Notes: Lol. Yeah, Silz, I can see how that would be your favorite paragraph. Sin is hilarious when she's deflecting how much she cares about that boy ;)
Chapter 5: "Drama for the Cameras"
July 2: Parade Day
Preparation Suites
"Hey. Handsome. Psssst! Hey!" Jubilee mock whisper-shouted into Twelve's suite with a bounce as only her head appeared in the door. "Go ahead and admit it. You totally need my help."
It was clear even from down the hall that Noh was having trouble with the girl from Twelve — and it was only clearer once Jubilee had opened the door to find that the bushy-headed girl had literally snatched the scissors away from Noh and thrown them across the room, one finger in his face as she was inches away from him. "No. Touching."
"America, please, I'm only going to trim—"
"You're not gonna pretty me up for these…. Keep your paws off, pretty boy!"
"Scott, go get those scissors, please," Jubilee said quietly as she pulled her tribute into the room with her. She waved America's way with her fingertips as she bounced up to them. "Hello."
America hardly acknowledged Jubilee, though she did glance over at Scott, who was pulling the scissors out of the wall. "You gonna let her boss you around?" she called out to him. "You gonna let a Capitolite tell you what to do?"
"You gonna throw a tantrum before this thing even gets started?" Scott countered as he pulled the scissors out at last and gave America a dry look. "Not exactly a smart move if you want to get through the Games."
"Also — not our fault you're here," Jubilee said as she put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to one foot. "I wish you weren't, to be honest. I'm beyond this crap, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on you guys looking better than the others going in." She gave America a raised eyebrow look as she blew a massive pink bubble.
"I don't want to get prettied up for entertainment," America insisted. "I'll fight, fine. But I'm not dressing up."
"Fine. Then we'll make you uglier," Jubilee said with a shrug. "No skin off my nose. We can dress you up like Rocket if you want to go for stupid and ugly."
"She might like it," Scott said dryly. "She doesn't want the hair tamed."
"Lucky for her, I'm a pro with wild hair," Jubilee said, shooting a little smirk Scott's way. "Which reminds me... Noh, would you please make Scott gorgeous? I think he needs a more reasonable hair cut. Maybe bushy tail here won't cry so much if she sees someone else get their hair done first."
"Woah, hey," Scott said, holding both hands up. "That's not — we're not even supposed to be here."
"He's an expert," Jubilee said, pushing him toward Noh. "And … we have an agreement anyhow. Don't worry about it."
"If you have an agreement, why don't you point out to him that his stupid sketches aren't nearly showing off my best features?" America said as she rolled her eyes and tossed her hair.
"Your tribute is a baby and needs to have a say in her parade outfit," Jubilee said as she peeked over at the sketch. "What do you think is your best feature?" Jubilee asked. "Because I'd go with your legs."
"I told him the shorts need to be shorter," America said with a grin that stretched a bit further.
"So … short shorts and sneakers," Jubilee said before she cracked her gum, even going so far as to pick up a pencil and start sketching on Noh's drawing after she handed over the one she had for Scott.
"You can't just…" Scott looked between the two stylists with wide eyes.
"Oh hush," Jubilee said with a little wave as the two of them started comparing notes.
"I think I'm keeping yours, Seven," America called out to Scott.
"You'll have to take my mentor too — package deal," Scott teased back.
"Fine by me. I've been meaning to have words with both of 'em," America said with an easy shrug as, finally, she slid into the seat Noh had been trying to get her into. "Whatdya think, Glitter Queen?"
"I think you both get both of us, and if you want to talk to the mentors, swing on by," she said distractedly as Noh shook his head at her color selections.
"You really don't want to do that," Scott said with a frown America's way.
"I really do," America insisted. "Got a bone to pick with one, and the other ... unfinished business."
"You should both know — we have an unspoken agreement between Seven and Twelve," Jubilee said. "Feel free to go between the two. We do."
"Great." America grinned up at Jubes, tipped her head back to look at her upside down. "Knew I liked you."
