Ok, now we are getting closer to the Event, as I like to call it. Actually, it happens in here. Hm...anyway, you're probably gping to ask yourself "Why in the world would he let her do that?" Well, it's kind because he wants Maat to see what he does, and why he did it. But, I'm not going to give away too much. Any questions, justask. Enjoy!
The days following happened in a blur. Rorschach was accused of murdering an old villain, getting himself thrown in jail. It was revealed that his name was Walter Kovaks, a red headed man with lots of freckles. Maat thought he matched his voice. The world was going to hell as the Doomsday Clock rapidly approached midnight. Dr. Manhattan had left the Earth and had settled on
Mars. Laurie had started to stay at Maat and Dan's and Maat didn't mind as long as Laurie wanted her brother as much as he wanted her. One night after Laurie had moved in, there was a commotion, waking Maat up.
Walking as quietly as possible, Maat went down the hall to see Laurie doing her make-up in a tight yellow and black latex suit. It was her Silk Spectre costume. Maat rubbed her eyes, ridding them of the fog as well as she could. Her hair hung over her shoulder, further blocking her sight.
"Dan? Oh, Laurie. What's going on? It's the middle of the night."
"Hey, Maat. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Dan and I are going out." She returned to the mirror.
"Why? Is something wrong?" Maat leaned against the door jamb.
"No, we just need to do this." She headed out to meet with Dan in his lab. Maat followed her staying a little behind.
The look on Dan's face when Laurie came down the stairs was priceless. He had on his Nite Owl suit, making it a little hard to see. But, she could. His face lit up with amazement at the change in this girl, and appreciation for this girl's good looks. Well, that last one might have been because he loved her, but hey... Maat stayed on the landing and stared down at the two. Dan finally noticed her.
"What are you doing up?"
"Heard a commotion. Woke me up." She leaned on the railing.
"Oh, sorry, Sis. You should go back to bed."
"And let you have all the fun?"
"Yeah, something like that." Laurie was already in Archie, and Dan was getting ready to board him himself.
"Well, be careful you too. I don't want to have to plan your funeral." Maat was joking, but there was an underlying seriousness to it. She was deathly afraid she would loose her brother. Danny sensed this, and went up and gave her a hug.
"I would never leave you, Maatty. We'll be careful, I promise."
"I know. Go, have fun, but be safe." She let him go, and it was one of the hardest things she had ever done.
Despite her worry, Maat went into the living room and turned on the television. A rerun of some show was coming on and she quickly fell asleep on the couch. A few hours later, she woke with a start as she heard Archie come in through the old tunnel. She went downstairs to Dan's lab to see him arguing with Laurie and Dr. Manhattan standing naked right in front of Archie's stairs. Laurie took Manhattan's hand and there was a flash of blue light. They were gone when she looked back.
Rorschach was going on about something as she came down the stairs. She ran up to Dan and hugged him fiercely. He returned it with just as much vigor, glad to be home. Maat wrinkled her nose.
"Ugh. Danny, you smell like smoke and," she sniffed. "Sex. Where have you been?" It was a joke of course, but Dan's cheeks blushed a brilliant shade of red.
"We put out a fire and busted an old friend out of jail." He nodded over to Rorschach.
"Mhmm. Hello Rorschach. Would either of you like something to eat?"
"No." Rorschach grunted his answer. Dan nodded his head. "Alright."
Dan got to tinkering with Archie and throwing out ideas about what was happening. Rorschach was starting to say something, Dan firing back a pretty harsh retort. Maat sat by with her chin on her knees and watched the whole thing. After a while, they came up with an idea. A very plausible, very scary, very real idea. They decided to go try and fund a lead Rorschach had be working on.
"I'm going too." Maat piped up. She unfurled her legs, standing up.
"No." Rorschach and Dan said it at the same time.
"Yes I am. You can't stop me Dan. I'm going." She headed for Archie's stairs without any regard for her dress.
"You stubborn mule. At least go get dressed."
"Thank you Danny."
She hugged him again, running upstairs to pull on a bra and some different bottoms, an old pair of jeans. She grabbed a long black coat, which wasn't all that thick, and headed back downstairs. Maat half expected to see Archie and her brother gone, but to her surprise, they were still there. She smiled at the scene, but it quickly changed as she heard they were arguing about her going.
