"Checkmate."
Ah, annihilating rich pricks at chess, one of Lelouch's favourite hobbies. The instant he starts playing and grabs the King, the opponent has already lost.
"W-Wha?!" The other man said. "That's…That's impossible! You must have cheated!"
"You can ask the referee, I won this game fair and square," said Lelouch.
"W-Well, it is true, sir. The boy didn't break any rules." said the referee, seeming nervous about the rich man's possible reaction.
"So…I suppose there is a reward for those who have defeated you," said Lelouch, offering his hand.
The man sighed, as he handed over 300$. "Defeated by high school student…"
Lelouch left the building. Despite having won a lot of money, he still felt…Unsatisfied.
"Even in Metropolis, I can't find a good opponent in chess…Not that's what I'm longing for." He sighed. He then checked his phone. "Right, today there's the football game. Going to see it won't hurt anyone."
So, he walked away, heading towards the school. On the way, Lelouch stopped at a kiosk to buy a copy of the Daily Planet, which once again featured the Knights of Metropolis on the front page.
"Three months in since our debut, and the public has a high opinion of us," He thought with a satisfied smirk on his face. "I have now some valuable pawns and my identity is safe, some even think Zero is a girl, too." He chuckled, "Looks like moving to Metropolis was the right choice, I should call Milly to thank her soon."
He took a quick shortcut passing through the park, where he saw a group of kids playing superheroes.
One kid in particular caught the Britannian's attention. He was wearing a jacket like a cape and a toy helmet on his face, imitating Zero's mask.
He chuckled softly and went to the school.
The football game was about to begin, the audience was sitting on the bleachers, waiting for the players to arrive. As Lelouch arrived, he saw Jessica talking with Hal about something.
"He's right, you know?" said Hal, "You won't always solve problems peacefully, you have to fight one day."
"Oh, Hal…" Jessica sighed condescendingly, "Must you be so wrong about so many things?"
"Well, I don't think he's wrong on this one." Lelouch stepped in, "Negotiations are useless if the other side is deaf."
"Lelouch!" Jessica was surprised. "You startled me!"
"Sorry, sorry." He chuckled awkwardly, "I just came back from…A chess match, so I came to see the football match to kill time." He noticed Hal, "Oh, Jess, don't you introduce your friend?"
"Oh, right." said Jessica, "Hal, this is Lelouch Lamperouge. Lelouch, this is Hal Jordan."
Lelouch and Hal exchanged a handshake. "Nice to meet you." said Lelouch, "I didn't know you were friends with a school celebrity, the star of the Metropolis Hamsters!"
"yeah, that's me." He smirked, satisfied. "I like your friend, Jess."
"Of course you do." Jess rolled her eyes.
However, Lelouch was lying as naturally as he breathed. He couldn't care less about the school football team.
"Wonderful, he's an idiot," He thought. "And he has the same ring Jessica has, so he must have her powers, too. He could be useful."
Then, a bus arrived and then the players and the cheerleaders went outside. As Hal noticed them, he immediately hid behind a garbage bin.
"She found me! She found me!" He said.
" Who found you?" Jessica asked.
"My arch-nemesis!" said Hal, utterly frightened by someone neither Jess nor Lelouch could figure out.
They looked at the bus as a short cheerleader with long purple-ish dark hair tied into a ponytail and violet eyes.
"You're scared of…A cheerleader?" said Lelouch.
"Oh, come on now, Hal! She's probably harmless!" Jess attempted to reassure the jock.
The cheerleader noticed Hal for an instant, and went behind her bleachers with an angry look crossed on her face, that soon turned into a smirk as she glanced at her violet ring.
"You can't hide anymore…" She said.
"For Hearts long lost and full of fright,"
"For those alone in Blackest Night." "
Accept our ring and join our fight,"
"Love conquers all…"
"With Violet light!"
A violet light engulfed her, so bright that could seen from the other side of the bleachers.
Then, the cheerleader emerged from it and flew into the sky. Her hair was loose and was now wearing a puffy pink dress with a matching tiara and her entire body emitting a pink aura.
"Did you really think you could just get rid of me, Hal Jordan?!" She said, "You are mine! And if I can't have you… THEN NOBODY WILL! "
Chaos ensued as the girl began scorching the field with her energy blasts to find her beloved Hal.
"RUN!" Lelouch ordered.
The three ran away, barely dodging Star Sapphire's flaming hearts. Eventually, they
"What's going on? Who is she?!" said Jess.
"Her name is Star Sapphire, she's super clingy," said Hal.
"Oh, really?" said Lelouch sarcastically, with the cold tone of his 'vi Britannia' persona creeping in. He then checked Star Sapphire, who was blasting the ground with flaming hearts as the panicking students ran away. "She seems to have the powers of a lantern, and she wants you…Is she your ex-girlfriend, Hal?"
