Chapter 13: "Show Me What You Got"
Early Morning of July 5
Tahiti Wing
After spending the night in the Capitol testing the limits of not only the kids' ability to sneak around unseen but also the Capitol's security setup, Kate was ready to drop into her bed and sleep the morning away before they did the whole thing again later that night.
She was almost there when she noticed that she wasn't the only one who had just returned from her mission. Cassie had the room right next door to hers, but she hadn't gone to bed yet. In fact, she seemed to be waiting up, even if she was dressed in her pajamas.
"What's up?" Kate asked, pausing outside the door to her own room.
Cassie glanced up, clearly distracted, before she broke into a nervous sort of smile. "Oh, nothing. I'm just a little keyed up is all."
Kate leaned against the wall and had to smile at that. "Adrenaline from the mission?"
"That's probably part of it," Cassie admitted before, to Kate's surprise, she took a few running steps to where Kate was and wrapped her arms around the older girl in a hug. "I just — I was just thinking about how the interviews are tomorrow night, and — and there's really not much time at all before Billy and America… before they…."
Kate nodded as the sudden understanding hit her. "Yeah."
Cassie buried her face in Kate's shoulder for a long moment, hugging her that much tighter in silence before, finally, Kate offered, "Do you want to come in?"
Cassie glanced up at her, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "You don't mind?"
"Nah, not really," Kate promised, tucking Cassie under her arm as she steered the younger girl into the room. "Probably against the rules too, so that makes it even better."
Cassie let out a little breath of a laugh at that and quickly wiped her cheeks as Kate led her to sit on the corner of the bed. She tucked her knees up underneath her chin and waited for Kate as the older girl changed and took a quick shower before, finally, Kate dropped onto the bed next to Cassie and wrapped an arm around her.
"Sorry," Cassie muttered as she kept wiping at her cheeks. "I was just …"
"Yeah, I know," Kate said, hugging her friend closer.
"I was just hoping they don't win," Cassie blurted out, eyes wide, and Kate glanced down to see that Cassie looked halfway scared of the admission.
She let out all her breath and steadfastly didn't meet Cassie's gaze for a long time. "Yeah, I know," she said at last.
"Does that make me a horrible person? Wanting them to be here?" Cassie asked in a quiet whisper.
Kate shook her head fervently. "No way," she swore. "It's not like you're wishing they were dead — you're wishing they were here. There's a difference."
"They've still got to die to get here," Cassie pointed out.
"One of them's going to die anyway. It's okay to look forward to seeing them here when it's all said and done," Kate promised, though she sounded a lot more sure of it than she felt. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't had the same thoughts, but when Cassie was crying in her bedroom, she wanted to sound a lot more sure of her answers.
"Can't we just skip past all the Games stuff and get to the part where they're here with us?" Cassie grumbled, and Kate had to laugh at that.
"Yeah, that would be nice."
Cassie just smiled and leaned her head on Kate's shoulder, seemingly content not to go anywhere at all, and before Kate knew it, she had a very tired fifteen-year-old asleep on her right side, so she simply shifted to let Cassie get comfortable and leaned back herself so she could get some shut-eye too, though it took her a little longer, the same questions Cassie had asked still ringing in her head.
July 5
Assessment Room
Skye had never seen the assessment room before, but on this side of it, with all the people who were supposed to decide the scores for the kids, everything was purple and lavish. The chairs were plush, there was plenty of food for them to snack on, and the glass was thick between them and the tributes they were supposed to rate.
Because of all the work she'd done picking out the tributes who were waiting just outside the doors for those oh-so-important scores, Coulson had argued that she should be allowed to be part of this as well. And she wasn't exactly sure that he was doing her a favor.
The director and assistant director were there, and so were the trainers — not to mention some seriously wealthy and powerful Capitolites who were there to judge the tributes' 'looks,' which Skye hadn't even realized was a consideration for the scores until just now.