Jubilee grinned brilliantly at her and offered her a piece of gum. "Of course you do. Only idiots don't like me."
Scott shook his head at both of them as Noh offered him a seat with a little shrug and a half chuckled out, "I find it's easier to just roll with it when this kind of thing happens," as he started on Scott's hair.
As Noh worked on Scott, Jubilee brought the sketch to America. "We're not totally agreeing on color, so … you get final pick." She glanced over at Scott. "Because I said so."
"It's because I didn't throw a tantrum, isn't it," Scott said her way.
"You act like that would stop me," Jubilee said. "You need to pay attention to how easy it is for me to get Logan to shave." She shot him a bright smile and turned back to America.
"Well, he can't wear red tonight," America said at last after she'd examined the sketch. "That's Billy's color, and sorry, Seven, but you're not the brightest star. Wait 'til you see his cape."
"Oh, that's an old sketch," Jubilee replied. "I'm sticking to my signature colors with Scott. Mostly blue. Yellow accents."
"Good, because my partner's wearing a whole universe, and so help me—"
"Yes, I know. I love that fabric; it's amazing," Jubilee said, bouncing in place again.
"See? She likes my fashion decisions, just not for her. Typical," Noh said, shaking his head.
"You're just messing with perfection," America countered with a little smirk.
"I just have fond memories of that fabric," Jubilee said loftily before she tossed her hair.
America snorted at that. "So. When are you two announcing your engagement?" She waved between the two of them. "That's what the 'agreement' is, right?"
"Ah." Noh glanced at Jubilee and looked slightly purple. "First, we would have to be officially dating."
"We're launching a line together," Jubilee said as she straightened up a bit.
"Is that what they're calling it in the Capitol?" Scott asked with an unmistakable smirk.
Jubilee looked to Scott with a look of false shock. "Oh. my. God! He has a sense of humor! Alert the presses!"
"Three hours," Scott said America's way with a look of longsuffering. "Three hours she's known me, and already, this is what I'm getting."
"It's alright, Seven. It was a good joke. I'm sure if you keep practicing you'll get better," America said with a straight face.
"Please," Scott said with the smirk still in place. "It's Scott."
"America," she said, leaning almost out of the chair to offer her hand. "No offense, but I hope you don't win."
"None taken," he replied.
"America was just telling me about her district partner before I so unwisely brought out my scissors," Noh prompted with a little smirk. "The one wearing your universe, my Jubilee."
"He is an adorable boy," Jubilee said. "Great smile. Passion."
"Yeah, you saw that kiss, right?" America grinned. "Those two're getting married after he gets home."
"I did; it was beautiful," Jubilee said with a grin to match hers. "They're an adorable couple."
"Don't you worry, America Chavez," Noh said with a smile of his own. "He'll dazzle the crowd this year. Those stars will literally sparkle — yours too if you want to be a matched set, present a show of unity. That was what I was trying to get at earlier."
"Yeah, but you take so long to say anything, how was I supposed to get that?" America asked lazily.
"Ooooh, you could make the short shorts the universe. I'm sure that won't get any jokes about the universe in her pants." Jubilee was giggling to herself.
"Well, seeing as it's your universe, maybe that's not so bad," America teased with a wide, nearly obnoxious grin.
"It's really not," Jubilee shot right back with an obnoxious grin to match. "But my universe is full of fireworks."
"Sounds like fun. I like a little danger."
"Jubilee, please stop flirting with my tribute," Noh said, shaking his head and looking a bit distressed.
"Oh, it's all in good fun," Jubilee said before she bopped over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You're my favorite anyhow."
"This is the part where they start a line together," America said in a stage whisper Scott's way, and he broke into a huge smirk.
"Not with children in the room I hope," Scott said quietly.
America just laughed at that. "Alright, chico. You can stay."
"So. Why don't you let me straighten your hair," Jubilee offered. "I probably won't bite … well. Like … 50/50. Let's be real."
