The Hulk was struck in the back by a weapon infused with spatial energy, hurtling him toward Black Dwarf's ready fist. The devastating collision landed with immense force, sending the Hulk plummeting back toward Earth, his body igniting in flames from the friction of reentry.
Before crashing into Earth's protective barrier, the Hulk unleashed a surge of brilliant blue ki, redirecting his trajectory and launching himself back toward Black Dwarf. With unrelenting speed, his fist smashed squarely into the alien's jaw, catching Black Dwarf completely off guard.
POW!
The sheer power of the Hulk's punch echoed through the void of space, reversing their positions. Black Dwarf was now the one careening toward the massive ship from which he had emerged. Just before impact, Ebony Maw stepped forward, raising a single hand adorned with glowing rings.
"Thanks for the save, Maw," Black Dwarf muttered, rubbing his bruised jaw. "That one packs a punch. Thanos would enjoy sparring with him."
"All such diversions must wait until we secure the stones," Maw replied, his voice sharp with cold intelligence. His piercing gaze fixed on the Hulk, who hovered above Earth's protective barrier like an avenging sentinel.
"Release the Saiyan's!" Maw commanded into a built-in comm unit on the collar of his uniform. The ships aligned behind the Sanctuary II responded in unison, their hatches opening to unleash thousands of Saiyan warriors.
At the forefront stood the proud and immensely powerful Prince Vegeta, already in his Super Saiyan 2 state, thick arcs of blue lightning crackling along his golden aura as he stared into the distance toward the planet holding the object of Thanos's desire.
Beside the prince, standing firmly on his left and right, were two unmistakable figures. To his left stood Nappa, a bald, mustachioed Saiyan whose green eyes and golden mustache were the only indicators of his transformed state. To his right was a younger, wild-looking Saiyan, his towering, muscular frame taut with barely contained energy, as if fighting an overwhelming urge to act.
The space around them trembled violently as the Saiyans behind Vegeta, clad in armor marked with the emblem of the Mad Titan, exploded into a symphony of power, their golden ki radiating fiercely as they ascended into their transformed states. The void quaked under the weight of their collective energy.
Vegeta's sharp gaze remained fixed on Ebony Maw, awaiting the precise moment when the once-elderly alien wizard would give his signal to proceed.
From Earth, atop the glowing bronze barrier that safeguarded the planet, William stood with his arms crossed, his piercing eyes locked on the massive Saiyan army hovering in the vast expanse of space. His gaze narrowed as he focused on Prince Vegeta and his elite entourage, his expression grim as he contemplated the bitter reality of his race being reduced to mere pawns, frontline soldiers instead of the individual warriors of legend they were meant to be.
William stepped lightly off the bronze barrier encircling Earth, floating into the void and allowing momentum to carry him forward. Upon reaching a certain distance, his aura flared with a brilliant golden light as he transitioned smoothly into his regular Super Saiyan transformation.
The army of Saiyans, witnessing one of their own opposing their conquest, glared at him with killing intent. However, their disciplined training kept their aggression in check. One Saiyan, unable to suppress his overwhelming battle lust, broke ranks. Positioned to Vegeta's right, the wild and youthful warrior launched himself at William with remarkable force, his kinetic energy sending several weaker Saiyans tumbling behind him.
Broly surged forward, his Super Saiyan aura blazing and his expression consumed by battle madness. As he closed the distance, William remained motionless, arms crossed, appearing either paralyzed by fear or resigned to his fate. Interpreting this as submission, Broly drew back his massive, muscular arm, maximizing its swinging potential. With a ferocious swing, he aimed a devastating punch at William, anticipating the sickening sound of breaking bones and tearing flesh.
BANG!
The impact reverberated, defying the absence of air to carry sound. Time seemed to stretch endlessly before shortly after, Broly's arm began to tremble, his muscles straining to their utmost limit, and his aura erupted outward in an explosive display of defiance.
The void quivered.
William's hand moved with a speed beyond comprehension, his fingers locking firmly around one of Broly's.
Broly's charge froze mid-motion. The immense pressure of William's grip forced a guttural growl from the depths of the younger Saiyan's being.
