Big Bang: One Man Band (2/7)
Title: One Man Band
Author: licklesoxy
Artist: sumer_starlight
Beta: erraticxthought
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Swearing. Violence.
Previous: 1
Next: 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Summary: Superpower AU. The Winchesters have little interest in a petty thief who goes around stealing items of no street value. This changes, though, when they figure out that Gabriel isn't working alone. Who is he working for, and what interest do they have in a set of four, seemingly useless rings? The Winchesters are about to find out, the hard way.
-o-
Chapter Two
California was a crap hole. Okay, so that was a lie, because Gabriel could see the appeal and was even fond of some of its quirks, but he really wasn't keen on the place as a whole. It was too large, for starters, and the people here were too cheery for his liking. Everyone seemed to smile all the time; it was kind of creepy and unsettling.
Having spent far longer in the state than he would have ever liked, due to the freaky amount of his jobs being placed here whilst he'd been working for Kali, Gabriel wasn't exactly gleeful about the fact that, once again, he'd been forced back here. It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd had company on any of his past jobs, but being the only member of the pagan group that didn't have some sort of beef with stepping foot on US soil, they'd all been solo events. That hadn't left the best of impressions. Jobs without partners were boring, at best.
When he thought about it, he decided that it wasn't fair. Why couldn't the last item that finished the puzzle be situated in Kentucky or Tennessee? A change of scenery would have been nice. He'd even have taken another country, regardless of his love of America, if it meant getting away from the familiarity of California.
Drawing in a deep breath, before letting it out in a weary sigh, Gabriel pressed his lips together into a thin line. His latest string of thefts hadn't been that exciting, despite the publicity from his power exploits whilst doing them, and it seemed that this was going to end up the same. What an absolute joy.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he kind of missed his old work partners. Kali had been a star to work for - woman knew what she wanted, and how to get it - and the perks of being her favourite had been a brilliant bonus. Baldur had been tolerable, whilst Ganesh had been an idiot he'd loved messing around with. Gabriel sighed. It didn't matter now; that was all behind him.
Eyebrows lowering into a scowl, Gabriel craned his neck in a stretch in an attempt to loosen the muscles and relax his body a touch. Getting worked up about how dull this was going to be was not going to make the time pass any quicker. Licking his lips, he glanced up at the tall housing estate located directly in front of him. It was lit up like a Christmas tree due to all the security lights, but inside it was a dark and dreary place. The late hour meant that most, if not all, the residents inside would be asleep. That was good, as it would make it all the more simple to get this done and out of the way fast.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, ignoring the wisps of air that were created every time he breathed out, Gabriel felt a strong warmth pass over the top of his skin as he focused some of his energy into a cocoon like mass around his body. Then, rapidly expanding it out, he concentrated on an imaginary spot inside of the building and released the heat.
One moment, he was standing outside in the cold; the next moment, he was within one of the vast array of corridors contained within the housing complex. The harsh ice that was surrounding his form was uncomfortable but tolerable, and he waited patiently for it to dissipate as all the solid matter around him adjusted to the change in mass occupying its space. Feeling his heart rate slow back to a normal rhythm - it always seemed to speed up whenever he manipulated the matter contained around his own body - Gabriel scanned the area so he could assess his location.
Gaze darting to one of the signs dotted along the walls, he smiled. He was a mere two floors from his destination. That wasn't too bad, considering he'd been going in blind.
Deciding not to waste any more time, he made his way to the staircase and quickly ran up to the floor he needed to be on. As he walked through the corridor, he couldn't hear much beyond his own footsteps. It wasn't surprising. His earlier assessment appeared to be accurate; most of the people were gone from this world, and instead were trampling around in their own little make believe realities conjured up from their minds.
Halting outside the apartment that held his target inside, Gabriel tilted his head slightly, inspecting the light wood that blocked his way to the last object he'd been told to retrieve. Lifting a hand up lazily, he snapped his fingers; the loud explosion that followed, as the door was forced off its hinges and pushed into the far wall inside the room it once concealed, was terribly satisfying.
The screams, however, were just an annoyance that he couldn't be bothered to concern himself with. Sure, he didn't intentionally want to scare the crap out of people, but it was a consequence he didn't care to prevent right now. Stepping into the apartment with not an ounce of care in the world, Gabriel's focus immediately shifted to the horrified faces of the couple whose home it was.
