Jupiter [Marvel Phase I]

six.

Several things happened at once. The alley lamp shutting off. An overwhelming burst of sound and light. The smell of ozone filling the air.

The would-be mugger's body flying back as if hit by a wrecking ball. Once the smoke had cleared, Dev was the first to speak.

"What the bloody hell was that?"

Jenn only wished she had an answer for him. She could only stand there, silent and empty. The confidence that had just a minute ago filled her was gone. So was the instinct that had been driving her. Whatever that was, it had taken more out of her than the buzzing under her skin.

She had no answer for Dev, of course. Jenn had no idea what she'd just done, much less how she'd done it. All she knew was that it should've been impossible.

"I was...I wanted to get the kin away and then...and then I-" Jenn floundered, her jumbled thoughts all leading nowhere. And then they all led to the same place at once. "Oh my god, the mugger! Is he okay?"

Both of them ran over to the unconscious body of their former attacker. While Dev crouched down to check for vitals, Jenn could only stare down at what she'd done. His hood had been knocked back from his face, showing freckles and a full head of ginger curls.

"He's a kid," Jenn gasped, her face in her hands. "He's just a kid! Dev, tell me he's alright. Please."

"He's breathing and I can make out a pulse," Dev replied and Jenn nearly sobbed in relief. "Might have a concussion, but I think he's in the clear for spinal cord injuries."

"Ph-phone 999," Jenn stammered.

Belatedly, she realized that she'd begun to pace. Glad as she was to find out she hadn't just murdered a man, there were still plenty more things for her to freak out about.

In the back of her mind, Jenn was aware of Dev directing an ambulance to their location. When he was done, Jenn blurted, "Do you think we're both drunk right now?"

"What?" Dev blinked.

"Do you think we could both be drunk?" Jenn asked. Dev continued to stare at her like she'd grown a second head. "Drunk?" She repeated. "Do you think we're both drunk right now? Because we could've just hallucinated this whole thing. Like, you know, a shared delusion or something?"

"Alcohol can impair vision, but it doesn't induce hallucinations," Dev replied.

Alright, Mr. Biomedical Engineer, Jenn thought, rolling her eyes. "And what if we were both dosed with something at the bar?"

"Jenn...I don't think we imagined this," Dev said carefully.

"Fine, then," Jenn threw her hands up. "What's your explanation for all this?"

At that, she could see Dev start to flounder. "Heisenberg's uncertainty principle?"

"That's for determining a particle's position within an electron cloud, not shooting electricity out your bloody hands," Jenn cried.

"Yeah, but wasn't Heisenberg also the guy who wore Wellies because he thought there was a one-in-a-trillion chance of sinking through the Earth?" Dev continued. Jenn conceded with a nod. "Then what if this was your one-in-a-trillion chance? Except hitting someone with lightning?"

Well, yeah, okay. As a scientist, Jenn knew there were just some things science couldn't explain. Yet. But how could she explain to Dev that this didn't feel like some obscure one-off incident. It almost felt like the opposite. It felt nostalgic.

Before Jenn could piece together a response, Dev spoke up. "Look, we're both scientists, right? And good scientists know that the only way to confirm a hypothesis is to replicate the results."