"Do not straighten it." America paused. "But you can bite."
"Okay, so... Keep the curls, but tame the frizz," Jubilee offered. "Smooth it. Not straighten."
America tipped her chin up to look at Jubilee and then Noh. "What's it matter, anyway? I'm just playing muscle for Billy."
"So you look almost as good as your district partner," Jubilee said.
"Careful you don't let me outshine him," she teased, though it was obvious she was honestly serious about it.
"Well. I could, but since you want to be sure to avoid that …"
"Good. I'm glad we have an understanding."
"See — you look good, as always. Someone painted a whole flag on me," Brian said as he poked his head in to check on his sister.
"Well at least you're covered," Betsy replied as she tugged at the seams of her … um. Outfit. It was a purple leotard, more or less, specifically designed to show off as much of her as possible."This looks like a glorified bathing suit. And on what planet does a red sash go with my hair?"
"Um… maybe they were trying to match us?" Brian offered, since he knew there wasn't really a good response to that.
She just gave him a dry look and crossed her arms over her stomach. "I'm going to call this 'half-naked ninja couture'."
"Then mine is a fully-clothed eyesore." Brian gestured at the red, white, and blue he was wearing with a crooked smile.
She couldn't help but grin at him for that before she shook her head. "Why did you volunteer?" It had to be the fiftieth time she'd asked him, but she kept asking — because she didn't like his answer.
"Because it was a Tuesday," he said with a shrug. The answer changed every time, because she kept asking it, and depending on how annoyed she was, the answers were getting more ridiculous.
"This is so stupid," she said as she came to sit down next to him. "What happened to the people that were supposed to volunteer?"
"No idea," he said, with just a fleeting frown before he tipped his head her way and tried for a grin. "You scared them off, is what you did. Too dazzling. They knew they could never measure up."
"Shut up," she said with a smile she couldn't hide as she half-heartedly punched him in the shoulder. "Okay. So… did your stylist tell you what we're supposed to do... outside of just … stand there? Mine wouldn't shut up about … well. My career."
"Really? Mine didn't really talk much except to, you know, do this to me." Brian gestured down at himself. "And I think he mentioned playing up the sibling bond. Would it be too weird if I let you ride on my shoulders like when we were kids?" he teased.
"In this outfit? Yes. Very, very weird, Brian."
"Then I guess I'll just have to have a chat with your stylist, because I was thinking of carrying you into the interviews princess style," he teased.
She took his arm and leaned on his shoulder. "You can't do that for the whole time we're here."
"Yeah? Watch me," he countered, with just enough of a serious tone that she knew he was only half joking around.
"Best brother ever," she said quietly.
Gwen actually liked her stylist, Honey Lemon. She was really sweet, and she'd been very patient and understanding when it had taken Gwen a few long minutes to adjust to… well. Everything.
And when Honey had presented her with an outfit trimmed with pink and spiderweb designs, Honey had been kind enough to give Gwen a full ten minutes to just sit outside and get a breath after Honey had explained that she had been Peter's stylist and wanted to give her something to remind people who she was and "to show people that horrible video was just… just wrong."
Honey had just finished curling the sides of her hair so that the blonde curls would frame her face just right when they got their five-minute warning, and at that, Honey wrapped her up in a hug. "You look amazing," she promised before she broke into a huge smile and dug in her large pink purse for her camera. "Foto!"
Gwen blinked in surprise for only a moment after the flash went off, but she couldn't help but smile at Honey's enthusiasm as they headed down to where the chariots were — the other tributes filing in as well, with stylists making last-minute adjustments until they too had to go take their seats.
"Well, it seems dere ain't no use holdin' de parade if you gon' outshine us like dat, petit," her district partner called out with a little grin, his long coat flowing out behind him.
Gwen turned his way with her nose wrinkled up a little bit. "Does that ever work?" she asked. "The extreme flattery thing."
"Sometimes," he said, though he didn't seem too bothered. "But de more important ting here is dat a pretty girl ain't never passed Remy by who didn't know she mignon."
