Notes: Code Geass is owned by Sunrise. This story is based on Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film.

In 1989 crime in Japan had gotten worse than ever before. One night during that year two crooks robbed a family. There were no police around. Thankfully there was a vigilante nearby. Zero, a mysterious hero who wore a dark colored costume, saw the robbery happen so he decided to do something about it. The two crooks looked around and saw a scary shadow.

One of the robbers nervously said, "It might be that Zero guy everybody's talking about."

The other robber replied, "Yeah right. There aint anybody called Zero."

Zero approached the robbers and said, "Then I'll challenge the rules of what you think is real." The two robbers saw Zero's intimidating and dark looking costume. The robbers were so scared that they started climbing to the top of a rooftop to escape him. Zero followed them. One of the robbers tried to shoot Zero so Zero punched him into a wall. Zero grabbed the other robber and walked closer to the edge of the rooftop. Zero got his hypnotizing eye, called a geass, ready.

The robber nervously asked, "Are you going to hypnotize me into giving up crime?"

Zero said, "No. I have a favor for you to do." Zero used his geass on the robber and said, "Tell all of your fellow criminals about me."

The robber asked, "What are you?"

Zero said, "I'm the black knight of justice." Zero threw the robber to a safe part of the rooftop and left.

The next day Diethard Ried, a mediocre reporter, was trying to get some news about Zero so he could make his ratings go higher. Diethard walked up to Commissioner Ohgi and asked, "Are the rumors about a hypnotizing creature named Zero true? Does this Zero guy work for the police force?"

Commissioner Ohgi sternly said, "I have no comment on Zero. This is police business, not yours."

Diethard looked around and saw Clovis, a irresponsible police officer. Diethard desperately ran up to him and said, "Since you work for Charles' mob somebody you know must of seen this Zero thing."

Clovis menacingly replied, "Scram news boy. If Zero messes with Charles he's going to have zero days of his life left." Clovis pushed Diethard away and walked up to Schneizel Napier, Charles' top gangster.

Schneizel had a smug look on his face while saying, "Things with the old guy are working perfectly. I'm practically running his mob for him."

Clovis replied, "You better not talk like that. You're replaceable and Charles knows it. If he knew that you thought so little of him he'd have you thrown away."

Schneizel said, "Whatever. Now if you'll excuse me I have more important people to mock."

Clovis replied, "Think about the future Schneizel."

Although Schneizel knew that gossip spreads fast he wasn't aware that Charles knew his plan. Charles was a wicked man so he had a backup plan to get Schneizel out of his hair. He had Schneizel come to his office for a meeting. Schneizel asked, "What's going on?"

Charles said, "Your idea or robbing the chemical plant is great. There's tons of money there and I'm sure that the police won't come. This is a big mission so I want you to handle it personally."

Schneizel sighed and asked, "Can't you get somebody less important?"

While trying to hide an evil smile Charles patted Schneizel on the shoulders and said, "You are my number one guy."

Schneizel replied, "Fine. I'll go rob the chemical plant."

Charles handed Schneizel a 1928 playing card and said, "You won't want to go on a mission without your lucky card." Schneizel sighed over the thought of having to do so much work. As soon as Schneizel left Charles called the police station and said, "I have a robbery to report. Head down to the chemical plant."

Meanwhile Lelouch Lamperouge, the real identity of Zero, was having a party at his mansion. He inherited the mansion from his oldest sister, Cornelia, who was shot by a gangster in a alley. Diethard was at the party with a photographer named Shirley Fenette. Shirley gently tapped Lelouch on the head and asked, "Do you know which of these guys is Lelouch Lamperouge?"

Lelouch was so socially awkward and distracted by Shirley's pretty hair that he said, "I don't know where Lelouch is." It took a half of a minute for Lelouch to realize how dumb he sounded. He walked around the mansion to find Shirley.

Diethard and Shirley looked around the mansion's weapon room. Diethard jokingly asked, "Is this a fancy room or a fighting area?" Diethard looked at one of the swords and said, "This thing looks old."

Lelouch replied, "It's from 1939."

Diethard asked, "How do you know that?"

Lelouch said, "That's what the owner told me when I bought it. I'm Lelouch Lamperouge."

