Mako's Message: Sorry about the delay on this. Things have been crazy the last...wow I don't even remember how long ago it was that I updated this. Two weeks?

Anyway, this is one of the chapters that people are either going to love, or I'm going to catch a ton of shit for. If I know you guys, it'll be mostly praise, but a couple of you will call bullshit on this chapter. But this is also one of those chapters in which I am COMPLETELY unrepentant for anything and everything in this chapter.

Important message after the chapter.


Okay. Tonight was so awesome. I can't even believe it. So Marcus-

Wait. No. I should save that for last cause I have other stuff to talk about and it'll be all anticlimactic and shit and I won't even want to talk about it. It'd be like, "This totally awesome thing happened and it was awesome! Oh and some other stuff happened before that too but whatever." Besides, it's best to keep things in order. Makes it more interesting to read, and what's the point of writing this if nobody's ever going to read it? Not that I want anybody to, but it'll at least be more interesting for me if ten years from now I get all nostalgic and want to read it.

Right, so the beginning.

The other night I was being all mopey and emo cause Dave wasn't responding to my texts. Well, he sent me text saying, "Sorry for missing you yesterday. Talk when you get home", but I didn't see it until later that afternoon because I only got like, two and half hours of sleep before we had to get up and start packing our shit up and saying goodbye so I spent most of the morning sleeping in the car. By the time I did see it though, I knew he would be at work so I couldn't reply back even if trying to read in the car didn't make want hurl.

Talk about a weaksauce weakness.

Anyway, when we get home I texted Angela and Jessi to let them know I was back, and Angela asked me if I wanted to with her to Atomic Comics the next day because her brother got her a gift card from there. So we both asked Jessi if she wanted to go too, and she said she'd love to which was great since it meant I could give them their gifts at the same time.

Then I texted Dave and told him I was home and heading over to his house whether he was there or not. So, I climb in through the window (cause that's how I roll) into his room where he was waiting for me(as he should've been). And as soon as I'm in the room he starts talking to me about how he'd gone out with Riley on Christmas and I'm thinking, "I really don't want to hear about this," but then he says because they were out all day he didn't notice that his phone had died until he got home and how he'd decided to just let the phone charge without turning it on and didn't see my texts until the next morning which was when he realized how long his phone had been dead and he sent the apology text. Then he apologized again and said he didn't mean to make me think I was ignoring him.

I really want believe that, but I think he's just trying to be nice.

So I asked him what he got me for Christmas.

He immediately stood up and started across the room, but then he stopped and started again but slower this time. He took out a present and looked at it and said, "Okay, I feel kinda lame giving you this, and I don't even know if they're any good or if you can even use them, but I saw them and I thought of you, and I just had to get them," and he handed it to me.

It was a pair of purple, steel capped, nunchuk, with a little heart on the cap.

Okay, so, Daddy never trained me with nunchuks because he said that staff and sword training could be applied to more everyday objects(like brooms, or pipes) than specialty weapons like sai, hookswords, and nunchuks("even if they are really cool") so I can't use them. Yet. I mean, sure I'll have to put in some extra training time to learn how to use them but, c'mon, NUNCHUKS! You can really fuck people up with these things if you know what you're doing. They'll totally be worth the effort.

After a few minutes of Dave laughing at me trying to do more than just spin them without hitting myself in the face he said, "Alright, so what'd you get me?" and almost really did crack myself in the head.

So, I just held them behind my back and tried to give him a smolderingly sexy look and said, "What? I'm not enough present for you?"

And he just looked at me like, "Really?"

And we kept looking at each other like that until I finally cracked and said, "Okay, I couldn't find anything for you, but I'll figure something out soon.

"It's alright, don't worry about it, but you do owe me a present at some point."

I could think of a couple things I could have given him right then but he obviously still isn't interested in me like that.

So I asked him, "Why did you think giving my nunchuks would be lame anyway?"

And he said, "Well, you gave me a gun last Christmas, I gave you the staff for your birthday, and you gave me those wicked batons for my birthday, and I just didn't want to end up where we're always giving each other weapons for presents."

And I just looked at him and said, "Are you seriously saying you'd have a problem with me getting you a katana or an assault rifle for a present?"

Dave just blinked at me and then said, "Well, a katana would be pretty cool but I don't think I'd ever use an assault rifle."

