But soon, Deadpool noticed that just before Vanessa hit the ground, a sudden gust of wind cushioned her fall, allowing her to land safely.
On the other side, Francis wasn't so lucky.
He crashed hard, rolling onto the pavement with a grunt.
Still, the guy was tough—despite the brutal drop, he managed to push himself up, albeit with some struggle.
"To be honest, I'm really surprised," Ethan remarked, stepping forward.
"Where'd you get the guts to keep fighting? Do you actually think you have a shot at winning?" He reached down, effortlessly lifting Francis by the collar.
But as he did, his eyes involuntarily fixated on Francis' bald head.
"Hey, you're not hiding a second-stage transformation or something, are you?" Ethan muttered, a skeptical expression crossing his face.
Then, as if disgusted by the thought, he casually tossed Francis aside like a piece of trash.
"Ethan, what the hell?" Katie frowned.
She had seen the way Ethan threw him—Francis' limbs twisted unnaturally as he hit the ground.
"Try not to kill him just yet. We still need some answers."
"It was just instinct," Ethan waved her off.
"Honestly, I thought he might pull some last-minute transformation. It's just… weird." He shook his head, muttering to himself as if still unconvinced.
Ignoring Ethan's grumblings, Katie strode up to Francis and crouched down. "Hey, you're not dead yet. So get up and answer my questions."
Francis, coughing up blood, lifted his head and sneered. "You really think I'll cooperate with you?"
"Doesn't matter if you will or won't. We just need the information," Ethan said, stepping beside Katie.
He still wasn't over the fact that Francis was just… bald.
No hidden tricks, no last-minute power-ups.
Just a regular, albeit incredibly durable, human.
Ethan raised his hand, and a subtle glint reflected off a small vial filled with a yellowish liquid—one of Stryker's concoctions designed to break the will of mutants.
He had picked it up during their raid, a little souvenir courtesy of the former Weapon X mastermind.
"I'll admit, I underestimated you guys," Francis coughed, wiping blood from his lip.
But then, despite his state, he smirked. "But do you really think this is over?"
Before Ethan or Katie could react, Katie's eyes flicked upward. "Look out—above you!" she shouted.
Ethan barely had time to turn his head before a massive steel gate came hurtling toward him from the high platform.
With a flick of his fingers, he altered its trajectory, catching it effortlessly before setting it down with a loud clang.
His eyes narrowed as he spotted a new figure standing on the platform above them—clutching a massive container in both hands.
Before anyone could question who this new arrival was, the figure heaved the container with incredible force, sending it flying straight at Ethan.
"Seriously?" Ethan muttered before catching it mid-air.
His expression darkened as he realized just how heavy it was.
This wasn't something an ordinary enhanced human could toss around for fun.
The container had to weigh at least 30 to 40 tons.
"Hulk?" he thought for a moment, but no—the guy lacked the signature gamma-green skin.
The figure above lifted yet another container, clearly intending to throw it as well.
"Oh, so you wanna play that game?" Ethan smirked, tightening his grip on the container he caught.
Then, with a single powerful motion, he hurled it back.
The air exploded with a deafening BOOM as the two containers collided mid-air, smashing into each other before flying off in opposite directions.
The mystery assailant on the platform visibly flinched.
A moment later, he spun on his heels and bolted, clearly realizing he had bitten off more than he could chew.
"Oh no, you don't," Ethan muttered.
With his control over vectors, closing the distance would be effortless.
Just as he was about to pursue, a powerful explosion rocked the entire facility.
The massive mechanical platform they stood beneath groaned as its supporting pillars gave way, sending the multi-ton structure plummeting downward.
"Well, that's just great," Deadpool quipped, looking up as the behemoth of metal and steel came crashing down.
"This guy's want to commit seppuku, he's got guts, I'll give him that."
The collapsed ruins of the high platform suddenly erupted in an explosion, sending debris flying in all directions.
From the smoke and rubble, Ethan slowly ascended, his body surrounded by a faint shimmering barrier of wind.
"You guys alright?" Ethan asked as he dispersed the wind shield, scanning the area below where his teammates were emerging from cover.
Originally, he'd intended to just push aside the falling debris—the weight meant little to him—but the moment he made contact with the structure, a series of hidden explosives went off, turning the platform into a cloud of dust and shrapnel.
Whoever set this up had come prepared, just like Deadpool. Only this guy had an even greater sense of mobility and chaos.
With tens of thousands of tons of concrete and steel crashing down, Ethan had been the only thing standing between his team and getting flattened.
Even with Colossus' steel skin, the sheer magnitude of the collapse would have been devastating.
"We're fine," Katie called as she climbed out from the rubble, brushing dust off her suit. "Where's the guy?"
"He's on the run. I'll have S.H.I.E.L.D. try to track him down, but honestly? I doubt they'll get anything useful." Ethan's eyes flickered with uncertainty.
The attacker wasn't some low-level enforcer like Francis—this was someone with real power, someone who knew how to cover their tracks.
In a world as unpredictable as Marvel's, expecting S.H.I.E.L.D. to handle it was wishful thinking at best.
