Night Raid

"So what's the plan today?"

Butcher looked raring to go. The moment he heard they were taking action against Vought International, he perked up as though he'd been shot full of adrenaline.

"Frenchie."

Rorschach snapped his fingers, and Frenchie brought over the laptop.

"A-Train's movements are easy to track. We just need to sync the IP location data from his phone."

"So you've got his whereabouts?"

He was delivering drugs to various places. Even if Homelander had ordered it, the operation had to remain absolutely secret.

A-Train was loyal to Homelander, sure, but he didn't want to lose his job, either.

Frenchie used his underworld contacts to identify the gangs involved.

"Someone paid a fortune to have a ship unload at the docks tonight, late at night."

"Isn't that just smuggling? Bringing in something they don't want anyone to see..." Butcher stopped mid-sentence.

"Right? It lines up perfectly with the announcement about Supervillains. Just before that, one of the gangs that received Compound V arranged a smuggling shipment."

"And it's coming in from outside the country..."

It was painfully obvious. The shipment was even headed straight for a New York dock.

"Fuck! They want to make that movie scenario real and secure their position!"

The fallout from Flight 37 still hadn't died down. Vought International was operating as usual, but it no longer dared to be as high-profile as before.

The appearance of Supervillains had indeed made quite a few people forget Vought International's earlier scandal.

Around the same time, Stormfront, Black Noir, and Translucent had all received considerable publicity.

Black Noir got the least promotion, despite doing the most dirty work.

Stormfront got the most, though all she'd really done was find a location and shoot some footage.

Still, compared with Maeve's scripted corporate lines and Starlight's inexperience, Stormfront had something that worked.

Her androgynous style and seemingly forthright personality had won her plenty of support in a short time.

"Butcher, find out if there are any observation points nearby."

"Frenchie, keep tracking that ship. See if you can pin down when it'll dock."

"Marvin, get an estimate of enemy numbers."

After giving the orders, Rorschach pulled up the system interface.

"Hm?"

Without a sound, the system had added another mission.

[Hard mission: Establish the headquarters of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Reward: 5,000 points]

"Whoa... That one really does deserve the 'hard' label..."

Rorschach knew about Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. It was an organization that helped Mutants master their abilities, then help human society and live alongside it in harmony.

Compared with Vought International's celebrity-driven system, an academy like that really was better suited to helping—

But building one of those by himself? Forget it.

No wonder the reward was a full five thousand points. That was about what he'd get for taking down Homelander.

Rorschach didn't dwell on it.

If he couldn't complete it, then he couldn't. It wasn't something he could rush.

Destroying Vought International and exposing Homelander's true face? He was already working on that.

And it was going quite well.

If he hadn't been wary of whatever trump cards Vought International held, he'd have gone looking for Becca and her son as soon as he stopped this "Supervillain" operation.

After that, it would be all-out war.

But establishing a school... teaching a bunch of Supes to control their abilities while steering them toward doing good...

That really wasn't Rorschach's area of expertise.

Once all their preparations were complete, Butcher used his FBI credentials to secure a house where they could lie low.

The homeowner wasn't happy about it at first. He even looked ready to put up a fight.

But Rorschach persuaded him with the power of cash.

From the second floor, they could reach the ground in an instant and head straight to the scene.

They also had a wider view than the gangsters stationed at ground level. Everything was ready. All that remained was to wait for the ship to dock.

At three in the morning, Marvin, who had taken his turn on watch, shook everyone awake.

The ship's lights were clearly visible. It was almost at the dock.

"That's the one!"

Frenchie hurriedly opened his laptop. After confirming it, he nodded and spoke softly.

"Wolf Girl, come down with me. You three, be ready to back us up and provide cover."

Rorschach grabbed the long blade he'd brought and vaulted over the three-meter-high balcony.

He landed with a light, crisp sound.

The other three had the physical conditioning of elite special forces soldiers. Even if they fell from that height, they probably wouldn't die.

Bang!

A loud report made Rorschach stop as he crept forward. He motioned for Kimiko to take the lead.

His body still couldn't withstand bullets. Using Kimiko, with her powerful healing ability, as a shield was the best strategy.

Several more loud reports came from the ship. The flashes of gunfire stood out sharply against the night.

As it happened, both Rorschach and Kimiko had excellent night vision.

Kimiko clamped a hand over a guard's mouth and twisted his head. Rorschach drove his blade through another's chest. Together, they approached the ship without a sound.

The guards nearby were ordinary humans, and all their attention was fixed on the ship.

Against Kimiko, enhanced by Compound V, and Rorschach, who had the template of a top-tier assassin like Deathstroke, each went down in a single strike.

The two eventually split up, and every gangster in the area was slaughtered.

As far as Rorschach was concerned, it was a flawless infiltration.

Under the ship's bright lights, a thin, somewhat disheveled figure came running out.

"Go on, Kimiko."

Rorschach patted Kimiko on the back, and she obediently rushed forward.

The two figures drew closer. The person coming off the ship was undoubtedly a "Supervillain" Vought International had created with Compound V.

Kimiko had been one herself. In a basement that never saw daylight, only an old television had kept her company through countless days and nights.

Their eyes met. Instead of fighting to the death, they embraced.

The tender moment didn't last. A fierce burst of gunfire shattered it.

The three watching from a distance stared in shock. Only when they saw Rorschach join the fight and start clearing the firing positions did they jump down from the house.

By the time the gangsters' reinforcements arrived, all that awaited them was a ship with a gaping hole in it and bodies strewn across the ground.

Los Angeles.

"Any word from the others?"

Logan was somewhat lost, but Charles had quickly come to terms with everything.

"Not yet. We got separated while the Sentinels were hunting us. By now, we're probably even more scattered..."

Over the past two days, Charles—or Professor X—had used his abilities to investigate this world's "heroes."

He had been planning to discuss a partnership with Vought International, but he'd had to abandon that idea.

After all, Mutants were the result of genuine genetic mutations, while Vought International's superheroes were man-made.

What baffled Charles even more was that half these superheroes didn't know why they were different from ordinary people. They actually believed their powers were gifts from God.

"We may need to go to New York," Charles said gravely.