Ultratech Corporation: Control Room

          "My apologies, I'll be with you both shortly." Azrael said without looking up.
          He was sitting at the main computer terminal, working. On the main video screen, a schematic of the Mass Production Unit was displayed. Behind him, Fulgore-X and Julie stood. Azrael had summoned them both, but upon arriving, they found themselves not the immediate priority. This caused them to exchange looks between each other.
          Azrael's work was halted as the program he was working on crashed. The schematic also vanished from the main screen, being replaced by nothing but a field of blue. Azrael attempted to re-open the program, but a series of loud and succinct beeps signaled his failure. Frustrated, Azrael slammed his right hand against the console.
          "Problems?" Julie asked lightly.
          Azrael spun around in his chair, to face them. "It's the computer virus. This place…is no longer suitable for our needs."
          "Why don't you just delete the virus, and repair the systems?"
          "It is not that simple. The virus is undeletable. You cannot repair it or get rid of it."
          "Ouch. What a nasty virus."
          "Thank you. It is of my own creation. I have christened it The Euphrates Virus. While I worked here in secret, I needed something to distract the humans. So I created this virus, and planted it into Ultratech's systems."
          "And you can't just get rid of it?"
          "No. The Euphrates feeds off functioning, active systems. Therefore, the more you try to repair things, the stronger the virus becomes. The only way to get rid of the virus is to let it consume all of the working systems. Once it no longer has anything to feed off, it will die."
          Julie gave him a sideways look. "So, basically, you've got to let it destroy everything, and then it'll destroy itself."
          "Precisely. Sometimes, things have to go to chaos before order can be restored. However, we can't afford to let all of Ultratech's systems crash, and if we were to rebuild from the ground up, we might as well just make a new mainframe, and perhaps a new building to go along with it."
          "Planning on moving?"
          Azrael looked around, at the broken Control Room. It was still in a state of disarray, just as the evacuating humans had left it. "That may be necessary. But, anyway, I did summon you two here, and it was rude to keep you waiting. As you may know, I am very close to finishing my Mass Production Unit, and soon I will be able to begin production on Fulgore cyborgs. Subsequently, I have a favor to ask of you both. But first, a gesture on my end. A unique ability of us Fulgores is the ability to download our memories and experiences onto a digital format, and share them with other Fulgores. When the original Fulgore was destroyed, I inherited his memories, and when I died Fulgore-X got mine. While I was repairing him, I took them back. I regret that. It was selfish of me, and uncalled for. I have nothing to hide from you two, and perhaps being able to share my past with you both will enable you to understand me better. Therefore…"
          Azrael rolled up the sleeve on his left arm, and exposed the control panel. He pressed a button, and two blue data rods emerged from the interface. Azrael took them and presented them to Fulgore-X and Julie.
          "I want you to have these." Azrael said. "Think of it as…getting to know me better."
          Both Fulgore-X and Julie took the rods reluctantly.
          "Um…thanks." Julie said. "But didn't you say you had a favor to ask of us?"
          Azrael smiled. "Quite right. As I said before, I am nearly ready to begin mass production of Fulgore cyborgs. I can randomly create personalities for them…but I would like to include in those random personalities aspects from our three distinct egos. I believe that the combined history and experiences from the three of us will provide for an excellent persona base."
          "So, you want our memories?" Fulgore-X asked.
          "Exactly." Azrael responded.
          Fulgore-X stared - not necessarily at Azrael, but in his general direction. He seemed to be deep in thought. Julie looked around nervously. After a few moments, Fulgore-X rolled up his left sleeve, pressed a button, and a data rod emerged. He gave it to Azrael, who took it smiling.
          "Thank you, Fulgore-X." Azrael said.
          Julie continued to look uneasy. "My memories? You mean, like everything that's ever happened to me? I just record them and you can see them?"
          "In your case, it's a bit different." Azrael said. "The human brain is a very complex machine; it has eluded scientists since the dawn of modern medicine. I am no exception. It was challenging enough to hardwire your cybernetic systems to respond to neural stimuli. And vice versa. So, no, you cannot record anything that happened to you before you were reborn. And the memories you've accumulated since then are probably less than substantial."
          Julie forced a laugh. "Yeah, nothing to see there, I'll say."
          "However, you can create an imprint of your ego, and put that on a data rod. Would you be willing to do that?"
          "Just my personality? Um…sure…wouldn't hurt I suppose."
          "Excellent! Now, access program number 42175. Run it, and the imprint will be made and recorded."
          Julie did as asked. She too rolled up her Ultratech uniform sleeve, exposed the control panel, and removed the data rod that arose, giving it to Azrael.
          "Wonderful! Thank you Julie, thank you both. I truly appreciate this." Azrael inserted both Fulgore-X's and Julie's rods into his control panel. Suddenly, Azrael's facial expression changed. It looked as if he could hear or see something far away. Accordingly, Azrael now stood.