"Yeah…" Hal looked away.
Jessica facepalmed. "Of all the girls in Metropolis…You had to date a supervillain
"You have to intervene, Jess." Lelouch whispered, "I can't do it now, not with him around."
"Why? Hal is trustworthy…Although I can guess why you don't." Jess whispered back, glancing at Hal.
"What are you two whispering about?" The jock asked.
"Nothing, let's get on with it," said Jess. She and Hal began reciting the Green Lanterns' oath.
"In the Brightest Day, in the Blackest Night,"
"No Evil shall escape my sight."
"Let those who worship Evils might"
"Beware my power…"
"GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!"
Jess transformed in her Green Lantern uniform…But Hal did not.
"...Was something supposed to happen?" Lelouch asked.
"Why didn't it work? Did you forget to charge your ring?" Jess asked.
"What? No! I didn't even use it today!" said Hal.
"Alright, here's my plan," said Lelouch, "Gree-I mean, Jessica, you hold our friend there off for as much as you can. I'll bring Hal to safety."
"FOUND YOU!" Star Sapphire hit their hiding.
"NOW!" Lelouch ordered.
So, the Britannian and the jock ran away and the female Green Lantern remained to hold Star Sapphire back.
"Oh, so you're the one who stole my man!" Star Sapphire said, her tone full of venom, "Well, congratulations! That is gonna be the last mistake of your LIFE!"
"Wait, what?!" Jessica created a wall construct to defend herself from the wave of flaming hearts. "No, no, no, no, no, NO. Hal and I are not together! Like, we're the complete oppo-"
Star Sapphire broke Jessica's construct. The more time passed, the more the Green Lantern's defences weakened with every attack as her willpower slowly diminished.
But…She had to resist. As much of an idiot as Hal is, Jessica wouldn't wish something like that to happen to anyone.
"Lelouch...I hope you know what you're doing." She thought.
Hal and Lelouch entered the empty locker room.
"We should be safe in here." said Lelouch, "Now, Hal, do you have any more information about- What are you doing? "
Hal was attempting to hide a locker, despite being too big to fit in. "Hiding from her!"
Lelouch sighed. "Could you please tell me more about this 'Star Sapphire'? Jess won't keep her busy forever."
"Carol's ring is like mine, only that hers is fueled by love." Hal explained, "Oh, if only I wasn't so charming and ruggedly good-looking…"
Lelouch resisted the urge to punch the jock in the face and began thinking of a plan. " 'Fueled by love'...So, if the source of her love would get cut, then her powers would vanish. I could use my Geass and order her to stop loving Hal…No, that would be too cruel. There has to be another way. Unless…" He looked back at Hal. "By the way, why is she this angry? How did you two break up?"
"I sent her a text," said Hal nonchalantly, "With a smiley face, of course. I'm not the Joker."
The Britannian looked at the jock with an expression that screamed "You've GOT to be kidding me". "So, let me get this straight…I sent Jess to a possible death against a murderous space princess because you didn't even bother to break up with her IN PERSON?!"
"...Yeah? That's what I said," said Hal, completely oblivious.
"...You know what? Change of plans." Lelouch activated his Geass. "Slam your face into the locker until I order you to stop."
"Wait, wha-" The Geass influenced Hal, who immediately obeyed Lelouch's order.
The situation was dire for Jessica.
She was exhausted, her face was a bit bruised and her hair was incredibly messy. She used every trick she had to defend herself, but her willpower was almost nonexistent now, so much so that her uniform was slowly transforming back into her dress.
Could it be...That Hal was right? She had to fight Star Sapphire?
But then...
"STAR SAPPHIRE!" Lelouch kicked the door open. "I've come to bargain!"
Star Sapphire stopped her attack as Lelouch caught her attention. "Took you long enough. Where is he?!"
"He's right there in the locker room. Leave Green Lantern alone, and I will hand him over to you."
"Lelouch, no-" Jessica wanted to object, but then saw Lelouch winking at her.
Star Sapphire looked at the injured Green Lantern and then shrugged. "Fine, but she better don't try to steal my Hal Jordan anymore!"
"I wasn't even doing it in the first place!" Jess complained.
"Come out, Hal," said Lelouch.
Hal obliged, and he looked…Different. As in, his face was completely messed up like he just got punched repeatedly and then slammed his face into a locker. His face was so puffy he could barely speak.
Star Sapphire was horrified by her love's terrible state, her constructs disappeared and her heart-shaped pink aura weakened. "What…What happened to you?!"
"This is the new self, his real self. All the best!" Lelouch walked away and helped Jessica stand up. "Are you alright?"
