A/N: Whoops! Don't know what happened with chapter 6, but it's fixed now. Please, enjoy chapter 6 as it was intended to be enjoyed. Legibly

Deadpool leaned back.

"Whew, where to even start?" he asked himself. "I mean, I guess that all depends on where you think the beginning is, you know? For instance, do you mean the beginning of my life? Because trust me, for a good sixteen years, it's nothing but an asshole father being an asshole to his son. And that's a story for another time."

Siryn didn't reply. She just kept looking at Deadpool, waiting for him to continue and get to the point. He noticed this and let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Fiiiine. I'll start with Tom. But I need to go a little further back than just when I met him." Beneath his mask, he pursed his lips. "I, uh… I…"

"Take your time," she replied. "I don't want to rush you."

He nodded in appreciation.

We need to talk about her eventually.

Are you sure? I feel like we can keep that memory buried.

"I had a… wife," he finally said. Siryn couldn't help but do a double take.

"You did?"

"What, you don't think a nice catch like me can settle down?" he asked in mock offense. He didn't wait for her to respond. "Her name was Vanessa. She was… God, she was perfect. Her crazy matched my crazy, I would say to her. It would have to, with the work I did."

"Were you still…?" Siryn trailed off, leaving the question for Deadpool to fill in.

"A merc? Yeah," he confirmed. "Yeah, I was a good one."

Deadpool noticed Siryn's eyes narrowing. "Before you say anything, I was very selective with the jobs I took," he affirmed. "Still am. I only killed bad people."

Siryn was very tempted to ask if he was right to make that judgement call, or why that was in the past tense, but right now wasn't a time to condemn him. Deadpool was finally opening up to her, presenting the man that was Wade Wilson to her. It was a strange sight.

She nodded, giving him the all clear to continue.

"Bad people," he repeated. "I don't remember much. My memory's a bit foggy, but I remember her. I remember what we had together. And I remember when I threw that all away when I got the bad news. Cancer. That's right, the Big C. It wasn't too bad, I suppose. It was only in my liver, lungs, prostate, and brain. All things I can live without, I suppose."

He waited to see if Siryn had anything to say. When she didn't, he went on.

"So, I did what I felt was best. I ran. I ran as far and as fast away from her as I could. I know what cancer does to a person, and I know what it does to the people around that person. Trust me, I never want to put someone through that. So, I ran into the awaiting arms of good ol' Weapon X."

"Weapon X? I thought Wolverine took them down when he escaped," Siryn said.

"Well, it wasn't exactly Weapon X," Deadpool sheepishly admitted. "It was more like the sloppy seconds of Weapon X. What I didn't know, or what I don't remember knowing, was that they were trying to recreate a newer, better Wolverine. No, all they told me was they could cure my cancer and make me a superhero."

He smiled warmly. "I always wanted to be a hero," he absently said. Siryn waited until he continued. He perked up. "And, I mean, I was dying anyway, so fuck it, right? I'll be a guinea pig. And I go in there and I meet their warden."

His eyes flicked to Siryn. "Tom."

Her brow furrowed, but still she said nothing.

"He… tortured me," he said. "He beat me. He mutilated me. Whatever sick, twisted, deranged idea he had in his head, he would do to me. For two and a half years. All to break in the new healing factor. And so, when I got out, I took him down. I beat him as badly as I could. I thought I had killed him."

Deadpool went silent again for a moment, staring at the ground.

"Deadpool?" Siryn asked with a ting of concern mixed with a dash of hesitation. Seeing him this quiet, it was rather unnerving.

Either he didn't hear her, or he ignored her. "First thing I do? I go find Vanessa. After almost three years, I wanted to… I don't know. Apologize? I have no goddamned idea. But I just wanted to see her.

"But he found her first. Somehow, Weapon X figured out who I was and who I loved, and he went after her." He looked straight into her eyes. "I barely recognize her when I found her body. I'm glad I never figured out what happened to her."

"My God…" Siryn breathed out.

Deadpool leaned back and shrugged. "After that, I tracked him down and blew up a building on him. Hadn't seen or heard about him after that, so I figured the fucker died. Guess not."

Siryn had to admit that she was in shock. She knew Tom was not a good person, by any stretch of the definition. He could be cruel, vicious, vindictive, all of these. But this? To torture a man for years, then go after his wife for revenge? She couldn't believe it.

