(A/N: I have mixed feelings about this chapter. On one side, it starts and ends exactly where I wanted it to. On the other, it's much shorter than I expected, which is especially interesting because usually it's the opposite problem. But eh, as I said, it gets across what I wanted to get across. And as I told the people who were upset about the last cliffhanger, this one's the real kicker and I'll try to get out the next chapter for this in about a week or so, hopefully so you don't have to wait ages to see how it's going to pan out.)

Mindy looked over herself in the mirror with a smile. Sure, she'd worn her costume for training purposes, but this was the first time she'd worn it to go out in, in what seemed like forever. It was moments like these that let her know she made the right decision in running away. There was a part of her that missed Marcus and her friends and it would probably always be there. It wasn't like she hated living a normal life or anything. In fact, when she lived with her father, she kept urging him to let her live one. However since both of her fathers seemed to force her to live in one extreme or the another and living both wasn't currently an option, she had to make a choice. There was no contest. Her heart was pumping so hard she could hear it pounding in her ears. The excitement was just something she'd never be able to get as a normal girl. And as she looked over to Dave pulling down his mask, her beliefs were only confirmed. This is what they were born to do and who they were born to do it with. And now Chris was going to fucking die. That thought brought an even bigger smile to her face.

"Eh, the Hell with it…" She heard Dave mutter as he went through his bag.

"Hurry the fuck up, Dave! It's going to be over by the time we get there!" Mindy snarled before catching the object that had been thrust in her direction.

"It was supposed to be your birthday gift, felt more appropriate to give it to you now." Dave replied with a sly smirk.

Mindy blanked, her eyes bulging through her mask. "Birthday gift?" She looked down at the small bo staff. She appeared to be simultaneously touched and confused. "Um, thanks Dave... You want me to bash Chris's head in?"

Dave chuckled, smiling back at her. "Twist it."

Mindy raised an eyebrow at Dave and gave the staff a suggestive twist. Dave rolled his eyes and walked up to her and twisted the staff into two pieces for her, allowing Mindy to see the small gleam of the metal within. Quickly getting what was going on, she quickly pulled the handles of the twin blades and twirled them, getting a feel for their weight and giving them an amazed look. "Dave…this is so…I love them!"

Dave grinned, seeing the huge smile on his partner's face. Mindy wasn't sure what touched her more. That Dave was thoughtful enough to get that for her birthday, or that he gave it to her early. She was pumped, and fist bump and crazed smile later, the duo were ready to go.

The battle was full on by the time they got there. It was like a war. The only difference was instead of uniforms, there were cops and people of varying ages in costumes. Super villains trying to destroy the city and superheroes doing their best to aid the severely outnumbered cops and protect it. It was complete and utter chaos as far as the eye could see. But despite Kick Ass's worried look, Hit Girl was beaming from ear to ear and spun her new toy before giving Dave one last look and launching herself into the battle. The villains were pretty easy to pick out. Most of them were dressed like clowns or in over the top gothic garb.

Dave had to admit that as much as he had grown irritated by Mindy's training methods, they'd absolutely made a difference. He wasn't sure if the Cunts were as slow and clumsy as it seemed or if he'd really become that good. He wasn't able to bask in his awesome for too long. They made up for their lack of skill in sheer numbers. He wasn't alone, however. He was arguably more recognizable than Hit Girl. As much as the Cunts bee lined toward him, the heroes went out of their way to make sure he wasn't ganged up on too much.

He swung his weapons with precision, taking down Cunt after Cunt. It was becoming oddly instinctive. He was still getting hit, but not nearly as much as he'd become accustomed to in his spars and attacks on Mindy day after day. But it was still a ridiculous situation. Everyone had weapons. And he felt that he had to return the favors of the heroes who were watching out for his back by watching theirs as well. He completely lost sight of Hit Girl, though he was assuming she was looking for Chris specifically. He had originally attempted to do the same but there was just too much going on. Survival had to be his first priority.

Currently he was kneeing a Cunt who'd tried to bash in a cop's head with a bat. A dodge and another kick later, he was quickly checking to make sure the cop was okay. This all would have went well and good if it had been any cop but one. The two stared at each other as the recognition flickered over their faces. They'd have been mirror images if it wasn't for the fear laced through Dave's expression. Mindy's training of the damned, he could deal with. Cunts, he could deal with. Chris, he could deal with. Marcus? Fuck that! He was running. As soon as Marcus realized that Dave was about to jet, he immediately tried to go after him. The only thing Dave had going for him was all the chaos. Of course, half of this chaos was also trying to kill him which made running away twice as difficult.

The world became the difference between fleeing and fighting. He really hoped the Cunts were the only ones he was attacking, but everything had to be a split decision. This was just crazy. Sure, he was running from a police officer because of his own decision, but all of this damage and destruction was because of Chris. What could he have possibly been hoping to gain from all this? Crazy didn't even begin to cover it. Marcus's voice began to die out from all of the yelling and clashing that echoed through Time's Square. He was still hearing his name, or at least Kick Ass's, but since it wasn't coming from Marcus or Mindy he assumed it was an enemy and almost attacked until saw the familiar purple and white costume.

"Dr. Gravity?!"

The hero beamed at the recognition as well as not getting hit with Kick Ass's batons. The reunion didn't last long as they were attacked again, though that didn't keep Dr. Gravity from talking. "Man! Where've you been?! You kinda just vanished."

Kick Ass let out a long sigh as he ducked under a blow and deliver one of his own, his weapon jamming against his opponent's chin. He immediately followed this with an elbow to the head before he was free enough to respond, "Dude…life's been crazy. You have no idea…"

"You still-?" Dr. Gravity was cut off by another two attackers.

"I think we'll have to catch up later!" Dave yelled, driving his head into another Cunt. Headbutts weren't always the most practical attack, but there was just something immensely fun and appealing when it was done right.

"I know, right? These guys are just rude!" Dr. Gravity's 'Zero-G Device' collided hard against his opponent, taking him out. But after that, his focus was back on the fighting. Dave lost Dr. Gravity like he'd lost Mindy and Marcus. He found himself hoping Mindy hadn't run into Marcus as well. Not to say she couldn't handle it, but it was hard enough dealing with all of this without having to run away from the cops…or a cop, but still.

He found himself getting jumpy now when he saw cops in general. Sure, between them, the chances that he'd run into Marcus again was slim, but that wasn't a chance he was willing to take a gamble with. He ended up avoiding them all. Though because of this, he ended up not entirely looking where he was going and ran right into a wall. As he was thrown back, he quickly realized that it hadn't been a wall it was a guy. Then upon even closer inspection, he realized this muscular guy had boobs and a skirt…and then that it might not have been a guy in the first place. Holy shit, that was a woman. And a lot of woman at that.

Another look of recognition ran across her face, just as it had every other Cunt he'd run against. But something was just…different about this one. She seemed dangerous….extremely dangerous. Despite the fact that she was sporting an eye patch and didn't have any weapons, something was telling Dave that he needed to get the fuck out of there. "Oh…it eez yuu." She stated in a thick Russian accent. "I vas suppos' to kill da leetle purple gurl…but yuu vil do." Then Dave witnessed possibly the most frightening pre-fight knuckle cracking he'd ever seen in his life done by man or woman or whatever the Hell this thing was before she scowled at him.

Well…shit…