So I said, "I doubt you'd ever use the katana so what's the difference?"

And he said, "It would be a lot easier to explain a katana hanging on my wall than an assault rifle."

And I shrugged and said, "I guess," and changed the subject, "When are you supposed to meet up with the rest of the team for patrol?"

And that's when he tells me, "I actually told them I wouldn't be coming tonight. Unless you want to go out. I mean, I'm sure you can't wait to get back on the streets, but I thought you might want to, ya know, hang out tonight."

And suddenly I'm thinking, "Holy shit he cleared his schedule for me. I might actually have a chance!" so I said, "Can I spend the night?"

And he just shrugged and said, "Sure, if you want."

And I kinda pounced on him. Yeah. I know. Subtle. But he didn't seem to mind and I didn't care and I started kissing him and he was kissing me and running his hands up my back and it was awesome.

Or at least it would have been if I hadn't been such a pussy and actually done that instead of freezing up and losing myself in my little fantasy until he said, "Oh! I have to tell you about what happened on Christmas!"

And apparently what happened on Christmas was that Chris really did keep his word. When they were out on patrol, they ran into a group of cunts and there was this brief little standoff where both groups were wondering who'd make the first move. Then one of the cunts says, "Merry Christmas", and then the rest of them say it and they walk out into the street and around Dave and White Mage and Insect guy. And here's the part that really blew me away.

Dave and them let them walk away.

I couldn't believe it. Dave had a hard time believing it too, and he said they talked about taking them down, but they all agreed that if the bad guys where walking away without starting shit they'd have felt like complete assholes if they went over and attacked them. And it was supposed to be a Christmas Ceasefire so they decided that they should, "be, ya know, good guys, and not start a fight."

I can NOT wrap my head around this. These are MURDERERS and RAPISTS we're talking about. Taking them off the streets, in cuffs or bodybags (I really don't care which) would have been a fucking Christmas gift to the city.

And then he blows my mind by telling me that there were actually no crimes committed on Christmas. It made the news and everything. I'm sure somebody, somewhere, did something that went unseen or unreported, but as far as the police are concerned nothing happened. They're calling it, "The White Christmas" I guess because it was all peaceful and "pure" or some shit.

I need to remember to ask Marcus about this.

Anyway, the rest of the night wasn't anything special. We watched some movies, I continued trying to become The Guy, we ate way to many cookies, and ended up falling asleep on the couch.

But the next day we went over to Atomic Comics to meet Angela and Jessi. We got there before them, but Marty and Todd where there.

When we headed for their table, Marty started tapping Todd on the shoulder and said, "Hey, dude, help me out here. We know these two don't we? They seem familiar but I just can't place their names."

So I stepped up, grabbed him by his jacket and cocked my fist back and said, "Maybe I can help jog your memory."

Then without even flinching, he snapped his fingers and said, "Mindy! Now I remember. It's been what? A year?"

Dave took off his coat, slid into the seat across from them and said, "Stop being a dick."

Marty just smiled and said, "But that's my best quality. Er, sorry, I meant my dick is my best quality."

So I said, "I think you mean your ONLY quality."

Then he grinned, said, "God I've missed you," and held his fist out for a bump, which I gave him, and then he said, "Seriously though, we haven't hung out in forever. What's up with that?"

Dave and I shrugged, "We've just been busy."

Marty just smirked into his coffee.

And that's when Angela and Jessi came in. They squeezed in next to us, Jessi next to Marty and Angela next to me. So I handed them their presents and Marty said, "And where are our presents?"

And Angela said, "She just loves us more," and stuck her tongue out.

So I told them I did have presents for them, I just didn't bring them because I didn't think they'd be here.

And then Todd just looked at me and said, "We're always here," and I felt like a tool.

But I had gotten some cash for Christmas so I paid for their food for the rest of the day to make up for it.

Angela spent the rest of the afternoon moaning about how mad she was that she didn't have a portable CD player, because she wanted to listen to the CD I got her but she only had an iPod so she had to wait until she got home. Funny how things work sometimes isn't it?

Jessie loved her book, she spent most of the afternoon reading it. But the first thing she did when she saw what it was check the table of contents and go directly to the Hit Girl section. It was kinda hard not to grin my ass off at that, but I figured I could get away with it if everybody thought I was just happy she was enjoying my present.

