The odds in our favor
Well hello again!
I hadn't wrote anything in ages, but I watched The Tributes of Panem yesterday and I kept on asking myself, what would happen if Tony and Pepper would be part of the games and have to fight against each other. So here is what I think would happen. Unnecessary to say eventually Pepperony and a few characters from Tributes of Panem. Not necessarily a crossover. Let me know what you think! Happy reading and writing :)
*50*
The announcement
Virginia "Pepper" Potts emerged from her office and headed straight home. It was a hard day, stressful and a lot of paperwork. Pepper was the directors PA from "Fish and Seafood-National", Capitol's main supplier for seafood. So she was by no means poor.
Pepper Potts was now 26 years old, was born and raised in district four, went to academy to be trained and prepared to fight - and win the 44th Hunger Games as the new generation of Careers. But as she wanted to volunteer ten years ago, Riley Everhardt , that bitch was a split second faster than her and her last chance to become a part of the games was over. Pepper didn't like her at all. They had been the same age and went to academy together. She always had tried to beat Pepper in any- and everything and as Pepper had won the final competition in school, she had been bitterly jealous that Pepper had been the one who should have had volunteered. Ignoring the academy rules Riley still had volunteered and won out against Pepper. She had died the third day and her family had moved to another district, given being hated against and ignored by anyone for dismissing the rules.
Still Pepper had learned to be a true killer. Fast, hard, noiseless while moving and she had been taught to hunt, animals as well as people. Yet in private she was kind and nice. A person you wanted to be around and be friends with.
So when she didn't get her turn in the 44th games, Pepper decided to leave her past behind and started a new life, a job, an apartment, actual friends, a husband.
Fifteen minutes later she arrived at home, flung her bag and jacket over the next chair. To her surprise Seth was there already. He was her husband for two years now. He was tall, four years older than her, blonde with blue eyes, muscular from working in his youth on his fathers boat and now leading his own small company which cooperated with the one Pepper was working at. He came up behind her, flung her arms around her and kissed her neck lightly. "Hey Honey! How was work?"
She sighed and turned around in his arms, kissing him lightly and then moving away from him towards the kitchen.
"Unnerving and dreadful." She poured herself a large glass of red wine and headed to the living room, turned the Tv on and sank herself down on the sofa. Seth joined her and laid his arm around her shoulders.
"You should relax, sweetheart." He kissed her temple and squeezed her shoulder.
"Shhhh, it's starting! I want to hear the new announcement." She said sternly but smiled at him while laying her head against his shoulder.
"Today is the day!" Cesar Flickerman announced excitedly. "President Snow will explain this years feature for the Quarter Quell in three minutes. Hahahaha! Aren't you excited too? I am, I am. Panem's Tributes will have to expect something, big, threatening and extraordinary! But there'll be only one winner. One who'll get to be part of Capitol, monthly portions of food and goods for his or her district and never ending fame. May the odds be in your favor." The audience cheered and applauded in the back-round, while the cameras zoomed out and now showed the Capitol, where President Snow waved to the audience there. He was a tall man with white hair and a white beard.
"Tomorrow will be the 50th crop. 50 years since the war! And you know this means: Quarter Quell!" His voice was low, deep and calm. He was the perfect example of a leader.
"It's a half century now! After each quarter we celebrate a jubilee to remember how thankful we can be for the new order and the way the Capitol protects us. The war needed to be ended and never return, lets not forget about that. And it will be something special. 25 years ago was the first Quarter Quill and you all got to vote who should be the two Tributes for each district. This year of course we have another special feature to the games. Each district has to send not only two Tributes, but four!" All people gasped and cheered and clapped. Peppers eyes widened and her hand clasped over her mouth. Of course she once nearly was a carriers and wanted to be a part of the games, but year after year she realized more and more how brutal and utterly useless the games truly were. A pure, disgusting display of power by the Capitol. Controlling and scaring the people by taking their children away and murdering them in a cruel game.
But the next announcement really shocked her, shocked her to her core. "Not only that we'll send the double amount of Tributes this year, we'll also expand the age-limit from eleven to eighteen years by ten years. Everyone to the age of 28 can be elated now. May the odds be in your favor!"
Age-limit to 28? I'm 26. Oh my god! My name will be in lottery again! I wanted to volunteer then, but... but now there is a chance I got to be chosen... No! Oh my god, tomorrow is the crop! I... I can't... what if it's my name which is announced to be a Tribute! Oh no! I have a life, a husband...
"Pepper?! Honey, talk to me! Come on breath!" Seth was talking to her but she didn't respond in any way. She was shell shocked, her eyes still wide, her mouth agape and her whole expression shocked.
"I... I I I... No." was all she stammered.
"Pepper, breath! Listen, honey your name isn't one that'll be chosen. You don't have to be a Tribute! There are like 4000 other women whose names are in there. The odds will be in your favor. Everything is going to be okay." His hands were on her cheek and neck now and he looked deeply in her eyes. After his little speech he kissed reassuringly and she relaxed a bit.
Though his words calmed her, she still had a weird feeling in her stomach and knew deep down, nothing was going to be okay and the odds won't be in her favor this time.
To be honest she was grateful that Riley had been faster than her the year she wanted to volunteer. Who knows, maybe Pepper would have died too if she had joined the 44th Hungergames, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't off the hook in this case.
"I'm going to bed, will you join me?" She asked Seth quietly. "I just want to be hold by you and don't want to be alone. I don't know if we still have this opportunity tomorrow."
Seth stood up and took her hand in his. "Come on my darling one, let's go, but we will have a lot of other nights ahead."
"Yeah, maybe you're right, but you are 30 years old, you aren't part of the people who can be chosen. I'm just worried." She said while preparing her toothbrush.
"I know. But I love you and I don't want to see you worried. So stop it, you don't have any reason to. Okay?"
"Okay." She said halfheartedly and stepped out of the bathroom. they got changed and Pepper snuggled up next to him. "Love you, too."
"Good night. Go to sleep, tomorrow is a long day." He kissed her head and she didn't answer, so he thought she was asleep already.
What he didn't know Pepper was far from sleep, the thoughts in her head kept on spinning and spinning. Eventually after three hours of laying there she got up and took a look at her notes from academy, not wanting to be unprepared.
*50*
So this is the first chapter! what do you think? I hoped you liked it so far. So leave a review, pretty please and tell me what you think :)
Love
PP-S