As Sukuna in Invincible

The Grayson family home stood as an island of relative normalcy amid the chaos of the dimensional merger.

Outside, the sky continued to ripple with emerald energy, casting an eerie glow through the windows of the suburban house.

Inside, an unprecedented family reunion was taking place - one that defied everything normal.

Two Debbie Graysons sat across from each other at the dining room table, their identical faces reflecting different lives, different experiences, different sorrows.

Between them stood two versions of their son, Mark - physically identical yet fundamentally altered by the divergent paths their lives had taken.

"It's the strangest thing," original Debbie said, her hands wrapped tightly around a mug of tea that had long since gone cold.

"One minute I was in the kitchen making dinner, the next there was this green flash, and suddenly..." She gestured helplessly toward her counterpart.

"We were standing face to face," altered Debbie finished for her, a gentle smile softening her features.

"It seems counterparts are being drawn together as the dimensions merge. According to Cecil - our Cecil - it's happening all across the city."

Original Mark nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed. "Yeah, same thing happened with me.

I was just flying around downtown when - bam! - suddenly I'm staring at another counterpart of myself with Eve. Then we fought, then we stopped, and now we're here.

Talk about a weird day, even by superhero standards."

"No kidding," altered Mark agreed with a half-smile. "Though at this point, I'm starting to think 'weird' is our new normal."

Original Debbie studied her alternate self, noting the subtle differences that distinguished them - a certain ease in her bearing, fewer worry lines around her eyes, a warmth that spoke of a life less traumatized.

"I still can't believe it," she said quietly. "In your world, Nolan never..." She trailed off, unable to complete the thought.

Altered Debbie reached across the table, placing her hand over her counterpart's. "No, he didn't. Thanks to Megumi."

"This Megumi person," original Debbie said, glancing between altered Mark and his mother.

"You mentioned he confronted Nolan? How is that even possible? Nolan is - was - the most powerful being on the planet."

Altered Mark's expression softened at the mention of his friend. "Megumi's... something else," he explained, his tone warming.

"Got these crazy abilities that even Dad couldn't just brush off. But it wasn't just that - Megumi sees through people, you know? Gets them in a way that's kinda scary sometimes."

"He confronted Dad in the Flaxan dimension," he continued, running a hand through his hair. "Somehow got Dad to actually think about what he was planning to do, what he'd be throwing away if he went through with it."

A genuine smile spread across his face. "And he did it! Got through Dad's thick Viltrumite skull somehow. Made him choose us."

Original Mark let out a disbelieving snort. "Yeah, right. My dad nearly beat me to death when I tried to stop him.

Killed the Guardians without even blinking. But sure, this Megumi guy just... talked him out of it?"

He couldn't just accept it. He didn't want to accept it. Did just some guy - best friend of his alternate self or not, know his dad better than he did.

Got through his dad when even the near on killing of his son didn't? How can he just take that and go with it?

Though deep down, original Mark realised that he was jealous. Jealous that he didn't have such luck to have some awesome friend who fixed all your problems before they even became ones.

"Hey, I know how it sounds," altered Mark shot back, defensive. "I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen the aftermath.

But it happened. In our world, the Guardians are still alive. Dad's actually working with them now, helping get Earth ready for when the Viltrumites show up."

Original Debbie's hands trembled slightly, causing her tea to slosh in its mug. "It's hard to accept that there's a version of my life where everything didn't fall apart," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Where I wasn't lied to for twenty years. Where my husband didn't turn out to be..." She couldn't finish, tears welling in her eyes.

Altered Debbie squeezed her counterpart's hand. "It wasn't perfect, even in our world," she said. "When Nolan finally told me the truth - about who he was, why he came to Earth - I was devastated. Betrayed. Furious."

"But he chose us," altered Mark jumped in. "That's the big difference. When push came to shove, he picked his family over his mission. Picked being human over being a good little Viltrumite soldier."

Original Mark pushed himself off the counter, pacing the kitchen with restless energy. "Well, good for you guys," he said, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice. "My father chose the empire. He chose his precious 'duty' over everything we had together."

"And I'm so sorry for that," altered Debbie told him, her eyes filled with compassion. "I can't imagine the pain you've both endured."

Original Debbie wiped away a tear, attempting to regain her composure. "Tell me about him," she requested suddenly. "Your Nolan. After he... changed his mind. What is he like now?"

Altered Debbie's expression grew thoughtful. "More honest than he's ever been," she replied after a moment. "There's a weight that's been lifted from him, now that he's no longer living a lie. He's more present, more engaged."

She smiled faintly. "And surprisingly vulnerable, in ways I never saw before."

"He's still Dad," altered Mark added with a shrug. "Still stubborn as hell, still thinks he knows everything. But he's also... I dunno, more real somehow?

Like he finally stopped fighting against his human side and just let himself be both."

Original Mark kicked at an invisible spot on the floor, his frustration palpable. "And all because of this Megumi guy? One random dude somehow changed the mind of a Viltrumite warrior with centuries of conditioning?"

"Hey, watch it," altered Mark snapped, his casual demeanor instantly vanishing. "Megumi isn't just 'some random dude.' He's the most extraordinary person I've ever known.

My best friend. The one person who saw what was coming and had the guts to do something about it."

Original Debbie noticed the shift in altered Mark's tone. "You care about him a great deal," she observed.

"He saved my family," altered Mark stated firmly. "He saved my future. Everything I have, everything I am now, I owe to him." There was an intensity to his words that bordered on possessiveness.

"Without Megumi, I'd have lost everything, just like..." He glanced at his counterpart, then looked away.

