Lamplighter

"Where did you hear about this godforsaken place?"

Butcher stared at the isolated psychiatric hospital in the distance, then glanced at Rorschach.

The place was cut off from the world, which made it hard to find.

After all, from the East Coast to the West Coast, much of the country was sparsely populated.

And with Vought concealing the hospital's existence, no one was likely to discover a facility that didn't even have a road leading to it.

"Does it matter?"

Rorschach shrugged and tossed them several sets of orderly uniforms.

"Listen to the plan."

Rorschach took parts from the trunk and assembled them with practiced ease.

"I'll cover you from outside. Check your ammunition, then go in with Kimiko and the others."

The iron fence around the place was hardly an obstacle. Rorschach could get through it easily with a pair of bolt cutters.

Besides, they had Kimiko's Supe strength and her brother's telekinesis.

"Once you're inside, find a map, stay calm, and report back."

As he spoke, Rorschach handed out earpieces.

"You don't need to press your ears. Just speak quietly. I'll hear you."

Rorschach wasn't about to do that movie routine where everyone held a hand to an ear so the audience knew they were talking to someone.

"First, take control of the control room, cut the connections between the rooms, and copy the data from their main computer."

"Then keep Lamplighter occupied. I'll hit him from here. Take away whatever he uses to make fire, then kill him."

Rorschach said it casually, but only those who had faced Lamplighter knew how difficult that would be.

After all his years of experience, Lamplighter wouldn't let go of his fire source even if a bomb sent him flying.

He had trained that grip into an instinct.

"The first objective comes first. Get the data and come back out. I can take you to kill Lamplighter whenever you want."

He added that so they wouldn't draw attention by roaming the hospital looking for Lamplighter.

That would be absurd.

"Understood?"

Butcher and the other two were professionals. They put in their earpieces at once.

Kimiko needed her brother's help to understand that the little device went in her ear.

"Go."

Almost no one ever came to this place, and it had no real guards.

At most, retired heroes like Lamplighter helped keep the Supes locked up.

Rorschach watched them head off, then examined the rifle in his hands.

The M82A1 sniper rifle, commonly called the Barrett, was renowned for its immense anti-materiel power and extreme range.

Its maximum range was 6,800 meters. With Deathstroke's template bound to him, Rorschach could easily handle a shot from two or three kilometers away.

"The security here really is lousy."

Once inside, the group needed nothing more than their uniforms and a hospital bed they had picked up along the way to pass through the hospital.

Rorschach lay on the roof of the car, watching coldly through his scope.

"Everything going smoothly?"

A few faint gunshots came through his earpiece. Rorschach didn't need to ask to know that the poor bastard who passed for security in the surveillance room had gone to meet God.

Vought seemed far too casual about controlling Supes.

As if every Supe was bound to be loyal to them.

Rorschach found it a little strange. Did they really have some extraordinary trump card?

Otherwise, why had security around Becca been so pathetic? Why was it just as bad at Sage Grove Hospital?

Or did Vought think having a Supe on-site meant nothing could possibly go wrong?

A dark figure streaked across the sky and landed at the hospital entrance.

"Stormfront's here. The plan stays the same."

Rorschach's warning came coldly over their earpieces. The others all shuddered, then continued copying the data from the main computer.

They could see the "patients" locked in their rooms, struggling painfully to control their powers.

Some had temperaments too unstable to ever be released from the hospital, so they were simply kept as test subjects.

"Are we still killing Lamplighter?"

Marvin hesitated. They had set out to confront one former member of The Seven, and now Stormfront had arrived too.

Her command of electricity had left a lasting impression. None of them wanted a bolt of lightning to fry them where they stood.

"Yes!"

Frenchie's eyes were resolute as he continued.

Behind him, Kimiko heard him and nodded too.

Frenchie would never forget the night he regretted most.

The half hour he had spent saving his friend had cost his boss her grandchildren, leaving her with no descendants.

And in all the years since, he had never told her the real reason he had failed to stop Lamplighter.

He believed the fault was his.

But now he could set things right!

At the very least, Lamplighter's head might bring some comfort to those still living.

On the surveillance feed, Stormfront was gently reassuring a child.

"You did very well. I'm sure you'll see your sister soon."

With that, Stormfront left the room.

The child who had been shouting received no proper answer. Instead, Lamplighter took out his lighter.

A wave of fire engulfed nearly the entire room. The members of The Boys team frowned as they watched.

Killing someone that way made them suffer as much as possible before they died.

Mallory's grandchildren had endured that same despair.

Yet Lamplighter had remained in The Seven for another three years before retiring here to live a dull life.

Each day, he watched porn starring superheroes, preferably the cuckold kind.

At work, he occasionally cooked someone for twenty minutes. The rest of the time, he slacked off.

Frenchie tucked the data drives beneath a blanket. Butcher, there with the others, directed them out of the surveillance room.

"What are you planning to do with this place?"

Butcher couldn't help feeling uneasy. Last time, he had thought they had everything under control and could get The Seven's secrets out of Lamplighter.

Instead, it had taken their team three years to recover.

"Burning it down would be best, of course."

Rorschach breathed slowly and evenly. By feel alone, the rifle in his hands had become an extension of his body.

He could feel how to hit any target in his sights.

"Tell me where Lamplighter is."

"He just came out of a room. I think he's in the corridor..."

"Be more specific." Rorschach's voice was steady, and the others felt a little reassured.

"He's in... the same corridor as us."

Rorschach found Lamplighter and spotted the lighter in his hand.

Lamplighter's power was formidable, but it had two fatal weaknesses—

First, he needed a source of fire. Second, he wasn't fireproof himself.

The moment Frenchie saw Lamplighter in the corridor, hatred filled his eyes. Lamplighter, meanwhile, looked puzzled.

He thought he recognized a face.

Bang!

Before he could react, a bullet struck his lighter dead-on.