Chapter 4: Slaying a Snake
Later that night, Percy prepared for his encounter with the man only known as Diamondback. He put on his Deadpool outfit and sheathed his swords, guns, and knives. As he did so, he got a call from Jessica.
"Hey, got something?" he asked her.
"Alright, I think I've got a lead on what Diamondback's got." Jessica spoke from the other line. "Recent inventory shows Hammer Industries is missing a prototype battlesuit and prototype ammunition called the Judas Bullet."
"What's that?"
"I've seen a video of the testing of one of the Judas Bullets. The poor guy wore kevlar yet the bullet pierced into his body and exploded into shrapnel. Perhaps Diamondback's gonna use it against you."
"Then we're gonna have a problem." Percy said. "I'm not sure my powers can resist that."
"I'll be around in case of emergencies." Jessica told him.
"Aye. Thanks." Percy said, putting on his mask with a smile. "Okay, Diamondback...let's do this."
He twitched a little and laughed out loud as he got on his motorcycle and drove off to the carousel area. While doing that, he looked back at another event: the day Percy took a mortal human life for the very first time.
Flashback...
"So...what are we going to need?" Percy asked Jessica, who was looking through some papers in her office at Alias Investigations.
"If we're doing this whole revenge thing, we need equipment." she explained. "Go to this pawn shop over here."
She handed Percy a photo of a pawn shop somewhere in Hell's Kitchen. He looked unimpressed.
"Okay...what am I supposed to be looking at?" he asked, very skeptical at the idea of visiting a pawn shop.
"The shop runs illegal businesses." Jessica said. "Heard from a few thugs he dabbles in police radio transmitters too. More specifically, an NYPD mobile communications rig which gets encrypted tactical frequencies. It'll be expensive, but it'll be worth it once we use it to track the Dogs of Hell."
"Anything else I have to consider?" Percy asked.
"The guy who runs it is a shady bitch." the legacy said firmly. "He'll give you as many offers as possible to make more money."
"What if I don't find the rig there?"
"Then we're fucked."
Percy snorted and left the apartment to go to the pawn shop.
Deadpool finally parked his motorcycle just a block away from the park. He noticed one man pacing around the carousel, who appeared to be wearing a helmet. The man in red casually strolled over to the carousel man, pointing at him and saying in a corny superhero accent,
"So...you're the infamous Diamondback."
The man turned around to face Deadpool. He was a tall, well built African American man wearing a green battleshit with a silvery helmet and transparent visor. He appeared to be wearing metal gloves.
"Deadpool..." Diamondback sneered. "You think you're tough, runnin' rough shod around here?"
"Actually, I kind of like own the place." Deadpool snorted back. "I've gone to war with nearly every single criminal in this whole damn city so...I'm quite a big deal. So, what can you do, Shovelface?"
"This." Diamondback replied before puncing Deadpool right in the face, sending him flying some feet back. The assassin laid there, muttering, "Okay..."
He kipped up to stare the armored man down. Deadpool drew his guns and fired away, the bullets barely even scratching Diamondback's armor. He heard more gunfire, not from his own guns.
Gangsters.
Deadpool quickly hopped away into the carousel as Diamondback ordered his men to shoot the Merc With A Mouth. Unfortunately for him, they cornered him right in the middle of the carousel. The gangsters all aimed their guns at Deadpool. Diamondback grinned like a kid in a candy store. Before they could fire...
"WAIT!" Deadpool called out, raising his hands in the air. "You're probably wondering why I'm wearing a red suit. Well, that's so people can't see me bleed!"
Diamondback and his men looked at each other, confused. Deadpool pointed at one of the gangsters.
"This guy's got the right idea. He wore the brown pants!" he quipped.
The gangster he pointed at looked down at his pants. As that happened, Deadpool shot him in the head. Diamondback's men opened fire, resulting in a massive shootout between them and the elusive, fast paced yet quippy Deadpool. As he fired his handguns at Diamondback's men, making them drop one by one like flies, one of them gave their boss something...a Nemesis Arms Vanquish?
Deadpool hid behind one of the horses in the carousel until he heard something hit his cover...then the fake horse imploded into bits, making the man in red jump away as the gunfight continued.
"Ah, my sweet monkey on a unicycle!" Deadpool snorted. "That rifle's got the Judas Bullets! Gives me an idea..."
Deadpool fired his last bullet at the rifle, knocking it out of Diamondback's hand. With his guns out of bullets and his time limited, he drew his swords to go after the super armored thug. He struck Diamondback in the shoulder...no effect but a little scratch. Diamondback threw a right hook, which Deadpool matrix dodged...but he couldn't dodge a kick to the ribs that made him fly right into the carousel. In pain, he had another flashback
Flashback...Hell's Kitchen...
Percy entered the illegal pawn shop in Jessica's photograph. He saw the owner serve a customer. From their rambling, the shop owner's name is Clint. As the other customer left, Percy went over to the counter.
"Can I help you, Frankenstein?" Clint the shop owner asked, much to the demigod's annoyance.
"I need an NYPD mobile communications rig, one that gets encrypted tactical frequencies." Percy casually replied.
Clint scoffed. "Who do I look like? Radio Shack? This is...illegal business, kid."
"Doesn't matter. I'm gonna need the rig."
Clint sighed and opened a cabinet behind him. He put a large duffel bag on the table, zipping it open to reveal a police radio set. "Right out of Officer McJackass's car." he proudly said. "You can get this for around ten thousand."
