Mako's Message: Okay...slightly better than last time...
Anyway, there are a couple things, misconceptions really, about the last chapter I wanted to clear up.
The first is that I wasn't complaining about the quality of the last chapter. I was actually pretty happy with it. My problem was how much of a struggle it was and how long it took for me to get it out. I just haven't been right in the head lately.
The second thing is regarding Dave's comment about "rewarding" Mindy. And I suppose I could have phrased it better, but I was thinking of it more as an anti-punishment. In other words, instead of getting a reward for behaving a certain way or doing certain things, she would be rewarded for NOT behaving a certain way or doing certain things. For example, the less she tries to get into his pants the more willing he'd be to snuggle with her on the couch while watching The Expendables 2.
And now that is cleared up(hopefully), on with the story.
Today descended into stupidity so fucking quick.
I mean, it started out great. Dave came over in the morning, just like he promised. He was even a little earlier than usual and came in to have breakfast with me. I remembered the last time he was here this early, when I gave him a little show and thought about doing it again, but then I remembered what we'd talked about last night, so while my toast was down I said, "I'll be right back. Gonna go put on some pants."
And I think I saw him smile, and I'm almost positive he watched me walk down the hall.
I know it's stupid, but I love making him smile. I wish it could be like that all the time sometimes.
Like, just us. Together. And nothing else. It made me think he was right when he said that if we quit the hero thing it'd still be us and we could be happy. Except I don't think I really could be happy, knowing that people were out killing and stealing and pimping and dealing drugs, and ruining people's lives and that I could be out there doing something about it but wasn't.
And that's how I know Dave is just like me. He couldn't either.
Anyway. When I came back down Dave had finished making my breakfast for me. We sat down at the kitchen table and talked a little about nothing, Dave just had some orange juice and toast, and then we were off on our morning jog.
We met up with Angela and Katie on the way. Angela was excited that we were all together again. Katie seemed surprised but happy, for some reason. Training went well, and I think we made up for the loss of time pretty well too. I noticed some actual progress in both Angela and Katie. They aren't progressing the way Dave was though. As if I didn't already know he was special. And I was actually in too good of a mood to be mean to Katie for once.
It all went so well that we all hung around afterward talking for awhile. Sorta. Angela and Katie kinda talked. Dave and I talked, and then John came back from walking Teddy...
Anyway, I decided to check my e-mail, and then my other e-mail, and THAT is when things got interesting.
And then stupid.
The guy who makes our costumes sent me an e-mail saying he had an opportunity to buy some really high quality material. It's supposed to be way more durable than what he's been using for our suits, and lighter too. The problem was that he was going to have to buy a ton of the stuff or none at all, so he wanted to know if I'd like to place a big order.
Now, I just spent like, a third of my nest egg on this building and training facility(Which was definitely money well spent), so I wasn't really feeling like spending another few thousand on new suits, when I still had some I hadn't even grown into yet.
But then I looked over at Dave talking with John, and Angela and Katie playing with Teddy, and I thought, "Well, maybe the whole team could use an upgrade?"
So I asked John if he could call everybody together for a meeting that night.
Dave had to leave for work, but Angela and Katie stuck around.
I didn't actually mind that she did. Surprised even myself. It was weird, but...I was actually really happy. I spent some more time training Angela, showed her some new things. Practiced some new things. Katie didn't do much, she'd work out for awhile take a break and use the computer for awhile, and otherwise just stayed in the background. It felt like I was home.
When everyone did get there, except Dave, but that's okay because I didn't need his help. I told everybody that we had the opportunity to upgrade our equipment, but that it was more than I was willing to spend after buying and setting up the training facility. So, if they wanted new costumes, they were going to need to pitch in as much as they could.
Sting was the first one to ask a question, "So you're saying that we can all have costumes as nice as yours and Kick-Ass'?" After I said "yes", he said "I'm in."
Not really surprised to be honest. We have some of the best equipped people on the streets, but compared to what Daddy and I were running they're still Amateur Hour.
Dr. Gravity asked if they'd all get a say in what their suits looked like, or if it was all going to be up to the guy making them. When I said the guy would match whatever design they came up with to the best of his ability, he stood up and said, "I need a pen."
Then everybody else started looking for stuff to write or draw with, and I had some colored pencils and paper so I got that out.
And that's when the Justice Forever meeting turned in Super Hero Preschool.
I'm not joking. The eight of us were sitting around a table coloring. Angela even had to go out and buy more pencils and paper. At least I told her to get pencils. She came back with one of those massive packs of crayons. I was like, "What the fuck did you buy crayons for?"
She said, "Well, you don't have to sharpen crayons. And there's way more color variety. And it cost less per crayon than markers or pencils."
I just looked at her and said, "When have I ever cared about spending a little extra to get the right thing?"
And she gave me this pained little laugh and said, "Do you want me to return them?"
I wanted her to, honestly, because I hate crayons. It's so hard draw properly with this fat, oddly shaped thing. But everybody else had been waiting for her to come back so they could work on their designs without constantly passing the pencils back and forth, so I said, "No, they'll do. Just remember next time."
I still ended up arguing with Dr. Gravity over a purple crayon. It was so stupid. It was the exact shade I needed for my wig too, but he was sitting there using it all up. It's not like it would have even taken me long to do it I could have had it back to him in like, five minutes. But no, he's all like, "Just wait till I'm done. Why don't you put more black in your costume while you wait?"
So I was like, "Why don't YOU put more black in your costume."
And he said, "Because I'm black."
And I was like, "Yeah? So? It's not like you're an old white guy making a black super hero who wears black and calling him Black Hole or something. You're allowed to use black for your own costume."
"And you're allowed to use another shade of purple." then he reached over and grabbed another crayon and said, "Here, how about this?"
And I was like, "That's lilac. I'm not making a lilac costume." And just stood there watching him until he was done.
So yeah. Today started out great and then just got stupid.
It was kinda fun though. And we'll all look more professional in a few months.
