Chapter 30: "Looking for Trouble"
July 12: Day Six of the Games
In the Arena
Clara was up well before the other two members of her alliance, having been on the last watch of the night. She'd let Kamala sleep through her last shift and instead watched all night as the rain had been slowly letting up bit by bit. She'd already decided on her course of action; she had another hour or so before either of them would be awake, and that should be enough time for her to slip out, stalk to where the Careers were camped out, and get this mess over with.
She pulled her gloves on and secured the velcro strapping that held them into place properly, trying very hard to keep the noise of the velcro to a minimum as she made the fine adjustments before she took the last few yards to step outside.
But apparently, the drop off in the rain had made the velcro that much louder in the cave — and of course the light drizzle outside didn't do anything to cover the sound of her footsteps as she tried to creep closer to the exit. So she wasn't entirely surprised when one of her teammates woke up before she could get outside.
"You're not leaving," Scott said in a tone that wasn't even pretending to be a question.
"Not permanently, no," Clara agreed, letting her shoulders drop, since there was no reason to be tense once she'd been busted.
"Not without — well." He paused, seeming to realize that he couldn't offer to go with her. "At least take Kamala. Those traps really will help; she's good."
She didn't want to answer him outright and instead just gave him an incredibly dry look that she knew he couldn't see.
Even blind, Scott knew that she was giving him that look, though; he'd seen it enough times. "I'm serious. You know she'll come after you if you try to go without her."
"Which is why I was going to go ahead — far ahead."
"How's that working out for you?" he asked, one eyebrow quirked.
"Would have worked a lot better if I'd left closer to the beginning of my watch," she admitted. "The rain's nearly stopped."
Scott inclined his head to listen to the rain for a moment, though when he did, he frowned. "Wait a minute."
"What now?" Clara asked with her hands on her hips.
"Not you… There's something out in the rain," he said, this time getting to his feet so he could come over to the cave entrance. "Can you hear it?"
Clara frowned a bit deeper and closed her eyes to concentrate a bit better until she heard the chime. "I'll be right back," she promised before she slipped out into the rain. It was a solid fifteen minutes, and Scott had started to wonder if she'd taken off anyway and left them behind like she'd planned — when she came back, almost laughing, with two boxes in her hands. "Mail call," she told him as she pressed a box into his hands. "That has to be for you."
He looked like he didn't believe her in the least, but he had to peek all the same, honestly surprised at the small box with a '7' on it. "Probably more for you from Creed," he muttered.
"Have you ever seen anyone get more than one delivery?" Clara challenged.
He knew he hadn't, so he frowned and opened the box while Clara gently woke Kamala for the little box with a '6' on it. But once he had it open, he had to admit, he was surprised to find a pair of glasses carefully wrapped in the box, with red lenses — and they looked to be fitted.
Still with that same expression of surprise, he shook his head and tried them on, blinking his eyes open once he'd done so, and he honestly grinned when he realized what the glasses were for. He could see just fine; the light no longer hurt his eyes with… whatever these lenses were made of.
He grinned even wider when he saw the note that came with them, and he glanced up at Clara, holding it out to her. "Told you there was something for you in here," he said, still grinning.
She gave him an odd look and stood up to take the paper. She looked down at it and let her shoulders slump at the message: Listen to Scott. With a scowl, she shoved the paper back into Scott's hands. "Your mentor's an idiot," Clara said with her arms crossed. "And that was definitely for your benefit, not mine."
"I don't know — he might be right this time," Scott said, still grinning.
She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "So … I take it you got a really good pair of shades?"
"Yeah." He tapped the side of the glasses. "Fitted, so they don't let any light in. I don't know what they're made of, but it's working, whatever it is."
"That's great!" Kamala called out as she made her way over, her box clutched in her hands and a huge grin on her face. She dropped to sit beside Scott as she started to divide the contents — a few rolls, along with other food, though she had tucked most of it away for later. "I got a parachute; can you believe that?" she asked, clearly delighted.
"With your mentor?" Clara asked. "Not really."
Kamala's eyes twinkled, and she handed Clara a little note that had come with her parachute as well. "Well.. someone in the Capitol loves me, anyway."
Clara read it — just a simple 'Hang in there' that was written in exactly the same purposeful writing that Scott's note was. She had to shake her head as she looked over at Scott. "Your mentor is asking for trouble."
"It's a constant state of being for him," Scott told her with a small sigh.
"Well .. if this is the way he works around the rules, I'm in favor of it," Kamala replied.
Scott smirked her way for a second before he turned his attention back to Clara. "Looks like we'll have to readjust your battle plans — if you don't mind bringing a couple knife-wielders along."
"Looks like," Clara agreed. "Just promise me you won't let that redhead sweet-talk you again."
"I won't let her trick me again," Scott promised, pointing to his glasses. "I've got a pretty good reminder of what happens if I do."
"Then … let's eat, recharge and regroup — and when you two are ready, we can go after them."
"Great! I can try out my traps; I'm sure they'll help," Kamala said with a wide smile, and there was no mistaking the smirk that Scott shot Clara over the top of Kamala's head for that one.
