sydney_ashcroft:

Nothing was more enjoyable to a parent than the first day of school after a long and interesting summer and today was no exception. Sydney was enjoying the peace and quiet that came with a child at school. Zoey wasn't a bad kid, she just had a lot of energy and Syd could barely keep up to her daughter some days.

Once Zoey was off to school for the day, the whole day to boot, Syd went to her morning class and then hit the grocery store on her way home. Someone, she had a sneaking suspicion who, had eaten the last of her not so secret stash of Ben and Jerry's Brownie Batter ice cream and Syd was craving chocolate. It had to be PMS and if she didn't get some chocolate ice cream even the gods would be fearing her.

Class was done, ice cream was acquired, and Syd was now sitting quietly at the table in the kitchen eating her ice cream and reading her assignment for her class in sociology. The house was eerily quiet and a small part of her brain wondered what the godlings were doing, or more likely getting in to. Naw. She didn't want to do know. The day was going too well and she didn't want to ruin it.

It wasn't to last. Instead of the peace and quiet being ruined by something crashing, getting broken, or demons showing up at the front door, her cell phone ringing shatter the quiet reprieve.

"Hello."

"Yes. This is Sydney Ashcroft."

"She did what?" A heavy sigh. "I'll be right there. Thank you."

Syd disconnected the call and sat there for a long moment. Well that was unexpected, sort of, not really. She really shouldn't be surprised. Not in the least. Of course she had to go in and talk to Zoey's principal on the first day of school.

She closed her book, grabbed her phone, grabbed her car keys and headed for the door.

nextgen_misc:

The sun was starting to sink on the Western horizon and into the Pacific Ocean as another day was ending. A few miles south of 1800 Palos Verdes Drive the ground erupted in a spray of dirt. One by one soldiers came forth from the ground. Some were Spartans, some were Roman legionnaires, and some were Norsemen. A total of three thousand eventually stood in the dying light. They moved into formation and started marching.

ohu_amane:

Ohu is in the living room, playing one of the latest games. And he's grinning widely even as Zoey is trouncing him completely.

He doesn't think it would be fair to use his magic to beat her. And he's used to using cheats when playing these games, so he's finding that, using his natural talent, he's utterly inept.

But this doesn't stop him from enjoying the game with little people in go-carts, with occasional turtle shells floating around.

He waves the controller about. "Look out! Here I come! ...oh, wait. I'm going backwards now. You just lapped me again."

sydney_ashcroft:

School shopping with a very opinionated five-year-old was an experience Sydney would like to forget, mutant power aside. It had been a constant battle for the past three hours. Zoey loved being out and loved going shopping, it was just her taste in clothes. Everything the child picked out had been black. It wasn't any place strange where she picked up her taste in fashion, but did everything have to be black?

It just made school shopping VERY difficult.

In the end most of Zoey's clothes were black, but Syd had managed to get the child to agree on some clothes with other colors in them.

Syd sighed as the front door closed behind her. She dropped the numerous bags she carried in the foyer. First something cold to drink, then she'd come back and grab the bags to put the clothes away. This year Syd had bought her at least double what they had bought last year. It was nice to have a good paying job and to be able to provide for her daughter. Zoey's birthday was in a week and Syd would be able to make it the best birthday of Zoey's life. She just had to find time to go shopping without Zoey.

She made her way into the kitchen in search of that cold drink.

ohu_amane:

Ohu sighs happily as he drops a bag of groceries on the counter and begins to unpack it.

"Well! That was quite an adventure retrieving groceries, was it not, Syd?" He smiles to his shopping companion. "Purchasing groceries doesn't always involve armed robbers in the store, nor a naked prophet running through the streets, nearly causing accidents, to warn us of a 'clothing armadeggon.'" He grins. "I suppose we are just lucky. Though he seemed to be unaware that Armageddon isn't an event, but a location..."

sydney_ashcroft:

Sydney sat curled up on one of the large couches in the living room of the main building. Classical music played on the stereo and even though it was really too warm for it a fire burned in the fireplace. An open book was in her lap and a glass of wine was in one hand. It was late and most of the team had retired to their bungalows. Her mind was a million miles away.

She really wasn't cut out for this job and she was in way over her head.

Just how was she supposed to deal with gods?

They were all nice, just...well they were gods. How was she supposed keep them from doing things like they did in Disneyland? Or Medieval Times? She was a normal...mutant. Her powers were nothing but remembering things. She didn't have super strength or any other fancy powers. Simon was much more suited to this than Sydney was.

She took a long drink from her glass.

