Government Bureau
Suzaku made sure to double check himself before he left his dorm this morning. He wanted to look his best, but to be fair anyone in his position would be doing the same.
"Princess Euphemia will see you now." One of the Princess' bodyguards nodded to Suzaku, opening the door to the Princess' office.
Suzaku stood up and straightened his military uniform as he walked into the office. In the corner, another bodyguard stood, ready to protect the princess should a situation call for it.
"Warrant Officer Kururugi, your highness." Suzaku stood at attention.
If he could describe the princess in front of her in one word, it'd be pink. Her hair, her dress, the makeup she wore…she was pink. But not in a way that obstructed her face, it wasn't overdone. In fact, Suzaku would say it matched her well. Her eyes reminded him of Lelouch's, except they were softer, more violet than amethyst.
"Thank you for coming, you may leave Monica." Her bodyguard made to disagree, but the princess rose her hand. "I'm sure Warrant Officer Kururugi won't harm me, not after going so far to make a name for yourself, would you?" It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Suzaku replied all the same.
"No, your highness." Suzaku shook his head.
"See? You may go now Monica." Her bodyguard sighed and walked out the door. From the sound of her footsteps it seemed she didn't leave the room outside of this one.
"Thank you for meeting with me Suzaku, may I call you that? Titles are exhausting." The princess stood up and walked in front of her desk.
"Yes, your highness." Suzaku nodded, still stood at attention.
"Please, if I'm going to call you Suzaku, you can call me Euphemia. I wanted to thank you for your actions at Narita. I was in a difficult situation, I'm sure you realized your promotion was my sister's way of giving thanks. She's not been one for being open, especially to soldiers." Suzaku wasn't sure, but this proved it.
"I am thankful, I only wanted to help her highness."
"So formal, it's actually very charming. Come walk with me Suzaku." Euphemia walked out the door and he followed. Her bodyguards trailed behind her at a distance, enough to give the two of them a small amount of privacy.
Euphemia guided the two of them to the outside garden, it was a serene part of the building he never knew existed until now.
"Do you like it, my brother made it when he came to Area 11."
"Your brother?" Suzaku asked.
"Clovis, he modeled it after the Aries Villa back in the homeland. It was a special place for us." Suzaku remembered it, Lelouch and Nunnally lived there before they were sent to Japan.
"It's very lovely." Suzaku didn't know what made it lovely, it just was.
"Thank you, it meant a lot to him." They stood in silence for a second before Euphemia turned to him. "When I saw your name attached to that Knightmare, the Lancelot, I got curious. Your name is Suzaku Kururugi, you're the son of the former Prime Minister of Japan. Yet you server in the Britannian army, why is that?" Euphemia asked.
"I guess, it's because my father instilled in me to follow the law." Because he killed him.
"That can't be just it. Certainly, there is more to it than following the law."
"I…I want to stop people killing each other." Deep down he realized how ironic it was for him to stop the killing when he himself wanted to die.
"And?" Euphemia prodded.
"And…I want to make it better, for my people. For Japan."
"How so?" Euphemia asked.
"Knights of the Round are permitted one Area to hold as their own, so to speak. When I prove myself, I will choose Japan. I'll elevate the people who have been run over, I'll work in the system to bring a peaceful end to all this fighting." Suzaku looked at Euphemia, who had a small smile on her face.
"That is an admirable quest, Suzaku." Euphemia nodded.
"Thank you."
"There was one last thing I wanted to ask, before you go." Euphemia turned to him, her face serious.
"Yes?"
"Is my brother and sister still alive?" Uh oh.
"Your brother and sister? I don't quite understand the question, your highness." A frown marked her face.
"8 years ago, Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia was sent to the Japanese Prime Minister as hostages, after the war was over, they were never found. My brother Clovis made the Honorary Britannian program in hopes of finding them again. Now that he is dead, I hope to continue his work. If at least to settle whether they are dead or not. So, when I found your record, I was more than surprised to learn that you were the son of the Japanese Prime Minister. Therefor you must have known them, or at least seen them." Suzaku felt his collar tighten, of course Lelouch and Nunally were alive but she wasn't supposed to know.
