Saturday Night

Safehouse K

I shook with fear.

"I know who you both are – I want Hit Girl – you two know where I can find her..."

"What?"

It could not be real!

"You tell me where she is; even better who she is and I'll let you and your bitch leave with your identities intact..."

"I..."

"Who is Hit Girl?" The woman demanded smacking me around the head.

"Beat me. Kill me; I'll never tell!" I growled. I would take Hit Girl's identity to the grave; at least I hoped I could.

"How about we make your bitch suffer?" The man said in his weird electronic voice.

He grabbed hold of Catwoman by her left arm, hurting her; she screamed out. The man dragged her into the centre of the room.

"How about I fuck her, here and now – would that loosen your tongue?" He demanded.

I saw Catwoman shake her head and heard her whisper in my ear over the comms.

"Let them – they'll get nothing from us!" She whispered.

I yelled out as the woman punched me in the stomach. I saw Catwoman kicked in the side; she fell onto her side. Then I was dragged up and placed against the wall. I heard the unmistakable sound of a pistol being cocked.

I froze.

"No – let's threaten the broad!"

I watched as the man walked over to Catwoman, dragging her roughly to her feet. The pistol was placed against her head.

"We just want a name..."

"Go fuck yourself, bastard!" Catwoman yelled as she threw her head sideways, head butting the man.

He dropped the pistol, it was swept up by Catwoman who then aimed it at the man's head, and she pulled the trigger.

Safehouse K was probably the most secure place in the City at that moment.

Various members of Fusion were patrolling around the perimeter with heavy weapons, just in case anything kicked off. Otherwise all attention was on the first floor where our new protégés were being 'interrogated'.

There would be more intensive training for the pair, but they had done well considering I had thrown them to the sharks that night!

What the fuck?

I pulled the trigger again and then pulled back on the cocking lever. I pulled the trigger again – nothing. I pressed the magazine release button and the magazine dropped into my left hand.

"Huh?" I yelled out as I saw the top of the magazine.

The magazine was empty!

Then the man on the floor started to laugh and so did the woman. I was very confused. I looked over at Batman and saw him slump down the wall to the floor, obvious relief in the way his shoulders sagged. Then I heard clapping from behind me; I turned. Hit Girl appeared, followed by Kick-Ass, Shadow and Wildcat. They had all removed their masks and were clapping their gauntlets together.

"You have got to be fucking kidding!" I exclaimed as the man on the floor pulled off his own mask.

"Alfred!" I exclaimed. "You bastard!"

"I was convincing, wasn't I, Master Bruce!"

I pulled off my mask, astounded at the turn of events. I was angry at being duped, but I was also pleased that I had made it through the night. I looked over at Selina as she removed her mask and smiled at me.

We had survived.

Safehouse F

Bruce and Selina were grinning fit to burst as we all arrived back.

"You are a bunch of fucking bastards!" Bruce announced.

"Well?" Selina asked me, almost bursting to hear my judgment.

"I'll give you both a B+," I laughed. "Congratulations, Batman and Catwoman!"

There were cheers from everybody as Bruce and Selina were led off to get themselves changed. After a shower and some fresh clothes, Dr Bennett would check them both over; there were plenty of visible bruises!

..._...

Alfred was tenderly holding a tissue to his nose; not broken, just a little bruised.

"You pushed it a bit tonight," Cathy said seriously, coming over from the Control Centre.

"We had to – they needed to know what it is really like out there," I replied honestly. "You can't just put on a costume and go running about trying to protect people."

"Talking about me?" Dave asked as he approached.

"Yeah, Kick-Ass 1.0 did not get a lot done, did he?"

"A case in point; she's right, Cathy," Alfred agreed. "I punched Bruce hard; I hurt him. I hated doing that, but I had to. We let those two go out unprepared, then they are dead, simple as that. Mindy may have some outrageous methods, but they do seem to work."

"I know," Cathy admitted. "I trust her with my only daughter and my only nephew."

"They are in the best of hands, Cathy. I mean that," Alfred finished.

I actually felt my face warming up as Cathy smiled at me.

An hour later

"So, how much did you believe was a setup?"

"Honestly, Chloe, I thought a lot of it was, but then I wasn't sure – it all seemed so real..." Selina replied. "I was very scared, more than I care to think about!"

"That was the idea and I won't apologise for it," Mindy said seriously.

"I know what you are doing, Mindy and I thank you for it," Bruce said with a smile before turning to his Butler. "You too, Alfred. I know you didn't like hurting me, but it had to be done, I know that."

"You are very astute, Master Bruce."

