Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

So, this one will not feature a Cabal battle. Rather it'll be centered around when everything went wrong for Squad 451 in the book and movie. The next Cabal battle will be next chapter. You'll see why I'm doing that within the first few paragraphs of this chapter.

Chapter 20- Things Go Wrong

I slowly slide my quiver into place and pick up my bow. As I do, Boggs is calling for all of us to move and get ready to go.

It's late morning. Most of the team, as well as Squad 451, is heading to shoot a new propo today.

For the first time since we arrived in The Capitol, the Avengers have been separated. We received reports that Grim Reaper and Crossbones had been spotted to the west, while there was a report that Taskmaster had been seen not too far from the spot where we'll be shooting our propo.

So, I made the decision to split the team. As Grim Reaper and Crossbones were the least dangerous members of the Cabal in my opinion, I decided to detach Johanna to deal with them while the rest of us move on to film our propo and try to hunt down Taskmaster. I didn't feel bad about sending only Johanna, because I know her, and how good of a fighter she is, and I feel that she can easily handle them by herself.

"Alright, everyone. Let's move," Boggs calls out. Everyone finishes gathering up their gear, and we all follow Boggs off down the street.

As we walk, I glance back down the procession, where Finnick is going over some lines with Peeta. Our fight with Sabretooth, Electro, and Whiplash was just yesterday. Since the fight, Peeta's seemed relatively stable, but I'm still hesitant to trust him. I'm still not fully convinced that he's put the effects of the hijacking behind him. Still, I try not keep that out of my mind. If we end up in a fight with Taskmaster, I need to be able to trust him to fight and not be constantly worrying about Peeta's stability as I'm fighting.

We make our way through several alleys into we emerge into a large square. Well, circle might be the better term. A large circular courtyards, with an arch in the middle, ringed with homes.

Boggs slowly walks down the steps, holding the Holo out in front of him. As we walk down the steps and approach the large arch, the Holo starts beeping faster.

"We got a pod," Boggs says. He motions for everyone to take cover. The group separates into two, half of us moving to one side of the arch and half of us moving to the other side.

Boggs looks around to make sure that everyone has taken cover, then grabs a brick. He throws it through the gap of the arch. As it flies through the air, two massive machine guns pop out, one from each side of the arch, and open fire, sending a spray of bullets in their direction. The hail of fire lasts for about 15 seconds before the guns finally exhaust their supply of ammunition.

"Gale," Boggs says. Gale nods. He's already in the suit, and now steps out into view, slowly making his way into the arch. The guns don't resume fire, so Boggs and the Leeg sisters quickly stand up and follow Gale into the arch.

As they slowly make their way forward, I look over towards Peeta, and immediately feel concerned. He's shaking, his eyes are squeezed shut, and he keeps knocking his head against the stone. I'm beginning again to question the wisdom of allowing Peeta into the field.

Suddenly, there's an explosion. I whip my around the corner, and see a body go flying a few feet. Gale immediately rushes over to them.

Ignoring anyone else, I leap up and run over to where the body is lying. As I get closer, I see that it's Boggs, missing both his legs and with damage to one arm. At the same time, I see Gale raising his hands over the stumps of Bogg's legs and using the cold blasters in his hands to freeze the stumps as well as his arm, preventing any more blood from escaping.

I kneel down next to Boggs. But, before I can say anything, he says, "Holo. Holo."

I quickly grab the Holo, and hand it to Boggs. Boggs presses a button and says, "Unfit for command. Transfer primary security clearance." He then holds it towards me and says, "Say your name."

I say my name, and there's a beeping. I look from the Holo to Boggs and ask, "What did you just do?"

Boggs doesn't answer. Instead, he says, "Do what you came to do. Don't trust anyone but your team. Kill Peeta if you have to. Do what you came to do."

Right then, Vision floats up beside us. Gale looks up at Vision and says, "I froze his legs. That'll keep him from losing anymore blood. But if he doesn't get medical attention now, he won't live."

"I'll take him," Vision says. Vision then picks up Boggs and takes to the sky, flying back towards the main rebel camp outside the city.

Right then, Leeg 1 hears her sister groaning, as Leeg 2 was also injured by the blast. Leeg 1 hurries over to her sister, only to stop when she hears a sound under her foot. We all look, and see a stone under her foot sinking. Then, doors begin to close off the two entrances into the courtyard.

"Move!" Gale yells, right before a strange black liquid begins pouring out of the doors that just closed over the entrance we came through. All of us jump to our feet and sprint away from the advancing liquid.