"Hey," he greeted, giving them a small wave. Focus shifting to the short blonde, Gabriel narrowed his eyes. Poor guy looked torn between terror and outrage. Not caring to waste another moment on them, he flicked his hand abruptly to the side. Then, he watched with a minuscule smirk as the two people were flung out into the corridor he'd exited seconds ago.
Hostage taking wasn't his forté, and he was not in the mood to be questioned by a couple of morons who might decide to try and be heroes. Fingers curling into a fist absently, he shifted the energy surrounding the husband and wife until they fell unconscious. Gabriel huffed out a sigh. His power to control reality really was an unfair advantage. Sometimes, he thought that having a limit on his abilities would make tasks like this more challenging - meaning more fun - but he knew there was no way to decrease the amount of power he had. Whether or not that was good thing usually depended on his mood.
Pursing his lips, he quickly searched for his target in the gloomy room. Exhaling slowly through his nose, he let his breathing return to its regular pattern as he tried to maintain his cool. Becoming worked up over petty little things he couldn't change was not going to do him any good. He needed to remain calm and collected, and not get ahead of himself. Causing a mass of random damage to the housing complex would not benefit him either mentally or physically, so it was not worth going to the trouble of doing it.
Eyes narrowing a tad as he spotted the item he'd come to collect, Gabriel, rather than using any power, walked over to it. His habit of using his powers for everything was a bad one; forcing himself to do things the way any ordinary human would do it was something he needed to do to keep himself grounded. If he didn't, he was certain he would go mad with power, just as his older siblings seemed to have. Gabriel shuddered at the thought. It was highly improbable, probably impossible, but he couldn't take any chances. Being prepared for the worst case scenario was clever.
Gabriel frowned. Something was putting him on edge. Stopping just a foot from the desired items, he lowered his head as an odd sense of wrong washed over him. What was going on? He hadn't walked into a trap - he always made certain his location was free of criminals from other factions before even attempting to begin his work - and he knew that none of the residents in the building could cause him any harm. So, why on Earth did the atmosphere suddenly seem off, giving him a peculiar sense of foreboding?
Gabriel felt his face flush in irritation. The last time he'd felt like this, his douchebag of a brother had been the cause. Having tracked him down not too long after he'd decided to join the pagans, Michael had tried to haul his ass back home. The ensuing argument had not gone well, escalating quickly into a fight Gabriel did not like recalling. Resisting the urge to lash out in anger at the dusty furniture lying scattered around the room, Gabriel sneered.
Why the hell did he feel like he was being watched?
"Looks like we've found ourselves a dick."
Gabriel jerked in surprise as the voice echoed around the room. Face paling considerably, heart rate increasing, he felt a pinch of hysteria rush into his mind as he tried to catch up with what had just happened. Keeping his mouth closed so he wouldn't say anything he might later regret, Gabriel's features lowered into a cold scowl as he let out a slow, calming breath. No one had the right to startle him in such a way; especially when they weren't related to him. Whoever the hell it was, they were going to pay, dearly.
Turning around with a barely restrained fury, Gabriel felt a twinge of pure loathing enter his mind as his gaze landed on a pair of men standing beside the doorway. Who in God's name did they think they were, trying to mess with him? And how on Earth had he not heard them? The freaking morons were wearing boots that probably weighed more than him.
"Sorry to break the party, but we can't let you take that."
Nodding towards the item Gabriel had come to snatch, the shorter of the two men, the one that had spoken before, held himself in a way that made it seem like he thought he was superior to Gabriel in some way. That really grated on Gabriel's nerves. This guy, this nobody, really thought he was something important.
Drawing in a deep breath, Gabriel chose to ignore the aroma of sweat and dirt clogging up the area. Mentally smirking, Gabriel relaxed his body a touch and held his hands up to the newcomers in a placating gesture.
Time for a bit of fun.
Tilting his head a tiny amount, Gabriel let a wry smile lift onto his lips. The flash of amusement in his eyes was certainly unmistakable, if the way both men tensed up was any indication.
"And who's going to stop me? You two, I'm guessing?"
The shorter guy glanced at the taller one with a grin, much to Gabriel's surprise. What the hell was this guy's problem? Was he lacking in sanity?
