ã€ŠLelouch of the Metropolisã€‹ STAGE 01: The Day A Demon Conquered the Metropolis Metropolis, Delaware, Home of the greatest hero of the world: Superman, an alien who fights for truth, justice, and the ¡°American way¡±, as some would say. However, this isn¡¯t his story. This is the story of how a fallen prince became a hero along with a group of powerful teen girls, who slowly became his new family.

Across the city of Metropolis, every TV was playing an ad for the VR headsets made by LexCorp, the company controlled by the world¡¯s youngest billionaire, Lex Luthor. But then, it was interrupted by the News. ¡°As it becomes too clear this month, it seems that Metropolis needs further super help, despite having the likes of Superman looking out for its citizens. Last week, a mysterious hero appeared in the city, patrolling its streets and defeating villains during the night, a modus operandi similar to the Batman of Gotham City. Since there seems to be almost no information regarding him, the local press has nicknamed him ¡°Zero¡±. And "Zero" isn¡¯t the only new superhero in town.¡° The News programme showed a video of a mysterious athletic young woman with long dark hair and tanned skin, wearing a red corset and a blue skirt with white stars on it cutting a monster¡¯s tentacle with her sword. ¡°The video you¡¯re currently watching has been recorded this morning, where a new glimmer of hope may have arrived. And now, And now, we''re left with the question everyone''s been asking: Who are Zero and ¡®Wonder Woman¡¯?¡±

A taxi was driving through the city, inside of it, there was a handsome young man who was reading the news about Wonder Woman on his smartphone. The young man was tall and very thin, he had short raven hair and violet eyes. Since it was his first day at his new school, the boy decided to wear his uniform from his previous school: A black jacket with golden trims and linings with fleurs-de-lys on the neck, black trousers and matching shoes. ¡°Wonder Woman, huh?¡± He thought, ¡°By looking at the video recorded some hours ago, she must possess immense strength.¡± He chuckled, ¡°She¡¯d be a valuable ally, I wouldn¡¯t mind teaming up with her.¡± The taxi arrived at the destination. ¡°Keep the change.¡± The boy handed over the money, speaking with an Estuary English accent. The boy looked at his new school ¡°Metropolis High School¡±, a large building made of brown and grey bricks. ¡°Rather than a high school, it looks like a university.¡± He thought. The boy noticed a girl looking at the building with a rather saddened expression. She was much shorter than him, and she had long orange hair tied into a ponytail and bright emerald eyes. She was wearing a yellow-and-violet t-shirt under a purple hoodie with bat ears attached to the hood, along with dark purple short shorts, white yellow-and-purple striped thigh-high socks and yellow shoes. The boy decided to approach her. ¡°Let me guess, you¡¯ve got transferred here, too.¡± He said. The girl turned around and looked at him in surprise. ¡°How did you-¡± ¡°I know that expression had it too many times.¡± said the boy, ¡°But I¡¯m glad at least I won¡¯t be alone here, fellow Batman fan.¡± At the mention of the Dark Knight, the girl¡¯s eyes sparkled with happiness. ¡°You¡¯re a fan of Batman too?!¡± ¡°I lived in Gotham, of course I am. Him being a normal guy in a world full of powerful beings like Superman makes him rather remarkable, doesn''t it?¡± He said, ¡°I know, right?!¡± said the girl, ¡°Sure, I love all heroes, but Batman is just¡Different, you get me?!¡± She calmed down. ¡°Oh, s-sorry, I talked too much. I¡¯m Barbara, but you can call me Babs!¡± ¡°Lelouch, Lelouch Lamperouge,¡± The boy, Lelouch, introduced himself. ¡°Nice to meet you, Babs. Well, I''ll go now, maybe we will eat together at the cafeteria later?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± said Barbara, ¡°See ya later, Lelouch!¡± Lelouch entered the school. ¡°First thing you need to do when you move to a new place is to befriend someone. Babs seems like a nice girl to be friends with.¡± He thought. Barbara grinned happily. ¡°I''ve got a new friend on my first day!¡± She thought, ¡°He¡¯s a Batman fan and he''s handsome, too!¡± Barbara then noticed a rather muscular tall girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue t-shirt, a leather jacket, brown trousers and a pair of boots talking with her parents. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you''re punishing me for something I didn''t do.¡± She said, ¡°And we know that you ¡°didn''t do it¡±, Kara!¡± said the blonde''s mother. ¡°A new school will be less of a punishment and more of an adventure!¡± Kara slammed the door of the car in annoyance, accidentally overturning the vehicle, as she entered the building. ¡°Have a great first day!¡± said Kara¡¯s mother. ¡°Or don¡¯t! Do whatever¡¯s right for you!¡± said Kara¡¯s father. Barbara looked at the scene completely confused. A school bus arrived and a short black girl with sage-green eyes, maroon-brown lips and long, curly, dark brown hair with honey-blonde highlights tied up into pigtail buns, and wearing a large black-and-yellow striped turtleneck sweater, a yellow skirt, dark brown tights and a pair of boots, fell from it to the ground, with several tools coming out from her backpack. Barbara quickly went to help her out. ¡°Hi, the name¡¯s Babs!¡± ¡°Karen.¡± The short girl, Karen, introduced herself as she put her tools back into her bag and quickly went into the building. Confused once again, Barbara then saw a girl named Zee, with long purple hair and violet eyes, wearing a white blouse, black waistcoat, a ribbon tie, purple skirt and black high-heeled boots coming out of a limo and heading towards the school. Her father call for her, saying that she forgot her backpack¡And it immediately went into the girl¡¯s hands, without moving an inch. ¡°Ooookay¡That was weird.¡± Barbara thought.

Lelouch walked through the corridors of the school undisturbed¡Well, not really, as some of the students were glancing at him (especially girls), either because of his good looks or because of his Ashford Academy uniform. ¡°Wow, look at him!¡± ¡°He¡¯s so handsome¡¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that an Ashford uniform?¡± ¡°He must be rich¡¡± ¡°Maybe it wasn¡¯t a good idea going to school with this uniform, I¡¯m attracting too much attention.¡± Lelouch thought, ¡°What if-No, calm down, you¡¯re acting paranoid.¡± While walking, the boy overheard a tall tan-skinned girl with long brown hair and olive¨Cbrown eyes, wearing a green beanie, light green hoop earrings, a mid-sleeved, slightly dark green off-the-shoulder crop-top over a light green tank top, a long green skirt talking with a tall, muscular young man with short brown hair and green eyes, wearing a white-and-grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Lelouch also noticed that both the two teenagers wore the same mysterious green ring, the muscular guy on his left hand, while the other on her right hand. ¡°I told you, Hal. I don''t believe in the Lantern Corps. Their methods are too extreme.¡± said the girl. ¡°Look, Jess, I don¡¯t make the rules,¡± said Hal, ¡°That¡¯s just how they work.¡± ¡°If so, then take it.¡± Jess took off her green ring. ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± ¡°No, Jess.¡± said Hal, ¡°The ring chose you.¡± The bell rang, and Lelouch walked away. ¡°Lantern Corps¡¯?¡± He thought, ¡°I wonder what she meant, I doubt something like Civil Services. I¡¯ll think about it later, I don¡¯t want to be late for the lessons.¡± As he walked to his classroom, Lelouch overheard other students talking about the latest news of the city.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Check out my new VR specs!¡± ¡°The podcast called her the ¡°Wonder Woman¡±!¡± ¡°She took down some giant monster!¡± ¡°There¡¯s also that guy, ¡°Zero¡±.¡± ¡°What¡¯s he like?¡± ¡°Do you think he and Wonder Woman work together?¡± Lelouch smirked. ¡°That would be the intent, yes. But I wonder if there are any more superheroes in this city.¡±

At lunchtime, today¡¯s lunch was spaghetti and meatballs¡That didn¡¯t look rather tasty for Lelouch¡¯s standards. ¡°...Is this what people eat in public schools?¡± He thought. ¡°Lelouch! Lelouch, over here!¡± Barbara waved at him from the table she was sitting at. Lelouch sat down next to her. ¡°Happy to see you again, how was your day?¡± ¡°A¡Bit weird, honestly.¡± Barbara looked around as if to check if someone was overhearing them. She then whispered to the Britannian boy ¡° I think there are people with superpowers in our school! ¡± ¡°Superpowers?¡± Lelouch repeated, ¡°Hmm¡You might be right. I heard before two students talking about a ¡°Lantern Corps¡± or something similar. Both were wearing the same green ring.¡± ¡°I see¡Well, don¡¯t worry, Lelouch! I¡¯ve got a plan!¡± said Barbara, ¡°Watch this!¡± Kara threw her spaghetti and meatballs at Kara in the face. The blonde was furious, as she looked around for the culprit¡And noticed Karen, who was also eating spaghetti. Kara threw her hamburger at the short girl, making her fall to the ground. As she stood up, Kara threw another hamburger at her, but Jess parried it with her plate. ¡°Leave her alone, you bully!¡± She said. However, the parried hamburger fell right into the purple-haired girl¡¯s hair. ¡°My hair¡MY HAIR!¡± In a matter of seconds, the situation degenerated into a massive food fight in the cafeteria. ¡°And this is supposed to be your plan?!¡± said Lelouch as he dodged the food coming at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have everything under control!¡± said Barbara. A teacher arrived in the cafeteria and saw what was happening. ¡°Enough¡I said ENOUGH!¡± Everyone stopped doing anything and pointed at Lelouch, Barbara and the other girls. ¡°You six, let¡¯s go.¡±

So, the group were brought to detention. Everyone sat down, looking either annoyed or sad (except for Barbara, whose eyes were sparkling from excitement). ¡°....I hope you all have really good attorneys.¡± said the fancy purple-haired girl, while checking her nails. Kara snorted. ¡°What? You¡¯re gonna sue me ¡®cause I have better aim than you?¡± ¡°So you were the one who threw those potatoes!¡± said the girl. ¡°And you threw those nuggets at me!¡± ¡°Will you all stop behaving like children?¡± Lelouch interjected, with his accent slightly slipping into an RP one. ¡°Oh-ho! Excuse me, I guess people at Ashford Academy don¡¯t do stuff like this!¡± Kara mocked. ¡°He¡¯s right, let¡¯s not fight again,¡± said Jess. ¡°Um, f-for the record, if I offended anyone, I¡¯m truly very sorry,¡± said Karen. The teacher opened the door, as a police officer arrived. ¡°We found her just walking around the streets.¡± said the officer. ¡°Cutting class on the first day of school¡Get in here with the other delinquents.¡± said the teacher. A cloaked figure entered the room as the teacher and the officer left. The figure took off his cloak, revealing to be an athletic girl with tanned skin, long dark hair and blue eyes, wearing a red-and-gold corset, blue skirt with white sars on it, a golden tiara with a red star on it and matching earrings. Barbara gasped in admiration. Lelouch smirked. ¡°Looks like today is my lucky day.¡± The mysterious girl nonchalantly sat down, not even noticing the staring the others were giving her. ¡°That¡¯s¡She¡¯s¡¡± said Karen. ¡°Gorgeous!¡± said Zee. ¡°Is that¡¡± said Jess. ¡°The Wonder Woman!¡± said Barbara, with her eyes still sparkling. ¡°You¡¯re really enjoying this, aren¡¯t you, Babs?¡± said Lelouch. Kara laughed, ¡°That¡¯s no Wonder Woman, it¡¯s just some dumb cosplay girl!¡± ¡°I am no girl!¡± the girl spoke with a Mediterranean accent as she stood up, offended by the blonde¡¯s comment. ¡°I am Diana, Princess of the Amazons. I alone survived the 21 tests of the tournament of Athena and Aphrodite. By right, I am not a girl, but a woman!¡± ¡°The Amazons? Like from the ancient Greek myths?¡± Lelouch thought. ¡°Trust me, Princess, you do not want to start with me.¡± Kara warned Diana. ¡°Is this a challenge?¡± the Amazon refused to back down. ¡°For you, maybe.¡± said Kara. ¡°Very well.¡± Diana prepared herself to fight. ¡°I shall grant you the first strike.¡± Kara looked surprised, people usually backed down when she threaten to fight. ¡°Alright, don''t say I didn''t warn you.¡± Kara threw a punch at Diana¡But she dodged it. ¡°Again!¡± said the Amazon. Kara tried to hit her again, but Diana kept dodging it or hit her instead. ¡°Why don''t you just stand STILL?!¡± Kara hit Diana in the stomach and sent her flying into the wall, breaking the drywall. The girls gasped in horror (except for Barbara). ¡°Oh god, oh my god!¡± Kara panicked ¡°I''m so sorry, are you okay-¡± Diana came out of the hole unscathed, and resumed the fight. Zee, Jess and Karen looked at the two fighting worried about their safety, while Barbara was really excited and Lelouch was carefully studying them. ¡°The blonde has a strength almost matching Diana''s, but her fighting style is incredibly rough, giving her a disadvantage. It can either end in a draw or with her losing.¡± He thought. ¡°Both of you, stop! Fighting is never the answer,¡± said Jess. ¡°I doubt they will listen to you,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°I-I think we should run away¡¡± said Karen. Suddenly, they heard some footsteps coming towards them. ¡°The teacher is coming!¡± Zee pulled out a wand from her pocket. ¡°!niaga egnarts ssalc os siht tuP!¡± In a matter of seconds, the class was back to normal, everyone quickly sat down as the teacher returned. ¡°Everything all right in here?¡± He asked. The students nodded. ¡°Hmm. Forgot my keys.¡± The teacher took the keys and left. ¡°A-ha! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!¡± Barbara jumped off her school desk. She pointed at Kara, ¡°I knew you were super. I knew it the minute I saw you dent that car door because no ordinary person could possibly slam a door that hard.¡± She pointed at Karen, ¡°And then when you spilt all those weird metal thingies on the bus,¡± She pointed at Zee, ¡°I knew there was something weird going on with you, too. And then you, all of a sudden, had your backpack, and I was like, "That''s weird."¡± she pointed at Jess. ¡°And then Lelouch told me about him overhearing you talking to that cute boy about some Corps thing and some ring and I knew something was up, so I decided to start a food fight so that we all get detention together, which totally worked!¡± Then she pointed at Diana ¡°And then you, I wasn''t planning on you showing up at all. So that''s just like a huge bonus anyway. My plan was that you''d all keep fighting once we got to detention and all get so worked up that you''d be forced to reveal that you''re super and guess what, so am I! The one and only... Batgirl! ¡± Barbara stood up on the teacher''s desk and covered her face with her arm as if she was wearing a cape. The others looked at Barbara as if she was crazy. ¡°...Great, another cosplayer,¡± said Kara. ¡°Huzzah! At last, a sister-in-arms.¡± Diana, pleased, put her arm around Barbara and pulled her close to her. ¡°Never had I dreamed I would encounter the warrior spirit of an Amazon upon entering the World of Man. For you see, it is my quest, my crusade, my destiny, to bring the Amazon way of peace and prosperity to man''s world, and to rid it of all evil. The gods bestowed this honor upon me and I feared I alone should have to carry my burden. But now... Now I have a sister by my side!¡± She hugged Barbara. Barbara snapped out of her ¡°excited fangirl¡± mode and freed herself. ¡°What? No, no, no, no! Five sisters! And a brother, too!¡± ¡°Uh, nope.¡± Kara objected. ¡°Every single time I use my powers I get in trouble.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not fighting anyone,¡± said Jess. ¡°I¡¯m an artiste, not a police officer,¡± said Zee. ¡°Um, I¡¯m not¡Really good at it-¡± ¡°Cowards!¡± Diana slammed her hands on the desk, surprisingly not breaking it. ¡°I speak of destiny, the same mantle of greatness the Gods bestowed upon me, they have also bestowed upon you. ¡°Is it cowardice knowing your limits?¡± said Lelouch, ¡°Some of us have never fought in our lives, hell, I don¡¯t even have superpowers.¡± ¡°Neither Batman has superpowers! Nor I do!¡± said Barbara, ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something you can do. Come on, guys! How can you not be excited about heroes and villains and fighting crime and hidden lairs and secret identities and stuff?!¡± ¡°The trick with secret identities, my dear, is that, in order to remain secret, one must convincingly pass as a normal human being,¡± said Zee. Barbara glanced at Diana, who didn¡¯t look like a normal teen at all. ¡°Okay, tell you what! You guys give being a team a teensy try, she''ll teach us how to be heroes and you can give her a makeover. Deal?¡± Zee sighed, ¡°Who am I to say no to a makeover?¡± ¡°Um¡Okay,¡± said Karen. ¡°I''ll try, too, but only to support and encourage Karen''s brave decision,¡± said Jess. ¡°Okay, whatever, ¡° said Kara. ¡°I may not be fit for fighting, but maybe I can help you with other things. I¡¯m in,¡± Lelouch smiled. ¡°YES!¡± said Barbara, ¡°It¡¯s settled, then! Super Awesome Super Hero-ness, here we come!¡±

After school, they exchanged phone numbers to better organise their ¡°outing¡±. Diana sticked around with the girls, while Lelouch told them that he first need to do something important at home. As he walked down the streets, the boy was deep in his thoughts. ¡°Looks like my school life here in Metropolis will be much more lively than I thought. Not only have I met Wonder Woman, but there are other students with superpowers in the school, too.¡± Lelouch thought, ¡°However, I don''t trust them enough to tell them about my power, for the moment. I''ll pretend to be powerless till I learn their weaknesses.¡± ¡°Heeey there, buddy!¡± Lelouch heard a deep male voice coming from a hallway. With a glance, he saw two teens bullying a shorter shy boy. ¡°W-What do you want, Mark?¡± said the shy teen, ¡°I gave you my money already!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, we know!¡± said the other bully, ¡°But you see, we wanted to buy those new LexCorp VR specs, and we''re kinda out of money, sooo¡¡± ¡°B-But I don''t have that much money on me!¡± The shy teen complained. One of the bullies sighed. ¡°Oh well, I guess we''re just gonna beat you up to kill some time!¡± ¡° Ahem. ¡± Lelouch calmly walked into the alley. ¡°What¡¯s going here?¡± The bullies noticed Lelouch. ¡°Oh-ho! The cavalry has arrived!¡± One of them said. ¡°That''s a Ashford Academy uniform, did you get lost, rich kid?¡± said the other bully. ¡°Apparently not.¡± Lelouch was now speaking with a RP English accent and with a deeper voice. ¡°I¡¯m asking you to leave that boy alone, he clearly said that he doesn''t have money.¡± ¡°Alright, alright! We''ll stop¡Unless you give us money instead.¡± said the bully. Lelouch scoffed. ¡°As if I''m gonna give money to scum like you two. I advise you to go look for a job, rather than extorting money to people weaker than you.¡± The bullies were pissed off. ¡°The hell did you just say?!¡± ¡°Oh, you have heard me clearly.¡± Suddenly, Lelouch''s left eye turned from violet to bordeaux, as a glowing bird-like red symbol appeared in it. ¡°Lelouch vi Britannia commands you¡Leave this place at once and never bully that boy again!¡± As Lelouch''s voice boomed as he gave the command, red edges appeared around the bullies'' pupils. ¡°Come on, dude, let''s go.¡± So, the bullies left, leaving the two alone. ¡°T-Thank you.¡± said the boy. ¡°You''re welcome. By the way¡¡± Lelouch turned to the boy, with the red ¡°V¡± still in his left eye. ¡°You will believe that Zero saved you from those bullies rather than me.¡± Red edges appeared around the boy¡¯s pupils. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± He left. The ¡°V¡± disappeared from Lelouch''s eye as he left the alley. However, the lanky teen was unaware that he left a witness, someone who observed the scene from the rooftop¡ Diana. <----To Be Continued------ STAGE 02: Teenage Lessons! Lelouch arrived at his house in the suburbs of Metropolis. He was going to open the door with his keys until¡ ¡°You saw me in that alley, didn''t you?¡± He said. Diana jumped off the tree she was hiding in. "How did you know I was following you?" Diana asked. "I noticed you jumping from roof to roof. You may be an Amazon warrior, but you''re not a ninja." said Lelouch. ¡°So, mind explaining why you were following me? I thought you stayed with Barbara and the others,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°I did not believe that you didn''t have a gift like me and our sisters.¡± said Diana, ¡°There is something¡Unique about you, completely different from the others.¡± ¡°And that is? The fact that my power is more suited to a supervillain?¡± said Lelouch. ¡°No, not that.¡± Diana shook her head. ¡°Everyone can do good or not with the gifts they receive, even mine could be used to harm others. Just¡Why are you hiding it from us?¡± ¡°As if I was gonna tell that I can force people into obeying my orders to a bunch of strangers I just met.¡± Lelouch unlocked the door. ¡°So? Are you coming in or not?¡± Diana came closer and took a look at Lelouch¡¯s house. ¡°Are you sure I may come in?¡± ¡°Who am I to let the Wonder Woman stay outside of my house like a stray animal?¡± Lelouch smirked playfully. ¡°Besides, there''s someone you''ll probably like to meet.¡± The two stepped inside.

