Back to GatefoldIssue #4 by Liam Goncet
November 2017 |
Two men sat on a couch in a cluttered living room as the light from the television painted their faces with a white glow.
“Oh man, do you think she’s gonna accept Greg’s proposal?” The perpetually wide-eyed mutant, known as Peepers, asked of the man beside him.
Jack Hammer, more commonly known as Weasel, shrugged, “Remind me again why we watch this crap?”
“What else are we going to do?”
He had a point, as much as Jack hated to admit it, their lives were fairly boring. The only thing that occasionally broke through the doldrums of daily routine was their unofficial third roommate.
As if on cue, the door slammed open and a masked figure in red and black spandex entered, in his arms were four kittens, two holding on tightly to each arm. “Look at these adorable assholes!” Deadpool loudly proclaimed.
“Cats? Get those out of here I’m allergic to them!” Peepers yelled as he shuffled off the couch and away from Deadpool.
“Wow, as if you didn’t have it bad enough, you can’t even enjoy cats? God was not kind to you, Poppers.” Deadpool said as he set the kittens down on the couch and quickly went into the kitchen.
“So, what’s up with the cats, Wade. They aren’t staying here, right?” Weasel asked.
“What you aren’t a cat guy either?” Deadpool replied in mock disgust. “Don’t worry, they belong to a few different people. I just needed a box to transport them in and all the good ones I found on my way here were already being lived in.”
“Finding lost kittens? That seems less ‘super-hero’ and more ‘neighborhood watch.’” Weasel replied with a smirk.
“I don’t know, it’s kind of nice. I mean you never hear of Iron Man taking time to rescue some poor cat in a tree.” Peepers said with a shrug.
“Yeah, Peepie has the right idea. I’m putting the word out there that I’m a good guy. People are going to hear the name ‘Deadpool’ and they’re going to think, ‘that’s a man I can trust with my life.’”
Weasel smirked and shook his head, “whatever you say.”
Deadpool took a seat on the couch, holding a box in his lap as he began placing the kittens inside. He looked up at the TV and then over at Weasel. “Is this what you guys watch? Reality dating shows? God, that’s so 2015. Everybody knows shows where random idiots interact with nature are the hot thing now.” Deadpool grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels until it landed on a man attempting to wrestle with an alligator.
“Yeah, that’s quality entertainment.” Weasel said with a sigh.
“Damn right it is,” Deadpool gave a nod and went back to packing up the cats.
“Well, I’m gonna turn in.” Peepers said as he stared at the cats. “Just make sure you…uh…clear the couch of their fur.”
“Will do, Peeps!” Deadpool said, waiting for him to leave before standing up and turning over the couch cushion he was sitting on. “Good enough.” He said with a shrug before plopping back down.
“I guess I’m gonna turn in too.” Weasel said after a yawn.
“What and leave me here with these adorable kittens?”
“Somehow, I think you’ll manage.” Weasel said as he left the couch and began walking to his room.
“You can act annoyed all you want, Weaz, but I know you love having me around.” Deadpool received no reply from his reluctant roommate but the silence was enough to prove his point.
Suddenly, a loud voice emanated from the television “Hey you,” it said as Deadpool looked up and then around at the empty room before pointing to himself. “Yeah, you, you look bored.” Deadpool nodded, intrigued by what the TV was offering him. “You could use a vacation. Not just any old boring vacation though, one filled with action, adventure and excitement like you wouldn’t believe. You need a trip to…”
“Oh man, do you think she’s gonna accept Greg’s proposal?” The perpetually wide-eyed mutant, known as Peepers, asked of the man beside him.
Jack Hammer, more commonly known as Weasel, shrugged, “Remind me again why we watch this crap?”
“What else are we going to do?”
He had a point, as much as Jack hated to admit it, their lives were fairly boring. The only thing that occasionally broke through the doldrums of daily routine was their unofficial third roommate.
As if on cue, the door slammed open and a masked figure in red and black spandex entered, in his arms were four kittens, two holding on tightly to each arm. “Look at these adorable assholes!” Deadpool loudly proclaimed.
“Cats? Get those out of here I’m allergic to them!” Peepers yelled as he shuffled off the couch and away from Deadpool.
