Attracting Annoying Women

The Global Defense Agency headquarters buzzed with activity.

Technicians monitored screens displaying the aftermath of the Flaxan invasion, agents coordinated with emergency services across the city, and Cecil Stedman,

Director of the GDA, stood at the center of the command room, his expression grim as he reviewed damage reports.

"Status on the Guardians?" he asked, not looking up from the tablet in his hand.

"All accounted for, sir," an aide replied. "The Immortal is coordinating cleanup in the western sector.

War Woman and Darkwing are handling civilian evacuation in the north. Red Rush and Martian Man are assisting emergency services downtown."

Cecil nodded. "And the Teen Team?"

"Still at their headquarters. They sustained minor injuries during the downtown engagement but nothing serious. They're debriefing now."

"And Omni-Man?"

The aide hesitated. "Still no contact, sir. He entered the eastern portal approximately three hours ago and hasn't returned."

Cecil's expression darkened. Omni-Man's decision to pursue the Flaxans into their dimension had been unexpected and concerning.

It deviated from established protocols and left Earth temporarily without its most powerful defender.

"What about the other one? The new hero who followed him in?"

"Sukuna," the aide supplied. "Also no contact. The Teen Team reports he entered the eastern portal shortly after Omni-Man."

Cecil removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Two of our most powerful assets, in an unknown dimension, with no communication capability. Wonderful."

Before the aide could respond, alarms blared across the command center. Screens flickered as sensors detected a new dimensional disturbance.

"Portal activity detected!" a technician called out. "Eastern sector, same coordinates as the previous breach!"

Cecil replaced his glasses, his posture straightening. "Full alert. Deploy containment teams. If this is another wave of Flaxans-"

"Sir," the technician interrupted, "the energy signature matches outgoing portal activity, not incoming. Something's coming back through."

The command center fell silent as all eyes turned to the main screen, displaying real-time footage from surveillance drones positioned over the eastern sector.

A swirling vortex of green energy had formed in mid-air, identical to the portals from the invasion but smaller, more controlled.

Then, two figures emerged.

Even through the drone footage, their condition was immediately apparent. Both were bloodied and battered, their clothing torn, their movements stiff with barely-healed injuries.

Omni-Man's pristine white costume was stained crimson, while Sukuna's dark attire was shredded in multiple places, revealing lacerated skin beneath.

"My God," someone whispered. "What happened to them?"

Cecil studied the footage intently, noting not just their injuries but their body language.

They descended together, side by side, with none of the hostility that might be expected if they'd been adversaries.

Instead, they moved with a strange synchronicity, as if having reached some kind of understanding.

"Alert the Teen Team," Cecil ordered. "They'll want to know their member has returned. And get me a direct line to Omni-Man. I want to know exactly what happened in that dimension."

At the Teen Team headquarters, the mood was tense. Rex paced the central platform, occasionally glancing at the monitors displaying citywide damage assessments.

Kate sat nearby, her duplicates merged back into a single form as she treated a gash on her arm. Ray hunched over her workstation, analyzing data from the invasion with intense focus.

Mark and Eve stood apart from the others, their conversation hushed but urgent.

"He shouldn't have gone in alone," Eve said, her voice tight with worry. "Following Omni-Man into the Flaxan dimension without backup - what was he thinking?"

"He's been acting differently lately," Mark replied, his own concern evident. "More... independent. Ever since that night at the bank, he's been making tactical decisions without consulting Rex or anyone else."

"That's not the point," Eve insisted. "The Flaxans are dangerous enough here, where we have the advantage. In their dimension, with different physical laws, different time flow-"

She broke off as their communicators buzzed simultaneously. Rex answered first, his expression shifting from irritation to surprise.

"They're back," he announced to the room. "Omni-Man and Sukuna just emerged from a portal in the eastern sector."

Mark's relief was immediate. "Dad's okay? And Megumi too?"

Rex's expression grew more complex. "They're... alive. But the GDA footage shows they're both pretty messed up. Looks like they went through hell in there."

Eve didn't wait for further details. She was already moving toward the exit, her molecules rearranging beneath her clothing to form her costume. "Where exactly?"

"Coordinates coming through now," Rex replied, checking his communicator. "Looks like they're descending near Uptown Park."

"I'm going," Eve stated, not a request but a declaration.

"We all are," Rex countered. "Team response protocol-"

"There's no time for that," Eve interrupted, already creating a platform of pink energy beneath her feet. "They need medical attention now."

Before anyone could object further, she was airborne, flying through the exit at a speed that left papers swirling in her wake.

Mark looked between the exit and the remaining team members, torn between protocol and personal concern. "She's right. My dad and Megumi need help. I'm going too."

