Two hours later, black car pulled up in front of the gates of Morton Psychiatric Hospital. A man in a suit and tie, with a receding hairline, stepped out. He cast a serious glance at the row of police cars and ambulances parked by the entrance.
Wasting no time, he flashed his ID at an officer who tried to stop him, then walked straight toward the inspector in charge.
"Agent Coulson?"
"That's me. What's going on in there?"
A flicker of fear crossed the heavyset inspector's face as he replied in an unusually tense voice:
"You should see it for yourself."
Coulson frowned and followed him into the hospital building.
As soon as they stepped inside, the thick, metallic stench of blood hit him like a wave. He instinctively covered his nose, feeling uneasy, and squinted ahead.
What he saw was like a scene ripped from a horror film. The floor, the walls, even the ceiling were stained with vivid red patterns, like childish graffiti drawn as a prank. But Coulson knew it wasn't paint. It was blood. Real blood.
Despite his years of service, a chill ran down his spine. This wasn't a hospital anymore, it was hell.
"What the hell happened here?"
He took a step back, still covering his nose.
The inspector raised his collar, wiped the cold sweat from his brow with a soaked handkerchief, and answered nervously:
" According to the preliminary report, a riot broke out. The patients turned on each other like animals. Those who tried to escape headed for the first floor but the exit was locked. That's how it spiraled out of control. "
"These mental patients are just plain insane."
Agent Coulson muttered the words, but he knew deep down this case wouldn't be that simple. If it were, someone like him, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, wouldn't have been called in.
"From what I've heard, something else unusual happened?"
The heavyset inspector swallowed hard and answered, "For some unknown reason, the paramedics started going mad one after another, including the police officers. We were forced to evacuate the storage areas, retreat, and temporarily seal off the building."
"Even the police went mad ?"
Coulson's expression turned grim. Clearly, something supernatural had occurred. A trained officer wouldn't lose his mind without a very real reason.
"Oh, by the way, when they go mad, they start shouting things like 'Pass the fire'."
"Pass the fire?"
Coulson frowned. The phrase sounded strange… Could it be linked to some kind of malicious cult ritual ? The whole situation was starting to feel more like a sacrifice than a riot.
Lost in thought, Coulson didn't notice the ordinary police officer standing just outside the doorway, watching him with an eerie smile.
"Well, well… so this is Coulson, the village chief for every Marvel transmigrant newbie ? I didn't expect to catch S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention this fast."
In his apartment, Levi, who had been lounging comfortably on the couch, sat up, took a sip of ice-cold water, and let out a long sigh.
To test the third talent he had recently acquired, Levi had gone to Moulton Psychiatric Hospital and granted a woman the ability to transform into a ghost, a specter capable of possessing and manipulating others.
The side effects included the complete loss of her original body, a drastically shortened lifespan of just one day, and a strict condition : physical contact was required for possession.
This way, Levi had only spent 200 reputation points to bestow the ability, something he could easily earn back within a single day.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that the woman was so deranged she ended up slaughtering more than half the hospital, triggering a riot among the patients and turning the place into a slaughterhouse.
"Tsk, it's probably better for them to die and be freed from that madness. Tsk… I guess I'm not such a good person after all."
Levi, having regained his composure, lay back on his couch, crossed his legs, and sipped his iced Coke while reviewing the results of the experiment.
"First, the benefit: anyone I grant a power to has their life and death completely under my control. I can perceive their vision and emotional state."
That's why, even though Levi had stayed at home, he had witnessed everything that happened at the hospital, including the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D. That part was especially important.
The only drawback was that Levi couldn't control the woman's actions or thoughts.
And since he hadn't been directly involved, his reputation points had taken a significant hit.
That was unacceptable.
Fortunately, Levi had nothing else planned for the rest of the day.
"Tom ! Jerry !" Levi called out twice.
Just as he finished speaking, two figures, one tall, one short , darted in from the balcony.
The larger one was an American Shorthair, a two-toned ginger tabby, only three months old. Its body was lean, with bright, gleaming eyes.
Levi's gaze shifted to the small gray-blue figure beside it, within his reach, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
It was a chinchilla.
It had been running upright on its hind legs the whole time. Even when it sensed a malicious gaze behind it, it showed no fear.
It even turned its head and made a sly face at the ginger American Shorthair.
I was provoked by my food ? How can a noble predatore like me tolerate that ?
The cat became angry and lifted its two front paws off the ground. Its paws suddenly swelled, taking the shape of fly swatters, and it slammed them violently onto the small creature before it.
However, the chinchilla was well prepared. It shook its body, and several identical copies of itself emerged.
His paw came crashing down and struck one of the chinchillas.
With a bang, the chinchilla vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only a single strand of hair floating in the air.
Unwilling to give up after missing the real body, Tom chased the others through the hall until he had turned them all into strands of hair.
Wait, something's wrong.
Tom suddenly turned around and saw the chinchilla perched proudly on Levi's shoulder, smiling smugly.
You really are a tricky little rat!
Tom immediately resumed his usual posture, walking elegantly toward Levi with a flattering grin. He rubbed up against Levi's pants, meowing softly.
Levi chuckled and patted his head. "Alright Tom, you lost again this time. You should learn more from Jerry and start using your brain."
"Miao~"
Tom meowed obediently, casting a cold glance at Jerry, who stood with his head held high and completely ignored Tom's hostility.
Levi smiled. These two little guys, who looked like cartoon characters, were actually the result of one of his experiments.
The third talent didn't specify that only humans could receive powers, so he'd gone to the pet shop and picked up these two interesting creatures.
Turns out, animals could accept Levi's gifts of power too.
Among them, Tom received the ability to transform parts of his body, but the side effect was that he would fall asleep after using his power. Jerry, on the other hand, was given the ability to clone himself, though the clones would disappear upon being touched, quite similar to Naruto's technique.
Both abilities had obvious flaws and didn't cost many reputation points.
More importantly, Levi could ignore those drawbacks when borrowing their abilities, thanks to his talent : [Strange Body].