Chapter Text
The smell of blood and sweat filled the windowless shed as she bit her lip, trying to suppress the whimper that wanted to escape.
The scalpel was pressed back down to her skin, this time on the inside of her thigh, and she couldn't help but let out a small scream as a particularly deep cut was applied to the entire length of her inner leg, the soft skin there burning as it was cut open.
"Please", she whispered, pleading for it to stop. it had been hours, and hours of wounds being inflicted to her body. Applied, then timed as they healed. Written down for record, only to start all over again.
First her arms, then her stomach, now her legs. Her body was covered in dried and fresh blood, her face the same but with tears.
"Please, it hurts", she tried again.
"That is a good thing", said a strong, older female voice. "You may heal quickly, but still being able to feel pain to its fullest extent will keep you wanting to refrain from it. One who cannot feel pain does not fear it. But those who do, do their best to stay away from it."
"Please, please just stop!"
She was ignored, and two more cuts followed, each deeper than the last.
"Please", she said, feeling woozy from all the blood loss.
"This will make you strong, my love. The knowledge of just how much your body can handle will be very useful".
"Please!", she repeated, her tired mind unable to come up with anything else to say.
She heard the clink clank of tools being cleaned and put away, unable to turn her head to look due to the thick leather strap wrapped around her forehead, keeping her pinned to the cold metal table.
She continued to plead to her captor to let her go and continued to be ignored. Her cries grew as she listened to the person clean up, then start walking towards the door.
"No, please! Don't leave me here, don’t leave me alone!"
"Shh, get some rest my darling. I will be back".
The slamming of the thick door reverberated around the room, followed by loud cries and screams. The room was pitch black, so dark that if her arms were free, Amelia wouldn't even be able to see her hand in front of her face.
She continued to cry out, feeling her hoarse voice give out as her throat protested with each scream. And even though she knew they would all go ignored, she couldn't help but cry out.
"Please! Don't leave me! Please! Please! Mom!"
Amelia woke with a start, a light sheen of sweat on her brow and all over her body. She stared at the ceiling above her bed, which was really just an old, uncomfortable mattress on the floor with a single sheet and thin blanket for summer, a worn holey duvet for the winter and a pillow so old and used that during the summer when she didn't need the duvet, she folded it up under the pillow for extra height and comfort.
She took a few minutes to get her breathing under control, letting the last remaining mental images of her nightmare leave her mind.
As soon as her breathing evened out and she felt relatively calm, she groaned as she pushed herself out of bed and towards the small desk shoved into the corner of the studio apartment.
Amelia turned the dial on her old school radio to ON and let out a groan as she stretched her arms above her head, followed by a deep yawn.
"Show me, show me, show me, how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream" she said
"The one that makes me laugh" she said
Threw her arms around my neck
"Show me how you do it, and I promise you
I promise that I'll run away with you
I'll run away with you"
She smiled lightly as one of her favorite songs started playing, swinging her hips and mouthing the words as she got ready for the day.
Despite the nightmare causing her to sweat a bit, Amelia skipped the shower as she had taken one the night before. And really there was no point in showering when she was just going to be getting in her suit for the majority of the day. Not like anyone could judge her appearance under the full head to toe spandex costume. Nothing a little perfume and deodorant wouldn't fix.
After freshening up and brushing her teeth in the kitchen/bathroom sink, since she only had one out in the open next to a little room with a door that held her toilet, Amelia pulled on her matte black suit, leaving the face mask that was connected to the hood down so she could pull her long brown hair into a single braid.
She loved her long hair, which was exactly why she designed the suit with a hood in the first place. No one could see the mass of hair stuck under her mask when the hood hid the lump.
She's had her waist long hair since the 60's, and she did not see herself cutting in any time soon.
Maybe in twenty years or so, if she felt like she needed a change.
Amelia sighed as she finished securing the ponytail holder and pulled up her mask and hood. She couldn't help the small burst of hope that bloomed within her that she wouldn't still be around in twenty years.
She was tired. And although twenty years used to feel like nothing to her, now... thinking about having to live through another two decades felt so exhausting.