“Wow, as if you didn’t have it bad enough, you can’t even enjoy cats? God was not kind to you, Poppers.” Deadpool said as he set the kittens down on the couch and quickly went into the kitchen.
“So, what’s up with the cats, Wade. They aren’t staying here, right?” Weasel asked.
“What you aren’t a cat guy either?” Deadpool replied in mock disgust. “Don’t worry, they belong to a few different people. I just needed a box to transport them in and all the good ones I found on my way here were already being lived in.”
“Finding lost kittens? That seems less ‘super-hero’ and more ‘neighborhood watch.’” Weasel replied with a smirk.
“I don’t know, it’s kind of nice. I mean you never hear of Iron Man taking time to rescue some poor cat in a tree.” Peepers said with a shrug.
“Yeah, Peepie has the right idea. I’m putting the word out there that I’m a good guy. People are going to hear the name ‘Deadpool’ and they’re going to think, ‘that’s a man I can trust with my life.’”
Weasel smirked and shook his head, “whatever you say.”
Deadpool took a seat on the couch, holding a box in his lap as he began placing the kittens inside. He looked up at the TV and then over at Weasel. “Is this what you guys watch? Reality dating shows? God, that’s so 2015. Everybody knows shows where random idiots interact with nature are the hot thing now.” Deadpool grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels until it landed on a man attempting to wrestle with an alligator.
“Yeah, that’s quality entertainment.” Weasel said with a sigh.
“Damn right it is,” Deadpool gave a nod and went back to packing up the cats.
“Well, I’m gonna turn in.” Peepers said as he stared at the cats. “Just make sure you…uh…clear the couch of their fur.”
“Will do, Peeps!” Deadpool said, waiting for him to leave before standing up and turning over the couch cushion he was sitting on. “Good enough.” He said with a shrug before plopping back down.
“I guess I’m gonna turn in too.” Weasel said after a yawn.
“What and leave me here with these adorable kittens?”
“Somehow, I think you’ll manage.” Weasel said as he left the couch and began walking to his room.
“You can act annoyed all you want, Weaz, but I know you love having me around.” Deadpool received no reply from his reluctant roommate but the silence was enough to prove his point.
Suddenly, a loud voice emanated from the television “Hey you,” it said as Deadpool looked up and then around at the empty room before pointing to himself. “Yeah, you, you look bored.” Deadpool nodded, intrigued by what the TV was offering him. “You could use a vacation. Not just any old boring vacation though, one filled with action, adventure and excitement like you wouldn’t believe. You need a trip to…”
“Dinosaur Island – Part One”
By Liam Goncet
“So, I went online bought myself a ticket and here I am.” Deadpool said to the dozen or so other people stuck with him on the small motorboat, as it cruised through the water. Most everyone had tried to ignore the man, still adorned in his spandex suit but wearing a white t-shirt with a T-Rex over it now, and his story.
“So, what happened to the cats?” a woman asked, seemingly the only one listening to the end of the story.
“Oh yeah…I guess in my excitement I must have…left them there. Oooh boy, Weasel and Peepleton are not going to be happy about that.” Deadpool’s response seemed to disgust the woman but he hadn’t really noticed her reaction. “So, is everyone else here because of the ads? They’re pretty good, I mean, to be honest, I needed a vacation. I’ve been trying out this whole super-hero thing and honestly, it is pretty exhausting.”
“We’re almost there, if you look out now you can see part of the island.” The driver of the boat shouted out.
“Thank god,” someone said to a few snickers from the others. Deadpool ignored the obvious jab in his direction.
The island was large with a few impressive mountains becoming visible through the dense fog, trees dotted the landscape but the imposing form of a brontosaurus was what took up most of the attention, a few audible “oohs” and “aahs” could be heard from the assembled visitors as the creature ate from one of the trees.
“Anybody ever see Jurassic Park? This is pretty similar, huh?” Deadpool asked to silence from the others.
# # # # #
The boat finally reached the port that also served as entrance into Dinosaur Island, large metal gates surrounded the edge of the isle blocking it off from the eyes of the new arrivals. Up ahead were two ticket booths with a healthy line of people in each and a sign with the words “Dinosaur Island: The Land That Time Forgot” in big, bold letters between the stands.
