Happy Tron Tuesday, Programs and Users! I just watched some wacky Youtube video about these 4 babies laughing with their mother on a bed and I have to say, it's hilarious! XD I'd recommend you guys check it out; it'll make your day.
As for this chapter, well, not much to tell, really. Title says it all.

Chapter 10 – Adapted

Ace's POV

Ow. Head hurts.

Ace groaned and slowly opened his eyes to find himself directly face to face with Maggie. He let out a startled sound before recollecting himself and studied his environment.

His wrists and ankles were strapped to a table in a very bright room. White was everywhere and it had a sterile sort of look to everything.

Maggie stood next to the table, leaning over him with her head cocked to her side. "When was the last time you had energy?" She asked.

Ace said nothing but stare coldly at her like he did before. She reached over and laid her palm spread out on his chest, her eyes closed for a split nano before opening again and removing her hand. "A little over a cycle?" She shook her head like she was disappointed but her smirk contradicted her movement. "Not healthy for you but quite convenient for us." She sounded excited. "We can start the procedure right away!" She skipped out of the room.

Ace blinked rapidly at the ceiling. A million questions were running through his head. What? Procedure? Energy? What the heck is she doing?

He turned his head to the side and saw her speaking with a couple of scientists. A few Micros later, she left the room and the scientists she conversed with were left in charge by the looks of it.

One of them hooked him up to a machine that monitored his energy levels and other vitals while another examined his code.

Ace had to resist the temptation of asking what they were going to do with him. He knew he was going to find out shortly.

"Subject's vitals and energy levels are fit for the procedure." One of them stated. "We have the all clear to start."

They didn't detach him from the monitor but hooked him up with more machines – one of them involving a tube going into his arm. Then the lights in the room dimmed down. A scientist typed a code into one of the machines and made sure everything worked fine before turning it on.

Ace immediately felt a tingling sensation all over. The scientist turned the knob and the intensity went up. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as it gradually became painful.

A cold liquid was pumped through a tube and into his arm. It suddenly felt that whatever was going on with his body was stimulated. He cried out in pain as it was like every pixel that he was made of was grinding together.

His head felt even worse – he wasn't sure if it was because he was hit there earlier or what. His fisted hands clenched and his nails dug into his palms.

Users, this hurts! Ace panted as he tried to ignore the pain – as if it was even possible. He distracted himself momentarily by thinking about his chances of ignoring the pain.

Probably negative 995.26 percent chance of it happening. He thought bitterly…he hadn't even rounded or estimated his guess. Another sudden sharp pain jolted through his system and he cringed.

The violent tingling and grinding sensations were starting to level out now – it still hurt but not as bad.

Ace tried to catch his breath and his eyelids felt heavy.

"Keep him awake." The scientist running the machines said, "He needs to be 100 percent aware and responsive for this to work."

He heard footsteps come closer to him but someone else spoke up. "No, I'll do it. Go back to what you were doing."

A face appeared in his blurry field of vision.

Maggie.

She bent over him. "Come on, stay awake." She watched his eyelids droop and frowned. "You don't want to have to go through this again. It only works if you're awake for some reason." Maggie tilted her head to the side. "And we'll keep doing it until it works."

Ace gritted his teeth and glared at her. "Screw you."

Maggie raised both eyebrows. "You still have fight? That's good. We need more of that." She leaned closer. "You'd make the best soldier we've ever had. The perfect Program."

Ace felt a growl in the back of his throat. "Those are Clu's words!" He spat. "I want nothing to do with it."

Maggie pursed her lips. "I didn't mean it in that way."

The tingling sensation went down and something else was injected into him through the tube. Maggie smiled. "Congrats: you survived the procedure." Ace didn't feel he had the energy to react to what she said. At least the tingling and pain stopped. Ace felt exhausted.

"Successful?" Maggie asked without looking at the scientists.

One of them checked the monitor and nodded.

