The Swiss Alps, Dr. Killebrew’s home…
Killebrew, while still watching the monitors, informs Deadpool that what he’s seeing is good. Actually, it’s better than good: the results of his most recent scan are spectacular! He concludes that the transfusion of gamma irradiated blood into Wade’s system appears to have been a success. Wade thinks so, too. Killebrew adds that the readings indicate that the degeneration of Wade’s cell structure has been arrested. However, the damage he suffered before the procedure was significant. Even though Wade’s body will recover, his healing factor will never be the same.
Wade doesn’t seem to care much, and at the back of the room, he starts playing with a flamethrower. Killebrew continues to explain that Wade will be able to withstand the excessive burns, bruises and battering which are common in Wade’s line of work, but the next time an appendage cut off, it stays off. He’ll no longer be indestructible. Killebrew stops talking when he notices Deadpool not paying attention.
Wade ignores the doctor, having heard that he won’t die but that his healing factor dropped a few notches. He won’t get to juggle with Ginsu knives anymore, and has to stay away from fatty foods and keep his arms inside the bus, but it doesn’t matter. Killebrew asks Wade what he’s up. Now that Killebrew has cured him like the doctor promised to, they’ve got some private discussion to do. It’ll be fun, with a nice cup of Café Vienna, Deadpool in his comfortable chair, Killebrew gurgling his last breath… Wade is just glad he paid attention back when he was at the Workshop.
Deadpool angrily turns around, and pulls out his scalpel. He grabs Killebrew by his face, and shouts at the old man that this is the end of his life!
Meanwhile, at the Hellhouse…
While playing snooker, C.F. complaints and tells a story to Weasel. He tells him that the color scheme was totally eighties. It was like he stepped into a Sergio Valento catalog or something. But anyway, C.F. wasn’t there to critique the guy’s nonexistent taste in interior design; he was there to do his job. Even the guy’s toilet was green, but so is the color of money. Since his ears are closing up, Weasel asks C.F. if his story is going somewhere.
C.F. pulls up his shirt, and proudly shows Weasel a red tattoo mark on his belly! One minute, C.F. was checking out a navel print when… BAM! Those IRA guys cracked out a bazooka. And he’s still got the mark to prove it. A girl nearby is making eyes at C.F. An older merc notices it, and whispers to C.F. that he’s on his way to first base, since the girl is giving him the signals.
Weasel isn’t impressed. He can’t believe that C.F. calls that blemish of his a scar. Even Deadpool has had worse paper cuts! Weasel remembers this one time they mixed it up with the Hand in Tunisia. Wade looked like a walking Sushi bar after that.
Suddenly, the door gets kicked loud open. All of the mercs stop talking, and hate to see the guy coming in. Weasel continues talking to C.F. He mentions that of course, Wade was also the only one still in possession of all of his limbs. Fenway, another merc, whispers to Weasel that there’s a delay of game. Not understanding what’s going on, Weasel refuses to stop, and continue winning while he can. He asks the guys if they’ve noticed how different this place looks without Deadpool’s constant ruckus. C.F. thinks that they better go sit down. Weasel doesn’t understand why everyone keeps saying that he has to stop playing. He turns around, and immediately panics when he recognizes… T-Ray!
T-Ray proudly stands in front of Weasel. T-Ray tells the guy that he said “the name.” Weasel panics. C.F. friendly puts his arm around Weasel, defending that Weasel didn’t knew that T-Ray was around. Weasel doesn’t care either way. He wants to know what difference it would make if he said “Dead…” Eh… the name. T-Ray smiles that he doesn’t like the name. He knows that nobody really likes the name, or the man. He knows they tolerate “that filthy word” only because they are afraid of him. But T-Ray isn’t.
Weasel tells T-Ray that’s good for him. In fact, given the opportunity, T-Ray would bet that most of the other mercs would love to be free of the name… permanently. He smiles that this opportunity is knocking, and that everyone better pays attention. Weasel wonders what will happen if his friend gets wind of this. T-Ray gets a serious, angry look on his face. He fears that if he told Weasel what would happen, the guy would faint before he had a chance to show it. And that would spoil T-Ray’s fun.
