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ANNUAL #1

"Revelations"
Written by Gary Dreslinski
With Special Thanks to Barry Reese

MONTHS AGO
"Thank you for coming, both of you. Please, have a seat."

"I'd rather stand," the male replied, his arms folded in front of him.
His female companion shot him an amused look as she sat down.

"Whatever makes you feel more comfortable Mr. Wolverman."

"It would make me more comfortable if you government spooks didn't know
my name - If you hadn't sent your men to my gig with this 'invitation'.
What sort of trouble are we in now?"

The woman nodded, "I was wondering that myself sir." she said without a
trace of a smile, "My clearance has been limited during the last few
months, but I certainly know who you are - and what this place
represents. Is this fallout from the Freitag fiasco?*"

(*Hawk and Dove V2 1-5 - GD)

The man formerly known as "Mister Bones" smiled. It was a horrifying
smile he knew, being a living skeleton with a "death touch" there wasn't
very much that he could do that didn't come off as horrifying. But this
time he hoped that they were able to judge body language rather than go
with surface appearances. As Director of the DEO, it was something that
he had to work against, a perception that he was some sort of demon. On
the other hand, his mere appearance often did wonders where days of
working on someone through normal means would gotten someone nowhere.

"You'll be glad to know that Mr. Freitag has chosen to retire from the
National Security field." he replied. It wasn't completely true.
Freitag, after going toe to toe with Amanda Waller and her Suicide Squad, had
gotten cocky in his manipulation of Checkmate for his personal agendas.
Even a close relationship with the President hadn't been enough to keep
him from, it was said, being thrown into a pit in the middle of nowhere
and forgotten when he found himself at odds with the President's
personal liasion to the metahuman community, Sarge Steel. Bones wasn't
completely sure if that was true or not, no one really seemed to want to talk
about it. Personally, he suspected that Waller herself had played a
role in taking out her rival. Not that he would have blamed her at all.
Freitag was a nut-job from the word go. The National Security and
Intelligencia fields were much better served without his presence. "This has
nothing to do with him. Or rather, " he corrected, "Almost nothing." he
turned his empty sockets to the male, "And I quite assure you, you and
your partner have done nothing wrong. You are here as guests, nothing
more or less."

The male shook his head angrily, clearly he wasn't believing what he
was being told.

"Then leave, Dove," Bones replied, "I can talk with Hawk" he motioned to
the woman sitting in front of him, "And she can chose what information
she wants to reveal to you. I realize that you quite the history of
problems with authority figures... which I must tell you is quite ironic
considering..."

"Don't pay him any mind sir," Hawk replied, "We're more than happy to
be here to discuss things with you. I just wish that we knew what we
were here to discuss..."

"Who cares what the spook wants. He probably just wants us to join the
Suicide..." Dove started, but then stopped, "What do you mean that it's
ironic considering... if you've done any digging around in those secret
government files of yours you know who my parents are. I'm second
generation anti-YOU and damn proud of it!"

"Dove," Hawk warned, "This really isn't the time..."

Bones held up his palm, "Actually, that's one of the reasons that I
called you here. Some information has come into my possession that I think
might be of interest to you."

"I'm sure you think that you do..." Dove said defiantly. But Hawk
leaned forward, "What information?" she asked.

Bones pointed at Dove, "It seems that Mr. Wiley Wolverman's family
isn't all that it seems on the surface. His mother is of course..."

"Polly Darling." Dove replied, "Activist and Actress... I'm sure that
you've got quite the file on her. Nothing that she hasn't told me time
and time again about."

"And nothing that he has anything to be ashamed about," Hawk
interjected, "His mother is an icon. She's done a great amount of work for causes
that while I may not believe in entirely, I still respect what she has
done."

Bones nodded, "Of course," he replied, "I actually have a quite a few
of her movies on DVD."

"None of her movies have come out in DVD..." Dove answered with an edge
to his voice.

