignore the homeless any longer. They are citizens of our city and we will help them."

The crowd around cheered.

"This is but one of five shelters, one in each of the five boroughs, opening today. These shelters are but the first of new shelters that will be opening here in this great city. I urge all New Yorkers to volunteer at these shelters and help your fellow man. There are some that call us New Yorkers rude, arrogant and cold, but I say they are wrong and it is time we show them how wrong they are. Show them by being generous with your time and energy. Show them what it means to be a New Yorker!"

The crowd cheered again.

perenawska:

The cold winter wind blew through the streets of New York and over rooftops. The cold and the wind was a sharp contrast to the warm Southern California weather she and Argo just stepped out of. She immediately spotted Nicholas.

"Are you okay?" she asked Argo. "Sometimes people do not react well to teleporting."

vicious_cycle:

So a bet was laid before him, he'd have to catch her when she had no clothes. He can't help but take her seriously. Rigging the locks to the bathroom was no big deal. She's also had some long days, and he's plenty quiet, so he's pretty sure making off with every item of clothing, the towels - pretty much every scrap of cloth but the washcloth she was using for her shower went unnoticed.
Ok, so sure, he could have peeked, but that isn't half as fun as listening to her reaction.
Everything is laid out neatly on her bed, her blades haven't been disturbed, and so on, and sure, she's a teleporter, but he's pretty sure she's not going to go anywhere that way if its not an emergency and she's unarmed.

He settles in a bit down the hall, sipping at a cup of coffee.

nextgen_holiday:

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 New York’s own 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.