Kick–Ass – Knife to the Heart, Kick to the Neck

She wasn't a little girl anymore

Dave hadn't seen Mindy in five years, and he could barely remember her face anymore, what her voice sounded like outside of it ringing in his ear when he needed a push. He thought about her all the time, not every day, but often enough that he missed her like he missed Kick–Ass. He wonder what she was up to, what messes she had managed to get herself in and out of, all alone in the world without a single person to back her up.

He hoped she wasn't lonely, Mindy had always had her dad or Marcus to keep her company, and when she left on that ridiculously purple motorcycle of hers, she was alone for the first time in her life, but so was Dave, without a mom to gently kiss his forehead, or a dad to ask about his every bruise. They were both alone in the world, and he felt so fucking alone sometimes, but Mindy wasn't him, Mindy was strong, so much stronger than he could ever hope to be.

That was why he studied his ass off in Pre–Law, why he worked so hard in order to get into a good Law School. It was weird to think of himself as the kind of douchebag who went to Yale Law School, and yet, he was a Yale Law Douche (and doing shockingly well at it too, despite his lack of silver spoon, connections and childhood desire to be a lawyer or judge or whatever the fuck else). With his natural shyness, he had made very few acquaintances and ever fewer friends, though he couldn't bring himself to care.

Less people you cared about, less people you could lose. After all, Chris D'Amico had been quiet ever since the warehouse, but Dave was pretty sure his revenge would still come, and it would not be without heavy casualties for Dave and his, so he was good with having only a handful of 'his' people around. They were all so innocent, so normal and wide eyed, so weak he could take a bunch of them without trouble, and Mindy would've been able to massacre her way through the school.

The thought made him giggle to himself. Mindy would've hated to see him wearing long sleeved shirts and boring sweaters and plain jackets, and he didn't particularly like it either, but it was the look, and something in him still wanted to blend into the background. Blend in, assess from afar, strike when they least expect it. Seemed like something Mindy would've said, and it made him care a little less about how idiotic he felt some days.

"Wow, who's that? She's hot" – Dave heard one of his colleagues state on afternoon after class. He hated the guy, with his arrogance and money flaunting, however he was actually pretty smart and a good study partner, for all that Dave had to smile and nod just to keep from slamming his face to the nearest flat surface most of the time they were together.

"I love her hair" – one his other colleagues commented, and Dave widened his eyes and he spotted the person they were talking about.

He had forgotten her face, he had almost forgotten what she looked like.

"Hey, fuckface, long time" – she greeted, smirking familiarly and not.

"Mindy"

"That's my name, don't wear it out" – she looked him up and down – "What the hell are you even wearing? You look like a preppy piece of shit"

"Didn't you hear? This is Prep Town, USA" – he piped, easily slipping back into the rhythm of Mindy's brand of bickering.

"Then I should leave right away, 'cause I doubt I'm gonna fit it"

"Overrated" – her smirk turned into a smile as she threw her arms around his neck, and he hugged her back, committing every detail about Mindy McCready to mind.

He had missed her, God, he'd missed her.

"Good to see you, asshole" – she said when she let him go.

"Right back at you. No purple leather?"

"Eh, I've outgrown that, I think plain black suits me just fine" – and, fuck him, but it sure did. He tried not to gawk, though, like his friends were doing – "So, these jackasses your sidekicks or what?"

"They're, ah, we're in a study group together"

"Study group, huh?" – Dave shrugged as he hid a laugh.

"It's effective enough. But, I don't know, wanna get something to drink, eat right now? How long are you in town for?"

"Oh, not long" – she said breezily, and Dave almost froze.

"Then we definitely gotta go catch up" – he said, his heart beating fast. He turned to his colleagues – "Sorry, guys, you'll just have to live without my beautiful face for today"

"Ditching us for a pretty girl? Figures" – one of them mumbled.

"Real winners, Dave" – Mindy commented disdainfully, flipping her still long locks back – "C'mon, you can follow me" – despite her still being much shorter than him, he had to jog to catch up with her as she swiftly started moving away from the group.

