Yeah, I'm not alone, I realize, I breathe out, I come alive - Awake My Soul, Chris Tomlin

Chapter Twenty

Return to Encom Tower

Papers were spread out across the table as Mira sat down to join Director Fury and agent Hill in the meeting room. Beck sat beside her, looking rather uncomfortable as Director Fury passed down a file to Mira. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed that the file had her name written across it. "What's this for?" she asked.

"We were hoping that, under the circumstances, you would join SHIELD once this is over," Director Fury replied.

Mira had to stop herself from falling over, again. She understood that because of who her parents were, he wanted her to join. But it felt as though this was out of the blue. And now she knew why Director Fury had asked to see her alone.

She glanced at Beck, who looked even more uncomfortable as agent Hill rested her chin on her hands. "We don't send these files out too often," she explained. "Most of the residents on this ship are our best agents and scientists."

"So why was I called in?" Beck asked warily.

"Same reason," agent Hill replied with a shrug. "You've both shown skills that some of our top field experts have. And given your history, you might be eligible to join them."

She stared at the files again, slightly speechless. What should she do? Something like this obviously didn't random happen every day. And if she did join SHIELD, would she never have a normal life?

Okay, maybe my life has never exactly been normal, she realized. But still, she wasn't even sure what to make of this. And judging from the look on Director Fury's face, they wanted to know soon. Quietly she pushed back the files, unsure how to answer them at the moment.

"I... I think I need time to think about this," she murmured.

"That's understandable," Director Fury said. "We hope you make a decision soon."

Mira held back a sigh of relief when they left the room. In a few hours they were supposed to reach Los Angeles. After that, the meeting Mira had been looking forward to would finally take place. It had been a long time since she had last seen Quorra. And it would be nice to see her again.

"So what do you think about this?" Mira bit the bottom of her lip, hoping Beck would say something. Since she had woken up from her 'coma', he hadn't spoken to her. Was he really that afraid of her now that she was awake?

"I need to think about this," Beck finally said.

Dismay swept over Mira when he stood up and left the room. She glared at the files before following him out, only to nearly run into Natasha. The papers Natasha had been holding flew across the floor. Mira tried pushing back the embarrassment when Natasha smirked at her.

"Sorry!" she nearly squeaked. She immediately rushed in to help.

"You're jumpier than usual." Mira held back a sigh of frustration. Natasha raised an eyebrow when she finally locked gazes with her.

"Have you ever wished you could take something that you said back?" she asked. Knowing Natasha, that was a big yes.

"Many times," she replied after looking at the papers thoughtfully. "Something happened between you and Beck." She finally let out a sigh of frustration.

"Is it that obvious?" Maybe SHIELD had some kind of memory wipe she could use.

Wait, that would be bad. Mira felt a shudder run down her arms as she remembered how Beck had almost become a stray. The last thing she wanted was for him to go through something like that again. Besides, truthfully she didn't want him to forget.

"What am I supposed to do or even say to him?" Mira followed Natasha to another room. Scientists were working at different parts of the lab. A few of them had looked up when Natasha entered the room, but their eyes were all on Mira. She rubbed her arm in embarrassment when they returned to their work.

"Take your time," Natasha finally replied after dropping off the papers. "If he truly loves you, he'll come running back."

"Is that what happened with you and Clint?" Natasha's eyes flashed at the mention of her partner. After watching their memories happen right before her eyes, she understood that it was a touchy subject. But she couldn't resist asking the question.

"That's not an easy question to answer," she finally replied once they were outside the room. "He took a different path before I joined SHIELD. And when I finally did join SHIELD... we had different views on the world."

Mira looked down at the floor to think about what she had said. One memory she had seen was the time when Clint was sent to kill Natasha. He had taken a different call. He let her live, despite Fury's orders to take her down. Their lives had changed from that moment on.

"So you really think that will happen?" She glanced up at Natasha, who was focusing on the agents wandering around the bridge or typing away at the computers.

"Yes." Mira tried not to flinch when Natasha patted her on the shoulder. "Just give him some time."

Her shoulders sagged in relief as Natasha was called over by Director Fury. She really hoped that Natasha was right. She missed Beck's company, and desperately wanted their friendship back.

. . .

Clouds whipped past the jet as they headed for Encom Tower. After the hellicarrier had finally reached Los Angeles, they immediately left for Encom Tower. Mira sat next to the window with her earbuds in, listening to the music as she tried to forget about the silent treatment she was getting from Beck (Director Fury had finally given her a regular iPod, already filled with the music she had been listening to. It was better not to ask how he had known what she liked).

"Oh, no, I see, a spider web, it's tangled up with me, and I lost my head, the thought of all the stupid things I'd said, Oh, no, what's this? A spider web, and I'm caught in the middle, so I turned to run, the thought of all the stupid things I've done..."

Well this song isn't helping much, she thought as she listened to the heart-wrenching lyrics. Coldplay really knew how to pull at one's feelings.

"And I never meant to cause you trouble, and I never meant to do you wrong, and I, well, if I ever caused you trouble, oh no, I never meant to do you harm..."

Mira tried to close her eyes and think of positive things. She was about to see Quorra again for the first time in who knew how long. Cyrus was finally being placed in prison. She had a family, well, maybe not a family family. More like a super-hero family.

"We're here." Mira dropped her earbuds when Clint's voice rose above the blaring music.

"Sorry," she murmured after turning off the iPod. She glanced back at Beck, wishing that he would stop staring out the window.

It was strange to be back here where their journey had started in the User world. Mira suddenly wondered how Alan was doing after they had left him. Would he know that they were paying Sam and Quorra a visit? Probably not, unless SHIELD had warned him ahead of time.

Mira raised an eyebrow when she noticed that there was a landing pad on top of the tower. It dwarfed all of the buildings around it. She rolled down the sleeves of her gray sweater, thankful she had chosen to dress for colder weather. According to Tony it was cooler than usual. Beck was wearing a t-shirt, and she wondered how he could stand the cold wind.

Clint and Natasha led the way to the door. Someone was waiting for them, looking rather annoyed at the new arrivals. Mira frowned when she recognized his slim appearance. Short brown hair, wearing a pair of glasses and a nicely trimmed beard.

"Mr. Dillinger." His arms folded as Natasha explained why they were there.

"So you're the kid everyone's been talking about." Edward Dillinger Jr. Mira had seen pictures of him on SHIELD's data base. According to some rumors he was part of a big scheme to overthrow Flynn. But at that time he was about Sam's age.

"You can let them in, Eddie." Edward grimaced when someone called him by what Mira guessed was a bad nickname. "Unless you'd rather spend the night cleaning the toilets."

Edward finally stepped aside to let them in, glaring at the stranger that had spoken. The glare Natasha gave him almost made Mira laugh. She wished she had a camera with her. His face paled before he looked away, hiding the sudden fear that had taken over.

"Hi. Alan Bradley, right?" Natasha was really taking her job seriously. Alan didn't look nearly as terrified as Edward, but he seemed just as uneasy.

"I'm glad to see you two aren't dead," Alan replied after giving Natasha the faintest of nods. "Your names were plastered all over the news for the last few weeks," he explained when Beck looked at him in confusion. "When I told Quorra about you she nearly had a heart-attack."

I'm surprised the press isn't hounding us, Mira thought as she looked around warily. Reaching the building with a jet designed for SHIELD wasn't exactly easy to hide. But maybe Sam had taken precautions.

"Sam's waiting for you in the office," Alan explained as he began leading the way.

An awkward silence filled the air as they passed several rooms with the doors closed. The walls were bleached white. A few pictures of Los Angeles and people Mira didn't recognize were hung here and there. In all the building reminded her of a normal office building.

"There they are." Mira stopped dead when she saw the open door. Alan smirked when he noticed her expression.

"Are you okay?" Clint noticed Mira's worried expression as she stared at the doorway.

"Yeah... I'm fine," she replied a little too quickly.

She bit the bottom of her lip before they walked into the room.

What she saw next nearly took her breath away. Sam was standing at his desk, staring at a computer while Quorra stared outside the window. He paused from his searching and looked up to see Natasha and Clint standing in the room.

Sam was nothing like Mira had anticipated. He looked, to put it bluntly, almost like Beck. Only his hair was a lighter shade of blonde. And he seemed to notice the similarities when he spotted Beck standing beside Natasha.

"Hey, I'm glad you stopped by," he said after shaking Natasha's hand. "Natasha and Clint, right?"

"Yes, of course," Natasha replied. Mira smirked when Natasha kept her usual calm posture.

"I've actually got something I was hoping you would take a look at," Sam explained when he noticed Mira standing beside Clint. "Quorra and I have been working on this project for the last few days."

At the mention of her name, Quorra suddenly turned and stared at the four newcomers in surprise. Than her eyes fell upon Mira, who met her startled gaze.

"Why don't we discuss your plans outside," Natasha suggested when an awkward silence filled the room. Sam seemed more than happy to agree. He grabbed the laptop and followed Natasha and Clint outside, leaving Mira and Beck to face Quorra alone.

AN: So I kind of left everything on a cliffhanger. Next chapter is definitely going to be a shocker for everyone :P But anywho, I'm really excited about where this is going. I do have a sequel in mind once this is finished, but it will take time before that's posted. Big thanks to PrincessKai317, Sunofaia and 2theSky for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

Lyrics come from the song Trouble by Coldplay.

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