Chapter 8
VIII
Wade sighed loudly.
He was lying on the new queen-sized bed that he had bought with Logan. It had taken hours, and a lot of growls, and two threats, to finalize this one – only because Wade wanted to try every single one, as opposed to Logan, who was fine with the first one they came across in the store. Finally, they had both settled on this one, big enough to hold them both, with no space underneath to fit anyone, and with a cushioned headboard and storage space inside. Everyone had appreciated the choice, and Wade, with a grin, had asked Logan if he wanted to break it in together, to which he had gotten a double bonus: middle finger and middle claw.
Now, he was lying on it, one hand clutching his stuffed unicorn. He looked at the toy and sighed again. His eyes wandered around the apartment, looking at everything and nothing. Just then, he seems to notice you and raises his eyebrows. “Oh, hello. Don’t mind me, I’m just…thinking about stuff.” He looks at the unicorn in his hand, then back at you, and then places the off-white toy by his head carefully. “I think I’m going through ennui. But it’s a weird kind of ennui. I mean, it’s not that there’s any lack of excitement in my life, and I’m pretty much satisfied with the way things are. So, it’s not the usual ennui. But there’s still…something.” He turns over, lying now on his stomach, both palms under the chin, a frown on his face. “I’ve been thinking about endings. When should they happen, how should they happen, all that shit.” He pauses for a second. “Take this story, for instance. What more is left in it now? I’m over my break-up, Logan is recovering from his trauma nicely, he’s got his family back. Everything is fine. So…what more is left?” He closes his eyes and sighs. “I don’t even know anymore what this story is about.” He shrugs. “Honestly, I stopped trying to guess once Dopinder’s drug business was revealed, but still. I’m tired.” He rolls over again, placing his head on the pillow. “The movie ending was fine. It was a good trilogy. So why is this still going on? Can’t be anything good left now. It’s like that joke, when you’re reading a book and everything is resolved but there’s still, like, eight chapters left. Nothing good can come next.” He takes in a deep breath and loudly lets it out. “This fourth wall awareness is exhausting.”
Al entered the apartment. In one hand, she held a basketful of newly washed and dried clothes, and in another, her walking stick. She made her way to the big bed. Wade rolled aside just in time before she emptied the basket onto the bed where he was sprawled.
“Hey, somebody was lying there!”
“Somebody was?” She said, bored. “Didn't see them.” She sat down and began folding the clothes (weirdly).
“Ha ha, blind humour, very original.”
“Your pettiness is up. Where’s Logan?” Al asked.
Wade made a face. “I don’t know. Probably with Laura or Rogue or someone.”
“Bitch, are you jealous?” Al said, incredulous.
Wade blinked and sat up, looking away. “No, I’m not.”
“I’m blind, not deaf.” Al said, “What’s wrong?”
Wade folded his legs and clutched the pillow tighter to his chest. “I don’t know, Al. I mean... I’m not jealous...at least, I don’t think I am. I’m happy for him, that he’s found his family or whatever, and I’m glad he spends time with them. It’s just...I feel...”
“Left out?” She completed.
He nodded, then added a small “Mmhmm.”
She turned away, folding another cloth (wrongly). “Then why don’t you tell him?” She kept it down, and picked up another (sadly). “Just tell him how you feel and—”
“Why does everyone keep telling me to talk about feelings with that human knife-stand?” He said, annoyed but unable to keep a small tinge of sadness out of his voice. “The last time I did, he cut off my leg. If I do again, and about this, it’ll be my heart and my dick.”
“Wasn’t the leg thing three months ago? Hasn’t it grown back by now?” She asked.
“Thanks for telling us about the time jump.” Wade straightened his left leg, pulling back his pyjama to look at it. “I don’t like this one. I liked the old one better.”
She scoffed. “If you want me to babysit, then pay me for it.” She turned to him, except it was to the bed's headboard. “I’m sure if you talk to him, he’ll, I don't know, understand or something.”
Wade sighed aloud. “I don’t know. He doesn’t feel what I feel for him. I know that much. So, what’s the point?”
Al didn’t know what to say. Wade looks at you and says, “I’m afraid my face will soon be in those memes about what a situationship does to a motherfucker.” He nods. “Let’s stop before that happens.”
Suddenly, a voice blasted from somewhere close by, “FUCK YOU HONEY BADGER!”
Al jerked violently, throwing the (poor) cloth she was holding. “Motherfucker, what the fuck is that fucking thing?”
