Five minutes without Dean, and Wade was starting to lose it. Nothing that anyone was saying was making him less anxious. Dean had explained to him once about the whole summoning-a-demon thing, and that it could be done to him. But what didn't make sense is that Sam and Castiel couldn't summon him back. They did the ritual according to Cain's precise instructions, but nothing happened. And when Castiel said it was very likely that Dean was in a Devil's Trap, Wade wanted to start shooting things.

Next thing Wade knew, he was on the ground being pinned by Captain America, and Bruce was starting to look a little green. He was wrestling against the hands that held him, but getting no where. Then Castiel's fingers touched his forehead, and he blacked out.

When he again woke, he was laying on a small cot in one of the cells underneath S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and he felt absolutely worthless. He punched the concrete wall until both hands felt like beanbags, then paced the room until his hands were healed before starting over again.

"Dean probably wasn't even summoned," the White Box said, making an appearance for the first time in a long time. "He probably just needed to get away from you."

"That's bullshit," the Yellow Box shouted in his mind. "He likes us. He said so. We have a thing."

"We're probably just hallucinating again," White said.

Wade's punches grew more violent as the boxes started arguing back and forth. Punching until he felt the bones in his forearms splintered, until there was so much blood and skin on the wall, each thrust made a squishing sound.

On his third round of punishing the cinder blocks, Wade heard someone shouting in the hall. A woman, with a very familiar voice. For a time, her voice was in his head, silencing the other two.

"What the hell were you thinking locking him away like that!" Emily Preston shouted outside the door.

"He was becoming unstable!" anonymous S.H.I.E.L.D. agent answered.

"It's Wade-fuckin-Wilson!" Preston shouted back. "Open this goddamn door!"

A moment later, the door buzzed, and Emily Preston walked in, in all her android-bodied glory. She took in the state of Wade's hands and the gore on the wall, and just sighed. "Oh, Wade. Wade, what have you done to yourself?"

Wade kept his back to her. "Leave me alone, Preston."

"I've left you alone for too long," she said, stepping closer. Preston started to reach for him, but her hand faltered, knowing it might not be the best idea. Deadpool was unpredictable on his best day. And this was not his best day at all.

His voice was hard as he growled, "Why are you here?"

"Because I heard that you were in a cell, and it pissed me off." She put her hands on her hips. "You are gonna come with me. Whatever has happened, we'll figure it out. Okay?"

"I did it again, Preston," he said, his voice weak. "Just like with you. Just like with everyone I've ever known. It's my fault. If I'd never… I should have never even talked to him. Should have just left the house and he wouldn't have known I existed. But the goddamn writers… They just want to hurt me, and they finally figured out how to do it best. They won't just let me die, so they take away everything I love. Won't. Stop. Taking."

Preston was silent. She'd been in Wade's head. Literally. Deadpool held her consciousness for months when her body was killed. She knew about the voices he heard, about his belief that it was all just a story. She was the only person who knew Wade Wilson's mind, and at times that made her more sympathetic, and others, made her hate him. But this wasn't a time for hate or judgement.

"Who did they take?" she asked.

"Dean," he sighed.

She nodded. "Do you know who took him?"

His jaw tensed. "I don't know for certain, but I think it was Vetis."

That made Preston's eyes go wide. "You mean the sonofabitch that killed me?"

Wade nodded.

"Deadpool-Wade…" She shook her head. "You are not staying in this cell one more minute. We're getting out the big ones on this. Let's go."

She grabbed Wade's upper arm, and tugged him along. When the guard outside started to say something, Preston pressed her fingers to the side of his head, and the guard dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Whoa, Em. What happened to all that morality and shit you were yelling at my brain?" Wade said, with half a laugh.

"I'm not letting some snot nosed trainee get in the way of this," she snapped, a deathly tone in her voice. "If this was Vetis, we're going to make that bastard pay." They reached the elevator, and as the door shut, she laughed. "I think you rubbed off on me a little bit, Wade. Cuz right now, I'm mad enough to kill."

