Disclaimer: None of these characters are ours. We stole them. Shamelessly. All of them.

A/N: Happy New Year to everybody! This chapter means things are, believe it or not, progressing. At last. This chapter is incredibly long but contains a great deal of humor, as well as a drinking game that is not unlike the one found in the extended ROTK...without the dancing hobbits, unfortunately. But now, at last, the third challenge is beginning.

Note to cherebellerogue: I wish we could accommodate your request, but unfortunately, we based the character roster off a comic featuring the current six archers. Perhaps in the future, more archer characters will be featured in film and a second Interworld Archery Competition will have to be written. (I hope not any time soon because we bit off perhaps more than we could chew with this one.) Thanks for the review!

Enjoy!


Chapter 7: Into the Forest

The sun had set a few hours before, leaving only one section of the Elven city illuminated by more than just moonlight—Merlin had seen to it that the currently inhabited section was well lit by various lanterns and candles. The companions and contestants had been relocated to a larger area with two smaller chambers and a third larger one. Elrond had underestimated the number of companions the hobbits were capable of bringing back to Middle Earth. Along with the light, Merlin had seen to it that lots of food and two large casks of ale were brought to the main area where many of the contestants and their companions were now. After delivering the foodstuffs, Merlin had quickly vanished into the night to finish the details of the third challenge. It would be a long night for him.

"So," Stark began, his face serious for once. He gazed around at the circle of faces (Thor, Gimli, Haymitch, and Much, to be precise). "The rules are simple. No dribbling, spilling, or puking. You drink until you can't drink another drop or you pass out. We good?" Everyone nodded solemnly. "Go!"

Immediately, the five individuals raised their mugs of ale and began chugging the contents with great enthusiasm. The others in the room shook their heads. No one really knew who had first mentioned the idea of a drinking game (probably Stark), but it had appealed to these five on this rather boring evening. Legolas had politely declined joining the competitors, but had agreed to oversee the affair, ensuring refills were within easy reach, tallying the mugs consumed by each individual, and watching out for any signs of cheating.

Of the others who had no desire to consume large quantities of alcohol, Merida had decided to spend the night with Angus down in the stables. Susan had joined her for a bit, using that time to also talk with Bree and Trumpkin, who had stolidly decided to stay with the horse whenever possible. Trumpkin felt rather uncomfortable with the others, and while he didn't mind Gimli, he felt more at home with a Narnian horse (even if Bree had a habit of going on) than with a bunch of strangers from other places.

Susan felt guilty for not spending time with her fellow Narnians and had jumped at the opportunity of conversing with them. Likewise, she felt rather sorry for Bree after the competition with all of the cursing from Katniss and the maltreatment from Hawkeye, even if the man had later apologized to Bree (who had naturally forgiven him as any good Narnian would).

Just before the drinking game began, Susan returned to the living area and, with the excuse of needing to rest up for the competition, decided to turn in for the night, much to the chagrin of Robin Hood. He had been vying for her attention the entire day after the competition, though she had managed to find some excuse to never be alone with the woodsman. She felt rather bad for Robin Hood, having heard the story of his death from Much (who was never short of words), but she knew Robin Hood's affections for her stemmed more out of a need to replace Marian than a true love for her. Her rebuffs, while gentle, had frustrated him, prompting him to practice his shooting until dark and then turn in after that when he had found out she had already gone to bed. Being dead not yet two days before, feeling rather empty emotionally, and having a pretty woman refuse him all in one day had taken its toll. No amount of drinking could drown his sorrows, he reasoned. His victory that morning had bolstered his mental energy only a fraction of what a genuine smile from Susan would have if she had bothered to let him woo her.

