"Young man, thank you very much for saving us."
"If it weren't for you today, things could have ended very badly."
Howard Stark's voice interrupted Rorschach's thoughts.
The famous playboy walked quickly toward him, brushing dust from his suit as he approached. Despite his messy appearance and the chaos around them, his tone carried genuine gratitude.
To Stark, the situation had been extremely close to disaster.
Without the intervention of this mysterious young man, the entire mission might have collapsed.
What Howard Stark didn't realize, however, was that the outcome might not have been quite so fatal. Even if Rorschach hadn't intervened, Stark and Anton Vanko likely wouldn't have died tonight.
They would almost certainly have been injured.
And the SHIELD agents around them?
Those men probably wouldn't have survived.
"Mr. Stark, are you alright?"
Rorschach glanced at Stark's dusty and somewhat disheveled appearance before asking calmly.
"I'm fine," Stark replied with a casual wave of his hand. "Honestly, I feel like I could sit down and have a few more drinks right now."
He then looked at Rorschach with obvious curiosity.
"Young man, what's your name? I'm Howard Stark, though I suppose introductions aren't necessary since you clearly already know who I am."
"Rorschach."
Rorschach answered without hesitation.
There was no point hiding his identity. In fact, even if Stark hadn't asked, Rorschach would have found a chance to introduce himself anyway.
If you did something impressive, it was only natural to leave your name behind.
"Rorschach…" Stark repeated slowly.
A hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"So you're Chinese?"
In Howard Stark's long-held impression, Chinese people were usually physically weaker than Westerners. The young man standing in front of him had completely shattered that stereotype.
Just as Stark was about to say more—
Bang!
The tavern door suddenly flew open.
A tall and vigorous woman rushed inside with a group of agents following closely behind her.
She carried herself with the unmistakable bearing of a British officer. Her posture was confident, her gaze sharp, and despite no longer being very young, she possessed a mature charm that made her presence impossible to ignore.
Peggy Carter.
The moment Rorschach saw her, he immediately understood something.
Compared to ordinary people, Carter radiated a completely different kind of presence. Her confidence, intelligence, and composure stood out instantly.
It wasn't difficult to see why Captain America had fallen for her.
"Jesus Christ."
Peggy Carter stopped in the doorway as her eyes swept across the tavern.
Broken furniture, shattered glass, bloodstains across the floor—and three enormous werewolf corpses lying in the middle of the room.
Her expression darkened immediately.
"The Soviets actually sent werewolves for the assassination?"
Her voice carried a trace of anger.
This was a major oversight.
SHIELD had only screened for professional agents and spies during their preparations. They hadn't anticipated supernatural operatives, which allowed several werewolves to slip through the net.
"Stark, are you alright?"
Peggy Carter quickly moved toward Howard Stark, concern flashing briefly across her face.
"Relax, Peggy. I'm perfectly fine."
Stark spread his arms and even turned around in a small circle as if demonstrating that he had no injuries at all.
"See? Not a scratch."
Peggy Carter studied him carefully before finally relaxing.
Her attention then shifted toward Anton Vanko, who was being watched closely by a SHIELD agent. After confirming that the target was secure and the mission had technically succeeded, she finally turned her attention toward Rorschach.
"Stark," she said calmly, "who is this?"
Howard Stark glanced at Rorschach with an amused smile.
"This," he said, gesturing toward the young man, "is a rather extraordinary Chinese kid. Luckily for us, he showed up when he did. Otherwise we might have ended up as dinner for those beasts."
Stark briefly explained what had happened.
As Peggy Carter listened, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes. She looked at Rorschach again, this time with far more interest.
Her gaze lingered on him thoughtfully.
"Rorschach," Stark continued, "thank you again for everything you did tonight. That was incredibly impressive. Honestly, I've never seen a young man pull off something that cool."
He paused slightly before continuing.
"However, I'd like to ask you for a little more of your time. Would you be willing to come back with us for a short while? We'll need to ask you a few questions."
Stark quickly raised a hand in reassurance.
"Don't misunderstand. It's just standard procedure."
He then reached into his coat and pulled out a business card, handing it to Rorschach.
"Oh, and while you may already know me as Howard Stark, you probably don't know my other identity yet."
Rorschach glanced at the card.
"National Strategic Defense Attack and Logistics Support Agency?"
He couldn't help shaking his head slightly.
What kind of person came up with a name this complicated?
"I know, I know," Stark said with a helpless sigh. "Trust me, I'm not exactly a fan of the name either. But at least it accurately describes what we do."
"Mr. Stark," Rorschach said casually as he pocketed the card, "may I make a suggestion?"
"Of course."
"What about SHIELD?"
"SHIELD…"
Howard Stark froze for a second.
Then his eyes suddenly lit up.
"A shield protecting national security," he said thoughtfully. "Simple, direct, and symbolic."
He turned toward Peggy Carter with excitement.
"Carter, you have to admit, that actually sounds pretty good. Maybe we should seriously consider—"
Peggy Carter's expression darkened slightly.
Howard Stark.
You're currently running an intelligence organization.
Could you try acting serious for at least five minutes?
"Simon, you three stay here," Carter ordered briskly. "Everyone else, start cleaning up."
Her tone was firm and decisive.
"Rorschach," Stark added quickly, turning back toward him. "I promise we won't keep you long. Just a few routine questions. What do you think?"
In truth, Rorschach had very little interest in visiting SHIELD headquarters for "routine procedures."
He was about to decline.
But then a new thought appeared.
SHIELD was an extremely complicated organization, and Howard Stark himself was a very influential figure. If he followed them back, there was a chance something else might happen.
Maybe even another system mission.
Although he had just completed one, there was no guarantee another couldn't appear.
The problem was that Rorschach still didn't understand how the system triggered missions.
Everything so far was just guesswork.
So why not use this opportunity to test it?
If a mission appeared, that meant another batch of Origin Points.
If nothing happened, it still wouldn't be a loss.
After all, building a connection with someone like Howard Stark could only be beneficial in the long run.
No matter how he calculated it, this opportunity was worth taking.
Rorschach made his decision.
"Alright," he said calmly. "No problem."
He paused briefly before adding another sentence.
"But before we go, I need to let my friend know."
.....
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