When You See Injustice, Shout

"I grew up with these auditions. The judges look you up and down, then score your outfit and your abilities."

"Even now, I think I can still smell the hairspray, so..."

Starlight sat across from Rorschach in casual clothes.

Without her eye-catching hero costume, she looked like a sweet girl next door.

No wonder her approachable image had earned her a place in The Seven as Lamplighter's replacement.

"It's a hard road," Rorschach said.

He hated the idea of being scrutinized by a panel of people who would decide how much commercial value he had.

"But heaven gave you a responsibility, so you have to bear it. If it lets you help people, all of that is worth putting up with."

Right. The poor girl still didn't know about Compound V.

Sooner or later, though, she would find out.

Her glowing eyes were a striking power, and she was formidable despite her young age. Her future looked boundless.

Her career had only just begun. It was natural for her to dream about what lay ahead.

"I heard A-Train's race was postponed too. Was that because of The Deep?"

Starlight was a little surprised. Rorschach didn't seem to revere or admire her.

That was rare among the people she met. Most who voiced an opinion about her were fans; a few were critics.

Even though Vought International had cultivated her approachable image, it was unusual for someone to treat her as an equal.

"Yes. Vought told us all to keep a low profile until our reputation and approval ratings recover. Then they'll plan the next marketing campaign."

Starlight sighed.

There really weren't enough cases in the world to keep Vought's American heroes busy.

But were all those long, tedious promotional events, held just to make more money, truly necessary?

Watching the worry on Starlight's face, Rorschach calmly speared a bite of food and put it in his mouth.

The gap between her ideals and reality had clearly hit this farm girl hard.

"I think you could tell people what The Deep did to you."

Starlight's expression shifted.

"But if I do..." She looked troubled.

"The Deep deserves to answer for what he did. I mean, you could talk to your supervisor and the CEO first. Let them help you decide what to do next."

"You're right. Letting him walk away still doesn't feel like enough."

Starlight bit her lip and made up her mind.

She was a victim. Once The Deep left The Seven, speaking up could set an example for other girls facing the same threat.

"Well, if you're about done eating, I'll take you home."

Rorschach stood, wiped his mouth, and smiled at Starlight.

"That's very thoughtful of you."

They both tacitly ignored the fact that Starlight could handle four or five grown men on her own.

Halfway to her place, they came upon several thugs groping a young woman in an alley.

"Hey! Gentlemen! Let her go."

Starlight's shout brought eager looks to the men's faces. They stopped what they were doing, but they didn't release the woman.

They looked almost as if they'd been waiting for Starlight to come closer.

"Get lost, little girl. We'll deal with you after we're done with her," The leader said.

Rorschach couldn't help laughing. Men this eager for a beating were still roaming New York City?

So the superheroes really were just for show. Weren't Homelander's patrols and The Seven's protection supposed to be driving crime down year after year?

Yet here were men who couldn't care less about the law or common decency.

"You! Close your eyes!" Starlight strode forward, and Rorschach obligingly shut his eyes.

A burst of blinding light later, the battered men realized they'd picked a fight with the wrong person.

They scrambled to flee, but something appeared beneath their feet and tripped them one after another.

Before they understood what had happened, Rorschach and Starlight had them pinned firmly to the ground.

Rorschach, for his part, used his foot.

"Hello? 911? We've caught several men sexually harassing someone. The address is..."

Rorschach searched for a street sign as he drew the still-frightened woman over to them.

"You're safe now, ma'am. Sorry for the trouble, but please come with us to give a statement."

Once she was sure she was safe, the woman nodded over and over, still trembling.

When the police sirens approached, Rorschach handed the thug beneath his foot over to Starlight.

"I'm not fond of interviews and things like that, so I'll leave this to you. Sorry for the trouble."

"See you."

Starlight watched him walk away and disappear down the alley. Warmth rose in her chest.

Apart from pairings like Homelander and Maeve, which the public loved, superheroes were expected to hide their relationships.

They had to maintain the image of being single so more people would like them and fall for them.

If she and Rorschach were photographed together, it would cause a media frenzy.

Every question would be about the two of them, and no one would care about her work as a hero.

To Starlight, Rorschach was mysterious, but thoughtful too.

When the police arrived and cuffed the thugs, she glanced back toward the alley where he had vanished and smiled sweetly.

"Did everything go smoothly?"

By the time Rorschach took a roundabout route back to the truck, Butcher and the others were pacing.

"Fuck yes. If this gets out..."

"If those superheroes are nothing but junkies..."

Frenchie's excitement grew. He couldn't wait to savor killing a supe.

"They're nothing special. Just monsters Vought International created with a drug."

"Who's next?"

Even Marvin, the steadiest of them, who had been guarding the young prisoner earlier, looked eager to act.

"Him."

Rorschach pointed at A-Train, who was openly fooling around with a woman in the living room.

Whether super speed was a blessing or a curse in that situation was anyone's guess.

Within The Seven, Maeve had grown disillusioned with Homelander.

Black Noir had been one of Vought International's leading heroes long before Homelander came along.

Translucent enjoyed silently watching people in their most private moments. In short, even a pervert would find him perverted.

Starlight had only just joined.

Of the others, only The Deep and A-Train were truly loyal to Homelander.

And if neither of them could continue serving as Homelander's right-hand man,

Rorschach would have a better chance of breaking him and exposing his true face to the public.

Before that, though, he needed to secure at least one television station capable of broadcasting nationwide without Vought's influence shutting it down.

"We'll do it during his race."