Rogers and Banner were still up, talking quietly about their lives since the alien invasion. The two sat in one corner of the main room with a large open window that brought in a cool night breeze. They glanced over at the progress of the drinking game intermittently, shaking their heads each time. Natasha and Hawkeye sat in another corner together, close enough to talk without being overheard but not close enough to be considered intimate. Hawkeye nodded in the direction of the balcony, and Natasha's eyes followed. They seemed to come to an agreement, and Hawkeye stood, stretched, and walked out onto the balcony. Natahsa followed a minute later, but she slipped outside to watch in the shadows while Hawkeye ventured further.

"You mind?" Hawkeye asked Katniss, who had gone out some hours before to think in a quite spot outside the contestants' quarters on the balcony overlooking the hidden city.

Katniss shook her head, not really caring anymore. Her anger was gone for the time being, thanks to the traumatizing horse ride that morning. While she was also tired, sore, and dispirited from bouncing around on Bree and the results of her shooting, it had been the sheer terror of the ride that had worn her down the most. Hawkeye grunted softly as he sat. She wasn't the only one feeling the after effects of riding.

"You alright?" He didn't look at the young girl but rather stared into the moonlit night.

"Yeah," Katniss muttered, eyes downcast.

"I think you're lying." Katniss's head jerked up in surprise at the blunt statement.

"What does it matter to you?" she spat. "Nobody around here gives a d—n about me." (Here or back home, she thought glumly.)

"Maybe not, but we still have this stupid competition to finish, and since we are on a team together, I'd like to know if my teammates are up to the challenge, whatever the h—l it may be."

"You think I'm worthless, don't you?"

Hawkeye shook his head, his expression thoughtful. "I think you've been through h—l and made it back alright, but I also think you need some advice if you want to stay alive, and I'm not just talking about this competition." Katniss raised her brows at this.

"So now you're gonna give me a life lecture? Great. I haven't had one of those in a while."

"Look," Hawkeye began, "I don't know the details of your background, and I don't care. Life sucks, and it's not fair. Deal with it. I can stand your bad attitude for about as long as until the next challenge starts. After that, suck it up or I will put an arrow through your calf, and you can sit out for the rest of whatever that pointy-eared b****** cooked up. Got it?"

Katniss glared at the man sitting next to her. She had begun to like him during the past day or so. He spoke his mind and could hold his own, but now she resented how he held his superiority over her. She had seen him lose his temper that morning, and while she had little sympathy for the horse, Katniss knew he had been on the verge of shooting Legolas, Bree, or both of them. Hawkeye and Katniss stared at each other for a moment, ignoring the drunken shouts of abuse as one of the contestants succumbed to an alcohol induced slumber.

The furious teenager was the first to break the hostile silence between them. "What gives you the right to tell me what to do? Who made you dictator of this group? You're nothing better than those gaudily dressed bimbos in the Capitol." The words came out in flat anger, her eyes accusingly bright.

"Listen, kid," Hawkeye returned standing up to face Katniss. "We're on a team this round, which means someone needs to be in charge. Now there's a reason why teams aren't democracies. Nothing gets done, and, in a military setting, people die. As far as I can tell, Lover Boy over there has his mind set on one goal, which is fine as long as it doesn't interfere with this last challenge. He doesn't care who's in charge. He just wants the chick, and I will be d—d before I let a teenage girl give me orders, especially when she doesn't seem to grasp the concept of putting personal feelings aside."

"You were right about one thing," Katniss muttered. "You don't know me at all. You wanna know why I've had such a bad attitude?"

"Not really."

Katniss continued anyway. "Because ever since my sister was chosen for the Hunger Games and I volunteered in her place, I haven't felt in control of anything. I was hunted for days, saw kids kill kids, had to pretend to be in love with a boy I may or may not actually have feelings for, and had to almost commit suicide just to save both our lives. We got back, and the people were all hailing us as heroes while I felt like a murderer, and I knew the politicians back in the Capitol are furious. My country is on the brink of turmoil, the politicians probably want me dead, and I'm can't even make up my mind as to who I'm supposed to love."

Hawkeye just stared at the young female, face clearly perplexed. "Yeah. I have no idea what you are talking about, but I still stand on the whole 'suck-it-up' thing."

