Past, Present, Future - Cable, Deadpool 2

12.

The next moment Nina was gone and all that was left was a large pile of smouldering wood.

"Nina!" Nathan dove onto the pile and began tossing the remains aside to search for her.

"She was so fucking close!" This was true - even Nathan had seen Russell beginning to give into what she had been saying. "Shorty!" Wade too, fell to his knees and began tossing aside pieces of wood carelessly. "Where you at?"

Finally, Nathan removed a board to uncover her, her face darkened with soot and ash and blood.

"Nina-" He gently touched her cheek, receiving a faint moan and the fluttering of her eyelids in response. She was conscious, but barely.

With an enraged yell, he dove at the pyrokinetic boy, shoving him to the ground.

Wade was helping the dazed and limp Nina climb out of the debris while Russell grabbed Nathan's human arm and singed it. Wade, still hanging onto Nina, just managed to dive in and grab Cable right as Russell launched another angry blast of flame their way, this one sending all three through the wall and out into the courtyard.

"Go go go go go!" Russell was already casting more flames their way, and they rushed to take cover.

"Go home, Wade! You're ruining everything! He dies tonight - you can't stop me!"

"There's one more bullet in that gun," Cable stated.

"Wait, wait, wait, please, just give me a second," Wade requested. "I got this!" He approached Russell.

Nathan did wait, and let Wade try and talk to the kid. He helped Nina to her feet and she leaned on him for support. "It's alright, Sweetheart, I've got you." It just slipped out.

She didn't comment. Everything was slipping in and out of focus.

"Hey, you alright?" Domino jogged over.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine-" Even her voice sounded distant.

"Whoa-" The other woman caught her when she swayed slightly, and also helped support her.

"That piece of shit, he deserves to die for what he did." Wade was still talking to Russell, still trying to persuade him to stand down. "But if you do this, then he wins. You become everything he says you are, and I know you aren't. He hurt you, and that makes you want to hurt others."

"How do you know what I want?!"

"Because I've been inside you - that came out wrong. I've been inside your shoes," Wade tried again. "That's also off-putting. It's not a great analogy, but the point is: there are people, in this fucking world who will treat you right, besides him. It isn't too late - don't do this. I never should have left you back there in that shit-hole prison." Wade wrapped Russell up in a hug.

"I can't trust anybody!" Wade went shooting back when Russell broke their hug, blasting Wade.

He stumbled to his feet. "Okay, I've got one more idea, it's just a really bad one-" Wade withdrew a collar. "-Even for me." He put the collar around his neck.

"Wade, what are you doing?" cried Domino.

"Alright, this is for all the marbles, kid. If you're going to kill someone today, then it's gotta be me-"

"Blessed are the wicked who are healed by my hand!"

Suddenly, everything became strikingly clear.

Nathan dove forward, scooping up the gun. Russell, who was distracted by aiming for the headmaster, didn't see what Nathan was about to do. Wade did, however, and jumped forward, diving in front of the bullet which went straight through his chest, blood splattering from the wound.