Yondu Udonta stood in the snow, watching Ravagers from all corners of the galaxy vanish from sight. Here, in this, he was utterly alone. His identity, the same one he had created when he had freed himself from slavery, was gone. He had broken the sacred Ravagers code, and so they had stripped his life away: exiled into oblivion, as though he had never existed. Those same men who lie, steal and kill now care for honour. Yondu spat into the snow bitterly. Child trafficking. If only they knew the true horror. The icy cold of the planet was burned away by the rising fury he felt within him. Fury at his own helplessness.

The Iron Lotus rumbled. The Sovereign Nation had arrived.

Peter Jason Quill was having a quiet moment. The hum of the ship was lulling him into oblivion as he reclined in his seat, watching the flickering lights of the galaxy go past. A distant star winked at him. Suddenly, a loud crash reverberated through cockpit. A very pintsized, very cute Groot bounced his way past, narrowly followed by an irate Drax, who had a sponge in one hand and was covered in bubbles. Gamora shouted something at Rocket, who shouted back something that sounded a lot like 'Bath time!' Peter Jason Quill was having what passed for a quiet moment on this ship. Family was never a quiet affair.

He slotted the cassette tape into his Walkman. The music played, and the galaxy slipped away.

Light-years away, a living planet was awoken by a loud bang.

The galaxy was listening. The Infinity War loomed closer.

Ellie looked down at the singed tips of her hair, then back at the flame-throwing–machine-gun-thing-of-death, and reflexively flipped it the bird.

"Ellie," a tired sounding voice said through the room's intercom. "For the last time, the machine's mechanics are entirely unaffected by vulgar gestures. Vocally cussing and cookie bribes won't work either. You have to defeat it the...uh...normal way."

"Sorry! You said to go with my instincts. Believe me, this is an entirely instinctive reaction."

"It won't keep you alive."

The enormous robot clunked its way into the centre of the room heavily, its arm switching the projectile fire thrower in favour of a much sharper, curvier looking instrument.

"Nope, but it'll keep me sane. Or at the very least, saner."

"Ellie, look out!"

Half an hour later, feeling significantly more bruised that she had before, Ellie sat in an all too comfortable chair in the Avengers headquarters. She stared up at the ceiling. It was a simple enough room: just like all the others in the complex it had a minimalist theme going on. It had a very safe colour spectrum: grey, lighter grey, slightly darker grey... A bit more colour around the place wouldn't hurt anyone. Feeling her bruised arm, she groaned. For something that had previously been only a cinematic universe to Ellie, it had suddenly become very real: real with a punch. She couldn't believe that something that had begun as being so exciting (such as being semi-recruited by the one and only Team Avengers) had devolved into something so routine.

From her point of view, after a month of straight training she ought to be a Power Ranger by now. She could kick, she could punch: what else could there possibly be? One month since Zordon – uh, I mean Fury, inducted me into his training course of terror, and I still don't have a cool costume! Ellie made a mental note to leave a scathing review on Trip Advisor.

The door slid open with a mechanical clunk, and Vision gracefully stepped through, holding a tray in his hands.

"Man, even you get a cool costume!"

"Lunch," he said simply. Ellie wondered if he was regretting taking her on. Last week he had seemed close to vaporising everything when Ellie tried to justify that ice cream bribery, from her point of view, is a valid form of self-defence.

"Cheers my good man," she said, before mentally kicking herself. In all their time together, Ellie still wasn't sure what he was exactly. Man shaped, yes. Man anything-else? No clue. "You having anything?"

Vision shook his head as he handed her the tray. Creepy thing number 1: never seen him eat.

"Lovely," she said, before attacking the ham sandwich.

Vision nodded as he lowered himself into the chair opposite. Silence ensued, save Ellie's chewing noises. As she munched she couldn't help the way her eyes were drawn to Vision, who was thankfully scanning the room. The infinity stone. There it glowed in the centre of his forehead, winking at her in the light like one other certain ancient artefact she could name. It reminded Ellie exactly why Fury had allocated Vision to oversee Ellie's training. Who better to supervise a loose infinity stone cannon than another loose infinity stone cannon? On meeting him, Ellie had hoped that Vision's infinity power would mean he could answer some of her questions about her own infinity power. Alas, he was a newbie too, still discovering his potential.