"Alright then," she said. "And … you … look nice too."
He grinned at her and reached into his pocket to pull out what looked like three ID cards, twisting them between his pink-lined fingers. "Merci."
"What are you doing with those?" she asked in a scandalized whisper.
"You want one, petit?" he offered. "You can get beyond de suites dey givin' us to use."
"No! I … you're going to get into so much trouble!" She forcibly closed his hands up over the stolen ID cards and stepped up a little bit closer. "You need to get rid of those."
"Don't you worry none, cher. Ain't nobody caught Remy yet. Dey ain't gon' find dese on me. But dey sure useful trinkets. You sure you don' want 'em?"
"You're crazy," she said, shaking her head lightly. "No. I do not want them. And I don't want you getting in trouble over them either. You do know they're watching our every move, right?"
With a little grin and a flourish, Remy put his hand in his pocket and came back out with a pack of cards, which seemed to be just about the right size for hiding ID cards. He shuffled them in the air and then offered her an ace. "What's de matter, petit? You never seen a magic trick before?"
"I'm more of a scientist," she said with a raised eyebrow. "I don't believe in little sleight of hand tricks. Thanks."
"Life's no fun witout a bit of magic," he said with a little chuckle.
"Says the thief," she said with a little laugh of her own. "I bet you can't make it all the way back to the suite without pickpocketing someone."
He looked almost shocked for a moment before a sly sort of grin spread over his face. "Oh, now you gon' have to make dat a lil' more interestin'."
She chuckled a little bit. "Yeah? What kind of 'interesting' are you thinking?"
"You gotta have stakes if you gon' bet, Miss Stacy," he said, the grin only widening.
She arched one eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well I don't have anything to bet, and I'm not stealing anything just to entertain you."
"Well now you're just takin' all de fun outta dis," he said with a laugh. He thought it over for a minute and then grinned. "How 'bout all de trinkets in ol' Remy's pockets 'gainst a kiss?"
"So predictable," she said with a sigh.
"You been offered baubles for your kisses, cher? 'Cause if so, you been hangin' wit de wrong crowd."
She let out a sound of disbelief. "No! I have not. Done that. But that's kind of what you're doing. How about … instead of the stuff you've stolen, you have to not steal anything else while you're here?"
"You still gotta put up stakes for when Remy wins de bet," he pointed out.
"You're not going to win," she said with a smirk. "But if you want to 'win' a kiss, I can safely say that's the only way you're going to get one."
Remy grinned at her before he stuck out his hand. "Deal."
She smirked up at him as she took his hand. "Hope you like losing."
"Ain't never happened to me yet."
"So… are you the reason they put a big blue thing on my chest, because if so, I'm going to have to ask you not to do that to me anymore," Alex muttered to Kitty as they climbed into the chariot and he looked over the puffy blue outfit she was wearing.
"You can blame it on me if you want to," Kitty said as she rearranged the sash around her waist. "But I don't think you could pull off the sleeves."
"Yeah, no thank you," he said, shaking his head and pulling a bit of a face, though his comment about how it wasn't his style was a bit drowned out as Tivan's booming voice filled the area announcing the start of the parade and the music started up.
"Here we go. Don't fall off, Alex," Kitty said with a teasing little smirk.
"More worried about you — with those sleeves catching the wind for you," he shot right back.
They were far enough back in Nine's chariot that the only thing they could see of the parade was the huge screen up ahead of them, behind the large stage raised up above everyone else where eventually the president himself would address them. But they almost didn't have to see anything from how the excited commentary was bouncing back and forth between Tivan and Uatu.
"Ooh, and first out of the gate is a major fashion misstep for One's stylist team. That firebrand red with the purple he's wearing? What were they thinking?" Tivan led out, horribly wincing, though before Uatu could offer a word of agreement, the fiery red outfit Jean was wearing lived up to its name and literally caught fire in a pattern that flowed out behind her like folded wings, to the awe of the gathered crowd, who fell into silence for only a moment before bursting into applause.
