Chapter Seven

The words sent shivers of fear and rage through Beck.

Finish what I started.

Clu knew that he would be taken down, eventually. So he must have known that he would still have loyal supporters out there. Beck had to wonder how Dyson had grown so powerful in such a short amount of time. Or maybe Dyson had this kind of power long before Clu was taken down. Either way, he wanted to end this now more than ever.

"So we take down this Dyson character, and everything goes back to normal," Clint suggested.

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy," Natasha pointed out. "That soldier of Dyson's is strong, and I'm guessing he'll have guards posted around him twenty four seven."

Beck frowned at the terms she was using. Why couldn't she just make it easier by saying every cycle? He had a difficult enough time adjusting to User terms. It was only thanks to Mira's help that he was able to adjust at all.

"See, that's why we need to work as a team." Despite how annoying he could be at times, Clint did have a good point. The only way they were going to get through this was as a team. Like when they had fought alongside the rest of the Avengers.

"I'm in." Beck tried not to smirk when Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose. If anyone could take down Dyson it was them. They were after all master assassins. This was what they were trained for. He wasn't one to derezz programs, but they would not hesitate.

"What's going on here?" Before any of them could say anything, Tron's stern voice echoed throughout the room. Beck straightened up as the security program approached them. His arms were folded as he waited for some kind of response.

He doubted Tron would approve their plans. Rushing blindly into a battle was about the most bitbrained thing anyone could do. But it was something these Users would do. Especially if it meant keeping everyone in their world safe.

"I'm tired of sitting around doing nothing," Clint retorted. "Especially if there's a chance we can stop this Dyson once and for all."

Impatient as always. Once again Beck had to remind himself that if Tron wasn't around they probably would have rushed off to fight by now. He was surprised they were able to follow Tron's orders at all at this point.

"We can't just jump into battle, not when we don't know just how strong our enemy is," Tron muttered.

Clint looked like he was ready to argue when he thought better of it. Tron did have a good point. Though by now they knew full well what Dyson was capable of. With that soldier of his, taking him down would be even more difficult now.

"The files I grabbed have locations on all of the bases he has," Natasha explained once the tension died down. Tron raised an eyebrow as she tossed him the files she had picked up.

"If what you're saying is true, than Dyson could be anywhere," Tron sighed.

He sounded more exhausted than ever. Beck wondered if he had even gotten an ounce of sleep since Argon City was destroyed. It had been difficult to get much sleep since than. He was constantly wondering how anyone could let this happen. Or where Mira could possibly be hiding.

"Or he's giving us a false lead," Beck put in. It was possible Dyson could only have a couple of bases, and make it seem like there were more scattered throughout the Grid. Anything to throw off intruders.

"I should be able to pick out whether or not that's true," Tron told him once the computer screen was pulled out.

Even if communication was taken down he could still access most of the files on the Grid. Beck watched with interest as he sifted through the files, careful to avoid spilling any secrets to the Users standing behind him.

Tron finally reached what looked like an archive of files. Tapping on a few codes here and there, his eyes narrowed with frustration.

"There's three bases?" Natasha's question broke the uneasy silence that filled the room.

"It looks that way," agreed Tron. He glanced at the two Users. "This is going to be dangerous. Dyson likely already knows we're looking for him, and the bases will be heavily guarded," he explained. "We'll have to split up."

"Sounds easy enough," Clint replied with a shrug.

Easy? Beck raised an eyebrow at his confidence. He wished he could share that. Right now the odds seemed to be against them. And if Tron was right, they might be facing some of Dyson's toughest soldiers.

"Take this, you can use it to defend yourself." Tron tossed over a baton towards Natasha, who caught it with ease. She eyed the baton warily before activating it. "It's a light sword, and it should serve you well in battle," he explained.

Beck felt his chest tighten with pain at the sight. He really wished that he knew where Mira was. If anything had happened to her... he would never forgive himself. And seeing Natasha with a light sword reminded him all to well of her.

. . .

She ran a finger through her hair, nervous about what would happen next. The team had regrouped outside of what was left of Argon City. And while they were waiting for Copper's return, Mara was left thinking of which city would become the next target.

"Hey Mara," Zed murmured as he joined her warily. Mara tried not to look wary around him. Despite how often she had turned him down back when Clu was ruling the Grid, Mara couldn't help but love the bitbrain. He just didn't know how to talk to her without making things awkward between them. "You okay?"

"Honestly, I'm worried," she admitted with a sigh. Zed raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I wish that Beck was around. He would've known what to do next in this kind of situation, even if he was the Renegade. We don't even know what happened to him."

Zed nodded in agreement at the thought of their old friend. Since the discovery that Beck was the Renegade, everyone at Able's garage had stopped talking about him. Rumors had flown around that he ran off with that girl they had met so many cycles ago. Though Zed had always pushed the rumors aside as they were. He couldn't see Beck having a girlfriend, any more than he could see himself with Mara.

"You don't think he was derezzed, do you?" The question made Mara flinch on instinct. She hated the word 'derezzed'. After watching so many programs suffer for so many cycles, Zed didn't blame her for hating it.

"No, I refuse to believe that he was," she retorted. "I mean, Beck was the Renegade! There's no way he would let himself get derezzed."

They left it at that, unsure how to continue the conversation without letting anger get the better of themselves. Another awkward silence followed. At this rate they weren't going to get anywhere if Copper didn't return. Mara could only hope that he didn't get derezzed on his way back. The last thing she wanted was to lose another friend.

AN: I actually enjoy writing in Mara's point of view. She's a fun character to write about. That determination and leadership skill will really come in handy in the future :) So thank you 2theSky, QuilSniv, Panda Bear Lover 317 and Briannajs-22 for reviewing. You guys are awesome as always ;)