Clara wasn't the only one who woke up early that morning with a plan to get to work. America was also up around dawn and ready to get hunting, and the fact that the rain had lessened and Billy seemed to be doing better had her determined to get moving.
She gently shook Kitty awake first and waited for the brunette to blink away the sleep from her eyes before she gestured toward the cave entrance. "So," she said. "Things to do today. We can't stick around here, so we need to move Billy. And I'm going hunting."
"We can use the tarp to move him," Miles offered with a big yawn. "He won't get jostled that way anyhow."
"Great idea," America nodded. "Rain's letting up, too, so we'll need to stick together. I was going to split, but…" She glanced at Billy. "More tributes will be out and about today. Especially considering last night's lack of a cannon." Her gaze hadn't left Billy, and she didn't say it out loud, but she was worried — wondering if they were counting Billy as a kill and just waiting for the poison to finish him off. It would explain why there hadn't been a new cannon blast yet — no new deaths.
"Well, let's get moving then," Kitty agreed. "I agree; I don't want to stick too one place right now."
The three conscious members of the alliance worked together to gather their supplies and then to move Billy onto the tarp — and they could tell he was feeling better when he wasn't wincing and pulling away when they tried to move him. About the time they'd figured out a way to carry him and still let Kitty have quick access to her sword if they ran into trouble, Billy even woke up a little, looking around himself in surprise.
"Floating?" he mumbled, and America looked like she might melt with relief on hearing him speak.
"No, you idiot, we're carrying you," she told him with a smile. "You're such a burden."
"Sorry," he said quietly, laying his head back down, and America grinned that much wider — though by that time, he'd dropped off again.
"See?" Kitty said with a smug look. "Improvement."
"Let's just get moving before this idiot tries to prove you wrong by catching pneumonia out here," America grumbled, even though she was still smiling.
The three of them, still carrying Billy, picked their way through the rocks and mud for the better part of the morning, trying to put distance between themselves and their hiding place before Miles spotted a ridge that looked promising.
It wasn't much more than an overhang at first sight, but the rain had washed part of the rock and sand away to reveal a few hidden caves. The openings had probably been better hidden before the rain, but now, they were easy enough to see — but also hard to reach.
It took some doing, but all three of them were able to climb up to where the caves were, and when Kitty peeked in to investigate, she was surprised to find what was clearly the remnants of another tribute's camp. Whoever had been there must have been injured, because she could see the makeshift remains of bandages and such, but … "It looks abandoned," she called out.
"And if anyone comes back, I'll deal with it," America promised as she set Billy down, making him comfortable. None of them realized it, but they were using the same spot Clara had used to baby Scott only the day before.
"So… if someone was here, that means we must be getting closer to people, right?" Miles asked, and America nodded.
"Soon as we're set up here and we've had a little lunch… we'll try and find whoever was here before us."
Miles looked a little nervous at the suggestion but nodded along, pulling out the dried fruit from his pack and frowning at it. "This isn't going to last us much longer," he admitted. "Not with four of us, if Billy wakes up long enough to eat."
"Once we're through with the Careers, I'll bring you back whatever they've got," America said as if it wasn't even an issue. "And if they've got slim pickings, we'll go out hunting once the rain stops. Gotta be lizards or something."
"One step at a time," Kitty said. "Let's get settled in — and then we can go scouting."
"One of us should stay with Billy at all times," America insisted. "If he's on the mend, I want him to eat as soon as he can."
"No arguments there," Miles said with a nod. "I can stay first. I didn't exactly do well in the hunting station."
"And you don't have much for weapons," America pointed out.
"Yeah, that too."
"Looks like it's you and me then, pretty kitty," America said with a grin Kitty's way.
"Isn't that just the way it works? The lionesses do all the hunting?"
"Lazy, lazy lions," America agreed as she swallowed another handful of the dried berries and then downed some water from the bottle. "Ready when you are."
Kitty turned toward Miles as she stood up and stretched. "Do you need anything else before we leave, or are you two boys okay?"
"Well, if you find a nice soft feather pillow and maybe some popcorn while you're out…"
"Right. And a movie projector too while I'm at it," Kitty said, rolling her eyes.
"If you can manage it," he agreed, grinning.
Kitty just snickered as she made her way over to America and the two girls slipped out of the cave entrance. "Let's make this quick," Kitty told her as they left. "I don't want to leave those two unguarded for too long."
"No kidding," America agreed. "Those two are trouble magnets." She shook her head lightly and looked over her shoulder one last time before she let out a sigh and took off with Kitty at a light jog.
"Welcome back," Betsy said as Bucky opened his eyes and looked around him with a little startle.
The young man from Five groaned a bit and stretched his arms and legs experimentally, watching Betsy the entire time, simply trying to figure out what she wanted. He vaguely remembered seeing her last night, but he hadn't exactly been with it and had no idea what had happened after that tree came off.
"It's incredibly impolite to stare," she told him.
"Sorry," he muttered. "I'm just… trying to figure you out is all."
"You don't need to figure me out," Betsy said. "Are you feeling better? Why were you screaming when we found you?"
Bucky winced and tried to stretch out a bit more. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck. "Not sure," he admitted. "I was doing fine, and then right after the parade — wham. Felt like everything was on fire."
She frowned at that and offered him her water bottle. "Go ahead," she said. "We have plenty."
He took it gratefully and drank most of the contents, leaning back with a sigh. "Thanks," he muttered out. "You're from Two, right?"
"I am," she replied. "You're Five?"
He nodded. "Yeah." After that, the two of them fell more or less into silence, as it was clear neither of them were quite sure what to make of each other, so it was a good thing when a grinning Cajun burst into their camp with a cheery 'mornin'.
Betsy couldn't help but smile up at him and his positive attitude. "We saved him after all," she told him.
"'Course we did," he said with a light shrug. "What we save him from, cher?"
"From anyone else finding him, apparently," she said before she turned to Bucky. "Sorry for hitting you. I had to keep you from drawing in others."
"I'm not complaining," he told her honestly. "Probably saved me and you."
"Yes, I'm certain that's what happened," she said, in some effort to spare his pride a bit too.
"You seen de sky, cher?" Remy asked as he swept through the place with that same smile still in place. "De rain, it gon' be done by dis evenin'."
"It looks like it," she agreed, laughing to herself a bit at Remy's unfailing good mood.
"You feel like movin', Five?" Remy asked Bucky, his head tipped to the side as he studied the young man.
"I might be slow, but I think I can go," Bucky said.
"Good, 'cause you were screamin' up a ruckus, and I ain't so sure de rest of de residents of dis here arena gon' be so understandin' as we were," Remy told him as he moved to pack up some of their supplies. He looked to Betsy as he added in a quieter and more serious tone, "Gettin' hard to tell, de way all de sand and stone be shiftin', but we ain't alone."
"Then we should get out of here quickly," she agreed, already getting to her feet.
"Oh, cher…" Remy broke into a bit of a grin as he looked her way and pulled a small box out of his pocket. "Dis come in de mornin' rain."
She looked up with a little smirk and picked up the matchbook. "This will be helpful enough," she said as she started to smile.
"You seen de kind o' matches we get?" Remy asked, the smile widening even further.
She shook her head and opened the box just to break out into laughter when she saw the soap inside it. "Oh, Five — you may need to find your own route..." She grinned wider and gave Remy a quick kiss on the cheek.
Bucky looked between the two of them, clearly realizing that he was missing out on some kind of joke, before he shook his head and pulled himself to his feet. His mace had somehow survived the flood, tied into his belt, but there were angry purple marks along his leg from where his own weapon had been beating against him in the water, and he had a slight limp from it. "I guess if you don't want me to, erm, cramp your style," he said in as offhanded a tone he could manage as Remy and Betsy both looked his way with matching expressions of gratitude and also playfulness.
But before they could say anything else, a strange sort of hissing echoed around the damp valley, and all three of them turned to see a pack of rats that were each at least the size of dogs, their fur black and slicked with mud and their eyes red as they started to swarm the place.
Betsy swore under her breath and drew her sword quickly, holding it in front of her. When one of the rats got too close, she simply started to swing it, one hand in front of her chest while the one holding the sword arced through the air in front of her to slice into the nearest rat.
Remy had more or less done the same, diving into action with his bo staff, their packs dropped on the ground as they fought back the massive rodents. Even Bucky, still nursing his injuries, was swinging his mace as hard as he could, having slightly more success than Remy simply because the mace had more points, and the rats were sturdier than they looked, coming back from anything but a purely lethal hit with seemingly more fervor than before.
"Don' worry, cher," Remy called over his shoulder as he kicked a massive rat in the skull and followed it up with a hit from the bo staff that sent it flying. "They jus' tryin' to get us dirty so de matches can be real useful, non?"
"That must be it," she agreed just before she drove her sword down through another rat's head. Pulling it out was a trick, though, and it was good that they still had Bucky, since he managed to bash one away from her as she struggled to regain her blade.
The problem for the little group was simply one of numbers, as there were enough rats to constitute a swarm, and there were only three tributes to fight them back. The rain wasn't helping, either, and all three of them found out the hard way that losing their footing just brought them down closer to the level of sharp little claws and teeth if they didn't get back up, and fast.
"As magnificent as you both are to watch," Betsy called out as she spun, trying to take the rats' heads off instead of stabbing them, "We need to run."
Remy nodded his agreement, working his staff at full speed as he ducked and spun in the swarm. "Alons-y!" He pointed the way with his staff, but he hadn't taken two steps forward when one of the mutts bit down hard on his left leg — and it was enough not only to break the skin but stop him in his tracks, since he simply couldn't run with the mutt trying to bite his leg off. He cracked the creature over the head for it, but the rats seemed to be encouraged by the blood in the muddy water and swarmed his way, eyes gleaming in the rain.
