The conference room at the Global Defense Agency headquarters buzzed with nervous energy as Cecil Stedman addressed the assembled members of the Teen Team.
Standing at the head of the table, his scarred face set in an expression that brooked no argument, Cecil surveyed the young heroes with uncharacteristic gravity.
"Before our guests arrive," Cecil began, his voice crisp and authoritative, "I want to make one thing absolutely clear. You will show them complete respect at all times. No exceptions."
Rex Splode leaned back in his chair, twirling a small energy construct between his fingers. "What's the big deal? We've met people from other worlds before before."
Cecil's gaze sharpened. "Not like this Rex. And it isn't about that. This is about Mark Grayson."
The room fell silent at the mention of their fallen comrade. Cecil had briefed them earlier - a clinical, sanitized version of events. Mark's death at Omni-Man's hands.
His apparent resurrection and return through means they couldn't fully explain. His arrival with three companions from another reality.
"Mark's companions," Cecil continued, "particularly the one named Goku, are to be treated with the utmost courtesy. I cannot stress this enough."
His gaze swept the room, lingering on each face. "There will be severe consequences for anyone who disregards this directive."
Atom Eve shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Since learning of Mark's return, she had barely been able to sit still, her powers occasionally manifesting in small pink energy flickers around her hands. "When will they be here?" she asked, her voice betraying her impatience.
"Any moment now," Cecil replied, checking his watch. "Remember what I've said. These individuals helped bring Mark back to us. Whatever else they may be, they deserve our gratitude for that alone."
As if on cue, the conference room doors slid open. Mark Grayson entered first, looking younger than when they had last seen him but unmistakably alive.
Behind him came three strangers - a tall young man with dark hair and striking violet eyes, a girl with stoic features and a red scarf, and a slightly older man with an unassuming presence that somehow commanded attention despite his ordinary appearance.
"Mark!" Eve's exclamation broke the momentary silence. She was out of her chair in an instant, pink energy swirling around her as she practically flew across the room.
She collided with Mark in a fierce hug, wrapping her arms around him as if afraid he might disappear again.
"You're alive," she whispered against his shoulder, her composure momentarily forgotten. "You're really alive."
Mark returned the embrace, a soft smile crossing his features. "Yeah, I am. It's good to see you, Eve."
After a moment, Eve seemed to realize what she was doing. She quickly pulled back, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she smoothed down her uniform. "I mean - we all thought - Cecil told us what happened, but seeing you is-"
"It's okay," Mark assured her, his smile widening. "I get it."
Behind them, the violet-eyed young man cleared his throat, a knowing smirk playing at his lips as he raised an eyebrow at Mark. The suggestive undertone was unmistakable.
Mark shot him a glare that promised retribution, but Eve had already composed herself and taken Mark's arm. "Come on," she said, tugging him toward the others. "You have to tell us everything."
As Eve pulled Mark away, he managed to free one hand just long enough to flip his smirking brother the middle finger, eliciting a soft chuckle from Lelouch.
Cecil stepped forward, gesturing to the three newcomers. "Allow me to introduce our guests. This is Lelouch, Mikasa, and Goku. They've accompanied Mark from... elsewhere."
The Teen Team members rose from their seats, various degrees of curiosity and wariness on their faces.
Dupli-Kate immediately split into three copies, each studying the newcomers from different angles.
At the far end of the table, Robot observed silently, her mechanical form betraying no emotion, though her sensors were clearly active, scanning the new arrivals.
Amanda, known as Monster Girl, studied them with particular interest.
Currently in her human form - a teenage girl appearing around thirteen or fourteen - she showed none of the monstrous features of her powered state.
Only those familiar with her situation would know that her youthful appearance was the result of her curse, which caused her to de-age each time she transformed into her monster form.
Lelouch stepped forward first, his movements graceful and precise. "A pleasure to meet you all," he said, his voice carrying a subtle authority that seemed at odds with his youth. "Mark has spoken highly of his teammates."
Mikasa merely nodded in acknowledgment, her dark eyes sweeping the room in what appeared to be a tactical assessment. Her posture suggested readiness, though for what wasn't immediately clear.
Goku moved with a casual ease that belied the strange emptiness that seemed to surround him.
Robot with energy sensing tech found herself confused - where a person should register as a presence, Goku felt almost like a void, noticeable only because of the absence where energy should be.