T-Ray taps Weasel on his chest, telling him that he shouldn’t relay on Deadpool too much. T-Ray would hate to see a perfectly good weapons geek be wasted by a man like Wilson. Patch wants to know what’s going on here. He steps outside for one moment to get an ice cream sammitch, and comes back finding everything quiet as a mouse. He notices T-Ray, and warns the guy that he warned him what will happen if he causes mischief in his place again. One more incident, and T-Ray is out. T-Ray smiles, and claims that there are no problems. He can ask anyone. He asks Weasel to confirm it. Weasel hesitates, but quietly confirms to Patch that T-Ray really didn’t do anything wrong.
Killebrew’s lab…
Siryn knocks on the door, informing Wade that their plane is all set and they can go home. Not getting a response, Siryn tries to get in, but… the door is locked?!
Inside, Killebrew tries to change Deadpool’s mind about killing him. Deadpool jokes that this isn’t necessarily. They could have a big musical finale and walk off into the clouds. But unfortunately, Wade detests musicals. Well, except for the one called “Carrie: the Musical,” as a bunch of guys get whacked in that one. Killebrew doesn’t understand the reason: the experiment worked, and Wade is cured. So, he asks: why?
Wade doesn’t agree. He tells Killebrew that he has just put his broken monster back together again. Killebrew has prolonged a life he ruined back in Weapon X. Wade wouldn’t call that a “big safe.” Although, once his finger grows back, it will be nice to scratch his nose again. He guesses that has to count for something. Deadpool promises Killebrew that if the treatment works and he turns back into his old tamper resistant self, he’ll bury Killebrew under a nice knee. He orders the old man to get on his knees.
At the same time, Siryn starts to freak out and keeps pounding the door, calling out to Wade, but he still doesn’t answer. Killebrew knows he said it before, but he can’t get Deadpool his life back. Killebrew knows he can’t even begin to make up for what he put Wade through, but he’s trying, and he mentions that there are others he can help as well. Deadpool knows there are others. Deadpool plans on sending these others Polaroids afterwards to cheer them up. After all, laughter is a good medicine.
Killebrew asks Wade what he’s going to do when Siryn finds out. Deadpool hesitates, but claims that this has got nothing to do with her. He orders Killebrew to hold still while he gets this over with. Siryn uses her powers to break the door apart, and flies inside, hitting Wade with a sonic scream. Siryn can’t believe Wade, that even though after all they’ve been through, he still wants to kill the doctor. Wade jokes that he didn’t think Siryn would want to get blood on her nice uniform. He tells her to back off, so he can end this.
Siryn defends thatm no matter what might have happened in the past, it isn’t right to end a life like this. Wade jokes Siryn if she would prefer poison, because that can work as well. Siryn tries to make Wade understand that, by killing Killebrew, it won’t make the nightmares go away, or undo the horrors that have been done to him. Wade knows they can’t know that for certain before they have tried out the old college way, nor have they. He takes out a cord, wanting to snap Killebrew’s neck with it. Siryn orders Wade to put that away, or, she swears on her mother’s soul, she will stop him no matter what it costs.
Wade doesn’t understand that Siryn would put her life on the line for a scumbag like Killebrew. Wade claims that Killebrew isn’t worth it. Even though Killebrew “cured” Wade, he feels the doctor hasn’t paid the bill for the last time yet. Not when Killebrew destroyed Wade’s life, thinking he was merely government property he could play with. How could Siryn stand up for someone whose respect for human life is so severely impaired. Siryn corrects that she stood up for Wade, now hasn’t she? Wade remains silent for a while, thinking about it. Uninterested, he orders Siryn to move away.