"Follow you? I'm the one who lives here, I should remind you"

"Yeap, and I'll bet I can find the best Chinese place in town in no time"

"I already know the best Chinese place in town"

"You know the second best" – she winked at him – "Also, who says I've never been here before?"

"You have?"

"Daddy and I used to travel all over, you know"

He had nothing to say to that, the thought of Big Daddy still a sore subject for him, but if Mindy was okay with it, it wasn't his place to be a dick about it.

"Traded up?" – he asked when he spotted her bike. It was pitch black, sleek and looked very fast. Just like Mindy.

"Right around the time I stopped wearing purple like I'd be responsible for making it the world's official color. Now, c'mon, go get your car"

Eventually, they parked near a Chinese place Dave was shocked he'd never noticed or been to, and one sniff as they walked past several tables was enough to convince him it was better than his (former) favorite Chinese place in New Haven.

"Are they open all day?"

"Think so"

"I am so coming back here"

"You should"

Dave remained quiet as Mindy expertly ordered in perfect Mandarin. He could only hope she wasn't asking for anything he wouldn't eat on his own, because even after all he had done, had done to him and seen done to others, his stomach could still be a little weak for spicy food.

"So, are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?" - he asked as soon as they had drinks in front of them.

"Well, if you're willing to talk about your wardrobe, let's do it" - Mindy chirped, smirking.

"Ha, ha. No, Mindy, c'mon" - her expression darkened and something of Hit Girl appeared in the way she glanced around and straightened up in her seat.

"I got word that the Motherfucker was looking to set up shop again"

"What? Seriously, after all this time?"

"He was in pretty bad shape, even with all of his cash, it took him a while to get out of jail, get back on his feet, so to speak, and to gather enough force again to..." - Dave's blood coolest severely.

"Come after me?" - he hissed, leaning on the table - "Why would- I mean, I know why he'd- But, I mean... Seriously, it's been years, he went to jail for being a spree killer asshole, isn't that enough to make a guy quit it?"

"Clearly not"

"Okay... Okay. What, ah, what you got so far? Is he... Is he coming here?"

"I've been tracking the Motherfucker's steps for the last few months-"

"Holy shit, when did he escape? I didn't hear anything about that"

"You wouldn't have"

"Does Marcus know?" - she shook her head.

"Chris was put in a maximum security facility, and when he got out, it was kept under wraps. They didn't want it known that he'd managed to escape from there, so they've been conducting low key inquiries"

"Are you... Working with the police?" - she snorted.

"Something like that, but I can't give you any details"

"Really? Then why are you here?"

"I wanted to warn you, maybe convince you to drop out, lay low-"

"No fucking way, I've worked too hard to get into Yale to just fucking-"

"If you got any friends here, he'll come for them. I've talked to Marty and Todd, I told 'em to be careful, I arranged security for them-"

"You did?"

"Of course, dumbass. But I can't get enough security to handle all of your college friends"

"I don't really have that many, but I definitely wouldn't want Chris to come after anyone because of me"

"Are you still in contact with Katie?"

"What? No, after we broke up we've barely even spoken, and I haven't seen her since we graduated"

"That's one load off, but seriously, Dave, whatever security I managed to wrangle for Todd and Marty? The Motherfucker would just ignore them, they're whatever, but you? He'll come for you, and he'll kill anyone who stands in his way"

"Yeah, I remember" - he said coldly, and she sighed.

"Look, I know you're not stupid-"

"Do you?"

"-but this is big. Chris is a jackass, he's kind of a moron, but he's got money, he's got connections... He can do some serious damage this time. Last time? He was going personal on you, but now... Now he may be more than willing to blow up your school, just in case you're around to be caught in the blast" - she said quietly - "This is the real deal, Dave, this time he's not fucking around, this is looking to make the last time look like a fire drill"

"What are you- You know, you and your people doing about it?"

"We managed to get people on the inside, we have more than enough man power on him right now, but we haven't been able to lock him down"

"Why not?"

