MARVEL/DC: DOCTOR IN THE MULTIVERSE

Pietro stopped in front of the clinic door.

He looked back at Lynn for several seconds.

The excitement on his face gradually faded.

Then he scratched the back of his head.

"But... thank you anyway, Doctor."

His voice was much quieter now.

"If you hadn't treated my legs... I probably would've destroyed them permanently. Even with my healing factor, I don't think I would've ever been the same."

Lynn adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.

"You're welcome."

"You already paid."

Pietro's lips twitched.

That answer was exactly what he had expected.

Every time.

This doctor always hid every genuine act of kindness behind invoices, contracts, and impossible medical bills.

As though acknowledging gratitude itself would somehow damage his professional image.

"...Right."

Pietro shrugged helplessly before turning toward his sister.

"Come on, Wanda."

"Captain Rogers said everyone's gathering at the base tonight."

"Romanoff also wants to start tactical training tomorrow."

He took several steps.

Then stopped.

Wanda hadn't moved.

She remained standing before the reception desk.

Both hands gripped the hem of her dark-red coat tightly.

Her eyes never left Lynn.

"...Lynn."

Her voice was soft.

But unmistakably firm.

"May I stay here?"

Pietro nearly stumbled.

"What?"

He turned around so quickly he almost lost his balance.

"Wanda?"

"What did you just say?"

She still didn't look at him.

Her attention remained entirely on Lynn.

Pietro walked back in disbelief.

"We already talked about this."

"Steve prepared rooms for us."

"Natasha arranged our training schedule."

"The Avengers accepted us."

"I know."

Wanda answered quietly.

"Then why?"

She inhaled slowly.

"I still want to stay."

Silence settled over the clinic.

Pietro looked between his sister and Lynn repeatedly, completely unable to understand what was happening.

"Wanda..."

"What are you doing?"

Lynn leaned comfortably against the reception desk, still holding the wooden Closed sign.

He watched Wanda quietly.

She took another step forward.

Her voice trembled slightly.

"But every time I see Stark..."

Her fingers unconsciously tightened.

The indicator light on the monitoring collar briefly shifted from blue to pale yellow before returning to blue almost immediately.

Lynn noticed.

So did Wanda.

"So long as I see the Stark Industries logo..."

"I remember the missile."

"I remember our apartment."

"I remember our parents waiting beside that unexploded shell..."

Her breathing became uneven.

"In the Avengers..."

"I know Tony is trying to save people."

"I understand that."

"But memories don't disappear just because I understand them."

She lowered her eyes briefly.

"Here..."

"I don't have to think about any of it."

"You aren't afraid of me."

"You never panic when I lose control."

"You always know exactly what to do."

She finally looked directly into Lynn's eyes.

"You're the only person..."

"...who makes me feel safe."

"I can help around the clinic."

"I can register patients."

"I can clean."

"I can organize medicines."

"I can even learn nursing properly."

"I don't mind."

Lynn interrupted calmly.

"Enough."

The clinic became completely silent.

He stood.

His height naturally forced Wanda to look upward.

There was no anger in his expression.

Only calm certainty.

"Wanda."

"The Miracle Clinic is a hospital."

"It is not a rehabilitation center."

She stiffened slightly.

"I only recognize equivalent exchange."

"Your medical debt has been completely repaid."

"There is no employment contract between us."

"There is no treatment contract either."

"So ask yourself honestly."

He pointed gently toward her chest.

"Why are you still here?"

"..."

"Because you're afraid."

"I'm not—"

"You are."

His interruption was immediate.

Not harsh.

Simply absolute.

"You've mistaken psychological dependence for safety."

"You believe that because I can suppress your Chaos Magic, remaining near me guarantees you'll never lose control."

"That isn't confidence."

"It's reliance."

"You are not relying on me as a person."

"You're relying on the fact that I can stop you."

Wanda slowly lowered her head.

Lynn continued.

"The power inside you is Chaos Magic."

"Not ordinary magic."

"Not telepathy."

"Not telekinesis."

"The same power that allowed you to resist the Mind Stone itself."

He paused.

"During the Battle of Sokovia..."

"Superman couldn't resist it."

"Thor couldn't resist it."

"Iron Man couldn't resist it."

"Batman couldn't solve it."

"Only you could directly counter the Mind Stone's psychic assault."

He looked steadily at her.

"Do you understand what that means?"

She remained silent.

"It means your abilities are irreplaceable."

"Among everyone on that battlefield..."

"You were the only person capable of rewriting the nature of the Mind Stone's attack."

"That is the potential you possess."

His tone became colder.

"If you remain here making tea, cleaning floors, organizing patient files, and pretending you're merely an ordinary nurse..."

"Then you're wasting the rarest gift on this planet."

Wanda's eyelashes trembled.

She remembered the battlefield.

She remembered Steve Rogers looking toward her after the barrier held.

It wasn't sympathy.

It wasn't caution.

It was trust.

Real trust.

She hadn't wanted to acknowledge it.

Now she couldn't deny it anymore.

"But Stark..."

"Tony Stark is not your excuse."

Lynn answered without hesitation.

"If you resent him..."

"Tell him."

"If you're angry..."

"Face him."

"If you still carry grief..."

"Accept it."

"Running away from those emotions isn't healing."

"You've spent two months learning emotional regulation."

"You've learned breathing control."

"You've learned cognitive restructuring."

"You've learned how to separate memories from present reality."

He glanced briefly at the blue indicator light on her collar.

"Your monitor has remained stable for weeks."

"That means you've progressed."

"You no longer need me to serve as your emotional restraint."

He stepped backward.

Increasing the distance between them.

"The Avengers don't need another soldier."

"They already have plenty."

"They need someone who understands magic."

"Someone who can oppose mystical threats."

"Someone capable of confronting powers beyond science."

"You belong there."

"My clinic doesn't."

His final sentence landed with surgical precision.

"My clinic doesn't need a nanny."

The words hurt.

Wanda knew they were deliberately blunt.

Yet...

She also knew they were true.

She stood silently.

Her eyes reddened.

For a long moment she simply looked at Lynn.

Behind those familiar gold-rimmed glasses...

His expression never changed.

No comfort.

No encouragement.

No visible emotion.

Just calm certainty.

Finally...

She nodded.

Very slightly.

"...Let's go."

She turned toward Pietro.

Pietro looked from Wanda to Lynn.

He wanted to argue.

Wanted to protest.

Wanted to accuse Lynn of being too cold.

Instead...

He sighed.

Because he understood.

Lynn's words were often merciless.

But they were almost never wrong.

The Maximoff twins quietly left the Miracle Clinic.

Their footsteps gradually disappeared into the New York afternoon.

Lynn watched them until they vanished from sight.

Then he walked to the entrance.

He flipped the wooden sign.

CLOSED

The rolling shutter slowly descended.

The lobby became noticeably darker.

Lynn removed the thirty-million-dollar certified check from his pocket once more.

The watermark of Wayne Enterprises shimmered faintly beneath the overhead lights.

He examined Bruce Wayne's signature for a moment.

"As decisive as ever."

He filed the check inside a document folder.

A faint smile crossed his lips.

"If Stark had been responsible for paying this..."

"He'd probably still be arguing over encrypted communications about the itemized charges."

The clinic returned to complete silence.

Only the steady hum of the central air conditioner remained.

Then—

A familiar system notification echoed inside his mind.

[Ding!]

[Target detected: Wanda Maximoff.]

[Long-term treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) successfully completed.]

[Psychological reconstruction: Complete.]

[Emotional stability has reached long-term maintenance standards.]

[Treatment evaluation being generated...]

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