"Maybe not for people in your position," Bones said with a noticeable
smirk in his voice, "Trust me when I say that if I want a personal DVD
made of a Polly Darling film, that I have it in my collection. But
that's not the point. Mr. Wolverman's mother's record is a matter of public
record. She's done quite a bit of good in her activism. Like you Ms.
Martens," he said to Hawk, " I don't have to agree with her causes to
believe that she has done a lot of good for them. No new information has
crossed my desk in regards to her however. Your father on the other
hand..."

"My father is a patriot!" Dove said, his hands coming unfolded and
slamming down on the desk between himself and Bones, "He does what he does
for the love of his country, and the way things are supposed to be!"

"While I don't disagree with you at all on that note Mr. Wolverman,"
Bones replied calmly, "I would suggest that you calm down and take your
hands off my desk while you still have hands to move."

Wiley found himself moving his hands off the desk before he knew what
he was doing. It took a measured step back, his heel resting against the
leg of the chair that had been offered. "What information do you have
about my father?" he asked, with an edge to his calm.

"And more importantly," Hawk added, "What does any information about
Dove's father have to do with us?"

Bones nodded with respect, "Now THAT is a good question." he answered,
"But I think that I had better answer your friend first." he picked up
a large file that was resting on the side of his desk. "Jesse
Wolverman...alias..." he looked up for a moment, looking at Wiley. "Should I
even go into all of them?" he asked sarcasticly, "I'm not sure how much
time the two of you have free..."

"I know what they are." Wiley answered, throwing sarcasm of his own
back.

"All but one of them," Bones corrected, "Nihilist."

"That's not one of his names," Wiley rolled his eyes, "Its his
philosophy. Don't you spooks know anything these days?"

"Actually, it WAS his name." Bones responded, "During his days working
with CIA Black Ops."

"During his days with WHAT...," Wiley exploded, "I can't believe that
even someone in YOUR job here at spook central would be nuts enough to
make up a story about my father working for the Feds!"

Hawk looked at Bones sternly, "I trust you have documentation." she
asked.

Bones nodded, "Quite frankly I was as surprised as you..."

"Listen," Wiley responded, "I don't know what kind of little game
you're playing here..." he said, "But count this bird OUT!" Before his
partner could stop him, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind
him.

Sasha Martens, Hawk, found herself in mid-step to the door, to follow
her partner out the door in protest. Or at very least to convince him to
come back to hear what Bones had to say. Even if it was complete bull,
there was still the question of who would want to spread such
information - who would possibly benefit? She considered following him out, but
her curiousity, and her military training, got the better of her. She
turned back to the Director of the DEO with her arms folded, an
unconscious reflection of her partner. "Can I see that file?" she heard herself
ask.

Bones pushed to toward her... she sat back down in front of him, and
started to read aloud.



Wiley couldn't believe his eyes. He had stormed out of the office of
Bones in blind anger. The things that he was saying about his father...
the lies that were coming out of the Director's mouth, they were just
too insane to put up with. But as insane as they had been, what he was
now faced with was now even more insane.

He had stormed out of the office of Bones and expected to be coming out
to the left of his secretary's desk. Instead, he found himself in some
sort of store. Some sort of dusty store filled with all kinds of weird
exotic looking merchandise. More to the point, there was an overweight
man standing in front of him, smiling and stroking a cat in his hands
like something out of a bad James Bond movie. Perhaps realizing it, the
man put the cat down before he actually said anything.

"Hello Dove," the man said, "I was hoping that you would be coming to
see me sooner or later."

"Who?" Wiley managed, along with the ever popular, "Where?"

The man started his cocky smile again. Wiley wanted to deck the guy,
but somehow knew that he probably shouldn't act too impulsively until he
knew more about what was going on.

"Where isn't that important. Other than to say that this is my store.
Its wherever it needs to be. In this case, here." the man pointed to
the ground, as if he was actually answering the question, "As for WHO I
am, names have a great deal of power. Especially in places like this.
But for the lack of a better one, you may call me Barter."



The driveway sensors went off. He checked the video, wondering who was
coming up the drive. He checked his schedule. There was no one on it
for at least another two hours. Which left the options of a surprise
visitor or a surprise attack. He wasn't one to eliminate either one without
further inspection.

