Recovering at the X-Mansion, Wade reluctantly agrees to join the X-Men because he believes Vanessa would have wanted him to. He, Colossus, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead respond to a standoff between authorities and the unstable young mutant Russell Collins / Firefist at an orphanage owned by the Essex Corporation, labeled a “Mutant Re-education Center”. Realizing that Russell has been abused by the orphanage staff, Deadpool kills one of the staff members before being restrained by Colossus, and both Wade and Russell are arrested. Fitted with power-suppressing collars, they are taken to the Ice Box, an isolated prison for mutant criminals. Meanwhile, Cable, a cybernetic soldier from the future, travels back in time to kill Russell.Once Upon a Deadpool 2018.
Cable storms the Ice Box and attacks Russell. Wade, whose collar breaks in the ensuing melee, attempts to defend Russell. After Cable takes Vanessa’s token, Wade forces himself and Cable out of the prison, but not before Russell overhears Wade deny that he cares for the young mutant in order to protect him. Near death again, Wade has another vision of Vanessa in which she convinces him to help Russell. Deadpool organizes a team called X-Force to break Russell out of a prison-transfer convoy and defend him from Cable. The team launches its assault on the convoy by parachute, but all members die during the landing except for Deadpool and the lucky Domino. While they fight Cable, Russell frees fellow inmate Juggernaut, who agrees to help Russell kill the abusive orphanage headmaster. Juggernaut destroys the convoy, rips Deadpool in half, and escapes alongside Russell.
While recovering, Cable offers to work with Wade and Domino to stop Russell from killing the headmaster; in the future, Russell succeeds in killing the headmaster and becomes a serial killer, eventually burning Cable’s family alive. Wade accepts on condition that Cable give him a chance to talk Russell down.