When she heard about it from Crimson Viper, the Korean's initial reaction was to scoff. In a secluded research facility located in the middle of nowhere, rumors and conjecture were easily passed about. Every scientist had something to talk or boast about, and every guard had something to grumble about. Eventually something would be picked up and passed around, but the odds of it being interesting were very low for Juri, who hardly ever mingled in exasperating scientific affairs. However, the rumor that Seth was planning a new line of projects that involved her was not something to be ignored.
It was like Seth to propose new and interesting project ideas. They were rare, however, given that the synthetic man barely had enough time to devote to himself. Usually he would patrol the facility with Juri nipping at his heels as he checked on ongoing projects and their overseers, buckle down and tend to files and reports, monitor Shadaloo traffic for helpful information, or pound away at an assignment that was very important for S.I.N. When he finally managed to secure time for himself, it was only because S.I.N. was doing very well.
Previous ideas from Seth were focused primarily on and within the facility. Most were designed to save time and energy for researchers while others were designed to further optimize the facility for increased production and output. Some projects were even simple devices which purpose was to maintain the building. