Shadow of Zero

Chapter 9

Beauty is a word very complicated word to pinpoint.

To some the sunset was beautiful.

To others beauty was within an object or found in the soul of a person, many tried to capitalize beauty in the body.

In jewelry, in gems, in rocks, in cars, in anything they could think of.

But one thing was for certain not all shared the same view of beauty.

To those special individuals that found beauty in something so unconventional, so rare, that society thought of them as mad men, life would always be a battle.

An uphill battle against everyone that thinks that their definition is better.

That because someone dared to walk out of the conventional, they are wrong.

Those who fight for their beliefs will eventually end up changing the way some people think.

And when that battle is won, when they get people to a point not where they agree with them, but to the point that they understand them and their view that is when they can twist the world to their image.

Once the others understand them, the uphill battle becomes a walk in the park.

Suddenly all share their views.

They are hailed as heroes by those who had shun them before.

And they would write paragraphs of their genius.

A brilliant genius that saw beauty in something that none could.

Beauty was to be shared.

Everyone wants to share what they think beautiful.

And as the Joker looked down at Area Eleven in flames.

The people running around in fear, anger confusion and panic, stabbing each other for the most miniscule things, killing for survival.

He saw true beauty.

He had shared it with this world as he had done with this one.

And now it was spreading.

He could barely make out some young teenagers running around with bats in their hands, their faces painted white.

This world begged to be influenced.

Not by an empire.

Not by a rebellion.

But by a single entity, a man who dared to step forward.

That's why Zero had made such and impact.

That's why the emperor was so admired and respected by all, enemies and allies alike.

That's why there where people running around down there dressed up like him, acting like him.

Because they had seen beauty in his work.

He looked at the approaching Viceroy's palace and smiled.

The same smiled that made the Scarecrow flinch, the smile that made Killer Croc sick.

The smile of the man who laughed.

The man who laughed at society, sanity and justice.

"Mr. J where da ya want me to land?"

"Oh anywhere will be fine sugar cake, I do not care today"

Harley nodded dutifully and landed the plane right in front of the massive gates of the palace.

Joker smiled at her, making her heart go all the way up to her throat.

And then he punched her.

Harley fell unconscious to the helicopter's floor.

"Sorry pudding, but today I feel like going solo"

And he left her to her fate.

The Bat would find her, arrest her, send her to Arkham and that would be the end of that.

She would escape later anyways.

But he.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh he felt different today.

He hadn't felt like this in so long.

He just hoped it wasn't the pesky interdimensional food he ate.

Laughing at his own joke he marched inside the palace only to be met by guards pointing their weapons at him.

"DO NOT MOVE!"

The Joker raised his arms and smiled.

"Why do you look so scared my man, I'm just a clown with a killer gag!"

He dropped a grenade at his feet and the entire room was filled with his Joker gas.

"Breathe boys" he said with a smile as all around him the guards suffocated to death, their faces twisting into a smile.

Their lifeless eyes nearly bulging out of their skulls stared back at him, some in fear, some in pain but most where pleading.

He laughed.

"Zero, the party is almost over and you still haven't unpacked your last present!"

Lelouch arrived at the Viceroy's palace with a frown on his face.

Anarchy reigned in Area Eleven with guardsmen and military doing their best to keep everything in line.

They were spread thin, leaving the Viceroys palace undefended.

Lelouch shuddered as he watched the disfigured smiles of the dead guardsmen at the front door.

The clown had taken care of his opposition quickly it seemed.

There was no reason for more death, he was cornered, his allies captured.

Even his girlfriend was being tied up by Batman.

What did he gain from coming here?

"Something is wrong, I don't like it" The dark knight said out loud.

His companions nodded.

"He is planning something different and I don't like it, Superman, Wonder Woman stay out here, Zero with me"

Lelouch followed silently as they entered the Viceroy's palace.

"Forgive me for bringing you along Zero I know that today has been a strenuous day for you but I think it would be best if you stick with me for now, he wants you after all, so if we deny him that we don't know what crazy stun he can pull"

Lelouch looked down at his ruined attire and deep cuts.

He was not in any position to do most.

He was only moving out of sheer determination and raw anger

Anger for those the clown had killed and for his sister who he had hurt.

He knew what he was going to do.

Kill him.

End his madness.

But as Lelouch walked he started to hear something, the sound of laughter and a particularly familiar booming voice.

Both vigilantes stopped near the door, the voices becoming clear

"… make this quick I don't waste time in nuisances very often, but you have caught my interest for the time, do not disappoint me"

Lelouch gritted his teeth.

"So glad you could make time for me emps, you guards sure where quite surprised I got in here, I personally would blame the lousy security, but seeing as I spread them thin, with monsters and bombs I would not go so hard on them" the clown prince of crime replied.

"Make. It. Quick"

Lelouch knew that tone, last chance.

"Sure, sure, I will get to the point, this is mostly a thank you and a warning"

"A warning? Are you threatening me!?"

