whosperfectnow:

The mood was always, well, frosty when Tina spent more than a moment in her mother's company.  It wasn't for lack of engagement on Emma's part and even Tina acknowledged that the woman did try to make conversation and participate.  Tina, however, had little patience for Emma and even less in the way of trust so when Tina started asking Emma about Bruce Gotham and got shut down pretty quickly Tina had no qualms about just walking away from lunch early.  Justin would tell her to try to work things out at least on a civil level, but Tina just couldn't.  Some part of her inside threw a temper tantrum at the very idea.  As far as she was concerned, Emma was never to be allowed even an inch in the way of courtesy.

Still a bit on edge from the disappointment that was trying to get information out of her mother Tina made a call to Namor with hope that he would give her a bit of information.  The man was happy to hear from her, glad to talk to her, but like Emma before him didn't give her any information--though Tina could tell from the way his voice changed that the wing-ankled man wanted to do harm to Bruce Gotham in ways that even she couldn't fully imagine.  Rather than trigger an incident she thanked Namor for his time, promised to check in on Kassi, and hung up the phone. 

Still no closer to any answers she made her way to the coffee shop where she had, weeks before, promised to meet Bruce Gotham for coffee.  At the time she'd looked forward to it; now she was just uncomfortable.  She was a mutant and he knew it, yet he worked for (and seemed to be friends with) someone who was very publicly anti-mutant.  Something didn't make sense.  It troubled her and continued to trouble her even as she walked into the Starbucks, ordered herself a venti misto, and found a seat to wait in.

son_of_discord:

Rose was out with Tina tonight, probably having a great time at the film festival, which left Joey at the school feeling a bit bored. There was nothing on television, really, Ana-Pants was gone home, so he couldn't bug her until she tried to optic blast him. Kitten was enjoying her new girlfriend from That TV Show, and...when he was done counting, that was every last one of Joey's available friends. Cassidy was into his new girlfriend, too, and Misha was out and about as well.

( Read more... )

 

yourtruecolors:

A LOHN event, full of music, food, and wholesome, smiling faces. Minnie hated them so, so much. She longed to run back to Julian and watch as he brought Zothelle's little empire crashing down.

But for now, she watched, and smiled, and charmed, and lightly flirted, and filed away every single piece of information she heard.

wild_rose:

It was, technically, rather late.  And this part of town, somewhere in one of the NYC's Japanese neighborhoods, was not necessarily the safest in the after midnight hours of the night.  Not that Rose Logan was particularly worried.  Though only five feet tall and of a deceptive enough build, she was by far one of the most dangerous things there. 

Besides, she had a friend with her with telepathic and diamond-form powers.  Between the two of them, there pretty much wasn't anything they couldn't handle.  And the stuff that they couldn't, well, nothing to be ashamed of, because that meant they'd crossed over to end of the world level threats.

As it was, Rose couldn't pass up on a Kurosawa film festival.  A little theater had been showing Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, and the Hidden Fortress.  Original Japanese with subtitles.  Pretty close to perfect.

"So, Frosty," Rose asked, "whatcha think?"

iron_hide:

"Mr.  Rhodes, we have to say, this is the most forward thinking and far reaching work we've ever seen. The coding is superb and the device itself is not nearly as bulky as its television counterpart. We received several excellent submissions, but your work stood head-and-shoulders above the rest. The data storage and recollection capabilities are also second-to-none." says Mr. Will Wright, a trustee of the X-Prize Foundation.

( Read more... )

 

 

yourtruecolors:

Minerva del Garda is out for dinner with some of her new associates again, gleaning little bits of information here and there. How funding works in the LOHN is slowly starting to come into focus, but she'll need quite a bit more, and that means more schmoozing in all levels of the organization.

And so she giggles at the lightly veiled genetics-based jokes, and flirts just short of shamelessly, and files away their information, and reminds herself that they will pay.

whosperfectnow:

Justin hadn't been gone for long, but he already seemed to be a world away.  He was busy, very busy, and she knew that, but it was still sad and depressing that he was barely even responding to text messages.  Having grown accustomed to having Justin around so much made his absence even heavier and time seemed to drag.  Tina could feel the sadness pulling at the corners of her mind and knew that the longer she sat and thought about Justin's absence the lower she was going to get.  To that end she decided to get off of the couch and do something.  The closets hadn't been touched in ages, after all.