I also noticed that Jessie had gotten a new phone. Which was way over due. Even the emergency phone Dave slipped me back when I was grounded was better than Jessi's old phone. This one wasn't top of the line or anything, but it was still pretty nice. When I asked about it, Jessi started to answer but Angela jumped in with, "Her boyfriend gave it to her for Christmas. Ya know, the one we still haven't met."

She said that last bit while glaring at Jessi who just blushed and tried to sink into the booth.

Then she looked back at me, "You'd think she'd want us to meet the guy she's so over the moon about that she won't stop talking to him."

Which made Jessi hide behind the book I gave her.

"And every time I try to bring it up she does that. Can you help me out here?"

I looked at Jessi, and I tried not to look at Dave, and I said, "Hey, everybody has some secrets they want to keep and if Jessi is hiding something I'm sure she's got a good reason for it. As long as she's happy I don't see why we need to pry."

Jessi smiled at me so gratefully it was painful to watch.

Angela groaned and hit her head on the table, "You're both going to drive me nuts!" Then she sat up and "Fuck it. I'm gonna go ask that guy if he'll let me listen to my CD on his laptop."

I recognized "that guy" from school, so I figured if she wanted to try and flirt her way into getting to listen to her CD I wasn't going to stop her.

Okay, so Dave had to work so I went home from Atomic Comics to try and get in a quick work out and a nap before we went out that night. Then, maybe an hour before Dave was supposed to come pick me up, Marcus comes over and asks if we're going out tonight. Which was weird, because me and Marcus generally have a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy about what I do when I leave the house. Then he asks me to tell Dave to come here straight from work, which is even weirder.

So I'm sitting there waiting for Dave and wondering what's going on. Then he gets there he asks me what's going on and I don't know, so we're both sitting there waiting for Marcus to tell us what this's all about.

Then he comes in and asks us to follow him into the kitchen where he opens up the garage door and motions us to go in, but the lights are out, and tells us to just go in. So we both walk in, wondering what the hell I going on, and honestly I was starting to think he was trying to stage some intervention bullshit.

Then he flicks on the lights and there's a car in front of us. And at first I don't think anything of this because my vision is all spotty from the lights coming on, and then I notice it's purple, and black, with pink trim. And my brain just…can't comprehend what I'm looking at.

And Marcus says, "I was going to save this for your sixteenth birthday," and then the gears start turning again, "but with all the shit that's going on in this city I decided that if I can't keep you off the streets entirely, I'd feel a lot better if you patrolling in this than on foot." And I start freaking out.

Because

Marcus

Got

Me

A

Fucking

CAR!

And then finally Dave kicks in with, "This is the Mist-Mobile!"

Marcus nods and says, "Well, it was, but then I bought it and had it repainted and now it's whatever Mindy want's to call it because it's her's now."

And I just blurt out, "The Hit-Mobile!" Yeah, it's not the best name, but it's grown on me.

So then I'm like, "How did you do this? Isn't everyone going to know you bought this?"

And Marcus just looks at me and says, "Your Dad isn't the only person who knows how to do things under the table," and I felt kinda stupid. Then he said, "Obviously it being here is just a one time thing. I have a spot reserved for you at a private lot. It's unguarded, but I figured you'd like that, and you need your own key to open the gate. I don't know if it's close enough to your safe house to use so it's only paid for until the end of January."

And then there was nothing for me to do but run over and see how hard I could hug him without breaking his ribs.

So then he gave me the keys and said, "Just, for the love of god, be safe and careful. I'm screwed enough as it is if you get caught."

So patrol kind of took a backseat to me taking each member of Justice Forever for quick rides around the city. Speaking of backseats, White Mage said that the only problem with the car was that it lacked one. I almost crashed.

Uncle John seemed kinda envious of it, honestly, but he said at least the van he'd use to cart us all around in would be less crowded if I was taking someone along in it.

Insect-Guy only said, "I don't know how old you are, so please don't tell me."

Dr. Gravity was actually kinda depressed about the whole thing. He looked at his "gravity rod" and back to my car and asked why I always get the best stuff.

It's because I'm fucking awesome.

Fuck I have a car. And it's an awesome car. I just can't get over this.

CAR!