Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The cold wind seemed to bite into Lando’s bones as he tried to pull his coat tighter on himself. Autumn nights in New York are no fun, the chilly air seems to be able to freeze people. There’s something so scary, but so exciting in the empty streets Lando passes with quick steps. He has never been truly afraid of the night, rather, it excites him. He is just passing a dark alleyway when he hears the quietest noise, like a flap of a bird’s wing. The next moment he is pushed against a stone-cold wall, held captive by a rough hand on his throat. Lando coughs, struggling to breathe. The world feels dizzy, he can’t see the man in front of him accurately, but Lando can make out a pair of plump, cherry lips as the stranger speaks with voice deeper than the ocean.

“Are you Lando Norris?” he hisses like an enraged housecat, his deep brown eyes scanning every centimeter of Lando’s face.

“I- I am.” the young Brit manages to wheeze this much, and the hold of the stranger around his throat seems to lighten a bit.

“You are coming with me.” to where, Lando doesn’t know. What does this random stranger, who Lando still can’t see clearly, wants from him? He’s a mere engineering student in his first year, he knows nothing. Maybe it’s the testings he does in the lab late at night? The stranger knows about the spider-web formula?

The man’s hands release his throat to lock his wrist into his iron grip, and he starts to pull Lando towards the end of the alley, more into the darkness. They can’t reach the stranger’s destination, as strong light illuminates both of them, accompanied by a heavy wind that roughly catches into Lando’s brunet curls. Lando tries to glance at the source of the light, but he can only make out a man in a flashy, metal suit through his still messy vision.

“Not so fast, boys.” the newcomer shouts, voice sounding rather cocky than frightening. It’s like he’s flirting with the man holding Lando captive. Speaking about the man whose hands are still squeezing the blood out of Lando’s wrist, the Brit turns his head to look at him, but this time he’s met with a black, metal mask instead of a messy picture of a face.

“What do you want?” the villain rasps, annoyance clear in his voice.

“I want the boy.”

“In your dreams.” Cráneo chuckles, dark and low as he picks his steps up towards the end of the alley, dragging the utterly confused Lando with him. They don’t take many steps before the man in the metal suit lands in front of them in a majestic backflip and throws a punch right into the villain’s chest. Much to Lando’s surprise, Cráneo doesn’t even budge.

“Ah, clever. You are someone I have never met before. Aren’t as easy as the other villains of New York.” Iron Man says, sounding rather amused. It’s like he’s the cat playing with the mouse, testing it to see how strong his prey is.

“Now, I advice you to get out of my way before you see my full potential.”

“Nah man, I need that kid.” and with that, Iron Man blasts a distributive ray of fire out of the palm of his suit, aiming it at the villain, who manages to shun out of the way last minute. Cráneo reappears in another location, and Iron Man is quick to blast him again. They play this for a few minutes, with the villain getting gradually closer and closer to the other. Lando watches the duel with dilated eyes, amusement clearly visible in his gaze even though his vision just started to clear out enough to identify one of the fighting pair. It’s the flashy-suit man, who Lando identifies as Lewis Hamilton, or better known as Iron Man. He fights with grace, and when Cráneo gets close enough, he lashes out and laces a few metal ropes around his body, holding him captive. The man with a mask shaped like a skull groans, clearly annoyed.

“Now, you two come with me.” Lewis sing-songs, proud of his work.

“Maybe next time.” Cráneo answers in a frightening whisper, and the next moment, he dissolves into dark black mist. His voice echoes through the alley as he disappears into the night: “I will come back, Hamilton.”

“Then it’s just us two.” Iron Man shrugs, not a bit bothered by the disappearance of the unknown villain. His mask opens, and he offers a smile to Lando with a kind, “Hi, I’m Lewis Hamilton. May I take you to safety?”

“S-sure.”

Once in the huge apartment of Lewis, Lando gets to examine the famous man from up-close. And much to his surprise, Iron Man seems to be just like anyone else as he drinks his dark green celery juice with disgust.

“Angela makes me drink it. It’s the worst.” and at Lando’s confused glance, he adds, “She’s my mentor. You will get to meet her soon. Don’t worry, she’s an angel, maybe she will spare you of celery juice in the first few months.”

Lando doesn’t get spared of celery juice. It’s the first thing he receives from Angela after a warm embrace.

“Drink up young boy. Seems like you are in need of a big dose of vitamins just like Lewis.” she receives a guilty smile from Iron Man at that. Shaking her head, she adds, “You New Yorkers really pay zero mind to health.”

Angela leads him into a huge room with windows that cover the whole wall, and Lando falls asleep listening to the neverending hustling and bustling of New York.

He is awakened by a deep, raspy voice resonating through his room in the morning. The man has a slight Austrian accent as he says, “Good morning Mr. Norris. Mr. Hamilton is waiting for you in the laboratory. He has a message for you, I quote, ‘Hi Lando, I’ll be waiting in the lab, no rush though, enjoy your breakfast.’. Your breakfast is on the table.”

Muttering a quiet thanks under his breath, Lando peels off the duvets from himself.

“You are welcome, Mr. Norris.” says the voice, which makes Lando shriek. This thing can hear his answers, what the hell? Lando stands in the room, dumbfounded, eyes scanning the walls to find the source of the voice. It answers with, “Sorry for the fright. I forgot to tell you I can hear your answers. If you need anything, just say, ‘Toto.’ and I will be on command. I’m off now, have a good day Mr. Norris.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Lando mumbles, walking up to the table near the window. The sight is mesmerizing to see. It’s beautiful as the rising Sun gleams on the windows of skyscrapers and tall office-houses, painting the city into the rich color of golden yellow. The sky is clear today, only a few fluffy clouds are present, which are not big enough to shade the Sun. Lando finds a bowl of neatly arranged oatmeal on his table along with a note which reads, ‘GM Lando, enjoy your breakfast. I added some fruit to spice it up, I hope you like it. Love, Angela.’ Lando smiles at the small piece of paper and dives into the appetizing plate of oatmeal. It’s the tastiest food he has ever eaten.

When Lando walks into the lab with a full stomach, in a green tracksuit, he sees Lewis, dancing to Britney Spears' Womanizer, wearing a skin-tight black training shirt and basketball shorts over leggings. Lando wonders how can someone look so classy in training clothes, at 9 in the morning. When Lewis notices him, he jogs closer and pulls Lando into a warm hug.

“Good morning Lando!” he screams over the loudly playing music and then, with a weird hand-gesture, he signals for Toto to stop the music. Immediately, the voice of Britney dies down and the peaceful silence is only disturbed by the occasional beeping of machines. Lando takes his time to look around as Lewis leads him into a corner, where a metal podium is surrounded by a small army of flashy, well-polished Iron Man suits. Lewis walks up to a huge table a bit further away and taps away some keys on the keypad to make a see-through screen appear. Lando gasps at the modern technology. He has seen some things at the lab of the university, but he has never gotten the chance to try them out. Now, that he is standing in the lab of the legendary Iron Man, he can’t keep his excitement back.

“What are we going to do?” he asks, aching to just do something with all that modern technology.

“You stand on the podium.” instructs Lewis, gesturing for Lando to move. Once standing in the ring of a dozen Iron Man suits, Lando looks at the other man, curious. Lewis makes a few swipes in the air and images of Lando testing the spider-web formula in the university lab appear. “This you?”

“Y-yes, ah that’s just an experiment of mine, nothing serious.” Lando does an embarrassed little wave with his hands, blushing hard in the crossfire of Lewis’ eyes. Iron Man is a real inventor, a national hero, while Lando is just an university student playing around with science.

“I know. The spider-web formula. That’s why you are here.”

“What?” the Brit gasps, surprised eyes scanning Lewis’ face.

The elder man just smirks, pulling up an image of Lando in a spider costume in his dorm bathroom, with a name written on the mirror. Lewis reads it up with a playful smile. “Spider-Man. I like it.”

“Jesus, that was a joke I-“

But Lando's panicked sentence is cut off by Lewis, whose face is serious as he asks, “Lando, do you want to be a superhero?”

“I- I mean yeah, who wouldn’t want to be one?” Lando stutters, suddenly unable to speak normally.

“Cool. Now stand still, Spider-Man. We are making you a suit.” and with that, Lewis pushes a button, and Lando is slowly spun around on the podium as a machine scans his body. Then, Lewis’ eyes trail onto his many suits and he continues with, “Okay, now you should step into, uh, W10. Toto, please prepare it.”

And at the word of Lewis, the wall starts to move and a suit is turned on, landing next to Lando with a flip.

“Toto, please program Sebastian into the suit.” Lewis commands, not looking away from the screen in front of him.

Lando, quite confused, can’t help but ask, “Sebastian?”

“He is one of my A.I. systems. Like Toto.”

“Right. By the way, I wanted to ask, is Toto voiced by-“

“Torger Wolff, the famous racing driver, yes. He’s a good friend of mine and he agreed to give his voice to my main A.I.” Lewis explains with a proud smile. He chuckles when he notices the surprised look on Lando’s face. “And if you are curious, I can show you my other A.I.s too, while Toto programs Seb into the suit.”

“Please.”

Lewis swipes in the air again and many screens appear with different people on it. “The first one is Toto, you already met him. This is Sebastian Vettel, also a racing driver. Then, we have Lizzo, I hope you listen to her songs. Next to her is Zendaya, my favorite actress in the whole universe. And the last is Nico Rosberg, the head of Prada. He was the one who designed my suits until I found Yuki.”

