Nothing to say, let's begin.
Fall of a Hero, Rise of a Legend.
Chapter 34
"I am the Skull Collector... Lord Cain's second in command. I appreciate you accepting our invitation to this meeting." The Skull Collector stated in an authoritative but respectful manner.
Dave tilted his head slightly before speaking, "Well... You've got me here, let's hear it."
"A bit presumptuous to think that this meeting is solely about you." The Skull Collector commented.
"I saw the way that Cain looked at me when I ran him out of that fucking hangar! I'm sure as the sky is blue, that he's thought of nothing but me since that day." Dave replied as he took a step forward. Most of the group member, including Mindy eyed Dave curiously.
"...and you have been thinking of him, have you not?" The Skull Collector replied as he stepped towards Dave, stopping within fifteen feet of him.
"Every night... no matter how good, or how bad my day has been, since that day, Cain has always been my last thought." Dave explained. As Mindy listened intently to this exchange, she couldn't help regretting that she never brought up the Hangar incident with Dave, never asked him about it. Everyone had said that something surreal had happened there, and that it had changed him, Mindy noticed the change, there was a weight about him now, and yet, without knowing what had occurred in that hangar, it was impossible to guess just what kind of weight it was.
"Indeed... you are constantly on his mind as well, Dave Lizewski." The Skull Collector stated, with a nod.
"So... I'll ask again, why did you call me here? Why did want my whole team here too? You and I both know you posses the ability to contact me directly, but instead you drew out my whole team, simply to confront me, why?" Dave asked boldly. Mindy noticed as Dave spoke, that he didn't sound like himself, he sounded more like Samuel or Harper.
"I asked you and your team here so that I could see for myself, if what Cain believes is true... You must understand, Lord Cain is our leader, our general, our Prophet, our Messiah, and yet... he is still human. He can make mistakes, that is why I was asked to conduct this meeting, to determine if his beliefs have any grounding in reality. He wanted me to test you... to determine if you are in fact one of the ten." The Skull Collector explained as he began to pace back and forth in front of them.
"Ten?" Mindy asked, narrowing her eyes at Cain's right hand man.
"Cain, believes that Dave is one of the Dragons?" Samuel asked, Mindy glanced over and noticed Samuel's eyes, wide beneath his mask.
"Yes, he does." The Skull Collector replied with a nod.
"My God..." Samuel stated breathlessly as his gaze fell to the floor.
"What in the fuck is he talking about?" Mindy asked Samuel.
"Yeah... does Dave look like a friggin' Dragon?" Todd asked in a confused tone.
"I was raised to believe in the power of the ten. Ten Dragons that would take mortal form, and serve as guardians and destroyers of the Earth. It was said that the Dragons lived in a cycle of reincarnation. When it's mortal vessel would die, it's spirit would jump into the body of the nearest person, and the cycle would continue forever unless they were killed by mortal hands. These dragons were said to embody all of humanities virtues, the good... and the bad. Their soul purpose was to ensure that the cycle of death continued... how it worked was nine dragons would walk the earth and ensure that life and death remained the dominant forces, while the tenth dragon would ferry the souls of the dead to the afterlife. This belief was hammered into our heads, this story, had a great deal of influence on how I was trained and raised." Samuel explained.
"...and if all nine dragons are killed then the tenth will emerge onto the earth, and try to recreate the other nine... in this state it would be vulnerable." The Skull Collector added.
"Cain seeks to kill the dragons?" Samuel asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
"Early in our travels we met an old Sage, who told us of a way to grant humanity immortality. By killing all ten dragons, the cycle of life and death would end... people would not die anymore. Thus... they would have no reason to fight... and all war, all conflict would end. This is our goal... and our purpose... Cain believes you are a dragon... I have been sent to test that theory." The Skull Collector explained.
"You people are crazy... the dragons are just a story my father and the other masters told us to keep us in line." Samuel rebutted.
"They aren't just stories Samuel... Dave, if he is one, will be the fifth dragon we have faced." The Skull Collector stated, with a sigh.
"Fifth? … … … Right." Samuel replied, obviously not believing him.
