Just as Frieza was about to take his men into space to find Thanos—
Directly ahead of him, a colossal ship shaped like an upside-down donut suddenly appeared. It blotted out the sun, casting a vast shadow.
Within that shadow, two figures descended slowly on anti-gravity devices, finally hovering level with Frieza.
The one on the left was gaunt, noseless, his ashen skin stretched tight over bone like an elegant corpse. He wore a meticulous clerical robe, hands folded over his abdomen, eyes filled with a haughty detachment toward life and death.
Ebony Maw.
The strategist among Thanos's Black Order and its most dangerous sorcerer.
Beside him stood a mountain-sized monstrosity gripping a gigantic mechanical flail. That savage face and brutal aura were enough to shatter an ordinary person's courage at a glance.
Cull Obsidian.
This pairing of scholar and warrior, embodying the will of the Mad Titan, had descended upon the newly renamed Planet Frieza-002.
"Ahem."
Ebony Maw coughed lightly.
He didn't glance at the blue-skinned giant beside him. His cloudy eyes locked firmly on Frieza inside his hover pod.
"I don't know who you are, sir."
His voice was hoarse, magnetic, and carried an unsettling sermonic cadence.
"But I must warn you, you've just committed an unforgivable mistake."
He raised a bony finger toward the empty expanse of space overhead. "I am the humblest servant of the great Titan, Thanos. We crossed the stars to investigate one thing alone."
"That power capable of erasing a celestial body in an instant..."
Ebony narrowed his eyes slightly, tone laced with scrutiny and pressure. "Was it you?"
Faced with a question that could make the entire Galaxy tremble, Frieza, seated in his pod, merely yawned in boredom.
"My, my..."
"Guests these days—so utterly lacking in manners."
"No business card first—just straight to the interrogation?"
Frieza's lips curled into a cruel smile. "That's right, I did it."
"So what if I cleared a few pebbles out of my own backyard?"
"Must I file a report with you stray dogs who appeared from nowhere?"
A muscle twitched across Ebony's otherwise impassive face.
Stray dogs?
In this Universe, no one had dared describe Thanos's envoys with such a term.
"Arrogant."
Ebony spat the word coldly.
Yet he didn't strike immediately. Instead, he studied Frieza thoughtfully.
"It seems you have no idea whom you're addressing."
Suppressing his murderous intent, Ebony probed, "With such pure destructive force, sir, I presume you've already obtained the legendary Power Stone?"
Aside from the Power Stone, he could think of nothing that could annihilate so instantly. If the Power Stone truly lay in this man's hands, matters would become troublesome.
"Power Stone?" Frieza blinked.
Then, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in existence, he clutched his stomach and laughed. "Oh-ho-ho-ho..."
"Bwahahaha!"
"You frogs at the bottom of a well—your imaginations are pitifully barren."
Frieza wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and regarded Ebony with pity.
"To deal with pebbles a few thousand kilometers across, I'd need an Infinity Stone? I could crush them with my toe if I felt like it."
He paused, a playful glint flashing in his eyes. "However..."
"Since you mentioned the Power Stone, I just recalled something."
Frieza tapped his chin with a finger. "I don't have that purple rock yet, but I do know where it is."
"I was planning to pick it up from Planet Morag in a couple of days."
At those words, Ebony's pupils shrank instantly.
Morag!
The intel matched their own clues perfectly. This creature truly knew the Power Stone's location.
"Hand it over!"
The silent Cull roared.
With a beast-like bellow, he swung his massive chain-hammer, stirring a whirlwind.
"Give us the exact coordinates or take us there yourself!"
Ebony stepped forward, telekinetic power swirling. Even a kilometer above ground, his robes billowed without wind.
"This concerns the balance of the Universe, sir. I advise you to cooperate, otherwise..."
"Otherwise?" Frieza cut him off.
The smile vanished from his face, replaced by an icy chill that suffocated the air. Within those crimson eyes lay a gaze as indifferent as that upon the dead.
"Or else what?"
"You beasts who can't even understand human speech."
"Wasn't I clear enough?"
"That thing is mine."
"You reckless bandits dare rob the emperor of the universe?"
A terrifying aura burst from Frieza's body.
"Roar!"
The short-tempered Cull couldn't stand such insult. With a roar, his chain-hammer shot out, straight for Frieza's head.
"Die!"
Facing that mighty strike, Frieza didn't even lift a hand. He merely pressed a button on the side of his hover-pod.
Zzzt—
A pale-red energy shield, like an inverted bowl, snapped shut over the pod's opening.
"Such dirty work isn't worth my own hands."
Just as the hammer was about to hit the shield—
"Insolent!"
A furious roar exploded from the side.
Apocalypse, standing like a bodyguard beside Frieza, moved.
His eyes blazed with fire.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance!
A chance to impress the boss, prove loyalty, show his worth.
If he couldn't stop these two who looked none too bright, how could he stay in the Frieza Force? How could he remain Captain of the Ginyu Force?
"Dare disrespect Lord Frieza—tired of living?"
Veins bulged on Apocalypse's blue face. He thrust his hands out and clenched at the flying hammer.
Vrrm—
Terrifying telekinesis erupted, locking the huge mechanical maw in mid-air.
Screeech!
The chain-hammer froze, metal shrieking as the two forces collided.
"Hmm?!" Cull was stunned.
This blue-skinned freak was stronger than he'd thought.
He yanked the chain, trying to recall his weapon.
"Trying to run? Not so easy." Apocalypse grinned.
"Come... here."
Boom!
Apocalypse held nothing back, his body surging skyward.
Gigantification!
In a blink, he became a blue Titan dozens of meters tall. His colossal hand ignored Cull's struggle, seized the chain, and wrenched.
Whoosh—
The massive Cull was yanked off balance and flew toward Apocalypse.
"This is the power of Earth's strongest Mutant—tremble, alien scum!"
Apocalypse's other fist, carrying mountain-shattering force, smashed at the flying Cull.
"Graah!"
Cull, ruthless as ever, twisted mid-air and slammed his shield upward.
Bang!
Fist met shield.
A deafening blast tore the sky, shock-waves scattering the clouds below.
Though Apocalypse towered, Cull—Thanos's top shield—was impossibly dense.
The clash ended in a dead heat and both staggered back.
"Not bad."
Apocalypse shook his tingling wrist, battle-lust blazing brighter.
"Again!"
The two giants collided, fist on fist.
Meanwhile.
Ebony watched his entangled ally, brows knit. He hadn't expected such a powerhouse on this remote planet.
Still...
He turned his sinister gaze back to Frieza in the hover-pod.
"Since your bodyguard is occupied..."
Ebony lifted his hands with elegant menace, the air bending to his will. Countless metal shards rose from the city below, weaving into serpentine steel dragons behind him.
"...you now stand alone."
"I'll deliver you to Lord Thanos and he'll pry your secrets open."
Frieza watched, not a flicker of fear. Instead, as if enjoying a clown show, he gave a mocking smile.
"Alone?"
"Oh-ho-ho-ho..."
"Seems you're unaware. I command an entire force and legion."
Before the words faded—
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Several streaks shot through the air.
"Ginyu Force—present!"
With a ringing cry—Loki, Erik, Sebastian, Juggernaut—the white-and-violet spandex squad arrived at last.
"Dare touch Master?"
Loki spun twin daggers.
"Ask my, Vice-Captain Loki's, permission first."
***
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