"Now that is how you start a parade!" Uatu declared as Tivan just cackled delightedly.
"Well, we can go home now, right? That's all they'll remember?" Alex muttered to Kitty, plucking at his outfit. "I can take this off now?"
"Hush, we have to get through everyone," Kitty said as she tried to compose herself. "Besides, they're falling over the girl in Two now. One minute, purple is a mistake — now, it's all the rage for all of thirty seconds. Stupid Capitol."
Sure enough, Tivan and Uatu were making a huge fuss over Betsy Braddock and her familiar face … "Of course, we've seen this young lady in advertisements for years."
"But never with the matched set," Tivan added.
"And what a loss at that — such a lovely family," Uatu said. "What a shame that only one of them can come out."
"Yes, well, we'll just have to see who the odds favor the most. But I know I certainly have my favorite."
"And here comes Three now, with… oh. Really? What is it with Three and masks? Last year it was helmets, this year… come now.."
"It's just too hard to follow Two this year," Tivan chuckled.
"Clearly," Uatu had to agree, chuckling a bit at the incredibly enthusiastic wave Trevor was doing, while his partner was just glaring with her arms crossed — that much was obvious even with the golden mask, which was itself fashioned into a glare. "Such an opposite pair, too."
"Yes, the young man seems born for the cameras, doesn't he?" Tivan said in a delighted tone. "He adores the crowd. What a lovely change of pace."
"Yes, but would you look at Four," Uatu said in a smooth transition as Four's chariot, complete with two dramatic, cape-wearing tributes pulled in. "The crowd adores them."
"Or more appropriately: her," Tivan corrected his partner. "She does cast quite the spell."
"Yes, incredibly enchanting," Uatu agreed. "Though Four seems to inspire that kind of pageantry.
"And another volunteer on a mission of honor for their partner, as I understand it. What do they teach those warriors there?"
But the real gushing began in earnest when Five's chariot pulled up, and Tivan cut Uatu off before he could make any comment about Four's dramaticisms. "Ah — and here is an interesting pair. This would have been last year's if not for two volunteers, and now they are passing the tradition — do you think we'll see the ones they rescued back next year?"
"It would be an interesting turn of events," Uatu said with a nod. "I'm just not so sure that it's the kind of tradition that can be relied on — even if we were missing our Two volunteer for the girls."
"No, but it is quite the story, isn't it? Look at how Mary Jane Watson has highlighted last year's tribute, Steve Rogers, in this year's costume."
"Simply riveting," he agreed. "An amazing echo of the past, tastefully done, of course."
"Do you think the comparison will help or hurt James Barnes this year? After all, his predecessor was in the final fight. That's quite the legacy to be calling on this early in the game."
"I seem to recall this young man being close to the runner up last year," Uatu said. "So perhaps we can hope …"
"Ah, but sequels, Uatu. They're so rarely…. Well. We'll just have to see," Tivan said, clearly moving on as Six's chariot approached.
"It's always so hard to see the little ones," Uatu lamented. "She looks so scared."
"Yes, her stylist certainly did her best, but clothes are only part of the parade," Tivan said with a little tut before he seemed to take a breath and attempt to give her a chance. "But to be so little next to such an intimidating partner — maybe she'll do better in the one-on-one interviews."
"Six must have a thing for creeps," Kitty said to Alex as she watched the screens overhead.
"Must be something in the water," Alex muttered, frowning hard.
"Glad there's nothing like that in the water back home," Kitty muttered.
"I dunno. I think I could use a little of whatever…" Alex gestured at himself. "You know. Think it'd put another twenty pounds of muscle on me?"
"No," she replied with a thoughtful look. "But maybe if you carried more than the minimum in the field, you could have bulked up."
He just gaped at her for a second before he shook his head. "Low blow, Pryde."
"Not my fault you're built so … sinewy."
"Genetics," Alex said, waving it off.