"Sam." He said the name almost like an order. Sam, if that were his actual name - Gabriel couldn't think of any reason the bozos would need to hide their identities - gave a quick nod of confirmation, before his eyebrows lowered into a frown. He looked like he was concentrating hard, in the attempts to do... something. Whatever it was he was trying to do, Gabriel wasn't patient enough to wait it out. It wasn't as if this Sam character could cause him any harm, anyway.
Rolling his eyes out of sheer irritation, Gabriel gave not-Sam a pointed look. Raising and lowering his eyebrows twice in rapid succession, he then twisted his body's natural form, changing it to the shape of a large dog. Shaking to remove the tickle of smoke that clung to the fur he now had in response to the sudden power surge, Gabriel blinked up at not-Sam to gauge his reaction.
The response he got was not what he'd expected.
Most people, when confronted with any type of bizarre concept such as shape-shifting, were immediately hit with the flight response. There were a couple of exceptions, and those were usually trained guards or children who didn't quite understand the threat potential, but even then they would just stare with dumbstruck expressions. Rather than resorting to either of those, not-Sam seemed to have an offended look plastered on his face, as though Gabriel had caused him some great misdeed by having the audacity to have powers.
This meant that not-Sam probably had first hand experience with people who had powers. Intrigued by the turn of events, Gabriel plonked his ass down on the hard flood and just sat there, watching. Gabriel assumed that the guy didn't actually have powers himself - he was carrying a gun in his waistband, which wouldn't be needed if he could do unnatural things. So, maybe Sam had powers? The shorter guy had certainly looked expectant earlier when he'd expressed to Sam that he wanted him to react in some way. Gabriel merely needed to wait to see if his conclusions were correct.
Turning his focus onto the man in question, Gabriel wasn't at all shocked to see that, in response to his transformation, Sam had lost the frown and was now looking at him with an expression that indicated he had no idea as to how to proceed from here. Fighting the desire to roll his eyes once more, Gabriel stood up and let his mouth open in a yawn. The display of boredom was just that; he wasn't actually tired with the situation, because if Sam did have powers, then this could become far more entertaining.
The problem was, Sam didn't seem to be doing anything. Did the idiot need a written invitation or something?
"Dean?" Sam glanced at the shorter guy with an ounce of hesitation, almost as though he was unsure as to whether he should take action or not. Gabriel wished that he would simply get on with it.
"So he has powers too. Doesn't matter, Sam," Dean stated, sharing a look with Sam. "He's a criminal, so we take him down."
That seemed to be all the encouragement Sam needed. Nodding firmly, Sam turned his focus back to Gabriel and once again began concentrating. This time, though, something actually happened. Eyes going wide as an aura of heat pulsed around him entire body, Gabriel was unable to stop his legs from flailing instinctively as he was dragged up from the ground. Blinking in surprise as he floated about a metre above the floor, Gabriel lifted his head and stared in mild astonishment at Sam for a moment. His attention was instantly pulled from Sam's form when, in one swift move, his body was thrown back into the wall with enough force to crack the plaster work.
The sharp bark that escaped his mouth was not preventable. As he collapsed to the ground, Gabriel rapidly assessed the damage that had been done to his body and healed it with a thought. Of course, he still had the advantage, given he could do anything and everything he wanted with the reality surrounding him, but that didn't mean he couldn't be taken off guard.
That had hurt.
Standing back up on all four legs, he turned to Sam with a vicious growl. He could admit to being rather impressed with the guy's strength - it was extremely rare to find someone with telekinesis in this day and age - but that didn't mean he couldn't be utterly furious either. Sam was going to regret that action.
Morphing rapidly into a fly, Gabriel easily manoeuvred himself behind the shabby television stand to remove himself from their vision. A telekinetic couldn't attack what they couldn't see.
"Bastard." That was Dean. "Show yourself you coward!"
With pleasure. As he flew up from his hiding place and began a collision course with Sam, Gabriel couldn't deny a the glee that washed through him. Moving with incredible speed, as he got within range to surprise Sam so he wouldn't have time to react, Gabriel changed himself into the shape of a much larger creature. Shifting his body into various shapes was always fun, even though it took slightly more concentration than editing objects that were not directly attached to him. He always had to be careful when warping the reality of his own being.