Remy's staff was practically a blur as he worked to keep the rats off him, but again — it was simply a matter of numbers, and they were working themselves up into a real frenzy, squeaks and squeals echoing in the valley along with sharp cracks from Remy's staff. But it was clearly a losing battle once his leg had given out underneath him and he was down to their level, and they were tearing huge chunks out of him at every opportunity.
When Betsy saw he was in trouble, she rushed toward him, spinning and slashing much faster than she'd done before, grunting with every blow, and dropping the rats as she made her hits, fighting her way toward him. Bucky came up behind her, batting clean-up on the survivors that tried to come up behind her on her way to Remy, but with Betsy in a fury like that, the two of them made up for any lost time fast, and the last few rats made a break for it after she'd knocked one away from Remy and Bucky had hammered another.
The mutts were aggressive, but once they saw that the rest of their swarm was gone — they took off.
She was half covered in mud and fur and blood and bits of God-only-knows-what when she finally dropped her sword next to Remy and knelt next to him, trying to get him to tell her how badly he was hurt.
"Ain't nothin'," he tried to tell her, but the effort it took him to smile gave it away all the same — and the fact that he was covered in bites and claw-marks, bleeding heavily and looking pale.
She covered her mouth with one hand as he tried to lie, but quickly went to work trying to stop the bleeding where she could. "You are not allowed to die on me, Mr. LeBeau."
"You so formal of a sudden, cher," he teased her lightly. He was half leaned against her, and Bucky had walked a ways away, seeing where this was going and doing the only thing he knew how: giving them some privacy even if Betsy wasn't quite there yet. "'S jus' ol' Remy."
She put one arm around him in half of a hug, bound and determined to keep pressure on the worst-looking bite he had at his chest, and she was totally unwilling to trust him to do that part himself. "We had a deal, Remy."
"Ain't goin' nowhere far," he told her, his head on her shoulder as he seemed content to just lean in on her. "Don' tink you can get rid o' Remy so easy."
She turned her head to kiss his cheek again. "I don't have enough medical…"
"Don' you worry 'bout dat," he told her, his tone completely carefree. "Don' matter none right now. Jus' don' die an' I'll find you soon 'nough."
"I'm not the one bleeding out," Betsy said, shaking her head and failing terribly at not crying.
"Better keep it dat way, cher. You gon' mess up all your pretty if you start up wit dat," he said, his voice more of a mumble now as his head drooped against her. He leaned deeper into her until she was the only thing holding him up, and finally, a cannon blast broke the silence.
Bucky had stayed out of the tearful goodbye, keeping to himself and watching for a moment, but when Betsy stayed where she was, even after he could see the transport headed their way, he cleared his throat. "We… gotta go."
She took just a moment longer to try and gather herself up before she took up her sword and stood. Without thinking about it, she turned her back to Bucky for a moment to wipe the tears from her cheeks before she tipped her chin up and finally nodded. "Okay, let's go," she said in a small voice, letting him lead the way.
In the Capitol
When Logan woke up that morning, it was to an overly excited Jubilee practically bouncing on his bed as she shook his arm. "I saw what you did, and you just… you are so sweet!" she declared as soon as he was even halfway up before she threw her arms around his neck.
"Mornin' Jubes," he muttered, eyes still closed as he returned the hug. "What did I do now?"
"They sent the parachutes out this morning," she explained. "That was so sweet!"
"Oh, good," he said, sounding relieved. "I was just doing what I'm supposed to. It worked then?"
"He's all set to go hunting with Clara, and you've got to watch the replay, because he even said nice things about you because you are so sweet," Jubilee reported to him, still beaming.
"Yeah. Sweet. I'm sure that's what they'll be saying from here on out."
"Don't think I missed what you did for Kamala, either. That was the cutest thing I have seen all week. You made her whole… everything."
He had to smirk at that. "Good. She got a raw deal on a mentor."
"No kidding," Jubilee agreed, cracking a bubble as she nodded. "It really was so sweet." She hugged him again and beamed at him before she finally let him up. "Half the Capitol is just in awe of you right now, mister."
"Then they're easy to impress," he defended as he stretched out and then reached for a shirt. "Always surprised when you act like a human being."
She rolled her eyes at him and kissed his cheek. "Well, I have a date — sorta — and you have some news to catch up on, clearly."
"I'm sure it's a continuation of a date," he replied.
"Just one, long, unending cuddle session watching the Games," Jubilee said with a wide grin.
"Interrupted to come kiss me ... " He shook his head. "People are going to talk."
"Oh, they always talk," Jubilee said, waving him off.
"Alright, I'll see you later then. Go … work on your line."
She grinned at him and gave him a double thumbs-up on her way out the door, which just left him shaking his head at her. He let out a deep breath as he got up properly and started to get dressed to the news — and the reports on the Games. There likely wasn't a damn thing he could do for anyone left in the arena now, so he was in no rush to hurry down and instead took his time catching up and drinking his coffee in peace before the trouble was bound to start.
When he was finally out of excuses to stay away, and he'd gotten the smug smile off his face at Scott's reaction, he headed down to where the rest of the victors were gathered up already — as usual, last to the party.
