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The battlefield did not calm.
It simply changed shape.
The Pursuer had lost an arm.
The massive limb lay torn from his body on the square like some grotesque monument to violence. Beside it rested the heavy machine gun, empty and smoking, its barrel glowing faintly red.
The Pursuer himself had smashed through a wall and vanished into City Hall.
No one knew where he had gone.
Only destruction marked his path.
Above the square, the two remaining armed helicopters pulled higher into the sky. They circled cautiously, widening their distance from the building.
They had learned something important.
Deadpool had rockets.
What they didn't know was—
He didn't anymore.
He was completely out.
---
"Get on the helicopter!"
Alice sensed the shift in momentum immediately.
This was their window.
The mercenaries were in chaos. The Pursuer had disappeared. The helicopters were repositioning.
This was survival time.
She burst from under the transport helicopter, rifle blazing, covering her teammates with sharp, controlled fire.
"Charge!"
The first three moved fast, firing while advancing.
L.J. and Tali supported Peyton, who was limping but conscious, while Angela clung tightly to them. They sprinted toward the open hatch of the helicopter.
Gunfire followed them, but the covering fire was solid.
They made it inside.
---
From a shattered window of City Hall, Kane watched with rage twisting his face.
"They're escaping! Open fire! Open fire!"
He pulled out his pistol and fired wildly into the distance.
The shots were pointless.
At that range, he couldn't even outline a target.
"Damn it!"
He fumbled to reload—
And felt it.
A shadow.
Huge.
Cold.
He turned stiffly.
The Pursuer stood behind him.
One arm gone.
Blood dripping from torn muscle.
Eyes burning with killing intent.
"Don't come closer! I order you—don't you dare!"
Kane fired frantically while crawling backward.
The Pursuer did not dodge.
Bullets struck him.
He kept walking.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Then he lifted his leg—
And brought it down.
Kane's scream echoed through the broken building.
Then stopped.
---
Back at the square, the transport helicopter began to lift.
Nikolai's hands were steady on the controls.
"Where's Wade?"
"He's coming," Alice replied, glancing outside.
Deadpool was scrambling across the ground to retrieve his golden Desert Eagle, as if they weren't escaping a battlefield under helicopter assault.
He leapt inside just as Nikolai pulled back on the controls.
The helicopter rose.
Deadpool crouched at the hatch, peering out thoughtfully.
"Something's not right."
Alice sighed. "What now?"
"Shouldn't you have taken off earlier," he said seriously, "and then I jump on at the last second? That's how protagonists do it in movies."
Alice stared at him.
There were no words left.
Her mind was too tired.
"How did you do it?" she asked instead. "How did you make The Pursuer turn on them?"
Deadpool shrugged.
"Want to know?"
"Yes."
"I won't tell you."
Alice inhaled slowly.
"Then answer this," she said, staring at him. "You seem to know everything. Why?"
Deadpool folded his arms proudly.
"Because I read the script in advance."
Alice blinked.
"...Alright. Last question. What did you shout to me after you shot down the helicopter?"
"You didn't hear me?"
"No."
"You didn't see my gestures?"
"I thought you were proposing."
Deadpool froze.
Wait.
That wasn't what she said.
But it felt like it.
Alice clarified, pointing at her ear. "I couldn't hear."
Deadpool's shoulders slumped.
So that's what that meant.
Not marriage.
Not lifelong devotion.
Not even a song.
Just hearing loss.
He cleared his throat.
"I said Angela's dad is just an ordinary doting father. Completely unreliable. The last helicopter and everything else? All fake."
Angela frowned immediately.
Her small eyes glared at him.
"Nyah~" Deadpool teased.
"Nyah~~~!" she snapped back.
The tension in the cabin cracked for half a second.
Then—
"Those helicopters are catching up," Jill said sharply.
Everyone turned.
The two armed helicopters had reversed course and were accelerating toward them.
Rifles came up.
Safety clicks echoed inside the cabin.
Then Alice saw something.
On the roof of City Hall—
A massive figure.
The Pursuer.
The moment the helicopters passed overhead, he moved.
He stood.
Looked once toward their helicopter.
Then jumped.
He caught the landing gear of one of the helicopters with his remaining arm.
The pilot screamed over the radio.
The aircraft shook violently, tilting left and right as he tried to shake the monster loose.
It didn't work.
The Pursuer clung to it like iron welded to steel.
The helicopter spiraled.
Lost control.
And smashed into City Hall in a blazing explosion.
Fire consumed both machine and monster.
The second helicopter did not slow.
It continued straight toward them.
---
Deadpool turned around.
"Before we start shooting, I need to clarify something."
Peyton blinked. "Now?"
"Yes. Very important."
Deadpool stepped back slightly and drew his sword.
"I'm different from Alice."
Silence filled the cabin.
"My neural response and self-healing abilities? I had those before the T-virus. They're not from the virus."
He spoke calmly.
"I tried the antidote. It doesn't work on me."
Everyone stared.
"In other words," he continued, "I am still infectious."
The words fell heavy.
"I can't just leave with you."
Jill understood instantly.
Her face went pale.
"Wade… what are you planning?"
"Don't do anything stupid!" she shouted. "Nikolai, close the hatch!"
"No," Deadpool said softly. "This is the right thing."
Before anyone could react—
He turned and ran.
Alice's hand shot out.
Her fingers brushed the tight fabric of his suit—
And slipped.
Damn it.
Why did he wear a skintight uniform?!
If it had been loose clothing, she could have grabbed him.
He jumped.
Out of the helicopter.
"Everyone—hope we meet again~!"
His voice echoed inside the cabin as he fell.
---
Behind them, the remaining helicopter pilot was panicking.
He had just received new orders.
A nuclear missile was incoming.
Evacuate immediately.
He cursed loudly.
Umbrella Corporation had promised easy money.
They had not mentioned nuclear annihilation.
He pushed the helicopter to maximum speed.
The safest direction was toward the Akron Mountains.
Mountains could block shockwaves.
Maybe.
If there was time.
He scanned the horizon nervously.
Which direction would it come from?
Then he saw red.
A red figure growing larger.
He blinked.
The red-suited lunatic from the other helicopter.
Holding a long sword.
Midair.
Is he insane?
At this distance, even if the man jumped perfectly, he wouldn't reach the helicopter.
The pilot almost laughed.
Then Deadpool twisted in the air.
The sword gleamed.
And suddenly—
He wasn't falling short.
He was getting closer.
Much closer.
The pilot's face drained of color.
"F***!!!"