marvel_girl:

Less than twenty-four hours had passed since Rachel had been abducted by Lady Mastermind of the Hellfire Club (as opposed to Lady Mastermind of the X-Tremists or any of the other dozen or so Lady Masterminds out there. Wyngarde had a lot of kids). The illusion currently running in her mind was deep-set and powerful, though not as powerful as the Phoenix shard she still carried within her. Given enough time, it would probably shatter.

But in the end, it didn't much matter. An omega-level telepath and telekinetic backed by a cosmic force could do fantastic damage in a short amount of time. Even if she broke free eventually, a lot of damage would likely be done by the time she snapped out of it.

Cloaked in cosmic flame, the body of Rachel Summers landed on the lawn of the X-Mansion. To her mind, she was landing in front of one of Sinister's bases, ready to face the legion of Marauders or Nasty Boys that dwellt within, before she ended his miserable life.

She brought up a hand, utterly dismantling the foyer with a single gesture. "Come on then!" she shouted. "See how you like fighting someone who fights back!"

under_the_skin:

Waking up in the morning was never his favourite thing, but why oh why did Cait have to have what must be the most comfortable bed. It just made getting out of bed even more needlessly difficult. How did she ever wake up with a bed like this?

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.

ablaze:

Rufus was playing very close attention to his Saturday morning cartoons when the smell of fresh cookies started to waft through the air. That was definitely something worth checking out when the next commercial started to play.

_tsunami_:

"TAXI!" Cait yelled and leaned out over the curb with her hand raised. Hundreds, if not thousands, of cabs in New York and Cait couldn't get one to stop. They all zoomed by without even slowing down. She knew she should have taken the train back, but she didn't like the train. It was irrational, yes, but it was the way it was and she had elected to take a cab. However, none were stopping and she didn't want to be stranded in the city for the night.

Time to call the cavalry.

She dialed Vlad's number.

under_the_skin:

 It wasn't often he got to cause a bit of destruction outside of missions and the danger room, but he'd asked Uncle Scott if he could tear down the damaged smaller boathouse. Some kid's powers had done enough of a number on the place that it'd be more feasible to tear it down and rebuild a new one than try and fix this. To be honest, it hadn't been the best month for him. Last year of the degree, but this first month had been a bit of a mess, not to mention it'd taken up so much of his time that he barely had any free time. A pile of assignments, his laptop dying right before an important deadline, a few terrible professors, not winning that entry position in a great company that the program offered every year (especially when he knew he could have), and just in general a ton of stress. Individually he could've handled all those things, but it was when it all piled up and in a relatively short time frame.

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.

mishaloganovich:

"Ev'rybody says so." Eight year old Misha tossed his ball up and tried to catch it in his new mitt. "Mommies and Daddies have to be married. So I can't play house with you girls."

nextgen_holiday:

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

nextgen_shield:

The X-Men had informed Shield of the resurgence of the U-Men and since then Donnelly had feelers out to see how extensive the organization was. While on one of these searches some unexpected information fell into their laps. He quickly put in a call to the X-Men.

gingeroracle:

It was a tradition for Lexie's birthdays. The Summers' would break out the old grill and they'd have a big party, out by the pool, the first of the Summer. Steak and Hot Dogs, drinks, ice cream and cake, and music that kept getting louder by intervals until Scott went over to turn it down again. It really helped when your friends and family could control weather and make sure the water was warm...

THey saw some rough times but now..? Now it was time to party.

_tsunami_:

Cait had been making plans since she knew Vlad's birthday was coming. The night before she made all of his favorite cookies and his favorite muffins. When morning came she was up at dawn and in the kitchen. With a tray of cookies, muffins and blini she headed up to his room.

She knocked lightly on the door.

anyastark:

Anya had been planning Misha's birthday present for some time. It had taken some time to get it set up, but she had managed to get it ready by his birthday. Well, Sunny did most of it. Anya did take Nick out to shop for a present for big brother.

She picked up Nick and the two of them drove out to Xavier's to pick up Prince Dork.

anyastark:

Anya sent Corey two pounds of shade grown chocolate. Along with the chocolate there was a card that said there was a donation of five thousand to the Rainforest Foundation.

ng_xtremists:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The transmission ended there.