Colonel Mike Martens zoomed in on the license plate of the approaching
car. "Government plates," he noted. He plugged the numbers into his
computer. "Run trace," he muttered to himself as he worked. After being
under siege by the intelligence community*, he had implimented even more
strict security procedures. If the plate didn't match someone that he
knew, they were going to regret coming for a visit.

(*Hawk and Dove V2 #4-5 - GD)

His answer came back within seconds. The plate was assigned to a
diplomat with the last name of Granger. The name meant nothing to him. No
obvious connections. Still, no obvious threat either. He deactivated the
first string defensive grid, the one that the car was due to hit in a
spin of the wheel.

"Zoom in to passengers," he requested, impressing himself with his own
foresight when the system did exactly that.

"Is everything alright Mike?" his wife asked from the top stair.

"So far Ann," he replied, "Just stay low until I give the all-clear."

She sighed, "Don't you wish that we could be like normal people, and
just say hello to our visitors without worrying that they're coming to
shoot us?"

Mike chuckled, more to himself than to anyone else, "Every single day."
he responded, with a sigh of his own, "Every single day."

"Two passengers." The system noted, "Driver female. Passenger in left
hand seat male."

"Identify," Colonel Martens requested.

The system whirled for a moment as he watched the car continuing up the
drive. He wondered if they were going to hit the secondary defenses
before they were properly identified. He considered turning off the
system, and taking the risk. But considering the number of whackos that there
still were within the military and security communties that still held
grudges against him... it was better that a couple innocent people risk
running afoul with his protections than he risk exposing himself to the
danger.

"Driver: Granger. Diplomatic corps. Passenger: Hall. Federal Judge."

Mike looked at the images again, and at the read-out, as he clicked off
the secondary precautions. What did a diplomat and a federal judge have
in common - and more importantly, why were they coming to see him?

He reached over to the system and shut down the remaining checkpoints
and defensive systems along their path. There were some mysteries yet it
seemed, that were intriguing enough to risk his neck to find out their
answers.




After a few minutes, Sasha pushed the file away, not sure how to react.
"It seems that someone's done their homework here," she managed to get
out. It wasn't a case of someone doing their homework though, and they
both knew it. If even half of what was in the file was true, then Jesse
Wolverman, far from being a counter culture hero was something far
closer to its Judas. "But you still haven't answered the most important
question."

Bones nodded, "And that would be the ever popular 'why are you showing
me this' - am I correct?"

She carefully returned his nod, "I won't say the thought didn't cross
my mind."

Bones templed his fingers on the desktop. It was a move straight out of
spy novels and government conspiracy pamplets, but then he had always
wanted to be involved in such things... "I showed you this information,
more importantly, I wanted to show your partner what we had on his
father, for one important purpose - it would help you find him."

"I didn't know that he was missing."

"He went to ground a couple weeks back. No one's heard from him since
then. There are recovery teams from various alphabet agencies out
looking for him. It occured to me however, that his son might be the only one
that could find him."

"Knowing that his dad was really everything that he hates?"

"Knowing that there might be more to his father than he ever suspected.
That his father led a secret life, one that he would be able to
penetrate through the layers as he ferreted his sire out of whatever hole he
had pulled in after him."

"Then with all due respect sir, you don't know Dove that well. He
wouldn't work with you for anything... and it doesn't matter how many pages
of evidence you show him, he's never going to believe that his father
is anything but a hero to his cause."

"He's naive then?" Bones asked with interest.

Sasha shook her head, "Not naive." she replied, "Wiley's a believer. A
true believer."



"Believe what you wish," Barter found himself repeating,"But you're
here because I have information that you might find useful."

"You're the second person today to claim that," Wiley shot back, "Why
should I trust you any more than the other guy?"

Barter chuckled, "A cynic Dove. How quaint." he looked around his shop
for a moment, as if considering something of greater consequence,
"Would you believe that the information I have for you has a price attached?
That I'm not giving it to you out of some sort of noble need to help,
but rather from a bottom line that says that I give you something that
you need in exchange for something that I desire?"

"I'd be more likely to believe that than the other. People always want
something. Especially you capitalist pigs."

