nextgen_misc:

There's a piece of paper and a pen attached to a bulletin board. Across the top is written:

New Year's Resolutions
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Anonymous entries accepted.

nextgen_deviant:

The brides were clad in white and lined up in front of the altar. A semi-circle of priests stood behind the brides and were chanting. The magic in the air became more powerful as the priests chanted. A small circle appeared in the air before the brides and started to get bigger.

Standing behind the priests was a large group of deviants. They were witnessing the rebirth of their god into the mortal realm. It was an honor and privilege to be witness to this historic moment.

old_saint_nick:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Christmas Day is a Christian holiday, it's true, but it also has become increasingly secular. It is an opportunity for love, charity, and goodwill, even in New York City, arguably the most skeptical city in the country.

There is some debate within mystical circles if there is indeed such a creature as the embodiment of Christmas Giving known as Santa Claus. But whether or not there is such a being, the spirit of giving itself is very real, be it incarnated in a fat man in a red suit or not.

Throughout this small blue planet of Earth, people have brought trees into their homes, decorated them with lights and ornaments, and placed them in locations of honor. Stockings have been placed on the chimneys. And gifts have been placed under the tree.

Some are looking forward more to the receiving than the giving. But for many, it is the act of giving which warms them, which fills them with the holiday spirit.

Each person, in their own way, becomes a part of this spirit of giving. Each person, in their own way, becomes Santa Claus.

The Baxter Building is too large to have lights hung from it like most residences, but some festive lighting has been arranged. A light, slowly alternating between red then green, shine up the sides of the building. And on the top floor, where the Fantastic Four reside...

nextgen_deviant:

It was time to bring Set back into the world and bring about a new age for the Earth. Mammals would no longer be the dominant species and humans, those foul evolved apes, will be slaves once more. Slaves like they used to be before the accursed Celestials wiped out most of the deviants and lizard men.

The priests knew what needed to be done. One of the special deviants, those modified to better fight for Set, would accompany them and take the brides into custody. Teleporting was much easier now that Set’s influence in the world was getting stronger. The priests did it now with very little effort.

The priests teleported in near the brides, they were marked and easy to find now, and once they were alone, a small spell was cast and the bride went unconscious. The priest’s escort picked her up and the trio teleported back to Lemuria.
It had only taken a matter of moments to retrieve all seven brides.

Once they were back in Lemuria, the brides had been dressed in white dresses and cloaks and prepared for the coming of their lord Set. They were then arranged around the serpent crown and the ritual began.

nextgen_holiday:

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 New York’s own 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.

anyastark:

It had been a very busy week, but things were finally ready for Steve’s party. Misha and Charlie had taken him out so they could decorate the mansion and get all the tables for food set up. Once the tables were set up, there were enough hands to get all the trays of food out on the tables in very little time.

Anya wouldn’t have asked Jarvis to cook so much, so it had been catered. Jarvis had insisted on making the cake though.

Hor'dourves consisted of cocktail shrimp, chicken satay, beef satay, peking dumplings, pigs in a blanket among a few. Pizzas, a wide selection of various Chinese food selections, chips, pretzels, Doritos, popcorn, cola, diet cola, root beer, Sprite, punch (unspiked), and cider (not hard) were also available for consumption. There was even a chocolate fountain with pieces of fruit available for dipping.

Brightly colored balloons and streamers filled the rec room along with a large banner saying ‘Happy Birthday Steve’. It was hanging over the tables. One table was set aside for gifts and many brightly colored packages filled the table.

Now all they had to do was wait for the birthday boy to arrive.

staturity:

Cassie chewed a tablet of tums. "Come on, hurry up..." She muttered.

A few hours earlier Cassie had thrown up. That by itself wasn't too unusual. Everyone got sick every now and then and normally she would have ignored it. She would have if her period hadn't also been late. At first she chalked that to stress and her active lifestyle, which she probably should have known better. It wasn't like her birth control had ever failed before. 99% effective when used correctly her ass. O.K., maybe she'd accidentally skipped it sometimes but she was busy.

This was why she was alternating between looking at her stomach in the bathroom mirror and staring at the pregnancy test strip in her hand.

Five minutes later, somewhat in a daze, she walked out of the bathroom and went to find Kristoff.

next_avenger:

James said he would visit and he wasn't one to break his word. He walked into the lobby of the Baxter Building and went to the reception desk.