Lelouch¡¯s house was small but cosy, like, with the living room looking rather classy. ¡°Nunnally, I¡¯m home!¡± said Lelouch, his voice sounding softer and gentler compared to the ¡°elegant coldness¡± he showed before to the Amazon. Then, Nunnally, a young girl of average height with hip-length curly brown hair and wearing a simple white-and-green dress, arrived in the living room on her wheelchair and her eyes shut. Nunnally greeted her brother with her usual small smile, ¡°Welcome back, big brother!¡± She turned to Diana as if she could see her. ¡°Oh? You brought someone with you?¡± Diana looked confused. ¡°How did she¡¡± ¡°I heard the footsteps, that¡¯s all,¡± said Nunnally. ¡°Nunnally, this is Diana, a¡A friend from school.¡± Lelouch partly lied, he then glanced at the Amazon. ¡°Diana, this is Nunnally, my little sister.¡± ¡°It is a pleasure meeting you,¡± said Diana. ¡°Likewise,¡± said Nunnally, extending her hand to her. ¡°Take her hand.¡± Lelouch suggested. ¡°She recognises people by touching them.¡± Diana obliged, letting the blind girl take her hand. Nunnally looked surprised. ¡°My, you''ve got calluses on your hand. Do you do any sports?¡± ¡°I train to use my sword, of course.¡± said Diana, ¡°We Amazons must always be ready for battle, so we often train.¡± ¡° ¡®Amazons¡¯?¡± Nunnally tilted her head. ¡°It''s her sports team! You know, stuff from school.¡± Lelouch lied, winking at Diana. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± said Nunnally, ¡°Maybe my brother could train along with you, Diana, he barely does any physical activities.¡± ¡°That''s not true!¡± Lelouch blushed. ¡°PE is more than enough.¡± ¡°Yet you are always out of breath after running for three minutes,¡± said Nunnally. ¡°Even I can see it.¡± ¡°If that''s the case, I will make sure your brother will have better stamina, Nunnally.¡± Diana smiled. ¡°Please don''t,¡± said Lelouch. Nunnally giggled. ¡°Are you staying here from lunch, Diana? My brother is a really good cook!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind it,¡± Lelouch added. Diana smiled. ¡°It would be an honour for me.¡± ¡°Alright, gonna start cooking.¡± He went to the kitchen. As Lelouch cooked, he kept giving glances at Diana, who was seemingly inspecting the kitchen while she was at the table. ¡°Great, now she knows about my Geass, I should have been more careful.¡± He thought, ¡°Did I leave other witnesses? No, she¡¯s probably the only one. How much did she see? Is she going to tell the girls? Did she find out that I¡¯m-¡± ¡°Brother, is the food ready?¡± Nunnally interrupted her brother¡¯s stream of consciousness. ¡°One minute of patience, Nunnally,¡± said Lelouch. He then brought to the table three plates of spaghetti. ¡°Bonne appetit!¡± They had lunch, with Lelouch feeding her little sister. ¡°My Gods¡This is delicious!¡± said Diana. ¡°Told you so!¡± said Nunnally. ¡°Oh, come now, it was just spaghetti, nothing special,¡± said Lelouch. After washing the dishes, Lelouch changed into more casual clothes for the outing: A grey high-collar shirt, brown leather jacket, black trousers and matching shoes. ¡°Nunnally, Diana and I are going out now, we have to meet with some friends of ours.¡± He said. ¡°Sayoko should arrive soon.¡± ¡°Alright, have fun!¡± said Nunnally. ¡°I hope you''ll visit us again, Diana.¡± ¡°I shall, Nunnally.¡± Diana smiled. Lelouch gently kissed his little sister on the forehead and he and the Amazon left. ¡°A real sweetheart, isn''t she?¡± said Lelouch. ¡°She is.¡± said Diana, ¡°If I may ask¡What happened that left her in such a state?¡± Lelouch stopped in his tracks. ¡°...There was an accident 7 years ago, she could no longer walk due to the injuries and lost her sight out of trauma. I''ve been taking care of her ever since.¡± ¡°What about your parents? Have they perished in this accident?¡± Lelouch remained silent until he received a text from Barbara. ¡°Let''s go,¡± He said to the Amazon, ¡°The girls are waiting for us. ¡° He smirked, ¡°Time to be heroes.¡± Diana smiled a little. ¡°You¡¯re still willing to join us?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just observe you, it¡¯s not that I have much to train, considering my power.¡± said Lelouch, ¡°And by the way, I¡¯d prefer if you don¡¯t tell the others about it, not for now, at least.¡± ¡°My lips are sealed,¡± said Diana. ¡°Very well,¡± said Lelouch, ¡°Off we go.¡±

Lelouch and Diana met with Barbara, Zee, Kara, Jessica and Karen at the local mall. Diana looked around the clothing store, completely baffled. ¡°By the white beard of Zeus¡What is this place?!¡± ¡°This is a mall, here we¡¯ll find you a proper civilian outfit.¡± said Lelouch. ¡°And here it begins your ¡°Normal Teenager Lessons¡±!¡± said Barbara, bringing Diana in the store by her hand. ¡°Lesson #1, never say stuff like ¡°By the white beard of Zeus!¡± Lesson #2, you¡¯ve gotta look the part. Bright colours, big logos, be bold!¡± Barbara handed the Amazon several bright-coloured outfits. ¡°Wear leather, lots of leather.¡± Kara handed her several leather jackets. ¡°No, no leather.¡± Jessica objected, ¡°These were all made with organic cotton from Turkey!¡± Karen handed Diana several sweaters. ¡°Dress to not draw attention to yourself. But not too much! Or you risk drawing attention to yourself.¡± ¡°I have the feeling that she will do a mish-mash with all those different clothes¡¡± said Lelouch. ¡°Me too,¡± said Zee. ¡°Now, get in there and be normal!¡± Babs pushed Diana into the dressing room. As Lelouch and Zee predicted, Diana made a mish-mash of the several clothes the girls gave her. ¡°Have you finished tormenting this poor girl?¡± Zee sighed, ¡°Allow me. kool stcefrep ni lla rennam detcefreP¡± Diana¡¯s outfit turned into something more decent and fitting for her. Her hair was now kept in a low-loose ponytail, accessorised with a golden headband. As for her outfit, she was now wearing a red mid-quarter-sleeved sweater over a similar-length, white swan-necked shirt, a high-waisted blue denim skirt with a darker waistband, white calf-length socks and a pair of red flats. ¡°Oh, she looks great!¡± said Jessica. ¡°Much better,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°Ladies and gentleman, may I present Diana Prince, foreign exchange student from Greece. Geek chic. ¡°And these garments give me the appearance of a typical mortal female adolescent?¡± Diana asked, checking her new outfit. ¡°A rather classy one perhaps, but yes,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°Excellent, it is my turn now,¡± said Diana.