Shirley jokingly asked, "Are you sure about that?"

Lelouch said, "I wasn't earlier. I had to jog my memory." Lelouch pointed to Diethard and said, "I've seen your news show. It's pretty good."

Diethard proudly replied, "Thank you. I'm a really good reporter."

Lelouch pointed to Shirley and said, "I've seen your photographs. They look almost as beautiful as your hair."

Shirley blushed and replied, "Thank you."

Sayoko, Lelouch's butler, walked up to Lelouch and whispered, "Commissioner Ohgi suddenly left. It seems like some rough business is going on."

Lelouch replied, "Okay." Lelouch waved goodbye to Diethard and Shirley and said, "Enjoy the party guys. Well one of you is a woman, not a guy." Lelouch ran away.

Diethard said, "He's as eccentric as his bank account will let him be."

Shirley replied, "He's fascinating."

Diethard said, "Well I'm much more interested in Zero."

Lelouch went to his geass cave and listened to a recording of Commissioner Ohgi. He found out that the police were heading towards the chemical plant so Lelouch got on his Zero costume and started heading there.

Schneizel and Kanon, his most loyal goon, broke into the chemical plant. However they realized there was no money. Schneizel angrily said, "Charles gave me a classic double cross. Clovis must of ratted me out."

Clovis broke into the chemical plant and said, "You're under arrest Schneizel. I warned you to think about your future."

Schneizel laughed and said, "You're a suckup for both the police and the mob. That kind of contradicting justice will lead to a unhappy future for you. Think about that." Schneizel shot Clovis.

Commissioner Ohgi and a few police officers came inside and tried to stop Schneizel, but Schneizel was too good at escape moves and running. Schneizel felt sure he could get away, until Zero showed up. Kanon tried to defend his boss, but Zero knocked him out of the way. Schneizel jokingly said, "Sweet Halloween costume."

Zero said, "I'm going to give you vengeance." Zero was about to use his geass to hypnotize Schneizel into giving up. Schneizel was scared of the geass so he jumped into a tub of chemicals to escape. Zero realized what a poor job he did so he made a stylish and quick exit.

People thought that Schneizel died from playing around in the chemicals, but he lived. He burst into Charles' hideout. Schneizel hid in the shadows. Charles angrily asked, "What the heck is going on?"

Schneizel said, "Your former top employee has returned."

Charles nervously replied, "Um, hi Schneizel. It's nice to have you back. Maybe we can work out a new plan."

Schneizel stepped out of the shadows while saying, "Schneizel's gone. I'm the Clown now." Schneizel showed Charles his new face which looked like a crazy and silly clown. The Clown shot Charles. Afterwards the Clown grabbed a newspaper about Zero and said, "What until they get a load of me." The Clown did an evil laugh.

Meanwhile Lelouch had a date with Shirley at his mansion's dining room. Lelouch asked, "Did you have any trouble finding my house?"

Shirley said, "This is the second time I've been here so it wasn't that hard."

Lelouch replied, "It's easier the first time. My lawyer friend, Suzaku Kururugi, tells me that things get much harder the second time."

Shirley said, "This dining room doesn't seem your style."

Lelouch smiled and said, "I've never even been in this room before."

Shirley jokingly asked, "Does your mansion have a unlimited number of rooms?"

Lelouch said, "It would take a few hours to count how many rooms I have."

Shirley replied, "I hope this doesn't sound rude, but you seem to be unaware of a lot of things. It feels like you have some sort of job or hobby that keeps your mind busy."

Lelouch tried to change the conversation by saying, "I'm aware that you're the cutest photographer that I've ever met."

Shirley asked, "How many photographers have you met?"

Lelouch smirked and said, "That's another thing that I'm not aware of." Lelouch and Shirley giggled.

Shirley replied, "I have a lot more questions."

Lelouch said, "Not everything needs a question. Some things are obvious. For example you're beautiful." Lelouch and Shirley kissed.

The next morning Shirley called Lelouch. Lelouch woke up, picked up his phone, and asked, "What's up?"

Shirley said, "Hi Lulu. It's Shirley. I was hoping we could have lunch today."

Lelouch lied by saying, "I can't. I have a meeting at my company."

