Preparations Before Departure

"The address is on the note. Stock up on supplies. We won't be staying at inns on the road, so anyone who can't sleep rough should buy a sleeping bag."

"Marvin, go with Butcher."

After giving his orders, Rorschach handed the note to Butcher, then turned his gaze to the man Kimiko had brought back to the team.

He had typical East Asian features and wore a set of ragged clothes.

"Oh, and buy this kid a few sets of clean clothes."

Rorschach trusted Butcher and Marvin to get things done.

Frenchie, on the other hand, was mainly there to translate.

Who knew how good the guy's English was?

Rorschach's Japanese was only good enough for a few short sentences, all of them learned in his previous life.

"Mouse, right?"

Seeing the way the man looked at him, Rorschach couldn't help smiling.

He liked that kind of fierce look.

The guy had a vicious streak, though his control over his powers left a lot to be desired.

"You and your sister are both from the Shining Light Liberation Army?"

The man was clearly startled. After all, he and his sister had communicated only in sign language since the night before.

Frenchie knew a few simple signs, but understanding a full conversation was another matter.

That would take at least another month or two together.

Yet this man had identified where he came from in a single sentence?

"Don't be so scared, Mouse. I'm the one who rescued your sister, after all."

Hearing Rorschach call him by his nickname as well, Mouse looked terrified.

He was already on the verge of standing up and flinging Rorschach aside with his telekinesis.

But Kimiko held him down, then signed something to him.

"Who the hell are you?"

The man stared at Rorschach, his eyes dark.

"I know what you're planning. The Shining Light Liberation Army sent you here to strike at this entire country and topple the bloodsuckers standing over you."

The more Rorschach said, the more alarmed Mouse became.

He had no idea how Rorschach knew so much.

"Can you read minds?" After a long silence, he finally asked.

After all, Mouse had been injected with Compound V as an adult, and his brain hadn't exploded.

So the man in front of him could be a Supe too.

Frenchie felt a chill run down his spine. Was this how Rorschach kept the whole group in line?

"No, but you can think that if you like."

Rorschach shrugged and went to make himself a cup of coffee.

He had sold his house and everything in it for a pittance, turning it all into cash.

He couldn't help it. If he was going to fight Vought, it was safer to give up his permanent home.

He was on his own anyway. Better to get some money to spend than wait for a Supe to tear his house apart one day.

"In short, you think everything they've done to you is this country's fault, right?"

Rorschach knew those tactics all too well. All the books he'd read in his previous life had come in handy.

Only after Mouse nodded uncertainly did Rorschach continue.

"But how do they fight back?"

"They slaughter innocent people trying to make a living and grow stronger by looting. All the while, children like you and your sister suffer in their ranks."

"All that talk about throwing off America's yoke? It's just a pretty slogan from people who want to stand on your backs and feast on your flesh."

Rorschach scoffed. The conviction in Mouse's eyes gradually gave way to confusion.

"There are people in this country whose lives have been ruined by superpowers too. They may have grown up in better circumstances than the two of you."

"But being born into that life isn't a sin. The ones we need to fight are the bastards plundering the entire world."

With every word Rorschach said, Mouse looked more lost.

"Think it over. If you really don't want to come with our team, I'll have no choice but to lock you up in a cell."

Rorschach wasn't joking. Mouse had telekinesis, but he could barely control it.

Knocking him out and handing him over to the CIA would be no great trouble.

While Rorschach got his coffee, Mouse and Kimiko began signing to each other frantically.

"Whoa... Someone who didn't know better would think this was the Fourth Shinobi World War."

Watching all four of their hands fly back and forth, Frenchie was completely dazzled.

Rorschach took a sip of coffee and waited for Mouse's answer.

Terrorist organizations either built themselves around a belief or set up a target to make everyone pull in the same direction.

Mouse had never received a proper education. During the years he and his sister had depended on each other, finding food had been his only daily concern.

Once his sister was taken away, the only voices he heard were those of the guerrillas.

It would have been strange if he hadn't gone astray in that environment.

He hated the Shining Light Liberation Army, of course. They had slaughtered his village.

But after following the thinking of the other guerrillas, he now hated America even more.

It wasn't until Rorschach spoke to him today that things began to click.

He had always been trapped in his own world, even more so after he was injected with Compound V.

But now that he had been reunited with his sister, some of that anger had faded.

"There is one person who really does deserve to die, though."

Rorschach's words caught Mouse's attention again.

Following Rorschach's gaze, Mouse saw a smiling blond man.

"Homelander..."

Even Mouse, who had barely survived before being locked away from the light of day, had heard of Homelander.

More precisely, he had heard of Homelander's infamy.

"It's because people like him exist that you get crushed, and that Vought treats you like dirt without even trying to hide it."

"We're going after Vought. Are you in?"

Hearing Rorschach's words, Mouse finally nodded.

"Thank God." Frenchie let out a breath of relief.

He was the one most afraid of things escalating, because he didn't want to see Kimiko hurt.

Rorschach shook his head and went back to studying the map.

There was a good chance this trip would be dangerous, but to Rorschach, it was necessary.

If Homelander found Becca first, the conflict would only spread further.

Rorschach had no desire to drag more ordinary people into the fighting.

There was already enough suffering in the world. He didn't intend to add to the burdens of decent people.

"Be lovestruck all you want, but don't let it get in the way of the job."

"That goes for both of you!"

At Rorschach's words, a blush rose on Kimiko's cheeks, and Frenchie looked uncomfortable too.

Beside them, Mouse stared at Kimiko in shock. His hands moved like he was weaving signs for a jutsu, almost fast enough to leave afterimages.

If this were the world of Naruto, he'd have to be casting something on the level of Chibaku Tensei.

Kimiko was nowhere near as fast now, replying with only two or three signs at a time.

Rorschach, the cause of it all, stood there with coffee in hand, smiling as he watched the commotion.

The door opened, and Butcher and Marvin returned from their shopping trip.

"After eight years, we're finally going to uncover the truth."

Rorschach picked up the car keys Mallory had given him and tossed them to Butcher as he came in.

"Let's go!"