"The Moments Between"
TEAR ASUNDER
Part II
Issue 17
Written by Gary Dreslinski
Edited by Alvaro Ibáñez

"Wha... What's going on?"

"She's still in there."

"How long has it been?"

"You've been asleep for the last couple of hours. We didn't want to wake you."

"Has... has there been any signs of improvement?"

Philip Jarvert, the Swordsman, shook his head. There were many things different between his native reality and the one he had found himself thrust into. Tragedy though was multi-universal. The Powers That Be had the same twisted sense of humor everywhere, taking the greatest and most noble beings and dragging them through the cosmic wringer.

He stared down at the face of his friend Dane Whitman, the Black Knight. He looked like a man who had found peace. Philip allowed the idea of leaving him to be with his God to take the bypass rather than the direct route between his teeth. He had learned long ago, and in a far different place that such sentiments were not always appreciated, no matter how appropriate.

He thought back to the moment he had found Dane... or rather when he had heard Karla Whitman scream out as if she was being torn to bits. He and Magdalene had ran as fast as they could, following it back to the source, ready for anything. Anything - but what they found.

Karla was on one knee, supporting Dane's head in her lap. Tears were streaking her pale skin and fogging up her glasses. She knelt holding onto Dane like a lifeline... and continuing to scream in a single horrifying note.

"What happened?" Magdalene was able to ask. Philip's eyes were scanning the area, searching for the likely retreat of Dane's attacker.

Karla did not reply with anything but a cry of anguish.

Philip gave Karla his most supportive smile, "I'm sure everything will be ok," he reassured.

She allowed her head to make the nodding motion, still holding Dane's hand tightly in her own.

When his eyes opened, he was someplace different. It was a relief really, to see that the pits of Hell weren't opening up in front of him.

He had placed his life in the hands of his Maker, and had been judged worthy. He looked around for the gatekeeper, for Saint Peter. But he too was nowhere to be seen.

"Neither Heaven nor Hell" the thought occured to him, "It is Limbo for such as I."

He thought back to his wasted years with a sigh. He had done what he had done... if God could not grant him Heaven for it, he was fortunate for a kindly God that had granted him Limbo instead.

"Javert?" a voice asked from the mist.

"It is I," he answered.

"I was hoping that I would have the chance to make your acquaitance Inspector. Your exploits are somewhat legendary around here."

"Nothing I did is worthy of note good sir. The law of God and Man was my guide. Nothing more nor less."

"Neverthelesss, you are a person of note."

"Has my soul been recommended to this Limbo?"

The man smiled, "You might say that," he replied, "Better though to say that it was spirited here."

"Spirited you say?"

"Oh yes. Snatched from the path and brought to a far more useful end."

"Who defies the will of God?"

The man's smile turned into a sneer, "Not the will of God, but rather of a Man. It was not God's will that your life end, but a Man's."

Javier hanged his head, "I did what I thought best."

"Not you good sir... not you in the slightest. You are but another sinner in the hands of a far more angry God. No, not an angry God - but a Mad One."

"God is God. Be he Mad, or sullen. God's will be done."

"I quite agree," the man insisted, "But the Man who was your God felt differently. He felt that your life was in vain, so he ended it. He felt that you were in fact the villain."

"And you saying that I am not?"

"Of course you're not. You are simply a man of the law. You served a greater purpose. Now, you have been given a chance to serve an even greater one."

"Against this Man you claim was my God?"

"He is long dead, having been judged by his own God. No, you have been given the chance to assist in hunting down another that lives outside the laws of the world - another who thinks his actions are above morality, beyond ethics."

"And what reason do I have to do this for you?"

"No reason at all my good Inspector," the man who played savior answered, "Other than the chance to win. To get your man, and to see him put to justice. No sob stories manufactured to tug at the heartstrings, created by the same Man who brought you into fame and then into ruin by the way. No more games. Just a straight forward chance to set things aright."

Javert found himself nodding with the man's words. "And who is it that I must bring to justice? What is the nature of his crime?"

"Nothing less than a murder that transcends your considerable understanding. He has destroyed multiple universes and threatens to continue his work."

"Multiple Universes? What sort of garble are you speaking?"

