Shocking News: A Well-Known Company Actually...

"Mom, why did we have to leave home?"

Ryan looked lost. In all his years, he had never ventured beyond his tiny world.

But when he opened his eyes, he found himself somewhere completely different.

"Because our old place wasn't a good place to live anymore, Ryan. We're moving."

Becca explained gently. Ryan turned to look at—

"Mind stepping out for a chat?"

Rorschach stood to one side, speaking to Becca.

He had a rough idea of what had happened, but he wanted to confirm it.

If he got something wrong, it could become a knife in his heart later.

There was no harm in being careful.

Once Becca left the room, Rorschach placed a phone and a game console on the bed, then winked at Ryan.

A child who spent every day in a fake estate.

Apart from his mother, most people who interacted with him were there for the generous pay and insurance benefits.

Study, study, be kind, and occasionally hop around like a bird in a cage.

Was that any way for an eight-year-old to live?

By the time Rorschach reached the room, Butcher and Becca were already sitting across from each other.

Rorschach had no intention of playing third wheel, so he stayed by the door and listened.

If he hadn't needed to find a way back to New York afterward, he wouldn't have bothered listening to their family affairs.

But Vought International was involved.

"I wanted to tell you. I struggled with it for a long time..."

Becca's first words startled Rorschach.

What was going on? Wasn't this woman a complete saint?

As Rorschach remembered it, Becca had sat on a bench for four hours after that Christmas Day.

Then she had contacted Vought International, hadn't she?

And after that, she had ended up in that isolated place.

"Of course I knew that, as the one carrying the baby, my body might not even last until he was safely born."

Both Rorschach and Butcher frowned.

Butcher's heart ached for the wife who had been his salvation. Rorschach sensed that something was wrong.

"I still decided to go to another state, have a minor procedure, and come back to you."

"But... Vought International imprisoned me..."

As Becca spoke, tears streamed down her face again.

"From seven months before Ryan was born until he turned one, they treated me like a goddamn breeding machine!"

Rorschach quietly shut the door.

Ryan hadn't awakened his powers yet, but who knew what he might hear?

"After that, I lost the courage to die..."

"I'm sorry. I should've kept looking for you... I thought you were dead..."

Butcher and Becca held each other tightly, both in tears, each grieving for what the other had suffered over the years.

"Touching reunion." Rorschach clapped twice, drawing their attention.

"But this isn't the time for your little reunion—or rather, your long-awaited second honeymoon. Go on, Becca."

Rorschach was like a slab of ancient ice. In an instant, he chilled the mood they had finally managed to build.

"After a while, I grew attached to the boy... He was the only person in that whole area I could talk to."

Rorschach could understand that.

If a blizzard trapped you in a cabin and you had everything you needed, even a husky could offer comfort and keep you entertained...

Mentally, of course.

So even though the child had brought her eight years of suffering, she might have endured it in the hope that one day she would be rescued.

Besides, Ryan's birth had been nothing more than an unthinking biological instinct. The blame could not fall entirely on him.

Once Butcher got over his shock, he was overjoyed that he had pulled his wife out of that abyss.

Rorschach's jaw nearly dropped.

So Vought International had kidnapped Becca and taken her away by force?

It made sense. Homelander could sleep around, but Vought International had every reason to gamble on that one slim possibility.

After all, tracking down and investigating those women would cost them only a little money.

If the gamble paid off, that investment could yield a return of ten thousand times, even a hundred thousand times!

And after one attempt after another, Vought International had finally struck gold!

One shot, right on target.

"They said research showed that children raised beside their mothers had gentler personalities."

"So I stayed with Ryan, under their surveillance twenty-four hours a day..."

"That bastard..."

The veins on Butcher's forehead bulged again. He wanted to grab a crowbar right now and smash Homelander's skull.

"Calm down."

Rorschach pressed Butcher back onto the sofa with one hand.

"You can't beat him. What's the rush to get yourself killed?"

Rorschach had a point. Homelander was powerful enough to dominate all of Blue Star; his strength deserved at least a little respect.

But Rorschach was the one holding the cards now.

Still, hearing what Vought International had done left Rorschach impressed in spite of himself.

That was some ruthless scheming. No wonder no company could compete with them.

"Now I'm finally out." As Becca spoke, a weight lifted from her heart, and she began to relax.

"Pack your things. Homelander has an interview on the evening news. The broadcast has a two-minute delay. We need to be there by seven."

Mallory had done plenty of preparation over the years. She had put real effort into it.

Take this safe house. On the surface, it was a vacation mansion cleaned on a regular schedule.

But beside the basement Homelander could see, there was a second, hidden basement.

Every room down there had a layer of sheeting across all six surfaces.

Homelander's super vision could not see through zinc.

So even if Homelander came himself, he might not find them among the countless houses.

Without wasting words, the group piled into the vehicle in an orderly fashion.

Luckily, the SUV was spacious enough that two people could squeeze into the trunk.

Mallory watched the dust rising from the road, lost in thought.

Then an idea sprang up in her mind like a seed breaking through the soil. It took only seconds to put down roots and spread its branches.

She thought of the bastard who had burned her grandchildren to death, yet still got to enjoy a public retirement ceremony.

He needed to pay, no matter where he was.

With that thought, Colonel Mallory, elderly though she was, strode toward the nearest intelligence post.

"Kind of ironic, isn't it?"

Charles held a cup of hot cocoa, while Logan beside him tipped whiskey into his mouth.

"All it takes is a corporation packaging them. People once denounced as freaks can suddenly become celebrities above everyone else, adored by the public..."

Charles sounded weary. The truth he had uncovered over the past few days had even dulled his joy at surviving.

"Angel, Mimic, Shadowcat..." Even Logan, usually so steadfast, could not help sighing.

"The others might still have some slim chance of being alive. But the Sentries killed them. They're never coming back."

The Sentinel Program had been started by a human. It had looked like nothing more than a dream.

In the end, it had brought about the destruction of the Mutants.