The Man of Steel in Marvel

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[Ding! Host has completed the mission in this universe. Do you want to return to your original world?]

Jiro glanced at the system interface and smirked."No rush. Let's look around a bit more."

Just as he was about to head off somewhere else, a golden portal suddenly swirled open in front of him.

The Ancient One stepped out from the portal, her wide yellow robes fluttering slightly in the breeze.

Her gaze was deep and calm—but carried an undeniable authority.

"You don't belong in this world," she said softly, but firmly.

Jiro chuckled lightly, not answering her directly."Nice to see you again, Ancient One."

Her brows furrowed slightly as she studied him."You mean… you know another me?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Not just know. A few days ago, you were trying to make me the next Sorcerer Supreme."

Jiro casually raised a finger, and golden magical energy flowed across his palm, forming a familiar sigil—the protective spell of Kamar-Taj.

"Your magic," the Ancient One noted, her curiosity deepening."But your energy source… it's not from the Vishanti or the Dark Dimension."

"Nope. The sun," Jiro said with a grin. "I rebuilt the magic system my own way."

The Ancient One was silent for a moment, eyes resting on him.

"Those two stones don't belong to you," she said quietly.

"I know."

Jiro nodded."But if they stay here, Thanos will take them eventually. And the Time Stone's going to be handed over too. The one who gives it up… will be Stephen Strange."

The Ancient One's breath caught ever so slightly.

"What did you say?"

Jiro immediately understood—he must've gotten here too early. Banner probably hadn't even started his time-travel mission yet.

Looking straight into her eyes, Jiro said,"In the future, Strange will give the Time Stone to Thanos willingly. Because he sees the one single path to victory. But the cost… is half of all life."

The Ancient One froze.

Her fingers curled slightly, like she was mentally calculating endless possibilities.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Jiro nodded."There's no way to prove it—this decision falls outside the timeline itself."

The Ancient One closed her eyes and gently touched the Eye of Agamotto on her chest.

A moment later, she opened her eyes again. Her expression was complicated.

"The Time Stone really is clouded from sight… So, you took it to stop all this from happening?"

"Not exactly."

Jiro was totally honest."I just figured—if someone's gonna hold onto it, better me than Thanos. If it really needs to be used in the future, I'll bring it back."

The Ancient One looked at him for a long moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Interesting… another version of me actually considered making you the Sorcerer Supreme?"

Jiro shrugged. "She seemed to like me."

The Ancient One gently shook her head, a flicker of amusement and resignation in her eyes.

"Maybe it's time I started thinking about retirement."

Jiro raised an eyebrow. "You're not gonna guard the world for another few hundred years?"

"Time stopped being a constraint for me a long time ago," she replied with a soft smile. "But before I go, I do have one question."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever studied cross-dimensional communication magic?"

Jiro shook his head. "Not yet. But I can learn it now."

The Ancient One chuckled, and with a flick of her fingers, a glowing golden sigil appeared in the air.

"This is Kamar-Taj's cross-dimensional communication technique. If you really can master it, you might be able to power it using your own energy."

Jiro stared at the rune, his eyes faintly glowing gold as the solar energy within him surged. A streak of brilliant golden light formed at his fingertips.

The next second, the sigil lit up—sending out a ripple of energy across dimensions.

The Ancient One's eyes flashed with surprise.

"You learn fast."

Jiro dismissed the spell and smiled."Thanks. Maybe next time we meet, we can talk about life after retirement."

The Ancient One nodded slightly and turned to step into the portal—only for Jiro to call her back.

"What is it?" she asked, a bit puzzled.

"Looks like we're going together," Jiro said with a grin.

Just moments ago, his enhanced vision had already spotted something going on in Brooklyn, New York.

There, Bruce Banner was checking to see if anyone was at the Sanctum.

And right then, Jiro received a system notification:

[Hidden Mission Triggered: Confront the incoming Thanos and save the Avengers.][Mission Reward: 10,000 Growth Points + 1 Random Reward.]

New York Sanctum

Bruce Banner stood nervously in front of the rooftop door of the Sanctum, adjusting his clothes as he took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Banner looked around. The Sanctum was completely empty, filled only with ancient books and magical artifacts sitting quietly in place.

Just then, a golden portal opened up in front of him. The Ancient One walked out slowly, followed by a man in black battle armor with a golden "S" symbol glowing on his chest.

Banner froze for a second, immediately recognizing the Ancient One—but that man? He had never seen him before.

"Ancient One!" Banner quickly stepped forward. "I'm Bruce Banner, from the future. I need your help."

The Ancient One smiled gently, her gaze calm as she looked at him. "I know who you are, Dr. Banner. Time travel isn't common, but I saw your arrival coming."

Banner let out a breath of relief—but quickly tensed up again. "Then you know why I'm here?"

"The Time Stone."

She nodded. "But I'm afraid... you're too late."

Banner blinked. "What do you mean?"

The man standing beside the Ancient One finally spoke: "Because the stone is with me."

Banner turned to study him more closely.

Black battle suit. Golden patterns. Eyes so deep they looked like they could see through everything.

He gave off a powerful presence—just standing there felt intimidating.

"Who are you?" Banner asked warily.

"Jiro," the man smiled faintly. "You can call me Superman."

"Superman?" Banner frowned. He'd only ever heard that name in comic books.

"Dr. Banner," the Ancient One explained, "he's from another universe. He's already taken possession of the Space Stone and the Mind Stone. And for now, he's holding onto the Time Stone as well."

That's right—just moments ago, the Ancient One had made up her mind. Without hesitation, she had handed over the Time Stone to Jiro.

But it was only temporary. He had to return it after use. The other stones? Up to him.

Banner's face darkened. "That's not possible! The stones have to stay in their original timelines, or it'll cause catastrophic consequences!"

Jiro shook his head. "Actually, it's the opposite. If the stones stay here, Thanos will collect all of them and wipe out half of all life with a snap.

If I take them, I can stop that from happening."

Banner's eyes widened. "How do you know about Thanos? Wait—are you saying you've seen the future?"

"No. I just know your story."

Jiro shrugged. "You guys traveled back in time to collect the stones and bring back everyone Thanos snapped away, right?"

Banner was completely stunned. Only the core members of the Avengers knew that plan—yet this guy seemed to know everything.

Right then, Banner's communicator crackled to life, and Tony Stark's voice came through:"Banner, something's not right over here! We couldn't find the Tesseract, and the scepter's gone too!

Also, the 2012 Battle of New York ended earlier than it should've! And people are talking about some guy called Superman. You got anything?"

"The stones are with me. You guys go back first—I'll catch up," Banner replied.

"....."