For a moment, it felt as if time itself had stopped. Then, the tension surged. The vacuum between them rippled under the immense strain.
Broly's roar shattered the silence like a tempest tearing through the void, a raw, primal cry of fury that resonated through every fragment of energy surrounding them. His arm shuddered as an unrelenting force coursed through it. The sound that followed wasn't of pain, but of immense strain, an echo of the universe itself groaning under the weight of their clash.
William's golden aura flared with a dignified brilliance, steady and commanding, illuminating the infinite darkness. His expression remained detached, tinged with a faint sorrow.
They've been forged into tools, he reflected, his gaze locked on the feral chaos raging in Broly's eyes. Warriors stripped of their pride… driven only by commands.
Broly attacked.
The barrage came like a meteor storm, his free arm launching fist after fist in a wild, relentless assault. Each impact sent waves of ki rippling across the battlefield, illuminating the void in flashes of green and gold. William absorbed the strikes with the resilience of a mountain, his form barely budging, his aura rippling but never breaking. When Broly's knee connected with his side, the resulting shockwave scattered fragments of nearby ships into the abyss.
Yet, William stood firm.
He did not strike back. Each blow he endured carried centuries of Saiyan fury, the unspoken pain of a warrior race. His eyes softened, even as the light surrounding him grew brighter. You don't even realize you're enslaved, he thought. You fight because it's all they let you remember.
Broly's frustration mounted. His breaths grew ragged, his body trembling with suppressed rage. The void around them twisted into a roaring maelstrom of green energy, spiraling like a vortex. Then, as if something within him finally shattered, his aura compressed inward, silent for an instant.
Then it erupted.
Electric-blue lightning crackled across his frame, weaving through his golden aura. Space itself seemed to distort around him as Broly ascended. The transformation was not a gradual awakening but an explosive surge, his power bursting uncontrollably, ripping through the stillness like a tidal wave.
The Saiyan before him was no longer a mere warrior; he was a tempest made flesh.
Broly's eyes flared with an intense emerald brilliance as his aura burned more fiercely, growing wilder and more untamed. Sparks of raw ki erupted from his body, each one a tiny detonation that shattered the emptiness around him. The lightning surrounding him thickened, weaving into radiant chains of blinding energy.
William's grip tightened, but the strain became insurmountable. The pressure surged beyond even his formidable control. Broly's power spiked again, and the very fabric of space trembled under the force.
In a sudden burst of dazzling energy, the younger Saiyan broke free, unleashing a shockwave so immense that nearby ships tilted precariously from the impact. For a fleeting moment, William's golden aura faltered under the assault. He quickly regained his composure, stabilizing his energy as the brilliance of Broly's new transformation radiated before him like a newborn star.
Broly unleashed a final, triumphant roar, silent rage given form through blinding light. The sheer intensity of the vibration resonated against Earth's bronze barrier far below, making it hum like a colossal bell struck by celestial hands.
William exhaled steadily, his aura settling into a serene, luminous glow. He hovered in place, unyielding, his golden hair shimmering as his eyes reflected both the fury and tragedy of the power before him.
So this is the might of a Saiyan released from all restraint, he thought, a mix of awe and sorrow filling his mind. And yet, even now, you remain shackled by another's will.
Broly charged once more, each motion leaving trails of light in his wake. William raised his hand slightly, no defensive stance, no overt action, just readiness. As Broly's thunderous advance closed the gap, the energies of the two Saiyans, the bound and the liberated, clashed again, igniting the void in a storm of gold and blue.
The darkness quaked under their fury, light overpowering shadow until the void between stars gleamed like a living sun.
And still, William's eyes held only pity.
In the distant battlefield above Earth, Hulk and Black Dwarf clashed again, each impact shaking the void around them.
Hulk's fists pounded against Black Dwarf's armored frame, each blow resonating through the alien's body. The massive warrior stood firm, a living juggernaut fortified by the Space Stone's manipulation of motion and distance, and the Power Stone's sheer destructive force. Even in the vacuum of space, the force of their strikes seemed to reverberate.