They reached the main floor, where the doors opened to Sam Winchester shouting in the face of none other than Phil Coulson. The hunter's face was tinged red and his jaw tensed, as he demanded that Wade be released.

Preston almost laughed. If Sam only knew that the mild-looking Coulson could kill him with his pinky finger, he might not be so bold. Then again, she didn't know the Winchesters that well. She looked too Wade, who had the barest hint of a smile on his face.

"Mr. Winchester, please calm down," Coulson said in his usual soft spoken manner. "We have no intention of keeping Deadpool locked up. We just needed to keep everyone safe." Then Coulson's eyes caught sight of Preston walking with Deadpool, and his jaw tightened ever so slightly, before he smiled, and said, "If you will look towards the elevator, you will see that…"

Sam didn't wait for him to finish. He walked to Wade, and said, "You okay, man? I've been freaking out. Seriously, this whole place is full of assholes."

"It's New York, Sam," Wade said as if that explained everything. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours, but I've managed to make some headway." Sam noticed Wade's hands, and looked at Preston, a fresh wave of fury in his eyes. "What the hell were they doing to him!"

Wade held up a slowly healing hand, and said, "It's okay, Sammy. She's one of the good members of the establishment. I did this to myself."

Sam frowned. "We're going to find him, Wade. Xavier thinks he can use something called Cerebro to find his location because he sort of mapped his mind earlier today."

Preston blurted, "Charles Xavier?" She looked at Wade, and asked, "What the hell have you been doing the last few months?"

He shrugged. "Making new friends."

Sam continued, "But he needs us for some reason. Thinks we can somehow help narrow the search because of our connection."

They left S.H.I.E.L.D. with Sam and Preston flanking Deadpool. Outside, the sun was going down, and Logan was waiting. They rushed back to Stark Towers, ignoring the guards who called to them, going straight to the cluster of small planes hid away on the roof. Natasha was in the process of stealing one of Tony's ultra-sonic craft. It wasn't a long flight to Xavier's Institute, but every second mattered.

Castiel was on board, and presented Wade with his weapons and a muttered, "I'm sorry," with his big, sad eyes.

Wade said nothing. He knew that the angel knocking him out was probably necessary at the time. But at the same time, he kinda wanted to slit his throat and throw him out of the plane. But he also knew that Dean would not like that, because Castiel was his angel. So he just took the bag of weapons and started filling his holsters and dug around in his pouch until he found a fresh pair of gloves to replace the ones he shredded by punching the wall.

A short flight later, they were at the institute. And moments later, Wade, Sam, Castiel, and Logan were standing in the heart of Cerebro. It was the most amazing place that Sam had ever entered, and he felt a thrill of awe and terror at the idea of a machine made specifically to enhance the telepathic abilities of the professor.

As Xavier donned the headpiece, and asked that Sam and Wade come closer to him. Suddenly the entire room filled with images and voices from thousands-millions of people. Sam's jaw dropped, as he watched their faces swirl around. Then the professor focused on the energy of Angelic Vessels, and the number of people diminished substantially. Next he summoned up those that were touched by a demonic presence, and Sam was startled to see how many were actually surrounded by demons.

"Focus on him," Xavier said softly, his face tense.

Sam closed his eyes, and thought about his brother. Remembering their moments in the Impala, the day he arrived at Stanford, hunting along side him, having a beer on a back road, fighting with him. The terror he felt watching Dean die, and joy and fear he felt when Dean came back from the dead.

Wade's mind was filled with Dean. The first time he saw him naked in that abandoned house, his eyes black and the First Blade in his hand. Then walking in the desert when the car broke down, and sitting on Cain's porch, sharing a laugh while Wade cleaned his weapons. The first time he kissed the hunter along side the road when Dean had thought the merc had died. Every fight they had, every time they fell asleep together. Waking up beside him that morning, singing to him the night before.

He knew that Xavier could see all of the things he was thinking, but Wade couldn't bring himself to care. And in the end, it was his memories of the demon he loved that made the professor zero in on Dean's location.

Xavier removed the headpiece, and said, "He's in some sort of time bubble. He is close, but I fear he will break if we do not get to him soon."