Ethan hadn't expected things to be this coincidental. He had just been thinking about getting a Ravager ship.
Unfortunately, neither Star-Lord Peter Quill nor Yondu were easy to run into. It wasn't like searching for someone in a city or even a country—it was the entire universe they were talking about.
Just thinking about it gave him a sense of how difficult it would be.
Yet, just as he was thinking about the Power Stone, Peter Quill appeared right in front of him.
It felt as if the Power Stone had come to find him. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this "kindness."
"Friend, please wait a moment."
Ethan suddenly quickened his pace and called out to Peter Quill, who was not far ahead.
The man who called himself Star-Lord didn't realize Ethan was addressing him and continued walking until Ethan stepped in front of him.
"Are you looking for me?"
Ethan's move had been sudden. He hadn't said anything to Tony or Thor, so they were completely confused as to why he had stopped this random passerby.
Did Ethan have a grudge against this guy?
Thor and Tony weren't sure what was going on, but they stood firmly behind Ethan.
Leaving Tony aside, Thor's physique alone looked extremely intimidating. His exposed arms were as thick as most people's legs.
Peter glanced at him and instinctively reached for his weapon, backing up slightly and keeping his guard up.
"Don't be nervous. We're not here to hurt you."
Ethan spread his hands to show he wasn't armed.
"There's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"I don't think we have anything to discuss."
Although Peter acted like a carefree goofball, being raised among Ravagers meant he wasn't lacking in caution.
These people with Ethan didn't look easy to mess with. He had no idea what they were after, suddenly approaching him like this.
Under such circumstances, he really didn't want any contact with them.
"It's a business deal. Don't you want to make some serious money?"
"Make money?"
At this point, Peter Quill didn't have any lofty ambitions. His biggest goal was to leave the Ravagers, earn a fortune, and live freely in the galaxy.
"How big of a deal?"
If there was money to be made, then maybe this wasn't a bad conversation to have.
Peter took his hand off his weapon.
He looked at the group in front of him. None of them seemed to be carrying weapons, which made him relax a bit—unaware that two of them, besides Tony, could easily deal with him even without weapons.
"Before that, I want to confirm something."
"What is it?"
Ethan hadn't expected to run into Star-Lord here, but after quickly going over the MCU timeline in his head, he realized it wasn't strange for Star-Lord to be on Xandar at this point.
According to the timeline, Star-Lord either already knew about the Orb or would find out very soon, since it was a "deal" Yondu had made.
He had taken the job himself and left early, hoping to grab the item before Yondu arrived and then run off with it. That was the start of the Guardians of the Galaxy story.
Star-Lord's plan was simple—grab the item quickly, rush to Xandar, and sell it directly to the underground buyer who had requested the Orb.
What he hadn't expected was that Ronan, the Kree lunatic, was also after the Orb. Because of that, the underground merchant refused to take on such a dangerous item.
That's why, after being persuaded by Gamora, he ended up going to Knowhere to try and sell the Orb to the Collector.
"Did you take on the job to find the Orb?"
Star-Lord's goal was just to make money and escape the Ravagers. He didn't really care who he sold the item to.
But hearing Ethan's question, Peter Quill's hand moved back to his gun.
He had no idea how this guy knew about the job. Maybe these people were also after the same thing?
"I don't know what 'orb' you're talking about."
Star-Lord was really a terrible actor. His expression betrayed him instantly.
Ethan could clearly see it, and even Thor behind him could tell this guy was lying.
"He's lying. He knows what the 'orb' is," Thor commented, then added sarcastically, "Your acting is far worse than Loki's."
Tony rolled his eyes.
What was there to be proud of when you'd been tricked by your own brother for thousands of years?
"You don't need to be nervous. The business I want to talk about is precisely that."
Ethan had originally wanted to speak with Star-Lord in private, but seeing his guarded state, he figured that wouldn't work.
At least here in a public area, Star-Lord would feel more at ease.
"This is Xandar. The Nova Corps won't tolerate any acts of violence. So, it's best not to keep reaching for your weapon. If they misunderstand, I won't be able to help you."
