"Well, I am actually not a mutant," Lin Yu said. "But I am still quite interested in you X-Men."
"Not a mutant?" Colossus and Negasonic asked at the same time. They looked very confused.
In their world, almost all superpowered people were mutants. Groups like the Fantastic Four had not shown up yet. The Hulk was not around. Spider-Man was still just a child. It was very rare to meet someone with powers who was not a mutant.
"What are you talking about? His power is obviously just like Thanos with the complete Infinity Gauntlet," Deadpool said. No one there except for Lin Yu had any idea what he was talking about.
"Who is Thanos?" Colossus asked, his metal brow furrowing.
"An alien," Lin Yu explained simply.
"That is right, an alien," Deadpool nodded in agreement. "He is purple."
"And very strong," Lin Yu added.
"Yes, very strong," Deadpool said. But the tone of his voice was strange and did not match Lin Yu's serious one.
"..." Colossus and Negasonic just stared. So who was this Thanos?
They were completely lost by the conversation between Lin Yu and Deadpool. They looked at Deadpool, then back at Lin Yu. They were surprised that Lin Yu could understand and respond to Deadpool's crazy talk. Deadpool often said things that made no sense to anyone else. It was amazing that this new person could keep up with him.
"Okay, okay, let us not worry about this Thanos," Colossus said, shaking his big metal head. "Let us go back to the school and talk there."
"I am not going with you," Deadpool said, pointing a thumb at Francis. "You take that guy. He is the bad guy." Now that his face was handsome again, the first thing he wanted to do was find his girlfriend, Vanessa, and make things right.
"You have to come back with me too," Colossus said to Deadpool. "You have been using your abilities for the wrong reasons. You should join the X-Men. We can teach you how to use your power correctly. Please, come with us."
"What did I do wrong?" Deadpool asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "That guy who cannot catch his breath deserved it! He is a very bad man. And besides, no one got hurt!"
Not far away, Francis, who was still pinned to the bridge wall by the knife, let out a weak, mocking laugh when he heard that.
"..."
Lin Yu, Colossus, and Negasonic all looked at the scene around them without saying a word. Then they all turned to look at Deadpool. The meaning of their looks was clear. Just look at this mess. No one was hurt? Does your conscience not feel even a little bad?
At that very moment, as if on cue, one of Francis's men, who had been thrown onto a road sign earlier, finally slipped off. His body fell with a heavy thud onto the roof of a car below.
Thump.
"..."
Everyone turned to look at the new corpse. Then they slowly turned their heads back to stare at Deadpool again.
"...He was already up there before I got here," Deadpool said after the air had been silent for a moment. He did not even blush.
"Wade, please," Colossus said, his voice full of earnest feeling. "Join us. Use your abilities to help other people. Be a real superhero."
"I do not have time for your lecture," Deadpool said. He then looked at Negasonic. "And... who are you supposed to be?"
"Negasonic Teenage Warhead," she replied flatly.
"Negasonic?" Deadpool looked up at the sky, thinking for a second. Then he yelled at her, "Damn, that is a cool name!"
"So, you are his little sidekick," Deadpool said, gesturing between her and Colossus.
"No. A recruit," Colossus corrected him.
"Oh, and the X-Men send you out to do this? To clean up other people's mess?" Deadpool said. He walked between the two of them, heading back toward Lin Yu. On the way, he picked up a bent piece of metal from a car wheel. He threw it like a frisbee toward Francis. "Heads up!" he yelled.
The metal wheel cover hit Francis right on the head with a loud clang.
"Hey, do you want to take a picture with the mask on?" Deadpool asked as he reached Lin Yu.
"Let us take one with the mask and one without it," Lin Yu said, understanding immediately. He pulled out his personal device, which looked like a smartphone, and held it up.
The two of them stood together and took a couple of selfies right in front of Colossus and Negasonic.
"Can we just go now?" Negasonic said, sounding very impatient.
"Oh, do not be so tense," Deadpool said. He made a peace sign with his fingers and waved it at Colossus and Negasonic. "Are you not going to come over and get in a few pictures?"
"Yes, let us all take a photo together," Lin Yu said with a friendly smile.
"No, I think you should all come back with me now," Colossus insisted, crossing his big metal arms.
"Hey, 'Dickwad,' look behind you," Negasonic said suddenly. She lifted her sunglasses and frowned.
"Do not call me that," Deadpool said, annoyed.
"That bastard is trying to run away," Negasonic said, pointing behind Deadpool.
Lin Yu was the first to react. He moved in a blur of super speed. One moment he was next to Deadpool, the next he was beside the motorcycle where Francis was trying to start the engine. Lin Yu grabbed Francis and threw him hard onto the ground again.
"Trying to run? No way," Lin Yu said calmly. Then he grabbed Francis by the back of his neck, dragged him back, and dropped him in a heap in front of the others.
"Your speed is incredible," Colossus said, his metal jaw dropping open in surprise. He had thought Lin Yu was just a support-type mutant who could enhance powers. He never expected him to have super speed like this.
"Let us not talk about that now," Lin Yu said, not giving a direct answer. "I think we should leave this place first. We need to lock this guy up. Deadpool, you should come with us. You have nothing else to do now anyway."
"That is right," Colossus agreed, nodding his large head. "This Mr. Lin Yu cured your face. You owe him a great debt of thanks."
"Okay, okay, fine. If that is how it is, I will go with you guys," Deadpool said with a sigh. His face was fixed. He did not need to chase Francis to heal his disfigurement anymore. He felt much more relaxed now. Besides, Francis was not going anywhere. And Lin Yu had just done him a huge favor. It would be rude to just leave. Going to the Xavier school for a visit was not a big deal.