Siryn won’t. Killebrew stops her, thanking Siryn for the thought, but he has seen that look on Deadpool’s face before, and thinks it’s best that she just does as he says. He explains that men like Deadpool and himself are governed by a different system of justice. He had thought that perhaps he had done his penance, but perhaps it’s just not meant to be. In a funny way, Killebrew is relieved. Deadpool thinks that’s good, as he would hate to make Killebrew miserable when he kills him.
Deadpool asks Siryn not to make this any more difficult than it already is, and asks Siryn to go away. Siryn isn’t going anywhere. She tells Wade that, if this is what he feels he needs to do, he’ll have to do it in front of her. She wants to see it. Wade again asks Siryn to leave. She refuses. Deadpool is silent for a while. He gets furious, and shouts at Siryn to go away, now!
The Hellhouse…
Weasel continues to say that he isn’t certain about Deadpool. The one moment, he is your friend; the next he’s playing pin the katana on the posterior. But at least, Wade has a soul.
T-Ray sits alone at the bar, drinking. He notices some mercs staring at him. He warns those people that, if they continue staring, he’ll butcher them and they can expect him to do the same whatever remains of their bodies in front of their relatives. Everyone turns their heads, and mind their own business.
Patch has got a new mission, and it pays big money. The contract is hit on a mob family, three milt cold thirty dirty wise guys. Plus, there will be incentive bonuses. They also want the kids of the mob family’s killed, and have it make look messy. Patch thinks that nobody wants this mission, and thinks he can just throw away the paper. T-Ray stands up triumphantly. Everybody gets quiet. He snatches the information paper away out of Patch’s hand, telling him that he can expect his share by six in the evening.
After T-Ray leaves, Patch gets furious. He doesn’t want anyone speaking to him, and informs his clients that he’ll be in the box and wants to be left alone. Weasel thinks that this just isn’t right.
The Swiss Alps…
Deadpool won’t ask Siryn again to leave. She still refuses to go. Wade doesn’t want Siryn to see him like this. Siryn starts to cry, telling Wade that’s tough then. Wade doesn’t understand why Siryn won’t let him do what he has to do. He knows that she can’t handle it, and suggests that she just goes away and forgets about him. Siryn can’t do that, because she knows that seeing is believing. And she cannot believe that the beast Wade claims to have within him, is stronger than the man she knows he is: the man with the gentle touch, the man with the soft voice, and the man who watches over her as she sleeps.
Wade is surprised that Siryn knows about that. Siryn has known it for weeks now. She could feel his eyes over her, even when hers were closed. And she took great comfort in it because, when Wade is around, she knows that no harm will come to her… that she is safe to dream. But, Siryn concludes, if she is wrong and that man isn’t there, if he never existed, she needs to know it for sure.
Deadpool claims that he isn’t a good man, and he hasn’t been one for a very long time. He dwells in very dark places. For some, Killebrew is responsible for, but for others, he isn’t. Wade guarantees Siryn that she never wants to go there. Siryn wants to be the judge of that herself. She asks Wade to spare Killebrew, and to just accept his gift, and leave with her right now. She promises Wade that he has a friend watching over him for life, and he never has to go into those dark places alone again. Wade doesn’t want Siryn to make promises she can’t keep, and not let them become her. Siryn smiles that she never does that, and never will. Wade stares at her for a while.
Wade tells Killebrew that, from the moment he and Siryn walk out of his house, he wants the doctor to run away. Not walk, run. And, he wants Killebrew to mark this date on his calendar: it will be his new birthday. Siryn has given Killebrew a new life. Wade doesn’t know how much life but, frankly, he doesn’t care. He tells Killebrew to just go and life in peace, or whatever, but he wants the doctor to remember this: death stared down at him today. His own creation came back to do him in, and let him life for only one reason: to safe himself.
Wade tells Killebrew to leave and go find the others, and to help them like Killebrew helped him. But, if Wade hears so much as hears a second-hand rumor that Killebrew is playing his old role again, he will run out of mercy words. Killebrew understands, and swears that he will make amends. Deadpool tells Killebrew not to thank him, as he is a monster, thanks to him. But, he might have changed a little today, thanks to Siryn, who believes in him. Wade puts his arm around Siryn, and they walk away together.