The group were now on a roof with Diana, donning her hero outfit, walking back and forth like a commander. ¡°If we are to be a team, then I must know your skills and abilities.¡± She said, she then pointed at Jessica. ¡°You! Name, rank, skills.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Uh... Hi, I''m Jess. I''m a cadet in something called the Green Lantern Corp. And...Oh, boy.¡± said Jess, ¡°Well, see, I was given this power ring by these weird aliens. They are sort of like space cops and they patrol these different sectors. You know what, the whole thing is really complicated. I can make stuff with this ring.¡± Using her green ring, Jess made a flower pot appear. ¡°Interesting¡So it works like a hologram?¡± said Lelouch. ¡°Kind of.¡± said Jessica, ¡°The things I create are fully solid,¡± She created a pogo stick. ¡°That¡¯s so cool!¡± said Barbara. ¡°Hmm, so with this ring of the gods, you may produce any weapon imaginable to beat your enemies into submission?¡± Diana inspected Jess¡¯ ring. ¡°In theory, yes.¡± said Jessica, ¡°Although I don¡¯t believe in violence.¡± ¡°Admirable,¡± Diana commented. ¡°How shall you be known?¡± Jessica¡¯s ring started lowing, as her outfit suddenly changed. She was now wearing a black-and-green bodysuit with the Green Lantern Corps emblem being on her chest and on her right eye, other than her whole body and eyes emitting a green aura. ¡°Green Lantern, It kinda comes with the ring.¡± She said ¡°Good.¡± Diana then turned to Barbara, ¡°And you, Batgirl?¡± ¡°I can do aaall sorts of cool stuff!¡± Barbara started taking out from her backpack several gadgets as she started ranting as her usual as she put on her Batgirl costume, which is similar to the Dark Knight¡¯s albeit with a yellow-and-purple colour scheme. ¡°Even though I don''t have any alien rings or anything, but I''m really good at figuring things out. And I make the coolest bat gadgets, like this! Bat barometer and this glow-in-the-dark bat staff. And these bat grappling hooks that I was totally this close to using when Batman was fighting Professor Pyg on the roof of this building. But then Robin showed up, and Batman had to save him. And you know how that goes. And I never actually got to show him how they work. And I never even got to meet him, but that''s a whole different story, so I-¡± ¡°You lack focus,¡± Diana interjected. She then went to Zee. ¡°And what about you?¡± ¡°You may call me The Mysterious, Fabolous, and Awe-Inspiring¡.Zatanna!¡± With a swing of her wand, Zee¡¯s outfit changed, making her wear a typical stage magician outfit. ¡°Impressive, have you got other skills?¡± Diana asked. Zee then proceeded to show the Amazon several magic tricks, making the latter both very impressed and horrified. ¡°What kind of sorcery is this?!¡± She said. ¡°So¡That¡¯s it? She¡¯s just a stage magician?¡± Lelouch thought, slightly disappointed. ¡°No, there must be something else. Let¡¯s try to push her buttons a bit.¡± As he smirked, he quickly changed into his ¡°Lelouch Lamperouge¡± persona. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s it? I thought you could do something more than just cheap tricks.¡± Those last two words seemed to have irked Zee. ¡°Cheap tricks¡Cheap tricks?!¡± Zee started flying. ¡°You call this a cheap trick?¡± Lelouch smirked, and then he played dumb. ¡°Oh, nevermind, you¡¯re an excellent magician, Zee! It looks so real!¡± Zee smirked, satisfied with the boy¡¯s answer as she stopped flying. ¡°Enough.¡± said Diana, ¡°Though you possess great quantities of style, you must learn to channel your magic into a cause - our cause. And I am afraid this uniform will not suffice, think of another.¡± ¡°Try a cape!¡± said Barbara. Then, it was Karen¡¯s turn to show off her ability. She was putting some sort of yellow armour with bee-like wings. ¡°I¡¯m¡I¡¯m still working out the kinks.¡± She pressed a button and she suddenly miniaturized herself. She flew into Diana¡¯s hand, embarrassed., with her wings buzzing. ¡°Oh, the wings aren''t supposed to buzz like that¡¡± said Karen, ¡°I''m working on rocket launchers, but they malfunction. The whole thing is all messed up. I wanted to be big and strong, so people would notice me, but... my growth tech backfired, and now I''m even smaller and more invisible than before. Oh, I should just go home...¡± ¡°You possess far more strength than you know.¡± Diana gave her a reassuring smile. ¡°You simply lack confidence, little Bumblebee.¡± ¡°Hmm, ¡®Bumblebee¡¯, sounds fitting,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°Yeah, it does!¡± said Barbara. ¡°Huh, I-I was thinking of another name¡But Bumblebee it is.¡± Karen returned to normal. Last, it was Kara¡¯s turn. ¡°You¡¯re the last one. We''ve seen your incredible strength. Is there anything more you have to offer?¡± said Diana. Kara scoffed. ¡°Not to you. I¡¯m no hero, ¡®Princess¡¯, that racket¡¯s for chumps.¡± She glanced at Lelouch, and smirked. ¡°Besides, why don¡¯t you ask Ashford over here instead? Maybe he got some superpowers he didn¡¯t tell us, like ¡®super snobbery¡¯!¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± said Lelouch, trying to keep his ¡°normal student¡± facade. ¡°Lelouch, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Kara, ¡°You¡¯ve been looking at us like you¡¯re trying to see our weaknesses or something, and all with that look of superiority.¡± Lelouch¡¯s expression turned cold. He spoke with an RP accent, ¡°You got expelled from your previous school, didn¡¯t you?¡± Kara was stunned. ¡°How did you¡?¡± ¡°Considering how you barely control your strength, I presume that you probably shoved a fellow much smaller than you into a locker a little too hard,¡± said Lelouch. Kara elaborated on what the boy said. ¡°Are you-Are you calling me a bully?!?!¡± ¡°You insulted me despite having done nothing to you, so yes,¡± said Lelouch, "It''s definitely the typical behaviour of a bully who acts mighty with those weaker than him and cowers in fear when he finds someone stronger." ¡°Why, you-¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Diana interjected. ¡°We are not supposed to fight between one another.¡± She turned to Kara. ¡°You could be the greatest hero the World of Man has ever seen. You simply lack some motivation!¡± Diana grabbed Lelouch¡And threw him off the roof. The girls gasped in horror. ¡°LELOUCH!¡± Kara acted almost out of instinct, she immediately flew down there to save him. ¡°Shit, shit! I have to think of a way to survive this.¡± Lelouch¡¯s train of thought was very fast as he desperately tried to escape his death. That was until Kara grabbed him and brought him back to the roof. She was now wearing a tightly-fitted, mid-quarter-sleeved blue-grey shirt with the Superman emblem on the chest area, a tailbone-length maroon cape attached at the back, a V-shaped yellow belt, a short maroon skirt and marron knee-high boots with white stripes on the top. Kara let Lelouch go. ¡°Okay, fine. I am a superhero, all right.¡± She scoffed. ¡°Well, thanks for saving me¡¡± said Lelouch, he then turned to the Amazon. ¡°And as for you, for the love of God, don¡¯t do anything like that ever again.¡± ¡°My apologies if it frightened you, Lelouch,¡± said Diana, ¡°Now then, it¡¯s for you to train!¡± The group arrived in a junkyard. As requested, Zee changed her outfit into something more fitting for a superhero: A long-sleeved black and white leotard with grey-ish purple tights underneath, a black cape with a dark magenta lining held by a magenta jewel and thigh-high stiletto boots. Other than that, her hair was now sparkling with different shades of purple. ¡°Ugh, I conjured a new outfit to hang out in a junkyard?¡± She said, disgusted. ¡°This place is pretty isolated from the rest of the city, nobody should see you all using your powers here,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°Soldiers!¡± Diana began, ¡°Our mission is to save the World of Man, and in order to do that¡We need to learn how to save Man himself!¡± The Amazon showed her comrades a few mannequins near a tower of junk. Then, she threw a bin lid towards the tower and kicked every single piece of it away from the ¡°civilians¡±. As the tower fell completely, Diana emerged from it, with the mannequins completely intact. Needless to say, Lelouch and the others were stunned. ¡°Now, it is your turn,¡± said Diana. The girls (minus Barbara, who was still in awe) glanced at each other with uncertainty. ¡°Good luck, you¡¯ll need it.¡± Lelouch sat on a deck chair. ¡°Wait, is he not gonna do anything?¡± Kara complained. ¡°Lelouch does not have powers like us, therefore he will limit himself to observe our training,¡± said Diana. ¡°Yeah, sure...¡± Kara glanced at the Britannian, not believing him in the slightest. ¡°Let''s see how the girls will perform in the training, they have the potential to be excellent allies.¡± He thought, ¡°I have to be careful though, Kara is suspecting that I''m lying about my powers¡¡± As the training began, Lelouch carefully observed and wrote in his notebook the abilities, strengths and weaknesses of the girls. For ¡®Batgirl¡¯, he wrote: ¡°Batgirl does not have any superpowers, but compensates with an extreme agility and gadgeteer genius worthy of the Dark Knight she worships so much. However, her energy is a double-edged sword, as Batgirl can easily lose focus.¡± For ¡®Wonder Woman¡¯, he wrote: ¡°A goddess among mortals, her fighting skills exceed everyone here, I made the right choice by looking for her, I can''t find a single weakness in her.¡± For ¡®Supergirl¡¯, he wrote: ¡°Faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive, the ¡®Woman of Steel¡¯ has the same powers as Superman, pity that she''s an impulsive brute who can easily be angered, making her a threat to her teammates. It''s better if I start preparing a contingency plan to neutralise her in case she goes rogue, but if she manages to keep her temper in check, she could be much, much better than Superman.¡± For ¡®Green Lantern¡¯, he wrote: ¡°Green Lantern is probably one of the most powerful members of this ¡°team¡±, as long as she''s very creative, nothing can virtually stop her¡Except for herself being so adamant of not wanting to fight anyone. If only I could find a way to ¡°bypass¡± this block¡¡± For ¡®Zatanna¡¯, he wrote: ¡°A powerful magician and a showgirl, Zatanna can do whatever she wishes thanks to her magic. However, excluding her magic she''s just a normal human, and she has to speak to make her spells.¡± Last, he wrote for ¡®Bumblebee¡¯: ¡°A genius who created something like her armour out of scraps. However, her crippling weakness is her shyness and her low self-esteem. By her looks, she seems to be of Nunnally¡¯s age, perhaps if I try to be some sort of ¡°big brother figure¡± to her, it could help her gain some confidence¡¡±

The training was getting alternated with Diana¡¯s ¡°training¡± into being a normal teen. First stop: The comic book store. ¡°Alright, today¡¯s Normal Teenage Lesson: Pop Culture!¡± Barbara announced. Zee looked around the store, seemingly disgusted. ¡°Culture? Are you joking?¡± ¡°Did you bring us here to help Diana integrate into the World of Man or because you just wanted to buy a comic book?¡± Lelouch asked. ¡°Yes!¡± Barbara replied, she then saw a Batman comic book and gasped. ¡° No way! It''s the super-rare Batman giant super-special with a limited edition pull-out Batman poster! I would kill for this!¡± ¡°Have you learned nothing?¡± Diana scolded Babs, ¡°We must protect the innocents, not engage in needless slaughter over material goods!¡± ¡°Diana¡That¡¯s a figure of speech, she doesn¡¯t actually want to kill anyone,¡± said Lelouch. Karen nodded, ¡°Yeah! For instance, if you are hungry, you might say, "I''d kill for a burrito.".¡± She then pointed at a burrito stand ¡°Go on, you try.¡± Diana approached the vendor and shouted, ¡°I WILL KILL YOU FOR A BURRITO!¡± Of course, this scared the living daylights out of the poor fellow, making him run away in terror. ¡°ACCEPT MY PAYMENT OR DIE!¡± The others looked at the scene in embarrassment, with Lelocuh even facepalming. ¡°Let¡¯s¡Let¡¯s not use figures of speech till Diana learns their mean, alright?¡± ¡°Yeah¡¡± the girls said in unison. ¡°S-Sorry¡¡± Karen whispered.