"Just like I did," original Mark finished for him, his voice tight.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the kitchen.

"This Megumi," original Debbie said finally, attempting to ease the tension. "What's he like? Beyond his abilities, I mean."

Altered Mark's expression immediately brightened. "He's brilliant. Like, scary smart. Sees things nobody else catches. Has this super dry sense of humor that catches you off guard." A smile played at his lips as he continued.

"He pretends to be this cool, detached guy, but he cares more than anyone I know. He just shows it differently, you know?"

"He sounds special," original Debbie said, noticing how animated her alternate son became when discussing his friend.

"He is," altered Mark confirmed enthusiastically. "Dad tried to blow him off at first - just some human butting into Viltrumite business.

But even Dad couldn't ignore Megumi for long. The guy just... gets things. Sees through all the BS."

Original Mark had stopped pacing, listening with growing interest despite himself. "And now? How does your dad feel about him now?"

"Respects the hell out of him," altered Mark replied without hesitation. "Which is saying something, 'cause Dad doesn't respect many people.

They have these intense debates sometimes - about power, responsibility, civilization, all that deep stuff. It's like watching two chess masters going at it."

"They sound close," original Debbie observed.

Altered Debbie laughed softly. "I wouldn't go that far. They respect each other, but there's always this... tension between them.

Like two alpha predators in the same territory, always keeping an eye on each other."

"That sounds more like the Nolan I knew," original Debbie murmured.

"He's still Viltrumite," altered Debbie acknowledged. "That hasn't changed. But he's also more than that now. He's chosen to be more."

Original Mark leaned against the wall, his posture defensive. "And you trust him? After knowing what he was sent here to do?"

Altered Mark met his counterpart's gaze directly. "Trust is earned," he said. "And he's earning it, day by day. It hasn't been easy, and there are still times when I wonder..." He shook his head.

"But then I remember what Megumi told me: 'Judge him by his choices, not his origins. By what he does now, not what he was programmed to do.'"

"Wise words," original Debbie said softly.

"That's Megumi," altered Mark replied, that fond, protective tone returning. "Always cutting through to the heart of things."

Original Debbie studied her alternate son's face, recognizing something in his expression that reminded her of how her husband used to look at her -not romantic - but a fierce, almost possessive devotion.

Something altered Debbie could also see.

And they were both correct.

Altered Mark after seeing his original counterpart, seeing the shadows over his orignal Mother's face, her sorrow, his other's bitterness and jealousy,

the thought of his own father nearly killing him, the family he would die for, who he loved more than life itself broken, dispaired nearly broke him.

He couldn't imagine going through all that - didn't want to imagine it, and therefore realizing more than ever all that was prevented because of his best friend made him extremely protective over him.

"You and Megumi," she began carefully. "You seem very close."

Altered Mark nodded, "As I said, he's my best friend. The one person who really gets what I'm going through - the pressure of these powers, the responsibility, the whole human-Viltrumite balancing act."

"In my world," original Mark said, "that person was Eve. At least for a while."

"Eve?" altered Mark looked surprised. "Eve and I are friends, but nothing like..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "She and Megumi are actually together now. It's still new, but they're... intense."

"Eve and Megumi?" original Mark echoed, clearly struggling to imagine a relationship between someone he knew well and someone he'd never met - especially a counterpart of his own girlfriend.

"Makes sense, when you think about it," altered Mark explained with a shrug.

"They're both super smart, both driven, both see the world in ways most people don't. And they're both..." He hesitated, searching for the right word. "Focused. When they want something, they go after it like a missile locked on target."

"They sound well-matched," original Debbie observed.

"They are," altered Mark agreed. "Though it took them forever to figure it out. Megumi's not exactly Mr. Emotional Openness, and Eve..." He chuckled. "Well, Eve has her own brand of intensity."

The conversation paused as another tremor shook the house, stronger than previous ones. The dimensional energy outside pulsed more violently, casting shadows that seemed to move of their own accord.

"It's getting worse," original Mark said, glancing toward the window.

"Yeah, the merger's speeding up," altered Mark confirmed, his expression growing serious. "Cecil - our Cecil - thinks we're getting to the point where the realities will either become one stable dimension or..."

"Or what?" original Debbie asked when he didn't continue.

"Or everything goes boom," altered Mark finished grimly. "Total reality collapse."

Original Debbie reached for her alternate self's hand, squeezing it tightly. "What can we do?"

"Cecil's got the best brains from both our worlds working on it," altered Debbie assured her. "Including Megumi and Eve. If anyone can find a solution, they will."

"And if they can't?" original Mark pressed.

Altered Mark met his counterpart's gaze. "Then we deal with whatever comes next together. As a family - weird as this family might be right now."

Original Debbie looked between the two versions of her son, then at her alternate self.

Despite the strangeness of the situation, despite the apocalyptic energies swirling outside, she felt something she hadn't experienced in months: hope.

"Together," she agreed softly. "As a family."

Suddenly the roof explodes. Both Marks immediately move their mothers and protect them mothers from the collapse. 

"Stand ready for my arrival worms," a booming voice came from above. As the two looked they saw a mighty titan of a Viltrumite, with a metal arm, and a scarred face with one blind eye.

Conquest has descended form the Heavens, ready for battle.

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

(Author note: So... That happened.

What? He was on his way, since this is a merger now, just got delayed a couple days for... reasons. (The word "worms" should be a good enough hint to understand.)

Do tell me how you found it. Also, yes, our Mark is also getting a bit out of hand - I'm trying to keep the theme of all Marks that aren't the canon one being in one way or another... different.

So yeah, again do tell me how you found it and I hope to see you all later,

Bye!)