"Thanks for caring!" Katniss shot back.

"Which is exactly my point!" Hawkeye said with a gesture of exasperation. "You can't control most situations, but you can control how you react to them. Go with logic at best and instinct when necessary. Nobody cares how you feel, and it won't get you anywhere. Deal with it."

"Oh, right," Katniss said sarcastically. "Because you handled this morning with a stunning amount of logic and no emotion whatsoever."

"Believe it or not, not everyone is perfect," admitted Hawkeye.

He had felt bad about his actions that morning to some degree. Normally, stress like this competition would not have phased him, but apparently the strain of world jumping and meeting new creatures had messed with his head more than he had realized.

"That elf nearly killed me today with the help of that stupid horse, but it was an accident. I over reacted in a bad way, and I apologize that you saw that. I'm not too proud to admit my mistakes, and I did apologize to the horse and the elf. But now I have to put that behind me and instead of whining about my arm, I'm choosing to ignore it. I suggest you do the same and move on because like I said, people don't care about what you're feeling." Finished with his lecture, Hawkeye went back into the contestants' main living area. "And get some sleep."

Katniss didn't know what to say. She stared dejectedly out into the night, hoping to find solace in the unveiled stars. A roar of drunken laughter flared out into the night, another contestant having passed out. Hawkeye's apology had come as a bit of a surprise to her, and she felt like a jerk for hating him earlier. Still, Katniss remained confused, annoyed at her own inadequacies, wondering if she was up to the task of facing the last challenge, even with a team.

"He's not completely right, you know," a female's voice spoke out. Katniss's head lifted to see the one called Natasha. "There are some people who care. You just have to know who they are, what emotions to share with them, and how to protect them."

"Well, he's not one of them," Katniss said stoically.

"He cares," Natasha said simply, squatting down so that she was level with Katniss. "He sees potential in you, but if that potential is going to make it, you're gonna have to protect it first."

"More advice?"

Natasha shrugged. "Only if you need it."

"Do I?"

"You could do with a little more."

Katniss shrugged diffidently. "Why not?"

"From what see, you've got the skills and the brains to get through a lot of tough spots. You've done it before, right?" Despite Natasha's limited understanding of the past events, she had garnered the essential facts.

"I barely survived the Hunger Games. I've never been so afraid for my life."

"But you survived."

"I had to."

"Why?"

"I told my sister I would try to win."

"How?"

A smile touched the troubled girl's lips. "Haymitch got 'em to change the rules, but when Peeta and I were the only two left, they tried to change 'em back. We threatened to commit suicide. That got their attention, and they let us both live."

"So you controlled them." The statement was enough.

A small revelation went off in the younger woman's mind, the reflection shining through her eyes. "I suppose so."

"Don't ever forget that feeling," Natasha said, a hard edge to her voice. "In that moment you were resolute and focused on the goal and only the goal, right?" Katniss nodded. "Then channel whatever emotions you have: pain, anger, and especially fear into one thing. Determination. Got it?"

"But that was-"

"Then?" Natasha interrupted, an eyebrow raised. "Trust me. When emotions threaten to overwhelm you, take a step back and be objective. If you keep yourself focused on the goal here and now in situations that aren't quite so life-and-death, then in the times that really matter, you won't have to worry about all those emotions. It'll be second nature."

"But what about him?" She jerked a thumb in the direction Hawkeye had left.

"Don't worry about him," reassured Natasha, gesturing dismissively. She straightened up and took a few steps back to survey the troubled teen. "He had a bad day, is all. The best thing to do is shake it off and move on. I've had to do it a thousand times myself."

Several moments passed as Katniss thought over what had been said. She still felt conflicted, but some things started to make more sense, in a foggy sort of way. "So this really works for you?"

"Takes a bit of practice and a couple of hundred dangerous assignments, but yeah it works."

Katniss fidgeted with a loose thread on the hem of her pants.

