A/N: I figured, due to the massive volume of Rorschach fan fiction, there needs to be a little variety, which is why I'm writing this. And oh my god, Rorschach is barely in this fic. Please note that this is purely a work of fiction and in no way relates to actual events in Watchmen. Chock full of spoilers, beware. Also, this first chapter is slow starting, I needed it to set up the whole story.
An unsuccessful confrontation with Dreiberg left Rorschach feeling uneasy. An even less successful meeting with Jon and Laurie left him feeling almost paranoid. There was only one person left to warn about the impending danger. The mask killer. The person who had murdered the Comedian.
The rain had increased as he walked down a murky, dank New York City sidewalk. Rorschach yanked up the collar of his trench coat and shoved his gloved hands in his pockets. People hurried by, wrapped up in their own little worlds, not paying any attention to the masked man. He rather preferred it this way. He smirked to himself, wondering if they would extract themselves from their self absorbed worlds should the Soviets decide to attack America.
He turned up an alley and came to a fire escape. Crouching, he sprung up into the air, catching the bottom rung in his right hand. He hoisted himself upward and scaled the escape until he came to the window he was looking for. With little effort, he pried the window open and hopped quietly into the spacious apartment. The apartment had been renovated to fit the current occupant's needs. The current occupant was an artist, which was quite obvious with one look at the main room. Canvases were propped up along the walls, tables were covered with various tubes or paint in pretty much any color you could imagine. Rorschach stopped in front of a painting. It was a scene he was all to familiar with. The painting was taken from the snapshot of the original Minutemen back in the 40s. The studio door opened suddenly.
"Evening, Elizabeth", muttered Rorschach.
The door shut and a lamp switched on. Elizabeth, or Elle as her loved ones called her was an ex masked hero. Back before the Keene act, she was Domino II, following in the footsteps of her mother, Domino I.
"Jesus Christ, Rorschach, would it kill you to use a door once in awhile?" She spat, dumping her jacket on an empty table.
Rorschach hunched his shoulders and leaned against a bare wall opposite Elizabeth.
"Didn't mean to frighten, apologies."
Elizabeth shook her head slightly.
"It's fine. But...what are you doing here, at this hour?"
"The Comedian is dead. He was murdered earlier tonight, thrown out his apartment window."
Elizabeth arched a brow and chuckled.
"You're serious?" she asked.
"Hrmm, something funny?"
Elizabeth cleared her throat and folded her arms. Rain water dripped down her left cheek and disappeared under her chin.
"Not exactly, more ironic than anything. Do you have any idea who did it?"
Rorschach briefly looked out the window he came in, then turned his attention back to Elizabeth.
"No..."
Elizabeth heard tension in his voice, and calculated her response carefully.
"You don't think I had anything to do with it, do you?"
"Depends, where were you a few hours ago?"
Elizabeth exhaled long and slow, showing her irritation.
"Not that it's any concern of yours, but I was at home. I came up here to get some stuff."
She brushed her wet, bedraggled hair out of her face and added, " Besides, why would I murder the Comedian?"
"Revenge."
Rorschach could see her expression darken.
"Please Rorschach, why would I wait all this time to get my revenge against Eddie? That was years ago, I was barely 12."
"Hrmm."
Elizabeth was beginning to get uncomfortable.
"You haven't told Adrian yet have you?"
"No. Figured you would, seeing as how you and him are close. A few years ago, being that close would have gotten him thrown in jail."
Elizabeth glared at him.
"Well we all have skeletons in our closets. I'm sure there are things you wouldn't want the general population knowing about you, right?"
Rorschach didn't reply, but that was all Elizabeth needed to know.
"That was out of line of me," Rorschach grumbled.
"Yes, it was, actually. But I've known you long enough to know it was probably nothing personal. But listen, okay? Eddie is dead. Why not just let sleeping dogs lie?"
"Because while you're posing for magazine covers and marketing your image along with Veidt, I still care about where this city ends up, and I still care about justice."
Elizabeth knew better than to get into an argument with Rorschach.
"Can you blame me?" She said quietly, a pained tone in her voice.
"Look where the lifestyle of being a masked hero gets you. You either end up insane, exiled or murdered. Your news only enforces my point."
Rorschach sighed, and walked to the window he entered and was about to jump out when Elizabeth spoke.
"It's nice seeing you again, Rorschach. Try and stay out of trouble?"
He nodded ever so slightly, and was gone into the rainy night.