Templar #3: 

Written by JFive 
Edited by Kingbob 

*****************
Falling Angel
*****************

Egypt.

	In the Land of Pharaoh's, great pyramids rule the skyline for 
countless miles. 'The pyramids are home to ghost,' the native people say. In 
some cases, this is close to the truth. What exactly is a ghost, some would 
ask. The answer, most would agree, is 'a specter of the past.' Such is En 
Sabah Nur, lord of the Apocalypse.

	In his throne chamber, three of his 'friends' are waiting, but he 
will let them wait longer. Now he is paying homage to his greatest treasure, 
his sleep chamber. His hands flow over the immaculate gildwork. Such has not 
been seen in thousands of years. 

	"My greatest treasure, most hated belonging." He sighs. The chamber 
feeds on psychic energy, using it to restore his body to a state of health 
when he needs it. He does not like the thought of others gaining control of 
even a part of it, as Nathaniel Essex wants in exchange for information. 
"Unfortunately for him, I've already discovered the Askani's base of 
operations. Although if what my informant tells me is true, his little spy 
has found a small bastion of Askani in the Americas."

	He makes a decision then. He had intended to add Matthew to Gideon 
and Candra's team, but now he had a greater need for his own personal 
'Devil'. He walks with bearing and arrogance towards his throne room, then 
changing his mind he heads to his communication room. Let them wait, he 
thinks.

********************************************************************

	Two hours later, Apocalypse walked into his throne room. He walked 
past the three gathered to see him, then levered his large frame into his 
throne. He cast his eyes around the room, taking in the two men and the woman 
who had come to see him. Gideon and Candra, both Externals like himself, and 
Matt Murdock, who owed his very existence to Apocalypse.

	Apocalypse had recently provided funding for Gideon and Candra as 
they attempted to establish a team of mutants set against the growing 
acceptance of human and mutant relations. He really hadn't cared one way or 
the other, except that by doing this he could continue his 'Survival of the 
Fittest' programs. 

	Matt on the other hand, owed Apocalypse for saving him from a 
vengeful ex-partner and lover, Revanche. She had tried to kill Matt less than 
a week ago in Cairo and would have succeeded if not for the intervention of 
Apocalypse. Grateful for the assist, Matt gladly accepted Apocalypse's offer 
of a job.

	"Gideon, Candra. I trust that you were able to recruit the woman." 
They nodded, and he continued. "I know that I promised to add another to your 
group, but I have found that I require Matthew's talents elsewhere. If this 
causes a problem, get over it." 

	Neither said anything, knowing that to object was almost the same as 
signing a death warrant. They merely nodded their heads.

	"Very intelligent. I'll talk with you in a moment, now I must talk 
with Matthew."

	They acknowledged him, then stepped back as Murdock stepped forward.

	"Matthew, my friend, I have need of your skills in Jamaica. It seems 
that an associate of mine has found some interesting people in that small 
island country. I would like for you to down there and find out what you can. 
Do you need to get anything from your room before you go?" Apocalypse asked 
him.

	Matt shook his head no, unable to figure out why Apocalypse had asked 
such a weird question.

	"Very well." Apocalypse touched a button on his throne, activating a 
transporter beam that sent Matt's body across the Atlantic Ocean. Apocalypse 
looked towards the rear of the room, then he motioned for Candra and Gideon 
to return to the front. "I have need of your team in Scotland. Through 
sources of my own, I have managed to find the base of a group of individuals 
known as the Askani. Not only would it please me to have them 'tested', I 
have knowledge that they are very large supporters of the peaceful 
coexistence plan. I would like for you to take the team to Scotland, 
infiltrate them, and destroy them from within. Understood?"

	They nodded, then disappeared as Apocalypse pushed several buttons to 
ajust the coodinates, then activated the transporter for a second time. 
Pleased with the day thus far, he leaned back in his throne, content to bask 
in the power that he could 'feel' flowing through his body. 

********************************************************************
Jamaica.

	Matt materialized in the middle of a back alley in Jamaica.  Damn 
what a rush, he thought.  In front of him, he saw a youthful looking woman 
with a maroonish colored circle around her left eye.  She was standing over 
the fallen body of what appeared to be a teenager.  She turned and looked him 
in the 'eyes', then fired a shot from a gun.

	Mentally kicking himself for not noticing the gun, he executed a 
somersault that took him out of harms way.  When he landed, he fired twin 
blasts from the impulse cannons mounted on his wrists.  He smiled with grim 
satisfaction as he watched the cannons do their deadly work.  She never had a 
chance to escape the falling debris from the destroyed building.  He hoped 
that the youth survived.  But if he didn't, what was one more death anyway.