Coulson introduced her as having done "personality assessment work," which was so underwhelming as to just what it was that she'd poured into all this, but it sounded fluffy and about what they would expect to hear, and she got several polite hellos before they finally settled into their seats and the first tribute — the boy from One — walked in.
The interesting part about his assessment was not the calm and unconcerned way Kilgrave went through the weapons stations, though that in itself was a little unnerving. It was the fact that he talked with the judges the entire time he worked — or talked to them, at any rate. He just kept right on speaking in a low, easy tone that was almost soothing to listen to, and by the time he left the assessment area, Skye felt confident he would get a high score. She didn't exactly know why, just that she felt like he'd earned it, somehow, even if he really hadn't done anything noteworthy.
Each of the judges had a little datapad to enter their score, and it wasn't like anyone was trying to be sneaky about hiding what they were writing down as Skye looked over shoulders to see flurries of tens and elevens, though even if she couldn't see Fury's screen, there was no mistaking the one single line for a one that he'd drawn. Just a one, nothing else.
Skye frowned his way but didn't say anything. Maybe Fury just liked being contrary — he certainly didn't listen to anything she or Coulson had to say.
The girl from One came in next, and she at least had more substance. Jean's first stop was at the survival station, where she simply started to build a fire, which had a few of the people in the booth trading glances. This was the kind of thing they'd expect from the younger kids and the outer districts, not a Career. But once her fire was going, Jean crossed to the other side of the room, dipped an arrow into the fire — and a few moments later, most of the archery targets were doused in flame retardant, as she'd apparently decided to set the whole thing on fire.
She actually wasn't a very good shot, but the results were destructive enough to earn her a good score, and she had a satisfied sort of smirk on her face as Fury dismissed her, though the cleanup crew had to get the archery range reset before they could call in Brian.
It was clear when Brian arrived that, despite not being from the Academy, he had poured his all into trying to learn what he could, and he went through several of the different weapons stations to show his proficiency — or at least, what he'd been able to learn. He wasn't half bad, considering how much time he'd had to prepare, but Skye was pretty sure the thing that would help his score was the low muttering from the Capitolites who weren't SHIELD or trainers about him and his sister being "darlings."
The muttering shifted to open admiration when Betsy was next into the room, and Skye noticed that Duquesne in particular leaned forward in anticipation when she went right for the swords. Coulson noticed too and gave the man a slightly raised eyebrow, which was Coulson-speak for pure shock and surprise.
To start with, the young woman looked a bit unsure until she let out a deep breath, closed her eyes and simply set to destroying her targets in a wickedly fast rush — her katana flashing light off the blade as she spun. She was graceful and quick — though when she was done, she again seemed a bit unsure as to what exactly she was doing until she'd put the sword back very carefully. She then turned back to the panel and almost curtseyed before she simply headed back out.
Most of the Capitolites were still gushing over Betsy and how beautiful and graceful she was when the boy from Three came in, though it was hard not to notice his entrance as he loudly crashed into the room, knocking over several weapons racks as he babbled about sponsors, about how pretty Miss Maria Hill was, and then somehow wound up at the traps station to stumble his way through a few knots before almost drunkenly making his exit.
Skye was sure that he'd gotten the lowest score so far, and the people around her that she could spy on seemed to agree, with twos being the most common theme, though again, Skye saw that Fury had different ideas entirely. And apparently so did Hill, who must not have appreciated his flirty comments. At all.
This time, though, Skye had to agree with Fury and Hill — which she didn't actually do all that often. She'd done the math on this guy, and he was wicked smart. There was no way he was that stupid. Right? She glanced around the room before she wrote a '7' on her pad, and with the last of the scores recorded, the bell rang to admit Giuletta Nefaria.
Nefaria was the first Career to actually act like one, even if she was from Three. She went straight to the knives station and wasted absolutely no time using every single knife, dagger, and blade on the dummies that had been provided, working quickly and savagely until she took a step back to survey her work, and Skye had to wince when she realized what Nefaria had done.