As I leap over a terrace, heading towards a home that Pollux has landed in front of and is motioning us towards, I'm suddenly yanked bank. As I hit the ground, I look up, and manage to roll just in time to avoid Peeta slamming his fist into my face.

"Peeta!" Mitchell shouts as he grabs Peeta and tries to restrain him. However, Peeta gets out of Mitchell's grip, and before any of us can do anything, he shoves Mitchell into the black liquid. A moment later, a net made of razor wire yanks Mitchell up out of the water, killing him.

Gale flies over and restrains Peeta, then flies over to the building with him. Finnick yanks me to my feet, and we run towards the building.

All of us race in, running up the staircases until we reach a broken staircase. We all stop there, turning to face the staircase we just came up, watching as the liquid slowly rises, while Holmes sedates Peeta.

I quickly notice that the liquid is slowing down, and I say out loud, "It's slowing down." Thankfully, the liquid stops right before it comes up to the landing, and slowly begins to recede.

"Gamemakes are still putting on quite a show," Cressida says.

Jackson then pulls out her radio, attempting to connect back to home base. However, after several attempts to contact them, there's no response.

"Line is dead. But I can get us back to base. Everdeen, give me the Holo," Jackson says.

I stand there for a second, still trying to process everything that just happened, before I say, "No."

Jackson looks at me. "No?" she asks.

"Boggs gave it to me. He transferred security clearance to me," I say.

"She's right. I saw him do it," Cressida says.

"And why would he do that?" Jackson demands.

"Because. Taskmaster is still out there. And… I'm on special order from Coin. To assassinate President Snow," I say.

"I don't believe you," Jackson says.

"It doesn't matter what you believe. Katniss is the leader of the Avengers. You don't command her. Technically, not even Boggs did. If Boggs appointed her to take his place, who are you to argue with that?" Gale argues.

Jackson stands there for a moment. Hoping to further de-escalate the tension, Cressida steps in and says, "It's true. Plutarch wants it televised. He and Coin thinks that if we can assassinate Snow, it could break the Capitol's morale, and end the war sooner with fewer casualties."

Jackson stands there for a moment longer. Finally, she relents and says, "Alright, Everdeen."

We all look around at each other before I say, "We need to move."

Jackson turns and looks down at the Leegs and Holmes. Holmes looks up at Jackson and says, "She's wounded. She needs medical attention."

"Peacekeepers will be on their way. The liquid will have covered up the surveillance cameras. We need to move now," Gale says.

Leeg 1 looks down at her sister and says, "I'll stay with her. You all need to go."

Jackson crouches down and puts a hand on Leeg 1's shoulder. "As soon as we can, we will send someone back for you. I promise," she says.

Jackson then stands up and says, "Lead the way, Everdeen."

I slowly lead the Avengers, along with Jackson and Holmes, down the stairs and back out of the front door. We make our way across the courtyard and into another home.

"We should rest here," I say. We all make our way to the upper parts of the home, where the liquid hadn't touched. We all settle down, ready to get a little bit of rest.

However, as we begin, we hear noises outside. We all look outside and see a dozens of Peacekeepers and several armored vehicles moving into the courtyard and heading towards the building we were just in.

We all watch through the curtains as the Peacekeepers surround the home. Then, without warning, a spray of gunfire flies out of one of the windows, cutting down a number of Peacekeepers.

"It's the Leegs," Gale says under his breath.

The Peacekeepers continue to fire back at the Leegs for several moments. Then, an artillery piece mounted on the back of an armored vehicle fires at the building, blowing it apart.

All of us duck back behind the curtains. Gale curses under his breath and says, "If I went out there right now, I could kill every last one of them with my suit."

"I know you could, Gale. But, now that they think we're dead, nobody will be hunting us. It'll be easier for us to move if they think we're dead," I say.

Right then, there's a beeping. The TV in the center of the room turns on as the anthem begins to play. A script that says, "Mandatory Viewing" comes across the screen. A moment later, Caesar Flickerman comes on.

"Good afternoon. I'm Caesar Flickerman, here with our continuing coverage of the defense of The Capitol. Today, as our Peacekeepers valiantly hold off the rebels, our story takes a surprising twist," he says. The screen then shifts to footage of the liquid being released, and Peeta snapping, as Caesar continues, "Katniss Everdeen, our once favorite daughter, has infiltrated the city with the Avengers, and some of the Victors, whose names are all too familiar. Finnick Odair and Peeta Mellark."

The screen shows footage of Peeta losing it and attacking me. I glance over at Peeta, who looks horrified.

Caesar lets out a "hmm" before he continues, "Clearly, some alliances don't last forever. Take a look at what happened just a moment ago when our Peacekeepers cornered Katniss Everdeen, the Avengers, and their band of foolish rebels. Whatever arrogance broguth this girl back to us, you are about to witness a great victory not just for The Capitol, but for all of Panem." The screen shifts to footage of the Peacekeepers fighting and killing the trapped Leegs.

It cuts back to Caesar. "So there you have it. Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire, a girl who inspired so much violence seems to have met a violent end herself." He pauses for a second, then says, "Stay tuned for more information. Caesar Flickerman. Thank you." The broadcast then cuts out.

Everyone is quiet for a moment before Gale asks, "So, now that we're dead, what do we do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" We all turn to Peeta as he says, "The next move is to kill me. I murdered on of our squad members. Katniss is right. I'm a mutt. I'm not in control. And it's only a matter of time before I snap again. I need a nightlock pill, so I can die when I need to."

"If it really comes to it, I'll kill you myself," Gale says. I glare at Gale a bit, feeling like he's letting his personal feelings for Peeta show, and also not doubting him. Of all the Avengers here, only he and Flint could probably kill Peeta if it really came to it.

All of us settle in, all quiet. We get into the food supplies left behind in the home and start eating.

Some time later, me and Gale are sitting on a couch, finishing up our dinner. Gale picks up something, and after looking at it, says, "You know, I never understood the Capitol until now. You eat like this, you'll believe anything."

He stuffs it in his mouth. Right then, the TV turns on again, and the anthem begins to play. A headshot of Cressida comes up, along with her name and "Capitol" to tell where she's from, as a cannon shot plays. Headshots of Castor, Pollux, Messalla, Finnick, Flint, Gale, Peeta, and me follow. All of us who are Avengers have the Avengers symbol beside our names, to drive home that the Capitol has killed Avengers. Then, as my headshot fades away, President Snow comes on.

"So. Katniss Everdeen, a poor unstable girl with nothing but a talent with a bow and arrow is dead. Not a thinker, not a leader. Simply a face plucked from the masses. Was she valuable? She was extremely valuable to your rebellion and your heroes who call themselves Avengers, because you have no vision, no true leader among you. You call yourselves an alliance. But we saw what that means. Your soldiers, ever your Avengers, are at each other's throats," Snow proclaims.

Suddenly, there's static, and the image begins to distort and break up. After several moments, Coin appears on the TV.

"For those of you who don't know me, allow me to introduce myself. I am President Alma Coin, leader of the rebellion. I have interrupted a broadcast from your President in which he attempted to defame a brave, heroic young woman. 'A face picked from the masses,' he called her. As if a leader, a true leader, could be anything less. I had the privilege of knowing a small-town girl from the Seam in District 12, who survived the Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell, rose up and turned a nation of slaves into an army, and brought back the greatest heroes of all time! Dead or alive Katniss Everdeen will remain the face of this revolution. She will not have died for nothing," Coin declares, emotion entering her voice in the end.

"I had no idea I meant so much to her," I say sarcastically.

"Her vision and ours will be realized. A free Panem with self-determination for all. And in her memory, we will all find the strength to rid Panem of its oppresors," Coin says. She's then replaced by an image of me, with the caption "Remember the Mockingjay" below me, and my four note song plays. The TV then turns off.

I walk over to the table and set the Holo down as I say, "We need to get to Snow's mansion. Where is it?"

I turn the Holo on, and everyone gathers around. Cressida points to portion of the map. "That's us," she says. She then points on the other side of the map and says, "That's the City Circle. It's at least 70, 75 blocks north."

"Seventy five blocks?" Finnick asks.

"Yeah," Cressida responds.

"Nobody knows we're alive, and we have most of the Avengers here. This is our chance," I say. I then point to some buildings as I say, "These buildings. Do these look over Snow's gardens?"

"They do," Messalla says.

"If he goes outside at all, I could get a clear shot," I say.

"We're getting ahead of ourselves here. Whether they're looking for us or not, we are pinned down," Jackson says. She then points to a button on the Holo and says, "Hit that button. Scan for pods."

I hit the button. In seconds, dots representing pods pop up. Everywhere.

"Just about every ten steps," Holmes says.

"Yeah, that doesn't even show the new ones," Gale says.

"So, we can't go anywhere in the streets," Finnick says.

"And the rooftops are just as bad," Cressida says.

I then notice Pollux make several hand motions to Castor, who currently has his helmet retracted. Castor sighs before he says, "There might be another way."

And, I'll end there. Hope you liked that one.

So, things are about to get good. Hope you guys are excited for the rest of the action in The Capitol.

Next chapter will be up later today. Until then, leave a review, and stay tuned!