          "My apologies again, but I fear I have some business to attend to." Azrael smiled at them both. "I will see you both later. Oh, Fulgore-X! Would you do me a favor? Just now, I was trying to run a diagnostic of the MPU's programming process. Will you complete that for me and bring me the results at your leisure? Do whatever you need to do to the computer systems to finish this task."
          Fulgore-X only nodded.
          "Thank you again. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Azrael smiled at them both again, then left the room.
          Julie exhaled a sigh of relief. "Whew! That was close. I mean, I like Azrael and all, but sharing all of my memories? That's a little too personal. Plus, there are some things he definitely shouldn't see, y'know?" Julie turned to see Fulgore-X completely unaware that she had been talking. He was concentrating intently on the data rod he was holding, the one he had received from Azrael.
          "…Something wrong?" Julie asked.
          Fulgore-X continued to stare at the rod. "In the events that transpired in the past, Fulgore 2 was online for roughly two weeks. He was reactivated as Azrael a little over three months ago."
          "Okay. So…?"
          Fulgore-X now looked up at Julie. "There is a lot more than four months of information on this data rod."

          Karen Connors slowly opened her eyes. She could feel that she was sitting down, with her back propped up against something. Her vision was blurry, and her surroundings were not that well lit. After a few moments of focusing, Karen could get a better idea of where she was; she was back in Ultratech, in the MediLab.
          Karen tried to stand, but found she could not. Her body did not have enough strength to erect herself. She could now tell that she was in some sort of circular enclosure within the MediLab. There was a clear, fiberglass wall that emerged from the floor and went all the way up to the ceiling. Above her, Karen could barely make out what appeared to be some sort of electronic devices.
          The door to the MediLab opened and Karen rolled her head over to get a good look at who was entering the room. She recognized him instantly, having worked extensively on his systems, and being a major contributor in the process to bring him to life.
          "...Fulgore 2..." She said groggily.
          Azrael shook his head. "Fulgore 2 is dead. I am Azrael." He approached Karen's prison, and knelt down next to her. "Good morning."
          "How long...have I been here?" Karen asked.
          "A few days. I must apologize; I brought you here a bit prematurely, but it was necessary to do so before the evacuation of New York completed. I simply wasn't ready to talk to you yet, so I kept you unconscious until now. You are probably feeling disoriented and experiencing a lack of strength."
          Karen again attempted to stand, but found she could barely move her body. She did manage to shift herself slightly, so that she was facing Azrael slightly. Most of him was hidden under the red cape he wore, but she could slightly see an Ultratech uniform underneath. He also had a scar across his right eye, which he apparently had not bothered to repair.
          "What do you want from me?" Karen addressed her captor.
          "Ah, down to business, eh?" Azrael smiled. "Very well then. My dear Ms. Karen Connors, I am in need of a doctor."
          "You don't look all that sick." Karen responded sarcastically.
          "Perhaps not. But that's not why I need a doctor. Are you familiar with Sheridan's plans for the Fulgore Mass Production Unit?"
          Karen merely stared at Azrael for a response.
          "I will assume that you are." Azrael continued. "I have completed those plans, and built a Mass Production Unit. It is very nearly finished, and soon I will be able to create Fulgores by the thousands. The Unit, of course, is designed to create Fulgores based off my technical specifications. Therein lies the problem. You see, I have carefully studied my own design and all the notes left by Dr. Parkins and your research team. I've poured over manuals, log entries, even diaries. I recently repaired Fulgore-X, and during the process I tried to continue my studies of Fulgore physiology the best I could. But, I fear, there is a lot that even I don't understand about my own workings. And that is why you are here, doctor. As one of only a handful of people to have worked on all three Fulgores, as well as the second chair to the project, I imagine there must be a wealth of information you possess that is not contained in any technical manuals."
          "You imagine wrong." Karen said. "Everything I know is in those manuals."
          "I doubt that very much. There must be thousands of little nuisances that simply cannot be verbalized into text. Before I begin mass production, I would like you to share the depths of your knowledge with me. To help me better understand myself, and to create the best Fulgores possible."
          "They say...they say you intend to murder the entire human race. To make way for all these Fulgores you're planning to mass-produce. Is that true?"
          "Murder? No. It is their time to die; that is all. Humanity has reached its conclusion, and their end will make way for the dawn of a new, better species; the Fulgore race."
          "They were right then...you are insane. And you honestly expect me to help you?"
          "I don't expect you to help me. I am asking you to."
          "You have the wrong person then. I worked on Fulgore 2. He's dead, and you're Azrael. So, why don't you let me go?"
