Moments before her death Todd sits in her apartment, waiting for Veidt to call or Rorschach to appear.
It is only Marty who shows, with a pizza and a friendly smile.
Though unexpected he is the better of the three. With Marty she can relax. She doesn't have to contemplate the dark side of humanity or strive to be perfect.
He allows her to feel peace and for that she is grateful.
"Thanks for being here Marty."
He grins.
"Anytime kiddo."
They are the same age. But she doesn't point out his error. She kisses him, impulsively.
The man she thought she loved has abandoned her to fortress in the snow.
Marty has not.
Marty is here, imperfect lovable Marty.
More human than super human.
The one she wants more than perfection itself.
He kisses her back, their first and final kiss before oblivion.
Rorschach stands in the snow of Antarctica. He has failed to prevent Veidt's atrocity. Todd has died under his watch, just like Blair before her.
Couldn't save. Must avenge. Must bring the world truth.
Manhattan won't let him pass.
Fate very clear and he will meet it bravely.
"Do it!" he screams at the indestructible man.
Manhattan raises his hand and obliges.
Moment before disintegration, before death.
Time has stopped.
The world around him is white, but it's not Antarctica.
There is no cold.
No sound. The silence is thunderous.
Manhattan is gone.
Two stand in his place, a woman with a girl in her arms.
Dressed in white.
He knows them. The two Roche girls.
Are they conjurations of his own mind, or is Manhattan the architect of this vision?
Are they angels?
In a beat, they are with him, close to him.
Blair Roche, undigested, unburned, reconstructed to the moment where a photograph captured her as a happy child.
Holding her, Todd Roche looks like her mother or sister.
They are smiling at him. Same smile.
They are beautiful, so achingly beautiful.
He's crying. He was crying before but these are new tears.
Blair reaches up with her small hands and wipes them away.
She puts her arms around his neck.
He's undeserving of her tenderness.
I couldn't save you. I couldn't save you. I couldn't save you.
She seems to hear him and holds him tighter.
"She understands," says Todd, "You avenged her. That is enough."
Enough? Is it?
He's about to die because he wasn't strong enough to get past a God.
Not strong enough to make it back to New World and keep fighting.
Never compromise. Evil must be punished.
Enough?
"You've done enough Walter," Todd says.
She calls him Walter.
Walter back from a long sleep.
Not dead, not yet.
Rorschach can't die. Rorschach isn't human.
Rorschach is a Fury, Nemesis.
Rorschach is unending.
Walter is temporary.
Walter is tired.
Walter is ready.
"We'll stay with you," Todd says, laying her head against his chest.
As they hold him, he's dimly aware that they have no heartbeat.
He can feel his heartbeat, he can feel his heart.
It's tingling.
His whole body is tingling.
At a cellular level, his body is breaking apart.
It's about to end.
He wraps his arms around them.
Holds them tight. Not alone.
He closes his eyes, content in their embrace, to let death come.
End.