Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Hunger Games or Marvel

Loki looked through the massive crowd of people gathered at the Reaping, trying to see his brother in the 18 year old section. He knew Thor would try to volunteer this year, since it was the last year he would be able to. He was more nervous than he had ever been before at the Reapings with the knowledge that his brother may achieve this goal.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen of District 1, it is time to select the lucky tributes!" The escort finally ended her tedious monologue, and the people in the crowd in front of her snapped to attention, instantly ready for the rush to volunteer. "As always, ladies first, but this year we have a rather unusual tribute. No volunteering, I'm afraid."

The excitement level dropped instantly, with several boos and cries of "No fair!"

The Capitol woman raised a hand to silence the unruly district. "The boys may still volunteer, but the female tribute this year has already been selected." There was a moment of hesitation before her plastered-on smile took over her face once more, and she waved to her right. "May I introduce... the Capitol's very own Victory Snow!"

A gasp ran through the crowd as Victory stepped onstage. The president's granddaughter held her head high and kept her face impassive, ignoring the glares from the girls of District 1. She stared straight ahead, determined not to acknowledge any of them. Loki wondered briefly how she had ended up on that stage, but was quickly distracted by the escort in her sickly green outfit moving to the other side of the stage.

"And now for the boys..."

She dipped her hand into the bowl of names, but didn't even get to touch one before shouts of "I volunteer!" rang out. They fought to get onstage, and Loki felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized his brother was going to get there first. He couldn't do anything except watch as Thor got on the stage and the other 18 year olds drew back.

"I am Thor Odinson," he announced. The escort greeted him warmly, and gestured that the two tributes should shake hands. They did, Victory not changing her emotionless expression, even when confronted with Thor's unnervingly tight grip and overconfident grin.

"District 1's tributes, Victory Snow and Thor Odinson!" the woman exclaimed before they were led towards the Justice building. They hadn't gone far before someone ran onstage and whispered something to the woman, who almost instantly turned a deathly shade of white that clashed horribly with her ridiculous outfit.

"Very sorry, one more thing, if I may have your attention." She didn't have to ask, the moment she spoke everyone froze. "It seems that one of the tributes from District 12 is currently living here. Such a strange mix-up, but as he was originally from Distr-"

As soon as she indicated that the tribute was a male, the boys rushed to volunteer again. A chill went down Loki's spine when he heard District 12. It can't be...

"No! No, there will not be any volunteering. This is a District 12 matter, this young man was adopted into District 1. As there were no volunteers, the male tribute for District 12 is Loki Odinson."

For the second time that day, a gasp ran through the crowd as they recognized his last name. Loki stood frozen to the spot, unable to move or even breath. All eyes slowly picked him out of the crowd. Seemingly far away, a woman screamed and Loki dimly registered that it was their mother. The sound of her arguing with the Peacekeepers that they couldn't take both of them became background noise to the blood rushing in his ears as he walked slowly onto the stage.

The escort looked between the two boys.

"You wouldn't happen to be siblings, would you?" she asked, entirely unsure of how to handle a situation like the one she had been given. When they nodded, both seemingly robbed of the capacity to speak, she responded in the manner a Capitol person would be expected to. "How delightful! For the first time ever we'll have brothers in the arena! This will certainly be a year to remember!" Loki felt a sudden urge to strangle her.

He found that he couldn't meet Thor's eyes, so instead he looked at Victory. Her emotionless mask slipped momentarily as she bit her lower lip in frustration, before her blue eyes closed quickly. With a small shake of her head she was once again the uncaring golden girl of the Capitol.

Without being prompted to do so, she whirled around and stalked into the Justice Building.

For lack of another idea, Loki followed, knowing Thor would be right behind him. The escort and Peacekeepers quickly took over and guided them to separate rooms to wait for their families.

Loki had no way to keep track, but he knew that a lot of time passed without his door opening.