Without waiting for Rex's approval, he activated his own costume and followed Eve, accelerating into the sky with the burgeoning confidence of his still-new Viltrumite abilities.

Rex watched them go, his expression a mixture of annoyance and resignation. "So much for team coordination," he muttered. "Kate, Ray - suit up. We'll follow standard protocol, even if half the team can't be bothered."

Eve reached the coordinates first, her molecular propulsion pushing her to speeds that strained the limits of her control.

The scene below came into focus as she descended - a small park in the eastern sector, relatively undamaged by the invasion, with two figures standing in a clearing.

Nolan and Megumi looked up as she approached, both clearly recognizing her distinctive pink energy signature.

She landed a few meters away, her momentum sending leaves scattering across the grass.

For a moment, she simply stared, the full extent of their injuries becoming apparent at close range. Nolan's costume was torn in dozens of places, dried blood caking the once-pristine fabric.

His face bore multiple lacerations that were only partially healed, and he stood with a slight stiffness that suggested deeper injuries.

But it was Megumi's condition that truly shocked her. His clothing was in tatters, barely hanging onto his frame. Blood - both dried and fresh - covered much of his visible skin

. A particularly nasty wound across his chest had only partially closed, and his right arm hung at a slightly unnatural angle, as if recently dislocated and improperly reset.

"My God," she whispered, her scientific detachment momentarily abandoned in the face of such devastation. "What happened to you?"

Before either could answer, Mark arrived, landing with less grace beside Eve. His reaction mirrored hers - shock followed by immediate concern.

"Dad! Megumi! You're-" he broke off, taking in their battered state. "What happened in there?"

Nolan and Megumi exchanged a brief glance, some unspoken communication passing between them.

"The Flaxans were... more prepared than anticipated," Nolan said finally, his voice rougher than usual. "They had weapons designed specifically to counter Earth's defenders. Technology they've been developing over centuries of their time."

"We encountered resistance," Megumi added, his own voice steady despite his injuries. "Significant resistance."

Eve moved forward, her training reasserting itself as she assessed their wounds more clinically. "You need medical attention. Both of you. The GDA has facilities-"

"No," Nolan interrupted. "No GDA. Not yet. We need to debrief privately first."

Eve frowned, looking between them. Something about this explanation felt incomplete, the injuries too severe for a simple encounter with Flaxan forces, no matter how well-armed.

"You fought each other," she said suddenly, the realization crystallizing in her mind. "Didn't you?"

Another glance between them, another silent exchange.

"Yes," Megumi admitted finally. "Initially."

Mark's expression shifted from concern to confusion. "What? Why would you-"

"A misunderstanding," Nolan interjected smoothly. "We entered the portal separately, encountered each other in the midst of Flaxan resistance.

In the confusion of battle, in an alien dimension with different temporal properties..."

"We each mistook the other for an enemy," Megumi finished. "Briefly."

Eve's eyes narrowed, her analytical mind rapidly processing this explanation against the evidence before her.

The severity of their injuries suggested far more than a "brief" misunderstanding. This had been a serious confrontation, one that had pushed both of them to their limits.

"And after this... misunderstanding?" she pressed.

"We came to an understanding," Nolan replied, his tone making it clear the subject was closed for now. "And worked together to secure our return."

Mark looked between his father and his friend, clearly struggling to reconcile their explanation with their condition. "You both look like you went through a meat grinder. If this was just a 'misunderstanding'-"

"Time moves differently in the Flaxan dimension," Megumi reminded him. "What was hours here was days there. We had multiple encounters with their forces while finding a way back."

Eve's focus remained fixed on Megumi, cataloging every injury, every sign of strain in his posture. Her molecules vibrated with suppressed emotion - concern, yes, but also something deeper, more intense.

The sight of him so damaged triggered responses she hadn't anticipated, hadn't prepared for.

"You shouldn't have gone in alone," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You should have waited for backup. For the team. For-" She cut herself off, but the unspoken word hung in the air. For me.

Megumi met her gaze directly, something shifting in his expression as he registered the intensity of her reaction. "It was a tactical decision made in the moment. There wasn't time for consultation."

"There's always time," she countered, her composure cracking slightly. "There's always a choice."

To everyone's surprise, tears began to well in her eyes, though she blinked them back with fierce determination.

Her hands clenched at her sides, pink energy crackling around her fingertips as her emotional state affected her molecular control.

"Eve," Mark said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "They're back now. They're okay."

"They're not okay," she snapped, shrugging off his touch. "Look at them, Mark. Really look. These aren't minor injuries. They nearly died in there."

