Two

I got an e-mail from Dave Lizewski asking to meet him at Atomic Comics after school. Technically I wasn't allowed to go places without Marcus having to drop me off. I wasn't allowed to cut class either, but I didn't want to sit through Mr. Harries talking about the Great Gatsby when it's pretty obvious the class hasn't read any of his chapter assignments, well except for me and that prick who couldn't keep his hand down in class. Maybe I should break it for him one of these days and see if he can still keep it up.

Dave wouldn't be here in another half hour or so I decided to slide up to a booth and order a chocolate marshmallow smoothie. The menu said it was supposed to be a play on drinkable s'mores. It was good, though I still prefer hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.

When Dave arrived he was practically out of breath. I think he might've tried to run away from Marty and Todd. Those two are so dense they haven't even noticed who Kick-Ass is. Well it could be because Dave is pretty good at hiding his identity. Hold on, no he isn't. Dave had this weird look on his face too, kind of like the time when Big Daddy and I first paid a visit to his house after we hit that punk Rasul's place. He looked confused and pretty much like a complete idiot.

"I - want - you to train me." he said between pants and trying to catch his breath. "I don't have to be good-good like you good with guns and all high-flying moves. I just don't want to die anytime soon. Especially since our last thing was pretty insane and I'm still surprised we made it out alive -"

I already said yes but he kept on going. Talking in that squeaky voice of his, like he hasn't reached puberty yet. Dave was pretty much rambling in a very Dave-y way before me agreeing to his request managed to sink in.

"You will?" he said, eyes wide and his voice ending with a squeak.

I told him I would train him. Basically I didn't need to know what his reasons were. I have to admit I did see some potential in him. He had a lot of fighting spirit when I first met him. Well that was basically all he had back then, and his fucked up nerve endings.

To be honest I've been feeling a bit lonely even with Marcus keeping a close watch on my every move. I think he's trying too hard to make me have normal life even though we both know normal doesn't cut it for me. And I guess having Dave around would be a welcome change of pace. It's only been four and a half weeks since Daddy and I had our revenge. I keep thinking of it that way instead of calling it the night I lost him.

I feel like Marcus has been smothering me with attention and as much as he's trying to make me feel like he's there to support me and hold my hand and shit while I was grieving, he wasn't doing an effective job. All it feels like he's doing is trying to push me into a corner that's far away from doing anything remotely close to being the person Daddy wanted me to be. He's keeping me away from being Hit Girl and ridding the city of fucking assholes.

I told Dave we could start training next weekend, I needed to come up with something to tell Marcus first. And I sure was hell not going to give Dave a fitness test on that first day. It'll suck if he passes out even before the training session is over. He has to make up with cardio and build his endurance before I'll let him join me in training.

Dave's still babbling about why he needed the training sessions and I manage to catch a few words with what he's saying like it's his social responsibility to be Kick-Ass because he's actually helping people and making a difference and all that shit. And he needs to not get killed while doing it because of his dad, and stuff about Katie - oh yeah which reminds me.

"That's fine asshole, but I need you to do something for me too." I tell him and he fucking swallows like I'm gonna ask him to resurrect my Daddy or have his dad adopt me or something.

"I want you to teach me how to be a normal girl. Maybe you can get Katie to find me girls my age to hang out with."

"Okay." Dave said. Oh man, how I wish this guy's voice would break already.

I got home before Marcus did and decided to make pancakes for dinner. Breakfast food is pretty good at any time of the day. Anyone who says otherwise is a fucking idiot who doesn't know what they're missing or are probably in denial. Marcus walked in while I was flipping my third pancake onto the stack.

"How was school today?" he asked. Marcus doesn't mind the pancake dinner, since he lets me pick what I want to have for dinner four times a week, twice will be his turn, and the other day we'd try out something completely new.

"It was okay. This one boy in my English class wouldn't keep his hand down throughout the period. You want some pancakes? I still have a lot of batter left."

Marcus nodded and pulled up a chair to face my seat. "So, Mindy what do you think about the Great Gatsby?"

Shit. I wonder how Marcus knew I skipped class. "I think it's the pursuit of the unattainable that leads to Gatsby's destruction and forgone all the success he's worked for in life." Of fuck. Good thing I actually read the thing.

Marcus was watching me intently "I dropped by to pick you up at school, Mindy. I think you can guess what Mr. Harries said when I saw him today."

Oh well I was already in trouble anyway. "Did he say I was an intelligent young lady with wisdom beyond my years?"

"Nice try. He did say that, but after he told me you skipped his class today. Mind telling me where you were?" Oh boy, here we go again. Marcus was gearing up for the "I want you to have a normal life speech" again.

"I went to the comic store. I was -" I took a pause for dramatic effect and purposively choked not he next word "I missed my Daddy and I thought if I went there I'd feel like he's one of those superheroes fighting crime and defending the city." As much as losing my Daddy hurts me, I know it's a soft spot for Marcus too. I feel awful for doing this, but part of me actually feels that way. Like I need to surround myself with those poser superhero crime fighters at Atomic Comics. None of them will ever be as real, brave and kind as Big Daddy, not even Kick-Ass.

"Your father was a hero, Mindy. He was a great cop. Damon Mcready that's your dad, not Big Daddy the vigilante. Your father did great things for this city Mindy, never forget that." Although I've heard Marcus say this before, I still felt my heart drop seeing him like this.

Marcus got up from his seat and hugged me tight. "You can always talk to me, Mindy." He was whispering something at the top of my head but I couldn't hear him well. I think he said something like "protecting me" and then he kissed my hair.

I hope this doesn't bite me in the ass in the future but I took my chance on asking Marcus if I could hang out with Katie and her friends this Saturday. Since Katie is Dave's girlfriend, I wasn't telling a complete lie.

It worked though. And Marcus is all too happy about it. At least he thinks I'm doing something right.

Note: The story picked up a month after the first movie. Mindy is 12 and Dave is 15 going on 16. I should have said this in the first chapter but this is turning out to be different than what I had in mind. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading.