First off, a quick thank you to those who reviewed! I never thought people would actually like this, heh.
As requested, I'll continue. Thanks again!~
Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff.
"Oh my, that boy is entirely green! Why didn't he dye his hair purple to match his outfit?"
"Which district is that one from...the robot one. Is that the 'style'?"
"And look at that girl! She has more exposed than covered! She'll be looking for more sex than kills this year!"
This was kind of ridiculous. Despite the fact that his team was made out of an alien, a girl from a completely different world, a cyborg, some kid who could morph into animal he wanted, and the Batman's 'spawn', they were never called anything related to 'freaks'...or at least, when they were around. They saved people's asses, were respected and thanked for their troubles, and were allowed to live in some giant 'T' on an island with free cable, plumbing, and a discount on pizza. As long as the peoples favorite hangouts and homes were still intact, the Titans were accepted into the community, despite how different they were from everybody else.
But here...Panem..things were a bit different. This is where you would have somebody say that line from 'The Wizard of Oz' about how you weren't in Kansas anymore while looking around with that wide-eyed/shocked expression. Or in this case, California. Whatever floated your boat.
There were people in all colors. As far as Robin could see, there were people with red hair, orange eyes, yellow eyebrows, green-tinted skin, blue sparkles in said skin, purple makeup, and so on. Any color that PhotoShop could recognize was being used here. With weird, out-of-this-world clothing. And people were calling him and his team weird? But they didn't seem to notice...only tending to their make-up when it was accidentally smudged or the person looked into a mirror. Yes, men wore makeup here too. Huh.
Oh well. As of now, the weird crowd was the least of their problems.
Turning back to Claudius, Robin raised an eyebrow. "...Panem?"
The older man nodded, smiling brilliantly. "Yes! And just in time for the Hunger Games, too! What wonderful timing."
"The Hunger Games? Is it like one of those pie-eating contests?" Beast Boy asked as his attention returned to Claudius, his eyes sparkling.
Claudius seemed confused by Beast Boy's question, but he shook his head. "It's an annual event that Panem holds. The most important, to be more specific. Though it is a bother to explain it all; there's so much to cover." He nodded to a red-head standing off by a corner, and she handed him five tapes. "I'll take...ahh, you," Claudius slapped Robin on the back as if they were good friends. "to the inside of our arena. There you can watch these in your own private room. They will tell you more about the Hunger Games."
Cyborg stepped forward. "Why can't we all go?" The others nodded in agreement.
"I'd rather he watch them first, if you don't mind." He wrapped a hand around Robin's arm and started to drag him off. The other Titans watched as Robin sent them an apologetic look with a shrug, and followed Claudius to the arena. Which was gigantic, might I add. Why did they need so much space for one little event?
They went past a few doors into what looked like the main lobby. It was strangely empty...you'd think that everybody would be hustling about if this was so important. There were only a few people that dusted the place off. As Robin and Claudius entered, they gave them a wordless bow before continuing their work. Claudius smiled at Robin and lead him into a room. There was nothing but a small T.V, a VCR player on top, a sofa accompanied by an end table and coffee table. Small, but very cozy.
"I'll set these tapes on top. You should finish them all in an hour or so...they're tidbits taken from the actual event. If you want any food or beverages, just press the button and speak into the box." Claudius said as he inserted the first tape into the VCR. "I'll see you in a bit, Robin."
Robin set on the sofa with a sigh as the movie started to start. He pressed the little button on the end table and asked for a bowl of popcorn. No later than a minute a large bowl of popcorn arrived, buttered and all. A little bottle of root beer was set off to the side. How the hell they were able to pop a whole bowl of popcorn in less than a minute he didn't know. It didn't matter anyway; the movie finally beginning.
The beginning was pretty simple. A camera crew was set up in the middle of a fancy-looking town square with a full crowd at the front. In front of the people was a stage, with a man Robin assumed was the mayor speaking at a podium. A sudden skip in the tape suggested a few skipped parts as the cameras circled around to face the crowd head on. Children to teenagers were roped off near the front, adults and elders were in the back. The weird thing was nobody looked happy. Nobody cheered, nobody held a smile. And the kids looked ashen.
After the quick view, the cameras returned to the stage. Sitting on a table was a glass sphere with a few dozen balls dancing on the inside. It looked like they were about to draw a few numbers for the lottery. But instead of numbers they mayor read off names. Two pale kids, a thirteen year old girl and fifteen year old guy, walked up on the stage and had their hands shaken by everyone else. Silence erupted once Robin assumed was the anthem started to play, except for a few sobs and cries echoing out from the audience. Then the screen faded to black. This happened a few more times, the location changing each time. Every person chosen was always a kid, always a boy and a girl, and the reaction from the audience was never happy.
The second clip was much quicker. Twenty-four faces were shown with a number ranging from one to nine on the screen. Then the whole T.V turned black.