Crashing into Sam wasn't the most logical idea. Grunting as they collided with each other, Gabriel had to re-evaluate the intelligence of that move. He chose to ignore the scream that emitted from Sam's throat. Retracting the claws that he'd dug into the idiot's shoulders, Gabriel clumsily pushed himself off Sam, who was now writhing in pain on the floor. Staggering slightly as he tried to regain his bearings, Gabriel glanced down at the fallen idiot. Scrutiny of Sam's exposed flesh showed that he'd hit the sensitive spot he'd been aiming for.
Perfect.
"Sam!" Dean's pathetic cry of concern was only drowned out by his grunt of rage as he pulled out his weapon and fired. Foreseeing this, Gabriel shook his body out into that of a small bird. This was becoming a bit more chaotic than he'd planned. Guns were not his favourite item to face.
Thinking that it was high time he got out of here - he'd caused enough of an impression, and his enjoyment was running dry - Gabriel placed a tiny, invisible shield around his small frame. Silently thanking the fact that he was capable of protecting himself in such situations, Gabriel chirped. Listening to the thud of bullets as they hit the barrier, Gabriel let out a whistle that was much higher in pitch. He was freakin' lucky he hadn't opted to trying to dodge the projectiles, considering that all of them were hitting their target.
Moving his focus back to the task he'd been appointed, Gabriel dove towards the ring he'd come for without anymore hesitation, then clamped his claws securely around it. Making sure the grip on it was firm, Gabriel then proceeded to fly directly at the window. Picking up his speed and creating a small bubble of air around him to keep his body from getting cut, he flew through it, smashing the glass in the process. Ignoring Sam's protests - he seemed to have recovered from his shock - Gabriel released another, amused chirp as he made his way out into the night sky. Wings flapping rapidly to keep his speed up, Gabriel did a few victory swirls in the air, before heading to a higher altitude so he wouldn't have to dodge trees and houses. He lowered the shield he'd created almost immediately.
It was only after a few more seconds of flight that something put a crack in his victory dance, instantly making him regret the decision to halt using his powers.
Releasing his hold on the object, Gabriel couldn't help but give an instinctive squeal of pain as a shard of glass flew directly through his right wing, tearing it badly. Stunned, Gabriel began plummeting to the ground.
It took far longer than it should have for him to regain his bearings. Eyes going wide, Gabriel, snapping out of his shock, forced out a swell of harsh ice through his wing. Almost immediately it was repaired, and the stinging ache vanished as the blood disappeared. Stretching his now working wings out to their full length, Gabriel began flapping them so his descent would stop. Although any damage he'd gain from crashing into the floor would be fixable, he didn't exactly want to experience falling beak first onto concrete.
Keeping his focus on the darkness below as he hovered in place, Gabriel's focus honed in on the object that had slipped from his grasp. It was still falling, thankfully, which was why he'd spotted it quickly.
Reaching out with a slice of energy, he stopped its fall and teleported it back up to the safety of his claws. Once he was sure he had it, and that it wasn't going anywhere, Gabriel shifted his attention back to the window that he'd flew out of moments ago. It was dark and the room within it was almost certainly unoccupied now. Being at a considerable distance from it, and given the effort it had taken Sam to do a simple levitation, Gabriel knew the glass had not been thrown at him by use of Sam's power. The guy had still probably been lying on the floor when it had come tearing through the air.
That left one answer: Dean had thrown it. The douchebag had been holding out on him, and had a power after all. It was a pretty weak one, in Gabriel's opinion - having flawless aim wasn't all that great when compared to some powers people had - but useful nonetheless, and explained why he carried a gun despite having an unnatural ability. It didn't explain why Dean had such a good arm on him, though. The distance that piece of glass had travelled was quite far; too big for the average person to cover. Had Dean been trained by someone to be able to throw so far, or was it self taught?
Frowning in disapproval, Gabriel shook his head. It didn't matter, since it wasn't as though he would ever see the two idiots again. They were nobodies, had probably decided to try their hands at 'saving the day' like so many people before them; if that were the case, the defeat they'd just had would likely squash any desires they had of trying to be heroes.
Turning from the window without reluctance, Gabriel tightened his grip on the ring and began the journey to the drop off point. Despite the location being a fair few miles away, he was happy to make the journey by flight. He needed a little time to calm himself down after this incident.