"Ah," Barter said with a certain delight, his finger pressed to the
side of his nose,"But you misunderstand. I do not deal with capital. I
deal in information. In promises. Call me a believer in the trade of
services... in the power of a greater collective if you would. But hardly a
capitalist. Fiancial wealth is something that has never held any allure
for me."

Wiley considered it for a moment, "What sort of information do you
have?" he asked, cautiously.

Barter smiled, "I know who created you. And more importantly - why?"

Wiley stared at him for a moment, before bursting out laughing.

Barter raised a single eyebrow, "Did I say something amusing?"

Wiley wiped a tear from his eye as he frantically nodded. Regaining as
much composure as he could muster, he turned his attention back to
Barter. "We've already met with, and dealt, with Avian*. Hawk and I already
know all about his experiments on the PREDATOR project.** So, your
information is a bit on the late side. Thanks though..."

(*Hawk and Dove V2 #2 ** Ditto - GD)

Barter stared back at him for a moment, before bursting with a loud
chuckle of his own. "You've DEALT with Avian... and you think that you
KNOW who created you, and WHY?" he let Wiley dwell on the statement for a
beat before continuing, "My dear boy, Avian was a patsy. A tool of his
betters. You heard the agenda of PREDATOR did you not?"

Wiley looked uncomfortable, "It was some sort of ultra whacko deep
government spook military complex biogenetic engineering program to create
a new breed of specialized super soldier."

Barter continued to chuckle, "Oh yes. I'm quite sure that they believed
that they were going to create some sort of bird hybird super soldier.
You truly haven't given the matter any more thought passed that have
you?"

"What more is there to think about?"

Barter rolled his eyes. Clearly the boy lacked the vision of Ms.
Granger. It was a shame that she had been eliminated from the picture.*

(*Dawn Granger, aka Dove was killed in Armageddon 2001 #2 - GD)

Still, one had to use the tools that one had access to.

"Avian was engaged in genetic research to create the ultimate soldier.
That is what you know, correct?"

Wiley nodded.

"Why a bird?" Barter asked, "Of all the possible animals that could be
spliced with human DNA, why did he choose a bird? Why, was his name
AVIAN, a clear bird reference in and of itself? Where did he go, you might
ask, between the time that he was driven out of service with the
military, and the time that he showed back up when you and your partner
gained your powers? Why did the Godwave* affect the two of you so? What
happened to Avian, you might be curious, after the explosion that blew up
his headquarters?*"

(*During the Genesis mini series **Again, Hawk and Dove V2 #2 - GD)

"I suppose that you have answers to these questions?" Wiley asked,
confused.

Barter grinned back at him, his confidence back to overflowing, "Oh yes
dear boy," he replied, "to those and oh so much more..."



Colonel Mike Martens listened to the two introduce themselves, looking
to see what they would leave out. He knew who they both were, anyone in
Washington circles, even as far outside as he was at times, had heard
of them. The question was what the two would possibly have in common,
and more importantly, what they might have in common with himself to the
point that they had hazarded a visit. He listened closely to as they
told him who they were, trying to guess from what they didn't say. He
couldn't. No fake names. No fake jobs.

He was Judge Irwin Hall, one of the most famous of the conservative
judges in town. There were some that talked about running him for a
political office, but he seemed to be quite content to stay where he was.
She was Maire Granger, a member of the US Diplomatic Corp. Everytime
there was a treaty of note signed, it was said in certain circles, she
was on the ground working on it two months before.
Quite the odd couple. He stared at them for a moment before realizing
that they had stopped talking.

"We didn't come all this way just to talk about ourselves though
Colonel," Maire smiled, "We were hoping that you might be able to help us
with a rather ... personal problem."

"Embarrassing you mean," Judge Hall muttered under his breath. Colonel
Martens caught it. He shot Hall a quizzical glance.

"Please," he said, "motioning them to the couch. I won't promise
anything, but I'm certainly willing to help if I can."

"We believe that you can," Maire responded, jumping on his vague offer,
"You might be the only one who can."

Mike leaned forward.

"What she means," Hall interrupted, "is that you happen to share a
unique 'position' with us."

"And that would be?" Mike asked, curious.

Maire smiled uneasy, "Your daughter, Sasha..."

