Hey, everbody. Back with another chapter. Hope you like this one.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 14- A Wedding
I sigh as I make my way into the hospital wing, rubbing my temple as I go. Even though it's been a few days since the events in 2, I still get a headache. Must be lingering effects of the concussion.
The bullet never even touched me. Luckily, Flint was only a step behind me. The moment he saw that man stand up and raise his gun, he leaped in front of me and pulled me out of the way. The bullet hit his suit, which is interwoven with vibranium, and just bounced right off him. The only injury I sustained was bruise on the head and a concussion when I hit my head when I fell.
It's been almost a week since that night. District 2 is now fully on our side, and the last resistance in any of the districts is gone. Robert personally thinks that seeing the team in action at last finally gave the push to turn the last of the loyalists against the Capitol. Even a handful of Peacekeepers have defected and joined the rebels.
But now, I'm on my way to speak to someone Robert wanted me to talk to. Someone that I think it's long overdue that I talked to.
I walk into the room, and see Johanna sitting on the end of her bed. As I walk in, she looks up at me, and smirks.
"Well, well, well. Took you long enough to come visit me, Mockingjay. What kept you?" Johanna demands.
"I'm sorry I didn't come see you sooner. I just…" I say, but I trail off.
"Too busy leading the rebellion, huh? Didn't want to relive the Quell?" she demands.
I look at her for a moment before asking, "Why do you hate me?" I put emphasis on the word "do", so she knows I'm asking exactly why she hates me.
"A bit of jealousy. And you're a hard pill to swallow. That whole crazy in love act? Only it wasn't an act, which makes you more unbearable," she says.
I slowly nod once, accepting that. Then, I ask, "Has Robert come to visit you?"
"Robert Stark? That cray old man? Yeah, he's been by to visit me. Pitched his crazy plan to me," he says.
"So. You know all about the Avengers? And that they want you to be the She-Hulk?" I ask.
Johanna nods. "Yeah. It all sound crazy. Complete lunacy. But, I can't say I'm opposed," she says.
"So, you're gonna do it?" I ask.
"Yeah. Anything to bring Snow down. I talked it over with that old man, and they're gonna start the procedure in the next few days," she says.
I manage a slight smile. "Well, it'll be good to have you on the team," I say.
"Yeah. The team. Can't say I agree with you being the leader. But, I suppose you'll do an okay job," she says, still smirking at me.
We sit and talk for another minute or two, until I finally say, "Well, I need to be going. I need to have a word with Robert. But, I'll see you soon, Johanna."
Johanna smirks again. "See you later, Mockingjay," she says. I smile slightly before I walk out of the hospital.
I make my way to the new floor that's been given over to the Avengers. As I enter Robert's office, I see him going over something. As I enter, he looks up and smiles. "Hello, Katniss. Come in. Sit down. There's something you need to know," he says.
I walk in and sit down in front of Robert. He looks at me, then says, "I wanted to tell you this so that you know what's happening. Tomorrow, we're going to conduct the procedure to give Peeta the Super Soldier Serum."
My mouth drops open. It takes me several moments before I blurt out, "What?!"
"Calm yourself, Katniss. We did not take this decision lightly, nor are we unprepared for trouble. Peeta has made significant progress. Not only that, but we believe that the benefits of the Super Soldier Serum could help in his healing process. In any case, he's been very calm around pretty much everyone else. We have restraints already made that should still be able to hold him. And whenever he's not in restraints, he'll be accompanied by Vision. We won't give him the shield until we feel he's more trustworthy. Until he's trustworthy enough to have the shield, Vision will always be by his side. Vision will be able to restrain him if it comes to it," Robert says.
I still want to protest, but I keep quiet. If Vision is by his side constantly, then I guess I'll feel better about this. And if it really might help him recover quicker, then I guess it's worth it.
"In the meantime, I suggest you go meet with Finnick. After all, he and Annie are getting married, and his team leader, I think you should help out with the wedding at least a little bit," Robert says with a grin.
I smile slightly. I'd just received the news about Finnick and Annie's planned wedding just earlier today, and couldn't be more happy for them.
"Yeah, probably," I say before walking out.
As the wedding approaches, it's interesting to see how different The Capitol and District 13 are. When Coin says the word "wedding", she means two people signing a piece of paper and being assigned a new compartment. When Plutarch says it, he means hundreds of people in lavish clothes at a three day celebration. He has to fight for every musical note, every guest, and every decoration. Coin's attempt at rejection towards alcohol, a meal, and dancing yields a half hour argument that Plutarch somehow manages to win.
In an effort to make sure Annie has a good wedding, I take her and Effie to the Victory Village in District 12, where I have a lot of outfits made for me by Cinna. On the way there, I get to know Annie much better, and realize that I really like her. Sure, she's a little strange and maybe unstable, but Finnick loves her, and that's good enough for me.
When we get to the house, and we open the closer where the dresses are stored, we all go quiet, because we can feel Cinna's presence. Effie takes one of the dresses in hand and sighs sadly.
It's almost a week after the events in District 2 that the wedding is held. Despite Coin's concerns that it's too extravagant, and Plutarch's reservations that its too drab, I think the wedding couldn't be more perfect. The decorations are amazing. And Finnick and Annie look so happy that everyone has a smile on their face, and many eyes are a little wet.
