Hello! I just finished the first two seasons of Voltron: Legendary Defender on Netflix a few weeks ago, and I have always been a KLance fan. But, last night I had the most epic dream where Lance was a girl, and it just got me thinking of amazing differences in character developments and plot tweaks. This would be my second attempt at a gender-bent fic, my first one was a one-shot that I posted on my Tumblr, I'm not going to rec it cuz quiznak it's bad. Yet, I've grown in my writing, and I'm planning this fic out a little at a time. Updates will be slow, sorry in advance.
Here we go!
...
Laura McClain groaned as she flopped onto her Garrison issued cot in her shared dorm. She had totally failed today's flight simulator. Then, after being humiliated in the pilot seat, Iverson began to rip her a new one. In front of their entire barrack.
"The only reason you're here is because the top pilot had disciplinary issues." Iverson's voice had cut through her like a lightsaber. The door to her dorm opened and Natalia, her roommate, strolled in with another boy toy on her arm. The snobby brunette snorted at the sight of Laura lying face down on her cot.
"Rough day, Tailor?" the dark haired boy snickered at Natalia's jab.
"Fuck off, Gnat Face," Laura grumbled as she shrugged on her dark green bomber jack that she stole from her older brother's closet on her last holiday home and grabbed her bag with all of her party night essentials. "I'm going to be out late, I hope the condom breaks." The door slid close, cutting off whatever Natalia's reply was going to be. Laura hurried to Hunk, her best friend and her crewman engineer's, room. "Hunk, open up. Con rapidez, mi amigo!" She flicked a stray curl out of her face as she glanced down the corridor before Hunk opened his door.
"Wha-? Laura, what are you doing here?" Laura didn't bother to answer the large Hawaiian as she grabbed his wrist and tugged him into the corridor. "Where are we going, Laura?"
"Iverson said we needed to bond as a team, well, what's the best way to bond? A night out on the town!" Laura exclaimed as she weaved through the corridors, slipping past the staff with practiced ease. "So, we're going to get Pidge, hit the town, maybe snag a cute date or two, then be back before the morning patrol. Iverson will never know we left!" Hunk was not at ease.
"Laura, you're little adventures typically end with us in the principles office." Hunk reasoned. Laura rolled her eyes. She adored Hunk, but sometimes he was just such a worry wart.
"Really, Hunk? Viva la Vida Loca de Vez en Cuando." Laura chided. They hurried to their third crewman's quarters, only to reach their destination in time to witness the smaller boy sneak out of his room. "What is that little gnome doing?" Laura inquired, mostly to herself. "C'mon, vamanos." Laura tugged Hunk behind her as they followed their teammate. Pidge led them up onto the southern complex roof of Garrison. The night sky was alive with vibrant stars as Laura and Hunk crawled their way onto the roof.
"So, you come here to rock out?" Laura asked as they approached Pidge. The boy jumped, thinking he'd been had, but relaxed when he realized who it was.
"Oh, Hunk, Laura. I-uh- just watching the stars?" Pidge stuttered. The strange computer that Pidge was using caught Laura's eye.
"Where'd you get this? This doesn't look like Garrison tech." Laura said as she examined the computer. Pidge swelled with pride.
"I built it." He claimed.
"You built all of this?" Hunk asked, visibly excited, as he leaned forward to handle the equipment. Pidge shooed his sneaking hands away, though.
"Ah! Stop it." He scolded Hunk. "With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system."
"That right?" Laura asked, cocking a brow with a small grin. "All the way to Kerberos?" Pidge groaned. "You go ballistic everytime the instructors bring it up. What's your problem, tido?"
"Second warning, Hunk!" Pidge grumbled as he shot a glare at the larger boy. Hunk whined in frustration, he just wanted to examine the tech. Pidge fidgeted with his glasses as he messed with some buttons, avoiding Laura's question. She sighed.
"Look, Pidge, if we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any secrets," Laura said as she tried to get Pidge to look at her. Her crew tech was silent for a moment before sighing.
"Fine. The world as you know it is about to change," he said as he took his glasses off his face. His brown eyes met her cerulean irises. "The Kerberos Mission wasn't lost because of some malfunction or crew mistake. Stop touching my equipment!" Pidge snapped at Hunk who was still trying to cope a feel of the computer. Hunk pouted but backed off. "So, I've been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter."
