Dreams of Our Own

"We're pleased to announce that, after friendly discussions with the leadership of Vought International, The Deep has chosen to take his talents to Atlanta..."

At ten that morning, the CEO of Vought International began the press conference and announced news that surprised no one.

Meanwhile, Starlight was attending an event. She couldn't help the slight lift at the corners of her mouth.

On screen, it gave the small-town girl an air of glamour to go with her innocence.

"Here's to a bright future for him..."

Once Madelyne finished reading her prepared statement, she went straight back inside Vought International, leaving the reporters and their questions behind.

The Deep's handsome image had collapsed. All that remained was the word "disgusting."

The image he had spent so long cultivating as lord of the seven seas had become the butt of countless jokes.

Many people no longer considered him human at all, and his approval rating plummeted.

All in the space of a few hours.

The Deep packed his things in silence, preparing to leave the tower that had thrilled him and caused him so much pain.

"After this, I'll have nothing but the endless ocean and the creatures in it to keep me company..."

Regret tinged his voice. He seemed to be talking to himself.

Because of him, Vought International's entire business had taken a hit.

Its proposal to enter the military and government systems had been deferred that very morning.

A-Train's race the following week, along with interviews featuring Homelander and Maeve, had all been postponed.

Vought had let him leave with dignity, announcing his move to Atlanta while squeezing out the last of his commercial value.

If he refused to go quietly, Black Noir would probably come and make sure he did.

The Deep knew that the silent man was ruthless.

Black Noir rarely went on missions, seldom gave interviews, and barely spoke at events.

Yet for someone who seemed so peripheral, his place in the movies was right beside Homelander.

"Funny. Someone said he was the number two, but he's the first to slink away."

Starlight ran into him at the elevator and didn't pass up the chance to twist the knife.

"Come on, Starlight. Madelyne needs to see you." Her supervisor acted as if The Deep weren't there and hurried on.

Being ignored so pointedly hurt The Deep even more.

"Stupid!"

Homelander walked past him too, and The Deep could only duck his head lower.

How much had he drunk, and how much had he taken, to end up soaking in that artificial lake with his gills exposed?

Still baffled and nursing a lingering headache, The Deep took one last look at the tower.

This was the start of the decline of his superhero career.

How far he might fall, he couldn't begin to imagine.

"You little..."

Butcher and the other two had spent all morning watching the news, and they still struggled to believe it.

"See that, my friend?"

Rorschach was still at the coffee machine, waiting for his iced Americano.

"Lies don't cut people. The truth does."

"Used the right way, the voice of the public can end a hero's career."

Rorschach dropped ice cubes into his coffee, raised the cup, and took a slow sip.

"And after this, all we need to do is make a trip to Atlanta. Then that guy's finished for good."

A twisted smile crossed Sergei's face. At last, he knew how to kill a superhuman.

"He's not even one of the important ones."

Rorschach looked at the board where he'd pinned photos of The Seven. He still had a long way to go.

Unmasking the others wouldn't be as easy as ruining The Deep.

By now, apart from a small minority with unusual tastes, most people no longer saw The Deep as someone to admire.

Vought International would eventually realize what had happened, and the truth would come out someday.

In fact, that day might arrive within the week.

The remaining two had troublesome powers: super speed and invisibility.

Both were physically formidable, too.

If they kept their guard up from the start, they would be hard to catch.

Of course, Rorschach would find a way to make them lower their guard.

"What do we do now?"

After what Rorschach had pulled off, the others were thoroughly convinced of his abilities.

Forcing The Deep out of The Seven and keeping Vought International silent for a week was already a heavy blow.

It had cost them a fighter and dealt Vought a humiliating public slap in the face.

The Deep had considered playing the political-correctness card and presenting himself as the victim.

But the video had spread and taken on a life of its own too quickly. Parodies and remixes were already everywhere on YouTube.

All he could do now was keep his mouth shut and wait for the uproar to die down before offering an explanation.

Whether public sympathy would give him another boost in popularity by then was anyone's guess.

And whether The Deep could return to The Seven after that would be entirely up to fate.

"We still need to wait."

Make the first move? Rorschach couldn't yet count on overcoming invisibility or super speed whenever he wanted.

He needed to create an opening—one that would shake them and leave them no longer a threat.

Completing the mission had earned him only two hundred points. Getting under Homelander's skin and trading a few words with The Deep had earned him more than three hundred.

With the points from breaking The Deep added in, his total was already nearing a thousand.

With rewards like that, who needed missions?

Rorschach was beginning to understand why the system hadn't given him another one.

He could earn plenty of points just by getting under people's skin. All he had to do was complete the final objective: bring down Vought International and Homelander.

Rorschach was starting to like his new line of work.

"It beats sitting around doing nothing, wondering when and how I'll die. This is a lot more interesting."

Having driven The Deep out, Rorschach was enjoying the moment.

More importantly, he had disrupted the meticulous plan Vought International had been putting together.

Outsiders didn't know it, but Rorschach did: being kept out of the national defense system was a massive blow to them.

All their efforts to build public support had been aimed at getting that bill passed.

Now they had to suspend those activities, keep a low profile, and do charity work to repair their reputation.

In his first clash with Vought International, Rorschach had caught them unprepared and won a great deal.

The second round would show whether the people working with him were truly capable or had just been lucky in the original story.

As for the target of that round, it would depend on which of the two was less lucky.

Rorschach looked at the energy drink A-Train endorsed, then turned his gaze to the television.

On screen, Translucent was comforting a terminally ill boy. Despite the pain of his illness, the boy smiled for the first time in a long while.