Government Bureau

In a secluded room in the Government Bureau, the Purist Faction held a meeting concerning the death of Prince Clovis.

"Sooner or later the public has to know. I've already sent word to the homeland; they're sending Princess Cornelia to take over in Clovis' place."Lord Kewell reported to Jeremiah, the leader of the Purist Faction in Area 11.

"We're going to need a scapegoat. We can't possibly allow the public to question that some uppity terrorists can kill nobility without Britannia getting revenge, not again."Jeremiah's thoughts returned to that of his greatest failure, Marianne Vi Britannia. His first job and his first failure was to see to her protection and he screwed it up.

"I've done the pleasure of looking through the Elevens that are signed on as soldiers, and I believe I found the perfect fit."Kewell handed him a file, Jeremiah opened it to see their scapegoat.

The boy in the file had brown hair and green eyes, and his name was Suzaku Kururugi.

"Kururugi? Isn't that…"The name was a distant one, but recognizable.

"Yes, this is the son of the former Prime Minister of Area 11, Genbu Kururugi. I can't help but suspect the boy was working on some dastardly deed."Kewell hinted at.

"Where is he at now?"Jeremiah asked.

"That's the harder part; it seems that the special division picked him up to pilot their prototype Knightmare," Kewell said.

"A.S.E.E.C., but that's under Prince Schneizel."Jeremiah pondered this for a moment.

"If we frame Kururugi of killing Clovis it won't matter. We'll have enough evidence to convict him. Isn't that what we want Gottwald?"Kewell pressured Jeremiah to accept his idea.

He knew what Kewell was doing. If Jeremiah agreed Kewell would get the reward for capturing Clovis' killer. He had little doubt that he would Kewell would replace him as leader of the Purists. To be frank, Jeremiah had no love for the Purists; he guarded and loved Lady Marianne who would never fall with the Purists ideals.

He had to honor Lady Marianne's memory, to live on and preserve her memory. If Kewell took control of the Purists from him…he'd have nowhere else to go but under the boot of Kewell Soresi, the man already hates him enough. Kewell will not have the luxury of commanding over him this day or any other.

"No.," Jeremiah said.

"No?! This is a golden opportunity, we have credible reasoning, and we can fabricate the evidence. We…"

"…will be accusing Prince Schneizels own research branch of treason. I don't know about you Kewell, but accusing Schneizel indirectly of helping cause the death of Clovis is the path that will get us killed."Jeremiah said.

To his right Villetta, his right-hand woman was too busy in thought to give her own opinion. Across the room, however, many of the Purist faction had become divided in thinking. They could agree with Kewell, but that would incredibly risky with no certainty that they'd be alive after the trial. On the other hand, go with Jeremiah and they could at least avoid any blame, but they'd be seen as incompetent. Even now, the Purists are seen as radical, no doubt they would lose something of worth by the end of this.

"Than what do you propose Jeremiah? Please, tell us your grand plan."Kewell pressured Jeremiah.

Yes, Kewell was right in some regard. They had to pin the blame on someone. They could go for a regular Eleven soldier.

Jeremiah's eyes drifted to the screen on the other end of the hall, the TV was muted but the broadcast showed something that could help.

"Kewell, what happened to you during the attack on the pile of dirt they call Shinjuku?"Jeremiah asked.

"Why?"Kewell looked nervous.

"I believe I found our culprit."Jeremiah picked up the remote from his chair and unmated the TV.

"…the bombing of the building, reports say that none other than Spider-Man himself entered the building to help survivors. We have one right here, can you please name yourself."The newswoman pointed her microphone to the man beside her.

"My name is Warren Trevor; I was stuck under debris when Spider-Man came. He lifted it all by himself like he was superhuman. I guess you have to be if you swing around the city at the speed of a car in nothing but your pajamas. Thank god for Spider-Man or I'd be dead."The confession of the man was cut short when Jeremiah muted the TV.

"Yes, thank god for Spider-Man."And with that, Jeremiah's place as leader of the Purists would continue for years.

"Spider-Man killed Prince Clovis? That's nuts."