For another ¡°Teenage Lesson¡±, the group went to the cinema to watch a movie called ¡°Just Before Dusk¡±. As expected from a sappy teenage romance movie, most of the team was completely invested in the movie¡Except for Lelouch and Kara, who both were on the verge of falling asleep from boredom (with the latter already succumbed to it) ¡°I never wanted to love her, Alexandra. But she''s the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me, ever. So, why hasn''t Caitlyn texted me?¡± said Aiden, one of the characters in the movie. She just needs time, Aiden. It''s only been two days. If she texts after three days, that''s irrevocable love.¡± said Aiden¡¯s friend, Alexandra. Diana observed the movie with mild confusion, not exactly understanding what she was watching. ¡°Huh¡What is happening?¡± She asked. ¡°Aiden just realised he can''t live without Caitlyn. But Alexandra is telling him that Caitlyn won''t text until tomorrow, because that''s exactly what Michael didn''t do to her when they broke up.¡± Barbara explained, ¡°Isn''t it all just so sad and beautiful?¡± ¡°Teenage males are¡Very confusing,¡± said Diana. ¡°Tell me about it¡¡± Barbara, Jessica, Zee and Karen said in unison, sighing dreamily. ¡°You do realise there¡¯s a boy with you, yes?¡± said Lelouch, ¡°And I think this stuff will do nothing but confuse Diana.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jessica asked. ¡°You will be mine, Caitlyn. Forever.¡± Aiden was going to kiss Caitlyn. ¡But unfortunately, Diana misunderstood completely and, as an ¡°attempt¡± to help Caitlyn, she started slashing the screen with her sword, waking up Kara too. ¡°This is what I mean.¡± said Lelouch, ¡°Now let¡¯s get out of here before we get arrested.¡± The group left the cinema, all of them looking rather disappointed that their plan wasn''t working, with Diana looking away, embarrassed. ¡°So, what''s the plan then?¡± Kara asked, ¡°This is definitely not working.¡± ¡°There must be a place to loosen up an uptight warrior princess here¡¡± said Barbara ¡°Oh, I know!¡± said Karen. ¡°We could go to that amusement park near the pier.¡± "Good idea!" said Barbara, "Diana''s gonna love it!" ¡°...I think I won¡¯t join you this time,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°I promised my sister to spend some time with her. See you tomorrow!¡± He ran off. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll do it without him, come on, girls!¡± said Barbara. So, the girls went to the pier, trying several attractions, making Diana try pizza for the first time, and generally having a good time. But on the other side of the city, a mysterious hooded figure activated hordes of small green robots, heading towards several points of interest across the town. However, someone was carefully observing the robots from a rooftop, ready to engage in battle. The figure was wearing a tight dark purple suit with golden stripes, long-wrapped sleeves, and a frilled white cravat, all worn under a large black-and-gold cloak with crimson lining that completely covered his torso and an equally enormous black cape that encircles his head.His face wasn¡¯t visible, due to it being hidden by an opaque (from the outside, at least) spiky black-and-indigo mask. Silently, the masked figure jumped from the building into the street and started slashing one robot after another with his sword. However, only a few of them seemed to attack the masked fighter, as most of them were heading towards other buildings. As he finished destroying every robot trying to destroy the movie theatre, he picked up a piece of one of the robots, where the letters ¡°Lx¡± were painted on it. ¡°Lx¡LexCorp?¡± The figure thought. ¡°Why would Luthor send robots to destroy several hotspots of the city?¡± He looked to the hordes heading towards a frozen dairy cafe. ¡°The robots are heading to that cafe¡And it¡¯s still open! I have to evacuate those people before it¡¯s too late!¡± The figure took his grappling hook and after reaching a roof, he started jumping from one building to another to get to the cafe as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the girls, after having fun at the pier, were heading towards the same cafe. <------To Be Continued---------- STAGE 03: Sweet, Sweet Justice Right after leaving the pier, the girls chatted about how they had fun. ¡°Well, ladies, after a night like this I think we deserve something sweet,¡± said Zee. ¡°To Sweet Justice!¡± Zee, Kara, Karen and Jessica said in unison as they entered the cafe. ¡°You don¡¯t want to miss this!¡± Kara dragged Diana and Barbara inside. The interior of the cafe was of vibrant pink, with the clients enjoying several sweet delicacies, from ice cream to cakes. The girls went to the counter to make their order, and they were welcomed by a tall lanky boy with short blonde hair and blue eyes. ¡°Hey, guys. So, what''s the haps, what''s poppin'', what''s the latest?¡± He spoke fastly, ¡°Can I get you something sweet? Sure hope so, ''cause that''s what we have. It''s sort of our speciality!¡° ¡°Hi, Barry!¡± The girls minus Diana and Barbara said in unison. ¡°So, what will it be? The usual? The usual? The usual? The usual? The usu-¡± Barry noticed Barbara and Diana. ¡°Oh, hi there! I didn¡¯t notice you.¡± ¡°Babs will have the ¡°Candy Cake Triple Ripple Tower¡± while Diana will have the ¡°Death by Chocolate,¡± said Zee, she glanced at Diana. ¡°Figure of speech, of course.¡± In a flash, Barry brought to the girls what they ordered. As they sat down, Diana inspected the chocolate ice cream she had in front of her. ¡°Well? What are you waiting for, Diana?¡± Jessica noticed her friend hesitating. The Amazon then took her spoon and tried her ice cream¡Then proceeded to devour it like she hadn¡¯t eaten in days from how good it was, much to the disgust of her teammates. ¡°Never have I tasted such wonderment!¡± She said, ¡°More, I must have more of this magical concoction!¡± Diana then proceeded to ravenously eat all the sweet food the girls have ordered till she collapsed on the table. ¡°Huh¡Diana?¡± Karen checked if she was okay. ¡°SISTERS!¡± Diana suddenly woke up, ¡°This food is more delectable than ambrosia and this place is more perfect than Elysium! I declare that we must celebrate our every future victory here and thus!¡± ¡°Sweet Justice for the win!¡± said Barbara, happily. However, her enthusiasm soon faded as the robots stormed inside the cafe. ¡°Attention, citizens,¡± the robot in the front spoke. ¡°This business or dwelling has been categorised for immediate destruction. By order of the City of Metropolis, you must vacate before structure removal begins. You have 30 seconds to comply.¡± Panic ensued, as the civilians started to evacuate the Sweet Justice. The girls, however, stood still, unsure on wherever to intervene or not. ¡°I think we should do something¡¡± said Kara. ¡°Leaving, perhaps.¡± said Zee, ¡°They¡¯re City robots, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s much we can do.¡± ¡°You have 15 seconds to comply,¡± said the robot. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t make sense!¡± said Jessica, ¡°Why did the City decide to tear this place down out of sudden, while it¡¯s still open?¡± ¡°You have 10 seconds to comply. 10, 9, 8¡¡± said the robot. ¡°Is this a law we must obey? Or should we fight?¡± said Diana ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, we¡¯re not ready for a fight!¡± said Karen. ¡°2,1¡This completes your warning. Demolition will now begin.¡± The robot announced. Suddenly, more robots crashed into the Sweet Justice by destroying the walls and the windows. But then, as a robot was approaching a table where a boy wearing VR specs was sitting, unaware of the situation, Diana in an instant changed into her costume and destroyed the robot. ¡°It matters not if these villains are protected by Man¡¯s Law, our mission is to protect the innocent, and that is what we must do.¡± Diana spoke to her teammates. ¡°Come, sisters, this is our time.¡± The girls, inspired by the Amazon¡¯s words, instantly changed into their costumes and started fighting back the hordes of robots. ¡However, things quickly went downhill due to the girls¡¯ inexperience in fighting. Zee acted cocky, treating it more like it was one of her many magic shows rather actually fighting to protect several people¡¯s lives. Karen acted cowardly and soon retreated, Kara didn¡¯t even let Diana finish giving her order and accidentally threw a robot towards two catatonic civilians, but luckily Jessica intervened and created a trampoline to bounce them away¡Towards a wall, making the ceiling start falling apart. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Babs was having a hard time destroying the robots until suddenly, all of them were cut in half. As she saw who did, the redhead gasped in shock. ¡°You¡¯re¡You¡¯re¡¡± The figure calmly turned and then went to destroy the other robots with his sword. But unfortunately, his intervention wasn¡¯t enough to save the cafe from falling apart. The final nail in the coffin was Zee, who accidentally hit Diana with her magic blasts, who in turn hit Kara and pushed her to the wall. ¡°Everyone out! It¡¯s coming down!¡± Jessica shouted. The girls jumped out of the windows, with Jessica and the masked figure evacuating the remaining civilians right before the place fell down. The team couldn¡¯t help look in shock at their failure as the robots went away. Then, Diana slapped Kara. ¡°Insubordination! Why did you not await my orders?! You are reckless!¡± ¡°Well, excuuuse me, Princess!¡± said Kara with a mocking tone, ¡°In case you didn¡¯t notice, I was the only one in there actually fighting-¡± Suddenly, they heard a laugh. It sounded hammy, yet collected. The girls turned and sawthe masked figure standing on a light pole. ¡°It appears that you lot aren¡¯t as efficient as I hoped. What a disappointment.¡± His voice was deep with a generic US accent ¡°Who are you?¡± Diana asked, not sure whether to trust the figure. ¡°I am¡Zero.¡± Zero jumped from the pole and kneeled in front of Diana like a knight. ¡°At last, we finally meet, Wonder Woman.¡± ¡°Wait¡Zero? ¡®The Black Knight¡¯ they talked about on the news?¡± said Jessica. ¡°He does have some style,¡± Zee commented, ¡°The purple cloak looks classy.¡± "He looks stupid, what''s with the mask?" Kara commented. Barbara squealed like the fangirl she was. ¡°You may stand up, there¡¯s no need to kneel,¡± said Diana, both flattered and slightly embarrassed, ¡°I have heard many tales about you. I take you were also fighting these mechanical fiends before?¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Zero stood up, ¡°These robots have been targeting several hotspots of Metropolis, just a bit ago I encountered a few at the movie theatre.¡± ¡°But why does the City suddenly want to tear down these places? There wasn¡¯t anything wrong with the theatre.¡± Jessica asked. ¡°That is a good question. Whoever is behind this, must be linked to LexCorp in some way.¡± Zero picked up on the pieces of the slashed robots. ¡°And¡What could Lex Luthor possibly have against cupcakes?¡± Kara asked. ¡°I don''t know at the moment, I need to investigate.¡± said Zero, ¡°But first, we must keep chasing those robots, it''s unlikely they''ll stop now.¡± ¡°Well, looks like you already have a plan. I''m out!¡± Zee turned back to normal and left. ¡°What?!¡± Barbara was shocked, ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°Let''s face it, we were never meant to be heroes, especially me¡¡± Karen took off her helmet and left. ¡°I knew this ring would lead to just violence and destruction.¡± Jessica took off her ring and left. ¡°Like I said, being superheroes is for chumps.¡± Kara left. ¡°Guys, wai-¡± Barbara sounded so defeated. Zero put his hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. ¡°Let them go,¡± He said, ¡°We can deal with this by ourselves. Isn''t that right, Wonder Wo-¡± Suddenly, a cloud of smoke appeared. Diana looked at the smoke with a distraught expression. ¡°Barbara Gordon, Zero, meet¡My mother.¡± She said. A massive muscular woman emerged from the smoke. She had long golden blonde hair and golden eyes and wore a matching armour, tiara and a coat. As the smoke vanished, the woman¡¯s soldiers appeared standing in line. ¡°Hippolyta¡¡± Zero thought. ¡°Dude¡Your mom looks like a final boss!¡± said Barbara, feeling intimidated. ¡°Disguising yourself as a warrior, entering the tournament of Athena and Aphrodite against the wishes of your Queen, leaving Themyscira without my permission!¡± Hippolyta scolded her daughter. ¡°Wait, you¡Snuck out?¡± Barbara was puzzled, ¡°But I thought it was your destiny to save the World of Man!¡± ¡°This insolent child has no such destiny! She has brought shame upon her people!¡± Hippolyta then headed towards the ship along with the other Amazons, dragging Diana by her ear. ¡°Come, Diana! It is for us to go home.¡± And so, they left. Barbara fell on her knees, her morale was lower than sea level as she took off her mask. ¡°The situation got worse in a matter of seconds.¡± Zero thought, ¡°All of my pawns have been eliminated instantly, I have to think of a plan¡¡± Then, Zero¡¯s train of thought was interrupted by Barbara¡¯s weeping. ¡°Batgirl, are you¡?¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m¡Fine.¡± Barbara lied. ¡°I¡¯ve¡I¡¯ve ruined everything, I shouldn¡¯t have forced them to become heroes.¡± ¡°No, you are not at fault.¡± said Zero, ¡°Your comrades have potential, they only lack motivation after their¡Lackluster performance against the robots, motivation you are going to give them back.¡± Barbara wiped off her tears. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes, you. I am sure you will succeed, Babs.¡± Zero walked away. ¡°Hey! Where are you going?¡± Barbara asked. ¡°To give a hero back her freedom.¡± Zero used his grappling hook and left, heading to the Amazons¡¯ ship. Barbara stood up and looked at the Black Knight leaving. ¡°How did he know my name¡?¡±