"Whoa!" Hunk exclaimed. "What? Aliens?" Laura leaned to the right, propping her hand on her hip. Her face read her skepticism.
"Okay. So you're insane. Got it." She said. Pidge frowned.
"I'm serious!" Pidge retorted. "They keep repeating one word, "Voltron." And tonight, it's going crazier than ever." Laura frowned at the concern in Pidge's voice.
"How crazy?" she asked. Her question was left unanswered as red lights flashed and sirens blared. Iverson's harsh voice came out over the loud speaker.
"Attention, students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown! Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: all students are to remain in barracks until further notice." The trio shared concerned looks before they were distracted by a flare of orange across the sky.
"What's going on?" Hunk gasped. "Is that a meteor? A very, very big meteor." Laura squinted at the flaming object that had just entered the lower atmosphere. She gasped.
"It's a ship!" Pidge yelped.
"Dios! I can't believe what I'm seeing." Laura squeaked. "That's not one of ours."
"No," Pidge said ominously. He looked up from his equipment to the other two. "It's one of their's." Hunk and Laura's eyes widened. They watched as the ship crashed behind some ridges not far off, then garrison ATVs began to move out. Most likely to investigate. "So, wait." Hunk said. "There really are aliens out there?" Laura and Pidge rolled their eyes at their friend. Pidge began shoving things into his pack.
"We've got to go see that ship." He declared as he pulled the straps onto his shoulders. Without a second thought, Laura and Pidge took off towards the crash site. Hunk hesitated, though.
"Hunk, c'mon!" Laura snapped, urging Hunk to hurry and catch up.
"Oh, this is the worst team building exercise ever." Hunk bemoaned as he regretfully followed the two.
"What is that?" Laura exclaimed as she studied the crash sight through the lenses of her binoculars. "Who is she?"
"Laura!" Pidge smacked the pilot's arm, "Focus."
"Ow!" Laura whined. "Right, alien ship." She went back to scoping the campout. "Man, we'll never make it past those guards."
"Aw, man..." Hunk sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I guess there's nothing else to do but head back to the barracks, right?" He asked hopefully. Pidge perked up.
"Wait!" Pidge exclaimed triumphantly. "They set up a camera in there and I grabbed its feed. Look!" Laura and Hunk leaned over to look at the screen. On it was a makeshift operation room. Strapped onto the observational table was a man, one that Laura recognized immediately.
"You have to listen to me!" the man exclaimed, clearly panicked. "They destroy worlds! Aliens are coming!" He continued to cry out as he struggled against his bonds.
"That's Shiro! He's the pilot of the Kerberos Mission." Laura exclaimed. "He's my hero."
"Guess he's not dead in space after all." Hunk said. Pidge leaned forward as if trying to look at the rest of the room.
"Where's the rest of the crew?" He asked himself. Suddenly, Iverson stepped into the shot.
"Do you know how long you've been gone?" he asked Shiro.
"I don't know!" Shiro said. "Months? Years? Look, there's no time. Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way! They'll destroy us." Shiro tried to explain to the doctors. "We have to find Voltron!"
"Voltron!" Pidge gasped, Laura and Hunk gaped at the screen.
"Sir!" One of the scientists exclaimed. "Take a look at this. It appears that his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic."
"Put him under until we know what that thing can do," Iverson commanded. Shiro began to panic, thrashing in his bonds.
"No! No. No. No- Don't put me under. No! There's no time" Let me go!" Shiro protested, but the doctors injected the anesthesia. Laura scowled angrily.
"They didn't ask about the rest of the crew." Pidge protested meekly.
"What are they doing?" Laura hissed. "The guy's a legend and they're not even gonna listen to him? Esos idiotas!" Pidge nodded in agreement.
"We have to get him out!" Pidge declared as he packed up his equipment.
"Uh, I hate to be the voice of reason, always, but weren't we just watching on TV because we couldn't get past the guards?" Hunk said nervously. Laura shook her head disapprovingly at the taller boy.
"That was before we were properly motivated." She told him before turning to Pidge. "We just gotta think. Could we tunnel in?"
"Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs," Pidge suggested with a shrug.
