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Issue Number Five

May Year Two

Written by Barry Reese

"Questions and Answers, Part One"

SNAP.

The film advanced as Renata lowered the camera. Hawk and Dove were no more than forty feet away from her, but they seemed totally unaware that they were being watched. Sloppy. 'Course Hank never was good at protecting his secret i.d. anyway. A brief wave of anger mixed with her relief. Where had they been all these years? She'd proposed to Hank just prior to his disappearance... Why had he never contacted her?

While Ren continued the same routine of surveillance she'd mastered over the last week, Hawk and Dove surveyed their handiwork. Four gangmembers, none over the age of 16, lay unconscious at their feet. A few passerby stared at the two brightly garbed heroes, but none were bold enough to step forward.

"You wanna call the cops this time?" Jake Morrison, Hawk, rubbed his right shoulder. He'd been shot the night before and it was still sore, despite his recuperative abilities.

Dove was midway through a noisy yawn. "Hmm? Oh... You do it, Hawk. I just want to fly home and get to work on dinner before it's bedtime. I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, me too. We're gonna have to limit our H&D activities to the weekends, I guess. Between work and these late nights, I'm wasted."

"I feel like we're wasting all of our newlywed energy, too. We haven't made love in over a week. This is supposed to be our peak time in our marriage, right?"

Jake grinned. "Well... Maybe we can play catch-up when we get home? I'm not that tired."

Sara slipped a hand around her lover's waist and started to make a playful reply when she felt a strange twinge go through her. It felt like the old 'someone just walked over my grave' sensation, but far more intense. In her mind's eye, she saw her vision swell until she saw not just her immediate vicinity, but all around her. "We're being watched. I thought we were last night, but couldn't quite put a finger on it. Now, I've got her."

Hawk looked around wildly. "Who is it? Kestrel?"

"No. It's Ren." Dove lifted into the air, swooping quickly towards the spy, who was crouched low behind a parked buick. She hovered in the air for a moment, watching as Ren smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Mind telling me what you're up to?"

Renata stood up, her smile faltering. "Not much. Just trying to find out why my best friend and my fiance dumped me. But it's pretty clear now. You two have hooked up, huh? And you didn't want poor little Ren to be hurt?"

Dove shook her head. "Hank and I never--" Sara shook her head. It was happening again. Just like the last time when she was near Ren* -- she was remembering things that had happened to the old Dove, Dawn Granger.

(*In Hawk & Dove # 3.)

"Never what?"

Dove sighed. "Renata... This is difficult. I'm not Dawn, despite how I acted in your hospital room. Somehow... I have her memories and they overwhelmed me. I'm sorry...."

Ren shook her head. "But... You look just like her."

"Only as Dove. Your friend... I think your friend is dead."

Renata felt her lower lip tremble, but no tears came. She'd cried so many nights after Hank and Dawn had disappeared, that she had no tears left. "And... Hank?"

Ren felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned to see Hawk. The red and white clad hero scooped her into his arms and kissed her full on the lips. "Ren..." he whispered, his heart hammering in his chest.

Renata returned the kiss with fervor, overjoyed to find out that Hank, at least, was still ali--

Ren and Hawk felt themselves forced apart by Sara's strong hands. She looked at both them, the anger evident in her voice. "Back off, both of you!" To Hawk, she said "Jake, I'm not going to hold that against you because I've had trouble remembering who I was, too. But don't ever do that again." Turning to Ren, she continued "And as for you... I'm really, really sorry. I do remember you, Ren. You were a great and wonderful friend. But Hank Hall is gone. This guy is my husband, Jake."

For his part, Jake felt a strange mixture of shame and fear. He couldn't blame Sara for being a bit hot over it -- hell, he would have been a lot worse off if she'd laid a hot and heavy kiss on some guy. "This is really weird. I mean... for a second there, I thought I was that Hank guy."

Ren ran her tongue briefly over her lips, her eyes twinkling. "You've gotta have some of Hank inside there, Jake... You kissed just like him!"

"Look... it's getting late and our resident thugs are starting to wake up. Tomorrow, we'll get together for lunch. Maybe we can work all this out....."

Ren nodded, surprising both of the heroes by taking another picture. "For my scrapbook. I used to document all of Hank and Dawn's adventures. Might as well do the same for you guys."

Dove smiled. "Same old Ren."

In a realm of pure Chaos, set apart from the world of mortals :

How dare you... By reviving this experiment, you threaten us all.

It was necessary, Morilla. Since our return to this realm, we have all sensed the great Weakness. The Age of Horrors approaches... If we Lords of Chaos are to survive, we must seek new avenues of advancement.

