I do not own Code Geass or X-Men. They belong to their respective owners.

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"I assume you came here with a plan?"

"If I hadn't, I wouldn't have come at all. And now that you're free, all I need is a path."

"A path? A path to what?"

"It's not a path for me, sensei," Lelouch explained. "You are the one who will benefit from this path. You are the one that needs the sun."

Before Todoh could question his former student further, the young revolutionary lifted his hand upward. With his palm now facing the ceiling, he used his power to tamper with it. He needed a hole, and he would create one. Any magnetic responded to his whims, and the entire facility was made of ferrous metals. So they all tore themselves apart, breaking nails and bolts, creating a direct path to the world above.

With the opening created, natural sunlight was able to shine in the facility once again. And it shone directly onto Todoh. A man who could absorb all of its radiation. Lelouch smiled as she saw his mentor's skin begin to literally burn with sunlight.

"How do you feel, sensei?"

Despite himself, Todoh had to smile. It had been too long since he had felt this rejuvenated.

"I feel... good," Todoh said with a breathy voice. And once that breath was released, his power covered his body. Made obvious by the fiery aura encasing his flesh.

"I will wait for you above."

Lelouch watched with interest as his sensei took off to the world, leaving a flaming trail behind himself. The young ferrokinetic's grin grew larger as he saw the enjoyment Todoh was getting from being able to use his power freely. Perhaps convincing the man to join would not be as hard as he expected.

Keeping his optimism on the backburner, Lelouch placed his helmet back on his head. And Magento levitated behind Todoh, ready to make the humans see their power.

"I've been looking forward to this."

Contrary to what his old students might believe, it wasn't his powers that made Todoh uncomfortable with what he was. It was the idea of otherness. Of not truly being one of the people he had devoted his life to protecting. It was why he had always hidden his abilities. it was why he had trained them in secret. And when he had agreed to help those two boys all those years, it was on the condition that they do not reveal themselves to the world and that they not use their powers for themselves.

They had an interesting way of following his teachings.

But now that Lelouch had gone and shown the world what he was capable of, secrecy was no longer a viable option. And if he wanted to escape and give Japan a better chance of winning its freedom back, he couldn't afford to hold back. He had to use his true power to win this war.

And besides, as childish as it may sound, flying was fun. And so was what he was about to do.

Once he had escaped the path Lelouch had set out for him, the first thing Todoh did was bask in an even greater amount of solar energy. The second thing he did was survey his surroundings. Most of which were destroyed, thanks to his other student.

It was interesting. While Lelouch had been the brain and guide of the duo, Suzaku was very much the power and muscle. Especially with his mutation. His giant green avatar was a useful tool that he had used to destroy every Knightmare that approached him and trample every soldier foolish enough to get in his way. A far cry from the days when the boy could barely form a barrier around himself.

Speaking of foolish Britannian soldiers, a small squad of them were trying to sneak behind Suzaku. The green warrior was too busy pummeling a Sutherland unit's chest into the ground to notice. Something Todoh might have to chastise him for later. After he saved his life.

To do that, Todoh channeled as much of his power into a sphere in his hands. Letting loose his power in a way he hadn't done in years, Todoh tossed that energy ball down on those removing soldiers. The ones that didn't get burned ran away to avoid any more explosions. The blast also caught the attention of another of Todoh's old students.

"Todoh Sensei. It's good to see you."

"Likewise, Kururugi. It's good to see you've been keeping up with the old lessons."

"Glad you approve. I've been working on implementing them with my powers."

Todoh noticed, given all the broken and in some cases demolished Knightmare frames.

"I see you two have been catching up."

Magento levitated down, now standing directly between Suzaku and Todoh.

"So what is your plan Lelo-"

"Magneto, Todoh. Call me Magento when I cover my face. I don't want the humans to know who I am," Magento ordered. "As for the plan, this is it. The rest of the mutants and you are free."

"Does that mean there is no more point in us being here?"

"I wouldn't have said it like that, but yes. It is time to make our getaway."

Reaching to his ear inside his helmet, Magneto stopped when he saw two humvees driving towards them. He took a moment to grab hold of one and tumble it towards the other. Both machines crumbled to the ground after rolling and crashing into each other. Then he reached for the communicator.

"We are done here, Blink. We could use an exit."

"One that I am happy to supply."

A tear in space appeared next to the three mutants. One that led directly to Magneto's hideout.

"After you gentlemen."

Suzaku undid his energy armor and walked behind Todoh, who was walking cautiously into the portal. Magento flapped his cape behind him as he approached the portal, taking one last moment to look back and bask in the chaos he had wrought. An entire Britannian facility disrupted and ruined by his own efforts.

Cera had told him that he was arrogant, but it was hard to be any other way when he could do things like this. He thought he deserved his pride.

Magento turned around and left through the portal. He would leave his enemies to deal with the mess.

