shield_legacy:

Tim would never let Sammy's birthday go by without celebrating it no matter where he was or what he was doing. He sent a text to her phone with coordinates and a time to meet.

Before she got there he'd have everything all set up. Two small tents, Tim would never assume anything, one with an air mattress in it for her. He knew Sammy wouldn't like sleeping on the ground. A nice sized camp fire was burning, coffee was made and there was a pot of chili bubbling in a cast iron pot. Tim also packed ingredients necessary for S'mores.

Now all that was needed was the birthday girl.

nextgen_holiday:

Each year toward the end of December people come together with friends and family to celebrate and exchange gifts. The atmosphere is light, merry and there is plenty of cheer to go around. Holiday music fills the air while bright colorful lights light up the nights. Mistletoe is placed in strategic locations and people are willing caught under it.

It's a time of celebration, even for superheroes.

anyastark:

Anya had spent Thanksgiving with her team and with her family. Early dinner in Boston and then dinner with the family in New York in the evening. It was great having two Thanksgiving Day dinners. The best part of the holiday after the food was the day after Thanksgiving. It wasn't for the shopping or the deals, but for the time honored tradition of rating the male members of the superhero community.

Anya had the rec room of the Avengers mansion all prepared. Pizza, snacks, drinks of the soft kind and other various items for eating and drinking were laid out. Electronics were all prepared for the event. All that was left was for the guests to arrive.

sammyfury:

Sammy Fury stood with fists planted on her hips and stared at the sign on Timmy's new clubhouse door.

PRIVATE. NO GIRLS ALLOWED.

shield_legacy:

Tim managed to get a few days off and he headed to New York. Working on Top Secret stuff didn't allow for much social contact with other people not working on the project. A few days off was just what he needed to head to New York and check in on his best friend.

He headed into SHIELD's public offices and straight for where Sammy was at.

sammyfury:

Along with the brain scans (to make sure it wasn't broken), and the body scans (to make sure the rest of her was healing), Sammy knew she'd have to talk to one of the psychologists. Her appointments were usually with Doctor Samson, but there were other, more important things taking up his time. She'd been willing to wait until he was free, but the deputy director overrode that by virtue of "because I said so!"

Sometimes it wasn't fair that Mom was the deputy director.

She managed to postpone it until after the funeral services were all attended, and then landed herself back in a med bed waiting for Dr. Morse to appear. Dr. Morse would be the one to decide if she could return to active duty. As far as cracked ribs would allow.

nextgen_parent:

It took a few days after the Helicarrier crashed - a few days to drag the river, check the hospitals...Nikki Coulson was MIA, presumed dead. Sammy had seen her in the lower levels a minute before impact, they'd been over the area with every scrap of tech and every ounce of man power SHIELD could scrape up looking for signs of life, and found none.

It had been a long time since Phil Coulson had been to the Helicarrier, and he didn't think it would be to try to recover his daughter's personal belongings. She had been a private woman, and the job....it had consumed her life for the last 10 years, there hadn't been anything else, Nikki had put every ounce of her time and energy into becoming a better agent - and now there was a hole in the ground with an empty coffin about to be put in it.

Stoic as usual, Phil waited in the back of the small chapel in Norfolk to greet the mourners, to robotically thank them, tell them Nikki would appreciate that they were there before the quiet service was to begin.

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.

sammyfury:

Sammy was still mad at Tim, but she couldn't let his birthday go by without some sort of acknowledgement. Not when she'd finally found the ultimate gift months before. She'd jumped through hoops to get it, invoked her father's name and still followed the rules exactly.

The rat hadn't even told her he was leaving SHIELD or where he was staying when he left! Some friend he was! But that didn't stop her. She had the three cases of Westvleteren Trappist beer delivered to the address she'd gotten from the deputy director. It was supposed to be one of the holy grails of beer and she thought he'd like it.

A card was included but not signed. She was mad!

nextgen_holiday:

“Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers and fathering is a very important stage in their development.” – David Gottesman

shieldbratgirl:

Nikki was up on the deck of the helicarrier, cup of coffee in hand with a pensive expression. She had had a cloud over her ever since her brother had left. They fought like...well...siblings, and she was constantly giving him a hard time but...he was her brother. Even if he was off in burocracy heaven...she missed her brother deeply, not that she'd ever admit it.

sammyfury:

Without a best friend to hang out with anymore, Sammy had taken to spending her free time away from the helicarrier at a 24 hour coffee shop near her apartment. The coffee was plentiful, the wait staff friendly enough, and she could hold down a seat at the counter as long as she liked. Her version of the colonel's Fury Files were practically updating themselves with regular attention and caffeine shots. If she kept this up, her final papers would be written months before they were due.

