3131/Lithium Angels

Lithium Angels
Date of Scene:	12 November 2017
Location:	Triskelion, New York City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Lara Croft, Melinda May, Castiel

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{{Poses |Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is in her office in the WAND section of the Triskelion, her office door is open, its late in the business hours on a Saturday evening. She's at her desk and is typing on her laptop while her lips are quietly muttering whatever it is she's typing, because thats just how she is... she gets so engrossed in her work that she is completely zoned into it. In her own little world.

Lara's phone is periodically buzzing with texts from her friends who are going out tonight and are trying to get her to go with them, but she just... doesn't really register it. She just keeps whispering words while her eyes scan what she types.

"Alien-like body..." "Ritual sacrifice..." "Lights in the desert..." She's really writing about some strange stuff!

Melinda May has posed:
Passing through for whatever reason she has for doing anything, May notices Lara's office door open, the young woman typing away and ignoring her phone. So, she pauses in the doorway, waits to be noticed, then after a few seconds, knocks lightly on the doorframe. "Croft. Your phone." Getting THAT engrossed isn't necessarily a good thing. She steps into the room if THAT isn't enough to snap the WAND agent back from report-land.

Castiel has posed:
One thing he's noticed about these humans is there were things they all seemed to do like so much sheep. Like this subway thing. Castiel was not certain /why/ it was so very important to them to continually subject themselves to long lines, pushing and shoving while simultaneously moving forward with their minds numb, only to pack themselves into often crowded compartments to go from here to there. It was the from here to there that he didn't quite get. Why did they not merely be closer to where they wanted to be? Why was this ritual movement so important to them that there were always people going from here to there, and people from there coming to here? It all seemed needlessly complicated.

But Agent May had tasked him with trying to fit in better. To understand this humanity. As did Mercy Thompson. "Go forth and be human!" they'd said. Or something like it.

So far all the angel-cum-human had discovered was a distaste for the subway system. There was a decided lack of personal hygeine at the best of times.

Today he rode, getting off at a random stop, following the baa'ing crowd up to the street level where a fine drizzle welcomed him. Castiel stands, shoulders hunched ever so slightly forward, one hand holding out his cellphone in an attempt to bring up his 'address' book - the list of contacts Agent May had so helpfully put in for him, to draw that very Agent's name up, intending to call her.

Of course, being himself, he's blocked the top of the stairs, and an angry young man shoulders him as he passes by, muttering, "Move the fuck out of the way, asshole" causing the angel's cellphone to knock from his hands and land in a puddle...

Lara Croft has posed:
Cellphone fun all around!

Lara did react to May's presence, because if anyone could shake her out of her trance-like state of focus on her work, it was Melinda May. "Mmm?" She said, her brown eyes looking up from her laptop toward the woman in the doorway. A second later and the young woman realized what she'd said and indicated by it. "Oh, yes, right."

Lara looked to her phone and gathered it up with both of her hands, holding onto it now she looked down at it to see the gist of what the texts were saying. "Ah... happy hour drinks soon... come get wasted... cute guys everywhere..." Lara looked up to May and showed her a smile.

"It is riveting stuff." She'd say, joking of course, and foillowing that joke with a heavy exhale as she slumped back into her office chair.

Melinda May has posed:
Dry humor is something May is a master at. "Truly riveting." She stands a polite distance from Lara's desk. "Well, are you going to go join your friends and 'get wasted'?" The quotation marks around those last two words are practically audible. "You know you're allowed to go do that if you want."

At least she's mostly sure there's not a shackle around the woman's ankle securing her to that desk.

Castiel has posed:
All things considered, Castiel's phone /might/ have been okay.. if it weren't for the angry young man. In an act of deliberate malice, right after pushing past Castiel, the man took a step out of his way, and stepped onto the phone, grinding it into the puddle and shattering the screen. Of course, this means little to the angel, who retrieves the thing, holding it up only to regard the spiderwebbed surface of the screen with a furrow of his craggy brows.

