In his hidden base, Cecil stood motionless, his face bathed in the dim glow of multiple monitors. Beside him, Donald remained tense, arms crossed, his usual stoic demeanor faltering as they watched the Guardians fall, one by one, like dominoes. A shadow of frustration flickered over Cecil's features, his usual air of control momentarily slipping.
Then, Sif stepped into view, her powerful form framed against the carnage. In her grasp, she held something grotesque yet significant, Krieg's severed arm. The limp limb dripped with thick, dark Viltrumite blood, but Cecil's gaze wasn't fixed on the grisly remains. His sharp eyes zeroed in on the metal embedded in Sif's weapon, gleaming under the battlefield's light.
His pupils shrank to pinpoints. The realization hit like a thunderclap. This wasn't ordinary steel, this was something that could cut through Viltrumite flesh. No, not just cut. It could kill.
"Donald," Cecil's voice was razor-sharp, his usual dry sarcasm replaced with something far colder. "I don't care what you have to do. Get me a piece of metal like that."
Donald swallowed hard and nodded so rapidly he looked like a malfunctioning bobblehead.
Meanwhile, on another screen, the battle between Anissa and Conquest raged on with ever-increasing brutality.
BOOM!
The screen trembled as a shockwave burst outward. The two Viltrumites met in mid-air, fists colliding with the force of colliding meteors. The impact sent debris flying, warping the air itself with its sheer violence.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!
Blow after devastating blow, they pounded into each other like unyielding titans, refusing to fall. Their once pristine white uniforms were now soaked in crimson, fresh splatters mixing with dried, caked-on blood. It was impossible to tell whose was whose, both of them bled, both of them grinned through the pain.
Conquest's single, scarred eye gleamed with manic pleasure. "That all you got?" he taunted, spitting out a glob of blood and bits of his own shattered teeth.
Anissa wiped a smear of red from her lip with the back of her hand. "Not even close."
Then, they clashed again, the battlefield quaking beneath them.
Sif's relentless pursuit of Krieg pushed him to his limits. The once-mighty Viltrumite commander, who had spent his entire existence as the hunter, now found himself the hunted. The sensation gnawed at him, setting his blood ablaze with fury. He gritted his teeth, his pride screaming in protest.
Sif closed in, her sword gleaming under the sun, ready to carve through his spine.
But just before the strike landed—
CRACK!
Krieg twisted mid-air with frightening speed, his fist smashing into her face. The sheer force sent her flying, her body becoming a blur as she careened into the distant skyline, shattering glass as she tore through a skyscraper before vanishing from view.
Krieg hovered in place, chest heaving, his breath ragged. "Huff, huff, huff!" He forced himself to calm down, fingers shaking as he reached for his communicator. His voice, though winded, carried the weight of authority.
"All remaining Viltrumites, you are hereby ordered to attack my target!"
The order was absolute. His people would obey.
Before Krieg could take another breath, a powerful gust of wind howled through the battlefield as Sif shot back into the sky. She moved like a comet, her golden hair trailing behind her, her sword locked onto Krieg's chest like a vengeful spear. Her eyes burned with unshaken resolve.
She was going to kill him.
But before she could reach him—
"BOOOOOOM!"
A squadron of Viltrumites tore through the sky, slamming into Sif like a living missile strike. The impact sent shockwaves rolling through the battlefield. She was rocketed downward, her body carving a crater into the earth as she smashed into the streets of Chicago. The force sent cars flipping end over end, streetlights bending like twigs.
The Viltrumites wasted no time.
They swarmed above the impact zone, grabbing massive chunks of broken buildings, steel, concrete, and rebar still tangled together, and hurled them down with merciless force.
"CLANG! BANG! BANG! CLANG! CRASH!"
The deafening cacophony of destruction echoed through the city as debris rained upon her grave. Dust and smoke rose like a funeral pyre, the once-bustling streets now reduced to nothing but rubble and ruin.
Floating above the devastation, the Viltrumites wore expressions of cold arrogance, their crimson-stained uniforms fluttering in the wind. One of them scoffed, folding his arms.