"Good. Let him up and I'll escort him out."

Ace was detached from the machines and his restraints disappeared. He sat up and got off the table. Despite how weak and shaky he felt from his scarring experience, it was…easy to stand and walk around.

Maggie turned to leave the room and he followed her. "What the heck did you do to me back there?" He demanded as he walked by her.

She looked straight ahead as she spoke. "We adapted you."

…

Ally's POV

She felt weary, sitting in this bright white room. There wasn't much in here but two beds by opposite walls, two dressers, and one door that led in and out. It was locked from the outside.

She was taken here after going through what Jeremy called "The Procedure." It hurt like nothing she's ever felt before.

Ally felt different now, physically speaking. Walking felt as effortless as laying down used to feel. She was still shaky from the painful process of…whatever they did to her.

She vowed that the next time she sees Jeremy or Maggie, she'll strangle them. Ally's head snapped up when she heard the faint beep that meant the one door in and out of here was no longer locked.

Ally jumped up from her seat at an amazing speed and wasn't even thrown off balance from it. The door opened and Ace walked in. And behind him-

Maggie.

Ally pounced at her and the medic sidestepped like she expected it. She hit the floor hard in the hallway outside. Ally got to her feet quickly again and spun around to face the now smirking Program.

"You may be better in combat than you were several PectroCycles ago, Alpha, but you still have much to learn."

Ally jumped up and spun in midair to deliver a hard kick but over calculated her newfound strength.

Faster than what Ally thought was possible for a Program, Maggie dashed towards her, grabbed her by the waist and literally tossed her back into the room like she was nothing.

She barely felt the impact and got back to her feet for more. Maggie shut the door and locked it before Ally could have another go. She smacked into it and fell to the ground again after failing to stop.

Ace was sitting on one of the beds and watching her curiously as she got back to her feet. "That was freaky." He said.

Ally nodded. "Yeah, I didn't know she could fight like that."

"I wasn't talking about that." Ace said slowly, eyeing her. "Do you have any idea what you did?"

Ally checked her body and found a few small cuts from her small scuffle with Maggie. Jeremy wasn't kidding when he talked about Maggie. She was dangerous.

She seemed to be going easy on her.

Ally's eyes widened in shock when she saw pixels starting to form where the cuts are. She didn't do anything to her disk to alter her code yet.

She was healing herself automatically!

Ace's jaw dropped. "Okay, I don't know as much as a medic about injuries, but something tells me that isn't right."

"Now that is freaky." Ally mumbled as she examined where her cuts once were.

Ace crossed the room and sat down next to her so he could get a look where the injuries were before. "I wonder if we can do more than self-healing." He said.

"I felt weird when I was walking after the procedure." Ally said. "And when I was fighting Maggie. I felt stronger."

"You were faster, too." Ace added. "You also looked like you had better balance and flexibility."

Ally was quiet.

Ace furrowed his eyebrows. "Al, what do you think they did to us?"

She looked up at him. "They changed us."

Ace stared hard at the floor. "I don't know what they're planning, but they obviously want us involved. And I'm pretty sure they wouldn't change us this in this sort of way if they didn't want us on their side."

"They strapped me to a table and forced me to endure a terrible pain." Ally said crossly. "If I knew what they were going to do…even in the name of science, I still wouldn't think it's worth it."

Ace looked at her. "Do you think there's a way to undo what they did? I don't want to be like this."

Ally stole a glance at him. "I hope so. If I do get the opportunity to be cured, I hope it'll be at least a bit less painful."

"I swear, they had me screaming like a girl." Ace blurted out. He looked at Ally. "Don't you dare share that with Zoe."

Ally pulled her knees to her chest. "I hope to see Zoe again." She tensed up. "…You…don't think they got her too, do you?"

Ace shifted in his seat. "I…don't think so. If something's not right, she would've sent a distress signal early."

"Man, I gotta carry one of those." Ally muttered.

