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. She now once again operates as Templar.

RECENTLY : After aiding the Defenders in their battles with Kang and the Kree, Templar returned home only to find that Moon Knight had suffered greatly in battle with a villain called the Headsman. Meanwhile, Chloe's attentions have turned to the mysteries surrounding her mother....

Templar piloted the Angelwing low over the Boston horizon, her mind awash in details. Less than four hours ago, she'd returned from several furious battles alongside the Defenders -- only to find that in her absence, Marc Spector had died and been reborn* and that the Knights Templar had stepped forward with a deal that she could not refuse.

Halcyon, the Timelord who had kidnapped her as part of his scheme against Kang, had warned her that she would soon learn something shocking about her parents -- and, as if on cue, the Knights Templar had then appeared in the person of Garrison Moss. Moss offered her the Templars' latest information dealing with Chloe's long-missing mother in exchange for her promise to work on their behalf from time to time in the future. The tradeoff was more than equal, if the information panned out.

Templar leaned forward and activated the communications console. "Jean-Paul, you listening?"

Chloe's lover and confidante answered immediately. She could hear the roar of his helicopter in the background. "Oui, my love. I am helping Marc in his search for ze Headsman. How are you?"

Chloe smiled beneath her facemask. "Better now that I can hear your voice. Make sure to thank Marc for loaning me the Angelwing."

Templar glanced over to her global positioning unit grid and saw that she was nearing her destination. "I'd better log off -- I'm almost there. I just wanted to say I love you."

"You may call me anytime to tell me that." Jean-Paul chuckled softly. "Be careful -- and I hope you find some answers."

"Thanks. So do I. Bye." Chloe turned off the communicator and put the headset aside. The Angelwing was designed for only one occupant, two at most -- but it still very empty without Jean-Paul's voice to fill in the silence. Why am I here? My mother has been dead for almost 30 years. Every shred of evidence I've ever found suggests that... Maybe this is just the Knights' way of getting me back into service.

But that possibility that her mother could be alive, no matter how faint, couldn't be ignored. Chloe directed the Angelwing towards a small wooded area far outside the city proper and landed the sleek crescent-shaped vehicle. She picked up her battle staff and checked to make sure her gauntlet-fired crescent darts were loaded. Satisfied, she stepped down the ramp.

And right into the path of four guards. They wore medieval style armor, but the appearance was misleading. Made of a lightweight metal, they did not impede their range of movement in the least. Each was armed with lightweight blades. "Halt! You are trespassing on private property."

Templar jumped forward, depressing a switch on her battle staff. It telescoped out to its full length and she slammed it into the lead guard. The blow sent the man reeling. Sticking one end of the staff into the ground, she pushed off with it and swung both legs into the midsection of a charging guard. Landing in a crouch, she aimed her left gauntlet at one of the reamining guards and fired a volley of crescent darts. The blades bit into the woman's leg and arm.

Templar rose and faced down the last guard. "Is this good enough? You'd think you'd have recognized me by the Angelwing."

The guard backed away slowly. "We were told only that a female agent was en route -- nothing else. We had no way of knowing it was you. The violence was unnecessary."

Templar pressed another button and the battle staff dropped to the size of a baton. She placed it on her belt and tilted her head. "You're young. Can't be older than 20. How long have you been a Knight?"

The guard stiffened, obviously embarrassed (and confused) that she had noticed his age. "My whole life. I was raised by them."

Templar shook her head. "Sad." She looked around at the empty wooded area. "Lead on. I don't have all night."

The guard stepped over his fallen comrades and led her deeper into the woods. Since the last Boston base had been destroyed*, the Knights Templar had evidently rebuilt away from the dangers of the city. Chloe had to say that she approved of the move -- the countryside was far prettier.

The guard stopped beside a large rock and grunted as he shoved it aside. Chloe made no move to help him, instead watching the young man's movements. He wasn't raised by them. He just said that to make me think he was less of an amateur. He's left himself wide open to attack by me or others in the area again and again. Sloppy. You should always be on guard. Always.

A grate appeared. The guard pulled it up and revealed a ladder. "Here. It leads into the base. I was to tell you that you're to speak with Anon -- he's expecting you."