	Feeling a tickling in the back of his head, his sixth sense warning 
him of someone approaching.  He spun around and saw three more teenagers 
fleeing.  He snapped off two quick blasts from each cannon, but none were 
successful. 

	Turning back to the woman, he slowly walked towards her.  His 
experience with Revanche had taught him that even if a woman was down she was 
still formidable.  He kicked her gun away, noticing that it was a stun gun.  
He leaned down and checked her pulse.  Strong and steady, now the teen.  Matt 
walked over to where he laid amid the carnage.  Odd, a single streak of white 
hair amid all the brown.  Feeling a pulse, he stepped away and contemplated 
his next move. 

*******************************************************************
The Orphanage of St. Bernard.

	Ororo was still in amazement over the return of her friend David 
North. She, David, and Random had been responsible for Nathan's rescue from 
Essex all those years ago. It was during that very mission that she had last 
seen Maverick. Now, here he was returned from the 'dead.'

	She hadn't been this happy since the first time that Nathan had 
called her Mother. Hearing a huffing noise in the hallway outside her room, 
she opened the door just as Kevin, Anne, and Crystal arrived.

	"What is it?" She asked, concerned. Then she realized who she was 
talking to. "Where is Nathan?" She was beginning to feel a little anxiety. 
Please don't let anything have happened to him.

	"He...he...he..." Kevin was unable to talk because he hadn't caught 
his breath yet.

	"Yes, child?" Ororo's heart had begun beating to a mournful rhythm.

	"We tried to stop this thief who had stolen a woman's purse. The 
girls stayed with her, and me and Nathan went to catch him. He sent me back 
for some reason, and when we got there..." Kevin had to pause, out of breath. 

	Crystal took up the story from this point. "Nathan was on the ground 
with a woman next to him. Some weird freakoid shot something at us and we ran 
like hell to get help." 

	Oh, god! Not Nathan! "You did the right thing, kids. Let's go get 
some help, then we'll go find Nathan." No need to let them see how frightened 
she was. It wouldn't do any good to get scaried.

*******************************************************************

	After the pounding continued, David North, once called Maverick, 
opened the door and saw Ororo and three children.  The look on their faces 
immediately warned him that something had occurred.  He turned around and 
stepped back into his room.  Ororo and the others moved inside just in time 
to see him slide a large case from beneath his bed.

	"What has happened?"  He asked as he unsnapped the clasps.  Raising 
the lid, he saw his pride and joy:  a multi-intensity Plasma Gun 300X.  One 
of the deadliest weapons in existence.

	"Someone has taken my son.  We need your help in rescuing him."  
Ororo watched as David flipped more switches, revealing more weapons.  She 
knew of countries that did not have as many weapons as he did.  "Will you 
help us?" 

	A buzz sounded as he powered up the Plasma Gun.  "Of course."

	"Let's go get Thomas and then we'll be ready to leave."

*******************************************************************
Paris.

	Gideon looked at his partner in crime, Candra. "Do you think that 
they are prepared enough to attempt this?" He asked after a moment.

	"Not really." She replied. "But, do we have a choice though?"

	"Who are the closest to being ready?"

	"Blowout and Mindwipe can do the job. I don't have enough experience 
with Blaze to really tell you. Upgrade is an overgrown child."

	"Can we infiltrate these Askani?"

	"'We' can't, I probably can. But I will need to take Tabitha with me. 
She's the only one of the bunch that can hope to persuade them that we want 
peace." Candra looked as Gideon nodded his approval.

	"Why don't you tell her to meet you tomorrow morning at 8:00." Gideon 
said. "While the two of you proceed with Apocalypse's plan, the rest of us 
will see if we can uncover anything else about these Askani'. 

********************************************************************
Jamaica.

	Thomas Moore rounded the corner and ran right into Ororo and the 
others. "What's yawl's hurry?" Noticing her distraught face, he realized that 
something was wrong. Seconds later, after noting the absence of Nathan, he 
asked her about it. "What's wrong, Ororo?"

	"Someone has taken my son. We need your help to go rescue him." There 
was no question of asking, Thomas cared for Nathan as much as she did. 

	"Let me get my stuff." He stepped inside and grabbed what he thought 
he would need. "Ok, let's go."

******************************************************************
Kingstown, Jamaica.

	Ororo looked at the scene of devastation. "This is where it 
occurred?" She asked the youths.

