AN: Hey, it's a fast update! Thanks to golden eyes for your review! Glad to see that someone is reading the story yet XD

Chapter Sixteen

Mira woke up as soon as she heard the door from the garage open. She sprang to her feet and ran down the stairs when she realized that she must have slept in. All of the wariness from the other day had left her when she woke up.

As usual Tron was waiting for Beck as he made his way towards the panel that overlooked the Outlands. Mira wasn't surprised to see that Tron was sifting through images on the screen. He was always searching for clues that might lead to a better future in Argon city.

"You're up early," Tron said when Mira approached him cautiously.

"Beck woke me up," she replied in an accusing tone. Beck rolled his eyes in annoyance when he quickly joined them. "So what are we doing this time?" she asked when she noticed one of the images showed an alert signal.

"There's a scientist by the name of Shaw coming to Argon in the next few millicycles," Tron explained. "Tessler asked him to create an upgrade that would improve speed and agility by tenfold."

"And I'm guessing you want us to stop him from reaching his destination," Beck finished for Tron.

"Only you will be going Beck," Tron suddenly told them. Mira was about to argue that she could handle the task just as well when Tron eyed her sharply. "This weapon upgrade could easily get you derezzed. This mission is too dangerous for you."

Beck smirked when Mira sighed in frustration. She knew there was no point in arguing with Tron. Once his mind was made up he stuck with his decision.

Tron went on explaining how Beck could reach the dirigible without getting caught by Clu's guards. Mira only half-listened as she thought of what could be done this cycle. The possibilities were endless while Tron was distracted. She could go back to the city and explore it's popular sights.

She blinked in surprise when she realized that Beck was already getting ready to leave. He'd replaced his normal mechanic suit with the suit that Tron once wore.

"Be careful out there," she whispered. She was surprised by her own concern and took a step back. Even Beck looked surprised, but he grinned and shook his head in amusement.

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself," he simply replied.

Mira rolled her eyes once more when he left the safehouse. She was left feeling more confused than ever as she watched him leave.

Why did I say that? she wondered as she leaned forward slightly.

"So why did you really want me to stay here?" she demanded when Tron left the screen.

"That power upgrade that Shaw invented could become poison to a program," Tron explained when he glanced at her in concern.

"Can Users use the upgrade themselves?" Mira raised an eyebrow and suddenly wondered if she could use it to defeat Clu once and for all. Finally she could get the revenge she had longed for.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Flynn never told me whether or not Users are capable of using upgrades."

Curiosity suddenly coursed through Mira. If programs could use upgrades than why couldn't she? She could change her suit's appearance like other programs. If anything she was more like a program than a User now. She hardly remembered her days as a User.

"So I'm guessing you want me to keep an eye on Beck when he gets back," she finally said after an uneasy silence fell between them.

"Hopefully when Beck comes back you won't need to keep an eye on him," Tron said when he turned to look at the screen once more.

Right, because we all know how this is going to end, she thought with a shake of her head.

Her frustration had died down though as she imagined what she could do with such an upgrade. If what she thought was true than nothing would stand in her way once she obtained the upgrade.

It didn't take Beck long to return after she and Tron had finished speaking. Mira was surprised at how quickly he had returned. She was sitting at the table where her bed normally was, glaring at the energy drink in front of her.

She leaned back and took a sip of her drink before heading back down the stairs. Sure enough Beck and Tron was chatting, but it sounded more like an argument than a regular conversation.

"What about the scientist, your objective was to get him here safely!" Tron snapped when he grabbed what Mira guessed was the upgrade disk. She was surprised at how tiny it looked compared to an identity disk.

"I tried but... he fought back," Beck explained.

"Then this is the only disk of it's kind," Tron muttered when he turned around.

"So what are you going to do with it?" Mira asked when she stood beside Beck. He jumped in surprise when she joined him. She forced back a smirk and focused on Tron when he suddenly faced them both.

"Destroy it." Tron's words caught Mira off guard, and she had to fight back the urge to glare. "Tessler believes that this weapon was destroyed along with the scientist. That should buy us some time to destroy the disk."

