Code Mistborn

Chapter One

Vin felt cold, inside and out. She always did when she was being thawed out. Her captors were a cautious lot, and turned her blood to ice whenever they weren't testing her. How they did that without killing her, she didn't know, and it was one of the many things they refused to tell her.

She opened her eyes and saw … nothing. Only darkness. Shadows in place of the garish lights of the sterile laboratories she had stayed in. Her eyes slowly adjusted, and two blurry figures came into focus.

The first was tall and thin, a lanky boy a few years younger than her, his face twisted into a scowl. "Poison gas, Suzaku? This girl? Looks more like a prisoner to me."

He wore a black suit that Vin didn't recognize, but the other boy–the same age, a bit broader in the shoulders with brown hair–was dressed as a soldier. Vin tensed instinctively, but if anything the soldier with wide, green eyes looked even more innocent than the first.

"All I know is what they've told me, Lelouch! The briefing said it was a chemical weapon."

Chemical weapon? Well, that wasn't untrue, if a bit of an understatement. She had killed two gods in her lifetime, which was bound to be a record in most parts of the Cosmere. More importantly, these two young men were not expecting to find her, which meant that something had gone wonderfully wrong.

"And all I know is what's right in front of me!" the first one, Lelouch, snapped. He started undoing the straps that bound her, starting with her arms. The layer of frost that had covered her began to melt. "The terrorists and Britannia both want power, and they don't care who gets hurt in the process. The only difference is that Britannia actually knows what it's doing, so if you're really serious about saving as many lives as possible, you'll help me get this girl away from both of them."

Suzaku hesitated, but only for a moment, and started unbinding Vin's legs. This was … fortunate for her, which immediately filled her with dread. Never trust anyone bringing you good news, her brother, Reen, had always said. How likely was it that a soldier and a … civilian? And a civilian would come across her completely unguarded? It was more likely that her captors were pretending to let her escape to trick her into revealing something.

But if she was wrong, could she risk letting go of this chance? No. An exit, even if it was bait in a trap, was still an exit, and she had a few tricks her captors didn't know about yet. There's always another secret.

"You're wrong," Suzaku said. "About Britannia, at least. This was all a misunderstanding–a case of misinformation. You'll see."

Lelouch scoffed as he fumbled with the straps around her face that acted as a gag. Or a muzzle. She had managed to bite two of her captors before they started taking her seriously. The second time she had managed to take someone's ear off. It was worth it.

"Thank you," Lelouch said, "but I'd rather not stay to find out what happens when your questionably benevolent dictators find out what we know."

"Oh, it's too late for that," Suzaku said calmly. "They're already on their way."

Lelouch dropped her, and she plopped against the gravelly floor. "What? Why?"

"Because I alerted my squad a few minutes ago."

"Why?"

"Because a few minutes ago I thought you were a terrorist with a chemical weapon. But don't worry. My squad captain … well, he hates my guts, but he's always fair."

Lelouch stood up and looked around. "After seven years, you're still as innocent as a child and as clever as a brick. But they're not here yet, so we have time. We are going to …" His voice trailed off as the rhythm of footsteps echoed through the ruined building they were in. "… die. We are all going to die."

"Hey, that's them!" Suzaku said cheerfully. He smiled at Lelouch. "Don't worry, I'll handle this."

The footsteps grew louder until a group of ten or so men appeared from around a corner, pointing lights and guns at them. They didn't have guns in Scadriel, but during her brief stay in this world, she had grown intimately familiar with the weapon. "Pewter testing," they had called it. The man with one ear had come up with that one. While Suzaku wore body armor and a helmet, these men wore red uniforms with matching hats. One of them in the front and middle of the group had a more exorbitant hat. An officer.

She had a chance. Not a good one, but she had always made the most of near impossibilities. She trusted Lelouch's pessimism over Suzaku's faith, and she put her plan, such as it was, into motion.

She bit her lip. Hard.

"Private Kururugi!" the officer spat. "You stupid monkey, you have gone too far! You were ordered to find the pod, not open it!"

Suzaku ran up to him, as eager as a dog hoping to get a treat instead of a boot. "Captain, sir! There has been a mistake! There was no poison gas, it was … I think a hostage or something."

"Again, too far! You have no right to question orders, only to follow them."

His eyes met hers for a moment before moving towards Lelouch. The boy froze, unable to do anything besides feel afraid, and Vin felt certain that this was no trick. She knew what he was feeling. She had spent most of her life feeling that way. Helpless, capable of nothing besides hoping that she wouldn't be important enough to bother killing. She needed more time!

Her mouth tasted like blood, and she sucked on the cut on her lip like a babe at its mother's breast.

"But you have shown initiative, boy," the officer continued. "So I'll give you the honor of killing the terrorist yourself."

Suzaku turned around, as though hoping to find an enemy hiding in the shadows, but he only saw Lelouch. "Oh, no, sir, that's not a terrorist, that's a civilian, just someone at the wrong place at the wrong time."