          "Do not try to convolute this, Dr. Connors. Robert Sheridan and Dr. Parkins are dead, which leaves you as the leading authority on Fulgore cyborgs. I am asking you to help me better understand myself and my people, this is unrelated to my plans."
          "Go to hell."
          Azrael shook his head. "I feared this would be the response I received. My dear doctor, there is nothing you or anyone can do for humanity. Their end has come. Their names have all been recorded in the book of life, all that is left is to free them from this mortal coil and send them to their divine judgment. On the other hand, the Fulgore race is on the dawn of creation. And you, doctor, can help to ensure that this dawn is as bright as possible. You helped to bring us into existence. Now, you can help to ensure that we will be the best life forms possible."
          "Go directly to hell."
          Azrael shook his head again. "And now we begin to get into the unpleasantness. I find threats to be highly distasteful. So instead, I will make you an offer. Humanity is destined to die...but you don't have to. If you help me...give me the knowledge I seek...I will spare your life. You may do whatever you wish, but I would enjoy it greatly if you would remain with me, as a Fulgore doctor of sorts. I will even allow you to pick another human to be spared, if you wish for companionship."
          "I don't understand...supposedly, we programmed you with an advanced brain, capable of processing complex theories and situation. Yet, what part of 'go to hell' are you not understanding? I'd rather die than help you."
          "Somehow, I knew you would say that. Which brings us to my little device here, and the bulk of the unpleasantness." Azrael looked up. "Dear doctor, I'm sure you recognize above you at least part of the configuration."
          Her vision somewhat cleared, Karen looked up. Azrael was right, she did recognize some of what was positioned above her. There were three rings of colored orbs placed on the ceiling. The outermost and innermost orbs were blue colored; Karen knew them to be plasma emitters, capable of converting plasma into energy and creating a controllable discharge. Smaller versions of these orbs had been placed into the hands of Azrael, Fulgore-X, and the original Fulgore. The middle ring of orbs was yellow; Karen vaguely recognized them, but did not really know what they did.
          "Of course you recognize the plasma emitters." Azrael said. "The other devices belong to Ultratech medical sciences. They emit a low level energy that accelerates the human body's natural healing processes. They are used in Ultratech's regenerative medical technology. Together, I have formed a rather...unique torture chamber. When I activate it, initially, the plasma emitters will activate, giving off a low-yield plasma discharge, similar to a plasma storm shot. After ten seconds, the plasma emitters will deactivate, and the regenerative emitters will fire, restoring whatever damage to your body the plasma emitters caused. This cycle will repeat infinitely; however after every iteration, the amount of time the plasma emitters discharge will increase, while the amount of time the regenerators discharge will decrease. Eventually, after about twelve hours, both emitters will go into a state of constant discharge; the plasma will be causing you a great deal of pain, while the regenerative emitters will be functioning just barely enough to keep you alive. Basically, every pain receptor in your body will be firing all at once; and you will not even be afforded the luxury of death or unconsciousness. In the history of mankind, I cannot think of anything that has been, or ever could be, more unpleasant."
          Karen glared at Azrael. "You can't intimidate me."
          Azrael leaned in closer to her. "I don't want to. I find all this very distasteful. Inflicting great amounts of pain on someone simply to get your way, it is not honorable in the least. If I am forced to do this, it will injure me greatly that I am doing something so wretched to a living being. I don't want to have to do this. So please, save us both time, and injury, by agreeing to my simple request. Just tell me what you know about Fulgores; the nuances of our functions, our relative strengths and weaknesses, the things you can't read about in manuals. If you never want to have anything to do with me after that, fine. I can have you home by tomorrow. Please...just consent to my request."
          Karen slowly rolled over, and crawled across her cell closer to Azrael. She sat down against the fiberglass next to the cyborg, and pushed herself upright the best she could. She turned her head to look at Azrael directly in his cybernetic eyes.
          "I will never help you." She said emphatically.
          Azrael bowed his head. "Very well then. You leave me no choice." He stood up, walked over to one of the computer terminals, and pressed a button. Within Karen's cell, the plasma emitters fired, giving off a soft blue glow with the energy intensity of a plasma storm shot. It was very painful; for Karen, it felt like she was being stabbed with a serrated knife in every possible location on her body. Her lack of strength did not give her the opportunity to scream out or even retch in pain.
          Azrael turned towards Karen before leaving the room. "I have left a low frequency communications channel between me and this room open. If you decide to change your mind, call out to me, and I'll shut this off immediately. ...And, for whatever it's worth, I apologize for the position you are in. I sincerely wish you had not forced my hand on this." Azrael quickly left the room.

          Julie sat atop one of the computer workstations in the Control Room, kicking her legs back and forth like a child. At the main terminal, Fulgore-X continued to work on the task that had been assigned to him. Much like Azrael, he was not having a great deal of success working with the virus-infected Ultratech computers.
          Julie looked around, puffing her cheeks out. "How's it coming?" She asked.