Martens felt his stomach drop, and every nerve in his body stand on
edge. If this was some sort of blackmail attempt, it didn't matter who his
guests were, they would not be walking out in one piece.

"What of her?"

Judge Hall looked like someone had kicked him in the gut when he said,
"She's the new Hawk."

Mike tried not to show his surprise that they knew... tried not to
reveal that he knew what they were even talking about. But apparently he
didn't cover it up quickly enough.

"It's ok," Granger, "As Irwin said, you share a unique position with
us. My daughter, Dawn, was the previous Dove. His son, Hank, was your
daughter's predecessor."

"That's..." Mike struggled for a neutral word. To his knowledge, there
was no connection between their children and his daughter other than
name, but still... being the parent of a Hawk, that indeed was a special
connection, "interesting." He thought about it for a moment, allowing
it to sink in. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

Judge Hall leaned forward in his seat, "We were hoping that you might
be able to tell us..." he stopped in mid-sentence, as if losing his
will.

Maire patted his arm gently and looked back at Mike, "We were hoping
that you might be able to tell us what happened to our children."



"So, where do we start looking?"
Bones looked up from the folder with a bit of a start, "I thought you
said that Dove wouldn't be interested?"
Sasha shook her head, "What I said is that he wouldn't believe. There's
a big difference. I also said that he wouldn't work for work. Both are
true. But neither one has to stop me from believing. Or working for you
on this. And where I go..."

"So goes Dove," Bones finished.

Sasha allowed herself a slight chuckle.

"Did I say something amusing?" he asked.

Sasha stared at him for a moment, "For a split second there, only a
split second mind you - I actually thought that I had really caught you by
surprise. But you knew that all you really needed to convince was me
didn't you?"

Bones gave her the best "who me" look that a living skeleton could
give, "Then I guess that I'd better work on my poker face," he quipped, "if
you can see through it..." he allowed the obvious joke to hang.

Sasha waited a couple of beats before returning to the matter at hand,
"So Jesse Wolverman was on an investigation when he vanished."

Bones nodded without adding anything.

"But the report is rather vague as to what he was looking into."

Bones cleared his throat, "Yes, it was." he conceded, "But I happened
to call in a few favors to find out. It turns out that he was looking
into a sudden REAPPEARANCE of someone when he himself vanished from our
radar. Someone who had been reported dead a couple of years back."

Sasha leaned forward, "Who?" she asked.

Bones stared at her for a moment, wondering how much she knew of her
predecessor. "An old Flash villain by the name of the Top," he answered,
"the man who, if rumors are to be believed, helped to destroy the last
Hawk and Dove."



When Barter had asked him to sit down, Wiley's instinct had been to
decline. After all, it was easier to react on his feet. Now that Barter
had started talking however, he was glad to have something solid beneath
him.

"Avian was working for these Lords of Chaos???" he asked, confused.

Barter nodded, "A catspaw, nothing more." he replied, "There is some
doubt that he even really knew what he was doing. They were the ones who
provided him with the technical knowledge for the formula that ended
with the creation of yourself and your partner. Notice that after he
fled, he was never able to recreate it despite his best attempts. Every
attempt after that created some sort of bird monstrosity."

"But Sas... Hawk and I were the only two of his experiments that didn't
end up dying. How does that fit with these Lords of Chaos guiding his
hand?"

Barter smiled, an evil smile, "You actually think that the others died
because of the experiments? My poor boy, true, most of them were poor
fits, unworthy to house what the Lords had in mind. Others though, were
"eliminated" by the Lords of Order in an attempt to forestall their
foe's plans."

"They were...killed?"

"Of course my boy," Barter smirked, "There's a war going on don't you
know? One that stretches far back into the dawn of time itself. Some are
for chaos... some are for order... and there's still those that talk of
the coming of the Unity."

Wiley stared at him, trying to absorb what he was hearing, "And who's
side are YOU on?" he asked.

"My own of course," Barter answered, self satisfied, "The only one that
really matters. There was only supposed to be one of you of course." he
continued.

"One of us?"