“How comes you have so many famous friends?”

“Everyone wants to be friends with Iron Man.” Lewis shrugs. He tries to stay nonchalant, but Lando notices the bitter tone in his voice. Then, Lewis turns to the screens again and his lips curl into a warm smile. “But actually, I know most of them since childhood. They are the only people I trust. And Angela, of course.”

There’s a quiet beep and Toto’s voice fills the lab. “The suit and Sebastian are ready.”

“Cool, now go hop into it.” Lando doesn’t need to be told twice, he skips his way to the matte black suit and when it opens, he steps inside with an excited smile on his face. Lando gasps, looking around like he’s a kid in a candy store. The suit closes, modifying itself until it perfectly takes up Lando’s form.

Then, he hears a kind, soft voice with a slight German accent. “Hey kiddo, this is Seb. I’m Lewis’ second A.I., programmed to be kind and helpful, just how I am in real life. Please enjoy your stay in the W10.”

Lewis’ eyes have a glint of proudness as he looks at the young Brit in front of him, moving around in the suit like he’s a child with his Halloween costume on. The W10 fits perfectly, but it’s something for Iron Man, not Spider-Man. Lewis is quick to notice it. “You look good in this one, but you need something more flexible. I'll design a suit like the Black Panther's for you.”

“You know the Black Panther?” Lando gasps, voice sounding a bit like a robot’s through the suit. He kind of feels like a robot, too. He wonders if Lewis has the same emotions while in the suit. Does he ever do robot dance with the W11 on? Maybe Lando will ask him to do it one day.

“Of course I know him.” Lewis says nonchalantly, a hint of a proud smirk on his lips. “Toto, bring the Black Panther suit please.”

And a few minutes later, the exact replica of the legendary Black Panther suit is flown to him by a drone. Lando has to contain himself from screaming in excitement as he shyly asks for permission to exit the suit.

“Of course you have permission kiddo. You don’t even need to ask, just exit when you like. You have Mr. Hamilton’s trust, so you have ours too.” Seb says kindly and opens the suit for Lando. “I’m glad I could accompany you through your first stay in an Iron Man suit.”

“Thanks Seb.” Lando exclaims over his shoulder, already rushing over to Lewis. The Black Panther suit looks even more luxurious up-close as the black vibranium particles gleam in the LED light of the lab, having a slight purple hue to it. Lando carefully runs his hand over the silver teeth decorating the neck of the suit, his eyes filled with awe.

“Try it on.” Lewis nudges him, and a moment later Lando is jumping around the lab, doing backflips and high kicks in the suit that stretches perfectly as he moves, feeling like second skin. Lewis watches him with curious eyes, occasionally typing into his notes next to a scan of Lando’s body.

“Have you been doing some sorts of gymnastics? You seem very fit.” he asks after Lando does a high aerial over one of the many working tables of Lewis.

“Yeah, I’ve been doing gymnastics for seventeen years, since I was three.” Lando heaves, a bit tired after all that jumping around. “But I stopped in university though, I changed it up for martial arts.”

“You are literally perfect for this role, what the hell.” Lewis breathes, in complete surprise. Then, he looks at the screen in front of him and frowns. Lando can imagine the gears turning in his mind as he thinks. “So, we have to make you a suit that’s stretchy like the Black Panther’s but protects you like the W10. Not an easy task. Do you want any particular design?”

“I would like it to be full black with spider webs.”

“Toto, message Yuki with the details please.” Lewis’ eyes are on Lando again, deep in his thoughts. His face is illuminated by the faint, turquoise light of the many screens in front of him, and he looks oh so eternal like this, with his eyes narrowed in concentration as they scan Lando’s body. “Okay, you stand on the podium again.”

They work through the day, not stopping until Angela brings them lunch around noon. She wears the biggest smile as she looks at Lando, standing on the podium in a skin-tight training suit with Lewis attaching different particles of a vibranium suit onto his body.

“Bon appetit boys. Continue the good work.” she sing-songs, patting Lando’s cheeks with motherly kindness as she passes them on her way out. The lasagna she brought tastes like home and Lando notices how happy Lewis is as he eats. They are back to work not long after, and Lando has all the time to observe Lewis as he walks around him, holding up different materials and metals. Lewis carries himself with the confidence of a king. He looks majestic as he works on the suit, gently biting his lower lip in concentration as he clicks a metal plate in it’s place on Lando’s chest. The suit is ready by afternoon and Yuki comes into the lab just after Lewis messaged him to bring the designs.

“Hi, I’m Yuki, Lewis’ designer.” he greets with a small salute, and he places the huge tablet in his hands onto the table. “So, I made it look like a spider went full apeshit over the costume staring from the chest-plate. The silver lining is fluorescent, so it lights up in orange at night. How do you like it?”

Lando looks at the design with awe. The glossy black of the suit is broken by silver spider webs all over it, gleaming with metallic coldness. The night vision of the suit is the coolest thing Lando has ever seen, and surprisingly, the orange perfectly compliments the pure blackness of the suit. He can’t wait to kick some villains’ asses in this one. His eyes trail onto Yuki’s face, who looks at him with patient curiosity. Smiling, Lando breaths, “I love it!”

“I’m glad you are satisfied. I will get to work now.”

“Right, Lando, you should take it off. We will examine the files Max sent to me about this Cráneo dude.” and with a pout, Lando presses the chest plate of the suit, which forms into a small spider in his palm. He gently places the metal spider onto Yuki’s hands and joins Lewis by the table. Surprisingly, there isn’t much information about Cráneo, only that he’s in his twenties, his name means skull in Spanish, and after analyzing his speech, you can hear on his thick spanish accent that he speaks the Castilian dialect. Max suspects he’s from Madrid.

“He’s very mysterious.” says Lando, munching on a piece of japanese snack Yuki shared with him. “Do we know why he’s here in New York and why he needs me?”

“For the spider web formula, most likely.” answers Lewis, not taking his eyes off the tape recorded by his suit, the W11. “He seems to be working for someone else, because he doesn’t like to take risks. Not a typical villain. He rarely shows his face.”

“Villains usually show their faces a lot?” Lando asks, curious.

“Yeah, they can’t shut the fuck up.” Yuki cuts in as he settles next to the table, sliding the suit to Lando. He takes out another pair of pockys from it’s box and shares it with the Brit as he continues with, “They are always challenging Mr. Hamilton to a battle or they steal politicians or do some other boring shit.”

“But this man, he seems to be hiding. He is preparing for something.” says Lewis, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Maybe he wants to steal the spider web formula.” shrugs Lando, and at his sentence, both of the other men whip their heads towards him, panic in their eyes.

“It’s not with you?” asks Lewis quickly, and Lando shakes his head. “And where is it?”

“In the University Lab, why?”

“Shit, we should have brought it here earlier!” Lewis hisses, holding his hand out until a small ball of metal flies into it from the table. He smacks it against himself and a skin-tight suit forms around his body. “Toto, prepare W11. Yuki, you ready with the design?”

“Yup, already gave it to Lando.” the Japanese answers with a smile and munches on another snack. Lando gently taps the metal spider against his body, which immediately forms into a suit on him at the slightest touch.

“Sick!” Lando notes as he checks himself in one of the many floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the wall. His helmet has two big spider eyes which gleam in orange in the slight darkness of the lab, reflecting on the glossy surface of the onyx black suit. Lewis comes back a moment later, wearing the legendary, glossy black W11.

“Wow, you two match!” notes Yuki playfully, stealing a chocolate bar from Lewis’ snack container.

“Look over the lab while we are gone.” Lewis retorts, saluting to the japanese man. Next, he throws two balls at Lando, which form into bracelets around his wrists, taking up the suit’s color. Lando curiously flicks his wrists around. He can’t help but ask, “What are these?”

“I call them multitask bracelets. They can be bullets, explosives, ropes or anything you want them, really. All made of vibranium.” explains Lewis as he taps a few keys on a touchpad in the wall and the ceiling of the Iron Man lab opens above them. “I programmed Toto into your suit, but you can choose any of my other A.I. options later.”

Lando can only nod before Lewis takes a hold of his hand and says, “Now hold on tight.”

They fly out of the lab, into the chilly air of the late-afternoon New York. The speed of Lewis has Lando holding onto the Iron Man suit for dear life, until Lewis informs him that their suits are magnetic and he doesn’t need to panic, he won’t fall off. It only takes a few minutes until they reach the university and Lewis gently drops Lando down, onto the roof of the lab. Hence Saturday, only a few of Lando’s labor-mates are inside. He waves to them with a big smile on his face, and when only gets terrified glances back, he remembers his suit is still on.

“Oh hey, Alex and George.” Lando greets them. When he gently taps his chest plate and his helmet immediately dissolves into his suit, both of the boys look at him like he just came from Mars.

“What the fuck, dude?” Alex breathes, cautiously walking up to Lando. He carefully touches his suit, inspecting it with eyes narrowed in suspicion. Soon George joins too, and they both circle around Lando like he’s some interesting experiment.

“So you are a superhero now?” George asks, hands on his hips like he’s a mother questioning her misbehaving child. “That’s why you didn’t come home for almost two days?”

“Yeah, sorry bout that. I’m your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man now.” Lando says playfully, and poses like he’s a video game character. Both of his friends break out in a bubbly laughter, and Lando is quick to join them.

