Flashback to the Future

Part 1 of 3 Part Oneshot

Summary: In the beginning, Lance's mom wasn't exactly enthusiastic about his choice to join the Glaxy Garrison.

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"Rafael, we're going to remember this day for the rest of our lives," Lance declared as he laid out his beach towel and sat beside his cousin.

"Yeah," Rafael said, grimacing, "Because our parents are going to murder us today."

"You worry too much," Lance said, smiling and swallowing an icy gulp of lemonade to hide his nerves.

"Oh yeah? Have you met your mom?"

"They're not going to murder us until tomorrow. And by then, it'll be too late. Our applications will have already been sent to the Galaxy Garrison."

"You seriously think it's going to take that long for them to find out?" Rafael said, the look on his face saying he was already planning for his funeral. "My mom has more spies than the Galaxy Intelligence Agency."

"Relax, cuz," Lance said, leaning back and shoving his feet under the sun-baked sand, "I got it all covered. That's why we went to the recruitment center on the south side of town instead of on this side."

Rafael sighed, his shoulders finally loosing a bit of their tension. "You're right. This is going to work," he said, more to himself than to Lance, "I just don't like feeling like I'm lying to my mom."

Lance felt an answering twinge of guilt at his cousin's words, and put a hand on Rafael's shoulder. "Don't worry. It's just until the applications get sent out. We'll come clean with our parents tomorrow."

Rafael inhaled as if to speak, then his eyes widened at something he saw behind Lance and he stopped short. His face paled to a sickly grey color."What is it?" Lance asked, sitting up and turning around to see what, or rather who had put the fear of God in his cousin, then felt his own heart drop.

His mom was striding toward them, filicidal thoughts written across her face. "Oh, crap." Lance muttered, exchanging a look with his cousin.

Busted.

"If I don't make it, you can have my old surfboard," Lance muttered, scrambling to stand up just before his mom stormed up to them.

"Lance Charles McClain," his mom started immediately, not one to waste time, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"H-hello to you too, mom!" Lance said, wincing at how unnaturally bright his tone was.

"Don't try that with me," his mom said, "I know exactly what you've been up to today and you want to know how I found out?"

"Uh-" Lance said dumbly.

"Not from my son. No. I had to find out through your sister's neighbor that my son was over at the Galaxy Garrison recruiting office not even a week after he promised me he wouldn't go there."

Lance knew better than to say anything to that.

"It looks like you're going to have to break your promise twice because we're marching right back there and you're going to retract your application."

"But, mom-"

"Don't but mom me." His mom said, her tone brooking no room for argument, "You made a promise, Lance. Did you forget what that means?"

"But, mom-"

"That's two strikes, Lance. One more and I'll be dragging you there by the ear instead of just driving you."

"B-" Lance managed to stop himself in time. His mom never made idle threats. He tried again. "You're not even going to listen to what I have to say?"

"Not after you lied to me so you could go and find new and creative ways to get yourself killed." His mom said, and Lance would've missed it if he didn't know her so well, but he heard the way his mom's voice shook with more than just anger at that.

And boy did that take the wind out of his sails. "Mom…" he said, but it was half hearted this time.

"And you," Lance's mom turned on Rafael, who'd stayed perfectly still throughout the entire conversation so far in the vain but understandable hope that he might get overlooked. "Don't think you're getting out of this. Honestly, I might've expected this from Lance," Well, ouch, "But you know better, Rafael. Your mom's on her way here, and she'll be taking you straight back to retract your application, too."

His mom started walking away without another word to Lance, expecting him to follow her. And he would've, too, except suddenly there was a pervasive, wailing alarm going off in his head accompanied by a sharp pain at the back of his skull.

What the…?

Lance felt himself thrown bodily into a hard, unforgiving surface that knocked the air from his lungs. Before he could orient himself properly, he was thrown again and he caught a glimpse of a blurred starlit night sky through a wide window. But he knew it wasn't night time. And why was he suddenly looking through a window?

There was a loud roar that seemed to come from everywhere at once that rattled his bones and suddenly Lance remembered. He was piloting the Blue Lion when everyone'd been thrown out of the wormhole. He must've lost consciousness from all the motion and he had no idea how long he'd been out.

There was another roar that shook him to his marrow and Lance realized he needed to act and fast, or he'd be toast, because they were spinning out of control straight into a mountainside.