-o-
Author: licklesoxy
Artist: sumer_starlight
Beta: erraticxthought
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Swearing. Violence.
Previous: 1
Next: 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Summary: Superpower AU. The Winchesters have little interest in a petty thief who goes around stealing items of no street value. This changes, though, when they figure out that Gabriel isn't working alone. Who is he working for, and what interest do they have in a set of four, seemingly useless rings? The Winchesters are about to find out, the hard way.
-o-
Chapter Two
California was a crap hole. Okay, so that was a lie, because Gabriel could see the appeal and was even fond of some of its quirks, but he really wasn't keen on the place as a whole. It was too large, for starters, and the people here were too cheery for his liking. Everyone seemed to smile all the time; it was kind of creepy and unsettling.
Having spent far longer in the state than he would have ever liked, due to the freaky amount of his jobs being placed here whilst he'd been working for Kali, Gabriel wasn't exactly gleeful about the fact that, once again, he'd been forced back here. It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd had company on any of his past jobs, but being the only member of the pagan group that didn't have some sort of beef with stepping foot on US soil, they'd all been solo events. That hadn't left the best of impressions. Jobs without partners were boring, at best.
When he thought about it, he decided that it wasn't fair. Why couldn't the last item that finished the puzzle be situated in Kentucky or Tennessee? A change of scenery would have been nice. He'd even have taken another country, regardless of his love of America, if it meant getting away from the familiarity of California.
Drawing in a deep breath, before letting it out in a weary sigh, Gabriel pressed his lips together into a thin line. His latest string of thefts hadn't been that exciting, despite the publicity from his power exploits whilst doing them, and it seemed that this was going to end up the same. What an absolute joy.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he kind of missed his old work partners. Kali had been a star to work for - woman knew what she wanted, and how to get it - and the perks of being her favourite had been a brilliant bonus. Baldur had been tolerable, whilst Ganesh had been an idiot he'd loved messing around with. Gabriel sighed. It didn't matter now; that was all behind him.
Eyebrows lowering into a scowl, Gabriel craned his neck in a stretch in an attempt to loosen the muscles and relax his body a touch. Getting worked up about how dull this was going to be was not going to make the time pass any quicker. Licking his lips, he glanced up at the tall housing estate located directly in front of him. It was lit up like a Christmas tree due to all the security lights, but inside it was a dark and dreary place. The late hour meant that most, if not all, the residents inside would be asleep. That was good, as it would make it all the more simple to get this done and out of the way fast.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, ignoring the wisps of air that were created every time he breathed out, Gabriel felt a strong warmth pass over the top of his skin as he focused some of his energy into a cocoon like mass around his body. Then, rapidly expanding it out, he concentrated on an imaginary spot inside of the building and released the heat.
One moment, he was standing outside in the cold; the next moment, he was within one of the vast array of corridors contained within the housing complex. The harsh ice that was surrounding his form was uncomfortable but tolerable, and he waited patiently for it to dissipate as all the solid matter around him adjusted to the change in mass occupying its space. Feeling his heart rate slow back to a normal rhythm - it always seemed to speed up whenever he manipulated the matter contained around his own body - Gabriel scanned the area so he could assess his location.
Gaze darting to one of the signs dotted along the walls, he smiled. He was a mere two floors from his destination. That wasn't too bad, considering he'd been going in blind.
Deciding not to waste any more time, he made his way to the staircase and quickly ran up to the floor he needed to be on. As he walked through the corridor, he couldn't hear much beyond his own footsteps. It wasn't surprising. His earlier assessment appeared to be accurate; most of the people were gone from this world, and instead were trampling around in their own little make believe realities conjured up from their minds.
Halting outside the apartment that held his target inside, Gabriel tilted his head slightly, inspecting the light wood that blocked his way to the last object he'd been told to retrieve. Lifting a hand up lazily, he snapped his fingers; the loud explosion that followed, as the door was forced off its hinges and pushed into the far wall inside the room it once concealed, was terribly satisfying.
The screams, however, were just an annoyance that he couldn't be bothered to concern himself with. Sure, he didn't intentionally want to scare the crap out of people, but it was a consequence he didn't care to prevent right now. Stepping into the apartment with not an ounce of care in the world, Gabriel's focus immediately shifted to the horrified faces of the couple whose home it was.
