Face Simulator

Rorschach's gaze was immediately drawn to the Goblin Glider in the center of the room. Norman Osborn didn't find this strange. It was in the most conspicuous spot, and it was also the largest piece of equipment there.

Norman Osborn apologized to Rorschach. "This aircraft is a failed prototype. It can't be used yet."

Rorschach's heart sank at once. Still unwilling to give up, he walked over and laid a hand on the Goblin Glider. The AllSpark immediately gave him a prompt.

[Individual Combat Glider, % complete, too badly damaged to activate.]

It was only % complete, which meant it was practically useless. Rorschach was a little disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about it. As expected, Oscorp hadn't fully developed the Goblin Glider yet at this point in the timeline. He'd have to wait for another opportunity.

As long as he could rescue Harry this time, their connection would give him plenty of chances to get his hands on a completed Goblin Glider later.

Putting that thought aside, Rorschach turned his attention to the other high-tech equipment. There were all kinds of light and heavy weapons, all from the most popular firearms brands of the day, but they wouldn't do much to help him rescue anyone.

Osborn did recommend two pieces of equipment, though, and Rorschach was quite pleased with them.

The Auto-Tracking Homing Dagger could lock onto a living target and pursue it. It packed quite a punch, enough to slice a grown man in half in an instant, and it would fly back to its user automatically.

It flew in complete silence, making it ideal for assassinations. Unfortunately, even though it was in excellent condition, it couldn't be activated as a robot.

Only then did Rorschach recall what Violet had said: only mechanical devices with suitable energy circuits could be successfully activated as robots. But he had no idea what the standard for a "suitable energy circuit" was.

If the first piece of equipment had only slightly improved his chances of rescuing Harry, the second one Norman Osborn recommended came as a delightful surprise.

It was a translucent mask, as thin as a cicada's wing.

"Face Simulator. That's what I call it. It has a hundred million nanoscale photosensitive elements inside. By bending light, it can alter the contours of your face. Like this."

As he spoke, Norman Osborn put it on.

He winked at Rorschach. The translucent mask rippled, and Norman Osborn's typical Caucasian features shifted into Rorschach's face.

His build and hairstyle were completely different, but from any angle, the contours of his features looked exactly like Rorschach's.

Incredible. Its disguise capabilities were simply amazing.

That meant that as long as Rorschach found someone about his size, he could assume their identity and infiltrate the kidnappers. As long as he didn't speak, he probably wouldn't be discovered. This greatly improved his chances of rescuing Harry.

Norman Osborn took off the mask and handed it to Rorschach. "A single charge lasts three hours. Once you put it on, it automatically reads your facial movements, so as long as you don't speak, your expressions and eyes will sync perfectly. When you find someone you want to imitate, look at their face and blink rapidly three times. For now, it can only store seventy-two faces."

Rorschach held the mask in his hands. It was heavier than he'd expected, but not so heavy that it would be uncomfortable to wear.

More importantly, when his hands touched the mask, the AllSpark gave him a special prompt.

[Face Simulator, 100% complete. Non-metallic, special mechanical construct. Activation as a robot requires 675 points of AllSpark energy. An additional 150 points of AllSpark energy can be spent to grant the activated robot a specialized enhancement. Analysis suggests specializing in infiltration and assassination.]

A specialized enhancement—that was the first time Rorschach had received such a prompt. He couldn't tell whether this special feature had unlocked because the AllSpark's energy capacity had increased several times over, or because the Face Simulator itself was unusual.

After a moment's hesitation, Rorschach decided to use up the final robot slot available at this stage of the AllSpark. That specialized enhancement alone made it worth a try.

Rorschach put the mask on and tested its functions. With ease, he transformed his appearance into Norman Osborn's.

"Norman, with this equipment, I promise I'll bring Harry back," Rorschach assured him.

"I'm counting on you. This is all I can do," Norman Osborn said with heartfelt sincerity.

Rorschach took off the mask and put it away, then grabbed three Auto-Tracking Homing Daggers and strapped them to his waist.

Ready to go, Rorschach followed Norman Osborn out through the underground passage, and then the two went their separate ways.

Norman Osborn returned to the company to keep playing the role of an anxious father whose son had been kidnapped. That part wouldn't be difficult.

Meanwhile, Rorschach slipped into the night and found a deserted corner. He poured nearly two thousand points of AllSpark energy into the Face Simulator.

But before the Face Simulator could be activated as a robot, Rorschach suddenly cried out in pain. A roughly half-centimeter-long wound appeared in the palm of the hand holding it, and the Face Simulator fell to the ground as the sudden pain made him drop it.

[Warning! Warning! Instantaneous output of too much AllSpark energy will injure the host. Please exercise caution.]

The AllSpark had issued Rorschach a warning, but it wasn't good news.

"What the hell? Is AllSpark energy actually some kind of physical energy?"

Rorschach examined the wound in his palm. It wasn't very deep, but it wasn't a clean cut, either. It looked as if something had forced its way through his skin.

The bleeding soon stopped. It was only a superficial injury, but it left Rorschach worried. If outputting not even two thousand points of AllSpark energy had wounded his palm, would outputting tens of thousands later on ruin his entire arm—or even cost him his life?

It seemed he needed to start working on improving his physical fitness, too. His earlier plan of relying on robots and high-tech gear to solve everything had been nothing but wishful thinking.

Thinking of this, Rorschach felt a fresh wave of resentment toward Tony. You really couldn't compare one person to another. Not everyone could wear armor and fight the Hulk head-on without being shaken to death.

Rorschach was about to look for something to bandage his wound when he suddenly heard a clear, crisp voice speaking Mandarin beside him.

"Raise your cup, don't let it stop! Assassin Li Bai, at your service, Commander."