Black Noir Makes His Move

"Vought still hasn't taken me seriously. It's a miracle, really."

Things had gone more smoothly than Rorschach expected. Then again, perhaps the mind games in this world never went more than two moves deep.

All he had to do was anticipate their attempt to outthink him, and Vought took the bait.

Now they had lost Ryan, and the truth about Compound V was out.

Even so, Rorschach didn't dare stir up public pressure to push the CIA's hearing forward.

The reason was simple—Congresswoman Victoria Neuman!

She was no champion of the people standing up to authority.

She was a pawn Edgar had cultivated years ago, living among everyone as an ordinary human.

Her true power was terrifying: with a thought, she could make someone's head explode.

Not with a gun. From the inside out.

And all she had to do was see her target. There were no other conditions.

A Supe's skull might be tougher, but even that wasn't necessarily enough to stop her.

For the hearing to succeed and Homelander's reputation to be destroyed, Vought had to be brought down.

But if Congresswoman Victoria Neuman went on a killing spree at the hearing, public panic would send support for Vought International soaring again.

Rorschach wouldn't let that happen. That was why he was meeting the CIA director now.

"I know Mallory has leverage on me, so let's get straight to it. What do you want?"

As director, he couldn't imagine what a deputy director would be unable to give Rorschach.

Susan had even led a team into the hospital and uncovered the link between Compound V and Samaritan's Embrace.

And everyone knew Samaritan's Embrace was a charity founded by Vought.

Outrage erupted. People were sickened to learn Vought had used their money for this.

Ezekiel, who worked for Vought, suddenly took the blame and became the target of universal condemnation.

People who had long disliked him finally had a reason to let loose, while even his followers stopped defending him.

Worse still, a video of him with men at a Nightclub was made public!

According to his own preaching, both homosexuality and sex before marriage sent people to hell!

Yet Ezekiel, the man who could stretch his arms and claimed he wanted to embrace the whole world, had done both in private.

Who knew how many other rules he had broken?

Under the barrage of criticism, Ezekiel wisely fled.

After posting a video apology and announcing his resignation as a superhero and spokesperson for Samaritan's Embrace, he vanished.

Vought International headquarters, eighty-second floor.

"Sir, you called for me?"

Madelyne entered the office cautiously. She had claimed credit for Edgar's work in front of Homelander, but deep down, she feared the man before her.

She feared him even more than Homelander.

"Our company has been through a turbulent time. Thank you for your hard work."

His first words sounded considerate, which only made Madelyne more anxious.

"Is Homelander still stable?"

He asked Madelyne because, ever since she had become CEO, nearly all matters concerning Homelander had fallen to her.

"He and Stormfront have been getting very close lately. But he still can't let go of wanting his son."

Madelyne hesitated, then decided to tell him the truth.

She and Mr. Edgar were the ones who were truly on the same side.

Homelander?

She had lost count of how many nannies she had seen die.

The grisly scenes still haunted her nightmares.

She had no wish to end up like those poor women, reduced to bloody smears on the walls.

That was why she had kept Homelander on the hook all these years—exploiting his needs while protecting herself.

Fortunately, Stormfront now had all his attention. He no longer took Madelyne up into the sky.

Madelyne still wanted to see her child grow up.

"With everything that's happened lately, I can't shake the feeling that someone is targeting us."

Edgar took a sip of the tea on his desk.

"How could they be? The last person who dared mention Compound V by name is still at the bottom of the sea."

Madelyne was more inclined to believe the information had leaked by accident.

"Have we found anything?"

But Edgar's next question drained the color from her face.

"No."

That was the problem. Vought headquarters had found no sign of a leak.

No one had even gone near the room where children were injected with Compound V at that hospital.

Yet the Special Forces team Susan led had headed straight for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, then fanned out to search.

That was the only hospital they had investigated. Madelyne wouldn't believe it was a coincidence, and neither would Homelander.

"Then someone is targeting us. Find them, and send Black Noir."

Edgar's voice grew grave. This was someone he wanted dead himself.

That alone showed how badly they had been backed into a corner.

"What about the hearing? Nearly all the Supervillains have been dealt with. There's almost no one left who can stop it."

"I have a way to handle that. Don't worry."

Edgar's steady voice reassured Madelyne somewhat.

If the hearing really went ahead, she was only human. Those seasoned CIA interrogators might get her talking, and Vought International's shares could well become worthless.

Just her role in establishing the Compound V program would earn her at least fifteen years in prison.

And that was without the things that could never see the light of day.

Calls to abolish the death penalty had grown louder over the past two years. Otherwise, she would certainly be facing a bullet.

"Sir." Madelyne remembered something just before leaving and turned back.

"What about the publicity for Starlight and Shockwave? This isn't a good time to draw attention."

"Do as you think best, Madelyne. There's no need to panic."

Edgar's voice remained steady. Madelyne regained her confidence and walked out.

After a few brief instructions were given in a corner, a black figure slipped into the Criminal Investigations Division like a ghost.

"Do you really think that's possible?"

The CIA director stared at Rorschach in disbelief.

"It will be. Colonel Mallory has sacrificed a great deal. She deserves this."

Blue Flame sprang up between Rorschach's fingers, warping the air around them.

"What she went through, Director—I doubt you'd want to go through it yourself."

"We both know that, under the circumstances, putting a Supe on Public Trial or resorting to Vigilante Justice would barely scratch the surface."

Cold sweat ran down the director's forehead. His shirt was already soaked.

Where did Mallory find this madman? I wouldn't be surprised if he burned me alive any second.

"All right. I agree..."

The director's voice faded. After all, it wasn't just him under threat, but everything he cared about.