"Sorry about the nose, Alfred...," Selina said, colouring up a bit.

"Never apologise, young miss, it's a sign of weakness – besides you did what was right."

"Thank you, Alfred."

"Oh fuck!"

"Huh?" Hailee asked.

"Guess who has just arrived – and they don't look too happy!" Mindy replied with a grimace.

"Two little girls are about to get into trouble...," I laughed.

"Fuck you, Dave!" Hailee laughed, but she looked apprehensive all the same.

Marcus and Vicky climbed the stairs and came into the briefing room. They just stared at Mindy and Hailee for a minute.

"Hi, Marcus!" Mindy said tentatively, biting her lower lip.

"Hi, Mom!" Hailee tried with a weak smile.

"What do you think?" Vicky asked Marcus. "Ground them for a month? Take their guns away from them?"

Marcus thought that through.

"Some very good ideas – only Mindy is not all that good at following instructions when she is grounded!" Marcus growled. "Besides she has guns hidden everywhere!"

"I'm sorry I hit you, Mom, but that ASP hurt!" Hailee whined pulling up the bottom of her shorts.

She was right; there was a very visible, large red welt on her thigh.

"My heart bleeds, daughter, but I think you can take it, eh Petra!" Vicky smirked and Hailee looked astonished at her mother's response.

"Not to mention that you tried to Taser me, and you shot me!" Mindy growled looking at Marcus and then Vicky.

"Is Hit Girl whining?" Marcus asked with an evil smirk.

Mindy looked at Hailee open mouthed and then glared over at me. I was struggling not to laugh and so was Paige as she watched.

"Whining little bitch!" Megan commented as she walked past Mindy.

"We get no fucking respect!" Mindy growled menacingly.

Hailee scowled at her mother and Marcus.

"Tell me about it!"

"We even?" Mindy asked Marcus.

"Not even close...," announced Marcus as he wandered off, looking for some coffee.

"Oh, we have so much fun ahead of us...," Vicky added as she followed her Boss out of the briefing room.

I tried to ignore any further thoughts of Marcus' revenge as Dave and I drove Bruce and Selina to West Ridge, along with Alfred.

They both looked very tired.

"You can both get a good lie in, as we will not be doing anything tomorrow. You have the entire day just to relax," Dave explained.

"We'll come by on Monday morning, about ten," I added. "Hell Week is over; you graduated. Now your training can begin!"

"Looking forward to it!" Cat groaned.

Glenview

It had been a fun night and very successful.

On Monday we would take Bruce and Selina through the events of the night and show them their mistakes and where necessary a better way to go about things.

For now, I was really tired and was desperate for sleep. The twins were already out for the count when I checked in on them.

The following morning
Sunday

Nine o'clock found us at The Farm.

"Don't you think they're a little young?"

"Probably!" I replied.

"They'll break their little necks; they are only seven and a half years old!" Dave persisted. "Just because you started young!"

"Dammit Dave, I'm teaching them to ride a quad-bike, not to kill people!"

"Apart from themselves!"

"This conversation is over – go help Anne-Marie!"

..._...

Maybe they were a little young, but I thought it might be fun for them. I had not spent as much time with them both as I would have liked.

For now they were attired in thick leathers – pink for Anne-Marie and light blue for Danny – plus helmets in the same colours. I had considered motorcycles, but then I had been sensible and decided to start them off on quads. Dave did not agree with me, but he'd come around.

I had cheated slightly as the quad-bikes that I had bought were designed for ten-year-olds, but I figured the kids would be fine. Both machines were fitted with a 112-hp engine with Electronic Fuel Injection. They also came with an adjustable speed-limiter, which they would not be removing! The colour of the quad bikes matched each of the twins.

I had to admit that they both looked very cute in their leathers and helmets, but suggested that they removed the helmet till we were ready; Danny refused. Neither of them had ever been on a motorcycle or quad-bike before that morning, so I was looking forward to teaching them how to ride.

After showing each of them around their machines, so they knew where everything was, I showed them the kill-cord and how to attach it to their wrist. I demonstrated how once the cord was yanked from its slot, the quad-bike's engine cut out. I showed them the automatic gears – just forward, neutral and reverse. Most importantly, we covered the brake lever and what it was for!

Dave was in his own leathers, as was I. We had both ridden up on our BMW motorcycles, which the twins had greatly enjoyed. Dave had commented that I was 'starting their training'. I had replied that I was doing nothing of the sort; I was just teaching them some useful skills...

Maybe, subconsciously, I was following in Daddy's footsteps; I would need to be careful!