He pressed the volume button on his phone to silence it. “You should contact the Guinness Book people for the most amounts of fucks said in a single sentence. Compete with Samuel L. Jackson for the record.” He looked at the screen. “It’s my X-Alert. Something is happening in the city,” He deepened his voice heroically, “and they need a superhero.”
Al scoffed. “Superhero, my ass.”
He jumped off the bed and pulled out his suit from under the couch. “You know, you really hurt me sometimes, Althea. Good thing I pay it all back by refilling your shampoo bottle.” He winks at you.
Al frowned, confused. In two minutes, he left the apartment with his suit on, and heard her yell, “Oh you filthy fucking—” before the voice was cut off by the door slamming. He threw his head back and laughed, jumping down the stairs.
He didn’t have to go far. Just as he exited his street and turned, he saw the source of the alert. A couple of blocks away a sentinel stood. Except it didn’t look like a sentinel. It had two heads and four arms, and there was a flat round metallic circle on its broader than usual chest, looking like an entry hatch. People were running away from it, but the robot, surprisingly, just stood in the middle of the street, four storeys tall, doing nothing. Wade ran closer to it and stopped when he noticed it wasn’t posing any imminent danger to people or property.
“A fucking Siamese sentinel!? Somebody’s getting inspired by The Human Centipede.” He said, pulling out guns.
With a loud noise, a plane landed on a building close to the sentinel’s head. Wade recognized it as Cable’s jet in which they had rescued Logan. As if in response, the sentinel’s eyes glowed, all four of them, and it started its usual chant of “SURRENDER MUTANTS.” The words sounded even more awful doubled in sync. It raised both of its right arms and pointed them at the building where the plane had just landed. Panels opened and barrels jutted out from it.
“There we go. Now it’s more of the usual.” Wade fired two shots at both of the heads to get their attention. Just as the sentinel pointed its remaining hands at him, there was an explosion near its head as Cable threw a bomb at it. Russell came into view on top of the building, shooting flames at the exposed barrels in its two arms. Domino was briefly visible, holding two guns, with a belt full of grenades on her shoulder and a shotgun in a holster on her back, before disappearing, choosing to take the elevator down instead of jumping off of the roof as the guys had done. A minute later, she joined Wade, who was busy dodging the stomping metal feet. “Hey!” She called as Wade jumped to the side just as a large foot landed on the road where he had been. He responded with a nod and a curse as another foot tried to squash them both. Thankfully, the double-sentinel’s initial inactive appearance had emptied the buildings around, because just then it fired off several rounds into them. As Cable and Russell dodged the fire and debris, Domino and Wade aimed at its head and tried to blow out its eyes. It took a step back and expelled a range of small missiles. There was a flurry of smoke and explosions, following which Cable and Russell landed roughly near Wade and Domino. They ran to take cover behind the car as the street was filled with debris from the missiles hitting the buildings around them. Dodging through the chaos, Russell ran towards its giant feet and blasted them with almost-white flames. The excessive smoke from that obstructed its vision further.
“Any idea where it came from?” Wade asked as he reloaded his guns.
“No, but it was calling to me.” Cable said and jumped to the other side of the car. He changed the intensity of his large, amazing gun, and aimed it at the robot’s chest. “Russell!” He yelled, making the mutant notice and jump to the side, and fired. The robot flew back by the impact, crashing into a building at the end of the street. Cable got slammed back into the car with the gun’s massive recoil. Domino pulled Wade out of the way as the car was pushed back a few feet. They met Cable on the other side. His back made mechanical sounds when he straightened. Russell joined them.
“What do you mean calling to you?” Wade asked.
“I mean it was acting as a beacon for my network.” He examined the gun and its depleted fuel cell. “That’s why it didn’t do anything until we got here.” Wade nodded. “And that’s also why I need to get close to it.”
“Why?” Russell asked.
There was a sound of crashing as the sentinel got up, breaking away a part of the building it had fallen against. The group got into the fighting stance as it freed itself from the debris and turned towards them. “To see who’s behind all this.” Cable said and moved forward.
As the robot came closer, he fired at its legs. “Get it to fall again!” He said. Russell followed him and aimed at its feet. Wade and Domino fired shot after shot at its face, but their bullets mostly bounced off with a few sparks. He stopped firing and lowered his guns, looking around. Domino looked at him between firing and yelled, “Not the time for sightseeing!”
Wade found what he was looking for and pulled out his katanas. “Keep it distracted!”
“Of course! Leave the easy task for me.”
He ran towards the sentinel and Cable, who stood closer to its giant legs, dodging and firing, trying to get it to stop. He paused when he saw Wade coming towards him. “What the fuck are you doing?” The robot swatted at him with one of its hands and he lifted up his arm. An orange shield formed briefly as the mechanical arm connected with it, pushing Cable back. The impact broke the road as he maintained his balance and stayed standing.
Wade dodged a missile released from the sentinel’s other arm and continued running towards Cable at full speed. Just before they would have collided, Cable understood, lifted his arm and bent his knee. Wade jumped and hit the shield. The cyborg yelled as he held the weight for a moment, before pushing up with all his might. Deadpool yelled, “Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks!” as he went up, katanas ready. He reached chest height and struck the adamantium blades into the sentinel. It helped that the robot was moving forwards, as the motion pushed the swords deeper in. Wade held on, trying to get a foothold, but not finding any. Before he could do anything else, hard fingers wrapped around him and pulled him off. One sword stayed in the sentinel’s chest, stuck on the edge of the circular panel on its chest. It threw him away, making him crash hard behind Domino. Cable threw a bunch of grenades into its face, making it pause for a moment. Meanwhile Domino found Wade lying on the road with his back bent at an awful angle. As she looked, his body righted itself and he let out a volley of curses.
“Brilliant idea.” She said, helping him up.
“The plan was to climb up. Fucker’s faster.” Wade said, stretching his back.
They turned to find the sentinel approaching them again, much closer. Cable’s firing and Russell’s fire seemed to have no effect. For a moment, it seemed it wouldn’t stop and directly barrel into them, but then it stepped on part of a broken wall on the road. Cable threw a small grenade under it, and as it blew up, the sentinel lost its footing. Only a few feet from them, its right knee crashed into the road and it swayed dangerously, but its arms prevented a complete fall. Undeterred, it doubled over and leaned forward, reaching out with its left arm to where Wade and Domino were standing behind the car. Just as it reached them, its barrels glowing from within, preparing to fire at them, a chain came whistling through the air and wrapped around its arm with loud clanging, and pulled it to the side. All the firepower hit the right side of the street, causing the apartments and shops there to blow up.
Cable jumped over the now fallen sentinel, both of them barely visible through the dust and smoke, and attempted to find an opening through which he could connect to its internal network. As the sentinel slowly got up, Wade and Domino turned to find Yukio, Negasonic Warhead, Laura, Logan and Colossus. Yukio, Ellie and Colossus were holding down her chain-whip that had diverted the sentinel’s arm.
“Finally!” Wade said when the New X-Men had joined Domino, Russell and him. Logan and Laura stood together, suited up. Logan’s lips curved in a small smile as he shot a quick glance at Laura, who had her claws out and was growling. “That's what being with your loved ones does to a motherfucker: happy as a bee,” He looks at you with a flat expression. “And twice as fucking late for important stuff.”
The sentinel got up, throwing the cyborg off its back with one of its hands. Cable crashed beside the group. Logan took a step forward, claws out. “Throw me.” He said to Colossus.
“What?” The giant mutant was confused.
“Now!” He yelled, and Colossus had no other choice but to comply. He grabbed Logan behind the neck and by the waist, and threw him straight at the robot’s face as Wade clapped and said, “Callback!”
The double-sentinel took a few steps back as it found claws into one of its heads. Laura also got herself thrown at the face by Colossus who looked really uncomfortable. Logan found himself beside Laura and had only a moment of surprise before the sentinel’s motion forced him to focus. Yukio and Wade used her chain-whip to hold two of its arms, while Ellie blasted off small explosions whenever it tried to fire at them. Russell aimed his fire at its other hand, preventing it from shooting haphazardly out of the deserted street. Colossus rammed its legs, forcing it to move back. Domino had brought out small grenades which she was throwing at its chest, at a respectable distance from the two mutants on its face. It seemed the heroes were overpowering the robot.
Cable spotted the hilt of Wade’s katana sticking out of the sentinel’s chest, and knew that was the opening he needed. He ran towards a half-broken building. As the robot took more steps back, overwhelmed by mutants on each of its heads, and mutants hindering its arms and guns, and mutants breaking its balance, Cable climbed the building, finding footholds in broken walls and windows. He reached the needed height and jumped towards the sentinel, who suddenly went rigid. It spoke, “INITIATING.” Arm outstretched, the cyborg was in mid-leap, about to reach the sword in its chest, when the metallic circle on its chest slid open, throwing down the sword and revealing a heavily wired interior with a spherical device in their centre. The device turned, aligning some internal circuitry, and there was a red flash. A wave of red light spread out from the sentinel’s chest. Cable, closest to the device, was thrown back, followed by Logan and Laura. Yukio, Wade, Ellie and Russell crashed into the buildings behind them. Colossus fell back as well, while Domino, who was in the middle of reloading her shotgun behind cover of an overturned car, was saved from the full blast and fell back only a few feet, losing her balance due to the rubble. The sentinel itself had fallen back by the impact of the device.