With one last look in the mirror, Amelia admired her vigilante persona for a moment. Sleek matte black covered her from head to toe, a loose hood over her masked face, and the only decorative added to the whole ensemble were two large grey eyes, that looked like angled, upside down tear drops.
A series of beeps brought her out of her reverie, and she turned her head back towards the desk where the radio was still playing her favorite station of hits from the 60's to the 90's.
She walked over and grabbed her cheap, prepaid cell phone and flipped it open, reading the text she had just received.
Wade: where r u?
Before she could reply, another text came in. Followed by another.
Wade: bored. been here 4 1 min already & sick of waiting
Wade: luv you
Amelia smiled to herself as she quickly replied that she was on her way, and put the phone back down on the desk, leaving it to charge while she was out. It wasn't like the suit came with pockets. And only 3 people had her number anyway, so she almost never came back from patrol to missed calls or texts.
Amelia walked to her lone window and pried it open. She hopped out onto the rickety fire escape and breathed in a lungful of fresh air.
She quickly made her way up one flight of stairs to the rooftop, perks of being in the topmost floor was fast access to the roof without having to climb up past anyone else's window and risk having them see her in the suit.
Once she was up on the roof, she stood at the edge and looked down below to the city for just a moment, before jumping off and letting out a loud, happy exclaim as she held out her wrist and produced a long string of webbing out of her wrist, the small hole in her suit allowing it to shoot out and stick onto the neighboring building.
Amelia grabbed the end of the webbing with her hand and swung over, building her momentum and she began to swing from building to building towards her destination.
Within minutes she was landing on her feet in front of a little bodega, turning towards the building to see none other than Deadpool himself leaning against it and flipping his switchblade in his gloved hand.
"Well, well, well" he said, pushing himself off the building where his foot was perched against it, and making his way towards her, "look who finally decided to show up".
Amelia just stood still and stared, the black emotionless look at the mask giving nothing away even though she was smiling with amusement underneath.
Deadpool paused once he was directly in front of her and stared back, and for a full minute anyone who walked past would only see two masked vigilantes, staring each other down in a tense moment.
And then Wade broke, just like she knew he would, never the one to be serious for too long, even when it was wrapped up in a joke. He threw his arms around her and pulled her in for a tight hug, whispering "I missed you" in her ear once she was flush against him.
Amelia immediately started clambering her way out of the embrace, letting out an exasperated laugh when she finally broke free.
"God you act like it's been years instead of days since we last saw each other".
"So? Doesn't mean I missed you any less. I'm like a dog. Leave me alone for one hour, and when I see you again, I'm wagging my tail and pissing everywhere out of excitement."
"Ugh, please don't", Amelia said, as she and Wade began walking down the street. "So, what did you need my help with anyway?"
"I'm backed up with multiple different jobs and could really use your homeless crew to help stake out some people for me. But for whatever reason they hate me and refuse to help me out. So, I need you to convince them."
"It's because you don't pay them. That is the reason. Offer them payment for their services, and they will gladly help you. That's it, you don't need me to convince them."
"Ugh but Nomad!", Wade whined, turning his body toward her as they continued their path down the street, "I don't want to pay them! That's my money!".
Amelia rolled her eyes and started leading the way now that she knew where they were going, towards the little homeless community by the edge of the river.
"Look Deadpool, if you want them to do work for you then they are going to expect payment in return, which they fully deserve. No one should work for free, especially the homeless".
Wade stared at her, the whites of his eyes on his mask unmoving as she ignored his glare and continued on. After a few minutes he sighed and threw his hands up in defeat.
"Ugh, fine! But I'm not tipping!"
Amelia gave a light laugh and continued on ahead, enjoying the nice weather that the sunny day brought.
As they walked along, they got the usual stares, people taking photos on their camera phones, and shouts from tourists.
Amelia could always tell who the New Yorkers versus the tourists were, because New Yorkers barely glanced twice at her.
She had been living and fighting crime in this city for so long she was pretty much an institution at this point.
Of course, having Deadpool alongside her was causing a lot more reactions than usual. He was definitely your love or hate type of vigilante, and probably had a lot more people on the hate side of things.