"It wasn't supposed to be Hawk and Dove. Avian was only supposed to
recreate one of you in their image. Your friend just happened to be in the
right place at the wrong time. She was an oversight."

"Don't you mean ME?" Wiley asked, remembering the contempt that Avian
had for him... remembering how the mad doctor had spoken of how he had
been more of practice dummy than anything else.

Barter shook his head, "Oh no," he answered, "Avian might have THOUGHT
that his true work was on your partner, but you were the one that Chaos
had been wanting. Her parents simply brought her to the doctor at a
time when he needed the practice in his technique."

"Chaos WANTED me?" Wiley asked, nervous, "What is it that these Lords
of Chaos wanted anyway? WHAT ARE WE?"

Barter stopped for a moment, considering his words, "You were to be the
human host of the being called Kestrel... before they decided to go a
different route with letting him out onto earth in a different form.
Your bodies were conditioned to enhance his abilities on this plane beyond
anything that he had previously been able to manifest. In essence, you
were supposed to be the anti-Unity. The one who would bring about the
age of Kali Yaga. But they changed their minds following your
creation... and you just became, redundant."

"WHAT?"

"They no longer needed you, so Kestrel didn't come to Earth in your
form. You went on to live normal lives... until the Godwave hit. That was
what unleashed your altered forms. What started the release of your
true natures..."

"Our true natures?"

Barter smirked again. Wiley was mighty sick of that smirk, "You don't
think that you've even tapped the surface of what you are do you?
Flying? Strength when together? After what I told you, how can you even
consider that that's all there is?"

"What can I do then?"

"In time," Barter responded, "that will come to you in time. I
certainly don't want to be the one to spoil the surprise."


There was so much that he still wanted to ask him, but by the way that
Barter had started checking his pocket watch, Wiley suspected that his
chance to ask questions was going to be coming to an abrupt end. He
thought for a moment, trying to figure out what he wanted to know, trying
to figure out...

"Am I evil?" he asked.
"Because you were created to serve Chaos?"
"Yes"
Barter shrugged, "That remains to be seen."

"What about Hawk?" he asked.
"What about her?"
"Why is she still alive? You said implied that there had been some sort
of oversight... that she wasn't supposed to be still alive. That there
was only supposed to be one of us. How does that explain what we can do
together? How does that explain the way that we were DRAWN together?"

For a moment, Wiley thought Barter was going to avoid the question
altogether, the way that he shifted in his seat. But finally he answered,
"You want to know this do you?"

Wiley nodded.

"Very well. The oversight wasn't on the part of Order. It was on the
part of Chaos. They had neglected to consider what would happen if Order
was able to obtain one of their potential Kestrel hosts instead of just
killing them out right. They failed to think of the consequences of
letting her fall into their hands."

"And what was the consequence?" Wiley asked.

Barter stared at him for a moment, a certain sadness coming in at the
edges of his eyes. Wiley felt the world around him shift, as if he was
being transported from his spot. When his eyes cleared, he found himself
sitting in the car outside of the DEO headquarters, with Barter's
answer still ringing in his ears, "That remains to be seen."



Colonel Martens wasn't sure how to react. The pain, and sincerity on
the faces of his guests was clear. But he didn't know how to answer. "I'm
not sure that I can help you," he said finally.

"Can't or won't?" Judge Hall asked pointedly.

"Irwin..." Maire started, placing her hand on his arm.

Mike glared back at him, "Can't," he responded, "I don't know of any
connection between my daughter and her partner and your children. Even if
there was, I know that neither of them had any idea before I happened
to mention it to them, that their predecessors had even existed."

"So," Maire said saddly, "they're not part of the same whole?"

Mike looked at her confused, "I'm not sure what you mean."

Judge Hall sighed angrily, "We were let to believe, by a man who was
obviously a con artist, named Barter, that our children would be coming
back as part of a new Hawk and Dove. It's a silly idea... which is what
I said from the beginning. Its just... if there was even a chance that
I could talk to Hank again... to apolog... to set some things straight
with the boy..."

"You would move heaven and earth for that chance." Mike finished.

Both of them nodded. Maire started to sob lightly. Irwin Hall put his
arm around her.