	"Yes, ma'am. We saw the man standing over Nathan and a woman." Kevin 
answered.

	"He's not here now. Do you see anything, David?" Ororo looked at her 
friend.

	David North squatted down to peer at the tracks in the loose dirt. 
"The best I can tell, one person left here. They were carrying quite a bit of 
weight though. So most likely they had Nathan and the woman with them."

	She looked at the others. "Thomas, would you take the kids back to 
the Orphanage, please. Then meet us at Xandu's Grocery. Kid's don't worry, 
we'll find Nathan."

	After Thomas and the kids had left, Ororo and David began theorize 
the possible reasons for Nathan's abduction. "Could Essex have found you?"  
David asked her. 

	"Possibly, but I believe that he would have struck back at me too. I 
cost him too much that night." She sighed. "Let's go to Xandu's."

*******************************************************************

	Twenty minutes later, Ororo and David were waiting for Thomas at 
Xandu's. "What's taking him so long?" She muttered.

	"It's about ten minutes to the Orphanage from where we were. Give him 
a few minutes longer."

	"It's not your son, so shut up!" She yelled. "I'm sorry, David, I'm 
just so scared that something will happen to him before we find him."

	"I'm sure he'll be okay. How old is he now?" David asked, trying to 
get her mind off of Nathan's disappearance.

	Thomas walked up before she got a chance to answer.

	"He'll be eighteen on his next birthday." She answered. "Let's go 
find him, I've had enough of this waiting around." She got up from her chair 
and walked out the door. The two men followed her, never seeing the small 
girl that shadowed their every move.

******************************************************************
An abandoned building.

	The change in her breathing alerted Matt to Beatrice's recovery. "How 
are you?" He asked pleasantly.

	"Untie me and I'll show you how I am." She cooed at him. The look in 
her eyes said a completely different thing though.

	"I don't think so. Thanks for the offer though." He smiled. "So who 
do you work for?"

	"I don't work for anyone. Who do you work for?" She had to keep him 
occupied. Just a few minutes longer, and she would have the ropes loose 
enough to get out of.

	"Let me get this straight, I have you tied up like a hog, and you 
want to ask me questions? God, you remind me of Revanche." Matt leaned over 
Nathan. "Ok, since your obviously not going to talk about yourself, what 
about him?"

	"That's one cookie I can't help you with. First time I saw him was 
today." Just a little more, she thought.  She twisted her hands, 
experimentally. Feeling more than a little give, Beatrice decided to wait for 
the right moment before freeing herself.

	"The first time you see him, you stun him? You'd be a great guest at 
a party."

	Seconds later, the doorway exploded inward. Ororo Munroe stepped 
through the opening, followed by David and Thomas. 

	"I want my son!"

	"Straight to the point, aren't you? No 'Hi honey, I'm home'?" Matt 
asked. "Too bad. I'm might have let you have him if you had asked instead of 
telling me. Then again, who knows?"

	David and Thomas spread out, flanking Ororo. She silently indicated 
for them to let her make the first move. "What do you want with Nathan?" 

	"Would you believe, wrong place at the wrong time? I was supposed to 
be investigating something for my employer." Matt answered. Then he saw David 
make an almost imperceptible movement with his left hand. When he repeated 
it, this time with the right hand, Matt flashed back a quick affirmative.

	Ororo's eyes took in Nathan's present condition, noticing bruises 
that had occurred from the destruction of the building. Her eyes flashed 
fury. "Bastard."

	Matt fired a blast at Ororo, knocking her off her feet. At the same 
moment, he was attacked by Thomas. He grunted from the impact of Thomas's 
punch to his stomach. 

	Thomas never slacked up, he continued to pound away at the kidnapper. 
He might not have stopped until Matt was dead, had a blast from David's gun 
not knocked him out. 

	"David?!? Why the hell did you knock out, Thomas?" She looked at her 
friend as she rose to her feet.

	"I don't know what came over me."

	Ororo looked at David, having noticed the distinct change in the 
timbre of his voice. "Your not David! Who are you?"

	"Oh, you win points for quick thinking. Of course I'm not David 
North. He's either dead or locked up in one of Essex's prisons. I really 
don't know or care. But it's amazing that you believed all that bullshit, I 
have to admit, for a moment there I almost tricked myself."

	"Why are you doing this then?" She asked, dropping her head.

	"Ororo, Ororo, you didn't think Essex was going to forget that you 
had taken his property, did you? Of course not. Only a fool would think that. 
Wait, you fell for my being David. You might just qualify as a fool, 
darling." He raised the gun up to her head, sensing victory.

