Beyond

Sight

Lance struggled with the concept of crutches but after a few turns with them he was soon moving around quite easily.

He had nothing wrong with his head and Lance was permitted to leave the hospital.

Everyone had been really quiet and Lance knew why. They were waiting for the right moment to ask him questions.

When they arrived on the lounge floor Lance hobbled towards the sofa, watching his leg set in the heavy cast so he didn't bump it.

He dropped the crutches to his side and looked up at the quiet Avengers. "I know you guys have a lot of questions so... Hit me with them."

"How does one-"

"It's an expression." Tony said patting Thor's shoulder as he moved to sit down opposite Lance. "What made you freeze up?"

Lance locked his jaw and looked away. "I um... I thought I saw Hunk."

"One of your friends." Steve said quietly.

"Yeah, he... I know it's impossible for it to have been him, thinking about it now I... I don't think it was him at all, but just seeing someone who looked like him, it..." He paused shaking his head. "It shook me."

Bruce sat next to Lance wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"Your own mind tricked you?" Thor asked sounding confused.

"Yeah, I guess." Lance nodded leaning into Bruce. "But it almost doesn't surprise me, I mean... I just feeling like something isn't right." His frown deepened. "Like I... I don't even know."

"You'll figure it out." Clint assured. "You don't give up and... That's really important, especially right now."

Lance tilted his head eyes snapping to meet with Clint's. "Why what's going on?"

"Clint and myself snuck into a meeting, we were there to bust it up but we left pretty quickly." Natasha explained. "The meeting was between AIM and HYDRA."

"And you didn't stop them?" Lance asked noting how tense the two were. "Why?"

"Because they were talking about you." Clint explained eyes cold as they danced away. "They want to get rid of you."

"Did they specifically say me? Or-"

"They don't know who the blue paladin is." Natasha explained with a brief smile, it didn't reach her eyes. "The perks of keeping your identity a secret huh?"

Lance smiled back, just barely. "Yeah I guess. So what's the game plan? And how can I help?"

"We'll have to be more careful on missions, you can't take your helmet off, not unless you want to tell everyone who you are." Bruce said gently ruffling Lance's hair.

"You're going to have to be ready to contact any of us at the drop of a hat in case they figure it out too." Tony said as he paced part of the room. Lance wasn't sure how long he had been doing that. "So I'll have to make you a couple of extra gadgets just in case something happens."

Lance nodded. "I can keep Green with me, she can camouflage so she can come to school with me and the others will always be around."

"That is a grand idea." Thor smiled.

"Okay, so we've got communication and protection down. How are we actually going to stop HYDRA and AIM?" Bruce asked rubbing Lance's arm.

"I'm going to do some more recon." Natasha explained. "I've already got some names to track and I'll go from there."

"The problem is that we have been thinking of announcing who you are to the public." Steve explained with a frown, he looked tense. "We've been talking to Fury about it for a while, but we might have to put it off."

"I don't mind telling everyone who I am." Lance admitted softly. "But there... There is a few people who need to know before the world does."

"Who in particular?"

"I've made friends, I want them to know. I don't want them to feel like I've lied. If I tell them first then it'll be easier."

"That's a good idea." Natasha nodded.

"We shall postpone our announcement until then." Thor smiled. "And we will continue to protect you even when you do."

"Thanks guys. Are we finished here now?" Lance asked lifting his gaze, he had been poking at his cast feeling rather stupid. He had gotten himself hurt for no reason.

"Yeah, you going to get some sleep?" Steve asked looking hopeful.

"Something like that." Lance mumbled. "Can I go?"

"Sure thing kiddo." Tony nodded. "You do what you need to do."

Lance offered them all a brief smile before he was hobbling away. Instead of going to his room though he headed for the closest exit.

The roof.

Lance could see most of New York from up there and it reminded him he was actually really small.

He smiled at that thought.

For once he wasn't the main event, he wasn't a paladin he was just Lance and although he loved the lion sometime he wished he could just be a normal teenager.

One who went to school and did the things he wanted to do.

He just wished for a moment that maybe things were different. If Alfor had just used the lions and then stopped Zarkon before it had all kicked off then none of this would have happened.

But then again Lance would never have met the Avengers, he wouldn't have travelled to an alternative dimension, he wouldn't have been able to be a hero.

So yes there were some good things he guess that came from it all.

But the pain he carried was something he wished to be removed. If only a healing pod could stop grief, or at least take the pain away.

Blue growled lowly in his head causing Lance to roll his eyes.

"It needs to be Green so that no one sees." He explained as Blue grumbled in his head.

The green lion moved into position then vanished, Lance felt the air around him be disturbed. He still couldn't see Green but he hoped that she was there.

He closed his eyes and let Green invade his mind. She rested in his mind and opened his eyes, he could see her.

There she sat proudly on top of the Avengers tower.

Lance just hoped it would all hold.

He was quickly heading inside and soon enough he was in a healing pod, the cast slowly disintegrated as the bone was patched together by the pod, the stitches vanished as the wound healed at the back of his head.

And while he was inside the pod, he dreamt of lions and flying machines, of space and danger and family.

You're never alone Lance. Never alone.