Beyond

Bad day

"Great, we're trapped and it's your fault." Flash hissed poking at Lance's back.

"At least we're not with those guys." Miles grumbled back.

"Boys shush." Gwen instructed. "Lance what can you see?"

Lance watched the lion for a moment or so. The initial attack was purposed, the sidestep with the paw the second time was the lion balancing out.

And the third was either well calculated or to balance their giant lion out again.

Blue did that automatically... Most of the time.

Blue growled making some of the tension release, this wasn't Blue. She was with him.

"Lance? Earth to Lance?" Miles asked flicking his ear.

"Stop distracting me." Lance said shrugging him away. "I'm looking for something."

"Like what?" Miles frowned.

"Lance, look." Gwen said knocking his shoulder.

Lance followed her gaze to find a figure stood in the mouth of the lion. It was a woman.

"That's not the blue paladin, the blue paladin is a guy, right?" Flash noted making Lance roll his eyes.

"Okay, so you might have been right Lance, but maybe we should get out of here." Miles said pointedly. "Then we can get help."

Lance knew what Miles and Gwen were trying to do, but he knew this was his battle.

He had to stop this.

Lance toyed with the watch that Tony had gifted him. The one to replace the other one when he had been hit by a car.

This is something you can use if you feel like we won't get there in time, or if you feel that you can handle it better.

Steve had not agreed on Lance handling battles alone, but Lance had reminded him that he was the blue paladin. He could handle it.

And this was his battle and he was going to take it on. He made that decision in a split second and he couldn't believe how completely relaxed he felt.

Running headfirst into danger felt like running home. Which again was a weird feeling.

Maybe he had missed the adrenaline rush of facing the unknown.

He flexed his hand about to call his Bayard when Flash spoke up.

"Lance?" He sounded so scared all of a sudden.

Miles and Gwen were pulling him back before he could even get a good look around. A drone moved over them. But it was too late.

They had been spotted.

It's glowing red eye locked onto them.

"Run!" Lance ordered shoving Miles towards the door.

The group moved as fast as they could dodging the taser shots that the drone was firing.

Lance recognised them now.

AIM tech. They were the ones that Natasha and Clint had shown him.

Lance grit his teeth. He had to fix this.

He jumped one too many steps and landed awkwardly, he rolled and kicked off a side wall to slip behind the wall where the others had run.

They were at a dead end.

Lance gasped down breaths doing his best to stay quiet. He needed Tony's gadget thingy to work otherwise they would all be caught and dead.

Not that he knew what his new watch actually did, but still.

The drone appeared.

"I've had enough!" Lance admitted as his Bayard came to his hand, he lifted the blaster and fired sending the drone smashing back against the far wall, it sparked and twitched then died.

Another appeared in his peripheral vision and Lance shot it without really looking. He glanced around the corner and shot the next two down as well.

"What the hell was that?!" Flash shouted once it had all fallen silent.

Lance moved to the closest drone and kicked it hard, it was dead, that meant his blasts were working. "We need to keep moving." Lance decided as he glanced back.

Flash looked flabbergasted.

Gwen and Miles looked hurt.

"Y-youre..."

Lance sighed. "You guys have no idea how many times I have tried to tell you." He admitted. "I've wanted to tell you that I'm the blue paladin, and this is my fight. But... Sometimes it's easier to show it rather than say it."

"You're the blue paladin." Miles whispered. "You were trying to tell us this morning."

Lance nodded. "I've been really scared." He whispered. "You guys are amazing and I... I didn't want to hurt-"

He jumped back as his watch suddenly glowed and activated allowing his suit to form around him.

Gwen burst out laughing and Miles had to cover his mouth. Flash still looked confused, but he looked more amused now.

"I don't know whether to be mad or greatful." Lance admitted as the armour finished locked around him. "Tony messed with my armour, man I owe him one."

"Wait... Tony... As in Tony Stark?!"

Gwen covered Flash's mouth with her hand. "You're the blue paladin?"

Lance shrugged with a smile. "Occasionally."

"So neither of us were right?" Gwen said turning to Miles.

Lance raised an eyebrow.

"We had a bet going." Miles admitted looking almost embarrassed. "I thought you worked for the Avengers and Gwen thought you were an intern for Stark."

Lance laughed. "Yeah, not quite."

"Okay, how can we help with the giant lion in the sky?"

"I need to stop them." Lance explained as he let his Bayard shift form. "You guys are going to have to trust me."

"We've got your back." Flash nodded his hands balling into fists.

"No, as much as I want you guys to help me I can't let you." Lance said shaking his head. "Stay here."

"No, you do not get to tell us where to go and what to do."

Blue appeared in her glowing lioness form and growled.

The three flinched.

"Guys, I got this." Lance said with a smile. "Please, I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

"We're not letting you deal with this alone." Miles said, quieter. "We're your friends."

"I've lost too many friends to this fight, I'm not losing any more." Lance said but he shook that thought away, they would just do it anyway and get themselves hurt. "Fine you can help, but stay out of my way. Let me deal with the giant thing and that woman. I know her."

"You do?"

"Yeah, if it's who I think it is then we've met."

"What's the plan?"

Lance grinned. "Show 'em what a real paladin of Voltron can do with the real blue lion."

Blue roared loudly next to him making Lance's smile grow bigger.

"Let's go girl."