“So, you here for the dinosaurs or…?” Deadpool asked the woman in front of him before she quickly moved into the other line. “Pft, people act like they’ve never seen a masked man in spandex go to an amusement park before.”
As Deadpool got closer to the ticket booth, a large man in a black uniform with “security” printed on the front and back approached him. “Look man, you’re freaking people out.”
“What, is it the mask? Well, I have a condition dammit and you all should be happy to not have to look upon the horror that is hidden behind this thing!” Deadpool screamed into the crowd.
“No man, those swords you got strapped to your back.” The guard said, pointing to the two katanas, the hilts of which poked out of the back of Deadpool’s shirt. “People think you’re gonna start doing some crazy supervillain shit any second now.”
“Oh…right,” Deadpool awkwardly chuckled as he handed over the katanas to the guard. “Take care of them or it will be off with your head!” The guard shot Deadpool a look before he replied, “Just kidding.”
# # # # #
After roughly a half hour of waiting in line Deadpool entered the park, “got to get rid of the guns, got to get rid of the grenades, where’s the fun at in this place!?” He shouted before taking a look around.
The main entrance to the park was littered with cardboard cutouts of various dinosaurs as well as a bathroom area that was shaped like a giant T-Rex skull and an information booth set up to look like a volcano.
“Well, you got to admit, they really go for the theme here.” Deadpool spoke to himself as he poked at a cutout of a pterodactyl. “Now, where’s all the fun stuff!” He exclaimed as he strolled over to look at a map of the park. “Ah, the raptor enclosure,” Deadpool said with an odd fondness in his voice. “You’ve got to hand it to those weaselly bastards but they always look like they’re having a blast.”
The enclosure wasn’t far from the main entrance to the park and despite the seeming popularity of the attraction few people were there. It became clear why as Deadpool entered. Behind the glass was a single raptor who simply lazed about on a rock and ostensibly disinterested with the area it had been put into.
“Hey! Come on buddy, I didn’t pay a butt load to see you sit around!” Deadpool shouted at the ancient creature as he pounded his fist on the glass. “Fine, guess I’ll go see what the triceratops are up to. Have fun on your rock, dipshit!” He yelled, once it became clear that the raptor was not going to move.
The erstwhile mercenary turned hero turned vacationer strolled out of the enclosure and made his way to the next exhibit, muttering to himself as he went along. “Unprofessional raptor…wish I could lay on a rock all day…” as his mumbling ceased Deadpool began to notice that there was another person muttering as well, not far from where he stood.
“These creatures deserve better than being slaves to humans trying to make a quick buck. I’ll free them and show the fools behind this place the error of their ways.”
Deadpool approached the rambling man but they seemed to notice and turned to scowl at him. “Hey, couldn’t help but overhear you monologuing. It sounded vaguely evil. I wanted to make sure everything was cool.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” The man said as he backed away from the approaching vigilante.
“Well, I’m here anyway. So, what about this ‘slave to humans’ stuff? You one of those dinosaur rights types?”
“Seriously, you need to go. It’s bad for everyone if you stay around me.” The man began to convulse as he pleaded with Deadpool.
“Jeez, no need to get weird about it, as long as nothing evil happens.” Deadpool turned to leave before his attention was drawn back.
Where the man once was now stood a green-skin pterodactyl creature. The being stretched out it’s long wings as it laughed. “Foolish mutant, you have fallen prey to the might of Sauron!”
“Woah, getting a little light-headed all the sudden. That usually doesn’t happen unless I’ve had some absinthe.” Deadpool said, stumbling back a bit.
“I’ve already begun taking some of your life force, mutant.” The creature known as Sauron boasted as it moved closer to him, making sure to keep eye contact. “And now, you’re going to do exactly as I say.”
Deadpool stared back into the eyes of Sauron without saying a word.
“Good, now then, I think I’ll make this place mine. You will help me and I will feed on you as needed. You seem to have some sort of ability that keeps you from just passing out like most, that is quite useful.”
“You’re telling me,” Deadpool replied, kneeing Sauron in the crotch as soon as the beast got close enough. “I also don’t fall for all that hypnotic suggestion BS.” He hit the downed beast in the jaw with a fist but it didn’t seem to have much effect. “Also, Sauron, really? What was your first choice, Voldemort?”