Later, Barbara went directly to each girl''s house, but with no success as they immediately slammed the door the moment they saw her. So, the redhead was forced to use other methods to get them to listen. Using her tablet, she videocalled the girls. ¡°I am not talking to you, Babs!¡± they said in unison. ¡°Girls, please!¡± said Barbara, ¡°Don''t hang up!¡± ¡°Give us one reason why not!¡± said Kara. ¡° ''Cause I need you to fight!¡± said Barbara. She sighed, ¡°Look, I know not all of us wanted to be heroes, but one of us did: H er . We don''t have to choose to be heroes, but Diana''s super scary warrior mom is dragging her back to her crazy magical island forever and now the one of us who knew for sure she wanted to be, she''s the one who doesn''t have a choice. She wanted to save everybody in the whole entire world, and now she needs saving. Zero went to save her, but he''ll need all the help he can find. You don''t have to be heroes if you don''t want to, you don''t have to fight...Except this one time. Because she''s our friend. And best friends, they''re worth fighting for, you know?¡± The girls, after hearing Babs¡¯ speech, now looked unsure about their decision. ¡°...Well, I suppose we owe her one,¡± said Jessica. And so, the girls prepared for their rescue mission.

Meanwhile, the Amazons¡¯ ship navigated the sea until suddenly it stopped moving. ¡°What is going on?! Why have we stopped?!¡± Hippolyta asked. ¡°I-I do not know, someone has dropped the anchor!¡± An Amazon soldier said. ¡°And who did it?¡± said Hippolyta. ¡°That would be me,¡± A male voice spoke: It was Zero, standing on the mast of the ship. ¡°A man?!¡± Several Amazons drew their swords, but the Black Knight wasn¡¯t intimidated, as he calmly went down the mast. ¡°And who you might be?¡± Hippolyta asked. Zero bowed, his cloak moving giving a dramatic effect. ¡°I am Zero, the Black Knight, and I am here to give your daughter her freedom back. And in order to do that¡¡± He drew his sword and pointed at Hippolyta. ¡°I challenge you to a duel, Queen of the Amazons!¡± <----To Be Continued------- STAGE 04: (K)NIGHTMARE Hippolyta chuckled, seemingly amused by the Black Knight¡¯s boldness. ¡°You? A man with such a scrawny build, is challenging the Queen of the Amazons to a duel?¡± ¡°Do not let my appearance fool you, I don¡¯t need muscles to win.¡± said Zero, ¡°Here is my proposal: If I win the duel, your daughter Diana will come with me and shall resume her mission in the world of Man.¡± ¡°And if I win?¡± Hippolyta asked. ¡°I shall become a prisoner of the Amazons, and you may do whatever you wish, even execute me.¡± Zero calmly explained. The Amazons minus Hippolyta gasped, shocked by the Knight''s offer. ¡°You are willing to risk losing your freedom for someone you hardly know? You are as bold as you are foolish.¡± ¡°Perhaps I am,¡± Zero chuckled, ¡°But Diana here is worth taking any risks. Her talents are needed in the World of Man, it would be a disgrace letting them get wasted on an island in the middle of nowhere eternally stuck in the Classical Age.¡± Diana grabbed Zero''s hand, worried for his safety. ¡°You do not have to do this, Zero¡¡± ¡°Do not worry about me, Wonder Woman. I promised your subordinates that I would bring you back, therefore I will.¡± Hippolyta smirked ¡°We Amazons do not tend to make prisoners, but I accept your challenge. Your courage is admirable¡¡± She drew her sword, ¡°But your arrogance will be your downfall, Black Knight!¡± Zero chuckled. ¡°We¡¯ll see. Now¡Let us dance! ¡± In a flash, Zero hurled several smoke bombs into the air and detonated them, completely covering the ship. He jumped away, disappearing from Hippolyta¡¯s sight. ¡°Resorting to these sorts of tricks, typical of a man!¡± She said while coughing. ¡°Show yourself, coward!¡± ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty.¡± Zero taunted. He then jumped to attack Hippolyta, using the mast for momentum, but the Amazon parried it in time. Zero backed off, trying to attack from a different angle, the queen of the Amazons was fast enough to parry every attack. The battle kept going, slowly heading into a stalemate. Against all expectations, Zero was pulling one hell of a good fight against Hippolyta, who couldn¡¯t manage to land a hit on him due to his agility. Meanwhile, Barbara, Kara, Jessica, Karen and Zee arrived aboard the ship without getting noticed. ¡°Looks like we missed the beginning,¡± Kara commented. ¡°W-We have to fight her ?¡± Karen asked, very intimidated. ¡°Well, Zero doesn''t seem to struggle against her,¡± said Jessica. ¡°Yup! Come on, guys, time to be heroes!¡± said Barbara. The girls jumped into the fight¡And immediately got captured by the Amazons. Unfortunately, this caused Zero to get distracted for an instant and¡ *SLASH!* Hippolyta hit him. Zero jumped away without any injuries¡And his mask began to crack in two. The two pieces of the mask fell to the ground revealing the Knight''s face, that being¡ ¡°Lelouch?!¡± The girls said in unison, completely flabbergasted. ¡°You¡¯re Zero?!¡± said Karen. Diana observed Lelouch¡¯s expression as he turned to the girls. There was something¡Eerie about him, with him looking so calm and composed as if he was expecting this to happen. And there was the Geass sigil in his left eye, making it completely red and glowing¡ ¡°Yes, I am Zero. The Black Knight who torments the criminals of Gotham and now Metropolis. My apologies for not telling you, but I had to be sure that you could be trusted.¡± He looked at Barbara, ¡°And I¡¯m sure you figured it out already, didn¡¯t you, Batgirl?¡± The girls looked back at Barbara in confusion. ¡°You¡Did?¡± said Kara. ¡°I found it out when he called me ¡®Babs¡¯ after you guys left,¡± Barbara explained, slightly embarrassed. ¡°But¡Nunnally said you were lacking in physical prowess,¡± said Diana. ¡°That isn''t exactly a lie. Without this bodysuit, I''m as athletic as a man in his 90s. Now then¡¡± Lelouch turned to Hippolyta as he put himself in position. ¡°Let¡¯s resume the duel, shall we?¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Diana interjected. ¡°Mother, I beg of you, stop this and let me remain in the World of Man!¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± said Hippolyta, ¡°You are only 317 years old, Diana. You are too young and too naive to make your own decisions, let alone go to the World of Man alone!¡± ¡°And yet it was I who survived the 21 tests of the tournament of Athena and Aphrodite, was I not?¡± Diana objected ¡°While I may be young, I have proven I am my own woman and I decide who I want to be. And I won¡¯t be alone in my missions, for I have now five sisters with me¡¡± She gently held Lelouch¡¯s hands, smiling warmly. ¡°...And a brother, too.¡± For an instant, a blush crept up the Knight¡¯s cheeks, which he immediately covered with his cloak as Diana let him go. Seeing how determined her daughter was, Hippolyta sighed and put her sword back in her scabbard. ¡°...Very well, you may resume your path. As for you¡¡± She turned to Lelouch, ¡°I am impressed by your skills, Black Knight Zero. Not many would come out almost unscathed from a duel against the Queen of the Amazons, you have my respect.¡± ¡°The same goes for me, Your Majesty.¡± a smirk appeared on Lelouch¡¯s face. ¡° !ksam siht riapeR ¡± Zee used a spell to fix Lelouch¡¯s mask and then handed it to the Knight. ¡°Well, ladies¡¡± Lelouch put his mask on, ¡°I believe we have a criminal to stop, do we not?¡± Jessica created a magic carpet big enough for the seven of them and flew back to Metropolis. ¡°Well done, Diana!¡± said Barbara, ¡°Standing up to your parents is Normal Teenage Lesson #234! You¡¯re now officially a teenager and we are a team again!¡± The girls shared a hug. ¡°So, did you enjoy my ''little show''?¡± said Lelouch. ¡°You were amazing!¡± said Barbara, now in ¡°fangirl¡± mode. ¡°You were all ¡®swish-swoosh¡¯-y, you managed to go toe-on-toe against that behemoth that¡¯s Diana¡¯s mom, and your costume looks soooo cool! You look like Batman if he was an aristocrat!¡± Lelouch chuckled softly, ¡°Well, if it¡¯s coming from you, Babs, I¡¯m really flattered.¡± ¡°I am in your debt, Lelouch. You fought valiantly to grant me freedom, even if you risked losing yours.¡± She smiled again. ¡°Thank God I¡¯m wearing my mask¡¡± Lelouch thought, ¡°I knew Babs would arrive with the others, so I only had to resist till then.