"That is your hope?"
Apocalypse sneered, blue features twisted, pressing harder with his boot.
"Witness the might of the emperor of the universe!"
"You mortals dare stand against him?"
"Surrender! Kneel! It is your only future!"
Nearby, Thanos hurled Antonio aside with a single slash, eyes blazing with fanatic worship as he stared at the white figure overhead.
"See, tin man?" Thanos's boot crushed Antonio's chest plate.
"That is the difference."
"Your science, your mutations—before Lord Frieza's raw power, they are less than dust."
"Cough..."
Tony spat blood, vision blurring behind the mask, yet defiant.
"Screw your... emperor..."
"As long as Robert breathes... we haven't lost."
As if answering Tony's prayer—
BOOM!
The ruined tower exploded and a golden column shot skyward.
Robert rocketed up once more. He was battered, had a crimson welt across his face, and golden blood at his lips, yet his aura was wilder than ever.
It was the fury of a supreme being whose pride had been trampled.
"I'll kill you!!!"
His eyes blazed solid gold, whites gone, only molten light remaining.
The energy inside him was splitting apart like crazy, as if a million suns had exploded simultaneously within his cells.
"Oh?"
Frieza hovered in midair, eyeing the surging Robert, a flicker of interest finally stirring.
"Are you angry?"
"Not bad, this energy signature..."
Frieza ran his tongue over his lips. "Getting a little interesting now."
"At least last a bit longer."
"Come on. Let me see where your limit lies."
Boom!
The two clashed again. This time, it was no one-sided massacre.
Robert fought like a madman, abandoning all defense, every punch carrying the resolve of mutual destruction.
Bang! Bang! Bang...
The dull thud of fists meeting flesh kept bursting across the sky. With each Impact, the shockwaves baptized the ruined city below all over again.
"Hahaha! Fantastic!"
While parrying Robert's storm-like onslaught, Frieza let out a delighted laugh.
Though he seemed on the defensive, anyone could see that he was toying with his prey, like an adult teasing a rampaging child.
"Your power is decent."
Frieza casually batted aside a heavy punch and countered with a hand chop to Robert's shoulder.
Shhk!
Golden blood sprayed.
"But your technique is garbage."
"Nothing but brute force?"
"If that's all you've got, I'm about to get bored."
"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!!!"
Robert's sanity was crumbling.
He had never faced an enemy like this. No matter how hard he pushed, no matter how much strength he unleashed, the other party was an abyss—unfathomable.
That helplessness stirred the negative personality within him, Void, rousing it to life.
"I am invincible!"
"I am Sentry!"
Boom!
Robert locked his arms around Frieza's waist and rocketed skyward, straight for outer space.
"Want to fight up there?"
Frieza offered no resistance, letting himself be carried beyond the atmosphere.
"Perfect, down there was too cramped."
They burst through the clouds in an instant, entering the silent vacuum of space.
Here, Frieza reigned supreme.
"Get lost back down!"
Roaring, Robert clasped his fists and hammered Frieza's back.
Bang!
Frieza dipped slightly, spun and seized Robert's wrist.
"Stronger now."
Seeing Robert's eyes beginning to blacken, Frieza's lips curved in amusement.
"Looks like a little monster hides inside you."
"The one called Void?"
"How do you know?!" Robert blanched.
It was his deepest secret.
"I know far more than you think." Frieza's eyes flashed crimson.
"Even if you drag it out, the ending won't change."
Frieza's aura shifted.
If he'd been playing before, now he was slightly serious.
About… fifty percent?
BOOM!!!
Purple flame erupted into a savage beast, crushing Robert's golden light.
"Before me, so-called invincibility only means you haven't met me yet."
Bang!
Frieza drove a knee into Robert's gut.
"Gah!"
Eyes bulging, Robert folded like a shrimp, retching in agony.
Frieza clasped his hands and slammed them down on the hero's back.
BOOM!
Like a meteor, Robert plummeted toward Earth.
"Not done yet!"
Frieza lifted a finger, a black energy sphere the size of a ping-pong ball forming at the tip.
Death Ball!
"Off you go!"
Ssshh!
The black orb overtook the falling Robert.
BOOM—
At the edge of Earth's atmosphere, a deadly black blossom bloomed.
The blast tore the clouds away, revealing the outline of North America below.
On the ground.
Everyone stared at the explosion in the sky, hearts in their throats.
"Robert…"
Steve's hand trembled.
He had been their last hope.
As the smoke cleared, a figure wavered in midair.
Sentry!
He was alive!
But he was a ruin of his former self.
His golden suit hung in tatters and half his body was charred, golden muscle fibers exposed.
He panted, the gold in his eyes flickering. "I… haven't lost…"
He glared at the unblemished white figure high above. Humiliation like never before surged through him.
He—Robert Reynolds, the hero with the power of a million suns—was being played with like a monkey by an alien.
"Unforgivable…"
"Absolutely unforgivable!!!"
Robert's gaze changed and the last of his sanity collapsed. In its place came a warped madness.
"You think you've won?" He laughed suddenly, a manic sound.
"That attack didn't kill me, which means your power isn't all that."
His energy began to implode in reverse. Amid the golden light, threads of chilling black void emerged.
He would unleash Void, right now, even if it meant destroying the world.
"I'll show you…"
Raising his hands, he forged a sphere of gold shot through with black. Though small, its destructive force threw Earth's magnetic field into chaos.
"…who the true god of this Universe is!"
Watching from below, the Ultimates brightened.
Antonio shouted, "He's still got an ace! That monster's in for it!"
Steve clenched his fists, hope reigniting. "We're going to win!"
Yet…
High above, Frieza regarded Robert charging his grand attack, confidence plastered across his face, with crimion eyes glinted with boredom.
"Again?"
"Another 'I'm gonna blow myself up, be scared' routine?" Frieza shook his head and sighed.
"Thought I could play a bit longer but it looks like you're out of tricks."
"Fine then…"
"I'll show you a fraction of my true power!"
Golden Form!