Natasha smiled at the younger woman, nodded a little in satisfaction. She'd be alright. "You really should get some shuteye." Natasha headed inside, contented she had completed her task.

"Thanks," came the soft reply, just before a thud followed by Legolas' voice announced the winner of the drinking game.

Returning the well-lit interior, Natahsa saw that every one of the drinking competitors, save Thor, was either slumped across the table or lying on the floor. She nodded to Hawkeye briefly, a signal that her end of the conversation with Katniss had gone well. Receiving the information, Hawkeye saluted briefly and headed for the men's quarter, following his own advice.

"Who was first out?" Natasha asked the three remaining individuals who weren't inebriated.

"Haymitch," answered Rogers.

"Although, we're pretty sure he was already mostly drunk to begin with," Banner continued. "Much was next, then Stark, and lastly the dwarf, Gimli."

"Leaving Thor as the winner," Legolas finished, nudging his unconscious friend who was snoring loudly.

"Nevvvver trrry to outdriiiink a ggggod," Thor slurred, raising his now empty mug of ale in a sloppy salute. "Th-the ale wasssn't hafff bad eitherrr."

"I'm glad you liked it," murmured Natasha.

"Anoooother!" a drunken Thor shouted, unsteadily standing and launching his mug toward the ground in front of Legolas. Suddenly, his eyes crossed, and a moment later he was on the ground, following the lead of the rest of the competitors, the hurled mug deftly caught by the elf prince before it could shatter on the tile floor.

"Winner by a whole half minute," Natasha muttered. "Oh yeah, I can't wait to see them in the morning."

"Speaking of which," Rogers said, reaching down to pick up a drunken Thor. "I think we should get all of them to bed."

"Have fun with that." Natasha left the men (and an elf) to deal with the men (and dwarf).

0o0o0o

"Rise and shine!" a (far too) cheery male voice exclaimed, waking the male contestants and their companions with a grumble as he threw open the curtains to allow the dawn's light to illuminate the room.

"How very original," Hawkeye muttered.

Merlin had already politely knocked on the door leading to the women's quarters, and found they were all awake and dressed, prepared for the day ahead. The women had even made their beds and tidied up the place, meaning he wouldn't have to.

"Jarvis!" Stark shouted as he rolled over with a pillow upon his head. He was still mostly asleep and still suffering from the after effects of the night before. "I will wipe your circuit boards the next time you turn off the window opacity like that."

"Aww, c'mon, Stark," Rogers called out cheerfully. He was fully dressed and had also made his bed with neat hospital corners. "It's a lovely day outside in Middle Earth, and there are no computers or technology in it. Up and at'em!"

"Shake a leg, Stark!" Banner called out playfully, smacking the groaning man with his pillow. Stark sat straight up and glared at the man.

"Watch it, Bucko," he warned. "I eat green smoothies for breakfast."

"Ooooh!" Much let out a loud moan. "Why is everybody shouting?"

"It's a lovely morning, Much!" Robin Hood said with a broad grin as he tipped over the cot the smaller man had been sleeping in. A muffled cry soon followed.

Much scrambled to his feet but ended up getting tangled in the sheets and falling over once more. "Robin! Confound your bloody cheery morning spirits. I have a splitting headache today and all you can do is go shouting about and kicking people out of their nice warm beds!"

"I'm sure breakfast will fix that," suggested Merlin, helping the small Englishman to his feet. At the mention of breakfast, Much perked up quite a bit, as did Thor and Gimli.

"I could do with a side of bacon!" Thor agreed in a chipper tone suggesting no sign of a hangover to cloud his spirits.

"Aye!" seconded Gimli (who was worse off than Thor but better off than the men).

With breakfast on their minds, the recently awakened men (and dwarf) quickly dressed, hurrying out into the main room before the food turned cold. The sweet aroma of coffee greeted them, as did more light from the clear dawn outside. Stark muttered something about missing his sunglasses. Merlin frowned, counting the number of people at the table. All save two were seated. Legolas, being in need of only a small amount of sleep, had gone out earlier that morning to roam the city and exercise Arod in the cool before first light.