"Not me, but rather this" The Joker raised a small flag he had kept secret in his deep pocket.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow under the mask, the omega Symbol?

Batman on the other hand growled.

"And the thank you is for letting me screw with your children, the pink one squeals really pretty"

Lelouch didn't even need to see him to feel the sick smile form on his face.

"Hmph"

He didn't know what angered him more, the monster who hurt her or the other that didn't care, both of them they would both be dead by his…

"The other one is fun too, black hair and all moody"

Lelouch froze

"What are you…"

"Nothing emperor consider this my parting words"

A screen shattered and silence returned, except for the soft giggles that could be heard coming from the room.

Lelouch stood still in place, too shocked to move at all.

He faintly heard Bruce move and soon gunshots and mad laughter ensued.

Shakily Lelouch took a step forward, he felt as if he was walking through water, his thoughts immediately turned to Nunnally.

His father didn't know where they were, he just knew they still lived.

Discrete, he needed to be even more discrete.

He self-consciously brought a hand to his cracked masked.

"Are you all right?" a voice asked from behind him.

Diana.

"Yes, I will take my leave, you decide what to do with… HIM, contact me when you need me"

And with that he ran.

Heart pounding in his chest, a million thought running through his head.

Lelouch ran through the streets until he saw what he was searching for.

Two Britannian soldiers where driving through the city, trying to ease the increasing chaos that was Area Eleven, but Lelouch did not care for that now.

He stopped close to them and they immediately stopped.

"Hands where I can see them!"

Lelouch complied and waited for them to get close to him.

His Geass flared

"I command you both, to take me to Ashford Academy once you are done, you will drive at the highest speed possible and the crash into a building"

"Yes my lord"

Bruce pushed the Joker through the portal, the clown sent a last bloodied grin at him, before disappearing into a flash of light.

"No matter where he goes is always the same" he heard Clark comment.

"The Prince, where is he?"

"He told Diana, he was leaving, I am assuming he is going home, can't blame him honestly"

"Good, we will meet him there tomorrow, we are leaving"

Clark raised an eyebrow.

"We are?"

"Yes, something bigger is at play here, traveling through universes is not something easy to do and the Joker would be the last man to come up which such a thing"

"Someone helped him"

"Yes, why we must go back and search for them"

Clark shook his head.

"But we will be leaving here unprotected, do you think he alone would have been able to handle this?"

"Maybe, he is smart, but we will not leave him without support"

"How?"

"Your cousin did say she was bored of Kansas"

The man of steel let out a small smile.

"And Cassandra and Stephanie could use a change of scenery"

Bruce nodded.

"Yes"

"Diana will not be happy about this" Clark said with a sigh.

"She will understand, we are needed back there, we have become a deterrent against crime, whether we like or not"

Superman nodded.

"It is for the best, you are right, we need to leave soon then, tell the prince of our plan"

"We will wait until tomorrow, he needs his rest and I need to set up everything up for the people that will come"

Clark said nothing as he waited for Bruce to finish dismantling the dimension traveling device.

"By the way, something relevant I should know before we return?"

"Buy your wife flowers, she is mad at you"

Clark snorted.

"Did Flash tell you that?"

"No, it was Hawk-girl actually"

Silence followed, Clark looked at the ground for a moment before he turned to look at Bruce

"You wouldn't mind lending me some money"

"Reporter salary can cover that I am sure of it"

Lelouch punched the wall with all the strength he could muster, it wasn't much but it did make his knuckles bleed.

Curse the clown, curse those hyenas and above all curse that bastard he had once called his father.

Nunnally had not been aware of the chaos of outside.

She believed riots had been caused by The Japanese liberation front, Sayoko had believed that it was not wise for her to hear the things that the mad clown did.

He was glad she believed that.

We would not let any other of his siblings be influenced in any way by the clown.

If only he hadn't been so shocked he could have grabbed his gun and…

No, it was no time to dwell on that, but he just wished that the trinity would off him.

He knew they wouldn't do it, but he seriously hoped someone would.

He absolutely deserved it.

Lelouch cleaned his wounds and wobbled to the couch.

It had hurt him so much.

To put up the act like nothing had happened to him in the days before.

Zero was indestructible but he was not.

He had reopened some wounds today.

Both metaphorically and physically speaking, to hear his voice again, to see Euphemia so afraid and frail, Cornelia worried…

He allowed himself to drown his sorrows in memories.

Memories of happier times, of gardens and chess games, his mother and his beloved sisters.

What would he give to have those times back.

It had been so…

Beautiful.

A/N:

In a few words this chapter was though.

I didn't know how to progress the story or how to make things finish the way I wanted.

This is version number 6 of this chapter.

I couldn't find a way to do all the things I wanted and I noticed it was mostly because like I said last chapter, when the chapters are to overpowered or have no way of progressing it gets hard to write the story and make it feel meaningful.

Next chapter should come more quickly, I'm pretty excited about the things to come.

See you next chapter!