Templar

THE GATEFOLD : Chloe Boudreaux was raised by the secret sect known as the Knights Templar. Trained in both the secret knowledge of the world's history and in the deadliest forms of martial arts known to man, she grew up to be a beautiful but lonely woman. Falling in love with Jean-Paul "Frenchie" DuChamp, Chloe learned that he was the man she had been trained to defend -- the latest member of the Bloodline Agenda. Operating as the superheroine Templar, she fought alongside Moon Knight and Jean-Paul to defeat the machinations of the evil Seth the Immortal, though much of the Knights Templar organization was destroyed. Electing to remain in America, Chloe resumed her love affair with Jean-Paul. In battle with the villain Nightshadow, however, she was left for dead at the feet of a statue dedicated to Khonshu, Egyptian God of Vengeance. Resurrected from the dead, she has become the latest Fist of Khonshu. Operating as Moon Knight for a time, Chloe has recently turned the identity back over to Marc Spector.

Important Note : This issue picks up from Moon Knight # 68 and contains references to Defenders # 195-201 & Kree Civil War # 6-7. Reading those issues first will enhance your enjoyment of this story. Since all the events depicted in Defenders and KCW take place over a relatively short period of time, they will be dealt with here.

RECENTLY : Returning to America after her battle with Crimson, Chloe helped re-form Moon Knight's Shadow Cabinet. She was then kidnapped by the enigmatic timelord known as Halcyon and placed in the company of Janine De Loup and the Devil-Slayer....

Chloe Boudreaux was only nine years old, but her lithe form was already hardened by years of training. Since her father had abandoned her to the mysterious organization known as the Templars, she had thrown herself into her task. She had mastered nearly every known fighting style by the time she was eight, and the last year had begun to focus more and more on her mental skills.

"Cleanse your mind of all thoughts, but do not force them aside. Rather, picture your mind as a gentle pool of water. The wind may stir the water or objects may fall on its surface and break its placidity, but in time the ripples die away...."

Her instructor's voice droned on, but Chloe was barely listening to him. At times like this, she rarely meditated in the traditional sense. She did block out all else, but her mind was anything but calm.

In her mental landscape, she was examining ever little detail she could remember about her mother. Her memories of her were scant and mostly just half-remembered sensations and emotions. But she remembered that her father had told her that her mother wasn't a Templar and, thus, had to be left behind when he'd returned to the Order's ranks. He hadn't said that she was dead, though -- and the thought that somewhere out there her mother still lived was enough to entice a young girl's daydreams. What was she like? Was she pretty -- does she look like me or do my features come from my father? Does she know about the Templars? Is she looking for me? If I went to her, what would my life be like?

A thousand questions came one after another. Sometimes, like children do, she'd create storylines that answered each of them. Her mother was beautiful -- a model who had swept her father off his feet when he'd rescued her from some criminal mastermind. And she was intelligent, smarter than most of the men who trailed after her, each hoping to win her favor. And she was kind. And, most of all, she was sad -- for she had spent every waking hour of the last few years looking for her beloved daughter. She had almost found her, too -- and she'd be coming for Chloe any day now! And...

"You still live in the past. Of course, the same could be said of the organization that raised you." The man's gentle voice cut through the haze of memory, bringing Chloe back to the present day. It took a few seconds for her to realize that she wasn't 9 years old anymore -- and her mother wasn't coming for her. Ever.

Chloe Boudreaux, thirty years old, stood before the timelord known as Halcyon. He was an elderly man dressed in a brown suit, his eyes showing a mischievious personality. Chloe's voice was cold and tinged with threat as she said, "How dare you. You took me back there, didn't you?" She glanced around the bare room. "Where are Eric and Janine*?"

(*This scene is set immediately following the Chloe/Halcyon scene presented in Defenders # 195.)

"Here, though they're in a slightly different timeframe from you. Your mind can't handle the dichotomy of being here and there at the same time, so you choose not to see their out-of-phase bodies. Understand?"

Halcyon smiled softly, as if he was genuinely amused by having to explain things. Chloe got the feeling that he was almost a lonely old man, pleased to have company once more. "You'll understand in time."

Halcyon crossed his arms and regarded her. They were still in the room where he'd first explained himself to the three time-displaced heroes, but it now felt cavernous as their voices echoed slowly. "Did you ever find her?"

Chloe's face took on a thoughtful look. "I tried... but the answers I found weren't the ones I wanted. After my father took me away from her, she moved to the United States and got a job as a dance instructor in Boston. Two years after that, she went out to buy groceries and never came back. Her care was found abandoned by the side of the road, keys still in the ignition. There was blood on the driver's seat and it matched her bloodtype. Her body was never found."

Halcyon looked sympathetic and Chloe found herself wondering, for a moment, if he did truly feel pity for her. "But the Order became your surrogate parents, didn't they? They raised you, gave you your values...."

"The Order used me. I think a lot of the work they do is necessary and valuable, but I don't agree with all of their methods."

"I see... and later on, you turned to Khonshu to become your father figure instead."

Chloe's face flushed. "I didn't turn to Khonshu. He resurrected me from the dead."

Chloe touched his arm, surprised at how warm and soft his arm was. "Prepared for what? Whatever you're planning to do to me?"