Confusion reigned as nobody understood what had just happened. Wade felt a growing pain in his side and chest. As he gathered strength to get up, he looked around. His ears were ringing, and he was surrounded by bricks and dust. With vision blurred, he tried to get on his feet, but his left leg gave way and he slid down on the floor, another sharp stab of pain making him cry out. For a few moments, he didn’t understand the persisting pain. He raised his hand and looked at it. There was a gash on his palm from the chain he had been holding, made when he was thrown back. He kept looking at it, expecting the wound to close, but it didn’t. As his chest and throat started hurting more and he felt a cough coming, he understood what had happened. His powers were gone. Whatever the sentinel had released, it had removed his powers. With difficulty he pulled himself up by a beam sticking out of a broken wall. He looked around. He was inside a broken room, its roof tilted and two of the walls entirely gone. Light came from outside, though it was hazed up because of the dust and smoke. He got to his feet, his left leg possibly sprained or broken. Supporting himself by the walls and rubble strewn around, he headed outside. As his hearing returned, he heard, much to his confusion, sounds of car engines and wheels. The smoke and dust were heavy, making his already weak vision worse. He took a few more steps further, trying to get to the road, and found Yukio lying by the outside wall. There was a wound on her head, and some blood on the ground. He placed a hand on the wall and slid down carefully by her side, breathing slowly to stop the pain from increasing. He examined her pulse. It seemed steady.
The dust cleared a little and he could see further to the road, where several dark cars stood closer to the end of the street, their engines humming. “Log—” He began but a coughing fit overtook him. He tasted blood. Once it subsided, he tried again, calling out, “Logan!” but there was no answer. Several doors slammed and the cars zoomed out of the street. Their motion and exhaust blew the dust and smoke away, making the scene clearer.
Debris filled the street – bricks, shattered glass, wood, metal beams, stones. The air still swirled with dust and smoke, but it was dissipating. Directly opposite to where Wade was sitting with Yukio, he spotted Russell getting up with Ellie’s help. “Wade?” She called when she saw him looking. Then she saw Yukio and her eyes widened. “Is she…” She panted as she let go of Russell and rushed towards them, holding her side.
“She’s okay.” He said with a small wheeze. “Just concussed, I think.”
She sat down by them and held her head in her lap. Yukio stirred, making Ellie let out a small sigh of relief.
“Did you see anyone else?” He asked. “What happened?”
“I saw Cable running towards the sentinel.” She looked at her hand, making it into a fist. “It released something. My powers aren’t working.”
“Yeah, neither are mine.” Wade tried to get up, but fell back as he coughed again. She looked at him with concern. “It’s…it’s fine, nothing to worry about.” Russell joined them and helped him to his feet. “Just cancer rushing back to where it was before I got my powers.”
Before anyone had time to express their horror, a cry came from the direction of the fallen sentinel. At once, the pain in Wade’s chest lessened, and then vanished altogether. He looked at his palm. The wound was closing. The others looked more strengthened too.
“That was Cable!” Russell said and ran towards the sound.
Ellie stayed beside Yukio. “Go. I’m with her.” She said to Wade, who nodded and followed Russell.
Beyond the cloud of dust, the sentinel lay dead. On its chest, by the open panel, Cable knelt, his arm inside the panel, wires running from his arm to the robot. He was frozen, his head turned towards the sky and face stuck on an expression of pain. Russell seemed close to crying. “What do we do? What’s happening to him?”
Wade put a hand on his shoulder. “I…I don’t know. Maybe…hit him with a wooden stick?” When the kid looked at him with an incredulous face, he shrugged, “I don’t know, looks like electrical shock, what else can we do?”
With great effort, and shaking all over, Cable lowered his head and closed his mouth, his jaw clenching. His eye glowed and the pupil turned swiftly. With his free hand, he slowly detached the wires. Just as the last one was removed, he relaxed and fell to the ground. Wade and Russell rushed to his side. “Are you alright? What happened?” The boy said, panicked.
Cable didn’t say anything for a moment, just panted. He lay kneeling on the road, head lowered, eyes on what remained of the road. Wade realized that smoke was coming out of him. Then he answered, “I’m fine.” His voice was barely more than a whisper.