Sauron let out a high-pitched screech before grabbing the mutant and taking to the air, flying high above the newly formed crowd that had gathered. “Foolish mutant, you have made a grave mistake. You are no use to me if you cannot be controlled.”
The ground quickly faded from view as the two combatants flew into the sky. Deadpool felt dizzy and confused but he couldn’t decide if that was from Sauron or the high altitude. “You…are a real…bastard,” he mumbled.
“I’m going to suck all of the life force from you and leave you an empty husk floating in the sea!” The creature proclaimed.
“Shouldn’t have given up…guns and…katanas…but at least…I can still…” the mercenary’s words slurred together and eventually trailed off but he was not yet finished as he slammed both of his fists into one of the feet that held him. His strength was minimal compared to many heroes but it was enough to draw Sauron’s attention away from taking his energy. Deadpool delivered another blow as his head began to clear.
“A worthy effort to fight back but I’m afraid your end is nigh,” Sauron boasted as he dug the talons of his feet into his prey’s flesh.
“Do you always talk like a villain from a cartoon? I get it already you’re gonna kill me.” He ignored the claws digging into him and continued to hammer on the feet holding him to no avail. “Aw, screw this, I got a better idea.” Deadpool moved his mask up to uncover his mouth and began to chomp down on the toe nearest to his face. His strength was just enough to pierce the rough skin of the creature.
Sauron let out a roar of pain as he instinctively let go of the mutant, “you will not escape me.” He shouted as Deadpool began to fall out of the sky.
Before Sauron could catch up to his enemy a helicopter with the silhouette of a raptor and the initials “D.I.” painted on the side arrived. The doors inside opened as men armed with machine guns began to fire at him. It looked as though Sauron would be busy for the time being.
“Hah, see you later, sucker!” Deadpool yelled back as the pterodactyl and helicopter both left his view. As he hurtled through the sky, our hero looked down to discover that he was heading straight into the sea. “Oh good, the ocean, this would have been so much worse if I was on the ground.” The sarcasm was purely for himself as the merc sighed and accepted his painful fate. “Oh well, I guess I won’t scar any children this way.” He laughed to himself thinking about a child seeing him fall and splatter onto the concrete. He continued laughing right up until he rocketed into the water, diving deeper and deeper into the murky black before fading.
# # # # #
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but Deadpool sprung back into life and quickly attempted to catch his bearings. He was on a boat, bigger than the one that took him to the island. There were around half a dozen armed guards with shirts that read “D.I. Security” on them.
“You guys rescued me?” Deadpool asked the guards with no reply. “Aw, ya shouldn’t have.” He attempted to get up before finding himself starting down the barrel of six separate pistols. “You guys know that won’t stop me, right?”
“It’ll stop you long enough to get us where we’re going.” A woman replied as she strolled over to where the battered man sat.
She had deep brown hair, cut short, and wore a bullet-proof vest over her “Security” shirt. She gave a smirk to the mercenary that dripped with condescension. “The name is Esme Devoir and if you try anything, I will personally make sure you have a very painful trip, Mr. Wilson.”
“Woah there, no need for the drill sergeant act, I’ll go wherever you want to hot stuff.” Deadpool said, holding up his hands to indicate his intent. “Just out of curiosity, where exactly are we going anyway?
Esme rolled her eyes and signaled for the guards to lower their weapons. “I’ve been ordered to take you to meet the owner of this park. He has more than a few questions after your little incident.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who transformed into a pterodactyl and started talking about stealing people’s life energy. Where is old, Frodo or whatever he named himself anyway?”
Esme was silent for a moment, her gaze set firmly on Deadpool, as if trying to determine what to tell him. “He is still at large, which is part of the reason we came looking for you.”
“Oh, I see, you need a real super-hero to come and help you with this menace! Well, I’m just the man for the job.” Deadpool triumphantly put his hands on his hips and stood still, basking in the glory of his inflated self-worth.
Esme looked ready to correct him before she was interrupted by the pilot of the boat. “Ready to dock, Ms. Devoir.” Esme sighed and gave a nod to the pilot as the ship pulled into a pier, similar to the one located at the park’s entrance, a large gate also separated them from the island itself but instead of a ticket booth this pier had two armed guards watching the entrance.