“Lando, hurry up. I think I just saw something suspicious. He might be here.” Lewis’ voice cuts into the laughter, rumbling deeply in Lando’s ear.

“By the way, I have to hurry up and get the spider web formula. Lewis is waiting for me outside.” says Lando quickly before he breaks out in a sprint across the corridor, immediately followed by his friends.

“Lewis?! As in Lewis Hamilton?” shouts George, running after Spider-Man.

“You know Iron Man?!” Alex wheezes once they are inside the test lab, watching Lando as he rummages through the cupboards to find the formula.

“Yeah, he’s quite cool.” Lando answers nonchalantly, climbing onto a counter to reach the top of a shelf. His face lights up as he holds the small bottle of white liquid high. “Found it!”

“He’s quite cool? You talked to him?!”

“Yeah, and ate with him. And made this sick suit with him. Did you know he listens to Britney Spears?”

“A legend.” breathes Alex, in total awe.

“Lando, he’s here.” Lewis says unexpectedly. His sudden announcement scares Lando a bit, but it’s a good fright enough to get him into mission spirit. Lewis continues with, “Pour the spider-web formula into the suit. It has place for the liquid on your left wrist, if you tap it, it opens. You will be able to shoot it out if needed. Now get out of there immediately. Bring your friends too. I’ll try to get him.”

“Shit.” Lando hisses, and quickly follows Lewis’ instructions. The suit opens, revealing a small container which sucks the liquid into itself like it’s a fish consuming it’s food. All three boys watch it with dilated eyes.

“This is the raddest think I have ever seen.” whispers George, frozen in motion.

“Okay, now let’s get out of here.” says Lando quickly and grabs both of his friends' wrist, pulling them after himself as he breaks out in a sprint across the corridor.

“Tap your right wrist and duck down!” Lewis shouts, his voice sounding airy as he speaks. It’s like he’s fighting someone. Lando knows it’s not Cráneo this time, he wouldn’t dare come close to Iron Man after getting strangled by ropes. Maybe he has company, that Lando doesn’t know.

“Now, Lando, now!” Lewis yells, voice agitated. Lando immediately stops and taps his right wrist. He yanks his friends close to him as a huge shield closes around them in the form of a bubble. Just a moment later a bomb hits the shield and explodes, not harming the three inside, but blowing the labor up in a 5 meter radius. Next to him, Alex heaves like he’s just given birth to someone while George is frozen from the shock.

Lando shakes himself, quickly asking, “Lewis, more incoming?”

“You don’t move, I’ll go get the other two. I already shot one, one of the others is definitely Cráneo.” comes the calm voice of Iron Man and Lando sighs, relieved.

“So now you even call Iron Man by his real name?” asks Alex, coy smirk on his lips. “You two must be really good friends.”

“I mean we are cool. I wouldn’t call us good friends yet. I only know him for, like, two days or something.” Lando shrugs, but his nonchalance is quickly ripped away as Cráneo jumps through the window, throwing another explosive at their shield. Both Alex and George scream, but Lando just presses his chest plate, getting the helmet back on his face to shield his identity from Cráneo as much as possible. He knows he can’t trick him, but he still doesn’t want to show his face to that man. And from between the dark, thick smoke emerges the black-suited man with a skull painted onto his mask. He tilts his head, almost like he is wondering, watching the three of them in the shield with curiosity. Lando feels like an animal in the zoo, under the gaze of the spectators. Not scared by the villain, Lando leans closer to the shield and holds the eye contact (well, as much as you can call the contact of two eyes that only see each other’s masks).

“What do you want from me?” he asks, lowering his voice to as deep as he can.

The villain just huffs a chuckle at that, and bangs his hand on the shield to test it. When he sees that he can’t get through, he leans closer again to whisper, “I want what’s inside that pretty head of yours. Your knowledge could help us a lot.”

“I would never help you.”

“Really?” asks Cráneo, his question sounding much sexier because of his thick Spanish accent. He takes his time to carefully lean onto the shield as he continues with, “My boss would pay you well.”

“I don’t need your boss’ money.” Lando huffs, hoping Lewis would arrive quickly so he can get rid of this annoying ass villain. “I will never make business with you.”

“Then consider yourself in danger.” Cráneo says coyly and disappears into the darkness of the corridor just in time with Lewis bursting through the window.

“Where is he?” he asks, flying around in his suit. Lando wishes he could see the surprise on his friends' face.

“He escaped just now.”

“Okay, I’ll go after him, you take your friends to safety. Use your bracelets if needed. Be careful.” and with that, Iron Man is off, and Lando deactivates the shield, which comes apart to molecules and quickly climbs back into Lando’s suit like it was water flowing backwards.

“Let’s go.” they sneak out of the lab like a row of ants walking back to their anthill and not long after, Lando is back at the dorms, sitting in the living room. He has answered all questions of his friends and now he’s waiting for Lewis to come back. A bit later, there’s a knock on the door and behind it, stands Iron Man in his full glory.

“You okay, kiddo?” he asks immediately, stepping out of his suit once he’s inside to check on Lando. He gently cups the younger boy’s face, searching for cuts or any kind of damage and exhales in relief once he finds nothing. “I’m proud of you. You officially passed your first mission.”

“Fucking sick!” Lando whispers, enthusiastic, and quickly pulls Lewis into a warm embrace. The strong hands of Iron Man lace around his body like he’s trying to shield Lando from all bad in the world. An awkward cough breaks the intimate moment, and as Lewis breaks away from Lando, they find themselves in the crossfire of two confused pair of eyes.

“Do you want to return to the tower with me or do you want to continue living here?” Lewis asks, resting a supportive hand on Lando’s shoulder. The young Brit looks at his friends with thoughtful eyes, trying to make the right decision. He is Spider-Man now, a superhero and his friends, well, they are still the casual civilians they were. Lando can’t afford to bait villains to their dorm just by his presence, or by the mere fact that he lives there. He wants to keep his friends safe.

“I don’t want to endanger my friends’ safety, so the tower it is.” Lando smiles, a bit bitter upon having to leave Alex and George behind.

“If that’s what you want, I’m fine with it. You can invite them over whenever you wish.”

That night Lando lays in his bed, unable to sleep. His mind is overflowing with ideas, plans on how to find Cráneo and his boss, on how to eliminate him. He tosses around for a while, and then stands to walk up to the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring at the breathtaking scenery of New York at night. He watches the quickly moving cars and buses, the groups of teens wandering in the night thinking they are doing something fun, but really, they are just calling danger upon them. Lando used to be like them, obsessed with the excitement of the unknown. Now, he knows what hides in the darkness of the empty alleys, what appears from the thick smoke. He sighs, heart heavy with fear. As much as he hates to admit, he is afraid of Cráneo.

There’s a soft knock on his door, and when Lando opens it, he comes face to face with Lewis. There’s a familiar kind of worry on his face that Lando’s mother used to look at her son with when he returned home late.

“I swear I won’t randomly disturb you, but Toto told me you can’t sleep and it’s almost dawn, so I thought it would be better if I came to talk.” Lando just nods at him, letting him in. Lewis carefully settles onto the bed, patting the duvet next to him for Lando to sit. They sit in silence for a while, listening to the occasional hustling and bustling of the outside world. The streets of New York are much quieter tonight, it’s like the city represents the confusing emptiness Lando feels.

Lewis is the one who breaks the silence with a gentle touch on Lando’s arm and a soft, “What’s bothering you?”

“I’m just thinking about Cráneo. What would have happened if you didn’t save me that night. How could we eliminate him. Who could he work for and why do they need me so badly.”

“You would be working in a lab day and night, making new weapons for them to use. Easy as that.” Lewis sighs and continues with, “But here, I want you to be yourself, to work when you want to, to be free. I want you to be an inventor, not a slave.”

“Thank you. It means a lot.”

“And don’t worry, we will be able to track him down. Max is one of the best in this, I’m sure he will have
answers soon.”

“I hope so.” Lando sighs, and Lewis hugs him from the side.

“By the way, tomorrow you should choose your A.I.” says Lewis, and Lando’s face lights up at that. “Also, I have to introduce you to two of my agents who will help you train.”

“Sounds exciting.” huffs Lando, but then he remembers he’s a student and he whips his head up to ask, “But Lewis, what about university? I have classes tomorrow.”

“You will continue to learn from home, I already spoke with your professors. They said it’s fine. But only if you agree too.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I’m fine with that.”

“Okay, now sleep. Charles doesn’t like if people are tired around him.” and with that, and a gentle pat on Lando’s brunet curls, Lewis is out of the room.

->

Chapter Text

Lando is awakened by Toto again, and he eats his breakfast made by Angela with speed of a lightning. When he arrives at the lab, Lewis is busy belting out Britney’s Baby One More Time, using a wrench as a microphone. With an awkward cough, Lando signals his arrival and Lewis immediately drags him to the table, where he summons the screens with a well-practiced swipe. The famous faces appear again, and Lando spends his time talking to each A.I. until he chooses Seb. He gets a thin metal bracelet that takes up the form of his wrist perfectly, feeling like second skin.

“You will be able to communicate with Seb if you have it on. Now go to the tenth floor, Charles is waiting for you there. Have fun.” explains Lewis, and slides off on the metal floor with his fuzzy socks just in time with the chorus of Circus. Lando just chuckles at him singing the lyrics with his whole heart and approaches the door with a smile plastered on his face.

