After saying goodbye to Charles and Eric, Rorschach left Xavier Manor.
His destination was a high-end hotel in Manhattan.
Inside one of the luxurious private suites, he found the person who had requested the meeting—Howard Stark.
However, when Rorschach stepped inside, he noticed something unexpected.
Peggy Carter was there as well.
Rorschach's gaze shifted from Howard Stark to Peggy Carter and back again.
A man and a woman.
Alone in a hotel room.
The implication was obvious.
Interesting.
"Why are you standing at the door?" Howard Stark called out casually while adjusting his clothes in front of the wardrobe mirror. "Come in. We have something important to discuss."
He glanced up and immediately noticed the suspicious look on Rorschach's face.
Howard sighed.
"What are you thinking about, kid?" he said helplessly. "Just get in here already."
Rorschach stepped inside slowly.
Of course he knew they were here for serious business.
He was just teasing Stark on purpose.
That said, considering Stark's reputation as a notorious playboy, it wouldn't have been surprising if he really had tried something with Peggy Carter.
The only problem was that Peggy Carter clearly wasn't someone Stark could easily handle.
Rorschach looked toward her.
"Agent Carter is here too?" he said casually. "This time I hope you'll send someone who isn't afraid of heights to follow me."
Peggy Carter's face darkened instantly.
The last time she had ordered someone to monitor Rorschach, the agent had been discovered almost immediately.
Not only that, Rorschach had thrown the poor man onto a rooftop.
He had even sent Carter a message afterward as a warning.
That incident had humiliated her badly.
"Rorschach," Peggy said coldly, "do you know the penalty for attacking a federal officer?"
Rorschach shrugged.
"I'm not sure," he replied calmly. "But I'd really like to know what the punishment is for assaulting a senior intelligence officer."
He tilted his head slightly.
"For example, someone from the Strategic Homeland Defense, Attack, and Logistics Support Agency."
Peggy Carter nearly exploded.
The implication was obvious.
He was clearly referring to her.
"Peggy, Rorschach—calm down," Howard Stark said quickly.
He stepped between them, raising both hands in surrender.
"We're all on the same side here. What happened before was just a misunderstanding."
Stark knew exactly where the tension came from.
Peggy Carter had initially suspected Rorschach of being dangerous, which was why she had him followed.
Later, after Stark explained everything during a confidential meeting among S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founding members, the organization confirmed the existence of mutants.
At that point Peggy realized she had misjudged Rorschach.
Still, someone like Peggy Carter wasn't the type to openly apologize for a mistake like that.
In her mind, simply dropping the investigation was already a generous concession.
After all, she hadn't pursued the matter further—even though one of her agents ended up in the hospital.
From her perspective, that should have been the end of it.
Unfortunately, Rorschach clearly had other ideas.
"Rorschach," Stark said patiently, "Peggy wasn't targeting you personally before. She just misunderstood something."
"The misunderstanding has already been cleared up."
"She won't investigate you again."
He then gently pulled Peggy aside and spoke quietly with her for a moment.
Eventually she seemed to calm down.
Unfortunately for Stark, Rorschach wasn't finished yet.
"Mr. Stark," he said casually, "I'm not really in the mood to discuss anything important right now."
He glanced briefly toward Peggy.
"And when I see someone I'd rather not see, my mood becomes even worse."
Howard Stark nearly choked.
"Rorschach," he said helplessly, "at least try to behave like a gentleman."
"If you're this petty, no girl will ever like you."
"That's fine," Rorschach replied calmly.
"Girls usually try to please me anyway."
Howard stared at him in silence.
Even he—Howard Stark himself—wouldn't dare say something that arrogant.
Peggy Carter suddenly interrupted.
"Stark," she said sharply.
Her voice was calm, but her patience was clearly gone.
"You'd better hope this meeting produces useful results."
With that, she turned and walked out of the room without another word.
The door slammed shut behind her.
Only Rorschach and Howard Stark remained.
"Rorschach…" Stark began.
"Mr. Stark," Rorschach interrupted immediately, "the old lady's gone. You're not going to start lecturing me now, are you?"
Howard chuckled.
"No. I was just thinking something."
He patted Rorschach on the shoulder.
"It takes a special kind of person to make Peggy that angry."
Then he sighed quietly.
"To be honest… Peggy's a pretty lonely person."
Rorschach raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Stark," he said thoughtfully, "why don't you save this lonely woman?"
Stark looked horrified.
"What kind of idea is that?" he protested. "Rogers is my friend."
"Exactly," Rorschach replied calmly. "That's why you should help him."
Howard froze.
"Wait… you really think so?"
Rorschach blinked in disbelief.
Stark actually seemed to be considering it.
What a monster.
"Ahem," Stark coughed awkwardly. "Let's talk about business."
He picked up a prepared suit and tossed it toward Rorschach.
"Put this on."
"What for?" Rorschach asked.
"Just change first," Stark replied. "We'll talk while walking."
He began adjusting his own jacket in front of the mirror again.
Rorschach didn't move.
"Mr. Stark," he said flatly, "you'd better explain now."
"I'm worried you might sell me somewhere if we start walking first."
Stark shook his head.
"You kid."
Honestly, he still couldn't understand Rorschach's attitude.
Howard Stark was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D.
He was also one of the richest men in America.
Most people became extremely cautious in his presence.
Yet Rorschach treated him like an ordinary acquaintance.
Surprisingly, Stark didn't dislike it.
In fact, he enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.
"Three days ago," Stark said finally, "our people discovered a vehicle suspected to be UB6."
"UB6?" Rorschach repeated.
"Oh," Stark said casually, "that's the codename we gave the mechanical lifeform you discovered earlier."
He nodded approvingly.
"You were right, Rorschach. That vehicle really was a mechanical organism."
"We've studied it carefully."
"Not only does the machine itself emit a unique energy radiation frequency, but objects it interacts with retain traces of that radiation."
Stark paused briefly.
"Three days ago," he continued, "our team detected that same radiation signature…"
"On the car belonging to General Ross."
.....
Read the next chapter on my p@treon for free.
Paid members can get more than 60 chapters.
Link: [email protected]/GalaxyWonder