Hi, everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm entering my first relationship that I've had in a long time, and I'm trying to be the best boyfriend I can be. I'll do what I can to update sooner, but my lady comes first!

Inversion, chapter 9 – Gem Hunt, part 4

Concussion wondered, for the seventh time, if he was in Jurassic Park.

He and Osborn had taken one of the jets that Oscorp kept producing, flying it to the Savage Land. Concussion knew nothing about that place, save for the name and Osborn's warning. "Be ready to use your power the instant that we get there," he said.

Now Concussion knew what he meant. They were in the middle of Antarctica, but the vegetation suggested that they might as well have been in the Amazon jungle. At one point, he saw a pterodactyl fly by. Concussion knew that he would see some crazy things as a part of the Resistance, but he didn't think it would be this crazy.

Currently, he and Osborn were cutting through vegetation. Concussion had no idea where they were going, but Osborn seemed to know. The thick vines and other foliage were no match for the blades on Norman's Green Goblin armor, cutting through them like wet tissue paper.

"Ok, it may be because I grew up in an Amish village – who, by the way, think that progress should have stopped at the horse and buggy – but what is up with this place?" Concussion asked.

"Before I answer that," Osborn said, "explain to me something. If you're from an Amish village, how come you know so much about the modern world? I even saw you use an iPhone with no difficulty."

Concussion sighed. That question always managed to depress him every time it was asked. "I was… disinherited by my family."

"I'm sorry," Osborn replied, his understanding more than clear in his tone.

"It's not your fault," Concussion said. "I'm not sure it's anyone's. I'm the first mutant to ever be born in my village. And if you think the outside world is harsh to mutants, you've never seen how the Amish treat them."

Images of torches and pitchforks flashed through Concussion's mind. "It was the witch trials all over again. I was tied to a stake, and the man in charge of the town, my priest, said I was going to burn like the demon I was."

"So what happened?"

"Taskmaster happened," Concussion replied. "He swung in like he was Spider-Man and knocked the torch from the priest's hands. He held his sword to the priest's neck, saying that if anyone so much as touched me, they wouldn't live to see their next harvest. Of course everybody did as he implied – the street was empty in minutes, everyone having ran back home. Taskmaster cut me loose and told me to find you guys, and… well, here I am."

"Indeed you are," Osborn said. "You have more than earned the right to know about this place."

That's right – Concussion forgot about the question he asked. "So what is up with this place?" Concussion repeated.

"You mean why does this jungle look like it was taken straight out of Jurassic Park and placed right in the middle of one of the coldest areas on Earth?" Osborn elaborated. "Well, it's all thanks to the Time Gem. How to explain it? Think of this place as a tiny bubble. The Time Gem preserved everything about the era of the dinosaurs and kept it running in here."

"So, you're saying the reason this place is still around is because someone pushed the repeat button on the Time Gem?"

"More or less," Osborn replied. "That only applies to the environment itself, though. The animals here are free to do as they please."

As if to make his point, a T-Rex charged out of the bush, its roar making Concussion's ears hurt. Norman dove to the side and chucked a pumpkin bomb at it, its orange gold flashing in the sunlight. It exploded against the T-Rex's side, but it didn't appear to do anything other than make it mad. Roaring again, it charged at Osborn, its jaws open to snap up its next meal.

It was bound to be disappointed. An arrow plunged itself into the T-Rex's left eye. The arrow was quickly followed by another pumpkin bomb, this time flying into the mouth of the T-Rex. That did the trick – the T-Rex fell to the ground with a massive thud.

"And that's what ya get fer messin' with my friends," a voice snapped at the dead dinosaur. Concussion heard that voice before – a voice that had trouble deciding if it wanted to sound like Liam Neeson or Jack Black.

"Taskmaster?" Concussion and Osborn asked at the same time.

"No, I'm a candy gram – OF COURSE IT'S ME!" Taskmaster snapped. Concussion and Osborn heard a rustling sound from up above them, then they saw a figure drop down in front of them. Standing up, they saw it was indeed Taskmaster. He had his trademark sword at his belt, its polished steel glinting in the sunlight. In his left hand he was holding a bow very similar to Hawkeye's, only this one was colored white.

"What are you doing here?" Osborn half-asked, half-demanded.

"I didn' follow ya, if that's what yer askin'," Taskmaster replied. "I was trackin' down an old friend o' mine."

"You don't mean…" Osborn began.

"Yep. Deadpool's in the Savage Land," Taskmaster finished.

Osborn started rubbing his eyes with one hand. It wasn't necessary, seeing as he was wearing a helmet, but Osborn didn't seem to care. "Okay. Is there anyone else other than Deadpool here?" Osborn asked.

"Not that I know of," Taskmaster replied. "M' tipster told me that he'd come here for mojitos and Canadian pancakes."