"The first was a woman from Africa, she was known to be a healer, by the surrounding tribes. One day one of the neighboring tribes attacked her village... they paid Cain and I to assist them. We destroyed the village, after we finished, we found the woman in one of the burning huts, clutching a dead child, somehow she had survived. When we went to kill her, something in the hut exploded and blinded us, and the woman escaped into the desert. She escaped with the dead child's body. Later we learned that she was picked up on the opposite side of the desert three weeks later, with the child in tow, very much alive. It was then we realized that she might have been one of the dragons. Cain and I spent another year hunting her, and when we found her, she led us on an unearthly chase though the city she lived in. This woman did things that a woman of her size, and experience would not be capable of, she survived, in a situation that she shouldn't have." The Skull Collector explained.
"And that makes you think that she was a dragon... the fact that she mysteriously survived in the desert for weeks, with a child you thought was dead.?" Samuel asked, with a shake of his head.
"Alex Matrix was one." The Skull Collector responded.
"Alex...?" Samuel stated in a low whisper.
"Yes... Alex... He betrayed Cain, so we tied him to an anvil and dropped him into the sea. We learned about half a year ago that he was here in New York. That is why we agreed to assist these criminals in their war. We were here to find Alex, the fourth dragon... and low and behold, in our hunt for the fourth we run into the fifth. If you are a dragon... Dave Lezewski... then you are very unfortunate. Cain is the only man to ever walk this earth, with the ability to kill dragons." The Skull Collector finished, addressing Dave.
"How noble of him... Cain seeks to kill all of these 'Dragons' and prevent anyone from ever dying again. What a hero!" Mindy sneered at him.
"You are the girl, that tried to kill the Bloodbath queen. You are Hit-Girl. I must say... I'm a huge fan." The Skull Collector stated, sounding almost genuine.
Mindy didn't know how to respond to that, so she simply narrowed her eyes at him.
"You were always a man of reason... so was Cain. How could you possibly believe this nonsense?" Samuel asked, with a shake of his head, he seemed genuinely interested to hear the answer.
"These dragons survive in situations they shouldn't. The second dragon was a sniper, we cornered him in a small town twelve years ago, and proceeded to try and overwhelm him. He killed sixty of our men, before Cain decided to level the building the second was hiding in. Two days later, we pulled him, still living, out of the ruble. He was on the seventh floor, and he emerged from a collapsed building, unharmed. That was when I began to truly believe in the dragons." The Collector replied.
"If you are telling the truth... then there is a common theme, amongst these individuals. They have all survived a great ordeal, and it is amazing that they lived through such events, I agree. What I disagree with, is the prospect that these lucky individuals are actually mythical entities of immense power. I believe you are all mad." Samuel chided angrily.
"This boy attacked a headquarters with over two hundred people in it, twenty escaped. Cain sliced this boy, but he didn't even flinch. Cain stabbed him in the shoulder with his sword, and this boy, simply pulled it out, and used it to fight back! No normal person could have done those things... this boy is extraordinary... he has come so far in only a few years... explain that! Explain how a kid who got his ass kicked, by a bunch of punks on YouTube, three years ago, is now leading an elite team of warriors to try and hold back an army from capturing a city. Explain how this kid fought against YOUR rival, and managed to take his sword. Something now even you were capable of! Think about it Samuel... the dragons are entities with knowledge of the ages... capable of incredible feats of strength and endurance, their mere presence can inspire others to fight... or shake them to their very core. Look at all the people that are standing at his back, and you tell me, that there isn't something otherworldly about him." The Collector ranted, with a great deal of passion.
"I don't know how to respond to that. Dave is extraordinary... that's all I know for sure." Samuel replied.
"This is just insane... I've had enough of this shit!" Mindy hissed angrily.
"Down girl. This isn't about you." The Collector stated.
"Oh... now you're really pissing me off!" Mindy hissed as she took a step towards him. Dave quickly grabbed her by the arm, and held her back.
"You want to test me, that's fine, but leave my team out of it." Dave stated.
"Dave...!" Mindy growled at him. "I'm not letting you do anything for this bastard."
"Mindy!" Dave shot back, glaring at her for a moment, before nodding at the second floor. Mindy glanced up and noticed several legionaries leaning over the railing, staring down at them. Mindy glanced around and quickly realized that they were surrounded
Dave turned and took a few steps towards the Collector.
"Do not worry Dave Lezewski. You will only die if you fail." The Collector replied as about twelve legionnaires came down the escalators and joined him
"Oh... bullshit!" Mindy hissed.
"Twelve on one? Do you really think I'd agree to that?" Dave asked.
