howling gale. Cracking thunder.
The Stormbreaker, flashing with streaks of cobalt-blue electricity, carried the full force of Thor's god-like power and rage. It cut a vacuum corridor through the atmosphere as it hurtled toward its target.
"FOR ASGARD!!!"
Thor's battle cry was so loud it rattled the glass curtain walls of the entire stadium.
Frieza, floating serenely in mid-air, didn't even twitch an eyelid in the face of this star-splitting attack. He casually put a pinky finger in his ear, clearly bored.
"What a barbaric way to introduce yourself."
"Do you truly believe a mere monkey with a shiny new toy is worthy of Lord Frieza's personal attention?"
Standing behind Frieza, the one known as Apocalypse—En Sabah Nur—who had been holding an embarrassingly theatrical pose, finally moved.
As the progenitor of all Mutants and a former god-ruler of Egypt, he might be utterly subservient to Frieza, but he was still an absolute tyrant to these "Avengers."
This was the perfect chance to impress his new master!
"Insolent fool! You will not touch my Lord!"
A cruel smirk flashed across Apocalypse's blue face. He stomped forward and clenched his fists in the air.
Whoosh!
A psychic force, so immense it warped the very air, shot out like an invisible, crushing giant hand, gripping the charging Thor.
"Kneel!"
Apocalypse was completely confident. On this planet, besides that bald Professor, no one could withstand his mental control and telekinetic lockdown.
However, in the very next second, the expression on his blue face instantly froze.
CRACK!
It was like a flimsy spider web trying to stop a bullet train.
His pride and joy—his telekinetic force field—was instantly shredded the moment it met the pure, raw power of the Stormbreaker's electrical storm!
There was no resistance! Not even a millisecond of a slowdown!
Thor was wreathed in the purest Asgardian power, his eyes blazing with resolve and lightning.
"GET LOST!!!"
BOOM!
Thor didn't even have to swing the axe. The sheer energy shockwave from his charge slammed into the hastily raised protective shield of Apocalypse.
"Gah—!"
Apocalypse felt as if he had been hit by a planet. A mouthful of blue blood erupted from his mouth.
His massive body was sent spiraling like a cannonball, plummeting hundreds of feet from the sky.
With a deafening shriek of air resistance, he smashed violently into the stadium's spectator stands below.
RUMBLE—
Dust and debris flew everywhere. Steel and concrete crumbled like stale crackers.
Apocalypse was deeply embedded in the earth, seemingly unconscious and stuck fast.
Magneto, the Black King Sebastian Shaw, and the Juggernaut—who had all been frozen mid-pose, a la the Ginyu Force—stiffened in shock.
That was Apocalypse!
The undisputed strongest fighter among them!
And he was just instantly taken out by the big blonde idiot with the axe?!
"This... is this the power of an Asgardian God?" Loki swallowed hard, looking at his brother, who was bathed in thunder. For the first time, he felt a mix of unfamiliarity and terror.
On the ground, the previously despairing Avengers suddenly erupted with hope.
"Nice one, Thor!" Tony Stark cheered, pumping his fist. "J.A.R.V.I.S., did you see that? That's the sound of the comeback!"
"The power of a God..." Professor Charles Xavier felt Apocalypse's faint brainwaves and a sliver of hope reignited in his heart. "Perhaps we truly can win!"
Peter Parker was so pumped he nearly webbed Captain America in the face:
"Awesome! That was so cool! That's the God of Thunder!"
However, just as everyone thought victory was within reach:
"Oh, dear..."
A light, airy sigh drifted down from the sky.
Though quiet, it clearly overpowered the constant roar of the thunder.
Frieza looked down at the massive crater, a look of distinct disgust on his face—like seeing your prized poodle bitten by the neighbor's chihuahua.
"Oh, my dear Captain Apocalypse."
Frieza shook his head, his tone dripping with mocking disappointment.
"You couldn't even stop a wild monkey with an axe. It seems your self-assessment needs a great deal of revision."
"You truly are an embarrassment to me."
By now, Thor had closed the distance and was directly in front of Frieza!
Less than thirty feet away!
The Stormbreaker, the weapon capable of cutting through the energy flow of the Infinity Gauntlet, was raised high.
Its blade, shimmering with lethal cold light, was aimed directly at Frieza's forehead!
"DIE, MONSTER!!!"
This one swing concentrated all of Thor's hatred, all of his power, and the last vestiges of Asgard's glory!
Facing this killing blow, Frieza merely tilted his head slightly. In his crimson eyes, there was no fear, only the playful amusement one shows for a struggling ant.
"While my Captain is quite useless," Frieza mused, "as the saying goes: you must respect the master, even when punishing the dog."