"I'm sorry," Mike answered, "I'm sorry for your loss. And I'm sorry
that you've come all this way to hear that I can't help you. I truly wish
that I could."

Maire looked up at him, "Will you talk to them about it?" she asked,
"Will you find out if there MIGHT be something that they could tell us?"

Mike heard the desperation in her voice, and tried to imagine what it
would be like to lose her. She was a soldier true, but she was his
daughter first and foremost. "Of course," he answered, knowing that he could
do no less. "I'll also ask around, discretely of course, with my ties
in the military. There still might be some answers lingering out there,
some leads that I could help follow up on."

"Anything that you can do..." Maire said, getting up from her seat.

Judge Hall followed, "We should get going." he said calmly, "We've
taken up enough of your time."

"Nonesense." Mike countered, "I was wondering if the two of you would
like to stay for dinner. Sasha at least is due any time now... and
chances are Wiley will be with her. I'm sure that they would love to meet
you..."

Maire shook her head, "Irwin's right. We really need to get back
home... to get on with our lives."

She put her arm around Irwin Hall as they started to walk away, before
turning back to Mike, "Love them," she said, with a bitter sweet smile,
"As much as you can, for as long as you can. Let them know it."

Mike nodded, as Irwin Hall added something in a whisper. Something that
hung in the air long after his departure: "before its too late".


FOLLOW THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF SASHA AND WILEY IN THE CYBERPAGES
OF D.E.O., COMING SOON.

A SPECIAL BACK-UP FEATURE :

HUITZILOPOCHTLI, THE AZURE GODDESS
In
"Return of the Goddess"
Written by Barry Reese

"Huitzilopochtli!"

"Huitzilopochtli!"

"Huitzilopochtli!"

The chanting voices grew louder and louder as her followers raised their fists skyward. Huitzilopochtli stared down at the sacrifice before her, a young man with a thickly muscled body and a stern expression. He was tied to the altar, the ropes so tight that they drew blood. The Azure Goddess raised her ceremonial blade high, slashing downward through the man's chest. Blood sprayed from the wound.

Huitzilopochtli raised the still beating heart from his chest, holding it above her head. The blood poured over her hand and arm. "The Goddess lives! The Goddess rules over all!"

The thunderous roar of her children made the ground shake. Huitzilopochtli felt at peace, loved and feared by all.

"Are you awake, my Queen?" The whispered voice brought Azure back to the real world, snapping her out of the stupor in which she'd been occupied.

Azure stirred in her power-negating bonds and turned towards the bars of her cell. She was a captive in the Slab, a metahuman prison facility which had kept her under lock and key for almost three years. She narrowed her eyes as she saw a guard standing before her. The woman was in her early thirties, with dark skin and eyes. "You called me your Queen... Are you a true believer?"

The guard smiled, casting a glance around her. When she was sure no one was watching, she whispered, "Yes. It took many years to find you, Goddess. But the Children of the Sun have grown strong over the years... We are ready for you to lead us at last."

Azure tilted her head. "The Children of the Sun...?" The words sounded unfamiliar to her, but she saw the sincerity in the woman's voice. Sometimes, thoughts had a way of slipping away from Azure, making her very susceptible to suggestion. "Yes. My followers. I remember...."

"Good -- because I've come to free you."

"I... cannot go with you. These shackles block me from the sun. I am helpless as a mortal."

The guard shook her head. "Not anymore, my Goddess. Accept this gift from your most humble servant." She lowered a small disc to the floor, sending it rolling in through the bars. It landed at Azure's feet, its gold sheen glinting in the light. A fiery bird was emblazoned on the coin's face.

"What is this?"

"It allows you to summon your powers. It has a portion of your old power embedded in it. You need merely concentrate...."

Azure's eyes glinted. "Yesss. I feel it." A tremendous flare of light shot forth from the disc, wrapping Azure in its embrace. Her transmutation powers worked their magic, transforming the bonds into simple ropes which slid off her limbs. "Huitzilopochtli has returned!"

The would-be Goddess turned towards the wall of her cell and waved a hand. The concrete and steel gave way to sticks, falling gently to the ground. She strode outside, ignoring the blaring of alarms. "We must go. I am still coming to my full power and--" Azure turned and noticed that her would-be savior was gone. "Where?"