Almost as soon as he arrived, he was greeted by a purple-faced Schmidt, who seemed to have been waiting for him to get there so he could give him a piece of his mind. "I told you to stay away from my tribute," he snarled.
"And I told you I'm not anywhere near her," Logan replied calmly as he got himself a cup of coffee.
"That parachute was not from Six," Schmidt said, drawing himself up to his full height.
"What gave it away? The legible handwriting or the fact that it went to a girl?" Logan countered, glaring up at him.
Schmidt looked somehow more purple than before as he glared right back. "You can't act without impunity here, boy. Your insolence will catch up to you before you know it."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Logan replied low, but not so low that he knew the cameras wouldn't catch it. He tipped his mug up and took a long sip before bothering to address Schmidt again. "The Seven kids already got their parachutes. They weren't getting another one. And the girl is in an alliance with them. I kept it within the boundaries of the rules. I didn't do a damn thing wrong, and you know it. So either step off — or try another angle."
Schmidt just glared at him harder. "If she wins, I'm holding you personally responsible," he said in a low enough tone that no one else would hear it.
"Good. Do that, because there's no way in hell you did a thing to help her," Logan replied just as low, though there was no mistaking the anger in his tone. "It'd do Six some good to have a victor with class anyhow."
Schmidt sneered at him. "As if you know anything about station and class — didn't you lose yours?"
"Even if I did, I've still got more class in my boots than you do in your whole body."
"There is no room for anything but insolence in you, boy."
Logan smirked at him and let out a chuckle. "I'm pretty sure you're mistaking insolence for decency — but from you? Not shocked. I'll buy you a dictionary so you can look up the definitions."
"And I will teach you a lesson in respect," Schmidt sneered as he turned more purple and spun on his heels.
"Nice talking to you," Logan called out in an easy tone, raising his mug as a toast before he headed over to where Jessica and Peter Quill were watching the show while Schmidt stormed off toward Viper and Bobbi.
"You enjoy turning him colors," Quill said, unable to stop the laugh as Logan joined them.
"He's an easy mark," Logan replied as he took a seat. "And he was asking for it."
"No kidding," Jess said, still smiling as they watched the Games with half an eye on the rest of the room. After the initial rush at the start, the sponsors were starting to slow to more of a trickle, and the Games were starting to get a little more vicious — at least, that was how it was supposed to go. For now, the focus was on America actively flirting with Kitty while the two were out hunting.
"Hey — did you see my kid and Black Bolt's are on the mend?" Quill asked with a little smile.
"I did see a little bit on that, but what I saw was mostly chatter on my boy's little group," Logan admitted.
"Yeah, those glasses were a stroke of genius," Quill agreed fervently. "How did you even know to ask for them?"
"He could see; just looked like it hurt," Logan explained.
"I just didn't even know there were glasses like that. Guess I should've figured the Capitol researchers could do it, but ... man."
"I didn't either, but I worked over the right lab rats," Logan admitted. "They seem to take pride in figuring out how to do that kind of thing on a timer."
"The right contacts definitely help things," Jess said, nodding her understanding, though she was a bit distracted as the camera switched focus to her tribute as well as Quill's and Viper's. "Oh. Viper sent them a parachute," she said as she watched Remy pluck the parachute, marked with a '2' from a low overhang and stuff it in his pocket, whistling the morning away.
"What do you think she sent?" Logan asked. "They had everything they needed."
"I… I'm not sure," Jess admitted, though it was clear she had an idea of it — and when Remy returned to the hideout and tossed Betsy the matchbook so she could see the soap inside, Jess' expression shifted, and she started to swear under her breath.
"Well, that ought to bring 'em some attention," Quill muttered with a smile.
"That's not… this is not a game." Jess was just staring at the screen as if she couldn't quite comprehend it before she turned a heated glare toward both of the women from Two as Viper looked highly entertained by the whole thing and even gave Bobbi a small pat on the shoulder that told Jess her friend had been in on it.
"That's disturbing," Logan muttered. "Thought she was alright."
"She's been spending more time with Viper," Jess said with a sigh.
"Is this a cyclical thing? Something that happens every year?"
"It's … Viper stayed home last year, and the year before was Bobbi's. I don't know what to tell you except that Viper was her mentor, so she's been taking a more active interest."
Logan didn't look too convinced of it though. "So she is going back to her slimy mentor."
Jess gave Logan a look for a moment and lifted one eyebrow. "Yes. Officially."
He returned the look for a moment and nodded. "We'll see how that washes out." Though it was plain to see he just didn't believe that anyone spending that much time with Viper purposely was trustworthy.
In the Arena
In another section of the arena, the two girls stealthily looking through the rocks hadn't found any tributes while they were out hunting, but America and Kitty did manage to find two jackrabbits, so at least they would have something more substantial to eat for dinner than the dried fruit Miles had brought.
"This isn't gonna fill us up much — not split four ways," America said with a sigh, the jackrabbits slung over her shoulder as they made their way back to camp. "But it's a start, anyhow."