Frieza slowly raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers pressed together.
"Since you're so eager to die, I suppose I'll be merciful and send you on your way."
SHING! SHING!
Two energy beams, thin as hair and colored violet-red, instantly shot from his fingertips!
Fast! Too fast!
Clink! Crack!
Two sharp metallic bursts rang out.
Stormbreaker—the legendary artifact forged in the heart of a dying star and said to rival the Infinity Gauntlet—met the two seemingly feeble beams.
It shattered like a cookie hit by a firehose!
The blade fractured! The handle snapped!
The artifact was destroyed!
"What?!" Thor's pupils violently contracted. Before his mind could process this terrifying information—
Frieza vanished from his spot.
In the next moment, an elegant, yet cruel face appeared directly in front of Thor's own.
"Too slow."
PUNCH! PUNCH!
Two deceptively light punches from Frieza slammed solidly into Thor's abdomen.
"PUH-WAH—!"
The God of Thunder, the strongest warrior in the Nine Realms, eyes bulging, instantly spat out a massive mouthful of blood mixed with organ matter, staining Frieza's pristine white glove.
His god-like body convulsed. His power disintegrated.
In just two punches, his internal organs had been reduced to a pulp.
"This is a God?"
Frieza grabbed Thor's golden hair, lifting the Asgardian's twisted, agonized face up to his own.
Watching the light fade from Thor's eyes, Frieza curved his lips into a savage smile.
"Pathetic. It's almost funny how fragile you are."
"When you reincarnate, try to stay far away from the Emperor of the Universe."
Frieza extended his other hand and aimed it directly at Thor's head.
In his palm, a swirling mass of purple energy began to concentrate wildly.
"NO!!!" Tony Stark's cry of anguish tore through the air.
KABOOM!
The energy blast erupted.
No miracle. No last-second save.
Just like crushing an overripe melon.
Thor's head instantly vaporized in the purple energy wave, leaving not even a speck of dust.
Thud.
Frieza let go.
The headless body of the God, limp and lifeless, plummeted from the sky.
It landed with a dull, heavy impact right in front of Tony Stark, kicking up a cloud of dust.
That was Thor, the God of Thunder.
The man who once swaggered with pride, proclaiming, "For the glory of the North!"
Now, he was nothing but a cold corpse.
At the same time, in far-off Asgard, the All-Father Odin, who had been watching the events through his godly sight, slowly shed a single, cloudy tear from his one eye.
---
On Earth, Tony Stark looked down with a horrifying stiffness at the still-twitching body at his feet. The red cape was completely soaked with blood.
His face was paper-white. His stomach churned.
Dead?
The so-called strongest Avenger, the God of Thunder, killed as easily as a common chicken?
Was this the true meaning of absolute power?
Captain America's grip on his shield was violently shaking. Professor X closed his eyes, unable to watch. Peter Parker slumped onto the ground, forgetting how to breathe.
Absolute despair, like a cold, crushing hand, gripped the heart of every person present.
"How utterly disappointing."
Frieza flicked the blood off his hands, then elegantly wiped his glove with a white handkerchief.
He looked down at the petrified heroes below, a flicker of annoyance in his crimson eyes.
"I had planned to graciously explain the rules of the game to all of you."
"But you little monkeys just had to jump out and ruin the moment."
Frieza tossed the bloodied handkerchief away like trash.
"Your stupidity and disrespect have successfully angered me."
"Since you can't seem to grasp how to show reverence to an Emperor of the Universe, I suppose a small lesson is required to cool your overzealous little minds."
Frieza raised his left hand, and the blue Space Gem on his wrist flared.
ZZZZZZT—!
Space itself tore open.
A massive, several-hundred-foot-wide blue portal appeared out of thin air above New York City.
Through the enormous gate, everyone could clearly see the scene on the other side.
It was a conical volcano covered in white snow, with bustling cities and blooming cherry blossoms at its base.
Mount Fuji! Japan!
"That's..." Captain America looked up sharply, a terrible premonition rising in his gut.
Frieza slowly raised his right index finger.
On the tip of his finger, a miniature energy sphere—black as pitch and radiating a heart-stopping aura—began to spin rapidly.
It was the Death Ball!
But this one was deeper and more terrifying than the one he used to destroy Washington, D.C.!
Frieza looked directly into the camera, at the Avengers, and smiled—that smile that would give the entire world nightmares.
"This is the cost of your disobedience."
"If you dare to disrespect me again with your pathetic posturing..."
Frieza gently flicked his finger.
The black Death Ball glided effortlessly through the portal, heading straight for the beautiful volcano.
"...then this entire island nation will be the fate of all of you!"
"Repent in the brilliant fireworks! Ohohohoho..."