Disclaimer: Avengers and Hunger Games belong to their relevant owners; I merely borrow them to write this story
Feedback: Always a pleasure to receive.
A Man Like No Other
After the Maestro fell, the next few days were a virtual blur for me. When we returned to District Thirteen, Coin was waiting for us as the hovercraft came in to land, but Steve, Tony and Thor all insisted that Johanna's treatment be given priority, as well as ensuring that Finnick and I be left alone to recuperate. I had a brief meeting with my family to confirm that I was all right and assure them that Snow had been dealt with, but after that all of us had been taken to various meetings with the ruling council of District Thirteen to explain the situation. Even with the body of the Maestro as evidence, it had taken time for President Coin in particular to be satisfied that we had genuinely killed President Snow, and even then there had been various other issues about our role in the future.
Thor had been introduced to the council as an additional Avenger; Steve had concluded during our return flight that letting everyone else know that we had an actual god in our presence might not be the best way to calm the general population, but so long as he didn't do anything too unusual we could probably claim the hammer was the only special thing about him. While some people had been sceptical of the idea that Snow had been the green creature we were fighting, once footage of the fight was analysed in depth, the beard was distinctive enough to reinforce our story that Snow and the Maestro were the same person, particularly after Bruce demonstrated his own ability to transform into the Hulk (Even if we had to suggest that Bruce and Snow just had the same trait rather than reveal that they were the same person too soon).
When we'd attempted to make contact with the rest of Panem to inform them of the situation, I'd been relieved to learn that civilian casualties in the battle with the Maestro had been relatively limited; at least we could convincingly argue that we weren't killing innocent people to make our points. As I'd hoped, most people living around the Presidential Palace had run away after our hovercraft crashed into the side, and the only other people who'd died in the fighting had been more of Snow's personal peacekeepers when they'd tried to attack us after we'd rescued Bruce. While the Capitol's citizens were still the same strange fad-obsessed culture I would never completely understand, enough people had witnessed the other Avengers trying to save people while the Maestro was tearing his way through buildings with no consideration for who he might kill; even the most devoted 'fan' of Snow couldn't argue that he was a good man after seeing him do that where the Hulk had gone to great effort not to kill people in the fight.
With Snow gone, the remaining leaders in the Capitol had quickly lost heart; Snow had never planned for the possibility that he wouldn't be there, so even though he had people responsible for dealing with the finer issues of running Panem, nobody was in a position to take control of everything and take on his old responsibilities. Individual areas of the Capitol's social and economic structure could still carry on as normal, but without Snow to coordinate them nobody seemed to be able to allocate the resources accordingly,
Of course, having the Hulk and Thor on our side didn't hurt our ability to make a point; when the remaining Capitol military forces had attempted to launch a final assault against District Thirteen, it hadn't taken long for the Avengers' powerhouses to take out the few remaining Peacekeepers still loyal to Snow's vision of Panem, discouraging any thoughts of trying to continue the struggle.
As the initial chaos died down, I almost couldn't believe it when I learned that I had been chosen as the new leader of the Avengers who would be remaining in Panem after the four time-travellers returned to their time. I had tried to protest, arguing that Thor was a member of the original team and Finnick and Johanna had more experience, but Steve had pointed out to me that he had been the youngest member of the original team and had still served as their leader. Johanna and Finnick had both assured me that they were fine letting me take point, and even Thor had expressed no uncertainty about the decision, stating that he was content to follow my lead when dealing with threats to my world so long as I respected his expertise in other matters.
I was still waiting for the moment when everyone would realise that they'd made a mistake as I stood in the broadcast room of District Thirteen, dressed in my Mockingjay outfit once again, more terrified than I'd been even when facing the Maestro.
"You're… sure about this?" I said, looking uncertainly at Steve as he watched me from behind the camera that had been set up in his small Avengers 'museum', the four displaced Avengers behind him. "You and Peeta are the ones who have experience at this…"
"Peeta's better at making people like him than speaking out in favour of a cause, and the main reason I managed to rally support for a cause was that people knew what I stood for," Steve corrected me. "You may not have our experience at doing this kind of thing, Katniss, but you represent the good reasons for this revolution; the Mockingjay who defied the Capitol because she wanted to do the right thing, and made her stand because she didn't want to kill innocent people."
"You can do this, 'jay," Tony said, nodding at me with an approving smile, the other three Avengers giving me their own small smiles as well. "They already love you; just remember what we went over, sum up the situation and you'll do fine."
Nodding in gratitude at the genius industrialist, trying to focus on the faith they were placing in me rather than my fear of making a mistake, I turned around to face the camera, trying not to think about the sheer scale of people who were receiving this message as the production team activated the camera.
My team believed in me to deliver this message, and I believed in them; they couldn't all be wrong, right? I had done the impossible ever since I volunteered to save Prim; this was just something new…
"People of Panem," I said, taking a deep breath as I began to speak. "I am Mockingjay, of the Avengers. You've heard many stories about who we are and what we were doing in the Capitol over the last few days, but I'm here to tell you the truth; we went there to eliminate the monster in the guise of President Snow, a monster that has secretly controlled Panem since the time of the first rebellion for the sole purpose of proving that the human race is flawed and worthless."