He didn't laugh. "I'm sure Zoe's just fine. She's tough."

"No doubt." Ally said. "But these guys are unbelievingly strong." She looked at him. "They took you by force, right?" He hesitantly nodded. "If they can take you, they could take her if she didn't get warning."

"I had warning." Ace said defensively. "I just didn't react the way I should've."

"At least you had a warning." Ally muttered. "I had no idea they snuck up behind me. They were fast."

"They are fast." He corrected. "…And strong."

They both looked up when the door unlocked. Learning from her recent experience with Maggie, Ally remained seated next to Ace and watched Jeremy enter the room followed by Maggie.

Jeremy grinned like he was very amused from what he saw, which he probably was.

"From what Maggie just shared with me, I'd assume you've discovered a little about your newfound abilities." He started, looking directly at Ally with a smirk. "So for your benefit, we've both decided to just tell you instead of having you deal with more surprises."

"You decided it." Maggie muttered under her breath.

Jeremy clapped his hands together and sighed. "But before we talk about abilities and such, I think it's necessary for a brief history lesson." He looked at the duo carefully before adding. "We need to trust each other in order to work effectively together."

Maggie turned towards Jeremy in surprise. "I never agreed to tell." She hissed.

Jeremy glanced at his partner. "But I feel like they deserve to know." His eyes pierced her like sharp blades. "After all, we did adapt them without their consent."

"Yeah," Ally interjected. "You did." She looked at Ace. "What about you? Anything you'd like to add?"

He shrugged indifferently and leaned back. "Nah, I think we're covered."

Maggie turned away and pouted – or at least appeared to.

Jeremy rolled his eyes at her and looked back at Ally and Ace. "Then to start off, I should admit that it was Clu's idea-"

Ally straightened up. "What?!" She exchanged an alarmed look with Ace. "Clu wanted us adapted?"

Jeremy pursed his lips. "Not exactly. You interrupted before I could explain." He sighed and started again. "Back during the Purge, Clu studied Specials and found that they were very…advanced Programs." He said slowly. "But he thought they could become more than what they already were."

"Hence, creating the theory that Specials could be adapted." Maggie interrupted.

Jeremy shot her a pointed look. "He thought long and hard over how they could be improved for the better." Jeremy explained. "And idealized they could be super spies or something."

"He was targeting to improve abilities such as sight, hearing, and the other main senses." He shrugged. "Make it easier for spying."

"But when the operation was first attempted," Maggie said slowly. "It…didn't quite go as planned."

Jeremy pursed his lips. "The test subject died. Clu had the scientists figure out what went wrong and fix it." He went silent for a few nanos. "I was the second test subject."

Ally blinked at him in surprise as he continued. "The operation still didn't give him what he wanted though. It made me faster, stronger…and I had the ability to read disks through physical contact. More for combat than what Clu was targeting."

"I was a test subject after him." Maggie admitted. "I was their third try. But even I didn't have what Clu wanted." She sighed. "He wasn't satisfied with my boosted intelligence, fast healing or, like Jeremy, the disk reading ability."

Jeremy locked eyes with Ally briefly before looking at Ace. "Maggie and I were put under close observation while other Programs were being operated on. Eventually, Clu got what he was looking for so the rest of us were no longer needed."

Maggie and Jeremy shared a look. "We escaped containment together but paid a visit to the operating rooms first." Maggie said with a hint of pride in her voice. "We knocked out the scientists and in doing so, read their disks and stole the data and history of the procedure."

"By then, Clu was notified of our escape." Jeremy said. "So we had to fake deaths. We blew up the entire lab after wiping the system of all data and progress." He hesitantly added. "The explosion also…killed the other test subjects as well."

"And it disintegrated everyone's disk." Maggie said. "There was nothing left."

Ace took the opportunity to speak up. "So…technically, only you two really knew the real process and regulations of the operation?"