Anon... There's a name from the past. An old friend of my father's, if my memory serves. Without another word, the Fist of Khonshu began climbing down into the dark recesses of the Knights Templar base.

As their laughter rang out, the three Welsh boys continued to poke the creature with sticks. They'd found it beside the road, its gray, bulbous eyes staring upwards. The size of a small terrier, it was stiff and lifeless.

Phillip was pointing to a spreading stain on his trousers. "Something spurted out of that thing. I think it was blood or somethin'!"

Roger and his friend Billie stared open-mouthed as Phillip fell to the ground. He thrashed for a long moment, his mouth working without sound. Then he grew very quiet... and very still.

Something moved under Phillip's skin. It seemed to push up from his crotch, bulging the skin of the boy's belly outwards as it moved. It passed throgh the boy's throat and wormed its way out of Phillip's mouth. It was small, vaguely worm-shaped... and the same gray color as the thing by the road.

It flopped to the ground as the boys took off running in terror. Slowly, it worked its way some distance from the road, into the safety of the tall grass. It would need time to grow and things upon which to feed -- but it had to stay away from the road. It moved too slowly to avoid oncoming cars...

Anon was old, a withered stick of a man. He had a mop of dirty brown hair and eyes that were so sunken that they looked like twin pits in his face. He hadn't smiled since Chloe had come in and showed no surprise at her armor. Instead, he'd moved to the business at hand right away. It was just the way she remembered him. He's a soldier, her father had said. He's not much for conversation but he's wonderful at guarding your back.

"...I believe your mother might have been taken by individuals associated with the Clan of Assassins. They are based out of New Orleans."

Chloe held up a hand. "Wait. Why would my mother have dealings with assassins? My father said she wasn't a Knight Templar -- why would they want her?"

Anon's thick eyebrows twitched. "The Clan is run by Marius Boudreaux. Whether or not he is related to your father, I do not know. Regardless, after your father left you with the Order, he went on a prolonged intelligence mission overseas. Even I don't know what became of him -- but I believe that certain members of the Assassins Guild desired to contact him and they believed that your mother might know how to contact him."

Chloe fingered the baton at her waist. "The Knights Templar always told me they didn't have a clue about what happened to her -- how did you piece this together with the Assassins?"

"It has only recently come to my attention." He placed a photograph on the table. It showed a woman who looked remarkably like Chloe's mother, only much older. She was seated in a New Orleans bar, with a blond woman by her side.

Chloe stared hard. The blond couldn't be more than Chloe's age, if that. "Who's the girl?"

"Belladonna Boudreaux. The woman with her may or may not be your mother. To my eyes, it is -- but then where has she been all these years? With the Clan? I think not..."

Chloe looked away. "If my mother is still alive, I guess I can't blame her for not coming to find me. She probably thought my father and I were dead. But I can sure as hell blame him for taking me away from her."

With that, she strode out -- in her mind, she was already in New Orleans. Belladonna Boudreaux -- you better have some answers for me.

The tears came faster than she'd anticipated. As the Angelwing flew towards New Orleans on autopilot, Chloe Boudreaux wept. She'd thrown her mask aside and put her head in her hands as soon as she'd sat down. I don't know which is worse -- thinking that she could have been murdered years ago or knowing that she's been alive, held captive by a group of assassins all these years.

But if the Boudreauxs run the clan... perhaps they wouldn't hurt her? If they wanted to kill her, why would she still be alive now? Maybe she's one of them now....

Chloe blinked a few times and sat up. In her reflection on the inside of the viewport, she saw herself. She looked so alone and so scared... as she watched, though, her face hardened. Her father had always taught her to keep emotions in check, buried deep below the surface. It was a good lesson and had kept her alive on numerous occasions.

When the pain had subsided, she typed up message to Jean-Paul, telling him that she was going to be away for a few days on personal business. As she pressed the send key, she remembered Halcyon's words to her : "I hope you're prepared for what you're going to find out... about your parents, about yourself."

NEXT ISSUE : "Blood is thicker than water" continues as Templar battles Belladonna. It's a ragin' cajun spectacular!