Chapter Fourteen
Three days. It had been three days since they'd arrived at the Hellicarrier. Three days since the virus took its hold on Mira. And she still had not recovered. The nurse had said that it would take time for her system to respond, whatever that meant.
It was like watching a video in slow motion. She hadn't even moved since they arrived. According to the female User who often checked on Mira, she was in what they called a coma. Her system was still recovering from the infection, and whatever else Cyrus had done to her. He just wished that there was more he could do for her. Seeing her in this state was enough of a reminder of how vulnerable Users really were.
"I wish there was more I could for you," Beck finally sighed out loud as he watched her.
He never felt more helpless. If he could he would go through a hundred black guards to bring her back. Of all the programs he had met on the Grid, she was the one who had pulled him out of his darkest times. She was the one who kept reminding him who he was fighting for at the time. And she was the one who continued helping him build his confidence. He would never forget everything she had done, or everything she had been through herself.
He brushed his hands across her hair, careful not to disturb her. Reddish bangs were brushed aside, revealing a face that bared a striking resemblance to Natasha. Beck hadn't realized until now just how similar they looked. Yet she was more than just another User, and she was certainly more than what those Users could call themselves. She was beautiful.
"I love you."
The words had come out as a whisper. He didn't expect her to hear them. At that moment, he realized that he had no regrets following her through that Portal. No matter what happened, he would always love her.
…
Familiar faces appeared before Mira as she finally opened her eyes. The brilliant lights of the Grid stretched around her, illuminating them. She blinked several times to get a better view of each program. To her surprise, and to her alarm, they were programs from her past, or the programs that Clu had either derezzed or repurposed.
But surrounding them were programs she assumed still lived.
"Am I back on the Grid?" She was surprised how quiet her voice was.
"No… not quite." Mira jumped when she heard an unfamiliar voice. She whirled around to see a dark figure standing behind her. The figure was wearing a cloak, similar to the one Cyrus had worn. Instinctively she reached for her disk, only to find that it was gone. "Don't worry, I'm not a threat."
"Who are you?" The voice sounded strangely familiar.
"Just call me the Creator." Mira felt her blood run cold. Kevin Flynn. Speaking to her in person? How was that even possible? From what she had heard, Flynn had either died or vanished into the User world. "I've been watching you for some time now… how you've helped all of those programs, even when they turned their backs on you. That took courage to fight back."
"Running away from my problems isn't exactly what I would call courage," she muttered crossly.
Maybe if she had stayed, they could have fought back. Maybe they could have saved Tron and the rest of the Grid from Clu's reign.
"It never would have worked out," Flynn replied in a gentle voice. "You were meant to return and close those Portals. I wasn't strong enough to finish the task I had started." He paused to let this sink in. Mira raised an eyebrow to see where this was going. "I wanted to thank you, for saving the Real World from Clu. If he had gotten through those Portals, there's no telling what would have happened."
I think I know what would have happened, Mira suddenly thought. Clu couldn't stand imperfection. What world was more imperfect than the Real World? He would have destroyed everything. And the world would not have been ready for the attack, even with the Avengers there to defend it.
"I'm glad to have helped," she murmured.
"I also wanted to apologize for what Clu did to you," he suddenly added. "His actions were unforgivable, as are mine for not knowing."
Her eyes widened as she realized what Flynn meant by that. She was even more surprised to find herself already forgiving him. Despite her earlier thoughts, none of what had happened was his fault. He couldn't foresee what Clu was planning, or what had happened to her. Some things were meant to happen for a reason.
And for the first time in many, many xilacycles, she finally felt at peace with herself. All of the faces she had seen from her past began to dissolve. Only one face was left in the darkness, reminding her why she had left the Grid in the first place.
"I love you."
Suddenly everything stopped moving. Mira blinked when she recognized the voice. The lights of the Grid suddenly vanished, and she realized that this was just a dream.
Wake up, she told herself. Wake up!
…
"But I will find my way Out of the dark someday Into a crimson yellow sun I'll follow my baby boy He'll be a silver toy And we'll count the ages as they're ending..."
The faint sound of music had lulled her awake. It only took her a few seconds to recognize the song that was playing. But the moment her eyes opened was when she felt a stabbing pain in her chest. She winced at the pain, and she only just realized that she must have been in the infirmary once again.
"She's coming to!" Mira flinched at the sound of Tony's voice. She struggled to sit up straighter, only to wince once again from the pain. "Take it easy, kid. You're not out of the dark just yet."