Well spoken, S'chak. It is true that the Zero Hour event left us locked away -- and our subsequent return has been lacking in glory. But to work with Order? Never! The Unity experiment was a failure!

Only because it ended too soon! No one, not even us, could have foreseen the time paradox resulting from a future Hank Hall returning to the past! Had that not happened, Hall and Granger would have produced an heir in time.... and it would have been living proof that our eons-old war should end!

And what will our role be in this new world order, S'chak? This heavenly age in which order and chaos are one? There can be no compromise... the most recent agent of the balance, Jared Stevens, learned that at length.

We must try! You know, as do we all... that the great Lords of Chaos are dying. This reality that was recreated in the moment of Zero Hour... it is unkind to us. We are in decay.

S'chak is right. Only by creating a new Unity can both our races survive. If there is to be anything left of either of our ideals, it must be in the form of a new, amalgamated entity.

Kor... So. A Lord of Order... here, in our realm. A word of warning to you both - there are many on both sides who see this union between you as not only folly, but also dangerous. You will find many who will seek to oppose you, to destroy your pawns and make of them an example.

We don't fear them. We have made modifications to the experiment that will ensure its success. And S'chak and myself... have a deeper bond. One that cannot be broken by fools with outdated ways of thinking.

Astounding. You two really have taken on all the trapping of T'Charr and Terataya, haven't you? Just remember... the two of them had a rather tragic ending....

THE NEXT DAY

"...so these mysterious voices appear to us and give us these abilities. Since then, we've faced Major Disaster and Kestrel... lost a lot of sleep... and learned that we have the memories of Dawn Granger and Hank Hall." Sara took a bite out of a french fry, enjoying the brief break from work. It'd been a depressing morning, which wasn't unusual. Social work was not a day at the beach.

Ren couldn't help but stare at the two people seated across from her. Sara had told the truth -- outside of her heroic identity, she looked nothing like Dawn Granger. Jake, though, had some definite similarities to Hank. The bulging biceps, fashionably unkempt hair, brooding eyes... Down, girl! Ren reminded herself. "Weird. That's what happened to my pals, too. The voices turned out to be T'Charr and Terataya. They were a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos who fell in love with one another. They created Hawk & Dove to prove that Order and Chaos could work together. They died, sort of -- but ended up inside Hank and Dawn. I wonder if they died all over again when Hank and Dawn did...." Ren sniffed as the emotional rollercoaster threatened to take over again.

Jake leaned forward, resting his chin on his palm. "So they had these Lords inside them? Yeah... now that you mention it, I remember it. It's like these memories are there, but they need prodding to come to the surface. When Monarch killed Dawn, Hank gained her power and added it to his. But if he had both Chaos and Order inside him, why didn't he become Unity? That's what the experiment was all about -- bringing forth a new life-form that would belong to both sides."

"Maybe he did... and it wasn't as wonderful as T'Charr and Terataya kept thinking it was gonna be." Sara chewed her lip as she thought, a nervous habit that annoyed Jake to no end. "The real question, to me at least, is who gave us our powers, if it wasn't T'Charr and his mate? There must be another set who want to try the experiment again."

Ren shook her head. "I still can't believe that Hank would do those things. You know... the last time they fought Kestrel, Hank took the meanie into his own body. Dawn figured that since Hank was now the equivalent of a Lord of Chaos that Kestrel couldn't affect him. But maybe he did! Maybe he helped drive poor Hank over the edge!"

"Maybe. I mean, it'd definitely be worth looking into. Of course, Hank Hall is out there somewhere -- as Monarch or Extant or whatever he's become. Maybe we need to find him -- find out what connection we have to them." Jake tried to make the words sound confident, but he was trembling inside. If he had a portion of Hank Hall inside him, no matter how small, did that mean that he, too, could go insane?

"Ren -- what date did Hank & Dawn disappear?" Sara looked like a lightbult had gone off inside her head.

"August 22, three years ago exactly. Why?"

Husband and wife exchanged a sudden glance. Sara turned back to Ren. "That was right after Jake and I first met. I remember the date exactly because it was right after my birthday. We were driving to a Yellowjackets game when some drunk forced us off the road. We went tumbling down an incline and nearly died. It totalled the car. Jake and I were both really lucky and spent only a few days in the hospital, but we were both out cold for several hours. Seems odd that we'd have that accident on the same day that Dawn Granger died and Hank Hall became Monarch...."

Ren looked pensive. "What do you think it means?"

"I have no idea, but--"

Jake tapped his wife on the shoulder. "Look outside."

Sara did so, her mouth falling open in surprise. Streaking through the sky was a familiar form to anyone who watched the news -- Troia of the New Titans. "What are the Titans doing in town?"

Jake was already sliding out of the booth. "Hawk used to be a member, Sara. That means they might have answers! C'mon."

