Chapter Text
Lance skidded to the side, flicking his wrist and hurling a blast of ice at the fireball that came his way. The flame froze and, thanks to his new position, Lance narrowly missed getting hit by it as it flew passed and shattered on the wall just beside him. He spared a glance at where the shards of ice lay before he looked back at the man in red. His arch enemy. Blaze. A villain who's only passion was causing havoc and destruction in his attempt to take over the world.
Lance's job was to stop him, being a hero and all. He was the Blue Lion, he wore a suit of white and blue which contrasted with Blaze's black and red. He didn't wear a cape unlike his enemy, as much as he loved them, they could get yanked. His mask was a light blue, altered by Hunk so that there were shades of white over his eye holes so that only he could see through. The mask stopped just before the tip of his nose so that the lower half of his tanned face was visible. It was topped off with two triangles at the top which looked extremely similar to ears. They were supposed to be ears, really, but Lance refused to admit it.
He could see Blaze's fingers moving as he readied another blast of fire. It was usually hot but today he seemed to be putting more effort in bringing the heat to the fight. It was almost enough to melt Lance's ice completely. It was almost like he planned on getting rid of the Blue Lion once and for all. That made Lance worry slightly because, he couldn't die, not when he had Keith to get back to.
His boyfriend, Keith. Lance hadn't revealed the fact he was the Blue Lion to him yet. He'd thought about it so many times but Blaze's warning would echo in his head. "I'll kill everyone you love, just you wait." Lance was afraid that if he told Keith, he'd be in danger. He couldn't do that to him.
"Come on, kitten.." He heard Blaze say, he could practically feel the way his lips curled into a smirk, "I'm too hot, mind cooling me down?" He taunted, his fist curling and the blue flame floated just above him. "Or am I too hot for your liking? Scared you'll get burned, hm?" Lance could feel his fingers getting icy, a shard of the frozen solid forming in his hand.
"You should get out of here before I freeze your ass." He called back, squinting behind his mask. His lips formed a straight line of annoyance. He wasn't one to get angry easily but, damn, Blaze pushed him to his limits. He hated this guy. But he couldn't kill him. It was against his rules, it was murder. There was a line between hero and villain, he didn't want to pass it.
"Come at me, cat boy, let's play with fire." Blaze said and that's what launched Lance into battle. He set off at a run, hearing a pleased laugh escape Blaze's mouth before he felt heat coming towards him. It was bloody well hot. Lance tightened his hold on his ice shard before he pushed off the floor with one foot and launch at Blaze. He swung the shard, making sure the edge was sharp enough to cut but not enough to kill. Blaze used his flames to deflect every swing, almost successfully melting the shard. However, he managed to land some good hits to Blaze. He was able to hurt his arm enough the it pained him to try and move it. That was as far as Lance would go.
Lance was starting to feel sick. The immense heat worked against him horribly. He was sweating, his powers were starting to fail. He couldn't form cold enough ice. This had never happened before, it panicked him. He needed his powers if he was going to win this battle. Blaze was putting too much heat into his attacks, he'd never done this before. Lance hadn't ever thought that it was capable of getting hotter. He felt the last few inches of his shard melt and the water passed through his fingers. He knew he had to get out of there or he was screwed.
But he wasn't given the chance to flee. A ball of fire was hurled at his side, scorching through his suit and sending him flying. It burned so much. It hurt. Oh god, it hurt. He hit the floor, rolled twice before he swiftly twisted his body and landed in a cat-like crouch. His side hurt unbelievably but he did his best to ignore it. He winced behind the mask. Blaze must've seen the way Lance pulled his bottom lip between his teeth because he laughed.
"Didn't anyone tell you you're an asshole?" Lance snapped, "Because you're an asshole." Away from Blaze and despite the burn, he'd managed to cool down enough to use his ice again. He launched back into the fight. The threat of Blaze killing Keith echoing in his mind like a broken stereo.
The fight lasted a long time, both getting the upper hand at moments before getting taken down by the other. However, just as Blue Lion thought he won, a wall of fire erupted in front of him causing him to stumble back and away from Blaze's form who was finally pushing himself up into a sitting position. It was too hot. Lance's eyes watered behind the mask, his arms raised to shield his head from the oncoming flames. He'd left himself defenceless. Bad mistake. Blaze switched tactics, now fully on his feet. He shot out a small ball of blue flames, one of the hottest flames, which was all he could really do when half of his concentration was keeping up the wall of fire, and aimed it right at Lance's stomach. Despite only being able to use one arm, he was still strong.
It hit home causing Lance to let out a cry of agony as it burnt into his flesh. He dropped to his knees and slumped forward, squeezing his eyes shut. He had managed to fight on with the burns he gathered during their fight. But this was what pushed him over the edge. It burned, it hurt so much. His hands hovered over the burn on his stomach. He stayed there, holding back tears of pain and unable to move through the agony.
Blaze walked over, a little slower the usual due to the injuries he sustained. He came to a stop when he was just in front of the hero. "Now, now, kitten. You're pathetic, and you call yourself a superhero? Let's see who you are behind that mask before I end you once and for all." He said smoothly, his voice maybe a little strained. Lance panicked as he felt a hand grab onto his mask. Time seemed to stand still as he squeezed his eyes shut, the grip on his mask tight as he was ready to yank it off. And when he did, he threw the mask over his shoulder and grabbed hold of Lance's chin tightly, pulling his face up harshly.
But nothing happened after that. The grip on his chin loosened before it let go all completely. Lance cracked an eye open to see Blaze staring at him. If it wasn't for the villain's mask, Lance would've noticed the look of pure horror on his features. The look of realisation that passed through the villain's eyes.
"Lance..." Lance heard Blaze whisper and he immediately tensed up. How did he know who he was? Did he know about Keith? Shit! Would he hurt Keith? "Oh god, Lance..." Why did he sound so dreadfully guilty? "Fuck... I- Oh god! No, no no no." Lance managed to pull an expression of confusion though the haze of pain. "This can't be... You're the blue lion?! No, no no. This can't be happening. Fuck... I'm- I can't... Oh god, Lance! I'm sorry! I... I..."
"Tell me who you are" Lance demanded, his expression shifting into that of complete and utter hatred for the man in front of him. Why the fuck was he apologising? He could see hesitation in the way Blaze's hands rose only slightly to his own mask. There was a long pause before he reached up finally and pulled it away. Lance's heart stopped as he recognised the face immediately. He stuttered on his words, eyes growing wide as he searched for something to say. But all he could manage was one word, sounding completely broken and lost.
"Keith...?"