Kara had nearly pieced together Dr. Manhattan's entire experience through his shared memories.
"Did you really need to show me this much?" she muttered with a wry smile, shaking her head.
From the start, Kara had glimpsed Dr. Manhattan's earliest memories—back when he was still Jonathan Osterman, the watchmaker's son. She watched as young Jonathan learned from his father, a man deeply dedicated to his craft.
But everything changed when the first atomic bomb exploded. That event shook the world—and Jonathan's father, who decided his son's future lay not in repairing watches but in studying atomic physics. This pivotal decision set Jonathan on the path to becoming Dr. Manhattan.
Kara mused to herself, So that's how it started. One choice, and his whole life was rewritten.
In this universe, Dr. Manhattan is the only being with true superhuman abilities. Here, he's often regarded as a god—though he never behaved like one. Instead, he chose to serve a nation, aiding it in conflicts and even helping it win a war that was otherwise lost within a week.
Kara couldn't help but sigh. "A god among mortals, yet you chose sides. Did you think divine power could coexist with human politics?"
Her rant went on, unrelenting. "You handed politicians unchecked power, emboldening their arrogance. That arrogance brought us here—to a Cold War teetering on the brink of catastrophe. Tell me, did you ever think about the consequences? A god should stay above such petty mortal conflicts."
Dr. Manhattan remained silent. Her words struck a chord. He had already visited Kara's universe and seen how, despite the absence of superheroes or cosmic deterrence, it had avoided nuclear annihilation. Yet here, in his own world, his presence had exacerbated the Cold War tensions.
Kara continued to delve into his experiences through his memories. Soon, she learned why Dr. Manhattan had come to Mars in the first place. Just days ago, he had been interviewed on a live television program, but the encounter had turned sour.
What began as a discussion on quantum mechanics spiraled out of control when a reporter accused him of being a harbinger of misfortune. They claimed that everyone who worked closely with him had contracted cancer—including his ex-wife, Janey Slater.
The accusation struck a nerve.
Once, Jonathan Osterman had been a man with a wife, a home, and a relatively normal life. But after gaining his powers, he had drifted from Janey and eventually fallen for Laurie Juspeczyk—the second Silk Spectre, younger and more beautiful.
Kara grimaced. "Wow. That's... scummy," she muttered under her breath.
But the revelation haunted him. Could he truly be responsible for the suffering of those closest to him? His ex-wife's cancer only added weight to the claim. The confrontation became unbearable, and so Dr. Manhattan left Earth, retreating to Mars to build his device.
The memories ended there, but Kara was far from satisfied. "Wait. So Laurie cheated on you? That's the part you skipped over?"
Dr. Manhattan remained silent, his stoic expression unchanged.
Kara stifled a laugh. "Come on, Jonathan! You're practically a god, and you got cheated on? You need to toughen up!"
Her tone was teasing, but her words carried a playful warmth. For all his power, Dr. Manhattan seemed disarmingly vulnerable in that moment.
"I didn't bring you here to mock me," he finally said, turning his gaze back to the vast red landscape of Mars. "You've seen the state of the world. If nuclear war breaks out, it will be the end of everything. What should I do, Kara? Watch it happen—or intervene?"
Kara crossed her arms, her expression thoughtful. "What do you want to do, Jonathan? Not what you think you should do. What does Jonathan Osterman want?"
Without hesitation, he replied, "I want to ask Laurie why she betrayed me."
Kara doubled over, laughing so hard she had to clutch her sides. "Oh my God, you're serious? That's your priority?" She took a deep breath and managed to compose herself. "Okay, okay. Go talk to Laurie. Don't worry about me—I'm fine here. I'll figure out your fancy device in the meantime."
Dr. Manhattan hesitated for only a moment before vanishing in a flash of blue light, leaving Kara alone on Mars.
At first, nothing seemed to change. The barren Martian landscape remained eerily still. But then, Kara staggered, as if the very fabric of existence had shifted beneath her feet.
"Wait a minute," she muttered, floating upright with her flight powers. "Did he just... move the entire universe? Seriously, Jonathan, how are you this overpowered?"
To her, the ripple of Dr. Manhattan's actions was undeniable. The sheer scale of his power left her awestruck. Few beings in any universe could compare to his abilities.
He's practically untouchable, she thought. Even if someone destroyed his body, he'd just reform it. His existence is tied to the quantum field itself.
But Kara wasn't like most beings. She knew she could impose the concept of death upon him—a notion that even he feared.
If they ever clashed, it would be a battle like no other. Two titans on one mountain, each unwilling to back down. Yet, despite their differences, there was an unspoken respect between them.
For now, Kara turned her attention to the device before her. "Well, Jonathan, let's see what you've been cooking up. If I'm going to save this universe, I'll need to understand it first."
With a determined glint in her eye, she got to work.
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