"Got proof to back that up?" Kitty asked.
"Ah, no. Not really," Alex admitted with a little grin as the screen lit up with Seven's chariot and its occupants, and Uatu and Tivan immediately launched into their excited babble over Seven's continued use of yellows and blues and the "legacy" tribute that was Clara Creed — in a fur-trimmed union suit that it was clear she hated.
Clara had her head held high, though she managed to pull off a far more dignified look than her big brother could ever hope for, and when it was clear that she could hear what the announcers were saying, she turned to her district partner and didn't ask before she took a hold of his arm.
"Well here's one legacy who won't have to worry about distinguishing herself from her predecessor," Tivan said with almost a chuckle. "I doubt Victor Creed would pull something like that."
"I don't think a softer, gentler image quite fits the legacy," Uatu laughed outright. "And it's certainly not what we're all hoping to see: a third victor from Seven with that killer instinct."
"It might be too much to hope for," Tivan finished for his partner, shaking his head.
"I doubt Seven will be much to watch this year," Uatu said, sounding perfectly disappointed that Clara wasn't measuring up to their expectations.
"But what about Eight this year?" Tivan asked in a clearly dismissive move for Seven.
"Such a lively pair," Uatu agreed. "Interesting choice of accent color on the pair of them."
"But look at the pattern for the girl," Tivan said, his tone clearly delighted as he realized what Honey had done.
"Oh, yes — lovely call back — such a fun trend for the Quarter Quell!"
"But it is nice to have such a breath of fresh air for the boy, and from this year's newest stylist, too. Just look at the gloves under the light — it looks like Eight's young man is glowing!"
"It's not quite the light show from One, but it works for accent color, somehow."
But the tone shifted as the Nine chariot came out next. "And now we're up for quite the treat," Tivan said with a grin that showed the gold tooth near the back of his mouth. "The lost brother. So compelling. So exciting!"
"...that's not my Games name. They can't give me that, can they?" Alex asked Kitty with a confused frown as their chariot moved forward.
Kitty tried to peek around Eight's chariot to see the tribute from Seven. "Well. I hope not," she said. "But … you are built like Seven. A lot."
Alex frowned and copied Kitty's movements, trying to spot Seven's boy even as the chariot was moving — and the camera followed his every movement before the screen split to show the dawning comprehension on the older Summers boy's face.
"Oh my God, Alex," Kitty half-whispered.
"You might recall last year we had a set of brothers, but this year — this year is the genuine article," Tivan said gleefully. "Separated over a decade ago, and, as I understand it, sent to different districts after their parents died. But genetics don't lie — you can't deny the family resemblance here!"
"They certainly do share a striking resemblance — aside from coloring, of course," Uatu agreed.
Alex just stared up at the screen for a moment as it was clear Scott's district partner was all but pinning him to keep him on the chariot so he wouldn't try to do something stupid like try to get to Alex, and then he took his gaze from the screen to finally lean over and try to see Scott for himself — with Kitty half keeping him from falling out — to lock eyes with the boy two chariots over.
The truth of the matter was that Alex didn't really have much of a memory of his family before he ended up in Nine. He had vague memories, just fleeting things. He could remember making a snowman in snow that was so tall he couldn't see over it so his mom had to carry him. And he could remember one year on his birthday breaking his brand new toy and crying until his brother gave him his. But these were just… snippets. About as solid as trying to remember a dream, and half the time, he wasn't even sure if they were real or if he was just trying to imagine that family he used to have.
But it was clear that Scott remembered him — he could see his brother's mouth forming his name, though the word itself was drowned out by Tivan and Uatu continuing to gleefully cackle over the very public, raw emotion clear on both of their faces.
But the boys were pulled out of their daze by their district partners, who seemed to realize that the two of them needed to get the focus off of themselves. Alex didn't know what Clara hissed in Scott's ear, but Kitty was way more direct and simply grabbed Alex by the collar and hauled him more securely into the chariot with a muttered, "Get it together, Alex."
