thecapitol | Thicker Than Blood Start

Thicker Than Blood Start

For Tributes with keen eyes, they'll notice that Peacekeeper presence seems increased and yet infinitely more ineffective in the last few weeks. Peacekeepers seem harried, as do the Stylists, and most of the Escorts titter and plot without alerting the Tributes as to what, exactly, is so exciting. They simply say that this weekend they'll know.

And so it happens that on the weekend in question, the Tributes are woken by their Escorts early and brought to a restaurant for a hearty breakfast. The restaurant is nothing spectacular, although they seem to be trying to make an impression on the television cameras that float around. The sleepy, cranky meal goes by and then the Tributes are led back to their Suites for a mandatory meeting.

Sitting on couches and the floor, in chairs and on windowsills, standing off to the side - people from the Tributes' homes are waiting to greet them in each District Suite. Some are confused, some accepting, some frightened and some elated to see their beloved. Either way, it should be an eventful reunion.

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Another day, one more to keep her fingers crossed for Harley. It was a weird way to start it though, that was for sure: more peacekeepers today, of all days, and why the hell had they brought them to that restaurant? Too many questions were unanswered, and she knew she had every reason to be suspicious. Something big was about to go down.

Mindy thought she was ready for anything. Surprise attack. A visit from that president. Her mind was reeling with possibility.

When she was led back to her suite, she could see a gathering of some people. Family? She could see resemblances to some-

She stopped dead when she saw a face. His face. A face that shouldn't have been here, because that was impossible. Riley is here danced around her head, but she couldn't hear that. She couldn't begin to gather the words. All those nights spent remembering that night, wracked with guilt, and what the hell do you know? They brought him back.

Mindy tries to say something, but its caught in her throat. Last time he saw her she was bound to look different: healthier, certainly more muscular. But him? He looked as he had that day.

It was if that thought stopped her from staying rooted on the spot. She burst forward and ran right into him, hugging him with everything she had.

He heard the sound of footsteps on the floor increasing and getting louder. Turning just in time to see her he felt his heart stop and his blood run cold before she crashed into him and hugged him with amazing power for a girl her size.

He returned the hug in kind, practically falling out of his chair to kneel down and bundle her in his deceptively strong arms.

"Oh baby girl...what happened?" He groaned in sorrow. "Why are you here?"

Still unaware this was not the afterlife.

She didn't say anything for a moment, just hugged him, HARD. God, those bastards. Bringing him here without so much of a warning. Goddamn fuckers, bringing him here. But shit, could she complain? He was literally her only link back home, the only person she even wanted to see and he shouldn't even be here.

"Daddy." She said softly. "God no, the question is why are YOU here? You remember what happened, don't you?"

There was so much she wanted to say, but she needed to know how far all of this went first.

"Of course I do." His voice was a hushed soothing sound after so long, but there was an edge to it. A hint of paranoia. Could they talk here? If not here where?

He'd thought he would never hold his daughter in his arms again. His final memories with her were of pain and pride. Burns covering most of his body, his lips burned off, eyelids almost melted closed as his blurry vision searched in the darkness for her face.

And yet here they both were, perfectly fit and healthy, and Mindy looked positively radiant. Like she'd been to one of those fru fru health spas. Damon had sent her mother to one on their honeymoon and the resemblance was striking.

She could hear that paranoia, of course. It was something they both knew instantly: assessing their situation, making sure that where they were talking was safe. For now, right now, what the hell could they do to her? She was talking with her DAD. They brought him here for some reason.

"Come on, we'll go outside," she said, taking his hand. She led him out, leading him out of the tower.

"This is where I live now," she informed him. "Basically, me and Kick Ass too out D'Amico, but before I could start going to school, I was brought here. This place is where we train and live and stay. People from different world and universes and shit, all to compete in their games."

Damon allowed her to lead as he had led her so many times before. Strange faces, humanoid creatures and even stranger outfits were all around them as they left the suite and road the elevator down and out of the tower.

He was distinctly aware that not too far back they were being followed. He didn't turn his head to look but as he held the door for a woman entering the tower he caught a quick glance of one of Mindy's handlers and a peacekeeper. He didn't know who they were of course and could feel his hackles rising.

As Mindy began to explain he did his best to soak it all in. The first part made sense and made him smile with pride, little Hit Girl has fufilled her destiny of killing Frank Damico, the biggest scum bag in New York.

The rest of it left him puzzled. Different universes? And what games?"

"Hold on now...what do you mean?"

Had Mindy actually somehow gone one step past being a masked hero and gone into an honest to goodness comic book plot?

