Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affliated with V:LD or Marvel in any way.
"Hello, castle passengers, this is your captain speaking. As we continue our travels throught the galaxy on our way to kick some Galra butt, you are invited to enjoy some in-flight entertainment in the lounge. And when I say invited, I mean that you are being told to come to the lounge. This includes you, mullet."
—
The Voltron team assembles in the castle lounge, trickling in one by one. Lance holds court at the front of the room, his hands behind his back. The grin on his face is smug and self-fulfilled. The rest of the castle folk watch him from their seats on the couches with varying levels of curiousity.
"We have been residents of this castle for almost a year now and, close as we are to one another, I think iit's time to indulge in one of the most infamous of Earth's traditional bonding ceremonies." Lance pauses for effect before swinging his arm out from behind him, a silver disc in his hand.
"Movie night." He says. Hunk eyes the disc confusedly.
"Where'd you get the DVD from?" He asks.
"I walked in on Pidge watching Star Wars last night and figured that she had either streamed the movie when we were last within signal of Earth or picked up a copy of the movie when wewere in New York. Upon investigation this morning, I found a number of DVDs stashed in her room, all of equally geeky nature." Lance says imperiously, twirling the disc between his fingers. Pidge frowns from her place beside Hunk and crosses her arms.
"Don't snoop around in my room, Lance." She deadpans. Lance waves his hand dismissively.
"For tonight's viewing, we will be entering a world full of magic, adventure, and excellent pop culture references. I present to you, a true action classic..." Lance says with a flourish, "Marvel's Avengers. Pidge, help me figure out how to work this thing!" As Pidge sighs and rises from the couch, Allura cocks her head slightly and raises an eyebrow.
"What is 'Avengers', exactly?" Allura asks.
"They're a group of fictional superheroes from Earth. The movies are based off of a series of comics, which are stories told through pictures. They're pretty popular." Shiro explains. Allura's eyes light up.
"Oh! We had tales of people like that on Altea as well! The quest of Rautaf the Wonderous, Weegil and Leorade of the North, and Rena and her companion, Carpina of Geind- people with super abilities were the subjects of many famous stories!" She says in delight. Coran nods in agreeance, but Lance glances at them dubiously.
"That sounds like Tolkien-level, ancient quest kind of stuff. What we're talking about here is superheroes- with, like, super strength and flying and hand-to-hand combat. Kind of like the paladins in a way, with their high-tech suits and everything." Lance says thoughfully. Keith frowns.
"What about Thor? He's all about Norse mythology." He says. Lance shoots him a scowl.
"Don't poke holes in my words." He says, wagging a finger at Keith. From below the lounge's screen, Pidge looks up from the Altean tech that she's been fiddling with.
"We should be good to go." She says as the screen lights up with the opening scene of the movie.
"Excellent," Lance says, falling onto the couch and rubbing his hands gleefully. "Prepare yourselves for-" He stops when Pidge pokes him as she takes up her spot on the couch again.
"Quiet. The movie's starting."
—
"So, the man who transforms into the green giant- does he possess magical powers?" Allura asks.
"No, he's a scientist." Keith replies absently. Allura frowns.
"Does he use science to transform, then?" She asks. Keith frowns but doesn't reply. Shiro turns his attention from the screen and looks at Allura thoughtfully.
"Not really. I'm not sure how to explain it, to be honest." Shiro says.
"Well, Banner got hit with a bunch of radiation.. That's what gave him his powers, right?" Hunk pipes up questionly.
"Yep," says Pidge, her eyes glued to the screen.
"Shouldn't he have known how to protect himself from the radiation?" Allura asks. Lance groans.
"Allura, in these kinds of movies, the explanations don't matter." He says impatiently, but not unkindly. "Just focus on the movie." At this, Allura shoots Lance a look.
"I just wanted to make sure that the movie was accur-"
"Allura, please!"
—
"Does Loki remind anyone of someone we know?" Hunk asks, a shred of hesitation in his voice. The group is silent for a minute.
"Black Widow?" Keith asks quietly. Hunk shakes his head slowly.
"Not exactly." He says.