As they got closer to the river, the sound of music started to fill the streets and soon the sight of a group of guys breakdancing on a beat-up piece of cardboard on the sidewalk came into view.
It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time
It's Tricky... it's Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky)
It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time
It's Tricky... Tr-tr-tr-tricky (Tricky) Trrrrrrrrrrricky
She heard a loud gasp beside her and turned to see an excited Deadpool making the Home Alone Face, and although she couldn't see with the mask on, she knew that was what he was doing since he had his palms flat against each side of his face.
"This is my song!" Wade shouted.
"Every song is your song", Amelia said, rolling her eyes.
Wade ignored her, making his way over to the group of guys. She followed behind him, and when they approached the group of guys it took a minute or so for them to notice their presence.
"Yo! It's Nomad!! Guys yo, Nomad is here!"
At the exclamation of their friend, the rest of the group looked up and started yelling their own excitement at seeing the masked "hero". Amelia gave a little wave to the group, hoping their elation at seeing her would soon die down. This was exactly why she didn't like approaching people in the suit unless she was helping them.
J Jonah Jameson could talk about how much he hated her all day long and it didn't bother her, but anyone fanning out over her in person made her want to break out in hives.
"Uh, and Deadpool!"
Silence broke out on the street, save for the music, when the group stopped talking in excitement to stare blankly at Wade, as if they just noticed him standing there.
"Ahh, it's Deadpool! O-M-G!" Wade stage whispered, waving his hands in the air as if he was an excited fan.
Again, the group just stared, before bringing their attention back to Amelia and breaking out in smiles and excitement once again.
"Yo my mom loves you! She has been a fan of you ever since she was a little girl!"
"Uh, thanks".
"Can I get a photo?"
"Um, I don't really take photos..."
"What about an autograph?"
"Um," Amelia turned to Wade, hoping to get the attention off of her, "Deadpool, shouldn't we get going?"
"Oh!" Wade exclaimed, as if just remembering why he had them stop in the first place, "I love this song! Please replay it, I need to dance to this!"
The guys all looked at each other in confusion before the one closest to him shrugged, "Okay. You know how to breakdance? You won't hurt yourself or anything right?"
Wade stepped onto the center of the cardboard after handing Amelia his katana's and stretched his arms out, linking his fingers together and cracking them while rolling his shoulders.
"Please, I literally took a bullet to the chest yesterday. I think I can handle breakdancing".
The guy just shrugged again and looked to his friend to start the song again. Once they did, they turned it up to full volume, and soon Amelia could almost feel the beat of the song reverberating in her chest.
This speech is my recital, I think it's very vital
To rock (a rhyme), that's right (on time)
It's Tricky is the title, here we go...
It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time
It's Tricky... it's Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky)
It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time
It's Tricky... Tr-tr-tr-tricky (Tricky) Trrrrrrrrrrricky
Amelia stood still, the blank expression of her mask not giving away her large smile underneath as she watched Wade Wilson, very poorly, attempt to breakdance to the song.
She watched on and held in her laughter as Wade almost face planted on the floor and struggled on his back as he tried to swing his legs in the air.
The rest of the group wasn't as kind and did nothing to conceal the laughter at Wade's terrible dancing.
"Yo! At least we now all know Deadpool is a white boy under that mask!"
Amelia could no longer hold in her laughter and let out a small giggle as Wade rolled over on his stomach and got back up on his feet like an ungraceful turtle.
"Excuse you, I think that was pretty good!", Wade said, dusting off his suit.
"Nah man, it wasn't", one of the guys said, patting Wade on the shoulder, "but you definitely get some cred for trying".
"Nomad!", Deadpool gasped, turning to her. "Did you hear that? I have street cred!"
"I did!" Amelia replied, her tone of voice sounding like she was talking to an over excited toddler. Which, with Wade Wilson, she kind of was. "Good job buddy!"
Finally, after a few minutes of goodbyes and politely declining their requests for a selfie again, Amelia and Wade made their way back towards their original destination.
"Okay I didn't want to say in front of them and risk not looking cool-"
"Oh yeah, we wouldn’t want to do that!"