"What about you?" Deadpool asked suddenly.

Siryn cleared her throat. Right, there was an agreement. "What do you want to know?"

"Tom 'Cassidy'. Theresa 'Cassidy'. I'm pretty sure there's enough of a connection there to raise a few eyebrows," Deadpool said. "You're a little young to be an old flame. But at the same time, there isn't a whole lot of family resemblance. Daughter? Cousin?"

"Niece, actually," she replied. "But he was my father in all but blood."

"Oh," was all Deadpool could say.

…well, this is awkward.

Yeah, one doesn't endear themselves after trashing another's family.

To be fair, it is Tom.

Deadpool cleared his throat as an indication for them to shut up. He then asked Siryn, "But you didn't know he was alive either, did you?"

She shook her head. "No. I saw him die."

"How?"

"We were mutants when that was even less tolerated than it is today," she stated.

"I remember it pretty clearly. We had moved to America a few years earlier. He had…" She trailed off, and looked to Deadpool, not knowing quite how to word this next bit. "…jobs, so he was gone a lot. Even though I knew he was a bad man, he was never like that to me. He never raised his voice. He was a pretty good dad, all things considered."

She shrugged. "We moved around a lot. I didn't stay in one place for more than a year until I was ten, when we moved to America, but even that wasn't for much longer. I remember it was a Tuesday. We went out to get some ice cream."

"A cold snack for a hot Summer day," Deadpool absently remarked.

"Actually, it was middle of Winter," she replied. "We really liked ice cream. Whenever we would go out and get ice cream, Tom left all his demons to the wayside. He just became… me dad."

Siryn took in a deep breath. "Don't know how it happened, but the town we were staying in, somehow, found out we were mutants. They didn't take too kindly to that. It was a riot. All for a man and his daughter that weren't doin' nothin' to no one."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "We ran as fast as we could. But I was too slow. He stayed behind to give me enough time to run as far and as fast as I could. I couldn't look, but I heard it. The was he was screaming. He went down fighting."

Deadpool couldn't help but sneer under his mask. "That's a sad story and all, but do you think that excuses him from all the shit he's done?"

"No!" Siryn said. "Of course it doesn't! My point it, I hear everything you say about him, and I look back on the man he was, especially that last day, and it's just… hard."

"What is?" Deadpool asked.

"It's hard to think of him as the same man," she replied. "And I don't know what to do."

Silence fell over the two.

We should say something.

Like what? Lie, and tell her we won't kill her father/uncle?

What would you rather do? Leave her confused like this?

No, but c'mon! It's not our fault her uncle turned into a crazy psycho!

Of course not, but we are talking about killing the man. It's hardly something one agrees to easily.

"So, what's the plan?" Deadpool asked.

"Plan?" Siryn repeated. She looked up at him, an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Plan for what?"

"With Tom, obviously," he said. "He has to die."

"Think about what yer askin' me to do, Deadpool." Her accent was starting to slip through. "Even ignorin' that ye have no right to decide when a person lives or dies, that man raised me as a daughter. He was there for me when me mum died. I can't just stand there and watch you kill him."

"Then don't." Deadpool got up from his seat and took one next to Siryn. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Just help me take him down, say your goodbyes, and leave. Then you can go right back to thinking he's dead."

"But I'd be lettin' 'im die," she said. "Just like last time."

Deadpool removed his hand from her shoulder and let his gaze fall to the ground. He wouldn't lie to himself and say it was fair to her. The situation Siryn found herself in wasn't a good one. It sucked. But life wasn't very fair in the first place. So, all he could do was make it hurt a little less.

Suddenly, his phone rang. That made him jump a little, eliciting a small squeak form him. He dug around in his many pouches until he found the phone.

We really should consider consolidating some of these pouches.

No way, dude! Pouches are an essential tool for any professional merc!

Okay, but do we really need a pouch for coupons specifically to the 7-11?

You never know, good sir.

"'Hollaback Girl'?" Siryn asked with a small smile.

"Hey, don't disrespect the classics," Deadpool chided lightly. At least she made fun of him. That was a start.