"Thor? They both have light-colored hair." Coran asks enthusastically.
"No..." Hunk replies with uncertainty. After a few seconds, Pidge snaps her fingers.
"Loki." She says plainly. At this, the paladins let out murmurs of understanding. Lance shakes his head in disgust.
"They're both so pretentious." He remarks. Pidge lets out a shudder of a laugh.
"And fabulous." She notes dryly. Several of the group chuckle under their breath and Coran titters loudly. Both Keith and Lance scowl. Lance scoffs.
"Prissy Galra." He says. Keith shoots Lance a dark look. Lance feels his gaze.
"I meant what I said."
"Hey!"
—
"Is that how aliens are always portrayed in Earthen media?" Coran asks, motioning to the screen, where the Chiatari were tearing up New York City.
"Uh, it depends." Shiro says quietly. "In other worlds created in film, things are different. Like when aliens are seen as known members of the universe." At this, both Coran frowns.
"It's always befuddled me how humans never made contact with other lifeforms. Intergalactic cooperation was always one of Altea's primary concerns." He says quizzically.
"Well, most humans are scared of other life in the universe. They don't think life exists, so the idea of aliens freaks them out. They get portrayed as weird things, like UFO's, body snatchers," Pidge says, motioning to the screen. "Planet invaders. Only the crazy people try to make contact with aliens."
"But there are so many wonderful civilizations in the galaxy! Peaceful, technological, and good planets, many even more advanced than Earth- no offence, of course." Coran says enthusiastically.
"What about the Galra?" Hunk says cautiously. At this, Coran pauses thoughtfully for a minute.
"You make a good point there."
—
As the movie ends and the credits scroll across the screen, Lance turns to the rest of the group, a sly smile on his face.
"So what did you guys think?" He asks. Keith shrugs.
"Can't go wrong with a Marvel film." He notes. Shiro nods in agreement.
"I liked it! It's got quite a flair for the dramatic." Allura says enthusiastically. "The superheroes certainly had large personalities- kind of like all of you, to be honest!" At this, Pidge scratches her head in thought.
"Yeah, we kind of match them." She says quietly as she looks from person to person. "I could see Shiro as Captain America, to be honest." At this, Shiro lets out a warm laugh.
"I'm definitely the Tony Stark of the group- stylish, dashing, smart," Lance says breezily, flashing a trademark roguish grin. Hunk hums in response.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Getting the Stark grease factor, too," he says, ignoring Lance's affronted look. "I'm more of a Thor kind of type, personally. The all-around good guy, lots of strength." The rest of the group erupts in assenting nods as Hunk continues. "I think Keith could be the Hulk. Y'know, kind of quiet, pulls out the power when he needs to."
"I could also see him as Black Widow." Pidge replies. At this, Keith frowns but, after a few seconds of thought, eventually shrugs.
"Makes sense," he says. Hunk then looks to Pidge.
"Pidge, though, is definitely Hawkeye." He says. Pidge smiles smugly.
"Definitely." She says.
"What about Coran and I?" She says. At this, Coran leaps to his feet and stands ramrod straight, twirling his mustache.
"I am very clearly Nick Fury! Giving you all your orders and sage wisdom, backing you up in your hero-ish endeavours, being the boss behiind the scenes," he says confidently. "All I need is an eyepatch and I'd be the spitting image of him!" As Coran poses with his hands on his hips, the others watch with varying shades of amusement. Shiro offers him a wan smile.
"You'd make a great Nick Fury." He says placidly and nudges Lance, who looks primed to speak up, before continuing. "I think Allura would be Agent Hill for sure. Calm, cool, in control- very much her style." At this, Allura looks at Shiro happily. Pidge smirks.
"I think she's more of a Peggy Carter." She says calmly, drawing grins out of Lance and Hunk and even a shiver of a smile from Keith. Shiro's face flushes a faint peach as Allura looks between all of them.
"Who's Peggy Carter?" She asks curiously. Pidge just shares a knowing look with Lance.
"Never mind."
A/N: Just a little something I whipped up when I heard about IFD2018 on AO3. Enjoy, darlings!