Field Test

Xander's heart pounded in his chest, a combination of adrenaline and fear coursing through his veins. The word "vampires" hung in the air, surreal and almost laughable. But as one of them stepped forward, revealing their pale skin and predatory eyes, Xander knew it was no joke.

His eyes scanned the group surrounding him – all unnaturally pale and dressed in dark clothes. One of them had sharp fangs peeking out from a sinister smile. Xander felt a surge of anger mixed with fear as he realized they were all vampires.

"Don't act so surprised," the vampire sneered, his voice dripping with boredom but laced with danger.

Xander tried to find his voice, but all that came out was a weak stammer. "I...I don't understand."

The vampire's smile widened, full of malice. "Oh, but it's quite simple. You're not like other humans, boy."

As the other vampires closed in on him, their hungry eyes fixed on him, Xander felt trapped with no escape in sight. Fear tightened its grip on him, but at the same time, a fiery rage burned within him.

"You want a piece of me? Fine. But don't expect me to go down without a fight," Xander growled, his voice echoing off the brick walls of the alley. He clenched his fists, the knuckles turning white.

The vampire with the toothy grin broke into a chuckle that sent shivers down Xander's spine.

"Brave words for a little human."

In a split second, Xander was in motion. He swung at the nearest one, almost surprised by the force behind his punch as it connected with the vampire's face. The creature stumbled backward, releasing a low growl of surprise and pain.

Xander felt an icy hand grip his shoulder, spinning him around. He found himself looking into the predatory eyes of another vampire. But instead of fear, he felt a surge of adrenaline.

With strength he didn't know he had, Xander wrenched himself free from the vampire's grip and delivered another powerful punch. The vampire stumbled back, colliding into trash cans and sending them clattering noisily onto the asphalt.

"Grab him!" Another one yells.

A weird sensation spreads through Xander's veins as he goes to throw another punch, and his hand erupts into flames.

The vampires recoiled with a mixture of surprise and terror as Xander clenched the fiery hand into a fist. His heart pounded in his chest as he looked at the flames dancing around his knuckles, the heat seeping into his skin but not burning him. He could only gaze in disbelief, feeling the warmth radiate from the flames but not scorching his flesh. 

A low growl echoed through the alleyway as one of the vampires lunged for Xander. But with a swift kick and a punch, Xander landed another hit before swinging his flaming fist towards another. The vampire shrieked as the flames grazed him, sending him sprawling onto the ground with a yelp of pain.

With all sense of fear gone, replaced by an intoxicating feeling of power, Xander turned to face the last remaining vampire. The creature hesitated, its eyes darting between Xander's face and the flames threateningly flickering on his hand.

"Still want to fight?" Xander sneered, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

The vampire faltered before making a run for it, disappearing into the darkness of the alleyway. Panting heavily, Xander felt relief wash over him briefly before the reality of what just happened crashed into him like a tidal wave.

His hand still engulfed in flames, he staggered back against an alley wall for support. Dimly aware that he should be in pain or at least shocked by what transpired, he found himself feeling odd... exhilarated. The fiery glow reflected brightly in his wide eyes.

Groaning under his breath, he forced himself to concentrate on calming down and putting out the flames. Drawing from some deep, unexplored part of his mind, he stilled his racing heart and focused on his burning hand. Gradually, as though listening to a silent command, the flames started to recede until all that was left was a layer of soot and an oddly cool sensation.

Xander stared at his ash-smeared hand, flexing it repeatedly as though checking its capability to still function after being set aflame. The sense of normalcy in the mundane action contrasted sharply with the surreal events that had just happened. He was undeniably changed, something awakened inside him that he hadn't known existed.

He looks up at the night sky, was this the ability his father head? So all those experiments and drugs that were put into his body gave him this ability? And did he gain a sight that he didn't have before, the ability to see supernatural creatures?

The night sky above him was a limitless expanse of black velvet, dotted with twinkling stars and underlined by the glowing crescent of the moon. Xander stared at it for a moment, his mind a whirling maelstrom of questions. But he had no time to decipher his thoughts. He needed answers, and the only person who could help him was Ace, the man who kidnapped him and left him alone in the hospital. If Xander could guess, this was also part of their experiment to see how Xander would react in such events.

He gets off the wall and takes a deep breath in, "ACE! I know you are out there watching me with that crazy doctor."

Silence hung heavy in the alleyway. No answer came, only the distant sounds of the city's nightlife. But Xander knew better. He'd seen enough tonight to trust his instincts. He called out again, louder this time. "ACE! I know you're there! You can't hide from me anymore!"

For a moment, it seemed as though his words had vanished into the void, swallowed by the night. But then, slowly emerging from the shadows at the end of the alleyway, two figures appeared.

One was tall and lean, dressed in a crisp white lab coat that hung just above his black polished shoes. His glasses caught a shimmer of moonlight as he adjusted them on his thin nose. This was Doctor Vince.

Behind him, an imposing figure lurked in the darkness. His lean muscles shifted under his tight black shirt as he stepped forward into the dim street light illuminating the alleyway. It was Ace — just as inscrutable and menacing as Xander remembered.

"Finally decided to show your faces," Xander spat with more venom than he'd intended.

Ace stepped forward, his predatory smirk never leaving his face. "I must say, kid, you put up a good fight back there."

His words were meant to be a compliment but came out as an insult. Xander clenched his fists at his sides, resisting every urge to let his flames dance once more.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded. His voice wavered slightly despite trying to sound brave.

Vince adjusted his glasses again and finally spoke up in a calm, measured tone

"We've simply awakened something that was already within you, Xander," he said, his eyes flickering with a strange curiosity. "We're not the cause of your power. We merely uncovered it."

"Uncovered?" Xander spat out the word as if it tasted foul in his mouth. "By putting me in danger against a bunch of bloodthirsty vampires?"

Ace shrugged nonchalantly. "Consider it a field test."

"Yeah, some test," Xander grumbled, glaring at them both.

"Indeed," Vince chimed in, nodding his approval but completely missing the sarcasm in Xander's voice. He pulled out a small notepad from his lab coat pocket and started scribbling notes. "I'm glad to see you've adapted well to the initial phase. Quite impressive."

"Initial phase?" Xander echoed with a growing sense of unease. He looked from Doctor Vince's scribbling pen to Ace's amused stare and then back to his soot-covered hand. "What do you mean 'initial phase'?"

Without looking up from his notes, Vince said matter-of-factly, "There's still much more for you to learn, Xander... and much more we need to discover about you."