"And how do you expect us to destroy it?" Beck asked the question this time as he folded his arms in confusion.

"Do you know of any high energy lasers?"

"Oh wait, I do," Beck scoffed. "I'll take care of it."

"Beck, this disk is more dangerous than you realize."

"Don't worry about it."

"Beck, I'm serious." Tron's voice suddenly became darker as he handed the disk over.

"When are you not serious?" Beck grabbed the disk and began to head for the garage once more. "Don't worry about it, the disk will be destroyed before the end of the cycle."

Tron narrowed his eyes in suspicion as Beck left the safehouse.

"I want you to follow him," he suddenly ordered when Mira watched the Outlands curiously.

"You mean you're actually going to let me leave?" she demanded.

"I want you to keep an eye on Beck," he simply told her. "That weapon is a poison, and anyone holding it will want to use it."

Mira shrugged and decided it was better not to argue. Tron obviously didn't trust Beck with this mission. She was surprised that he trusted her of all Users. She left without waiting for him to give her further instructions. This was her chance to finally explore the city in peace.

She grabbed the light cycle baton at her waste and rezzed it into a light cycle. Beck was already halfway into the city, giving her plenty of time to catch up.

While he relied on his light trail for speed she simply cruised along as the city's lights became brighter and bigger. Mira gasped and suddenly pulled the breaks when she reached a transport bridge.

Down below was what she guessed was a tanker filled with programs headed for the games. Smoke was fuming from the tanker and she noticed that a large gash had been carved into the back. Mira wasn't surprised to see Beck already making his way towards the tank. Programs gathered around to watch as he made an opening for the ones trapped inside.

Great, these programs are Tessler's guards! Mira realized when she saw their suits were changing.

Beck realized too late that it was a trap. He whirled around to face a group of guards that had been waiting for him. Mira winced when he was surrounded and pounced on. She was about to rush in and help when something pulled back the crowd of guards.

"While he's busy handling them, I can go to the garage," Mira told herself as she got back on her light cycle.

She knew that Beck could easily handle himself. He was proving that already by knocking out several guards at once.

She quickly sped forward until the garage came into view, avoiding programs that looked suspicious or were guards. By now the streets were flooded with guards as they tried to search for the renegade. Mira rolled her eyes and wondered how quickly they would realize he was already gone.

A few programs were standing outside the garage talking or practicing their disk games. Mira avoided the platforms and quickly made her way inside where it would be somewhat safer. Some of the guards were stationed inside while the mechanics worked on Tessler's ships or tanks. Mira made sure they were avoided.

Two programs in particular caught her attention. She recognized them from the first time she had visited the garage. They had been with Beck and Bodhi before Tessler came to take over. One program had dark green, shortly cut hair while the other was Zed, the program she had seen in the tunnels.

"Hi there, do you think you give my light cycle an upgrade? I was hoping to give it an extra boost of speed and better breaks," she explained when Zed noticed her arrival. He and the female program exchanged looks before he took her baton.

"I could modify your bike to give it an extra boost of speed but... You'd be better off asking Mara for the breaks," he replied with a sheepish grin.

Looks like someone has a crush, Mira thought when she looked at the program known as Mara.

"Thanks!" she called when Zed took the baton to give it a look.

She decided to wander outside before Able discovered that there was a familiar face in the garage. She knew that he would want to know where she had disappeared to. However she was in no mood to talk.

A few recognizers were floating around when she walked outside. Mira knew exactly who the guards were looking for. But by the time they reached the garage Beck had already returned. She ducked behind a holding box near the garage's entrance in the hopes he wouldn't see her.

Gotta keep it subtle, she reminded herself.

Mira knew that if she could succeed in this mission Tron would likely send her on others. She was more than capable of taking care of herself when it came to combat. The real problem was dealing with curious programs who might want to know what she was. For all Mira knew she looked like an ISO to them.

"Beck, what is wrong with you?" Mira stiffened when she heard Mara cry out.

