And I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
I try to keep going but it's not that simple
I think I'm a little bit caught in the middle
Gotta keep going or they'll call me a quitter
Yeah, I'm caught in the middle

-Caught In The Middle; by Paramore


Elara used to be a beautiful planet. That was what Ava had been told. The planet used to be filled with all kinds of vibrant colors and exotic plant-life. People and animals could live on Elara and not have a single care in the world. The planet itself was considered a paradise; a sort of heaven. Ava, upon hearing those stories, would spend her time daydreaming. She'd imagine seeing all those vibrant colors and seeing everyone happy. She'd imagine all those plants giving her and her mother enough to eat. The air would be cleaner and the water would be better. Ava liked to imagine that everyone would stop fighting and everything would be normal. But that wasn't how things were. Ava understood that. Elara was, in reality, facing a global epidemic. Too many mouths to feed, not enough resources. Things started to spiral out of control after that.

What used to be a beautiful planet had turned into near dilapidation. Trees had been cut at an alarming rate; water supplies had been overused or tainted. The air was becoming unhealthy and food and medicine was becoming scarce. The people of Elara were growing concerned. They were panicking. Ava's mother, Bianca, was doing everything in her power to provide for her daughter, but nothing was working. Food was nearly impossible to bring in and things were steadily falling apart. Then he came. The purple man and his armies. That had been the day everything changed for Ava.

-0-0-0-0-

"Mama?!" Ava was practically screaming, desperately looking for a way to be heard. Everyone was in a panic, screaming and shouting, trampling over each other in an attempt to escape. It was complete, utter madness. Sadly, in the whole madhouse, Ava got separated from her mother. Bianca and her daughter were trying to find someplace safe, hoping to get away. The stampede of terrified civilians made that escape attempt nearly impossible. "Mama!" Ava cried, shoving her way past people. How could Bianca ever hope to hear her daughter?* There was too much noise. Too much fear.

Fear seemed to be a prominent emotion in Elara. Fear, pain, and suffering — the three turmoils the innocent lives on that planet had to live with. Those overwhelming emotions only seemed to grow with each passing day. But on the day the purple man showed up, those feelings seemed to be amplified. People were getting slaughtered. Families and friends were being separated. No one had the slightest idea on what was going on. It was a big, chaotic mess. At least in the beginning. After a while, things seemed to even out some. Whoever hadn't been slaughtered in the initial terror had been split up by grey-skinned, armor-clad monsters. One of them had found Ava and was forcibly dragging the young child by her upper arm. She tried putting up a fight, but the monster had an ironclad grip on her. That plus the number of bodies littering the ground, Ava was tripping and stumbling. She wouldn't have gotten away, even if she had the chance.

"Let me go!" Ava screamed, trying to pull away. "Where's my mama?! What did you do to her?!"

"Let her go." It was a loud booming voice. There was a level of authority behind it, the kind that made Ava's skin crawl and her blood run cold. It was very unsettling, one that made her give a slight whimper. Thankfully, though, the monster released its grip on Ava's arm. But that didn't mean the child could escape. She was essentially surrounded by those creatures. On top of that, she was hearing another man's voice. He was saying something Ava couldn't quite make out, only because she wasn't fully paying attention to him. Her attention was on the big shadow that overtook her tiny form. Without even looking at him, Ava could already tell he had an air of intimidation and control. He easily could control those monsters, from what could be seen. "Turn around," he ordered. There it was — that authoritative tone. Without a second thought, Ava slowly turned around, her body trembling as her eyes looked up at him. He was gigantic. Gold armor covered most of his purple skin, but it was obvious how in shape he was.

"Where's my mama?" Ava exclaimed, her voice trembling almost violently. Despite the fear she felt, her mother's safety was her biggest priority. Bianca was the only family Ava had; the thought of losing her and being alone was horrifying.

Kneeling down, the purple giant looked at Ava for a long moment. His eyes were very calculating, taking in every detail of the little girl. From her red hair and pale skin, to her pain-filled blue eyes. But beneath all that pain, there was a level of fierceness. Something that was hidden just beneath the surface. "What's your name?" he asked. His tone went from authoritative to gentle, a change that confused Ava greatly.

"Ava," she responded, her tone slow and uncertain.

"Well, Ava," he said, his tone sounding almost thoughtful, "why don't you come with me? I'll help you."

For the first time since the chaos started, a sense of relief washed over the little girl. She would finally be able to find her mother. A large purple hand was held out in Ava's direction, no visible signs of violence behind the gesture. Looking at the outstretched hand for a moment, the little girl found herself hesitating for just a moment before she accepted. Her fingers only managed to wrap around one of his fingers; that was how big he was. Regardless, though, there was something a bit off about him. Someone so big and menacing helping a little girl? He was one of many who was slaughtering countless Elarian people. Or maybe he was commanding those grey-skinned monsters to do so. Ava couldn't say for sure. When he stood at full height, he gently guided her away from the commotion. By that point, the screaming and mayhem had all but subsided. Any survivors were split down the middle, the grey-skinned monsters keeping everyone separate.* Aside from Ava herself and the giant purple man, there was another nicely dressed creature. In the brief moment Ava had in walking by him, she could see the look of slight disdain on his features when he saw her. But for the little girl herself, she was just marveling in his physicality. While not as tall as the purple man, he did tower over Ava and a majority of her people. His face was grayish white and lacked any visible nose or eyebrows. His receding hair hung limply at the back of his head, with his arms crossed behind his back.