She'd hauled a hefty load of clothing (mostly dresses) and shoes in and lay them on the counter.  Vincent's Tailor and Shoes was a little, almost hole-in-the-wall place but it had a mighty reputation for being the absolute best.  Tina trusted their staff and genuinely enjoyed going there, the little old grandmother who did most of the alterations always ready to give Tina a compliment about her figure or tell her to drink more water.  It was a kind of gentle fussing care and attention that Tina had missed.  It'd been a long, long time.

Tina had signed off on her customer slip and was turning to leave when the bell on the door jingled with the entrance of another patron.

whosperfectnow:

Something about the couch had been annoying Tina for a few weeks.  It wasn't the couch itself, that was fine and very comfortable.  Justin always seemed to enjoy sprawling out on it for movie nights.  What it seemed to be was that Tina didn't like where it was in the living room so, with the day to herself, she spent some time rearranging things.  Tina pushed furniture around, adjusted where things were placed, even bought a couple of new throw blankets to dress things up.  When she was finished she was pleased with her work and sat down to wait for Justin to come over.  He practically lived there; his opinion mattered a great deal to her.

whosperfectnow:

Tina had looked at the envelope of documents easily a dozen times, but she still couldn't quite believe it.

She had to call Rose.

wild_rose:

Rose always had a good head for dates.  When you planned on living as long as she probably would, it was probably important to have one of those.

Besides, this one was easy.  Annie was practically a sister to her, though she'd also admit that Frosty was kind of supplanting her in the best friend department.  No slight to Annie, but while Annie was the friend who would bail her out of jail, Frosty was the one who'd be in the cell with her.

Never the less, there were few people she was closer to.  Rose had gotten her a new leather jacket and the promise to get her a fake id so they could go drinking.

nextgen_holiday:


I arise from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are shining bright.
I arise from dreams of thee,
And a spirit in my feet
Hath led me -- who knows how?
To thy chamber window, Sweet!

The wandering airs they faint
On the dark, the silent stream--
And the Champak's odours
Like sweet thoughts in a dream;
The nightingale's complaint,
It dies upon her heart,
As I must on thine,
O belovèd as thou art!

O lift me from the grass!
I die! I faint! I fail!
Let thy love in kisses rain
On my lips and eyelids pale.
My cheek is cold and white, alas!
My heart beats loud and fast:
O press it to thine own again,
Where it will break at last!

Percy Bysshe Shelley

son_of_discord:

X-Force, plus Foxx, sped toward the Land of the Rising Sun with all due haste to rescue Rose. Joey is quite during the flight, ready to do whatever is necessary to save his woman the moment they touch down. Honestly, he doesn't have a plan besides "find Rose, kill whoever took her, bring Rose home."

That doesn't bother him much, because X-Force has operated on less of a plan than this before and come out all right.

"Are we there yet, Ana-Pants?" Joey asks, utterly serious for once. He was ready to throw down.
 

son_of_discord:

Three days after Rose’s disappearance, Joey Allerdyce is a worried man. Coming home from Misha’s and finding out that she didn’t come home worried him a little, but he knew Rose could and would take care of herself. If she’d called during the first or the second day, Joey would have just chalked it up to Rose wanting a bit more time and space to sort out her own head. He would have given her as much time as she needed as long as they could set some time to talk.

( Read more... )

whosperfectnow:

*takes place after Gretel*

For once Summers had been reasonable; he hadn't insisted on full debriefing and medical examinations when Tina and X-Force returned from their time-hopping adventures and she was glad for it.  Tina wanted to go home.  It felt like forever since she'd been there and she wasn't exactly certain what would be waiting for her when she returned.  As ironic as it was, she had lost track of time, at least in her own world.  To her it was just another evening as she pulled into the garage, killed the engine, and made her way into the house, dropping her keys int he bowl by the door, kicking her shoes off as she went. 

whosperfectnow:

The jumps were dizzying as were the changes in her physiology.  The additional abilities were leaving her, almost being written out of her dna.  It would have been a huge relief except leaping through time was equally as draining so when Tina landed in 1776, she landed face first in the mud and she was perfectly content to stay right there.

Until she was yanked up by her hair demanding to know where the hell she'd come from.