Good thing she hadn't gotten around to buying plants for the apartment. Between the helicarrier and the coffee shop, she wasn't home enough to remember to water them. The last thing she needed was to be a plant murderer.

shield_legacy:

Tim had taken a week off after he had been rescued and it helped clear his head. He had argued that he was fine and wanted to get back in the lab, but they forced him to take a week off. As soon as he was allowed back in his lab he got back to work. Work was the best way for him to deal with what happened and to move on.

He /did/ have a lot to catch up on and had eagerly thrown himself at it.

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

girlspy:

Sammy was Alice's best friend. And, as her best friend, it was her job to make sure that her birthday was awesome. Alice got Sammy a new gun, and sent her a text.

You. Me. Birthday burgers and beer after work. No arguments.

shield_legacy:

Tim had been preparing for Sammy's birthday for some time. He always did. Sammy wasn't the type he just bought something for. Each year his birthday and Christmas gifts to her were things he spent time making. This year he made a one of kind Sammy Fury action figure for her along with a new gun. It was encoded to her DNA and could only be used by her. The fun part was that it collapsed down to something about the size of an iPhone. It would fit in a pocket.

He left the items in her office with no note. She would know who they're from.

snarkfighter:

Having checked the records, Agent Power did his very best to break into Agent Fury's office. Cheating was resorted to. Left on her desk was a jewelry-store box containing a pair of silver hourglass earrings. The small card with it had no signature, just a sketch representing the design pattern on the Counterweight costume.

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.

shield_legacy:

The labrats, Tim included, loved the holidays. At least the ones where they were allowed to decorate. They had a ton of decorations and they took a day to decorate the lab. This year was no exception. The lab was decorated to the hilt. They had a fireplace, with a real fire, a recliner and a Christmas tree in the middle. They even had holographic projections to turn the lab into Santa's Workshop. Snow fell all around the lab and went from flakes directly to gas, not leaving any water anywhere.

They even had a remote controlled Santa with sleigh and reindeer flying around the lab. Once in awhile it would buzz close to someone's head and then zip away. All of the labrats wore santa hats or elf ears. Humorous Christmas songs played on the sound system.

Someone had even put some mistletoe over the main entrance to the lab.

snarkfighter:

An evening of dinner, Amsterdam Ice Cream, and karaoke.
A trip to the theater.
A nuclear scare... wait, that distinctly had not been a date.

"Fury, are burgers and root beer allowed in the firing range?"

anyastark:

Traditions were important.

For a lot of people the day after Thanksgiving meant hitting the stores and getting great deals on items that would most likely be Christmas presents. For the female Avengers and others the day after Thanksgiving meant a different tradition. They would gather and rate the hunkiness of the male members of the various teams.

Anya had been up at the crack of dawn and readied the Thunderbolts' headquarters. Normally this would take place in the Avengers Mansion, but the boys would be holding Rate the Babe there and the girls needed their own space. She made travel arrangements for everyone invited. Avengers, X-Men, SHIELD, Future Foundation, Alpha Flight, Champions, and the Defenders.

Anya had the event catered by a local restaurant, not wanting to make the Thunderbolts chef have to feed so many people. She had even made sure that all of the Kelly's guns were unloaded.

Everything was ready for their guests.

nextgen_holiday:

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart." - Seneca

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.

sammyfury:

Armed with a notepad and PDA, a list of properties, and a Hulk-sized travel mug of hot coffee, Sammy used her elbow to knock on Tim's door. Today was the day and he /promised/ he would go with her to check out apartments. She was going to hold him to it, unless he really had work to do, or an important experiment on the cooker, or if he really didn't want to go. Her back up, Power, was currently in the middle of his psych eval, and Alice was off again. Tim would be the better choice. He had an eye for details that her parents would take seriously, and he was fun to hang out with.

nextgen_adult:

Captain America, symbol of freedom and hero, had long fought terrorists such as Hydra, AIM and such groups as the Skeleton Crew. Today it was different. Today Captain America led a small group of Hydra soldiers into a missile silo in the mid-west. They quickly overcame the security forces stationed there and reached the control room. It wasn't long before the Hydra agents hacked into the computers and started the launch sequence. In a few moments the missile would launch and strike targets in Russia. The retaliation strikes from Russia would take care of targets in the United States.