Ah! Where was Haymitch?

Entering the men's room once more, Merlin could not help a disheartened sigh escape from his lips. Only two of the beds had been made (Captain Rogers and Bruce Banner, of course), and the rest were a helpless mess. Blankets, pillows, and some random bits of clothing were scattered about. Reaching down, Merlin inadvertently picked a pair of over ripened socks instead of a blanket. He grimaced and quickly tossed them to one corner, deciding it would be better to burn them than spend precious time washing the fetid things. He muttered a few words and the socks rose level with the window. After a few more words, the pair caught fire and Merlin let the wind take them away, down, down, down into the hidden valley below.

"I don't see what's so difficult about making your own bed," Merlin muttered as he set to making one. "If two of them could do, I don't see why the others can't! They're as bad as Arthur."

Walking to the back corner, Merlin spotted Haymitch who was still unconscious on his cot. Merlin poked the man lightly. Haymitch mumbled something about chariots of fire. Merlin tried again, this time shaking the man, but he refused to be woken. Shrugging, Merlin let the man be and straightened up the rest of the men's quarters before striding back out into the main room. If Haymitch missed breakfast, it was not his fault.

"Where's Haymitch?" Katniss asked Merlin as soon as he emerged.

At first, Merlin did not realize he had been addressed and continued towards the door leading to the rest of the city, intent on finishing the last few details of the final challenge before Elrond found out and consider him apathetic (Which I am not! Merlin thought.) He had been up all night trying to finish the specifics Lord Elrond had requested.

"Hey, you!" Katniss called a little louder, tossing a fruit rind at him. Several members at the table called out a warning.

Merlin reacted instinctively, ducking as the projectile flew over his head. He looked around hastily and found the missile's origin. "What was that for?"

"Haymitch. Blond. Always drunk. Where is he?"

"Oh. Ahh. He's still asleep. I tried to wake him, but…" Merlin trailed off with a shrug.

Katniss picked up a pitch of cool water. "Oh, is he?"

She left the room (no one tried to stop her) and returned a few minutes later with a moaning-and-wet-but-pretty-much-sober Haymitch. He immediately went for the ale, then thought twice and took a cup of coffee instead. It was a monumental moment for him, but unfortunately, no one noticed (save Katniss who was too preoccupied to care).

With a sigh, Katniss sank down beside her mentor. He was usually worse when he was sober than when he was drunk, but she needed something that felt like home, and he was the closest she was gonna get. Katniss had a feeling events were about to escalate (Teams? Really? What kind of contest is this?). Her gaze drifted around the room until they snagged on Thor, who was waving his arms and describing something to a smiling Susan. His eyes were filled with a light that reminded her of someone back home. Someone who was her friend.

Of all the people in attendance, the Avengers were the least unfamiliar. These robe-wearing elf people and fantasy royalty people were starting to get on her nerves, but even Thor in his flowing red cape seemed more real and modern and normal than old-fashioned sounding Susan. And Hawkeye and Natasha definitely got what she was going through. She shivered—things felt too strange and alien. Maybe the Capitol hadn't been that bad…but no, it had been because at that point, her life had been callous sport for the masses. At least here the price for failure wasn't her life.

"Hey," Haymitch growled, startling her out of her reverie. "That Norse guy. He looks like that kid you dig back home." She stared at him stonily.

And then they started arguing and things were normal again.

0o0o0o0o

"Merlin!" Elrond swept into the room about half an hour later, eyes gleaming with impatience (and yes, this was most peculiar for him, but he'd been feeling peculiar and out of sorts and most definitely un-elflike ever since these competitors first began arriving. Perhaps it was his half-human part coming through at last.). "I requested the presence of everyone at the Viewing Pavilion an hour after dawn. We do not have all day to tarry at the breakfast table."

