AN: Got this chapter finished. And I enjoyed typing this :D Also, thanks to Sunofaia, 2theSky and PrincessKai317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

Chapter Eight

New Discoveries

Bright light filtered through the windows, waking Mira from a deep sleep. Her eyes widened in alarm until she realized that it was just the sun. The alarm was suddenly replaced with awe as golden rays appeared above the tall buildings.

I can't even remember the last sunrise I've watched, she thought sadly.

"Good morning ma'am, Mr. Stark would like to see you immediately." Mira jumped when she heard a voice sounding over the intercom. She blinked after spotting a small computer-like screen beside the door. She wasn't sure what to make of the device until the screen went blank.

The technology that Users had was different from what she had been used to. She quickly slid open the door and made her way to the living space. Stark was standing inside, holding what she guessed was the paper that Maria had told them about.

"I'm glad to see you've gotten Jarvis's wake-up call," Stark said after noticing her arrival.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"Nothing much aside from your buddy Cyrus," Clint replied before Stark could speak up. Mira hadn't even noticed that he was in the room along with Natasha. Obviously Beck wasn't awake yet. "Turns out he did follow you all the way here."

Mira's eyes widened when Stark showed her the images he'd been looking at. Sure enough Cyrus's lean figure had been spotted. So far he had not caused this city any problems, but it was only a matter of time. He was wearing a cloak this time, similar to the one he'd had on the Grid.

"How long ago was this taken?" she asked warily.

"Last night," Stark told her. "Apparently the press doesn't like it when cars are blown up, especially in this city."

She held back a groan of frustration when she realized just how serious this was. A few vehicles had been turned over, while others had their tops taken off by what she guessed were bombs he had created. It wouldn't take the Users long to realize that there was more to Cyrus than just muscles and intelligence.

"I'm sorry," she sighed.

"Why are you sorry? Not like you could've seen this coming," Stark said with the slightest of smirks.

"It's my fault he's on the loose." Mira flinched when she heard Beck's voice coming from behind. Stark raised an eyebrow at his remark while Clint looked up from the book that he was reading. "I'm the one that found his prison, and I'm the one that let him escape."

"You're saying he was trapped in a prison?" Clint looked at Beck in surprise when he nodded.

"It was like compressed space on the Grid," Mira explained. "Tron had his old friend Able build it when Cyrus began to... change." She felt a shiver run down her arms at the thought.

Maybe the job of being the Renegade had been too stressful for Cyrus. Maybe that was why he had finally lost it in the end. Or perhaps being part of Clu's army had triggered some kind of fail safe within his code. One way or another, Cyrus was a threat that needed to be stopped.

"That's pretty impressive." Stark folded his arms as he noticed how uneasy they both looked. "What? You two keep acting like someone's about to run you over with a car," he added with a slight chuckle.

"More like getting chased by the black guard every cycle," Beck grumbled. "It's not easy adjusting to this kind of life."

Stark frowned and exchanged a look with Clint. Mira felt even more uneasy when Clint shrugged in some kind of silent response.

"I think it's time we showed you what it's like to be human, before we jump into battle," Stark finally said. An uncomfortable silence had filled the room before he spoke up. Mira raised an eyebrow when he started walking towards another hallway. "First thing's first, time to change out of those outdated outfits," he added over his shoulder.

This time Mira held back a blush when she realized what that meant. Even Beck looked confused as to what Stark had said. Clint's smirk wasn't helping them feel any better.

"This should be fun," Clint said under his breath.

She resisted the urge to glare at him as she returned to her room. This wasn't something she had done in a long time. And she wasn't looking forward to it.

. . .

It didn't take Mira nearly as long as she was expecting to figure out how the suit came off. She was relieved to find that Stark had left clothing in the dresser. The clothing wasn't fancy looking like the suit Alan had worn. But it was enough to satisfy her as she picked out the shirt and pants.

This is one part of my life that I actually miss, she thought after getting dressed. It was a purple shirt with the long sleeves nicely cut. And the pants were a normal pair of jeans that seemed to go perfectly. I suppose this is better than ever.

