As it turned out, the rest of her life really wasn't that long...
[Skipping Ahead to the Age of Rising Heroes, Just Before The Eve of Evil... ]
Kick-Ass had managed to escape from Chris with his life, thanks to the help of that little bitch, and together they not only killed both John Genovese and Mr. Vela in a single night, but they had single-handedly drove Chris over the edge, simultaneously inspiring a fresh wave of nut-jobs in spandex. A world full of heroes, that's what they all called it, but really a world of retards would have been a much more accurate description. Seriously, how did they not expect evil to rise? Weren't the 'good-guys' supposed to believe in peace, justice, and balance? Well, it stood to reason that the darkness would ascend, for what is white without black? In order for their supposed utopia - their thriving silver age of supers - to exist, there had to be someone to counter their bullshit, to make things right, and the Mother Fucker was just the man for that job...
Too bad it would be a number of months before he was able to make his move...
Yet in his absence, the so-called heroes (who some knew better as murderers and butchers) were able to bask in their 'success', growing fat and complacent! Ok, so technically they started to train harder than ever before, just to prevent another cad like John Genovese from rising again, even at the expense of their schooling. Pft, as if hitting the books had ever been a big priority to either Mindy McCready or Dave Lizewski... But thanks to Marcus, Mindy's guardian and new father, Hit Girl at least had to pretend like that shit mattered to her, and truth be told, that charade stung worse than the dirty syringe of an uppity junkie.
So, she would go to school, smiling and cheerful, but the minute that he had driven out of sight, she booked it the hell out of that state-sanctioned madhouse. At first, she was alone, since Dave had retired Kick-Ass after the mental trauma of killing all those fuckers back at Genovese's place a couple of weeks ago, but sooner rather than later, he had begun to miss it, going crazy on the inside as he tried to go back to the boring life he knew before. So, one day, he followed after her, skipping school as he began a regimen of brutally intensive training at the hands of Mindy. Maybe it was just his imagination, but something told him that she was enjoying beating his ass like morning wood a bit too much. But more disturbing than that was the fact that he was liking it. A lot.
One day, Dave had stayed over at her secret hideout a bit longer than he normally did, watching as she made two cups of hot coco, stuffed with marshmallows. One, she set underneath the picture of her father that hung on the wall, and the other she drank herself, setting the half-empty mug down on the windowsill as she grabbed an old cloth from the cabinet in the bathroom.
Coming back out, in the process of wiping away the sweat that had accumulated beneath all of her blonde hair, she noticed that Dave was still hanging around, "This isn't a peep-show, you fucking perv."
"I'm not..." He raised his palms out, defensive about his intentions, "I just remembered that there was a field trip for my class today, and Todd and Marty won't be back until later."
Looking at his hands, all beaten and bloody from how hard she had pushed him today, Mindy realized that they were beginning to bleed through his shoty bandaging job. Leaving the towel around her neck, she went over to Kick-Ass and grabbed his wrists, roughly leading him to the bathroom so she could re-bandage them herself. "You fucking suck at first aid. I hope being a male nurse wasn't high on your career list."
He was sincerely offended by that remark, pausing his unraveling job, "Don't you mean doctor?"
"You can't bullshit a bullshiter, Dave." Letting go once he was in the door, she began to rummage around for the first aid kit. She spoke at him over her shoulder, "Your pussy-like demeanor just screams male nurse. And besides, you and I both know that there's no fucking way that either of us is ever going to become a licensed anything."
Mindy had him there. "So, what was that about? Do you leave a cup there every time you come here?"
Only a fucking dumb-ass would have to wonder about what he was referring to. Head bent low as she extracted the medical supplies, Mindy set the plastic box on the edge of the counter. "Yeah, I do." Flicking the locks with her thumbs, she pulled out the bandages. Turning to Dave, Mindy grabbed his hands again, only this time she was a lot more tender about it. "Why don't you stay here and have a cup with me?"
Shocked that she would extend this kind of offer to him, Dave realized at once how major this was, "I'd love to."
"Don't go getting all sappy on me!" It might have come out all snappy and sarcastic, but she was smiling as she unwound the roll of gauze, applying it skillfully to his left hand first. Big Daddy taught her how to take lives, but he had also taught her how to save them as well, because you never knew what could happen on the field.
Finishing with the first hand, Hit Girl just continued to hold it, gazing down at the neat loop-work she had done, medical tape holding it in place. It wasn't quite broken, but his pinky was looking at little bit off. She wondered if it had always looked like that, or it had been a hazard of the lifestyle.
Noticing that she had spaced out, Dave waved his other hand in front of her face, a single droplet of his blood spilling down his flesh and landing on her pants. Gapping at the spill, he launched into a full-blown apology, "I'm so sorry-"
Snapping to, she shook her head, "It's fine, if I can't get it out, I can just tell Marcus that I started my period or something."
Well that shut him up, but more because he hadn't realized that she was old enough to be getting that monthly feminine curse, "You have periods?"
It wasn't really something she cared to discuss, especially with Dave of all people, but the way he had said that was really fucking asshole-ish, "Why wouldn't I? I am a girl, you moron!"
"I know, but I mean, aren't you still a little young for that?" And there it was. It wasn't bad enough that it was always on her mind, but now he had to go and say it, making it that much more real!
More than almost anything else, Mindy fucking hated the age gap that separated them, even now... "I'm not a child - I'm getting older every day." That's what she told herself whenever it hit her just how much older than her he was. Why did the first guy she had to develop feelings for have to be so much older than her? Fuck! "I've done more than most adults, and I can kill a man with his own thumb! Age is just a number..."
Although he didn't get way she had become so flustered, Dave could see that she was sensitive about that subject, so he made a mental note to not bring it up again...
I debated about whether or not I would put out one last issue of "Red Kick", but I think that if I did, it would be all of five words, so I decided to just go ahead with the next part of the story! So, here's Kick-Ass 2! Well, if you're coming at this from a time-line perspective.
Remember, reviews are always welcome, no matter how nit-picky or simple! So review! Pretty please?
Kick-Ass is the property of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Emily Vela is mine. Knight too.