AN: Here's the next chapter :D I'm about three chapters ahead at this point. Loving where this story is going, and like I said earlier, I have way too many ideas for my own good XD Thanks to 2theSky, Sunofaia and PrincessKai317 for your awesome reviews! Enjoy :)

Chapter Fourteen

Avoiding The Inevitable

Rinzler was curled up on her bed when Mira returned to her room. Fast asleep and oblivious to the world. She almost wished she could feel the same way. He had no idea how lucky he was not to know who his real parents were. If he had any, that was.

"Cyrus has been a little too quiet lately," she muttered as she sat at the end of her bed.

"He'll show up sooner or later," Beck replied with the slightest of smirks. "He is a program of habit." He leaned against the wall by her door, observing the bright colors she had chosen after Tony offered to paint the rooms.

Mira was surprised that Tony was being so... generous. After all, they were pretty much crashing in his place for nothing. From what she had learned, living in someone's place meant that there had to be some kind of payment. She had worked for her apartment in Tron City.

Her walls had been painted a warm purple color. Not dark or ominous like certain shades could be. And the bedding she had picked out were a grayish shade of white. According to Tony, it was the best way to make the sheets look clean. White and black were not the best choices.

"So you really think he's jumping through Portals?" Beck's question made Mira look at him in surprise.

For the last few days she had been fumbling around through the files, trying to figure things out. But try as she might, Director Fury had altered the codes. Now it was almost impossible for them to hack into SHIELD's system. At least not without getting caught.

"It's possible he's using his disk," she replied. "I've been looking for any records that lead to the energy that SHIELD read when we arrived. They have nothing."

"Knowing Cyrus he could be standing in this room." Mira grinned and threw a pillow at him, partly hoping that he wasn't right. Cyrus really could be that devious. Beck caught the pillow and smirked. "You know you can't hide in here forever," he added after throwing the pillow back on the bed.

"I know," she murmured. "I just... haven't figured out what to say to them."

Beck frowned and sat down beside her, causing the bed to jump a little. Rinzler finally looked up at them in annoyance before finding a more comfortable spot on her pillow.

"I'm not exactly sure how to handle a situation like this," he admitted. "But maybe talking to them is the best option." Beck did have a point about confronting them. Since their last conversation, Mira had been making a point to avoid them at all costs.

"That's not easy to do," she sighed. "You don't know what it's like to discover that your parents are fully trained assassins."

"Yeah well, being trained by the greatest hero on the Grid doesn't help with that one." Mira laughed when Beck tried to impersonate Tron's facial expression. In a way Tron was similar to Clint and Natasha. But Tron had always fought to protect those weaker than Clu or anyone that opposed Flynn. That was why Mira had looked up to him, and she guessed that was why Beck had looked up to him.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to train a bit." Maybe it would help take her mind off of everything that had happened.

Beck's smirk told her that he was thinking the same thing. Tony had given them permission to use the gym that he had on the lower level. The gym was nicely laid out with all of the equipment they would need. And it was usually used by Steve, who kept saying that training kept his mind sharp and his body fit. Hopefully Natasha or Clint wouldn't be joining him. Mira found herself hoping that neither of them would show up.

She led the way down to the gym, and was thankful to find that it was empty. Beck followed her into the center ring, eyes brimming with excitement for the first time in days. It was difficult to find some alone time with the Avengers watching their every move.

"The usual I presume?" Mira raised an eyebrow when Beck smirked in response.

Having a sparring partner made training much more enjoyable. Mira quickly flipped back when he tried striking at her weak points. She swung back with her fist, jabbing him in the arm and in the rib. Beck managed to sneak in a few blows before blocking her attacks.

Their moves were almost in sync. Mira swung to the left and dodged another blow, while Beck blocked her own attack. She performed a back flip on her hand as he swung his leg to trip her. When she landed the breath was almost knocked out of her.

"Okay, I give." Beck's grin grew wider when she had him pinned to the floor.

"Oh really?" Her smile turned into a sly grin. "Which program said that from now on, we protect each other?"

She helped Beck up after his smug expression turned into a fit of laughter. "Okay, I'll get you for that."

"Having fun?" Mira whirled around just in time to see Clint standing at the entrance, arms folded as he looked between her and Beck.

"We were just training," Mira explained warily.

"Looked to me like it was more than just training." It took Mira a few seconds to realize that he wasn't real serious. "We need to talk." Mira flinched at the tone and glanced at Beck, who simply shrugged in response.