The angel shrugs, and presses the on/off button. To no avail. The thing acts like it needs a charge. Only he knows he's just done that. He'd spent an uneasy hour at what was quaintly called a 'cafe' with the thing plugged into the wall, drinking what he was told was 'the best coffee this side of Central Park', wishing all the while he were enjoying the boilermaker instead.

He's left with a quandry: The phone, it is broken.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara would show May a light grin at these words and she'd reach up and set her phone back down after sending back a small and short message so they stop freaking out. "I will stop by to see them on my way home." She'd say back to May before looking up at her SO again and shaking her head after inhaling a nice deep breath. "I don't think I have ever actually gotten 'wasted' before. I've dabbled, but I've always cut myself off." She smirked. "They said that alcohol kills brain cells, I'm worried that they might be true... Of course... I'm not precisely sure who 'they' are in this scenario though."

Lara would shake her head dismissively then. "I just don't quite see the benefit of being 'wasted'."

Melinda May has posed:
"I've never seen the appeal either, honestly. But opportunities to spend time with your friends, even if they're all three sheets to the wind, is something you shouldn't pass up when you have the time." Is May possibly speaking with the voice of experience?

"At least take a break from that report. I got all the way to knocking on your office door before you noticed I was here." And that could well be a politely worded scolding.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel walks near two blocks, still trying to make the phone turn on, before he decides he does not care for Agent May's request that he call first. He can say, honestly, that he has tried. There's a frustrated grumble from the man as he pokes the screen on last time and declares himself done with trying. Of course, there's no vocalization of the matter. Merely a *blip* from here to there. One moment on a nearly empty corner; the next appearing beside Agent May, his palm thrust out at her, the offending cellphone sitting upon it, its screen a testimony to the degree of which certain New Yorkers will express their displeasure.

"It does not work. You have given me a defective item."

Of course, she's not alone. And were he to have followed the rest of her advice, he might have checked that first before merely dropping in upon the Agent.

One wonders, some days, how it is he hasn't been shot more often.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's shot four people in the past two weeks!

This is partly why she relents to May's casually commanded request. She'd smile and nod her head once then lean forward again to deactivate her laptop and put it into sleep mode. "I will do that then, thank you for pointing it out to me... I have clear issues with centering myself. I will... go and bear through a night at a loud bar filled with obnoxious people. Maybe I'll even get to reject one or ten drunken male advances." This was some serious dry sarcasm from the explorer.

She was in the process of rising up when Castiel so suddenly appeared and it made her do a double take in his direction, she wasn't sure if he'd come from around the corner of her doorway or if he'd just 'blinked' into their reality right beside May!

Melinda May has posed:
It is a very good thing that May's long since trained her startle reflex away, because seriously. She looks at Castiel, then at the device in his hand he's holding out to her. "It looks more like it has been physically damaged." She's not accusing the strange man of having done so himself, of course. "It will need to be replaced." Which, annoying. Though she can't help but be at least a bit impressed that Castiel was able to keep from smashing it sooner.

Oh, and Lara's staring. Crap. "Agent Croft. This is Castiel. He is," there's the very slightest hesitation in her words, which for anyone that knows her is a huge tell. "a teleporter." The truth, but by no means the whole truth.

Castiel has posed:
"I am not a teleporter," the angel intones, furrowing his brows at Agent May. The 'you ass' is mostly implied. "I am an angel." And, because he is who he is, he feels further obligated to add, "I did not physically damage the item. Though do you not think it should not be so fragile if it is so important?"

He stands, feet shoulder width apart, head aligned just *so* and slightly forward of his shoulders - those held in a near perpetual hunch, drawing the line of his trench coat more firmly along his back, though it clearly is a poor fit for him, only adding to his craggy appearance.

Lara is regarded with the blue intensity of his gaze. A patience while he ponders what to make of her.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara came slowly around the corner of her desk and then sat back down on it since May didn't seem to consider this man to be much of a risk... she wouldn't either. Her brown eyes went from the one of them to the other as they both had conflicting tales of who, he, is. Lara would settle on just gently nodding her head. "Everyone needs an Angel in their life from time to time, yes?" She asked with a slight smirk.