"Think of the population of Paris. Then imagine that of the whole world. Now imagine that there are many other worlds out there, each with their own people, their own customs - their own lives. Now, picture that there are more than one of each of every one of these."

"I do not understand."

"You really don't have to comprehend anything more than the fact that this man killed all of those people. He destroyed everything that was good, and right, and just. He broke the law."

"And so you required a man of the law?"

"To hunt him down, yes."

"But if he has killed so many people - what good can I alone do against him?"

"More than you know Inspector. More than you know."

"Who is this man, and where should I begin my search?"

The man smiled as he handed Javert what appeared to be a color representation of the villain in question, "His name is Dane Whitman and his last known residence was in London."

The shadow watched the exchange between the Inspector and the representive.

"Not bad." Moriarty said briskly as he stepped from the darkness. "I almost believed you myself."

Corben Whitman sneered, "No you didn't old friend, you were never quite that naive."

"True. But that's one of the nice things about the good Inspector."

"Oh yes, once he believes that he's on the side of angels, nothing will stop him from his duty."

"A nice, fitting end to your ancestor then?"

"Of course not," Corben snickered, "That's the beauty of the plan."

Moriarty thought for a moment before returning the grin, "Ah, yes, quite satisfactory indeed."

"Son of a..."

"What happened!??!" Karla exclaimed, shaken out of her thoughts by the sudden outburst.

She glanced down to the foot of Dane's bed, where the woman with the single frolock of neon orange sat. "The idiot kicked me out. I'm beginning to think that he WANTS to be left a vegetable."

"Dane isn't in his right mind," Karla replied defensively, "You told us that when you first came here, that there was something interfering with his thought process."

"Yes - the Wall in his mind. The sooner we get passed that, the sooner I can bring him back into the world of the semi-living. But he doesn't WANT to get passed the wall. He just goes from one distraction to another, one bit of drama to the next, never really resolving ANYTHING, let alone the major issue."

"Sounds like a lot of people," Karla countered, "Why not force him down that path?"

"I don't force people to do anything," Tangerine replied, her eyes wild, "That's not how I use my power, any more."

"Fine, then why not just 'nudge' him a little."

"I've been trying. But the wall itself is pretty damn subtle. I'd love to get my hands around the neck of the bitch that concocted it. She has one of those minds that I would love to dissect."

Karla jumped, "What makes you think it was a woman?"

"Because one of the things we were able to get was that he was going to be a father. That usually implies a woman."

"But Dane... well, he's not been much of a social butterfly of late. I would think that I would have known if he had been... with anyone."

"Yes," Tangerine mused, "You would think that. Which means that it might prove useful to poke through your mind as well, to see if there are any similar walls there... or at least check for misdirects. It might give us a clue as to how to get through Dane's block."

"So, you think whoever is pregnant with Dane's child is the one that did this to him? Why can't the two be unrelated?"

"They can. But then the person who did it had some sort of stake in making his conscious mind forget that he's a father. They didn't do a very good job on wiping that bit though. Either that, or it was something that couldn't completely be wiped. Some men are like that. They just fixate on the passing on of their genes, while forgetting that there is even a woman involved in the process."

Karla blushed slightly, "Dane isn't like that."

Tangerine gave a sympathic smile, "He's a man," she replied, "Which means that like it or not, there's at least a little part of him that thinks exactly like that. The fact that whoever put the barrier up in his mind didn't pay enough attention to that detail is another clue as to the fact that the assailant was a woman. Add to it the fact that this episode was somehow triggered by a buildup of magical forces and time travel - I wouldn't be too surprised to find that she was somehow involved with those things as well."

"That's an awful lot of guesswork isn't it?"

Tangerine shrugged, "It's part of the job, Intuition, guess work - as long as the job gets done at the end of the day, isn't that all that really matters?"

"I'm telling you, he can't see a thing."

"I don't know, it just doesn't seem right somehow."

"Listen, you said you wanted to do this. If you don't, I can find

"Please don't say that. It makes me feel, well, cheap. Like the only reason you asked me in the first place was that I was handy. I thought you liked me."

"I do baby. I do," The male nurse insisted, "But I'm a busy guy and I need to know that I'm getting the best. Are you the best?"

She smiled, "I didn't get to be head of the department on my looks alone. I can give as well as I receive."