Charles Leclerc is the most flirty, stupidly attractive person Lando has ever met. He is also able to easily execute flips Lando can only dream of doing. The confidence he’s carrying himself with is not the only frightening thing about him, his whole presence is screaming ‘if you say something bad about me you are dead'. He also likes to boast about Lando’s curls (or as he says, ‘move your sexy beach waves mon amour, this task should be easy for you.’) a bit too much.

“You got it in yourself, joli garçon, get it together.” he exclaims, clapping for Lando from the other side of the training grounds. The hall they are in is huge, filled with different obstacles and weapons. Lando has learned how to shoot accurately with literally every weapon Charles introduced him to and now, he’s supposed to get through a room filled with laser lights.

“I’m gonna die.”

“Nah, this is just for fun, you will never do such thing on your missions. I’m just testing your abilities.” Charles waves his hand nonchalantly, and Lando sighs. He picks his speed up and jumps right into the room, dodging the lasers with majestic flips. He can hear the different French encouragements Charles is shouting at him, and with probably God’s help, Lando is able to execute the mission.

Once finished, he nearly falls into Charles’ arms, in complete exhaustion. He receives two loud kisses on both of his cheeks as the Monegasque agent continues to babble different praises to him. Lando learns hand-to-hand combat and practices his gymnastics at the remaining half of the morning.

“Bien, we are finished for today. You did really well.” Charles pats Lando’s face with a joyful smile. “I’ll practice with you every other day, don’t forget it mon chéri.”

“Okay, thank you.” Lando huffs, tired to the bone. He barely manages to drag his body to the dining room, where Lewis and Angela are waiting for him.

“Oh, you seem very tired darling.” gasps Angela, quickly pouring water for him to drink. Then, she turns to Lewis with a much-knowing smile. “Did he train with Charles?”

“Of course he did.” answers Lewis, playful smirk on his lips.

“Any news on Cráneo?” Lando asks before he dives into his food, eating with the hunger of someone who hasn’t seen anything consumable for days.

“No, we are currently trying to track him down but he’s precise, never leaving clues behind. I’m positive Max is going to go crazy over his case.”

“Hope we get to fight him soon. After training with Charles, I feel like I could singlehandedly take down an entire army.” both Angela and Lewis break out in a bubbly laughter at that, and Lando smiles, too.

The next day, he visits Daniel in the lab to work on the spider web formula. He greets Lando with a big grin and an even bigger hug. It’s good to be around the joyful Aussie, to work with him while they listen to oldies from the 70s and 80s. Lando quickly realizes that Daniel loves disco music.

“And Landito, do you have a girlfriend yet?” Daniel asks with a coy smirk while he carefully pours some colorful liquids together.

“Nope.” Lando answers nonchalantly, shooting a web at the wall from the dispenser on his wrist Lewis designed. The web lands on the wall and immediately sticks to it, almost yanking Lando forward.

“A boyfriend perhaps?” the Aussie wiggles his brows playfully and Lando can’t help but giggle at the sight.

“If you just wanted to ask if I’m gay, you are very smooth.”

“Well, are you?” Daniel presses, making a famously gay gesture with his hand. There’s no mocking in his moves, and Lando wonders if Daniel’s gay too.

“Yes, I’m bi. And no, I don’t have a boyfriend.” Lando answers, and rushes to carefully remove the spider web from the wall. He jumps onto the counter and starts to peel the sticky white web off the pink wall of the lab, feeling Daniel’s eyes on him. Lando glances back at him, smirk on his lips as he asks, “And you?”

“Did you really not see the gay flag on the door?” Daniel gasps, offended. He gently swirls the glass filled with milky liquid in his hand with an elegant wrist move. When he glances up at Lando and sees his process of web-removal, he quickly fishes a trash bag from on of the many drawers of the lab.

“I’ve been told I’m blind many times.”

“Boy, you really are something else.” the raven haired man chuckles, his long, rich curls bouncing as he walks up to Lando with a trash bag in hand. “How’s the web?”

“It needs to be a bit stronger, no stickiness.” Lando notes and throws the failed web prototype into the trash bag in Daniel’s hands. He gets off the counter with a flashy flip, earning a shocked gasp from the other man. “Apart from that, I think we are going to be ready soon.”

“Awesome.” Daniel grins, and discards the trash bag into one of the corners of the lab with a well-aimed swing. He pulls out a pair of new, bright yellow gloves for Lando, hence his previous ones stick like hell from touching the failed prototype. They settle into the search for a new component they can put into the web that will make it stronger. It feels like they’ve worked together for years, as a well-polished team. It’s fun to be with Daniel, and by the time they are finished, Lando sings along with the Aussie, both of them dancing to Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff. When one of the formulas work perfectly, Daniel pulls him into a bone-crushing hug and Lando receives a proud smile from Lewis when he shows him the web that night. Lando immediately makes a web-hammock in his room.

The rest of the week passes quickly, Lando training with Charles on Wednesday and Friday and working in the lab with Daniel on Tuesday and Thursday. He hangs out with Lewis in his free time and sometimes accompanies Angela to her shopping trips. He learns a lot about healthy life and clever shopping from her. He’s out on one of these shopping trips when he meets Him. The cutest boy Lando has ever bumped into. Quite literally.

“Gosh, are you okay?” Lando shrieks and rushes over to help the attractive Spaniard up from the floor.

“Yes, but you do have some incredible strength, dios mio.” he hisses, shaking off the pain from his legs.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t watch where I went.” Lando whispers, pink blush of embarrassment blooming on his cheeks. Of course he had to run over such a handsome guy with his shopping cart. Of course.

“No worries.” the cute stranger replies and then, he looks deeply into Lando’s eyes as he adds, “I’m Carlos by the way.”

“Lando.”

“Cute name, even cuter face.” Carlos murmurs, and Lando’s blush immediately darkens to cherry red. The Spaniard continues with a heartbreakingly beautiful smile and, “Do you fancy a coffee with me, maybe?”

“Of course I do.” Lando smiles like he’s an overly excited teenager again. He feels like he could float out of the shop right now, and for a moment, he swears the world around them turns pink.

“Tomorrow, five o’clock at the McLaren café. Is that okay for you?”

“Yes.”

“Then see you there, hermoso.” and with that, and a stupidly attractive wink, Carlos is walking off to the direction of the cashier’s desk. Lando watches him until he disappears from his vision, and sighs once he lost sight of Carlos. A few moments later, he hears light steps from behind and soon, the blonde locks of Angela are in his vision instead of those attractive, shiny raven ones the Spaniard had.

“Hey, I’m back.” Angela sing-songs, pouring many shiny containers of protein powder into the shopping cart with a dramatic huff. “Did you get the flour while I was gone?”

“No, I got kinda busy.” Lando admits, sheepish.

“Do enlighten me how, please, while you push the cart towards the flour section.” Angela says cheerily as she sits on the side of the cart, enjoying her free ride. She swings her legs and quietly sings along to the Twice song that plays from the speakers of the shop. Lando can’t help but smile at her cuteness.

“So?” the blonde woman asks, glancing back at him with a coy glint in her eyes before she’s looking at the shelves again.

“I have a date?” Lando’s sentence comes out as a question, and Angela gasps, whipping her head back to stare at him with gleaming eyes.

“That’s awesome Lando!” she exclaims, grinning as she jumps off the cart to pet Lando’s hair. “Now, you are forgiven for your misbehavior.”

“Thanks.” Lando giggles. He absolutely can’t wait for his date with Carlos.

The next day, Angela storms into his room with an excited smile on her face, determined to help Lando find the best outfit possible. They settle for a floral shirt with some dress pants, and Angela applies some highlighter into the corner of Lando’s eyes to make his gaze gleaming and some mascara, too. Lando gets thumbs up from both Charles and Daniel, who he meets on his way out of the tower. The Brit quickly texts the time of his exit to Lewis and makes sure to have his GPS turned on, Seb ready to be called on his wrist.

Carlos is already waiting for him in front of the café. He leans in to greet Lando with a kiss on his cheeks and a fond, “You look dazzling.”

“You too.” Carlos just smiles at him, and gently leads Lando inside by a hand on his hips.

The inside of the cafè is a light shade of cream with orange chairs and it kind of looks like Lando just went back to the 80s. He takes his time to admire Carlos, as the Spaniard walks off to hang their coats on the hanger. He is wearing light jeans and an indigo shirt, paired with a pair of sneakers and a few, almost unnoticeable silver necklaces and rings as accessories. He looks oh so handsome in the warm light of the cafè as he settles opposite to Lando with a handsome smirk on his face, his fluffy, freshly washed locks falling into his face a bit. The Spaniard laughs it off and reaches to fix his hair, but Lando is quicker. He gently threads his fingers through the silk soft locks to shape them and tries not to pay much attention to the quiet, satisfied sigh Carlos lets out when Lando’s fingers brush against his scalp.

“Thank you mi cariño.” Carlos comments once Lando is finished, smiling at the Brit oh so charmingly. He giggles as he adds, “My hair likes to act up when it’s freshly washed.”

Lando notes to search up the meaning of ‘mi cariño’ later. Instead of pondering on the means of the Spanish language, he meets Carlos’ eyes and says, “It happens to the best of us. My curls are untamable most of the times.”