After the ceremony is over, that's when the fiddler that escaped District 12 with his instrument begins to play. One by one, people make their way onto the dance floor and begin to dance.
As I watch everyone dancing, I feel someone come up beside me. I glance to the side, and see that it's Johanna.
"I saw Peeta today. He's been doing well, all things considered. We had a nice old chat. We're old friends now. We had adjoining cells in the Capitol. We're very familiar with each other's screams," Johanna says.
As I look out at the dancing guests, I say, "I'm going to kill Snow. I have to, both as me and as an Avenger. Nothing good is safe while he's alive. I can't make another speech about it. No more cameras, no more propos, no more games. He needs to see my eyes when I kill him."
There's quiet for a moment before I hear Johanna say, "Now you're talking." I glance to the side, and see her smirking.
Then, she turns to me and says, "Goon. Don't you want Snow to see you dance?" She then pushes me towards the dance floor.
I slowly make my way towards the nearest group of dancers. Johanna's right. What could make this seem more joyful than a dancing Mockingjay?
I make my way to the nearest group of dancers, where my mother and Prim are. I take my mother's place in the circle and start to dance with the group. Then, we separate into pairs, and I start dancing with Prim. We both smile at each other, and soon our dancing turns into a hug.
The wedding celebration begins to wind down. But, it turns out there's one more surprise.
There are some gasps and murmuring as several people wheel in a large wedding cake. A beautiful, blue-green with white tips frosted cake, with icing waves swimming with fish and sailboats, seals and sea flowers. I push my way through the crowd to get closer to the cake, just to confirm what I already know. As surely as the embroidery in Annie's dress was done by Cinna's hand, the frosted decorations on this cake were done by Peeta's.
I feel someone behind me, and turn to see Haymitch standing there. He jerks his head to tell me to follow him, and we walk away.
As we get out of earshot of the others, I ask, "How is he?"
"Honestly, better. I think Stark had a good idea to go ahead and give him the serum. Ever since the procedure, he's been doing much better. Not completely better, but he's made real progress. Especially with frosting that cake. It almost seemed like a therapy for him. And…he said he wants to see you," Haymitch replies.
I feel my breath catch in my throat. This wasn't in the plan. I hadn't planned to have deal with whatever my feelings regarding Peeta are. I never expected to hear those words. But, now that I have, there's no way for me to refuse it.
This is on my mind for the next few hours while the celebrations end. Then, Peeta, Haymitch, and Vision escort me to Peeta's cell. I wish I could meet with Peeta alone, but I know that's never going to happen.
Once I get the okay through my earpiece, I open the door and walk in. Instantly, Peeta's blue eyes lock on me. I step inside and close the door before taking a good luck at him. Physically, he looks perfect. It seems like the serum has healed any of his injuries from his time in the Capitol. He's also taller and even more powerfully built than before the serum. He's in restraints that I can instantly tell are designed to restrain him with his new, enhanced strength. He also looks at me more calmly, but still with some wariness in his eyes.
I look at him, but I can't find any words to say. So, all that comes out of my mouth is, "Hey."
"Hey," he responds. It's his same voice, but with an edge of suspicion in it.
"Haymitch said you wanted to see me," I say.
"Look at you, for starters," he says. He looks at me for a moment, then says, "You look like you've been through a bit."
"Well, you've looked better," I say back.
"You're not even remotely nice to say that to me now," Peeta says.
"I was never the nice one. You were," I say.
Peeta snorts a bit, then pauses a bit. "They say you're leading the New Avengers," he says.
"Yeah," I respond simply.
Peeta just nods once, and doesn't address the topic further. After a moment, he says, "I remember the bread."
My breath catches a bit. "What do you remember?" I ask.
"You. In the rain. Digging through our trash bin. Burning that bread on purpose. My mother hitting me. Then walking out and throwing the bread to you instead of the pig," he says.
"That was the first time we'd eaten in days," I say.
"I must have really loved you," he says.
"You did," I say, my voice catching slightly.
"And did you love me?" he asks.
I lower my eyes a bit before looking back at him, though I keep from meeting his gaze. "Everyone say I did. Everyone says that's why Snow had you tortured. To break me."
"That's not an answer," he says.
I don't respond. Then, I manage to say, "Keep getting better. The tram is gonna need Captain America." I then turn and walk out.
As I walk away from the cell, all I can think about is Peeta, wondering if he ever will be back to normal, and if we'll ever have Captain America.
And, I'll end there. I hope you like how I kind of melded the book and move together in this chapter in terms of the storytelling.
So, there will be one more chapter before Katniss heads off for the Capitol, and it will follow the book rather then the move in terms of actually how it goes.
Also, quick question for my readers. For Snow's team of supervillains to counter the Avengers, should I call them the Masters of Evil or the Cabal?
So, updates will be much more frequent, as I've probably contracted coronavirus (still waiting on test results), so I literally have nothing else to do with my time except hang around. So, I can pretty much guarantee you'll get an update every one or two days for the next two weeks.
Until the next chapter is up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!