Episode 9 – The Hospital War
The rift didn't wait until night this time.
It tore open inside Roosevelt Memorial. Right above the ER.
The ceiling split with a screech, fluorescent lights exploding as alien air spilled in—smoke, fire, and a chorus of screams. Patients scrambled. Nurses shrieked. Doctors stumbled back as the world they knew cracked wide open.
And in the center of it all, Michael Carter stood calm, blunt tucked behind his ear, locs falling over his sharp face.
"Guess it's showtime."
⸻
The Board's Last Card
Hours before the chaos, the board had gathered in secret. Lang stood at the head of the table, eyes wild.
"He's not human," Lang snarled. "He commands creatures, he walks through fire, he makes people obey with words. He's a threat, not a surgeon. We need to end him—now."
The board murmured, uneasy. They had seen too much. Patients called Michael a savior. But their hospital was no longer theirs—it was his.
The chief sighed, cigar burning low. "If Carter walks in here, we're finished. But if we cut him down…"
The lights flickered. The walls shook. Then came the sound—the rift splitting open above them.
Lang's face twisted. "He brought this here."
⸻
Case #12 – Mass Panic
The ER was chaos. Dozens of patients collapsed as alien energy rolled through the halls—bodies seizing, lungs failing, hearts giving out. It wasn't just physical wounds—it was radiation from another dimension.
Michael's Dimensional Awareness screamed. His glow erupted, flooding the ER like a storm.
He dropped to his knees, hands pressed to multiple patients at once. His new skill, Rapid Multi-Target Healing, pulsed harder than ever. Dozens of patients gasped awake, poison flushed, lungs cleared.
[XP +2,000]
[XP: 6,200 / 5,000]
[Level Up! You are now Level 9 Healer.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Vital Resonance (Stabilize Environments).]
The walls of the ER stopped shaking. The alien radiation calmed. The air steadied.
Michael stood, locs glowing faintly in the light, his presence unshakable.
⸻
Wild Betrayal
But Lang wasn't done. He stormed into the ER, gun in hand, eyes wild.
"This ends tonight! You're not a healer—you're a demon!"
Nurses screamed. Jessica froze, trembling, eyes wide.
Michael didn't flinch. He stepped forward, Silver Tongue pulsing. His voice rolled through the chaos like thunder.
"Put the gun down."
Lang's hand shook. His rage burned. But his body betrayed him—his grip loosened, the gun clattering to the floor. He fell to his knees, gasping.
Michael crouched, calm. "You wanted me exposed? Here I am. Still saving lives while you try to take them."
Lang wept, humiliated, broken in front of the crowd.
⸻
Heat in the Fire
Later, when the hospital finally caught its breath, Jessica pulled Michael into a supply closet, shaking.
"I thought you were dead. I thought—fuck—I thought he was gonna kill you."
Her lips crashed into his. Scrubs peeled away. Shelves rattled as they tangled against the wall, her moans muffled by his mouth.
"Michael…" she gasped, fingers gripping his locs.
When it was over, she slumped against him, trembling. "They'll never stop coming for you."
Michael lit a blunt, exhaling smoke over her shoulder. "Good. I like the practice."
⸻
The Rift Drags Them In
But the night wasn't over.
The rift in the ER didn't close—it widened. Lightning cracked through the walls. Gravity twisted.
And then, with a thunderous roar, the rift sucked half the ER inside.
Beds, machines, patients, and staff vanished into the glowing wound in reality. Screams echoed as Jessica's hand slipped from Michael's.
Michael didn't hesitate. He dove in after them.
⸻
Another World
They landed in a wasteland under a violet sky. Craters burned with fire. Alien towers loomed in the distance, dripping with black ichor.
Doctors scrambled to their feet. Nurses clutched patients. Lang, still broken, stared around in horror.
Michael stood first, calm, his glow cutting through the chaos.
"We're not in New York anymore," he said, smirking.
A horde of creatures crawled from the craters, eyes glowing red, jaws snapping.
Jessica gasped. "We can't fight that—"
Michael stepped forward, locs whipping in the alien wind.
"Good thing I don't fight. I cure."
⸻
Case #13 – World Save
The creatures charged. Patients screamed. Doctors froze.
Michael unleashed Vital Resonance. His glow expanded outward, stabilizing the warped air, purging the alien poison. Patients gasped awake, soldiers healed, doctors steadied.
The creatures hesitated, snarling.
Michael's Silver Tongue thundered across the wasteland. "Go back. Leave this place."
The ground shook. The horde faltered. And then—they obeyed. One by one, the beasts slithered back into the craters, vanishing into the dark.
The wasteland fell silent.
[XP +3,000]
[XP: 3,200 / 5,000]
Michael turned back to the stunned hospital staff. Calm. Dangerous. Smirking.
"You wanted to see who I really am? Welcome to my world."
The Legend Grows
By the time they returned through the rift, Roosevelt Memorial was in shambles—but alive. Every patient saved. Every staff member returned.
The whispers became shouts.
"He's not just a doctor—he's a god."
"No, he's the cure."
"He's untouchable."
Lang sat broken, silent, drowned out by the roar of Michael's name.
And Michael? He sat in his busted apartment that night, locs falling over his face, smoke curling into the air, HUD glowing.
[Level 9 – Prestige 0]
[XP: 3,200 / 5,000]
[Skills: Vital Resonance unlocked.]
He exhaled smoke, smirking.
"Hospital wars. Multiverse wars. Same shit. I'll save them all."
He leaned back, grin sharp as a scalpel.
"I am the cure."