"Hello. I'm here to see Miss Valeria Richards," he said. "Could you please let her know James Romanov-Rogers is here to see her?" He smiled nervously. "Thank you."

anyastark:

From: Anya Stark
To: Sammy Fury, Iason, Clint Barton, Bobbi Morse-Barton, Toni Rhodes, Eliza Romanova, Nightingale, Emily Banner, James Rogers, Daniel Sherwood, Jack Murdock, Kalypso, Cassandra Vernard, Kristoff Vernard, Tony Stark, Natasha Stark, Misha Romanov, Valeria Richards, Charlie Rogers

Hey all.

Steve's birthday is in 11 days and I'd love to have a surprise party for him. So Dec 18th at the mansion. 7pm. I need a victim volunteer to get him out of the mansion so we can decorate.

RSVP to me.

Also the first person to let it slip gets a suitable punishment.


Anya

nextgen_misc:

A man holding a piece of parchment stood in Times Square, the crossroads of the world, and read from the page. A spell was cast and the Montesi Formula, which once wiped out all vampires, was reversed. The all of the vampires that had been destroyed reformed right in front of the spell caster. They looked around for a few moments, confused about what had happened. Then the hunger took a hold and Times Square was full of humans with warm blood flowing through their veins.

nextgen_misc:

You are cordially invited to attend the 26th annual Maria Stark Foundation's Winter Charity event.

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

Saturday December 19th
Seven O'clock pm - Midnight

Formal dress required.

Please bring a donation for Toys for Tots.

quitethecharmer:

Vincent knocked at the door to his brother's lab. He'd been carefully rehearsing and mapping out possible turns in the conversation ahead of time, and was in his mind fully prepared. He was about to have to eat some crow, not his favorite concession to make.

"Kristoff? Do you have some time? I wanted to discuss something with you."

nextgen_holiday:

“We need to be more grateful. I think there is no true character without gratitude. It is one of the marks of a real strong character to have a feeling of thanksgiving and gratitude for blessings. We need more of that spirit in our homes, in our daily associations, in the church, everywhere. It doesn't cost anything, and it is so easy to cultivate.” - Ezra Taft Benson

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.

quitethecharmer:

Vincent woke up, and instinctively smiled, already knowing what day it was without having to think twice. It was his birthday. More than that, it was his eighteenth birthday. Perhaps not so great a deal in the Asgard of his birth or the Latveria of his father, but here, in the country he had made his home, it meant a great deal. He had high hopes for the day.

There had been that miserable little worm of a thought that Kristoff was no longer legally expected to look after him, but that was routinely quashed each time it came up.

discardedheir:

The morning of Saturday, November 14 dawned. With the whole Fantastic Four family there, the chairs and a few minor decorations for the empty 29th floor of the Baxter building were easily set up. The rest of the guests would be arriving soon, Cassandra's friends among the Avengers.

Jennifer Walters had been kind enough to recommend the judge. Their license was in order. The bride was with the maid of honor and there was no word of any problems at the moment.

By noon, Cassandra would be his, officially. Scotty, too, to an extent.
If any outsider prevented that, Kristoff was not absolutely certain he could keep himself from ...a display of excessively bad manners.

quitethecharmer:

While Vincent and his brother loved each other very much, it was fairly obvious to most that Kristoff was not the most jubilant of individuals. Therefore, as he had done for several years prior, Vincent dispensed with noise and ceremony when wishing his brother a happy birthday. Simple things were to be appreciated. That was why, when Kristoff parted himself from his work that day, he would find a platter with spiced tea and banitsa, accompanied by a birthday card he had made that played Vivaldi with repulsor noises once opened.

The rest of his day's schedule had been cleared, with the intention of a stroll through Central Park and an art gallery, and Vincent himself would be easy to find in the building.

discardedheir:

Kristoff sat Cassandra down in a fairly comfortable seat amidst a bunch of lab equipment. Scotty was with his grandfather.

"As far as we have been able to ascertain, this is the situation: fortunately, the reason the neural encoding changes caused by the nanites seem to have taken so long after they were introduced to start affecting you is that they have to constantly maintain their effects; nothing has been permanently neurologically altered. So the gradual buildup of noticeable problems required some time. And once we use the right series of radiation to take the nanites out of the equation, there shouldn't be a risk of a serious negative reaction." Which was an incredible relief. Still... "Finding varieties of radiation which would do that without causing you any physiological damage has been difficult, and of course I'd rather err on the side of caution. But I've found a set of safe forms that I believe will be effective."