"Are we sure? I mean the guy saves people, it doesn't look like he'd kill a Prince."

"I saw raw footage from Shinjuku; there were those webs he shoots out across all kinds of soldiers, he had to have fought against us."

"Man, I was really starting to like the guy too."

Conversations just like this were the rage all across Area 11, none more so than Ashford Academy.

Lelouch had returned to his room for the night after putting Nunnally to sleep. But his mind was focused on the topic in front of him. Spider-Man had murdered Prince Clovis.

'No, he didn't kill Clovis, I did.' Lelouch thought.

Lelouch had kept his eye on the masked vigilante ever since he arrived in Area 11 almost a month ago. Lelouch had never seen anyone like him, the way he almost flew through the air, the way he stopped cars with nothing but himself, it was almost unreal. But then again, he had the power to make anyone do as he wished. He had hoped to convince him to join him, even without fully finishing the persona he'd don to defeat Britannia he knew that an alliance with Spider-Man would be a great help.

He was an idealist, perhaps he could show him the truth and it would change his mind? But that had to be saved for later. He had to prove to the world that Spider-Man did not kill Clovis.

"Now all I need is a name," Lelouch said he looked down at his drawing.

The costume had roughly been made, now he had to make a name; something that would strike the hearts of this nation, a name to be remembered by all.

"Hm, how about…"The name clicked, now he had to set the stage.

Murder. That's what he was being accused of. Murder of Prince Clovis la Britannia.

Miles sat in his room watching the news; Spider-Man was a wanted criminal for a crime he did not commit. He was being framed. He never came close to wherever Clovis was, he didn't even know where. Was it the G-1?

Miles had to set the record straight. He did not kill Clovis. He was not a murderer.

Suzaku sat on his cot, he worried a lot. He still received no word from Lloyd if Lelouch or that strange girl had survived. Suzaku pictured Lelouch in his mind, he wore a school uniform black with a gold finish. If Lelouch was alive, then that meant Nunnally wasn't too far behind him. If he knew Lelouch, and he hoped he did, he knew that Lelouch would stop at nothing to keep his younger sister safe.

Suzaku looked down at his scar, the wound had mostly healed but he didn't want to re-open the wound again. He remembered going back to the deployment station to get medical treatment. Miss Cecile had certainly made a fuss at him for pushing himself while Lloyd had happily ignored them to check up on his creation.

So here he was, in a cot alone resting. As the day went on he watched the news for any signs of a death toll, none came but something else did.

Spider-Man accused of murdering Prince Clovis.

The headline completely baffled Suzaku. Spider-Man didn't seem like someone to kill, at least that's what the impression he gave off. It didn't help that he wore a mask and took to vigilantism. If he really wanted to help he'd take off his mask and work from within.

Just like he himself was doing.

Suzaku sighed. He leaned back into his cot and closed his eyes; Miss Cecile and Lloyd were inducting him into A.S.E.E.C. tomorrow and would be introducing him to their benefactor. He hoped he could make a good first impression.

At the edge of the city limits, a girl in a white straight jacket with green hair and yellow eyes looked at the Tokyo settlement with annoyance.

"Now where did that stupid boy go?"She sighed before making her way through the city to track down her accomplice.

The next day; the sun dropped from the sky and across Area 11 the signs for the immediate capture of the vigilante Spider-Man was posted everywhere. The news didn't stop broadcasting their support for the Britannian government.

So when none other than Spider-Man himself was seen swinging through the city, everyone knew what was going to happen.

Miles perched himself on top of a roof, below him people looked at him with a mix of faces. The honorary Britannians looked on with a hint of hope, and the Britannians looked on with disgust.

"I did not kill Prince Clovis, I am innocent!"Miles yelled from his spot on the roof.

He could hear police had already mobilized. Soon enough they had blocked the street, each officer with a gun out. He felt a slight twinge of regret in his heart. His father was an officer, if he was in New York, he'd be down there. Miles personally knew many of his father's partners, so he silently asked for forgiveness for what might happen.

"Listen to me, I did not kill Clovis! I'm here to show I am innocent."Miles yelled down to the police.