The raw emotion in her voice caused both Nolan and Megumi to study her more carefully. Nolan's expression remained neutral, though something calculating entered his eyes.

Megumi, however, seemed to realize something - a recognition dawning that made him suddenly very still.

"I need to examine those wounds," Eve continued, regaining some composure as she shifted into scientific mode.

"Some of them aren't healing properly. I can see molecular destabilization at the cellular level."

Before anyone could respond, the rest of the Teen Team arrived - Rex, Kate, and Ray touching down nearby, their expressions a mixture of relief and concern as they took in the scene.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Rex demanded, approaching with his characteristic lack of tact. "You look like you went ten rounds with a black hole and lost."

"Something like that," Nolan replied dryly.

As Rex began peppering them with questions about the Flaxan dimension, Eve moved closer to Megumi, ostensibly to examine his injuries more closely.

Her hands hovered near his wounded chest, pink energy emanating from her fingertips as she assessed the damage at a molecular level.

"You could have died," she whispered, her voice too low for the others to hear. "Do you understand that? You could have died, and I wouldn't have known. Wouldn't have been able to help."

Megumi studied her face - the intensity in her eyes, the slight tremble in her usually steady hands, the faint pink glow that seemed to emanate from her very skin as her emotions affected her powers.

"I'm more resilient than I appear," he replied quietly.

"Everyone has limits," she countered. "Even you."

There was something in her tone, in the way her eyes tracked every movement he made, that triggered a memory in Megumi - a recollection from his time as Sukuna.

A woman with similar devotion, similar intensity.

Yorozu, the sorcerer who had loved him with an obsession that transcended reason, who had followed him into darkness without hesitation.

'Not another Yorozu,' he thought, a chill running through him despite the warmth of Eve's healing energy.

The recognition of that particular pattern - devotion mixing with fascination, concern blending with possessiveness - was unmistakable.

Eve was developing feelings for him. Not the casual interest of a colleague or the simple affection of a friend, but something deeper, more consuming.

Something that, if left unchecked, could evolve into the kind of obsession he'd seen before.

The realization was complicated by his own response to her concern. In his previous incarnation as Sukuna, he would have either exploited such devotion or dismissed it entirely.

But now, with the integration of his various lives and experiences, he found himself... touched. Concerned, even. Not just for the strategic implications, but for Eve herself.

"Eve," he said, his voice gentler than usual. "I'm fine. Truly."

She blinked rapidly, composing herself. "Your cellular structure shows significant trauma. The healing process has begun but it's incomplete. You'll need specialized care."

Before he could respond, Nolan approached, having extricated himself from Rex's interrogation. "We should continue this discussion somewhere more private," he said, his gaze taking in the growing crowd of onlookers at the park's edge.

"The Grayson house would be suitable. Debbie should be informed of our return anyway."

Mark nodded eagerly. "Mom's been worried sick. And we have first aid supplies at home."

Eve straightened, her professional demeanor reasserting itself. "I'll come too. To monitor their recovery."

Rex started to object - something about team protocols and debriefing procedures - but Eve cut him off with a look that brooked no argument. "Their injuries require specialized attention. I'm the most qualified to provide it."

The intensity of her insistence caused Rex to back down, though he exchanged a puzzled glance with Kate. "Fine. But I expect a full report later."

As the group prepared to depart for the Grayson residence, Megumi found himself watching Eve more carefully.

The way she positioned herself near him, the frequency with which her eyes darted to his injuries,

the subtle molecular manipulation she was already performing to stabilize his damaged tissue - all of it spoke to a level of attention that went beyond professional concern.

He would need to address this development carefully. Eve was a valuable ally, a brilliant scientist, and potentially a key figure in Earth's defense against the coming Viltrumite threat.

But if her feelings were developing along the lines he suspected, it could complicate matters significantly.

'Not another Yorozu,' he thought again. 'I'll need to handle this with more care than I did the first time.'

As they took to the air - Mark supporting Megumi while Nolan flew under his own power - Eve remained close, her pink energy platform keeping pace with them.

Her eyes never left Megumi's form, her attention unwavering, her molecules humming with an intensity that only someone with his perception could detect.

"Please not another Yorozu..." Sukuna muttered under his breath once more. 

Yet as he continued to look at Eve - at her very soul, he knew that was wishful thinking.

Damn him for attracting the annoying part in women.

This one he couldn't kill God damn it!

-----------------------

(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!

Yeah, look. To Sukuna, Yorozu was an incredible annoyance.

Like - look, I'm gonna put some expressions of his here as paragraph comment. Just look at them. They're really damn funny,

Here:

So yeah, I hope to see you all later,

Bye!)