The Time Door closed.
Chen Mo rolled across half the sidewalk with Deadpool on top of him, only stopping when his back hit an overturned newsstand.
Deadpool still had an arm around his shoulders.
Chen Mo glanced down.
"Hand."
"A hug for surviving a disaster."
"Get it off." Chen Mo's tone was actually calm.
"Revolutionary comradeship across universes."
Chen Mo drove an elbow into him with all his strength.
Deadpool clutched his ribs and rolled aside, pulling out the old newspaper beneath his butt as he went.
He felt that at least eight of the eight ribs in his chest were broken.
"Violence won't solve our relationship problems."
"It'll solve the problem of you being too close to me."
Chen Mo got up and first felt his waist.
The TemPad was still there.
Its screen was lit, the coordinates of a random branch had been locked in, and the world status also read normal.
Chen Mo let out a breath of relief.
Then he looked up.
A battered street surrounded them.
Several cars sat sideways across the road, one with its hazard lights still flashing. Most of the doors stood open, and shattered glass covered the ground. The traffic lights in the distance were working normally. The green light went through a cycle without a single car on the street moving.
The roadside shops had been ransacked.
A large smear of blood, already blackened, remained on one shop door.
Deadpool picked up the newspaper and shook off the dust.
"Good news, we're in New York."
Chen Mo looked over.
The Daily Bugle's name was printed on the front page.
The photo below was too blurry to make out clearly; all he could see was a crowd fleeing down the street. Blood had soaked away half the headline, while the remaining