A Dark Trail - Chapter 7

Rhodez dove back around the corner and watched Deadpool go tumbling ass over teakettle above her. The force of the blast pushed the cube wall on top of her. There must have been a file cabinet on top of it, considering how heavily it pressed down on her. Besides that, and a familiar ringing in her ears, she was OK.

Deadpool landed awkwardly in a cubicle across the aisle, body sprawled across a partition. Rhodez dragged herself free and pulled him down to the floor.

"Are you OK?"

The merc seemed cheerful, given circumstances. "My heart started again a minute ago, that's usually encouraging."

Rhodez looked over her shoulder in the direction of the explosion. Peering through the smoke and fire, she spied a red hat moving towards them. "I don't think you got the little bastard."

"Hey now, now disparaging him on basis of his height or parentage," the merc objected as he concentrated on getting his feet to respond again.

Having no success, he raised his head and shouted in the direction of the explosion. "Not when we can make fun of his stupid Christmas variant dunce cap! Or how he has his shirt untucked, but his belt on over it!"

Rhodez immediately began dragging Deadpool down the row, and around the corner at the far end. Pausing to catch her breath - the merc was heavier than he looked - she hissed at her luggage. "Wade, shut the hell up! He already kicked your ass once!"

"Pfft. If I didn't shittalk people who kicked my ass, I'd never get to talk."

"Then at least wait until you can move something besides your mouth!"

"No promises. You see Johnny the Homicidal Fairyland Creature?"

Swiftly peering down the rows on either side of her, "No, he's not in either aisle."

"Rule #4: Remember to look up." Startled, Rhodez swung her gaze up, and found the gnome perched on the cube wall right above them. He pounced.

At close range, Rhodez opted to try swinging her hatchet at him. The gnome kicked in mid-air and bounded over the weapon, then stomped on the top of her head as he came down. She fell to the floor stunned.

Deadpool had regained control of one arm, and unloaded with his pistol as the gnome neared the ground. It simply kicked off the air again and double-jumped over the gunfire, launching towards the wall. He kicked off the wall in Deadpool's direction, but went through the ceiling panels and vanished.

"It's like trying to kill Samus while she's doing the worst Mario cosplay ever. Must be a hack," Deadpool grumbled as he scanned the panels for any sign of movement. Still 6 shots left, and he doubted he'd get a chance to reload right now. He shifted the pistol to his right hand, and picked up Rhodez' hatchet with the left.

The corner of one panel behind him and to the right lifted just slightly. The mercenary threw the hatchet at the opposite corner, and the panel split apart, the gnome falling into view. Wade fired twice, and his target again air-jumped out of the way.

"You aren't getting away from this troll, David," Deadpool taunted and he sighted and fired. But the gnome pushed off the ceiling with both hands and plummeted at Wade like a meteor. A tiny, bearded meteor. Shots 3 and 4 missed, but 5 and 6 struck the gnome in the chest. He grunted, but kept falling, stomping on Wade's chest with both feet.

The occasional X-man felt most of his ribs break, and one lung collapse. "Not collapse, more burst like a melon, helpful narrator. It isn't the first time, but I usually have to piss off the Hulk. Or at least Spidey. You know, when he's in one of his "edgy" moods. . . Say, why aren't you dead?"

The gnome opened his tunic slightly. The bullet impacts were visible, but had barely broken the skin.

"I'm very dense."

"You said it, not me."

Annoyed, the gnome produced another syringe. "Through the eye this time."

He was sent flying as he finished the sentence. Rhodez had regained consciousness and lifted her rifle enough to shoot him in the back. He crashed into a cube wall. It rocked back from the impact, but the other partitions it was connected to kept it from toppling.

Groaning, then cursing, the gnome began to rise. Rhodez immediately chambered another round, and the gnome turned and hurled the acid-filled syringe at her. It was snatched out of the air by a red-gloved hand. The mercenary also rose, twirling the syringe around one finger.

It was at that moment an old man fell past the window to their left, only to reappear an instant later, lightning arcing from his fingers as he rose steadily towards the floor above them.

The two stood silently before Rhodez turned to Wade. "The hell was that?"

"Old Man Electro's demanding his own 12-issue mini-series now."