Chapter Forty: The Plunderer

"Uh... where am I?" Arthur felt as though his entire body was about to fall apart. He slowly opened his eyes, realizing he was not lying in a cramped metal cell.

Where is this place? Arthur tried to sit up; his clothes were tattered and his trident was nowhere to be seen.

He glanced outside the cell and it seemed to be a spaceship. The corridor walls were made entirely of steel, and the ceiling above was packed with tangled wires and pipes.

Arthur called out loudly, "Hey! Is anyone there? Somebody, help!"

"Shut up! What's all the noise for?" A moment later, an alien with blue skin dressed in dark red leather strode over.

"Uh, excuse me, where am I?" Arthur asked.

"You're on our ship. We're the Ravagers, kid! Ever heard of us?" the blue-skinned alien replied.

"Ravagers? Yondu?" Arthur asked in confusion.

"Well, well, you even know our boss Yondu's name?" the alien said, clearly surprised.

"How did I end up on your ship?" Arthur inquired.

"You sure ask a lot of questions! Our radar picked up combat activity nearby, so the boss sent us to check it out. We found the wreckage of a warship and countless dead Chitauri. You were the only sign of life nearby, so we brought you back," the alien explained.

"Oh, thanks for saving me. Did you happen to find a trident? It belongs to me," Arthur asked.

"No idea, but we salvage every weapon and resource we find. But listen up, kid—everything we find is ours now, including you!"

"Me? What are you planning to do?"

"What do you think? Ha! Whether we eat you or sell you off, that's up to Yondu. Just stay put and behave yourself!" With that, the blue-skinned alien walked away.

"Talk about bad luck—can't even drink water without choking!" Arthur sighed.

He had planned to display his powers in the battle of New York, to show the world the might of the King of the Seas, and then quietly steal the Mind Stone from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s traitor—a perfect plan, truly delightful!

But Loki outwitted him. Not only did he fail to play a key role in the fight, he was battered by the Chitauri in space and, to top it off, got caught in a nuclear explosion, ending up in the hands of the Ravagers. He really should have checked his horoscope before leaving the house—utter carelessness.

Arthur had no idea what to do now. Escaping from this cell would be easy enough, but what then? This was a spaceship—where could he go? Kill all the Ravagers? Don't be ridiculous. He remembered how Thor was controlled on Sakaar in the third Thor movie and had no desire to experience the methods of these cosmic outlaws firsthand. Better to wait and see what Yondu decided.

So Arthur waited in the cell for two days, until finally he was summoned before Yondu, the leader of the Ravagers.

Following the blue-skinned alien, Arthur entered the ship's main hall. There, he saw countless aliens of all colors, as well as the very familiar Yondu and the blond Star-Lord, Peter Quill!

"Boss, I brought the guy," the blue-skinned alien announced.

Yondu looked just like in the movies: blue skin, dark red leather jacket with a flame insignia, and a red cybernetic fin atop his head—almost like Ultraman. Arthur suppressed a laugh.

Yondu stared at Arthur for a moment, then asked, "What's your name, kid?"

"My name is John Arthur."

"Are you from Missouri?" Peter Quill, standing nearby, looked at Arthur with a strange expression after hearing Yondu's question.

"Uh, yes, but we call it Earth," Arthur replied.

"What were you doing near that Chitauri warship? What happened there?" Yondu pressed.

"The Chitauri, with help from someone named Loki from Asgard, stole the Cosmic Cube, then used it to open a portal and invade Earth—Missouri, that is. I was fighting the Chitauri at the time," Arthur explained simply.

"You're saying you beat the Chitauri? Just you? Ha! Kid, be careful you don't bite your own tongue with stories like that," Yondu scoffed, clearly not believing a word.

"If you don't believe me, you can try for yourself..." Arthur replied expressionlessly.

Suddenly, an arrow glowing red hovered at Arthur's throat. Yondu warned, "Kid, if you're going to boast, you'd better have the skills to back it up. This is Ravager territory!"

"Fine, I'm not lying. That's exactly what happened," Arthur said. He didn't believe the arrow could hurt him, but he had no desire to turn the Ravagers into enemies.

"Doesn't matter if he's telling the truth or not. He doesn't seem like a dangerous criminal. Let's let him go," Peter Quill interceded on Arthur's behalf, pulling Yondu back.

"Just because he's from your home planet?" Yondu eyed Quill.

"Fine, you take care of him. I'm not interested," Yondu relented, showing his usual soft spot for Quill.

"Come on, follow me," Quill said, patting Arthur on the shoulder.

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't have to fight them now. He followed Quill to a small room.

"Thanks! My name is John Arthur—just call me Arthur," he introduced himself.

"I'm Peter Quill, also from Missouri. I have a lot of questions for you," Quill replied.

"Go ahead," Arthur said. Quill then asked him all sorts of questions about Earth, which Arthur answered patiently.

Quill handed Arthur a set of his own clothes. Arthur thanked him, gratefully changing out of his ruined garments.

"I'd like to ask you for a favor," Arthur said.

"What is it? Tell me," Quill replied.

"I lost my weapon in the fight. I think you guys probably found it. Could you help me get it back?" Arthur asked.

"What kind of weapon?" Quill inquired.

"A golden trident," Arthur answered.

"Oh, I think I remember seeing something like that. Come on, let's sneak over and get it," Quill said.

"Really? Thank you so much! If you ever visit Earth, I'll give you a proper welcome," Arthur said, delighted.

Quill led Arthur quietly to the storage room where the spoils were kept.

"Stop! What are you two doing?" a red-skinned guard demanded.

"We..." Quill began, but Arthur cut him off. He fixed his gaze on the guard and said, "You haven't seen us. Open the door."

A miraculous thing happened—the guard actually opened the warehouse door for them, then returned to his post as if he'd seen nothing.

"How did you do that?" Quill asked, astonished.

"A small trick—I just took control of his mind," Arthur replied casually.

"What? You can control people? That's amazing," Quill said, eyeing Arthur with newfound curiosity.

"Just a little trick. Let’s hurry before we get caught." Arthur opened the door and entered the warehouse, Quill close behind.

Arthur searched around and finally spotted his trident on a rack.

"Found it!" He climbed up and retrieved the trident.

"Now let’s go—your trident is too conspicuous. Someone might spot us," Quill urged.

"That's easy!" Arthur placed the trident flat in his palm, and in a flash of golden light, it transformed into a dark gold bracelet.

"It can do that?" Quill was stunned. He realized this fellow countryman was full of mysteries and surprises.

"I'm starting to believe you really did take on the Chitauri army by yourself," Quill said seriously, looking at Arthur.

...