He doesn't look like those monsters, Ava thought curiously. What's he supposed to be anyway?

"Come," the purple man ordered, his tone still holding its gentleness. "We'll be able to find your mother over here."

Ava continued following him, keeping her fingers firmly wrapped around his finger. She tried craning her neck back to see the monsters and the noseless creature, but she was urged to keep looking forward. Her gaze did see the horrified expressions of the people in her village. They were being held back by the monsters, who held weapons aimed at Ava's people to keep them back. While the screaming and loud noises had stopped, there were murmurs filling the air, a feeling of restlessness falling among those in the round-up. All the bodies of the people who'd perished were in the process of being gathered up, being placed in a haphazard pile off to the side.

"Tell me, Ava," the purple man asked, "what does your mother look like?"

Looking up at him, the little girl felt her heart clench. "She's got hair like mine," she exclaimed. "And she's really thin. She's got tattoos like mine, too. They're tribal ones."

A thoughtful hum escaped his lips for a moment. He stopped walking, the two of them being a couple feet away from the round-up. Kneeling down, he looked at Ava's tattoos. They were written in her native language, decorating her left arm in dark blue ink. "What do they mean?" he asked, trying his best to keep her attention.

"It's a prayer," Ava explained. "A prayer to my ancestors to give me good health; to wish me a long and prosperous life."

It was true. In Elara, it was tradition to pray to your ancestors to wish for a good life and good health. The prayers are tattooed onto the skin at an early age, as a way of keeping those prayers immortalized. Ava's family was rather small, but the young girl still had a good number of prayers inscribed on her skin.

"How has your life been on Elara?"

". . .Not good." Ava's tone became heartbroken. She'd grown up in extreme poverty. Her world was facing an epidemic of overpopulation and limited resources. Medicine had already become a rarity. Only the wealthy could afford good healthcare. Anyone with minimal to no money could barely afford simple herbs to treat a rash.

"What you need to understand is this. . ." The purple man gently brushed some of Ava's hair out of her face, looking at her with an expression of both seriousness and gentleness. ". . .Balance is what keeps everything together. If for even one moment, things are tipping too much to one end, then what keeps everything together begins to unravel."

Ava's brows furrowed a little. Before she could question what he meant, the sounds of screams erupted. Immediately, Ava turned to see what was going on, but his big hand kept her head from fully turning.

"I can teach you what is important about balance," he proposed.

"What about my mama?" Ava asked, her voice trembling. A heaviness started weighing down on her. She quickly recalled how he promised to help find her mother. So why was he still talking to her? What was the big deal about balance? What had happened to Bianca and why were the people screaming again?

"Your mother would want you to be safe. That's why I can take you in, to teach you about how to make things right again."

-0-0-0-0-

That encounter happened over two decades ago. For Ava, Thanos' unofficially adopting her had become the biggest turning point in her life. She'd gone from being poor and starving, to being taken in by an intergalactic warlord. How could something like that even happen? How did Thanos even hear about Elara? The planet itself was in a relatively remote solar system, left alone by neighboring planets. As Ava got older, it all started to make sense. She began to understand why balance was so important to him.

Thanos was well-known in the galactic community. He was an invader, a parasite. He'd send his armies, his children, to planets he deemed problematic to cleanse them of their difficulties. Ava understood those planets to be ones suffering from overpopulation. In Thanos' eyes, he was doing the galaxy a favor. He was bringing balance back; he was giving everyone an opportunity to regain control over their lives. In other words, he'd become a genocidal maniac. In his eyes, slaughtering half the population on all planets with life was the solution to the galaxy's growing society. But for Ava, the disturbing reality of what her adoptive father believes in no longer bothers her. She's grown accustomed to seeing death and violence. Having been taken under Thanos' wing means that she'd have to train to be one of his warriors. She'd become his personal weapon. Any enemies Thanos encountered, Ava, or any of his other children, would be sent to handle the situation. A childhood spent being tortured and forced to fight could change a person, obviously. All seven of Thanos' children could say their lives drastically changed after his arrival. Some saw it as an improvement, others secretly resented him for his intrusion.

Ava's life on Elara may not have been perfect, but she still had her mother. She had something. But when Thanos and the Chitauri showed up, everything became even worse. Ava had never experienced such horror in her life before. And that was just the invasion. The real horrors Ava faced were when she got on Thanos' ship.


(A/N):

Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but hopefully you guys like it. If there's any constructive criticism you've got, I'd be more than happy to hear it. Don't hesitate, guys.

Nothing in the MCU belongs to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the summer quarter I'm currently enrolled in. If you've got any ideas on OCs or subplots, then don't be afraid to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.

This movie will be taking place during the first Thor movie, but it'll take some time to build up to the first movie's plot.

Like I said before, don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism. That kind of stuff is important to me! It'll help me improve as a writer and it'll help the story get better, too.

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be."

-William Shakespeare

Leave a random fact on anything you've recently learned or have known for a while. A fact I've recently learned is that the title for Avengers 4 has been released. There are theories about it being connected to Ant-Man and the Wasp, but I don't know.

Thanks, you guys!

Susannah Cruz