"Proof of your skills as a leader, and a warrior. Pick one of your squad-mates, the two of you will fight against these men... if you win, you are free to leave, and I will have all that I need. If you lose, then we will gun down all of your team-mates. So... take a moment and pick one." The Skull Collector explained.
"Hit-Girl." Dave answered immediately.
"Very well. The rules are simple, no guns, and you fight until one side dies or surrenders." The Bone Collector replied as he politely bowed and took a step back. He made a motion and the legionnaires fanned out as Dave and Mindy took a few steps forward.
"Mindy... hold back... these guys are fanatic, in their devotion to Cain, and his beliefs. If I'm right, a few of them are going to try and make quick work of you and focus on me. I'll draw their attention, you do what you do best." Dave whispered to her.
"Smart thinking." Mindy commented, as the legionnaires drew their weapons. She quickly analyzed the twelve combatants. Each one was dressed like any other legionnaire, almost exactly like a roman legionnaire except that they wore balaclava instead of a helmet, and black camo-pants underneath the little skirt things. Each one was armed with a gladius style sword, and a few knives. They all also carried medium riot shields, and usually they had guns strapped to their bodies, but it seemed like these guys intended to handle this the old fashioned way.
"On behalf of the glorious struggle, thank you for this opportunity commander." One of the biggest legionnaires stated.
"Give them all you've got, and know that if you fall, your sacrifice will not be in vain and one day soon, we will join you in the afterlife." The Skull Collector replied, sounding almost sad. Mindy stared at him for a moment, as he raised a hand into the air to prepare for the beginning of the dual. She realized as he stood there, that this fight wasn't to see if Dave could survive, it was to see him fight. The Bone Collector must have known that his men were going to die, 'sacrifice' themselves for the chance to see Dave fight in person.
The Legionnaires all stood sword in hand, shields at the ready, awaiting their master to signal the beginning of the match. Mindy quickly brought up her BO staff and split it into it's two respected halves, as Dave unsheathed his swords.
"You can let Cain know when this is all done that I'm putting his old sword to good use." Dave stated as he twirled his blades in his hands.
"I see. I had wondered where it had gone. Let us see if you have the power to wield weapons like that." The Collector replied, as he dropped his arm signaling the fight's start.
Two of the legionnaires immediately rushed forward and attacked, while the rest huddled together and slowly began to advance. The Two attacked Dave and Mindy respectively, Mindy was surprised, she still wasn't used to fighting the legionnaires, they were much more skilled and disciplined then regular criminals... if fact they weren't criminals, they were soldiers... … … 'soldiers'. That thought echoed in Mindy's mind as her and Dave both held off the two legionnaires offensive.
Mindy's mind refocused as Dave ducked one of the legionnaire's swings and sliced across the guys belly, a sharp sound pierced the air, as Dave's sword just barely sliced the legionnaire's armor. Mindy focused her attention on the legionnaire in front of her, the man stabbed towards her, but Mindy gracefully side-stepped the strike and slashed across his thigh. The man grunted in pain as Mindy's blade sliced across the outside of his thigh. Mindy was about to finish him, when suddenly two more legionnaires passed their injured comrade and began attacking her. Mindy was forced to backpedal as the two began to barrage her with strikes.
All the while three more legionnaires had joined the one assaulting Dave, the remaining legionnaires held back knowing that too many people, would just get in each others way. All Dave could do was block and backpedal as the four men assaulted him.
Dave continued to block, when suddenly an opening appeared, he quickly exploited it and spin kicked one of the legionnaires into another. The two crashed to the floor, Dave took the opportunity, as one of the remaining two legionnaires glanced back at his compatriots, to attack. Dave quickly kicked the man's sword out of his hand, then spun around and drove one of his swords right through his chest. The sword pierced the first layer of metal, but the combination of bone and the metal plates on the back forced the blade to stop. In the end however the man died instantaneously as Dave's sword pierced his heart.
The other legionnaire tried to attack Dave, but Dave was able to block his strike while at the same time pulling his sword out of the dead man. As Dave used one of his blades to continue to hold back the legionnaire's sword, he spun his other blade around in his hand and sliced it across the legionnaire's neck. Dave's sword sliced an artery and the man went down as blood sprayed from his open neck wound. Dave quickly fell into a defensive stance as the other two legionnaires got to their feet and were quickly joined by their remaining comrades. That meant that Dave was now fighting six on one, while the legionnaire that Mindy had cut was still trying to recompose himself, and the remaining three were still assaulting Mindy.