As it was, District Ten was more or less plowed over by the drama going down, with only a passing mention of the wild 'industrial' look that the stylists had gone for that accented the high cheekbones and cold glares on both tributes before Uatu and Tivan finally got tired of their gleeful reunion scene and dove into the tributes from Eleven.
"Such a striking young lady!" Uatu exclaimed when the camera zoomed in on Monet.
She was pulling off a good fake out job with her chin held high and her posture perfect. Though that just made Miles' slightly nervous stance that much clearer as he tugged at the color of the black, red, and silver ensemble glistening with web-like threads.
"Oooh, another call-back," Tivan whispered. "And this one with no family ties or any other link to the original Spider-man. An interesting choice."
"One he'll be hard-pressed to live up to. He looks almost as scared as Six's girl," Uatu noted with a small frown evident even in his voice.
"Well, if they team up, there won't be much for them to do but hide and hope for the best, then," Tivan said with a little chuckle. "Wouldn't that be entertaining? All the scared little ones banding together to try to hide."
The screen was already moving on from Eleven to Twelve, and it was clear that even though the announcers weren't paying attention to Twelve yet, the girl from the district was paying attention to their commentary, as she came out with both middle fingers raised and a glare as the little boy next to her was tugging on her arm trying to get her to stop.
"Well," Uatu said when he noticed it. "Clearly, manners don't extend far out into the districts."
"Clearly," Tivan had to agree, though he cleared his throat as he moved on to talking about Billy's universe instead of America's continued glare — up until the chariot did a sweeping turn that showed off their full costumes, and both commentators found a whole new train of comments.
"I don't think I've seen Twelve go so… short for their styles," Uatu said.
"Perhaps her stylist is trying to distract from his … issues as of late," Tivan muttered — though his annunciation was perfect. "Using a child. Tsk."
"If he is, it's an effective distraction. How old do you think she is?"
"If my notes are correct, Miss Chavez is ... a tender sixteen. Scandalous."
By the time the two of them were finished tutting over America's age in relation to her curves, the chariots had all stopped in front of the stage so that Thanos could welcome them all to the Quarter Quell in usual short sentences, more intent on looking over this year's crop than anything else.
The mentors on the sidelines had all watched the parade with varying levels of interest, though at Miss America's entrance, Logan had to chuckle to himself, even if some of the more 'reasonable' mentors were a bit insulted at her display.
"She should at least keep that kind of attitude private," Sue said with a little frown.
"I like it," Logan replied, though he didn't take his gaze off of the girl as he shook his head slowly. "Kid's got guts."
As the president finished his remarks and the chariots began to move again, the group of mentors went to claim their tributes and usher them back to the suites. Logan didn't even bother trying to grab Scott, though — as Scott was already headed right for his brother to tackle him in a hug that took the much younger boy by surprise. Instead, Logan stood back and waited for them to finish up — or for Drax to send Scott on his way.
He didn't have to wait long, either, because Drax bodily blocked him from following them up in the elevator, though it was obvious Scott wanted to stick with them and ... not ever let Alex out of his sights again, even if the younger boy still looked half in shock, clearly unsure what to do with the sudden brother trying to look out for him.
When Logan walked up to Scott, he rested his hand on Scott's shoulder very lightly. "Come on, he's not telling you no — he's saying not in front of the cameras," Logan told him. "I'll show you how to get to Nine without all that noise." He paused and gave Scott a second to let it soak in. "If you want."
Scott finally turned from watching the Nine group to give Logan probably one of the most open looks he'd ever seen from the kid. "Alright," he said with a single nod.
"Drax has a soft spot for family, but he's tight to the rules. Get around them, and you'll be fine."
Scott blinked at him for a second, clearly listening but also sure 'break the rules' wasn't good advice.
"When the rules suck, you gotta work around 'em a little. Not break 'em."
'"Just… show me a path that doesn't hit the cameras. I'll figure it out," Scott said at last.