And when Carlos’ hand lands on his as he laughs, Lando only gasps a bit. He quickly learns that Carlos is a very touchy person and that he’s actually really enjoying the lingering touches of the Spaniard. He also learns how much of a gentleman Carlos is when he speaks to the waiter so nicely, and offers to pay. They talk for hours and hours and Lando only realizes how late it got when Lewis texts him: ‘Are you okay? I’m already on my way.’ accompanied by an army of worried emojis.

‘Yes, I am. I’ll go now.’ is what Lando sends as an answer. He quickly glances at Carlos with an apologetic smile and a regretful, “I have to go now.”

“Okay, no worries. It’s quite late.” the Spaniard smiles, and adds, “Should I walk you home?”

“I would love that, but my um- uncle is picking me up.” the lie comes quickly and Lando’s happy to see that Carlos didn’t notice his momentarily stutter. Instead, Carlos stands to help Lando with his coat like a real gentleman. The Brit blushes hard, and turns towards the Spaniard to whisper, “Thank you for the date, it was amazing.”

“Then, will you meet me again?” Carlos asks, a slight tone of nervousness in his voice.

“Of course.” Lando huffs, overjoyed. He hears a slight beep from his bracelet that signals Lewis’ arrival and Lando quickly kisses Carlos’ cheek. “See you next time. Good night.”

When Lando slips into the car next to Lewis, he is greeted by a wide grin and an excited, “How did it go?”

“It was awesome!” Lando shrieks and manages to obsess over Carlos the whole ride home. Once in his room, he calls George and Alex, happily explaining every small detail of the date as they analyze Carlos’ socials together. It comes as no surprise that the Spaniard has pictures that could put a model to shame.

That night, Lando sleeps with a smile permanent on his face.

He quickly gets used to the superhero lifestyle with it’s challenging trainings with Charles and exciting lab-blowups with Daniel. He oh so gladly settles into the habit of late-night swings around the city and annoying Lewis whenever he’s available. Lando manages to find time to squeeze the occasional meetings with his friends into his daily routine, along with texting Carlos back as quickly as he can. Even the university isn’t something that bothers him as he knows he can forget his worries every time he visits Angela for an emergency yoga session.

It all seems perfect, until one day he gets a text after his second date with Carlos, when he’s on his way home.

Seb is quick to read the text to him. “Message from Mr. Hamilton: ‘Max could track him. He’s downtown and he’s after you. Be careful, he might not be alone. I’m on the way.”

Lando freezes for a moment, fear taking over his whole body. This time he probably has to battle Cráneo alone, without Lewis’ help. He panics for a second, unable to come up with a solution on how to track the villain down, when the images of that night flash into his mind. The night when Lewis saved him, he had punched Cráneo in the chest and he didn’t even budge. Only one metal is able to withstand a hit with that much power.

“Seb, please activate the metal-scanner and notify me when you sense vibranium.” Lando says, tapping his bracelet to activate his suit. In no time, the Spider-Man suit creeps onto him like a shadow, perfectly fitting and protecting his whole body from danger. Lando carefully trails his fingertips over his suit, thankful for Wakanda and their metal that’s able to stretch and be bulletproof at the same time. Then, Lando shoots a web out and begins to swing his was home. He doesn’t stop until he hears Seb’s voice again.

“I noticed vibranium enter your radar at 1km distance.” the A.I. says, voice soft as ever. But now, in this situation, even Seb’s honey voice isn’t able to calm Lando as his body freezes and he lets go of his web, free falling from the top of a skyscraper to then blend into the crowd of surprised pedestrians. His legs are wobbly as he jogs, trying to put as much distance between him and the villain as possible. He doesn’t notice he’s panicking until Seb speaks up again. “Your pulse is drastically rising and your heartbeat is uneven. You are on the verge of panic attack, Mr. Norris. Please stop and try to calm down. You are qualified enough to deal with Cráneo and Mr. Hamilton is already on his way.”

Lando is quick to follow the instructions and he abruptly stops, taking a few deep breaths until his body calms to a normal state. He doesn’t get to be peaceful for long though, as the next moment, someone shoots a bullet at him. The cartridge bounces off his suit like it was a trampoline and lands on the ground with a loud noise. Lando counts down until panic takes over the street. There are pedestrians everywhere hurrying to get to safety as quickly as possible, while Lando stands still, only turning his head to see the quickly approaching motorbike of villains. Lando can’t spot Cráneo between them.

“Remember what Charles taught you, Mr. Norris.” Seb reminds Lando about the mindset of battle Charles taught him one day and immediately, Lando’s mind switches to defense mode as he narrows his eyes at the group of villains. He only hears Seb say, “It’s lights out and away we go!” before he is jumping high, and the group of motorbikes slide under him.

Lando lands in a crouch, and whips his head back to dodge a smoke bomb thrown at him that immediately explodes as it hits the ground. And from between the thick smoke emerges the first person, his presence seeming oh so frightening now that Lando isn’t protected by a shield. The idea of shielding himself crosses Lando’s mind again, but he quickly discards it. He doesn’t want to be useless, he’s Spider-Man and he needs to fight like the hero he is training to be.

The next moment, Lando is jumping again, this time to get a better angle to shoot webs at the villain. He aims and shoots, and the man gets tangled into his webs, quickly falling to the ground. One down. There’s only five left.

When Lando’s attacked with a gun this time, he dodges it with a backflip and shoots a few explosive balls from his bracelet-weaponry. Two of the group blow up, leaving Lando with only three to deal with.

By the time he finishes with another two, he starts to feel himself, doing flips and aerials around the battleground like he was born to do it, shooting his webs like his life depended on it. The last person gets tangled in his webs too, and Landon rolls him next to his other webbed partner, satisfied at his work.

But then, Seb speaks up again, this time with, “The man with vibranium has arrived.”

And Lando knows shit’s about to go down, because if Cráneo’s here, he’s not safe. He is too good compared to him. Lando prays Lewis would arrive soon.

Lando looks around, trying to make Cráneo out in the thick smoke of the bombs the group of villains threw at him. A second later he is grabbed by his neck, yanked backwards. He find himself close to Cráneo, a ticking bomb held against his head.

“You have one minute to decide, are you coming with me or are you choosing to die?” Cráneo rasps, his thick Spanish accent so familiar all of the sudden. But where did Lando hear such a voice? In the stressful situation, Lando’s unable to put his finger on the answer.

“I will never work for your boss.” Lando answers, adding, “You can kill me if you want, I don’t care.”

With a well-aimed hit of his elbows between the villain’s ribs, Lando pushes Cráneo away from himself and slides his head out of his grasp. Lando is quick to turn and remove his Spider-Man mask, looking the villain dead in the eyes as he yells, “Remember my face, because it’s the last one you will see before you die!”

And like something broke in him, Cráneo drops his bomb from his hands and quickly kicks it away, so it explodes against a house’s wall. He doesn’t take his eyes away from Lando as he slowly fixes his mask. He just as slowly turns around, head kept low as he approaches his motorbike. Spider-Man stands frozen, utterly confused as he watches Cráneo’s motorbike disappear from his vision.

Why doesn’t Cráneo want to fight him now that he’s seen his face? Does he know him from somewhere or does he not want to kill Lando because he thinks he’s a teenager?

Lando doesn’t have time to ponder on the thousands of questions that flash in his mind as Iron Man grabs him by the arms and quickly flies back home. Lando is only able to speak again once he’s inside the Iron Man tower, sitting on his bed in his room, surrounded by Charles, Daniel, Angela and Lewis himself.

“I killed.” Lando stutters, the memories of blowing the villains up coming back to his mind.

“You did. But for a good cause.” Charles offers quietly, completely understanding the heavy weight of murder on Lando’s heart. He gently takes the Brit’s hand and squeezes, his actions quickly followed by Angela, who takes Lando’s other hand into hers.

“You fought really well. You stood your ground even when you were alone. I’m proud of you, kiddo.” says Daniel proudly, and he reaches out to ruffle Lando’s curls, baiting a weak chuckle out of the young hero.

“Yes, and thanks to your brilliant idea, now we will be able to easily track Cráneo down.” adds Angela, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

“But Cráneo-“

“He didn’t fight you.” cuts Lewis in, surprising not only Lando, but the other three in the room, too.

“Yes, he just left. He looked like he was shocked when I took off my mask, I don’t know why.” explains Lando, voice filled with frustration.

“Couldn’t he be someone you know?” asks Charles. His voice is soft as silk, his eyes fond as he looks at Lando. “Could he be a member of your family, a friend perhaps?”

“No, I don’t think anyone I know would be able to do such horrible things.” Lando shakes his head, his eyebrows knotted in confusion.

“Think about it.” Lewis advises. Lando tries to recall all of his memories and then, when the voice of Cráneo rings in his head, he suddenly remembers where else he heard that delicious Spanish accent, where he saw those plump lips before.

“Carlos!” Lando yells suddenly, scaring all four people on his bed.

“The boy you went on dates with, right?” asks Daniel quietly, his eyes gleaming with sadness as he looks at Lando. The other three's face darkens, too.

“It can’t be him!” Lando chokes, suddenly unable to breathe normally. He feels as though the air of the room has been sucked out, as though Cráneo’s iron-grip is on his throat again.

“Hey, Lando, breathe!” Angela ushers, cupping Lando’s face in her warm hands. They wait until Lando’s breathing calms down before they speak again.