"My father kept them separate from us, I wasn't allowed to speak with them." Suzaku lied, he didn't like lying but if it was to protect Lelouch and Nunnally he'd do it again.
"I hope you aren't lying to me, Suzaku, I loved my brother and sister…Clovis did too. I miss them very much, if you have any information about them, I would appreciate it."
"I…Well, when I left my father's estate, they were still alive. The last time I saw them as a boy was 8 years ago during the war." What was that term Lelouch used to tell him? Half-truths? It still felt like lying.
"So, they were still alive?" Euphemia asked.
"After I left the estate I don't know where they went. They could have gone anywhere." Suzaku had to be careful with his words.
"More uncertainty. Thank you Suzaku. I have somethings to think about, Monica will see you out when you are ready." Euphemia looked at the garden, deep in thought.
"Thank you, I hopped I helped in the slightest." He meant that literally.
As Suzaku stood up and Monica walked up to him, Euphemia spoke up. "I just realized; you never used my name when we talked." Euphemia noted.
"I suppose I haven't." Suzaku said.
"Call me by name, would you?" Euphemia.
"Euphemia." He said, she giggled.
"It sounds forced; I hope I haven't given off the wrong impression. Thank you Suzaku, I hope we can talk again soon." Suzaku gave thanks and left, he'd have to warn Lelouch that he was being looked for.
x-x
Ashford Academy
A knock at Miles' door woke him up from sleep, groggily he hopped off his bed and to the door that kept knocking.
"I'm coming!" Miles said as he opened the door.
Milly stood behind the door with a beaming smile on her face and a suitcase in hand.
"Milly? What are you doing here I thought we were gonna meet at your place?" Miles asked, Milly brushed passed him and burst into his room sitting on a chair.
"I couldn't wait, I spent all night on designs, do you know how many drafts I made? Over a hundred, honestly, I've never been this excited about a project. Sure, making a superhero's outfit is hard work, but so is trying to manage a prom! Anyway, I came down to give you the suit. Everything came in this morning and I've been working on the outfit since then." Milly hoisted the suitcase onto her lap, it was heavy for her.
"Wait, this morning? What time is it?" Miles asked.
"Oh, 3 in the afternoon." Miles sighed.
"Well, let's see it." Milly giddily placed it on his bed and typed in a code to the lock.
The suitcase expanded, the suit lied in the middle and mask on top of it. Miles picked up the mask and felt it, he felt something underneath the fabric.
"The mask has an internal user interface. It has a GPS, radio, and even thermal vision. The suit itself is made with a special Kevlar weave to stop bullets; the waist has a magnetic band to support extra web fluid. That reminds me, you need to give me your recipe for your webbing so I can make you more. The better I understand it the better I can get you some cool stuff." Milly went a mile a minute discussing the intricacies of his new suit.
"Whoa, Milly, how did you get all this? How did you make my suit?" Miles asked.
"Miles, my father was THE Knightmare scientist back in the day, easy to say I learn some mechanics from him. Also, you'll know that you may pack a bit more of a punch, that's the suits limited endoskeleton. It should also help soften some blows for you, like the Kevlar its woven into the suit. There's a woven circuit board in the suit that should help your mask interface with any USB, there a male end on your arm. Oh, and your web shooters should be able to connect seamlessly into the suit." Miles looked at her with big wide eyes, the list of enhanced features going over his head.
"Milly, this is great and all, but this seems kinda like over kill." Miles looked at his new suit.
It was mostly black, with a red body, fingertips, and boots. The spider on his chest looked very geometrical and the one on the back looked very much the same but white. It felt less like his old spandex and more like a Knightmare Plug Suit. As Miles pulled it up to him, he found a small problem with it.
"Milly, I think it's a little too big for me." It was certainly a size too large.
"Oh yeah, if you put in on and slap the spider in the middle it will shrink to your size. Sorta like a vacuum." Miles whipped his head to Milly, a smirk on her face.
"Thank you." He whispered.