"That's all I was gonna do," Logan promised as the two of them headed off. They barely got into the elevator before Clara slipped in with them and waved with her fingers at her brother as the doors closed.
Logan looked her up and down quickly and had to shake his head. "Can't wait to get away from him?" When she raised an eyebrow his way, he let out a little breath. "You're welcome to stick with us if you like. Not too damn much you guys can possibly learn before you go in that'll help you."
"That's reassuring," Scott said with his arms crossed.
"I'm not trying to lie to you," Logan said. "But the most I've seen happen that's any help at all is whatever you choose to push in training — and with that, I don't know if I can help you with it anyhow. It's more likely to get you overconfident in something and have it bite you in the ass. And I don't want to see that happen to you."
"So what do you do, exactly?" Scott asked. "If we're not learning anything here — what's the point?"
"Directly for you? I have no idea," Logan admitted. "Try to keep you away from the creeps ... but you don't need me for that. Get to know you a little better so I can talk people into sponsoring you mainly. I guess that's about it. Not like my mentor was worth the air he's wasting."
Scott had to smirk at that. "So none of us know what we're doing here."
"When you start training, they'll try to get you into the more flashy stations. Everyone thinks they need a sword or something. Find something that works for you, and use it to make yourself better at what you already know. If you want a few tricks they won't show you in training, I can show you after hours, but … I don't know that you need or want any strategizing advice."
The smirk widened a bit as Scott gestured at himself. "Yeah, I'm not exactly built for fencing," he pointed out. "I'll figure it out." He glanced up at Clara. "What about you?"
"Me?" she said, looking between the two of them for a moment. "We always fought. I'll be fine with hand-to-hand or a blunt instrument."
"Alright, I'll take knives then so we've got something sharp," Scott decided, and Logan could practically see gears turning in his head.
"I'll do everything I can for you," Logan told him.
"Don't worry about it," Scott said with a shrug. "I think we can handle it."
"I think so too, but it's still what I'm here for."
"Well, if you can manage any sponsors, that would be a bonus, yeah," Scott said. "Wonder what we'll have for food and drink…" He started to fall into clearly planning it out in his head, not really paying the other two much heed for a bit as he did.
"I'll get you sponsors. One way or another. Though it shouldn't be too hard for me this year," Logan said. "If that's what you're concerned with, pay close attention to what kind of things they have at the station for that. It'll be a tip off as to what you might find out there."
Scott glanced down at him for a moment. "Yeah, okay. Makes sense," he said with a thoughtful look. "Too many plants to go through all at once… but they won't make it too easy." He glanced at Clara. "Hey ... you mind if we add to the group? My brother ... well. I don't know what he can bring, but I'm bringing him."
"More the merrier, right?" Clara said.
"Great," Scott said in a tone that told the other two he was going to do it regardless of what Clara had said.
Clara looked over at Logan for a moment. "You have a problem with our picking alliances out?"
Logan shook his head. "Nope. Pick who you think you can trust and who you think you can work with."
"So none of the Careers then, or the kids from Ten," Scott surmised, though he was still smirking a bit.
"Probably a safe bet," Logan agreed.
The elevator hit the seventh floor, and the doors opened, but before they got out, Scott made it a point to pull Logan aside for a second. "Nine?" he asked under his breath.
"Yep, come on," Logan said with a nod before he turned to Clara for a second. "See you in a few." With that, he led the way for Scott, quietly mentioning where the cameras were as they went to the stairwell — though even there, Scott was surprised at the number of cameras — and where their dead spots were. "Stick to the wall on your left," Logan said very low and quiet. "You'll be out of the line of sight until you have to cross the hall to get through the door. No way to avoid that one unless you want me to loop it for you."
"No, that's ... fine," Scott told him with a nod. "They're probably expecting me to show up here anyway."
"Very likely," Logan agreed. "Good luck. I'll probably be on the roof later if you want to think out loud." With that, he just headed back down to give the kids at least some semblance of privacy.
