"Let's compromise." I watch as they debate. Manhattan talks about logic. Favors peace over truth. Wants to lie to world, same as Veidt.
Daniel is breaking. Juspeczyk already broke. I can hear her sniveling. Weak.
"Jesus, he was right! All we did was fail to stop him saving Earth… Jesus!"
I don't like Veidt.
Daniel is speaking.
"We're damned if we stay quiet, Earth's damned if we don't…" Don't quit, Daniel. The world needs truth. Needs enlightenment. Not mollycoddling. "Okay. Okay, count me in. We say nothing."
Time stops. Manhattan? No. Adrenaline. Perception is warped. Any more warped, I'd compromise too.
"Joking, of course," I say aloud. They turn and look at me. They forgot I was here. They forgot that somebody always watches the Watchmen. Veidt and Manhattan are blank as they look at me. Like me. Juspeczuk doesn't care. Daniel cares. Daniel tries to persuade me to make deal.
"Rorschach?" I turn away. Daniel has quit. Why do I bother with him? "Rorschach, wait! Where are you going? This is too big to be hard-assed about! We have to compromise…"
Daniel's theory is flawed. I am not being 'hard-assed.' They are. They will lie to world to protect one man. I will tell world truth. Let them fight, let them make peace. Doesn't matter. But let them choose.
"No," I say. "Not even in the face of Armageddon." I leave the room. "Never compromise."
Nobody follows me. They are fake, have been fake for years. Daniel is only pretending to be Nite Owl. Juspeczyk is only pretending to be Silk Spectre. And Veidt, Veidt pretends to be something he never was. Only Manhattan is real. He is not human.
"Where are you going?" He asks me as I walk away through snow. He will not let me go. World will never know truth, because Manhattan does not care about world. Face is hot. Heart is racing. I will not lie to liars.
"Back to Owlship. Back to America. Evil must be punished. People must be told." I walk. Manhattan speaks.
"Rorschach. You know I can't let you do that." I do. But I will not compromise. My life is truth. I turn. A shudder runs through me, not from cold, but from raw emotion. It has been long time since I experienced feeling so strong. What would I call it? Rage? Despair? Fear? No. Something else. More. I throw my hat aside. I tug at my face. I am not Rorschach anymore, or Walter Kovacs. I am both. I am complete.
"Of course. Must protect Veidt's new Utopia. One more body amongst foundations makes little difference." Tears in my eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for? Do it."
"Rorschach…" Manhattan is staring. Pity? I won't have it.
"Do it!"
He points.
In final analysis, am wasted, but am proud of what I've done.