Merlin had, for the first time in three weeks, just sat down to eat breakfast with the others like a normal person not ten minutes before (having finished all the particulars of the third challenge). What was more amazing, he'd actually begun a conversation with the beautiful dark-haired woman (a queen who didn't order him around or act like he was just some servant who wasn't worth conversing with) who asked a great deal about where he was from and was quite sympathetic after hearing about all his troubles with Prince Arthur. It wasn't often he found himself in a place where he could confide with people about his magical abilities without the fear of discovery (magic was, after all, outlawed back in Camelot), and he was pleased to find at last a patient and attentive listener who was able to appreciate his exploits (which he had been forced to keep a secret from everyone back home).

It was nice, after all, to find someone who didn't think he was a useless domnoddy.

Indeed he would have like to continue the conversation for quite some time, but upon Elrond's arrival (Merlin had miraculously had the time to ingest ten sausage biscuits, three fruit pastries, two clusters of grapes, and a piece and a half of toast all while talking to Susan) the young warlock leaped to his feet and began stammering explanations around the crumbs that threatened to dry out his mouth.

"Oh, never mind," Elrond sighed. "I should have sent the hobbits instead."

"Do you know where the hobbits are?" Merlin asked, raising an eyebrow. "They're currently washing a leech tank because they decided it would be fun to pour all Gauis's potions together and dare each other to drink it. I don't know what kind of creatures they are, but I'm certainly glad we haven't got any where I'm from."

There was a brief discussion in which Gimli defended the hobbits and nearly everyone else snickered into their sleeves. It ended with Elrond saying, "Haven't you got something you need to be doing?"

Naturally, being Merlin, Merlin did. He stormed off indignantly toward the Viewing Pavilion ahead of them and decided that maybe he'd go back to this Narnia place for a few days before returning to Camelot. At least Susan wouldn't make him run errands (or throw things at him, for that matter).

After apologizing for losing his temper, Elrond led the contestants and companions to a large open room, all stone and ivy around the pillars along the edges. It seemed fairly ordinary, but for a round table-sized hole in the floor of the room, the inside of which (where the floor might have been) flickered blue. After everyone had shuffled in and was staring at this peculiar…thing in the center of the room, Elrond cleared his throat.

"Merlin? A demonstration, if you would be so kind."

Merlin jumped (he'd been sulking a bit, having finished for the moment, and wishing he could go on conversing with Susan) and said, "Oh, right." He held out his hand and muttered something and suddenly a sapphire dome arose from the blue circle. Much reached out cautiously and found that his hand went right through it.

"Sorcery!" he stammered. "But that's...that's impossible!"

There were a few snickers (Could the Englander really not have noticed until now?) as Merlin shrugged and replied tiredly, "Yes, it is, in fact, sorcery."

"Pretty blue," Haymitch stated, waving his hand through it fascinatedly, though his eyes were not clouded by strong drink for once. "Whats't for?"

"When the companions enter into the arena of the third challenge, we will not be able to see them directly," Elrond replied, surveying the group as he spoke. "Merlin has contrived this device by magic so that we may observe their actions as they overcome the obstacles within."

"What kind of obstacles are we talkin' here?" Hawkeye asked, leaning back against a pillar with his arms crossed.

"You will face them in teams," Elrond said. "As already mentioned—you, Katniss, and Robin Hood will work together, and Legolas, Susan, and Merida will form the other group. While your group was perhaps less favored in the previous contest, you will be given certain…benefits which your rivals will not.

"The goal of this competition is to locate and retrieve the five golden arrows which are guarded by different beasts and terrains throughout the arena. The winning team will be the first to find three arrows and bring them back to their starting position. The trials will most certainly involve dangerous situations and creatures, so teamwork and accuracy of aim will be crucial to the success of either of your teams."

"Right," said Merlin. He had retrieved an armful of bows and quivers from somewhere nobody had noticed and was handing them out. "Your weapons will work as they're meant to work in the arena. If something happens, we can always stop it and get you out, but the easiest way to end everything is to get at least three golden arrows (can't be less—can be more) back to your camp.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, clapping his hand to his head as he handed Merida her bow. "Almost forgot. Maps. One for each team. Your camp is marked in blue and the various challenges are marked as well, though specifics have been left out."

