The story of Batman is different across the multiverse. In most iterations, young Bruce Wayne watches in horror when his parents get gunned down by a mugger, prompting a desire to battle crime and training himself to physical and mental peak. Some universes are kinder to Bruce, letting his parents survive, yet somehow he still grows inspired to become Batman after witnessing an act of true selflessness.
How Batman fights can be different. It can be gritty, it can be campy, and Batman's mental state can be different depending on the universe. However, there are some universes where the Caped Crusader does not begin his journey alone...
For you see, there exists another set of universes focused on the world of Zero, a revolutionary who fights to help free an alternate Japan that has been taken over by the Britannian Empire. More often than not, Zero is actually Lelouch Lamperouge, who desired revenge on his father for dooming him and his little sister, Nunally, by sending them to Japan, and then staging a violent invasion that had the potential to kill them both.
Sometimes Lelouch does so with intelligence, planning years in advance. Sometimes he gets help from other sources, usually resulting in him becoming a better person. His allies can be different across multiple universes as well, and depending on the story, might ultimately turn on him.
But this universe is an interesting one. It's a combination of Zero's multiverse and Batman's multiverse. In this world, there is no Britannian Empire, the American Revolution happened as we were taught in history, and the technology to create Knightmare Frames does not exist, nor in fact does Sakuradite or even Geass.
And yet the familiar faces of Lelouch Lamperouge and those around him can be found here, co-existing with Bruce Wayne and the others. In fact, their destinies in this story are intertwined.
The story begins as most usually do; the Wayne Family, consisting of young Bruce and his parents, Thomas and Martha, had just finished a movie and are heading home. Thomas decides to try taking a shortcut, only for him and Martha to get gunned down by a mugger. Bruce would survive, albeit traumatized by the event, and would declare that he would find a way to prevent this sort of tragedy from ever happening again.
However, in this universe, Bruce was not alone after the loss of his parents. While he did have his faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth there to help pick him up from the darkness, Bruce also had relatives from Europe, who immediately dropped everything to come and support him.
These relatives were the Lamperouge Family, who did not found the Britannian Empire and were instead humble philanthropists and scientists. Bruce got to meet his uncle Charles and Aunt Marianne, as well as their butler Jeremiah Gottwald and children, Lelouch and newborn daughter Nunally.
Bruce's extended family was able to help him alongside Alfred, moving their business to Gotham City as they had originally planned with Thomas before his death. While Bruce would inherit Wayne Enterprises, the Lamperouge Foundation would provide support until Bruce came of age to take over.
Despite this, Bruce still held onto his vow to prevent anyone from suffering his tragedy and spent the next few years of his life intensively studying criminology and escape artistry. He also trained his body and mind to their physical peak.
Lelouch, who was only a toddler when the Lameprouge Family came to Gotham, idolized his older cousin, who essentially became his brother. Lelouch was a smart boy and more often than not followed in Bruce's footsteps, learning by seeing and doing while also honing his own mind and body.
After graduating from high school, Bruce spent his college years traveling the world, studying the martial arts of every continent to master them. The Lamperouge Family stayed in Gotham in order to keep a handle on the growing crime rates while Lelouch continued his own education and training.
And now here is where the story begins...
Bruce, now 24 years old, was reaching the final step of his world training travels. He was seeking a monastery in North Korea where Togakure-ryu had been taught for centuries. When he finally found it, he was greeted by the temple's master, Kirigi, who agreed to teach him, but only if he could pass a test of honor.
Bruce was sitting amongst many of the temple's other students as Kirigir addressed all of them.
"Today, an outsider will be taking the test of honor. Out of pity, we let him eat with us, drink with us, train with us, and now we shall see if he is truly one of us." The old master stopped in front of Bruce with a cold, calculating gaze. "Are you ready?"
Bruce softly shook his head. "No...but there's no going back at this point."
"Humility is a virtue...but we shall see if it will serve you in these trials..." Kirigir said before addressing the rest of his students. "BEGIN!"
As the artists of the temple attacked him, Bruce made use of his training to successfully fend them off before taking them out one by one. He was also allowed to use small weapons, so he made good use of the caltrops, shurikens, smoke bombs, and chains he had already been training with.
Kirigi watched with interest as Bruce proved himself capable of anticipating enemy attacks and countering them, including bladed weapons. He was also good at improvising with his tools to continue the flow of his attacks, such as sending out a large spread of shurikens to stun multiple targets while also crushing the smoke bombs in his hands to use as blinding tools with his punches to leave his targets exposed and vulnerable.
When they brought shields into the mix in the third round, Bruce simply used them as launching pads to get above and knock them to the ground. He was also able to disarm them of the shields and use them to knock them out.