Shirley asked, "Wanna meet up at dinner instead?"

Lelouch said, "The meeting might not be over by then."

Shirley replied, "Then we'll meet up this weekend."

Lelouch sighed and said, "Okay." Lelouch hanged up the phone and walked over to Sayoko. Lelouch said, "If Shirley calls I need you to keep up a lie I'm working on. Tell her that I'm at a really important business meeting."

Sayoko replied, "Fine, but I don't approve of this behavior. It's about time you settled down."

Lelouch said, "Settling down would be the opposite of progress for me."

Meanwhile the Clown was fiddling around with art supplies and watching TV in his hideout. Kanon walked up to the Clown with a bag. The Clown asked, "Did you get the dirt on anybody?"

Kanon said, "Yeah. I stole a roll of pictures from some photographer. There's a couple of pictures that have evidence of the guy that inherited Charles' crime boss operation stealing donuts. That's sure to get the police to arrest him."

The Clown replied, "That's excellent news, but there's something different capturing my interest at the moment."

Kanon asked, "What is it?"

The Clown pointed to a picture of Shirley and said, "This girl is quite pretty."

Kanon replied, "She's the one I stole the roll of pictures from. She's dating a rich punk named Lelouch Lamperouge."

The Clown smiled and said, "I'm going to change things up. Get my favorite car and radio ready." The Clown patted Kanon on the shoulders and said, "Don't forget that you are my number one guy."

Kanon smiled and said, "Thanks boss."

Eight hours hours later Sayoko walked up to Lelouch's study room and said, "Shirley called and left a message. She's going to be ten minutes late for your night at the museum."

Lelouch casually replied, "Okay." Lelouch paused and said, "Wait. I don't have a date with Shirley at the museum."

Meanwhile Shirley arrived at the museum and patiently waited for Lelouch. After several minutes of waiting the Clown burst into the room with a big smile on his face. The Clown said, "Museums are so boring. It's time for some fun. Turn on the tunes Kanon." Kanon turned on the Clown's radio. A Tony Jay song played while the Clown drew silly doodles on the priceless paintings.

Shirley nervously asked, "What's going on?"

The Clown sat down at the table Shirley was at and said, "Don't worry about having to date a boring fool anymore. I'm a much better option."

Shirley asked, "Who are you?"

The Clown said, "An artist. I'm very passionate about my work." The Clown pointed to the paintings he drew doodles on and said, "I admit I'm no Naoko Satomi, but all of my paintings reflect my eccentric charm. I was emotionally moved by your photographs. You and I will be quite the stylish couple."

Shirley replied, "Go away."

Zero burst into the museum and said, "Stay away from the photographer you freak."

Shirley replied, "No offense sir, but both of you are weird looking."

Zero said, "I know photographers have to focus on looks, but this isn't the best time." Zero punched the Clown into a wall. The paintings that the Clown drew on fell on him. The Clown's sidekicks were about to hurt Zero and Shirley so Zero grabbed Shirley and used his grappling hook to escape.

Zero started running to his geassmobile. Zero said, "I need to go Shirley."

Shirley asked, "Who are you?"

Zero said, "There's a lot of questions that shouldn't have answers."

Shirley replied, "Thanks for saving me. Um, have you seen Lelouch Lamperouge?" Zero ignored Shirley and drove away. Shirley asked, "Why do all the gentlemen I meet lack manners?"

The next day Diethard had Shirley come to his office. Diethard said, "I found out some info about your crush. His oldest sister was shot by a gangster when he was eight. No wonder he turned out so rough."

Shirley replied, "Poor Lulu. No wonder he keeps avoiding me. He's afraid of having a bond with anybody."

Diethard said, "Frankly I think you should forget about him. He's too weird. I'm down to Earth and I'm really successful and handsome."

Shirley replied, "I'm going to go call Lulu." Diethard angrily sighed.

Meanwhile the Clown was upset about Zero ruining his time with Shirley. The Clown angrily said, "Zero keeps messing up my big schemes. I'm going to have to include him in my next scheme and I feel confident that he's going to have zero lives left after tomorrow night." The Clown did an evil laugh.