Tomorrow she'd contact...shit. She couldn't even contact Mr. Stark to submit her resignation with him in the hospital. There were even rumors that he was in a coma or even dead. She supposed she could send it to Miss Potts.

The job paid well and Zoey was finally living in a place where they didn't have to worry about drug deals going on across the streets or the cops showing up during the night for some reason. The loss of money would hurt, but Syd had managed to provide a home and food for her daughter before this job. She could do it again.

She finished the last of the wine in her glass and refilled it.

team_mascot:

Summer vacation was about half over and Mom had yet to take her to Disneyland. It was the one big thing they did each year and Zoey wasn’t going to let the summer go by without going to Disneyland. This year it could even be more fun. She knew her new friends had never been there. They hadn’t been anywhere on Earth which was really weird. She also knew that Ohu would love Disneyland. It was the happiest place on Earth after all and Ohu was always happy. He’d fit right in. Maybe Asleif would smile if she went to Disneyland.

A plan began to form in her mind. It was probably even better than her last plan and that one had been awesome. Zoey couldn’t wait to tell her friends at school about the fighting and how Svalin and Aridis beat up the knights. Even the dragon wasn’t scary now. She bet the kids in her class had never seen a real dragon before or a flying horse for that matter.

Thinking of flying horses, Zoey had to remember to grab some carrots and sugar cubes for Tryggvi and take it down to him. The two dogs got treats all the time because they were allowed inside and their treats were kept in the cabinet near the sink in the kitchen. It was Zoey’s job to make sure they had fresh water and to give them a treat every evening at six. She liked the dogs. They were nice and they liked to play and they made her giggle when they licked her face. They licked her face a lot.

Right. Disneyland. Mom had said they would go and Zoey would make sure they did go. She wanted to bring her new friends with them.

Zoey looked up from her book (not having read any of it in the past five minutes) and looked at her mom who was sitting across from her reading a book. Mom always set time aside each day for the two of them to read. Today they were in the library where it was quieter than the rest of the house. Zoey was still amazed she now lived in such a big house. It was A LOT bigger than their last house.

“Mom?”

pop_trash_hero:

Hours later...Medieval Times is cleaned up. Charges were dropped. There went his take from his last movie and his date for Friday. She used to watch Mr. Muscles after school and that was a mutual turn off. He should get better about that. It's not like he's going to age and he's not into grandmas - yet. He dropped by his place

He uses his old ID card to get past the security (damn Tony for reactivating it already) and knocks on the door. "Mrs. Ashcroft, I have beer."

ngmastersofevil:

The attack on the Young Avengers had been successful. The Stark girl, the Rogers boy and the Rhodes girl were all successfully taken. Temujin would be along shortly to pick up the Starkling. Hadelinde would deal with the Rhodes girl and the Rogers boy would be executed. It had been a good day and was about to get better.

Egghead had set everything up in Times Square while Hadelinde and the others retrieved the three young Avengers.

Hadelinde and the rest arrived right after their successful attack on the Avengers. She dropped the Rogers kid in the middle of the hovering platform and turned toward the crowd in the streets below. Enforcer held the Stark girl. Stark would have a front row seat at her brother's execution. Frenzy held the Rhodes girl. Hadelinde would deal with her after this.

"Attention world," she said, her voice amplified by a small device attached to the neck of her suit. The event was also being transmitted around the world via satellite thanks to Egghead.

"Years ago Captain America killed my father. Today justice will be served as his son pays for his crime."

Hadelinde motioned for Enforcer to ready the Rogers kid. Egghead had constructed a modern guillotine. Hadelinde had always been a fan of be-headings.

sydney_ashcroft:

Zoey had a plan. It was a good plan. No. It was a great plan. No. It wasn't just a plan. It was THE Plan. The plan of all plans. She just had to find a way to get it done.

The idea came when she saw her...Mom called them housemates...but they were really her friends.... Very tall and very strong friends. She was the only girl in her class who had a friend who could lift a boulder and throw it very far. Zoey had watched Svalin and Halbjorn do it. It was awesome!

She couldn't wait to go back to school to tell her classmates about her newest friends. None of them had friends like she did. Maybe Asleif would go to school with her one day and show Zoey's classmates real magic. Not the stupid kind that Jessica had at her birthday party. Zoey had totally seen the man hiding things in his hands and sleeves. The man was lame compared to Asleif.

The fireworks on the Fourth of July were just awesome. Totally awesome. She was glad she had the idea to ask Asleif to make fireworks.