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, it's all up here." He tapped his head.

"And it helped us find out why the first test subject died." Maggie said. "He had energy a few PectroCycles before the operation."

Ally caught Jeremy's eye. "So…could you shed some light on what sort of abilities the operation gave Ace and myself?"

He pursed his lips and looked at the ceiling in thought. "I believe all of the above."

"Meaning?" Ace pried.

Jeremy held up a hand to stop him. "Let me think…" He started listing off what he knew. "Increases in strength, speed, agility, intelligence, automatic healing of sorts, and disk reading abilities."

"We also recently found out how to adapt what Clu was targeting." Maggie said.

"That's right!" Jeremy said. "You guys were the first two Programs to have higher sensitivity in sight, hearing, and, you know, all the 5 senses."

"I want to know why." Ally said. "Why us? What made you want to target us to be adapted?"

Jeremy shrugged. "For your benefit. I got word of your accident in Argon City and its toll on you. I figured the procedure could make you better than you were before." He looked at Ace. "And you're an interesting Program to have worked under Tron…and Clu. I assume you've had a lot of experiences."

Ace tensed up. "Yeah," He said slowly.

"What you said to me earlier, Jeremy," Ally started. "I know what you mean when you told me all of this was in the name of science and stuff, but-"

"Ah, the future plans." Jeremy said. "That one's complicated, considering we have insiders literally everywhere. The plan is to cause chaos and blame it all on Clu. We know what he's up to but going public about it isn't going to do anything for the better. We need to make trouble and have Clu take the fall. Then we attack him directly."

"Do you have trouble forming alliances with the Resistance Movement?" Ally asked. "We have a common enemy."

Maggie stifled a laugh. "We're our own group. Your little Rebellion won't do so much as bend back Clu's little finger in the long run."

"You seem to underestimate our group's capabilities." Ace stated. "What becomes of them from your point of view if you succeed?"

"They won't make it." Jeremy said bluntly. "Clu will wipe out the rest of the ISOs and defeat your council." He leaned forward. "He can easily see through those complicated plans you've made."

Ally paled. "In fact, you could say he knows exactly where everyone's hiding. He's just waiting for the right moment to strike you down for good." He said grimly.

"How the heck do you know this?" Ace demanded.

Jeremy looked at him. "I've told Alpha this a few times before. We're everywhere."

"So you won't help us?" Ally asked Jeremy.

He looked at her. "No. We need you to help us. No matter what, Clu will find a way to wipe out that so called "imperfect race." And there's nothing anyone will be able to do about it. He won't give up."

"Unless we can defeat him before that." Ally urged. "Don't you care about the ISOs? If you're a Special like Ace and me, you can feel it when someone's life ends."

Jeremy shook his head. "Sorry, but I used to work under Clu. His lectures are stuck in my head and even though their deaths truly pain me, I can't see anything right about their race."

Ally glared. "How is any of this supposed to be in the name of the Users?"

Jeremy held up his hands. "Hey, just because I don't see ISOs the way you do doesn't mean I'm the same towards the Users. I really think Flynn can help us fix things up once Clu's taken care of but first things first." He eyed Ace and Ally. "I want you to join us."

"Thank you but no thank you." Ace said as politely as he could. "We already have enough problems to deal with."

"You're part of a dying cause." Maggie drawled out as if this was the most boring thing she ever dealt with. It probably was. "They won't make it."

Ally stood up. "I've heard enough. I want to leave." She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Now."

Pretty slow, I'll admit. But next chapter will definitely be more interesting. As I've told some of you guys, I don't have a Beta reader and I just make up the details as I go. Obviously, I have the main plot down but I still somehow surprise myself. ;P
Maggie and Jeremy were definitely last minute details and I swear, they're going to be one of the more complicated characters...I'm not even sure how I feel about them yet but I know they're not going to be like Cyrus. That's one point for...well...everyone.

TRON LIVES!