Tony's voice. Mira blinked in surprise when she saw so many Users standing in the same room. Confusion swept through her as she wondered why they were all standing around her as if a miracle just happened. Then again, after everything that had happened lately, she wouldn't have been too surprised if that was the case.
"What happened?" she groaned.
"You were out cold for four days."
Steve's voice. Mira's eyes widened with panic as she wondered if every User on this ship had seen her. The last thing she wanted was for them to think she couldn't take care of herself. She cringed the moment she tried moving again.
To her surprise, Tony, Steve and Bruce had stepped in to keep an eye on her. Clint and Natasha were standing on the other side of the room, looking more than relieved. She suddenly wondered for a moment how long they had been standing there if they were all in the room at the same time.
"The pain's only temporary," Bruce explained when Mira struggled to straighten up again. "We managed to create a serum that took care of the virus that took hold of you."
Mira raised an eyebrow as she wondered what he meant by 'we'.
"Tell us, are you feeling sadistic or psychotic?" Tony's question made her glare at him for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Of course not," she snapped.
Unless he considers snapping his head off for his attitude as a reason for being psychotic, she added silently.
She yelped in surprise when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. It took her a few seconds to realize that despite the little training they had received on being parents, Clint and Natasha were finally hugging her. This must have been another dream.
"I'm so thankful that you're alright." Her eyes widened when Natasha whispered that.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with the Black Widow?" Since when did Natasha ever share her feelings with anyone?
"That's what we've been wondering," Tony laughed when Natasha shot him an icy glare.
"Wait… where's Beck?" That voice she had heard in her dreams sounded familiar.
I hope he didn't worry too much about me, she thought.
She couldn't imagine how much panic he must have felt. The attack had happened so quickly. No one was prepared for it when they arrived at the Hellicarrier. And now that she thought about it, she hadn't even noticed until now that was where she was. Clint was the one who told her about what the Hellicarrier looked like before they arrived. And she'd remembered bits and pieces of what it looked like before the virus took over. Now she understood why the infirmary looked so much smaller than what she was used to.
"We kind of forced him to get some sleep," Steve replied after rubbing the back of his neck. "He wouldn't leave the room, not even to eat or drink."
Beck… he really did care too much. He had sacrificed everything by becoming the Renegade. And he knew the cost of choosing that life.
"What about Cyrus?" Mira frowned when she remembered that he was the one who carried the cure.
Surely he wouldn't have been taken down without a fight?
"You can thank Romanoff for that one," Tony replied with a smirk. "Took him down like he was nothing."
Something told Mira that Cyrus wouldn't give up that easily. The fact that his disk had been modified to become a bomb showed just how determined he was. The memories before she had blacked out suddenly came rushing back.
Cyrus had somehow gotten himself injured in more ways than one. A program had offered to help him, but with a great cost. Since that encounter, Cyrus had begun to change. The code the mysterious program had given him was the very virus that had almost killed him.
"Will I be allowed to walk any time soon?" she asked after gripping her stomach to keep down the pain.
"Try resting a bit for the next couple of days," Bruce replied. "We'll run another test to make sure your blood is cleared of the virus cells that were infecting you."
Mira held back a groan of frustration. She had a feeling that by that time she'd be going stir-crazy. But Bruce was the doctor. She'd get out of here sooner if she actually listened to his advice.
"Thank you, for finding the cure," she murmured.
"Well I didn't exactly find the serum on my own," he admitted sheepishly. "Just make sure you get some rest, and you'll be back to your old self in no time."
She bit back a retort, suddenly wishing that there was something she could do to keep herself entertained while stuck in this room. By now she was beginning to hate the infirmary. It seemed like each time she was placed in this room; each injury would get worse.
The worst part was the fact that she'd been placed under SHIELD's radar. She doubted they would let her go so easily once this was over. SHIELD wasn't an organization she could trust. Not after reading all of the files she had uncovered. Whatever happened in the near future, she knew that it would have nothing to do with SHIELD.
…
"You're free to go."
Mira looked at Bruce in surprise when he said that. It had only been about four cycles since she woke up, and her entire system had recovered fully from whatever effects the virus had on her. She knew that whatever Clu had done to her was responsible for her quick recovery. Since Bruce had explained to her that the tyrant ran experiments on her, she wasn't even surprised that they had healed so quickly. She was more surprised that he was willing to let her leave.
"Seriously?" Being stuck there in the hospital had been one of the worst things she had gone through. Though she'd never admit that being stuck in the ICU was far worse. In that facility, she was handcuffed to the hospital bed and had eyes on her every cycle. At least here, she had the ability to move about as she pleased with some restrictions. "Thank you!"