"Too easy."
Then—
"BOOOOOOM!"
A blinding explosion of golden force erupted from beneath the wreckage, launching molten debris in all directions. One of the Viltrumites had only a split second to react before the energy slammed into him like an unstoppable tidal wave.
He raised his arms in a desperate attempt to block.
It didn't matter.
His body, tough as it was, failed to withstand the overwhelming force. He was obliterated in an instant, reduced to nothing but scattered chunks of flesh and blood.
The remains of what was once a Viltrumite rained down upon the streets, painting the ruined city below in crimson.
The battle was far from over.
Above the chaos unfolding on Earth, two titans clashed in the cold emptiness of space, their battle raging across the shattered remnants of the moon's bright side. Each blow sent ripples of force echoing into the void, scattering debris like drifting asteroids.
"BOOM!"
For a brief moment, their overwhelming momentum came to a sudden halt as they locked together, muscles straining, eyes burning with sheer willpower. Then, in an instant, they broke apart, zipping past each other with the full mastery of their flight capabilities.
Two streaks of light, one a brilliant white, the other an electrifying blue, blurred through the vacuum, weaving in and out as they clashed with relentless precision.
Mark's mind raced even as his body acted on instinct. This suit is incredible... I'll have to thank William when I see him again!
Then, their fists met.
"BOOOOM!"
The force of their collision sent both warriors careening in opposite directions, moving at such impossible speeds that they nearly reached subluminal velocity.
Mark twisted mid-flight, adjusting his trajectory effortlessly, still marveling at his suit's resilience. Every impact felt amplified, every movement enhanced to near perfection.
But his moment of awe cost him.
"Don't let yourself be distracted, boy!"
"BOOOOOOOOOM!"
Thragg materialized above him in an instant, his powerful frame a blur of movement. A hammer fist came crashing down with all the force of a falling mountain.
Mark barely had time to register the attack before—
CRACK!
His body slammed into the lunar surface with devastating force, sending tremors rippling through the fractured moon. Millions of tiny fragments shot off in every direction, a silent explosion of destruction in the airless void.
Mark gasped, his mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood as he coughed out a mixture of red and saliva. His muscles screamed in protest as he forced himself up, shaking off the pain.
Above him, Thragg floated with a stern, unreadable expression, his piercing gaze locking onto Mark's struggling form.
"We are your people," he said, voice laced with something between cold authority and begrudging disappointment. "What are you even fighting for?"
Mark wiped his mouth, then slowly lifted his head, his own glare burning with unwavering defiance. Without hesitation, he pointed back toward Earth, his home.
"Tch, those are my people."
Then, with a sharp flick of his wrist, he pointed at Thragg, his lips curling into a smirk.
"And who are you but some Freddy Mercury wannabe?"
A moment of silence.
Thragg blinked. His brow furrowed slightly, his expression unreadable, caught between mild confusion and simmering rage.
That hesitation was all Mark needed.
Tapping into the Extremis core of his suit, Mark supercharged his cells, pushing his speed and power to levels beyond Thragg's immediate perception.
He disappeared.
Then—
"CRACK!"
Mark reappeared above Thragg in a flash, his foot descending in a brutal axe kick. The force of the blow met Thragg's hastily raised guard, but it wasn't enough.
The sickening sound of breaking bone echoed through the void.
Thragg's arm twisted unnaturally, his forearm snapping under the pressure, his shoulder popping out of its socket with an audible pop!
"BOOOM!"
The Viltrumite Grand Regent hurtled backward, his broken arm hanging uselessly at his side as he smashed into a massive chunk of floating moon rock, sending fissures cracking through its surface.
Mark didn't give him time to recover.
With a confident smirk, he hovered above, cracking his knuckles. Now we're even.
Deep in the furthest reaches of the solar system, where even light struggled to exist, a jagged fissure in space continued to stretch wider, distorting reality itself.
