Midday. A lone car came, cruising by the streets, of Rome. It was a vessel of white and silver, it's chrome colour gleaming in the light of Brother Sun, as it sped through the streets of Rome, onwards, to a grey, silvery dome in it's distance. Exhaust gas, cleaned of all impurities, and converted into more tolerable substances, spewed from the rear of the car, as it moved, with haste, to it's destination, a sleek jaguar in chase of it's prey in the thick of the forest.

Standing, alone, at the front of the complex, was a man.

He was young, a youth that had just left the stage of youthfulness, and was now reaching the more mature stage of the later part of the third decade of one's Life. He was a man of normal birth, but, of high intelligence and wisdom, maturity beyond his age. He was super-strong, but, he could manage with most situations. He was of normal weight, a bit enlarged due to a recent interest in rather fattening foods. His hair was brown, and waving in the distance, his eyes a shade of grey, his eyebrows rather thin. His hair was long, and uncut, and he was constantly clean-shaven: had had a tendency to shave constantly, even in the absence of any facial hairs.

He wore a black cassock, indicating many things; he innocence, purity, as well as his devotion and Faith. However, the colour of his robe bore a hidden agenda, one that is associated with the colour when cassocks aren't involved.

As the wind blew, and faced the unstoppable resistance of the car, the car, finally came to a stop, not because of the wind, but, through it's own will.

As the man looked down, the window at the right side of the car winded down, and revealed the driver's face.

"Father Thomas, I presume ?"

"Yes."

"Password ?"

"Janus."

As the driver nodded in agreement, he jerked his head once more, but, this time, to the occupant of the back of the car. The occupant, who took it as the moment to reveal himself. With his big hands, he grasped the handle of the door, and came out.

~

He was a tall man, a giant. His face was bristly, filled with short-cut facial hairs, similar to that of the backs of the heads of recruits and veterans in an army. His hair was blonde, a bright yellow, a symbol of Light to a degree. His glasses were transparent, revealing, in all truth, eyes that was a light shade of green, a colour of mystery, a colour of Growth. His eyebrows were of medium growth, and fear reaching, almost touching each other. His nose was in a somewhat high profile, characteristic of many Westerners, and his face was rectangular, bearing a sizeable forehead. The hair on the back of his head and sides were trimmed, and it was styled in such a manner that, though looking rather formal, as it was all cropped up towards the top, and not falling loosely like a messy lot, it nonetheless gave the giant a very wild look. And indeed, the man was lupine in his own manner. Though his eyes were green, he grinned to the man of lower height below him. His front teeth bore two distinguishable incisors, and his very look was that of a ruffian, a wild, savage person, and an ignorable scar on his cheek proved this. However, at the same time, he was also formal, just, and bore a lighter side, as can be seen in his eyes.

He gave a wide, happy grin, one out of fondness, to the man below him.

"Brother Thomas..."

He spoke with a rough Scottish accent masked by years of formal education, and exposure to other speaking peoples of a common lingua franca.

"Father Anderson ! You have returned !"

"Yes I have. God bless you, brother."

And with that, Father Alexander Anderson, Knight of the Roman Catholic Church, and a Paladin of the Order of Iscariot, looked high up into the air, and grinned.

"It's good to be home."

~

The two men of the cloth walked to the complex ahead of them, as the younger of the two, in a attempt to stifle his excitement, decided to inquisitively enquire the larger man on his experiences.

"How was trip to England ?"

This question was asked in jest.

"Oh, it was good."

And that too, was in jest.

"Have you gone back to Scotland ?"

Father Alex arched his eyebrow in surprise, before returning to a rather acknowledging smile.

"Yes, yes I did. It was good to go back there, a refreshing break from work, and it brings back memories. But, this is my true home, and I am glad that I am back here."

"Indeed, Father Alex."

"Now, I should ask you a question: you're now a part of the Order of Iscariot: what does it feel like ?"

"To be truthful, it feels, rather odd, but, I'm managing. ..."

As the two men continued their chat, they pushed the glass door, and entered the complex.

~

As they resumed their conversation, they walked through a large hall, decorated with the work of the great Michelangelo, as they moved forth, to a rather innocuous looking door.

The door opened to reveal a large, rectangular table, carved out of mahogany, surrounded by a dozen mahogany chairs, one at each end, and a quintet by each side.

"If you may, take a seat."

Father Alex, took his place at the head of the table. He took off his long, white trench coat, and placed it on a nearby coat. Beneath the coat, he wore a formal suit consisting of a jacket, shirt and trousers, specifically designed for those of the blessed orders, two white gloves, and a suiting pair of black boots.

