"Eric, I'll hold him here. Go help Charles!"
After dodging another strike from Sebastian Shaw, Rorschach spoke in a low, steady voice to the man beside him.
Eric hesitated only for a moment.
The earlier failure had forced him to calm down. His rage had not disappeared, but now it was controlled, sharpened into something more focused.
He understood the situation clearly.
Charles was their only real chance to defeat Shaw.
Any direct attack from Eric would only feed the enemy more energy. If he continued fighting like before, he would only make things worse.
"Rorschach… I'm leaving him to you."
Eric stared at Shaw one last time, his eyes burning with restrained hatred. Then he turned sharply and ran down the corridor without looking back.
Even in the early stage of his powers, Eric was already one of the most formidable mutants alive. His presence would greatly strengthen Charles and the others.
Shaw didn't attempt to stop him.
With Rorschach standing there, interference would be impossible anyway.
More importantly, Shaw no longer cared about anyone else.
Not Eric. Not Charles. Not even the powerful telepath who could threaten him.
Right now, only one person truly mattered.
Rorschach.
Shaw's eyes remained fixed on the young man in front of him.
The boy's body was like living steel. His strength and speed far exceeded ordinary humans, and those eyes could unleash devastating beams of energy.
From Shaw's perspective, this was the most perfect mutant he had ever encountered.
Defense.
Attack.
Speed.
Strength.
Close combat.
Long-range firepower.
There was not a single weakness.
Shaw had always claimed that mutants represented the next stage of human evolution. Yet standing here now, he realized something unsettling.
The young man before him might represent the next stage of mutant evolution itself.
A flawless body with no obvious limitations.
Even Shaw—who seemed unstoppable—carried a hidden flaw.
His offensive capability was actually quite limited.
If an opponent refused to feed him energy, he was little more than an ordinary man.
"So," Shaw said slowly, watching Rorschach, "you plan to keep playing this game of hide-and-seek?"
His tone remained calm and confident.
"You'll stall me here until your friends restore the telepath's powers. Then he'll control my mind and defeat me in one stroke."
Shaw tilted his head slightly.
"A clever plan," he admitted. "But do you really believe it will work so easily?"
Rorschach didn't respond immediately.
After a brief moment of silence, he made his decision.
"You're right," he said. "So I changed the plan."
Then he moved.
Rorschach rushed toward Shaw again.
Originally, he had planned to stall until Charles regained his telepathic abilities. But Shaw's confidence made him reconsider.
What if Charles failed?
What if the device couldn't be destroyed in time?
If that happened, their entire strategy would collapse.
So Rorschach chose a second option.
He would force Shaw out of the building.
Charles's powers could function normally outside the hotel.
Creating that opportunity was better than standing here doing nothing.
Besides, even if he couldn't kill Shaw, Shaw couldn't kill him either.
In a way, this was just free combat training.
Rorschach shot forward.
"What, you still want to resist?" Shaw sneered. "That won't change anything."
He stepped forward as well.
The two figures collided instantly.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The corridor filled with the violent sound of fists and kicks striking flesh. Their movements blurred together as they exchanged attacks at close range.
Then Rorschach felt something strange.
Something was wrong.
During the battle at the CIA base, Shaw had been much harder to deal with. Every strike Rorschach delivered had felt like punching empty air, as if all the force simply vanished.
But now—
The sensation was different.
Shaw was still absorbing energy, but the effect felt weaker.
Instead of hitting nothing, Rorschach felt as if his blows were sinking into a sponge.
The force was still being absorbed, but not completely.
"What's going on?" Rorschach wondered.
He couldn't understand it.
But whatever the reason, it worked in his favor.
Rorschach immediately began searching for an opening.
He dodged, feinted, and used bursts of heat vision to disrupt Shaw's rhythm. Slowly, carefully, he forced the older man into a defensive position.
Then the opportunity appeared.
Rorschach moved instantly.
With a burst of super speed, he created the smallest possible opening. His fist drew back, gathering every ounce of strength in his body.
Then he struck.
The punch landed like a thunderbolt.
Bang!
The impact exploded through the corridor.
To Rorschach's surprise, Shaw's body actually lifted off the ground.
He flew backward like a cannonball.
Shaw crashed against the wall and rolled across the floor.
"Cough—!"
He coughed violently.
A thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
For the first time, Shaw had been injured.
Rorschach stared at him in disbelief.
That result was far beyond what he expected.
Shaw could absorb the energy of nuclear reactors and submarine engines. There was no reason he shouldn't absorb the force of a punch.
Unless—
There was a limit.
Maybe his absorption ability had a threshold.
If the energy exceeded that limit, the excess would break through his defense.
But even if that were true, the limit shouldn't be this low.
"So you've been hiding your strength," Shaw said slowly as he stood up again.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at Rorschach with genuine surprise.
"This is your real power?"
The truth was simpler.
Since their last battle at the CIA base, Rorschach had grown dramatically stronger.
Back then his strength was roughly fifteen tons.
Now it had doubled.
Thirty tons.
Nearly twice the power.
"It doesn't matter," Rorschach replied with a grin. "What matters is this, Shaw—if this is your limit, you're finished."
He rolled his shoulders and rushed forward again.
The questions about Shaw's powers could wait.
Right now, if his strength could overwhelm the Black Emperor, there was no reason to hesitate.
"Shaw!"
The translucent man nearby suddenly called out anxiously. He had been standing aside watching the battle, but now he looked ready to intervene.
"Stay back!" Shaw snapped.
"Do you really think I can't defeat this kid myself?"
The other mutant's only ability was phasing—turning himself or others intangible.
If he interfered now, it would mean Shaw had already lost.
And Shaw refused to accept that.
So he attacked again.
The two figures collided once more.
But now the momentum had shifted.
Rorschach had already discovered the key.
As long as his explosive power exceeded Shaw's absorption limit, he could hurt him.
Armed with that knowledge, Rorschach's strategy became simple and brutal.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Punch after punch hammered into Shaw's body.
Shaw staggered backward again and again, thrown around like a sandbag.
The fight spilled out of the hotel entrance and onto the street outside.
Rorschach delivered another heavy strike.
Shaw's body slammed to the ground like a discarded rag doll.
"Rorschach!"
Two voices called out at once.
Raven and Hank, who had been waiting outside the hotel, rushed toward them.
When they saw Shaw lying on the pavement like a broken corpse after being beaten down by Rorschach, both of them froze in shock.
.....
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