I stepped back slightly and indicated the rest of the team gathered around me; Finnick holding his trident in his leather-and-gold attire, Johanna with her new arm holding her new axe, Iron Man standing ready for action, and Thor brandishing his hammer as he looked at the rest of us in approval. I had thought about introducing us as the Panem Avengers when I was first given this task, but Steve had told me not to worry about that; as far as he was concerned, all of us had earned the right to just define ourselves as Avengers,
"These are the team who proved him wrong," I continued (It was a slight lie, but it was hardly as significant as some of the lies the Capitol had told over the years). "We are the Avengers, Earth's mightiest heroes; Snow thought that he had destroyed our ability to come together, but when Panem needed us, we returned to avenge the wrongs that he had committed against everyone."
Some people might argue that the Capitol were just as guilty of Snow's crimes for never taking action themselves, but I wasn't going to touch that argument unless someone made me; after how long it had taken everyone to convince me to stand up to him, I was hardly going to start criticising people for not doing more earlier.
"We are not here to rule you, or dictate what you make of this new world; we are here to inform you that there will be no further Hunger Games, now or ever again," I continued, my tone firm; any thoughts among the surviving Victors of arranging for a final Games featuring the Capitol's children had been cut short when Natasha asked how we could distinguish ourselves from the Capitol if we went that far. "The Districts will be granted full access to all the resources they need, and the Capitol's wealth will be redistributed to the full population rather than hoarded away; I know for a fact that the Capitol has food to spare, so it can afford to lose some of it. All districts will retain full autonomy unless something comes up that requires greater inter-District cooperation, and the Avengers will be active to deal with anything else that arises. We will kill those who threaten the peace, but we will not enforce our authority; we are your protectors, but we will not depose Snow only to replace him. You knew me as Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire, when I fought in the Hunger Games; now, I am Mockingjay, the leader of the Avengers, and I fight alongside the Mariner, Bloodaxe, Iron Man, and Thor. We are assembled, we are prepared, and we are ready to fight those who threaten this world; don't give us a reason to, and all will be well."
With that, the transmission came to an end, the displaced Avengers and Steve applauding my performance as the camera techs left the room with their equipment, all aware that Steve had asked for a few moments alone with the team.
"Nice job," Johanna said, smiling as she adjusted her new limb and weapon. After District Thirteen had provided her with a cybernetic arm to replace the one she'd lost to the Maestro, Thor, in recognition of her role as an Avenger and her skill with the weapon, had offered her the axe he'd been wielding when he arrived on Earth, which he'd identified as Jarnbjorn. Concluding that he didn't need the axe now that he had the hammer back, Thor had handed it on to Johanna as a prize for her efforts in standing up to the Maestro. Johanna had protested at first, appearing unusually humble in the face of the gift, but Thor had insisted that she had earned the weapon for her courage, and in the end the District Seven Victor had accepted the offer. I wasn't entirely comfortable with her choice of codename- 'Bloodaxe' just felt a bit too violent for a team that was meant to protect people- but Steve hadn't voiced any objections, so I had decided to just have faith that nothing bad would happen as a result.
"Yeah," the man in the Iron Man armour said, raising his faceplate to reveal Peeta inside it; he was clearly uncomfortable with the suit, but he had been given a fairly detailed crash course in how to use from Tony before he even put his hands on it. While Tony stood by his earlier statement that Peeta's physical combat skills needed improvement, he felt that Peeta still had potential as an Avenger, and giving him the armour seemed like the best way to compensate for that and ensure that the Avengers remaining here didn't lose too much once the time-travellers were home.
"You sure we can do this?" Finnick asked, the normally confident Victor looking unusually anxious; Steve had been amused by Finnick's choice of codename for some reason, but he had given his approval of the name. "I mean, these guys did do the heavy lifting this time around-"
"Because the Maestro was a special case," Natasha said, looking firmly at the man with the trident. "Steve has confirmed that Snow was the most powerful entity left on this planet after the wars; with Thor available, you should be able to handle anything else that might attack."
"Precisely," Tony said, smiling reassuringly at my new team before he looked curiously at Steve. "So… since we're going home now… any tips for the future?"
"Prepare the Legion," Steve said, looking solemnly back at the jocular industrialist. "You always told me that you thought you could have saved the day if you'd had your own army."
I wondered what Steve meant by that statement, but the grim expression on Tony's face suggested that it meant something to him at least, and I didn't feel like this was the time to ask for that.
"Natasha," Steve said, turning to the only woman in the team of time-travellers, "remember what I told you; don't be afraid of him, and be ready to help me."
"I make no promises on the first," Natasha said.
"Just keep my advice in mind, and be available when I need you," Steve said, smiling at her in understanding. "You can be happy with him, Natasha, but it's your choice in the end."