It was a familiar-seeming voice and when she was able to see the face the voice belonged to she understood why: Sebastian Shaw clearly looked like one of his ancestors.  Enough so that Tina turned on the diamond armor at will--a first--and punched him right in the face.

By the time X-Force dropped in, Tina was in a full on brawl with this Shaw and his fellow soldiers to the point that all she could see or hear was the fight at hand.  It...wasn't going well.

nextgen_misc:

After some discussion with the team, they decided to jump to the London Blitz in an attempt to meet up with Christina at the end of her time jumps, to catch her before she was stuck wherever Dave had sent her.  Jenny had no trouble bringing the team along--she could take up to six "passengers" safely at one time--but once they actually arrived, that's where her expertise ended.  This was, after all, a different universe and while the generalities were much the same, some details were bound to be different.

"Remember guys, do not trust what you know about history.  It's only a guide here, not fact."

In a blink they were on the streets of London. A quick check of a newspaper gave them the date: 29 December, 1940.  It was a perfect match to the book Tina'd been reading, a book about the Second Great Fire of London.  The team was just hours away from the devastating air raid.

"Christina appears to be getting herself involved in notable events, my money's on her being at St. Paul's Catherdral.  It was famously spared in the raid by the efforts of firefighters."

Orienting herself a bit, Jenny started leading the group as unobtrusively as possible towards the landmark.

whosperfectnow:

One moment she was in a front yard in the middle of nowhere Missouri getting ready to kick the ass of captain von weirdo.  The next she was in more pain than she'd ever felt before--which was saying something given the last three missions--and then...nothing.  How long the nothing lasted she wasn't sure.  Time was the last thing she was thinking about because instead of being a nice, comfortable fall day it was suddenly ridiculously hot.  There were also guys wearing what looked like togas standing around her where she lay semi-face down on the ground.  And they were yelling at her in....Latin?

Oh shit.

"Um...hi."

Tina suddenly wished she'd been paying closer attention reading that book on Ancient Rome.  Or that she'd managed to finish it.  She made a mental note that if she ever got home, she was buying a Kindle.

whosperfectnow:

Since Summers still didn't want Christina doing anything combat-oriented but couldn't put her on desk duty either (not to mention still couldn't pin the unusual disappearance...and later discovery of the remains of his car on her) he put her in the only other place he figured he could keep her out of trouble: Cerebro duty. For the last week she'd been spending her days up with Jenny Elston and she still wasn't quite sure what Elston did, powers-wise.  She was a telepath to be sure, but when asked about anything else, she'd clam up, shrug her shoulders, and say she didn't have the greatest social skills so Professor Xavier figured she was best off monitoring Cerebro--but she was glad for the company.  Cerebro was, most of the time, boring.

"So your latest power acquisition is omnilingualism, huh?"  The girls had taken to playing poker during some of the really quiet moments.  Jenny kept winning and looked up at Tina over her cards as she awaited an answer.

"Yeah.  My boyfriend loves it because I can talk dirty to him in a ton of languages now."

"I'm surprised you haven't picked up some weird armor plating, dating a Rhodes.  They're kinda close with the Starks."

"I do diamond armor.  And I only pick up other mutant powers.  Not technological genius.  And how do you know anything about the Rhodes and Starks?" 

Jenny just smiled.  "Same way I just beat you.  Again."  She tapped her temple.  "Are you sure you're a telepath?  You don't seem to do a lot of mind-reading."

"Spent way too much time in my childhood doing it.  Dammit, you did win again."  Tina started to gather up the cards when the Cerebro alert went off, loudly. The two girls rushed to look at the console.

"Oh shit, that can't be right."  Jenny's eyes widened.  "Yesterday, there were five low-level mutant signatures there.  Now..."

Tina tapped the glass.

"Now it looks like a power bomb went off."  The two girls looked at each other.  Last time this had happened, it was Fargo.  Tina started out of the room.   "I'll get Summers."