He took a look at the number. It was listed as "Unknown". His eyes narrowed. He answered, "Deadpool here, professional birthday clown and mercenary for hire, in that order, how can I do you for?"

"Mr. Deadpool, it's so good to hear from you," the contractor for the job said. "I was just calling for an update on the job. I expected at least some progress was made."

Siryn mouthed, "Who is it?"

Deadpool held up a finger, signaling to give him just a minute of time. "Oh, you know, the usual; Stopped for some tacos, took a jog in the park, got impaled by the man who murdered my wife, y'know, normal things like that."

"I see. So, you were able to find Tom?"

"I was, yeah," Deadpool replied. "He gave me the slip."

"That is quite unfortunate, Mr. Deadpool. I was hoping you would have been able to fulfil the job."

"Here's the thing," Deadpool continued. "He was looking for me, too. Now, I'm no mathema-whatever, but what'd you think the odds of that are?"

The voice went quiet. "I'm not sure—"

Deadpool interrupted him without hesitation. "Where is he, Killebrew?"

On the other end of the line, Dr. Killebrew didn't even blink. "So, you were able to deduce it was me, Mr. Wilson. How did you do that, I wonder?"

"Through a very elaborate process that involves a monkey, three shots of whiskey, and a whole lot of LCD," Deadpool said. Siryn couldn't help but rub her temples. "That's not the point. You set us both up. So, if you tell me where he is, Doc, I'll put off your death for a tic, 'kay?"

"Very well. That's actually why I called you. You see, Tom has a virus that only your blood can cure."

Deadpool and Siryn exchanged a look. "What kind of virus would that be, Doc?"

"Do you really care?"

"Not really," he admitted easily. "What do you get out of helping Lucky Charms?" Siryn rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Simple. The chance to study you again. I personally don't care whether Tom lives or dies, but I do know either way, you'd leave enough blood and bits of yourself around for me to examine. It was a win-win for me."

"Might want to pump the cake-breaks, Doc," Deadpool said. "Because once I'm done with Tom, I'm coming for you."

Killebrew gave a noncommittal grunt on the other end of the phone before continuing. "Yes. There's a secret lab underneath the Sing Sing Correctional Facility. He's been there with me."

"Really?" Deadpool looked towards the Hudson River. "You're giving up your secret lair, just for little ol' me?"

"Believe me, I have backups within backups. Besides, Tom already has the tools to take you down, now, even with your new friend." Deadpool threw Siryn a thumbs up and a smile. "There's a secret entrance at the base, it should get you past all the guards. Remember to avoid all the cameras. Wouldn't want to get caught while exacting your revenge, no?"

With that, Killebrew hung up on his end of the line. Deadpool jumped to his feet. "Pack your things, Red. Looks like we're taking a little trip outside of Alphabet City."

"Who was that on the phone?" Siryn asked, also getting to her feet.

"The one man I hate more than Tom," he replied. "That was the guy who really fucked me up."

"What was his name?" she asked again.

"Doesn't really matter," Deadpool said. "He's just another thing from my past I have to bury."

Just as he started making his way towards the roof door of the building, Siryn called out, "You're still hiding things."

Deadpool looked back. "What's that?"

"You're not telling me who this is for starters," Siryn said. "And you've yet to take that mask off."

"So?"

"So, we're never going to come to an understanding unless you tell me everything." She stepped forward. "About you, about Weapon X, everything. And you can start with this."

She reached for his mask, but Deadpool grabbed her wrist. "Trust me, Red, you're better off not knowing what's under this."

The two locked eyes. Deadpool kept his iron grip on her wrist while she didn't shy away. They stayed like that for a moment before he let her hand go. She turned to leave. "Then I guess this is where we part ways, Deadpool. I can just hope we don't get in each other's way."

Just as she lifted off to fly, she heard Deadpool say, "Wade."

"What?"

"Call me 'Wade', and I'll help you take down Tom. Your way."

She looked him over. "Truthfully? Why the sudden change in heart?"

He shrugged. "I'm thinking your right. I'm not exactly ready to show you this… handsome mug, but maybe bringing in Tom will be, y'know, cathartic?"

They didn't say anything after that. Siryn just gave Deadpool a small smile, before lifting him up from below the shoulders and flying off.

We're totally lying about not killing Tom, right?

Oh, absolutely.