Meanwhile, Father Thomas had moved into another room, not far from the conference room they entered, it's entrance just behind Alex's position.

"I presume you're hungry Father ?"

"Very, Thomas. I can usually go off food for a few weeks, but, every now and then, I need a quick bite..."

"How does a nice meat pie sound ?"

"Wonderful !"

And out came Thomas, bearing a large, well cooked beef pie. He placed it gently on the table, as if it were a feather, and Father Alex eyed it, ready to tuck in on the instant.

"Lovely..."

"Would you mind if I cut it for you ?"

"No need."

~

And with a quick jerk, he straightened his right arm, directly east, like a lightning bolt. Hidden beneath the sleeve of his jacket was a Baptised Blade. The movement startled Thomas, and the appearance of the blade almost shocked him, though Alex was inhumanly quick enough to catch the handle of the blade.

"I can do it myself."

"Father Alex, that is a baptised blade..."

"Yes, but I believe in practicality. Why dirty another knife when you can use another one. And besides, there's nothing really special about his blade: it is more than just a weapon, it has it's other uses."

And, as he said this, with a few quick strokes, he carved a sizeable slice of the pie. A quick turn of the handle, and the blade had enough width to hold the slice of pie, as he lay it nicely, on his plate.

Taking off his right gloves, he revealed a hand that was thick with hair, and large, perfect for gripping, and grasping. With his bare, right hand, he meticulously clutched the pie, and, while ensuring that no morsel of food fell to the floor, took, one, wholesome bite.

"Delicious ! I haven't had a pie like this in ages !"

~

Slice by slice, he repeated this routine, as Father Thomas looked on, while Father Alex happily tucked in.

After about six slices, with more than half the pie gone, Alex looked up, away from the pie, and was confronted by a whole lot of Iscariot priests.

It was then that suspicion came in.

"Wait a minute... it's not that cockroach joke again, is it ?

~

"So, that's how it is."

And, as Father John stopped sort of his briefing, he nodded his head.

"Yes Alex. We have not been able to track down the source of the freak chip implant, and we need the help of the other groups more than ever..."

"But that means..."

"Yes, a restraining order has been put on you when it comes to the vampire Nosferatu Alucard.

You cannot touch him."

"But..."

"If you lay one finger on him, you stand a chance of being defrocked, and, subsequently, ex-communicated."

Alexander gritted his teeth, trying to stifle an outburst.

"Anyway... there's a matter of much greater importance to be discussed."

~

The words of John hit Alex like bloodshot. Within moments, he felt branded, a being that was placed with an irremovable mark, a cross, on his shoulder.

"Congratulations Alexander.

You now represent the Church as it is. You are more than just an avenger, a purveyor of Justice.

You are now a leader. You have risen beyond the mere rank of Paladin, you are more than just a Knight in service of the Vatican, the Pope, the Church and it's Lord, you now Lead the Charge. You are it's key soldier, representing the Church not only in alms giving, but, in another sense. You are more than just a Templaric Knight, you are the Head of the Templar.

Alexander Anderson, by the request of his holiness Pope Patrick the First, through the divine intercession of Jesus Christ the Son, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and by my orders, you are now Archon, Supreme of the Paladins, and their Prime.

God Bless you, Archon Alexander Anderson."

~

This meeting is adjourned.

Alex, please report the laboratory at 500 hours, tomorrow morning to receive your new nano-augmentation canisters, which you will install. Your choice of new implants is up to you.

You will also need to pick a squire, your "apprentice", as soon as possible, as we are in need of more agents in our field.

God bless you Alex, and may Jesus live in your heart.

Forever."

~

And, as the room was cleared of all men, Alex remained at his table, speechless, his blade at the side of the half-eaten pie, and an unfinished bit of food on his plate.

For some reason or rather, the meat pie didn't have it's taste any more....

~

Note:

Much speculation has been noted as to Alexander's powers. Well, from what I have gathered, as a "regenerator", Alexander Anderson is actually a human with nanotechnological implants, similar to JC Denton of "Deus Ex". Basically, Alex has all these nanobots, or nanites, in his body that allow his to speed up his regeneration processes. He is not, as some have speculated, to have received his regenerative powers from God (if he did, he wouldn't be killing Anglicans), though, as priest, he does use blessings, as seen in Episode 3, when he prevented Alucard from using his black magic. I may be wrong, but, this is the information I derived from the main guide to the series itself (the "ultimate fan guide"), and it also came through my own conclusions.

Then again, it's also an excuse as to Anderson's new kit....(you'll see it coming...;) )