Mira couldn't help but grin when she looked at the mirror placed beside the dresser. Her hair still had that same mousy brown appearance. But it was longer now, since she hadn't cut it in some time. Now it had grown so that the tip of her hair touched her ears.

With that task finished, she stepped out of her room to see that Beck was still having trouble figuring it out. Mira smirked when she heard a loud thud, followed by a groan of frustration.

"You okay in there?" By now she was smothering her laughter when Clint finally knocked on the door.

Beck's reply was a muffled response. A few more nanocycles passed before the door finally slid open. Clint's eyes widened while Mira smothered another fit of laughter. Without warning Clint shoved Beck back into his room and slammed the door shut behind him. Mira could hear the muffled voices from outside as Clint tried to explain why it was important to wear clothing while out in public.

"What's going on in there?" Mira jumped when she heard Natasha's voice. She hadn't even noticed the older woman's arrival until she looked over her shoulder.

"Beck hasn't quite grasped the concept of putting clothing on," Mira explained. She was surprised that she had remembered after spending such a long time on the Grid. She didn't miss the look of surprise when Natasha realized what she meant by that.

"There's a visual I didn't need," she muttered crossly.

A few more nanocycles passed before both Beck and Clint emerged from the room. Clint's eyes were narrowed in frustration as he shoved his way past Mira.

"Never. Again," he grumbled.

By now both Mira and Natasha were laughing as Beck ruffled the back of his hair in embarrassment. Mira had a feeling that whatever went on in there, it wasn't pretty for either of them.

"Tony thought it would be a good idea to teach you both how things work here," Natasha added as they made their way back to the living space.

"That would be... nice." Beck sounded a bit unsure of himself when they reached the bar.

"It shouldn't take you long to figure things out." Mira looked down at the floor when she realized that Natasha was right.

I suppose it's easier for me to adjust since I'm a User, she thought. Beck on the other hand, was going to have a difficult time learning how to act and behave like a User. But at least Maria had given them a heads up before they had reached SHIELD.

. . .

In a matter of hours (it was still difficult for either of them to grasp the concept of time in this world), Natasha and Clint managed to explain the basics of User life. For starters, Users were actually called humans in their world. Mira was able to figure out how to eat rather quickly, while Beck still had difficulty using a fork.

By the time they were ready for sleep, everything came rushing back to Mira. She found it easier to perform tasks such as turning on the television or the computer that Tony had left them. Fortunately Beck had learned fairly quickly as well.

For the most part, they were both exhausted by the time Natasha had given up. Clint had given up on them a few hours before Natasha, throwing his arms up in frustration before walking away. At that point Mira was struggling to hold back her laughter once more.

"He doesn't have a lot of patience, does he?" she asked when Beck fell asleep on the sofa.

"It's been a long day," Natasha replied. "He may not like to show it but he does care."

"Thank you," Mira suddenly sighed. "You didn't have to let us stay."

Natasha looked at her in surprise before throwing a blanket on the sofa. "Don't thank me. Tony's the one that let you stay." She paused before glancing at Mira thoughtfully. "Besides, no one should have to go through what you two did."

Mira didn't miss the flash in her eyes when she said that. Something similar had happened to her. Mira simply nodded in understanding before returning to her room. At least now that they understood how things worked in the User world, their mission would get finished sooner.

And Cyrus will finally be taken down, she added silently.

AN: Okay, this was almost too fun to write. Though it feels a bit rushed, I just wanted to get everything in. And did I forget to mention how much I love OneRepublic? I've fallen in love with their music all over again ^^ Absolutely love Ryan's voice!

Hope when you take that jump, You don't fear the fall, Hope when the water rises, You build a wall, Hope when the crowd screams out, They're screaming your name, Hope if everybody runs, You choose to stay

Hope that you fall in love, And it hurts so bad, The only way you can know, Is give it all you have, And I hope that you don't suffer, But take the pain, Hope when the moment comes, You'll say...

I, I did it all, I, I did it all, I owned every second, That this world could give, I saw so many places, The things that I did, Yeah, with every broken bone, I swear I lived

I Lived, by OneRepublic. I do not own these amazing lyrics in any way :)

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