"Hey," he greeted, giving them a small wave. Focus shifting to the short blonde, Gabriel narrowed his eyes. Poor guy looked torn between terror and outrage. Not caring to waste another moment on them, he flicked his hand abruptly to the side. Then, he watched with a minuscule smirk as the two people were flung out into the corridor he'd exited seconds ago.
Hostage taking wasn't his forté, and he was not in the mood to be questioned by a couple of morons who might decide to try and be heroes. Fingers curling into a fist absently, he shifted the energy surrounding the husband and wife until they fell unconscious. Gabriel huffed out a sigh. His power to control reality really was an unfair advantage. Sometimes, he thought that having a limit on his abilities would make tasks like this more challenging - meaning more fun - but he knew there was no way to decrease the amount of power he had. Whether or not that was good thing usually depended on his mood.
Pursing his lips, he quickly searched for his target in the gloomy room. Exhaling slowly through his nose, he let his breathing return to its regular pattern as he tried to maintain his cool. Becoming worked up over petty little things he couldn't change was not going to do him any good. He needed to remain calm and collected, and not get ahead of himself. Causing a mass of random damage to the housing complex would not benefit him either mentally or physically, so it was not worth going to the trouble of doing it.
Eyes narrowing a tad as he spotted the item he'd come to collect, Gabriel, rather than using any power, walked over to it. His habit of using his powers for everything was a bad one; forcing himself to do things the way any ordinary human would do it was something he needed to do to keep himself grounded. If he didn't, he was certain he would go mad with power, just as his older siblings seemed to have. Gabriel shuddered at the thought. It was highly improbable, probably impossible, but he couldn't take any chances. Being prepared for the worst case scenario was clever.
Gabriel frowned. Something was putting him on edge. Stopping just a foot from the desired items, he lowered his head as an odd sense of wrong washed over him. What was going on? He hadn't walked into a trap - he always made certain his location was free of criminals from other factions before even attempting to begin his work - and he knew that none of the residents in the building could cause him any harm. So, why on Earth did the atmosphere suddenly seem off, giving him a peculiar sense of foreboding?
Gabriel felt his face flush in irritation. The last time he'd felt like this, his douchebag of a brother had been the cause. Having tracked him down not too long after he'd decided to join the pagans, Michael had tried to haul his ass back home. The ensuing argument had not gone well, escalating quickly into a fight Gabriel did not like recalling. Resisting the urge to lash out in anger at the dusty furniture lying scattered around the room, Gabriel sneered.
Why the hell did he feel like he was being watched?
"Looks like we've found ourselves a dick."
Gabriel jerked in surprise as the voice echoed around the room. Face paling considerably, heart rate increasing, he felt a pinch of hysteria rush into his mind as he tried to catch up with what had just happened. Keeping his mouth closed so he wouldn't say anything he might later regret, Gabriel's features lowered into a cold scowl as he let out a slow, calming breath. No one had the right to startle him in such a way; especially when they weren't related to him. Whoever the hell it was, they were going to pay, dearly.
Turning around with a barely restrained fury, Gabriel felt a twinge of pure loathing enter his mind as his gaze landed on a pair of men standing beside the doorway. Who in God's name did they think they were, trying to mess with him? And how on Earth had he not heard them? The freaking morons were wearing boots that probably weighed more than him.
"Sorry to break the party, but we can't let you take that."
Nodding towards the item Gabriel had come to snatch, the shorter of the two men, the one that had spoken before, held himself in a way that made it seem like he thought he was superior to Gabriel in some way. That really grated on Gabriel's nerves. This guy, this nobody, really thought he was something important.
Drawing in a deep breath, Gabriel chose to ignore the aroma of sweat and dirt clogging up the area. Mentally smirking, Gabriel relaxed his body a touch and held his hands up to the newcomers in a placating gesture.
Time for a bit of fun.
Tilting his head a tiny amount, Gabriel let a wry smile lift onto his lips. The flash of amusement in his eyes was certainly unmistakable, if the way both men tensed up was any indication.
"And who's going to stop me? You two, I'm guessing?"
The shorter guy glanced at the taller one with a grin, much to Gabriel's surprise. What the hell was this guy's problem? Was he lacking in sanity?
