Arena 12 - The Spaceport

[etcircenses]

As usual the Tributes are woken up early for the start of the arena, leaving the Tribute Centre before dawn. A few hours ride in a hovercraft delivers them to their destination where their excited prep teams will outfit them in skintight suits that are colour coordinated by District (D1 is White, D2 is Red, D3 is Orange, D4 is Aqua, D5 is Purple, D6 is Pink, D7 is Light Green, D8 is Blue, D9 is Yellow, D10 is Dark Green, D11 is Lavender, and D12 is Black) over which they will be put into what is instantly identifiable as a spacesuit, complete with oxygen tank and helmet before being loaded into the tubes.

They rise up into what appears to be outer space and immediately upon emerging from the tubes Tributes will find themselves floating upwards with a length of rope the only thing holding them to their podiums. The countdown crackles out from speakers built into each Tributes helmet.

20

19

18…

The Cornucopia sits in the middle of a dusty crater with buildings surrounding it, made up of a number of chained down cases and cubes in limited numbers. Cubes which sharp-eyed Tributes will note look like they fit into the slots beside the doors that lead into the spaceport.

8

7

6…

The mirrored visors of the uniformly white spacesuits make it impossible to tell friend from foe. Tributes fighting for goods will have to risk harming their friends but the alternative, floating off into space or suffocating when their oxygen runs out, leaves them little choice.

3

2

1…

The gong rings out and the countdown’s voice announces, “the Arena is now open” before the line goes dead. The Games have begun.

Comments

[youbarium]

Carlos has no idea who it is.

For all he knows, he's been attacked because he's an easy target; he hadn't been paying attention, not like he should have, and he curses himself for it. It is true; Carlos is really, really done with the Capitol and its Games, and he's fully planning to die in this Arena, but making vague plans to die eventually is different from actually being stabbed.

The blade gets him in the left shoulder. He cries out -- for all the good it'll do him -- and tries to scramble back as best he can, but in the zero gravity he can only really manage a slow drift away. He clutches the wound with his right hand, trying to slow the bleeding. Carlos is in out of his depth; he is no fighter, he can't run, and now he's injured. It's almost too easy.

[pimpcanes]

Tom lashes out with his makeshift knife again, but soon Carlos is far enough away that it doesn't matter. He could try to pursue, although Carlos pushing against him to get away has sent him back as well - there's nothing really to brace against here, and aside from the rope tethering him to his podium, Tom has no way to direct himself unless he keeps himself close to the ground.

Instead, he lets Carlos float away from him, imagining the man suffering. Smiling to himself with grim satisfaction. He wraps the rope around his hand, then around his elbow, and levers himself with it back towards the podium and the cratered earth beneath them.

He doesn't imagine Carlos will cause him too much trouble in the rest of this Arena.

[worldsaway]

There's no way of telling who is who in these suits, but for Thor it hardly matters. There's more chance of someone in distress being his friend than his enemy, considering there are few he loathes so much as to leave them in a state like the one he sees before him.

It is difficult to move quickly in situations like this, so Thor arrives on the tail end of things. The assailant has practically escaped by this point, but he attempts to level a hard kick toward the back of the figure as it attempts to escape. He won't waste much time on them, though, because he's grabbing for the injured party as he floats on by. Currently he is akin to an animal on a roomba, drifting through the situation with a complete lack of grace or real direction.

All that matters is that he get the victim somewhere they won't float away so his conscience can rest easy.

[youbarium]

Carlos's understanding is about on par with Thor's. The idea that he had been recognized and attacked out of some kind of personal grudge is not impossible, but also not very likely, and would honestly seem a little egotistical. Carlos makes no move to go after his attacker. He's good. He'll just start to float away and try to find a metal place where he can think, to try to figure out a way out of this...

...and then his ankle gets grabbed. Carlos starts, and actually flails for a few seconds until he realizes the newcomer is pulling him, not attacking him. (He may or may not have managed to connect a kick with Thor's helmet; if he did, it wasn't hard enough to do any damage to the thing.)