"It could have been worse…" Jess panted. "What happened to Hal?"
"Star Sapphire's power is based on her love for Hal. So, if she no longer loves him, she becomes completely harmless. I used my Geass on Hal and made him slam his face into the locker a few times until he became ugly enough.
Jess held a laugh, causing the Britannian smirk. "Oh, would you look at that, the pacifist is a bit of a sadist."
"I'm not a sadist!" Jess justified herself, "…Although I admit I would have wanted to see Hal doing that."
"Oh, Hal Jordan, you look hideous…" Star Sapphire caressed Hal's face gently, looking saddened, "Nobody would love you like this… Except ME. "
The flames of her love burnt even more. "Only I can see your interior beauty! So no skank will ever dare to try to steal you from me!"
"The plan backfired…I have to do something, brute force won't do anything." Lelouch thought. Then, he glanced at Jessica. "Star Sapphire, tell me… Is he really worth the hassle? "
Star Sapphire turned and glared at the Britannian boy. "What did you say?!"
"Is it really worth being so devoted, so obsessed…With someone who doesn't love you?" said Lelouch.
"Lies! My Hally Wal does love me! He was distracted by girls like her who want to take him away from me!" said the girl in pink.
"Oh, really? He loves you so much that he broke up with you via text message. Do you really want to be with such a cowardly buffoon?"
"You did WHAT?! " Jessica shouted at Hal.
"What? I added a smiley face!" Hal justified himself.
"You have to face the truth… Carol, he doesn't love you." Lelouch's tone sounded cold, yet sympathetic.
"No…NO! You're lying!" Carol attempted to attack Lelouch, but Jessica grabbed her using a hand construct…And pulled her in a hug.
"I know it hurts, but it's the truth…" said Jess, her tone sounded very soothing. "You have to move on, I'm sure you'll find someone better than him, but you'll need to start loving yourself first."
"Hey!" Hal shouted, offended.
Lelouch silently observed Carol as tears streamed down her face. She hugged the Green Lantern back.
"...Thank you, Green Lantern," said Carol, "Thanks to you and your boyfriend, I finally get it: If he doesn't appreciate me, then maybe he's not enough for me."
Jessica smiled…Which then immediately vanished as she realised who Carol was referring to, while the raven-haired boy kept his usual poker face.
"W-Wait, Lelouch isn't my-" She tried to object, but Carol didn't listen.
"So beware, Hal Jordan!" Carol threatened, now powered up again, "One day, I'll make you good enough, and then you'll be mine FOREVER!" She flew away as she laughed maniacally.
"...Well, the plan backfired slightly, but at least you're still alive," said Lelouch.
"Yeah…" said Hal. He glanced at the embarrassed Green Lantern. "Soo…He's your boyfriend, huh? Now I get why you weren't attract-Ow!" Jessica punched his arm.
After this kerfuffle, Lelouch and Jessica, after returning back to normal, left the field and decided to have a walk together.
"Never thought football matches were…This lively. I might watch another one next time." said Lelouch. He glanced at Jessica, still a bit embarrassed. "You're awfully silent. Are you disgusted because Carol thinks we're a couple?"
"Oh, no, I'm not disgusted." Jess reassured, "I'm just…Embarrassed, that's all. I didn't mean to offend."
"I'm not offended," said Lelouch, "Anyway, look on the bright side: Next time she returns, she won't think you're trying to steal Hal from her."
"Yeah, I guess that's true," said Jess.
The two arrived at the Lamperouge siblings' house.
"This is my stop," said Lelouch and headed to the door.
"Alright, I'll…See you at school." Jessica left.
As Lelouch looked for his keys in his pocket, C.C. appeared again.
"Not bad this 'Green Lantern', huh?" She said, "The Pacifist with everyone but one…She's a fun gal."
"Since the 'one' is that Hal Jordan buffoon, I don't blame her at all," said Lelouch, "But yes, Jess has a good heart…Too good, perhaps."
He went inside his house.
"Looks like you'll have some problems here in Metropolis High. Just like there are super-powered teens like your friends…There are also people on the other side of the moral compass." said C.C.
"And we will be ready for them." said Lelouch, "And, again, they are not my friends-"
"Who are you talking to, brother?" A voice spoke. It was Nunnally.
Lelouch looked back at C.C., but she vanished once again. "I'll call you another time." He faked closing a phone call. "Sorry, I was talking to someone on the phone."
"Oh, sorry, then," said Nunnally…Although not fully convinced.
Lelouch headed to the kitchen to prepare something. "That was close." He thought, "Sorry, Nunnally, but I can't tell you about it. Maybe one day, when you'll no longer need me…"
-To Be Continued-
A/N: And that's all for today! Next time, Lelouch reunites with a person from his past in Gotham. See you soon!