"Orrrrr... We dress up like cooks, head back to the dorms, sneak into the commissary- little late night snack!" Hunk suggested enthusiastically. Pidge and Laura gave him unimpressed looks.
"... No. What we need is a distraction." Laura said, brushing off Hunk's idea. Explosions rocked them, lighting up the valley from the far side. The trio screamed in shock.
"Is that aliens?" Hunk whimpered fearfully. "Is that a-aliens? Are they here? They got here so quickly." A small hover bike flew in discretely as the Garrison hurried to investigate the explosions.
"No, those explosions were a distraction! For him." Pidge said, pointing at the newcomer. Laura peered through her binoculars to get a better look. "The Garrison are heading towards the blasts, and he's sneaking in from the other side."
"No way!" Laura growled. "Oh, he is NOT going to beat us in there" That guy is always trying to one-up me." Laura bolted down the hillside, not bothering to make sure the others were following.
"Who is it?" Hunk asked as he started after her.
"Keith." Laura scowled.
"Who?" Pidge asked.
"Are you sure?" Hunk called.
"Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere."
"Who's Keith?" Pidge called as he followed after the two older crewmembers. The trio slid down, hurrying to make it to the base camp before Keith, who had a head start. The three made it just in time to see the dark haired pilot pull Shiro off the bed.
"Nope!" Laura yelped as she moved forward to Shiro's other side. "No, you. No, no, no. No, you don't. I'm saving Shiro." Keith shot the tall latina an inquisitive and slightly agitated glare as she took Shiro's other arm.
"Who are you?" Keith asked.
"Who am I?" Laura asked, feeling offended. "Uh, the name's Laura... We were in the same class at the Garrison!"
"Really?" Keith said as they began to move Shiro. "Are you an engineer?" Laura felt heat rise in her face from her anger.
"No, I'm a pilot! We were like rivals." Laura insisted. "You know, Laura and Keith, neck and neck." Recognition crossed Keith's blank face.
"Oh, wait. I remember you. You're a cargo pilot." He said. Laura frowned.
"Not anymore. Not after you washed out." Laura snapped. "I'm fighter class now."
"Well, congratulations," Keith said uncaringly. Laura bit her tongue to keep from throwing an insult at the boy. They carried Shiro out to Keith's bike, seeing as it was the only vehicle they had access to.
"Oh, man!" Hunk cried out in a panic. "They're coming back, and they do not look happy. We got to go now!" Hunk said as he and Pidge clambered onto Keith's single rider bike. The hover back leaned precariously under the extra weight. "Uhhh... Do you mind if we catch a ride with you?"
"Is this thing going to hold all of us?" Pidge squeaked out as Keith took the driver's seat.
"No," Keith said as he revved the engine, spinning out just as the Garrison arrived. The bike took off into the desert, the Garrison right on their tales. Laura shoved Shiro to Pidge so that she could get a better grip on the bike.
"Why am I holding this guy?" Pidge whined.
"Hey, we did all fit!" Hunk exclaimed happily. Laura wasn't concerned about that, however. She called over her shoulder as she watched the Garrison ATVs gain on Keith's hover bike.
"Can't this thing go any faster?"
"We could toss off some non-essential weight," Keith replied smoothly. Laura shot a glare at his mullet.
"Not helpful." She grumbled.
"Big man, lean left," Keith commanded. Hunk did as he was told and the trio yelled as the left wing brushed the ground. They watched as one of the ATVs wrecked into another, knocking their pursuit numbers in half.
"Aw man! Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery." Hunk said. "Nope, no he's alright."
"Big man, lean right," Keith called over his shoulder. The three passengers screamed as Hunk leaned to the right, causing the bike to jump a ravine onto the opposite cliff. Laura stiffened as they slid dangerously close to the earth wall.
"Guys, d-d-d is that a cliff up ahead?" Hunk stuttered pointing in front of them. Laura and Pidge stared in horror at their approaching demise.
"Oh, no, no, no, no," Laura stammered, shaking her head. Keith leaned forward, smirking.
"Yep." The hover bike shot off the cliff. Laura, Hunk, and Pidge screamed in terror, Laura and Pidge gripped the unconscious Shiro as they raced towards the ground.
"What are you doing?" Laura screamed, "You're going to kill us all."