"Just make sure you take it easy," Bruce reminded her once she had climbed out of the hospital bed. "Which means no sparring sessions in the gym," he quickly added as if he had read her mind.
Mira only rolled her eyes before nodding in agreement.
She hated not being able to work out in the gym or have any physical exercise. But he was right. The last thing she wanted at this point was to push herself and be sent to the hospital all over again. She thought back to how often she would push herself on the Grid. Many times she would keep working out in a simulation room or with other programs to the point of exhaustion.
Mira decided to explore the Hellicarrier while she had the chance, instead of staying cooped up in one room. She wandered down extensive hallways, ignoring the curious stares of agents who walked by. Most of them were noticing something oddly familiar about her, and one agent even had the nerve to mistake her for Natasha. She almost felt sorry after the terrified look on their face when they realized how wrong they were.
Do I really look that much like her? she wondered.
After wandering for what felt like pectrocycles, she had finally reached an area that looked familiar enough. Clint had described it to her as the bridge, where operations took place. Here she could see large panel windows that overlooked wherever the Hellicarrier was hovering over. Computer monitors were scattered throughout a lower level while in the center was an area where the Director would normally give his orders.
"Hey, kid. I'm glad to see you're up and about."
Mira flinched at the sound of Tony's voice. She hadn't meant to; flinching was just a natural instinct for when someone decided to randomly start talking to her.
"I hate being cooped up in one place," she muttered crossly. "It makes me feel trapped."
Surprisingly, Tony actually understood what she meant by that, and how she felt.
"Come on, everyone's in the meeting room. I figured you'd want to hear the latest news."
Mira rose an eyebrow at that, wondering just what Tony meant as he led her to another room separate from the bridge. She was surprised to find Beck sitting between Natasha and Steve, while Clint sat across the table, looking bored. Mira refused to look Beck in the eyes as she sat beside Clint.
"So, what's the latest news that Tony was talking about?" she decided to ask as an awkward silence fell upon them.
"Have you ever heard of Kevin Flynn?" Clint asked, showing a file of what looked like ENCOM Tower.
Mira rose an eyebrow at the familiar tower's name. Flynn was famous throughout this world and the Grid. She could still remember seeing him at the arcade when her foster parents brought her there. One mistake she made was following him when she knew how dangerous it must have been. Then again, she'd made more mistakes than she could count over the last few xilacycles. She wasn't a stranger to them or the fact that Flynn likely felt guilty for letting someone follow him to the Grid.
"Yeah, he was the Creator of the Grid," she explained with a shrug. And the reason behind Clu's Betrayal and everything else that had happened. "But before that, I knew him as the owner of Flynn's Arcade."
"Well, his son decided to step up and take charge of ENCOM," Natasha said.
"Turns out, he had a nasty run-in on the Grid himself," Clint put in. "I'm guessing it inspired him to run the company."
That left Mira feeling even more curious as to who the Son of Flynn could be. If he had suffered the same experience on the Grid as her, then he wouldn't be in any hurry to run his father's company. Something told her it was more complicated than that.
"So, why bring this up now?" Beck asked this time, finding the courage to speak again after Flynn was mentioned.
"Because you four are paying ENCOM Tower a little visit first thing tomorrow," a new voice spoke. Mira stiffened when she saw Director Fury arrive. She had only seen him once or twice while in the medical bay, and each time it was not a good or friendly visit. "I'd like to know exactly what Flynn has in mind after taking over the company, especially after promoting Bradley the way he did."
She bit the bottom of her lips as unease crawled through her. Any visit from SHIELD didn't usually end well. She was beginning to realize that the more she thought about it. Whatever Flynn had done, she hoped he knew what he was getting himself into.
"So this all happened overnight?" she asked after reading a bit of the file that Natasha handed her.
"Pretty much," Steve replied. "I honestly have no idea what everyone is talking about. This is way out of my league."
Mira almost paled when she saw an image of Quorra on one of the files. The ISO looked so much happier now; her features hadn't changed all that much, but something was definitely different about her. It had been many xilacycles since Mira last saw her. Seeing her again would feel good, especially since neither of their lives were in danger at the moment. This was one trip she actually looked forward to.
AN: Lyrics in bold come from the song The Ancestor by Darlingside. Quite possibly my favorite Indie-Rock group :) Sorry for the choppiness of these chapters, lately. The good news, and bad news is, that it's almost over. I've got about six more chapters before marking this remake as finished, than I plan on working on Goodbye Ordinary. Though, that might take a little longer, since it'll be a total rewrite. And likely rated M or marked as angst for multiple reasons.