Thanos did not kill Joss.

At first, there was only a faint rustling outside the door, like a kitten scratching at the wood. Jos paid it little mind, assuming it was simply a neighbor who had come to the wrong apartment. But within seconds, the commotion grew louder, to the point that it sounded as if someone was outright dismantling the door. Jos had no choice but to rise and see what was happening.

Boom!

The not-very-thick wooden door was kicked in with such force that it flew, frame and all, straight toward Jos, threatening to crash down on his head. “What the hell? What’s going on? Are thieves these days really this brazen?” For a moment, Jos was stunned by the sight of the flying door. He snapped out of it just in time to dodge aside, letting the door slam into the wall and shatter into a spray of wood chips.

Before he could regain his footing, a small, dark figure leaped at him, blending into the thunderous noise that filled the room. “No, this isn’t a thief! They’re here for me specifically—could it be someone from Hydra?”

Under normal circumstances, Jos wouldn’t have been able to avoid the attack—especially considering the strength it took to kick in a door, frame and all. That single blow could have easily left him with shattered bones. But as the figure’s assault came within a hair’s breadth, Jos’s body twisted in an uncanny way, contorting into a pose that would have left any ordinary person with a broken back. Yet somehow, he managed to narrowly evade the attack.

Jos had sensed something was wrong just before the door was forced open; he’d braced himself, ready for a desperate fight, which was the only reason he could pull off such a near-impossible maneuver. But his assailant was quick to adapt; seeing her first strike miss, she instantly shifted her attack in midair, bringing her fists down at Jos like twin hammers.

Jos’s lack of real combat experience showed. The sudden change in tactics caught him off guard, and he instinctively raised his arms to shield himself. Even empowered by his do-or-die resolve, the blow was nearly unbearable—his own arms were knocked back into his chest with such force that he nearly coughed up blood and struggled to catch his breath for long moments afterward.

After this brief exchange, both paused—the intruder, too, seemed in no hurry to press her attack, simply standing silently and watching Jos.

It was only in this fleeting lull that Jos finally got a proper look at his attacker.

“Look” wasn’t quite accurate, as the figure’s face was mostly hidden beneath a hood. All he could see was a smooth, pale chin—clearly, a girl. “That kind of strength and speed... Is she a mutant? Or some other kind of super-powered being?”

She was about four-foot-seven, clad in a tattered, faded-black garment that looked like a nun’s habit worn threadbare by time. Strands of silvery-white hair spilled from beneath the hood, and within its shadow, Jos caught a glimpse of eyes that glowed with a terrifying, blood-red light. This wasn’t a metaphor or some odd trick of the light—her eyes were truly, unmistakably, disturbingly crimson, as if she’d wandered straight out of some otherworldly anime.

Though her body was mostly hidden by the habit, Jos sensed instantly that the girl before him was, in all likelihood, extraordinarily beautiful—though this was hardly the time for such thoughts.

“Her combat ability is even stronger than Jason’s when he uses his powers; she’s definitely not an ordinary person... But are there any Marvel characters who look like this?” As he kept his guard up, Jos rapidly ran through all the Marvel characters he knew, but none matched the girl before him.

“Tch... Could she be a native of this world?” The thought didn’t surprise Jos. After all, this world was similar to reality, with a population of seven billion or more. Running into a movie character on the street would actually be the rarer occurrence. Yet, for someone living here now, like Jos, these unknowns—those who hadn’t appeared in the films—were precisely the sort of unpredictable troublemakers he least wanted to encounter.

“No... This isn’t the time for that. What should I do now?” None of the abilities he’d acquired recently were useful, and the only combat skill he had was his do-or-die resolve. Against an opponent of this caliber, he was woefully outmatched.

Before Jos could devise a plan, the girl’s smooth, delicate chin moved slightly—she spoke first.

“I suggest you don’t make any sudden moves. Come quietly with me, or I’ll break all your limbs and take you anyway.”

What surprised Jos was that her voice was anything but melodious. Instead, it sounded like a low-budget Stephen Hawking: a hoarse, electronic rasp laced with static. Though it struck him as odd, Jos didn’t dwell on it, simply nodding and saying, “Fair enough, I’ll go with you.”

The girl seemed a bit puzzled by his ready acquiescence—she hadn’t expected him to surrender so quickly. As Jos spoke, she didn’t sense anything amiss. But the moment the word “with” left his lips, Jos suddenly sprang into action, bolting for the doorway.

Caught off guard by the sudden move, the girl hesitated for a split second. “I made it out—now, as long as...” Seeing himself already through the doorway while the girl remained behind, Jos’s heart settled, if only a little.

“That’s why I told you—don’t bother with pointless tricks.” That grating, deathly voice seemed to seal his fate. Jos didn’t even see what happened; the girl’s figure was suddenly right in front of him. A long, pale leg flashed before his eyes, and he felt as if he’d been hit by a truck, pain exploding through his body as he was hurled backwards, utterly out of control.

With that blow, Jos was not only gravely injured—he also lost the water strapped to his back, left helpless as his body flew through the air. Worse yet, he was headed straight for the floor-to-ceiling windows. There were no barriers, no safety nets; crashing through from the twenty-third floor, Jos knew he wouldn’t survive.

And with the massive force behind the girl’s kick—terrifying even without the do-or-die boost—Jos’s physical strength was nowhere near enough to let him react in the split second before impact.

“Tch... So this is how my second life ends? Not killed by Thanos, not slain in some epic battle, but plummeting to my death out a window. I must be the most tragically unlucky transmigrator in the world...”