I was hoping to have this out yesterday, but things got in the way. Jus glad to have it up now.

I do not own Code Geass or X-Men. They are the properties of their respective owners.

Enjoy!

Lelouch hated being at school. As someone who knew what confinement was like, a school reminded him too much of prison. A restricted space, a set schedule, and an empty promise of freedom after hours of grueling. They were too similar for Lelouch's liking.

Unfortunately, he had to deal with it for now. Unless he wanted every resident of Ashford to realize that they were sharing a space with a mutant revolutionary, it was best that he stay quiet.

"Lulu! There you are."

Lelouch quickly adopted a small smile on his face. Better to get his act ready.

"Hey, Shirley. What's up?"

"Where have you been? I've been trying to get in touch with you over the weekend. Why didn't you answer?"

"I was busy planning to overthrow the government," Lelouch said casually. It wasn't a total lie. It also wasn't the complete truth.

Shirley pouted. "You shouldn't joke about things like that. Especially after what happened."

Lelouch frowned. "What do you mean?"

Shirley looked at Lelouch incredulously. "Didn't you see the news? It was everywhere."

Lelouch shrugged. "I don't really watch the news. It tends to be rather depressing."

"Even so, you should've heard about what happened at the Special Zone. Everyone is talking about it."

"About what?"

"The attack! The stadium being lifted! Mutants! How could you not...?!" Shirley stopped abruptly when she realized she was shouting.

"Are you ok Shirley?"

"I'm fine. Sorry for yelling. But really, how can you be so inattentive? I'm pretty sure the world is changing. You need to keep up Lelouch."

Lelouch chuckled. "Sorry. I guess I'm just used to the way things are. Might not be willing to change."

"You won't get far in life if you keep thinking like that Lelouch. Now come on, we have classes to go to."

When Shirley walked past Lelouch, his face turned to a scowl. He hated the fact that he had to lie like this. Especially to one of the only humans that he didn't hate. But it was necessary. Both for her safety and his secrecy.

Shifting his face back to neutrality, Lelouch followed behind Shirley. He had a school day to get through.

Inside one of the Ghetto's back alleys, an individual in a large trenchcoat was rummaging through the trash cans. He was trying to find something to eat. He hadn't found anything since yesterday morning. He was really hungry.

"Come on. Come on. There has to be something."

"You there!"

"Agh!" The hooded individual stopped rummaging when he noticed two armed guards walking towards him. Both of them had their guns out.

"State your purpose! Why are you here?"

The individual held up his hands. "I did nothing wrong. I am just looking for food. I do not want trouble."

The two guards shared a short conversation.

"Think he's one of them?"

"Maybe. Let's get a closer look."

Both men started walking closer to the hooded man. The same individual who desperately wanted them to get away.

"No, please! I haven't done anything." The guards grabbed a hold of the hood. "Please!"

"Now let's take a- What?!"

One of the guards pulled the hood off of the individual's head. Revealing the inhuman face underneath.

It was a face covered in blue fur. The hair was a similar shade of blue. The eyes were an amber color, and his ears were long and pointy.

"He's one of them! Grab him!"

"Wait! No!"

A point tipped tail spring up from behind the blue-skinned man. He tripped over, falling on his back on the ground. Both guards pointed their barrels at him.

"Don't make a move and we won't shoot. The princess wants all of your kind rounded up."

"Wait! I'm not one of them! I- I'm just- sick. Please!"

"Don't bother fighting it freak. The sooner we-"

*BAMF*

The blue-skinned young man suddenly disappeared. The only thing left of his presence was a bit of smoke.

"Ugh! What is this?" One of the guards tried wiping away the smoke. It was putrid. It smelled like sulfur.

"At least this proves that he is one of them. Now we just need to-"

*BAMF*

"Ahh!"

Both guards turned around to see the same mutant fall out of the sky. His body landed in a dumpster headfirst. He tried to force his way out.

"Get the taser. We need him alive."

"No. No!"

The mutant managed to pull himself out of the dumpster, but not before the guard could pull out his taser. When he tried to run, his body was hit by 50,000 volts. He went down, his body convulsing from the charge inside him.