Sara cast a glance at Ren, who shrugged. "Go! Do the hero thing. I'm used to it."

"Thanks, Ren. We'll pick up the check on the way out."

"Goodie." Ren watched them go, wondering how in the heck her life got so weird.

A BRIEF TIME LATER

Donna Troy was having trouble reconciling her feelings. On the one hand, the woman flying next to her certainly looked and acted like the most recent Dove -- and Hawk, keeping a steady pace on the ground, was more than a bit reminiscent of Hank Hall. The problem was that Hank had betrayed them all, becoming the tyrant known as Monarch. His evil had climaxed in the horrible event known as Zero Hour, when he'd tried to remake the universe alongside Parallax. "The others are right up ahead. STAR Labs was nice enough to let us park the T-jet on their roof."

"Okay. Listen, if you folks are here to find out more about us, that's fine. We'd love to ask you a few questions, too."

"We'll do the best we can to answer them, Dove." Troia settled down on the rooftop, casting a glance at her companions -- Nightwing, Arsenal and Tempest. Together, they were four-fifths of the founding Titans and they had known Hank and his brother Don very well. "Here they are, guys."

Hawk appeared over the side of the rooftop, having scaled the building quickly and easily. He wasn't quite sure how he was able to move up walls, but it was a useful skill. "The gang's all here, huh?"

Arsenal stepped forward before Nightwing could catch him. He grabbed Hawk's uniform. "Is it you, Hall? Because if it is--"

"Give him a break, Roy! If it is him, let him explain." Tempest made a move to intercede, but Hawk knocked away Arsenal's grip easily.

"Don't touch me again, Harper, or I'll break your hand next time."

Arsenal blinked. "It is you... How else could you know my name?"

Hawk shook his head, anger lacing every word. "I'm not Hank Hall -- but for some damned reason I remember some of the things he did. And I remember the way all of you always treated him like a lunatic."

"The costumes and memories are a good indicator that you two have a connection to Hank and Dawn -- what is it?" Nightwing was stroking his chin, ignoring the tension between Roy Harper and Jake Morrison.

Sara answered, sensing a kinship with the handsome and brooding detective. "We were hoping the Titans might be able to help with that. We're pretty sure that our powers come from the Lords of Order and Chaos. Dawn and Hank were part of some sort of experiment -- and we're the next step."

"Hmm. If Order and Chaos is involved, that makes it a mystic issue... Garth?" Nightwing turned to the team's resident spellcaster. Once the sidekick to Aquaman, Garth had become a hero in his own right, studying under the tutelage of the mightly Atlan.

"Well... I'm not exactly Dr. Fate, but I do have some knowledge of the arcane. I'm not really sure what I can do... but I can try."

Arsenal wasn't so easily swayed, however. "Waitaminute. Shouldn't we find out who these guys are before we jump in with both feet and start helping 'em?"

Hawk bristled, but kept his anger in check. Remember -- I'm not Hank Hall, Just because they pissed him off doesn't mean I have to be angry at them. "I'm Jake Morrison, former Marine. My wife's Sara. We met three years ago, got married a few months back. Our favorite movie is 'When Harry Met Sally.' Is that enough or do you want our social security numbers, too?"

Arsenal hesitated before letting loose a grin. "Sorry, pal. Hank was an old friend and... well, the way it all went down with him and Monarch... It was tough."

"... It's okay. If I remember correctly, Hank was a difficult guy. But he liked you, despite some of your opinions."

"Can you sense anything, Garth?" Troia brushed her dark locks out of her eyes, watching as Hawk and Arsenal set aside their differences.

"Something... I definitely sense a mystic aura around them." The Atlantean youth was moving his hands through the air, as if sifting invisible sand. "Shades of Order and Chaos... and something else... something--"

A flash of blue and red suddenly flared about both Hawk and Dove. The heroes staggered back, their senses overloading. Even in their confused state, their hands reached out towards one another.

"What's happening to them?" Nightwing was at his friend's side immediately.

Garth looked stricken. "I don't know! My probing must have set something off -- I think they're going to--!"

Jake and Sara found themselves transported to a barren and rocky world. The skies were a reddish-brown, matching the terrain. Both were still in their costumes, standing hand-in-hand. "What happened?"

Jake shook his head. "I don't know. The Titans looked as confused as us...."

"That's because they don't have a clue. They never have."

Hawk and Dove whirled about, staring with open-mouthed horror at the scene before them.

A gnarled tree blotted out the horizon, the ripped and torn costume of Dove nailed to its side. Sitting before the tree, in a throne that rose up out of the ground itself, was a red-and-black garbed man. His aura was one of madness, and evil.

"Oh, God... It's him," Jake hissed.

