Marvel : Titles

'Fuck!' Seeing Val sprawled out like a broken puppet, Wade cursed internally. However, right now he doesn't have the luxury to check on Val.

The second the woman had sent Val flying, Wade sprang into action. He leaped onto her back, locking his arms around her throat in a textbook rear naked choke.

But even when she was faced with Wade's naked choke, the woman was not affected at all. If anything, she seemed more annoyed by the inconvenience of having Wade latched onto her like a stubborn backpack.

Then, without a hint of struggle, she reached up, grabbed his arm, and snapped it like a twig.

Wade was surprised but he didn't forget to say: "For a lady, aren't you a bit too strong? I feel sorry for your husband. I bet he won't be able to–" Before his words could be finished, the woman hunched forward and slammed him into the ground with the force of a wrecking ball.

There was a crackling sound of bones and Wade was directly smashed in the floor with an unknown number of disabilities with a single strike.

In just this short moment, the woman had easily dealt with the two of them.

The woman was obviously pissed off by Wade's words. She then grabbed a nearby steel bar and drove it straight through his back, pinning him to the floor like a butterfly in a display case.

Francis stepped forward, clapping Angel on the shoulder like she hadn't just committed brutal impalement. "Angel, calm down. No need to waste energy on a dead man."

Angel exhaled sharply but didn't look particularly satisfied.

Francis, unbothered, continued. "So? Did you handle it?"

Angel nodded, her voice cold. "Everything's been wiped. No records, no survivors. The remaining test subjects have been relocated to other facilities."

"Good." Francis adjusted his coat. "Then let's go."

Without another glance at Wade or Val, Francis and Angel turned and walked away, disappearing into the night.

Behind them, flames consumed what remained of the facility, the bodies, and the wreckage—

Leaving only destruction in their wake.

. . . . . . . . . 

Not long after Francis and Angel disappeared, Wade, who had been lying flat like a crime scene outline, suddenly twitched.

With great effort, he lifted his head and squinted at Val's unmoving body.

After spending even a short time with Val, Wade had come to see him as—dare he say—a friend. And now, watching him lie there, lifeless and broken, Wade felt a twinge in his heart.

Pain. Loss. A reminder of all the times he had been helpless to stop the people around him from—

"Sorry, buddy. You might not get to see the world's most beaut—"

But suddenly Val sat up.

"HOLY MADAFAKA!"

Wade screeched, scrambling back like he'd just seen a tax auditor.

"THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?! Are you a zombie?! Oh hell no—stay back! I don't wanna be in your undead pyramid scheme!"

Val, still dragging his broken yet healing body upright, rolled his eyes. "Calm down. I can't die. And neither can you."

Wade blinked. "Wait… what?"

Ignoring his growing existential crisis, Val grabbed the steel bar impaled through Wade's body and yanked it out with one big tug.

Wade gasped and looked down at the gaping hole in his chest. Then, before his very eyes, the wound sealed itself shut.

His eyes went wide. "Oh my god. I'm infected. I'm turning into a zombie too!"

He clutched his face in horror. "Wait—does this mean I have to eat human flesh now? Oh fuck no—what about my chimichangas?!"

"Shut up and run!" Val barked, dragging Wade to his feet.

The fire had fully engulfed the building, thick smoke choking the air. Visibility was near zero, but one thing was clear—sticking around meant extra crispy death.

"You came in from outside!" Val coughed.

"Which way, Mr. Handsome?"

Wade put his hands on his hips, looking highly unbothered for someone literally on fire. "You came in too, bitch."

Val scowled. "I was busy getting my ass kicked!"

Wade stroked his imaginary beard, deep in thought. Then, with supreme confidence, he pointed in a completely random direction. "...Probably that way."

Val followed his gaze.

It was a wall of fire.

He took a deep breath. "Of course it is."

Without hesitation, he scooped Wade up like a sack of potatoes.

"Whoa, hey—DUDE—"

And with that, he charged straight into the flames, Wade still mid-protest.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

A few minutes later, two dust-covered figures came stumbling out of the burning wreckage of the abandoned factory.

Before the lab could fully collapse, Val and Wade had managed to escape—though barely.

Val took in a deep breath of fresh air and let it out slowly. "We're… finally free."

Watching the flames consume the building, he felt a whirlwind of emotions.

After two full months, he finally walked out of that dark and oppressive space! He was happy to breathe like a free man again.

But...

What should he do next? He hadn't decided about anything on what he wanted to do yet. Val couldn't help but feel a little confused.

Ever since he had traversed, Val had been kept trapped in the research institute.

Now, as Val walked out of the research institute, he was bewildered to realize that he had entered a completely strange world where he was a complete outsider with no trace of familiarity

He had come to this world in the same body as his previous one so, there would obviously be no 'previous owner' and a 'previous identity' of him here.

Val let out a long breath and turned to look at Wade, who had also drowned in deep thought.

"…Wade, what's next?" Val finally asked.

"I need to find a cure," Wade muttered, voice heavy with emotion. "To become human again."

Val sighed. "Answer me correctly, bitch."

Wade grinned. "Fine. I told you already—I'm getting Vanessa back."

"That's good. So… are you planning to do that while naked?"

Wade blinked. "What are you—?"

Then he looked down.

…Oh.

Val, thankfully still wearing some tattered rags from his uniform, was in decent shape.

Wade?

Completely. Fucking. Naked.

Not a single piece of fabric had survived the fiery escape. His entire body was covered in soot—except for one particularly traumatizing area.

A very charred banana.

Just. Hanging. There.

Val desperately covered his eyes. "OH!! MY EYES! MY EYES—"

His stomach lurched violently as he turned away and dry-heaved.

Wade, completely unfazed, casually inspected himself. "Huh. Medium-well. Could be worse."

Val coughed, still retching. "I saw it, Wade! I saw it and I can't unsee it! Fuck "

Wade clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I feel like this is a bonding moment for us."

"I feel like throwing up on you."

"That would be rude," Wade deadpanned.

"Wade, put some fucking clothes on."

Wade sighed. "Fine. But you owe me a poncho or something. A man of my status shouldn't have to scavenge for pants."

Val groaned, already regretting escaping with this idiot.

And thus, their journey into the real world began—with one man lost in existential confusion… and the other lost in the search for pants.