"You noticed the guys watching us, didn't you? Of course you did. That's a peacekeeper. Those games I was talking about? Here's basically how it breaks down: you know those shitty reality shows we'd laugh at? Imagine one where a bunch of guys have to survive in this constantly changing arena filled with danger, and only one person can live it. Imagine that all the other people basically have to kill each other. When someone dies, they get brought back to life back here while the arena goes on until someone wins the whole damn thing. There's a lull, and then it begins, all over again."

She gestured around her. "That's what this all is. You want to think I'm lying, but those strange types of people you saw tell you otherwise, don't they? It's real, all of it. This place is held together by the authorities in charge, and they brought us here to play the games."

He listened with a deadly seriousness about him that was usually only reserved for "Big Daddy." Not mild mannered Damon Macready.

Because if what Mindy was saying was true, there wouldn't be much use for Damon in this new world, this was a world built for a fighter.

But first and foremost he was a father.

"If there was ever a time that I wanted to hear you say you were fibbing now would be it." He muttered stroking his mustache anxiously.

"So where does that leave us? Contestants in this game of survival?"

Mindy couldn't help but smile a little. It was like he never left: he was the same person that had watched after her all these years, and was the same dad she always remembered. Unfortunately, it had to be in circumstances like this.

The worse kind.

"I wish I was, dad. But you know I couldn't make up shit like this if I tried. But uh...one of the good things about winning the damn thing is that if you win the thing, you don't have to compete again. You become a mentor."

She restrained her smile. "And I am the youngest to do it so far."

There was a moment of surprise as she explained the reward and then pride as she revealed she had performed as he would expect of her. He drew her into a one armed embrace kissing the top of her head.

"That's my girl." He sighed overcome with fatherly gratification.

Of course, he couldn't forget that according to what she'd told him she would have had to kill many people to earn that victory. But that was how he had trained her, how he had raised her.

When Damon Macready was released from jail his daughter had spent the first several years of her life only knowing him through the glass of a prisons visitation room. When he was released he swore an oath to prepare her to handle anything and everything the world could throw at her. If he could protect her from pain? Wonderful.

But he wanted to be sure he also taught her how to survive the pain she couldn't avoid and turn it into strength.

Mission accomplished it seemed.

"Some one has earned herself an ice cream sundae." He grinned overwhelmed with joy at this second chance at life.

Wasn't she too young for that? After all, this was Mindy Macready. People knew she could kill if needed, and that in the Arena she could forestall emotions. The hard part of that was doing the thing, and that part she had down. An ice cream sundae?

But no one had ever seen Mindy break out in a smile like this. There was nothing but appreciation, the realization that she wasn't alone, wasn't going to be without her daddy. When was their actual compassion?

Yes, she would have to think about dad competing in the Arena, that he would be killed and she wouldn't be able to touch anyone after. But shit, to have time with him, someone she thought was gone from her life? She'd take it in a heartbeat.

"You know I'd do you proud dad," she said, grinning. "This place is awful, but there are awesome people here. I'm sure you'll even like a few!"

You're never too old for ice cream sundaes in Damon's opinion. Especially because no matter how old Mindy gets she'll always be his baby girl.

"Well you'll have to introduce me." He agrees still beaming. "You've got good enough taste in friends." Even if her first choice last time had been Kick Ass.

"Anyone else from our world?" He added as an afterthought.

"I can show Ellie how someone who's not super protective to a ridiculous amount is," she said, then was reminded of something. "Of course, he had a big problem with you training me so young. Said it fucked up my childhood or some shit."

Granted, a LOT of people thought that, Hawkeye and Holiday included. Maybe it might be a good idea to keep him away from some of the adults she knew.

"Nah. It's just been me. Dad, it's...this place is awful, but fuck, I missed you. So much."

His face fell just slightly, but people not understanding his views on child rearing was not new. When his own best friend was disapproving it forced him to take a long hard look at his life and hers.

But when he thought about the world he'd left behind full of crime and sickness and weak victims letting it get worse his faith was reaffirmed.

"How long have I been-" he almost said dead and corrected himself with "away?"

It was hard to imagine such a colorful clean city as being awful but Damon had always had a good imagination.

"A few months," she said, "but in this time. It wasn't long after that day I tried to actually go to school but I was brought here. It was a stupid idea anyway, going to school. What the fuck was I going to do, join the cheerleader squad and start getting popular?"

She rolled her eyes. "This isn't a great place. Shit, its not even a good one. There are spies and punishment and betrayal and drama up the ass. But honestly? Without your training, where would I be? Back in the games, defenseless and wondering what to do."