“Could it really be that boy?” Daniel asks, unsure. “When Lando told me about him, he seemed to be a sweet person.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” whispers Lewis, eyes narrowed as he looks at the metal bracelet on Lando’s wrist.

“No, it just simply cannot be him. He’s a good guy, he always told me how he wants to help others and he-“

“You shouldn’t compare Carlos and Cráneo.” Charles cuts in, squeezing Lando’s hands. “The headspace he falls into can be stronger than his own morals sometimes.”

“So, following this logic, when Cráneo saw Lando’s face, he broke out of his headspace?” asks Angela, deep in her thoughts. Daniel hisses at her sentence, shaking his head like a disappointed mother.

“Exactly.”

“Okay, we will deal with all of this tomorrow. Now Lando needs a good night’s sleep, just like you three.” Lewis speaks up, gesturing for Angela, Charles and Daniel to exit the room with a soft smile on his lips. He stays behind and settles next to Lando on the bed, scooping the younger under his arms.

“What are you doing?” Lando asks, quite surprised at the intimate gesture of Lewis.

“I’m cuddling you. You wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise, trust me. After my first battle, I wished someone would hold me, because I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t have Angela next to me back then, because we didn’t meet yet. You have me now and I’m here for you.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.” Lando forces a smile onto his face. He nuzzles into Lewis’ neck, feeling his comforting warmth.

+

Chapter Text

Lewis is quick to fall asleep next to him, but Lando seems to be unable to close his eyes. He thinks, going over the happenings of the day at least a thousand times. His eyes trace the walls, and he would be shuffling around the bed, too, if Lewis didn’t have him locked in his arms. The slow breathing of Lewis would have been something that helped Lando relax, but right now, he can’t rest. He sighs, and gently removes Lewis’ arms from around his body. Grabbing a flashlight, Lando quickly checks if Lewis is still asleep, and smiles fondly at the man before exiting the room. Lando sneaks past the other rooms, and doesn’t stop until he reaches the laboratory.

The door opens with a hiss and slides into the wall, letting Lando inside. Immediately, the young Briton walks up to the computer and opens the Spider-Man files.

“Toto, where does Lewis keep his vibranium?”

“I will help you open the safe.” Answers the A.I., and Lando frowns.

“Safe?”

“Yes, Mr. Hamilton keeps his vibranium in a safe as it is very valuable. You, him and Ms. Cullen are the only ones able to open it.” And Lando’s jaw falls open at that. Lewis really trusts him this much?

He follows Toto’s instructions and opens the safe. He is in the middle of taking a few of the metal bars to the table with him, when he hears light footsteps approaching the lab. Lando stills, not knowing who’s coming inside.

“What are you doing in here joli garçon?” asks Charles with a flashlight in his hand, voice raspy from slumber.

“I- um, nothing.” Lando says quickly, immediately dropping the piece of vibranium bar in his hand. The metal falls onto the ground with an annoyingly loud noise and Charles is quick to raise a questioning eyebrow at it.

“Lando.” Charles presses, like he’s a mother who found her children sneaking out of the house. His voice doesn’t carry any harshness though, his tone is soft as silk as he asks again, “What are you doing in here?”

“I- I was trying to make another suit.” Lando admits, defeated. He looks like a sulking child with his pouty mouth and glossy eyes as Charles’ flashlight illuminates him.

“Another suit? Does your current one not work well?”

“No, I just want to make a few upgrades on it and, well, I want to have one extra if something happens with my current one.” The Briton admits, sheepish. “You know, when I have to fight Cráneo.”

“Ah, but why are you here making it this late? You can just ask Lewis to help you in the morning.” The Monegasque agents huffs, like it’s the most obvious thing.

“Can I?”

“Does he look like someone who would say no to you?” Charles comments, leaning onto the doorframe with his arms crossed. He has a small, much knowing smile on his face, looking ever so confident.

“You are right.” Lando sighs. Biting his lips nervously, he sighs and adds, “Sorry, I panicked.”

“To be honest, I think he’s rather happy he can finally make suits for someone.”

“Really?” the Briton’s eyes widen at instant. He looks like a kid who got offered candy, expectant. Charles nods and slowly walks closer to Lando. He laces his arms around the slightly smaller man and gently hugs him.

“Of course.” The Monegasque agents reassures, and ruffles Lando’s hair. Then, he gently takes his hand and adds, “Now let’s go and get you to bed.”

The next morning, when Lando trails into the lab, he is almost toppled over by Lewis, who rushes to envelope him into a bone-crushing hug.

“Why didn’t you tell me you wanted a new suit? I would have made you one on the spot!” he rushes through his words, enthusiastic about letting Lando know he is more than happy to make him a new suit.

“Sorry. I thought I would just bother you.” Lando squirms, shy blush tinting his cheeks. He still doesn’t want to be a bother to a national hero. Who is he compared to Lewis anyways? He’s just a boy who does gymnastics and tries to fight villains in a flashy suit.

“You would never bother me, Lando.” Lewis says softly, with a fond smile on his lips. He ruffles Lando’s hair and beams, adding, “Except, I’m glad I can make you a new suit!”

“Thank you.” Comes the endlessly grateful answer from the young Briton, who is a bit too shy to meet Lewis’ eyes just yet.

“Let’s get to work, I already called everyone over.” And as Lando looks over Lewis’ shoulder, he sees Charles, Daniel, Angela, Yuki and even Max sitting by the table. They all wave at him, big grins on their face (except Max, who only offers him a small nod). Lando settles next to Yuki, and immediately gets offered a sweet desert called mochi. He thoughtfully chews his way through the stretchy snack while Lewis pulls up some footages of Lando fighting with the group of villains. He thoughtfully looks at the people gathered around the table after the video ends and raises his eyebrows as he asks, “Notice anything?”

“The suit isn’t the best for fighting a group. It works great in hand-to-hand combat, but once Lando needs to deal with more people, it just isn’t it.” Charles is quick to comment, poking the side of his face with a pencil as he speaks.

“It takes too much time for him to activate the weapons. He would need ones that are built-in.” adds Max with a serious face.

At his sentence, Daniel perks up from the tablet in front of him, looking like he just got an amazing idea. Lando imagines the lightbulb as it lights above the Aussie’s head with a ding.

“What if we add explosives to the silver lining? Or what if it took up the energy from the bombs and it could push that energy back out?” says Daniel excitedly, standing up to explain his ideas with big motions.

“That’s a brilliant idea.” Lando says, fascinated.

“There’s also a problem design-wise.” Yuki speaks up next, pointing at the suit on the screen. “I touched the suit yesterday when Lando took it off to repair the design and it was hot as lava. We should discard the idea of a full black suit.”

“You should try white instead.” Advices Charles. “It would not only be heat-reflective, but stylish too.”

“That’s true, I’ve never seen a superhero with a full-white suit, but plenty with black ones.” Daniel chimes in, wiggling his eyebrows playfully at Lando, who giggles in exchange.

“Okay, now before we start, I wanted to ask: which one of you will come with me to the villain basis?” asks Lewis, eyes scanning his crew. Then, when he reaches his smiling manager, he rushes to add, “Except Angela of course. I know you could singlehandedly kill them, but we need you back here, doing all the administration over the comms.”

“We will go to the villain basis?” wonders Lando, completely confused. He looks around to see everyone staring at him with questioning eyes.

“You don’t-“

But Max’s sentence is cut by Lewis, who gasps, putting his hand on his mouth in surprise. “Oh shit, I forgot you weren’t in the meeting this morning!”

“Basically, Max found the basis of the villains by tracking down the vibranium in Cráneo’s suit.” Explains Charles softly, and Max nods along, proud of his achievement.

“And we are going there.” Adds Daniel with an excited smile. He almost knocks over Yuki’s plate of mochis, who hisses in annoyance and swats the Aussie. “Ouch! Okay, sorry, sorry I won’t do anything so suddenly again.”

But all eyes switch from the pair of Yuki and Daniel to Lewis, when he loudly sighs. “So, who’s coming?”

“I’m coming.” Answers Charles, raising his head lazily. He acts nothing like someone who is preparing to go to war. In contrast, next to him Daniel looks like he might just explode from excitement.

He is quick to join with, “Me too. I have some new bombs I wanna test.”

“It’s not even a question.” Max huffs, earning a smile from Lewis.

“I would rather stay back and help Angela if possible.” Says Yuki and he receives a gentle pat on his head from Angela instantly.

“Sure thing. Okay, then we need to make four new suits. Yuki, you should start with the designs.”

“Of course.”

The group works the whole day, vibing to Lewis’ and Daniel’s playlist, much to Max’s dismay. Angela helps Yuki designing the suits, and by the end of the day, all four of them have new, perfectly functioning suits.

“Charles, black looks amazing on you.” Daniel, true to himself, can’t help but flirt. He gets a smug smile from the Monegasque agent. And truly, Charles looks fantastic in his skin tight jet black suit and helmet. In contrast to him, Daniel wears all colors of the rainbow, and he has a handbag full of bomb materials (much similar to his favorite character’s, Honey Lemon’s). Max, much to everyone’s surprise, isn’t in a black suit like Charles’, but rocks a bright orange one with indigo blue details. Lewis, per usual goes to the mission in his W11.