Mindy continued to fight defensively, only lashing out when the legionnaires left an opening, which wasn't often. These guys were skilled, much more skilled then average criminals, and Chris' cunts. Mindy ducked under one of the legionnaires swings, and quickly raised one of her blades to block a strike from another legionnaire that tried to bring his sword down on her. At this point Mindy was on a knee blocking his strike, and she immediately found an opening, Mindy quickly pointed her free blade up, and then she used her other blade to push his strike to the side, as his arm flew wide, Mindy jumped up from her kneeling position and drove her upward pointed sword right through the legionnaire's chin, and up through his skull. She had so much momentum in the jump that the blade pierced all the way through the top of the man's skull. Blood quickly began pouring from his his mouth and throat, and washed all down Mindy's hand, and arm.
One of the other legionnaires that was attacking Mindy, let out a cry of anger, and stabbed towards her, Mindy jumped back to avoid the lung, leaving her blade imbedded in the mans chin, as he fell backwards, dead. Mindy was much faster then the larger legionnaires, and was able to counterattack much faster then they could adequately defend against. As she settled, Mindy quickly saw another opening and quickly brought her remaining blade up, towards the man's outstretched arm. Her strike landed perfectly, and severed his arm from his body.
The man let out a wail of pain and fell backwards clutching his arm which had been severed at the elbow. Mindy quickly focused her attention on the remaining legionnaire she charged towards him and lashed out with her blade, Mindy's speed gave her and advantage, in a one on one, and she quickly ended him. The man swung wide, hoping to sever Mindy's head, but he wasn't fast enough, Mindy ducked the strike and quickly drove her blade into the legionnaire's leg. The man let out a wail of pain and dropped to a knee. In one motion, Mindy withdrew her blade from his leg, and spun around and brought the blade up vertically across his face. Mindy stopped and stared at the man for a second, she was surprised that her blade had passed through him so easily, and for a moment she thought that maybe she had missed, but suddenly blood began pouring from half of the man's face, and his balaclava became soaked in blood, after a moment he fell over dead.
Mindy glanced over at Dave who was quickly backpedaling to avoid the assault of the six legionnaires, Mindy quickly retrieved the other half of her BO staff, and reattached the two pieces, she then quickly spun over to where the now armless legionnaire was crying pain, and finished him off, by driving her staff though his throat.
Mindy quickly took stock of the situation, 'seven left.' she thought as she glanced from the six who were attacking Dave, to the one that she had injured earlier who was trying to get to his feet, she guessed that she must have severed a nerve or something seeing as how his leg was now unresponsive. Mindy quickly made the choice to finish him off, so that he wouldn't be a problem later. Mindy charged towards the man, who in response raised his shield to block her incoming strike, Mindy however had a different idea, as the man raised his shield, she slid to the floor, and used her momentum to drive her bladed staff into his gut. She successfully pierced his armor, and the man let out a wail of agony. Mindy withdrew her staff and shot to her feet, the man glared up at her hatefully, but wasn't able to say anything as Mindy mercilessly, stabbed the man in the forehead with her staff, killing him instantly.
Mindy quickly turned to assist Dave with the remaining six, she focused her attention on one that was in the back of the group, and charged towards him. Once she was close enough she jumped into the air and using her staff as a spear she stabbed towards the legionnaire's head. Her blade successfully pierced the side of his skull, and she landed on top of him, loudly driving his body too the ground. Three of the remaining five legionnaires turned back to see her, most of their eyes lit up with fury, as they turned to deal with her.
Dave used this moment of distraction to launch an attack, he quickly broke past the two that were attacking him and charged towards the three that had turned to attack Mindy. Mindy glanced up and watched with surprise as Dave used his superior strength and momentum to drive his two swords into two separate legionnaires. Mindy watched intently as for a single moment, Dave was able to lift both the legionnaires off the ground, she watched as his blades pierced their backs and emerged from their fronts. Both men lifted off the ground for a single moment, before their combined weight pulled them, and Dave to the ground.
The two legionnaires that Dave broke past, quickly closed in on him to finish him off, but before they could, Mindy shot past the remaining legionnaire that had become disoriented by all of the death, and quickly appeared at Dave's back protecting him from the two legionnaires.
