Fate/Heroes - Chapter 14

“I’m disappointed in all of you. Not only did you let Rider escape, you failed to stall him until Wonder Woman arrived on the scene. You also disobeyed my orders, and left Mount Justice unauthorized. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”.

The eight members of The Team sat down in front of the entire Justice League, all of whom had their heads down, not daring to met the Dark Knight in the eye.

Several other teens stood in the corner of the room, sending looks to each other at the seriousness of the room.

Robin couldn’t help but retort Batman’s words.

“I admit that Rider’s capabilities were out of our League, and we should’ve stopped before Superboy, Kid Flash and Aqualad were injured, but that’s precisely the reason we didn’t follow him! If it wasn’t for the fact that Rider didn’t want to fight women for some reason, he might’ve left the entire Team in the same state as the other three”.

Batman narrowed his eyes at protégés words.

“I understand that. This “Rider” possesses a strength exceeding that of Superboy, and a speed equal to that of Kid Flash. But the least you could’ve done is prevent him from stealing the Falcone Family’s money. If you disabled his vehicle initially, he would’ve had to spend time moving it to another one, giving Wonder Woman more time to get to the airport and ȧssist you”.

Robin couldn’t counter the logic behind Batman’s words.

He was the one to throw the batarang, not Batgirl, even if it was one of her batarangs that he threw.

When Wonder Woman arrives at the airport, she was surprised by the amount of carnage she found, and immediately called for the League to ȧssist her in retrieving the injured Superboy, Kid Flash and Aqualad.

Conner had several broken ribs and a severe concussion from taking so many of Rider’s blows and was the most severely injured of the three. Aqualad’s internal organs had been shifted slightly, but was only rendered unconscious from Rider’s ax kick, and Kid Flash had a broken leg, courtesy of having the clone of Superman thrown at him.

Aqualad and Kid Flash were already awake but were forced by their mentors to stay in bed and get some rest. Superboy was in a stable condition, but was still unconscious.

“But you did say that he mentioned several things? Things that might give away his identity?”.

Wonder Woman came to the front of the Justice League and stood beside Batman, trying to ease the tension between them.

Zatanna nodded and spoke,

“He mentioned “Pankration”. I think it’s Greek but I can’t be exactly sure”.

All the other members of the Justice League looked at Wonder Woman who nodded and had a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Pankration is a Greek form of hand-to-hand combat. It was mainly used for sport in the Ancient Olympics, but was taught and used by many ancient Greek Heroes. It’s concepts and moves are still used today in modern martial arts. If Rider was taught Pankration, other than on Themyscira, I can’t imagine where he was taught it. Did he mention anything else Zatanna?”.

The girl looked at Miss Martian for a moment and nodded.

“He said something about about being in the army? The Achaean Army? Oh! And he said something about Paris and Apollo! The way Rider talked about him it seemed as if he knew them, and his tone indicated that he wasn’t being polite when referring to them”.

This time Hal Jordan, the first Green Lantern stepped up and said something.

“Achaean Army? Wasn’t that the army that fought against the Trojans? How could someone who participated in a battle over thousand years ago, still be alive today. That exceeds the limits for most humans”.

Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes, and a confused expression sat on her face.

“I know someone that fits his description….. but it’s impossible for it to be him. He died on that battlefield. After defeating Hector, who killed his friend Patroclus, he tied Hector’s dead body to his chariot and run amok on the battlefield. Apollo asked this warrior to stop but his hubris and his rage forced him to go against his wishes. Paris was the name of the Archer who “killed” this warrior”.

All the eyes in the room stood entranced by Wonder Woman’s story. Her voice, blessed to be attractive to any living being, gained their attention instantly, but not their focus. Their focus was on the story that the daughter of Zeus was telling them.

“This warrior was taught by Chiron himself, and in his early childhood was taught how to wield a spear, as well as how to use his immense speed. His rise to fame was on the battlefield, and his near invincibility was the cause of many deaths on the side of the Trojan’s. Only those who also possess the blood of the Gods could even harm the warrior.

“At his birth, his mother, the Goddess Thetis bathed her son in a divine flame, trying to purge him of all his mortal blood. The child’s father, the King of Phthia, Peleus, didn’t want his son to lose his humanity, and took him out before the divine flame could touch his child’s heel”.

Everyone in the room’s eyes widened at the realization of where this story was headed. It was impossible not to have heard this Heroes name. A body part was named after him, and his deeds were legendary, some believe only second to Heracles.

A girl in the corner of the room, roughly the same age as Batgirl, stepped forward and looked at Wonder Woman.

“Aunt Diana you can’t be serious! Are you trying to say that Achilles is still alive!”.

Wonder Woman looked at her protégé and “niece” and shook her head with a frown.

“That’s why I said it was impossible. Even if he was reincarnated, Hades wouldn’t give up his soul that easily. And that’s if he didn’t get sent to the Elysian Fields….”.

“Oh…. about that….”.

Everyone’s attention moved from the Aunt and Niece duo, to Zatanna who was scratching her head and giving off a wry smile.

“Umm, during the battle, it did seem like Rider’s body contained more than one soul. And that the original bodies soul and this foreign soul seemed to have a mutually dependable relationship. He was talking to himself during the fight…..”.

Wonder Woman and Batman looked to the rest of the group who nodded. Even Robin, the skeptic nodded at the raven haired girls words.

The princess of Themyscira looked at Batman who nodded and looked to the rest of the Justice League.

“If this Rider person really is the reincarnation of Achilles, it would explain everything, and fit in with all of his known abilities. But this also means we know his only weakness. Diana would be able to fight him on equal ground, and we would all have to weaken him by aiming at his heel. By disabling his heel it would make him slower and more susceptible to our attacks”.

The Dark Knight turned to the Team and narrowed his eyes.

“Wondergirl, Supergirl and Aquagirl will join the Team in order to detain Rider for further questioning. Their physical strength and speed will be a great ȧsset to the group. When Superboy is fully recovered I am giving you all a mission to bring in Rider, by using any means necessary. Is this understood?”.

“Yes!”.

“More girls, sweet!”.

In a bright streak of yellow, Kid Flash and Aqualad appeared in the main area of Mount Justice. The latter bowing slightly in the presence of his King as well as other heroes he admires, and the latter introducing himself to the three new female additions to the Team.

All of the Team was excited about the new members to their younger generational Justice League, and the three were happy to be around heroes their own age.

Miss Martian had a happy expression before it question puzzled as she said,

“Rider did use a really big shield though…..”.