Ellie thought the power stone. The petrifying pulsating purple power that killed so many in the hands of Ronan the Accuser. The way she absorbed it into her body on the planet of Xandar, like earthling an electrical charge. The fear she had felt. And then the control. In that moment of unity with the stone, she somehow knew that the Infinity Stone of Power could do more than just destroy. Power isn't just destruction after all. It can grow life. It can exile. The Universe had grown more complicated, more sublime, and Ellie's horizons had been broadened big time. Still, I'm bloody glad I left that thing on Xandar. I'd never get a date again if I was glowing purple all the time.

She thought of her friends, the Guardians of the Galaxy, spinning their way in Quill's 'Butterfly Ship' across the cosmos, spreading giggles wherever they went. She glanced subtly over at Vision. If Quill and the others could see all the rules these people had, they'd laugh their asses off. I can't imagine any of them in Avengers uniform. She felt a familiar ache in her chest, which was then overpowered by a snort of laughter as she imagined Drax in 'Captain America' getup. The 'Star Spangled Destroyer.' Somehow, I don't think it'll catch on.

"Well," Ellie said into the silence. "I have to say, this has been an extremely interesting experience. Do most people get shot at and karate chopped on the average job training course?"

"Only at the very best institutions."

"And get generally demoralised?"

The corners of Vision's mouth twitched.

"That's a guarantee."

"Ah, super. I feel so much better now. You know, I can't help but think that I might be better at freelancing."

"This is for your protection." Vision said pensively. "You have to be able to defend yourself, and we have to know you can defend yourself. We don't know what Thanos's next move will be. Or indeed the location of Ronan the Accuser. The Avengers will protect you as far as they can, but your own strength will be what carries you through."

"Thanks, but I can't help but feel that you guys shooting lethal bullets at me might not be conducive to my protection," Ellie laughed loudly, trying to ignore the way her pulse quickened and the way nausea rose within her at the mere mention of those maniacs. "Maybe I should have kept the stone after all. Like you have." I'd like to see the Angry Smurf try to take me on then! Go Team Terra!

"I don't only harness the stone. The infinity stone is a part of my being." Almost subconsciously, Vision raised a hand to his brow. "It is my mind, my body, my life force. For you it is different. You harnessed the power to defeat the Accuser, and then you handed it back. It was a...wise decision." He admitted. "Were the Infinity stone of power to come to earth, there would be problems."

"Too right. There's loads of stuff I don't have a clue about. I don't know why it didn't rip me apart like it should have done." Ellie's stomach felt like it was in knots as she put the sandwich down. Where's Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough when you need it?

"I'm sure all will be revealed in time." Vision said.

There was silence for a few beats.

"While I was up there, we met this crazy pale dude who collects things from all over the galaxy, and he said that the Infinity Stones were formed when the universe was formed." Ellie said. "So they were formed out of the same matter and stuff, and yet they're all different. I mean with yours, people can touch it without turning into Bunsen burners, right?"

Ellie reached forward with one finger towards Vision's head. Used to her antics by now, Vision resigned himself with a sigh. The small yellow stone glinted. It didn't seem menacing: it was a part of the mind of the collective unconsciousness, and indispensable fragment of the universe. Reaching, Ellie felt her fingertip touch the surface of the stone ever so slightly. It's warm.

"Yeah, you see? Nothing h-"

A sudden shudder went through the air, sending ripples across the cosmos. Vision's head snapped up to look at her, his disinterest turning to intense alarm.

Ellie had just enough time to utter "Oopsie Daisy" before the entire world vanished.

To those of you who are meeting Ellie for the first time: Welcome! And to those who are already her best buddies: Welcome Back!

If you haven't already, I thoroughly recommend you guys read 'TV Wormholes, Guardians and a Clueless Earth Chick' so things here don't seem completely crazy to you!

Happy to have you on board!

- Sarah