Assuming this worked, it would be the best conceivable birthday present to himself ever.

discardedheir:

After talking to Cassandra, Kristoff returned to his lab and looked at the coins for just a few minutes in thoughtful silence.

And then, of course, Manners required one thing. He wrote four words neatly on a piece of paper, which he slipped into an envelope and put in his coat, before locking the bag of coins away in one of the lab's various secure drawers.

Then, after running a little more data about circumventing the nanites, Kristoff gathered some of his notes to bring with him as he left the lab.

Soon he knocked on the door of his brother's bedroom.

staturity:

Cassie folded her arms and looked at the Doom's "gift" for her and Kristoff's wedding. She waited long enough to be sure Vincent had left before calling Kristoff. It was time to get this over with quickly before something happened. If it happened. If. It might be harmless.

...Yeah, right.

"Kristoff? Can you come up" She called over the comm system.

staturity:

Getting shot was not an easy thing to recover from. Cassie was off the pain killers, walking around, and was going to be discharged fairly soon. Between worrying about physical therapy, Scotty, her upcoming wedding, and Kang, it wasn't that odd for Cassie to miss a few things.

But missing something like a funky looking snake tattoo on her ankle? She didn't know how that happened.

"What the frak?" She sat on her bed and pulled her foot up so she could get a closer look. Unfortunately that involved moving her ab muscles (seriously, was there any movement that didn't involve those muscles?). "Ow."

quitethecharmer:

Vincent carried the 'personal' mail for the building under one arm, having felt like picking it up himself for a change. All the usual papers related to fanmail went through scanning by HERBIE, and Kristoff's patent related mail went directly to his office. Just the usual light load from actual friends and relatives.

And... a package in plain brown paper, with no markings. It had a woodsy scent to it that prickled at Vincent's memory, making him uneasy. It had to have passed through security screenings to make it this far into the building, so he wasn't concerned about it being a bomb, not one of any mundane make anyway. He turned it over, and everything else he was holding slipped from his hands as he gripped it tightly, his nostrils flaring as he headed for his magical research lab.

The package bore the Latverian royal seal.

~~

Several hours of strenuous mystical testing later, he was convinced the package would do no harm, and opened it. Inside was a deerskin pouch, filled with coins. A simple piece of parchment with a simple note of Kristoff's impending marriage.

His... Kristoff's... their father had seen fit to send a traditional engagement gift. Vincent's jaw tightened and he was tempted to incinerate the present right then and there. How dare he throw Kristoff table scraps after all this time? Worse, what if Kristoff welcomed them? What if he wanted to invite him?

He shut the pouch and note inside a secure safe in the wall, then called Andrea. He wasn't planning on asking her advice, but he needed out of the building immediately.

staturity:

Fourteen long, painful hours of labor and the baby Cassie carried for nine months was in her arms at last. Everything was taken care of, she was wheeled into a private room, urged to sleep after such a long delivery, and left alone (well, mostly left alone, her father at least, had left). Really, she should sleep. She was exhausted. But she also had an adrenaline rush from hell.

Mostly, though, she didn't want to let go of her son.

It was funny, Cassie thought Scotty would look like Nate but she saw more of herself in him. Of course it was obvious who his father was, given away by the features of his tiny face, not to mention his dark skin and hair.

"Hey baby." She said softly.

Please don't let Kang show up now. Please God, please.

staturity:

It took six hours of surgery to fix the damage Kang's weapon caused. It was six more hours before Cassie was awake, and nearly half a day before she was well enough for the breathing tube to come out.

The doctors walked her through what they'd done and what to expect during recovery. She got off lucky, the doctors told her. They had no idea.

staturity:

Another morning, another day school day for Scotty.

The battle (and oh, that word was so accurate for it) to get her son out of bed was over. He was dressed, fed, and all she needed to do was drive him to school. He was still tired but usually by the time the drive was over he was alert and excited to be learning.

Today was just like any other day. Or so Cassie thought.

discardedheir:

The "axe-wielding maniac" had been active too close to the Baxter Building to escape the Fantastic Four's immediate attention.