Not a single one of the marks on the dummies was immediately fatal, and it was clear she'd done it on purpose, picking instead points that would be painful, debilitating, paralyzing. That girl was a piece of work, and the light mood from watching Trevor's antics earlier had completely evaporated as most of the room was frowning while they recorded her scores.
Skurge was next, and while Nefaria's performance had been disturbing, his was downright terrifying. He went right for the biggest axe in the room, picked it up like it weighed nothing, and spent the entirety of his time simply chopping through and destroying everything. Everything. Dummies, tables, equipment, it was all the same to Skurge, who silently did his work until time was called and he replaced the axe and left without any fanfare whatsoever.
When Amora came in after Skurge, all smiles and teeth, it was honestly less intimidating than it could have been as she went through the sword and dagger skills that she had been trained in since birth in Four — though the Capitolites who weren't with SHIELD seemed to adore her all the same. She was blonde and leggy and eighteen — what wasn't to love?
Finally, with Amora gone, that was the last of the Careers, and Skye sat up a little straighter even as the rest of the people in the booth seemed to start to lose interest. The next eight districts — these were the ones that she'd argued with Coulson, with Fury over. And she couldn't help but feel vested in the outcome of their scores, even if she did know about the Tahiti program, and even if she did know that only one of them was going to walk out. She definitely had a bias, and she knew it, but that didn't mean these other kids weren't weighing heavily on her conscience.
But she realized she didn't really have to worry with Bucky when the kid from Five walked into the assessment area and headed straight for the weights. He worked up a good rhythm pounding on a punching bag, and while a few of the trainers looked bored, some of the others sat up a bit as the bag started to swing until, finally, Bucky punched the whole thing off its hook. He hadn't destroyed it like he'd meant to, like when he'd faced down Brock, but the heavy bag skidding across the floor was certainly enough to make the judges sit up and notice him before he gave them a curt little nod and headed out again.
Then, Jessica Jones' assessment was the shortest the Games had ever seen. It was clear she wasn't planning to give them anything. She walked in with narrowed eyes before she stopped smack in front of the glass, flipped them all off, grinned, and walked out again, leaving most of the judges in shock, though Fury was smirking and Hill had an honest grin on.
The Six boy came in looking a bit surprised at how quickly they'd called him in, though once he got inside, he went straight to work, almost methodically going through each weapons station to do his level best to destroy the dummies and everything else until his time ran out, wearing a deep scowl the whole time that only got deeper when it was clear he wasn't finished with all the destruction he'd wanted to get in when the buzzer went off.
His district partner, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. She nervously edged into the room and ran through the plants and survival stations, looking simply terrified every time she glanced up at the glass separating the judges from her, though the real clincher was when the buzzer sounded to end her time and she jumped the slightest bit.
Everyone in the room was shaking their heads rather forlornly, muttering about how it was "always hard" with the youngest kids. But she had done exceedingly well with the plants and water stations — so she wouldn't get a one, at least. Skye peered over Coulson's shoulder to see that he'd given her a higher score, though he just gave her a little smirk when she shot him a questioning look.
The next kid to come in the room, though, was Scott, and Skye already had her score picked out for him, though she knew he would probably hate her for it. She was already planning to score him low, bring down the average, because she didn't want him to draw attention. He already had Logan, and the brother drama, and she really, really didn't want him to paint a target on himself — because she wanted him to win.
She was so biased, and she wasn't sorry about it in the least.
Scott actually made a decent showing for the judges, too, going to the knives station first because that was his strong suit before he went to weights to finish out with the little extra time he had, though after he'd heard the buzzer and he turned to face the judges for the first time, she knew the second he'd noticed her because he paused for several long seconds before he shook his head, set his jaw, and marched out of the room. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not.
Clara came in with her head held high — as always, far more dignified-looking than her brother, though the subtle family resemblance was more obvious up close. She paused to be sure that the judges were watching her before she gingerly picked up a knife, looked at it for a moment, and then tossed it straight up in the air, caught it so the blade was sticking out opposite her thumb and just … destroyed the line of dummies in a twirling, slashing whirlwind that had her braid nearly flying straight out behind her.
