January 2011

The year began with a new student - Molly Hayes - rescued by the X-Men from a second attempt by Nanny, the Orphan Maker and the Lost Children to take her from her family. Molly settled in quickly, despite her fear of squirrels and by extension, Doreen Green and her friend Monkey Joe.

Various anti-mutant incidents afflicted mansion residents and their families, from Artie Maddicks having run ins with local bigots, the Church of Humanity blaming mutants for various natural disasters to Angelo Espinosa reporting anti-mutant graffitti sprayed on his mother's house and Kyle Gibney having a run-in with a school secretary who refused to accept the medical records needed for his school teaching rounds.

An overheard conversation at a Hellfire Club event lead to the kidnapping of Doug Ramsey's sister by an ambitious Telford Porter, hoping to gain leverage over the White Court's Knight. While Amanda Sefton 'ported to Madripoor to see if Katie Ramsey was there, X-Factor went to Porter's safehouse in New York and freed her and a number of other captives earmarked for the Madripoor white slave market. Porter attempted to flee, but Tabitha Smith came with him through his teleportation and got her revenge for her kidnapping by beating him up and blowing up the Madripoor brothel, while Doug emptied his bank accounts.

Jean-Paul Beaubier and Kevin Ford ended their relationship, although they continued to be friends and to sometimes be intimate together and Kevin's parole was finished, letting him be free to travel where he wanted. Angelo and Doug settled their issues from the Belladonna incident with a bit of good old-fashioned violence while Amanda and Doug used the less painful method of talking to resolve theirs. Julian Keller and Nico Minoru tried to continue their relationship, a difficult thing in the face of her new mutant power, with Julian becoming frustrated by the lack of contact between them. Warren Worthington got interested in funding the Angels Clinic in District X and Henry McCoy terrified the coffee drinkers of the mansion with a new and improved talking coffee maker.

Finally, Logan left the mansion in typical fashion - i.e. unannounced - to join Marie D'Ancato in search of those responsible for the Alpha Flight massacre.

Timeline

Jan 1 - Jan wishes everyone a Happy New Year and remarks on the coolness of the date - 1/1/11. Hank asks Angelo to help him test a new Danger Room scenario based on the mission in LA, using power dampening technology. Hank emails Jean about the Danger Room program after its successful test. The Best Deceptions: The news media carries the story of the death of one man and the suspected deaths of the three Hayes family members in a house fire in California; Hank posts to x_team, expressing his concern that the Hayes' deaths and a child abduction are the work of Nanny and the Orphan Maker.

Jan 2 - In the interest of trying new things, Kyle convinces Angel to try soft-shelled crab sandwiches.

Jan 3 - Yvette runs an errand for Jean and runs into Hank, they talk about his new Danger Room scenario, and about her doubts about full team status. The Best Deceptions: Over 'family' dinner, Nanny announces to Peter and the Lost Children that they are going to rescue Molly Hayes, whose family have gone on the run, and uses Addie's powers to find them in Miami.

Jan 4 - Jean-Paul posts about making pies. Fianchetto: At a Hellfire Club party, Doug shares the embarrassing story of his sister coming out to him, but doesn't realise someone is eavesdropping.

Jan 5 - Artie posts about his powers, and how using them against bigots doesn't turn out well. Jubilee posts about heading out to Las Vegas. Warren asks why Kyle was puking in the kitchen. Jean-Paul texts Jean-Phillipe about whether he wants poutine. The Best Deceptions: In Florida, the Hayes family is attacked by Nanny and her children, trying to claim Molly; the X-Men arrive in the nick of time as the Hayes are trying to use their powers to fight back Peter; when her parents are overcome with Nanny's knock-out gas, Molly manifests, throwing a truck at Peter before falling asleep; Wasp shorts out Nanny's chair and protects the Hayes, Beast saves Peter from going over the edge of the bridge, MMonet St. Croix - Phase 1]] takes down the speedster, Jack, Nightcrawler rescues Addie and Firestar calms down Lucy after destroying her stuffed monkey friend, Bonzo.

Jan 6 - Artie posts a doctored image of Kyle that he made. Jared talks about going to the local community college. Doug e-mails Artie a paypal receipt for $20 for the Kyle prank. Laurie posts to the X-team comm about her use of a traffic cone. The Best Deceptions: Molly wakes up to find the X-Men taking care of her; when Alice and Gene Hayes wake up later, there's a tense talk about who their rescuers are, Molly's manifestation and what happens next, with the final decision being for Molly to go to the school.

Jan 7 - Garrison and Laura spar, testing out his new Danger Room scenario. Vanessa posts about humans wandering into District X and being shocked.

Jan 8 - Jean-Paul feeds Laurie waffles and they talk about her unfortunate nagging tendancies.

Jan 9 - Jean-Phillipe complains about textbook prices.

Jan 10 - Kevin has a nightmare and goes to sleep with Cammie for comfort. Yvette comments on the Church of Humanity blaming mutants for recent bird and fish deaths. Wanda is frustrated by Romanian relatives wanting to hex the government for taxing witches. Jean-Paul drops in on Vanessa with a movie.