“Hey, stop.” Angela suddenly cries out, and the group of superheroes freeze, all turning their heads to look back at the small, blonde woman. Removing her hands from her hips, Angela reaches into the small refrigerator of the lab and pulls out five cans of Monsters. Handing it all out to the team, she smiles and only says, “Sometimes a few toxins can be okay if you desperately need a bit of a kick.”

“Awww Angela~” Daniel coos, his eyes fond as she looks at the sheepishly smiling woman. He goes in for a hug, spinning her around with, “You are the best.”

Lando watches them with a smile, and in the field of his vision, he sees Lewis beaming at the now laughing Daniel and Angela.

And so, with smiles on their faces, the group of five gets into Lewis’ favorite Mercedes G63 (the purple one) and a few minutes later they are speeding on New York’s streets, to the direction of the enemy’s base. Lando feels his heart beat wildly, thoughts racing in his mind, competing with the speed of the car under them.

Is he going to meet Carlos there? If he really is Cráneo, shouldn’t he kill him? What if Carlos dies? What if Lando dies? What if anyone from the team dies? What if…

He slowly begins to breathe quicker and quicker, his stomach tightens. Suddenly, he feels a pair of two warm hands holding both of his. Lando immediately snaps out of his anxiety and looks up, his eyes meeting with the warm brown of Daniel’s. His gaze trails onto the other person on the backseat, the owner of the other hand holding his, Charles Leclerc.

“Don’t worry Lando.” Says him, motherly kindness on his face.

“Everything’s going to be fine.” Daniel adds softly and Lando grimaces.

“What if he really is Cráneo? We have to kill him?” Lando asks, agitated. He looks like a child in this moment of weakness and Charles’ heart breaks a bit.

“No, why would we need to kill him?” he retorts softly.

“I mean we are the heroes and he’s a villain-“

“This isn’t a movie. We aren’t killing people for fun.” Daniel reassures, softly patting Lando’s hand in his. He smiles, fondly, and Lando feels safe until they arrive to the base. Lewis carefully explains the plan again, and all heroes nod in unison.

“Okay, stay safe. If you are in danger, tap your wrist twice and I’ll be there in under a minute.” He says with a serious face that quickly changes to a beam as he adds, “Let’s go kick their asses.”

Chapter Text

Danny is the first one to exit the car. The Aussie agent outright vibrates in anticipation, his colorful suit doing very little of hiding him from the enemy. He immediately pulls his visors down, hiding the excited grin on his face. Daniel waits for Lewis to join him, and when Iron Man picks him up by attaching the magnets on his gloves to the ones on Daniel’s shoulders, they fly into the base together. The next one to go is Max, who usually likes to operate alone. Instead of heading towards the inside, Max decides to go around the building first, shooting out all of the cameras with perfect precision. Lando looks at Charles with expectant eyes, and when the Monegasque agent nods, he scrambles out of the car with the speed of a diving hawk and heads inside, following the pair of Lewis and Daniel like a shadow. He can see Charles from the field of his vision as he walks behind him, his weapon raised, ready to shoot. In the deep darkness of the place, it’s quite hard to see, and Lando has a hard time making Charles’ form out in the blackness that surrounds him.

“I’ll go check the basement, you go to the hangar. I’ll send Max after you when he’s done with the outside.” says Charles and Lando nods, a bit anxious. He doesn’t know what he will find there, but as he clicks the tiny metal spider on his chest to induce his mask, all his anxiety vanishes. The mask creeps out of the suit like water washes on the shore and a second later Lando has his helmet on. He nods to Charles, who disappears in a moment, leaving him all alone in the dark warehouse.

The Briton immediately calls for his A.I.: “Seb, activate the heat-cam and the movement detector, please.”

“Right away.” answers the familiar, soft German voice and Lando smiles. He picks up his steps and runs towards the hangar. Inside, it’s a bit lighter, and in the greyness of the hangar, Lando can finally see clearly. He finds a few rockets and planes. The ground is stacked with explosives and weapons. It’s horrifying to see so many destructive tools in one place, and Lando can only imagine what the enemy planned with all of these. He shivers at the thought, and activates the camera in his helmet to film everything as he walks around, precisely inspecting every tool and weapon.

It's all peaceful until he hears heavy footsteps approaching and loud whistling of some Spanish song. It isn’t hard to guess that the quickly approaching figure is Cráneo himself. Lando immediately rushes to hide behind a stack of explosives, heaving from the panic rising in his chest. He wasn’t ready to face Cráneo just yet. Not like this, all alone. Not like this, knowing he might be the man he’s very much in love with. It’s bitter, the thought of Carlos being a bad person, a vicious murderer. Lando hides, breathing as quietly as he possibly can, listening to Seb's calming words. But that small bubble of comfort pops as Cráneo comes to a halt in the middle of the hangar, dangerously close to Lando’s hiding spot.

“Come out little gatito, I know you are there.” the villain sing-songs and the blood freezes in Lando’s veins. Cráneo’s deep voice echoes in the hangar, overshadowing Seb’s voice in the Briton’s ears.

Cráneo walks a bit further away, and that is when Lando gets out of his cover and shoots, right at a stack of explosive powder. The villain is quick to move away, and Lando begins to attack, too. He shoots his webs at the ceiling of the hangar and swings behind an airplane. His temporary hideaway isn’t long-lasting though, as the next moment the plane gets blown up by one of Cráneo’s bombs. Lando flies a few meters forward, and by probably a miracle, he manages to land on his feet.

Without checking much, he shoots at another stack of powder next to Cráneo and quickly covers his eyes from the light of the explosion. When he lowers his hands, much to his surprise, he sees the villain standing in one place, completely frozen. The mask is partially torn off Cráneo’s face and Lando gets to see a glint of those familiar, plump lips.

“Carlos." he whispers, completely blown away. It feels so bitter to be right about this. Lando wishes it would be somebody, anybody else under that mask. It’s like Cráneo moves in slow motion as he turns to face Lando with a defeated smile.

“Lando.” the Spaniard offers, quietly. Lando can hear all the regret in his voice as he adds, “I’m sorry.”

“You are an idiot, that’s what you are.” Lando breathes, suddenly unable to decide if he should laugh or cry. He watches as Carlos takes his mask off in defeat. When the Spaniard’s puppy eyes are on him again, Lando’s words die in his throat.

“Can- can I make it right somehow?” Carlos breathes, not looking at Lando, his eyes cast down in shame, onto the concrete under his feet.

“I should have known better.” the Brit hisses, more to himself than to the man standing only a few meters away from him. He slowly turns around and runs far, far away. His steps are heavy, carrying the weight of all that regret, all the bad decisions made.

Max is the first person he meets, and the agent looks at him with a confused quirk of his brows. “Why are you running?”

“I couldn’t find anyone from the group so I panicked. Sorry.” Lando heaves, the lie slipping off his tongue oh so easily. Max just nods at that, never one to use words if it’s not necessary.

“Cráneo?” he asks, reloading his gun while they walk towards where the rest of the team is.

“Nowhere to be seen.” it’s Charles who answers, walking up to them from the direction of the basement.

“What about Lewis?” Lando asks, suddenly worried. He hasn’t seen the w11 fly around since the beginning of the battle, and he’s been wondering where Iron Man could be.

“Oh, him and Danny are in the laboratory, packing some stuff.” the Monegasque agent answers, and Lando’s shoulders visibly relax. Charles looks around, and after checking his heat cam too, he turns to Max. “Okay, seems like we are finished. Let’s go home.”

And with that, he starts to walk outside, gesturing for Lando and Max to come along. They both follow him like ducklings follow their mother. Charles settles into the driver’s seat and hisses when the white steering wheel turns black under his touch.

“Shit, Lewis will have to take the car to the cleaner.” he hissed, trying to dust off the wheel, and failing miserably.

“Right, aren’t we waiting for them?” Lando asks, and Charles gasps.

“Oh, yeah, I completely forgot about them.” he says sarcastically, and smiles, tapping away the touchscreen of the car to play some music. He opens the Spotify playlist called ‘Mon Chérie’ and at Lando’s questioning look, he adds, “Lewis has playlists made by us on his Spoty for occasions like this. He knows all of us working with him are very wary of our music.”

And the trio of tired heroes wait in the car, vibing to Lana Del Rey’s Doin' Time. A few minutes later the silhouette of Lewis and Danny appear, both of them holding the arms of a rather annoyed blond man. Lando gapes at them, and as he looks around the car, he notices that Charles is looking at the trio with a dark gaze. When Lewis pushes the man into the third row of seats and both him and Daniel sit on both sides of him, Lando’s curiosity only grows. The unknown man has a strong jawline, a well trimmed beard and a pair of blue eyes. Lando would call him pretty if he didn’t have such a murderous gaze.

Later, after Lewis came out from the room the hostage is kept in back at the tower, Lando learns that he’s called Pierre Gasly, and he used to work with Charles as agents. They were incredibly close until Pierre decided to side with the enemy.

“Shit, it must be hard for Charles to see him.” Lando hisses, and Lewis just nods in agreement.

“I will go check up on him. You and the others should check the place he told me with Max. It might be the real base this time.” says Iron Man and after a gentle pat on Lando’s head, he is off. Lando heads towards Daniel’s lab.

“Landito! We’ve been waiting for you!” yells Daniel excitedly, immediately as the young Briton enters the laboratory. He is sitting by the table along with Max, a huge screen filled with data in front of them.

“Did you find anything?” Lando asks, curious. He walks up to them, and glances at the screen displaying a huge factory in the outskirts of the city.