"Shut up and trust me!" Keith yelled as he revved the engine and pulled back. The hoverbike slid across the ground, driving as if they hadn't just taken a nose dive off a sixty-foot cliff. Laura was shaking from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. He nails had dug into Shiro's arm and shoulder, biting into his skin. Looking back, Laura could see that the last ATV had stopped its pursuit. She relaxed a little, but she knew this was only the beginning of something. She could feel it in her bones. The way Abuela always put it was that Laura's Cuban blood would always look out for her, even so far away from home. In Spanish, of course.
Laura still couldn't believe what had just happened. The tall Latina peeked out the curtain watching Keith and Shiro talking as the sun rose. Not only was Keith the most agitating guy she knew, he was also buddy-buddy with her ultimate hero. It absolutely sucked. She pulled away from the window as the two men retreated to the house. When they walked through the door of Keith's shack, Keith nodded for Shiro to look at the huge map splattered across the far wall.
"What have you been working on?" Shiro asked as we all moved forward to investigate Keith's work. Keith rubbed the back of his head as he, too, studied his work.
"Well... I didn't really know at the time." He started, "until I stumbled across this area. It's an outcropping of giant boulders with caves covered in these ancient markings. Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion, but they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happening last night. Then you showed up." Keith said. Shiro was silent for a moment, contemplating this new information. Then, the older pilot turned to the trio.
"I should thank you all for getting me out..." Shiro said as he reached out his hand for Laura to shake. "Laura, right?" Laura would never forget this moment. Ever. She smiled as she shook his hand. Then Pidge stepped forward and introduced himself and Hunk.
"So, did anyone else from your crew survive?" Pidge asked. Shiro frowned.
"I'm not sure. I remember the mission and getting captured, but after that, it's bits and pieces." Shiro replied. Pidge slumped a little.
"Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens." Hunk spoke up, "Where are they now? Are they coming here? Are they coming here for us? Like- where are they at this very moment?" the gentle giant asked nervously.
"I can't really put it together. I remember the word 'Voltron.' It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do." Shiro said firmly. They were quiet for a moment, then Hunk broke it.
"Well, last night, I was rummaging through Pidge's stuff, and I found this picture. Look, it's his girlfriend." Hunk chuckled as he held out a polaroid of Pidge and a shorter girl. Laura smiled and snatched the photo before Pidge could grab it.
"Nah, Pidge looks exactly like this girl!" Laura exclaimed as she examined the picture in one hand, and the other held Pidge at arm's length. "Pidge, you didn't tell me you have a pretty sister," Laura whined. "You know all about my older brothers, too!"
"Give it back, Laura!" Pidge growled, trying to be menacing. Laura cocked a brow at the shorter boy.
"Nino, what did you say?" Laura said in what Hunk calls her 'Angry Latina Mother' voice. Pidge paused for a second, which was long enough for both Shiro and Keith to get a decent look at the photo as well, not that Laura noticed.
"Please?" Pidge squeaked. Laura nodded and handed him the picture. Once he had his picture back, he glared at Hunk. "What were you doing in my stuff?"
"I-well, I was looking for a candy bar. But, then I started reading his diary."
"What!?" Pidge yelped. But, Hunk continued on.
"And I noticed the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for look a lot like a Fraunhofer line." Hunk finished explaining. Laura grinned.
"Frown what?" Keith asked, looking a little skeptical.
"It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element, only, this element doesn't exist on Earth. I thought it might be this Voltron. And I think I can build a machine to look for it, like a Voltron Geiger counter." Hunk shrugged. Laura's grin spread wider as she slapped Hunk on the shoulder.
"Hunk, you big, gassy, genius." She declared happily. The taller boy smiled sheepishly.
"It's pretty fascinating, really. The wavelength looks like this." He said holding up a piece of paper. Keith gasped.
"Give me that!" He said before grabbing the page out of Hunk's hand. He turns to a picture on his board of the cliffs. He held of the wavelength, comparing the line to the horizon in the picture. Laura felt her mouth fall open as the two lines lined up perfectly.
"Que demonios?"
...
YAY! The first chapter is done! I hope you guys enjoy, please review and tell me what you think. Please be polite and respectful, I enjoy constructive criticism, but anything disrespectful is unacceptable!