"Pick him up. We should have a cell open for him."

Both guards picked up the downed mutant and dragged his body to their truck. They had a new prisoner now.

"You've been rather quiet Naoto."

The princess's remark snapped Naoto out of his thoughts. He refocused himself while the two of them walked through the lab.

"Sorry about that Euphie. Just... had a lot on my mind."

The pink-haired girl offered a light smile. "It's alright. I've had a lot to deal with too. Especially ever since... the zone."

Saying that Euphemia had to deal with after the SAZ attack would be a massive understatement. She had swamped.

Whether it was reporters asking about her plans moving forward, advisors giving her suggestions for retaliation, to her own family members asking her what mutants even were. She didn't have any answers to give. She didn't know what to do moving forward. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to retaliate, she didn't want to escalate any conflicts.

And she didn't know mutants existed until one of them ruined her hopes to bring Britannian and Japanese people together. She knew about Naoto, but she and the doctors assumed he was a special case. Or if there were more like him, then they had to be very few.

But the way Magneto spoke to them, it sounded like there were many more than a few of them. He was making an appeal to all the mutants in Area 11 and beyond, meaning that their numbers were greater than she expected. And while she didn't hate mutants per se, she would admit to being a little nervous about them.

After what only one of them did to her plans for peace, could anyone truly blame her for being slightly frightful? If there were more people with incredible power out there, then crafting a plan for peace might actually be harder than she had hoped.

"Are you alright Euphie?"

The princess dragged herself out of her thoughts.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about the things I need to deal with. It's a lot."

"I can imagine."

Naoto had his own issues to deal with. Keeping his sister safe. Trying to keep himself safe and away from suspicion. And trying to explain to his old friends why they shouldn't be panicking. None of which were particularly easy tasks.

Still not as difficult as what he had to do right now.

"Naoto! Princess!"

Both of them turned around with a sigh. The eccentric Lloyd Asplund was walking towards them, followed closely behind by his assistant Cecile.

"My dear test subject. Tell me, how are the glasses working for you?"

"They're fine Lloyd," Naoto calmly responded. No matter how many times Naoto came to work with Lloyd, it was still hard to deal with his weird energy. He was just a strange person.

"Just fine? That simply won't do. Come along now!"

"Come along for what?" Both Naoto and Euphie wondered.

"Lloyd has some new projects he wants input on," Cecile explained. "In truth, I'm a little worried. He's been a little more excited than usual ever since... the zone incident."

Euphie and Naoto both frowned. What was there about the attack that could have Lloyd excited? He was eccentric, but they couldn't see anything that would pique his interest.

"I suggest you both come along. It can only be explained if you see it up close."

Not having many other options, the two of them followed closely behind.

Lelouch had been fully expecting his actions to have an effect on the people of Area 11. What he hadn't fully expected was how close he would be to those affected.

Everyone in his school was talking about the attack at SAZ. He could barely walk six feet before hearing someone mention it.

"This has to be special effects, right?"

"How can he do that?"

"He said there were more people like him? Mutants?"

"That's scary."

"He lifted a whole stadium."

Lelouch tried not to pay too much mind to the whispers and gossip surrounding him. He wasn't doing anything for attention.

But at the same time, a small part of him took pride in what he was seeing. A lot of students were looking at his alter ego on their screens with fear and concern. These were humans he was striking dread into. As opposed to the way it used to be.

Lelouch loved that juxtaposition.

He was just about to enter his class when he heard someone calling him from behind.

"Lulu!"

It was not Shirley who was calling him this time. It was the student council president, Milly.

"What is it Madame Prez?"

"Don't just "Madame Prez" me. Just missed the meeting yesterday. What happened?"

Yesterday Lelouch and Cera had met up with Suzaku to discuss the backlash to their attack on the Zone. It looked like Cornelia was taking her frustration over her first loss into rounding up anyone who could pass a mutant. Whether they were one or not.

Lelouch had spent the day discussing counterattacks with his allies. But he couldn't tell Milly any of that. For obvious reasons.

"Would you believe me if I said that I slept in?"

"Unfortunately, I would," Milly said with crossed arms. "This is a problem, Lelouch. You don't seem to be motivated by club activities. How many guts spells do I have to cast before you start taking your responsibility?"