Cornelia arrived half an hour after the attack had concluded. All she saw were men running like decapitated chickens, burning equipment, and Knightmares turned to scrap metal. And every single prisoner had escaped.

"Guilford."

"Yes, princess?"

"I need to shoot someone."

"Not any of our men, correct."

Cornelia didn't answer him. She just took her gun out and aimed.

"Welcome Todoh. This is the current headquarters for the Brotherhood."

Todoh took one look around the underground center before coming to a solid conclusion. He stood on a balcony that overlooked an entire section of the underground. One large enough to hold most of the escaped prisoners.

"You don't have much to work with, do you?"

"Not at the moment, Lelouch said as he tightly gripped his helmet. "We work with what we have. For now, secrecy is more important than power. If they cannot find us, then we are free to build ourselves up to face them directly."

"That's why you broke out the prisoners. To inscribe them into your army."

"Only if they wish to fight. I will not force this path on anyone."

Todoh nodded in slight relief. He had been nervous the first time he had seen his student. He was afraid that his hatred had blinded him to any sense of compassion or empathy. But he seemed to at least have some decency.

"He won't turn them down of course. He just can't turn down an opportunity."

Todoh watched as a green-haired girl he did not know suddenly appeared behind Lelouch and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her face beside his.

The thing that surprised Todoh the most was how relaxed Lelouch was about it. Even when they had met, it took time for Todoh and Suzaku to be able to touch Lelouch without setting him on edge. The old army man had never learned the full extent of the boy's previous experiences, but he knew that they made trust a rare emotion for him. So seeing him display it so openly, especially with a strange girl, was... he didn't know if it was comforting or concerning. Possibly both.

"Good work on your end Cera. Allow me to introduce my old sensei. This is..."

"Kyoshiro Todoh. I know."

The old Colonel frowned. "How do you know who I am?"

"I'm a telepath. I read your mind, obviously."

Todoh looked at Lelouch. "She does that. She's one of my lieutenants, given that her skills are invaluable."

"Ah, thank you," Cera said, planting a kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to check on those other people you used to know. Have fun with those lectures he has planned for you."

"My old friends have names, Cera."

"I know."

The girl walked away, leaving Lelouch and Todoh alone again.

"Stick around and you might see more of her."

"I have a feeling that's more for you," Tohdo responded, deciding not to get too involved in whatever sort of relationship those two had. It wasn't his business, and it didn't seem to negatively affect Lelouch.

"She said you had lectures for me," Lelouch questioned.

"if you know a way to keep her out of my mind, I'd love to know it."

"I have this helmet. Unfortunately, I only have one."

"Can I borrow it if I'm alone with her?"

"Maybe if you promise not to melt it," Lelouch answered back. Both mutants had a chuckle at that. That was before Todoh got serious again.

"I do have some ideas on how to lecture you, Lelouch. But first I have a question."

"What is it?"

"What exactly is your goal? You say you want mutants to be free, to get rid of the oppression. But at what cost?"

"Whatever it takes. I'm not going to allow anything to stand in my way," Lelouch stated with complete certainty.

"What about Japan? Or the rest of the areas?"

"What about them?"

"Lelouch, don't tell me you just intend to leave them to their own devices. They are victims just the same as we are."

"Todoh, they're humans. Even if we do free them, what's going to stop the humans freed from suppressing us?"

"That's a rather pessimistic outlook."

"It's one that I've built from seeing how humans act. You know this," Lelouch reminded his old teacher. "I've told you what they did to me. What they did to others like me."

"You never told me the full story, Lelouch. You tend to keep details to yourself."

Lelouch bristled at that point. It was one that wasn't wrong. He was just used to working with the two people that understood him better. Someone like Todoh would require a greater amount of transparency.

"Take a look at this."

Lelouch pulled back the sleeve on his arm. Allowing Todoh to see the numbers marked into his skin.

"You've seen them beroe. But I never told you what they were."

Todoh was silent as he waited for his explanation.

"The Britannians call the people in each of their territories numbers. But the way they treat mutants... They literally treat us like numbers. Just cogs in a machine of exploitation and experimentation. We're not people to them, just living test subjects that cold make good weapons for soldiers."

Lelouch turned to Todoh, his eyes now glowing purple with anger. "The humans don't see us as people. So why should I treat them any better than the parasite they are?"

Todoh decided to be diplomatic. He couldn't pretend to understand how Lelouch felt. He would probably never feel the same way. But if he could, he would remind the boy that they still shared the world with the other species.

"Lelouch, you cant win this entire war on your own. Even if you can control metal, a rubber bullet to your face can still harm you. And the Britannians are known for adapting. If you keep hitting them by yourself, they'll eventually learn how to hit back."

Lelouch wanted to argue back, but Todoh didn't give him a chance.

"If you want to win, you are going to need allies. Without them, fighting this war on your own will only get you so far, and you'll likely end up dead before it's over."

Surprisingly, Lelouch smirked at Todoh.