Dave quickly shot to his feet, withdrawing his blades from the two dead legionnaire's and charged towards the disoriented one. Dave quickly tackled him, and brought one of his swords to the mans throat, the legionnaire tried to struggle but Dave quickly overpowered him with a quick punch to the face, he then sliced open the man's throat. As blood sprayed through the air Dave glanced over at Mindy who had pinned one of the legionnaires to the ground, she had her staff imbedded in one of his shoulders and was busy pulling out her balisong knife, to finish him. As she drove her knife into his forehead, the last legionnaire appeared at her side, his blade raised, ready to end her.
Dave saw this, and quickly shouted duck, as he let one his sword fly.
Mindy glanced over towards Dave as she began to duck at the same time. She just barely managed to avoid getting hit by one of Dave's Wakizashi, which managed to imbed itself into the last legionnaire's hip.
The man let out a wail of pain and fell to his knees. Dave was quickly in front of the man, as Mindy got to her feet.
Dave placed his remaining blade at the mans throat and glanced over at The Bone Collector. The Bone Collector had a look of intrigue in his eyes as he stared at Dave. The two locked eyes for a few moments, Mindy noticed that the man knelt in front of Dave, wasn't quivering, and his eyes showed no signs of fear
After another moment Dave withdrew his blade and knelt in front of the last legionnaire, he locked eyes with him for a moment, before grabbing his other blade, and removing it from the legionnaire's leg. The man winced in pain as Dave pulled the sword from his body and got to his feet.
"We win." Dave declared.
"... Yes you do." The Skull Collector agreed, in a polite manner.
"Let Cain know... anytime... anywhere. I'll be waiting for him." Dave stated as he turned and began to walk towards the rest of Justice Forever. Mindy quickly followed next to him, she glanced back after a moment, and saw a few more legionnaires gathered around their injured comrade. They were inspecting his wound and talking amongst each other. After a moment two of them pulled the man to his feet, and began walking him away from the battle.
"Dave Lezewski!" The Skull Collector called out to him. Dave and Mindy both glanced back, at him. "Thank you for the demonstration." He said with a polite bow. He then made a motion with his hand, and the legionnaires began to disappear from sight, probably heading towards some sort of secret escape route.
Dave and Mindy quickly joined the others.
"Are you guys okay?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah... we're fine." Mindy replied as she let out a tired sigh.
"Let's go home... we've got a birthday to celebrate." Dave stated with a chuckle. Mindy glanced at him, and then the others, and offered a smile.
"Hell yeah... perfect way to kick off Hit-Girl's birthday celebration, a good old fashioned twelve on two, dual to the death. How do you feel Hit-Girl?" Marty said with a smile.
"I feel a helluva lot older then sixteen, I can tell you that." Mindy replied as she and the rest of the group began to walk towards the exit.
"So... do you think, I'm one of these dragons?" Dave asked Samuel as they all walked, some other members like Mindy listened closely to the two of them.
"I don't know... but I can tell you this... the Skull Collector now believes it. And that means that Cain will be coming for you." Samuel replied.
"Good... then I'll just have to be ready when he finally does come for me." Dave stated as they continued to walk.
"We all need to be ready." Mindy commented as they walked.
"Yeah... but we can start tomorrow." Dave agreed.
"Today... we celebrate you being one year closer to the age of consent." Marty joked as they walked, earning a few snickers from the group, Marcus simply rolled his eyes as Mindy playfully punched Marty in the shoulder.
"How do you think Cain will react to the news?" Dave asked as they walked.
"Well... I'm not sure. I now understand why he and the Order have been so quite the last few weeks, Cain didn't want to act against you until he knew whether or not you were a dragon... now that he knows... he will begin to move against you... and this news that Alex Matrix is alive in the city, is foreboding." Samuel replied.
"Who is he?" Dave asked as they reached the exit.
"Apparently he was Cain's right hand man, but a few years ago, we learned that he'd mysteriously vanished. Alex Matrix is widely regarded, by the governments of the world, to be the greatest soldier to ever live." Samuel stated, he actually sounded almost jealous of admitting the last part.
"Why is that?" Mindy asked, as she joined the conversation. The group had come to a halt at the doors, intending to finish their conversation before exiting and being barraged by all the news reporter out there.
"He is the only man in the world to beat my father in single combat." Samuel replied with a sigh as he walked out the doors.