"Spider-Man this is Captain Stacy of the Area 11 Police Department, you are surrounded. I have sent my men up to apprehend you. Take off your mask and turn yourself in, you will be given a fair trial!"

Down below, George Stacy started to sweat. He heard what this guy was capable of. If it was true that he wasn't sure he could possibly nab him. Sure they brought guns, but this guy alone took down 3 Knightmares.

'Who are you?' George thought.

Behind him, the sounds of Knightmares were heard. The Purist faction had obviously heard of the commotion and came to claim their prize. At the front of the pack was a Sutherland driven by none other than Jeremiah Gottwald.

The situation was being broadcasted by a helicopter above. In one room, Lelouch sat alone slightly disappointed by the turn of events.

"So he decided to go to the public? This has increased my timeframe, I have to act now; the die has been cast."He pulled out his phone and made a call.

In the A.S.E.E.C. lounge room, Suzaku looked on in judgment.

"He claims he's innocent if he means it he should just surrender to the military."Behind Suzaku, Lloyd watched the TV with only a little bit of attention.

"If he does then I doubt he'll get a fair trial, Britannian or not," Lloyd said as he returned his full attention to his computer looking over Lancelot's repair from Shinjuku.

"But the courts are where the truth is revealed if he makes his case…"

"It won't matter," Lloyd stood up, "they'll find something to convict him of. The courts are very likely against him."

Suzaku grimaced, Britannia needed reformation and Suzaku would be the one who would do it.

"Fire!"Gottwald commanded his Purists to do.

The 3 Knightmares had open fired at the part of the building Spider-Man stood on. Instead of dying, the pest had jumped off the building away from their gunfire.

"Why are you doing this? I did not kill Clovis!"Spider-Man shouted over the gunfire as he attached himself to the opposite building.

"You will pay for killing His Highness!"Jeremiah said as he drove his Knightmare to the building.

His baton extracted from his Knightmares forearm and swiped at the bug. Unfortunately, Spider-Man jumped out of the way and swung onto the Knightmare.

In Miles' mind, he had no choice but to fight. He ran up the Knightmares arm and prepared a Venom strike. Before he could the other arm of the Knightmare had swatted him off, Miles' brain did a reboot quickly after being hit that hard. He felt his back hit the pavement, and above him, he saw the gun from the Knightmare pointed at him.

"You won't get any court, pest. You get execution!"Jeremiah yelled as he pulled the trigger.

Miles scrambled out of the way, avoiding the child-sized bullet and shot a web-line away from the Knightmare and started to swing away.

'Dammit!' Miles thought.

The Knightmares gave chase, they shot at him infrequently. They were probably trying to avoid civilian casualties. Miles certainly didn't want to get someone hurt, he had to lose them.

"Taking credit? That certainly isn't something I'd expect of Spider-Man."A voice spoke over his internal radio.

"Who is this?!"Miles asked.

"You should remember, you dismissed me at Shinjuku. Take the Knightmares down Main Street that is if you want to show the world you didn't kill Clovis."The voice said.

"Why should I believe you?"Miles asked, dodging another bullet from the Knightmares chasing him.

"You fight for justice, I happen to fight for the very same thing. Consider this a favor."The voice said.

Miles cursed under his breath. He could fight them, but that would be incredibly risky. Going invisible and leaving wouldn't solve this problem. But what the voice of the radio was saying…it was tempting.

"Fine, Main Street, I'll be there."Miles made a hard right turn; the Knightmares continued to follow firing pot shots at him still.

A quick look behind showed that the Area 11 Police had started following him as well. Again Miles cursed, this was stupid. He should've thought this through; of course, they wouldn't listen to him.

But if the voice of the radio was right…he just hoped that he was.

Miles turned onto Main Street, "Continue down Main Street, your trust will be rewarded."

MOVE

Miles swung his head to see the arm of a Knightmare swipe at his head. He was too late to dodge it, and pain spread through him. He could vaguely feel himself fall to the ground.

"Ouch."Miles groaned.

"Good job Villetta, you will be rewarded for your bravery!"The voice of Margrave Jeremiah came closer.