When she reached the end of the line, she turned quickly and threw the knife, then smirked as it stuck fast right in the center of a dummy's forehead. She let out a breath, brushed a strand of hair from her eyes that had come loose of her braid, and waited the ten seconds or so for the timer to run out with her arms crossed and her hip cocked as she watched the judges, most of whom seemed to be delighted that she was doing such a good impression of intimidating like they'd come to expect from a Creed.
After that, the boy from Eight came sauntering in like he owned the place and blew a kiss toward the judges' booth that seemed to be directed at all of the ladies at once, somehow. But to their surprise, the young man wasn't just flash and flirtatious looks, as once he got hold of a bo staff, he was surprisingly graceful, spinning and kicking his way through the course until the time had run out, though somehow, he had managed to slip a knife into his pocket in that flurry of motion as he tossed it over his shoulder at a dummy on his way out, still grinning at the judges — though by that point, after Clara Creed, it was clear they were starting to get bored.
When little Gwen came next, she didn't have nearly the same flash that Remy had, but she had been listening to Osborn's advice, going through all the stations he suggested for her, from hand-to-hand to trapping and climbing. But the plan he had stressed most for her was simply to show off her smile, and that was definitely in full display as the Capitolites in the room couldn't get enough of the cute little blonde.
Still, they were losing interest faster as the assessments dragged on. The food and conversation was catching the attention of the group of judges far more than little Alex Summers when he came in and did his very best at the stations Scott had told him to go through, but only Fury, Hill, and Coulson seemed to be paying attention. Well, and Skye, but she was watching everything at once, frowning harder the more she realized nobody seemed to care.
Kitty was next, and while she gave a much better showing than Alex had, it was simply true that no one was watching — aside from those that were from SHIELD, really. Skye had no idea how the people around her were even coming up with scores. Were they just making it up? This was so not how this was supposed to work.
When Arkady Gregorovitch, the massive psycho from Ten came in, the gathered group of judges seemed to slow their conversation, but they still didn't seem to really put much focus on him as he went through the stations below — which was more troublesome, since he was frikkin' scary, to be honest. And they barely looked up when his district partner came through with similar results. Had these two been in a Career district, they'd likely have gotten a standing ovation.
So there was really no hope for little Miles Morales, though he did his level best to get the judges attention as he started pretty much narrating what he was doing, setting up traps and showing off hand-to-hand and generally trying to get their attention before he threw up his hands and went "Gah!" and left before his time was up.
His district partner, on the other hand, got a little more attention, though that was probably because she was the youngest, and everyone there was calling her a "darling" like they had with the Braddocks. Though Skye was watching Monet go through the stations and had to admit — she was good. At everything.
The dark-haired boy from Twelve tried to show off his knowledge of pressure points on some of the dummies, but at that point, it was clear no one was going to give these tributes the time of day, and Skye felt her hands balling up in fists. She wanted to hit these people with her data pad. Just to make up for how stupid they were being, she'd been giving all the kids they'd ignored higher scores, and she made sure to do the same for Billy to make up for the judges' indifference — but that didn't make her feel any better. She knew how to hit people now, too, between May and Logan's training, and these people really, really deserved it — and she just couldn't hit them, which was even more frustrating.
Finally, the last of the tributes came in. America Chavez took one look at the state of things and looked just as angry as Skye felt. In a few long strides, she went to the weights station and used one hand to pick up one of the heavier weights — which in itself was impressive enough — before she lobbed it at the glass separating them from the tributes.
The glass vibrated, and the sound definitely got the judges attention as America glared at them all and flipped them off. "If Billy's score is anything less than a six, I'm blaming you," America said, pointing at Fury in particular before she flipped him off again and then took to demolishing the stations, snapping dummies' necks and tossing weights like they were nothing before she finished off with a few choice, vulgar words for the judges and took her leave.
Skye had to grin. She totally appreciated her sentiment.