After a while he heard muffled voices outside. He crept to the door and pressed his ear to it, careful not to cause it to creak.

"Not in the holding area! I thought I told you to keep an eye on her!"

"I was, sir! She didn't come out the door."

"That's ridiculous. What did she do then, fly?"

The voices were quite for a moment. "There are some that call her the new mockingjay-"

A sharp percussive sound rang clearly through the door. Loki could almost see the junior officer rubbing his face where he'd been slapped.

When the voices resumed, they were quieter, and Loki strained to catch the words. "No. Mockingjay is dead and will stay that way. We are talking about the president's daughter, and you will find her or it will be both our heads. Besides, it's a symbol, not an actual bird."

A tap on the window drew him away from the door. Black hair hung from an upside down figure, waving and grinning. Loki pushed the window up and Victory swung inside. She put a finger to her lips, and Loki repeated the gesture. She smiled in response and slipped out of the door into the hallway.

A second later "PEEKABOO LOSERS!" came from several yards down the hall, accompanied by yelling and general chaos. A Peacekeeper soon marched angrily into Loki's room and led him to a train, where Thor, the District 1 mentors, and the escort were waiting. A moment later Victory joined them, accompanied by a squad of Peacekeepers and the smuggest grin Loki had ever seen.

Loki thought the escort would crush Victory's ribs with the hug she gave her. "Oh, darling, we were so worried, we thought something horrible had happened-"

"Guinevere, let go of me," Victory ordered sharply, pulling away from the hyperactive woman, her mood deflating instantly upon contact with the glittery Capitol woman.

So that's her name, Loki noted with indifference.

"I'm perfectly fine, but honestly, I'm surprised that you care. Something horrible's already happened, but I guess none of us can do anything about that, now can we?" Victory brushed past Guinevere with the emotionless expression she'd adopted onstage. Loki got on the train with her, leaving the shocked woman behind on the platform to stutter to the cameras.

"What was that about?" he quietly asked Victory as she walked quickly down the narrow passageway of the train.

"It's nothing." She brushed off his question as coldly as she had brushed off Guinevere. "Shouldn't you be discussing survival plans with your mentor?"

"I can't, I'm supposed to be District 12, right? Haymitch isn't here." Loki stepped in front of her, stopping the angry girl's progress down the train. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Somewhere." She moved to step around him, but he shifted to block her again.

"Where's somewhere?"

"Everywhere's somewhere, therefore anywhere's somewhere, and why does it matter to you?" Her voice steadily increased in volume until she was shouting, but the words sounded forced.

"It doesn't."

"Good. Leave me alone." She brushed past him and kept walking. The train shuddered to life, and he had to put a hand out to the wall to steady himself. Not having anywhere else to go, Loki began walking in the direction Victory had gone. He found her at the back of the train, curled up on a large, comfortable looking couch in front of a TV.

Sitting beside her, he turned his attention to the latest news on the single channel Panem had. Thus far, the latest news appeared to be them. The tributes from and for District 1 were being discussed by everyone from Caesar Flickerman to the Hunger Games commentators. None of the short shows were very interesting until Victory's grandfather appeared on the screen.

She turned the volume up, obviously eager to hear his explanation of her participation in the Games. Thor found them thankfully before Guinevere did and quietly sat by Loki to watch.

Onscreen, Snow calmly spoke to all of Panem with the same emotionless face his granddaughter had mastered. "I am here to address an issue that has been the cause of a lot of trouble over the past year. There has been some dissent in recent times of how I run my country, of how cruel the entire concept this government is founded upon is, and this year, I give you proof that the Games are not only necessary, they are a honor. This year, my granddaughter, Victory Snow, will be a tribute in the Hunger Games. She is a willing participant, and when she becomes the Victor, I hope it will serve as a reminder to us all that the might of the Capitol can not be overcome. May the odds be ever in your favor, Victory."