Hulk surged forward, every muscle tensed and rippling with fury. He swung a left hook so fast it seemed to fracture light, but Black Dwarf twisted with uncanny speed, the Power Stone amplifying his every move to impossible levels. Their fists collided, shattering nearby debris into deadly fragments that spiraled into the void.
Too strong… Hulk thought, the growl in his chest raw and primal. It wasn't a coherent thought, instinct drove him now, a pure rage fueling his every action.
Black Dwarf retaliated with a cosmic force, his fist glowing with the Power Stone's red energy as it barreled into Hulk's chest. The impact sent Hulk reeling, but he used the momentum to propel forward, his fist smashing into Black Dwarf's shoulder. Cosmic sparks flew, scattering into the endless blackness.
Hulk let out a feral roar, a sound that seemed to ripple even through the silence of space.
"You will not stop me."
Black Dwarf's expression remained impassive, his massive, alien form blurring as he propelled forward with the energy of the Space Stone. In an instant, he closed the distance, twisting fluidly to drive his elbow into Hulk's jaw. The blow reverberated through Hulk's skull, briefly disorienting him, but rage surged through him like a tidal wave. Blood, or its extraterrestrial equivalent, seared through his veins like molten fire, and every strike he endured only fed the primal fury within.
The two titans collided in a relentless exchange of power, their fists meeting with explosive force. Each impact sent shockwaves rippling through the void, lighting the darkness like miniature supernovae. Hulk's eyes glimmered faintly with an eerie blue glow, his entire frame pulsating with kinetic energy and fury. Every punch carried the weight of a planet, but Black Dwarf countered with the Space Stone's enhanced strength, matching Hulk's raw power blow for blow.
Hulk's mind sharpened to a singular objective: destroy him… destroy him…
A metallic chuckle rumbled from Black Dwarf, the sound like grinding gears echoing through the emptiness. The Power Stone's radiance engulfed him, amplifying his strikes into devastating cosmic weapons. Hulk retaliated with unrelenting ferocity, his fists hammering against Black Dwarf's energy-shielded arms, scattering sparks like stars into the void. Every muscle in Hulk's body strained with exertion, his nerves ablaze with the feedback of his relentless assault.
The battlefield, if it could be called that, trembled under the force of their combat. Nearby vessels quaked violently, smaller ships spinning away from the epicenter like debris in a storm. Hulk's fury only grew with each failed attempt to land a decisive blow, but Black Dwarf adapted swiftly. The Space Stone's energy distorted the distance between them, allowing him to evade or sidestep Hulk's strikes with precision. Hulk's deafening roar filled the emptiness, primal and thunderous, echoing like the war cry of an ancient titan.
Hulk's relentless fury clashed against Black Dwarf's calculated resilience, each strike testing the alien's unyielding defenses while every dodge gauged his immense strength. The Power Stone pulsed against Black Dwarf's skin, amplifying his might to rival even Hulk's unparalleled power. Yet, Hulk's resolve never wavered; he was the embodiment of rage, a storm of green energy and unbreakable determination.
Black Dwarf aimed low, his massive fist targeting Hulk's legs. Reacting instinctively, Hulk vaulted into the air, twisting as he descended with a devastating knee strike to the alien's chest. The collision unleashed a shockwave that hurled debris in chaotic spirals. Black Dwarf staggered briefly but retaliated in an instant, folding space to reappear at Hulk's flank. His next punch, infused with the Power Stone's lethal energy, tore through the air with devastating force.
Hulk narrowly evaded, the vibrations of the near-miss rippling through his body, igniting a deeper, primal fury. Each clash resonated beyond the physical, shaking his very core and fueling the tempest within.
STRONGER… I must be stronger…
Hulk let out a deafening roar, his voice now pure essence rather than thought. Energy surged around him, crackling blue ki sparking as the storm within him intensified. His attacks grew faster, his strikes more ferocious. Each blow fractured Black Dwarf's armor, yet the alien absorbed or redirected the force using the Power Stone. Their battle raged on, a violent equilibrium of raw strength and unyielding power.
