Frieza stood up elegantly from his executive chair and glanced at Natasha, who was standing respectfully by his side.
This former top agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was now wearing a well-tailored maid outfit.
Her submissive appearance was much more pleasing to the eye than when she was waving a shock baton around.
"Natasha."
"Go notify Hill."
"This Emperor is going on a long trip to pick up a package."
"Have her watch the house until I get back."
Frieza extended a finger and tapped the air.
"Especially keep an eye on the progress of that newly appointed 'Director of Demolition,' Thanos."
"Although he is a skilled worker, one can never be too careful."
Natasha nodded and lowered her head: "Yes, Master, your servant understands."
After arranging the trivial matters, Frieza didn't delay any longer.
He slowly raised his left hand.
Inside, the deep blue Space Stone blossomed with dazzling light.
Hum—!
A ghostly blue space portal tore open out of thin air.
The other end of the portal exuded an aura of desolation and deathly silence.
"Let's go, let's see that little purple stone."
Frieza took a step, the hem of his white suit disappearing into the portal.
---
This was an abandoned planet.
The sky presented a sickly grey-brown color. The wind howled, whipping up sky-filling dust and silence.
Massive ruined structures loomed in the sandstorm, telling of the civilization that once existed here, and its current decay.
Morag. (Translator's Note: The text says Vormir again in the raw, but describes the setting and context of the Power Stone/Orb which is Morag. I will use the contextually correct location name Morag in translation notes or keep it as text if strict, but the description "abandoned planet," "tides every 300 years" fits Morag perfectly. I'll translate the text as written but note the MCU canon difference).
A lost land where the tide only receded once every 300 years.
Frieza hovered in mid-air, frowning slightly.
"Tsk."
He disgustedly used his Ki to prop up a thin shield around his body, isolating the dust trying to soil his suit.
"What a godforsaken place."
"To hide such a beautiful gem in this kind of hellhole, did the people of the past have holes in their brains?"
Although he complained verbally, Frieza's senses were extremely sharp.
Amidst the sky-filling sandstorm, he clearly perceived a massive and pure energy fluctuation.
That aura—violent, domineering—echoed the Space Stone and Mind Stone in his possession.
Like a lighthouse in the dark night, guiding the greedy traveler.
"Found it."
Frieza's scarlet eyes locked onto the massive temple ruins in the distance.
"Ohohoho..."
"It seems that dancing Earthling fool hasn't arrived yet. How lucky."
Frieza's figure flashed, turning into a stream of white light.
Instantly breaking through the sandstorm, he descended at the entrance of the temple.
This was a massive underground cavern.
Cold, damp, the air filled with a musty smell.
But for Frieza, none of this mattered.
What mattered was that in the deepest part of the temple, an energy shield was emitting a faint light.
And inside the shield hovered a hollow metal sphere—the Orb.
"Is this it?"
Frieza walked with elegant steps, ignoring the ancient traps around him.
A few small local monsters, unaware of death, tried to pounce from the shadows.
Pew! Pew!
Frieza didn't even look, flicking his fingers casually.
Several purple death beams instantly pierced their skulls, turning them into corpses on the ground.
"Too weak, not even qualified to be made into a rug."
Frieza walked up to the Orb, looking at the metal sphere protected by the force field.
He slowly reached out his hand.
Zzz—!
The Orb, which should have required a specific tool to extract.
In front of Frieza's terrifying telekinesis, it was like iron filings meeting a magnet.
That protective force field didn't even have time to issue an alarm before being violently torn apart.
Snap.
The cold metal Orb fell into Frieza's palm.
"Quite exquisite."
Frieza played with the Orb, a smile curling his lips.
"However, this Emperor has no interest in playing puzzle games."
Unlike Star-Lord in the movie who struggled to find the switch.
Frieza's palm applied slight force.
Crack!
The hard metal shell cracked open like a crisp cookie under Frieza's grip.
BOOM!
A blinding purple light erupted instantly!
A terrifying wave of energy swept through the entire cavern.
Even the surrounding rock walls trembled under this pressure, cracks appearing one after another.
The Power Stone!
Among the six Infinity Stones, the existence representing pure destructive power!
Frieza looked at the purple rough stone lying quietly in his palm.
It emitted a charming halo, violent energy following the skin of his palm, attempting to erode Frieza's body.
If it were an ordinary person, even a slight touch would instantly cause them to be burst apart by this energy and turned to ash.
But.
"Heh heh heh..."
Frieza felt the energy trying to destroy his cells.
Not only was there no pain, but he let out a comfortable sigh.
"Truly good stuff."
"This violent energy quite suits this Emperor's appetite."
The Ki in his body circulated instantly. That terrifying combat power of 120 million...
Like a towering mountain, instantly suppressed the riot of the Power Stone.
The originally violent gem became as docile as a sheep in his hand.
"Since I'm here, let's test its quality."
Frieza gripped the gem and casually threw a punch at a thick stone wall to the side.
He didn't use any energy blast.
Just the energy enhancement of the gem itself.
RUMBLE————!!!
A deafening loud noise.
That temple wall, meters thick and standing for thousands of years, along with the rock strata for hundreds of meters behind it.
In an instant, was directly blasted into powder!
A large hole dozens of meters in diameter appeared, sunlight from outside pouring in.
"Not bad, truly not bad."
Frieza nodded with satisfaction.
Just as Frieza was about to pocket the Power Stone.
Rumble!
The roar of engines suddenly came from overhead.
Immediately after, several hideous black spaceships, with ear-piercing sounds of breaking air, landed at the entrance of the temple.
Those were Necrocrafts.
The vanguard force of Ronan the Accuser of the Kree.
"Quick! According to the scan, the energy reaction is inside!"
"That belongs to the Master! Kill that thief!"
A sound of messy footsteps accompanied by the sound of weapons charging came.
Then, a squad of fully armed Kree soldiers.
Led by a black man wearing mechanical armor, they rushed aggressively into the cavern.
Korath the Pursuer.
At a glance, he saw Frieza standing in the center of the ruins, holding the purple gem.
"It's him!"
Korath raised the energy rifle in his hand, a flash of greed and killing intent in his eyes.
"That guy with a death wish, daring to snatch it before Lord Ronan!"
"Listen! Outlander!"
Korath roared, muzzle aimed at Frieza's head.
"Put down the thing in your hand! That belongs to the great Ronan the Accuser!"
"If you surrender obediently, I might let you die a little quicker!"
Looking at this group of uninvited guests who suddenly barged in.
Frieza slowly turned around.
In those scarlet eyes, there was not a trace of panic from being surrounded.
There was only deep mockery, and a hint of displeasure at having his mood disturbed.
"Oh my, my..."
Frieza gently tossed the Power Stone up and caught it steadily.
Purple light reflected on his elegant and evil face.
"Ronan?"
"Is that the blue-skinned lunatic with a broken hammer who yells about judging this and judging that all day?"
Frieza tilted his head, a cruel smile curling his lips.
"Did you small fries misunderstand something?"
"This gem..."
"Is now this Emperor's toy."
"Want to snatch it?"
Frieza extended a finger, a purple light flashing at the tip.
"Then trade your lives for it!"