"You'll be fine," Beck whispered. He patted her on the shoulder before stepping out of the gym.

Mira would have punched him back if he hadn't left so quickly. Being left alone with the person she'd been avoiding for the past few days was not part of her agenda.

"Look, I know this isn't easy for you so let's just get to the point," she muttered. Clint raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I don't exactly know what to say... you're both master assassins and I doubt having a kid was part of your plan."

"I was expecting you to say something like that," he replied with a shrug. Mira narrowed her eyes as she wondered where this was going. "You definitely have Widow's attitude, I'll give you that."

"Are you always this cocky and annoying?" Mira snapped.

"It's part of my charm." She smirked when he struggled not to laugh at her expression. "Look, reliving those memories wasn't exactly a walk in the park... for all of us." Mira flinched; she knew that he was referring to her past on the Grid. "Being a parent isn't something we were trained for. But maybe we could start over."

She looked at Clint skeptically, unsure how to respond. Of all the things she had expected to hear from one of SHIELD's toughest agents, this was the least. And of course, now he was ruffling the back of his hair in embarrassment.

"Beck and Tron were more like family to me than anything else," she explained. "But it would be nice to have a real family, even if this might not work out."

How can I forgive them for what they've done? She had a feeling that she had forgiven them the moment she found out the truth.

"Good, 'cause something tells me this fight is far from over." Mira held back a sigh of frustration.

He was right about that. Cyrus wouldn't give up on them until they were miserable. It was his goal in life to make sure that the world turned against them.

"You have no idea just how dangerous Cyrus is," she said under her breath. Already he had claimed lives, lives that could not be replaced. From the news reports she had read before the last few crazy days, he had attacked LA more than once.

"We've had worse." Mira frowned when he suddenly looked at her seriously again. "Tony and Bruce want to find out why you've been having these visions," he added. "They might have something to do with why Cyrus hasn't attacked yet."

"Wonderful, yet one more thing to worry about." She rolled her eyes at the thought. It would be nice to find out why she kept having those nightmares. They weren't as frequent as they had been, but they were still there.

"Be glad it isn't SHIELD watching your every move." Again she rolled her eyes at the remark. She had a feeling that SHIELD would be watching her every move once this was over. "Come on, Tony's waiting for you."

With another sigh of frustration, she followed him out of the room, thankful to get away from the awkward conversation. It was better to get this done and over with than wait. If their theory was right, than maybe there was a way to stop the nightmares.

They reached the lab in a matter of minutes. Inside Tony and Bruce were watching the monitors carefully. Bruce kept an eye on one screen while Tony typed away on the table nearby, with another monitor overlooking the glass keyboard.

"Well if it isn't our favorite program!" Mira narrowed her eyes as Tony clasped his hands together.

"Yeah, right." She rubbed her arms in embarrassment.

Bruce finally looked up from his work and approached them after taking off his glasses. "Hopefully this won't take too long," he said in a quiet voice.

Mira looked at him in surprise. He was nothing like the Hulk. Steve had shown her the files of Bruce using the serum he had created on himself. The experiment had ended badly, according to some sources. Others claimed that it was a miracle he had survived at all.

"How exactly do you plan on finding out what happened?" Mira demanded.

"We'll have to run a few scans and tests to find out whether or not your system's infected," Bruce explained.

"What do you mean by infected?" Clint asked warily.

"Anything from radiation to gamma poisoning. Maybe she absorbed some of the code that's infecting Cyrus during that fight," Tony replied.

She hadn't even thought of that. Whatever was infecting Cyrus could be some kind of virus. Since she had lived on the Grid for so long, she had seen how viruses behaved. And Cyrus showed all of the signs of becoming one.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt," Bruce tried to sound reassuring when he noticed Mira's face had paled.

"You know what, I don't care if it hurts," she muttered. "If it's a virus, I want it out." Especially after the rumors she had heard of Abraxas. The virus that had infected him resulted in his deresolution. Only thanks to the help of an unknown program had he been stopped.

And like that unknown program, she would make sure that Cyrus was stopped. Even if it meant risking her life.

AN: Another mention of Evolution. Abraxas was a virus, and Anon defeated him. Unfortunately I haven't played the entire game; I only just watched a few videos on it. But I've learned enough that I should be right (hopefully I am Oo). Next chapter will likely be posted tomorrow or even tonight!

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