***

Ten minutes later, Tina was banging on Summers' office door.

whosperfectnow:

Tina had to get away from Xavier's for a bit.  The closer in proximity she was to her fellow X-types and mutants the higher the odds that she'd develop a new ability.  Tina was growing weary of the now-normal searing pain of her genetics rewiring to accommodate something new and while it was fun she couldn't go drinking with Rose every night.  She elected to go home for a bit, to go stretch out on her own couch and just relax in the relative peace and quiet of her brownstone.  Justin could come stay the night when he wanted to (provided she could lure him out of the lab...some flirtatious texts often did the trick)  and she would be safe to try to get a handle on what the hell was going on with her since Providence.  Dr. McCoy still had no lead on fixing her and Tina realized she had to psychologically brace herself for the possibility that she might never be her brand of normal again.

Today, she'd gotten up early.  Just had been there for the night so she got up, made him breakfast, sent him out the door (which made her feel kind of like a housewife, which as nice) and then sat herself down with a cup of coffee.  The day was still pretty early and she had a blank canvas.  A second cup of coffee in hand, she tried to decide what to do for the day.  It was kind of liberating to have no plans, but boring just the same.

wild_rose:

Normally, Rose spent as much time with Joey as was humanly possible, while still maintaining some degree of independence.  Which didn't mean she couldn't hang around with other people.   More importantly, right now, she needed to be able to head out with someone who could keep up with her, at least for a night.  

Careful consideration left Tina as the option here, so Rose went to hunt her down.

nextgen_holiday:

The air was warm and the sun was bright making it a perfect day for a cookout to celebrate Labor Day. Classes would start on the 7th (for those going to college they started a week ago) and it was the last chance to kick back and cut loose before hitting the books.

At Xavier's Institute For Higher Learning tables had been placed out around the pool and the large grill fired up. Burgers, hot dogs, sausage, ribs, corn on the cob, pasta salad, salad and fruit salad were just some of the food available to eat. Soda, water, fruit juice and other beverages were on ice.

It was a day of rest and relaxations for those who put their lives on the line for others.

iron_hide:

Justin had known mutants all his life, but staying at Xavier's was still a surreal experience. He's still getting to know his way around the place, and the only person he truly knows is Misha. After girding himself against the possibility of running into Misha's old man (who looked exactly like Commander Howlett from his own world) Justin heads to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

He grabs a tray and steps into the line, not really saying anything to anyone else. He's gotten a few stares, being the new guy and all, but no one's been hostile; in fact, they've all been really nice. Grabbing himself a turkey sandwhich and potato chips, he sits down and begins to eat, his mind going over calculations for the armor, when an odd bit of conversation cuts into his reverie.
 

( Read more... )

 

nextgen_parent:

To say that Scott had found the results of X-Force's mission distressing was an understatement. There was the fact that Nathan had played them; Scott was inclined to give his son the benefit of the doubt, but when he went and did something like this, using the students to carry out his own plans, well...

There was the appearance of a new group of Mutant terrorists. Especially one led by a woman styling herself after Magneto. In these troubling times, most of the so-called "evil" or revolutionary mutant groups had had the good sense to go to ground. Worse, the woman was bound to attract Magneto's attention, or worse, that of his followers. The very presence of a revolutionary cloaking herself in the Master of Magnetism's old standard could set the world of Mutants ablaze, with sides being chosen all around. It might well lead to a mutant civil war.

But worst of all, however, was the state of the team itself. Joey had been grievously injured. Tina was exhibiting strange side effects and it was possible the others would be experiencing the same. And even Rose was not her usual self, having retreated more into herself, in a way Scott had only seen in Logan a few times before.

The meeting with the team was a casual one, to hopefully keep them at ease. But this would not be easy. Not with the personalities that made up the team.

"Thank-you all for meeting like this," he said. "I know the last few days haven't been easy, and I want it known I appreciate the efforts you all put through. If the X-Tremists hadn't appeared, I have little doubt I'd be congratulating you on a job well done. You took a situation full of unknowns and performed above and beyond the call."

He frowned. "Unfortunately, in the wake of as many unknowns as we're currently facing here, and in light of giving you all time to recover... we have decided to temporarily suspend you all from field status; restoration of such... will come when we feel it safe, for both you and everyone else."

wild_rose:

Rose begged off anything after dinner with Brad, saying she had an early class in the morning.  A complete lie, but he bought it hook, line, and sinker.  They needed to mobilize as quickly as possible, and the lab would be mostly deserted in just a few hours.   Brad might possibly still be there, but she was more than prepared to deal with that.

It did not take long for the team to assemble, staging just outside the lab complex and just out of range of security cameras and the like.  Their stealth uniforms--which had been carefully and completely hidden away in their luggage--were the go to clothes of the day.  The black and gray suits would provide a measure of stealth and electronic misdirection.  Each contained a small mask, with various vision settings, though Rose's mask mimicked the lines of her usual pointy eared one.

"Okay," she said.  "We all know we need to shut this down.  That means smashing or confiscating any samples, destroying the computers, and otherwise makin' as a big a mess as possible.  And if there's anybody there...  we take them down as quickly as we can without killin' 'em.  We'll clean up anything we have to after we slow them back to the stone age."

She looked to Tina.  "Your move, chief."

wild_rose:

For the members of X-Force, the previous night had been extremely successful.  Each, in their own way, had gathered pieces of information which helped to make the larger puzzle a little more clear.

1) Rose had determined through a conversation with one of the lead scientists that not only did the X-Gene therapy work, but that it was largely being purposed as a means of suppressing the x-gene in others, with the possibility of adding powers to an individual being more of a side project.  She had also wrangled herself an invitation to see the lab up close and personal.

2) Tina and Joey had, in what even Rose would admit was a spectacular piece of subterfuge, learned that not only was there workings in place to get the therapy to the outside world, but Tina had secured herself a job within the lab on the promise of a favorable negotiation with regards to this deal.

3) Anastasia had managed to secure a security badge for the lab.  It would be some time before this was missed.  With Tina having gained access and her skills, this might have turned out to be redundant, but as each had been operating individually, some duplication was to be understandable.

4) And Chris...  had listened to rumors and confirmed that there was interest among the population in the therapy.  She also had a much more pleasant evening than any of the others had in their interactions with the natives.

In ones and twos, the group had passed the bits of information on to each other and begun to hatch a plan.  Rose and Tina would both be able to be in the lab at the same time easily enough.  Between Tina's technopathic abilities and experience, and Rose's own skillset, they could decide how to proceed from there.  The others would hold back on stand-by, ready to come with a moment's call and gain access either through Tina or through the stolen card. 

It was a solid plan.  It was supposed to just be about gathering info.  What could go wrong?

wild_rose:

With the fake backgrounds and IDs Summers and the rest of the crew, getting into Providence (Rose and Tina inserted in one group, Chris and Annie inserted in another, and Joey with his own plan) as part of differing immigrant groups had proven surprisingly easy.  Fake IDs listed them all as a little bit older than they were, but not impossibly so.  They'd passed the background checks, taken aptitude tests, and been given various placements within Providence society.

Per the initial meeting outline, they'd purposefully avoided each other for the first three days on the island itself.  Now, however, it was time to meet.

Rose--whose fake ID identified her as Elizabeth Howlett--sat down on the park bench that was X-Force's rendezvous point.  She took a long sniff, breathing in the air.  It was cleaner than back in the states, clean like the wilderness.  Whatever Nate was up to here... it sure seemed to her like he was doing something right.

whosperfectnow:

Tina hadn't seen Cassidy since she lost consciousness in the Blackbird on the way home after Fargo and to say that it was a less-than-good way to see someone last was an understatement.  It was made worse by Jake's death and while Tina was internally grieving that pretty hard---Jake had been one of her few friends--she knew Cassidy had to be going out of his mind.  He had not gotten off on a good foot.  Now that she was leaving for a mission, she knew she couldn't just go away for a bit without seeing him so after she met with Scott, Tina decided to track him down.

nextgen_parent:

The call went out for the members of X-Force to assemble in the briefing room as soon as possible. When they arrive, they'll find that it is Scott Summers, rather than the Professor, running this meeting. He looks grim, even by Scott Summers standards.

whosperfectnow:

Justin was cute.  He fixed up a little tracker bracelet like she couldn't figure out a way around it.  Granted she wasn't sure how long she could snow the device, but after Justin got up and went to work she let herself connect to the bracelet and overthrow the programming.  For the time being, the device thought she was at home.  In actuality, she was making a break for it.

About an hour later she was on grounds at Xavier's, waiting for Anastasia to show up so they could go shopping, get lunch...pretty much anything the other girl wanted.  Tina was just glad for the freedom even if she was apprehensive about meeting a sister from a world where their mother wasn't the worst parent in the world.

whosperfectnow:

She'd been careful to make sure every aspect of a near-fatal car accident was installed in her regard.  Her Jag was totaled, mostly smashed beyond recognition that it was ever an automobile.  An insurance claim had been filed.  There was a police report, complete with a ticket for reckless driving.  She'd been in a private hospital, which made sense given that she was a mutant and the location of the accident--close to Xavier's, meaning that a co-worker or friend had happened upon the scene so they would know where to send her.  She'd picked Joey for her alibi.  The option to lie had been his idea and the encouragement to make it stick his as well; she was damn well certain to make him an accomplice.  It was perfect and perfectly sickening to Tina.

The doctors had released her earlier that day and Tina had got herself home, arranged on the couch and more or less comfortable even with the bruises still staining her skin and the gash on her side still healing.  It was then that she contacted Justin, coupling her telepathy with her technopathy to send him a playfully suggestive holographic video letting him know that she was home.

The hologram Tina wasn't bruised.  She hoped Justin wouldn't cry misleading advertisement.

whosperfectnow:

There were healers at home.  More than a few had shown up when the Blackbird landed and medical staff pulled her off the aircraft.  In short order Tina had been stabilized though her injuries were even more grave than what her teammates had thought when they plucked her from the rubble in Georgia.  By the time an actual doctor got to look at her it was widely accepted that something miraculous had spared Tina Frost's life, though the doctor was able to confirm that what had actually happened was a freak surge in her control over her diamond form--her vital  organs had turned diamond inside of her.  She'd lost a lot of blood, but nothing major was damaged beyond repair and while healers could patch her up better than new there was discussion of letting some of the damage heal itself, mostly because her body was fighting the healers.

Frost's were stubborn bitches after all.

Admitted to a private hospital in the city, Tina rested comfortably in her own room.  She was irritated, though.  The news pissed her off and the fact that her pain medication made her sleepy was another annoyance.  She missed her boyfriend.  She was lonely for her friends.  There were still lots of hours open for visits, though, and she hoped someone would show up.

And that someone would call Justin, let him know she was okay and where the hell she was.

ministryoftruth:

“…The damage here in Fargo, Georgia is catastrophic tonight. Reports are still coming in, but the latest casualty toll is over 2,000. Military planes are being loaded with supplies and moved in from as far away as New York at this time.” Adrian Carver says solemnly, looking directly into the camera.

“Behind me, you can see the damage that occurred yesterday morning.” Adrian says, and the camera pans around the area to show the husks of ruined buildings, rubble, and emergency crews helping people to medical tents. The camera returns to Adrian, his eyes slowly misting.

“ Eyewitness accounts say that a battle between rival groups of mutants reached a fever pitch before a bomb or explosives of some kind were activated. Investigators are still researching the cause of this disaster; more information will come as this story develops. My name is Adrian Carver, signing off from Fargo, Georgia.” he says.

 “Good night and God Bless.”

nextgen_baddie:

3:00 am EST Somewhere in  Hills of Southern Georgia....



( Read more... )

nextgen_holiday:

Mothers are the place that we call home.
On them we rest our heads and close our eyes.
There's no one else who grants the same soft peace,
Happiness, contentment, sweet release,
Erasing nighttime tears with lullabies,
Restoring the bright sun that makes us bloom. - Anonymous

shattered:

Melinda doesn't really feel comfortable in her room. She's never gotten along well with her roommate, and she seems unable to get it changed, so instead she sits in a quiet, isolated corner of the mansion, doing her homework, away from where others might bother her. Math has never been her strong suit, but she's focused on getting good grades. She can't be sent out of here. She needs to remain with the X-Men.

ng_xavier_staff:

After their island adventures, the X-Men had been allowed several days to rest.  But then, Anastasia Summers, Rose Logan, Chris Pym, Christina Frost, John Allerdyce, and Melinda Dynar had all been called into the Professor's presence once more.

"Firstly," he told them when they were all assembled, "I must again apologize for my actions and how they endangered you.  Under Krakoa's influence, I all but sent you to your deaths."

He frowned, still ashamed at his failure to protect his charges.  "But you all performed beyond my wildest expectations, especially considering how few of you had ever worked together before.