He pulled them out of a pocket (or it might've been thin air) and handed one to Robin Hood (who only squinted at it, and then handed it to Hawkeye) and the other to Legolas.

"I should probably ask if you have questions but the spell isn't set to last forever, so we'd better begin. If there's anything I forgot, I'll…send a mysterious voice from the sky or something. Otherwise, there will be no communication between us and you. Just jump into the circle and hold your breath until you feel the ground under your feet."

It was a rather long monologue (especially directly following Elrond's) but the contestants looked determined instead of defiant (except for perhaps Hawkeye, who had mostly contained his annoyance that he seemed to not be able to shake this time, and Merida, who generally didn't like people telling her what to do when she had no desire to do it). Legolas and Hawkeye were the first ones to step up to the blue surface (it looked almost like a glowing pool of water).

"Together?" Legolas asked, his eyes still tinged with apology. "For fairness' sake?"

"Together," Hawkeye replied, his gaze catching light from the ivy and flashing green for a fraction of a second.

"Ah," said Merlin. "Perhaps if you all jumped together. Holding hands is good too—but only the teams."

This was quickly arranged. The teams stood facing each other on opposite sides of the magical pool. Katniss felt Hawkeye squeeze her hand, to remind her of their discussion (Natasha was watching her too). Robin gazed longingly at Susan for what he thought might be the last time (well…the last time for quite a while at least). Merida wondered why Legolas' hand was so cold.

And then they jumped.

The portal shimmered as they sank beneath its surface, and there were a few moments of silence before several view-screens appeared along the edges of the blue dome around the pool. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. It was a grave moment.

"So a blond, a brunette, and a red-head walk into a forest," Stark began in a deadpan voice, intently staring at the screen which showed the arrival of the team containing Legolas, Susan, and Merida. Everyone looked at him, reactions varying from confusion to disbelief.

Captain Rogers was the first to recover. "I thought they walked into a bar."

Banner was a close second. "You've waited a while to say that, haven't you?" Stark grinned.

"It is a bar, right?" Rogers asked thoughtfully, searching his memory.

"Yes, Rogers. It's a bar. Stark was being cute," Natasha ground out.

"You think I'm cute?" Stark said in mock surprise, posing for effect. "Why, milady. Thou doth honor me with thy affections."

"Wait. Why is it always a bar?" Rogers continued, fixed on one thought.

"Because that's where all the ale is, of course!" suggested Thor, the variation of the common Earth joke lost on him (all of the non-Avengers decided to ignore the banter…save Haymitch).

"Ale? Bars? Where?" Haymitch (who had been studying the Katniss via the dome) suddenly asked, oblivious to the previous context. Banner waved to both interested men dismissively. He'd tell Rogers some other time.

"Go throw yourself in front of Clint's arrow," muttered Natasha, her eyes beseeching the sky for some deliverance of the arrogant man.

"I'll save that for you. I'm sure Cupid lent him the ammo," Stark replied smoothly.

Natasha smile sweetly back at him. "You only think I won't take one of them and make you squeal."

"Ahh, those things are just full of love."

"Love can hurt." The smile turned chilly.

Stark decided to change subjects. Fast.

"You said something about the challenges in there being dangerous?" Stark remarked to Elrond, raising a dark eyebrow in question. "So what happens if they…you know, die?"

Elrond deferred to Merlin, choosing instead to sit and ignore the present company until their maturity level reached the age of fifteen. "Oh," said Merlin, realizing they were all staring at him. "Well, they don't really die. They just disappear from the game and are returned here at once. By magic."

"Ah," said Banner, leaning back against a wall as he settled in to wait for the long contest that was about to begin. "Magic. Well. I'm sure everything will work out fine."

"Who wants popcorn?" Stark asked.


To be continued...