In the chilly open street, a burst of cold wind blew, bringing up the discarded garbage and scraps of paper on the ground.
They fluttered in the wind, twirled a few times, tumbled feebly into the gutter, or were trampled under the feet of pedestrians who hurried by.
A piercing blue light flashed, and Luke appeared in a dark alley.
He looked up into the night sky and saw through the clouds to the empty darkness.
The feeling of crossing the universe wasn't that great, like going through a dark tunnel.
By the time he saw the light, he had already left the original world and arrived at his destination.
'It looks like I have to write down Dr Manhattan's name first.'
Luke thought silently as the corner of his mouth pulled out a slight curve.
Frankly speaking, he had rarely encountered any solid obstacles on his way forward.
Dr Manhattan was a lesson and a goal.
Maybe the other party was a 'god', a 'deity' and an 'invincible great being' in the Watchmen universe.
However, leaving the pond of a single universe, approaching the ocean of the multiverse...
Everything would change!
'Using a single universe to hold me back. Well, it's a simple idea...'
Luke's eyes flashed. Several thoughts flashed through his head.
Start a world war, open the nuclear explosion wasteland, let this time and space collapse ...
Or upgrade the cards multiple times and try to punch through the universe with one punch ...
In case of failure, call the off-site forces.
Anyway, the Watchmen universe was merged into the New 52, while the Flashpoint universe was restarted, and drag the Marvel universe into it -- wait, that wouldn't be the real purpose of those multiverse level concepts, would it?
Luke had some doubts.
The five creator gods vaguely revealed some information.
They called it 'the great game that defines a new era'.
Considering that the two studios did have a linkage, not only the Justice League and the Avengers, but also Darkseid and Thanos, The Specter and Living Tribunal ...
Of course, their ultimate victory or defeat didn't depend on their own strength but on their ... popularity.
So, the epic battle that cut through the two multiverses...
In the end, it's up to Batman and Captain America, two highly popular characters, to clean up the mess.
After a moment of scattered thoughts, Luke shook his head and chuckled.
No matter how big the game and bets were between the concepts of creation, for now, it had nothing to do with him.
"Give me everything you got! Better not let me do it myself!"
A thug in a leather jacket held a dagger to Luke's back and threatened viciously.
He had been watching him for a long while. The man was well dressed, standing in the alley and staring at nothing -- the perfect prey.
In the eyes of this street thug, he may be a drunk rich guy. It was an opportunity for him to make a fortune.
"Mugging?"
Luke was a little surprised, then turned to laugh.
Not to mention that he was Superman, even when he was in Brooklyn; no thug was brave enough to try.
After all, it was death.
"I admire your courage, man."
Luke's mouth turned up. This street punk did the one thing that Hydra, Kang the Conqueror, Odin, and Thanos ... all failed to do.
Using a knife to stop Superman and mug him.
"Cut the crap! Be smart! Don't try anything dangerous, or you'll die a horrible death!"
The street thug didn't know what a huge thing he had done, and if the thugs in the next studio knew, they would all give him a thumbs up.
"Sorry, I don't have the habit of carrying a wallet with me."
Luke slowly turned around and kindly said, "But I can write an IOU that Mephisto in Hell, Odin of Asgard, the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar Taj ... would gladly pay off a generous sum for."
The street thug was dumbfounded to hear that such a robbery could be offset by an IOU?
'But, who were those strange names?'
"You are kidding me?!"
The street thug didn't have a good temper. After saying that, his knife rushed out.
Clank...
The tip of the knife struck Luke's chest.
It made a collision sound of metal against metal.
Like hitting an iron plate, the knife bent and instantly warped.
The recoil force made the street thug's arm tingle and throb with pain.
"It seems that the quality of your 'weapon' isn't good enough."
Luke shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have time to waste on a guy at the bottom of the social ladder.
Previously, he was facing the most powerful being in the world.
The next second, he was being mugged.
And the other party didn't even have a gun, just a knife.
It was simply too degrading!
Luke curled his lips and looked at the guy who didn't know whether he was unlucky or lucky.
The dull brain of the street thug finally reacted.
The 'drunk' in front of him wasn't afraid of knives. He was probably a costumed adventurer.
So, he decisively started to run without looking back.
Swish!
In the dark alley, a red glow flashed.
The figure who fled in haste was hit. The high temperature that evaporated flesh and blood destroyed everything, including his skeleton.
The scorched black dust was scattered and blown away by the cold wind.
Automatically ignoring this little hiccup, Luke slowly took off into the air.
Standing in the clouds, overlooking the earth...
He maximised his senses, first bringing the whole of New York under his control, then the East, the West, and the entire North American continent.
The incalculable and complicated information poured into his mind, but it didn't disturb Luke's thinking.
"This is BBC ..."
"This is CNN ..."
"Welcome to UBS News ..."
"This is a tragic day in American history ..."
A beam of radio waves like an envelope with wings transmitted the latest changes in the world, then fell into Luke's ears.
"Less than two weeks after the breakup of the EU, Russia is already building up its forces in Belarus while threatening to invade Poland ..."
"World heads of state say they won't stand idly by if bloodshed breaks out ..."
"The global manhunt for the self-proclaimed 'Smartest Man in the World' continues ..."
"It has been reported that the White House has personally issued a warrant for the arrest and trial of Adrian Veidt and will clear up the outrageous allegations of government complicity in planning the New York massacre ..."
"Some experts believe that the arrest is necessary to quell the political unrest that has erupted across the country and around the world ..."
"I'm William F. Buckley, Jr., speaking to you on behalf of the President of the United States of America ..."
"I'm sorry to report that Russia has invaded Poland. The evils of this world have forced out hand ..."
"If the Russian military doesn't pull out within the next four hours, the President will have no choice but to launch a national military campaign ..."
Luke raised the corners of his mouth, showing a little smile.
It seemed that Ozymandias' big lie had been exposed, and the contents of Rorschach's journal leaked, and the whole world came to the brink of destruction once again.
However, this time there was no Dr Manhattan, and the situation became dangerous.
The world war was imminent.
"As a former famous costumed adventurer, Adrian Veidt became a successful businessman and philanthropist after taking off his mask in 1975 ..."
"He took the position of CEO in the joint venture he founded and led the world financial market to a whole new level ..."
"Adrian Veidt is also an extremely dangerous man, who is accused of murdering 3 million people and tens of thousands more need to be hospitalised for treatment due to permanent mental trauma ..."
"This man also killed Edward Morgan Blake, also known as 'The Comedian' ..."
"The costumed adventurer organisation, vigilante members disappeared one after another, or had died ..."
"Hollis Mason, a former member of the organisation, the first generation 'Nite Owl' was killed by a mob in his home ..."
"The second Nite Owl, Daniel Dreiberg and his wife, the second Silk Specter, Laurel Juspeczyk, are unaccounted for ..."
"Rorschach's journal was published in the New York Gazette, and the world is in turmoil ..."
Luke withdrew his senses and seemed to be lost in thought.
He wasn't interested in world politics, and even if a major war was fought, it had nothing to do with him.
"Ozymandias is still at large ..."
Luke caught the point. The self-proclaimed 'Smartest Man in the World' didn't sit on the throne for long after he devised an amazing plot to keep Dr Manhattan out of the universe.
The disclosure of Rorschach's journal destroyed the utopia he had built, and the doomsday clock moved again.
"Then the question was, where is Ozymandias?"
Luke slightly frowned and then stretched out.
"Perhaps someone knows."