"Go back! It's dangerous here!"
"Get back inside! They're targeting you!"
Several CIA agents shouted urgently when they saw Rorschach step out into the courtyard. Even in the middle of chaos, some of them still tried to warn him.
Others were already so terrified by the Red Devil and Riptide that they could barely move. Their faces were pale, their bodies trembling as they held their rifles, eyes darting around in panic.
At that point, worrying about Rorschach was the last thing on their minds.
"Excuse me," Rorschach said calmly. "Mind if I borrow this?"
Before the nearby agent could respond, Rorschach simply grabbed the assault rifle from his hands.
He stepped forward without hesitation.
Two strides later, he leapt lightly onto the broken half of a statue that Havok had sliced apart earlier. Landing on the elevated stone platform, he steadied himself and raised the rifle.
Then he began to watch.
And listen.
Whoosh!
A flash of red light appeared among the agents as the Red Devil suddenly materialized.
The ordinary agents had no chance of reacting in time.
But Rorschach did.
Bang!
Rorschach spun instantly and fired.
The Red Devil had barely finished teleporting before a bullet came screaming toward him.
Whoosh!
He vanished again immediately.
Rorschach's reflexes were simply too fast. The moment the Red Devil appeared, the bullet followed. The teleporting mutant had no choice but to retreat before he could even attack.
Whoosh!
Bang!
Whoosh!
Bang!
A strange rhythm quickly formed between the two of them.
Every time the Red Devil appeared, a gunshot followed almost immediately. The relentless pressure forced him to teleport away again and again.
It was like a deadly game of hide-and-seek.
Gradually, the Red Devil's attention shifted entirely toward Rorschach. He stopped targeting the other CIA agents and focused solely on the young mutant standing on the broken statue.
Teleportation flashes began appearing closer and closer around Rorschach.
He was closing the distance.
"Interesting," Riptide murmured from the side, crossing his arms as he watched the exchange.
He made no move to help.
After years of fighting alongside Sebastian Shaw, he had witnessed countless battles. There was no way someone like him would gang up on a young mutant alongside the Red Devil.
Besides, he understood the Red Devil's abilities very well.
The young man might be suppressing him for the moment, but that didn't mean the Red Devil was truly in danger. It was only a matter of time before he found an opening.
"Ah… I didn't expect to find such a promising mutant here."
A new voice suddenly sounded across the courtyard.
A tall man wearing a helmet approached leisurely, his posture calm and confident.
Sebastian Shaw.
The Black Emperor himself had arrived.
He had already dealt with the remaining CIA defenses elsewhere in the base and now walked into the courtyard as if strolling through a park.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The surviving agents immediately raised their rifles and aimed at him.
Shaw didn't even bother looking at them.
To him, they were nothing more than insignificant insects.
At that moment, Riptide finally stepped forward. With a casual flick of his arms, he unleashed another violent tornado.
The swirling wind slammed into the agents.
Screams and groans filled the air as their bodies were thrown across the courtyard like ragdolls.
When the wind finally died down, not a single agent remained standing.
Fortunately, compared to the Red Devil's brutal knife attacks, most of those thrown by the tornado were still alive—though badly injured.
They lay scattered across the ground, battered and helpless.
Rorschach glanced briefly at Shaw but didn't make a move against him.
He knew perfectly well that attacking Shaw directly would only make things worse. Shaw's mutation allowed him to absorb kinetic energy, turning any attack into fuel for his own power.
Striking him would only strengthen him.
"Shaw… I was just about to finish him," the Red Devil said suddenly as he appeared nearby.
He sounded slightly embarrassed.
Shaw had sent him and Riptide ahead to clear the path before meeting the mutants. Yet Shaw himself had already arrived while the Red Devil was still struggling to deal with a single opponent.
Technically speaking, he had failed his task.
"Don't worry," Shaw replied with an amused smile. "I'm rather interested in getting to know our young friend here."
Even though Shaw spoke casually, the Red Devil didn't dare delay any longer.
His teleportation intensified.
He began flashing rapidly around Rorschach, appearing and disappearing faster and faster.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rorschach's rifle fired repeatedly.
But as the Red Devil increased the speed of his movements, Rorschach began struggling to keep up.
His reactions looked slightly rushed now.
Then things became worse.
Click.
The rifle was empty.
Rorschach lowered the weapon instinctively and glanced at it.
"Now!"
The Red Devil seized the moment instantly.
Whoosh!
He appeared directly behind Rorschach.
His hand shot forward to grab him.
If he succeeded, the battle would end immediately. The Red Devil could teleport them thousands of feet into the sky and drop Rorschach to his death.
After all, that was exactly how the earlier "rain of bodies" across the base had happened.
"Watch out!"
Cries of alarm came from the building.
Mystique, Hank, Siren, and the others had all rushed to the windows. Seeing the sudden attack, they shouted in panic.
But at that exact moment—
Rorschach's arm suddenly shot backward.
It moved with uncanny precision, as if he had eyes on the back of his head.
His hand clamped around the Red Devil's throat.
The teleporting mutant froze in shock.
Before his own hand could even touch Rorschach, his neck was already firmly locked in the young man's grip.
Snap!
Without hesitation, Rorschach twisted his wrist.
The sound of breaking bone echoed sharply.
The Red Devil's eyes widened in disbelief as his body went limp.
He couldn't understand what had just happened.
How had this young mutant caught him?
How could someone react faster than teleportation?
What the Red Devil didn't realize was that Rorschach hadn't been relying on sight.
He had been listening.
With his enhanced hearing, Rorschach could clearly detect the Red Devil's heartbeat.
Every time the teleporting mutant reappeared, that heartbeat betrayed his position instantly.
Compared to visual reactions, this method allowed Rorschach to lock onto his location nearly half a second faster than a normal person.
That tiny difference was enough.
It allowed Rorschach to strike the moment the Red Devil appeared close to him.
That was also why he had deliberately provoked the Red Devil into attacking him directly.
At close range, he could react instantly.
If the Red Devil had stayed farther away, Rorschach would have needed time to turn, aim, and fire.
And that delay would have been enough for the Red Devil to escape again.
.....
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