	She looked up, her eyes flashing defiance. "That's it!?! You work for 
Essex?" 

	'David' felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down, between his shoulder 
blades. "What are you doing?" He asked with a bit of trepidation.

	"Righting a wrong." She said with a cold smile. Her eyes had begun to 
light up, almost as if she was charging her body like a battery.

	He started to pull the trigger, but he couldn't beat the gush of wind 
that pushed the barrel up in the air. He grunted as her fist took his breath 
away.

	Lightning flew from her hand, frying his gun's circuitry. "I'll take 
care of you later. Right now, I've got to rescue my son." A kick to the face 
knocked 'David' down, as she moved towards Matt.

	Ororo's first lightning bolts alerted Matt to her approach. He had 
almost forgotten about her while he fought Thomas. He turned and fired a 
quick blast at her, causing her to slow her advancement.

	Crystal crawled to where Thomas lay and asked if he was all right.  
"Yes. If you can distract 'David' for a moment, I can take him out."

	She nodded her head, then moved towards David North. As she moved she 
saw both Beatrice and Nathan's bodies laying on the ground.

	Ororo fired a barrage of lightning bolts at Matt, who used his 
enhanced senses to avoid them all. Finally he tired of the game and moved in 
for the kill. She knew that she didn't stand a chance in hand to hand combat, 
so she tried to give herself more maneuvering room. When she turned to glance 
behind her, Matt struck.

	He fired a high-intensity blast from each of his gauntlets. He saw 
her face become one of pain right before she vanished in a flash of light.  
Matt stood amazed, he had NEVER done anything like that before. He turned 
away to look back at David North.

	"Thanks for the hand, Mimic." Matt watched as 'David's' features 
melted and reformed into those of Mimic. "I wasn't sure it was you until you 
made the sign."

	Mimic opened his mouth to answer, but no words came. Matt looked 
behind him and saw  Crystal. She had taken control of Mimic's body and she 
intended to hold it until Thomas was able to attack. Hearing a wild yell, she 
released her hold as Thomas flew through the air and struck Mimic in the 
chest.

	Matt 'looked' at the unbelievable site before him. He fired a small 
blast at the girl knocking her out. He quickly looked at the fallen bodies, 
taking inventory to assure himself that everyone was still there. He cursed 
as he noticed that both Nathan and Beatrice were missing, somehow escaping 
from their ropes. He spun back towards Mimic and Thomas.

	"Be quiet." She whispered to him.

	*LET ME GO!* Nathan screamed at Beatrice, telepathically. It was 
taking all of her strength to hold him, and he was still dragging her towards 
Matt.  He turned and looked at her. *I said LET ME GO!!!* A telekinetic push 
did the trick, sending her flying, and then there was nothing between him and 
his goal.

	Thomas finally managed to slip through Mimic's guard, and the blow 
that connected caused him to see stars. As Thomas paused to catch his breath, 
Matt attacked.	

	Beatrice watched the youth move towards his prey. He's got to be 
powered on adrenaline, she thought, because if he was truly this powerful, 
there is no way that she could have captured him to begin with. Telepathy and 
telekinesis...unbelievable.

	"Murderer!" Nathan yelled at Matt. He turned to face the new 
challenger and was astounded to see the teenage boy. To his senses Nathan 
appeared to glow from the telekinetic energy that swirled around him. The 
blast that followed knocked him through a wall. When Nathan finally finished 
walking through the carnage, Matt was gone.

	"NO!!!  I will have my revenge!  Comeback, coward!!!" It was a wasted 
effort, because where ever Matt had teleported to, he obviously had no 
intentions of returning to face the teen.

	Beatrice stared at Nathan with a look of awe. She had, for a moment, 
believed that she had seen him before. But that was impossible, because she 
had grown up in San Francisco. She watched as energy continued to swirl 
around him, giving him the appearance of a vengeful god. She was very 
grateful that she was not the object of his anger.

	"Nathan?" She asked quietly. No answer. "Nathan?"

	A single tear traced it's way down his cheek. "My mother will be 
avenged.  Will you help me find him?"

*****************************************************************
The Orphanage of St. Bernard.

Later that night.

	"Are you sure that this is what you want to do?" She asked.

	"Yeah, let's go." He replied, setting a letter on his pillow. 

	"Any regrets?"

	He smiled ruefully. "Thousands, but none that will help me find Mom's 
killer." They walked out of his room into the night, as a blackness descended 
upon the Orphanage.

*****************************************************************

Continues next issue...