"Little bit of meat will be nice after all the fruit — not that I'm complaining," Kitty said.
America grinned her way and nodded. "Pretty sure there's something bad about not having enough protein in your diet. Billy could tell you that stuff."
They were nearly back to where they'd left the boys when they heard an unmistakable "Help!"
Both girls glanced at each other in alarm — that was Miles' voice — before they broke out into a run, Kitty already drawing her sword. When they rounded the overhang to where they had left the boys, they saw immediately that both of their allies were in deep trouble. Billy was awake but wide-eyed as Jean was simply seated comfortably beside him, one hand on his shoulder to keep him down, since he was too weak to fight her, and watching as Trevor menaced Miles, who was backed against a wall and couldn't get close enough to use any of what Logan had taught them. Whenever he tried, Trevor would almost lazily toss a throwing star his way — though to Miles' credit, he was doing an excellent job dodging.
"Get that girl away from Billy," America half growled to Kitty, already sprinting toward Trevor, who made the mistake of trying to stop her with a star — which only made her more ticked off when it cut a long path across her cheekbone a second before she slammed both fists into his stomach and kicked him in the side for good measure. He let out a high-pitched sort of noise and tried to bring a long blade down on her, but she kneed him and then grabbed his wrist to twist as hard as she could, eliciting a low whimper as he crumpled.
"You like playing?" America practically sneered in his face as she twisted harder, and there was a dull sound of bones cracking as he wriggled in her grasp. "You like picking on defenseless kids?" She punctuated the question with another hard kick to his sternum that echoed in the valley, louder than the dwindling rainstorm.
The boy from Three had no way to defend himself against America's onslaught, and to top it off, America could see that Miles had a few cuts. Nothing serious, but the fact that the little kid who couldn't even wrestle his tarp into place was bleeding set her over the edge, and she simply pounded on Trevor in a nearly blind rage, the brass knuckles ringing out with every crack as he stopped fighting her in any way that could be considered effective a good few minutes before the cannon rang out.
And meanwhile, Kitty had crept around to a different side to sneak up on Billy's tormentor. She shoved her way forward to crack the redhead in the mouth as she raised her bow in Kitty's direction, and when she made contact, Jean stumbled backward and the arrow in her hand clattered to the ground. Before she could get up, Kitty dove on top of her and just started to pound on her as best she was able, though Jean didn't stay down for long, and she managed to swing her bow around and crack Kitty in the side of the head with it.
It wasn't much, but she had knocked Kitty off-balance enough that she hit her again with the bow, managing to push the brunette off of her.
Both girls scrambled to their feet and Jean was panting hard as she looked between the group of tributes left in the cave. She knew there was no way she was going to be able to fight her way out of all of them. So, in a mad rush, she slipped the bow over her shoulder and made a run for the door, bodychecking Kitty hard on her way out and barely missing the grab America made for her as the bloodied girl from Twelve stood from Trevor's still form.
America swore loudly after Jean as she retreated, but she didn't want to chase the redhead down, not with Miles looking like he might lose his cookies and Billy awake and terrified and Kitty — she looked okay, but still.
With a sigh, America looked down at the unrecognizable dead boy and relaxed her arms. "Alright then."
"Want help taking the trash out?" Kitty asked as she rubbed the side of her head.
"I got it," America said, already seizing Trevor's arms. "You make sure Miles doesn't—" Before she could finish, the youngest member of their alliance doubled over, retching, and she winced. "Do… that. You okay, Miles?"
"No," he moaned, and America looked a little self-conscious as she dragged Trevor out — making sure to stand in the rain for a while to get Trevor's blood off of her. That wasn't exactly the scene she'd wanted Billy to wake up to.
When America came back, she was glad to see that Miles looked a little less green — Kitty was sitting with him — though she made sure to check on Billy first. "How you feeling?" she asked.
"Tired," he admitted, looking around the little group. "And really, really sore."
"You've been out of it for a while," America told him gently.
"Yeah, apparently." He glanced around at the other two once more before he raised his hand in a tentative wave. "Hi. Ow." He frowned down at his arm, realizing suddenly it was his injured one.
"Try not to stress yourself," Kitty said. "We've been trying really hard to keep you alive, okay?"
"Thanks, I guess," he said, putting his hand back down as he frowned for a moment and had to ask, "When'd you get here?"
"Um. Couple days ago," Kitty replied. "Are you thirsty?"
He nodded tiredly. "Should be… water in the bottle, if America's been doing it right."
"It's been raining, Billy," America told him. "You missed that too."
"Oh." He nodded quietly to himself. "Yeah. That's much easier than my way."
"What way was that?" Miles asked, curious now.
"He had it set up that we'd set out a tarp overnight, gather the condensation. It was pretty genius," America said, grinning over at her district partner. "Hey, gorgeous — did our rabbits survive the fight?" she asked suddenly, turning Kitty's way.
"They absolutely did, beautiful," Kitty replied with a smirk.
"Great. We can have some stew," America decided. "That should stretch those bony things — and Miles needs to replenish anyway."
