Neither life nor death could separate us, From the eternal love of our God who saves us, Just hold on to the promises - Promises, Sanctus Real

Chapter Ten

It felt good to be out of the hospital bed. After spending the last few days in the same room, I was beginning to get stir crazy. It reminded me of how much time I had spent in the safehouse with Tron all those cycles ago. But at least Tron gave me more freedom than these nurses ever did.

Now we were in the waiting room as Grant signed me out. The receptionist was still looking at the large group in disbelief. I wonder how many times Grant was forced to flash his SHIELD badge when nurses or doctors passed by.

"So what now?" I asked as Beck stood beside me. Skye was standing between Fitz and Simmons while Grant finally turned to face me.

"I think we better get our asses out of here before news spreads," he sighed after looking at the phone he'd pulled out of his pocket.

Hm... I guess Fury finally figured out what had happened. Maybe one of the nurses working for this hospital worked for SHIELD. I'm pretty sure if Natasha or Clint had found out about this, they would've strangled Coulson for letting this happen.

"Thank you, for coming with us," I murmured as Beck followed us out of the hospital. "You didn't have to."

"Actually I did." I didn't miss the chagrin in his voice.

I smirked back after realizing what he meant by that. I would have done the same if it were reversed. Of course, I could never wish any harm falling on the ones I cared about.

A van was waiting for us outside the hospital. The SHIELD logo painted on the back was a dead giveaway. I glanced over my shoulder and wondered just how many people had stopped by giving it curious looks.

"Coulson and May are still on the Grid," Grant explained after taking the wheel. Beck and I sat in the back, Fitz sat beside Grant while Simmons and Skye sat in the middle.

"Really? Coulson and May?" I glanced at Beck in surprise.

I couldn't see Agent May lasting five minutes on the Grid. She wasn't the type who liked surprises. And the Grid went beyond anyone's imagination.

"Hopefully they haven't torn the place apart," Beck muttered after leaning against the back of his seat.

Holding back a grin, I imagined that could be a possibility. At least with May being involved with keeping an eye on things. Coulson was probably a lot like Natasha. He could control himself even if what stood before him was the most exciting thing in the world.

I was really glad that I kept my iPod with me at all times. Right now music was the best thing to keep me distracted from what would happen next. And I'm pretty sure Beck was worrying about the same thing.

"If you gotta start somewhere why not here, If you gotta start sometime why not now, If we gotta start somewhere I say here, If we gotta start sometime I say now, Through the fog there is hope in the distance, From cathedrals to third world missions, Love will fall to the earth like a crashing wave..."

"What are you listening to?" Beck looked at me curiously as I turned down the volume. I didn't realize I had it up so high.

"TobyMac," I replied after noticing that Skye was watching us out of the corner of her eye. "He has good music," I added with a shrug.

After all, my adoptive parents had been strict about going to church. I could still remember being forced to go to every Sunday morning service. At the time I'd never really appreciated getting up early. But now I wonder what might life would be like had I stayed in the User world.

"Tonight's the night, For the sinners and the saints, Two worlds collide in a beautiful display, It's all love tonight, When we step across the line, We can sail across the sea, To a city with one king, A city on our knees..."

Maybe I shouldn't think so much about my past. It only reminded me that they weren't my real parents to begin with. Or that they never bothered telling me that I was adopted. They had their reasons for not telling me the truth. But that didn't make things any better.

. . .

"That's an interesting story," Coulson said once Tron finished sharing his tales of the old days. May was sprawled out on a booth nearby, arms folded as she listened intently to their conversation. After the first few seconds she decided to explore the club and find out more about the way energy drinks worked on the Grid. "Whatever happened to Yori?"

Tron's expression darkened. After hearing what had happened, Coulson couldn't blame Tron for his anger.

"She disappeared during the Purge," he explained warily. "I haven't seen her since."

So many tragedies occurred in such a short amount of time. First Clu had taken over, spreading rumors that Tron had been killed. Than he started the Purge, killing programs known as ISOs, and anyone that stood up for them. Then he started taking over every city he could.

"I'm amazed you've survived all of that," Agent May finally muttered after tossing aside what Coulson thought was her third drink.

"It isn't an easy life, but it's a life," Tron replied.

"So Alan Bradley is your creator." Coulson leaned against the back of his seat.

Now he understood why Tron had looked so familiar. SHIELD had a file on Alan and Kevin Flynn. Both men were brilliant at what they did. That was why SHIELD kept a close eye on their behavior. If they ever decided to hack into government networks, they could make a dangerous enemy.

"Alan 1 is my Creator." Somehow the term 'creator' sounded more important when Tron said it.

"I wanted to thank you, for watching over Mira while she was here," Coulson said once an uncomfortable silence filled the room.

Tron raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I fight for the Users," he replied bluntly. "I failed to protect them once. I'd rather that not happen again." The raw determination in his voice reminded Coulson that he was not human. Even the greatest hero on the Grid made mistakes every now and than.

"We're back." Simmons' cheerful voice filled the room as she followed the others inside.

"Glad to see you're back on your feet," Coulson said after noticing that Mira was with them.

Thankfully Beck's helmet was back on. After hearing Beck's story from Tron, he could understand why Beck was so careful. Living a double life was never easy, especially if you were being hunted down by the ruler of the Grid.

"Everything went smoothly," Grant said before Coulson could ask what had happened.

"I'm just glad the Grid is back to normal." Coulson wasn't sure who had said that. But the relief in their voice was obvious.