Miles slowly stood back up; he had to remind himself not to get clothes-lined by a Knightmare again.

"Oh, you're getting up? Let me help you."A boot struck him in the back, pushing Miles down to the concrete.

"Wow, that really…helped."Miles coughed out.

Jeremiah smirked, "Quite the comedian aren't you."

"You gotta be if you put on a onesie and fight crime like me,"Miles said.

Jeremiah's boot kicked him onto his back, the look of victory on his face. Oh each side of the road, people clamored to see the commotion. It was packed, not a soul on Main Street didn't have their eyes glued to the sight before them: Jeremiah Gottwald standing over Spider-Man.

Where the voice of the radio?

"You'll stand for your crimes against the Empire, scum," Jeremiah said.

"A crime he did not commit!"A voice shouted over the people.

Jeremiah looked up, down the street a lone man stood. "What the…?"Jeremiah tried to find the source of the voice.

"Would you sentence an innocent man to death? A man who has only fought for justice!?"Again the voice spoke.

"Where is it coming from?!"Jeremiah asked.

"We don't know sir; we're scanning all radio frequencies."One of the Purists said.

"Jeremiah Gottwald, the man before you did not kill Prince Clovis."Multiple spotlights turned on from the news helicopters in the sky and all focused on a certain spot.

On the rooftop across the street stood a man in a purple cape and gold trimmings, where his face would be was only a mask. From his voice Miles understood who he was, he was the man over the radio.

"Spider-Man did not kill Clovis, I did!"With a flourish, the man in purple thrust his hand out.

"You killed Clovis?"Jeremiah asked.

"That I did, Spider-Man would never kill a man! He stands for justice in a just world, it is a shame that he does not live in one."

"And who are you, a sidekick?"Jeremiah provoked, the Knightmares under his command had already pointed the guns at the man on the roof.

"I? I am Zero! I stand for justice, but I know that this world is not just! This is why I fight back against the system, why I will not have you condemn a man for a crime he did not commit!"

Miles looked on with a twinge of fascination; he was playing it all like a stage. The way he talked, the way he moved, it reminded him of himself. How he would make a spectacle out of catching robbers, a joke at their failure and humiliate them. It was like looking into a mirror, and that mirror was looking back.

"I assume you won't be turning yourself in?"Jeremiah asked.

"No, I will not."

"Typical terrorist, wanting everything but not willing to give up anything, I'm afraid this just won't do."Jeremiah leveled his gun to Zero.

"Quite the contrary Jeremiah, I have something to give you."He snapped his fingers and car started to drive down the road from in between an alley. The car itself was not noticeable much, but what was on it spoke more of the situation they were in.

"What, that's…"Jeremiah's face gave it away; it was the container he had been told contained poison gas. Zero had taken hostage the entirety of Main Street and only he and the Purists were the ones that knew it.

"I give you the choice Jeremiah. Let go of Spider-Man, and Orange will never be revealed to the public."

With those words, Zero had sown distrust into everyone who called themselves an ally of Jeremiah Gottwald. What was Orange? Why didn't Jeremiah want it revealed? What was Jeremiah keeping secret?

"What!?"Jeremiah looked at him in confusion.

"If I die, it all goes public. So you'll do everything in your power to let us go."Zero proclaimed.

Unknown to the world, Zero had just used Geass on Jeremiah Gottwald. It would be a small domino in a chain that would forever change the world.

"You heard him, let them go!"Jeremiah shouted.

His boot moved its way from Miles' chest. Jeremiah forced Miles up and pushed him towards Zero ignoring the objections from the men behind him.

"Jeremiah you can't be serious?!"Villetta asked.

Kewell had had enough; he sat back down into the pilot's chair of his Knightmare and planned to charge the two masked figures.

"You aren't leaving here!"Kewell shouted as he charged but before he could get near, another Knightmare had blocked him.

"What the…"

"Lord Kewell that is an order let him go!"

Miles shot a web-line up to Zero, who had looked like he had been waiting patiently.

"Who are you?"Miles asked.

"I am like you, a man that fights for justice. For now, we must make our leave."The door to the roof behind them opened and a woman in red hair joined them.

