Fledge

Fledge - 4

"Gabriel, what the fuck is happening?" Gabriel crawled out from under the bench, keeping low and putting himself between the gunners and Chris and Leanne.

"Where did he come from?"

Before Gabriel could answer, there was a cracking sound and splinters showered in all directions. A bench to their right had been hit and Gabriel's wings were in the crossfire.

He managed to hide it for a second, long enough to draw a few of the appendages in to brush against his father-

Who was gone.

Typical.

Although, on the plus side, Rio was technically still there. Their body, heart beating, lungs inflating, stabilised. Unfortunately, their soul was absent. A meat suit, a vessel. No mind.

Gabriel closed his eyes in a quick prayer good luck, and faced Leanne and Chris. "You guys okay?"

He reached for Rio's arm with a blood smeared hand so he could keep track of their pulse. Steady again.

"We're okay, it's all just so fast." Leanne was flat on the ground behind Gabriel's wheelchair, and another spike of pain lanced through his chest.

He looked down, expecting blood, but there was only a very faint glow. He slumped onto his front, thinking absently of Iron Man, as he watched the last gunner shoot himself rather than be arrested. Rio's pulse beat steadily beneath his fingers.

"Gabriel?" A hand on his arm made him look up. Chris was looking at him worriedly, Leanne beside him. "Are you alright?"

Gabe thought about how this must look. "I've got painkillers, in my bag." He stuttered out slowly. "Can you guys get my chair over here?"

He hoped he'd stopped doing a Tony Stark impression, but in case he hadn't, he pressed both hands over the painful spot as he rolled onto his back.

Leanne rooted through his bag and came up with the green bottle, labelled in case of sudden aggravation of wound.

Gabriel took it and sat up slowly, helped by Leanne. Chris appeared with the wheelchair.

Gabriel opened the bottle and poured a capful of the yellow stuff that was actually a very disguised numbing spell, and swallowed it quickly, pulling a face. It was disgusting.

Chris helped him back onto the wheelchair, worry pulling at his features.

"Keep checking their breathing, put them on their side." Gabriel ordered, looking back at Rio. Already, he could hear sirens in the distance.

Leanne and Chris cleared the area next to the empty body and rolled it over so that its airway wouldn't get blocked.

Leanne tilted Rio's head back, while Gabriel carefully peered into the girl's head.

Hmm.

It seemed his Father had made her forget His presence. Good. That made Gabe's immediate life easier.

Well - marginally.

He was still wheelchair-bound, and his Father wouldn't be around for the near future. He needed to arrange his own way home.

Shit. Who could he trust?

Literally no-one. He was fucked.

"Dad-damnit!"

So Gabriel was stuck in the middle of school in the body of a teenager, powers blocked, injured, and with his Father out of action for the foreseeable future. Fan-flipping-tastic.

He closed his eyes - okay. Favour time. He could do this.

BzbzBZZZZBzbzBZZZZ

His phone was ringing.

"Buddy you're a-" Leanne stopped. "Sorry." She looked contrite. "I know that's inappropriate."

Gabriel snorted and pulled out his phone.

Need a lift home? -Joshua

"Thank the universe." He sighed and relaxed, tapping out an affirmative. "My brother's going to pick me up." He explained. "Dad doesn't want me in school for a few days after this. It's all over the news."

That should be enough time.

"I didn't know you had a brother." Chris remarked.

Gabriel shrugged. "Eh. We don't really keep in contact even though he only lives on the other side of town. He's my half-brother anyway. Dad must've called him."

Chris nodded. "Hey, we're being called over." He pointed. A team of paramedics were waving them over. He waved at them right back, yelling; "Get over here! Rio's been hit!"

They ran over. Gabriel leaned back in his wheelchair and watched as they tried to revive them. It didn't work, of course. Rio was currently kind of brain dead.

He wanted to tell them they'd be fine, but - well, he'd leave that to the faith healers.