It wasn't the only damage done by the symbol of America. He gave the Skeleton Crew and other hydra teams the blueprints and locations of other missile silos across the United States. They easily broke into the bases and started the launch sequences.

The world was on the brink of World War III and no one knew it.

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.

shield_legacy:

Tim had wandered out of his lab early in the morning to head down to the Mess for some coffee. Normally he made it in the lab since a coffeemaker was a vital part of lab equipment, but he was out of beans and hadn't been down ground-side to get some. So the Mess it was. The Mess didn't have the high octane coffee like the lab, but it would help him make it through the day.

He filled his mug and grabbed two donuts and found a seat.

shield_legacy:

Tim tried not to forget birthdays, but occasionally one slipped by. Thankfully this time he was only a day late. He got his hands on a book of the history of aircraft for Brad and threw in a gift card to Amazon. Along with those two items, Tim put in a slip of paper promising Brad first dibs on the new experimental aircraft that would be ready soon.

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

snarkfighter:

Jack Power strode through the Helicarrier with a sense of purpose that matched days when there was an official field assignment even though there wasn't. For Jack Power was a man on a mission.

"Fury!" he called as he caught a glimpse of his target.

battle_shield:

 Director Fury was calling for an update on various operations. Josh's job was keeping track of developments from various criminal organizations and superhuman threats. As such, he was among those called.

sammyfury:

It wasn't often she missed Tim's birthday, but when she did, Sammy tried to make up for it by going over her birthday budget. Tim was her oldest, best friend. He knew where her skeletons were hidden and what alibis worked best when she was up to no good.

That deserved special attention.

A box 'appeared' in his lab. Inside he would find packages of cookies and brownies, gift cards to sporting goods stores and iTunes, and an extra large tee shirt with the Superman logo on the front. Instead of an S, there was a T stretched across it. She included a card written in code and a plastic decoder ring for fun.

bio_nerd:

Getting her out of the lab was an achievement itself. Getting her out of the lab to go to an amusement park? That was even more of a feat.

sammyfury:

Sammy had a burning question to ask, and somebody who needed to be annoyed. A lot.

She invited herself to sit down across from Jack at the cafeteria table. The food could have been worse, like government subsidy worse, but SHIELD had a surprisingly good kitchen staff who knew how to cook. "Power, have you ever given any thought to your permanent record? And while you're giving thought to it."

sammyfury:

Sammy made good on her promise. She flew out to Arizona to meet Tim and go with him to San Diego. She even allowed him to pick out her costume. What she didn't sign up for was the long drive across the desert to get there. For some weird reason she expected them to fly.

She fell asleep immediately when they left before dawn, only to wake up when she sensed the car wasn't moving any longer. It was hot already when she opened one eye to see where they were. Which was nowhere. All she could see was the highway shimmering in the distance and lots of flat land covered with scrub.

Sitting up, she covered a yawn and shook her head awake. "Are we stopping for breakfast? Is there coffee?"

sammyfury:

Sammy was on her second cup of coffee and swiping pictures across a tablet while she waited for Tim. She needed his brain and good sense, and his company. They'd been friends practically since diapers with their families so close, and she lorded her six month edge over him at every opportunity. It had become even more necessary when he shot past her in height before they'd reached junior high school.

Her shoulder injury was on the mend, but it had given her some time to think. It seemed only natural to talk about it with the best friend she had outside her Glock.

sammyfury:

The Walking Wounded, aka Sam Fury, fumbled with her wallet on the Avengers' doorstep. It was hard to use her left hand for reaching into her right pocket, but her right arm was still in a sling. She had her card, although being on the reserve roster for more than a year might have put her on the deactivated list. She had a hole in her shoulder, a need for some painkillers that she refused to take, a hankering for Jarvis' cookies, and a hope there was room for one more.

The year away had been filled with missions, learning experiences, and a renewal of confidence in her ability to earn the top seat. Her degree was one semester away from completion and the last class required her to attend instead of finishing online. The teams had undergone a lot of changes and there were new players she needed to get acquainted with if only to update her files. And she had to face it, she just plain missed New York City.

What better way to get back into the swing of things than to come off the reserves into active duty?