In his years as Spider-Man there was only one annoyance that plagued him through his years, and that was how hard it was to put on a full spandex suit.
"I'm gonna go outside, you go ahead and try that on." Milly stood up and left the room leaving Miles alone.
Miles raised the suit up to eye level; it was heavier than the spandex. Slowly, Miles put on the suit flexing as the suit clung to his body. His body took a little more force to move with the added pounds, but it definitely felt stronger. When he slipped on the mask, he could finally see the upgrades. The map at the bottom left of his vision, a heart monitor to the top left, and an ammo counter for his webbing in percentage. It was incredible.
"Alright Milly, you can come in." Miles called out.
The door opened to a starry-eyed Milly, looking at the fruits of her labor. "Amazing." She poked the suit.
"I prefer Ultimate, but thanks for everything Milly. I couldn't ask for a better suit." Miles gave her a hug; the feeling was reciprocated.
"I couldn't have you die on us, but all this doesn't come free." Milly said as she pulled away.
"What?"
"I don't want to see you in a back alley bloodied and beaten ever again. That's why I'm gonna be your very own Q!" Milly pulled out a laptop from the suitcase, one that was buried under his suit.
"Q?" Miles asked.
"I'm your gal in the chair, helping you behind the scenes!" She put her hands together and styled it like a gun, like a spy.
"Milly, I don't think that's a good idea."
"There is no discussion, you need a partner in crime…er in justice! No buts!" Milly decided.
"Milly, if you do this, you're accepting a whole different part of life. This isn't a game, if anyone finds out you're a part of this your life will never be the same." Miles urged.
"I'm not backing down, you're a friend and most importantly a member of the Ashford Student Council!" Why was that more important? "You won't be doing this alone anymore. Have some faith Miles, this will work."
x-x
Lelouch thumbed his mask as he looked out the window, Nunnally and Sayako had taken a walk, which left him and C.C. alone.
"Has there been any news on the blood we found at the docks?" Lelouch asked.
"Not yet, have any ideas?" C.C. sat at his desk looking at the news, in the off chance whoever was there that night told the press.
"A few, it could have been one of the Black Knights, but no one has come forward. It could just have been a random soldier caught in the crossfire, but that's unlikely. There were three bullets fired, so it was deliberate." Lelouch thumbed his mask harder.
"Have you tried asking where they were during the fight?" C.C. asked.
"That would cause too much suspicion, I don't want anyone thinking that someone saw under my mask unless I gave them permission. It would ruin the image of Zero." As vain as it sounded, it was the truth. The image of Zero was a carefully crafted mask that Lelouch felt under attack by whoever saw his face. If someone did see him not only would Nunnally be in trouble but the Black Knights could fall apart all together. Zero was the glue that kept the organization together, not Lelouch Lamperouge.
"If you say so. There's something I need to let you know while we're talking about that night." Lelouch stopped thumbing his mask and turned to C.C., on the computer was the fight from that night. Not between the Black Knights and Cornelia, but of Spider-Man and the newly dubbed Sinister Six (it was a ridiculous name that the media decided on).
"The green one, he has a Geass." The accusation made him pay attention more.
"A Geass? Are you sure?" Lelouch asked.
"Of course, anyone with a Code can tell a Geass user from a crowd like a hound dog."
"Code?" He asked.
"My immortality, that is the Code. He wasn't one of my contracts, but he is certainly a Geass user. I don't know what it granted him, but we should be weary of him. I would suggest assassinating him, but he seems to be fixated on the Spider along with the others."
Lelouch stood up and looked at the picture on the website, it was slightly blurry, but he could definitely see him. The man in green and purple with a giant fishbowl on his head.
"I'll take that under consideration."
x-x
Ohgi was in a predicament, when it came to women with no memory of who they were he was clueless on the subject. In fact, he doubted there was anyone who was an expert.
"Ah geez." He sighed as he cooked dinner.
x-x
Area 11 Airport
Private planes weren't an uncommon sight at airports, but a military convoy certainly was. Tony frowned at the huge display, if he had it his way he would have came here in his suit. But Cornelia insisted on keeping his presence a secret until they can use it to their advantage.