The Clown appeared on TV screens all over Japan to make an announcement. The Clown said, "Greetings Zero. I'm sure you have a TV so listen up. I'm going to have a party tomorrow. They'll be balloons. You better show up."

Lelouch finished watching the Clown's broadcast and said, "It's obvious the Clown wants to bring me down. I'll take care of that clown."

The next night several news reporters and photographers gathered around the city to see the Clown's balloon show. They were unaware that the Clown's balloons were full of laughing gas.

Shirley saw some gas coming out of one of the balloons so she started using her coat to cover up her mouth. Diethard asked, "What are you doing?"

Shirley said, "I think that the Clown's balloons have some kind of dangerous gas in them."

Diethard replied, "What a silly thing to think." The balloons started spraying laughing gas. Diethard started laughing and said, "I don't get why I'm laughing so much."

Zero showed up to the event in a black geass plane. He wore a gas mask to protect myself. The Clown looked up and saw Zero's plane and said, "Of course Mr. Prepared wouldn't come down here by himself." Zero used a giant grappling hook to take the Clown's balloons away. He had the balloons taken hundreds of feet away from the citizens.

Shirley said, "Zero saved me again."

Diethard sarcastically replied, "Big deal."

The Clown angrily said, "The numberless fool stole my balloons."

Kanon asked, "Can I help you boss?"

The Clown said, "Give me a gun." Kanon handed the Clown a gun. The Clown shot Kanon and said, "You were my number one guy, but I'm flying solo from now on. Zero ruined my schemes for the third time. That's why I'm going to bring him down." The Clown grabbed a giant gun out of his oversized jacket's pocket and used it to shoot the plane. The Clown's gun was so strong that the shot made the plane crash to the ground.

Shirley saw what happened and ran over to Zero. Zero lived, but while crashing to the ground Zero's mask fell off. Shirley found out that Lelouch Lamperouge was Zero. Shirley said, "I'm here for you Lulu."

Lelouch put his Zero mask back on and said, "You need to go. My life is too dangerous for you."

Shirley replied, "But we can support each other. Don't you want to be happy?"

Zero nervously said, "I don't know."

The Clown ran up and punched Zero to the ground. Since Zero was in pain from crashing to the ground he needed to rest on the ground. The Clown grabbed Shirley and said, "We're late for our second date."

Shirley angrily replied, "We never went on a date."

The Clown smiled and said, "We have a great love-hate relationship." The Clown pointed to a nearby building and said, "If we climb to the top we'll be able to get to the helicopter." The Clown grabbed Shirley and started climbing up the old building. Zero got off of the floor and ran after them.

After ten minutes of the three of them climbing up the building they reached the top of the building. Zero grabbed the Clown and punched him. Zero said, "You've ruined my life long enough. I'm going to stop your crimes forever."

The Clown angrily replied, "You're an idiot. It's your fault that I turned out this way. If you hadn't shown up at the chemical plant I wouldn't of went into the chemical vat."

Zero said, "It was your fault for jumping into the chemical vat."

The Clown's helicopter was almost ready for the Clown. The Clown giggled and said, "My girlfriend and I better hurry." The Clown tried to convince Shirley to climb up to the helicopter. However Zero grabbed him. The Clown asked, "What's going on you punk?"

Zero took off his mask so he could used his geass on the Clown. Zero said, "Don't do anything."

Since the geass worked the Clown stood around and said, "This is boring."

Zero replied, "Then I'll make things more exciting for you." Zero kicked the Clown off of the building. Zero grabbed Shirley and used his grappling hook to get them to have a safe landing to the ground. Zero lifted off his mask for a brief moment to give Shirley kiss. Afterwards he ran away. Commissioner Ohgi walked around and saw that the Clown had died from the fall.

The next day Commissioner Ohgi had a press conference. He said, "Zero has saved the city from the biggest amount of crime that we've ever had. If crimes ever emerges again we'll contact him."

Diethard asked, "How could you contact him? I doubt that his phone number can be found through an internet search."

Commissioner Ohgi replied, "He gave us a more impressive type of communication." Commissioner Ohgi turned on the Geass Signal.

Diethard responded, "So awesome." Zero stared at the signal and felt ready for his next mission.