“Yep, but we doubt it’s the actual base.” Daniel grimaces, not satisfied. He blindly reaches into the bag of Doritos next to him and bites down on a huge one.

“It’s too big. Villains usually hide in smaller houses, not big factories like this.” adds Max with eyes narrowed, not turning away from the screen.

“Yes, Pierre mustn’t have said the truth.” Daniel says, and there’s a cold tone in his voice as he pronounces the name with broken French. “I doubt he will speak to anyone except Charl-“

But Daniel’s sentence is cut off by the sound of the door. All people present whip their heads to look at the newcomer. Lewis has a bitter smile on his face, and he walks with hunched shoulders. He looks defeated, but mostly, sorry for someone.

“I asked him to question Pierre.” he breathes once he sits down next to Daniel, and buries his head into his hands. “I sent him straight into his worst nightmare.”

“Lew, stop. If Charles was willing to go, then he must be fine. He wouldn’t have accepted it if he knew he couldn’t handle it.” Daniel is quick to debate, laying a gentle hand on the hero’s shoulder.

“He’s a strong person.” adds Max quietly. Everyone stares at him with dilated eyes, to which the agent only shrugs, adding, “What, I can’t make observations?”

“What is Charl-“ but Lando can’t finish his sentence, because suddenly someone burst into the laboratory, and everyone whips their heads to look at a teary-eyed Charles.

The Monegasque agent looks shaken, vulnerable, but he has a proud smile as he says, “I know where the base is.”

The team decides to attack the base the next day, after a night of well deserved rest. Everyone goes to their rooms, but a few of them can’t sleep. Including Lando.

He is currently hanging in his web-hammock, staring at New York endlessly stretching under the horizon, his mind filled with thoughts. He never thought superhero life would be like this. Simple civilians, normal people think being a hero is all about saving people and basking in all the attention and money they get. But in reality, it’s working all week to be in shape, constantly worrying about possible attacks, and, as it seems, it's also a crazy, criss-cross tangle of relationships and past friendships. It’s all mind games with the enemy and seeing your partners suffer. Lando sighs upon seeing an ambulance car chasing time in one of the streets, wondering if it got to the person in time. He suddenly remembers Charles, battling his own thoughts only a few rooms away and decides to visit him, so he isn’t left alone with his personal demons.

Lando's quiet footsteps seem to awaken none of the heroes who managed to fall asleep, and he softly knocks on the Monegasque agent’s door upon his arrival. Charles’s door opens with a slow hiss and slides into the wall, letting Lando into the room which smells like mint and the scent of the night filtering through the open window. Charles is standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window that is next to the opened one with his eyes closed. The outline of his figure is illuminated by the faint light of the city, the night wind is softly blowing his hair, caressing his skin. The young Briton carefully walks closer, and Charles only turns when Lando steps next to him. For a few seconds, they only stare at the city, no words needed to be said.

Surprisingly, it’s Charles, who breaks the silence. His words are soft and airy as he asks, “Why did you come here, Lando?”

“I wanted to check up on you.” Lando says, looking up at Charles. Suddenly, he feels small next to him, as the Monegasque looks down at him with his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest, his face dark and serious.

However, Charles seems to soften up at his sentence. He huffs, and steps in to place a small kiss onto Lando’s forehead. He only whispers a fond, “Thank you, chéri.”

Lando looks deeply into the green eyes of the Monegasque as he hesitantly takes his hands into his own. Charles’ hands are freezing cold, and Lando holds them close to his chest to try warming them up. He earns a small smile from the man.

“Who is Pierre to you?” Lando asks, shy and quiet.

“He’s my sworn brother.” Charles sighs, looking at a helicopter flying by as if it was the most saddening thing on the planet. “We promised each other, that we would be together forever, but he left to join the enemy a few years ago.”

“How was talking with him?” the quietly uttered, hesitant sentence earns a pained noise from Charles.

“He-“ Charles stops, trying to hold his sobs back. A few teardrops slide down his face, and Lando is quick to gingerly wipe them down. The agent continues after gently smiling at the younger man. “He looked so angry with me, with the world. His soul is fully tainted, the evil has taken over him. He’s not the Pierre I used to know, and it hurts even more, knowing I’ll never get him back.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve any of this.” whispers Lando. He gently pulls Charles closer by a tentative hold on his hips. When the Monegasque man doesn’t push him away, rather, pulls him closer, Lando softly lays his head on Charles’ shoulder, hugging his torso.

“It’s okay. Life can’t always be happy. Sometimes it needs to rain, so the flowers can grow back even more beautiful.” Charles whispers into Lando’s hair. His voice is still wet, bit at least his body isn’t shaking anymore.

“Why did you become an agent? You could’ve just been a poet.” the Briton teases, earning a light shove from Charles, along with a laugh chiming like bells. Lando is glad he can make Charles a bit happier, if only for a little while. He turns to the still softly smiling agent and asks, “Should I stay here tonight or-“

“Lewis already promised to sleep in my room to look after me.” the agent cuts in, and softly pats Lando’s brunet curls. He smiles fondly and adds, “You go sleeping. A young man like you needs a lot of beauty sleep to turn into a gorgeous adult.”

“I’m just gonna leave before you write me a poem.” the latter says teasingly. He quickly plants a soft kiss onto Charles’ cheek with, “Good night Charles. Sleep well.”

When he turns to approach the door, he finds Lewis standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall with a fond smile on his lips. He also pats Lando’s head as the young Briton passes him on his way out, and then walks up to envelope the tiredly smiling Monegasque into a warm hug. Charles only lets his sobs escape when they hear the hiss with what Lando’s door close shut down the hall.

And Lando gets another surprise that night. Because as he enters his room, he suddenly feels the hair stand up on his back, and suddenly, his whole body is shaken in a cold shiver. There’s a black figure standing in the darkness, only illuminated by the light of the screen on the side of the skyscraper nearby.

“Lando?” asks the figure, and Lando finally realizes who it is. His face settles into a pained grimace.

Cráneo stands in the dark of Lando’s room like he’s a disappointed shadow, only his face showing from his black suit. He looks a bit sad, he’s probably thinking that the Briton isn’t going to listen to him. Lando had only managed to blink at him, standing in one place. He doesn’t move, even when a cold whiff of air hits him in the face from the open window Carlos climbed through to get inside. Lando feels like a fish gasping for breath on the shore, and he kind of looks like one too, as he just stares at Carlos, with eyes and mouth wide open. Carlos sighs and approaches the opened window, about to jump back out when Lando quickly steps towards him and yanks him closer. A moment later Carlos’ breath is taken away by possibly the most desperate kiss he has ever received in his entire life. Lando kisses him like his life depends on it, hands tangling into Carlos’ thick, black hair, his fists closing around the silky locks.

“Lando wait-“ and with that, Carlos gently pushes Lando away. He looks at him with a worried face. Lando’s eyes are still closed and he looks oh so relaxed, oh so beautiful like this, it breaks Carlos’ heart a bit more. His gaze is filled with regret as he gently cups the other man’s face and says, “I want to fix this.”

Lando immediately opens his eyes, gaze deadly serious as he asks, “Are you serious?”

“Yes!” Carlos heaves, a bit breathless from the intensity of his want. His thumbs gently caress the soft skin of Lando’s face.

“Do you swear?” Lando asks again, still skeptical. His gaze is practically burning Carlos’ skin as the Briton stares at him with a pair of fiery eyes.

“I would literally swear it with my blood if it would be possible.” the Spaniard whispers into the darkness of the room, and he faintly hears Lando’s breath hitch.

“There’s no need for that, I believe in you.” says the Briton quickly. He gently slides his hands down to hold onto Carlos’ wrists, feeling the blood pulsing in his veins. He would never want Carlos to hurt himself like that. Sighing, Lando inches away to walk up to the window. He’s immediately joined by the other, and they look at the always busy city in silence for a while. It’s Lando himself, who breaks the quietness with, “I asked Lewis to make another suit. A white one for me. I kept the black one for you.”

“Why would you-“

But Lando cuts the other’s sentence off with a gentle finger on the Spaniard’s plump lips. “Tomorrow, we will raid the base. I want you to come find me immediately as we enter the building. I will probably be sent to the hangar again, so meet me there.”

“Wouldn’t that endanger you?” Carlos asks, his tone dripping in worry.

“No, because I will be giving you the black suit.” says the Briton quietly. Even through the darkness, he can see the raised, questioning eyebrow of Carlos. He reaches out for the other’s hand, and when Carlos’ fingers lace around his, Lando continues with a determined tone. “If you really want to make all of this right, switch to our side. Fight along with me and my team will welcome you in. You can wear my suit, so no one will hurt you from my side.”

“Oh Lando, you are too perfect for me.” whispers Carlos, his voice shaky from the surprise Lando’s sentence caused him. He reaches out to cup the other’s face with his hands and leans in to place a featherlight kiss onto the soft skin of Lando’s forehead. “Thank you for worrying about me. I will meet you in the hangar.”

“Do you promise?” Lando asks, his fingers playing with the shiny, black locks of Carlos’ hair.

“I already gave you my world.” and with that, and a last, soft kiss on Lando’s cheek, Carlos is out of the room, leaving only a small cloud of black smoke for Lando to grasp onto. That night, the young Briton has to take sleeping pills to force his body to visit the realm of dreams.