As the tide shifted, rage built within Hulk not in isolation, but as a direct response. Each punch he absorbed, every counterstrike, and each clash of cosmic energy stoked the furnace inside him. His muscles swelled, fibers thickening beyond their natural limits, while ki flared along his green skin, faintly illuminating the vast black void. Every swing of his fists now carried increased mass and velocity, each collision unleashing shockwaves that rippled silently through the vacuum like thunder without sound.
Black Dwarf's eyes narrowed, recognizing the change. Hulk was no longer reacting; his focus had sharpened, and his instinct was fueled by an escalating fury. The Power Stone's aura flickered under Hulk's relentless blows, as the brute's attacks met mounting resistance. Yet, Hulk's amplified force began to push Black Dwarf backward with each strike. The Space Stone granted Black Dwarf control over distance, but even that power struggled against Hulk's overwhelming momentum.
With a deafening roar, Hulk unleashed a titanic bellow that sent nearby debris careening into orbit-altering trajectories. He hurled himself forward, fists flying in a rapid, unyielding barrage, driving Black Dwarf into retreat. Each impact radiated pulses of kinetic energy across the battlefield, bending light, distorting metal, and leaving fleeting traces of energy like shimmering auroras in the void.
Desperate, Black Dwarf counterattacked with a furious double swing. One blow connected, forcing Hulk to stagger, but the other was blocked, meeting bone-shaking resistance. Hulk's growl deepened, his rage boiling over as ki surged like a storm around him. With unstoppable force, he surged forward once more, his fists smashing into Black Dwarf's chest and shoulder, driving the alien back with unrelenting momentum.
Hulk's inner voice echoed with primal intensity, a singular mantra: Break… Break… BREAK!
The Power Stone surged violently, reacting to Hulk's fury-fueled power, yet the brute's momentum was unstoppable. Space itself twisted under the immense kinetic force, debris spiraling in chaotic orbits, shockwaves rippling outward like invisible tsunamis. Black Dwarf's armor began to fracture under the relentless onslaught, the edges of the stones' energy flaring in vivid bursts.
Hulk's muscles stretched to their utmost limits, ki crackling with raw energy as he roared once more, arcs of visible fury radiating from his form. He launched himself higher, bringing down his fists with earth-shattering strength, each strike hammering into Black Dwarf with the weight of worlds. The Space Stone warped and bent, yet Hulk's rage-enhanced power proved indomitable.
Black Dwarf reeled, finally pushed back by a force he hadn't foreseen. His jaw clenched, the Power Stone's glow dimming under the strain. Hulk's roar reverberated silently through the vacuum, a massive wave of wrath transforming into pure kinetic devastation.
Then, with one final, cataclysmic effort, Hulk's already monumental strength surpassed even the stones' amplified capabilities. Every fiber of his being became an embodiment of rage, his fists moving faster than the eye could follow. With both fists colliding into Black Dwarf simultaneously, a colossal shockwave erupted, radiating across the void, shaking nearby ships and scattering debris over vast distances.
Black Dwarf hurtled backward, trailing sparks and energy flares, his armor scorched and the stones flickering under Hulk's unrelenting fury. Hovering amidst the chaos, Hulk's chest heaved, his eyes glowing with an intense emerald light, ki surging around him as he channeled his rage into a focused, unstoppable force. The battlefield had transformed into a maelstrom of cosmic energy, with Hulk at its epicenter, a living embodiment of raw power and fury.
As Ebony Maw observed his long-time comrades in the Black Order gradually succumbing to their opponents, he finally issued the command. In that moment, the Saiyans' auras flared with overwhelming power, surging directly toward their chosen targets, William, the Hulk, or even Earth itself.
From the blue-green sphere of Earth, a black ship emerged with remarkable speed, appearing both futuristic and ancient in design. It swiftly maneuvered out from behind the protective barrier, spinning to reveal its open loading dock. Within the dock stood rows of soldiers clad in Kandorian battle armor, their presence radiating strength and readiness.
The Kryptonians had entered the fray to confront the Saiyans.