Jan 11 - Julian declares a fund-raising poker night. Jan points out 11/1/11 is another cool date.

Jan 12 - Julian announces Laurie as the winner of the poker night and that she'll be donating her winnings to Doctors Without Borders. Amanda, Hank and Jean leave Ororo birthday gifts.

Jan 13 - Jubilee gets back from Las Vegas. Jan takes Monet to task for her comments in Yvette's journal about the Church of Humanity.

Jan 14 - Kyle emails Jean-Phillipe and Jean-Paul about not getting any poutine and the talk turns suggestive. Doug posts a cute series of photos about an office squirrel and suggests Monkey Joe could be the Snow Valley version.

Jan 15 - Kurt asks Amanda about dealing with the Romanian branch of the family as they're hassling Jimiane about the witch tax. Angelo talks about having to clean anti-mutant graffiti off his mother's house. Laura announces Logan has taken off again. Julian and Nico run into each other in the kitchen and discover that her new powers are a problem in their relationship.

Jan 16 - Following the poutine discussion, Kyle declares Jean-Paul a dirty old man, and the ensuing conversation gets risque. Doug informs Kyle his sister at Columbia is gay. Doug invites Cammie over for some kinky sex. Cammie posts a triumphant gif to declare her victory over Kyle. Kevin and Jean-Paul have one last night together.

Jan 17 - Yvette encounters Julian in the gym and they talk about his problems with Nico. Kevin declares Hank is in mad scientist mode, trying to make his own Twinkies. Jake returns from Europe to file his expenses with Remy and they have the usual banter. Molly introduces herself on the journals then goes exploring around the mansion late at night and meets Julian who offers to make her some hot chocolate. Kyle picks up a drunk Laurie after a college party.

Jan 18 - Yvette sends an email out to both Molly and Meggan about rooming together. Kevin has breakfast delivered to Nico and Meggan. Jean-Paul sends a text to Angelo asking about the situation with his mother. Meggan sends Kevin an email thanking him for the waffles. After training, Kyle and Dori head out for doughnuts and chat about SATs and college. Being playful, Vanessa wakes Lex up with a water gun. Julian introduces Molly to Doreen in the hopes of proving that squirrels aren't scary. Kyle gets in touch with Angelo asking for some advice regarding Dori. Kyle emails Laurie complaining about the lack of sleep thanks to her getting drunk last night. Kyle informs Dori about registering for the SATs via email.

Jan 19 - Amanda wishes Warren a happy birthday and invites him out for dinner. Dori posts a YouTube link on her journal and asks for people's opinion regarding her senior year photos. Kyle emails Doug, warning him to stop flirting with Dori because he thinks she's too young to sleep with him. Crystal sends a piece of artwork to Warren's penthouse for his birthday.

Jan 20 - Upset about some family problems, Megan meets Artie in the rec room and ends up talking to him about her sister. Kevin and Laura spend the night watching movies. Jan emails Doug to clarify some matters concerning Kyle. Nico makes a post about being a social recluse. Dori sends Hank and Jean an email about her interest in taking the SATs. Warren sends Piotr a birthday wish via email. Doug and Angelo settle their differences with a bit of old-fashioned violence.

Jan 21 - Monet works on some powers training with Molly. Monet sends Kurt a text message asking him to help wake her and Molly up from their power nap post training. Jean wishes Piotr a happy birthday and invites him out for food and drinks. Amanda wonders about Doug's latest injury and finds out that it had to do with Angelo this time. Jean lets everyone know that the coffee maker has broken down but that she will be replacing it sometime soon. Hank sends Jean a text to let her know that he is planning on building a new coffee maker for the school. Doug sends Doreen a link to do with Squirrel Appreciation Day. Julian sends Jean an email concerning his trainee status. Megan sends Doreen a photo of a squirrel because it's Squirrel Appreciation Day. Kevin delivers a gift to Laura.

Jan 22 - Crystal applauds the futile attempts of an unknown someone throwing snowballs at her.

Jan 23 - Janet invites everyone to rock it out on Guitar Hero next week. Laura warns Kevin that she will glomp him the next time she sees him. In order to prove that she looks good in a dress, Amanda posts a photo of herself. Megan is excited about her upcoming flying lessons with Warren. While having pastry with Jean-Paul, Jake realises he is being followed. Meggan and Kevin go for waffles and have a long and convoluted conversation.

Jan 24 - Kevin complains about the difficulties involved in sharing a bed with Cammie when his nightmares are bad and a long thread ensues in which Cammie and Laura flirt with Kevin and Cammie is, as usual, rude to her roomie. Jean-Paul emails Hank about an article about anti-depressants in human sewerage systems effecting fish, jokingly asking if he is contributing to the issue with his own medication. Kevin emails Laura about her sudden bashfulness in the thread in his journal after he complimented her; Kevin emails Cammie about being so rude to Laura. Meeting Jean-Paul in District X, Warren asks for his help in looking at potential investment property in the area. Fianchetto: Katie Ramsey's roommate leaves a message for him alerting him to the fact Katie hasn't been seen since Friday; Doug reluctantly asks Amanda to 'port to Madripoor and check out Telford Porter's brothel there for his missing sister; while Amanda is checking Madripoor, Doug asks X-Factor for help checking Porter's New York safehouse; X-Factor finds and frees Katie and a number of other kidnapped girls; after they get word that Katie is safe, Doug, Emma and Tabitha head to the Hellfire Club to turn the tables on Porter before he realizes he doesn't have his bargaining chip anymore; Doug faces the music from his sister, who is Not Happy with him; Amanda reports from Madripoor that there is no sign of Katie; Doug reports to x_snowvalley about what happened, that Tabitha took down Porter but he escaped, Doug cleaned out Porter's bank account and that Doug is going to distance himself from his family to make them less of a target. Jean-Paul texts Kevin, asking to visit.

Jan 25 - In the early hours, Jean-Paul visits Kevin to avoid being alone after the X-Factor mission and asks Kevin to destroy his old Alpha Flight suit; Kevin's mutation is still acting up, it seems, as he has trouble with it at first. Fianchetto: Jean-Paul posts to the x_factoragency comm that they left no trace of their presence in Porter's safehouse and asks if the rescued girls are all right; Doug makes a full report to the x_snowvalley comm; Doug emails Amanda, X-Factor and Tabitha, thanking them for their help and revealing his sister wants nothing more to do with him and will be transferring to a West Coast school; Vanessa announces bonuses to everyone in X-Factor from Doug's payment for their services (care of Porter's bank account). Vanessa and Laura talk about Laura's killing of two of Porter's henchmen the night before and what it means for the cheerleader/genetically designed weapon, before Jean-Paul breaks up the serious talk with his entrance. Megan emails Artie to wish him a happy Dydd Santes Dwynwen, the Welsh version of Valentine's Day. Molly meets Megan and is fascinated by her wings. Warren emails Jean-Paul about his sudden departure the day before (in response to Katie's disappearance) and they arrange another District X trip to look at real estate.

Jan 26 - Amara has her first day at Elpis and she and Angelo talk about Nova Roma and their parents. Jared complains about his classes and upsets everyone by saying people who like to study are douchbags; Kyle is particularly enraged by the comment; Jean-Paul offers Kyle bacon waffles; Kyle posts about a bigoted records receptionist at his school refusing documentation for his teaching rounds because they are from "mutie doctors"; Vanessa emails Warren about plans to get back at the receptionist. Julian asks Jean if his grounding can be lifted long enough to go get snow tires for his car with Dori. Bobby gets bored and takes Angel with him to play a prank on Hank, who has various booby traps set up against such a thing.

Jan 27 - Piotr delivers Kevin a basket of clay fruit he made, with a note suggesting another sculpture class might help. Kevin's terms of parole are released and he posts about his newfound freedom, thanks to Angel's mother; Jean-Paul congratulates him over SMS; Kevin and Angel have dinner with Angel's mother to celebrate and later he takes them to an art gallery in Greenwich Village where his work will be shown in March. Hank is Unhappy about exploding water pipes, care of Bobby and Angel and threatens prank revenge; Bobby emails Angel in code warning her they may have to be watchful; Hank emails Angel asking for her help in revenge pranking Bobby. Cammie emails Jared to point out she's in his classes and can help him with his work in return for booze. Megan is excited about the large amount of snow that has fallen; Lex declares a Snow Day for his self-defence classes; Lex announces a giant snowball fight that afternoon.

Jan 28 - Kevin announces he is going on a trip, the first without supervision since he arrived at the mansion; Jan emails him a picture of a penis-shaped chilli and wishes him well; Meggan gives him a waffle hat for when he gets back. Jared asks Cammie to hurry up on his paper. Crystal emails Jean suggesting they join forces to make an ice castle with their powers. Kyle goes to Jean-Paul's apartment for some peace and quiet - and bacon; Cammie and Kyle go out moshing and drinking as a way to relieve his anger.

Jan 29 - Californian boy Julian complains about too much snow. Doug is horrified by the NHL's superhero launch. Over drinks, Jean proposes to Warren that he fund the Angels Clinic in District X. Lorna, rather unexpectedly, drags a hungover Garrison out to help her shop at the local flea market.

Jan 30 - Jan reminds everyone of the Guitar Hero tournament on Tuesday. Following the events of Fianchetto, Amanda and Doug make peace. Crystal surrounds Julian with snow and takes him for a flight to experience winter as she does.

Jan 31 - Hank unveils the new (and improved!) coffee maker, prompting a wary response from Nico. Kevin sends a photo of the sunrise over snow from his mystery trip location to Jean-Paul. Warren takes Megan out flying and is amused by her enthusiasm.

Plots

The Best Deceptions

Fianchetto

External Links

January 2011