A/N: We have finally reached the end of the line (that pun was not intended I swear) with this story and I do not know how to feel. This story has carried on for much too long, I will admit, but now that we've hit the end I'm all kids of different emotions. Ultimately, I'm relieved that this is finally ending mostly because that means new things! Thank you for everyone who has read this story, left a review, added it to any of your favorites or alerts, you have been the prime inspiration for finishing this. Make sure you read the fancy shmancy author's note at the end, I think you might like what you'll see. Wink. Nudge. On you go.

Chapter Twenty Five: New Endings

"This is probably the worst idea you've ever had."

"Need I remind you that you were the one who suggested it?"

"I didn't suggest it, I was casually trying to –"

"– what, imply it, then?" Katniss teased, brushing past a now frowning Clint Barton. In all fairness, this had been his idea, and not hers, despite what he was consistently arguing. It wasn't even for him either, which is what really sold him out. He didn't want this for himself, no, he'd all but talked her into this one solely for her, and he would be her trusty companion in what was indeed, probably a terrible idea.

And yet for some stupid reason, she completely agreed with him.

It had been nearly two weeks since the fall of SHIELD, HYDRA – whoever the hell they were, Katniss still wasn't sure – and every day had been a new one. If it wasn't Natasha mouthing off at Capitol Hill, it was finding out that Tony was undergoing surgery to remove his arc reactor. Steve, the not-so-super-after-all soldier, was still 'recovering' from his hospital visit, as Sam liked to tease him. And then there was Clint, encouraging a rather bored Katniss to get a tattoo.

Having been sentenced to doing pretty much nothing until the end of time, she went right along with it. Stupid, yes it was, something she'd regret, most definitely, but this was the time for mistakes and error. She felt somewhat free, without any ball and chain tied to her foot. She had the room for a mistake and error, and by god, was she going to make one.

The tattoo artist had provided her with a large variety of options, ranging from Chinese symbols to lovely floral patterns. Clint had been particularly fond of a heart with a ribbon going through it with either his or Natasha's name in it, to which she'd kindly flashed a middle finger his way. If she was going to make any kind of mistake, it was going to be one that she was positive about.

Finally, she'd settled on a small bird along her shoulder blade, after hearing the tattoo artist's symbolism within it. "Freedom," he'd said as she'd stopped to admire it for a moment. "Most the people I have coming in here wanting a bird want it to symbolize feelin' uninhibited, like they're letting go of some kind of dead weight and inviting in a change."

Well, if she hadn't been sold before, she certainly was by then.

So, she had gotten up in the chair, resting with her stomach against the chair and her cheek leaning against the headrest and Clint hovering the entire time. Part of her assumed it was because he still had yet to trump the whole fatherly lurking thing, but she ultimately knew it was because he couldn't wait to tease her about the pain. "This is safe, right?" he asked as the tattoo artist pulled the shoulder of her shirt down, exposing the area of skin.

Katniss had to fight the groan rising in her throat. "Honestly, you're the one who's all rah-rah tattoo and now you want to ask if it's safe, after I'm already up in the chair?" Clint held his hands up in mock arrest.

"Look, all I know is is if that you leave with some sort of disease, this poor guy will have a rather…angry bunch on his hands." Ah yes, the wrath of the Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the original rage monster (as Tony still liked to refer to him) himself, the Hulk. Something anyone would look forward to, especially over a tattoo. She briefly contemplated the poor choice she'd made in having Clint accompany her with this process; she was sure that Tony would talk less at something like this.

"You know," the artist mused as he went about cleaning the area of skin she'd specified. "I have to say that I don't hardly get fathers coming in with their daughters to get tattoos. Most of them all just show up when they're drunk or go behind their backs, not bring them with them."

Clint grinned. "We're not exactly your normal father-daughter duo," he replied cheerfully. If there had ever been a larger understatement, then that would have been it. Most father daughter duos didn't fight off alien invasions, work for the same government division that had fallen only a few weeks prior, and run around with some of the most powerful people on the planet. She kept her mouth shut, and turned her face back so her forehead was resting against the headrest.

It didn't hurt like she'd imagined it; after being stabbed in the back by a Chitauri, a participant numerous fights and explosions, the loss of her hearing and several daredevil stunts that involved jumping out of flying aircrafts and windows, getting a tattoo was like a rest on a feather bed. It was easy for her to close her eyes as she let her arms hang by her sides limply as the artist went right to work.

She'd requested for a hint of blue in the tattoo as well, for several reasons. Blue was the color of Clint's eyes, and Natasha's, if she was particularly happy that day. Blue was the color of Steve's eyes as well, the color of his uniform. Blue was the color of Tony's ark reactor, of the Avengers logo that he'd had put on the side of the Tower. Blue kept popping up in her world, many different shades decorating her surroundings.