"Thank you for welcoming us," Goku said, his voice warm despite the unusual aura - or lack thereof - that surrounded him. His eyes scanned the room, taking in each person with a thoughtful gaze.
As the introductions continued, Goku noticed something that gave him pause.
Where he had expected to see a male Robot based on his previous life's knowledge instead stood a clearly feminine mechanical form.
The difference was subtle but unmistakable - the design choices, the more slender framework, the modulation of the electronic voice.
'Interesting,' Goku thought to himself. 'This universe has more differences than just the events between Mark and Nolan.'
Robot stepped forward, her mechanical form moving with surprising grace. "Welcome to our Earth," she said, her synthesized voice carrying a feminine tone. "Your arrival presents fascinating possibilities for cross-dimensional research."
"Thank you," Goku replied. "We're grateful for your hospitality."
As the group settled around the conference table, Goku found his attention drawn to Amanda.
He could sense something unusual about her - an energy signature that didn't match her physical appearance, wrapped in what he immediately recognized as a powerful magical curse.
He, of course knew about it from his first life, but sensing it was another thing entirely.
While the others engaged in conversation, Goku approached Amanda, who eyed him warily.
"What?" she asked bluntly, her young features forming a defensive frown.
Goku smiled gently. "I simply wish to tell you that I can sense your curse," he said quietly, so only she could hear. "And I believe I can fix it."
Amanda's eyes widened, surprised, then angry for a moment, until she remembered his feats then a flash of hope quickly suppressed by practiced cynicism.
"Yeah, right," she scoffed, though her voice lacked conviction. "Everyone thinks they can 'fix' me. Robot's been trying for a while now and even she can't."
"This is different," Goku replied, his voice calm and certain. "Your curse operates on principles I'm familiar with.
I can modify it to give you control - you could transform at will, without the age regression penalty, or with it only when you choose."
Amanda stared at him, suspicion warring with desperate hope in her eyes. "Prove it," she challenged, her voice barely concealing vulnerability.
Goku nodded, gesturing to a more private corner of the room. "May I?" he asked, raising his hand.
After a moment's hesitation, Amanda nodded.
Goku placed his palm gently on her forehead. To the others in the room, it appeared as though he was simply touching her briefly. But what Amanda experienced was far more profound.
She felt a warm energy flow through her, unlike anything she had ever known. It wasn't invasive or painful - rather, it felt like a key unlocking a door she hadn't known existed.
The curse that had defined her existence for so long suddenly became... malleable. Responsive to her will rather than its own rules.
"Try to transform," Goku suggested softly. "But this time, imagine maintaining your current age."
Amanda closed her eyes, focusing as instructed. A soft green glow enveloped her teenage form, and then, remarkably, she began to grow and change.
Her body expanded, developing the familiar monstrous features of her powered form, but something was different this time.
When the transformation completed, she stood as Monster Girl - but with a critical difference that only she could feel.
"I don't feel like I'm leaking something," she said in wonder, her voice now the deeper growl of her monster form. "I still feel... like me."
"Now change back," Goku instructed. "And this time, imagine returning to your true age - what you would be without the curse's effects."
Amanda concentrated again. The green glow returned, and her form began to shrink and change.
But instead of returning to her teenage appearance, she continued to transform until she stood as a woman in her mid-twenties, dark-haired and wide-eyed with disbelief.
The transformation had drawn everyone's attention. The room fell silent as they stared at Amanda - Monster Girl in her true, adult form - for the first time.
"Holy shit," Rex breathed, his energy constructs dissipating in his shock.
Amanda ignored them all, staring at her hands - human hands, adult hands. Hands that matched the age she should have been if not for years of transformations stealing her youth.
She touched her face, feeling mature features instead of the adolescent ones she'd grown accustomed to seeing in the mirror.
"How did you-" she began, her voice cracking with emotion. "I don't understand."
"The curse is still there," Goku explained quietly. "But I've modified its structure. You control it now, rather than it controlling you.
You can transform at will, and decide whether the transformation affects your age or not. You can even choose to use the age regression effect selectively if you ever needed to."
Amanda stared at him, speechless. Then, to everyone's surprise, she launched herself at Goku, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice thick with suppressed tears. "You have no idea what this means. I've been aging backward for years... I was afraid I'd eventually just... disappear."