Dawn's eyes went wide with alarm. "Hank?"

The man rose and spread his arms wide. Lightning slashed across the sky, leaving a jagged scar. "No. Not Hank. EXTANT. Welcome to my nightmare."

Coming up in Hawk & Dove # 6 : "Questions and Answers, Part Two," Sara and Jake are desperate for answers, but they may not like what they discover when the duo meets up with Hank Hall, aka Extant! The truth will be revealed!

WORDS OF A FEATHER

S'chak and Kor were too busy appearing in the above story to answer mail this issue. Fear not, however, they will return next issue with their usual blend of spite and love. Next issue will explain the Hank/Dawn/Jake/Sara connection in a way that no one's expecting, I guarantee.

From Ralph Angelo :

While I may have wished to see Hank Hall return, and I definitely think it's easy enough to do (Extant could be another universes Hank Hall, who left ours in limbo, or a mystic shade of Hank Halls evil side , while the real, complete Hank is lost in a doppleganger world he doesn't even realize is not his own) I did enjoy the new Hawk and Dove very much. Though Dove DID got annoying to me pretty quickly. The story was typical Barry Reese, meaning great read, great story length,and leaves you wanting more.

Thanks, Ralph! As I said in the lettercolumn to issue one, my original idea was to revive both Hank Hall and Dawn Granger. When Clay mentioned how difficult that would be (in terms of its effect across the Faux-DC universe), I thought about it and decided I'd take a different tack. I think it's worked out very well. Sorry to hear that Dove annoyed you -- I've heard that Hawk annoys some, as well. Hopefully, both characters are flawed by enjoyable overall.

From Gary Dreslinski :

S'chak and Kor,

Once again, your minions have managed to entertain me with their adventures. Truly I wish that the speck that is Kestrel would not have been defeated, but rather had turned Hawk and embarked on Kali Yaga upon Earth - but we of the Dreslinski understand that these things take time. We shall wait for that day. Until then we shall watch with interest in the growing subplot with Ren and who she believes to be her old friends. We shall also watch for the return of Keos, for any servant of the Laughing Dancers can not be all bad. We are not sure why you chose to respond to the one called Skorupa. Our guess is that it was something Kor decided so as to not make him feel his inferior status. Such sympathy Kor will have no place in the coming age. We look forward to your appearance in the next issue and hope that this will mean that your pawn the Reese will understand his place in your plan and rename the series "S'chak and Kor" to better fit your glory. Those of the Titan should prove interesting to us as well.

S'chak and Kor were very pleased that the Dreslinski once again sent in a letter. They find him very amusing. As for Hawk going over to the side of Kestrel, it probably won't happen anytime soon. As long as he has Sara around, he should be able to keep centered and not go nutso like the last Hawk. As for me understanding my place in the great plan, have no fear. I am but a lowly minion.

   From Mike Hintze :

Barry, you've done it again.
    
Finally, Hawk and Dove written as they were meant to be! Ever since
the bastardization that DC called Armageddon 2001 (which Dan Jurgens
should be shot for, IMHO) I've wanted a Hawk and Dove return, but only
if done right. That guitar player/whatthehellwasthat miniseries last
year just wasn't what Hawk and Dove should have been. This is. A
married couple already polar opposites, yet balancing forces for each
other before Order/Chaos even came into the picture, is fantastic. I
really identify with the characters, and even more with their
marriage, having become a recent newlywed myself in recent months. The
right mix of personal interaction and  all-out action has been found
here, and the pacing just keeps me wanting more. Keos is a very
intriguing character, and I hope we'll see more of him in the future,
despite his current state (he reminds me alot of Mr. Sinister from the
X-Men). Renata returning from the original H&D miniseries is a
masterstroke! Maybe we'll see some appearances of Hank Hall's and Dawn
Granger's families? I personally can't wait to see the Titans next
issue and their take on the new status quo. I can really see these two
becoming a major force in the DCU...(JLA, perhaps? They have my vote!)
And most interesting of all isn't even the storyline, but the letter
column: A child, you say? Damn, this rocks! Finally an Order/Chaos
story that makes sense and has repercussions. Well done, Barry. Hawk
and Dove is in my top 5 FDC titles to read.

Well thanks very much! I'm glad that you're enjoying the series so much, Mike. I think it should be pretty obvious that I have a lot of love for the Hank and Dawn versions of the characters -- after next issue, in fact, I hope people will realize that the first six issues of this series are kind of a fond farewell to the old series. Once you find out the truth behind the big connection, it'll all make sense (keeping my fingers crossed). As for Hawk and Dove appearing elsewhere in the FDC Universe, I'd be all for it! Start pestering the JLA or Titans writers now!

Barry

Write to S'chak and Kor.