Elsewhere…
There is a place where nothing grows. Where the air hangs thick… and sick. Silent, as if even the whisper of wind is afraid to trespass. No sun has ever shined here. Someone snaps his fingers, and candles, put on skulls of death people, light up.
T-Ray sits silent on his throne, staring in front of him. Today was a good day for him. The assignment went smoothly. He kept evidence. Sometimes, they ask for it. It makes them feel like God. But even when they don’t, T-Ray shows it to them. It’s something that they need to see. They need to be a part of what T-Ray does. He stands up, and undresses. He steps forward, still silent, without even whispering a word.
T-Ray thinks he isn’t a TV satellite, something that can be turn down by a press on a simple button. He is an extension of their rage, greed, pain, lust and soul. And they need to know that. He brings them evidence, so that they can see that T-Ray is indispensable. He thinks it’s better advertising than word of mouth. He goes to sit inside a circle, which he made out of leaflets.
He concentrates on the breathing. His wounds start healing, and T-Ray feels his body repairing itself grudgingly… again. Once more, he breathes. But the screams from the massacre have not yet passed through him. He breathes. Human noises linger and fester, only put to rest when honored. He holds, and recounts the job. He recounts every detail, sound and especially the smell. He smells gunpowder and blood. There’s skin in his mouth.
The woman T-Ray killed. He remembers that her hair hit the ground before she did. The man wore a blue vest, turned very black and wet. He holds. T-Ray remembers it all. All forty-seven of their ends. He remembers. He thinks that’s good, and breathes again. He knows that his victims; deaths must be honored, or they will haunt him. T-Ray knows all about that.
The dishonored flock him, like flies to a walking corpse. He lurks over his shoulder, like he always does. On T-Ray’s back, there is a giant “X” mark, and he warns and tells Deadpool that he can relax, as he isn’t planning to tap him on the back… yet. T-Ray looks closer down his back, and takes a look at the names that are marked on it, and are all scratched through. Deadpool’s name is there as well, but it is untouched.
Westchester, the Xavier Institute…
Deadpool and Siryn are sitting on the roof of the school. It’s snowing. Wade recognizes that there they are again, after a fine mess he got Siryn in yet again. She jokes that’s indeed the truth. Wade wonders what will happen now. She gets confused. Deadpool asks Siryn if she remembers when he told her that he doesn’t have to face his personal issues alone.
Siryn does. Wade was sort of replaying that part in his head and was wondering how not alone he is when Siryn is around. Is it not alone like there’s a person next to him on line at the Quick-E-Mart buying corn nuts, or is it not alone like in a crowded mosh pit. Or is it, not alone, like… they are together? Siryn and Deadpool take a look at each other.
It’s like Siryn said. If Wade needs her, like a friend, for anything, she will be there before he hangs up the phone. But if Wade is talking about something more together than that, that is a difficult time for that sort of thing, for the both of them. She moves closer to Wade, laying her head against his chest. Wade hopes that she doesn’t hear his heart bouncing, and thinks there’s more coming.
Siryn smiles that she has to focus her energies if she is to lead X-Force, and that kind of focus doesn’t leave much room for that kind of together… with anyone. Wade understands. He claims he was just curious. It’s not like he cares or anything. Siryn adds that there’s a “but” to her sentence. Wade asks her to go on. Siryn mentions that’s not to say, if Wade stays on the path Siryn thinks he is on now, and if she can get her own head straight, that together would be totally out of the program.
Wade is surprised to hear that it’s not totally out. Siryn confirms. Wade thinks that’s cool, and can live with it, for as long as he isn’t stringing Siryn or anything. She smiles that he isn’t. Wade moves closer to Siry, asking that until then, they will remain buds. “Always, Siryn concludes… always.
