'Decomposition of matter ...'
Rorschach II clearly remembered that he once saw Dr Manhattan on TV, turning a tank into dust.
At that time, the military heavily promoted the human being that became a god by accident. Saying phrases such as --
"God exists, and he is American!"
But soon, he realised that something was wrong.
There was no soft blue glow, no baldness, and the person was wearing clothes ...
This was totally inconsistent with the external image of Dr Manhattan.
"I'm sorry, you've got the wrong person."
Luke shook his head. 'I'm not an exhibitionist who likes to expose himself.'
After collecting enough information, he began to look for Ozymandias.
When Rorschach II entered the police station's jail, rescued Marionette and Mime, and then went to the secret base in the sewers...
Luke saw all of it and followed them all the way here.
After Dr Manhattan left the Watchman universe, the only person in the world who deserved to see him in person was probably Adrian Veidt.
If Luke was asked to choose a suitable helper to deal with the blue man, who was still naked, on Mars...
Ozymandias was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.
He knew Dr Manhattan too well and even found something to exploit from a 'god' that had no weaknesses at all.
Increasingly disappearing humanity, increasingly indifferent feelings ... Adrian was the first to notice this, in addition to The Comedian.
Dr Manhattan once witnessed The Comedian shoot a pregnant woman. He could have stopped it, but he didn't.
President Nixon asked him to take part in the war. He could have refused, but he didn't.
Because Dr Manhattan could foresee the future, time had no influence on him.
His mind could appear in the past and the future at the same time as if he was walking freely in an empty room.
Therefore, in Dr Manhattan's view, everything that happened was a predetermined trajectory.
He just observed but didn't take the initiative to intervene.
Ozymandias took advantage of this and completed his plan.
Even if Dr Manhattan knew everything, in the end, his absolutely calm, rational mind told him that Adrian was right.
Therefore, he chose to kill Rorschach, which might lead to the outbreak of war and an increase in the number of variables.
But he spared Ozymandias, who massacred people and took the blame for it.
Because in Dr Manhattan's mind, the anger, hatred and spitefulness of human beings had no effect on himself.
He only thought that Earth was too complicated and wanted to leave, which was exactly what Adrian had expected.
"Who are you?"
Ozymandias looked a little gloomy.
Luke demonstrated an unusual and frightening ability.
Like Rorschach II, it reminded him of Dr Manhattan.
"You're the smartest person in the world, can't you guess?"
Luke smiled. He used spatial transmission to suddenly appear and then decompose the attacking screwdriver.
By showing the ability first, Ozymandias was shocked.
In this world, except for Dr Manhattan, there was no real sense of super-powered people.
The earliest costumed heroes were composed of a group of policemen with a strong sense of justice.
They found that the law alone couldn't give those criminals the punishment they deserved, and the other side could still get away with it by hiring lawyers or other means.
So, after work, the policemen would wear masks and strange clothes to punish the villains themselves.
With the publication and exposure in news newspapers, these costumed heroes aroused people's interest.
People liked to talk about their actions and costumes, and the police department and the government gave them awards and encouragement.
In that era, when law and order were chaotic and weak, the appearance of costumed heroes was something that everyone was happy to see.
Later, these people formed a group called 'Minutemen', whose members included 'Captain Metropolis', 'The First Nite Owl', 'The Comedian', 'The First Silk Specter', 'The Silhouette', 'Dollar Bill' and so on.
However, their later fate wasn't so good.
Some were sent to nursing homes because of alcoholism; some were shot by homophobic conservative groups; some became government agents and did dirty work; some retired and opened an auto repair shop ...
Of course, the unluckiest one was 'Dollar Bill' whose cape was caught in a revolving door, shot by a robber, in a bank robbery ...
He once asked the costumed heroes, in a heated discussion, about whether uniforms should have capes or not and whether capes would affect fighting or not.
Later, after the Minutemen disbanded, a new generation of figures appeared one after another, including Dr Manhattan, Rorschach, Ozymandias, the second generation Nite Owl and the second generation of Silk Specter.
This was the evolutionary history of costumed heroes of the Watchmen universe. Except for the blue man, they were essentially a gang of vigilantes without superpowers.
The opponents they were facing were only gang leaders, vicious gangsters and murderers.
Unlike the superheroes in the next studio, who could fly and do anything.
"I'm not a prophet. How could I guess? "
Adrian kept smiling on the surface, but his brain was turning at high speed, making all kinds of guesses.
Smart people always think too much. The more they didn't get an answer, the more they would think about it.
"Well, who I am and where I came from ... are not really important questions."
Luke spread out his hand and showed a friendly gesture.
The criminal couple, Marionette and Mime, stepped back.
They felt a dangerous aura similar to Dr Manhattan's from this man's body.
Anyway, this was an existence that shouldn't be provoked!
"What's important is that I can help you and provide information about Dr Manhattan."
Luke spoke with a smile.
This made Ozymandias's pupil narrow. He got some useful information from it.
"Have you seen Jon?"
Adrian tentatively asked.
"Yes."
Luke answered truthfully.
"Where is he?"
Ozymandias then asked.
"Mars... Mars in another universe."
Luke said casually, in a kind tone, "Frankly, I have a personal vendetta against Dr Manhattan."
"He gave me a one-way ticket for a vacation, a gift I need to return."
The corners of Adrian's mouth twitched. 'This man sounds like an enemy.'
Being an opponent of Dr Manhattan, and still alive, was a demonstration of strength.
At least as far as Ozymandias could see, those guys who tried to attack and resist when fighting Dr Manhattan ended up with only one fate.
That was, flesh and blood suddenly bursting into pools of sticky ketchup.
Adrian was prepared for that before scheming against the other party.
But Dr Manhattan accepted his point of view, and instead of killing him, he chose to let him live.
"So, what are you going to do?"
Ozymandias was very good at reining in his thoughts and emotional turmoil. He understood the way to deal with such strong people.
One word, honesty.
The reason why he could secretly set a step-by-step plan without alerting Dr Manhattan...
It's because, in normal conversation, or questions, he never lied.
Dr Manhattan could always notice the abnormal heartbeat from Ozymandias, subtle changes in his expression, or reading his thoughts -- although the other party had never done that.
But Adrian had to take it into account.
Every time he faced Dr Manhattan, he used his honesty eloquence and even hypnotised himself so that the other party wouldn't notice.
"I want to leave this universe."
Luke looked at Ozymandias, the self-proclaimed smartest man in the world. His heart was steady, his breathing was gentle, and he had a careful expression on his face, but it was just a disguise.
In the other party's head, he must be planning something else.
"Leave ... the universe?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Yes, isn't this modified Nite Owl airship the tool you prepared to track down Dr Manhattan?"
Swish!
Luke raised his hand and pulled off the dust cloth, creating a choking cloud of dust that caused everyone else to cover their faces and cough.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Ozymandias shook his head. He was indeed well prepared to find the 'god' of the Watchmen universe.
'But, how did this guy know?'
For a while, Adrian's thoughts were confused, and he was overthinking.
"But before we leave, we still have some time to talk."
Luke, who took the lead, gently snapped his fingers. Marionette and Mime, inside the base, as well as Rorschach II, were instantly teleported out.
In the messy space, only he and Ozymandias were left.
"Talk about what?"
Adrian held his breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Let's start with your nonexistent cancer."
Luke tossed the first chip on the table.
"... You know about that?"
Ozymandias's expression finally changed. He once again felt like he was facing Dr Manhattan.
'All-powerful and all-knowing!'
'There are no secrets at all!'
'Could the departure of one 'god' lead to the appearance of another 'god'?'
...
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