The officer scowled. "Wrong place? Wrong time? That's what terrorism means, boy! Learn it! And for the last time, don't question, obey!"

Suzaku smiled at Lelouch, his back turned on the officer. "And shoot him? No, sir. I will not shoot him."

The officer sighed in mild annoyance. "Well, your funeral, kid." A gun went off, the bang slightly muffled, and Suzaku fell to the ground.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch screamed. He breathed rapidly, and when he looked from Suzaku's prone body to the officer, he seemed to understand that he was next.

The officer studied him for a moment. "Brittanian. And a student, no less. You really are in the wrong place at the wrong time, unless the JLP has sunk to a new low."

"Wait!" Lelouch said. He swallowed. "Wait, before you kill me, there's just one thing I want to know."

The officer laughed out loud. "Is that all? I'm sure you want a lot more than that, like old age, but I'm going to have to say no."

Too late. Vin stood up. Her legs felt like jelly, but she was ready. Because she had learned something when she had bitten off that man's ear and tasted his blood. She had learned that blood was full of iron.

She burned the metal in her stomach, and blue lines that only she could see appeared from her chest to every bit of metal around her: the truck behind her, supports beams in the building, and to the officer himself, the metal in his boots, belt buckle, gun. She Pulled on the last line, yanking the weapon from his hands. He stumbled forwards as the gun flew through the air, and Vin caught it with both hands.

She offered it to Lelouch. "Do you know how to use this?"

He looked at her in shock. Most people of this world were confused when they first saw Allomancy, but he recovered quickly and took the thing, his face twisting into an angry, hungry smile as he fired shot after shot in quick succession. The other soldiers raised their weapons, but Vin Pulled those away too, using the truck behind her as an anchor. More guns pelted at her than she could catch, but they stung far less than bullets. When Lelouch's gun was empty he grabbed another one from her arms, and the unarmed soldiers began to run. Vin Pulled at the metal in their boots, tripping them, and they screamed until Lelouch silenced them.

He took a third gun and systematically shot each one of the soldiers in the head, out of mercy or efficiency Vin couldn't tell. It was only when each enemy was unquestionably dead did he kneel down next to Suzaku. His hand, which had been steady throughout the fight and the slaughter, trembled as he touched his friend's shoulder. He whispered something that Vin couldn't hear, possibly a prayer, but she stayed back to give him some privacy.

And then he started to laugh. It wasn't the broken, bitter laugh that she had suspected, but one of relief. "Is he alive?" Vin asked.

"Alive? The bullet didn't even break the skin. It caught on a pocket watch of all things! He'll wake up with a bruise and a broken rib, and knowing him he won't even call in sick. I swear, he's immortal." He turned towards her and his eyes narrowed. "But you … I'd ask you what the Brittanians wanted with you, but you've already answered that question. What was that, anyway? Telekinesis? Magnetism?"

Vin didn't answer. Allomancy wasn't something that she wanted to explain.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter," he said, "as long as you can do it consistently. Can I ask your name?"

Her lip had stopped bleeding, leaving a rancid aftertaste. "Vin."

"Lelouch," he said with a nod. "A pleasure." He stepped over the bodies, doing his best not to look at them. "If I may make an educated guess, Vin, I suspect you have found yourself a victim of Clovis' closet curiosity with the supernatural, and have been his welcome and unhappy guest. At this point, he will do what he can to keep you a secret, either by killing you or everyone else. Fortunately for you, hiding from the royal family is my area of expertise."

He said royal with a sneer and family as a curse. "So you'll help me?" Vin asked. "In exchange for what?"

He cocked his head. "Just out of the goodness of my heart and the desire to spite the Third Prince in any way I can."

"You're a saint," she said dryly.

He bowed. "Absolutely, Lady Vin. I am Lelouch, the patron saint of vengeance, treason, and regicide. Though, if you're interested, I have another offer for you."

"What?"

"You don't know how to use a gun," Lelouch said. "You could have shot those men yourself, but you gave it to me instead. Despite your abilities, you were not clever enough to avoid capture, and lastly, you have no money. I can help you with all of these, but I've been playing hide and seek long enough to know that you can only play until you lose, and honestly, I prefer chess. So my offer is a simple one."

He smiled at her, hungrily, like when he first grabbed the gun but more so. He was dangerous, but he might be useful.

"How would you like to overthrow an empire with me?"

WWW

A/n You know, I found out that there aren't any Mistborn/Code Geass crossovers on this site, which is a shame because they fit together so well! Seriously, I've just written, like, five pages of research notes with my editor working out how Code Geass is Cosmere. I was not forcing anything for the sake of headcanon, I swear.

And speaking of my editor, thank you Magery for editing this.

Expect future chapters to be longer. I don't really like long first chapters, so this is more of a sampler than anything else, just to see if people are interested in this or not. And if you are interested in this, then Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to … wait, he doesn't have that power in this story, does he? Then he politely asks you to leave a review, and I promise no one is Soothing you emotions to manipulate you.