¡± ¡°By the way, what was the red, bird thingy you had in your eye?¡± Kara pointed at her left eye. ¡°It¡¯s a manifestation of my power, but I''ll explain another time. Let''s first deal with the robots, they must have left a trail of chaos over the city,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°Huh...Guys?" Karen pointed at the pier, with the robots about to enter it. The team landed, the robots stopped moving right in front of the entrance. ¡°Why have they...Stopped?¡± said Diana. Then, they heard a noise, the noise of wheels moving, becoming louder and louder. ¡°What''s¡That noise?¡¯ Karen asked, having a terrible feeling about it. ¡°Eh, relax, Karen!¡± said Kara, ¡°Let''s focus on kicking these robots-¡± Suddenly, a giant robot jumped towards them. It was different from the robots at the Sweet Justice, being more humanoid and holding a coil gun-based assault rifle. Before it could shoot at them, the team hid in one of the stands just in time. ¡°W-What the hell was that ?!¡± Kara panted. ¡°It was huge! And came out of nowhere!¡± Karen was shaking like a leaf. ¡°Why are you scared of it? Aren''t you immune to bullets?¡± Zee looked at Kara. ¡°I''m not scared!¡± Kara blushed from embarrassment, ¡°I-I''m just surprised, that''s all! The biggest threats I''ve faced till now were robbers and kittens stuck on trees!¡± ¡°What is a Knightmare Frame doing in Metropolis?!¡± said Lelouch. ¡°You know that metallic creature?¡± said Diana. ¡°Yeah, a humanoid war machine that makes tanks practically obsolete.¡± Lelouch explained, ¡°I thought only the Britannian Army had them, but it looks like Lex Luthor managed to get the blueprints¡¡± ¡°So¡How are we supposed to defeat it?¡± Jessica asked. Lelouch went silent for a few seconds, thinking of a plan. ¡°...The cockpit. If we find a way to trigger the Cockpit Ejection System, the Knightmare will go off and then we could finally capture Luthor.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Sounds like a good plan to me,¡± Kara cracked her knuckles. "Here''s the plan: Zatanna, Green Lantern and Batgirl, you will deal with the robots. As for the Knightmare..." said Lelouch, "You have an important role in its defeat, Bumblebee." "M-Me?" said Karen, very unsure. "With your ability to shrink yourself, you can sneak inside the Knightmare''s circuits and cause havoc. Supergirl, Wonder Woman and I will distract Luthor long enough for you to do so." "I-I don''t know, Lelouch, what if I-?" Before she could finish her sentence, Lelouch put his hand on Karen''s shoulder. "I know it''s dangerous, but you''re our only hope to end this swiftly. If you built this incredible armour with a bunch of scraps, you can do anything with a bit of confidence." The shy teen seemed to be convinced by his words and nodded with determination. "Okay, I''ll do it. I can do it!" Then, the firing stopped as ¡°Lex¡± laughed, ¡°Come on, girls! Let¡¯s have some fun!¡± The team left their hiding and stood in front of the Knightmare Frame and its hordes of robots. ¡°Lex Luthor!¡± Lelouch spoke. ¡°For the destruction you have caused throughout Metropolis, you shall be punished!¡± ¡°...¡®Lex¡¯? I¡¯m not Lex! I am¡¡± the pilot spoke. The cockpit opened, revealing¡A blonde little girl with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and wearing a school uniform. ¡°Lena Luthor!¡± Needless to say, the heroes were not impressed. ¡°All of this was my plan, not my dopey brother¡¯s! He could never come up with something this go-What¡¯s with your faces?¡± Lelouch facepalmed. ¡°All of this chaos, hordes of robots and a Knightmare Frame¡All controlled by a spoiled brat. It''s Midnight, isn''t it past your bedtime?¡± ¡°Shut up! I''ll go to sleep whenever I want!¡± Lena shouted. ¡°Ugh, teenagers! Thinking they¡¯re so smart with your driving cars and commercials! Yet, you didn¡¯t pick up on the most obvious of evil plots! So first, I reprogrammed Lex¡¯s worthless VR specs, then, I hacked the Demolition Robots the city contacted my doofus brother to make and finally, I used them to destroy every " fun" and "cool" place to "hang" in Metropolis, so that there would not be any entertainment except for my VR world, where you will be stuck in there forever!¡± She monologued, ¡°And with teenagers out of the way, children will rule Metropolis!¡± She laughed maniacally. The team was still not impressed. ¡°That''s¡That''s the dumbest plan I''ve ever heard,¡± said Kara. ¡°I made better plans when I was 8,¡± said Lelouch. ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Lena shouted again. She then went back into the Knightmare. ¡°Enough talking! Roll out, boys!¡± The Demolition Robots started destroying some of the attractions as they headed towards the heroes. ¡°Well, ladies, you know your roles,¡± said Lelouch, "It''s showtime." ¡°We may be inferior in numbers, but we shall prevail despite it!¡± said Diana, "Come, comrades! This pier is where we shall become heroes!" The team split up into the chosen groups. Diana''s team distracted Lana, bringing her away from the others. ¡°Where do you think YOU''RE GOING?!¡± The Knightmare chased them. Lana tried to shoot at them, but they dodged every bullet. Meanwhile, Zee, Jessica and Barbara were having a few difficulties, especially in doing Damage Control caused by the Demolition Robots. But the main show was Wonder Woman¡¯s group against Lena. The Amazon threw part of her Lasso of Truth to Lelouch, and then the two turned around and ran towards the Knightmare. ¡°OH NO, YOU DON¡¯T!¡± Lana, realising what they were doing, was going to shoot at them¡That was until Kara arrived and punched the Knightmare right in the face , almost making it lose balance. ¡°Hey, Gundam!¡± the Kryptonian taunted, ¡°How about you fight someone who can put up a better fight? Or maybe you¡¯re just a chicken?¡± ¡°AAAAAAAARGH I WILL END YOU! ¡± Lana started shooting at Kara, who dodged every single bullet (not that she had to, though). However, that distracted the younger Luthor long enough for Karen to sneak into the Knightmare¡¯s circuits. Then, Karen flew through the circuits, managing to even see how the Knightmare was powered. ¡°Wow¡This is incredible!¡± She thought and shook her head. ¡°Concentrate, time to test the cannons!¡± She pressed a button on her armour, which activated some roughly-made sonic blasters and started hitting every single cable she could see. After doing it, the Knightmare¡¯s operative system triggered an alarm. ¡°CRITICAL FAILURE¡± ¡°What?!¡± said Lena, ¡±No, no, no!¡± And in an instant, the cockpit got ejected from the Knightmare and fell to the ground. At the same time, the Demolition Robots and VR specs were deactivated. ¡°It¡¯s over¡¡± Lelouch smirked. ¡°Did¡Did Bumblebee get out?¡± Barbara sounded worried. Immediately after that, Karen came out of the Knightmare and returned to her normal size. Her suit was partly damaged, ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± ¡°Victory!¡± Diana cheered. Then, many civilians, now freed from Lena¡¯s VR world, went to the pier to see what happened, and among them, there was none other than Lex Luthor himself, escorted by his mother. ¡°IT¡¯S NOT FAIR!¡± Lena shouted as the cockpit opened. ¡°See, Mom? I told you she stole my stuff!¡± said Lex. ¡°Lutessa Lena Luthor, get in this car right now!¡± said Mrs. Luthor. ¡°You can''t make me! No, no, no, no! " Lex''s bodyguards dragged Lena into the car. ¡°I''m sorry about your robot, Lex,¡± said Mrs. Luthor. ¡°Eh, don''t worry Mom, Earl Asplund will understand.¡± The bald teen reassured, ¡°I¡¯m just glad that the little tyke is fine.¡± Lena blew a raspberry at her brother. ¡°Oh, you think next time you can get those cupcakes you promised?¡± said Mrs. Luthor. ¡°Already on it!¡± Lex smirked, as he escorted his mother to the car. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this, Super Teen Jerks! YOU WILL PAY!¡± Lena yelled as the car left. Lex looked at the heroes, who were now surrounded by the amazed civilians. ¡°Is that Zero?!¡± A teenage boy commented. ¡°A brand new superhero team right here in Metropolis!¡± Said one of them. ¡°And they¡¯re girls!¡± said a girl scout. ¡°Isn¡¯t Zero a guy, though?¡± Another one asked. ¡°Who knows, their face is hidden!¡± The girl scout said. As the crowd cheered, Lelouch noticed Lex, glaring at the group.