Goku returned the embrace briefly before stepping back with a gentle smile. "You're welcome."
He did this simply because he knew it would make Mark happy, and there is nothing he wants more in the world than his three children being happy.
From across the room, Robot observed the interaction with intense focus.
Her sensors recorded every detail of the energy fluctuation around Goku as he modified Monster Girl's curse - a feat that she herself has constantly failed in.
The curse had resisted years of her most advanced technological interventions, yet this stranger had altered it with a mere touch.
'Fascinating,' Robot thought, her artificial mind calculating possibilities at lightning speed. 'He manipulates energy at a fundamental level beyond any known metahuman ability. The applications are... limitless.'
As Amanda continued to marvel at her restored form, alternating between examining herself and casting grateful glances at Goku, Robot approached them.
"An impressive demonstration," she said, her mechanical voice betraying no emotion despite her intense interest. "I've attempted to address Amanda's condition for a while now without success. May I ask what method you employed?"
Goku turned to her with a friendly smile that nonetheless revealed little. "It's complicated to explain in technical terms," he said. "Let's just say I have some experience with energy manipulation at a fundamental level."
More specifically magic. As an apprentice Kai, he of course had knowledge of one the fundemental forces of reality, for Ki and Magic made up the entire Dragon Ball universe.
Though, Zamasu would admit that he himself is not very proficient in it, but with his understanding of time and this curse in and of itself being not too complicated, he could easily enough manipulate it.
Robot's sensors detected no deception in his statement, yet also no real information. "Perhaps we could discuss it further at some point," she suggested. "I find myself... curious about your capabilities."
"Of course," Goku agreed amiably, though he himself had more interest in finding out what else is different about her than her gender.
Across the room, Mark had been watching the exchange with Eve and the others. "He did it," he said, a note of pride in his voice. "Goku actually fixed Monster Girl's curse."
"How is that even possible?" Eve asked, struggling with what she'd just witnessed. "That curse has resisted everything - magic, technology, even cosmic forces."
Mark shrugged, a small smile playing at his lips. "That's Goku. He does the impossible like it's nothing."
Meanwhile, Amanda had moved to a reflective surface, staring at herself with an expression of wonder.
She ran her fingers through her hair, touched her face, examined her reflection from different angles.
"Twenty-four," she murmured to herself. "I'm twenty-four as I'm supposed to be," She glanced back at Goku, who was now speaking with Cecil and Lelouch. Something shifted in her expression - gratitude giving way to something more complex, more personal.
She approached him again, this time with more composure. "Hey," she said, her voice carrying its usual directness but with a new softness. "I just wanted to say... what you did... nobody's ever been able to help me like that before."
Goku turned to her with that same gentle smile. "I'm glad I could help."
"If there's ever anything I can do for you," Amanda continued, holding his gaze longer than strictly necessary, "anything at all - you just let me know, okay?"
"I appreciate that," Goku replied, though having no intention of asking her anything, for if there is something he can't do then who possibly could?
As Amanda reluctantly moved away to join the others, Robot continued her observation. Her mechanical form gave no outward sign, but internally, her processes had shifted priorities.
This visitor - this Goku - represented something unprecedented.
A force that operated outside known parameters. A being who could accomplish with a touch what her most advanced science could not.
'A specimen worth studying,' she concluded, her analytical mind already formulating approaches.
As the meeting concluded and the group prepared to move to more comfortable quarters, Cecil pulled Mark aside briefly.
"Your friend," Cecil said quietly, nodding toward Goku, "just casually fixed a curse that's resisted every magical and scientific approach we've tried for years."
Mark nodded, unsurprised. "That's just who he is."
Cecil's expression remained carefully neutral. "And who exactly is he, Mark?" wishing to know how much exactly Mark knows and how much he is willing to truly divulge. How deep his loyalty runs.
Mark met Cecil's gaze steadily. "He's family," he said simply. "The best kind."
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
So, Goku fixed Monster Girl's curse. He basically did it on a whim after seeing her. He knows she is one of Mark's teammates, he cares about her, so why not help her to then make Mark happier?
It's not like it took more than a few seconds, or was anything really complex.
Also, I know this chapter probably wasn't really interesting, but sometimes slow chapters need to happen to build towards more interesting things.
So yeah, do tell me how you found it and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)