"We're ready, Zero."She said.

"Good, Spider-Man, if you can do us the pleasure."He motioned above them.

Miles looked up to see a limousine parked on the side of the highway above them.

"Better hold on then," Miles said as he pointed his web shooters up and shot two web-lines up to the highway.

Below them, Miles could distinctively hear the shouting of the Purists trying to capture them. But as Zero and his partner grabbed on and lifted to the limousine, Zero had pulled out a switch and flipped it on. The canister he rolled out shout out purple smoke and the people went into a craze.

"Colored smoke, but they don't know that," Zero said, noticing the expression of Miles' mask.

Out in the ghettos, Ohgi, Kallen, and the rest of their resistance cell talked together giving Spider-Man and Zero time to talk alone.

"I can't believe we pulled that off,"Ohgi said as he threw off the chauffeur uniform Zero had given him.

"But we pulled it off, just like Zero said he would,"Kallen said as she too sighed in relief.

"I can't believe it either; we were all sitting on the edge of our seats. Tamaki here more than anyone."Sugiyama admitted.

In the other part of the torn down building, Zero and Spider-Man talked.

"The Purists roughed you up badly, didn't they? Typical of them, but now you know the truth. Britannia is rotten, Spider-Man. If you wish to change the world, join me."Zero stuck out his arms.

"So, did you really kill Clovis?"Spider-Man asked.

"I did. He was an enemy commander, this is war, why wouldn't I?"

Spider-Man sighed, "The gas at Main Street, are you sure it was harmless?"

"I procured it myself, nothing but colored powder. In the end, no one was killed and you were saved."Zero said.

"So you're a results kinda guy? I can't argue with that, but still…"

"Britannia is a worthless dominion, Spider-Man; you who stand for justice will never make it far against an entire nation. But together, we have a better chance."

"Change the world? Is that what you think I'm trying to do?"Spider-Man asked.

"Your change is minuscule, you fight the day-to-day corruption. The beat downs, the robberies, any crime that is unjust you fight. But these are all symptoms, Britannia is the origin of this, if you help me we will bring true justice."

"But you'd kill to make that happen…won't you?"Miles asked.

"War is not won without death, either we do or Britannia does."

Miles looked out onto the lights of the Tokyo settlement. What Zero was proposing, it was to kill.

"I'm sorry Zero, I can't."

"You can't?"Zero asked.

"I can't join you. This…"Miles motioned to their situation.

"I never wanted this. I wanted to help people; I wanted to help the little guy, the ones that couldn't fight back. But what you're proposing…I can't be a part of."

"How so?"Zero asked.

"I won't kill…I can't kill. You'll probably laugh, but it's my moral code. My power isn't something I can't take advantage of, I have a responsibility. Killing people would ignore that, it goes against my responsibility. I appreciate what you're doing, what you've done. But I can't be a part of this rebellion."

"I see," Zero said.

"I won't turn you in if you truly are someone who stands for justice than I won't get in your way."Miles walked towards the hole in the building.

"What will you do now?"Zero asked.

"I'm sure the Purists will crack down on Elevens, I'll add that to my list of things I hate. Goodbye, Zero, hopefully, the next time we meet is on better terms."

As Spider-Man swung away, Lelouch couldn't think of how much of a fool he was. In some way, he reminded him of Suzaku. That being said, he could respect him for continuing to fight on even if he could have worked much better together.

Across the globe, in Britannia, the future Viceroy of Britannia watched with a furious brow.

"You're mine, Zero."Cornelia proclaimed to herself.

This ended up being really long and took a few more days than it should have to finish. Either way, I wanted to explain Miles' actions here. Noticeably, unlike Suzaku, Miles isn't a guy who abhors someone driven by results alone, no contemptible means and that. Miles is not a killer, it's something he picks up from Peter when he was Spider-Man. Lelouch isn't as mad at Miles about this as he is with Suzaku, who puts his faith into the system, while Miles recognizes the system is broken to an extent but still wants to protect those who get trampled on. Anyway, hope you enjoy, I'll be updating Home Alone next so keep an eye on that.