Here she beamed at him, a clear message she didn't care what anyone said: she had the best dad ever.

He nodded solemnly and then smiled reaching out to tousle her hair.

"Then I've done my job. Damico is dead and now you're here fighting and winning." He took a breath of the warming spring air and sighed with pride. "Every father should be so lucky to have a daughter like you."

On a more serious note under his breath he added "I assume you've a plan on what to do now that you're out?" Because Big Daddy and Hit Girl were always looking ahead.

"You didn't have to die." The words were out of her mouth, and they were solemn, truthful and painful all at the same time. "You should have been there with me. That was bittersweet."

She took a breath. "In the process of that. I'm gonna help my tributes, of course. That's my job. But I never really cared about being free of the games because I don't want to be in them. My real want is to end the games once and for all, for everyone. And that's something I can't do alone."

The statement draws his lips tight into a thin line as he's forced to once again accept that he did in fact die. It's enough to force him to stop right there in the middle of the sidewalk and hugs her close.

"I know, I'm sorry." He mumbled kneeling down to hold her in apologetic embrace. "I didn't mean to sour your victory by leaving before the battle was over. But I promise I was with you every step of the way."

"You were never alone then, and you're not alone now babydoll."

"It was my fault." She said it with finality, and though she's not crying (she only was just when it actually happened) there's still pain in her voice of the action that had haunted her still. "We didn't know Kick Ass well enough. Fuck, he was so stupid, introducing us to some fucktard in a suit before he even got any decent Intel on him! Reckless as shit, that fucker!"

She was angry, but only a little at Kick Ass. Not enough to forget what had happened next. After all, she was most pissed at herself.

"He made it up to us. He went with me for the last fight. I fucked up his guys, but in the end D'Amico was too much for me. He also took me down. Then Kick Ass came in and blew the motherfucker away with a bazooka. It was GLORIOUS."

He let her speak her piece, not interrupting though the urge to do so was overwhelming.

His stomach felt heavy as she explained everything he wouldn't live to see. It all sounded better then he imagined, so much more dramatic.

"He would have never even gotten the chance without you getting as far as you did. As far as I'm concerned you're the hero and Kick Ass wishes he could be your side kick."

His fingers curled in the back of her shirt as he held her tight.

"You're not to blame for what happened. I'm your Father, I should have been more careful. But we were so close to our goal I got impatient. And at the time we thought we were helping him even if we didn't know him that well."

Which was more or less a superheroes duty.

"Oh well, duh dad. Even I know Kick Ass isn't as good as me. But he saved my ass, so he has promise. in time, he can be a pretty damn good superhero. But you and I both know he lacks the stones to do the kinda shit that we do."

That was just a fact.

"But I wanted you to know that it shouldn't have happened anyway. We both got too fucking out of sorts. We acted like amateurs and the enemy got the better of us. That's not going to happen again, not where I'm involved. Now that you're here, I should probably show you what the Arena is like though."

Damon couldn't help but smirk. Here he was almost getting a lecture from his daughter and ward about where they'd gone wrong with their last mission. It was funny really.

"Alright, let's get me up to speed then." He nodded letting her continue to lead him through the Capitol without much of a care where they were headed. "If there's one thing we've proven it's that we learn from our mistakes."

In about an hours time, Mindy had told her dad all there was to know (as much as she knew, anyway) about the games, the various dangers they faced and what had happened to her in the first and second Arena she played. She talked at length of the people she met because of it too, particularly Guy, Ellie, Harley and Sandy, although she talked of Azula with obviously gritted teeth. All in all, good times, insane as they were.

"Gotten stronger too. There's a training facility we have access to, and I started going there almost every day after I lost the last fight. Pretty much have a washboard stomach now."

"So I noticed." As much as it was probably uncouth for a father to pay that much attention to his daughter's form, he had trained himself to take in every detail. And in the last hour or so as they'd walked and talked he'd been watching for signs of weakness, any signs of her holding back or trying to hide things from him.

She was healthier then ever and he had to wonder if even his training could have brought her as far as the live combat of the arena and the state of the art training facilities. "I guess I'll have to put in some extra effort so I can catch up to you baby girl."

Mindy had to admit that she was glowing with pride there. Her mind had always played out scenarios since that famous night of what her dad would think of how she looked now, how much stronger she was getting. There was, of course, the matter of how she won the Arena, and what he though about that.

"I know its not heroic, to turn on friends, or to slit an innocent person's throat. But after how I lost in the last Arena, I had to win this one and prove how ruthless I was. It's just sort of shitty living with it after."

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