Fate/Heroes - Chapter 5

“I have many name but for now…. you can call me Rider”.

The hero whose beauty couldn’t be hidden behind a mask tilted her head slightly as she looked at Gray, whose face was slightly hidden in the darkness of the night. The surrounding cameras and lights had been disabled by the earlier criminals leaving the scene with a dimly lit visibility.

This hindered Batgirl’s vision slightly, but left the Pseudo-Servant Gray with almost perfect vision.

She gazed at the spear in Gray’s hand and looked warily as it appeared out of no-where.

She had been watching his fight with the criminals who were currently incapacitated by the man in front of her, and noted that none of them were dead, and that he only took the money these men had stolen. That he never permanently injured anyone.

This meant one of two things.

One, he never wanted to hurt them and only came for the money or two, that he didn’t see the point on killing them.

Either way she was dealing with an opponent with strength greater than hers and a speed far exceeding the limits of a normal human. His prowess with the spear, to block incoming bullets with such efficiency, was also remarkable.

Although she had already called for backup in the form of Batman and Robin, she needed to by time for either of them to arrive and ȧssist her with taking this “Rider” down.

“I can’t let you take that Rider. That money doesn’t belong to you”.

Gray tilted his head but didn’t make any outwardly aggressive actions.

“It didn’t belong to them. And I’m sure that it doesn’t belong to you either”.

Gray already knew the identity of this fiery haired beauty, and only stared at her figure which was hidden in the darkness, walking around Gray in a circle, like a lioness surrounding a pack of deer.

She frowned but didn’t let her tone show it.

“It doesn’t matter. Unless your headed back to the Bank to return that money I can’t let you leave Rider. Now matter how many times the money in your hands changes owners, it still isn’t yours”.

Rider ignored her words and started walking back towards Gotham City, she cursed and stood in between him and the crime capital of the world, he gaze fixed on his hidden face.

He gazed at her with golden amber eyes. They shone like gems in the darkness, and an unseen intent passing through his eyes.

“I don’t want to fight you Batgirl. I need this money to escape this place. I only steal from criminals, although in your eyes it doesn’t really make a difference…. right?”.

She narrowed her eyes at his words.

Money? Escape? Was he being threatened? Maybe he just wanted to leave Gotham for a better life?

Batgirl shook her head inwardly and threw those thoughts to the back of her mind. It didn’t matter what Rider intended to do with this money. All that mattered was that it didn’t belong to him. And that she needed to give it back to whom it truly belonged to.

She pulled out a batarang from behind her waist and raised her arms, ready to fight. The intent not shared by Rider, who stood there, bag over his shoulder and spear at his side.

Gray, who was currently getting the biggest migraine of his life from Rider, tried his best to ignore the feelings of regret from when he killed Penthesilea, transferring onto the woman in front of him.

It was Rider’s greatest regret to fight the Amazonian, whom which he killed in single combat. This carried over into his Saint Graph and made him feel uncomfortable when fighting female opponents.

Especially pretty ones.

“Batgirl. You know that you cannot win against me. Your strength and speed while impressive among normal humans, is nothing when compared to a Servant. Please get out of my way”.

“Servant? What’s that?”.

Gray cursed the womanizing Rider as it distracted him and he revealed a term unfamiliar in this world.

Even if they could figure out what it meant, their were hundreds of beings that could be considered Servants, none of them being able to manifest in this reality.

Gray kept walking, ignoring Batgirl’s presence altogether, the pain coming from Achilles insistence to not fight her lessened slightly and his Gray’s mind became clearer.

This action obviously didn’t sit well with Batgirl.

“Stop! Rider!”.

She swung a fist at the taller man but found that her fist had met with an enclosed hand, wrapped tightly around a much larger one. Batgirl tried to pull back but found her strength unable to resist Riders.

Batgirl jumped up in the air and spun her body to its absolute limits to try and knee Rider in the face, only to find that her knee had been caught by his other than. Smiling she opened up her right hand and smacked Rider on the ear.

Even if he was a metahuman, their were still extremities on the human body that were sėnsɨtɨvė, the ear being one of them.

But before she could bring down her hand onto Riders ear, she felt the hand over her knee letting go, catching her hand.

“Please stop, I don’t want to-“.

Before Gray could finish his sentence, Batgirl once more raised her knee to attack, this time aimed at his lower body, at a certain organ which was every man’s known weakness.

He fought against Achilles’ wishes and pushed down the beautiful masked girl onto the ground, pining her arms his his hands and her legs with his own.

All this happened in the span of ten seconds.

Batgirl let out a surprised gasp at the reversal, and tried to push Rider off her, but to no avail. The gap between their faces were only a few inches, but Gotham’s darkness prevented the other from seeing their face.

“…. This position…. while could be interpreted by some as indecent…. is completely necessary for restraining someone like yourself…. yep, that’s totally the reason”.

She wanted to roll her eyes at Riders comment but found herself staring straight into his golden amber eyes. The looked unnatural on the older male, but not out of place. As if his current face was a mask.

“Let me go Rider. When Batman and Robin get here, then you’ll have explain to them why you’ve pinned a girl down while pressing your body against her!”.

Rider seemed to contemplate the pros and cons of the situation, before looking down at her body and nodded.

“You’re right. I should at least see what’s beneath the suit before leaving”.

Batgirl’s eyes widened at the notion and she squirmed under Riders ambiguous wording, trying to protect the rest of the body from his grip.

She felt a hand hold both of hers above her head, and another on her neck.

“Don’t worry. I’m not interested in your body”.

His final words caused her to stop her movements, and she felt a hand pull off her mask and reveal her face. Her eyes widened and she felt even more exposed than if she was nȧkėd.

“Oh? So you’re Batgirl. Didn’t expect someone pretty to be so deadly. I guess what they say about roses was correct”.

“Don’t worry about me revealing your identity Miss Gordon. I know this is blackmail and is illegal but I need money in order to survive. I’m sure Mr Wayne knows all about money and what it can buy”.

Batgirl felt her heart stop for a moment at the meaning behind Riders words. She looked up at the masked thief whose handsome face was now visible in the faint light of the aircraft flying above him.

“Stop! Unhand Batgirl!”.

Another flying kick was directed towards Gray, and he backed away several meters, looking at the young teen boy in a green, red, yellow and black outfit.

Barbara Gordon quickly put her mask back on, and stood up beside Robin as she whispered something in his ear.

‘Looks like it’s my time to leave’.

With a crackle of green lightning, Gray activated one of Riders Noble Phantasms [Dromeus Komētēs: Comet Form] and he traveled across Gotham City in a single flash, appearing on the top of a skyscraper several kilometers away.

Looking down at the docks, he could vaguely see the Batman talk to Batgirl causing him to smile and frown at the same time.

‘My interactions with Batgirl could’ve been better. If I just used [Dromeus Komētēs: Comet Form] from the start I could’ve avoided it. My mention of Bruce Wayne and Batman necessary either. It served as both a deterrent as well as a warning….. Barbara Gordon was quite gorgeous though’.

He needed to find a new place to crash.