Or it would be, once she got her card out and the door open.

thisismyweapon:

Once they got back from the mission, Jason had been looking forward to a long nap, and maybe a cold brew or two for his birthday. No crazy drinking this year and no fuss made about his getting older; he just wanted to relax and maybe convince Sammy to have tea with him, rather than coffee.

His father's death changed all of that.

Gran called him the morning after he'd gotten home a few days ago to give him the news. Jason didn't know how he should feel; on the one hand, it was his father who had passed away. On the other hand, his father had dropped him off at Gran's house one night when he was three years old and he only heard from him on the rare Christmas or birthday. Jason was ashamed to admit that, short of his grandmother's photos of their family, he couldn't really call Carter Howard's face to mind.

And now, on his birthday, he was going to hear from his father ever again. He'd have to tell Jake.

He sat at the table in his quarters with the first bottle of beer in the first twelve-pack he'd purchased for his twenty-fifth birthday. He wasn't sure he could drink all of them, but he figured he'd give it the old college try, even if he'd never been to college.
 

shield_maiden:

Svalin would admit that she wasn't the best at gift selection and gift giving unless the gifts happen to be weapons or armor. Those she could make herself and give to people, but her pregnancy prevented her from working the forge. Thankfully Svalin had some jewels and gold from her wedding gifts and Lady Sydney had helped her find a jewelry maker in the city.

The necklace was beautiful when it was done and Svalin hoped Vernique liked sapphires. She had almost went with rubies, but she thought the blue jewels were pretty and would look good on her wife.

She wrapped the necklace in a black velvet cloth and went to find her wife.

nextgen_shield:

Agent Gamble noticed a power surge in one satellite and then it was gone. The connection to the satellite was broken and then another satellite had a power surge. A few moments later that one went offline. One by one the SHIELD satellites went offline and the world's big spy agency was blind in the sky.

Agent Gamble jumped up and hurried over to Commander Dugan.

Ten minutes later Col. Fury ordered his special ops team in for a briefing.

nextgen_holiday:

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." -- Unknown

sammyfury:

Sammy was jostled as the line shifted unexpectedly forward by people waiting for that all important afternoon jolt of caffeine. She was already in a cranky mood so the person that stumbled into her didn't get much more than a muttered 'it's fine' to their muttered 'sorry'. All she wanted was a cup of coffee before she returned to her shopping. It wasn't her favorite activity, so anything that would help her through it was appreciated, especially given the circumstances. Mom and Dad received invitations to attend parties of different political flavors, and often they went when their duties allowed and the UN needed a SHIELD presence. Sammy was taken to many of them from the time she was old enough to not call everyone a 'damn yahoo!' SHIELD first, then politics.

( Read more )

sammyfury:

At three am, traffic on the deck was sparse. It was the best time to find a quiet moment that wasn't inside four walls, and the view couldn't be topped anywhere else in the world.

For a sleepless Sammy, it was the only place to go. She had a covered mug of coffee and a mental puzzle to work out. The puzzle had only three corners and no straight edged pieces. As soon as she figured out the fourth corner, she'd know what was nagging at her brain.

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

thisismyweapon:

"Agent Fury, please report to Research & Development. Agent Fury, Research & Development, thank you." 

Tech runs a hand over the vibranium-weave suit and runs the calculations over in his head again. If this works, the Special Ops team will actually be able to teleport from the Helicarrier to assigned targets and back. Between that and the new kinetic shield generators he'd finished perfecting, it would be very difficult to hurt his teammates.

All he had to know now was set a test run or five.

Walker's new shield tech was was ready as well and Jason was very proud of himself. A lot of the materials provided by Stark Industries really helped.

He went about reloading the new assault/sniper-rifle as he waited for Sammy to arrive.

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.

thisismyweapon:

Jason made sure to put on his best button-down shirt and slacks, matching them with the new black leather coat Jessica got for him. She and Hunter were doing well, and she wanted Jason to have a new coat because New York was much colder than Louisiana.

Besides, you can't take that pretty secret agent woman of yours out lookin' like you just stepped out of the lab.

Jason thought Sammy rather liked that look.

In any event, he'd found a Mediterranean coffee shop in the area that he thought Sammy might like, due to her coffee fixation (he is working on introducing tea into her life) and hopes that dinner and coffee will be a fun time for her.

He knocks on her door with flowers in hand and hopes he remembered to level up his professions in WoW today.

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?"