Are they helping me? Carlos wonders, holding tight to his injured shoulder, trying to use his hand to protect the wound from exposure. He is in no state to fight this person off properly, and whatever this person's intentions are, it sounds better than suffocating and bleeding out at the same time, so now that Carlos is calm, he'll let himself be towed to...well, to wherever this person is taking him.

[worldsaway]

Thor's grip holds as the figure flails. He isn't hurting him by any means, but there are few mortals who could wrench themselves from the grip of a fully powered Thor. Particularly when he is full of determination and making a beeline toward the station. Even a kick to the head isn't enough to get him off this track.

He does, however, hold a hand up bidding Carlos to stop even though he knows he likely can't see it. When he considers that, he moves a hand up to pat the leg in his arm as comfortingly as possible. It's not long before they're finally nearing solid ground, not long until Thor is wrenching them inside and fumbling to stop Carlos from hitting the floor hard.

He places him down, working on shedding the heavy suit to reveal the bright red suit under instead. With that out of the way, he's moving in to try help Carlos with his own suit. He still has no idea who he is, not until he unscrews the helmet and catches sight of the all too familiar hair.

"Carlos." It's funny how much emotion you can fit into one word. Thor is conveying worry and relief, but there's something stern in his tone and expression. He has his powers, he has Carlos, this Arena is going to be crucial.

[youbarium]

"Thor," Carlos breathes. It doesn't take more than a second for Carlos to understand -- he saw people use powers out there. He knows this is an arena where, at least part of the time, Tributes will be able to tap into their own paranormal abilities, where certain laws would be suspended.

And here Thor is, right in front of him, making it clear that out of all parallel universes out there, Carlos is in the one possible reality where Thor had found him. He is the luckiest Carlos in the multiverse.

It means they have work to do.

He meets Thor's eyes for a long moment, resolve flickering behind them. The smallest nod--a sign of understanding. Only then does his tone turn casual. "Thank you," he says. "...sorry about kicking you. I didn't know it was you -- I keep doing that," Carlos admits. "Last time, when Steve Rogers tried to rescue me, I gave him a black eye."

we can probably wrap this one up in a tag or two?

[worldsaway]

With how capricious Arenas can be, every second that passes is a second in which their plan runs the risk of being jostled. If Thor had lost Carlos at the Cornucopia, the frustration would be unbearable. He cannot do this without his vision and his knowledge, just as Carlos needs his protection and his power.

Their intentions are made clear in that brief moment, and it earns Carlos the smallest smirk so that he understands how eager he is to do this. At least he can play it off as amusement at his memories of Steve.

"Steve is far too pleasant to hold it against you, I'm sure." His voice is soft, he's still concerned for him. "Come, surely someone has a medical kit." He scoops his hands under him, moving to lift him off the ground so they can find help.

yes!

[youbarium]

"Thor -- Thor, he only got me in the shoulder, I can walk," Carlos protests. He will accept the help to his feet, but he will try to insist on walking on his own.

awesome

[worldsaway]

Thor patiently helps Carlos stand and he stops trying to pick him up at his protests. He doesn't move too far away, though. In fact, he's leaning in and placing a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"You will bleed out faster." He urges, fixing a hard stare on him. "I cannot risk losing you, Carlos." He knows how misconstrued that could be by the Capitol, but he's sure Carlos understands the significance.

[youbarium]

Carlos takes a deep breath, then lets it out. What Thor is saying is logical, and though he tries to defiantly meet Thor's gaze, he finds himself giving in to the logic and glancing away.

"...you're probably right," he admits. "Okay. I'll let you carry me, but only until I stop bleeding. All right?"

[worldsaway]

The defiance isn't doing much for Carlos, though his stubborn take on the situation could almost be endearing if things weren't so grave.

"Alright." He says agreeably, crouching so Carlos can climb atop him rather than being carried like a wife. Once he settles himself, Thor will step into the depths of the Arena in search of a medkit.