And so here they are. And he was hardly difficult for them to contain, although he was obviously quite, quite fast which made taking him down less than immediate.

rabbitfromahat:

... thinks that New York may just be a bit too sophisticated for this little, mid-west magic show.

Summer finished scanning the article in the morning paper and then flung it across her hotel room in irritation. God, she hated the press. If they ever bothered to get anything right, she'd just die of amazement. They hadn't even seen the damn show and they were already bashing it.

She sighed as she got to her feet and shucked the bathrobe she'd donned after her shower. All the travel time they were putting in for the show was beginning to get on her nerves. It made sense... you couldn't put down roots in one place and expect to keep a show like hers going. It counted on fresh audiences to amaze with variations of the same tricks. Stagnation was their biggest enemy. Still, it would be nice to not have a permanent case of jet lag.

It didn't help her mood that it was yuck-o-clock in the morning, either. A yawn reminded her of how little sleep she'd allowed herself, but that was the price to pay for a little freedom. If she didn't get up early and slip away on her own, Christopher would have her tied up all day with advertising, business, and whatever the heck else he did. He really didn't like that she'd started to question just what it was that he did to earn the rather large percentage of the profits from the show that he claimed for himself. Without her there wouldn't even be a show.

Summer muttered in annoyance to herself as she pulled on jeans, boots, and a t-shirt. A soft, leather messenger's bag that carried her important things was slung over one shoulder. After a second's pause, she stuffed the newspaper into it, too. What the hell? She could always do the crossword puzzle.

Practice made her silent as she slipped out of her room. Her manager slept in the next room over. Slept hard, too. The man was fond of his drink. There was probably another two hours at least before he'd be conscious, but better safe than sorry, right?

The sidewalks were already busy. That was one of the best things about big cities. She never had to worry about finding the whole place shut down for the night just as she was raring to go after a show. The first order of business was going to have to be breakfast. Judging by the scents she was picking up in the air, there was a cafe or something nearby. That would do nicely.

It was early yet and most of the other outdoor tables were empty as the waitress sat her down. She draped her bag over the back of her chair after fishing out a deck of playing cards. While she waited for her meal to arrive, she shuffled the cards in all sorts of elaborate ways. She just wasn't ready to face the newspaper again, yet. Instead, she watched people go by as her hands moved expertly over the cards.

awesome_andrea:

It had been, in Andrea's opinion, a most enjoyable evening.  To her own amazement, she had proven surprisingly capable at dancing.  Perhaps not so surprising, really, when one considered her ability to sync her body movements to a rhythm and keep time with computerized precision.  But she had not employed her more mechanical aspects that evening, relying instead on a bit less regulated talent, not even absorbed from those around her.


They stayed out much of the night, returning to the Baxter Building very late (or very early, depending on how one considered the situation), though the activities did not stop there.  They were young, in love, and still quite filled with passion.  Andrea had not been quite prepared for sex, not yet, not until she was certain she had properly adjusted her programming and capabilities so that it was a pleasurable activity for all involved, but it had been quite close.  To use a baseball metaphor, second base had most definitely been reached.


Early still, passions had given way to the need for sleep, even for androids (she mimicked a regular human sleep cycle when possible), a sleep spent wrapped in each others arms.

The late of day worked its way through the windows of the Baxter Building...

discardedheir:

She was so beautiful.
It was pretty much all Kristoff could think about as he kissed her again after his shirt hit the floor.
That and how much he wanted to make her happy, just to make her happy.
It certainly seemed to be going well, too. The strange tension she seemed to be under so much lately seemed to have been lifted. He was certainly doing his best to make her as comfortable as possible.
"I love you, Cassandra," he whispered.

cosmic_son:

Not needing to sleep is definitely a benefit in preparing for an event of this size. The tables have been laid out on the lawns since last night, the chicken has been marinating, the burgers and brats are laid out, and the giant multi-section grill is all laid out. But his real work has been on the ribs. His latest experiment in building on his culinary hobby, he started them with a black pepper and cajun spice rub, moved on to homemade bbq sauce of hot and sweet pepper mix, and has been slow cooking the ribs most of the night.

