Spider-Man and the others stared in a daze at the hovering figure of Superman.
Had he been introduced before?
It seemed like Batman had indeed mentioned introducing a new member.
As for details about Superman, they had long been known from Anton films and the various works published by DC.
Ignoring the timing of his appearance, if one looked solely at Superman first work—or his first movie, Man of Steel—Superman was actually one of the earliest members of the current Justice League team.
However, after Man of Steel was released, Superman had never revealed himself, leading many to overlook his existence.
But after today, who would dare to ignore Superman?
With his strength alone, he had foiled an alien invasion, protected New York—and even Earth—leaving humanity utterly speechless.
Most astonishingly, while the Justice League, the Avengers, and other superpowered individuals had been copied by kl'rt and his Super Skrull army, Superman had single-handedly eradicated these vile imposters.
The entire battle had been exhilarating to witness.
"H-hello, Superman."
Spider-Man, clearly nervous, stammered, "Uh... do we need to introduce ourselves?"
"No need."
Superman gaze swept over everyone present.
"I already know all of you."
As Superman conversed with the Justice League, a Skrull spaceship, piloted by their forces, maneuvered and landed somewhere in the outskirts of New York.
Shortly after, Cyborg emerged from within and vanished into the distance.
Meanwhile, Anton made a call to Agent Z, the second-in-command of the Men in Black, informing him of the ship landing site and instructing him to take control of it.
"The Skrull base is on the Moon."
Having accessed the ship database, Cyborg had learned most of the Skrulls intelligence.
Thus, Anton spoke with absolute certainty, giving a clear directive:
"That lunar base is valuable to us. We can use it as a prison—or for other purposes. That means this spaceship must remain under our control."
"Understood."
Agent Z nodded. Anton intent was clear: both the spaceship and the Moon base now belonged to the Men in Black. No one else was allowed to interfere.
"Good. Now don't concern yourself with the rest—just get your people over here and secure the ship."
With that, Anton ended the call.
As expected, mere moments later, a message came in from John Keller.
[We want to meet Superman. Can you arrange it?]
The message was direct and to the point.
"We..."
Anton wasn't surprised.
He typed out a brief response and left it at that.
["I can't. Superman is gone."]
That was the truth.
After briefly meeting with the Justice League members, Superman had soared into the distant sky.
Under the watchful eyes of countless onlookers, he had swiftly exited Earth atmosphere.
Satellite surveillance outside the planet captured his trajectory—like a comet passing by Earth, Superman had vanished beyond their tracking range.
With that, everyone knew:
Superman had left.
But as to whether he would return—
There was no doubt in anyone mind.
As long as Batman remained, as long as the Justice League endured, as long as humanity survived—
Superman would never truly leave Earth.
This was the bond between Superman and this planet.
Though Superman had left before the eyes of the world, the battle—and the impact of his appearance—swept across the globe, with the aftermath lingering in public discourse.
Superman overwhelming power left an indelible mark on everyone memory.
Even Batman couldn't achieve such an effect.
In other words, Superman single appearance had garnered more fame than Batman multiple outings combined.
Perhaps the most telling evidence of this was the recent surge in box office numbers for a certain film.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Officially, Anton was credited as one of the film co-directors.
And now, the box office had skyrocketed.
Surveys showed that 80% of moviegoers attended just for Superman.
Especially those returning for second or even third viewings.
Without exception, all of them had become part of Superman growing fanbase.
More than that, in the system interface only Anton could see, Superman fan points had surged by 40 million in just a day or two.
And the number was still rising at an astonishing rate.
This was undoubtedly a tremendous gain.
After all, for Anton Superman avatar to remain active for extended periods, he required a substantial amount of fan points to sustain its existence.
Now, with Superman fame skyrocketing, Anton naturally reaped the rewards.
There was another crucial aspect as well—
Justice Points.
Following the battle in New York and the Ghost Rider incident, the system had rewarded him 5 million Justice Points.
