Chapter Two

Encom Tower

"Do you need a ride?" Mira looked at Alan in surprise when he asked the question.

Our light cycles might not work here, she thought after biting the bottom of her lip. She exchanged a glance with Beck, who simply shrugged in response. He didn't know where they were going.

"Yeah, we could use a ride," she admitted.

Alan grinned when Rinzler jumped off of her shoulder. Mira only just noticed that his circuits weren't glowing like they had on the Grid. Instead the red circuits that normally stretched across his fur mixed in with the black. Alan leaned down when Rinzler started approaching him cautiously.

"This is quite the unusual critter you have here," he laughed when Rinzler swatted at his finger.

"He's a friend of ours," Mira explained. Her eyes widened when she suddenly realized why Alan looked so familiar. She nearly face-palmed when she thought she should have noticed the similarities sooner. "You wouldn't happen to be Tron's Creator, would you?"

He raised an eyebrow at the question before nodding. "Best security system I ever designed," he replied. "Flynn asked me if he could move Tron over to his system for better protection."

A lot of good that did him. Mira almost wished she could say that. She knew better though. Alan was friendly, but she didn't know how long that friendliness would last.

She couldn't help but smirk when she saw Beck's eyes widen in disbelief. Clearly he never expected to meet Tron's Creator. It was ironic seeing Alan standing in front of them after everything Tron had said and done. It seemed like they were nothing alike.

"SHIELD hasn't stopped by Encom Tower yet, but it's only a matter of time before they do," Alan explained as he led the way outside.

"I'm sorry, SHIELD?" Beck looked at Alan questioningly as they approached the car.

"It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. They take care of the things that the FBI normally can't." There was an edge to Alan's voice. Mira looked at him warily. He was hiding something that must have hit a nerve.

The car he'd led them to was similar to the roadster that Tesler had given away as a reward. Only it was bigger and a bit more compact. Mira sat beside Beck once Alan started the car. Rinzler sat on her lap once they were strapped in.

"Thanks again for being so... generous," Mira sighed as she leaned against the seat. If Alan was anything like Tron, than she knew she could trust him.

"It's not every day a couple of kids hide in the arcade like that," Alan replied. "Though I do have to ask, where did you come from?"

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you." Beck's answer was quick and to the point.

"After everything that's been happening, I doubt that," Alan said with a smirk. Beck frowned at his response and glanced at Mira questioningly. "Flynn told me about the Grid before he disappeared. But he never told me how he got in or out," he added.

"Well, that's kind of where we came from," Mira said warily. She wasn't entirely sure how much they should tell him. He seemed open to the idea of the Grid being a real place. But if he told other Users about the Grid, that might be a different story.

"So how did you manage to escape?" Alan looked at them through the mirror that was placed on the front window.

Again Beck looked at Mira questioningly. This was something she'd rather keep to themselves. The Portals were dangerous, and any innocent User could find themselves trapped.

"That information is classified," Mira replied.

She was thankful when Alan left it at that. He seemed well aware that they were keeping secrets. And maybe he was used to that idea, seeing as he had known about the Grid.

Why would Flynn not tell him how to get in or out of the Grid? she wondered. Maybe Flynn was too afraid that something would go wrong. And of course, he had been right about his assumptions. But that left Mira wondering why he had not given himself the ability to open Portals.

"All right, we're here." Mira looked up in awe to see a large building tower over them. She didn't miss the words 'Encom' illuminated above them. "Encom Tower. There's a phone inside that you can use."

Mira felt her shoulders sag with exhaustion when she realized that they still needed to make the call. If they could find a computer powerful enough to shut down the Portals that were opening, that would help. But the Portals weren't the only problem they faded.

"Hi Alan, the board meeting isn't starting for another hour." A short woman with long dark brown hair sat at a desk once they stepped inside. Her eyes widened when she noticed Mira and Beck standing behind him. Rinzler was once again atop Mira's shoulder, watching the small woman curiously.

"I know. We just needed to make a call." The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You couldn't just use your cell phone?" she asked in a joking manner. Alan folded his arms when the woman's face fell. "My apologies sir," she added after standing up. She looked at both Mira and Beck warily before stepping out of the room.

Mira had a feeling she had a few questions to ask about their sudden appearance. But thankfully the woman left them alone, giving them enough time for Alan to make the call.

"What's a cell phone?" Beck's question made Alan look at him in surprise. Than he seemed to remember that they weren't exactly familiar with User technology.

"I'll explain everything later," he replied. He picked up the phone and typed in the numbers that had been on the card he showed them. Cycles seemed to pass before whoever he'd called answered. "Yeah, I know it's late." His voice dropped to a whisper.

Mira folded her arms when she realized that there was more to this call than Alan had previously let on. She was surprised that Beck hadn't said anything since Alan started talking. When she finally glanced at him she noticed that he was still trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

"I know it sounds crazy, but you've seen worse." Alan finally sighed in annoyance as the User he spoke to shouted back. "Who are you sending?" Alan's question made Mira look at him warily. Clearly something wasn't going right.

"How do we know we can trust this guy?" Beck's voice dropped to a whisper so that only she could hear.

"There isn't anyone else we can trust," she admitted. "Besides, he's Tron's Creator."

Beck stiffened at the mention of Tron. After everything that had happened, she could understand why he was so upset. Tron had been repurposed by Clu, and ultimately betrayed them. Thanks to Clu they were both forced to live in exile.

After what felt like another long wave of cycles, Alan finally said goodbye and put the phone down. He looked more wary than ever as he turned to face them.

"Someone will be stopping by to meet with you," he explained. "Her name is Maria Hill."

"How will we know what she looks like?" Mira demanded.

"Trust me, you'll know," Alan replied with the slightest of smirks. "I have to go; there's a meeting that I can't afford to miss," he added after looking at something on his wrist. It took Mira a few nanocycles to realize that it was a watch. "Maria will explain everything to you when she gets here."

"Thank you, for your help," Mira sighed. "We'd probably be lost if you hadn't showed up."

"Glad I could help." Alan rubbed Rinzler's ear before heading for what looked like an elevator.

For the first time since returning to the User world, Mira realized just how lost she really was. She almost wished that she had more knowledge of the User world. But everything had slowly faded away when she spent her life on the Grid.

"We'll get through this," she murmured as they found themselves looking outside the building. By now the city lights were beginning to turn off.

"I sure hope so," Beck sighed. "I've never felt more helpless than I do now."

For once, Mira couldn't help but agree. Even though they had trained together and fought together, here they were completely helpless. And maybe even useless. As far as she was concerned the User world was much different from the Grid.

"We'll get through this as a team," she said reassuringly. If anyone could get through this, it was the renegade.

AN: Ah yes, something tells me that Mira and Beck are going to have a difficult time adjusting to the modern world. Especially with SHIELD involved :P Special thanks to 2theSky, Briannajs-22 and PrincessKai137 for reviewing! You guys are amazing :D

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