After the fourth round, Kirigiri nodded his head. So far, Bruce was showing admirable skill, but his trials were not over yet.
"The foreigner is full of surprises. But fighting alone does not make him worthy. To train with us, you must be able to use the environment and strike without being seen." Kirigiri told Bruce before addressing his students. "If you see him, shoot him, and if you shoot him, shoot to kill."
Bruce said nothing. He knew this sort of training would not pull any punches with him, so he simply bowed in understanding and prepared himself as Kirigir imparted some final words to him before the trial of Shinobi-Iri began.
"You yourself are not required to kill. Do so if you must, but if you are serious about seeking justice instead of vengeance, then now is the time to practice that discipline."
During the test, Bruce got the drop on one target by smashing through a weak ceiling just over him. He then clung to one of the ledges so he could pull another one down, followed by him throwing a smoke bomb to distract the last two guards as he went under the grate, popping out to take out the first one in a surprise attack before switly knocking out the final one before the smoke even cleared.
"You survive to fight again, but I would not let beginner's luck cloud your judgment," Kirigir said. "This test is far from over, and we shall truly see if you are one of us."
Bruce was then placed in another combat trial. This time, the students were clad in body armor and used much more advanced martial arts, some of them even countering Bruce's counters.
"I am hard on you all, but one must embrace hardship," Kirigiri told his students. "Remember...a gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a person perfected without trials."
Bruce took another stealth-based trial in Boryaku. This time, he showed new creative ways to take down his opponents; after silently knocking the first one unconscious, he attacked another through a breakable wall, which alerted another above him.
However, Bruce planned ahead and set up caltrops right where the target above would climb down to investigate, leaving him open for a ground takedown. Bruce then hid in the floor grates and waited patiently for two more students to pass by. After the first one climbed up to the upper floor, he surprised the second one and knocked him out.
Sneaking through the vents to lead him to the upper floors, Bruce quickly grappled up to the nearby gargoyles and scouted the area for the remaining students. He swung to another gargoyle that allowed him to perch behind a student in body armor and carrying a sniper rifle. Using his smoke pellets, Bruce clouded his target's vision before swinging over to the ledge he was standing on and throwing him down.
Quickly swinging to where the other sniper was perched, Bruce pounced and knocked him to the ground before striking him unconscious. After that, it was easy pickings for the remaining students.
"You learn quickly, but I wonder if you have learned how to keep your emotions from clouding your judgment. You still hold fear, anger, and hate in your heart." Kirigiri said to Bruce. "This last test will show whether or not you can overcome them. But remember this: overcoming these emotions is not the same as discarding them."
The final trial was Seishinteki Kyoyo, and the students facing Bruce were the toughest yet. In the final run of the trial, Bruce found himself facing off against Shiva, the temple's greatest student. She was a fearsome and deadly opponent indeed, but Bruce was not about to back down now.
The battle was touch and go for a good long while, to the point that not even Kirigiri could tell who would win. However, Bruce ultimately triumphed in the end.
"I am impressed, and I am rarely impressed. You have earned our respect and proven yourself worthy." Kirigiri told Bruce. "You will be given the instruction you seek. Now, get to the kitchen and prepare tea for all of us. There is much to discuss."
Eventually, Bruce returned home to his family. Lelouch and Nunally were grateful to see him again after so long, with Lelouch now being 16 years old and Nunally being 13. Bruce accepted a hug from Marianne as well as a quick embrace from Charles and Alfred.
"So what now, Bruce?" Charles asked. "Is this where you begin your war against crime?"
Bruce nodded. "Yes, it is, but Master Kirigi taught me the importance of theatricality during my stay at the temple. If I'm going to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, I'll need a symbol to do it."
Everyone suddenly heard squeaking, followed by a crash of cutlery. Heading over to see what the commotion was, they saw Jeremiah having caught a stray bat.
"Apologies, Master Bruce, I left the window open and... Well, there is an old cave system beneath Wayne Manor, so I can only assume a colony moved in while no one was looking."
Alfred hummed. "Thomas always did wish to do something about that cave, but never got around to it."
Bruce gently took the bat from Jeremiah, letting it perch on his hand as he petted it, the flying mammal letting out small screeches.
"There were bats being raised at the temple. Master Kirigi said they were masters of the night." Bruce noted before nodding his head. "I think I know what sort of symbol I wish to use."
And on that day, like in many other universes, Bruce Wayne became...BATMAN.
This will be my own retelling of mtnetsurfer's Code Batman story on AO3. However, this time, I'll be having the canon Batman characters but still including some of the Code Geass characters as well as a few surprise guests later in the story!
As you can probably guess, Bruce Wayne will not be fighting alone as Batman, he will have Lelouch alongside him and together, they'll become a whole new breed of Dynamic Duo!