Concussion was doing his absolute best not to laugh. Turning around, he was biting his lips so hard that he almost drew blood. Taskmaster noticed and leaped in front of Concussion, twisting in the air three times as he did so. "Ya think this's funny?!" He snapped.

"N-no sir," Concussion stuttered.

"Taskmaster, be fair to Concussion," Osborn ordered. "He hasn't even seen pictures of Deadpool until a few days ago, let alone seen him in action."

Taskmaster didn't say anything, only raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Are ya serious?!" Taskmaster asked, flabbergasted. "I know y' came from an Amish village, but I didn' think y' stay… I thought ye'd learn more 'bout mo'ern 'ciety by now."

"Hey, cut me some slack," Concussion replied. "I'm still relatively new to this. Right now, Amish kids my age would be just setting out into the world to experience what it has to offer."

"Well, if we're lucky, you won't have to meet Deadpool," Osborn said. "The only thing worse than meeting that mercenary would be meeting… him."

Both Osborn and Taskmaster shared a shudder that ran down their spines. Concussion had no idea what would scare them that much – he heard that Osborn stared down Wolverine without so much as blinking an eye. He resolved not to meet that character if it was in his power.

"Want to walk with us, Taskmaster?" Concussion asked. "We're on a search of our own."

"Sure thing," Taskmaster replied. "I sure could use some comp'ny right now. These lizards are crappy conversationalists."

So the newly formed trio walked on, with Osborn explaining the Inverted's plan that he and Ultron uncovered on the Helicarrier. By the time Osborn was done explaining, two things had happened. One, Taskmaster's jaw was hanging wide open. Second, they had entered a clearing with a radius of about fifty feet.

And in that clearing was Deadpool.

"Oh, hey Task!" Deadpool said enthusiastically. "I see you came for the Canadian pancakes. You even brought Justin Bieber and George W. Bush!" At that, he pointed at Concussion and Osborn.

"Um, you know there aren't any pancakes here, right?" Concussion asked. Handling this guy was like watching five movies spliced together on fast-forward – he was impossible to follow.

"No, duh! I'm not that dumb," Deadpool replied. "It's all in the kitchen behind me. And man, Kazar has some killer mojitos! You should try… oh wait, you're under-age."

True to his word, there was a kitchen behind Deadpool. "Ah, well. You can try his orange juice. Just remember to say no to his secret sauce!"

Taskmaster had enough of this. Before anyone had time to blink, Taskmaster had drawn his sword and lunged towards Deadpool, intending to stab him through the heart.

Hey, woah! I'm supposed to die here? I don't think so! Move over, I'm taking over!

What the… Deadpool?! But… but… you can't write yourself into the story! Only I can do that!

I'm sorry, Infiniteburn, was I not speaking clear English? I'm the boss now! Move over!

No way! Get back in the story!

You ever played a game called Street Fighter?

Yeah, why do you –

Shoryuken!

*krack* ugh… *thud*

Ok, then, so I'm in charge! Let's see, um… so yeah, I kill Task and the other guys with extreme powers of awesomeness! Powers of awesomeness that left everyone else temporarily blind! No, permanently! Then, we had a huge rave party thingie! Boobies! Nah, I should save that for Wall Street. And all the girls were crushing on me, especially Rogue and the Scarlet Witch! And, yeah, and money started raining from the sky and I got rich! I got richer than Tony Stark! He was all "boo hoo, you can't be richer than me," and I was like "bitch please! I'm the awesome new guy in town!"

I'm only going to say this once, Deadpool. Get out of here and get back in the story!

Infiniteburn?! How did you… oh, hey there, Scarlet Witch. You're looking good. I should invite your boobs to a date. Or is it…

"Deadpool, enough!" Scarlet Witch shouted. "Go back into the story! And you shall have no memories of this!"

NOOOOOO! I DIDN'T EVEN GET ANY CHIMICHANGAS!

*Deadpool disappears in a cloud of red smoke*

Sorry about that, folks. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I remember. Taskmaster lunged towards Deadpool, not noticing the wisps of red smoke rising from Deadpool's uniform. With a roar that held the pent-up emotions associated with loss of family and other trials, Taskmaster stabbed Deadpool straight through the heart. Shocked, Deadpool could do little except fall to the ground unconscious.

"Hey, wait a minute, I think there's something on the counter," Concussion said after a minute of shock. Walking into the kitchen, Concussion did see something on the counter. Picking it up, he held up the gem so the others could see.

It was the Time Gem.

"Great work, team," Osborn said. "Now let's get out of here. I think we all earned a well-deserved break from this."

Ok, that took a lot longer than I thought. I'm just happy that I got this chapter done. Hope you guys enjoyed!