"We'll see about that," he smirked as he pushed open the door to the coma patient's room.

The chess board dropped out of his hand as the snarling green creature in the room turned toward him.

"Who are you? What do you think you're doing here?"

The creature snarled in reply, and drew back, its pure black eyes drawing tight as if analyzing the situation.

Liz drew herself up and took a step forward purposefully, "Call security" she whispered.

The nurse nodded and took a step backward into the hall before tearing off into a run.

"Listen." Liz said calmly, "We can help you, if we know what the problem is. What do you need? Why are you in this man's room?"

The creature stared at her for a moment in confusion. Slowly, her snarl faded.

"Help?" the creature asked.

Liz nodded, "What do you need? Why are you here?"

"Dane?" the creature hissed its query, jabbing its claws at the slumbering man in the bed.

Liz took another step forward to get a better view of the man's chart.

The creature backed away.

"His name is Sean Dolan." Liz revealed, "Not Dane."

"Dane" the creature insisted.

"Sean," Liz countered.

"Where Dane?"

"I don't know."

The creature hissed in frustration and lunged forward.

Liz screamed as she was knocked to the floor. The creature pushed passed her and into hospital, howling the word "Dane".

Karla absently pushed the wide framed glasses back onto the bridge of her nose.

"I think it might be better for us to have some time alone." Tangerine had said, but Karla pretended not to hear.

"I said..."

Karla turned her attention back to the matter at hand, "I know what you said, but Dane needs me at his side."

"You mean that you need to be at his side. But it's hardly a practical use of resources. For instance, you could be tracking down woman Dane's associated with in the past with mental powers."

"You mean like you."

Tangerine started to reply, but stopped suddenly, "In all truth, that idea had not occured to me. I could very well be a suspect, but only if I had mind wiped myself in the process, which is a rather delicate operation. However, I doubt that I would have allowed myself to come here to help had that been the case. Add that to the fact that I am not pregnant, and I think there is a reasonable argument for the idea that I am not a viable suspect."

"Viable or not, you still fit the criteria. Your viability might be a red herring."

"So might this argument Karla." Tangerine smirked, "You may be clever enough to distract some, but I'm a bloodhound. We don't lose the trail."

"I'm not trying to change the subject."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"I'm... not." she said, feeling her cheeks flush, "Perhaps a little bit. I think I should stay here with Dane though. Would you believe that we need each other?"

"I believe that you believe that." Tangerine responded calmly, "Dane's a big boy though, a Crusader, an Avenger. I think he can handle himself fine. Meanwhile, there are things that can be done that might actually be a help to him."

"I'm... afraid..."

"That much is apparent. He's special. You don't want to lose him. Has it occured to you that the fact that you're here worrying about him means that nothing is going to happen to him?"

"Excuse me?"

"He's your ancestor, so you can't exist without him."

"There are ways... even this primitive society has the technology to produce offspring without living parents. Let's just say that technology improves in the the gap between now and 2099. Plus, there is the a possible child in this mix. You said it yourself."

Tangerine nodded, "Good, you were listening. Honestly, I was hoping for your lack in that department. But it at least it gives us a point of departure. I need to go back into Dane's mind now. I've wasted enough time talking with you. What Dane needs is action. Mine - Yours. He's not going to get anything out of love and support or any other puppy dog ideas you might have running around in your head. He doesn't need an anchor, he has more than enough of them pulling him in every direction you can imagine. What he needs is a buffer to deal with the things he can't right now. To keep the order."

"I'll ask Philip if he would be willing..."

"He doesn't need a Swordsman Karla. He needs the Black Knight. He needs you. Will you be there for him?"

Karla bit her lip, allowing her mind to grasp the request.

"How can you be sure of that? What if he needs me here?"

"Then I'll call for you again. The Black Knight isn't just another costume, its a calling. In order for Dane to get better, he needs to call on what he is. He needs to return that call again. But until he can... he needs someone to make the connection for him."

Karla didn't reply.

"The question is: Are you up for it?"

Karla Whitman, descendant of Dane Whitman and bearer of the mantle of the Black Knight came to her feet, the mocking tones of Dr. Doom still fresh in her ears.

She spun on her heel, and without a word exited the room.

And entered history.

NEXT: Dane fights for his existence while Karla truly begins hers.