And now, due to Superman intervention and his victory over the Super Skrulls and kl'rt, the system had granted him an additional 8 million Justice Points.
[Current Justice Points Balance: 38 million]
Though Justice Points were not as urgent a necessity as they once were, their value remained undeniable.
Because, as long as Anton sought to gather all six Infinity Stones, Justice Points would continue to be his most essential resource.
That night, Anton arrived at the Men in Black headquarters.
In his office, he activated the projection device and engaged in a long-overdue meeting with the representatives of the World Security Council.
This was the first meeting between Anton and the Council since the Skrull incident.
"Hello, Anton."
"Greetings, representatives."
As soon as they exchanged pleasantries, the U.S. representative couldn't hold back any longer.
"Don't you have anything to say?"
"What is there to say?"
Anton spread his hands. "Everything happened right under your noses. Didn't you all see it for yourselves?"
Pausing for a moment, he sighed helplessly. "What more can I say about facts that everyone here has personally witnessed?"
"Superman."
The U.S. representative questioned, "Is he really gone?"
"Yes."
Anton nodded, scanning the room with a calm tone. "We all know that Earth has no place for him. At least, the Earth as it is now."
After a brief silence, seeing that no one spoke, a faint, almost imperceptible smile flashed across his eyes. Yet, his tone grew heavier:
"Superman never intended to cause conflict. That why he chose to leave long ago.
Even after returning this time, he understood—it still not the right time… Of course, one day, when we truly need him, he will return."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Just as Anton had said.
The Earth, in its current state, simply could not accommodate Superman.
If Superman hadn't left Earth before their very eyes, flying into space, then these political leaders and military officials from various nations would probably be unable to sleep peacefully at night.
No one wanted a god among men—an existence like the Sword of Damocles from mythology—dangling over their heads, ready to sever their fate at any moment.
A man who wielded absolute power, and an alien at that…
It was impossible to predict what kind of impact he could have on the world current state.
Before long, they tacitly moved past the topic of Superman and returned to more pressing matters.
"I'll be direct, Anton. Regarding the Skrull spaceship—Men in Black secured it immediately and denied us access.
That unacceptable. Anton, you've betrayed our trust. We expect the Men in Black to share the spaceship with the World Security Council, including all data and information onboard."
"Besides, although kl'rt and his enhanced Super-Skrulls are dead, there are still a large number of hidden Skrulls on Earth. How do you plan to deal with them?"
A representative of the World Security Council posed two questions to Anton.
"Simple."
Anton had long anticipated how this meeting would unfold.
"The spaceship is Superman war trophy. Before leaving, he informed Batman that he was willing to transfer it to the Justice League.
And since Batman is the leader of the Justice League, he agreed to lend it to me for research."
Anton spoke calmly. "Essentially, the ship belongs to Batman. The Men in Black were only fortunate enough to gain access to it because of me.
I have no authority to hand it over to the World Security Council. So, I'm sorry, but the spaceship will not be made available to the Council."
As he spoke, the representatives of various nations furrowed their brows.
"However, as the leader of the Men in Black, I'm willing to make some concessions."
Anton continued,
"Most of the intelligence and data from the spaceship will be placed in the Men in Black public database, accessible to all representatives of the World Security Council.
As for certain classified information, you may submit a request to the Men in Black."
"Request?"
Hearing this, the representatives exchanged glances.
At this moment, the Men in Black no longer seemed like a subordinate agency of the World Security Council.
Instead, it felt as though they were standing above it.
"That right. The reason for this is tied to your second question."
Seeing the astonished expressions in the room, Anton stated, "The Skrulls have not been completely eradicated.
There are undoubtedly Skrull spies within the World Security Council… However, I can confirm that there are no Skrull infiltrators within the Men in Black."
"Are you saying that we don't have the trust of the Men in Black?"
One representative raised an eyebrow.
The others quickly grasped Anton implication, their faces revealing a trace of shock.