"Hey fellas. Ready?" She hopped into Archie and took a seat. The interior smelled of smoke from the fire that Dan and Laurie had helped with. Both men followed her into the machine. When they got to the bar that Rorschach's lead was in, she tried to get out, but Dan held her back. Rorschach jumped down from the hole in the middle of Archie, landing softly on his feet.
"Why can't I go?" Maat wailed at her brother.
"It's too dangerous. I won't have you hurt or worse killed on my watch."
"Dan, now listen-"
"No, you listen. This is dangerous. I can protect you under normal circumstances, but this is not it. Please, just do it. We'll be back soon."
As Rorschach and Dan came out of the bar, Dan was livid. He pushed a remote button and Archie automatically lowered to let them in. Maat sat in Dan's seat, but quickly jumped up when she saw the look on his face. There was such anguish, hurt, pain, and anger. So much anger. She looked to Rorschach for an answer.
"Hollis Mason murdered."
"Oh, no. Danny, I'm so sorry." She went up to him and hugged him, lending all the support she could. "I know you two were close."
"He was my idol, Maatty. He's gone." Dan hugged her back, just holding her in the least awkward position because of his suit.
"What did you find?" Maat pulled away, her face searching his to make sure he was alright.
"Janie Parker worked for Pyramid, the same company as the assassin, and Moloch. We think that Adrian's people might have the answer." Dan told her, going to sit a the controls of Archie.
"That's were we're headed now?"
"Yeah." Rorschach took his place next to Dan in the passenger seat.
Maat waited in Archie as the men searched Adrian's office. She couldn't do that to the man, but she knew it had to be done, so she didn't blame her brother. They came back, livid and astounded. Both rattled on about how this was all Adrian's doing, he was responsible. Dan set the course and headed for Antarctica. She sat in the back as the two men talked about how this had all come about. Maat listened halfheartedly
She could not believe that Adrian would do something like this. Was he really so cold? Could he be capable? No, he couldn't be. He was trying to better the world. He was a vegetarian for goodness sake! He had been arguing with those men that day at his office to try and get better fuels into the world. Why would he kill the Comedian, and all those other people?
Before she knew it, they had reached a long, white coast. Her heart raced as they neared a ledge, Dan yelling out in alarm. Apparently, Archie was freezing up.
"Do something Daniel! Pull up!" Rorschach yelled at him.
"I'm trying! Hold on to something!"
They managed to get Archie over the cliff with minor injuries to both the machine and it's passengers. After making sure everything was ok, Dan set the flame thrower to heat the engines and stop it form freezing. He pulled out a white fur cloak and swung it on. Him and Rorschach left the aircraft in a whoosh. Before they left for the tall, dark building resembling the ancient Karnak, Dan told his sister there were blankets in the hull.
"And don't leave Archie. No matter what. I want you safe. And we may need a quick getaway." He was joking with her, but she could hear the truth in the words.
"Be careful Dan. You too, Walter." She shouted to them as they left.
She went back into Archie, grabbing the blankets Dan had left for her. She shook in the cold, but withstood it. After a while, the flame thrower heated the inside of Archie, making it easier for her to keep warm. She worried about all her friends, her brother. She happened to look out one of Archie's "eyes" and saw a giant blue haze forming into a man by the building. It was Dr. Manhattan! She wrapped the blankets as well as she could around her in her thin black coat and hopped out. She would help her brother, no matter what.
The cold hit her like a brick wall. She tried to run, but the air was so cold, it burned her lungs so much that it hurt to breath. She stopped, so close to Karnak, and walked as fast as she could. When she got there, she stopped to rest for only a second. She pulled open the door to the building, and saw her brother standing there at the bottom of the stairs, Adrian in his Ozymandias suit, laying on the floor. Laurie was standing a few steps up, holding a gun. She took in the scene, no one noticing her there.
Adrian opened his hand, the creak of leather audible in the silent room. He held a bullet in the palm. Maat could barely see it form where she was, but she gasped. Everyone looked at her. Adrian took this opportunity to kick Laurie into the stairs. Dan immediately went to her side. Adrian scoffed at his "schoolboy heroics", saying the only thing he had succeeded in was failing to save the world. Maat didn't understand. What was going on? In the middle of all this, Manhattan reached through the glass pyramid of the ceiling and pushed Adrian down.