"Here, my Goddess." Azure whirled about, her features twisted in an angry scowl. The guard was standing outside with her now, smiling. "I will take you to your people."

"Do not play games with me, witch. Huitzilopochtli has little patience for fools."

The woman took Huitzilopochtli's hand. "My apologies. But you are right, we must be off."

Azure felt a strange tugging sensation and started to pull away.

"It is only my teleportation power, Huitzilopochtli. Have no fear."

They were gone almost instantly.

Huitzilopochtli walked through the corridors of her new home, her heart swelling with pride. The Children of the Sun numbered well over one hundred souls, each dedicated to reinstating their Goddess as the true power on Earth. Their grounds, located in the heart of the ancient Aztec Empire, was filled with pseudo-Aztec architecture and design. It felt like being transported into a long-forgotten past.

Coral, the woman who had rescued Huitzilopochtli from the Slab, walked at her side, dressed in garb befitting their surroundings. "We've chosen the first sacrifice, Azure. A volunteer from amongst our ranks."

Azure nodded. She felt good here, secure. "There will be many sacrifices before my power is restored."

"Of course."

Azure felt a stirring unease, but pushed it away. Why are my thoughts always so confused? Who was I before I saw that ancient necklace* and began life anew as Huitzilopochtli? And why do I have the feeling that this... all this... is not truly mine?

(*See Hawk & Dove (1989 series) # 2.)

The two of them stopped outside a door that was covered with elaborately carved sigils. A few acolytes moved past in the hallway, casting reverent glances at Azure. "Why have we stopped?"

"Because within this room lay all the answers you have been seeking, my Goddess."

Azure narrowed her eyes. "I seek no answers. I am a Goddess. I know all."

"Of course. Do you want to go in, nonetheless?"

Azure did not want to go in, but she hid this reaction. A Goddess did not know fear, after all. She pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The bubbling of water pumps and the smell of antiseptic chemicals assaulted her senses and she covered her mouth and noise with one hand. The room was dark, but was illuminated enough that she saw a room full of horrors.

A series of tanks lined the walls, each holding a nude being inside. Some were male, others female, but all looked similar in size and age. One of them, a well-muscled brute, was familiar to Azure. "Him! That is the false Huitzilopochtli who appeared before me*!"

(*In Hawk & Dove (1989 series) # 28.)

"So it is."

Azure started to turn, demanding to know what was the meaning of this. She never got the words out of her mouth, however. Coral slammed a heavy rod into Azure's skull, sending the woman sprawling. The Goddess started to rise, but Coral repeatedly clubbed her until Azure was still and quiet. "Sorry about that, Goddess. But if you'd been allowed to roam free here any longer, you might have become too powerful for me to handle. This way is best."

Coral summoned several acolytes, who stripped Azure of her vestments and placed her nude form in an empty tank, making sure to place a breathing mask over her face. Coral stepped up to the glass and ran a hand over its surface. "Huitzilopochtli be praised."

TO BE CONTINUED IN HAWK & DOVE # 8.

WORDS OF A FEATHER

Everyone give a nice round of applause to Gary for turning in such a great story! He managed to tie in the Mike Baron-created Hawk & Dove to the ongoing H&D mythos. Very nice work.

When I first decided to do a Hawk & Dove series, I actually considered using Sasha and Wiley -- for about five seconds. In retrospect, I'm glad I decided not to feature them -- Gary has much better plans for them than I ever could have come up with.

The back-up story presented above will tie into the ongoing H&D series beginning with issue eight. The Children of the Sun was, pre-Crisis, related to Thia of the original Greek Titans. Thia was a villain who sparred with the Titans on more than one occasion and the Children were her immortal spawn. Since their post-Crisis history is scanty at best, I've stolen their name. This new group has no connection to Thia, but they will retain their loyalty to a Sun Goddess -- in this case, Azure. Azure was an interesting villain, in my eyes -- extremely powerful, very mysterious and crazy as heck. We'll see how she does against our 'new' Hawk and Dove....

Keep in touch!

Barry