章節 2: Chapter 2

"So, you're the new Itsy Bitsy, huh?" a man with an all-red suit with black accents says. He's a big guy, all beefy and smiles that can be seen even from his mask. The Peter of this universe face-palms, murmuring something that he can barely catch as 'Not him' with his heightened senses.

"… And you are?"

He clutches his chest with a hand. "My bestie didn't tell you about me? Oh, the betrayal!"

"Deadpool—"

"And after all the team-ups we had, the heart-to-hearts, the cosplays, and the steamy—"

"Wade!" The original Peter whispers harshly from where they had been resting on a skyscraper. This makes the Wade person glance at the other man, silent. Then Peter asks, "How is that you know about him?"

Wade tilts his head, an exaggerated thoughtful expression on his expressive mask. "Weren't you reading the author's notes? It mentioned me! I couldn't not appear."

The original Peter sighs, rubbing his eyes. He looks at him and, with an apologetic expression, introduces him to Wade Wilson, better known as Deadpool.

"It's an honor to meet you, baby Spidey," he says in a kneeling position similar to one of a knight to its liege. "I'm the amazing, the fantastic, the incredible: Deadpool, the merc with a mouth."

He turns to look at Original!Peter. "... He's not a hero?"

"I consider myself an antihero. That's what it says on my wiki page, at least."

At the exasperated explanation of Wade being a mercenary, he's a bit confused. From what he's learned by being near this Peter, his morality has followed his own. While he doesn't want to judge what others do with their life, he cannot help being queasy at knowing there's a contract killer next to him and that this alternate Spider-Man is at ease with.

So yeah, confused. Even more so when he hears Wade humming. He looks down at him and sees him still in the same position with a hand under his chin as he… looks at his ass.

"Yes, yes. He really is another version of my Spidey."

He blushes when he starts forming a camera with his fingers to frame his behind. Peter trips backward and yelps while the original Peter moves in front of him.

"Really, Wade? He's a kid."

"I'm just appreciating art, baby boy."

He mouths 'baby boy' while the other Peter replies, "Don't call me that."

Wade grabs original Peter's hands. "Oh! Are you jealous, Strawberry Pie?"

The original Peter of that dimension sighs once again before they start to bicker, though he notices that he doesn't push Wade away.

The trip to Pennsylvania is arduous, not because it's long, as he took a flight there. Mostly, it is because he's had to use his camouflage mode to stick himself onto the plane.

He knows he already did something similar to go to space. Still, it doesn't matter if it's better than that experience, it still sucks. By the time he lands, he's tired and hungry. However, at least Edith has finished her calculations about the similarities between all the other Earths he's been.

The good news is that this world doesn't seem to have a Spider-Man, and it seems to follow the same script as his original one. History follows his own with just a couple of add-ons in between, like the existence of mutants and other future heroes-to-be.

The bad news is that, if he's not mistaken, the New York invasion will happen in less than two weeks. He hopes he's wrong, but… Parker's luck and all.

When he reaches the building where Edith tells him Wade is, he's still torn between going all gung-ho or taking the safe approach. It's mid-afternoon, so maybe the cautious way would be better.

He makes Edith hack the cameras outside the building so he can go inside safely, making sure to web the people in a room for an easy escape. With his camouflage mode and his ability to crawl on walls, it's pretty straightforward to do so. It takes him less than fifteen minutes to reach the inside. When he's in, he decides to search for a computer first so that Edith can hack their server directly, making the search quicker.

He only has to knock out a couple of guards to do so. Before she's done downloading all the files she can, a window opens on top of his sight that only he can see, thanks to his mask. It's a map.

"Peter, you need to go to the basement on the right wing now." Sensing the urgency of her words, he stood up and followed the route she pointed to.

"What happened?" he asks.

"Wade's inside a machine that's suffocating him."

Shit.

He moves quicker, not bothering with subtlety when he reaches the basement and hears someone choking. He runs at top speed and sees the machine with Wade inside. Without thinking, he jumps on top. He only has a second to see him widening his eyes before he pulls the door open with all his strength while also being careful not to break the glass. The metal parts bend as he pulls, and for a moment, there's this horrible sound coming from it before it breaks.

Wade takes sharp gulps of air as Peter breaks his restraints. It takes him a couple of seconds to do so carefully as he sees the injuries and painful scars running across his skin.

"You're going to be okay," he murmurs as he sees Wade's intake becoming slower, his eye fluttering lightly as he seemingly starts to run out of energy. "Fuck."

He tells Edith to take his mask away, and he doesn't think twice before doing CPR on him and doesn't stop until he feels him breathing again.

"You're okay," he repeats, glad to hear his heart beating. He sits up, only now realizing that almost half his weight was on him while injured. "Oh! I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Wade nods, his hands going to steady him as Peter almost topples over. "Are you an—"

He stops whatever he's going to say, looking at his hands in silent horror. Peter looks down at them and sees them heavily scarred. They look painful. He softly reaches for them. "Do they hurt?"

Looking up at him, he gives him an incredulous look. He tries to sit, and Peter helps him. He seems distracted as he looks down at himself. He lifts up the long shirt he's wearing. Peter quickly looks away when he realizes that's the only thing he's wearing.

He hears him panic momentarily before hearing him gritting his teeth as he says 'Francis' with such hatred. Peter's gaze snaps at him when he tries to get out of the machine. Ignoring as best as he can his nude form, he helps him out, being as careful as he can.

He sees now that the long shirt has fallen in its place and covers the important bits once again. "Hey, let's get you out and—"

"I need to find Francis. That bastard is the only one who can…" he trails off as he looks down at his hands again, distracted.

"I don't think you're in any shape to fight anyone."

He sees the conflict in his gaze as he mutters, "I'm a monster."

"Don't say that, Wade," he says, but he's being ignored as the man returns again to seething. "Let's get you out, okay?"

When he sees Wade looking around for weapons, he touches his shoulder and squeezes lightly until the other looks at him. "Hey, look—look at me."

He grabs his head and sees some scars on his face. Unlike the Wade from that Earth, this Wade's skin is not a scar, but there are enough for them to be painful looking. "You're not a monster, okay? Everything is going to be okay. I'll help you out."

"… No." Peter blinks at him, ready to talk, but he's interrupted. "I need answers from him."

He wants to admonish him, but the truth is that he doesn't know him enough on this Earth to be of help. He knows Deadpool doesn't have the same morality as him and doesn't want to impose his ideas, but… he's worried.

At that moment, sounds come from upstairs, and Wade's steely look tells him enough about what he wants to do.