Kevin Tran | 001 | Accidental video

[vates]

[ Kevin's been working for a few days without sleep on the tablet, so when he wakes up, he figures he must've just passed out from exhaustion. He gets all the way to sitting up before he realizes that he isn't in the bunker.

When the feed switches on, it starts first staring up at the ceiling, while in the background, someone is very clearly laying waste to the bookshelf in their room. Kevin steps into the frame as he swings the shelf he'd ripped out to use as a weapon, and he decides it's acceptable before he sets it down. He has a bunch of papers, and as he puts them into an empty pillowcase, the cuneiform symbols can just be seen for what they are -- that is, ancient and unreadable.

He reaches for his shelf again, and now his face fully comes into frame. He looks like a guy who hasn't slept or eaten real food in a few days, with an added couple layers of complete panic. He has no clue where he is, who might've kidnapped him, what they want to use him for, but beneath the panic there's determination.

He made it this far; he won't let them win now.

Once he realizes the phone is broadcasting, he curses loudly and switches it off.

This plan would probably have gone a lot better if he hadn't been Skyping it. ]

Comments

[quis_ut_deus]

[Michael doesn't move back, but neither does he advance. He keeps his hands at his sides and his posture loose. A shelf, after all, is a poor weapon against an archangel, and he can fly faster than Kevin can run.]

Relax. I'm an angel and you're a prophet; we know all of your names.

[This probably qualifies as an answer Kevin doesn't like, given the general attitude towards angels he's encountered. Whatever happened to blind faith?]

[vates]

[ Oh, is that what that sound had been? And no, he's not really going to relax just because he's apparently talking to an angel. Kevin's trusted them in the past, and it hasn't always worked out well for him. Metatron saved him, but it turned out that he was manipulating everyone. ]

What do you want? [ He's not going to give over his notes, if that's what he's after. ]

[quis_ut_deus]

[Well, it was worth a shot. With any luck, Kevin will believe that he's not here to hurt him. Making sure the prophets are kept safe is one of the archangels' duties, and there's nothing Michael takes more seriously than duty.]

For you to stop panicking, for a start, and then we can talk.

My name is Michael.

[vates]

[ Unfortunately for Kevin, he doesn't even know that archangels are supposed to do that. None of them were around when he got called up.

He does recognize Michael's name as being important, and he frowns. While he relaxes just slightly, he isn't giving himself over to this yet. ]

What do you want, Michael? [ Kevin knows he's a commodity. ]

[quis_ut_deus]

[This future he hasn't yet seen and has only heard bits and pieces of becomes less and less impressive the more he meets people from it. As easily as he recognizes Kevin, he can tell that he's from a generation of prophets that were meant to come after Chuck.]

I'm an archangel. [He says it as though that should make what he wants completely evident.] I want you somewhere safe, so you can do what you were meant to do.

You should be aware that Lucifer is here. He has no particular respect for God's plan and no fondness for humans like yourself.

[There's also the matter of at least one demon skulking around, though that's a lesser issue in his mind.]

[vates]

What, go to the desert? Been there, done that. [ Oops, does he sound incredibly sarcastic and bitter? Well. Guess that means he's had plenty of time to live on Garth's houseboat and drive himself to hallucinations that maybe turned out to be true anyway.

Lucifer, however, he knows is bad news. ]

All I want is to not have people trying to kill me for a little while. Alright?

[quis_ut_deus]

[Given that Lucifer and Gabriel are among his little brothers, Michael's accustomed to snark and sarcasm.

Which is not to say that he appreciates it. He gives Kevin the best flat, unamused look he can muster with John's features.]

Making sure no one kills you happens to be one of my responsibilities towards you.

[vates]

You might want to be careful saying that. The other angels who did aren't alive anymore. [ Not that Kevin had anything to do with that, other than just... existing.

He's not turning his nose up at a potential ally, though, so he's not about to walk away from Michael. His faith in angels isn't very high, but mostly all they've done to him specifically is fail to stay alive for very long. ]

[quis_ut_deus]

I'll take that risk. [Said without hesitation or fear. There's not much that frightens an archangel other than their own creator.] Who killed them?

[The news that angels are dying for something so simple as protecting a prophet surprises him. Angels have died while he's been in power, certainly, but almost all of them had been knowingly sacrificed or executed.

Whoever's in power in Heaven in Kevin's time is not impressing him.]

[vates]

Leviathans, mostly. [ He isn't impressed. Is he supposed to be? A lot of people have promised Kevin a lot of things, those angels included, and yeah -- the Winchesters included, too. ]

Look, do you know why I'm here?

[quis_ut_deus]

[Michael never promises more than he thinks he can deliver - but, of course, he has the typical arrogant attitude of an archangel. In some respects, he's all too confident in his abilities.

It's a bit of a moot point when there aren't any leviathan to speak of in the Science Centre, though.]

Leviathans. [If he hadn't already heard a veritable novel of absurdities about the future from a trusted source, he wouldn't believe it.] I don't think they'll be an issue. There aren't any here.

As far as anyone knows, we've been taken hostage by a group of scientists. No one's quite sure what they're studying or how they pick their captives.

[vates]

[ Kevin almost rolls his eyes -- no, wait, he definitely rolls his eyes. ]

It's not like I've never been chosen for a higher purpose before. [ He eyes Michael uncomfortably. ]

So you want to keep me somewhere safe? What does that mean? I'm not letting you box me up anywhere. [ Kevin will happily wall himself in, but he doesn't want to subject himself to anyone else's prison. ]

[quis_ut_deus]

We all have our duties.

[Michael folds his arms. Don't give him that look, kid. Being stuck with the job of reading a few tablets is nothing compared to being stuck with babysitting in excess of a thousand siblings.]

As long as you don't plan on rooming with any demons, that won't be necessary. We'll know if anything tries to harm you.

But there are certain parties here who are going to encourage you to ward yourself and your space against us. Don't do that - unless you're absolutely certain you trust them to be able to protect you better than an archangel.

[Because let's face it: as well-intentioned as the Winchesters are, their friends and family don't have a good survival rate.]

[vates]

[ Being stuck with that job is everything when he didn't ask for it and he knew a much better life before that, and this job got his mom and his girlfriend and some innocent other prophets killed.

Kevin rolls his eyes a little bit when Michael suggests that Kevin might be able to trust one person over another to trust him. ]

I told you. Every angel who's tried to keep me safe has died, except for one, and then he went crazy. You know who I trust to keep me safe? No one. So far, everyone's done an equally shitty job.