"Sam." He said the name almost like an order. Sam, if that were his actual name - Gabriel couldn't think of any reason the bozos would need to hide their identities - gave a quick nod of confirmation, before his eyebrows lowered into a frown. He looked like he was concentrating hard, in the attempts to do... something. Whatever it was he was trying to do, Gabriel wasn't patient enough to wait it out. It wasn't as if this Sam character could cause him any harm, anyway.
Rolling his eyes out of sheer irritation, Gabriel gave not-Sam a pointed look. Raising and lowering his eyebrows twice in rapid succession, he then twisted his body's natural form, changing it to the shape of a large dog. Shaking to remove the tickle of smoke that clung to the fur he now had in response to the sudden power surge, Gabriel blinked up at not-Sam to gauge his reaction.
The response he got was not what he'd expected.
Most people, when confronted with any type of bizarre concept such as shape-shifting, were immediately hit with the flight response. There were a couple of exceptions, and those were usually trained guards or children who didn't quite understand the threat potential, but even then they would just stare with dumbstruck expressions. Rather than resorting to either of those, not-Sam seemed to have an offended look plastered on his face, as though Gabriel had caused him some great misdeed by having the audacity to have powers.
This meant that not-Sam probably had first hand experience with people who had powers. Intrigued by the turn of events, Gabriel plonked his ass down on the hard flood and just sat there, watching. Gabriel assumed that the guy didn't actually have powers himself - he was carrying a gun in his waistband, which wouldn't be needed if he could do unnatural things. So, maybe Sam had powers? The shorter guy had certainly looked expectant earlier when he'd expressed to Sam that he wanted him to react in some way. Gabriel merely needed to wait to see if his conclusions were correct.
Turning his focus onto the man in question, Gabriel wasn't at all shocked to see that, in response to his transformation, Sam had lost the frown and was now looking at him with an expression that indicated he had no idea as to how to proceed from here. Fighting the desire to roll his eyes once more, Gabriel stood up and let his mouth open in a yawn. The display of boredom was just that; he wasn't actually tired with the situation, because if Sam did have powers, then this could become far more entertaining.
The problem was, Sam didn't seem to be doing anything. Did the idiot need a written invitation or something?
"Dean?" Sam glanced at the shorter guy with an ounce of hesitation, almost as though he was unsure as to whether he should take action or not. Gabriel wished that he would simply get on with it.
"So he has powers too. Doesn't matter, Sam," Dean stated, sharing a look with Sam. "He's a criminal, so we take him down."
That seemed to be all the encouragement Sam needed. Nodding firmly, Sam turned his focus back to Gabriel and once again began concentrating. This time, though, something actually happened. Eyes going wide as an aura of heat pulsed around him entire body, Gabriel was unable to stop his legs from flailing instinctively as he was dragged up from the ground. Blinking in surprise as he floated about a metre above the floor, Gabriel lifted his head and stared in mild astonishment at Sam for a moment. His attention was instantly pulled from Sam's form when, in one swift move, his body was thrown back into the wall with enough force to crack the plaster work.
The sharp bark that escaped his mouth was not preventable. As he collapsed to the ground, Gabriel rapidly assessed the damage that had been done to his body and healed it with a thought. Of course, he still had the advantage, given he could do anything and everything he wanted with the reality surrounding him, but that didn't mean he couldn't be taken off guard.
That had hurt.
Standing back up on all four legs, he turned to Sam with a vicious growl. He could admit to being rather impressed with the guy's strength - it was extremely rare to find someone with telekinesis in this day and age - but that didn't mean he couldn't be utterly furious either. Sam was going to regret that action.
Morphing rapidly into a fly, Gabriel easily manoeuvred himself behind the shabby television stand to remove himself from their vision. A telekinetic couldn't attack what they couldn't see.
"Bastard." That was Dean. "Show yourself you coward!"
With pleasure. As he flew up from his hiding place and began a collision course with Sam, Gabriel couldn't deny a the glee that washed through him. Moving with incredible speed, as he got within range to surprise Sam so he wouldn't have time to react, Gabriel changed himself into the shape of a much larger creature. Shifting his body into various shapes was always fun, even though it took slightly more concentration than editing objects that were not directly attached to him. He always had to be careful when warping the reality of his own being.