Peter continued to eye the group warily, but he did move his hand away from his gun.
Ethan's words reminded him that none of these people could make a move here—not unless they wanted to provoke the Nova Corps.
That seemed to lay the groundwork for a peaceful negotiation.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Peter decided that maybe this deal wasn't off the table.
"You want to buy the Orb from me?"
"Hah, I knew he was lying earlier."
Tony rolled his eyes again.
Ethan ignored Thor's background commentary, while Star-Lord looked over at the big guy, beginning to think he might not be as dangerous as he first appeared.
"Yes, and I want to go with you to retrieve the Orb. As soon as we get it, I'll pay you on the spot."
Star-Lord wasn't thrilled about this. He preferred to get the Orb first, then come back and negotiate.
"No, we can't make the deal here."
The Orb contained the Power Stone—the most dangerous of all the Infinity Stones.
Not because it was the strongest, but because the power within it was the most unstable.
Even light contact could unleash its terrifying energy.
If the person touching it was too weak, the Stone wouldn't just blast the "trash" into dust. It would continue releasing energy uncontrollably.
Even its residual energy could destroy a large building. The Collector's dwelling was obliterated by it.
"Why not?"
"Because it's very dangerous."
Star-Lord was a contradictory person. He could show bravery and wisdom when it mattered, but most of the time, he acted like a goofball.
Hearing that the item was dangerous, he swallowed nervously and hesitated before asking, "Is it dangerous just to find it?"
Ethan was about to say no. The Orb was a containment unit, and the Power Stone inside was sealed under multiple layers. It didn't leak any energy.
In other words, before opening it, it was just a metal sphere.
But he quickly remembered that Ronan was also after the Orb and had already sent people out to find it.
These people were no joke, and they would kill anyone in their way.
If Star-Lord ran into them, there would definitely be a fight.
From that perspective, just retrieving the Orb carried its own dangers.
"It might not be dangerous, but it will definitely involve some trouble. That's why I need to go with you."
Star-Lord glanced at Ethan's group again and suddenly felt it wasn't such a bad idea.
If something went wrong, having a few more people was better than being alone, right?
And if he ran into Yondu, he could always claim he had been coerced by this group.
Star-Lord's moral compass was flexible—and sometimes completely offline.
Ethan wasn't surprised. Even without mind-reading magic, he could guess what was going on in Peter's head just from his expression.
"What about the price?"
"You name it."
Ethan had no clue about currency exchange in the universe. Letting him set a price would be ridiculous.
Thor, on the other hand, was absurdly rich. Ethan suspected he also had no concept of what things actually cost.
After Star-Lord named a price, Ethan looked at Thor, who nodded casually.
He didn't mean the price was fair. He just meant he could afford it.
And so, a deal involving the Power Stone was casually sealed on a random street on Xandar.
Star-Lord was quite satisfied. He no longer needed to negotiate with that shady underground buyer.
He just needed to retrieve the item, get paid immediately, and leave.
It was much safer than returning to Xandar—Yondu would definitely know where the original buyer was. If he took the Orb and ran, Yondu would come after him for sure.
But if the transaction happened in space, he could disappear to wherever he liked, and Yondu wouldn't easily find him.
"When do we leave?"
"We can go anytime. Or, if you want, come back with us. I'll gather my people and we'll board your ship directly."
Star-Lord didn't find anything wrong with that. But when he followed Ethan back to the residence and saw how many people were there, and how they all wanted to board his Milano, he started to feel overwhelmed.
"Where's your ship?"
Ethan shrugged. "We were planning to buy one, but haven't found anything suitable yet."
Star-Lord didn't think too hard about it. He assumed Ethan's previous ship had broken down and they hadn't had time to replace it.
However, seeing all these people act like curious kids the moment they boarded, poking and inspecting everything, made him feel a bit exasperated.
After the Milano left Xandar and began heading toward the target planet, Star-Lord leaned in close to Ethan and asked in a low voice,
"Where did you find all these companions?"
He glanced at Tony, who was still touching everything, and added, "You didn't kidnap a bunch of people from some backward planet planning to sell—"
(To be continued.)