"Kneel." Frieza's voice was very soft.
It was as soft as a whisper from a noble at a tea party to an attendant who had accidentally overturned a teacup.
But in the deathly silence of Manhattan's ruins, that word was more deafening than any explosion before.
High in the sky.
The terrifying black figure's light began to slowly recede.
Like an ebbing tide, that dark aura, enough to crush dimensions, gradually dissipated.
The light faded away.
Frieza returned to his snow-white, petite, and perfectly streamlined Final Form. Even that white tail drooped lazily.
"Whew..."
Frieza lightly brushed off non-existent dust, his crimson eyes filled with a sense of listless boredom.
"Too weak."
"Even the so-called 'strongest hero' was nothing more than a slightly more durable punching bag."
"As for you..."
Frieza lowered his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the blood-stained, staggering members of the Ultimates below.
His eyes were full of disdain. "You don't even have the qualifications to make me maintain Black form."
"What a waste of emotion."
On the ground.
Steve was currently kneeling on one knee, not out of submission. But because his left femur had snapped in the previous Impact. He used his cracked shield to support his body, forcing his head up, his blue eyes burning with unyielding fury.
"In your dreams..."
Steve spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his voice as raspy as sandpaper.
"You can kill us."
"You can destroy this world."
"But you want us to kneel to a demon like you?"
Steve gripped his shield tight and squeezed out a word through gritted teeth. "Never!"
"That's right!"
In the ruins nearby, Antonio stood up unsteadily. His blue armor was battered and broken, even exposing the wires and skin underneath.
"Buddy, your paint job is certainly shiny." Antonio panted heavily, his foul mouth still unrelenting even at a time like this.
"But your taste is still as rotten as a pile of alien dog shit."
"Want to take over Earth?"
"Ask the pulse cannon in my hand if it agrees first."
Zzt...
The faint light of the repulsor cannon in Antonio's palm seemed small yet piercing in this desperate darkness.
Looking at this group of "tough nuts" who were clearly at death's door yet still talking big, Frieza was not angry. He just shook his head helplessly and sighed.
"Oh dear..."
"What a bunch of wild monkeys who don't know how to read the situation."
Frieza put his hands in his pockets, not even bothering to look at them any longer.
"Since you love this boring hero game so much, I will fulfill your wish."
He turned his head slightly to look at Thanos and the Ginyu Force, who were already unable to restrain themselves behind him.
"Thanos."
"Your subordinate is here!"
Thanos took a sudden step forward, his tall purple body casting a large shadow in the sunlight.
"This trash is yours to handle."
Frieza yawned and turned to fly toward his golden pod hovering in the air.
"I'm tired and don't want to move anymore, for fear of getting my hands dirty."
"Remember."
"I want them alive."
"After all, it would be no fun to break such good display pieces."
Hearing the word "alive," cruel glint flashed in Thanos's eyes.
"As you command, Lord Frieza!"
He turned around to face the group of defeated remnants.
He swung the double-edged blade in his hand, creating a shrill whistling wind.
"Boys!"
"Lord Frieza has ordered!"
"Teach these ignorant natives a lesson!"
"Kill!!!"
Rumble—
Following Thanos's command, the long-starved Frieza Force, like beasts released from a cage, instantly flooded the battlefield.
"The one with the shield is mine!" Apocalypse laughed wildly, his body instantly growing to a massive size.
"Let's see how tough your bones are!"
"Captain, look out!"
Steve raised his shield to block but the current Apocalypse had been strengthened by Frieza's Ki.
Bang!
Steve, along with his shield, was stomped into the ground.
The earth cracked, and dust rose everywhere.
"Cough, cough..."
Steve coughed up blood, feeling as if every bone in his body was about to fall apart.
Before he could even crawl up, Apocalypse's giant palm had already grabbed him.
"What? Not talking big anymore?"
Apocalypse grinned hideously, his fingers gradually tightening. The suffocation turned Steve's face a deep purple.
On the other side.
"Tin man?"
Erik looked at Antonio who was trying to resist, his eyes full of disdain.
"In this Universe, you are just as much a piece of trash."
Whir—
Antonio discovered with horror that his armor was beginning to uncontrollably crush inward.
"Jarvis! Eject armor! Fast!" Antonio roared.
But it was too late.
Crunch! Crunch!
The sound of twisting metal was ear-piercing.
That hard alloy armor had now turned into the most lethal instrument of torture, squeezing tightly into Antonio's flesh.
"Aaaaaah—"
Antonio screamed in agony, blood flowing out from the seams of the armor.
"Kneel!"
Erik pressed his palm down.
Bang!
Antonio's knees slammed heavily onto the ground, unable to stand up again.
As for Thor, he was currently being ganged up on by Loki, Azazel, and Taskmaster.
"Brother, you look even stupider than the one in my world."
The energy daggers in Loki's hands left bloodstains all over Thor's body.
"Without your hammer, you're just a mortal who can only play with electric sparks."
Squelch!
Loki's blade pierced through Thor's thigh, pinning him to the ground.
"AHHHHH!!!"
Thor roared, trying to counterattack, but Azazel teleported over and kicked him in the chin, knocking him out instantly.