A/N: Just thought I'd give you guys a quick heads up on this before I start. 1. Yes, this is AU, in a way. Rorschach is still alive. It will be further explained in the story. 2. This is set near the beginning of X-Men Evolution, when most people don't know about the existence of mutants.

Human Nature

Chapter 1: Legends

The city was crawling with lowlife. Not that it was any surprise, but today it seemed doubly true. Rorschach allowed himself just a moment of weakness while he was alone, leaning back against an alley wall to catch his breath. There was a splatter of blood on his coat and face, the deep red specks creating macabre patterns with his ever-changing mask.

Rorschach's Journal
March 3rd 2000 ... 7:30 pm

It's been a rough night. Thought the city was bad a few years ago... no, was only the beginning. For a while now, they've been growing. Gangs, violent groups often consisting of not just adults, but kids. Teenagers. They mark their territory, claim their stake on not only land, but people. I'm dealing with animals here, not men.

I've already faced a couple. So far uninjured, aside from a scratch here or there.

Rorschach froze as a sharp sound reached his ears. He pressed himself further into the wall. His hand moved slowly, grabbing onto the nearest loose object he could find. An old hammer, sticking out of a near-by dumpster. Crude, but useful. He wasn't sure who it was... a possible gang member, wanting revenge, or a simple passer-by, but he could hear feet... and talking. He strained his ears to listen. They were young... a boy and a girl. Gritting his teeth beneath his mask, he realized it was just a pair of teenagers out for a walk. Grunting softly, he ducked down behind the dumpster, keeping himself hidden in it's shadow.

"I, like, don't know what to do, Kurt!"

"Relax, Kitty. I'm sure it will fix itself. You're making a big deal out of nothing."

Rorschach narrowed his eyes, peering out from his spot as they turned into the alley. They looked like normal teenagers, but he knew better than to believe that. His grip tightened on the hammer, just in case, and he watched them closely, waiting for any movement. The boy placed his hand on the girl's shoulder and...

They were gone. Poof, just like that, leaving only a puff of smoke behind. Rorschach furrowed his brows and stepped out carefully, still holding onto the hammer. He stepped clean through the puff of smoke. It was like they were never even there...

This would take some looking into.

-

Rorscach's Journal
March 5th 2000 ... 7:22 am

Took a lot of digging, but I found something. I've heard of them before, mutants, but I've never actually seen one, aside from Manhattan, of course. But he gained his powers through an accident. From what I've heard, most of these mutants are born with their powers. A threat? I'm not sure yet. They're tricky. Most haven't been caught in the media. Still, I've tracked down the two teenagers I saw. Kurt Wagner and Katherine Pryde. They're both currently attending school at Bayville High. It has an unusually high record for accidents.

I don't usually work in broad daylight, but unfortunately, I'll have to make an exception this time.

He wasn't wearing his mask. A slightly risky move, but not nearly as risky as if he had been wearing it. After all, Rorschach was supposed to be gone, and most wouldn't recognize Walter Kovaks, especially with the little strands of gray beginning to twist into his red hair. He pushed his hands into his pockets again, leaning back against a tree as he waited, watching. A red convertable pulled into the parking lot, and Walter's eyes narrowed as he spotted the two familiar faces. With them were four others. His interest stuck with a young man, the one driving the car, or rather the sunglasses that he wore. They were not normal sunglasses, he could tell simply by glancing at them.

He'd have to do a little more poking, he supposed.

Walter straightened himself, starting toward the group. It might be a little creepy, but since when did he care about that? "Excuse me."

The young man turned his head toward the voice, furrowing his brows. Still, he remained calm. "Yeah?" he asked, and Walter noticed the others hanging back a little, waiting for him.

"Sorry," Walter said, keeping a polite image. "I'm thinking about enrolling my son in this school, just wanted to get an opinion on it from some of the students."

The young man raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him. However, a red-headed girl stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him from saying whatever he was going to say. She offered a smile, "It's a great school," she told Walter. "The kids are pretty nice, and we have a lot of extra-curricular activities."

Walter forced a smile. It no longer came naturally to him. He held out a hand, "Thank you very much, Miss...?"

"Jean Grey," She answered, taking his hand to shake. "I'm on the student body, so if you have any more questions..."

"No, thank you. I'm going to ask around a little more, Miss Grey." Walter calmly stepped away. He didn't look back, but he listened closely.

"Jean, what're you thinking?" The man asked in a harsh whisper.

"He was a nice guy! He just wanted to know about the school, Scott."

"I don't trust him. You should've read his mind."

"We're not allowed to use our powers at school."

And there it was. Rorschach stepped around the school, pressing his back into the wall again. Mutants. Whether it was all six or not, he didn't know, but they definitely stuck together. Made sense. The strange often did.

-

Breaking in was always the easy part. The school's high security didn't matter, Rorschach made quick work of it, and soon found himself in the Principal's office. He peered around, pushing his hat further down on his head. There. Student files. He picked the cabinet's lock and slid it open, fingers flipping through the files until he found Jean Grey. Basketball player, student council. She had quite a record. But none of it caught Rorschach's interest. None of it was useful, except for... wait.

Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

Now that was interesting. Wasn't she already enrolled in this school? He pulled out the next file. Kurt Wagner. He flipped through until he came across the same name. Searching through Katherine Pryde's file, he found it again. He knew better to believe in coincidences.