A/N: Ah guys who left the reviews (carriedaway88, Annabeth-TheTributeThatLived, MsAir and yolo yo)- thank you so much for encouraging me to continue! I really hope that everyone likes the twist and that it won't disappoint you.
I thought about how to reveal it and decided to write a little more from Madame Génome's POV (I do like her). Don't worry if you don't get what they are talking about immediately! I will reveal what the twist is along with the form at the end in Author notes, so stay tuned ;)
UPDATE: I am so sorry! I realised that the form cannot be copied from the website! Ah I am so stupid and thank you so much to those of you who messaged me saying that! I posted the form on my profile so you can go and copy it from there. If you still can't do it, just message me and I'll send it to you! Apologies!
Five years ago
My heart was beating erratically in my chest, as if trying to break out of my ribcage. On the outside, however, I kept a calm composure for other workers' sake. They say that if the head is sick it will convince the whole body that it's dying. I couldn't let that happen. Not after 50 years of my life were lost to this one project. Nothing would or could stop me. I finally found the answer to the puzzle that had been taking over my existence and slowly driving me insane. The only thing was that I never had anyone to test it on.
Understandingly, no one from the team wanted to volunteer, as we didn't know if the serum would work. Admittedly, I thought about using it myself, however there was a high risk factor, heightened by my age, meaning that we just couldn't take the chance and wish for the best. I knew that if I died, the experiments would go public, which would shut down the laboratory and end a half century long research that was almost perfect. I couldn't have that. I gave up my life, my children, my happiness. This was my only legacy and I would never let it fail.
A 'volunteer' was eventually found, but after he was told that there is an 80% chance of him not making it, he tried to break out. That was not surprising at all, however we could not let him go now, could we? He had to be restrained and kept in a cell, with doctors coming in everyday to check his stats and ensure that he is ready for the injection.
Today was finally the day. The tension in the air was so thick, I found some chocking on it and feeling sick. I, too, felt weak but I never showed it, reminding myself over and over again that this is duty and it has to be carried out. And in case we fail, we should take the results and move on. The 'volunteer', Eric was his name, or maybe Ed, was brought in by two guards, who were more of mountains than men, towering over everyone in the room, their only presence only thickening the tension.
"What d'we tie him to? This one's a fighter and a biter. Bit my fucking arm to the bone", the booming voice of the guard replaced the tense silence, piercing through the veil of thoughts that kept the room so quiet.
"Don't overreact, he's just going on his instinct. Also, t'was your fault for daydreaming on the job", the other guard mocked, earning a grunt from the other one.
"Tie him up to the table in the Inspection room", I said over the starting argument between the guards. "Also, this is no place for casual discussions, you are on duty and should be solely focused on your task on hand", I said with a tone of finality to let them know that they should keep quiet. Both nodded and proceeded with their task. We had to hurry, as Ean could wake up any minute and his struggling could pose a problem for the injection.
"All done, Madame", the guard said and I dismissed them with a nod. Slowly, I came up to the table where he lay. He only had cut-off creamy shorts on, with his scrawny built exposed to the chill of the room. I stroked my hand down his chest, feeling every breath he took. He was so calm. The serenity stood out against the jerky nervous movements that filled the room. Just as I was counting his heartbeats, I heard a loud alarm.
I slowly opened my eyes, that I haven't even noticed were closed, knowing that this was it. This was the moments I've been dreaming of since I was a teenager. The serum was ready, meaning that it was time to get on with the investigation. My assistant carefully filled the syringe with the bright blue liquid and passed it to me. I was the head, so I had to take the final step. Everyone stood around the table with their breaths held. Slowly I tapped the syringe to stabilize the serum. I took a deep breath and slowly brought it to the boy's, who couldn't be older than 15 now that I look closely, neck, right beside his pulse point. Just I was about to plunge the needle in, his eyes flew open and when his pupils adjusted to the light, they filled with fear, which reminded me of a cornered animal. He started struggling against the restraints and bucking his whole body up. He tried screaming something, but the soporific's effects left his tongue sluggish, meaning he was making ineligible mumbles.