A week has passed since Lena¡¯s defeat at the pier. Zero and the ¡°Super Hero Girls¡± have been in every major newspaper, including The Daily Planet. Despite that, Lelouch has been distant from the girls, ignoring them at school and behaving differently with other students, consolidating his ¡°Laid-Back student Lelouch Lamperouge¡± persona at Metropolis High. One evening, at the Lamperouge residence, Lelouch kept looking outside of the window, tapping his foot on the floor. ¡°Is there something wrong, big brother?¡± Nunnally asked. ¡°Hmm? Oh, no, don''t worry,¡± said Lelouch, ¡°I''m¡I''m waiting for a friend to arrive.¡± ¡°A friend? Is it Diana?¡± Nunnally asked. ¡°No, not her. Another girl I befriended at school. She''s from Gotham, you know?¡± Someone knocked on the door. ¡°It must be her,¡± Lelouch opened the door to Barbara, who brought her backpack with her. ¡°Thanks for coming, Babs.¡± ¡°No problem, Lelouch!¡± Barbara went inside. ¡°Woo! Nice house you''ve got-¡± She gasped at the sight of Nunnally, ¡°Who''s this angel?¡± ¡°I''m Nunnally, Lelouch''s little sister. Nice to meet you, Babs.¡± Nunnally smiled, making Barbara''s heart warm. ¡°Your sister is adorable! ¡± Babs whispered to Lelouch. ¡°I know.¡± said Lelouch, ¡°Now, Nunnally, Babs will stay here for the night, we have some...Homework to do.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± said Nunnally, ¡°I''ll leave you be, then.¡± The instant she went to her room, Lelouch''s expression turned from sweet to cold without a beat as he turned to the redhead. ¡°Did you bring the stuff I asked?¡± ¡°Yup!¡± Barbara emptied her backpack on the table. ¡°Blueprint paper, pencils, my sleeping bag¡I also brought some snacks when taking breaks.¡± ¡°Good, let''s get to work, Batgirl,¡± said Lelouch, smirking. ¡°We have a superhero hideout to plan.¡±

Hours of drawing and planning later, the two were quite exhausted. ¡°Are you alright, Babs?¡± He asked, bringing two cups of coffee. ¡°Yeah, just a bit tired¡¡± She yawned. She showed the Britannian her blueprint for the hideout. ¡°I added a few things to the hideout¡What do you think?¡± Lelouch inspected the blueprint. While his original plans were more serious, Babs'' additions, such as the colours and furniture, made it a little more special. ¡°Not bad at all.¡± said Lelouch, ¡°We¡¯ve earned some rest.¡± ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± Barbara asked, taking a notebook from her backpack and a pen. ¡°About your power, your ¡®Geass¡¯, can you tell me more? I''ve never seen something like yours!¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Lelouch decided to trust her, ¡°I haven''t experimented much with it for now, but I know that I can use on a person only once, and I can make them whatever I want, even the craziest things.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Barbara got even more curious. ¡°Yeah, for example, if I ordered you to b-¡± He looked away, ¡°If I ordered you to burn all the Batman merchandise you have, you would do it.¡± It¡¯s real luck Lelouch made that tame example, imagine if he told her, I don¡¯t know, to kill all the Japanese and accidentally activated. Crazy, right? Needless to say, Barbara was¡Spooked from the Britannian¡¯s explanation. ¡°...Wow.¡± The two kept chatting until it was time for them to go to sleep. Barbara had her sleeping bag, while Lelouch decided to sleep on the couch, feeling it would be rude to let her sleep alone in the living room. And so, the two teens went to sleep¡Or at least, that¡¯s what Lelouch wanted to do. He heard a voice, a softspoken female voice, chuckling. ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t you two adorable?¡± Lelouch sighed. ¡°Do you have to bother me even when I¡¯m trying to sleep, C.C. ?¡± He turned to face a beautiful girl with waist-length green hair and golden eyes, sitting at the table and holding a newspaper. She wore a sleeveless black uniform with a high collar, gold trim, and a silver Geass sigil on the chest with the uniform¡¯s lower end into four long pieces that nearly extended to the floor, long gold-trimmed black gloves and long white-and-gold high-heeled boots and white shorts underneath the uniform. ¡°You know me, I just love pestering you.¡± She said. C.C. looked at the photo in the newspaper and then at Barbara. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve made some new friends. You sure love being surrounded by pretty girls, don¡¯t you, playboy?¡± He scoffed, ¡°You know that I couldn¡¯t care less about stuff like that. The only girl I need in my life is Nunnally¡Although I admit they¡¯re all rather good-looking.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± C.C. smelled blood. ¡°Tell me, which one you¡¯re attracted the most to? I bet on the Amazon. Or maybe¡Her?¡± She glanced at Babs. ¡°She reminds me a bit of-¡± ¡° Don¡¯t you dare say that name, ¡± Lelouch glared. ¡°...Again with a story?¡± said C.C., ¡°Lelouch, it¡¯s not your fau-¡± ¡° Yes, it is. ¡± The Britannian interjected once again, raising his voice but not enough to wake up the others. ¡°And the girls are nothing more than pawns for my plans, so don¡¯t-¡± The boy looked at the chair, but C.C. was no longer there, having seemingly vanished. ¡°...Sometimes I wonder if I¡¯m going mad,¡± Lelouch thought. He then looked at Barbara, seeing her sleeping so peacefully. ¡°...I shouldn¡¯t get attached to her or any of the girls. There won¡¯t be another Shirley situation, never again!¡± A day later, after Barbara headed back home, at the ruins of the Sweet Justice the construction workers hired by LexCorp were ready to begin the reconstruction of the cafe, until Lelouch, disguised as a city employee, arrived on the scene. ¡°Good morning!¡± He said, faking an accent. ¡°I was sent here by the City, you see¡¡± He takes off his sunglasses, showing the workers the Geass sigil in his eye. ¡°There have been a few variations on the blueprint.¡±

In the following 3 months, Lelouch kept a very low profile, avoiding spending time with the girls, and secretly supervising the work on their special project along with Babs. Now, at the grand re-opening of the Sweet Justice, Kara, Barbara, Diana, Jessica, Zee and Karen were eating the usual sweets as they waited for Lelouch to arrive, who invited them in the first place. The boy then arrived, donning his Ashford Academy uniform. ¡°Ah, there you are, Lelouch,¡± said Diana. ¡°Mind explaining why did you invite us here? Despite avoiding us for three months?¡± said Zee. ¡°Well, I had my reasons. I was preparing something I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love, right, Babs?¡± said Lelouch. ¡°Yeah!¡± Barbara nodded As the Britannian sat down, Babs pressed on a part of the table, revealing a numeric keyboard. She then inserted a code and the table and the ground disappeared, making the group fall into a tunnel.

After going down a very long slide, the team landed on a mattress. Well, the team minus Lelouch and Barbara, who were now in front of the girls with the former wearing his Zero costume minus the mask. Lelouch snapped his fingers and the lights went on, revealing their brand-new secret hideout. It was large, separated into 7 sections each for every member and a few couches, a table and a TV at the centre. ¡°Tada! Welcome to our home base!¡± said Barbara, confidently. ¡°Babs and I made the blueprints for this hideout, and I¡ Convinced the construction workers to build it under the cafe.¡± said Lelouch ¡°I admit it¡¯s a bit...Rough, it should do the job.¡± The girls looked around, completely amazed. ¡°Truly, this is a place of wonder!¡± said Diana. ¡°Not bad, not bad at all!¡± said Kara. Jessica looked up and saw a large coat of arms-like symbol: A large shield composed of each hero¡¯s symbol (Diana¡¯s golden ¡®W¡¯, Barbara¡¯s yellow Bat insignia, the Green Lantern Corps¡¯ emblem, a bee-like pattern for Karen, a purple stylish-looking ¡®Z¡¯ for Zee, the House of El crest and a silver Geass sigil with a sword in the middle for Lelouch. Underneath the shield, there was the phrase ¡°EQVITES METROPOLIS¡± ¡°Equites Metropolis¡¡± She read, ¡°Latin for...¡®Knights of Metropolis¡¯? Is that our new name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than ¡®Zero and the Super Hero Girls¡¯, we sounded like we were a lame band or something,¡± Kara commented. ¡°The Knights of Round, the Three Musketeers, groups of people that have inspired people with their heroic gestures.¡± Lelouch began his speech, ¡°Now, in the Age of Metahumans, these tales can become reality. Heroes like Superman and Batman do a lot to protect their respective cities, but their work is not enough, more heroes are needed. I decided to don the mask of Zero to help make the world the gentle place my little sister imagined and if we join forces, I¡¯m sure that dream will become reality. So, what do you say, fellow knights?¡± ¡°Your mission aligns with ours perfectly, so you are welcome to our team, Lelouch,¡± said Diana. ¡°Super Awesome Super Hero-ness, here we come!¡± said Barbara. And that¡¯s how it began, the day a Demon found new allies to assist them in his mission. And who knows, maybe one day he would eventually start to consider them more than just that. <----To Be Continued----