Another one, I know. Shoot me. This is called Crucible of the Angel. And well, it's kind of a Supernatural/X-men type of story. Angels are mutants, and have super powers. This is just a prologue. This is T right now, but I may bump it up to M later. Perhaps if it gets violent/disturbing enough. Chapter 1 to come soon.
~Prologue~
"Gabriel! Gabriel!" Castiel called hopelessly. His older brother was nowhere to be found. He let out a sigh, almost a little huff, and walked down another hallway of the giant academy they called a home.
Crucible Academy was the primary school for children with special abilities, for mutants. Each mutation came with two distinct things, a set of giant wings and a special inhuman ability. The wing color was directly related to the power. Castiel was still little, barely 11, and his wings hung tiny and almost lifeless on his back. They were black and shone like ebony in the sunlight.
As for Castiel's powers, he had yet to discover them. He had to have them, the wings were a clear sign of that. But he had just turned 11, and his powers were still locked behind there somewhere. It wasn't normal, and if any of the teachers found out about his lack of them, his wings could be cut off and he could be sentenced to life as a service man.
"Gabriel?" Castiel tried one last time to find his brother.
"Hey now. Gabriel's gone. He left this morning, after he graduated from the Academy. No one knows where he went, but when they find him it won't be pretty. Gabriel has to live in the reserve, it's the rules," His teacher, Chuck, told him as he wandered closer to Chuck's classroom. Chuck was an angel class with small gray pigeon wings, who'd possessed the ability to see into the future sometimes. He couldn't control his ability, so instead he taught the beginning classes and littlest mutants before they were sorted into their class, all the way up until they were 11. Chuck was nice, but Castiel didn't like him all that much. There were other people's presence he enjoyed far more. Like Gabriel, for instance.
"I have my first power class tomorrow, I need to talk to him. I still don't know-" Castiel caught himself before he could mention he had no idea what his power was in front of a teacher. Teachers had been telling them to practice their skills before their power classes, to hone their abilities. Power classes started off with a display of abilities and then a competition between the students for their class, an angel or an archangel. Archangels went off and studied really tough subjects and excelled in pretty much everything, while angels were the run-of-the-mill power holders who took normal classes.
Castiel didn't know what his power was, and therefore there was no change he'd get archangel. All he wanted was to get into the angel class. And he didn't want to mention that he didn't have a power to a teacher, they'd demote him from student to a janitor or an assistant to the teachers or something equally humiliating after removing his useless wings.
As they were as much a part of him as his arms or legs, he wouldn't allow that to happen. Castiel sometimes wished he was just a normal human without any wings, who'd never had any wings in the first place. No power, of course, no wings, no Crucible Academy, just regular human life. Not that Castiel knew about regular human life. He wanted to know, of course, but as a mutant, Castiel wasn't allowed outside of the mutant reserve or even the Academy.
"Well, Gabriel should show up sooner or later to cheer you on. He's your brother, and as unreliable as he can be, he'd never let his littlest brother down." Chuck patted him on the shoulder and pushed him back off into the direction of the dorms. Castiel left the hallway with a sigh and headed back to his room.
His first power class, and Gabriel wasn't even there to help him try and find his power. Castiel sighed and collapsed on his bed. Closing his eyes, he dreaded the next day. And it came way too fast.
Before he knew it, Castiel stood with his spine straight in a line with the rest of the power class students, wearing his new uniform of a yellow sweater vest over a white button down shirt and white slacks uncomfortably. The teacher, an Archangel named Michael who was famous for his fighting abilities and his powers that enhanced everything from his appearance to his brainpower depending on the situation, stood in front of them impatiently. They were merely waiting until 8:45, the exact time the power class started.
He still didn't know what his power was, Castiel remembered uneasily. He was nervous, scared, and he had every right to be. He had no idea what his skills were. His wings, Castiel thought as he shifted the appendages fitfully, showed that he had power. He had to have power.
His black crow (or were they raven?) wings showed that. And he would never let someone cut them off.
"We'll start alphabetically." Michael said, his voice soothing while still somehow frightening. Castiel looked at Michael's snow white dove's wings and just felt that he wouldn't be accepted here as easily even if he did have a power. "First to come up is Anna."
A girl with bright auburn hair and little Cardinal wings hopped out of the line, a smile big and bright on her face. Most guys would've called her cute, or at least very pretty. Castiel wanted to give a smile of support but she seemed to have this in a bag.
"I can control some types of plants, as long as they grow in a place that gets a lot of snow. I brought along a sprig of pine to demonstrate! I've been practicing this all year." She excitedly brought out a pine needle and started glaring at it. A green glow surrounded it, and it started to grow and grow and grow until there was an entire pine branch in front of her.
Michael nodded slowly, with a tiny smile. "Very good. Anna, angel class."
She frowned, but it only lasted an instant before she bounded back into the line. Castiel bit his lip. His name started with a C, meaning only a few more As and Bs before he had to go up and tell Michael that he didn't have a power. And then he'd be humiliated.
"Next we have Azazel." Michael instructed.