However, I heard one word. Please. "Please, please, please", he uttered like a mantra, all the while looking with his wide, sky blue, just like the serum, eyes into mine, as if peering straight into my soul. I almost lost my composure, but then I snapped my eyes away from his, breathed out and quickly entered the needle, emptying out its contents in his bloodstream. His eyes were wide with shock and slowly you could see the bright blue glowing from within him, as it quickly spread around his body. They all took a step back, but I kept close to him, still looking in his eyes that were still wide with shock. Suddenly he closed his eyes and his whole body started shacking as if he was having an epileptic episode. His screams were getting louder and louder, while his body shook more violently with each passing second. It seemed that it was endless, until he finally stopped and dropped dead back on the table.
Everyone, even me, was a few meters away from the table, with clear pain and disappointment written on their faces. Slowly, one of the nurses came up to him to check his pulse. She tentatively touched his pulse point and went still for a minute. We all stood on our tiptoes in anticipation. She dropped her hand and turned to us, shacking her head, sadness reflecting in her deep frown. Then suddenly, his whole body illuminated blue again and his left hand broke out of the restraints, grabbing the nurse's wrist and flinging her across the rooms, as if she weighed nothing. We heard a thud and all watched in shock as she slid down the wall, with her neck turned unnaturally. People were immediately in panic and someone pushed the emergency button. Everyone evacuated, except me. I had to stay and record. It was a success. Finally, even though the results were not what we expected, no, it was more! It was better! I laughed out loud, just as he broke out of his last restraints. He looked me dead in the eye and was moving towards me with increasing speed. Just as he was a mere 3 meters away, I took out my gun and shot him right in the head. His body froze and fell with a silent thud to the ground.
I wiped off the blood off my cheek and immediately called the Gamemaker for a meeting. After the call, I breathed out and looked up at the glass ceiling. What a beautiful day it was.
Next day
I entered the room, and everyone's head turned towards me, as they stood up in a greeting. I nodded and took my place, everyone sitting down after me. This was true respect for my duties. This was what made me value my position.
"Madame Génome, why did you call for an emergency meeting?" asked one of the directors of the Games. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and looked at me with worry on their face. I smiled and looked at everyone in the room, thinking how none of them ever sacrificed as much as me for the duty. After meeting everyone's gaze, most turning away when my eyes met theirs, while some bravely looked back, I revealed the news.
"The serum is ready, ladies and gentlemen. This means that we are all set for the Quarter Quell. The results were more than we expected", I said, "After the first volunteer, we tried it on 9 more people and got different mutation each time. The serum will be tweaked a little, to ensure that the reaction is not immediate, but gradual. However, this is a small flaw, meaning that essentially it is ready for use". The board of directors started muttering among themselves in shock and awe, never expecting for the serum to actually work.
"Are we ready to have some fun for Quarter Quell?" I ask and everyone's head turns to me, as I smile and look out the huge window on my right. What a beautiful day it was.
A/N: Alright did you guys figure out what it was? Yes indeed, it is abilities!
Every tribute will be getting an ability, however I will not tell any of you what it was, until the games start as tributes themselves wouldn't know it either! If you are not sure what kind of abilities they would be, they are something like X-men or Heroes have. I am extremely excited about this and hope you are too!
Here is the form and pretty please PM it to me, as you have to have an account for your tribute to be in the games!
Thank you so much for reading and please review!
General:
Name:
District (top 3, can be Capitol):
Gender:
Age:
Hair:
Eyes:
Appearance:
Height:
Personality (just how they stand out from the crowd):
Habits:
Fears:
Strengths (max 4):
Weaknesses (min 2):
Family/Friends:
Position in community (popular, loved, avoided, ignored etc):
Story:
Background:
Reaped/Volunteered (reason for volunteering):
Romance (yes/no):
Reaction (just a few words, such as 'elated' or 'scared shitless'):
Weapon of choice (be creative!):
Allies (yes/no):
How do they act during the parade:
How do they act during interview:
Opinions on games:
Opinions on government:
Opinions on themselves:
Aesthetics (optional):
Reaping outfit:
Parade outfit:
Interview outfit:
The Twist:
If you could choose to give them an ability (something like in Heroes or X-Men) what would it be? (top 3 choices, be creative and don't give me something like 'power of every element'):
Why:
Opinions on the twist:
Anything I missed out: