Upheaval

Starlight returned to the home where she lived alone, turning over what she had learned.

She was lost. She didn't know what kind of person she wanted to be.

But throughout her years as a superhero, whenever she did something good, the way people looked at her had felt like praise.

Her new costume had arrived. As a condition of staying in The Seven, she had to wear this one, designed to show off more of her "confident femininity."

That rubbed Starlight the wrong way.

But after her fight with Rorschach today, she no longer thought it mattered so much.

She did want to be a superhero. She wanted to be famous, to be seen by more people, and to help more people.

What Vought cared about, though, was how much money she could bring in.

Once she realized she wasn't strong enough, she had only one goal left—get stronger!

The Seven wasn't some gathering of kindhearted superheroes. She had seen that too late, but the lesson would stay with her.

Even Maeve, her childhood idol, behaved just like the rest of them.

Starlight was sick of it. She wanted to change things.

But the CEO was a mountain she couldn't climb. At Vought, Madelyne had almost every superhero firmly under her thumb.

Rorschach's progress had been astonishing. Not long ago, he had been an ordinary man whose bones she could snap at will.

After just one afternoon, he could block every heavy blow she threw, then send her spinning to the ground.

Starlight almost wondered whether he was the same person.

So many mysteries about Rorschach remained unsolved.

Only by growing stronger could she gain a greater say and make real changes!

"Sweetheart, you did a wonderful job."

Marvin stroked his daughter's little head, his eyes full of relief.

He had made up his mind. Whatever happened, it was wrong to drag the wife and daughter he loved into this storm.

People who pursued chaos and revenge ended up destroyed. Marvin wouldn't stand in their way.

Besides, with a leader like Rorschach, they were far better off than they had been hiding from place to place under Butcher.

He had long since saved enough money to live on for the rest of his life. He had taken a job only to give himself something to do.

He only had to wait for news of Soldier Boy... and Marvin was sure that day would come with the young man called Rorschach leading them.

Then a report on the television caught his attention.

"We've observed that leaders of terrorist organizations in some regions have developed superpowers of varying strength..."

"There have reportedly been a small number of casualties. For our country, this is terrible news."

Marvin fell into thought. The appearance of superpowers meant... Compound V!

Damn it! They're using Compound V to support the enemy?

Then again, those handful of small-time groups were nothing to Vought and its full roster of two hundred heroes. For the United States, it was a serious problem.

Conventional infantry weapons couldn't take those leaders down.

Weapons powerful enough to do it were too cumbersome to keep up with them.

And other options would cause too many casualties, damaging the country's reputation.

Naturally, the task of dealing with them fell to the company that had started it all—Vought International.

A huge payment came through, and Black Noir and Translucent were already on their way to those regions.

Homelander entered Madelyne's office looking uncharacteristically tense.

"Have you found out where that guy called Superman came from?"

He looked away, unwilling to let Madelyne see the fear on his face.

The man really had hurt him badly, in the most literal sense.

"No. The satellites showed him heading toward Antarctica, but no matter how we search, we can't find a trace of him."

As soon as Madelyne finished, she realized something was wrong with Homelander. He was far too afraid.

The incident had left a deep psychological scar.

She had to say something to calm the big boy down.

"But according to the lab, he may simply have injected himself with too much Compound V. For all we know, his brain exploded while his powers were growing."

"Otherwise, who would pass up the chance to become a hero to the whole world, with everyone watching?"

"Even if he's alive, he won't have anything like the strength he had before."

Homelander slowly relaxed as he listened.

He was already their finest product. Compound V hadn't advanced that quickly over the years.

"How did he catch the plane, though? That was incredible."

Having accepted that the man probably didn't have long to live, Homelander asked another question.

"Our team estimates that he held on to the landing gear, slowed the plane down, and let it glide onto the sea."

"Relax. He just got lucky. The Criminal Investigations Division has made finding him its top priority. We'll tell you the moment we hear anything."

After that, Homelander was completely at ease.

As soon as he got word of that "Superman," he would track him down and launch a surprise attack at full speed and strength.

He would never spare the man who had managed to hurt him.

"Did you forget something?"

Rorschach kept his eyes on his book. Behind him, Marvin stopped in his tracks.

"Vought has no limits. I don't want you to sink to that level."

Marvin had thought Rorschach's knowledge of Becca's whereabouts would at least let Butcher see her, whether she was dead or alive.

But after watching the news, Marvin understood that he had been wrong.

This could turn into a fight with no rules, and Butcher, at the front of it, might be torn to pieces.

To say he might be torn to pieces was putting it mildly.

"Someone has to remind you where the line is."

Marvin spread his hands helplessly and slumped onto the stained sofa.

"What about Monica?" Even Butcher, ruthless as he was, looked moved.

He was a bastard who would do anything to get his way, but he loved his wife too.

"We're divorced. She and our daughter are moving farther away, somewhere I won't put them in danger."

Marvin rubbed his eyes. The basement air was certainly harsher than the air at home.

"Make sure you've thought this through, mate!" Frenchie came over from Kimiko's side and patted Marvin on the shoulder.

"I have." Marvin sniffed twice as he answered.

"We've got an operation tomorrow. Stay sharp and be ready to move."

Rorschach's expression was hidden behind his book, but the moment Butcher heard there was work to do, he came alive.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles.

A burly man appeared out of nowhere in an alley and stumbled a couple of steps.

He immediately steadied the wheelchair behind him before it could roll out of control. The bald old man seated in it remained calm.

"What happened, Professor?"

One moment they had been fleeing pursuit. The next, they were in a bustling city...

It was almost like the time before the war.

Steadfast as he was, he could hardly believe it.

"It seems we've arrived in another world, Logan."

The bald old man closed his eyes for a moment, then spoke slowly.