They had never expected to be treated differently by Anton.
"That correct."
Anton nodded without hesitation.
"But you can rest assured—the technology to counter Skrull shapeshifting has already been developed.
The necessary devices are in their final production stages.
The Men in Black will soon receive the finished product from the Justice League research division.
When that time comes, the Skrulls will no longer be a threat."
"..."
The World Security Council had never encountered a subordinate like Anton before—acting as if he were their superior, making decisions over their heads.
Yet, they had nothing to say in response.
After all, from start to finish, Anton had been the one orchestrating the entire Skrull incident from behind the scenes.
Perhaps Batman had offered him some guidance, but there was no denying that Anton had played a significant role.
All the nations had done was follow Anton recommendations—suppress certain information, arrest a few Skrull infiltrators based on the list Anton provided… and that was it.
They had no real grounds to refute his words.
Because at this point, even they couldn't fully trust their own people.
After a moment of silence—
"Alright, as you say."
The U.S. representative spoke up. "We just hope you eliminate those damn Skrulls as soon as possible."
"The Men in Black are working on it."
Anton nodded.
Soon after, the meeting concluded.
Anton shut off the projection device in front of him, a faint smile appearing on his face.
Having Superman leave Earth under the watchful eyes of the entire world was precisely what he had intended.
Just as he had said before—keeping Superman on Earth wasn't a good idea.
It would only create unnecessary conflict. Instead, it was better to create the illusion that Superman had left.
Anton had no interest in conquering Earth, especially since the Ancient One was still present.
For now, in Superman current state, the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, was essentially his natural counter.
When Anton synchronized with Superman memories, he distinctly sensed a terrifying presence somewhere on Earth—an all-seeing gaze observing him with deep, unfathomable meaning.
The owner of that gaze was, without a doubt, the Ancient One.
However, Anton had no intention of meeting the Ancient One. And from the looks of it, the Ancient One didn't seem interested in meeting him either.
The two maintained a mutual understanding, choosing not to interfere with each other.
That being said—
Anton did indeed have plans to send Superman into space.
His goal?
To search for the Infinity Stones.
Within the system, the prerequisite for Anton to exchange for Batman Ultimate Armor was to collect all six Infinity Stones.
At present, Anton had already secured two Infinity Stones—the Mind Stone and the Space Stone.
Including the Time Stone, the Eye of Agamotto, which remained on Earth, that made three stones located on the planet.
The remaining three Infinity Stones were scattered elsewhere in the universe:
The Reality Stone.
The Power Stone.
The Soul Stone.
The Reality Stone was the Aether from Thor: The Dark World, tied to the Dark Elves.
After the Battle of New York, following the timeline, Anton had instructed multiple agents to monitor specific anomalies—particularly Jane Foster, who had initially discovered the Aether in the original story.
Anton had been keeping a close eye on her research.
However, the emergence of Wonder Woman seemed to have altered Jane Foster fate.
Her bond with Thor was not as strong as it had been in the original timeline.
From the intelligence Anton gathered, Jane Foster didn't seem interested in researching interdimensional space.
Still, despite this, Anton continued monitoring her just in case.
As for the Power Stone and the Soul Stone…
Between the two, the former was far more critical.
The Soul Stone only appeared at the final moment, guarded by the Red Skull, who had been cursed by its power due to his greed.
To obtain the Soul Stone, one had to sacrifice their most beloved.
Anton had no desire to lose someone he cherished.
Thus, for now, he wasn't interested in the Soul Stone—he could always seize it by force in the future.
As for the Power Stone—
This stone played a crucial role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, central to Guardians of the Galaxy and Star-Lord storyline.
Anton believed he needed eyes in the cosmos to gather intelligence and track down the Infinity Stones that were still scattered across the universe.
Based on the timeline, the Power Stone would soon surface…
With Superman abilities, Anton could easily intervene in Star-Lord story and seize the Power Stone with overwhelming force.