Crashing into Sam wasn't the most logical idea. Grunting as they collided with each other, Gabriel had to re-evaluate the intelligence of that move. He chose to ignore the scream that emitted from Sam's throat. Retracting the claws that he'd dug into the idiot's shoulders, Gabriel clumsily pushed himself off Sam, who was now writhing in pain on the floor. Staggering slightly as he tried to regain his bearings, Gabriel glanced down at the fallen idiot. Scrutiny of Sam's exposed flesh showed that he'd hit the sensitive spot he'd been aiming for.
Perfect.
"Sam!" Dean's pathetic cry of concern was only drowned out by his grunt of rage as he pulled out his weapon and fired. Foreseeing this, Gabriel shook his body out into that of a small bird. This was becoming a bit more chaotic than he'd planned. Guns were not his favourite item to face.
Thinking that it was high time he got out of here - he'd caused enough of an impression, and his enjoyment was running dry - Gabriel placed a tiny, invisible shield around his small frame. Silently thanking the fact that he was capable of protecting himself in such situations, Gabriel chirped. Listening to the thud of bullets as they hit the barrier, Gabriel let out a whistle that was much higher in pitch. He was freakin' lucky he hadn't opted to trying to dodge the projectiles, considering that all of them were hitting their target.
Moving his focus back to the task he'd been appointed, Gabriel dove towards the ring he'd come for without anymore hesitation, then clamped his claws securely around it. Making sure the grip on it was firm, Gabriel then proceeded to fly directly at the window. Picking up his speed and creating a small bubble of air around him to keep his body from getting cut, he flew through it, smashing the glass in the process. Ignoring Sam's protests - he seemed to have recovered from his shock - Gabriel released another, amused chirp as he made his way out into the night sky. Wings flapping rapidly to keep his speed up, Gabriel did a few victory swirls in the air, before heading to a higher altitude so he wouldn't have to dodge trees and houses. He lowered the shield he'd created almost immediately.
It was only after a few more seconds of flight that something put a crack in his victory dance, instantly making him regret the decision to halt using his powers.
Releasing his hold on the object, Gabriel couldn't help but give an instinctive squeal of pain as a shard of glass flew directly through his right wing, tearing it badly. Stunned, Gabriel began plummeting to the ground.
It took far longer than it should have for him to regain his bearings. Eyes going wide, Gabriel, snapping out of his shock, forced out a swell of harsh ice through his wing. Almost immediately it was repaired, and the stinging ache vanished as the blood disappeared. Stretching his now working wings out to their full length, Gabriel began flapping them so his descent would stop. Although any damage he'd gain from crashing into the floor would be fixable, he didn't exactly want to experience falling beak first onto concrete.
Keeping his focus on the darkness below as he hovered in place, Gabriel's focus honed in on the object that had slipped from his grasp. It was still falling, thankfully, which was why he'd spotted it quickly.
Reaching out with a slice of energy, he stopped its fall and teleported it back up to the safety of his claws. Once he was sure he had it, and that it wasn't going anywhere, Gabriel shifted his attention back to the window that he'd flew out of moments ago. It was dark and the room within it was almost certainly unoccupied now. Being at a considerable distance from it, and given the effort it had taken Sam to do a simple levitation, Gabriel knew the glass had not been thrown at him by use of Sam's power. The guy had still probably been lying on the floor when it had come tearing through the air.
That left one answer: Dean had thrown it. The douchebag had been holding out on him, and had a power after all. It was a pretty weak one, in Gabriel's opinion - having flawless aim wasn't all that great when compared to some powers people had - but useful nonetheless, and explained why he carried a gun despite having an unnatural ability. It didn't explain why Dean had such a good arm on him, though. The distance that piece of glass had travelled was quite far; too big for the average person to cover. Had Dean been trained by someone to be able to throw so far, or was it self taught?
Frowning in disapproval, Gabriel shook his head. It didn't matter, since it wasn't as though he would ever see the two idiots again. They were nobodies, had probably decided to try their hands at 'saving the day' like so many people before them; if that were the case, the defeat they'd just had would likely squash any desires they had of trying to be heroes.
Turning from the window without reluctance, Gabriel tightened his grip on the ring and began the journey to the drop off point. Despite the location being a fair few miles away, he was happy to make the journey by flight. He needed a little time to calm himself down after this incident.
-o-