An Unexpected Visit

"What?"

Butcher listened to the voice on the phone, his eyes nearly bulging with rage.

The caller had named him, mentioned his expertly forged FBI credentials, and even said the name of his late love—Becca!

"Who the hell are you?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that I want to take down a supe. One of The Seven."

"I'm in."

"That quickly?" Rorschach sounded surprised on the other end of the line.

After all, Butcher and his crew were the experts when it came to taking down supes.

But the supes and Vought International had kept them on the ropes.

At this point, only a handful of desperate outlaws would stand with them.

Butcher, nicknamed "the Butcher," figured someone who could contact him directly and talk that boldly might be offering a real opportunity.

Half an hour later, three men arrived before Rorschach.

Besides the heavily bearded Butcher, there was the short, wary-looking Frenchie and a burly Black man named Marvin.

"Since you called us here, I assume you've got a plan."

Butcher had no intention of being polite to Rorschach. If the young man in front of him couldn't back up his talk,

he and the other two would probably tear him apart.

"Of course. First, allow me to introduce the star of this little operation."

Rorschach slapped up a poster. Ads for The Seven were everywhere; there was no need to go to the trouble of printing a photo.

Their faces could be seen practically anywhere.

"Is that... The Deep?" Butcher recognized their target almost at once.

"The Deep might be the weakest fighter in The Seven, but he's still a hell of a lot tougher than an ordinary person."

"Bullets can't pierce his skin. I don't even know what you're planning."

Rorschach tapped the table twice, signaling for them to quiet down.

"Easy, gentlemen. I'm sure you can do better than American soldiers who just carpet-bomb everything."

"Fine. Let's hear it."

Marvin and Frenchie clearly weren't convinced. Butcher's charisma had drawn them into the team,

but things had hardly gone smoothly. They had already suffered a crushing setback and lost someone.

Disheartened, the three of them had gone to ground in different corners of the city, waiting for their chance.

"I need ether. As much as you can get—enough to knock out a whole herd of elephants, ideally. And four masks to go with it."

"Check for warehouses by the water near New York. I want one with gang ties and a deal coming up soon."

"Finally, get a camera that shoots well at night with an external light source."

"Come on, boys, don't just stand there! Get your asses moving. I'll fill you in on the details later."

Rorschach clapped his hands lightly and ushered them out without ceremony.

He could have bought everything he had just mentioned from the system's shop.

But spending precious points on that would have been a terrible waste.

Leave the work to the professionals, and it would all be taken care of without Rorschach lifting a finger.

Unlike Hughie, though, Rorschach wouldn't make mistakes because he was nervous.

In other words, even a target with brute strength to spare wouldn't escape the trap he set.

At eight that evening, the joint patrol began.

Once Translucent and The Deep had swiftly ended the fight, the cameras and livestream went up right on schedule.

The online buzz prepared in advance promptly turned into a flood of praise for the pair.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. From a distant high-rise, however, four pairs of eyes watched coldly.

"Do we make our move now?"

Frenchie was trembling with excitement as he watched The Deep head outside.

"Not yet. We wait a little longer."

Rorschach calmly watched The Deep leave. All four of them were in civilian clothes, and although they could risk an attempt, Rorschach saw no need.

He had a more important concern—Translucent!

Rorschach lacked the combat instincts to sense exactly how many people were nearby. If there was even the slightest chance Translucent could interfere, he wouldn't gamble on it.

"Keep an eye on the livestream. I remember Translucent has a show to appear on tonight."

That was the difference in standing.

The Deep might have looked like an equal member of The Seven, but Maeve and Black Noir were far stronger fighters.

A-Train had his speed, Translucent could turn invisible, and even the newcomer Starlight could sear an ordinary person's eyes.

That left The Deep, stuck somewhere in the middle.

Was he tough? Sure, tougher than the average person. But among superheroes, he was nowhere near the top tier.

Were his powers impressive? Hardly. He could breathe underwater and talk to sea creatures. That was it.

He had made it into The Seven partly because his ocean connection gave Vought International plenty of opportunities to talk about environmentalism.

The other reason was his good looks. As Starlight had said, he was the sort of man young girls would go wild for.

Without those two things, he had no commercial value to Vought International.

That was why his standing on the team had always been so low—and why he'd thought of humiliating Starlight.

It took something like that to prop up his pitiful self-esteem.

Rorschach almost laughed.

"Oh—there you four are—"

A strange male voice made all four men's hair stand on end.

"I was wondering why I could feel someone watching from so far away..." Translucent revealed himself and smiled at them.

"Big fans?"

"Of course!" Rorschach nodded emphatically, privately relieved that everything important was hidden nearby and well disguised.

"What does it feel like to fight crime?"

Translucent saw through the smile on Rorschach's face.

He spent so much time invisible, lurking in corners and watching the world.

He could tell at a glance which expressions were genuine and which were fake.

But these nobodies? They didn't worry him much.

He was more concerned with whether he could sneak a look at the new recruit in the bathroom at Vought International later.

What a tempting little sweetheart... If only I could have a taste.

As for these fools with no sense of danger? Translucent was in a good mood today. He'd let them go.

Rorschach's expression grew graver as Translucent's face vanished again.

So they weren't all idiots. I'd been too optimistic.

The Deep couldn't be killed yet.

All four of them had appeared on camera, and Translucent had seen what they looked like.

Having an invisible enemy get close later was not a fight Rorschach could prepare for.

"It's getting late, and we've seen enough. Come on, guys. Let's go get a drink."

Still shaken, the other three followed Rorschach away, glancing toward the corners now and then.

The night had grown late, but the real show was only about to begin.