Natasha said nothing, but there was a contemplative expression on her face that at least showed that she was thinking about what Steve had said, even if she was making no definite promises right now.
"Clint, keep your eyes open and be ready if things turn ugly," Steve continued, looking at my fellow archer before his gaze settled on Bruce. "I think we both know what I have to say to you?"
"I will never be him," Bruce said firmly.
"And I believe you," Steve said, nodding at Bruce before he looked around the room. "This may be the last time I see you all, so I just want you to know; there are only three times in my life that I have ever felt that I was right where I belonged, and you were responsible for two of them."
"The Commandos were the third, huh?" Tony asked.
"Yeah," Steve said, smiling back at the man before he sighed. "Anyway… it's time you were all going home."
With those words, the mood seemed to grow slightly dimmer, as the displaced Avengers shook hands with those of us who had been from this time originally; even Finnick and Johanna seemed to feel the solemnity of the moment despite their limited contact with the others, Johanna actually hugging Natasha before the four time-travellers stepped back as Steve activated the portal.
"See you in the past, Capsicle," Tony said, nodding at the old man.
"See you someday," Steve replied, nodding back at the team.
"It has been an honour to fight beside you all once more," Thor said. "Be well, my friends."
With those last few words, and a final nod between the two returning Avengers and the four displaced ones, the time-travellers turned around and walked through the portal, which turned off as Bruce vanished through it, leaving nothing more than a metal object.
"So… what now?" I asked, turning to look at Steve. "We've made our statement, but Coin's not going to be happy about-"
"After what you've done, I'm confident in saying that you've earned enough popular acclaim that Coin would have to be an idiot to try and make you do anything," Steve said confidently. "The Maestro was the biggest gun anyone had to point at you, and with him dead and Thor back, nobody's going to try anything to stop you after what happened to the last people who tried to attack us."
"On that topic," I said, wanting to address this issue in front of our fellow Avengers before I lost my nerve, "while I appreciate your faith in me, shouldn't you-?"
"I'm not going to be the leader, Katniss," Steve said, shaking his head as he looked at me with a warm smile. "I made an effort here because the Maestro was a special case, but I'm just too old for regular field work now. I'll teach you everything I can, and I'll step in if you really need me for anything… but right now, in this brave new world, Panem will need the Mockingjay more than it needs Captain America."
Before I could respond to that, Steve reached behind his back and pulled out his shield, handing it to me as I realised that it had been repainted gold-and-black as opposed to its original red-and-white colour scheme, the white star in the centre replaced by a golden Mockingjay.
"And," Steve continued, "if you're going to lead the Avengers, you're going to need this."
As I took the shield, I was torn between smiling broadly and having a panic attack; after seeing Clint's reaction to the suggestion that he take the shield for a single battle, I knew without needing to be told that Steve was giving me far more than just a new weapon.
The fact that the shield had been repainted only made me more aware of the responsibility that Steve was entrusting to me; he'd spent years defending his country, and now he was giving me one of his last symbols of that old world, decorated to match my world…
"Why?" I asked him at last, stuck for anything better to say.
"Because you earned it," Steve said. "When I carried the shield, I stood for the dream that America had been founded on… but now, with America long gone, it's better that this shield be given a chance to represent a new dream."
The responsibility that Steve had placed on me by giving me this should have been overwhelming, but at the same time, I was touched by his obvious faith in me. He had spent his youth fighting to defend the country that he believed in… and now, when he had the chance to bring something of that country back, he was sacrificing that responsibility so that he could help the new world continue.
Looking over at Peeta, I was relieved to see him smiling in understanding at me before I even had to say anything. I was willing to acknowledge that I cared for Peeta, but with my new responsibilities as Mockingjay, this wasn't a good time to even think about trying for something more than what we were already; by accepting this shield, I had acknowledged that I had the responsibility to think of other things to focus on right now.
"So," Johanna said, looking at me with a teasing smile. "What now, Mockingjay?"
"What else?" I said, smiling as I adjusted my bow and slung the shield onto my back. "It's time to make a start on cleaning up Panem."
"Avengers Assemble!" Finnick yelled, grinning at the rest of us even as we turned to look sceptically at him. "What; it's catchy!"
"Can I vote that he doesn't get to speak in public unless we need to flirt with somebody?" Johanna asked.
"When's that going to be a factor?" Finnick protested.
"The battle-cry has potential, but I feel we should work on its delivery…" Thor noted, as the team fell into conversation around me.
As I took in my strange new team- four recovering Victors, the ruler of another realm, and a man who'd been fighting for longer than I'd been alive, all willing to follow my lead as we set out to reshape our country- I was amazed at how far I'd come from the scared girl who'd only volunteered to save her sister.
I'd never expected this kind of responsibility, but now, as I prepared to lead my team on our first solo mission to clean up the world we lived in, facing the threats that no other force could stop as we set out to reshape our world to be what it been before the horror of the Hunger Games, I couldn't imagine wanting to be anywhere else.
AN: Well, that's that story over; hope you all enjoyed it (I wanted to get this out before Mockingjay came out in the cinema)!