"That depends. How many of those spells are real?"

Milly narrowed her eyes. "Are you doubting me?"

Lelouch just smirked back. "Say, why don't you try being like one of those mutant people? Do you think you could take control of my mind?"

"Wouldn't that be nice," Milly said with false grief. Her expression then became more serious. "Lelouch, do you have any opinion on what happened at the zone?"

Lelouch shifted his face into contemplation. "To be honest, I'm trying not to think about it too much. Shirley told me about what happened, and she seemed freaked out. I'm trying to avoid being like that."

"You're doing better than Nina then," Milly said with a sigh. "She's been so jittery and anxious since she saw the news. She already had a hard time being around Elevens. I can't imagine how afraid she must feel about mutants."

"Let her wallow then. Her fear will be the end of her."

"That's terrible. I hope she can get over it."

"Me too. Anyways, can we expect you in the council room today Lelouch?"

"Don't worry. I'll be there."

"I'll hold you to that," Milly said as she turned around to walk to her class.

Lelouch was just about to wall into his own class when his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He looked down to see a number he didn't recognize. That could either be harmless, or problematic.

If it was just a spam call or some sort of promotion, he could just hang up and move on with his day. But if it was something like law enforcement, security, or (heavens forbid) the royal family, that might mean his secret was at risk.

Nevertheless, Lelouch answered the call.

"Hello?"

"You should be grateful Lelouch. It took me a while to find your number in the phonebook."

Lelouch's eyes widened. He recognized that voice.

"Get him up."

Two guards threw a man into an interrogation room. They seated him beside a table, where a man with a clipboard was writing things down.

"Blue skin? This is definitely one of them."

"Where am I?" The uncanny-looking young man asked.

"You are in a currently unnamed facility built specifically for the housing of people like you. Mutants."

The way the last word was spat out made it clear that the man with authority was not a fan.

"By order of Princess Cornelia. All mutants are to be detained for the safety of Britannnian citizens."

"But- I was born a Britannian," the blue-skinned man pleaded. "Please, I haven't committed any crime."

"If you were a Britannian, you certainly aren't one now."

The man's matter-of-fact tone made it clear that the blue man should not expect any understanding.

"Now, we only need two things from you. One is your name."

The blue-skinned man hesitated for only a moment.

"Rivalz. My name is Rivalz Cardemonde."

"Good. Now on to the second matter of business."

The man pulled out his gun. He aimed it directly at Rivalz.

"I don't want to hear anything about you again. That means none of those freaky powers of yours. And no making life difficult for any of my men. Do you understand freak?"

Rivalz swallowed hard. He actually wished he could go back to rummaging through trash for food. If only he could control that moving smoke power of his.

"Y-yes, sir."

"Good," the man said before looking at the guards. "Take it to its cell. I don't want to keep looking at it anymore."

The two guards walked over and forced Rivalz onto his feet. They dragged him out of the room and into the larger facility. Rivalz could see that it was indeed a large facility.

It seemed like stories of cells built one on top of the other. The cells were made of what seemed to be a strong glass, making it possible for Rivalz to look inside. And each cell seemed to hold someone like him.

A lot of them had people in them that seemed normal. They could probably walk through the streets without issue. But others, like him, didn't seem to have the option. One man had what looked like hands made of magma. Another had skin that resembled rock. One cell was filled with seven people, all of whom were the same man. One woman kept staring at her hands, which seemed to be peeling off and turning to dust at every second.

And all of them seemed to be his age.

One of the most interesting cells was built at the bottom level. From what Rivalz could see, it was more like a vault than a cell. A metal door several inches thick blocked off a section of the wall. Who was so dangerous they had to be locked in there?

Rivalz was tossed into a cell of his own. The guards literally grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him in, locking the way out behind him.

"You missed lunch blue boy. If you're quiet and lucky, you'll get some dinner."

The two guards left after that, leaving Rivalz to wallow in his own side of his cell. He was, like many other times in the past few years, wishing he had not woken up that day. He had felt sick the night before. But he would never have expected to wake up... looking like this.

