Jack stared blankly at his hand, the glowing sigil pulsating like a malfunctioning neon sign.
"Guess I'm a magician now? Great. Hogwarts really dropped their standards," he muttered, stumbling out of the dumpster and nearly tripping over a cat chewing on leftover noodles. "Hey, find your own dumpster, whiskers."
He flexed his fingers experimentally, wincing as pain shot through his palm. To his astonishment, the pain vanished almost instantly, replaced by a tingling warmth that radiated upward. The skin knit itself back together in real-time.
Jack grinned stupidly. "Self-healing? Did I just score the ultimate cheat code?"
Excitement bubbled within him, quickly replaced by panic when voices echoed nearby.
"We detected energy here. Spread out. He's probably injured."
Jack ducked behind the dumpster just as two hooded figures appeared, scanning the alley. One carried a staff glowing faintly blue. The other wore goggles, scanning the area with an infrared device.
"Seriously, goggles? Am I being hunted by wizard nerds now?" Jack whispered harshly.
The sigil on his palm pulsed brighter, seeming almost annoyed.
"Alright, buddy," Jack said quietly, glaring at his glowing hand. "If you've got any more magic tricks, now would be a great time."
A sudden surge of confidence filled him, a reckless, euphoric rush. Acting on impulse, Jack burst out of hiding and charged the nearest figure, tackling him to the ground.
"Surprise inspection! Alley patrol!" Jack yelled, wrestling the goggles off the man's face.
The hooded figure struggled beneath him. Jack felt an arm tighten around his throat from behind, cutting off his air. Panic surged—but so did something else, a desperate instinct born from the burning sigil.
Jack slammed his palm backward into the attacker's stomach. There was a flash of violet energy, and the man flew backward, crashing against a wall.
Jack stared at his palm, astonished. "Holy crap, I'm a wizard taser!"
The remaining figure scrambled backward, dropping the glowing staff. Jack picked it up, brandishing it like a baseball bat.
"Tell your nerd friends that Jack Wilson is officially off-limits!" he shouted dramatically, trying not to laugh at his own ridiculous bravado.
The hooded figure bolted, disappearing into the night. Jack lowered the staff, breathing heavily, heart pounding wildly.
"Well, that escalated quickly."
He glanced again at his hand, feeling a subtle hum of power beneath his skin, whispering promises of evolution and chaos.
Jack smiled broadly, feeling giddy and terrified in equal measure.
"This is going to be awesome."