anyastark:

Anya removed her helmet and stepped out of the suit of armor. She was drenched from head to toe with sweat despite the suit's environmental controls and the shorts and tank top she wore were plastered to her skin. Anya did always tend to run a bit on the hot side and it had been quite a workout. She sat down and straddled the bench in the locker room. She laid back and stared up at the ceiling.

All of her limbs felt rubbery and she didn't think she could move. She didn't want to move. This bench was nice and comfy. She could stay here a day or two.

She sighed and knew she would have to move. She had things to do. There was a new suit of armor that needed to be worked on.

gust:

Wesley Graham hesitated and stopped at the gates of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. For as long as he could remember Wes had stuck to shadow. He used back entrances, he used the winds to lift himself up to second story windows and sneak in. He hadn't used the front door in a very long time. He was certain that they wouldn't open the door for him, that they wouldn't let him in. He was an assassin, a murderer. He may not have killed by his hand but it didn't matter. He was a killer and he was sure that there was a telepath inside who would figure that out and turn him away. He hoped that it wouldn't turn out that way but he didn't have a lot of hope. Wes was not good people any way you twisted it. He didn't deserve the redemption that he was looking for. That didn't stop him from calling the winds to carry him over the gates. He rang the doorbell and he waited.

smallestbear:

He used to be able to remember things from before with such clarity. His mother. His great-grandfather. But there was nothing now. He couldn't remember much of anything or he just didn't want to. All he knew was that he had brothers and sisters here that he loved.

He wouldn't admit it of course. Some of them weren't exactly fluffy bunnies of peace and joy. But he had learned a lot from them. He also learned to not show too much of what he felt. He had been called a Zen Master by some of the agents who knew him since he was a kid.

He still was one. It looked like he was about to go on his first assignment though. They saw him as all grown up now and ready to play with the big boys and girls.

He was nervous. This would be his first time out. What if he messed up? So he looks to his older "siblings" hoping to gain some insight to how they feel about this before they head out.

pop_trash_hero:

The tide is coming in, and the shadow of the cliff has been slowly retreating from Syd's sleeping form. Simon hasn't wanted to rest. He could use years more of that and a thousand year of this...waves, rocks, a sun rising and her cradled lightly in his arms and pulling in close for warmth. He knew giving in wasn't going to cure him. Being with Syd was only going to make everything he was feeling for her more intense and complicated.

Simon was good at reading his partners, and there were answers he was finally able to extract from Sydney. Some women that had terrific minds turned into sex kittens when they had a chance to relax. Syd wasn't, and that had surprised him. She was still all brains, even in bed. She used that mind to create an intense and extremely focused sensuality and targeted physical awareness. Of course he wasn't her type. Whether she knew it or not, she needed someone with just as much mental stamina as physical endurance. Her memory was almost a guarantee she'd be able to read a man's body like one of her books; lingering over the good parts while skimming through any set up, and God help you if you were boring. It was probably the reason she wasn't all that experienced (at least not recently), but frankly, most men were not going to be able to handle her.

He kept pushing the "what now?" question out of his mind. By this point, most women wanted him to shower and then lock the door behind him as he left. He was a few hours into this reverie when his watch made up his mind for him, specifically, the alert that Swarm is in the Galleria...again When do Nazi bees ever die?

He takes enough time to float slowly up the side of the cliff to Syd's room to settle her into bed. He smoothed her hair back and kissed her forehead goodbye before taking off to be a big damn hero.

shield_maiden:

Odin's Great Hall was almost silent. The gathered crowd waited for Thor, current ruler of Asgard while Odin slept, to speak. They were gathered to honor their fallen warriors. The battle had cost many lives and it was only fitting and proper those lost lives were honored.

Svalin stood next the throne and next to her father as Princess of Asgard. She was uncomfortable standing in front of so many people and as the princess. She was a warrior born and had a warrior's heart, not some speech maker. Barking out orders or yelling battle cries were more her style and easier to do.

Her father looked at her and nodded once.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat and looked out at the assembled warriors, her people. It was so hard to stand before them and talk about the ones that she had failed. The ones that had died because of her actions and her disregard of her duty. By Odin's beard this was hard. Her hand shook and she nearly dropped the goblet of mead she held.

"When mine father said I wast to speak to all of thee today, I didst not know what I would say. I wast scared to stand before you all and speak for I art much better with sword and shield than with words." Her voice started out a little shaky, but got stronger the more she spoke.

"Today I doth not stand before you as a princess of Asgard nor as a warrior. Today I stand /with/ you as a daughter of Asgard and the words I now speak art from mine heart."

She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Sons and daughters of Asgard, we art not here to celebrate victory with food and drink. We art not here to sing songs of our prowess in battle. We art /not/ here for us. Today we do not mourn the loss of our sisters and brothers, but today we honor them. We honor their strength, their bravery, their unparalleled courage, and their sacrifice for Asgard.

Mine father hath tried to teach me and mine siblings humility as his father had taught him, but naught hath made me more humble than to see our sisters and brothers standing up in battle against an enemy that outnumbered them. I wast deeply humbled to see them do their duty to Asgard and to pay the ultimate price for the home and people they loved."

Another deep breath to steady herself. Tears clouded her eyes and she blinked them back.

"We feel the painful loss of our fallen brothers and sisters, but we must take comfort in knowing that they art now in Valhalla with the honored slain. They hath been reunited with our brothers and sisters that hath fallen in battle before them. Take heart brothers and sisters, for one day we shall be reunited with them, whether it be in Valhalla to wait until the final days or at the end of times in the final battle when we once again fight side by side with our honored brothers and sisters.

Honor their memory and their sacrifice each day by celebrating and appreciating the life they have given you by giving theirs. We must not let them slip from our memories or our hearts."

She raised the goblet in her hand.

"Raise your drinks and voices to our honored fallen brothers and sisters and keep their memories alive until the end of times."

She looked out at the people before her and then a quick glance over at her father. "To our fallen brothers and sisters. May you rest well in Valhalla until we see all of thee again in the final battle."

Svalin poured a little of the mead on the floor as an offering and then took a long drink of mead.

nextgen_citizen:

Avery walked into the large, sprawling house dropping his bag at the door and shaking his shoulders to loosen some of the tension there. Despite the motion, his stomach was still doing flips.

Very soon, he would get to meet his daughter.

He had to play this slowly, though, because one wrong move and Sydney would try to keep Zoey away from him. It angered him on a few levels that she had all the power in this, that his rights had been violated. Still, he kept a lid on it, because getting a chance to know Zoey outweighed his anger at Sydney. He could be an adult about all of this.

He walked into his home office and sat down, picking up the phone and dialing Sydney's number. The two of them needed to reach an understanding first, before they brought Zoey into the picture, and the best way to do that was a friendly chat.

Avery waited as the phone rang, hoping Sydney was there.