Idea. The idea for today and for The Plan came to her while she watched Svalin practicing with a sword. A REAL sword and not some lame fake one. Svalin had one, so did Aridis and Halbjorn. Asleif didn't seem to like them for some reason. Zoey thought they were really cool and Mom had said she was not allowed to touch them. Ever. She wondered what Mom had against swords. Svalin said that she had a sword when she was Zoey's age. She wanted one too.

Right. The idea. Mom had taken her out to dinner to a place with swords and horses once. Middle Times or something like that. Zoey knew it would be a great place to take her new friends. They would love it. They had to.

She ran and asked Mom if they could go. Mom said yes, but Zoey had to ask the others if they wanted to go. Mom went on about how she couldn't talk or speak for others. Zoey only heard the first part of it.

She skipped around the grounds looking for Asleif or any of the others.

madscienceman:

The other two men of the group probably would have noticed how Griffen reacted around them. It wasn't so much in awe as he was more than a little intimidated by them. He would retreat carefully when he thought he could get away with it and often he did since he was a crafty man. But his dog had been begging for attention all day.

The beagle Zelbar had wiggled and squirmed all morning so Griffen had gotten a base ball bat and a bucket of tennis balls. He would toss one up into the air and hit it with as much force as he could. The ball would go flying and Zelbar would chase after it and sometimes he would bring it back sometimes he wouldn't.

The point was this was the most relaxed he had been since the fourth. Sydney somehow had been a soothing presence for him that day and he had been unguarded that day. He liked how professional she could be as well as how she was with Zoey. It was nice. Now he was very relaxed through with his dog around so it was unlikely there would be any carefully planned retreats from the two godling men if they happened to seek him out.

nextgen_misc:

It had taken a little effort and a lot of talking and explaining, but the Asgardians, Ohu and Griffen O'Niell were moving to California. They were going to act as the Avengers' west coast team and would go by the name of The Defenders. Their headquarters would be at the former West Coast Avengers base Avengers' Compound located at 1800 Palos Verdes Drive just outside of LA.

The 15 acre estate featured one main building, five bungalows, garage, hangar, tennis courts and a private beach. It would be a good base for the Defenders and keep the collateral damage out of city.

Today was moving-in day.

marlow:

It took less than five minutes for Marlow to realize that she was meant to be in the same place as the woman who stopped to pick her up. The spell she cast was supposed to take her where she wanted to go, but the closer they drove to the beach, the more certain she was that her spell had been hijacked to take her where she needed to be.

Something was coming, and Sydney and her daughter a part of it. Somehow. Ultimately very bad. Marlow didn't have all the answers. Hardly any answers at all, but she had a gut feeling and the voice in her head telling her to stay.

It would be helpful if Clea would give her a bigger hint than just a whisper that somebody was coming. Sure wouldn't be Santa because her luck didn't run that way.

"You know of any place around yours that I can stay?" she asked Sydney. "Somebody looking for a roommate for week or two?"

shield_maiden:

Teleporting was always disconcerting and disorientating. One moment they were in Oklahoma and the next they were in New York City right outside of the Avengers mansion.

Tryggvi reared and pawed at the air. Svalin put a hand on his neck and tried to calm him down. "Easy! Calm down Tryggvi! Please."

A second after their arrival the alarm started sounding.

ohu_amane:

Ohu Amane means "Sees Danger" in Twi, the modern language of the Ashanti, and the name is quite appropriate. The eldest son of Anansi, Ohu was gifted with the ability to see danger. He used this power to help save his father from a giant river monster (with a little help from his siblings, he supposes). He knows when there's serious trouble.

But he's never had a chance to really explore the realms of mortals before. He's always been kept at home, in the realm of the Ashanti gods. Which was boring. His father being the keeper of all stories, Ohu has heard all the stories from the mortal realms, and he finds them fascinating. Of course, these days, there are more stories coming into his father's realm than ever before -- a person can't keep up! So Ohu finally convinced his father to let him come to the mortal realm*, accompanied by other gods, the children of Asgardians.

This should be a most exciting expedition! They've already shown up in Oklahoma, surrounded by wheat. If they can just find a cornfield, he's sure there will be evil there. There's always evil in cornfields in the stories.

But the field gives way to a road, and Ohu, the guide for his friend Asgardians, choses a way and begins walking it. They are heading for New York, and certainly all roads must lead to New York eventually.

The occasional car or truck passing by, Ohu leads them down the road, over two bridges, and into the city apparently named "Kingfisher." Around them, the populace gives the gods strange looks.

"You see, my friends? I have lead us to a place where we may acquire transportation to the glorious city of New York!"

*If, by "convinced his father," one means, "ran away without telling him."