Lara's eyes would then take in the sight of that busted phone and his comments on its fragility. "The jaded person within me would say that they are fragile because they are expensive. They want you to adore the item, and when it breaks... they want you to buy another." She'd show a little smirk. "Its all about the money in this world, Sir Angel." A short pause, quieter tone to her British voice. "As... horrible, as that, is..."

Melinda May has posed:
And May can only nod her agreement with Lara. "Croft, do you have the authorization to requisition a burner phone? You can mark this one," she plucks the phone from Castiel's hand and NOW notices that it's soggy as well as cracked, "as damaged in the field." The phone, once it's set on the younger woman's desk, has a serial number will actually show up in SHIELD records, as having been signed out to May.

Normally she'd go to Lewis to request this, but she's a bit leery or wandering the halls of the Triskelion with the strange trenchcoated man following her like a rumpled and lost schnauzer.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel's brows knit together in a line of confusion. "I was not in a field. I was on the subway." His glance flicks up to Lara, then back to May. "I do not like the phone. It is not efficient."

As May takes the phone, holding it more or less upright, the remaining water in it pools down the inside of the frame, dripping from the bottom and along her wrist. Then upon Lara's desk, only to be sopped up by any nearby papers.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara would watch May set the phone down on her desk and she would softly nod her head. "I can take it down to the quartermaster right now if you'd like me to." She told her superior while she reached out and over to pick the damaged phone up. Lara looked over to Castiel and offered him a sympathetic frown. "I'm sorry you had a bad experience on the subway... I have had several since I moved here to the New York area.. it can be a rough experience on those things."

Lara didn't -really- believe him when he said he was an Angel, she just assumed he was a meta-human with a quirky personality based on what May had indicated to her so far.

Melinda May has posed:
It would be best to think of him that way, most likely. May shakes her head no to Lara. "No immediate rush. Castiel, please, sit down." She indicates one of the only other chairs in the office. "Can you explain what happened when the phone was damaged? Also, there is not a more efficient form of communication that isn't highly regulated."

Castiel has posed:
The angel hovers, his position held. Or rather, he holds his position with a unmoving preciseness that suggests hovering, his head canting ever so fractionally at May. For the longest moments, it seems Castiel will not sit, preferring to stand, though, much like the long pauses he often employs before speaking, it seems the hover is only a prelude, the angel sitting in the seat, an awkward occupation of the space. He does not lean back like a normal human would. Instead, his back remains straight, his body tilted slightly forward, and not fully back in the chair. In lieu of pushing his hands into his pockets, they rest upon the armrests, fingers curled about the front edges.

"I was not moving," the angel tells May. "I was not moving you asshole."

There's something of a nod from the man as he adds that detail, satisfied with his answer.

"I do not wish the phone." It sounds ever so much like a petulant complaint, even though his gravelly tones have not changed any.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara would set the deadphone back down on her desk, but she'd set it down ontop of a post-it notepad since it was still kind of drippy with subway station water (god, it is water right?) she thought to herself, idly now rubbing her fingertips together over her lap.

When Castiel cursed at May she put her eyes back up and onto the strange man and then slowly looked over toward her Superior and gave her a 'look' suggesting... 'who the hell is this guy?' She didn't speak further though, figuring May was ontop of this.

Melinda May has posed:
May supresses a sigh, wishing yet AGAIN that Castiel had not learned his human vernacular from the Winchesters of all people. "You can think that of me all you wish, Castiel, but words like 'asshole' are not exactly considered polite around people you're not more than acquainted with."

Her glance back at Lara seems to silently say, 'He's ... a special case.' Lara should be glad she hasn't saddled her with him yet. ... hey, maybe she can.

Castiel has posed:
Agent May's pained expression is noted, but with some confusion by the angel, who regards her, head tilted to a slightly quizzical angle. "I do not understand? What I think of you?"

He nods, though, taking her words and filing them away under things to understand about humans. "Then he was not polite. I do not think he was pleased that I was standing still."