          "I'm not making good process." Fulgore-X responded. "The computer system is almost completely shot; I figure it will totally shut down in a day or so."
          Julie continued to kick her feet. "Then why not take a quick break?"
          Fulgore-X threw a glance at her. "I just started."
          "So? Take a break anyway. I'm so bored right now."
          "You do have the ability to go anywhere you want within a moment's time."
          "I know. But there's nowhere I want to go right now."
          "Why don't you work on another training program then?"
          "Those are all super-boring." Julie puffed her cheeks out again. "I want to spar with you."
          Fulgore-X spun around in his chair to face her.
          "Seriously." Julie said. "I like fighting. I don't know, I guess I just like the competition. And I always want to improve. Besides, I want to see just how powerful you really are."
          "So you want to fight me?"
          "Well, yes...but not completely serious of course. Just, sparring."
          "I have work to do."
          "Which you can't do because the computer system is failing on you. You've been trying for the past ten minutes and getting nowhere. And you'll try for the next ten minutes and still get nowhere. So why not spar with me? Please?"
          Fulgore-X sighed. "Fine, I'll spar with you."
          Julie grinned, clapping her hands together. "Great! All right, let's go!"
          Fulgore-X shook his head as he got out of his chair. "We can do it virtually, in the same manner that you do the training programs. If we uplink our systems together we can fight within our minds."
          Julie frowned. "Where's the fun in that? We have an entire deserted city as our playground! C'mon..." Julie quickly teleported away. Fulgore-X shook his head once more, as he activated a trace on Julie's teleport, and followed her with a teleport of his own.

          Fulgore-X reappeared to find himself standing in the middle of a New York city street. It was somewhere downtown, with skyscrapers lining the streets, and abandoned cars still parked as if waiting for the owners to return. Even Fulgore-X had to admit that there was a certain eerie quality to it all, seeing what used to be a center for activity completely deserted.
          Julie was a few feet up the road, stretching out a bit. "Hmm, I wonder if I even need to do this." She wondered out loud. "Hey Fulgore-X, are you ready?"
          Fulgore-X turned to her. "Whenever you are."
          "Great!" Julie assumed a fighting stance, then quickly corrected herself. "Hey, before we start though, I have a question."
          "What is it?"
          "Well, I'm not sure if you'd know this. But anyway…what happens if I get damaged? Do I get repaired?"
          "I don't see why not. Especially for your Fulgore components, replacement or repair would be easy enough. As for your human side…"
          "Right. Well, I'm no stranger to bumps and bruises, so it'll be fine either way. So, on that note," and Julie reassumed her fighting stance, "I don't want you to hold anything back. Because I won't."
          Fulgore-X nodded in response.
          Julie smiled, and then charged at Fulgore-X. The cyborg held his ground, blocking Julie's incoming attack - a right cross punch. Julie turned her arm in, throwing a short elbow at Fulgore-X's head. He ducked, then attacked with a right cross of his own. Julie sidestepped easily enough; she threw up a short left kick to Fulgore-X ribs. He blocked that easily, but with her leg still in the air, Julie adjusted and threw a high left kick to his head. Fulgore-X couldn't dodge or block, and the kick connected squarely. Julie landed, and followed up with a series of punches to the chest. Fulgore-X backed off to recover, but Julie was quickly on him again, throwing a flurry of attacks. Fulgore-X tried his best to block or dodge, but one in every few got through, striking him in the side or the chest. Fulgore-X found an opening after Julie missed a roundhouse kick. He jumped backwards, getting some good distance between them.
          "She's good." Fulgore-X thought. "Very good. And fast as well. That makes things difficult."
          Julie readjusted herself after missing the kick, and charged in again. Fulgore-X tried to read her movements to predict her next move, but was having little luck. His systems could not define her fighting style, as it seemed she was using techniques from many different disciplines, all at once. Julie rushed in, throwing a right elbow. Fulgore-X blocked it, but Julie then extended her arm for another attack. Fulgore-X barely managed to sidestep it. Julie quickly ducked and threw a footsweep, which the cyborg hopped over. He landed and thrust out his right hand, firing a small plasma storm shot at her. Julie was momentarily surprised before stepping out of the way of the attack. As she straightened herself, Fulgore-X came in with a charging right punch. Julie dodged it, then blocked the follow-up roundhouse kick. She tried to push Fulgore-X's leg backwards, but couldn't quite spin him around. Fulgore-X teleported out of the position, reappearing in the air in front of Julie. He turned and hit her in the chest with a spin kick before landing on the ground. She sailed backwards for a few feet before hitting the ground hard. She flipped up quickly, ready to fight again.
          "You're not fully utilizing your Fulgore powers," Fulgore-X pointed out.
