The GDA library was massive - shelves packed with books on everything from physics to classified metahuman incidents.
In the quietest corner, Goku sat surrounded by piles of books, reading at an incredible speed and occasionally jotting notes in a small journal.
Amanda spotted him while wandering through the stacks, looking for something to kill time.
It had been two weeks since he'd fixed her curse - two weeks of waking up in her proper adult body and transforming without fear. She still couldn't believe it had actually worked.
"Hey there," she called out, approaching his table. "Doing some light reading?"
Goku looked up, his focus shifting to a polite smile. "Amanda. Just trying to learn more about this world."
"Find anything interesting?" she asked, dropping into the chair across from him without waiting for an invitation.
She couldn't help noticing how the library's soft lighting highlighted his features - there was something undeniably attractive about his focused intensity.
"Many things," Goku replied, closing his book. "Your world has a complex history."
"Yeah, humans are pretty good at making things complicated," Amanda said with a snort.
"Listen, I've been meaning to catch you. I wanted to say thanks again for the whole curse thing. It's been..." she gestured to her adult body, "pretty awesome, actually."
"I'm glad it helped," Goku said simply.
Amanda leaned back in her chair, studying him. "So what's the deal? You just go around fixing 'incurable' magical curses for fun? Because if that's your thing, I know at least three other heroes with magical problems."
Goku's lips quirked slightly. "It was a relatively simple adjustment."
"Simple," Amanda repeated with a laugh. "Robot's been trying to fix me for a while with science that would make Einstein's head explode. And you just..." she waved her hand, "touched my forehead and poof, problem solved."
Goku shrugged modestly. "Different approaches yield different results."
"No kidding." Amanda glanced at the books piled around him. "So what are you researching? Please tell me it's not for a school project or something boring."
"Just trying to understand Earth's defenses and potential threats," Goku replied.
"Ah," Amanda nodded. "The Viltrumite thing. Mark's dad and his psycho space friends."
"Something like that," Goku acknowledged.
Amanda stood up suddenly. "Well, you're in the wrong section for that. Follow me. I've got clearance for the good stuff."
She led him through the library to a secure door marked 'Xenological Threat Assessment - Clearance Level 8 Required.' Placing her palm on the scanner, she grinned.
"Being a superhero has some perks. Like access to all the classified alien info Cecil's been hoarding for decades."
The door opened to reveal a specialized collection of materials - books, digital archives, specimen samples, and holographic displays.
"This is where the real intel is," Amanda said, leading Goku to a console. "Cecil's been paranoid about aliens since the 70s. Most of this is probably bullshit, but there's real stuff mixed in."
She activated the console with a few practiced movements. "So what do you want to know about the Viltrumites? Biology? Weapons? How many push-ups they can do?"
"Their social structure would be a good start," Goku replied, already scanning the categories.
Though this was actually merely an excuse. Goku simply had nothing to do.
He was bored and was simply killing time. It is why he wasn't bothered by Amanda's presence interrupting his reading.
Deep down though, he knew the reason for this boredom was instincts that he has been ignoring for a while.
The fighting instincts of a Saiyan.
He kinda wished Vegeta was here. He made a good punching bag.
"Boring, but practical," Amanda said, bringing up files. "This is mostly from Nolan's debriefings when he first showed up pretending to be Earth's buddy. So, you know, take it with a grain of salt since the guy turned out to be a murderous space Nazi."
Goku began reviewing the information with intense focus, absorbing data at an amazing rate.
"So," Amanda said after a few minutes of watching him speed-read through classified files, "you fixing my curse. That was pretty cool. Most people would want something in return for that kind of favor."
Goku glanced up. "It wasn't a transaction."
"Yeah, I'm getting that," Amanda said. "Which is weird, honestly. In my experience, people always want something."
"Perhaps you've been meeting the wrong people," Goku suggested, returning to the files.
Amanda laughed. "Maybe. Or maybe you're just not like most people." She paused, then added, "You fight, right? I mean, obviously you do. Nobody moves like that without serious training."
Goku smiled slightly. "When necessary."
"We should spar sometime," Amanda suggested impulsively. "I mean, I'm pretty good. Been training with the Teen Team for a while. Plus, you know, super-strength in monster form."
Goku looked thoughtful. "Perhaps. Though I would need to adjust considerably."
"Because I'm not as strong as you," Amanda guessed, not offended. She'd been around enough powerhouses to recognize one.
"Strength is only one factor," Goku replied diplomatically.
"The offer stands," she said with a shrug. "Might be fun to learn some new moves."
They settled into a comfortable silence as Goku continued researching and Amanda occasionally pointed out relevant files or explained GDA classification systems.
It was weird how not-weird it felt to just hang out with this guy who had fundamentally changed her life.
"You know," she said eventually, "I've been thinking a lot about what you did for me. Not just the technical part of fixing the curse, but what it means.
I was basically on a one-way trip to disappearing completely. Every transformation taking me back further in time until one day I'd just... poof. Gone."
Goku looked up, his expression attentive.
"And now I'm not," Amanda continued. "Now I can be Monster Girl without the countdown clock. I can have a future again."
She cleared her throat, suddenly uncomfortable with the emotional turn. "So yeah. Thanks for that. It's pretty huge."
"You're welcome," Goku said simply. "You don't need to repeat your thanks so much. You deserved better than what that curse was doing to you."
Amanda nodded, not trusting herself to speak for a moment. Then, reverting to her more comfortable sarcastic tone: "So if you ever need anything - someone punched, something blown up, whatever - I owe you big time."
Goku smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."
They returned to their research, the conversation shifting to more practical matters - Viltrumite weaknesses, defensive strategies, Earth's metahuman resources.
Amanda found herself enjoying the straightforward exchange. No expectations, no hidden agendas, just information sharing and occasional dry observations.
It was refreshing, in a way. Most of her interactions since getting her powers had been colored by her curse - people treating her like a ticking time bomb, or worse, a tragedy waiting to happen.
Goku treated her like a person. A competent adult. Someone worth talking to.
"Hey," she said as their research session wound down, "I meant what I said about owing you. Not just for the curse thing, but for treating me like... me.
Not a problem to be fixed or a sad story. That's pretty rare in our line of work."
Goku looked up, his expression thoughtful. "The curse wasn't who you were, Amanda. Just something that happened to you."
The simple statement hit harder than she expected. "Yeah," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Guess I needed to hear that."
As they left the archive, Amanda found herself wondering about Goku - where he came from, what he was capable of, why he was helping Mark - since that whole thing of him being just Mark's apparently adoptive dad smelled like BS.
There is most definitely more to this guy.
But these questions remained unasked inside her mind. Some mysteries weren't meant to be solved, and some people earned the right to keep their secrets.
Besides, she had a future to plan now. A real one, with possibilities she hadn't dared consider for years. And that was enough to be getting on with.
As she watched him walk away, Amanda couldn't help admiring the confident grace in his movements and the kindness he'd shown her without asking for anything in return.
It had been a long time since she'd allowed herself to notice a man that way - the curse had made relationships seem pointless when she was on a one-way trip to childhood.
Now, though... well, that was another possibility worth considering.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!
Yeah, I know it was quite short, but I wanted to write something relaxing, not too important to the plot and all that.
So do tell me how you found it and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)