"Hey there Cornelia, long time no see. Guilford, still have a stick up your ass." Guilford grew irritated immediately.
"Let's skip the formalities Stark." Cornelia said as she beckoned to her convoy.
"If you wanted to keep my arrival a secret, a convoy is the least subtle thing you could do." Tony pointed out.
"Recent events have shown I can't be too careful, the Black Knights have their sights on me specifically. Not without reason either. They seem to be in the loop of things, and I'd rather have men with me then be quick and defenseless." The three of them sat in the limousine and took off.
"Sure." Tony watched as the equipment from his plane was unpacked and loaded up in storage trucks; all being sent to his temporary residence in Area 11.
"Here are the documents we currently have on the villains we could identify. The other two are still a work in progress." Guilford pulled out an envelope and handed it to him.
As he skimmed through it, he recognized them as prisoners from the Raft. Some of them had inventions suited to them personally, made by Tony himself. He couldn't tell if this was ironic or not.
"Thanks, I'll have solutions for them within the next few days." Tony stuffed the envelope into his jacket.
"Just a few days?" Cornelia asked.
"I've already worked on some of them, so most of them won't be much of a problem. The real wildcards are the other two. No clue who they are?" He asked.
"Nothing.'
"That will be problematic, if that Spider guy shows up, we will get see the other two in more action. That will help me gather some data to put them down."
x-x
Britannia Penitentiary
Prison life for Wilson Fisk wasn't as bad as life outside, in fact it gave him a sort of freedom. All the pros, none of the cons. He ran this prison; nothing went past him without his approval. Well, all but one thing.
"I'm disappointed in you, Fisk." The voice of his Emperor scolded him.
"I truly am grateful you've continued to seek my help, Charles. While this is a momentary set back, I can work much more freely than ever before." Fisk had done much more business behind bars than he ever could as the Kingpin of New York.
"Schneizel was prepared to have your head for selling to the Chinese Federation, I had him settle for life in prison. As one of my very own, I expected an agent of your caliber to be undefeated. Yet here you are, beaten down by the Spider." The mention brought a frown to Fisk's face.
"I underestimated him; it won't happen again."
"I've already set in motion to see that it won't happen again." Charles said, tossing Fisk a newspaper. On it was the team sent in to kill Spider-Man, blurry but still recognizable.
"Using some of the maniacs from the Raft? A brilliant idea." Fisk laid down the newspaper.
"Don't think flattery will blind me to your failure. Be thankful that your usefulness has improved since your imprisonment or I would have given you a code. Throwing you into C's World forever would be apt punishment for failing me." Fisk bowed to the Emperor.
"I am thankful, your Highness. What of the Ragnarök connection? What is it's process?" Fisk asked.
"It seems my late son Clovis hid the last location from me, but I am close to finding it. Once done it is only up to C.C. to come back to us."
"And what of the Spider? Is he still unaware?"
"The Weaver has made attempts to reach out, but we've been able to block most transmissions." Fisk looked back up to Charles.
"Most?"
"One got through; we haven't seen a change in him yet so we can assume he is not actively acting upon it. We have successfully been able to keep him from any Thought Elevators, not as though he's been attempting to reach them." Fisk relaxed, the Spider reaching a Thought Elevator would ruin this entire operation.
"That is good, very good."
"See that you continue to look for the final Thought Elevator, I will deal with the Spider. When Ragnarök comes, you will see your family again, Fisk, nothing will stop us from achieving our goal."
I feel I kinda butchered the meaning of endoskeleton with the new suit. Speaking of, just wanted to clarify that it is the Far From Home suit. There aren't really many different costumes for Miles. The only ones that come to mind are his ITSV suit, his original comic suit, and his redux version that came out a few years ago(?) which just made the spider larger and boxier. Really Marvel, give my boy some new costumes! I mean for goodness sake he doesn't even have a venom suit! The X-MEN have venomized versions of themselves. Why you gotta ignore my boy like that Marvel? Anyway, small rant over, hope yall enjoyed.