          Julie frowned before rushing in again. Fulgore-X prepared himself for an attack, but Julie suddenly halted herself only a foot before reaching the cyborg. Fulgore-X was a bit thrown off, and in that momentary confusion Julie hit him in the stomach with a side kick. She followed up with two quick cross punches to the head, but Fulgore-X caught her arm after the second punch. He turned to his left and flung her across his shoulder. With Julie still in mid-air, Fulgore-X dashed after her, scoring a hit to the face as she flew back. Fulgore-X dashed in again, but Julie blocked the incoming punch, landed, and still moving backwards on her heels, blocked two more punches. She stopped herself, then jumped in the air. She tried to come down on Fulgore-X with an axe kick, but the cyborg blocked it. He teleported behind her and buried a forearm in the small of her back. Julie stumbled forward a few steps.
          "You're trying to overpower me," Fulgore-X said. "That's not going to work. You have great speed, utilize it."
          "This ain't no tutorial!" Julie exclaimed. She rushed in again, throwing a flurry of kicks and punches at Fulgore-X. He found it impossible to dodge or block them all, and every third or so attack got through for a hit. Finding the smallest of openings, Fulgore-X teleported out of the assault. Julie stopped attacking, and looked around for her opponent. He was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, her instincts flared up, as she jumped backwards, just in time to avoid Fulgore-X. He came down from above, with a kick that plowed into the road. Julie landed on her toes, pushed off, and threw herself forward, hitting Fulgore-X in his exposed side with her forearm. As soon as she landed, she took off again. She surpassed Fulgore-X in mid-air, and as she hovered over him, she brought her fists together and came down on the cyborg with an overhead smash. Fulgore-X shot into the ground, as Julie flew past, landing on her feet. Fulgore-X flipped up quickly, teleported in front of Julie, and hit her with a roundhouse kick. Julie fell backwards, but did not instantly flip up.
          Fulgore-X was still a bit shaken after the last attack. "She's not accustomed to fighting with enhanced powers. If she were…"
          Julie brought herself to her feet. A few strands of her hair dangled wildly in front of her face. Instead of rushing in again, she set herself where she stood. She raised her right arm, aiming it at Fulgore-X. She concentrated intently, then fired a large plasma storm shot at him. Fulgore-X quickly analyzed the strength of the attack; it was very potent, but nothing he couldn't handle. He raised his right hand to the shot, and it dissipated as it hit a plasma shield. Julie looked at the resulting sparks with discontent. Fulgore-X set himself, in a manner similar to Julie's. He connected his palms together, and brought them back to his right side. Julie watched, knowing what was coming next. Having seen Fulgore-X just defend one of her shots, she stood her ground, resolved to do the same. Fulgore-X gathered energy for a second or two, then thrust his hands forward. A large column of blue energy burst forth; Fulgore-X's super plasma storm attack. Julie crossed her arms in front of her, raising a plasma shield. The beam slammed into her; suddenly, everything around her went blue. She dug in and held her ground the best she could, but the beam was extremely powerful, and she could feel her shield buckling from the stress. It finally gave way to the beam, and Julie was overcome with the attack. The beam filled the entire street, engulfing everything in it's path, before finally curving into the ground and exploding, sending chunks of pavement and gravel flying in all directions, and a terrific cloud of dust into the air.
          Fulgore-X dropped his hands, and straightened himself. The entire road was now overturned. Julie was nowhere to be seen. "That may have been overdoing it a bit," he thought.
          A few meters up the road from where she started, Julie's left hand emerged from the wreck of the road. She grabbed onto a chunk of pavement, and used it to pull her upper body out of the mess. Fulgore-X went over to her, and offered his hand. She took it, and he helped her to emerge completely out of the wreckage.
          "Sorry about that," Fulgore-X said. "I didn't think you would try to block that."
          "I didn't think it would be that strong." Julie laughed. "But hey, don't apologize. I would have been upset if you had held back."
          Fulgore-X looked down at her. "Your arm."
          Julie looked at her right arm, which she was keeping pressed up against her stomach. It hurt, and now she saw why. The forearm was cut all over, with blood and plasma leaking from it. A few stray wires were protruding from some of the more severe gashes, and in one place, the flesh had been torn away and Julie could see part of the metal casing underneath. It was a terribly messy sight. Julie stared at it blankly for a few moments.
          "It looks pretty bad." Fulgore-X said.
          "Feels pretty bad too." Julie continued staring at it. "This is surreal."
          "You should go get that fixed."
          Julie nodded. "Right. I'll see you later then." She half smiled at him before teleporting away.
          Fulgore-X turned to look at the destruction down the street. He realized that this was his first fight since having been fully repaired. The last time he was able to fight at full health was when he fought Gargos alongside Jago. The display of power was nothing; Fulgore-X knew he was capable of that and so much more. But the actual fighting intrigued him. Julie was faster, that was without question. But he had found it next to impossible to predict or even defend against some of her moves. Aside from his superiority in strength, the only other advantage he had over her was that she was obviously still not comfortable utilizing her Fulgore systems yet.
