A massive wall of television screens broadcasted the world's major channels. Back in the eighties, there weren't that many. Sitting on his throne, Ozymandias felt a surge of pride, as if the whole world was within his grasp. He almost burst into laughter from the thrill of it—but held back. The world was still trapped in the shadow of the Cold War. His plan wasn't finished yet.
A narcissist. A man with boundless confidence in his own intelligence. A cunning manipulator who exploited others' weaknesses. People like him were usually villains, yet Ozymandias saw himself as a superhero—one devoted to world peace.
His plan was to flip the truth. To make Dr. Manhattan the enemy of humanity. To unite the world against a common threat.
And to achieve that goal, Ozymandias was preparing to detonate nuclear bombs in six major cities. He wanted the entire world to believe Dr. Manhattan had gone insane and become the enemy of mankind.
To pull this off, he specially developed superluminal particles to interfere with Dr. Manhattan's precognition—tricking him into thinking nuclear war was an inevitable future.
Dr. Manhattan believed his perception of time had been disrupted by particle backflow from a future nuclear explosion, which reactivated his frozen fundamental particles, making him unable to see the future. So, he assumed that nuclear war was coming.
Everything was going exactly as planned. Just like Ozymandias had envisioned. He was the smartest human alive—the mastermind hiding behind the curtain.
To prove his genius, Ozymandias had also invested a fortune into creating a new species through genetic engineering—a rather adorable lynx. It was clear he fancied himself a god of the new world.
Meow~
"What is it?" Ozymandias noticed one of the screens flicker. The figure of an old friend appeared. "Rorschach? And someone new? His apprentice? Not bad taste."
Kaitou Kid's outfit was undeniably stylish for the mid-eighties. Ozymandias gave him a second glance. He knew full well that Rorschach would never take on a student. No matter who they were, now that they'd found this place, they clearly knew everything. That meant there was no way he could let them leave.
"Adrian!!" Rorschach shouted his real name in fury, showing just how angry he was.
But Ozymandias wasn't just smart—he was physically far stronger than Rorschach. He ducked Rorschach's punch, spun his throne, and lashed out with both legs—one kick to the lower back, another to the spine. "Rorschach, you haven't changed. Still a brute."
Liu A'dou only needed to watch a single exchange to understand both men were masters of hand-to-hand combat. Their strikes sliced the air with audible whooshes. They hit hard—especially Ozymandias. His kicks packed serious power.
"Gentlemen, welcome!" Ozymandias still kept his composure.
Rorschach got back up. The ink on his mask swirled nonstop. "I know everything."
"Then there's nothing more to say," Ozymandias replied calmly as he slowly stood. "Perhaps you shouldn't have come."
"You killed the Comedian," Rorschach growled, throwing another punch.
Ozymandias was faster. He dodged and struck back, landing a blow to Rorschach's face. "Let him rest in peace. He was the first to understand. The President sent him to monitor us, to make sure the Watchmen didn't cause trouble after disbanding. When he figured out what I was doing, he went crying to his mortal enemy. What a waste of that tough-guy image."
"So you killed him to shut him up? Maybe he never even imagined his old teammate would betray him. He never planned to expose you. If he had, he would've come to us for help, not his greatest enemy. You're the one who made him see what it meant to be a fallen hero—to watch a comrade become a monster."
Rorschach launched another attack, but Ozymandias was too fast. Before Rorschach could throw a punch, he was already kicked. Forced on the defensive, he was knocked away again.
Looking down at him, Ozymandias declared shamelessly, "Yes, I killed him. Then I handled Jon. That was harder than killing the Comedian. I spent two billion developing superluminal particles to block Jon's vision of the future."
"You manipulated his mind, made him choose to leave Earth," Rorschach gritted his teeth and got back on his feet. "You despicable bastard."
"Heh, maybe," Ozymandias paced back and forth. "I've known Jon for a long time. I know he can't escape his emotional struggles. Even though he seems indifferent to everything, his own emotions still control him. His subtle facial expressions might fool others, but to me, they're as obvious as a barometer…" Ozymandias rambled, almost as though forcing a teammate to build houses on Mars was some kind of noble act. "In the eyes of the world, he's invincible. But to me, he's not unbeatable."
"With just a few props, a clever setup, and the right moment, I could make Jon believe he caused his loved one to get cancer. He would suffer an emotional shock, lose his composure, and eventually leave Earth. I know Jon. He thinks he's perfect. He could never accept the fact that he irradiated someone and caused their cancer. That's an unforgivable weakness—no, a flaw."
"Adrian?!" Rorschach could hardly believe it. His old teammate was systematically betraying the Watchmen. "You even hired an idiot assassin to create the illusion that you were under attack."
"Rorschach, Mr. Jess wasn't an idiot assassin. He died for a noble cause," Ozymandias reasoned, always with justification. "After he completed the assassination ruse, I personally gave him a cyanide capsule. He gave his life for me."
Liu A'dou stood frozen, astonished. How could anyone be this shameless?!
Then Ozymandias added, "And you, Rorschach, with your chaotic, paranoid, vigilante justice. All it takes is a little manipulation. Before you meet with your informants, I'll have them killed. Naturally, the police will pin the murders on you. As long as you're in prison, I can act more freely. I can't stand your petty little sense of justice anymore."
Rorschach moved, speaking in a low voice. "Sorry to disappoint you, but my 'petty little justice' has already caught you."
In an instant, Rorschach and Ozymandias clashed again. Rorschach pushed his speed to the limit, his fists a whirlwind. But Ozymandias was able to predict his every move, knowing exactly how Rorschach would attack. He'd studied all his former teammates and trained himself to be stronger than any of the other normal members of the Watchmen. He knew that the remnants of the Watchmen wouldn't make it easy for him to achieve his great and noble goal. They wouldn't understand him, because they were mere ordinary, insignificant humans with nothing special to them.
"Ah!" Ozymandias landed a heavy blow, sending Rorschach's mask's ink splattering together, leaving Rorschach writhing on the ground like an unbalanced weeble.
"We were supposed to be heroes for the people, working for the greater good," Rorschach spat, blood filling his mouth.
"That's exactly what I'm doing," Ozymandias responded calmly.
"Nuclear war? Extinction of humanity?" Rorschach scoffed. "Ridiculous."
Ozymandias wasn't surprised. He knew this would happen. "I'm making a partial sacrifice. Nuclear explosions in key global cities: New York, London, Paris, Beijing, Hong Kong, Moscow. Once these cities are gone, the world will know that it was Dr. Manhattan who orchestrated this. It will be Jon, with his god-like powers, punishing humanity for the Cold War."
"Jon would never do that!" Rorschach shouted. He knew Dr. Manhattan wouldn't do such a thing. Despite his indifference, Jon wouldn't just slaughter humanity for no reason.
Ozymandias smiled. "But only we know the truth. My energy project is nearly complete. In recent years, Jon has been helping me. He thought I was going to use this energy to open an energy company. But I'm going to use it for a far greater goal—world peace."
Standing in the center of a pyramid-shaped room, with ancient reliefs behind him, Ozymandias spread his arms wide. His voice remained calm as he described his plan—one that would cost the blood of old comrades and countless lives. It was a grand scheme that sent chills down the spine. This was the moment the world would be shaped by Ozymandias. He was creating history.
Rorschach had no ability to defeat Ozymandias. Unable to stop the conspiracy, he collapsed helplessly onto the floor.
Clap, clap, clap! Liu A'dou clapped his hands and shook his head with a mocking grin. He couldn't take it anymore. How could there be someone so shameless as Ozymandias in this world? It was truly sickening.