Castiel watched as a golden eyed boy, with large bat wings, combed his way to the front of the students. He flexed his wings, watching the students stare at their strange shape. Not many mutants had bat wings. Most had some type of bird wings. In fact, dove and pigeon wings were the most common types of wings.
"I can control fire." Azazel grinned, as he summoned up a tiny flame on his finger like a lighter. It grew into a swirling force as the students watched. As it got bigger, and hotter judging by the color of the flame, Michael nodded.
"Impressive. Azazel, Archangel class."
It didn't take long before Michael had finished with Balthazar, Castiel's close friend and a soul carrier who was placed into angel class easily, a Belial, and a Boimael. It was time for the Cs. Castiel's insides squeezed up as he watched a Camael show off her powers of inciting happiness.
Only Caethetel and Cassiel remained before it was Castiel's turn. And it didn't take long before Michael's blue eyes turned to Castiel and focused on him as his name was said.
"Castiel, if you please."
Castiel froze. He couldn't move. He literally could not move. If he moved, he'd have to tell Michael that he didn't have a power. He'd have to tell everyone that he didn't have a power and he'd be sentenced to have to deal with janitor work or being just an assistant. His wings meant he had to have a power.
Castiel had a power. He knew it.
"Castiel, don't be nervous. No one will bite. Come up and show us your power." Michael began to walk towards him, his tone gentle and soothing.
"I-I can't." Castiel whispered. "I don't have one."
The whole class stared at him, their eyes wide and distrusting. Michael stopped.
"You don't have a power?" Michael asked, his tone sharp. Castiel flinched, trying not to cry. Gabriel was his brother, and he had power! Gabriel was even an Archangel class, with his ability to speak and call to anyone no matter how far away and to influence people's behavior with only a word. Castiel had to have a power. There was just no question of it, except that he didn't. He didn't have one. He couldn't do a single thing that humans couldn't.
"No… No, I don't. I-I never have." Castiel tried to keep his tone even. He wanted to turn and run right out of the classroom.
Michael started to walk towards him, anger in his eyes. "Why didn't you bring this up with your superiors before now, before wasting everyone's time here? We could've cut off your wings and allowed you to-"
"NO! NO! NO!" Castiel screamed. "I won't let you cut off my wings! NO! GO AWAY!"
Castiel didn't have his brother's voice, and therefore his shrieks did nothing to stop Michael's now steady approach. Castiel couldn't fly. He didn't have the ability. All he really could do was scream.
"It won't hurt a bit, but we can't allow you to stay in this class or this Academy without a power. We can cut off your wings and let you work for the school as a-"
"NO!" Castiel let out an agonized wail that echoed throughout the room and bounced back off the walls. He took steady steps backwards, terrified. He knew it, they'd send him off and make him become a useless drone, they'd cut off his wings-!
"This is your last chance peacefully. Resist any longer and I'll have to use my powers to catch you." Michael threatened, almost close enough to touch him. Castiel clenched his eyes, trembling with fear, knowing that this was the end of his wings, his education, and his free will.
Balthazar dove in front of Castiel right before Michael could grab onto him, and he stuck his hand right into Michael's chest. That was how Balthazar grabbed souls and took them out. As long as his hand was in Michael's chest, Michael couldn't move in fear of having his soul ripped out. "Run! Castiel, run! Once you get outside, fly! FLY! I CAN'T KEEP HIM HERE MUCH LONGER!"
Castiel couldn't fly, he didn't know how to. Flying classes came after power classes. But Castiel did know how to run.
And run he did.
His feet could barely carry him as fast as he wanted, dashing down the hallway and slamming past students and teachers as he made a beeline for the nearest exit. Once he was outside, the sky was the limit, and no one could leave the barrier.
Castiel would've liked to pretend that included him, but no one with a power could leave the barrier. He didn't have one, and if he could fly out, he'd be set and safe from most of the mutants. He'd have to find shelter somewhere and hunker down, live out in the real world somehow, but otherwise he'd be safe.
Hoping for the best, Castiel slammed out the side doors and into the courtyard. Stretching his wings, he started running and flapping them like he'd seen Gabriel do when he was learning how to fly a long time ago. His wings caught enough air that he'd lifted himself off the ground and into the sky.
"CASTIEL! GET BACK DOWN HERE!" Michael called, his wings taking off as he jumped into the sky after Castiel. Castiel stared back down, at the Archangel catching up with him.
Faster! He had to go faster! He beat his wings with as much voracity as he had inside himself, pushing himself towards the barrier as quickly as he could go. Just as Michael was close enough to grab his shiny black dress shoe, he slammed past it.
Michael hit the barrier with full force, being repelled like a negative magnet hitting another magnet on the negative side. Castiel continued to fly upwards, until he broke cloud cover.
He was freezing, but invisible to the school. Castiel let out a shaky proud smile. He was out, free! Out and free and he could keep his wings! He could fly! But not for much longer, he noticed, as his wings felt exhausted. They'd give out if he didn't find a place to land soon.
Either way… Castiel was free.
So that's it. Um, things will be explained later on, as we are introduced to Dean. Thanks for reading!