Young Writers Society

Full Novel Synopsis: Sequel to 'The Spiralling', itself a sequel to the Kick-Ass (2010) movie. However, this novel can be read on its own. After Big Daddy died, Mindy was driven mad, subdued by Dave, and locked away in an Institute after killing all who she deemed responsible but Dave. Will she recover? What will happen next to a New York without her nor the Motherfucker? Elements of the Kick-Ass 2 (2013) movie and comic series will be taken in.

The Descent

Chapter 4: Muscle Spasms Part 1

I told my dad everything he needed to know. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the look on his face. The man who suspected everything and anything about me in his fatherhood fears was speechless over Mindy. Sure, I was the teenager who lost his mother, the superhero wannabe who was knocked down by a car, and I was nearly killed by Mindy herself, but I was never the kid with a mental case so severe that it would necessitate a near-total brain wipe. That was what Mindy was, and even my dad was way over his head. At least in this way, we were united ever closer. A common cause, like Batman and Robin.

“So no, no pink and purple paint for her room, dad.” I said over the phone. To anybody, they were just colours, 2 shades of red. To the Mindy I knew, they were more. They were the theme for her Hit-Girl uniform, quite possibly her favourite colours. I’ve been to her old room at Marcus’ house countless times, and her old room was painted in those colours, “we need a totally different colour. Even the doctor himself ordered it.” Pink and purple brought a lot of memories up within me, Mindy’s triumph and tragedies as Hit-Girl. If it could affect me so much, I knew it would be her Kryptonite, except with an added bonus of turning her into Evil Superman.

“Okay…” I could almost hear my dad thinking. I’d gotten to know him that well, “How about baby and sky blue?” Upon hearing his suggestion, it was my turn to be speechless, but in a good way. He still had it in him after all. After giving him my positive feedback, we were done, and he’d need to go back to work, “We’ll talk more about this when I get back home, okay?”

When dad hung up I returned to Mindy’s side, grabbed a chair and just sat there, just thinking, watching her. I couldn’t bear to leave her alone – she had become so fragile, vulnerable. Yet, it was the only way, leaving Hit-Girl behind, and heralding in Mandy Lizewski. As I watched her sleep, she appeared so still that she looked deceased. I couldn’t help but to press my ear up to her mouth, to hear and feel her breathe. She was really, really exhausted.

Later…

Darkness. Cold Darkness. “Dave? Where are you? I’m scared! I’m so scared!” I cried.

People screaming, shouting. “Dave!” I shouted, no one spoke to me. I was crying, but no one spoke to me.

BAM! An explosion rang out, I can’t describe it – so loud!

“Dave!” I shouted again. I crawled into a hole. I’m so, very scared!

There were more explosions, many, many more. I couldn’t see. My ears hurt so bad!

“Get the lighter!” Someone in the darkness shouted.

“It’s got to be right over there, find the lighter!” Someone else shouted. I squeezed myself deeper into my hidey hole. I’m so scared! Sparks flying above! Tears on my face…

“I got it!” A very bad man shouted. I don’t know why he’s bad.

“NO!!!”

…

“TAKE COVER CHILD!!!” Explosions! They said they lit a fire, but it was still dark. I fell down, I kept falling. I don’t know where the floor was anymore. So… Scared… Falling…

…

…

“NOW SWIIIIITCH TO KRYPTONIIIIIIIIIITE!!!” Pain so much pain so much pain…

…

…

“ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!” No no no no no! Stop please please stop! Please please please…

…

…

“NOW GO TO ROBIIIIIIIIIIIIIN’S REVEEEEEEEENNNNNGE!!!”

…

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!” Please stop please stop please please please I can’t see I can’t see…

STOP!

…

---

Someone in the darkness shouted. I woke up with a jolt, and found myself tumbling down the chair I was sitting on. The high-pitched scream continued, and on the floor I writhed like a snake, turned so that I could see where it was coming from. By the time I saw that it was Mindy, she’d calmed down a little, or at least stopped screaming.

“Mi- Mandy! What happened!? Why are you.!?” I blurted out in panic as I held her, tried to calm her down. I never knew I had a father’s instinct within me. For a while, all she did was to sob, cry into my shoulder. I still couldn’t believe the girl I had in my arms, crying her eyes out after a nap, was Mindy Macready, or Hit-Girl, slayer of hundreds – but of course, I couldn’t call her that anymore.

“I- I was having a… a…” She finally said something, although that didn’t mean she stopped crying. For a minute or two, I was cooing her, trying to get her to calm down before I talk about my own concerns.

“Was it a nightmare? What was it about?” I completed her sentence and asked, and already, it felt like a gambit to do that, with Mindy’s mental health as the chip on the table. Upon hearing my question, she turned on like a faucet again, tears and snot and all, but managed to keep herself under control – an achievement for Mindy during this darkest age of hers.

“I don’t know. It was dark, it was-” The faucet in her turned on again, but it switched off soon after, “I-it was dark, I hear people sh-shouting, I can’t understand.”