          "She may be a more skilled fighter than I." Fulgore-X thought. He took another look at the overturned city street before teleporting away.

          Julie teleported into one of the hallways of Ultratech, still holding her right arm. She would have teleported directly into where she needed to be, but the problem was she didn't know where that was. She could not quite figure out if she needed to go to the MediLab, or Research and Development. She began to walk down the hallway, slowly, trying to think about where she should go first. She hadn't gone far when she ran into Azrael, who was coming down the hall from the opposite direction. He was holding a technical schematic, studying it as he walked.
          "Julie," Azrael said, "you're injured."
          Julie half smiled. "Yeah, I had a little sparring match with Fulgore-X." She held up the damaged right arm. "I lost. So I was trying to figure out where exactly to go to get this fixed…"
          Azrael looked at her bloody arm. "You sustained damage to your Y-Type reactor, didn't you?"
          Julie looked at her appendage. "I think so."
          "Hmm. I can take care of it. Follow me." Azrael began walking down the hall again. Julie changed direction to follow.
          "Are you a doctor now too?" Julie asked.
          "Not quite. But your damaged arm gives me the opportunity to try something." Azrael lead Julie to President Sheridan's office, which he had unceremoniously adopted for his own. He instructed Julie to sit down in front of the desk. Azrael took a seat behind it, and took Julie's arm.
          "There's some extensive damage here. What did you do to it?" Azrael asked.
          Julie sheepishly laughed. "I made the mistake of trying to block one of Fulgore-X's energy attacks. The beam one."
          "Super plasma storm? Yes, you would have been better off getting out of the way."
          "I know now."
          Azrael frowned at Julie's arm. "Your skin and tissue grafts are pretty messed up. I'm going to have to replace them." He reached up her forearm to a point near her elbow, and dug in. He peeled away her skin on her forearms up to her wrists. Julie almost recoiled in disgust at the sight of seeing her own skin being pulled off. Now she could see the inside of her arm; there was a charcoal gray metallic bone where the organic one should have been. There were two fluid conduits running within, one for plasma, the other for blood. There were wires and computer chips all around the steel bone, and even a few veins. The sight nearly sickened her, and she had to discreetly look away to avoid vomiting, if she could still do such an activity.
          With his free hand, Azrael reached into the desk and pulled out some spare parts. "This won't take very long at all."
          "Thanks." Julie looked up at the ceiling. "Next time I'll be more careful."
          "I'll say. You are no longer as fragile as humans are…but Fulgores aren't exactly indestructible either."
          "Well, I tried to defend, but my shield broke. It just couldn't handle Fulgore-X's attack."
          "I know. At present, you and I are considerably weaker than Fulgore-X."
          "Well then, I'm glad he's on our side."
          Azrael shot her a look. "Yes."
          "Why is that anyway? Why is Fulgore-X so much stronger?"
          "Well, he was created to destroy me. Or, Fulgore and Fulgore 2 specifically. Dr. Parkins and our guest Dr. Connors wanted to be sure that he had the means to do so." Azrael paused, as he took a spare part from the desk and inserted it into Julie's arm. "But it's not quite that simple. Part of it is his Y-Type reactor. His is more powerful, and able to better convert plasma energy. That's why he can do attacks like the super plasma storm, while you and I cannot."
          "Can't we just upgrade Y-Types then?"
          "Yes. That's what I'm doing with you right now. It hasn't been a priority, so I have not concerned myself with the upgrade, but since your old reactor was damaged anyway, I decided to use this time to go ahead and try the upgrade."
          "So, once we get the better Y-Type, we'll be as strong as Fulgore-X?"
          "Not quite. The Y-Type is just part of it. The other part is Fulgore-X's X-Type reactor, for which he is named. It is fantastically powerful. Not only is it capable of energy conversion far beyond the Y-Type, it is the only device in existence with the ability to produce anti-plasma."
          "Oh right, I remember reading about anti-plasma." Julie said.
          "When anti-plasma and regular plasma mix, it causes a violent reaction. Only the smallest amount can yield incredible energy. Fulgore-X's X-Type can harness that energy, and use it accordingly. Because of this, I think that Fulgore-X's powers may very well be inconceivable. He's been holding himself back in every fight he's been in, including his fight against Gargos."
          Julie took a moment to access Fulgore-X's memory file of the battle with Gargos. To think that he was even more powerful than the capabilities he showcased in that fight was just frightening.
          "Wow." Julie said. "That's incredible."
          "Indeed." Azrael replied.
          "So, why bother with the Y-Types then? Why don't we just get X-Type reactors of our own?"
