Mako's Message: Another chapter? Already? Yes. Because not only have I been falling behind in my update schedule, but despite it taking time I should really be using trying to find a job, it is one of the few things that has kept me from sinking completely into a pit of despair. Reading good fanfiction also helps(hint hint).

Now, I also need to take a moment and address some issues that came up in regards to the last chapter.

First: I have never done anything like that chapter before, at all, let alone in this story(the closest being 107, and that was done because even Mindy didn't know how much of that had been real) so telling me to knock it off is pointless.

Second: The purpose of that chapter was not, whether you wish to believe so or not, to troll you. If it was I can assure you I wouldn't have tried so hard to make it obvious that it wasn't on the level.

Third: I try very hard to avoid writing a chapter that doesn't have some point to it in regards to the grand scheme of things. Even if it's just an excuse to write one detail. For example, chapters like this one fall into the category of "things that need to happen but aren't time crucial", even though the issue brought up in this chapter is long overdue.

Fourth: To those of you who think that Dave and Mindy shouldn't be together without having to go through hell, I agree.

Fifth: To those of you who want them to just get together already... Dave chose Mindy over Katie, they've shared a bed on several occasions, and Mindy's favorite seat in the house is Dave's lap and he lets her have it as long as they're alone... So I think what you really want is a sex scene. In which case I direct you to Vacation Me. But if you really just want to see them as an official couple look at chapters 6, 10, 11, 15, and 16 of Holiday Bonus. Passing the Torch might also interest you.

Sixth: To those of you who dislike happy endings or just like dark fics, look at Broken Bird, Black Betty, Trust, and chapters 4 and 5 of Holiday Bonus. Break Her might also interest you, but that one is pretty graphic and isn't for the faint of heart.

Seventh: To those of you who insist on posting anonymous reviews... Register. It takes like, ten seconds and I'll be able to respond to your reviews. questions, and issues personally. And I DO respond to reviews. Every review I get in fact. Well, I try to at least. So if you're a fan of this story, it'll be worth the time. Trust me.


The costumes I ordered finally came in. And it's a good thing I ordered them when I did because it wasn't until I tried a new one on that I realized how fucking tight my old one was. Seriously. I didn't even notice it was getting hard to breathe in them. The new ones feel like I'm not wearing anything in comparison. I could practically hear my boobs thanking me. Maybe they'll actually grow some more now.

I also learned something about Dave.

He's an idiot.

A stupid, brain damaged, moron, with the survival instincts of lemming who is also a stubborn jackass that refuses to listen to people who know better than him.

I was willing to overlook that he was just wearing a wetsuit at first, since we were mostly just dealing with muggers, purse snatchers, and punks trying to make easy money robbing convenience stores. When the cunts showed up again I started trying to convince him to wear a vest under his suit, but the fucking idiot kept refusing. Said he felt like wearing a vest would be asking to get shot. Well guess what butthorn? YOU'RE ALREADY ASKING TO GET SHOT BY GOING OUT IN COSTUME! But when it started to look like they didn't carry guns, and we started running into them less and less, I started to let up on the vest thing. I can understand Dave not wanting to wear one, they're not the most comfortable things to wear and trying to fit one under his suit wouldn't have been easy. Not like we couldn't just buy him a bigger suit anyway.

But then, THEN I had to get new suits made for myself. This wasn't an option. So while I'm digging around trying to find the guy Daddy found to make our suits in first place, I come up with the brilliant idea to order DAVE some suits too. I even asked the guy to use neoprene or whatever the hell it is they make wetsuits out of because Dave never failed to rub in how his suit kept him warm whenever it rained and mine didn't.

So I've got him this awesome suit that looks just like his old one, except it's kevlar lined and even plated where it wouldn't affect mobility but would be really needed(like over his heart and lungs). It even had knee and elbow pads built into it like mine except they were covered instead of exposed so it looked EXACTLY the same as his old one and will even fit him better.

And what does this stupid bastard do?

He refuses to wear it.

STILL!

Says he "doesn't feel comfortable" wearing it. That not having armor encourages him to try his hardest to not get hit in the first place. The fucker even said that he hadn't gotten shot, but I had, so he'd consider his lack of armor a good luck charm.

Guess criminals aren't the only ones who are stupid and superstitious.

At least Marty has some sense, even if it was disappointing to find out.

See, I also had a costume made for Marty. And getting his measurements was a hell of a lot harder than getting Dave's. For one, Marty hadn't gotten around to buying new clothes(He wanted to make sure he could keep the weight off before buying a whole new wardrobe) so trying a sneak a look at the tags on his clothes would be useless. Two, I don't hang out with Marty so much that I can take measurements while he's napping like I can with Dave. So I ended up just comparing his frame to Dave's and taking a guess. And since his costume wasn't exactly iconic or anything, I took a few liberties with the design. Tried to make it look more like the suit from the Captain America movie since I know he's a fan and that's what he was obviously going for in the first place. And I requested that the shields on his arms be larger, made of steel, and have a kevlar lining so they'd actually be useful.

The guy really went above and beyond with them too. He turned the gloves into gauntlets that braced the shields instead of just being strapped around his arm so Marty could punch people with them and even put these little slider things on them so they wouldn't get in the way of grabbing stuff when he wasn't in a fight.

Dave was actually really excited about it. He liked the idea of Marty getting back on the streets with them, especially since now I could train him like I'd trained Dave. I wasn't really interested in turning our dynamic duo into a terrific trio let alone having another doofus apprentice, but having him part of Justice Forever would be fun. Just so long as he teams up with someone else for patrols. He'd probably get along well with Shield…

Anyway, it doesn't matter because he turned us down.

He said he felt lucky to have gotten off as easy as he did and didn't feel like pushing his luck any more. Even after we pointed out all the armor the new suit had(especially in the mask) and I offered to personally train him he still refused. I'm not really surprised though. Not everybody can get back up from something like that and keep going like Dave did. And even though I didn't want him butting in on my "alone" time with Dave, I was kind of disappointed. It'd be nice to have another friend in the hero biz.

Especially one that isn't a total fucking idiot who refuses to wear great, custom made, armor and is going to get himself shot and killed and leave me alone.