Miles leaned back and slowly shook his head. "Yeah… thanks for the save and all but… yeah."
"I'll try not to kill anyone so close to you next time," America promised him with a small smirk.
"Try. Doesn't mean that'll work."
"I can't make any promises. I don't like people who pick on little kids," America said, her eyes narrowed. "Especially defenseless ones."
"I could've had him if I could've gotten close," Miles defended.
America smirked. "How about you try practicing with some of those," she suggested, gesturing to the throwing stars Trevor had left behind. "If you're any good, I kept the rest, and you need a weapon."
"You're all heart, you are," Miles said, grinning her way.
"Shut up."
Tahiti Wing
Kurt had just returned from Five, where he had been sent to set up some surveillance on Peter Quill's foster father, Yandu, when Kate came running up to meet him in the hangar, grinning from ear to ear and bouncing on her toes.
"I have just… so so much to tell you," she said, taking his hand to pull him into a quick kiss 'hello.'
He had to grin at her as he returned the kiss, one arm around her and soaking in her total enthusiasm. "Clearly," he said as she continued to beam.
"I mean, I don't even know where to start, but… Pete's back from Nine, and he's actually sorta kinda in a good mood watching the Games, and you should so see why."
"He's in a good mood from watching the Games?" Kurt asked in disbelief.
The grin seemed to be threatening to split her face, and she kissed his cheek. "Yes, my adorable Elf. I know it's mind-boggling, but you've got to see it for yourself." With that, she seized him by the hand and took him along behind her, practically skipping. "Ooh. And later — I'll have to tell you about Charles."
"Is there something wrong with Charles?" Kurt asked as she pulled him along.
"Nope. Nothing wrong at all," she said brightly. "He… he has very good taste. I totally approve."
"Of …"
She turned in place and kissed him right there in the hallway. "Oh, his lady friend," she said airily.
"Oh?" Kurt said with a growing smile. "His lady friend? Who is she? Did you meet her?"
"I didn't get to meet her, necessarily. I did get to see her apartment, and oh my gosh, Kurt. There are love letters. Love letters. She kept all of them."
"You read their love letters?" he asked in disbelief.
She looked insulted. "I did not! All I needed to see was 'My darling Charles' and I knew what it was. Give me some credit."
He tipped his head to the side for a second and grinned impishly. "I would have read them."
She looked honestly surprised for a moment before she laughed. "My sweet little snooper," she teased him as she kissed his cheek. "You so would…. But I had a job to do, Kurt. I couldn't read love letters while I was taking care of Charles' secret girlfriend!"
Kurt chuckled and shook his head. "Is that all then? Secret love letters that you didn't read?"
"Well it's not like they can really do much more, what with her being Seven's escort and the whole thing being a big no-no," Kate said, her eyes sparkling with trouble.
Kurt looked genuinely surprised, and his grin threatened to split his face. "So Seven has a reputation for rule-breaking that extends even to their support crew in the Capitol; that is what you're telling me."
"Oh, clearly," Kate agreed with as serious an expression as she could manage before she dissolved into giggles. "It's so sweet, Kurt. They're adorable, and as soon as the revolution starts, she'll be here, and he can date her properly, and if there are not candlelit dinners by day two, we are going to have to do something about it."
"I'm sure Charles will be more than ready to take matters into his own hands," Kurt said with a little chuckle.
"He better," Kate agreed as the two of them finally reached the rec room, where the Games footage was showing the alliance of Miles, Kitty, America, and Billy sitting down to eat some kind of meat together. Billy was up and talking, albeit not making too much sense at times — and Miles kept up a steady stream of good humor.
Kurt glanced at the screen and then back to Kate. "I'm glad Billy's up," he said, thinking that was at least part of the good news, but Kate beamed at him.
"That's just the cherry on top," she assured him, pulling him by both hands to join Peter on the biggest couch.
Peter glanced up when they entered and even gave them a little smile. "Oh good. You found him. I thought he was going to miss the commentary."
"Commentary on what?" Kurt asked.
But Peter just waved his hand to shush him and gestured toward the screen as the image of the little alliance shifted to a box in the corner, and Tivan and Uatu started up their commentary, gleefully announcing the formation of the "second Team Awesome."
"You have to admit the makeup is similar," Uatu said, and Tivan just beamed, nodding along.
"Twelve and Nine, not to mention a Spider-man to join the alliance late in the game… spooky!" Tivan agreed.
"With a beautiful fencer from Nine and one tribute doing the killing?" Utatu smirked. "I'm just waiting for the start of a doomed romance, and we'll have all our pieces."
"Doomed. Ha. Says you," Kate told the television screen, proving her point by nuzzling into Kurt and planting a little kiss at the base of his jaw.
"Wait, wait," Peter said, waving at her. "They were playing a clip from Logan while you were gone. Let's see if they…" He let out a little 'aha' of triumph as the two Capitol commentators pulled up some footage that looked like it had been grabbed while Logan was working with the other mentors, since Jess and Quill could be seen in the background talking with people as well.
