Chapter 134: Rescued

"Ah... it hurts!" Arthur regained consciousness, feeling as though he had just emerged from a long, arduous dream. His head felt like it was about to explode, and his entire body was wracked with intense pain. The only source of relief was the realization that he was still alive.

Arthur struggled to open his eyes. Above him was a white ceiling draped with curtains, and the familiar scent of antiseptic filled his nostrils. Was he in a hospital?

Arthur recalled the events leading up to this: over a dozen massive purple energy orbs exploding around him. Although he had used the Reality Stone to deflect the damage, he had still been caught in the blast. Afterward, he had been sucked into a wormhole and lost consciousness, knowing nothing more.

Where was he? Arthur strained to lift his head and look around. He was indeed in a private hospital room, wearing a patient gown, lying in a bed hooked up to an ECG monitor, with an oxygen tube in his nose.

"Was I saved?" he wondered. He let out a weak call, "Excuse me? Is anyone there?"

At that moment, a beautiful female doctor walked in from the hallway. She approached the bedside, stared at him for a moment, and asked, "You're awake?"

"Dr. Helen Cho?"

Arthur struggled to keep his eyes open. He recognized the doctor before him—wasn't this Dr. Helen Cho of the Avengers' biotechnology division? Was he in an Avengers hospital? Arthur let out a sigh of relief; at least he hadn't ended up in some bizarre, unknown place. However, Dr. Cho’s next words made his heart tighten again.

"You know me?" Dr. Helen Cho asked, looking at Arthur with a curious expression.

"You are Dr. Helen Cho from the biotech department, am I right?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, I am Helen Cho. How do you know who I am? Are you an alien?" she asked, looking perplexed.

"I’m human. I’m your colleague, actually. How could I be an alien? Can you tell me how you found me?" Arthur asked, confused.

Dr. Helen Cho hesitated for a long time, but seeing that Arthur didn't seem to be a bad person, she replied, "We detected strange astronomical phenomena over California, followed by a meteorite crashing to Earth at high speed. We found you unconscious in the crater and brought you back. What is your name? And what did you mean by saying you’re my colleague?"

Arthur fell silent. He understood the situation now: he must have passed through a wormhole into another multiverse, which was why the people here didn't recognize him.

"Is this the Avengers base?" Arthur asked tentatively.

"How did you know this is the Avengers base?" Dr. Helen Cho asked, astonished.

When the Avengers had first found Arthur, they assumed he was an alien and brought him secretly to the base. Lab technicians had tried to draw blood for tests, only to discover that Arthur's skin was incredibly resilient—not even the strongest metal could pierce it. They had been forced to give up on blood samples and instead extracted saliva from his mouth for analysis, which revealed that his cells were identical to those of an ordinary human. However, population searches confirmed that Arthur was definitely not from Earth; his fingerprints and DNA were nowhere on record. Further examinations revealed that while his body was currently extremely weak, it harbored immense energy.

The laboratory staff had handed the report to Steve Rogers, who told them to keep Arthur under close observation and notify him immediately upon his awakening, warning that this man could pose a significant threat.

Though Arthur was lying in a hospital room, it was located deep beneath the Avengers base, surrounded by reinforced bulletproof glass and guarded by combat personnel. Escaping would be nearly impossible.

"My name is Eon Arthur. What year is it?" Arthur asked.

"Today is May 6, 2016," Dr. Helen Cho replied.

2016? That was a relief. By 2016, S.H.I.E.L.D. should have already collapsed, and the Avengers were in charge. He wouldn't be subjected to human experimentation. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, unaware that he had already been studied for some time.

"You've been in a coma for almost a month. If you hadn't shown vital signs, we would have thought you were in a vegetative state," Dr. Cho joked.

"Have I been out for that long?" Arthur tried to sit up, but he had no strength at all. His body felt empty, his energy completely depleted, and he couldn't even summon the Infinity Stones. For the first time, Arthur felt like a truly weak patient.

"Here, drink some water, then have something to eat." Dr. Helen adjusted the bed, gave him a glass of water, and fed him a bowl of nutritious, porridge-like meal.

"Can you tell me where you came from?" Dr. Helen Cho asked.

"My story is hard to explain in a few words. When Steve Rogers comes, I’ll explain everything in detail," Arthur said.

Dr. Helen Cho looked at him with surprise. This man knew her, knew this was the Avengers base, and knew Steve Rogers. If it weren't for the DNA tests showing no such person existed on Earth, she would have been certain he was a local.

Dr. Helen Cho nodded and told Arthur to rest, then turned and left the room, heading to a conference room on the first floor.

"He's awake?" Steve Rogers sat on a sofa, with Tony Stark, Rhodey, and Natasha nearby.

"Yes, he's awake, but things are more unexpected than I thought. The man acts as if he's from Earth!" Dr. Helen Cho relayed everything Arthur had said.

"You're saying he knows you and knows Steve?" Tony Stark asked, looking at Dr. Cho.

"Yes, and he even guessed this was the Avengers base," Dr. Cho confirmed.

"This is interesting. Who exactly is this guy?" Natasha remarked.

"He says his name is Eon Arthur. As for his origin, he wants to tell the Captain personally," Dr. Cho said.

"He wants to tell me personally? Very well. Once he's able to move, we'll go see him together and hear what he has to say. For now, let’s get back to work," Steve Rogers said.

The others nodded. Their workload was heavy; the aftermath of the Sokovia incident was a massive headache, and there were still several Hydra bases waiting to be dealt with. Arthur’s matter would have to wait.

Lying in bed, Arthur closed his eyes, attempting to tap into the energy within him, but it was like a stone cast into the sea—there was no response. Even his spiritual consciousness was inaccessible. He was effectively just an ordinary person. His body was so weak he couldn't even muster the strength of a normal human. Still, he was grateful to have been found by the Avengers; if he had landed on some other planet, he might have been devoured by monsters by now.

Arthur could only calm his mind and focus on recovering. As the old saying goes: when you arrive, settle in.