All is about ready as the time arrives for people to start arriving, and Jarvis and his helpers have most of the tables set and the salads, condiments and party trays laid out. Informed of the time, Iason starts laying out the rest of the meat in segregated sections, readying to serve the first arrivals.

staturity:

Nearly every girl dreams of being a queen at one point in their life. Cassie just never expected any of her dreams to be like this.
( That voice which calls to me and speaks my name. )

discardedheir:

Cassandra and Kristoff talked to Scotty. The boy'd had a lot to take in these past couple weeks, but this at least was good stuff.

And then, over the communication system. "Vincent? Andrea? While it is not an emergency, Cassandra and I would like to speak to you as soon as possible."

discardedheir:

They had been home from their ordeal for a little more than a week. Kristoff had spent a good portion of that -- when he wasn't checking on Cassandra and Scotty -- upgrading all of the Baxter buildings' defenses with great thoroughness.

He looks over his lab. Specifically at his most recently created...project.

At first, the shame welled up and he'd closed the box and shoved it in a drawer.

But that, he decided, was stupid. Enough hesitation. There would probably always be a good reason to wait longer. He slipped it into his pocket.

Then he fixed some tea. He brought it over to just outside the 'Lang Suite' of the building.

nextgen_misc:

The Fantastic Four’s new location was, as it had been last time, in the middle of a busy square. The architecture of the buildings was different, more advanced and with an oriental feel. There was a garden in the center of the square, well cared for and vibrant. Not very far from the square there was a Sphinx. If the unwilling time travelers at first assumed that they were In Egypt, they could not be faulted. However, there was a landmark that would place them in New York City: the Statue of Liberty. At least that was it had been. Now Lady Liberty was transformed, now bearing a striking resemblance to one member of their team: Cassandra Lang.

benparker:

Manhattan, New York. Ah, smell that fermented hotdog and cheese combo. It would make Ben hungry if not for the full course meal he had before going out. Mary Jane always insisted he eat whatever was put in front of him, not like he complained, mom was a supreme cook of ultimate blackholes and could rival a top chef or two given the chance. That should be her superpower at least, she should get a medal for it. With a full stomach he headed out into the streets, camera hanging from his neck and swinging against the black AC/DC t-shirt he sported -- he'd be back before ten, there was that thing called taking out the trash... though he grunted when he was told it was his turn, he'd try to remember this time. Last time May ended up taking it out and he had to clean out her closet in turn. 'It's only fair.' Peter stated, telling him about the times he forgot to do his chores when living with Uncle Ben and Aunt may -- it ended with him doing double work or a good talking to. That seemed to carry over to his parents much to his disdain.

Ben veered his thoughts toward a newsstand, there were a few passerbys paying for magazines, top seller books and newspaper -- Ben attempted seeing over a large man's shoulder, finally catching sight of the Daily Bugle Paper in question. The headline read 'HAVOC AT DISNEYLAND!' subtitle 'NOT EVEN THE SAFEST PLACE IS SAFE! UNBELIEVABLE!' he rolled his eyes, of course not, villains liked corrupting anything and everything that looked like a good innocent time. But at Disneyland? He had to take a look at that, he remembered someone at home mentioning it, though he'd been too involved with a game controller at the time to actually listen.

Once the Burly man moved away from the stand, nearly knocking him over, wide eyed he held onto the side and looked at the seller with an awkward grin. "Ah, hi, one Daily Bugle?" The seller didn't look like the polite type but he didn't mouth off like the usual New Yorker, exchanging the paper for money in hand. Ben moved away to lean against the side of the stand, reading through the context with interest. "Always making it out to be worse than it really is... figures." He expected the article to mention death and mayhem, but it was nothing more than what a couple of high-school pranksters would do if they had the means to do it. News about Tony Stark and The Young Avengers seemed more up there with what he thought he would be reading. It happened a few days ago, so, it was still being investigated from what he could tell, but it looked like a new team of superheros was on the rise on the opposite of the country. "Can never have too many of those."

nextgen_parent:

With the right technology, the various offspring of Nathaniel Richards I were not terribly difficult to track down when he recalled their existence.

This time, he was after his favorite unacknowledged bastard. It had been more than a decade. The lad was doing well enough for himself, apparently. No more satisfaction about siring the absolute monarch of Latveria, though. Pity about that -- some sort of Matter of Honor, wasn't it? Boy must've gotten that from Mirela. Or, well, Doom himself, from a less genetic perspective.