“You don’t sound fine.” Wade said.
“Power dampening field.” He said, “The fucker carried something that—” He paused, sighing heavily, then went on, “that generated a power dampening field.”
“The fuck?” A voice said from behind them. Laura, Ellie, Colossus and Logan, carrying Yukio, walked towards them. Colossus was limping a little. Logan was the one who had said what everyone was thinking.
Cable nodded. “I shut it down, but it…” He looked around. “Where’s Domino?”
Everyone turned and followed his eyes, as if expecting her to appear at any moment. But she didn’t. Cable and Yukio rested by the fallen robot while everyone went all across the street to look for her, but she wasn’t there. When they regrouped, Wade said, “I saw some black cars, directly after the sentinel blasted us with the power dampening whatever.”
“I did too!” Russell said, “But I thought I was hallucinating.”
“You weren’t.” Colossus said. “There were tire tracks.”
“And the smell of their engines and exhaust.” Laura said, “Though I only noticed it when you mentioned cars.”
“Did they take her? What…why would…who were they?” Russell said, once again sounding close to crying.
“Probably the same people who sent this monster of a sentinel.” Cable muttered, his voice shaking a little.
“It’s okay. We’ll find her.” Logan said, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“How?” He asked, but nobody had any answers.
After a moment, Logan said, “How did you find me, when they took me?”
“We scanned for adamantium.” Cable answered. “Won’t work here.” He seemed more tired than usual, and smoke was still coming out of him, along with a low humming sound, barely noticeable but just audible if someone stood very close very quietly.
The group stood together in the middle of the ruined street, not knowing what to do. Ellie held Yukio’s hand, who was still unconscious. Laura and Logan slowly went back to where they thought Domino had fallen, trying to find any clues or tracks. Colossus, Russell and Wade stood helplessly with Cable, who was leaning against the robot’s leg. After a moment, he nodded to himself.
“Alright. No other way.” He muttered before raising his voice, “Take me to the Mansion.”
“Yes, mansion is better. We can plan what to do there.” Colossus said, relieved to have a clear task. “Negasonic, you and Wade come with Cable’s jet. I will take Yukio, Cable and the rest on our jet.”
“I’m not leaving her.” She said, no trace of suggestion or plea in her words.
After a pause, he said, “Alright, bring Yukio with you. Wade and Russell will help get her to the plane.” He turned to Cable. “Can you…I mean, are you—”
“I can walk.” Cable said, then slowly got up, his jaw clenched. “And I’m coming in my jet.” There were beads of sweat on his forehead, and he breathed faster than usual. Most of his poncho had been burned off during the fight, but he pulled whatever was left of it around himself – to hide the smoke, Wade noticed – and moved towards one of the ruined buildings.
Colossus looked to Wade for help. Wade jogged over to where Cable was slowly walking and said, “You really don’t seem—”
“I’m fine.” He replied.
With a sigh, Wade said, “Okay, but at least let someone else fly the plane. I don’t want to destroy another NY street.”
He muttered assent and walked on.
“Something’s wrong with him.” Russell said as they watched him go.
“Yeah.” Wade said, “We’ll probably find out once we get to the mansion.” He turned towards the damaged buildings. “Now, who knows how to fly a plane?”
“I can do it.” Ellie said as Russell followed Cable towards a shop whose front was mostly gone, and a stairway was visible behind a fallen table. Wade carried Yukio up. Thankfully, the stairway wasn’t obstructed by anything, though the terrace, where the jet stood, was tilted dangerously. The building gave up and broke fully when the jet lifted off. Cable stayed in the back of the plane, looking for something that he didn’t disclose when Wade asked, ignoring him completely. From the air, Russell looked down at the destruction. Police cars flashed red and blue as the cops set up barricades on both ends of the street. Most of the buildings lining the road were gone, and the road itself was only distinguishable as the road due to the giant sentinel lying in the middle of it.
“It looks scary even dead.” Russell said, then asked, “Who cleans up all this?”
“We do.” Ellie said, her hands on the controls. “A team would be on its way now.”
“And the police help you?” Wade asked.
“More or less, yeah. They don’t interfere, and we clean up the debris and the weaponry.”
“And the damage?”
“Insurance helps, and the government. Some department works on relocation and rebuilding. We help too, wherever we can.”
“Thank God for insurance.” Russell said.
“And fuck God for insurance CEOs.” Wade tilts his head towards you. “That’s topical.”