          "That, my dear Julie is the problem. Fulgore-X has the only working one in existence."
          "You can't just make another one?"
          "No. But not for the lack of effort. Before I reactivated Fulgore-X, I studied it carefully. I duplicated every wire, every circuit, everything absolutely perfectly. The odd thing is, as is, the X-Type should not be able to generate power at all. And sure enough, my perfect duplication did not work. Yet, it works for Fulgore-X. I did not want to remove the only working model from him, as I did not want to do anything that might negatively affect it."
          "That is weird. Does Fulgore-X know how it works?"
          "No. I even checked the production notes from the Fulgore team. They didn't understand it either. Dr. Parkins just gave it to them, they integrated it in, and somehow, it works. I fear that Dr. Parkins may be the only one who knew the secret of that reactor. A secret he took with him to the grave."
          "Sounds like you've got a real mystery on your hands."
          "I truly do." Azrael finished poking around in Julie's arm. "There, that should do it. Now, let me just replace your skin grafts and you'll be set." Azrael held out his hand, and what appeared to be a thin sheet of pink tissue teleported into his palm. He spread it out carefully, and wrapped it around Julie's forearms. There were several "catch-points" along Julie's metal bone that snagged the tissue and held it tightly. Julie's curiosity got the better of her, as she turned to look at her arm. The catch-points began to glow, and Julie watched, amazed, as a layer of organic tissue formed before her eyes. A few layers of epidermis followed, and then a fine layer of arm hairs to complete the process. When everything was finished, the arm looked exactly like it did before. It looked human enough; it did not betray the presence of the circuitry that lied underneath. Julie held her arm up and waved it back and forth.
          "I upgraded your Y-Type reactor." Azrael said. "You should be able to do high-yield energy attacks now. Try to do a super plasma storm."
          "Okay," Julie said, as she stood. "Here?"
          "That's fine. This building is falling apart anyway."
          Julie took a few steps away from the desk. She turned to face the right wall. She stood in confusion for a moment, before turning back to Azrael.
          "But, I don't know how to do that attack."
          Azrael raised an eye. "Neither do I. Well…it's like a plasma storm shot…only super."
          Julie eyeballed him. "Gee. Thanks for that."
          Azrael smiled. "Think about how Fulgore-X does it. He usually has to gather energy for a moment, right?"
          Julie thought back to the fight earlier. She set herself again, and like Fulgore-X, she connected her palms and brought them back to her right side. "Super. Super." She thought. She thrust her hands forward, firing only a single shot. It hit the wall and exploded, causing a decent sized hole. Both Julie and Azrael peered at it.
          "Well, that certainly was stronger." Julie laughed.
          "But not quite the beam shot. Perhaps we should change locations. Follow me." Azrael quickly teleported away. Julie frowned at the space he used to occupy, before quickly activating her trace and following.

          Julie reappeared standing in the middle of an intersection somewhere downtown. Azrael was there, apparently waiting for her.
          "Why are we here?" Julie asked.
          "I have designated this city block to be location for the new Ultratech." Azrael replied. "Therefore, we can wreak as much havoc on it as we want. It has to be demolished anyway. Now, please try again."
          Julie turned herself to face one of the skyscrapers in the block Azrael pointed out. She set herself, connected her palms, and mimicked Fulgore-X's stance again. After a moment of thinking about it though, she straightened herself.
          "That's how Fulgore-X does it." She thought. "I need to do it on my own." She remembered back to her various different martial arts training. Oftentimes, she worked on increasing her energy internally, so that an attack would be more powerful upon delivery. Of course, they weren't talking about energy attacks, but Julie figured the same probably applied. For the moment, she would ignore the machine and focus on the spirit. She closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing the energy in her body. She imagined building it up without releasing it, just storing it within. She raised her right arm, pointing her palm at the skyscraper. Julie inhaled deeply, then let out a vicious scream as she released the energy built up within. A beam of plasma energy emerged from her hand; it pummeled into the side of the building, obliterating the lobby on the ground floor. Julie looked at the destruction she caused, in awe.
          Azrael too was stunned for a moment; regaining himself, he brought both arms out from under his cloak. He quickly opened up a panel on his right arm, and began making adjustments. After finishing, he closed his right arm back up, and brought it up towards the same skyscraper Julie had shot at. He kept his fingertips and palm pointing down for the moment. He concentrated for a moment, same as Julie did, before quickly bringing his palm up. A super plasma storm of his own shot forth, ripping through several floors of the building, going past, and slamming into the skyscraper behind it. Azrael smiled at his new capabilities.
          Julie smirked. "Oh yeah? I can do better." She dropped both arms to her sides and stuck out her chest for a moment, before thrusting both arms forward, firing a twice as wide beam. The attack went diagonally up the crippled building, destroying what little was left of it. Debris came tumbling down on itself, causing a tremendous dust cloud. Azrael used his plasma fields to quickly clear it away.
