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?

under_the_skin:

Things could get chaotic here at Xavier's and it was sometimes hard to catch people at a good time to hang out or catch up. Fair enough, but Vlad owed his sister a lunch out, little break from the mansion and some Rasputin sibling fun. So, actually dressed and ready to go, Vlad went looking for his favourite tiny sister. 

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.

brit_sorcerer:

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

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

nextgen_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.

bloody_irony:

It had been awhile since Dmitri had been able to take the time away to visit family.  So far he'd visited Mom and Dad, and even saw his little sister Ellie.  Now all that was left was the little brother, Vlad.   Dmitri had gotten to the mansion pretty early in the day - around lunch time - and made a beeline for Vlad's room.  He knocked and waited for his brother to reply, if he was actually in the room.

_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.

under_the_skin:

 It was a slow day today, summer and all meant he had no school or classes, and since it was a weekend...no work at that internship he'd gotten for the summer either. But he did remember a certain secluded scientist mutant who'd agreed to go out for pizza one day. Sure he'd seemed a little...unenthusiastic about the whole thing but hey, the guy needed to get out sometime.

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.

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.

under_the_skin:

(Backdated to the 22nd)

For this birthday, Vlad and Dmitri had teamed up for the present. Ellie would get tickets and Vlad taking her to a One Direction concert on their American Tour. Sure his ears would hate him for it, but there were things you'd do for little sisters. There might have been glitter on the card just to tease her a bit.

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.

sapphireprince:

Winston had gone into town to deal with some band drama. One would think a group of guys would be less drama filled that a damned girl group but no, there was always some sort of crap going down. After dealing with all their crap he decided to pick up a case since he was the type to share. If they went through the whole case he would be surprised. He hid the case in his duffle since he knew that Scott would freak out if he saw him with it, this way he figured he was being sneaky. He peeked his head into the rec room and saw Vlad. "Psst! Dude!" He stage whispered. "I got beer." He darted into the room and sat down next to him, putting the duffle between them. "It's in the bag." He needed less sketchy friends, he was starting to act like them.

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. 

dark_scion:

 It was quiet around the institute, so Fred took this as a moment to renew his supply of sustenance from the kitchen. 

under_the_skin:

(Backdated)

Vlad was camped out in front of the TV, taking a break from his assignments this week. There wasn't much to watch so he was channel surfing at the moment. Man, sometimes there really was just nothing on TV...

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

bloody_irony:

It'd been awhile since Dmitri had visited his family at the mansion, but he always felt at home there.  He was already walking around in his underwear, raiding the fridge, and not caring who saw.  Though, he was keeping his eye on the time.  Vlad should have been up by then, because they were supposed to do some brotherly bonding in half an hour.

Until then, Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

under_the_skin:

_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_misc:

Once the Champions returned to their headquarters and destroyed the Quantum Mirror returning all the heroes to normal. Once that was done they called a meeting of the superhero teams. Irina transported the Champions to the Avengers Mansion and volunteered to provide transportation for the other teams.

nextgen_holiday:


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

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

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

Formal dress required.

Please bring a donation for Toys for Tots.


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

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

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

The air was light and the mood happy and festive.

treadlightly:

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

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

_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.

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.

under_the_skin:

So the blizzard hadn't let up. Still. And Vlad was not too happy being stuck inside yet again, there were things he wanted to do but...nobody was being allowed out. That left him with a bit of a problem about what to do now while he waited for it to let up.

Hoping there was something around to do, Vlad decides to go through the mansion and look for someone to hang out with.

_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.

feathers_:

A couple of days after she'd hung out with Rachel, Lyta packed her car, and drove back up to the Xavier Institute. She'd left the city early in the morning, so she'd arrived at a decent, but still early enough hour to where she could unpack everything and put it in her old bedroom without much interruption. She put away most of her things...though she still had quite a bit of clothes and shoes to unpack.

So, Lyta decided to take a break from unpacking. She made her way down from her bedroom, and went into the kitchen. She started opening cabinets in the pantry and began to get out the fixings so she could make herself a sandwich.

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.

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

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.

_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.

under_the_skin: