nightspider:

Talia is back in her Marla persona. She's stayed as connected to the Zodiac as she had to the Night Shift, and all the obsessive work finally paid off. Sure, she couldn't get to China herself, and had no doubt Temujin outmuscled her significantly. But that's not where the lady spider could be deadliest. Instead, she made arrangements to speak with one of the more reasonable of her former teammates.

He was hesitant, but agreed to see her.

'Marla, or Libra' walks into the restaurant, heading straight for the booth she was told. Sharp senses scan for any sign of additional trouble, and reads the guards Leo has before they even know she's picked them out from the regulars by their stance.

She bows. "Wen, good to see you."

ng_zodiac:

Wen Leong was satisfied with the progress he was making. Thanks to Virgo, he had complete control over one of the Tongs in San Francisco and was well on his way to taking over another one. He could have moved faster, but he was patient. He was in no rush to take over the Tongs all at once. Slow and methodical was much preferable than quick and possibly messy.

Wen didn’t want to attract too much attention. No one except Therese knew all of his plans and he wanted to keep it that way. He didn’t want anyone finding out or be able to predict his next moves. Deception was the key and the way to achieve his goals.

When he was done he would be in full control of the San Francisco underground.

ng_zodiac:

San Francisco. Home of the Golden Gate Bridge, Ghirardelli Chocolates, the Bay Bridge, the San Francisco Giants and the San Francisco 49ers, was the perfect city for Wen Leong to settle in and enact his plans. With Therese's and the others' help, it wouldn't take him long to take control of the tongs of San Francisco.

He had managed to make a few contacts with some local members and through them he had arranged a meeting with a higher up. It wasn't the man in control, but Wen was patient. He didn't mind slowly making his way up through the ranks. In fact, the slower he went, the less of a threat he seemed to pose to them. They wouldn't know what had happened until it was too late and he was in control.

"It's time," he said to Therese. "Let's go."

ng_zodiac:

Scorpio. Aries. Taurus. Gemini. Cancer. Aquarius. All of them had been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and were now imprisoned. Half of the Zodiac were gone. Another one, Capricorn, was back with the Avengers. It left Leo, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Pisces free. Leo had gathered the remaining members of the Zodiac together to talk about their options.

He had something in mind. A fresh start for all of them. Something that wasn't so fool-hearty and stupid as trying to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. Mikel was the one with big plans. Wen was the one who thought on a smaller scale and more realistically. He had been tempted to do what he had in mind alone, but having the others, especially Therese, there would help. She would make things easier for him and his plans.

"We leave for San Francisco tomorrow," he said as they sat around in the kitchen of the small apartment. Wen had set this up a long time ago as a safehouse. Now he was glad he did.

It was time to move on to better things.

nextgen_misc:

Night was settling over the city and in S.H.I.E.L.D. Central the night shift was just coming on duty and settling in for the night. It looked like it was going to be a rather quiet night. Just like last night, the one before that, the one before that and so on.

nextgen_misc:

Three teens were being held by SHIELD and two had been sent to the Eternals' city of Olympia...

sammyfury:

S.H.I.E.L.D. was exciting these days. Sammy had always loved it, but with Mikel here it had become a real family endeavor. Dad and Dum Dum were keeping her busy in between the classes that Mikel insisted she keep up on. What free time she had, she spent with some of Mikel's team training.

So busy, she hardly had time to go back to the Avengers or remember she had a boyfriend. Though she did recall leaving Qamar a message or two. Maybe three. There weren't any messages in return, even if she could seem to remember where she put her cell phone. The damned thing was apparently walking around on its own; it was never in the same place she left it. Being separated from her team didn't seem to matter so much. She wasn't a powerhouse or a team mainstay, so they could do without her until things settled down. As Mikel pointed out, she was destined to head S.H.I.E.L.D. so she had to keep a buffer between them and herself. There might come a time that as director, she would have to stand against them.

It was just easier to crash at Mom and Dad's place. Not that it was any closer to S.H.I.E.L.D. than the Avengers mansion. She did leave a message at the Avengers' so they wouldn't wonder if she'd fallen off the Earth.

swashbuckler:

Steve had, quite perplexingly, been unable to get a hold of Anya all day.  Following that, he'd tried to see if Toni had heard from her, and discovered that neither one of them had.  Further calls up and down the Young Avengers phone tree had left him unable to raise several other members as well.  Hardly any of the comm. cards were working, and with the few that he did, there was something funny about the line.  He knew just enough from his mom to know when a line was being tapped, and he suspected the YA cards were.

He'd gone out to check Hyrdobase, and found it deserted.  Plus, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

All of which had led him back to Avengers' Mansion, for lack of anything better to try.  Maybe one of the adults would know what was going on.

ng_zodiac:

Mikel wasn't dumb enough to strike directly at the Avengers despite having the full force and might of SHIELD at his disposal. They weren't called Earth's Mightiest Heroes for nothing and if he could do this without a direct confrontation, the better his chances were. The best way to take out the Avengers was to divide and conquer one by one and he knew exactly how to do that, starting with the kids.

One by one he would take them out and then use them as leverage against the adults.

He walked into the United Nations headquarters on First Avenue between 42nd and 48th Streets armed with files of information. Information was the best weapon and Mikel had enough to hopefully bring down the Avengers without a single punch thrown. Confident of his plan, he walked through the front door to keep his appointment with the Secretary General.

ng_zodiac:

Mikel sat in one of the executive offices and looked at the screen in front of him. Cancer had really outdone himself this time. The S.H.I.E.L.D. databases were filled with teraflops of information and it would have taken Mikel a few lifetimes to find all the information he needed. Not to mention get past all the security measures even though Mikel had access. He wouldn't put it past the old man to have extra security measures in place.