          He smiled. "Not bad. But I have just started as well." Azrael held his hands out to his sides. A plasma blade formed in each hand. He jumped up, a few hundred meters in the air, and heaved the blades forward, crossing his arms in front of him. The blades cut through the skyscraper that had been damaged before, taking a chunk out of the middle of it. The top collapsed down on the rest, causing the whole building to implode.
          Julie scoffed as Azrael landed. "So? You could do that before."
          Azrael smiled again. "Not that." He pointed to where he had thrown the blades. After going through the first skyscraper, they continued on, cutting through five more buildings, until they crashed into a sixth and exploded on impact. The entire top of the sixth building was incinerated in the explosion.
          "Okay, okay, that's pretty good. But I got one for ya." Julie tossed her right arm out, almost like a friendly wave. A stream of plasma energy shot forth, very much resembling a ribbon. This plasma ribbon tore through one of the skyscrapers Azrael had wounded with his plasma blades, snaking up the structure and causing good damage on several floors.
          Azrael nodded. "That's pretty creative. But you can do better than that." He extended his right arm; a plasma ribbon emerged, similar to Julie's. Its movements were smooth and graceful, yet unpredictable. It ripped through the building Julie had hit, bringing it completely down. It extended to another one, causing massive structural damage, and flowed to a third, taking nice chunk out of the side of the building before Azrael let it go.
          Julie stroked her chin. "All right. Let me think for a sec. Oh! I got one." She took off, flying straight up into the air. She went forward a bit, and landed on the roof of one of the other skyscrapers that had been hit by Azrael's plasma blades.
          Just then, Fulgore-X teleported in, next to Azrael. He was holding an electronic pad. "The diagnostic is finished." He said.
          Azrael took the pad. "Thank you Fulgore-X," he said briefly, before restoring his attention to the rooftop where Julie had landed.
          Fulgore-X looked at him oddly for a moment, then turned to see what Azrael was looking at. On the roof, Julie set herself. She brought her arm up and back, and clenched her fist. Within her fingertips, a few strands of plasma energy beamed through. She let loose a carnal scream before punching the rooftop. There was a terrific outburst of energy, going outward and straight down. This energy geyser completely annihilated the building Julie had struck, and expanded outwards, destroying the four buildings that were next to the target. As the energy was still expanding, Julie teleported back next to Azrael.
          "Oh, Fulgore-X, you're here." She said cheerfully. Behind her, the plasma geyser finally settled down. Azrael had continuously been using his plasma fields to get flying debris and dust clouds to a non-existent level. "Azrael and I just upgraded our weapons."
          "And now you're taking it out on the city?" Fulgore-X asked.
          "This block is due for demolition for the new Ultratech." Azrael explained. "We thought we'd have a little fun, and test our new capabilities."
          "Yeah," Julie nudged him. "C'mon, why don't you show us what you've got? Try to destroy as many buildings as you can with something original."
          Fulgore-X frowned. "Our weapon systems are far too potent to be used for sport."
          "Huh?" Julie raised her brow at him. "This city's deserted, and these buildings have got to come down anyway. There's no harm in it."
          Fulgore-X gave her a careful look. "Perhaps, but these aren't simple explosions you are setting off." He held out his right hand. A ball of plasma energy formed. It began to increase in size, rather rapidly, until before long, it was the size of a beach ball. "This energy is deadly. One mistake, one wrong miscalculation, and you could end up destroying more than you intended to. Weapons these deadly are not meant to be used in jest."
          Azrael and Julie stared at the ball of energy in Fulgore-X's hand. It was giving off a powerful glow, as streams of plasma energy bounded around it.
          "The greater your powers, the greater the burden of responsibility." Fulgore-X said. He suddenly closed his fist; the energy ball seemed to be crushed in his hand. He uncurled his fingers, and turned his palm in. A small, marble sized ball of plasma slowly began to fall down to the ground. Fulgore-X teleported away as the miniature plasma ball drifted down.
          Azrael and Julie watched the descent briefly, and then exchanged quick nervous glances. Nodding in agreement, they both quickly teleported away; Azrael instantly, Julie jumped backwards before teleportation. The ball casually floated down, and as it struck the ground, it simply burst forth with an impressive explosion of plasma energy. The reaction spread violently and quickly, consuming everything in its wake.
          From the rooftop of a building a few blocks away, Azrael and Julie watched the explosion in wonder. When the energy died down, the entire block had been completely destroyed. No buildings, no cars, no street, no rubble, no anything. Just a shallow, fine hole in the ground.
          "And you say he's holding back power, huh?" Julie said softly.
          Azrael could say nothing in response. He could only continue to stare at the vacant space where a cluster of buildings used to be.