"I am disappointed in you Adrian. Very disappointed." He was shrinking now. "The world's smartest man poses as much of a threat as does the world's smartest termite." Adrian had backed up against the stairs, pulling put a triangular remote. "What is that? Another ultimate weapon?"
"You could say that." His voice held the German accent instead of the perfected American one.
A wall full of televisions turned on to the same broadcast. Maat had not noticed the wall before, but it astounded her. A few on the bottom were broken, and she could only guess it was from a fight that had happened earlier. President Nixon was on every channel.
"We are all devastated by the horrible attacks from Dr. Manhattan, but we are pulling together. I have been in constant contact with all of our leaders in the world. We have united, in order to stop this threat, as one people, not as different nations." The devastation of so many large cities was shown, as were clips from the peace agreements.
"Wha-what is going on?" Maat asked, sidling up to her brother. She dropped her blankets. She was freezing, but this was more important.
"He destroyed the world. Killed millions." Dan told her, staring at the TVs.
"To save billions." Adrian finished.
"Oh, my God." Maat put her hand over her mouth in horror.
"You see? The world is at peace now."
"Peace built on a lie." Dan yelled at him.
"But peace nonetheless." Adrian argued.
"He's right." Manhattan said softly. "We must remain silent."
"I made myself feel every death, see every innocent face I murdered or the sake of peace." Adrian was staring at the wall of televisions. Maat's heart broke for him, for the world.
There was a whole argument over the fact that the world was at peace. Rorschach hated the idea, saying not to compromise. Never compromise. The peace was based on the murders of millions of people, and it was not justified. Even Dan agreed with Adrian. Maat could not make up her mind. Rorschach was alone. He walked off to tell the world. But Dan tried to stop him. It clicked in Maat's head what would happen if Rorschach tried to leave. They would kill him.
"Rorschach, wait! Please!" Maat rushed after him into the cold. He turned to face her.
"I won't go back in there. The world needs to know, Maat."
"I know. I just wanted to tell you, you should let me cook for you sometime soon. You should have let me cook for you the last time I saw you, but you are as stubborn as I am sometimes." She was trying to give him hope, to show him a future both knew would never exist. For that, he would always love her.
"You're right. I should have." He started to walk again. Manhattan was now outside. Maat grabbed his arm.
"Wait. Can I see your face? The one under the mask?" He hesitated for a second, then pulled off his hat, and then slowly his mask. He had freckles, just like his picture. He was taller than her, but just barely. His spiky red hair messy from the mask, a beard starting to grow thickly in. Bruises and cuts from the arrest and prison were scattered around his face. " I've met you before haven't I? Or at least seen you?" She stopped to think, then it hit her. He had been at the funeral. " You were at The Comedian's funeral. You were outside with the sign." He nodded. "You look good. You should let the world see you more often, find a good girl. After you healed up of course." He laughed. It was a strange sound coming from Rorschach, deep and rumbly. She never would have thought to hear him laugh. She went onto her tip-toes, and took his head in her hands. Tears were starting to spill over in her eyes. She kissed his forehead with a gentle peck of her soft lips. " It was a pleasure to meet you." She ran off crying into the building. The walls did nothing for the cold. After a few minutes, she heard Dan howl in pain. Maat tried to stop the tears, but they had a will of their own.
Manhattan told Laurie he was leaving the galaxy. He kissed her and in a flash of blue light, was gone. Dan came rushing in, his hood pulled off, goggles gone. He went straight to Adrian tackling him into the wall of televisions, breaking even more. He punched him again, and again. "Come on." Adrian just took the hits. "Come on."
"Dan, in a world full of peace, there has to be sacrifice."
"Don't you get it? You didn't save the human race, you mutilated it! That's the joke." He left Adrian alone, setting out to get Laurie and Maat. Archie was waiting outside the doors. Maat paused, looking back at Adrian. He stood in the center of the room, shattered glass around him, alone. He bent his head, and went to stare at the television wall again.