Soon after two other programs - the ones from the Argon race - stumbled out of the garage in panic.

"Just wait until Tessler hears about this!" one of the programs shouted.

"Great, now he's beating up innocent programs," Mira muttered with a roll of her eyes.

She walked out of her hiding place and approached the garage warily. Beck was nowhere to be seen, but Zed and the green-haired program were together.

"Your bike's almost finished," Zed told her when she reached them.

"Thanks... what exactly happened?" Mira nodded to her light cycle.

"One of our friends decided to start a fight with Paige's task force," the green-haired program explained. "My name's Mara by the way." She raised her hand as if she expected Mira to shake it in greetings. Mira stared at it in confusion until Mara pulled it away. "Anyways, they're gone now," she added with a roll of her eyes.

"Do you know where your friend went?" Mira asked.

"Knowing Beck he probably went off to pick a fight with Tessler," Zed replied with a roll of his eyes. "He's been acting different lately... you wouldn't have anything to do with it, would you?" He pointed a finger at her accusingly before stepping back.

Mira narrowed her own eyes and glared. "No, I don't think I would," she told them with a shrug. "Thanks for the info though!"

She waited for a few millicycles before Zed changed her light cycle back into a baton. Mara had wandered off and was talking to another mechanic. Mira grinned and thought of what mischief she could get into while she was at the garage. Beck was busy doing what ever with the upgrade disk, which left her alone to chat casually.

"You know if you like Mara than you should really tell her," she said once she grabbed the baton.

Zed faltered as soon as she said those words. Mira grinned when he began to stutter. "I don't know what you're talking about," he grumbled after recovering from the shock.

"If you don't ask her soon she's going to think you're just friends," Mira called out when she rezzed her light cycle.

She left the garage before Zed could shout something back. A smirk was all she could produce as she sped through the streets of Argon. This was the kind of speed she needed to reach her destination. Instinct told her where the thrusters were located and how she would pull on the breaks.

Thanks Mara, she thought with a slight smile. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted however when Tessler's ship came into focus. It was located at the edge of the city. Mira knew that with the upgrade powering him, Beck would want to take on Tessler by himself. You're even more of a bit-brain than I realized, she told herself with a shake of her head.

General Tessler was a general for a reason. He wouldn't take too kindly to having the renegade sneaking onto his ship. They had already had a close call escaping from Tessler's ship once.

Mira's fists clenched when she reached the ship's entrance. Sure enough guards were shouting from inside, and the ground suddenly trembled. Mira pulled back and hid behind the entrance when a light cycle sped out. She knew without having to look that Beck had made his getaway. But there was someone he had taken with him.

Able! Mira stared at the program in disbelief. Half of his face was covered in fresh scars that reminded her too much of Tron. She sped forward and caught up with Beck in no time.

"What are you doing here?" he shouted when she slowed down.

"Looking for you, trying to keep you out of trouble," she replied with a shrug. "The usual. I'd like to know why you're out here?"

Beck didn't bother answering. Instead he pulled forward to avoid further questioning. Mira scoffed and sped forward, easily keeping up with him.

"Look, I know you kept that upgrade disk," she said in an irritated voice. "What do you think Tron is gonna say when he finds out?"

"I'd rather just focus on getting Able back to safety," Beck muttered.

Silence followed as they reached the garage. Concern for Able's safety suddenly washed over Mira when he groaned in pain. She knew that he would recover from his injuries, but it was the fact that he was injured at all that made her angry.

It's all that stupid upgrade's fault! she thought when Beck managed to drag Able's body to the entrance of the garage.

Yet Mira couldn't help but feel impressed with the amount of speed and power the upgrade had given Beck. She knew that in the right hands the upgrade could make a formidable weapon. One that she could use to fight Tessler and Clu with. One that no program could stop her while it was in use.

AN: Yeah I know I cut if off at the worst part, but it needed to be stopped somewhere or it would've run on for the longest time. Anyways don't forget to review, and tell me what you think of the story so far!

*Edited a few mistakes in this chapter.

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