Deadpool found himself being ushered off the boat by the other guards as Esme walked ahead of them. The gate at the entrance opened to reveal a large house looking down on the sands of a beach. The house itself seemed to be recently constructed and was being patrolled by at least four armed guards that Deadpool could see.
“Wait, so your boss actually lives on the island? Like, just around the back? Boy, being rich sure does sounds great.” The guards that had followed Deadpool and Esme in hung back as the duo continued to head towards the house.
Only once they reached the glass doors leading into the building did Esme turn around and face the merc. “I’m only going to give you these instructions once. Once we enter this house you are to go into the third room on the left. I will be waiting out here, if you do not comply things will not end well, understood?”
“Please, you act like this is the first time I’ve been invited into a rich person’s house. I’ll have you know that I am quite popular with the upper class.” Deadpool mocked adjusting a bowtie as he strolled into the house.
He followed the orders and opened the third door on the left, stepping into a small office that housed three separate bookshelves, most of them containing various texts on different dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. At the long desk in the center of the room was an older looking man who got up from his chair upon noticing Deadpool’s arrival.
“Greetings,” the man said as he strolled over and placed out his hand. “I am Geoffrey Attenborough, the creator of Dinosaur Island and you, Wade Wilson, are going to help me catch my greatest exhibit yet!”
To Be Continued…
“So, what happened to the cats?” a woman asked, seemingly the only one listening to the end of the story.
“Oh yeah…I guess in my excitement I must have…left them there. Oooh boy, Weasel and Peepleton are not going to be happy about that.” Deadpool’s response seemed to disgust the woman but he hadn’t really noticed her reaction. “So, is everyone else here because of the ads? They’re pretty good, I mean, to be honest, I needed a vacation. I’ve been trying out this whole super-hero thing and honestly, it is pretty exhausting.”
“We’re almost there, if you look out now you can see part of the island.” The driver of the boat shouted out.
“Thank god,” someone said to a few snickers from the others. Deadpool ignored the obvious jab in his direction.
The island was large with a few impressive mountains becoming visible through the dense fog, trees dotted the landscape but the imposing form of a brontosaurus was what took up most of the attention, a few audible “oohs” and “aahs” could be heard from the assembled visitors as the creature ate from one of the trees.
“Anybody ever see Jurassic Park? This is pretty similar, huh?” Deadpool asked to silence from the others.
# # # # #
The boat finally reached the port that also served as entrance into Dinosaur Island, large metal gates surrounded the edge of the isle blocking it off from the eyes of the new arrivals. Up ahead were two ticket booths with a healthy line of people in each and a sign with the words “Dinosaur Island: The Land That Time Forgot” in big, bold letters between the stands.
“So, you here for the dinosaurs or…?” Deadpool asked the woman in front of him before she quickly moved into the other line. “Pft, people act like they’ve never seen a masked man in spandex go to an amusement park before.”
As Deadpool got closer to the ticket booth, a large man in a black uniform with “security” printed on the front and back approached him. “Look man, you’re freaking people out.”
“What, is it the mask? Well, I have a condition dammit and you all should be happy to not have to look upon the horror that is hidden behind this thing!” Deadpool screamed into the crowd.
“No man, those swords you got strapped to your back.” The guard said, pointing to the two katanas, the hilts of which poked out of the back of Deadpool’s shirt. “People think you’re gonna start doing some crazy supervillain shit any second now.”
“Oh…right,” Deadpool awkwardly chuckled as he handed over the katanas to the guard. “Take care of them or it will be off with your head!” The guard shot Deadpool a look before he replied, “Just kidding.”
# # # # #
After roughly a half hour of waiting in line Deadpool entered the park, “got to get rid of the guns, got to get rid of the grenades, where’s the fun at in this place!?” He shouted before taking a look around.
The main entrance to the park was littered with cardboard cutouts of various dinosaurs as well as a bathroom area that was shaped like a giant T-Rex skull and an information booth set up to look like a volcano.