The gem of the information was everything a person wanted to know about the spandex set. Every power, every identity and every dirty little secret they were hiding. Mikel could use this information. It would make things easier. With the spandex set out of the way, he wouldn't have too much to worry about.

Carefully he went through each file. Making notes as he went.

ng_zodiac:

Mikel Fury had held his breath when they passed through the main security checkpoint to S.H.I.E.L.D. Central. He knew Sammy would get through with no problems since she was Daddy’s Little Girl and Golden Child, but he the rest of his team could have been a huge problem. He didn't need the mission failing before they got a foot in the door. Thankfully Aquarius and Sagittarius made getting in a lot easier with the use of their powers.

Mikel had selected well when he put his team together.

The team entered the elevator and Mikel pushed the button for the top floor. The Old Man was waiting and Mikel was sure that by now he knew Mikel was in the building.

ng_zodiac:

Mikel Fury had decided that it was about time to implement his plans for his father. His sister, willingly or unwillingly, would be key to those plans. The past few months' worth of work were coming to a head and this moment.

He sent a text to his sister and asked her to meet him at Brasil Coffee House on Lexington Ave. It was quiet and not busy at this time of the day. It would be perfect for what he had in mind.

Mikel sat a small table with Virgo and waited for his sister. Not far from them, Gemini, Grigory Genovese, and Leo sat drinking a cup of coffee. It always paid to have backup.

sammyfury:

Sammy was, quite possibly for the first time in months, awake early in a good mood. Coffee was an enhancement rather than a crutch this morning. Her first successful dinner with Qamar had brought up something she hadn't paid much attention to over the summer. She was registered for the fall semester but she hadn't finalized her schedule.

It had to be done. To that end, she was at her favorite coffee shop with her laptop to enjoy the morning and double check her schedule. Funny enough, she was looking forward to going back. The summer off had been just what she needed to give her a boost and refocus her goals.

Just as she asked the waitress for another cup and a second muffin, her cell phone vibrated in pocket. The display was an unfamiliar number. Ordinarily she would have ignored it, but it could be from Mikel at a different number.

She waited for the waitress to leave before answering. "Hello?"

ng_zodiac:

Mikel didn't want too much time passing between visits to little sister, but at the same time he didn't want to make too much contact. She'd get more suspicious. All Furys carried the suspicious gene and it was best not to trip little sister's too much. That could bring the old man down on his heels and that was the last thing he wanted.

Mikel had Leo cross her path and it had gone reasonably well, but it was now time for Sammy to see another face and get familiar with them. Therese Jackson, Virgo, would now be his girlfriend as far as his sister was concerned and with any luck become one of her friends. Mikel wanted to get into her head more and what better way to do it than through another girl. Girls talked to each other, he had seen this with Virgo, Libra, Pices and Capricorn. Aquarius...not so much. Out of the four, Virgo was the best one to pose as a girlfriend.

He sent a text to his sister.

I'm in town. Dinner? Indian? Bombay Talkie 189 Ninth Ave. 7pm? Bring a friend.

ng_zodiac:

Wen Leong, also known as Leo, waited at table in a small cafe. He was here under orders from Mikel and was supposed to make contact with Samantha Fury, Mikel's sister. Leo was supposed to run into her and make contact. He really didn't mind though. He had seen pictures of Samantha and she was a pretty girl. Wen wouldn't have any problems getting her to notice him.

According to the surveillance reports she frequently visited this cafe for coffee. It was just a matter of time until she showed up.

sammyfury:

"In ancient times when werewolves roamed the land
There was an old pub called The Slaughtered Lamb"

Sammy arrived by taxi just after 7pm. She admitted to herself she was a little nervous. Nervous was not a normal feeling for her. The first time he'd caught her by surprised and got a cranky mood in return. His file was committed to memory, but there was a gaping hole in the information. Nowhere in it did she find anything brother-like and that was who she was meeting tonight. Now she wished she'd thought to ask someone to come with her.

The Slaughtered Lamb pub was a recommendation sometime back from Misha. His love of bad horror flicks dredged up 'An American Werewolf in London', and the two main characters encounter with the locals in the Slaughter Lamb. Sammy had never had a reason to come here before. It seemed like good neutral territory.

She stepped inside the pub and was immediately enveloped in the smells of food and people, the clacking of pool balls from the billiards room, and the murmur of voice and laughter. People were having a good time.

nextgen_misc:

It was just another normal day at the Avengers' Mansion. Or was it?

sammyfury:

After a cold shower (necessary between the hot day and the hot Iason), and a short nap (stress and the lack of sleep for a couple of weeks), Sammy was at her parents' front door ready for dinner and discussions about the past and the future.

sammyfury:

Two more finals to go, and those weren't until the end of the week. Then she'd be done and free for at least two weeks. Then it would be the summer internship at S.H.I.E.L.D. Training with the Avengers beta team. Personal training with Uncle Steve. She was doing so much better, too. The last time out was held down for ninety seconds. Fluke or not, she'd done it. Now all she had to do was find away to use it that wasn't illegal or immoral.

She debated whether to go back to the mansion and study with one of Jarvis' ice cream sundaes masterpieces, or to spend the time in the library. Two solid years of school, including summers, was getting to her. Her goals were still firmly in place, but she was in desperate need of a vacation. It was getting to her.

She compromised and ducked into a small hole-in-the-wall cafe and asked for a corner booth. Her bag weighed her down, but it wasn't all books. Her Glock was feeling extra heavy these days too. That's how she knew it was stress; the Glock was her baby and she wouldn't be parted with it on a dare.

With a chocolate shake and a plate of hot fries for the dipping, Sammy cracked a book with a sigh, got out a pad of paper, pencil and a highlighter, and bent her head to the next final prep.