The others shared a few looks and followed after him.
The Colonel quickly approached them, while a platoon of soldiers held back a mob of reporters, and civilians eager to talk to the heroes.
"That was pretty intense." The Colonel commented as the heroes began pulling off the bugs that the military had asked them wear.
"Nothing we couldn't handle." Dave commented, as he glanced past the Colonel towards all of the reporters.
"You got something you need to say?" The Colonel asked, when he noticed Dave glancing at the reporters.
"No..." Dave replied as he walked past him towards their cars.
"Thanks for all the help!" The Colonel shouted after him, Dave offered a wave, as he reached the car.
The others quickly followed after him. Dave glanced at the reporters and civilians one last time before climbing into the cars, and driving off.
-Twenty Minutes Later-
"Daddy!" little Sarah shouted happily as she ran from Elena's side right into Fred's arms.
Mindy and Marcus both shared a smile as they looked at the two.
"Hey Mindy... come over here... we've got a birthday present for you and Dave." Marty shouted.
"What? Guys..." Dave whined as he pulled off his face-mask.
"Me and Dave... What is it, a crib?" Mindy asked with a smile, as they walked across the garage to where two huge boxes sat, with a ropes attached to the top of the boxes and hung from a make shift pulley systems so that the boxes could be lifted straight up.
"You didn't." Dave declared as he glanced wide eyed at Marty.
"We got you a matching one Dave." Marty giggled, as he and Todd grabbed onto two ropes that hung from the ceiling.
"You... guys." Dave stated with a sigh.
"Come on Dave if you wanna be badass you need one. Plus Mindy can teach you how to use it." Katie added.
"What the fuck is it?" Mindy asked.
"It's your birthday present." Marcus stated, "It was Natasha's idea, the team pitched in from all the drug money we got."
Mindy glanced at Marcus curiously as Dave appeared next to her, he was just shaking his head, obviously a little flustered.
"Happy birthday!"Sarah shouted happily as Todd and Marty lifted the boxes. Mindy's eyes lit up when she saw what was under the boxes. Under the boxes were a purple and a black Ducati 1199 panigale.
"To replace the one you lost, from when you and I rescued my brother." Natasha stated, with a happy smile.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You guys are the best, this is so awesome!" Mindy thanked them gleefully.
"...and you assholes had to buy me a matching one." Dave stated with a dry chuckle.
"Oh come on... you know you love the idea of having a crotch rocket of your very own." Marty chuckled.
"Fuck me... I hated Mindy's old Ducati... it always scared the crap outta me." Dave complained.
"Well... now you can conquer your fear." Todd reassured him.
"Thanks guys." Dave said with a sigh and smile.
"Oh... this is going to be so much friggin' fun!" Mindy said excitedly.
"Yeah well... I hope you like it. Happy Birthday." Marcus stated, as he pulled Mindy into a hug.
"Everyone hug the birthday girl!" Lucy ordered merrily.
"What? Oh dammit!" Mindy howled as Marty, Todd, Katie, Miranda, Andrew, Lucy, Jaina and Sarah, all rushed over to join in the group hug.
The rest of the group just laughed in response. Duncan glanced over at Dave, who had a smile on his face, but a faraway look in his eyes. After a moment, Duncan walked over to him, "Come on, let's go celebrate."
Dave glanced at him for a second, before letting out a sigh, "Yeah..." Dave replied as he and the other members of the group began to walk towards the exit of the garage. Most of the younger member were gathered around Mindy, cheerfully talking about Mindy being sixteen, Dave's mind all the while, was elsewhere... for some reason since they left the mall, Dave couldn't stop thinking of Cain... and what the infamous terror would do, in the coming days...
KK that's it for this chapter, hope you like it. Don't worry I'm not pulling a 180 but It is interesting to think about... and a villain needs motivation right... just saying that he's evil is pretty lame... so to put in the prospect of him being nuttier then squirrel shit, could be interesting... while at the same time... hints of the unknown are still present... remember the chat in the hospital between Harper, Dave, and Mindy... a lot of interesting stuff is going on... I wonder if it's all in everyone's heads... or if there could be some truth to it... lol who knows... I like to leave it open to interpretation and mystery... Time to take a break for a day or two and work on my other story... I don't know if I'll get back to Kickass before Christmas, but if I don't then have a happy holidays everybody!