"-but... I think I really hurt my ass doing that".
Amelia just laughed and ignored Wade, knowing that even if he did maybe pull something, which he probably did, he would be fine in an hour or so, and started walking ahead of him, not turning around when he yelled at her to slow down because his ass was bruised.
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Amelia groaned when she got home that evening, her muscles tight as she came in through the window on the fire escape.
After a full morning with Wade, followed by an entire afternoon and evening of some solo patrolling, she was definitely exhausted and ready for some hot plate ramen and bed.
She immediately pulled off her hood and mask, letting out a sigh of relief as she shook her hair out of her constricting braid.
Rolling her neck from side to side to relieve the tightness in her muscles, she noticed a flickering light in the corner of the room and made her way over to her desk to see the flip phone lighting up to let her know she had a missed message.
When she flipped open the phone, she saw that she didn't have one, but 5 missed text messages and 3 missed calls. Noticing it was all from the same person, she hit the call back button and held the phone to her ear with one hand as she began taking off her suit with the other.
"Oh, so you finally decided to call me back?"
"Hi Tony".
"No, there is no 'hi Tony'. I called you hours ago. Screening my calls now? I thought we were friends".
Amelia rolled her eyes and made her way over to the little nook kitchen, her suit hanging open at her waist, leaving her in just the suit pants and her bra.
"You have this number, don't you? Isn't that proof enough? Or how about that you are one of two people on this planet who know my real name? Anyway, I left my phone at home, you know I never take it with me. And I was busy today, I was-"
"Out with Deadpool, I know".
"How do you know I was with Deadpool?" Amelia asked, eyes scrunching in suspicion as she paused in her reach for the ramen packet.
"I have JARVIS Alerts on Nomad. It's like my version of Google Alerts, but that isn't the point".
"Um it should be! Please do not have Google Alerts on me, that is such an invasion of privacy!"
"JARVIS Alerts, not Google! But that wasn't why I was calling. I actually have something important to talk to you about!"
"I'm not doing a press tour with Iron Man".
"I will get you to agree to that one day! No but seriously, it's about your little assistant".
Amelia froze, her full attention now on the call as she stopped what she was doing in the kitchen.
"What about him?"
Tony sighed, and she could just picture him running his fingers through his, probably, already messed up hair.
"Fury is coming for him. He's going to get Romanoff and Barton to stake him out and bring him in for recruitment. Which really means he is going to have them do Shield's version of an arrest and interrogation".
"How do you know this?"
"Because I still have their system bugged from the first mission the Avengers had together. Look Amelia, he is fed up with you refusing to join the Avengers, and he is coming after Spiderman once and for all".
"Then he will refuse to. I've talked to Spiderman about this many times. He doesn't want to join either. Why can't Fury just get that not everybody wants to join his league of extraordinary heroes?"
"He gets it, I just don’t think he cares".
Amelia sighed in frustration, followed by a few muffled curse words.
"Amelia", Tony said, his voice laced in understanding, "I know the last thing you want to do is deal with Fury, but he has a plan set in motion to interrogate Spiderman until he agrees to join, and you know he won't stop until he does. Not everyone can be as stubborn as you and keep saying no for twenty years".
Amelia didn't respond, instead choosing to glare at the floor as if it was the one responsible for all of this.
"You know I'm right, and you know eventually the kid will break and he will be the newest member of the team in no time".
"Fine!" Amelia said after a minute of tense silence. She ran her hand through her hair and pulled at the ends, frustration and annoyance completely overtaking her feeling of exhaustion.
"I'll schedule a meeting with Fury".
"Oh, I already did that for you. Tomorrow, 11am at the Tower. You can thank me with an extra-large latte and a chocolate scone from that little coffee shop I like".
Amelia looked down at her kitchen counter where her forgotten bag of ramen lay, her appetite gone from stress but knowing she needed to eat it, and probably a handful of high protein bars, to keep her metabolism up.
"Fine. See you tomorrow Tony. Good night".
Tony started to say something back, but before Amelia could get sucked into any further conversation, she flipped the phone closed, and leaned her weight against the counter.
She was not looking forward to tomorrow, at all.