"Then I suppose it's a good thing I have you now. I hope your skills in diplomacy haven't lessened in all these years."

"What? Lelouch, I-"

"Talk to Suzaku if you have any more questions. He will also give you a more in-depth tour of our facility. From there, you can reach out to your soldiers."

Todoh was capable of doing that. More than capable, in fact.

"I never agreed to join your Brotherhood, Lelouch."

"You used your mutation and attacked the Britannians," Lelouch pointed out. "That's all the confirmation we need. I also expect you to be ready to train any mutants who come forth to serve. Only you can bring out the best in them.

Lelouch began to levitate away towards a room near the ceiling of the facility. His strategy room.

"I expect great things from you, sensei."

Lelouch disappeared, leaving Todoh to contemplate how his life had gotten him here. He was working under his former student in order to bring down Britannia. To do that, he would have to reach out to squadmates who no doubt knew about his condition now. Whather they listened to him or not anymore was in the air. And after that, he would have to focus on maintaining that diplomacy while also training an army for the boy.

It was going to be a lot of work. All for the purpose of freeing his homeland while Lelouch focused on saving others liek them.

So he might as well get started.

Elsewhere...

"How did they break out again?!"

Guilford was beginning to wonder if his princess would even make it to the age of thirty. With all the stress she was being placed under, and all the situations she had to deal with, he was sure gray hairs would be appearing soon.

"My princess, we had no idea they would attack the holding facility. They caught us by surprise, using that new mutant of theirs to distract us outside while they did their work inside."

"And now they have Todoh. Who, as it turns out, is also mutant," Cornelia spat the last word out. She was already getting sick of using it. "Don't tell me, we still have no way of tracking them."

The last part was a statement, not a question.

"No princess. Their tracks were covered well. Even most of the prisoners we had in the facility have disappeared."

"No doubt emboldened to join their new leader against Britannia. Is there any good news here?"

"Princess, I-"

Guilford froze. Not out of shock, surprise, or any emotion. He simply froze, his entire body stiff and stuck. Cornelia could only watch him with wide eyes, unsure what gripped him.

"Guilford? Wake up. I still need you."

"He is fine Cornelia. I simply froze him for the moment. We need to discuss some things."

Cornelia's eyes widened when she heard that voice in her head. It was feminine, and somewhat innocent, surprisingly. It also ended... familiar, somehow.

And she hated it. It was invasive, so she pulled her gun-sword from her hip.

"Who is doing this? Another mutant? Show yourself!"

"Please put that thing away. I mean no harm."

"You expect me to believe that? Mutants have been the cause of my frustration for weeks now. And I can't even see you."

"I see. Let me rectify that issue."

The voice in her head was gone. The next thing Cornelia heard was the sound of wheels rolling. It was a sound that was getting, closer and clearer. She could tell it was a machine moving by hearing the parts and squeals against the floor. And when the machine entered the room, she saw that it was a wheelchair.

But it was the person in that wheelchair that made Cornelia pause. She would recognize her everywhere. The hair and eyes gave it away.

"Nunnally?"

The younger girl smiled at her half-sister. "Hello, Cornelia. I'm sorry for dropping by unannounced, but you seemed to be having a rough time."

"Nunnally, it's been years. How- why are you here?"

Nunnally's smile fell. "Magneto."

Cornelia frowned. Did her sister know something about that man? And why did she sound like she knew him?

"I once thought that he and I could work together. Bring about a peaceful world where mutants and humans could live together."

"Peaceful? Nunnally, I doubt that peace has ever been on his mind."

"You would be surprised," Nunnally said sorrowfully. "But enough on that. I'm here to help you."

"Help me? Nunnally, what can you do that so many soldiers and scientists have not been able to do?"

Nunnally smiled. "How does the expression go? Oh yes, it's-"

"Fight fire with fire."

The voice in her mind was all the confirmation that Cornelia needed.

"You-you're like him?"

"We're both mutants. But I want to see our kinds coexist. I don't want the war that he is desperate to start."

Cornelia was having trouble wrapping her mind around everything that was happening. Her sister, Marianne's daughter, was back after so many years. And the first thing she was doing was revealing her mutant status and giving her options on how to fight her own war. But with the limited options she had, Cornelia was willing to listen.

"Nunnally, what exactly is this plan of yours?"

"Isn't it obvious Cornelia? Magento wants to create an army of mutants to fight a war. Our best option is to meet him in kind."

This is where I will be stopping for now. And yes, Nunnally is alive and will be playing a larger role in the story to come. Magento needs a Professor X, after all. And who better than a character that is already used to a wheelchair. I won't go too much into her story until later.

And yes, Todoh is Sunfire. As one of the X-Men's few Japanese characters, I thought it made sense for the most Japanese character on the show to be similar. Basically, a radioactive living sun-bomb. Very powerful, and a great asset to Lelouch's cause.

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

Bye!