"We should probably get going," he announced after standing up.

"It's about time," May muttered crossly.

Judging by the way Mira smirked at May, she was enjoying this. It was definitely time to leave, before things got messy.

. . .

"You're leaving already?" Beck's question made me stare at the ground, unease crawling over me.

We didn't exactly get to spend that much time together on the Grid. Aside from me passing out and Beck worrying over me every nanocycle. I hated knowing what he was thinking. Beck was by far one of the best friends I'd ever made. And as usual I was leaving him behind, again.

"I won't be gone for long," I promised under my breath. The others were already heading outside. Agent Coulson was the only one who stayed behind, watching us curiously. "You have to tell them the truth," I added carefully. "Sooner or later, they'll find out the hard way."

Beck flinched at the mention of telling everyone from the garage the truth. Mara and Zed were still in the club, chatting away about their latest gig in the city. I'm surprised they didn't even notice how close we were.

"Later," he suddenly murmured. "When things settle down."

I tried not to roll my eyes and punched him in the arm playfully. "Be careful, bitbrain."

Before I could say anything else, Beck pulled me in for a hug. "You be careful," he whispered.

If I wasn't smirking before, I tried to hold it back. I knew full well that being careful wasn't a possibility in the User world. Especially if I was part of SHIELD. Any sense of peace I might have felt earlier was thrown out the window the moment I joined SHIELD.

But right now, that didn't matter. Being here with Beck again made my world go around. And I wouldn't want that to change any other way.

. . .

Everything was packed and ready to go by the time we reached the Bus. May was back at her station flying the giant plane while everyone else went back to their jobs. Skye and Grant were busy sparring, Fitz and Simmons were discussing how different the Grid was compared to their world.

I'm amazed these people even managed to get along with each other. Fitz and Simmons may get along with each other, but they certainly didn't enjoy how aggressive Grant was. I had to remind myself that the Avengers hardly got along with each other as well. But somehow they made it work.

"We'll be arriving in a few minutes," May announced over the intercom.

The Bus was headed back for New York City. According to Agent Coulson, my mission was over. I'm not even sure what that meant, but I'm just thankful to be out of this place. Explaining why I was gone for so long wasn't going to be easy.

"You were away on a mission, plain and simple," Coulson told me when I asked what I was supposed to say.

Natasha would see right through that lie if I told her that. Steve and Clint might be easy to fool, but she wasn't.

My shoulders sagged in relief when we landed in the small airport. A few more minutes and I'd be out of this place. I wondered if this was what it would be like for every mission I was sent on.

To my surprise Steve was waiting for us outside when I followed Grant and May out of the Bus. May's expression was passive while Grant just remained strangely quiet. I'm surprised Skye didn't run out and give Steve a big hug. Wasn't she obsessed with super heroes or something?

"Glad to see you're still in one piece," he said once we reached him. "They were both called off to a mission," he added before I asked where Natasha and Clint were.

"That's probably a good thing," I sighed after Grant handed me my bags. "Thanks for the help," I tried adding in a more cheerful tone.

"There's a note in there from Agent C," Grant explained before leaving us alone. "He thought you might want to take a look at it."

It was hard to imagine how tough it was for Coulson to hide from his favorite hero. I'd read a few files on him during my stay in Stark Tower. Apparently he was a fan of Captain America, AKA, Steve Rodgers. And he even had a complete set of Captain America trading cards that were signed by the first Avenger.

"Agent C?" Steve raised an eyebrow as we reached the car. It was a convertible, and a shade of dark green that made it look like an antique.

"When did you learn to drive?" I asked after getting in. From what I gathered he preferred motorcycles over cars any day. It was easier getting through the city.

"I had time," he replied with a shrug. "You didn't answer my first question though," he added accusingly.

I stared at the buildings starting to take over the little greenery in the city. New York was famous for it's skyscrapers. But it did have several planned parks and fields that made up for the lack of forests. I've never seen Central Park before, but it's a goal of mine to pay it a visit when I was free.

"It's complicated," I sighed after realizing there wasn't a better explanation.

Thankfully Steve didn't press me any further. And we reached my apartment in a matter of minutes after stopping for something to eat.

Once we reached my apartment, I thanked him for the ride and got inside. Everything was still intact. None of the windows were open to show signs of an invasion by SHIELD agents. The sofa wasn't clawed to pieces by Rinzler.

I dropped my bags and grabbed the note that Grant had mentioned earlier. To my surprise the letter inside was handwritten. Most notes these days were typed up or sent by e-mail. I made sure the door was locked before I sat down and read the letter.

'Mira, I wanted to thank you for assisting us in our time of need. I was wondering if you could write a guideline of sorts, a set of rules for new recruits. It would make all of our lives easier if we had one.

-Agent C'

Huh. I never thought that SHIELD would need rules to keep their agents out of trouble. But it made sense when I thought about it. Maybe I would take Coulson's offer. After everything that just happened, it would be nice to take a short break and think of what not to do with SHIELD or the Avengers.

This was going to be interesting, crazy, and maybe even fun. It was definitely something that would keep me busy for the next few days.

AN: So that's the ending. I know it's not much of an ending, but it leads to History, which is going to also be a sequel. Now, here's my question to everyone. I've read other guidelines, and some are very hilarious (obviously I won't be able to compare to them), but I wanted to try out my own. What do you think? Should I wrote my own? Big thanks to 2theSky and PrincessKai317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

XD forgot to add that the lyrics are from the song City On Our Knees by TobyMac :D

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