Logan looked slightly irritated as the interviewer asked her question about what he thought of the 'new' Team Awesome. But he narrowed his eyes at her question and drew in a deep breath before he smirked slightly with his answer. "You've got a single-minded hothead, a kid that is so much like Parker it's painful — and they're runnin' around with a Twelve and a Nine. That last pair on its own is a solid match."
"See-e-e-e-e?" Peter gestured at the screen with a little smile on. "See? Me and Logan. We knew. From day one."
"He also just said that the boy from Eleven is so much like you it's painful," Kurt pointed out.
"Yeah, he loves me. He misses me. It's so sweet," Peter agreed, the smile widening. He leaned back against the couch. "They've been replaying today's news while all the tributes are going to sleep. It looks like the action has died down." He frowned the slightest bit as he said it before he took a deep breath and shook it off. "Your friend is kind of terrifying, Kate."
"She really is," Kate agreed, nodding fervently.
"It's been a day full of news … Career pack is down to one, since the girl from Two is making a point to distance herself totally," Steve said with a smirk.
"And Logan's tribute got some spectacular glasses — I think that was at the beginning of the day when we were all in the briefing," Peter said. "I'd love to see how they work."
"I thought he was blinded," Kurt said with a frown.
"Apparently not," Peter said. "Just hurt to open his eyes — so Logan found him some… well, they're sort of like sunglasses, only better fitted and red. Pretty neat. I'm sure there's something about the material that refracts the light to let him see without letting in enough to hurt…"
"You know how those gifts are in the arena," Kurt replied. "They're either so basic it's painful, or they're loaded with surprises."
"Don't have to tell me," Peter agreed, thinking of the syringe Norman had sent him in their Games before he cleared his throat. "Anyway, Kamala Khan got a parachute too."
"Not from my father," Sin said from where she was sprawled out nearby, a book in hand. She hadn't looked like she was paying attention in the least until then, but when they looked her way, she looked entirely serious.
"Is that a bad thing?" Kurt asked. "That she got something she needed?"
"No." Sin sat up and looked his way. "But you know the Red Skull is going to be mad about it. It's no secret if he didn't send it, your friend did."
Kurt frowned and shook his head. "I'm not sure how he would have done it."
"Well, he did, because my father doesn't send parachutes to girls. I only got one because he felt obligated," Sin said, sounding more bitter than she probably meant to.
"You don't know that for sure," Kurt said. "He may have done it…."
"No. This — this is the man who threw me out for being a girl," Sin insisted.
"The notes in the boxes for the glasses and the care package were in the same writing," Peter said with a grin. "Loopholes. Gotta be Logan found a loophole."
"He's really good at those," Kate agreed, grinning to herself. "And seriously, it's Logan. We really think he's gonna let something like rules stop him from helping a tiny little girl like that?"
Kurt had to agree with that. Especially after meeting the army of Logan's little girls. "As long as he doesn't put more of a target on himself."
"He'll be okay," Kate assured him, putting a gentle hand on his arm. "He's Logan."
"That's not exactly an explanation."
"It so is," she replied, starting to kiss his jaw just to stop him arguing with her. "I'm totally right on this."
"You are not, but you are also playing dirty," Kurt muttered. "So … I'll ignore that your explanation is so light."
She giggled and kissed him some more as the others in the room rolled their eyes. "Can't you two take it somewhere else?" Sin drawled.
"Yes. Go. Continue to prove Logan and I right on the Nine-Twelve thing," Peter said, waving them off.
Kate laughed at that. "You're so not responsible for this, Peter," she told him.
"I didn't say I was responsible," Peter clarified. "I said … I called it."
She grinned at him, shook her head, and climbed up off the couch. "You'll let us know if anything exciting happens?" she asked Peter.
"Whenever you re-emerge, yes," Peter agreed. "But I'm not breaking into that mess."
"Why, Peter Parker," she said in a falsely scandalized tone. "We're not allowed to do anything too involved. You know that!"
Peter simply smirked her way. "All the more reason for me not to be the one to catch you not doing said involved … things."
24. Monet St. Croix, District Eleven Female, Killed by Arkady Gregorovitch
23. Jessica Jones, District Five Female - Killed by Zebediah Kilgrave
22. Skurge, District Four Male - Killed by Clara Creed
21. Brian Braddock, District Two Male - Killed by Giuletta Nefaria
20. Giuletta Nefaria, District Three Female - Killed by Elizabeth Braddock
19. Alex Summers, District Nine Male - Killed by Brock Rumlow
18. Brock Rumlow, District Six Male - Killed by James Barnes
17. Arkady Gregorovitch, District Ten Male - Killed by Remy LeBeau
16. Amora, District Four Female - Killed by Clara Creed
15. Gwen Stacy, District Eight Female - Killed by a long fall
14. Zebediah Kilgrave, District One Male - Killed by Yuriko Oyama
13. Remy LeBeau, District Eight Male - Killed by Gamemakers' mutts
12. Trevor Slattery, District Three Male - Killed by America Chavez