_tsunami_:

Cait entered Sylvie's bedroom and feel back on the bed with a smile on her face. "Life's pretty damn wonderful," she said. She looked at her best friend and grinned. "Hi!"

under_the_skin:

Vlad wiped some dirt out of his eyes, he was covered in it it seemed, and put his goggles back on. It was time for Round Who-even-remembers. This was by far the largest group that had come at them so far, and one could only go on so long before tiring. Right now even he was getting fatigued. As the massive group slowly approached, their eerie moans filling the air, Vlad surveyed what was left in the weapons box. The classics for this sort of thing of course, the chainsaw, sawed off shotgun, crossbow, bat, crowbar, katana, even flamethrower among others. 

under_the_skin:

_tsunami_:

It had been a few weeks past Valentine's day and Cait was starting to feel like the walls were closing in. She needed to get out and see something other than the walls inside the mansion. A text was sent to Vlad to be ready to go out tonight at 7:30.

At 7:29 Cait was at the front door waiting for Vlad.

nextgen_holiday:

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

_tsunami_:

It was a perfect vacation. Tropical island. Sun. Sand. Surf. Vlad. It was more than Cait could ask for. The sun was setting on the horizon and the stars were just starting to come out. It was for a better lack of words perfect.

"I could stay here forever," she said to Vlad.

nextgen_misc:

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

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.

ablaze:

Rufus had finished his driving course to get his Learner's permit and hadn't had much luck using it. Most people didn't seem to want to be in the car with him to help him learn to drive. So he hadn't had much chance to learn to drive better than he currently could. But there still was someone he could try and get to drive with him, Cait. Family was great for getting to do things no one else seemed to want to do and he really did want to learn how to drive and get off the stupid learner's permit as soon as he could.

He was looking around the mansion to find her and probably going to use the excuse of holiday shopping for doing some driving.

_tsunami_:

Cait loved the holidays whether it was Saturnalia or Christmas. Both meant decorating and a lot of great food. Today was the start of decorating the mansion. Boxes upon boxes of decorations had been hauled out of storage and placed in the rec room. Thankfully Aunt Jean was a little anal retentive about labeling everything and putting everything back where it was supposed to go, so it saved having to dig through the boxes to find anything.

Cait opened a box and found a sprig, fake of course, of mistletoe laying on the top. Looks like that was going to be the first thing to be put up. She hanged it in the doorway of the rec room that led to the hallway. It was one of the most used doors in the mansion.

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.

nextgen_parent:

Charles Xavier, head of the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning and mentor of the X-Men, had been busy in the recent days. Together with an old friend, Erik Lehnsherr, the two of them pushed the anti-human groups into action. Attacks on humans started happening all around New York City.

In Times Square the MLF appeared and started attacking the sea of people in the "Crossroads of the World". They also targeted the nearby Police and fire stations to hinder efforts to control the chaos they were creating.

Down on Wall Street the Brotherhood started attacking the bankers and investment brokers.

Leading the attacks on humans were Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr.

Mutants attacking humans prompted responses from anti-mutant groups such as the Friends of Humanity, the Church of Purity and other pro-human groups.

The streets of New York quickly became a battleground between humans and mutants.

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.

_tsunami_:

Cait had just cleared the snow off the front porch for the fifth time in the past two hours. Huge flakes of snow were falling to the ground and the snow on the ground was quickly piling up. There had to be a good foot of snow out there already and the storm didn't show any signs of letting up. Not that Cait was complaining. She loved the snow. The other residents of the mansion not so much.

The only thing she didn't like about this blizzard is that she was supposed to go into the city with Vlad tonight and dammit she wanted to go. She wanted it to stop now so they could into the city later.

_tsunami_:

Cait was practically walking on air and she just had to tell someone the good news. That someone would be her best friend.

She went to find Sylvie.

under_the_skin:

Having just finished a work out in the danger room, Vlad waits for the elevator up while toweling off his hair. Luckily it had been pretty empty so he could put on the swashbuckling pirate program that was a favourite of Uncle Kurt's. What? It was still a good workout and tons of fun.

quadrimanial:

Sylvie had not kept her cousin's birthday a secret, but she'd asked everyone not to make enough fuss to scare him.

No stranger to specially tailored pants, Sylvie left him a new pair and translations of some of the latest genetics research out of Europe.

smallestbear:

David is out on the town. He had no after noon classes and wanted burgers and chili cheese fries. What more could a guy want?

Oh yeah also there was this new waitress who is just really cute. He thinks she's his age so he has been very shyly flirting with her every time he comes here. Honestly he thinks he's terrible with women but he can make her laugh and smile so that's good enough for him.

Now he is on his way back to his car. He is well fed and feeling pretty good. He tosses and catches his car keys in his hand the air changes just a bit though.

