Impasse

Part One

The perfectly calculated operation he had tirelessly built up over the past five years, his life's devotion, was slowly crumbling to pieces before his eyes. The foundation first began to crack when Logan had turned and walked away, too morally uptight to be part of something great. After that, the bricks started to fall away, one by one, whether by choice or other, not so pleasant, means. Soon, there was no one left, save Wade and Victor. Wade stayed to chase some false, nonexistent cure until his days were wasted and Victor, well Victor only stayed because he had nowhere else to place his rage. They were still a team of sorts, though Wade was too weak in his sickness and Victor too passionate in his violence. This left William Stryker in a rather difficult position, not that his calm and collected demeanour suffered in the least bit. He had a backup plan, an idea that would salvage what was left of his empire and resurrect all that he held sacred.

She was a bombshell by anyone's standards – dark, deadly, and deliciously curvy. Genetically, she should have been considered an abomination. Cloned from her mother's DNA and modified to be an ideal fighter, she was also gifted with the mutant ability to alter probabilities in her favour. She was lucky and William Stryker needed a little bit of luck. Because of her fiery and uncontrollable nature, the downfall of humanity, she was rejected from the program that created her and sent to Stryker from an old colleague to be used in his experiments. However, William was going to use her for so much more. She was to be his redeemer. Fiery and uncontrollable were nothing he could not handle. After all, he had succeeded in taming Wade and Victor.

---x

Wade Wilson was staring at the stucco ceiling, attempting to count the tiny white bumps for the hundredth time. He always lost his place somewhere around fifty-eight. He wasn't exactly sure how it had happened. One day, he felt fine and the next there were discoloured lesions all over his body. Advanced melanoma – that's what the doctor had called it. It could spread to other organs and tissues if you don't treat it, Mr. Wilson – that's what the doctor had said. That was seven months ago and Wade was still breathing, albeit it was more difficult now. He could feel death's cold fingers resting on the back of his neck, just bidding their time before they wrapped around him and cut off all the oxygen.

"Up and at 'em, Wilson. Get off your lazy ass."

There was a loud knocking at his bedroom door to accompany the obnoxious shouting. Wade grimaced, instantly recognized the gnawing voice as that of Victor Creed.

"Bite me, Creed," Wade said, just loud enough that Victor would be able to hear. Wade listened with a grin as Victor snarled from outside.

"Don't make me come in there and get you," came the growled warning.

"Wouldn't think of it, mother," Wade chuckled as he rolled out of bed. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and frowned. His grey sweatpants were hanging loosely around his disappearing waste and his bare chest was nowhere near as impressive as it used to be. Rubbing his sunken eyes, Wade opened the door and came face to face with an agitated looking Victor.

"Don't get your knickers in a knot," Wade muttered, playfully slapping his partner on the cheek, "I'm all yours. What do you want?"

"Stryker wants us to meet someone," Victor said as calmly as he could, his dark eyes glinting dangerously in the dim lights of the hallway.

"Oh goody," Wade rubbed his hands together like a child, "Take me to our leader." He smirked at Victor, knowing that the larger man could do nothing to harm him without severe repercussions. Wade figured he was hardly worth the trouble.

He began to follow Victor down the hall, walking a familiar path he had walked thousands of times – straight to Stryker's office. He wondered if they were getting a new team mate, fresh meat for him to pick on. Wade was seriously running out of Victor jokes and needed a chance to flex his comedic muscles.

Down two flights of stairs and around three corners, Wade and Victor stood outside of an impressive looking oak door. Victor knocked three times, gently.

"Why don't you knock on my door like that?" Wade questioned, "Instead of trying to punch a hole through it?"

"Cause I hate you," Victor answered simply as he let himself into the office, Wade following close behind. He immediately saw the mile-long legs in black leather and the smouldering eyes behind dark tresses and wished he had remembered to put on a shirt.

---x

The first thing she noticed was his cadaverous chest – covered in dark blotches. She let her eyes linger a little bit too long on the area she knew was once muscled. He caught her staring and shot her a dirty look. Ashamed, she instantly dropped her eyes to the floor. That had to be Wade – the dying soldier.

"Gentlemen," Stryker's voice rang out from where he was seated behind his desk, "This is Neena Thurman."

As if taking a cue, she stepped away from the side of his desk and up to the two men, noticing the hungry eyes of the stronger one, who she assumed was Victor. She had been briefed on the pair before their meeting. Quickly, she shook his hand and ignored his attempt at a charming smile, moving on to Wade. He still looked angry, though there was a grin playing at his lips.

"Neena, huh?" He took in the dark circle that surrounded her left eye, against pale white skin.

"Actually," she grinned back, "I prefer Domino."

Author's Note:

Hello there, thanks for reading this far. Please review and let me know if you like it or not. If you do, I shall continue. If not, I shall try again. Constructive criticism and compliments are equally welcome. I do not own anything from the Marvel Universe. This is my attempt to bring Domino into movie-verse. Again, give me your opinion. Thanks. –Viviene.