“Well, you got to admit, they really go for the theme here.” Deadpool spoke to himself as he poked at a cutout of a pterodactyl. “Now, where’s all the fun stuff!” He exclaimed as he strolled over to look at a map of the park. “Ah, the raptor enclosure,” Deadpool said with an odd fondness in his voice. “You’ve got to hand it to those weaselly bastards but they always look like they’re having a blast.”
The enclosure wasn’t far from the main entrance to the park and despite the seeming popularity of the attraction few people were there. It became clear why as Deadpool entered. Behind the glass was a single raptor who simply lazed about on a rock and ostensibly disinterested with the area it had been put into.
“Hey! Come on buddy, I didn’t pay a butt load to see you sit around!” Deadpool shouted at the ancient creature as he pounded his fist on the glass. “Fine, guess I’ll go see what the triceratops are up to. Have fun on your rock, dipshit!” He yelled, once it became clear that the raptor was not going to move.
The erstwhile mercenary turned hero turned vacationer strolled out of the enclosure and made his way to the next exhibit, muttering to himself as he went along. “Unprofessional raptor…wish I could lay on a rock all day…” as his mumbling ceased Deadpool began to notice that there was another person muttering as well, not far from where he stood.
“These creatures deserve better than being slaves to humans trying to make a quick buck. I’ll free them and show the fools behind this place the error of their ways.”
Deadpool approached the rambling man but they seemed to notice and turned to scowl at him. “Hey, couldn’t help but overhear you monologuing. It sounded vaguely evil. I wanted to make sure everything was cool.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” The man said as he backed away from the approaching vigilante.
“Well, I’m here anyway. So, what about this ‘slave to humans’ stuff? You one of those dinosaur rights types?”
“Seriously, you need to go. It’s bad for everyone if you stay around me.” The man began to convulse as he pleaded with Deadpool.
“Jeez, no need to get weird about it, as long as nothing evil happens.” Deadpool turned to leave before his attention was drawn back.
Where the man once was now stood a green-skin pterodactyl creature. The being stretched out it’s long wings as it laughed. “Foolish mutant, you have fallen prey to the might of Sauron!”
“Woah, getting a little light-headed all the sudden. That usually doesn’t happen unless I’ve had some absinthe.” Deadpool said, stumbling back a bit.
“I’ve already begun taking some of your life force, mutant.” The creature known as Sauron boasted as it moved closer to him, making sure to keep eye contact. “And now, you’re going to do exactly as I say.”
Deadpool stared back into the eyes of Sauron without saying a word.
“Good, now then, I think I’ll make this place mine. You will help me and I will feed on you as needed. You seem to have some sort of ability that keeps you from just passing out like most, that is quite useful.”
“You’re telling me,” Deadpool replied, kneeing Sauron in the crotch as soon as the beast got close enough. “I also don’t fall for all that hypnotic suggestion BS.” He hit the downed beast in the jaw with a fist but it didn’t seem to have much effect. “Also, Sauron, really? What was your first choice, Voldemort?”
Sauron let out a high-pitched screech before grabbing the mutant and taking to the air, flying high above the newly formed crowd that had gathered. “Foolish mutant, you have made a grave mistake. You are no use to me if you cannot be controlled.”
The ground quickly faded from view as the two combatants flew into the sky. Deadpool felt dizzy and confused but he couldn’t decide if that was from Sauron or the high altitude. “You…are a real…bastard,” he mumbled.
“I’m going to suck all of the life force from you and leave you an empty husk floating in the sea!” The creature proclaimed.
“Shouldn’t have given up…guns and…katanas…but at least…I can still…” the mercenary’s words slurred together and eventually trailed off but he was not yet finished as he slammed both of his fists into one of the feet that held him. His strength was minimal compared to many heroes but it was enough to draw Sauron’s attention away from taking his energy. Deadpool delivered another blow as his head began to clear.
“A worthy effort to fight back but I’m afraid your end is nigh,” Sauron boasted as he dug the talons of his feet into his prey’s flesh.
“Do you always talk like a villain from a cartoon? I get it already you’re gonna kill me.” He ignored the claws digging into him and continued to hammer on the feet holding him to no avail. “Aw, screw this, I got a better idea.” Deadpool moved his mask up to uncover his mouth and began to chomp down on the toe nearest to his face. His strength was just enough to pierce the rough skin of the creature.