But his thoughts were digressing again. Kristoff. And his little friends. In need of a visit. A treat. A bit of a warning. Currently in...the region of Orlando, Florida. Nathaniel, having prepared the equipment he'd need for this little excursion, materialized in one of the rooms of the resort suite in which they were staying. Seeing only Kristoff there, he at first said nothing and just smiled.

discardedheir:

He was going to do everything right this time.

Dr. Kristoff Vernard, impeccably dressed and damned if he'll be nervous, knocked on Scott Lang Sr.'s door when he was fairly certain he would not be busy.

discardedheir:

It needed to be perfect. He'd original focused on the manipulation of pressure and temperature within a miniscule forcefield, but for the last few layers, he'd brought out the hydrocarbon gas for chemical vapor disposition.

He was still considering what metal to incorporate. Would titanium be inappropriate? Kristoff realized he had a slight bias towards using titanium for a lot of things. It needed more thought, and it wasn't ready for that part, anyway.

Not to mention the fact that the entire project might well be completely pointless.

Very optimistic, Dr. Vernard.

He reaches a safe shutdown point and stores the container away before going back to his room to dress for dinner.

quitethecharmer:

Vincent walked with Andrea into the common area, where they'd both called for their 'senior' teammates to join them. "Kristoff... Cassandra... there is something of importance both Andrea and I feel we should discuss with you." There was a calm resolve about him, but a somewhat sullen tone as well.

discardedheir:

Since Vincent had started dating more than a year ago, Kristoff has been far from entirely happy with his approach to it. But he's almost always done little more than the most rudimentary hall-monitoring, trying to be grateful that at least he knew all the fairly-interchangeable girls were willing.

This time, though, not long after speaking to Andrea, he's standing waiting when Vincent gets home, his expression serious. "We need to talk."

awesome_andrea:

Andrea paced nervously, various programs of differing weight and thought-strings running rapidly through her processor.  She was beginning to fear she was experienced cascade failure.  She was beginning to think she was defective.  She was beginning to think there was something seriously wrong with several of her systems.  Vincent had done some work on them, including putting considerable design effort into her "skin", but the bulk of the work and science work in general was done by Kristoff.

So she sought him out, using the Baxter Building's computer to locate him.  "Kristoff?"  she asked, as she approached.  "May I speak with you?"

awesome_andrea:

Andrea, to the untrained and unfamiliar eye, seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time watching television.  And it was true that she enjoyed television very much and did spent a lot of time watching it.  What this ignored, however, was her ability to multitask and process different strands simultaneously.

At this moment, for example, she was watching the news, using approximately 30% of her processing power to pay attention to it.  A full 40% of her processing power was devoted to her on-line education classes, including a portion devoted to research for an assignment.  A surprising 20% of her processing power was being devoted to Vincent, including several recursive strings that she did not fully understand and that had, in fact, begun to worry her to the point where she should likely ask Kristoff to run a deeper-diagnostic.  And the remaining 10% was devoted to basic systems funcationality.

All of which basically meant she could split her attention several ways without the loss of performance that an ordinary human might have.

Even still, it was several moments before the TV-watching strand connected with other parts of her processor, signaling a high-priority alarm. She redistributed her processing power to give her complete attention to the television.

"....amateur video from the random attacks on the Fantastic Four showcasing "Awesome" Andrea of the young Fantastic Four fighting the criminal know as the Thinker.  "Awesome" Andrea, also known as Andrea Denker, appears unusually effected by a localized electromagnetic pulse and then..."

The video continues, showing Andrea being decapitated (she shuddered at that memory), leaving a shower of sparks, circuits, and wires.

"This raises serious questions about the most mysterious and least-known member of the Fantastic Four.  Their public relations officer declined to comment when questioned earlier this week..."

Andrea's processing faculties largely failed to notice just how tightly she was gripping the arm of the couch.

nextgen_misc:

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Across the great nation of the United States of America people everywhere celebrate the freedoms that they enjoy, the history, government, and traditions of the United States with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events.

quitethecharmer:

Vincent was pleased with himself. That wasn't anything out of the ordinary, Vincent was generally pleased with himself; but this was exceptional. His two childhood friends, his best friend and teammate, and his adoptive/extended family, all sitting down to dinner together. Granted, the Richards family and their lot weren't in attendance, but this was still very nice. Combining it with the fact that he'd picked them all up their dinners of choice from one of the city's best eateries was just icing.

