OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY PEEPS I LEFT YOU HANGING BUT HERE HAVE AN UPDATE THERE YOU GO *holds chapter at arm's length*

NATASHA

"Nice aim you got there."

Natasha almost dropped her knives. She whipped round and came face to face with the weather-beaten, tan face, hazel eyes and spiky brown hair of the boy from District 9.

He was smiling at her, which was something Natasha wasn't used to. He offered a hand, and Natasha eyed it warily. "I'm Clint Barton. District 9."

Natasha took his hand warily and shook it. "Natasha Romanoff, District 2."

"Ah," he said, nodding. "Rich Career district."

"Ah," Natasha said. "Dirt poor working underdog district."

His smile faded, and Natasha felt an involuntary punch of guilt.

"You mind if I join you on the targets?" he asked, eyes now blank.

Natasha nodded, trying not to flush.

Instead of picking up knives or a spear like Natasha expected, he picked up a bow and a quiver, handling them like a pro. Slinging the quiver across his back with practiced ease, he pressed a button to start the moving targets.

Natasha didn't move to join him, and instead watched. And tried to keep her mouth from falling open.

He was more than good, he was more than great, he was more than amazing. He was spectacular. He hit every single target with lethal accuracy. Heads and hearts and stomachs, bullseyes and bullseyes and more bullseyes. He even did a little forward roll and shot a particularly difficult one while kneeling on one leg.

By the time he was done, at least half the tributes had turned to stare. Who had expected the kid from one of the least important districts to suddenly become such a worthy competitor?

One thing was for sure, Natasha thought. This one is no underdog.

TONY

"Don't you do anything other than build stuff?" came a voice.

Tony looked around. A head of ginger hair bobbed in front of his face. It was that Pepper chick again.

"I'm good at it," Tony said. He held up the miniature car he'd built and spun one wheel. "See?"

"But isn't the point of training to try and learn new skills?" Pepper asked.

Tony grimaced. "I'm not good at anything else."

"Including making friends, it seems," Pepper says. She pushed the car down onto the table and grabbed his hand in her own. "Come on. Let's go and try to make a fire."

Tony tried to ignore his skin fizzing underneath her touch.

BRUCE

"You're Bruce Banner."

"Yes."

"You're the best scientist in 3."

"I suppose."

"And you have anger issues."

Bruce looked up at his black-haired district partner from his current experiment dealing with poisonous berries, and swallowed slightly. "Yes."

There was a pause, and then Betty broke into a smile.

"Eh. My dad did. I always used to calm him down with a cuppa. Fancy one? I bet none of the guys around here offer tea, useless nuggets."

The corner of Bruce's mouth quirked up.

THOR

"Wow."

Thor looked around.

"Down here."

He looked down.

Standing at his side was his incredibly petite, incredibly pretty – in Thor's mind – brunette Jane.

"Jane Foster, District 5, your partner," she said, shaking his hand.

"Thor Odinson," Thor said.

"That's some serious strength you got there," she commented, eyeing the hammer in his hand. "You given it a name yet?"

"What?" Thor said, twiddling the heavy war hammer. "This?"

"Yeah," Jane said. "Tradition to give warhammers names, isn't it? Or is that just in my family?"

"If I did call it something, maybe..." he pondered for a moment. "Mjolnir?"

Jane smiled. "Good choice. Look out for it in the arena." She turned and walked away to the chemistry station, and Thor watched her hair dance as she did.

STEVE

Peggy seemed to be having some sort of silent competition with Steve, and the blonde couldn't fathom why.

Every station he went to – weights, guns, throwing – she followed him and seemed determined to lift more for longer, to shoot more accurately, to throw further.

"Why?" Steve burst out eventually.

"Why what?" she asked sharply.

"Why are you competing with me?" he asked, his voice lowering.

"Life is a competition, you tit," she replied calmly. "And this just happens to be a more intense period in it."

CLINT

That redhead was fiery, that was for sure.

Thoughts? *dodges custard pies*