"But I would like to see you working together again.  Reviewing your files, you all possess a unique variety of skills and talents, many of which are otherwise lacking in the field team.  Skills that are desperately needed now.  Ever since the Apocalypse-incident, mutant manifestations have been on a steady increase and we will not be the only ones to notice this.  Mutant activity in general seems to be on an upswing and this must be responded to.

You six would make an ideal team to assist with this situation, acting as a specialized investigative field team.  When necessary, you will be able to intervene and bring individuals here or otherwise offer the Institute's support.  When necessary, you will be able to act like another team of X-Men and combat threats as necessary.  And... when the situation requires it, you are uniquely qualified to investigation less wholesome things, seedier aspects of the world, by skill and power, and to deal with those as well.

You could be a powerful force... an X-Force, for good."

wild_rose:

By startling coincidence (yeah, right), all three squads had ended up at the cave at nearly the same time.  "Funny meeting you here," Rose muttered.

This was... wrong. Extremely wrong.  An island out to get them?  Missing X-Men?  A brand-new team being put together to go find them?  It all added up to one horrible, horrible possibility.  She'd been told the story often enough growing up, even used the place in question as a staging ground for Danger Room scenarios.

She looked over to Chris and Anastasia, eventually taking in Christina, Melinda, and Joey as well.  She was worried about him.  The others had survived mostly unscathed and she was healing, but he'd taken some hard knocks.  She'd have to keep an eye on him.  Dammit.  How she felt about him... major distraction right now.  And yet, she wouldn't trade him for all the edge it might offer.

"Okay, hands up, this remind anybody of anything from X-Men History 101?"
 

nextgen_misc:

With the speed of the Blackbird, the six X-Men were able to reach the island, located in an otherwise empty stretch of the Pacific Ocean, in almost no time at all. The island looked as though it had been untouched by man for centuries. Thick jungle had grown without limits and a towering volcano could be seen rising from the center. A thick swampland dotted one end. There was no sign of life, no sign of the Blackbird that had brought the other team.

There was an almost sinister feel about the whole thing.

ng_xavier_staff:

John Allerdyce.

Melinda Dyars.

Christina Frost.

Chris Grant-Pym.

Rose Logan.

Anastasia Summers.


To me!

The mental summons went out, calling the six to Professor Xavier's office.  Urgency, unusual in the usually composed founder and headmaster of the Institute, colored the psychic call.  This was not a summons to be refused.

iron_hide:

Justin Rhdoes is tired of lying in a hospital bed. His sister (he's still getting used to that) has had a tougher time of it than he has, so he doesn't think it's right for him to stay cooped up in a bed. After showering, getting dressed and "asking" to be allowed some time to himself, Justin takes Tony, his A.I., and decides to go see New York for himself.

He's still awed at how new everything looks here. This isn't a world ravaged by battle and bombs, and the people walk around here without a care in the world for their safety. Justin's awed by all of it, never having seen this many people in a single place that weren't hiding for their lives. After several blocks of walking, though, Justin feels fatigue set in. He curses his weak heart for the millionth time, and decides that food and drink are in order, since all he's eaten is infirmary food over the last week. He's got a bit of money as well, a gift from Rhodey.

He still doesn't know if the man likes the idea of having a son, and he still hasn't meet Miss Potts, his mother.

"Tony, locate nearest restaurant. I want a burrito." he says. He hasn't had a burrito in months.

Minutes later, he's in line at a place called Chipotle, trying to decide if he wants steak or pork.

He's tempted to order both.

shattered:

It's like a whole new life, Melinda thinks to herself, looking out the window of the cab as it pulls up to 1407 Graymalkin Lane. Across the ocean from her family, her old life, her life of ignoring the truth of who she was... and a chance to repair some of the damage she has done.

Her parents had a hard time hearing what had happened. Her brother had listened... and told her that he loved and supported her, but had no idea how to help her beyond that. Her mother had cried. Her father had just been angry... not at her, but at the situation. And late at night, she had heard him sobbing in their bedroom. They all told her that they didn't blame her for what she'd done.

But that didn't matter. They might not blame her, but... they didn't know. They didn't know what it felt like to kill people... and worse, to remember enjoying killing.

She had to come. She had to try to wash this stain on her soul clean... even if she didn't think she ever could.

She gathers her bags from the cab's trunk and heads for the front door. A short time later, a student guide helps point out her room, and opens her door for her, letting her in.

Melinda steps into the room, bags loading her down.