A/N: Hullo all! Just a quick note to say this is my first Kick Ass story - after seeing the second film, I got to thinking about what might happen in the aftermath of it all with Mindy apparently gone for good and Dave left behind with...well, not much. It's only my fourth fanfiction (I've done a few for Inception before this), so would love any constructive comments along the way. I am very pedantic with my spelling, punctuation, grammar and so on, but tend to skim over the finished product quite quickly, so apologies for any mishaps along the way. Also, I am English, not American, so please don't hesitate to point out something that doesn't sit right with American vocab!

Lastly, I've only just picked up the first graphic novel of Kick Ass and have the next two on the way, so I have decided to write this using the film's storyline and characters as it's the one I know best at the moment. I may do another story based in the comic's universe once I've read them all. But that's for another day! I hope you enjoy this first attempt at a KA story; I will upload as and when my job allows, which hopefully won't be too sporadically. :)

1.

It was 4.35am on a bleak Wednesday morning, and nearly-eighteen-year-old Dave Lizewski was the only one in his dingy neighbourhood awake and moving. He was sitting in the middle of his living room, alone and slightly numb, surrounded by photos and clothes and tacky knick knacks that had been acquired over the last twenty years. All other sensible, ordinary people were still fast asleep in their beds, clinging to the last remnants of sleep before their hated alarm clocks shattered their slumbers and dragged them up for yet another day of daily grind in the 'Big Apple'.

Then again, Dave Lizewski was anything but 'ordinary' (or sensible, for that matter). Not only did he have an increased pain threshold since being stabbed, run over and left for dead four years earlier, but he was now, as of precisely eight days, two hours and thirty six minutes ago, an orphan. Oh, and did he forget to mention a superhero? Not a freak with magical powers from outer space, or a billionaire playboy protecting a corrupt city – no, Dave was just an ordinary teenager who had paid the price for trying to lead a more exciting life by following a childish dream.

For a while, it had worked. For a while, he had had everything he ever dreamed of: a family who loved him, a hot, super-popular girlfriend every guy in school fantasised about, and an alter-ego that the city worshipped. Not just the nerds in the comic store, but everyone…who wasn't a criminal, at least.

Now what did he have?

Nothing.

Not a damn thing.

His dad was dead, his costume hung up for good, and the cops on his ass for participating in the murders of fifteen lunatics dressed as supervillains – otherwise known as the 'Toxic Mega-Cunts', led by the whackjob (and also orphaned) son of the late mob boss Frank D'Amico on the hunt for brutal vengeance.

Although Dave couldn't say he relished the sight of his arch-enemy being eaten alive by a shark, he had at least felt the thrill of victory for a short time afterwards. Avenging his dad's death, finally finishing the job he unwittingly started four years earlier…it felt good.

Yet Dr Gravity was right: they couldn't do it anymore. With the cops being scrutinised after failing to reign in the costumed vigilantes, they were cracking down even harder on anyone even suspected of consorting with the so-called 'real superheroes'. Besides, even if he had been able to continue, would he have wanted to? He would forever have his dad's death on his conscience, but that wasn't the only reason, if he was being entirely truthful…

The thing was, Dave was nothing without his deadly, foul-mouthed, badass bitch of a partner, fifteen-year-old Mindy 'Hit Girl' McCready. Without her by his side, slicing and dicing the bad guys as though they were nothing more than juicy steaks, he had lost what little desire had remained to keep his superhero persona alive. She was gone, with little more than a quick kiss (what was that, anyway?) and a hurried explanation that she couldn't put her guardian, Marcus, through the hell of seeing her arrested and charged with multiple homicide. Whilst he had still been processing this information, she had whipped on her helmet and sped away on her purple Ducati motorcycle, literally leaving him in a cloud of burning rubber dust.

And that was that.

He was, now, officially alone.

A sudden shrill ringing pierced the air, making Dave start as he looked wildly around for the source of it. After flinging his dad's old camo jacket off the couch, he found it: the cordless telephone, off the hook and with one battery segment remaining. He vaguely remembered throwing it there in a fit of rage after speaking to social services, who insisted that he needed to be rehomed with a family until he was eighteen and legally allowed to live alone.

Without stopping to wonder who might be ringing at this time in the morning (and secretly hoping it might be Mindy telling him she was okay), he jammed his thumb onto the green receiver button and pushed the phone to his ear.

'Hel-lo?' he grunted, before clearing his voice of twenty-four hours of disuse and trying again. 'Hello?'

'Dave Lizewski?'

The voice was gruff, deep – a man's – and not the one he was hoping or expecting to hear. Dave frowned. Another social worker? he wondered.