There's an almost abrupt movement from the angel after that, his shoulders relaxing just enough to set the line of his trench coat in a crumple along his back and framing his front.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara would look away from May back to the Angel and she'd listen to their exchange before she had to throw in her own efforts here. "Mister Castiel." She started, vying for his attention. "You strike me as a man who is very certain... on what he wants and needs." She'd say. "What is that you do for work?" She'd have to ask, though she had an inkling of an idea that this man had no job... in this day and age of 2025/26... a man who didn't know what a cell phone was, probably didn't have a job.

"I'm quite curious what sort of things occupy your time?" She'd sum her curiosity up as then.

Melinda May has posed:
Oh boy. Lara might not like this answer. Or she might like it a bit too much. Though, you know what? Castiel just called her an asshole. He didn't realize what it meant, to be fair, but it's high time someone else helped her wrangle the VERY recalictrant angel.

She'll ask about less ... electronic means of communication after Lara's been thoroughly confused.

Castiel has posed:
Lara is regarded for a long moment of time before the angel answers her, his brows knit together in a line that suggests she's already got the answer. "I am an Angel of the Lord," he answers simply, the gravel of his voice filling the space between them. "Was an angel of the Lord," he corrects himself. "It is best said that I am Late of the Choir, though I still hear Their Song."

His shoulders rise and fall with an ease that belies his motions so far, much as if the body and the angelic are in certain agreement. "I do not do anything as you would understand it. I watch. I guard. I seek to stop the coming of the Apocalypse."

He says it as though it were all so very, very simple.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara would give another glance over to May then and she leaned back a bit on the edge of the desk and then softly nodded her head a single time. "Right. Well... that sounds 'good'." She'd reply specifically to the last part. "But what is that allows you to guard against the potentially... arriving Apocalypse?" She'd ask of him next.

A small smile was cracked on the British woman's lips then. "What I mean is, I'm just curious, what your... abilities are, Sir Angel of the Lord. If you'd humor me enough to list them off for me."

Melinda May has posed:
May takes a step back, a non-verbal cue that she's letting Lara lead this conversation now. And if Castiel looks to her to see if it's okay to share information with Croft, she'll nod to him that it's okay. Because it is. Though ultimately, it's up to the angel what he wants to share or not.

Castiel has posed:
May's 'approval' such as it is, is noted more in periphery than in glance. Or perhaps only in that there are things he can glean merely by being nearby. Castiel does not turn to May, though he draws himself up. A subtle shifting about the man as he seems to grow in the space he occupies. His tones turning less gravelly and more sonourous, entirely occupying the space of Lara's office, much as a well appointed music hall's accoustics reach all within and resonate fully.

"You do not believe."

The statement is simple. An observation only of fact. "I am not your family, and you would do well to fear some things you do not understand. But in this, know that I am what I say."

And with that, he stands, and reveals himself in all his angelic glory. Holy aura, wings and all. Not to mention a kick ass sword that pulsates with power.

Then, as suddenly as he *is*, he is not, the glory fading; the sword collapsing down until it is merely a smallness, and then gone; the wings no more. Merely a man in an ill-fitting trench coat, standing awkwardly in an office, looking much like he doesn't belong here.

"Is that sufficient, Agent Lara?"

Lara Croft has posed:
When he revealed himself (not like that) Lara would stand up from her desk and she'd stare at him with a glimmer of awe in her eyes but his words seemed to just kind of ground her again because they way he spoke was sort of aggressive, if not arrogant about it all.

After a few lingering seconds in the air, Lara would take in a slight breath. "A teleporter. A mind reader. And seemingly a lot more than that." Now Croft would look to Agent May. "Is there a reason he's not on the payrole?" She'd ask with a very faint and distant smirk.

Lara would look back to Castiel before waiting for an answer from her superior. "My apologies, Mister Castiel. I have to get to know these sorts of things, to better understand... an assortment of things. Such as why SHIELD is offering you free phones to stay in touch with you." Track him?