Halcyon shook his head. "No. Prepared for what you're going to find out... about your parents, about yourself. As hardened as you are, you're still the little girl who never knew her mother and whose father disappeared one day, telling you he'd come back after his next mission. Abandonment seems a common theme with you -- first your parents, and now you are bereft of Khonshu, too."

Chloe frowned, sensing that he was teasing her. "Are you berating Janine and Eric, too? Have them locked away in their corner of time/space so you can play mysterious benefactor there, too?"

Halcyon frowned and stepped back. "Fine. Ignore my words -- but you do so at your own peril."

Before Chloe could respond, he was gone -- and she was once more seated beside Janine and Eric. From the troubled looks on their faces, she knew that they, too, had received words of warning. What could he have meant by that -- what I was going to find out about my parents? I swear to Khonshu, Halcyon... if this was just a lie of yours.... But in her heart of hearts, she knew that Halcyon had spoken the truth.

"We've lost some of our best agents in a very short period of time. Perhaps we should step up our recruitment drives?" The Knight Templar known as Garrision was in his 40s, with salt-and-pepper hair and a small beard that hid terrible scars on his face. He was dressed in dark robes, a red sash tied about his waist.

Walking with him was a young woman, named Lia. She was only 28, but had risen in the ranks of the Templars very quickly. Her long blonde hair flowed down her back in gentle waves. "I think we'd be better suited to bringing some of our former agents back into the fold."

Garrison shook his head. "If you're speaking of the Boudreaux girl, she's hopeless. I've recommend more than once that we kill her, in fact. She knows too many secrets."

"True... but with Walker unavailable to us now*, we need her. Sometimes, one must change with the times. Don't send an assassination squad out to see her -- send a delegation."

(*Ridley Walker, a former Templar agent who knew Chloe quite well, was last seen in Moon Knight # 60)

"To offer her the opportunity to serve as contracted agent of the Order. She would not return to us full-time and thus would not have access to all of the advantages membership can bring -- but she would do certain jobs for us in exchange for our help in her own affairs."

The Grant Mansion was dark when Chloe Boudreaux returned to its doors. She'd thought about calling Jean-Paul from the Defenders Headquarters, but had thought better of it. With a cab ride over, she could see him face-to-face. And, besides, she wanted to speak with Marc about her connection with Khonshu being severed. It had left her feeling empty and alone.

Unlocking the door with her key, she stepped inside and went upstairs. She could hear Marlene talking to someone on the phone in the kitchen. She sounded upset, but Chloe didn't pause to check on her. Probably something to do with the baby -- or with Marc. Another fight, perhaps?"

She stepped up to Jean-Paul's open door and glanced in. "Jean-Paul? Are you here?"

Frenchie, as he was affectionately known around the house, stepped out of the bathroom. A towel was wrapped tightly around his waist and his hair was wet. His mouth dropped. "Chloe? Zis is wonderful! Where have you been?" Chloe could see that his eyes were red and bloodshot. He must have been really worried about me.

Chloe threw herself into his embrace, laughing. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you -- I went to someplace called Chronopolis, then to the Moon... I even helped fight Kang the Conqueror!"

Frenchie kissed her cheek. "You will have to tell of zese adventures. All of them, every detail!"

Chloe pulled away, her eyes moist with emotion. "I will. But I need to speak with Marc, too. Something happened that I need to talk to him about."

Frenchie looked away. "Chloe... Marc is dead*. He was murdered by someone calling himself ze Headsman."

"My god..." Chloe felt her world tumbling. "That's what Marlene was upset about... are you sure? Did you see his body?"

"Oui. Marlene is not handling it well. She has refused to let us take him to the authorities. He is wrapped up like a mummy in the lair below, before the statue of Khonshu. Marlene is convinced that he shall be resurrected again."

"Maybe she's right." Chloe stood up. "I have to see him. Maybe I can beseech the Priests of Khonshu to come for him."

Frenchie remained where he was while Chloe stepped out. "Maybe... maybe it is time for him to be at peace, Chloe. Damn me for thinking it, but perhaps he deserves to rest like everyone else...." The tears came again, as they had so often lately, and Jean-Paul rested his head in his hands.

As she stepped downstairs, en route to Moon Knight's headquarters below the mansion, she stopped dead in her tracks. Marlene was at the door, talking to a man that she recognized. "Garrison?"

Chloe didn't answer that, sensing something close to madness in Marlene's voice. She turned to Garrison. "What do you want?"

Garrison smiled. "We want you back. And I'm prepared to make you an offer you can't refuse." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a photograph. It showed a dark-haired woman dressed in a peasant dress, a smile on her pretty face. "How would you like to know what happened to your mother?"

NEXT ISSUE : Chloe's search for her mother kicks into high gear, with some shocking revelations! Plus : the Knights Templar discover a rising threat in the mystic underworld.

Wow. Fresh off winning the Year 3 Gru Award for Best Limited Series, here we are with the first issue of the now-ongoing Fist of Khonshu title. I was forced to turn over the scripting of issues 3-6 to my friend Alex Maggi when I took a year off from MV1 but I'm back to guide Chloe's life from here on. I'm sorry if some events in this issue confused you -- Chloe's appearances in Defenders and Kree Civil War are must-reading in my book. Go check them out!