Gojo took a moment to assess the woman who had just sat beside him. She was undeniably beautiful, with striking features and an air of confidence that suggested she wasn't just an ordinary civilian. The circular hairband around her forehead intrigued him, hinting at a possible purpose beyond mere decoration. He recognized her immediately as Sharon Carter, a notable S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from the MCU.
'Sharon Carter,she looks just like the actress' he thought. 'S.H.I.E.L.D. must be getting desperate if they're sending someone like her to tail me.'
"Mind if I sit here?" she repeated, her smile unwavering.
Gojo decided to play along, curious to see what S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted. "Sure, why not? It's not every day a beautiful lady wants to share a meal with me."
She chuckled softly, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Well, thank you. I'm Sharon, by the way."
"Satoru Gojo," he replied, giving her a nod.
Their conversation was interrupted when the guy from the counter returned with Gojo's order. "One double cheeseburger with extra bacon, large fries, and a strawberry milkshake. Enjoy, chief."
"Thanks," Gojo said, taking the tray. He looked at Sharon. "Want anything?"
"I'm good, thanks," she replied, still smiling.
Gojo started eating, savoring the flavors. As he did, he couldn't help but notice the subtle way Sharon was observing him. 'She's definitely not here by coincidence,' he thought. 'Oh, I am definitely not giving her a piece of this.'
"So, Gojo," Sharon began, "what do you do for fun around here?"
Gojo paused, considering his answer. "Well, when I'm not busy with school or, you know, saving the world, I like to explore the city, try new foods, and sometimes just relax."
"Sounds like a good balance," Sharon remarked. "But it must be tough, juggling all that."
Gojo shrugged again. "It has its moments. But enough about me. What about you, Sharon? What do you do when you're not out for late-night burgers?"
Sharon leaned in slightly, her eyes locked on his. "I work in security. High-stakes, high-reward kind of job."
"Interesting," Gojo said, matching her gaze. "And does this job involve keeping an eye on people like me?"
Sharon's smile never faltered. "Sometimes. It depends on the situation."
Gojo's expression suddenly turned serious, a rare occurrence. "Why don't we cut the bullshit?" he said, his tone low and threatening. "I'll give you one chance to tell me why you're spying on me. Or I'm going to have to dive deep into that poorly protected mind of yours and rip it out of you. How cute, did Fury really think that little trinket around your head would work against me?" A wisp of energy danced across his body, and he telekinetically floated some particles around him in a warning manner.
Sharon raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, fine, calm down, would you? There are civilians here, and besides, you're not that unreasonable, are you?"
Gojo raised an eyebrow. "You're quite famous, you know." She pulled out her phone, typed something into the search engine, and a video of him fighting the Masters of Evil appeared on the screen. Despite the blurring, it had been watched almost 40 million times.
"Fury doesn't know how to take a hint, I see. I already told him I am not going to join him, so now what?" Gojo asked, not at all believing what she was saying. She placed a translucent card with a large red "A" on the table.
Looking at the card, Gojo thought, 'Is Fury really that desperate to have me on his side that he's offering this?'
Sharon nodded. "Fury wants you to join the Avengers. We could always use a strong hero like you."
"Hero?" Gojo's eyes widened a bit before he spoke again. "So he wants me to join so he'll be able to at least monitor me, huh? He does know I am not stupid and I can tell that much from this invitation."
"Even so, what do you say?" she asked hopefully, knowing this would be the only way to extract information from him. Sharon stared at his shades, catching a glimpse of his glowing eyes.
Gojo lowered his shades and stared at her with his gemstone blue eyes that seemed to have an otherworldly glow to them, which stunned Sharon for a moment before she composed herself.
Gojo stood up abruptly. "Well, can't say that I'm not flattered by the invitation, but I already have a pending invitation I still haven't attended to," he replied. "Still, if you guys ever need help, I'm sure you know where to find me." Gojo gave her a wink as he disappeared in a blink, leaving Sharon to look pointedly at the CCTV camera above her.She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and answered the call from Maria Hill.
"How did it go?" Maria asked, her tone professional.
Sharon sighed. "He didn't take the bait. He saw right through it, threatened to tear the information out of my head if I didn't tell him the truth."
Maria was silent for a moment. "I see. Did you manage to gauge his reaction to the Avengers offer?"
"He was flattered but suspicious," Sharon replied. "He knows Fury wants to monitor him and isn't thrilled about it. But he did say if we needed help, he's willing to assist."
"Interesting," Maria said. "Alright, come back to base. We'll need to debrief and figure out our next steps."
"On my way," Sharon confirmed, ending the call. She glanced once more at the now-empty seat where Gojo had been, pondering the complexities of their new potential ally.
Gojo reappeared near Stark Tower, gazing up at the massive structure. The sheer size and modern design were impressive, even to someone like him. As he took a step towards the entrance, he suddenly felt something out of place. His skin started to crawl, and goosebumps spread across his arms. Everything seemed to slow down around him as an ominous feeling built up at an incredible rate until it hit a critical point and then dissipated.
The city fell into darkness as all the lights in New York City switched off simultaneously.
Boom.
The sound of an explosion faintly echoed across the city. Gojo could sense the origin wasn't within the city limits, but the urgency was clear.
'AGAIN???' he thought, exasperated. 'What is wrong with this city, always finding itself in problems like this?'
He extended his telepathic senses and removed his shades and threw it away before he activated his X-ray vision, scanning the area for the source of the problem. The feeling of malice was becoming clearer, originating not from one but multiple individuals in the same area.
Gojo pinpointed the location and teleported directly to the source of the malice.