“I can’t remember what was happening- It was so dark…” Mindy continued to describe her nightmare. I couldn’t understand heads or tails of what she was talking about. In the end, it seemed like one of those meaningless nightmares, not the kind that every protagonist in every movie and comic seem to have. She started crying again.

“It’s okay, hey, don’t think about it anymore…” I told her, trying my best to comfort her, “Go back to sleep…” I laid her back down on her bed, and begrudgingly, Mindy nodded. After she was still again, I stood up, gave myself a stretch and turned towards the window – bright light was still shining through. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours of nap the both of us had taken. When I turned towards the door, I saw that dad was there, leaning against the doorframe, rubbing his forehead, “Dad?”

“Hey son. How is she?” He asked as he was walking over, looking at Mindy over my shoulder, his wrinkles visible under the strain of his worry.

“She’s fine, just having a nightmare.” I continued stretching, talking between words. My body felt stiffer than it was supposed to be, more fresh, “What time is it? Are you early from work?”

“Actually, dawn just broke. It’s Tuesday, Dave.” What he said next sent a shock down my spine, a fully charged defibrillator.

“What?” I couldn’t believe my ears – I’d slept through Monday. Was I really that tired? Had Mindy really affected me that much? Warped me right into the future? It was my initiation into the responsibilities of an elder brother, and it felt like… the Twilight Zone. At first, I was worried about school, but Mindy was the new first.

Together, we went to work in my room, tearing down posters, boxing away merchandises and figurines, packing up comic books by the stacks. My Kick-Ass uniform was consigned to a luggage case. I had a last look before I locked it away. It was my original design, plus dad’s old security belt. Then there was the helmet and vest, which had a green and yellow paintjob, a gift from my father, and his brilliant way of revealing his secret knowledge of my activities as Kick-Ass. There were still scuffs and cut marks on it, some blood. Some of it belonged to Mindy, the rest was mine. It was the result of my last battle as Kick-Ass, the one when I finally subdued Mindy as Demoness, when her insanity had reached its peak. To this day, I couldn’t believe I managed it, especially considering the hundreds who failed before me, including Grandmaster and Michael, including Marcus, Mindy’s adoptive father, slain by Mindy in one of her episodes of insanity.

Everything was moved to the attic, to be locked away forever, or at least until Mindy was cured enough to cope. It was all for Mindy, even if it meant no more Fantastic 4s, X-Men or my choir of Batmen. All we had to do was to lock the ladder to the attic and forbid Mindy to go up, and she would be safe from their mental suggestions which, according to Doctor Paul’s opinion, could bring about a relapse. Admittedly though, I had second thoughts about sticking my Kick-Ass stuff up there. Over the years, they’d grown to be an irremovable part of me.

Even as I was grieving over Mindy’s continued insanity, being locked away in an asylum, I was still out on patrols, albeit very irregularly, and it wasn’t for fighting crime either. Somehow, in some way, it helped, if only a little, to be out there walking the walk. It gave me the illusion of doing something. As crime rate was at an all-time low, what with the fall of the D’Amico empire for good due to Demoness’ self-carved path of destruction, there wasn’t a lot of action back then, just an odd purse-snatcher or flasher. Most of the requests coming through the internet were either issues brought out of proportions (like a break-up) or something illegal or criminal (such as a hit-man contract).

In the end, it was all for the best. Kick-Ass – no more.

An hour later…

When Mindy woke up again, it wasn’t the next day on Wednesday, just an hour after she jumped from her nightmare. It makes sense, after all, how long could a kid sleep? Not to mention the nightmare. I knew I wouldn’t really feel like tucking in after one, and I can’t imagine being in her shoes, being confused, afraid, not even remembering who you were, being in a house you don’t know with a guy you just met. Then throw in the nightmare after that.

When she woke up I had to take her to the bathroom – she’d yet to learn her way around home. For clothes, we couldn’t give her the same ones she had back at Marcus’. Dad did some shopping after his shift ended, and bought a few sets of free-sized kiddy skirts and shirts.

“Know how to brush your teeth?” It sounded like a stupid question to ask, but with Mindy, I could never be too sure anymore. She couldn’t even pronounce her own name right the previous morning. For the moment it came tumbling out of my mouth, I thought it would offend her.

“Yes…” But the good doctor had taken that out of her as well. I remembered his words well, ‘With the right chemicals and procedures I managed to wipe away most, if not everything that was violent.’ Somehow, I’d prefer her to snap back at me. ‘You wanna know what I know? I sure know how to bust your teeth, prick!’ Was somehow what I preferred. Crazy, I know.

“Okay. Great.” It felt so awkward, but at least Mindy didn’t know. In fact, I was actually worried she won’t know what ‘awkward’ actually means, “Well, your clothes are over there, and here’s your towel, and…” I went on ahead to switch on the faucet over the bathtub for her – shoot me for being overprotective, but if you think I am, you’re so totally right. The faucet can’t be beyond her, but it was just me being new to taking care of someone. Heck, I could barely even take care of myself, even as Kick-Ass, “Yell if you need anything.”