"What kind of bird did you say that was?" Clint mused from his corner, where he wasn't being much help with the small exception of his commentary, seen mostly as pointless and bothersome if anything at all.

"It's a bird, Barton, why does it have to be a particular species?"

Katniss tilted her head to the side, to see Clint's arms folded over his chest as he used the outermost hand to point at her. "Maybe you got the dodo bird, it'd be a fantastic fit." As if on cue, she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"What kind of bird is this?" she repeated, directed for the tattoo artist. She was fairly sure that he didn't want to answer nonsensical questions while trying not to fuck up her skin, but if it would put Clint's idiotic comments away for the time being, she'd take her chances.

She felt the needle stop puncturing her skin for a moment, the artist pausing to wipe around the outside of the area her bird was placed. "Mm, I'm not sure the exact species, I think you're the first to ask me that one," he hummed, Katniss shooting Clint a glare. "Mockingbird, maybe?"

"That blue reminds me of a blue jay," Clint noted, completely irrelevant. For a moment he fell quiet, studying the tattoo on his daughter's shoulder. "It's like your own little hybrid bird on your shoulder. A little mockingjay."

The tattoo artist chuckled as he resumed his artwork, filling in more blue along the wings. "That's a good one," he said. "Mockingjay. That could almost serve as some kinda nickname or something, you know?"

Almost instantly after the words had fallen from his lips, Katniss and Clint's eyes snapped onto each other, an almost sinister grin spreading across Clint's face. It took everything in her not to throw her head back and let out an agitated groan. God, she could hear it now. Might as well brace myself for the new embroidered utensils with that written all over, she thought bitterly to herself. Next tattoo, I'm bringing Natasha.

. . .

Tony's California house had been reduced to rubble, and Katniss had yet to see the aftermath of the missiles that struck. Her boots crunched leaves, stepping in between broken bricks and taking into account how ivy had started to grow in the places that had gone untouched for almost a month. Ghosts lived here; she could hear the voices, the screams from that day, the emotions running high striking her nostalgically in the chest. Something about the atmosphere seemed so very off, like she was walking on a graveyard after a tragedy.

Alongside her walked Tony, quiet, with both of his hands shoved deep into his pockets. This had been his idea, for her to come with him before they set foot on some new journey she was sure would end them up in a sea of hot water at some point. Instead, she was surrounded by serenity, the wind gently pulling her hair back behind her and the smell of salt floating along with the breeze. She wasn't quite sure why he'd brought her here of all places. This opened wounds for him too; the last time he'd been here, he'd watched his whole world fall apart. Happy's incident – even though he had made a full recovery, as promised – the fights and the surprise visits and ultimately, watching it all go down in a blaze. And yet, here they were. Maybe it had something to do with the healing process as a whole. She didn't really know.

"Where'd you say you were headed after this?" Tony asked, breaking the silence around them. She glanced over at him, only to see that his eyes were fixed straight ahead.

"Don't know," she shrugged dismissively. "Steve and I are going blind on this one; all we have is the intel Natasha swiped." Her decision to go with Steve had been the easiest. She had been right on her prediction that he would be ready to chase after the ghost trail Bucky had left after the events in DC the minute he got back onto his feet, and he'd only had to look at her for her to say yes. Something about the way Bucky had looked at her that day at the Potomac had shifted something inside of her, leaving her with some sort of feeling of dissatisfaction. Like her mission wasn't quite over yet. Now that SHIELD was gone, there would be plenty of opportunities to be with Natasha and Clint. There would be many unfortunate game nights at the Tower with Tony. And while there was a large possibility she and Steve would be running straight into a brick wall, she didn't have anything else to do. There was all the time in the world left, so why not?

A small laugh escaped Tony's throat as he shuffled along, kicking a small pebble as he went. "I have to say, baby bird, you and Star Spangled Senior Citizen heading off on your own freaks us all out. A lot." She rolled her eyes; this had been quite the popular topic among the group once Katniss had told them what she was doing, and there had been many jokes about maps and visitor's centers being their new best friend. "I think Clint's terrified you two will see it as a chance to elope and then never come home."

She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, eyes casting downwards. "We wouldn't be gone long, anyways…" she admitted, voice trailing off and being replaced with the sound of the ocean beneath them. "I can't have you renting out my room for extra money."

"Damn," he cursed, and although he sounded as though he was kidding, she knew that the idea was more than likely not off his radar.

"You can't keep me away forever," Katniss reminded him. "The Tower is my home. You guys are my home." The words tasted odd on her tongue; they always bounced around inside of her thoughts and she did her best to express them as well as she could without having to physically spit the words out. Even if she wasn't the most in touch with her emotions, saying it felt nice, and it felt right. Granted, she knew Tony was probably having JARVIS record the conversation she he could save it for future reference, but she didn't seem to mind.