"Good thing we still have a rat to squeeze for intel," Ethan remarked, turning his gaze toward Francis.
In his hand, the hallucinogenic serum shimmered ominously.
Angel moved as if to intervene, but before she could take a step, Pete tackled her.
The two immediately tumbled to the ground, locked in another chaotic brawl.
"Alright," Ethan muttered, focusing back on Francis. "Let's cut to the chase. Who was that guy?"
As the serum dripped onto the back of Francis' neck, his pupils dilated, and his body went limp.
His resistance melted away as the drug took effect.
Francis blinked slowly, his voice distant as he answered, "I... don't know his real identity. He never told me his name. But I do know one thing—he's strong. They call him... Mr. Hyde."
Ethan frowned, the name stirring something in the back of his mind, but the connection eluded him.
Katie crossed her arms.
"And he's the one who gave you all that mutant data? The one who helped you develop the awakening serum?"
Francis let out a weak chuckle.
"The original formula came from him. I just... improved it. But the information he gave me—it wasn't about mutants. According to him, these subjects came from another race. A race similar to mutants."
Ethan's eyes narrowed, he muttered "Inhumans."
Everything clicked into place.
'That explains it. Mr. Hyde isn't just some underground dealer—he's connected to the Inhumans. No wonder he had access to this kind of data.'
Inhumans and mutants had always been intertwined.
Both were offshoots of human evolution, their histories deeply connected.
While mutants emerged naturally over time, the Inhumans were the result of ancient Kree experimentation, splicing alien DNA into early humans.
Unlike mutants, the Inhumans had never lost their history or technology.
They had advanced far beyond humanity, but their fatal flaw was their dependence on Terrigen Mist to activate their abilities.
Without it, their powers remained dormant.
Because of this limitation, the Inhumans had preserved their civilization but never sought to rule Earth.
Their numbers were too small, their awakenings too unpredictable.
Even if humanity didn't resist, the Inhumans simply didn't have the numbers to take control.
On the other hand, mutants, scattered across the world without unity, thrived in ancient times due to powerful individuals who passed their genes through generations. This led to a staggering reality—at least 80% of the world's population carries the mutant X-gene.
Evolution is unpredictable, sometimes absurd. Advantages turn into weaknesses, and setbacks can become strengths. No one knows who will ultimately prevail.
"Given Mr. Hyde's connection to the Inhumans, the formula he created must be based on their technology," Ethan muttered, already forming a plan.
If he could track down the Inhumans, he might learn more.
While the Terrigen Mist was toxic to mutants, its ability to awaken latent superhuman genes was a technological marvel worth studying.
Ethan figured it was time to find the Inhumans and meet them face-to-face.
Having lost interest in Francis, Ethan realized the man had outlived his usefulness.
At best, he was just a pawn who had revealed crucial information.
He considered tossing Francis to Deadpool as a parting gift, but—oh.
It seemed Deadpool was busy with something far more important.
"Are you sure you want to see what's under this mask? It might not be what you remember," Deadpool said hesitantly.
"I'm sure," Vanessa replied, gently removing the mask.
For a moment, she flinched at his scarred face, but then her expression softened.
She saw the suffering he had endured, the pain he had survived.
"You know," she said with a playful smirk, "after a drink and some foreplay, I think I could still sit on this face."
"Okay, let's pace ourselves here," Ethan muttered, looking away.
"Let him go!" Angel called out, fiercely loyal to Francis.
"You should focus on your own fight," Pete warned.
Seizing the opportunity, he landed a punch that sent Angel crashing into the ruins.
"Looks like I win this round—" Pete started, but then he noticed something.
Angel's top strap had torn during their fight.
"Uh… your left… uh… looks great? I mean—I didn't do that on purpose!" Pete stammered, covering his eyes like the honest guy he was.
Angel smirked.
"Oh, how sweet of you. Thanks!" she said, adjusting the strap back into place.
Then, without warning, she swung her fist straight at Pete's lower body.
BOOM!
A thunderous impact rang out, like an ancient temple bell echoing through the mountains.
Pete was sent flying over ten meters.
He landed hard, no longer in his steel form, kneeling on the ground in stunned silence.
Once an unshakable Colossus, Pete had finally found his weakness.
Everyone fell silent, staring in shock.
Meanwhile, Angel wasn't done.
She sprang to her feet and lunged toward Ethan, clearly determined to snatch Francis away.
"Tch. Annoying," Ethan muttered.
His expression turned cold as he raised a hand and sliced through the air with a flick of his fingers.
Angel froze mid-motion, her body convulsing before she crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
"Ethan, that's enough! Don't hurt her!" Pete shouted, his voice desperate.
Ethan arched a brow.
"Are you serious?" He couldn't tell if Pete was still disoriented from the hit or if he'd just lost his mind.
"I'm serious. I think… she's been manipulated by Francis. And besides… after fighting for so long, I realized she's the only one who makes me feel something." Pete rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed.
Ethan blinked. "..."
What kind of feeling was this?
Had Pete actually been inspired by Deadpool's nonsense earlier?
If these two ended up together, they'd need an Adamantium-reinforced bed just to survive the chaos.