He can smell something on the wind. His good mood is shattered and he frowns just a bit. Something is up.

lightningbolt:

Shane had gotten off of the phone with his mom earlier in the day. Apparently she was having some money troubles again. It didn't sound as bad as some of the troubles that they had had in the past but it still had him a little concerned. He had wanted to send her some of his own money he had made working even it wasn't much but she had told him no and that she would take it.

Other than that things had been good with him mom though. But he was still feeling a little down when he headed downstairs to watch some TV to take his mind off of things.

_tsunami_:

The rec room only had one person in it at the moment and that person was Cait and she was stretched out on one of the couches with a lot of pillows. She had on a pair of sweats and an old faded tee shirt she swiped from Misha's room. A few times a year she raided his clothes for old tee shirts. They were already worn in and more comfortable than any she had in her closet.

Breakfast at Tiffany's was on the television and Cait was completely engrossed in it.

_tsunami_:

"Thanks for coming with me," Cait said to Shane as they took their seats in the theater. Brave was playing and Cait wanted to see it before it left the theaters and she hated going to the movies alone so she asked Shane to go with her. He was a good friend and Cait liked doing things with him.

under_the_skin:

_tsunami_:

Cait made a large batch of Sylvie's favorite cookies early in the morning of Sylvie's birthday. Along with the cookies Cait got her a new scarf, pink of course, and a new pink bracelet.

Humming happily, Cait went to deliver the gifts.

_tsunami_:

Cait made sure she made Rachel's favorite cookies for her for her birthday. Cait also got her a bracelet to go along with the cookies.

lightningbolt:

It was a beautiful day outside and it really felt like summer time had finally come to stay. Shane headed outside to spend some time out there. He set himself up on a chair with a book to read outside to enjoy the nice weather.

anyastark:

It was that time of the year again and it was Prince Dork's birthday. Anya would not let it pass without getting him prezzies. Anya loved shopping for Misha. Almost all of her gifts to Prince Dork were humorous, but this year she went with not-so-humorous. She built him a brand new suit and also bought him the shell of a 1964 Corvette

She had the shell delivered to Xavier's and she hand delivered the suit. This was a suitcase model as well.

_tsunami_:

It was Earth Day and it was also one Cornelius Drake's birthday. Cait had been planning on his gifts for some time and had saved up to get them for him. Corey would get some shade grown (of course) chocolate and a donation in his name to Heffer International to purchase a goat for a village. Cait enlisted Irina's help for a trip to Nova Roma on the last part of his gift. He would receive a container of garum in addition to the chocolate.

After Nova Roma Irina gave Cait a lift to New Orleans so she could deliver her gifts.

nextgen_holiday:

Drink to me, only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine ;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst, that from the soul doth rise,
Doth ask a drink divine :
But might I of Jove's nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honoring thee,
As giving it a hope, that there
It could not wither'd be.
But thou thereon didst only breathe,
And sent'st it back to me :
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee. Ben Johnson

lightningbolt:

Shane was in the kitchen packing up a snack to take with him. He was bored and the weather was pretty nice so he figured he would go outside and do some exploring to check the woods nearby the school. He had not really done that yet but it seemed like it would be some fun.

_tsunami_:

Cait woke shaking and screaming. It was only a dream, but it had felt so real. She dreamed that she had been back in Sinister's lab and he had been experimenting on her. Though to her it felt akin to torture. He had done things to her that didn't happen when she was under his care, but she couldn't control her dreams.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, the scene shifted and she was Apocalypse's captive. It was ten times worse than being in Sinister's care. She screamed as Apocalypse started transforming her into one of his horsemen.

Cait woke screaming.

dark_scion:

 Fred was trying to pace the amount of work he did compared to the rest that Sylvie insisted he take. Now was one of his rest periods. Frankly..Fred wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Perhaps something to drink? Figuring this was as good an idea as any, he headed for the kitchen.

_tsunami_:

No snow had canceled the annual snowball fight. Cait couldn't make enough snow on her own and Aunt Ororo wasn't here. Not that Cait would have asked her anyway. It would just be impolite. Cait was disappointed, but there was always later this winter or next year.

Today she was down near the lake and working on some ice statues. She'd never be the artiste that her brother was, but she could make reasonably good statues.

nextgen_misc:

The X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy set out from Knowhere Station and headed toward Chandilar the throne world of the vast Shi'ar empire. They arrived not far from the planet and ready to put their plan into action.