It took a little looking, but she could see the smile start to crack across his face, and a genuine one at that. Something that she enjoyed seeing from her godfather. "Yeah," he agreed. "I guess you're right on that one. And we'd probably come kidnap you if you tried to stay away forever." Ah, typical Tony. These were the things she missed most when they were gone.

There was only so far to walk until they had reached the edge of what once was the patio and was now a pile of rubble. Ahead was the ocean, blue and steady in its motion. It was endless, as far as her eyes could see. The sounds of the waves hitting against the rocks below flooded her ears, peace washing over her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Tony's hands rummaged around in his pockets, reaching for something.

His arc reactor surfaced when his hand withdrew. She'd remembered talking to him after his surgery to have it removed; she hadn't known how to feel when the news had hit her ears. "What now?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper above the sound of the waves. Tony glanced over at her, one of his eyebrows arching. Katniss tilted her head towards the now lifeless hunk of metal in his hands. "You don't have the arc reactor anymore, it's not…a part of you anymore."

"I'll never stop being Iron Man," he mused quietly, turning the arc reactor over and over in his hands. "It'll always be a part of me, it's just not, you know – a part of me." His eyes watched the reactor in his hands as he toyed with it.

In her pocket was a new dead weight; Natasha had given her the flash drive with all of the files on it that she'd extracted from Insight what seemed like ages ago. Right before her hearing at Capitol Hill, she'd given it to her, only so it wouldn't fall into any wrong hands. She hadn't known what to do with it, so for the meantime, it had been in the pocket of her coat, sitting still until she found a means of use – or disposal.

Mimicking Tony's actions, she reached her hand inside and pulled it out, the cold faux metal smooth underneath her fingertips. The SHIELD logo stared up at her, a void currency now. Funny, how such a small object nearly brought about the end of the world as she knew it and tore them all apart.

"What's that?"

Katniss glanced away from the drive only to see that Tony was watching her, his grip around the arc reactor tighter than before. Her eyes cast back down at the drive, exhaling slowly. "Pierce…Pierce thought that you guys had seen the contents of this, thought that when we talked about targets on our backs that we'd gotten into the files." She shook her head for no reason in particular; if anything, off instinct. "One little flash drive that nearly ruined our lives."

"You sound like it's the first time this has happened." A bitter laugh pushed past her lips at the comment, fingers running over the SHIELD logo absentmindedly.

And then before she knew what was happening, Tony was taking the arc reactor balled up in his fist and wound his arm back, sending the arc reactor out into the open. She watched, eyes wide as it sailed in the air for a moment, only before landing somewhere in the water with only a ripple left in its memory.

For a moment, things were silent between the two of them. Then Katniss felt the muscles in her arm moving, throwing the flash drive right behind Tony's. It didn't make it nearly as far, but the ripple it made carried out into the one of the arc reactor, blending right along with the waves that met the rocks as soon as they crested.

"That felt nice," she admitted.

"Beyond nice," Tony snorted. "We should do this more often, except with your parent's furniture."

She cracked a smile, her sights turning his way for only a moment. "They'd probably kill us."

"I'm pretty sure they love us way too much to let that happen. They know we'd haunt them from the grave, and then on into the afterlife." He wasn't wrong by any means.

Things fell still, with the exception of the wind and the ocean and the rest of the world around them. Her hair blew in the breeze as she watched the currents swirl underneath her feet, like she was standing on the top of the world. Finally, she felt as though the turbulence had come to an end, the weight being pried from her shoulders. A shift in her balance, the way that she stood; she could feel the shift. Something had changed, and it had only just begun.

A/N: Well folks, that's that! I have to say, I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a very, very long time, and it was so wonderful to finally finish putting all the rampant ideas down into a legitimate story and being able to press complete. Thank you times an absolute million for all of the love and support you've shown me throughout Lights Out and now this story as well, it makes me so happy to know that I'm not alone in fangirling over two of my favorite universes smashed together in a crack idea that so many have talked about but not many have done. It means everything to me, and I couldn't – and wouldn't – have done it without you! And as always, I promised word on the upcoming sequel (or should I just say next part? That might be more accurate) so here it is: the AoU part will be coming your way very soon, I don't have a set date yet but give me a week or two to plan and it'll be back in front of you in no time. If you don't watch my YouTube channel – the link is in my profile – then I think you should start keeping an eye on it, because the trailer for CATACLYSM will be coming very, very soon. I am SO BEYOND PUMPED FOR IT, AND I HOPE YOU ARE TOO. I love you, all the hugs in the world :)