Here We Go

22: Elevator Surprise

Deadpool sat on the edge of the Empire State Building, staring at the city below. He grinned beneath his mask and carefully stood up, looking down at all the people milling about. Then, he jumped.

He fell, arms out, singing as he plummeted to the ground. "HAKUNA MATATA, IT AIN'T NO PASSING CRAZE, IT'S OUR PROBLEM FREE, PHILOSOPHY, HAKUNA MATATA." He concentrated on the ground about 50 feet below him and thought about standing on the sidewalk. Then, he was no longer falling.

Deadpool stood in the middle of the sidewalk, totally interrupting the flow of the city. People shoved past him, in and out of the Empire State, and just down the sidewalk in general. He joined the crowd and walked in the direction of his favorite place - his good friend Jackson's doorway.

"Hey Jack!" he greeted through the mask about twenty minutes later.

"Hi Phil," Jackson grumbled, pulling his coat tighter around himself. Jackson Smith was a homeless man living in the blocked off doorway behind a fancy hotel that Deadpool did not know the name of. Deadpool had told Jackson that his name was Phil, to stop the questions. Phil was one of Deadpool's cover names.

"How you doin' tonight Jack? Want me to grab you some hot chocolate and chimichangas?"

"That'd be great. And maybe any old clothes you have. I'm just a size under you, so I'll fit them."

"You got it buddy." Deadpool gave him a high-five and went around the corner to teleport home for a second.

He teleported into his apartment and was met with the typical smell of Mexican food. He pulled off the mask and sighed, enjoying the warmth against his bare skin. He went to his room and opened the bottom drawer of his dresser, grabbing everything from it and piling it in his arms. It wasn't much stuff, but it was enough - two pairs of old sweatpants, a few odd socks, a t-shirt, and one ugly reindeer sweater his dad had sent him before he left for Canada.

He made his way to the kitchen area and set the stuff on his table, checking his face in the mirror. His nose was pink from the cold and there were the usual pale scars covering his face, but he was fine. And he looked great. He ruffled his blond hair and winked at himself. Then he was pulled away from the mirror by his cell phone ringing.

"Hello?" he asked as he answered it.

"Hey Wade. Me and Gwen are getting food and she went to the bathroom. I was wondering if you could get me at Central Park in about half an hour? Gwen said her dad's coming to pick her up there at seven and I don't really want to walk home," Peter explained.

Wade checked the time - 6:47 - and sucked in a long breath, blowing it out through his nose in a sigh. "Uh, maybe I can make it. Probably. Yeah, sure."

"Okay. You're the best, man." Wade smiled.

"I know. See you at seven."

"Okay. Same place you dropped me off."

"Okay."

"Thanks."

"Bye Peter." Wade ended the call and tossed his phone on the couch. He went to his closet and grabbed a backpack, making sure it was empty before shoving all the clothes he had gathered into it. Then he set it on a chair and went to his room pulling on some normal clothes over his Deadpool suit. He made sure to put the mask on, but pushed it up on his head and hid it beneath a hat.

Wade grabbed the backpack and slung it over his shoulders, slipping his phone into his pocket. He thought hard about Central Park and was there instantly. He waited for a minute but got impatient and reached into his hat and pulled the Deadpool mask down over his face. He teleported to Jackson's corner and walked to his friend, sitting on the ground with him and pulling out all the extra clothes.