After several days together, Tony and Ethan had gradually become immune to Deadpool's endless chatter.
Especially Tony.
If he wanted to know more about Deadpool, he could simply hire a private investigator once they returned to civilization. Stark Industries had enough resources to dig up the birth certificate of a mosquito if necessary.
If they didn't get out alive…
Then knowing wouldn't matter.
At the end of the tunnel ahead, sunlight appeared like a blade cutting through darkness.
Freedom.
Deadpool was running at the very front. To Tony and Ethan, he was nothing but a red-and-black blur.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots erupted like firecrackers.
By the time Tony and Ethan burst out of the cave entrance, the terrorists stationed outside were already down. Every single one.
Deadpool had cleared them in seconds.
He jumped into a massive SUV, turned the key, and the engine roared awake instantly.
"Beep beep," he announced proudly. "Deadpool's private car at your service."
"Friendly reminder: please fasten your seatbelts. There is absolutely no place here to buy car insurance."
Tony and Ethan scrambled inside.
Deadpool slammed his foot on the accelerator.
The engine screamed.
The tires spun violently against the sand, kicking up dust and smoke. The sudden force threw all three men back into their seats.
Deadpool grinned and glanced sideways. "How about that? That push-back feeling. Not worse than a Porsche or Ferrari, right?"
Tony let out a breath that was half laugh, half disbelief.
"Not worse? It's way better!"
At this moment, no V6, V8, or V12 engine could compare to the joy of escaping death.
Behind them, about a minute later, terrorists from other sections of the camp rushed toward the cave entrance.
They saw bodies.
Silence.
And an empty desert road.
Chasing was no longer possible.
Under the scorching desert sun, they stood there, stunned and helpless.
The sun burned like a furnace overhead. Heat waves twisted the horizon. Sand stretched endlessly in every direction.
Inside the speeding SUV, Tony finally caught his breath.
The initial thrill of escape began to settle.
He sat up straighter.
"Wade," he asked carefully, "do you know where we're going?"
Deadpool kept his eyes on the road.
"No."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Ethan, do you?"
Tony stared at him.
"You don't know the way," Tony said slowly, "and you're driving this fast?"
Ethan shook his head weakly. "I only moved inside the camp. I don't know where this road leads."
Tony's stomach tightened.
"Tell me there's water in the car."
Deadpool clicked his tongue.
"There was some outside the car. But I was in a hurry."
He paused thoughtfully.
"I do have a little in my mouth. If you need it, hurry. It might evaporate."
Silence filled the SUV.
Tony leaned back against the seat and licked his cracked lips.
"I kind of regret running out," he muttered.
At least inside the cave, they had food and water.
Deadpool laughed.
"It's only been two hours. The great Tony Stark already misses terrorist dog food?"
"Deadpool's private car can turn around anytime. Mission accomplished."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"I'm just complaining. I'm not actually going back."
He leaned forward from the back seat and began dismantling the SUV's radio with practiced precision.
"What are you doing?" Deadpool asked in horror. "I was hoping to find a classy station playing Wham! on repeat."
"I love Wham!"
Tony ignored him and calmly removed screws and panels.
"I can try to build a short-range transmitter."
Deadpool perked up. "Then I can cosplay Wham! myself?"
Tony's jaw tightened. "Then we can contact the outside world."
"Actually," Deadpool continued seriously, "even without a transmitter, I can cosplay Wham! Very well."
"Multiple people have said I sing like George Michael and look like Andrew Ridgeley."
Tony glanced at him.
"Are you serious?"
Deadpool nodded solemnly. "One was Matt Murdock. The other was Grandma Aier. Both have excellent judgment."
Tony chose not to comment.
Then suddenly—
Deadpool reached somewhere behind his seat and pulled out a walkie-talkie.
"You might need this," he said casually. "I picked it off a dead guy."
Tony's eyes lit up.
"With this? I'm at least ninety percent confident."
He began modifying it immediately.
Deadpool looked into the rearview mirror.
"Ethan? You've been quiet."
"Finally escaped the wolf's den. Too happy to speak?"
Ethan stared out at the endless yellow desert.
"No," he said softly.
He hesitated.
"That gun earlier… it had no bullets in it, right?"
Deadpool didn't look surprised.
"Yes."
Ethan swallowed.
"I know about firearms. There should have been recoil."
"Why?"
Deadpool tilted his head.
"Why what?"
"Speak clearly," he added. "When I watch Batman, I hate riddlers. Except Jim Carrey. No one can resist Jim Carrey."
Ethan exhaled slowly.
"Why did you make me pull the trigger… if the gun was empty?"
Deadpool's expression changed slightly.
"Killing," he said quietly, "is a heavy sin."
"I don't think you were ready to carry that weight."
"But you didn't have time to prepare either."
Tony looked up from the passenger seat.
"This doesn't even sound like you."
"I know," Deadpool admitted. "But I'm saying it anyway."
Ethan's voice was rough.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me," Deadpool replied. "You made the choice."
"You pulled the trigger."
"Just… without bullets."
"That was the right decision."
"Just like a few days ago, when you stood in front of me, even while shaking."
Tony glanced at Ethan through the mirror.
Ethan pressed a hand to his thinning hairline.
"I did not wet my pants," he insisted.
Deadpool ignored him.
"A shiny friend of mine once told me something."
"A hero isn't heroic all the time."
"He doesn't brush his teeth heroically."
"He doesn't wash his face heroically."
"He certainly doesn't sit on the toilet heroically."
Tony coughed.
Deadpool raised two fingers.
"It's about moments."
"The moment a decision is made."
"Four or five moments of choosing correctly."
"That's all it takes."
"You've already chosen correctly twice."
"Two more, and you won't be able to deny it."
Ethan stared at him.
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.
"Wade," he said softly, "you're a jerk."
Deadpool reached back blindly.
"High five?"
Clap.
Ethan lowered his hand.
"But I still didn't wet my pants."
"And those last two toilet examples? Definitely added by you."
Deadpool gasped dramatically.
"You know me too well. If I hadn't welded it shut, I'd suspect you stole my back door key."
They continued bantering.
But in the passenger seat, Tony had stopped working.
His hands rested silently on the disassembled radio parts.
Four or five moments.
He stared at his palms.
Weapons built by Stark Industries had killed countless people.
He had never seen their faces before.
Now he had.
The cave.
The missiles.
The fear in Ethan's eyes.
Deadpool's words echoed in his mind.
Four to five moments of decision.
Hero.
Tony Stark slowly closed his fingers into fists.
Somewhere deep inside him—
A new decision was forming.
--------------------------------------------------
150+ chapters available in patreon🔥🔥🔥🔥
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
----------------------------------------------------- .