If this was supposed to be his life now, he would have preferred to have never woken up at all.

"This is a declaration of war."

Inside their personal abandoned warehouse, Lelouch, Suzaku, and Cera were planning their next move.

"I agree. These roundups of different people across Area 11 are meant to challenge us," Cera said as she watched the news on the stolen T.V. "

"What's more, the guards are mostly targeting the Eleven ghettos," Suzaku pointed out. "They may say they are targeting mutants, but I'm sure they aren't wasting this opportunity to also cripple the Japanese people."

"Japan does have the highest resistance rate of all the areas," Lelouch pointed out. "Still, this might actually work to our benefit."

Both Suzaku and Cera frowned.

"What are you talking about Lelouch? How could any of this be good?" Suzaku said.

"I'm not saying it's good. I'm saying that we can use this to our advantage."

Cera, who had already been gazing into Lelouch's unblocked mind, realized what he meant.

"If we free the mutants being held inside, it might rally more of them to our cause."

"Precisely," Lelouch smirked. "The mutants of Area 11 will realize that the Brotherhood is truly willing to fight for them. They will have reason to join our cause."

Suzaku nodded. "That would be helpful. I was having doubts that only the three of us could see our mission through."

"Actually, I already found new potential recruits," Lelouch said. "You two can come out now."

Out of the shadows, two new individuals walked into the light. One was a young blonde woman with violet eyes and purple clothes. The other was a blue-haired young man wearing a blue tracksuit.

"Suzaku, Cera, meet Leila Maccal and Akito Hyuga. Two mutants."

"Is that the only introduction you're going to give us?" Akito asked. "Nothing more for two old friends?"

"Friends?" Cera asked suspiciously.

"Lelouch, where do you know them from?"

"I met them when I was younger," Lelouch told Suzaku. "Back when I first gained my issue with confinement."

Suzaku and Cera understood from that last word what Lelouch was referring to. They decided it was best not to press the issue.

"I'll be honest myself. I wasn't expecting to hear from either of you. It's been years," Lelouch said.

"You gained our attention," Leila said. "And don't too excited Lelouch. We still have responsibilities to the E.U. We're here to check on your promise."

"My promise?"

"You said you want to protect mutants. To tear down institutions that threaten them," Akito added.

"We want to see if you're genuine," Leila finished.

Lelouch smirked. "When have I not been? And you actually came at a good time. We were just about to discuss our next move."

"Which is?" Suzaku asked.

"Cera?"

The green-haired girl stepped forward. "Lelouch asked to walk around the city. To try and see what Cornelia's plan was."

Suzaku nodded. "I take it you found something aside from the obvious?"

"I found out where they are keeping all the mutants that they imprisoned."

Cera pulled a sheet of paper from one of her pockets while Lelouch mentally dragged a metal table over to their position. She unfurled the sheet.

"The structure itself is a military training ground. The actual prison is underground," Ceras said, pointing out different points on the map.

"How could they have built this so quickly? It's only been a few days since Lelouch attacked," Leila asked.

"This hasn't been built. Just repurposed," Cera answered. "The facility was always there, with military training being its main purpose. The underground jails were meant for mutinous officers and for holding enemies of the state. Keeping imprisoned mutants is a recent addition."

"One that they are going to pay for," Lelouch added with narrowed eyes.

Everyone turned to him. Suzaku asked the question that they were all thinking.

"What's the plan?"

"Right now, our plan is to invade this prison. We are going to break out all the mutants that they captured. And there is one prisoner, in particular, we must release."

Suzaku frowned. "One prisoner? What makes one so important?"

Lelouch turned to his old friend.

"He is our old sensei."

Either the next chapter or the one after will show Lelouch's plan coming to fruition. And I have plans for once we meet the sensei. It ought to be fun.

We'll also see Suzaku's mutation once the operation gets going.

Does anyone want to take a guess either who the sensei is or what Suzaku's mutation is? I'm always open to hearing theories.

On another note, I made Rivalz into Nightcrawler because I don't think the show ever did anything interesting with his character. I wanna see if I can change that. And with Nightcrawler being one of my favorite X-Men, I think having fun with his character will be easy.

Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.

Bye!