Ultimate Avenging Alliance Chapter 12 Wade and the Experiment

"This really is most disappointing," Suit told Wade. "We can't even begin to isolate your healing factor."

Wade was trying not to tremble as he was bound to the examination table. He was normally – not okay, but sort of tolerant of his history of medical experimentation. It was something he could put out of his mind. But the restraints, the smells, the clinical environment…it all came back. But Wade was determined to not let it show.

"Oh I'm so sorry; how inconvenient of me," he drawled. "I do try to make it easy for the fuckers experimenting on me."

"Hmm, well, there are still options," Suit mused. "We could see how efficient your healing factor is-"

"You're not cutting me up just to watch me come back, you shithead," Wade growled.

"We shall see," Suit said smugly. "But the data that would provide would be limited. Perhaps we should investigate the rebuild of strained muscles."

Wade thought about it. "Huh?"

Suit sighed. "You will undergo an intense workout, and we will observe how your muscles recover, and how long it takes."

"You mean…body-building?" Wade asked. "Body-building. I can do that." He breathed deeply. His skin positively crawled at the thought of being the subject of any sort of experimentation, but…

Well, lifting some weights, having a few scans; where's the harm in that? Well, giving up was an awful thing as a matter of principle, but Petey and Matty were cooperating. And it would be nice to be a bit more buff…

"Excellent," Suit crowed. "This'll take a little arranging, so we'll just let you head back to your cell, alright? Any questions?"

"Why are you doing this" Wade demanded. Might as well ask; might get an answer. And Matty can do his little heartbeat trick to confirm it.

Suit chuckled. "My dear Mr Wilson, or Deadpool, if you prefer," he smiled. "Don't you realize how amazing you all are? You are one of only two successful Weapon X experiments. Mr Murdock, Daredevil, had a tragic accident, and despite losing his sight, his every other sense has been enhanced to the preternatural level. Mr Parker, Spiderman, he was bitten by a spider. Did the venom kill him? No, the retrovirus enhanced him. Don't you see how remarkable that is? Mr Rogers underwent a highly experimental procedure, one that previously created the Red Skull, and came out the peak of human fitness. Mr Stark spent five months in a terrorists' cave, and came out Iron Man. Dr Banner – now that is definitely a failed experiment, but when he keeps it under control, there's nothing that can match the Hulk for sheer unstoppable power. Thor, might be more alien than a god, but there's a damn good reason for that mix-up. Black Widow, Hawkeye, War Machine, Falcon, Ant Man; they may just be human, but there's clearly something else about them. And look at mutants. On the one hand, we have the X-Men; on the other, the Brotherhood; and meanwhile there's who knows how many not taking sides, not getting involved, keeping their heads down and hiding. Just think, if we could find out what makes you people brilliant, and how to tell who to give it to."

"You want to make heroes," Wade stated.

"Yes," Suit grinned. "If we merely wanted powered people, we'd just hunt down mutants. But that's no good. Think, if we could give Mr Murdock or Mr Parker your healing factor, they'd be so much safer, wouldn't they? No more bleeding out, no more collapsed lungs, no more weeks in bed with broken legs. And if we could isolate Mr Parker's precognition, you wouldn't need to worry about being shot in the head. If we could add Mr Murdock's hearing, then you'd know when there's danger, and what it is, and if you can't dodge it you'll be fine. Don't you see how useful that would be? The only questions after that would be, who do we give it to?"

"I think maybe a more pertinent question would be, why the hell did you kidnap us?" Wade snapped.

"Would you have come?" Suit asked.

Wade propped himself up on elbows and stared at him for a minute, before collapsing back on the experiment bed. "You bastard," he hissed. Damn him; he had a point. He whimpered. "How long are you going to keep us?"

Suit patted Wade on the head in what was meant to be a comforting gesture. "Just a few weeks, don't worry," he said reassuringly. "Let's get you back to the cell.

Wade sulked, but didn't protest too much as he was pulled up, re-shackled, and man-handled back into the cell. He slumped against the wall next to Matt. Peter was mostly asleep in the lawyer's lap, sniffing and hiccupping "Gwen!" every other minute.

"He retired for about five months after she died," Matt murmured, stroking the teen's hair. "He heard about everything happening in Hell's Kitchen, but he was too scared to get involved. He didn't trust his own judgement. But he was pretty close to just taking off and hunting down the Devil. After Fisk's arrest, he felt so guilty for what he almost did. When he finally decided to get back on the streets, he made a point of finding me. We talked, made an…alliance, I suppose, divided up territory, agreed to work with each other…and I suppose I like having him around. He's good backup, and he understands things no-one else gets. I wish he hadn't started so young, but I was nine when I began training. Sometimes he's like my little brother."

It was the most Wade had ever heard Matt say. He leaned over, and joined him in petting Peter. He felt almost privileged, sharing in such a tender moment.

Even if 'brother' didn't exactly spring to mind when he saw Peter.