AN: Kay, before I get into full detail, I just wanted to warn everyone that these chapters will likely be shorter than my usual writing. And all of the titles are based off of songs by MercyMe, and a few other bands. Majority will likely be MercyMe though ;)

Chapter One

The general smirked as he watched the code extraction work. Finally, after all these cycles of searching, one of his scientists had found a working code extraction. This was one of the few codes that would work on a User. And despite all the struggles this User had made, they were now holding up their disk in defeat.

It would take time for their system to fully cooperate with the code. But for now he finally had the perfect soldier. Even the Son of Flynn would not dare fight this soldier. Now he would get his revenge on the one who betrayed him so many cycles ago.

. . .

How many cycles had passed since she left the Grid? Beck wasn't too sure, but it felt like forever.

Guilt had kept him away from the clubs or even going out on patrols with Tron. They should have told Mira what was going on. More and more programs were disappearing on the streets with each passing cycle. Tron was constantly searching for the missing programs. But so far nothing had turned up. Even Sam and Quorra were unable to find them from the User world.

"You're going to derezz if you don't get energy." Beck jumped when he noticed that Paige had joined him. "You know, it helps if you talk about your problems," she added as if knowing that something was wrong.

"Is it that obvious?" he groaned as Paige smirked in response.

"Considering you've been staring off into the distance for the past few nanocycles, I'd say yes," she replied.

"What do you say to someone, when you've been keeping secrets from them?" Beck tilted his head to one side, suddenly realizing that he could use this advice to his advantage.

Since the Grid had returned to a normal state, he had been hiding his face from everyone at the garage. He wasn't sure how they would react to his sudden return. That familiar sense of fear had suddenly returned in a matter of nanocycles.

"If they're really your friends, they'll understand, Beck," Paige told him. Beck stiffened when she said his name with a charming smile. She just patted his shoulder before leaning against the building that towered above them. "You're hiding your face because you're afraid, and you have every right to be," she added.

"You would've done the same thing," he pointed out in an accusing tone, trying to sway the conversation.

Paige just huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Annoying bitbrain," she muttered crossly.

This time it was Beck's turn to grin sheepishly. Mira would've called him the same thing. Once again he was left wondering what she was doing now. Probably secret spy missions with SHIELD. Or spending time with that kid she had mentioned before leaving the Grid.

Beck suddenly frowned at the thought. What if they had become more than just friends? Would she forget about the Grid and leave everyone behind? He couldn't imagine her doing such a thing, but the thoughts stuck with him.

Paige was ready to leave when a light cycle suddenly approached them. She stopped just in time to see Tron's mask recede. He didn't look happy. Than again, when was Tron ever happy? Tron glanced in Beck's direction, expression serious as he got off his light cycle.

"We have a problem," he announced.

"I'm guessing that it's nothing good." Beck ruffled the back of his hair while Tron glared at him.

At this rate he was never going to get that break Tron had promised cycles ago. With a sigh of frustration he decided to along with it as Tron led the way into what was now the safehouse.

The building was massive, housing several hundred programs that didn't have jobs. This was where Paige and a few more medics worked now that there was no hospital in the city. Tron had been more than thankful to accept their help. The tower was also the base of operations.

The three of them passed the programs being trained to fight back against unknown threats. Beck recognized a few of the programs working at Able's garage. Now that Sam had fixed a few files the garage was up and functioning properly. It surprised Beck that programs still needed the garage to repair vehicles.

Once they were in the elevator Tron pulled out what looked like a file of codes. Beck recognized the SHIELD logo in an instant. Paige on the other hand tilted her head to one side curiously.

"I just received a report from Sam Flynn that something serious has happened in the User world," Tron explained as the elevator reached their destination. What Beck saw next nearly made his jaw drop in alarm, no, wait, panic.

Standing in the room were two very familiar figures. Paige just stood there with her arms folded, while Tron shut down the code he pulled up earlier.

"You wanna explain what happened to her?" Neither of them had a chance to explain anything. An alarm sounded as Clint pulled out an arrow and aimed it towards their direction. Tron just eyed them warily before reaching the screen that overlooked the city.

What they saw next made everyone stare in dismay.

Half of Purgos had been taken out with explosives. Though Sam had rewritten the file for the city, he had made it slightly more welcoming. Now it looked like a pile of rubble. The remains of derezzed programs could be made out as Tron zoomed in to get a better view.

"What the hell is going on here?" Natasha demanded, voice cold as ice. That was normal. By now Beck had gotten used to it, though he could see that she had her guns raised and ready to fire as well.

Beck squinted his eyes to make out the figure that was standing in the middle of what was left of Purgos. Very few circuits marked their suit. That wasn't what had caught his attention. It was the words plastered in bright orange colors that sent chills down his spine.

Courtesy of your old friend, Dyson.

AN: So yeah, a lot to be explained later on and already the Grid's having problems ^^ I'm having lots of fun writing this. Hopefully everyone else will enjoy reading it too :)