The TV switched back to replaying the Reaping from District 1, and Victory turned the TV off angrily. "This is sick," she muttered.

Thor looked at her, confusion shining in his electric blue eyes. "But, you're from the Capitol, don't you like the Games?"

Victory shook her head, sending her black curls dancing behind her. "No, but I'm one of very few. 'Willing participant' must not have the same definition I thought it did. Granddaddy lied about why I'm really here," she said, leaning back into the couch with her arms crossed angrily.

"You're not going to tell us why?" Loki asked, suddenly irritated with the Capitol girl.

She turned her head to the side so she could see them without really moving. "Wasn't planning on it."

"Well, you can't just leave it there," he shot back.

"I can too, but, since you asked so nicely," she said sarcastically, "I'm here because I'm in trouble for helping Kitty-Kat out of the arena and around the Capitol trying to rescue Peeta. To make a really long story short, we got caught, the rebellion got put down, and I've been declared a rebel, but, since my granddad runs the country, I get to have a fighting chance instead of just being shot down like the others. Any more questions, or are you done playing Flickerman?"

"Why Victory?" Victory stared for a moment at Thor, trying to decipher the question.

"You mean my name?" Thor nodded, and Victory sighed. "Ok, first, don't ever call me that if you like your head being attached to the rest of you. Also, don't refer to me as Snow either. Just call me Vic. Second, my granddad named me that because he knew one day he'd have to prove that he was in the right with the Games. He wanted a boy so he could name him Victor. I turned out to be a girl, so he named me Victory. It was so I'd be motivated to live up to my name, to be the Victor. You Careers say you were born to win the Games, well I literally was. Now, can we please end this exceedingly awkward conversation?" Without waiting for a response, she stormed out of the room angrily, slamming the door loudly as she left.

The brothers sat in silence for a minute or so after she'd gone. The tidal wave of unsaid words simmered between them before Loki finally chose to start talking. "So, did you enjoy your chat?" he asked with a sneer.

Thor looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Our parents spent the whole hour with you. Well, I guess they're really just your parents, but I thought I'd at least warrant a decent 'goodbye, we'll probably never see you again.'"

"They didn't come to see me either. I thought they were with you."

Now it was Loki's turn to be confused. "Then where were they? Come to think of it, shouldn't our friends have come to see us as well?"

"Yes, I thought Sif would come to rant about how she never got a chance to volunteer, if nothing else."

"So are the tributes not allowed to have visitors now?" Perhaps the fear of revolution resonates in the Capitol more than we've been lead to believe.

"That doesn't matter right now. I mean, it's weird, but right now we need to talk."

"About what?" Loki asked bitterly.

"You know very well what."

"I don't want to talk."

"Well, I do."

"It's not like we can change it now."

Thor lit up. "Maybe we can. People won't want to see two brothers fighting to the death, right?"

Loki laughed bitterly. "Yes they do. They let Cashmere and Gloss go in together last year. You heard the escort, she was excited about this. We're just more entertainment to them."

"Loki, if I'd known what would happen I wouldn't have volunteered." He paused. "Are you angry with me?"

Loki ground his teeth in frustration. "Yeah, I'm mad at you. But I'm not mad because you didn't know I would get picked from my old District, I'm mad that you volunteered in the first place. Did you ever think that I wouldn't want to watch my older brother die, miles away and unable to help? Did you ever think how that might hurt our parents? Did you?" He kept his voice low, but the anger he expressed rose with every word, until he thought he would have to follow Vic's lead and just walk away.

"You don't have to make this harder than it is! Bad enough we're both going in and I have to look out for you. If it was just me, I'd win."

"You don't have to look out for me, I can do that myself. Even if I didn't get picked, it would be a one versus twenty three fight. Are you really that sure of yourself? Because I think the other five Careers are just as sure." Loki laced his fingers together and sat forward, suddenly pensive instead of furious. "Although I suppose that's better odds than me being picked from 12. I'm 16, Thor, with no tesserae. That's four chances out of thousands. How did this happen?"

