Chapter Four
"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" Clint demanded once they reached what looked like their destination. Natasha only rolled her eyes and got off the light cycle.
The city was a mess. If this was what the Grid looked like before Clu was taken down, she could imagine why Sam Flynn was happy to rewrite it. Disgusted by the cubes crunching under her boots, she kicked them out of the way and grimaced.
Those cubes were probably the remains of dead programs.
"At this rate any clues would be better than nothing," she replied.
Communicating with SHIELD was out of the question. All attempts at calling Director Fury had been foiled. Whoever had cut off communications knew that this would happen.
"You know, it's times like these I really wish we'd spent more time on the Grid," Clint sighed. "I hate not knowing what to do."
"I'd be happier knowing Mira is safe." Natasha eyed something moving in the distance. Above a large portion of the city that had been left somewhat intact. Whoever they were they were moving at impossible speed, using the rough terrain to their advantage.
Before she had a chance to give an alarm, Clint fired an explosive arrow at the moving program. The program seemed to move faster than either of them could think. Within seconds the program had tossed aside the arrow like it was nothing, knocking it in their direction.
Natasha jumped out of the way as a pile of debris started tumbling down towards them. Clint joined her shortly after recovering from the sudden resistance met by the program. A cloud of dust filled the air, blocking their view of the oncoming threat.
The moment the dust had cleared the program was standing in front of them, using two disks instead of one.
"Think that's Dyson?" Clint asked before pulling out another arrow.
"Don't know, but we're not finding out." The last thing they needed was to get on Tron's bad side. He was already pissed off enough with them, and SHIELD. It was a miracle he had not hacked into SHIELD's security system like Beck and Mira had.
The program in question was watching their every move, disks ready for any signs of retaliation. Natasha suddenly swept the program off their feet with her legs, giving them a chance to run before the program got back up.
By the time they were running at full speed the program had recovered and easily kept up with them. Natasha kept her eyes fixed on the program that was now running on a ledge. What really caught her attention was the symbol on the program's chest.
She didn't have time to think about it. The program suddenly jumped with a graceful twist and landed in front of them, kicking Clint right out from under his feet. They were ready to strike when Natasha smashed the program's mask, leaving a small chance for them to escape.
Grabbing the light cycle baton Tron had given them, Natasha wasted no time in getting away. Clint was quick to follow, though she could see him glaring at the figure standing up to dust themselves. The program didn't bother giving chase.
"What the hell was that all about?" They stopped once they were far enough away from the city.
"Did you see the symbol on their chest?" The way the program had fought seemed eerily familiar as well. Though for now Natasha wasn't going to say anything. She was more afraid that her assumptions were right than anything else.
"Yeah. The real question is, who was that program?" Natasha pursed her lips as she thought this through. The program could have been this Dyson character Tron had mentioned.
"We need to get back. Whoever the program was, they're gone now," Natasha replied.
And for once she couldn't help feeling relieved that they were gone. Even with all of their training the program had managed to catch them by surprise twice. She doubted that was just a coincidence. What they needed to do now was regroup and figure out what was really going on.
. . .
Panic and fear was evident throughout the city. An evacuation had taken place just nanocycles earlier. Programs were helping one another get as far away from the area as they could. Without the warning Tron had given them they might have met the same fate as Purgos.
"Why is this happening?" Beck demanded once only a few of Tron's team were remaining. "Why start now?"
"Dyson was waiting for the right opportunity," Tron replied. Beck glanced at him to see frustration evident on his features. "And he found an opening."
Before anyone had a chance to say anything, explosions shook the city. Paige held on to her light cycle as the ground below them began to tremble at the force. A cloud of smoke and flames erupted from what Beck guessed was Argon Square. Moments earlier the place was buzzing with activity. And now he had a feeling that it was a pile of cubes.
All they could do was watch as their city was torn apart. Even Tron could not scan the area for bombs planted throughout the city. Dyson had planned this well. Somehow he knew that the city would already be on edge.
"What about those Users?" Mara asked warily. Her eyes were dark with anger the moment Beck looked in her direction. "Wait a microcycle, you sent them away so they wouldn't get hurt!"
The surprise in her voice made Beck visibly flinch. He had forgotten how observant Mara was. While they were busy evacuating the city Clint and Natasha were likely exploring the remains of Purgos. He knew they were fully capable of handling these kinds of situations. They've probably been through worse.
"I did what needed to be done," Tron replied through gritted teeth.
"You keep forgetting that this is what they were trained for," Beck reminded him.
Tron shot him a look of annoyance, but before he could say anything the sound of engines running echoed from ahead. Beck raised an eyebrow when they came to a halt in front of Tron. His expression changed to a frown when he noticed the fresh bruises on Natasha's arms.
"What happened here?" Clint asked after getting off his light cycle.
"Take a wild guess," Zed snapped.
Neither of them had a chance to finish their argument when another explosion shook the city. This one was closer. Beck's eyes widened with horror when he realized that the explosion had taken down Able's garage. A few programs in black guard suits stood nearby, arms folded as if they were preparing for a fight.
"And now we have these guys to worry about," Paige muttered with a roll of her eyes. "I thought you said the black guard was taken down," she added to Tron.
"Dyson must have rebuilt his army." Tron really did sound worried this time. It explained why programs had started disappearing before Mira had left the Grid. Tron wanted to solve the problem before it escalated. Unfortunately for him it seemed like things had taken a turn for the worse.
"Look, whatever the reason behind their appearance, we need to get out of here." Beck hated admitting defeat. But he knew that if they didn't leave now the guards would see them and attack.
It was at the moment he spoke that Natasha suddenly fired something at one of the soldiers. The glare Tron gave her was priceless. Everyone else just gaped at her as the soldier dropped to the ground. He wasn't derezzing, but it was only a matter of time before he started.
"Now we can go," she said with a ghost of a smile.
The team wasted no time in escaping as the soldiers began running. At least this time they would make it out alive. And the programs within the city had been rescued on time. Beck could only hope that the other cities hadn't fallen the same way. Sam Flynn was going to have his hands full once this was all over.
AN: And so the questions are raised. I'm having fun writing this :P Thanks Sunofaia, Panda Bear Lover 317 and 2theSky for reviewing! You guys are awesome as always ;)