Once they were all settled, and he'd explained how he'd met the wolf daughters, he made the 'official' introductions.

"And so... Moira and Danielle Hrimharisdottin... Kristoff Vernard, Cassandra and Scotty Lang, and 'Awesome' Andrea Denker." He gestured around the table with a bit of flourish, before sitting back down between Moira and Andrea.

godlierthanthou:

Asleif, frankly, had had more than enough of being cooped up at the Avengers Mansion with not only her siblings, but that ridiculous red-haired mortal girl and the rest of the so-called "Young Avengers."   And while they were not technically supposed to venture forth, when had she ever let that stop her before?

So, first using a simple spell to teleport herself outside, and then a second to adopt proper mortal guise (at least to the eyes of any weak-willed mortal), she had set about into the city.

Strange city, truly.  Fascinating, in its own way.  Very unlike the Golden Realm.  Here, there were wretched lost souls amidst spires of glory and audacity.  Contradictions everywhere she looked.

At a mortal shop, a mortal had asked if he could buy her something called "coffee."  She had accepted, largely out of curiosity.  He had been rather upset when she had walked away after excepting the drink, but a fiery gaze had sent him fleeing in the other direction, terrors conjured up in his mind enough to dispel any further conversation.

And so she sat and sipped, dipping briefly into mortal minds  to scan their thoughts.  Truly strange creatures.

nextgen_misc:

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." Clarence Budington Kelland

"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father." - Pope John XXIII

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

discardedheir:

Kristoff woke, very sore, head pounding. He was out of his armor, his hands restrained and locked behind his back. He hadn't ascertained what kind of lock yet, because he was busy noticing the other compartments. Separating everyone via transparent plastic was fairly...classic. He spotted Vincent first, apparently well; Kristoff was actually grateful just to see him even under the circumstances, with all he'd started to fear...
Cassandra, too, though she didn't seem to have regained consciousness, seemed essentially unharmed.
There wasn't a fourth compartment. Instead, outside any of the plastic confines, standing next to his own armor, was Andrea's body. And set beside Cassie was Andrea's head.

discardedheir:

After looking over the damaged cameras with Cassandra, Kristoff hadn't quite been able to prove there'd been tampering with the imagery, but there'd been progress. When Scott Lang Sr. was out of questioning, Scott Lang Jr. was put to bed, and Cassie needed time to think, Kristoff had headed first for the lab, where he'd distracted himself tweaking his armor's new voice-recognition and signal-reception systems for a while. Then he'd headed for the skies, testing out the latter...catching radio signals from the Balkans. ...A slightly problematic 'distraction' technique, really.

He landed in a nice out-of-the way spot, where one could almost pretend one could see the stars.

staturity:

Bad news always came when you were finally getting some time to relax, experience told Cassie this was true.

"Dad slow down you're not making any sense. What hap-" She paused and pulled on her hair with her free hand. "What? Where were you?" She was now pacing up and down the hall, intently listening to her father over the cell phone. "O.K. you were obviously set up. Do you know who might-" Another pause and she had to fight the urge to bang her head against the wall. "O.K., O.K., it's some sort of shape shifter, maybe a skrull or..." God there were so many shape shifting villains out there. Or people who could manipulate the recording themselves. "I'll find out I promise... Yes, I'll be careful... yes of course... Alright, I love you too." And end phone call. Cue wanting to scream very very loudly.

staturity:

Cassie Lang really didn't want to be here. It had been bad enough telling her dad. He hadn't yelled at her but she wished she had. His silent disappointment hurt more.

But she owed it to Kristoff to tell him in person. At the least they were friends and at most they were, well, something a lot more. Which was why she was here at the Baxter Building looking for him.

staturity:

It was the end of the school year and the last report card for little Scott's first grade. Good grades all around- As and Bs. There were some incidents that blackened the report but she all ready knew about those. She'd had a talk with Scotty about how he wasn't allowed to take apart the computers in the computer lab. She'd also had a talk with him about how he wasn't supposed to hit the other kids at school during recess. That she was more concerned about considering his father was... well...

But she'd gotten into fights as a child too. It was just one of those things. Right?

Right?

She really wished parenthood came with a manual.