"I've only got five." Percy told him, making Clint frown.
"Well, too bad kid. Can't buy anything? Get lost." the shop owner snarled, slightly agitating Percy, who noticed he only had one CCTV camera.
Percy asked him, "What about the film of your CCTV camera? I'll give you five grand."
"Okay..." Clint said. "What you're planning to do with my film, it'll be a waste of time."
He pulled the film out of his CCTV camera and gave it to Percy, who pocketed it, handed his money, and was about to walk out of the shop when he heard Clint say,
"Hey, what about these films? I've got them all! Bondage, backdoor, even the ones with young ones! I've got this one with a girl who's barely twelve!"
Percy stopped cold in his tracks, rage fueling him. The first thing he did? Flip the sign on the door to "SORRY, WE'RE CLOSED"
He groaned in pain as he heard Diamondback laugh out loud. "Is this the best the mighty Deadpool has to offer?" he cackled.
"Nope." Deadpool asually replied as he got up, his scars healing at a decent rate, much to their shock.
One gangster was caught by surprised when a figure behind him grabbed him by the leg and threw him to a tree, likely cracking a spine. It was Jessica, wearing a hockey mask so her face couldn't be seen. The other gangsters opened fire at her while Diamondback aimed his rifle at Deadpool.
"Say goodbye, merc." Diamondback said proudly...only for Deadpool to throw a knife at the rifle. As he was distracted, the man in red charged his opponent and delivered a stunning uppercut to Diamondback's chin, sending him to the floor. Deadpool quickly grabbed the rifle and aimed it at the stunned man.
"Adios, mi amigo!" Deadpool announced as he pulled the trigger, the Judas bullet penetrating Diamondback's armor and imploding in him, instantly killing the armored man.
"Yeah, you like that, right? Come in. I'll fire up the player." Clint said as he wandered into the part of his shop that's essentially his home. Percy turned around and eyed the door the shop owner went into. He couldn't believe the guy was a pedophile! Mindlessly, the demigod grabbed a nearby baseball bat and slowly walked all the way to the back.
As he walked into Clint's house, he saw the pedo shop owner prepare to load the DVD. Percy snuck behind him and did the one thing his mind told him to do.
He smashed the DVD and broke Clint's hands before pouncing on the poor man, furiously bashing his head in with the bat until he died. Percy stood up and looked down at the bloody body underneath him,
And he felt no remorse.
"There's a special place in Asphodel for messed up fugly bastards like you." Percy snarled. Artemis better be proud of him after that. He walked back to the counter and took the bag with the police radio in it. As he did, he saw something that caught his eye,
a small shotgun underneath Clint's desk.
Percy quickly fit the shotgun in the bag and left, leaving the bloody baseball bat he killed the shop owner with behind.
Deadpool looked down at the dead Diamondback underneath him, a smile formed underneath his mask, until he felt Jessica tug his arm.
"We gotta go before the cops arrive." she told him.
Both of them managed to escape the scene a minute before the cops showed up.
Back in the Avengers base, Sam, Bucky, Pietro, Wanda, and Scott are hacking into Shield's files.
"Is this a good idea?" Sam asked the Ant Man, who was manning the computer.
"The Avengers entrusted us with the mission to find Deadpool." Scott said firmly. "SHIELD has to have some files on him around here...Voila!"
Several photos of sightings of Deadpool around the world flashed around the screen.
"Deadpool: mercenary assassin. Has a confirmed kill count of over 121." Bucky read. "Hired for assassination, espionage, and other acts. When not being hired for anything, he's a vigilante."
"He's hit the Aryan Brotherhood and the Dogs of Hell the most out of all the criminal gangs of New York." Scott continued. "Agent Daisy Johnson, codename Quake, was tasked to bring him in. Mission failed. Agents Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso Mackenzie, and Yo-Yo Rodriguez were also tasked to bring him in. Mission also failed. Sighted in Siberia, Korea, Nigeria, Somalia, Paris, Toronto, Montreal, Washington DC, etc."
"Any accomplices?" Sam asked.
"Nope, nothing on any clients who hired his services, but there has been sightings of a masked woman aiding him in his vigilante activities in New York." Scott explained. "Not much info on her either."
"Hmm...check some more files, Scott." Bucky ordered him. The Ant Man proceeded to go to work until one file caught Wanda's eye: a file labeled "PERSEUS JACKSON".
"Open that file." the Scarlet Witch told Scott.
Confused, he opened the file anyway.
"Perseus Jackson? This guy's a missing person accused of various acts of terrorism, from burning a gym to destroying a bridge." Scott read. "Mother: Sally Jackson-Blofis. Father: unknown. Stepfather: Paul Blofis. Both the mother and stepfather are labeled as deceased following a shootout between the Aryan Brotherhood and the Dogs of Hell."
"The same gangs Deadpool hit the most..." Wanda gasped. "If it is him then..."
"Wanda..." Pietro caught his sister's attention. "Percy's dead."
"What if his powers allowed him to survive the gunshot?" she pointed out.
"If Deadpool and Perseus Jackson are the same person, then we're gonna have a problem." Bucky said.
The next day...
While in his hideout, planning an attack on the Kitchen Irish, Percy suddenly got a message on his computer in the other email he uses to contact clients.
Deadpool,
I've got a job for you. It'll pay 20 million. Meet me at Central Park tonight.
General Thunderbolt Ross
