The first thing Domino realized when she got to Quebec was that all the cool stuff was happening in other places. But she'd heard of a mercenary who was crazy enough to take any job, and this was where he was last sighted.
It took a month of work, but eventually she got what she needed. It was the name of a bar, in a whole different part of Canada, where the most dangerous man alive was often to be seen. That had to be the mercenary she'd heard about.
It took three jobs for her to make enough money to travel that far. She would have made more in America, where her name had started to become known, but this would do for now. She didn't need to be rich, she just had to be able to move freely. Every job had her hoping she'd be paired up with her quarry, which would make her life so much easier. None of her jobs were even in his league though, since he didn't even get out of bed for less than a hundred thousand dollars.
Once she'd raised the money she set off on the trip; taking nothing but her backpack, a bag of jerky, and some bottled water. It wasn't the best diet for someone who might be pregnant, but at the moment it was what she had. She would get some real food when she arrived at her destination. The train ride was relatively short, anyway, taking only a day. Along the way she snagged a few pieces of fruit and some bread, which she downed eagerly.
Once she made it to her destination, she moved to the highway and waited, hoping for a ride. Getting to the bar was relatively easy. Getting in was hard. She couldn't do anything about the fact that she looked twelve. Not to mention her physical mutations. She tried to slip in, but couldn't get more than five feet without running into a bouncer. They were rough, too, and she didn't want to be thrown more than she had to. So her second option was to wait in the parking lot, and hope he would be obvious when he came out. That one didn't seem like the best option. So she needed a third option.
"I wonder how many bouncers are on the second floor?" Her voice was soft and determined. She'd scaled the walls of buildings before, and being thin and wiry had its distinct advantages. It was easy to haul herself up, and even easier to work her way in from the balcony. As she'd suspected, there weren't any bouncers. This was a completely different area than the bar she'd glimpsed through the crowd. It was an apartment, but it looked like it had been trashed. There were deep gouges in the furniture, always in sets of three.
Slowly, she made her way through the apartment, careful not to disturb anything. For a moment, she was proud of how quiet she was being. Stealth had never been her thing, but this was particularly sneaky. Maybe she'd even find the man she was looking for without being caught.
Until, with no warning whatsoever, she found herself pinned to the wall by someone. Not just anyone, either. He was strong. Definitely stronger than her, and he stank of beer and sweat. "Who are you?" His voice was more a growl than anything else. Domino made a small, high noise, but then came back to herself. She took a deep breath, and glared at his head. He was short, only as tall as her, but he spoke of strength, of violence.
It was kind of hot, actually. "Domino." Her voice was strong, and her gaze was steely. At least, she hoped that was the case. "Who the hell are you?"
He let her go. Which was a surprise. She landed with a thump on the floor, staring up at him. "Go away. You're not in your element, kid." He turned his back to her, and lit a cigar. "This isn't the kind of world you want to be in. It's not safe for kids."
Domino stood, fuming. "How dare you talk down to me." She wasn't dumb enough to initiate violence. But she wasn't leaving. No way. "This is the life I chose, and you are going to teach me, dammit. You're supposed to be the best at what you do, and I want to learn from the best."
He turned, slowly. "No way. I'm not teaching a little girl to do what I do." His voice was serious, very grave. This wasn't a life for anyone, much less a kid who had a future and a chance for a happy life.
Domino rolled her eyes. "You're a freaking mercenary. I'll give you a cut of any money I make while we're together, or whatever." She knew that money was usually the most important thing. At least with all the mercenaries she'd ever worked with.
The man paused for a minute. "You think that I'm a mercenary." His tone was blunt. How the hell had she gotten that idea?
This made Domino pause. "You're not?" Goddammit, this was not the way she'd expected this to go. She put her hands on her hips, glaring at the back of the man's head. It wasn't his fault, but she was mad at him just the same.
He didn't turn around, or even reply in a timely manner. "I'm not a mercenary. I'm just trying to get my life together, kid. And you're not in any shape to be doing that kind of work." He turned toward her. "Who did you think I was?" Now he had to know who she was looking for, maybe he could foist her off on someone else.
"Deadpool." She sat on the low dresser in the corner with a sigh. "I saved up for a fucking month to come here, for some goddamn dead end. Just fucking great." Well, now she felt dumb.
"I'm not Deadpool." He watched her, wondering what had brought such a tiny little girl to want to see Deadpool, of all people. She was something else.
"Great. Well, thanks for your time." She stood again and went toward the balcony. Great. Just great. She'd had to come a lot further north than she liked, and was afraid that there wouldn't be enough work to get her someplace decent.
The man moved, meeting her at the window. She looked up at him, surprised to see that he was free of scars. "Thought you were the most dangerous man in the world."
"I am. That's why you should go. Have a happy, normal life." He realized then that it wasn't the moon making her look pale. And that mark looked familiar, though he didn't know how or why. Something about her spoke to a part of him he hadn't even realized existed.
She shook her head, swinging one lanky leg over the balcony. Normal and her had parted ways a long time ago. "You try that, tell me how it goes."
Inside, the man groaned. This was going to be one of those things he would regret for years, he was sure. But he put his cigar carefully on the rail and hauled Domino back. "Don't get in my way. I'm going to find someplace safe for you, and you're damn well going to like it."
Domino smirked, and stood. "You won't even know I'm there." Which was, probably, a lie. But he didn't know that, yet.
"Who's the kid's father?" Might as well get the potentially painful questions out of the way.
Domino tensed, and looked confused. "None of your fucking business, and a non-issue beside." How did he know that? Was he a telepath? He didn't act like any telepath she'd ever encountered. Usually they didn't leap out of the shadows, they just made you believe you were a cat or whatever.
He nodded. "Good. He'd better stay that way, too. I'm not letting some asshole tag along just because he got lucky." The last thing he needed was yet another snot-nosed teenager following him around. One would be bad enough. Not to mention the other kid, when it became an issue. It occurred to him, for not the first time, that he was a total and complete masochist. "Where are you staying tonight?"
"Got a hotel room down the street."
"Tomorrow night?"
"Paid up for a week."
He nodded. "Good. Now you can get the hell out. Be back here in the morning, or I'll track you down."
"Great. See you then." She smiled and slipped over the balcony, landing on her feet. Well, that had been different than she'd expected. But, in the end, it was still a mission accomplished.