"He's not being as reckless as before, he's not flaunting around, he's not trying to be big boss Motherfucker anymore, we're pretty sure he's looking to re-ignite his father's reign, and back in the day, Frank D'Amico was a difficult d-bag to pin down"

"And Chris has had more than enough time to learn from Frank's mistakes" - Dave stated, leaning back into his seat - "Fuck, Mindy, what- Holy shit, Mindy, what 're we supposed to do now?!"

"If this was like it was... I'd tell you to suit up, I'd tell you we could round people up again and go for it"

"But it's not like it was"

"No, it's not"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to drop out"

"Mindy-"

"He will blow the entire campus to get to you" - she said, so seriously Dave didn't even need to stretch to see Hit Girl in her eyes - "He will get all his men to walk into campus, then he'll start shooting people to get them to give up your location if you're still there"

"Oh God"

"You know what he's capable of, Dave, we both know what he's willing to do in order to get exactly what he wants, and you're still the one person he really wants"

"Because I killed his dad"

"And he killed yours"

"Yeah"

"You can move in with me" - she offered.

"I need... Time to think about this"

"You got time. Until the fortune cookies get here, and then I'm gonna need an answer, we can't just let the Motherfucker do as he pleases... And we're willing to take you in regardless"

"What?"

"Dave, this is serious, this is a real threat, and it's nothing to take lightly"

"This is my future too, Mindy"

"What future will you have after he has his guys walk around shooting anyone you've ever had a class with just to see if you'll come out?"

"Mindy-"

"It's your choice, Dave, come peacefully or I'll drag you in myself"

In the end, Dave ended up shacking up with Mindy for an entire month before they finally got wind of where Chris D'Amico was holing up. For some twisted reason, he had claimed one of his dad's old warehouses for himself, and had managed to create something of a fanciful, luxurious home in there. The interior designer had ratted him out to the Feds, claiming he was a pain in his ass, and he did not feel safe around the guy.

"I'll be right back, but if I'm not-"

"Mindy, no"

"I've told you before, Dave, this is not a comic book. Our lives are not out of a comic book, and people will die tonight, and as much as I would like to believe otherwise, I am a human being too" - she took a deep breath - "I've left instructions, and someone will look after you, in case... And if Chris should live, but trust me, I will make it my mission tonight to take that fucker down with me, if it comes down to it"

"This is it, huh?" - she looked back at him.

"Afraid so"

"Not exactly how I pictured us seeing each other again, you know"

"Oh? And how did you picture it?"

"I would become a lawyer and I would represent you" - he piped up, making her laugh.

"Asshole"

"Or you'd come up to me and tell me you needed me to suit up and help you, because it was a job for Hit Girl and Kick-Ass"

"I haven't been Hit Girl in a long time" - she approached him and smiled. She had a nice smile, smooth, soft, confident.

"You'll always be Hit Girl for me" - he said before he had time to think about it.

"Idiot" - she whispered, looking up at him like she meant it.

Dave didn't know what the night would bring, if Chris would come and burst into Mindy's apartment to shoot him down, if Mindy would return, bloody and victorious, if a colleague of hers would come and tell him she'd killed Chris but had been killed herself. One thing he did know?

"I missed you"

"Missed you too, Dave"

"Can I give the lady a kiss before she goes off to defend my honor?"

"I see no lady here"

"Well, I do"

His life hadn't been a comic book in a long time, but something told him that his first real kiss with Mindy would make one hell of an epic scene.

Likely, but who knows, the last of my Kick-Ass stories. Dave is a good bro in the 5+1, then misses Mindy for two stories, and now they meet again. Good enough cycle, I think. Eh.

It was going to be just a conversation, it was going to be much shorter, but then the Motherfucker started to creep into the back of my mind, and I had to go this way. While I think it's kind of weird that Chris would wait like five-ish years to take his revenge (or at least be more than ready to strike), I also think that between recovery, jail, escaping and building an actual army, not a ragtag group of criminal misfits, he would lose a while, although that's a detail it's possible only I give a crap about.