'Yes?' he replied warily.

'Do you know who I am?' the man asked.

Dave's brow furrowed deeper. The voice was familiar, now that he thought about it. But from where? He racked his brains, trying to pin a face to the words, before giving up.

'Um…no?'

He didn't mean it to be a question, but the note rose in pitch regardless.

'My name's Marcus Williams. I'm – '

'Shit,' Dave muttered under his breath.

Mindy's guardian, and a cop to boot. Dave realised he should have expected this; after all, Mindy had upped and left without seeing Marcus again.

'I take it from that you do remember me?' Marcus said, no hint of amusement in his steely voice.

'Yeah, of course. Mindy's guardian.'

'Right, so let's cut to the chase.' Dave clutched the phone tighter, knowing what was coming. 'Where's Mindy?'

Just as expected.

'I don't know,' Dave responded honestly. 'She didn't tell me.'

'Bullshit,' Marcus hissed down the line. 'You two were close as fucking Bonnie and Clyde, so don't you tell me she didn't say where she took off to.'

'Honestly Mr Williams, I have no idea. She just told me she didn't want to put you through the pain of seeing her arrested and thrown into jail for murder, so she was leaving New York. I asked her where she was going, but she told me she didn't want to be tracked down. I don't know, maybe she thought I'd be questioned and might let it slip or something.'

The thought, which Dave hadn't considered before, actually hurt. Was that the reason she didn't tell him? Did she think he would rat her out to the cops? He glared at the wall opposite, unable to think up a more convincing answer. After all they had been through…was that really what she thought of him? Had he not proven his loyalty, his trustworthiness over the past four years they had been (sort of) friends?

It was only when Marcus sighed heavily into his ear that Dave remembered he was having a conversation. 'Fine, let's say I believe you…for now,' he said reluctantly. 'But if I find out you do know…'

He left the unspoken threat hanging in the air; Dave knew he was being completely serious. He could picture the look on the older man's face: the same one he had when telling Dave 'I don't like problems' a few months previously. Marcus was not someone he wanted to get on the wrong side of.

'I don't.'

'Then you need to seriously think about what you do now.'

The man's words, coupled with the almost imperceptible softer tone of voice, took Dave off-guard. 'What?' was all he managed to say.

'Listen, the PD's all over this case – two gangs of costumed people beating the shit out of each other in a warehouse, some end up dead, others hospitalised…it doesn't look good for the cops after their crackdown in the last few weeks. If you're found to be involved, you'll be locked up – and I don't just mean for a night. They're gunning for people to pin this on, and it's not going to be pretty.'

'Why are you telling me this?' Dave asked, both confused and suspicious at the same time. 'Shouldn't you be the one arresting me if you know I was involved?'

Again Marcus sighed, this time seeming to take a few moments to choose his words carefully. 'Look, I'll admit, I didn't like what you and Mindy were up to. It's illegal, yes, but that's not the main reason. The last thing I wanted was for that little girl to get hurt, or worse. She's like a proper daughter to me, and I couldn't protect her the way I wanted to.' He paused, again considering his words. 'Now, the city's not going to miss the lowlife scumbags you two took out over the years – contrary to what it seems, the PD's grudgingly grateful for what you did, although they'll never say it in public. But they have to be seen to do something over this. Out of respect for Mindy, and your dad, and everything you two accomplished, I'm giving you fair warning to get out of New York, start somewhere fresh. If you don't…well, I can't guarantee anything.'

Dave was silent for a long time, turning Marcus's words over and over in his mind. He had two choices: stay and get arrested (if Marcus knew who he was, who else in the PD did? It surely wouldn't be hard to put two and two together after his dad's death as 'Kick Ass' and come up with a resounding four)…or leave everything behind and move to a new state, start a new life away from the painful memories of New York City.

Leave everything behind? What did he have now, anyway? Nothing, except Todd and Marty, and they'd be heading off to college in a few months anyway once they graduated from high school. Something he had been planning to do once upon a time…

'Okay,' he sighed, making up his mind. 'I'll go.'

'That's a smart choice, kid. Pack up whatever you want to take. Only things you can't bear to leave behind. I can help you get a new ID and get out of town, but after that you're on your own.'

Dave's head began to spin as the reality of his choice sank in…a new home, a new name, a new school, if he wanted to graduate and have a shot at getting into college. Could he really do it?

Did he have a choice?

'Oh, one more thing,' Marcus said quickly, sounding like he wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible. 'Swing by here tomorrow evening around eight. Mindy left something for you before she left.'

With that, the line went dead, leaving Dave staring at the phone still in his hand.