Avengers: Destiny Arrives

Going Knowhere

Gamora stood in silence and reflected on everything Thor had said - that Thanos had two of the Stones and was now seeking more. His words tugged loose the memories she wished would stay buried. Thanos was many things- a conqueror, a murderer, and a warlord. But he was also a father to her.

Gamora shook her head and smiled bitterly as she remembered the day she met him. Her planet was just one in a long line of Thanos's conquests. Zen-Whoberi was like many planets- overflowing with too many mouths to feed and not enough resources to do it. But Gamora was a child then and knew only a full belly, a warm bed, and the love of family. She never knew the sacrifices they'd endured so that she could thrive. That, she knew, was the burden of parenthood- to take all of the pain, all of the consequences, so that the children didn't have to. Children grew up oblivious to this much of the time. They take it for granted. They reap the benefits of their parents' sacrifices without ever seeing their pain. Gamora had certainly been that way in her youth.

Never again, she thought as she stared into the distance. She would never allow herself to forget how her family had been a shield for her. A shield until the bitter end.

She could still remember the day Thanos and his children arrived on her planet. He'd sent his army to round up everyone. Any who protested or fought back were killed immediately. The survivors were then met with the cruel choice.

"Zehobereians," Ebony Maw had greeted them on that day.

Gamora shut her eyes and could still see it, still hear his awful voice. She hated Ebony Maw, especially when he spoke. Though she hated all of them.

"...Choose a side, or die," Ebony Maw had said as he pointed to one side of the massive courtyard and then the other. "One side is a revelation. The other, an honor known only to a few."

Gamora hadn't understood the words then. To be honest, she'd barely paid attention to them anyway. In her childish fear of the terrifying child of Thanos, she'd sought out the presence of her mother. Every child wants their mother when they are afraid.

But it wasn't her mother who greeted her as she cried out for her.

"What's wrong, little one?" a deep and measured voice had spoken from nearby.

Gamora had spun around to see the tall and imposing figure of a Thanos. Clad in full armor, he'd looked upon her with fatherly admiration.

"My mother," Gamora had said. "Where is my mother."

Thanos ignored her question and knelt in front of her. "What's your name?"

"Gamora."

Thanos smiled. "You're quite the fighter, Gamora. Come. Let me help you."

She remembered being afraid, too afraid to go against the will of this being. She'd taken his offered hand, wrapping her little hand around one of his large fingers before being gently led away from the courtyard and toward a pavilion. He crouched next to her and pulled out a small dagger with a jeweled handle. He pressed a button and blades popped out from both ends.

"Look. Pretty, isn't it? Perfectly balanced. As all things should be. Too much to one side, or the other..."

Gamora had watched as he purposely shifted the daggers weight so that one end started to fall over.

"Here, you try it," he spoke warmly.

Gamora had allowed herself to be distracted by the dagger as Ebony Maw gave the order for half of her people to be slaughtered behind her. The gunfire and screams had momentarily pulled at her focus, but Thanos was ready. He moved so that his large body was blocking her view of the massacre.