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"Jiro, look! That building over there is so weird. I've never seen a city like this before!"
She turned to Jiro with a big grin, her red hair floating gently in the magical field.
Jiro walked over and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wanda, you did a great job. But this portal... might be a bit unusual."
"Unusual?" she blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... that portal leads to another universe."
Jiro's tone was calm, but his eyes were watching her reaction carefully.
Wanda's smile froze. Her scarlet energy pulsed faintly. "You mean... I opened a portal to another world?"
"Exactly."
Jiro nodded. "But don't worry. If we can open it, we can close it."
Wanda took a deep breath. The worry in her eyes slowly turned into curiosity. "Then... should we go check it out?"
Jiro could see the excitement written all over her face.
"Of course."
He took her hand, and together, they stepped through the portal.
The world around them changed instantly.
They were now standing on the rooftop of a skyscraper, overlooking an entire city.
Sunlight gleamed off metal and glass buildings. The streets below bustled with traffic.
At the harbor, massive cargo ships were docked—and even more eye-catching—
Figures flew across the sky, red and blue capes fluttering in the wind.
"What's that?" Wanda's eyes widened.
Jiro's super hearing picked up voices from all around the city.
"Superman saved another plane today!"
"I heard Batman caught Black Mask last night in Gotham!"
"Wonder Woman's coming to Metropolis for the peace summit next week!"
His expression twisted into something complicated.
"Jiro?" Wanda tugged at his hand. "What are you hearing?"
Jiro spoke slowly. "Wanda... I think we're in the DC Universe."
"The DC Universe?" Wanda froze. "You mean... that DC Universe?"
After meeting Jiro, Wanda had binge-read a bunch of DC comics. She'd gone from knowing only Superman to at least remembering a few superhero names.
"Yeah."
Jiro nodded, scanning the skyline. "This is Metropolis."
Wanda's eyes lit up. "So that person we just saw fly past... was that really Superman?"
Before Jiro could answer, a blur of color swooped down out of the sky.
A red-and-blue figure hovered in front of them, cape billowing in the wind. Sunlight glinted off the bright "S" on his chest.
Clark Kent.
Superman.
He looked at them with piercing blue eyes and spoke gently.
"Who are you? Why have I never seen you in this world before—as if you've never existed here?"
"As you can see, I'm Kryptonian," Jiro replied, wearing a calm, friendly smile.
Clark's eyes shimmered with disbelief. He slowly landed on the rooftop, keeping a respectful distance.
"You're saying... you're also from Krypton?"
His voice was uncertain, like he was afraid Jiro might be messing with him.
Jiro smiled slightly, not answering right away. Instead, he gently squeezed Wanda's hand, and a silent bio-field wrapped around her, shielding her from Clark's super vision...
"We ended up here by accident," Jiro said. "But yeah... I'm like you."
Clark's breath caught. His super vision instinctively scanned Jiro—but it was like hitting an invisible wall. He couldn't see through him.
The same went for Wanda—her body was covered in a strange energy he couldn't penetrate.
"This... this can't be," Clark muttered, then shook his head with a self-deprecating chuckle.
"I know it sounds dumb, but... I have to ask—are you really from Krypton?"
His voice carried a note of hope.
Jiro didn't answer verbally. He slowly rose into the air, feet leaving the ground, and his eyes glowed with intense golden heat. The air around them shimmered with heat distortion.
Clark's pupils contracted. A wide smile broke across his face.
"That's enough. I believe you."
He took a deep breath, clearly emotional, and couldn't help but smile again.
"This is... kinda unbelievable."
He paused, calming himself. "Sorry, I just didn't think I'd ever meet another Kryptonian."
Jiro gently landed, the glow in his eyes fading as he smiled softly. "I understand."
Clark opened his mouth to say something else, but then looked around awkwardly. "Uh... do you guys wanna grab a coffee or something? We could talk more."
Wanda glanced at Jiro, and when he nodded, she smiled warmly. "Sure."
Three minutes later, they were sitting in a quiet café in the heart of Metropolis.
Clark had picked a seat by the window where no one could overhear them.
He cupped his coffee and looked at Jiro and Wanda.
"So…"
He started, "How did you... I mean, how did you survive the Krypton disaster? Where have you been all these years?"
Jiro took a sip of coffee, his voice calm. "My escape pod left Krypton early. But the course got thrown off. Something went wrong, and I drifted through space for a long time before crash-landing on another Earth."
"Another Earth?" Clark blinked, then quickly put the pieces together.
"Oh—you two are from a parallel universe."
Wanda stirred her coffee and added, "In our world, there's no Superman. No Metropolis either."
Clark's eyes clouded for a moment, but the excitement returned quickly. "Then... do you have powers because of the yellow sun too?"
Jiro nodded. "Yeah, same as you."
Clark took a deep breath, like he was finally able to open up to someone.
"Two years ago, General Zod came."
His voice dropped.
"He wanted to remake Earth... turn it into a new Krypton. But I stopped him."
His fingers absently traced the rim of the coffee cup, his gaze dimming.
"I had to kill him. He was the last Kryptonian I ever saw... until today."
Jiro just sat quietly, listening, never interrupting.
Clark quickly composed himself and went on, "Later, I joined the Justice League and started protecting Earth alongside Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest. Bruce—that's Batman—he's been kind of cold to me lately. Not sure what happened."
His tone relaxed a bit, even carrying a faint smile. "Diana, Wonder Woman—she always says I'm too soft and need to be more assertive."
Wanda chuckled. "Sounds like you're all pretty close."
Clark nodded, his eyes warm. "Yeah. They're… like family."
He paused, then looked a bit sheepish as he turned to Jiro. "Sorry, am I talking too much? It's just… meeting you, it's kind of a big deal."
Jiro shook his head and cut in, "It's fine. I get it."
Clark nodded again, but suddenly frowned slightly, as if hearing something. "Diana would love to meet you! But… I've got something I need to deal with first."
Before he could finish, the café TV suddenly cut in with breaking news.
"Breaking! A mass breakout has just occurred at Arkham Asylum in Gotham! High-risk criminals including the Joker, Poison Ivy, and Bane have escaped. The Gotham Police have officially requested assistance from the Justice League!"
Clark's expression turned serious in an instant. He stood up, giving Jiro and Wanda an apologetic look.
"Sorry, I've gotta go."
Jiro stood too, casually saying, "We're coming with you."
Clark blinked in surprise, then gave a grateful smile. "Thanks."
Scarlet energy flickered at Wanda's fingertips, her eyes flashing with battle intent. "Perfect. I've been curious to see how bad the villains are in this world."
Clark took a deep breath, his eyes regaining their steady resolve.
"Let's go."
The next second, his red-and-blue cape billowed as Superman soared into the sky. Jiro and Wanda shot after him, the three streaking through the air toward Gotham.
"....."