Two massive hands, wreathed in golden energy, clawed at the very fabric of the void, fingers digging into the tear with raw, unrelenting force. The surrounding space trembled as the rift was pried apart, revealing a nightmarish abyss of chaotic energy on the other side.
A furious, guttural roar tore through the emptiness.
"RAAAAAHHHH!"
A colossal golden ape emerged from the rift, its fur crackling with arcs of crimson lightning. It strained against the crushing weight of space itself, its massive body bombarded by the relentless energies of the black hole it had willingly entered.
Yet it endured.
It endured because of his will. His fear. His rage.
The burning rings of Willpower, Fear, and Rage pulsed around his body, their luminous auras shielding him from annihilation. Even as space itself resisted him, trying to consume him whole, his fury refused to be silenced.
The fissure widened further, large enough for the beast to force its head through. But the risk was immense.
A moment of hesitation. A tactical retreat.
The ape withdrew, vanishing back into the void as the wound in space instinctively began to seal itself, threads of reality stitching shut. But William had no intention of leaving without making his mark.
From within the depths of the black hole, a violent, swirling light began to form between his teeth. A deep red glow, intertwined with golden flames, pulsed in rhythmic surges.
The airless void shook.
"WENNNG!"
Electric arcs danced around his gaping maw, illuminating the abyss itself. The swirling mass of energy condensed, growing denser, darker, an apocalyptic force reaching its peak. A light so intense it bled through the fissure, piercing through the darkness of space.
The time had come.
With an unearthly bellow, William released the stored energy, his golden eyes flaring like dying stars.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAARRRRR!"
The devastating beam erupted forth, a chaotic torrent of crimson and gold. It surged toward the shrinking tear in space, slipping through just before it could close.
And then, "BOOOOM!"
The tiny fissure erupted outward, expanding instantly to the size of a small moon. The sheer force of the attack didn't just pierce the void, it violated it, carving a path of destruction as the beam rocketed toward a specific destination.
Floating through the now-massive rupture in space, William emerged.
A colossal golden ape wreathed in lightning, radiating unfathomable power.
With a primal sense of triumph, he pounded his chest.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Each impact sent gravitational ripples outward, distorting the very space around him, warping the fragments of celestial debris that dared to drift too close.
Then, with a resounding "SLAP!", the rift in space snapped shut, sealing the gateway behind him.
William now floated alone in the vastness of space, surrounded by his golden ki aura. His sharp gaze followed the trajectory of his devastating beam, tracking its path across the cosmos.
Then, with a slow, measured breath, his form began to shift.
His massive ape body contracted, golden fur disintegrating into waves of energy as his shape reformed. His powerful frame shrank, his skull reshaping, his features reverting to their human form, though his hair remained noticeably longer, his body altered in subtle, powerful ways.
Taking a moment to assess his condition, he grimaced at the battle-worn state of his body. Reaching into his system space, he retrieved a senzu bean.
Crunch.
The moment he bit down, a surge of vitality coursed through his veins. His aura, once flickering from exhaustion, suddenly reignited, burning brighter than ever.
"WHOOSH!"
His golden energy expanded violently, tearing through the stillness of space as his wounds vanished in an instant. His body wasn't just restored, it was enhanced.
Then—
"DING!" – System Message – Zenkai Boost Achieved!
Another alert.
"DING!" – System Message – Power Level Has Reached a Saturation Level of 1,598,457,500,000. User Must Achieve a New Transformation to Surpass It.
William flexed his newly strengthened hands, feeling the difference in his power. It was noticeable, but unlike previous Zenkai boosts, this one felt... restrained.
A threshold had been met. A barrier had been reached.
Yet, as his fingers clenched into fists, a smirk pulled at his lips.
"Still more than enough for some mere pests."
Without hesitation, his aura erupted once more, a pillar of light so blinding it could be mistaken for a newborn star.
Then—
"BOOOOOOOOOM!"
With a single explosive burst of speed, William vanished, streaking across the void toward Earth like a golden meteor trailing behind his beam attack from before which was speedily approaching the moon.