Lara would then smile a little. "The other night I ran in a... shadow monster... that shrieked, howled and had a flaming pumpkin for a head. It was only appeased and vanished after it claimed a man's head from his shoulders right before my eyes... So when you say I should fear things that I do not understand? Trust me, I already do."

Melinda May has posed:
May actually raises her eyebrows at Castiel's display of, well, angel-ness. She'd not seen that before either. Certainly looks impressive, at least.

"Yes," she replies to Lara's question about payroll. But, she doesn't elaborate. Though really, by this point Lara should have at least a clue about why May hasn't tried to slap a SHIELD badge on the man if he's taken such a dislike to something as simple and everyday as a phone.

And this headless monster thing? This she had nto read the report about yet. She's going to have to ask.

Castiel has posed:
"Castiel," the angel corrects with a certain amount of weariness to his tones now. Not that the display of his nature was exhausting, but the very fact that he still finds it so hard to be merely human leaves him, at times, uncertain of his choice to Fall. And because of the nature of his choice, it is not a thing that he will know the answer to until the outcome is certain. It had been a gamble.

"Agent May thought it best I made a call before appearing. It would seem humans do not always take well to my arrival. Though we agree that there are emergencies when I will not ask. Such as if she is harmed. To wait would do a disservice."

What Lara says, though, catches his attention, snapping him back to awareness with something more of enthusiasm. "Were you not able to bind or exocise the spirit?" Already running through a litany in his mind of the options. "There is human lore, is there not, of such a spirit? Though I did not know it still walked this realm."

Again his brows furrow.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara would look to May when she said her one word response and then she'd put her eyes back onto Castiel as he responded as well. Lara would smirk ever so faintly.

"I was under the impression they were merely stories and not actual facts, myself." She'd said to him. "Sure, I have seen many wild things in the past... decade of my life, if not more. But, a 'Headless Horseman' was not something I truly ever expected to run across as fact rather than fiction."

Lara would smirk then before she'd release a light exhale, her head shook right to left once. "I'm not a trained spirit hunter. I'm an item acquisition specialist." The professional term for one who raids tombs.

"Well, Mister Castiel... I am sure you have heard this many times, but you are an impressive specimen. I hope that you continue to grace SHIELD with your presence and perhaps find ways to assist us in our many... wild endeavors, to also safeguard the world against Apocalypses."

Lara would gather up his broken phone then and glance back to May, then back to Castiel.

"I shall get you a new one, and this time? I will encase it in a water proof container that will also be secure against dropping in subways." She'd show a slight grin then.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel gives Lara a placcid regard. "Most, if not all, human lore with regards to things of spirit and arcane have a basis in fact. If twisted at times. The stories follow the reality." Though he does not tell her that the opposite can also happen - that a thing can be believed enough that it gathers itself from will and becomes. Perhaps that is a thing he will share another day.

"Castiel," he repeats. "I am merely Castiel. To call me otherwise is unnecessary. I am not bothered by your human need for polite titles." Though, he has shown, in this very office even, that he does not take kindly to slurs upon his angelic nature. Which makes him something of an enigma, perhaps.

He doesn't dwell on his correction, though, as Lara says the magic words. Or word: Apocalypse. It is the one singular thing almost guaranteed to hone his attention down and back to the matter at hand. After all, it is the reason he chose to Fall. To slough off his divinity in favour of humanity.

"You wish help against the Apocaplyse?" His brow furrows, then releases; his body a heartbeat of tension, and then nothing but relaxed - or as relaxed as he gets. "I give you my mark, then. You may call if you need me."

And that, it seems, was that.

Melinda May has posed:
May nods to Lara again at the suggestion of a new phone, and then Castiel says something about a mark. "Maybe we should just get a consultant file started, Croft."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara would nod her head then and she'd move for the door of her office. "I shall track Darcy down and get started on all of that then." She'd tell May. She'd look to Castiel again. "I will remember to address you properly, Castiel." She'd tell him also. "It is comforting to know that there is more help out there."

And with that said the special agent would make for the exit, her pony tail swaying around behind her head as she walked with the busted phone, intending to go secure a replacement.