Next were interviews by the winners...or tributes, as the people here called them. The kids Robin had seen picked were dressed up quite fancily, sitting next to an interviewer for three minutes to share whatever anybody wanted to hear. The audience seemed quite bubble-headed which made the whole thing quite enjoyable. The slightest word could send them into a laughing fit or crying bitter tears. It was pretty quick; ending with again the song being played in the background with the kids standing with heads held high.
Nothing happened for a while. About a minute later, Robin stood up to change the tapes when another picture showed up finally and he could hear the small ring of a gong. He looked at the screen to see a desert wasteland with all twenty-four of the tributes standing around a golden horn or something. The minute the gong rang the kids ran towards a sea of backpacks, supplies and weapons. A map of the desert was at the corner of the screen. And what he saw next shocked the hell out of him.
One girl grabbed a knapsack and a spear, chucking it towards one kid. It caught him right through the chest and killed him instantly. She was about to run over and retrieve her weapon if it wasn't for a knife that went right into her knee. Another kid ran up behind her and took care of her, slamming a frying pan into her head and taking her provisions. This continued on until the tape skipped again, showing a much smaller group of kids sweating and dying right in front of his eyes. A quick look at the overhead map showed that there was no water, no plants...nothing. Sooner rather than later, the remaining tributes started to drop like flies from dehydration until one was left. The screen faded to black, then blue, suggesting the end of the movie.
Robin sat on the sofa for a while. His bowl of half-eaten popcorn sat on the table, forgotten. The same girl who handed Claudius the tapes came in and eyed Robin warily before switching the first tape with the second. The same cycle continued as last time, only different tributes and a different arena. A few minutes were added to some tapes, telling Robin of their history and what the tributes did with their free time while in the Capitol. This time they were fighting in a rocky wasteland. That one ended, and the tapes were switched again. Different tributes and arena every time. Antarctica. A jungle. Underground, even.
The hour went by fast. And Robin had learned quite a good amount.
The Hunger Games was a contest between twelve districts...each chose a boy and a girl by random. They were to represent their district. Each good thing increased their chances of getting free supplies during the event. Kids between the ages of twelve and eighteen were automatically at risk. The tributes were sent in chariots with a theme matching their district the first day, then spent the second and third day training and showing what they had learned to the Gamekeepers. The fourth day was solely for interviews, then they were shipped to the arena the fifth. Everything else after that was unexplainable.
Claudius entered the room to find Robin resting his arms on his knees, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He wasn't surprised to find the younger boy tired looking.
Robin raised his head and was surprised to find the older man smiling. Who could smile at a time like this? "You can't allow this." He said, standing up and crossing his arms at Claudius. The man's smile faded slowly away.
"The Hunger Games are law...are a punishment. Punishment cannot be skipped, or the people will never learn their mistakes."
"Punishment? You call this punishment?" Robin pointed at the television, which was off for the time being. "This is manslaughter! You're taking innocent lives over what happened years ago!" He glared at Claudius, enraged. "Do you really think you're doing the public good?"
Claudius nodded. "We have done so much for the twelve districts...fed them, kept their hearts beating, and provided peace. And how do they repay us? With disrespect and rebellion. We are figures of justice, my friend. Acts of treason won't be tolerated any longer."
Robin looked at Claudius and found him speaking quite seriously. This man actually believed this? That he was doing the public good?
"My friends and I protect innocent people every day. We face rebellion and threats to the citizens as well as our very lives. And we do everything in our means to protect them." Robin stepped forward, standing tall. "We don't demand respect, we earn it by hard work. Not by threats and by killing children." Claudius's age and status didn't seem to matter now. He backed the older man against the door and glared. "I am a figure of justice. My teammates are figures of justice. You're aren't anything, other than dictators who get what they want by taking the lives of children!"
The older man said nothing, but his furrowed brow and red face told Robin more than enough. Finally he spoke, "You don't understand. You're some teenager- a pest whose mind is clouded by ignorance. You know nothing of Panem, our history, what we've done to get this far! You and your little 'team' are just freaks from centuries ago. But I'll tell you what..." Claudius bent down to look Robin in the eye. The latter stared back, eyes narrowed. "It's been a while since the Hunger Games had taken a twist...why don't we change that? During this year, two of you will be joining us for the Hunger games. Only two- no more than that. We'd like to keep things even."
By now the two fists balled up at Robin's sides were released. Robin stared at Claudius, expressionless. But he was struggling to keep that straight face.
"The audience will choose who gets to stay, and who leaves. The other three from your group will be sent up with us to watch the two of you fight for your lives."
"And if we resist?"
"Then you'll die. The officials will shoot you all on the spot."
"You guys really know how to keep the peace." Robin glared at the Claudius.
Claudius said nothing, but opened the door. "You have five minutes to tell your friends. By then everything should be ready for you."
And he left.
There you go. Hope I didn't disappoint.