"It doesn't matter how it happened, we'll figure it out."

"No, we won't. We're both going into that arena, and at least one of us will die. There's nothing to figure out except which of us will be seeing the other's face in the sky."

"If you're trying to make me feel guilty, you're doing a terrible job. It's not my fault you got picked, I didn't know when I-"

Thor was cut off by the arrival of Guinevere, dragging a still fuming Vic behind her. "Oh, there you two are, I've been looking everywhere! So, did you watch the Reapings? You should watch them after dinner, it wouldn't hurt to be acquainted with your competitors," she trilled. "Now come along, you must be starving. We have a feast set out for you!"

The three children reluctantly followed the crazy woman to a dining car, where there was indeed a feast waiting. Two other adults were there, and helping themselves to the food. "Oh, yes, these are your mentors, Natalie Hunt and William Thompson. Will will have Thor, and Natalie will take Victory. Go on, introduce yourselves!" Guinevere pushed them in the direction of the mentors.

"They know me already," Vic said dismissively as she went to get food. "And stop calling me that."

Loki didn't bother to wait for a mentor to be assigned to him. He wasn't technically from District 1, so he couldn't expect a District 1 mentor or a District 1 stylist, so he knew he wouldn't be getting even close to the same amount of sponsors.

Thor went to talk to Will, while Vic sat at the large table and ate without speaking to Natalie. Of course, it would have been rather hard for her to speak to her mentor if she had wanted to, with Guinevere's nonstop chattering. Loki sat as far away from them as possible, which unfortunately wasn't very far, and he had to endure the meal with Guinevere's high pitched voice in the background.

"...and as we all know, District 1 is the closest to the Capitol, we will be arriving in just a few hours. There's just enough time for you to go over the Reapings with your mentors before we arrive. Just think, soon you'll be back at the Capitol, in a cozy bed, and then tomorrow we'll go talk to your stylist for the big parade! I heard they have something stunning in mind for you, dear!" Guinevere may as well have been talking to a statue for all the response she got from Vic.

The food was even better than even that of District 1, the luxury District, and across the country tributes were probably devouring the best meal they'd ever tasted, but it was ash to the tributes of 1. Vic had probably grown up with this food, and soon pushed it away and stared at the table. Neither Thor or Loki felt like touching anything from the Capitol, and only took a few bites.

It finally occurred to Guinevere to give Victory the tape from the Reapings, and she snatched it without a word before hurrying to go watch it. Thor and Loki jumped from the table, happy to have something more productive to do. They were quickly joined in watching the Reapings by their mentors and Guinevere.

They skipped District 1, not wanting to be reminded of the events they had lived through, or else it might have felt more real. District 2, the masonry District, immediately posed a threat to them.

"The girl from 2, Ashley, is one to watch out for. The muscle groups for using a bow are well defined, that will probably be her weapon of choice," Will commented.

"I hate her outfit, though, what disgusting colors!" Guinevere complained. Loki thought the girl's brown and black was much better than Guinevere's vomit green, but he couldn't say so, if only because he needed to focus on the District 2 boy.

He proudly introduced himself as Alex. He had muscles almost as large as Thor, but Vic didn't seem fazed by their large competitor. "He's going to rely on brute strength in a fight. That will most likely get him killed," she said disinterestedly.

"That doesn't mean you should count him out," Natalie chided. "Brute strength isn't going to win the Games for him, but he could easily kill you if you let him get close enough."

The 17 year old tributes from District 3 didn't look like much, but they were from the technology District, so Will warned the trio to keep an eye on them. "That Xander kid's a bit overconfident for my taste," he said, nodding at the boy. "But watch out for Brigit too."

District 4 had more Careers, Ivy and Zach, both 18 like the District 2 Careers. Loki didn't think they looked as dangerous as Careers usually did, but being from the fishing District, they would have an advantage anywhere water was present.

District 5 was the power District, and Loki soon determined that neither Penelope nor Daniel stood much of a chance in the arena, mostly because he put their ages at around 12 and 14.

"Unless they have some secret talent with weapons they won't be much of a problem. But if they get some type of electricity and metal, they could probably set something up to kill. That's how District 5's won in the past," Natalie commented.

The transportation District, 6, produced two relatively healthy tributes, Linda at 17 and Quinn at 18. It didn't seem like they had ever been trained to fight, and they were both obviously scared, so it was generally decided they weren't a threat.

From District 7, the lumber District, were Alice, who looked 18, and Andrew, who looked 14. Despite how painfully thin they were, they could probably both handle an ax decently enough to kill.

Jordan and Greg from 8, the textile District, were little more than wisps, and probably both 13 or 14. Loki was surprised the wind didn't blow them off the stage.

The District 9 tributes, Bella and Henry, were less well fed than one would think people from the grain District would be. Bella couldn't have been older than 15, and Henry was just slightly older than her.

District 10, the livestock District, had younger than average tributes. Amanda couldn't have been more than 14, but Phillip still looked 11. Loki guess he must have very recently turned 12.

District 11 was agriculture, and Loki was relived to see that both Mason and Cynthia were significantly older than the girl, Rue, from two years earlier, or the District may have burst into a riot then and there. There were more Peacekeepers than he had ever seen in the Districts as it was, with the attempted rebellion the year before.

So all in all, it was about as they had expected, until they got to 12. There were Peacekeepers all over the place, and they were clearly agitated. Haymitch was drunk, as was usual for the only surviving Victor from 12. Effie Trinket, in a pink dress almost as revolting as Guinevere's, called for someone named Rebecca, and a 13 year old girl stepped forward, visibly shaking. No one called out to her, no one volunteered, and hardly anyone dared to breath. The next name Effie called received no response, so she repeated Loki Laufeyson, a little louder this time. Again, no one stepped forward, and the Peacekeeper began to enter the crowd of boys, daring him to try to remain hidden. They weren't hitting anyone, yet, but watching it on the TV, Loki felt like he would be sick from anticipation.

Suddenly, someone ran on the stage and whispered something to Effie, who then addressed the crowd. "Not to worry, everyone just calm down, he's not living here now." She looked somewhere off camera and motioned to the bowl of names again. She must have received a negative reply, because she turned back to the crowd, and said with a forced smile, "District 12's tributes for the 76th Hunger Games are Rebecca Smith and Loki Odinson!"

The boys in the crowd were relieved, but the Peacekeepers were still on edge when the camera turned off. The last glimpse Loki saw of his old home was his 13 year old District partner being lead to the Justice Building in tears.

He leaned back and sighed, defeated before the game had begun. "We're going to die, aren't we? Me and Rebecca? There's no way they'll let us survive after what happened last time District 12 won." Thor and Vic didn't have to ask who 'they' were. They both knew the Gamemakers would make sure the District 12 tributes didn't give them any trouble this year.

Unfortunately, Guinevere was not that astute. "Of course not, dear. Why would the other tributes care about your District? You're just another of the 24 to them."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Guin," Loki said, his voice dripping sarcasm.

"Of course, dear. You've just as good a chance as anyone else. And, I think I rather like being called Guin. Do keep calling me that."

"Alright, Guin," Vic started in carefully measured words. "Heard from Emma lately?"

For a second the woman seemed to lose control of her Capitol-approved demeanor as her eyes flashed dangerously. "You know I haven't. Watch your words, Victory. Enough of that now, we'll be in the Capitol soon, we need to make you three look presentable! Not as astounding as you will for the parade tomorrow, but I bet you'll clean up nicely. Go on, there are fresh clothes waiting!" Guin directed the trio to their rooms and left them to get ready for their arrival in the Capitol.