Sauron let out a roar of pain as he instinctively let go of the mutant, “you will not escape me.” He shouted as Deadpool began to fall out of the sky.
Before Sauron could catch up to his enemy a helicopter with the silhouette of a raptor and the initials “D.I.” painted on the side arrived. The doors inside opened as men armed with machine guns began to fire at him. It looked as though Sauron would be busy for the time being.
“Hah, see you later, sucker!” Deadpool yelled back as the pterodactyl and helicopter both left his view. As he hurtled through the sky, our hero looked down to discover that he was heading straight into the sea. “Oh good, the ocean, this would have been so much worse if I was on the ground.” The sarcasm was purely for himself as the merc sighed and accepted his painful fate. “Oh well, I guess I won’t scar any children this way.” He laughed to himself thinking about a child seeing him fall and splatter onto the concrete. He continued laughing right up until he rocketed into the water, diving deeper and deeper into the murky black before fading.
# # # # #
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but Deadpool sprung back into life and quickly attempted to catch his bearings. He was on a boat, bigger than the one that took him to the island. There were around half a dozen armed guards with shirts that read “D.I. Security” on them.
“You guys rescued me?” Deadpool asked the guards with no reply. “Aw, ya shouldn’t have.” He attempted to get up before finding himself starting down the barrel of six separate pistols. “You guys know that won’t stop me, right?”
“It’ll stop you long enough to get us where we’re going.” A woman replied as she strolled over to where the battered man sat.
She had deep brown hair, cut short, and wore a bullet-proof vest over her “Security” shirt. She gave a smirk to the mercenary that dripped with condescension. “The name is Esme Devoir and if you try anything, I will personally make sure you have a very painful trip, Mr. Wilson.”
“Woah there, no need for the drill sergeant act, I’ll go wherever you want to hot stuff.” Deadpool said, holding up his hands to indicate his intent. “Just out of curiosity, where exactly are we going anyway?
Esme rolled her eyes and signaled for the guards to lower their weapons. “I’ve been ordered to take you to meet the owner of this park. He has more than a few questions after your little incident.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who transformed into a pterodactyl and started talking about stealing people’s life energy. Where is old, Frodo or whatever he named himself anyway?”
Esme was silent for a moment, her gaze set firmly on Deadpool, as if trying to determine what to tell him. “He is still at large, which is part of the reason we came looking for you.”
“Oh, I see, you need a real super-hero to come and help you with this menace! Well, I’m just the man for the job.” Deadpool triumphantly put his hands on his hips and stood still, basking in the glory of his inflated self-worth.
Esme looked ready to correct him before she was interrupted by the pilot of the boat. “Ready to dock, Ms. Devoir.” Esme sighed and gave a nod to the pilot as the ship pulled into a pier, similar to the one located at the park’s entrance, a large gate also separated them from the island itself but instead of a ticket booth this pier had two armed guards watching the entrance.
Deadpool found himself being ushered off the boat by the other guards as Esme walked ahead of them. The gate at the entrance opened to reveal a large house looking down on the sands of a beach. The house itself seemed to be recently constructed and was being patrolled by at least four armed guards that Deadpool could see.
“Wait, so your boss actually lives on the island? Like, just around the back? Boy, being rich sure does sounds great.” The guards that had followed Deadpool and Esme in hung back as the duo continued to head towards the house.
Only once they reached the glass doors leading into the building did Esme turn around and face the merc. “I’m only going to give you these instructions once. Once we enter this house you are to go into the third room on the left. I will be waiting out here, if you do not comply things will not end well, understood?”
“Please, you act like this is the first time I’ve been invited into a rich person’s house. I’ll have you know that I am quite popular with the upper class.” Deadpool mocked adjusting a bowtie as he strolled into the house.
He followed the orders and opened the third door on the left, stepping into a small office that housed three separate bookshelves, most of them containing various texts on different dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. At the long desk in the center of the room was an older looking man who got up from his chair upon noticing Deadpool’s arrival.
“Greetings,” the man said as he strolled over and placed out his hand. “I am Geoffrey Attenborough, the creator of Dinosaur Island and you, Wade Wilson, are going to help me catch my greatest exhibit yet!”
To Be Continued…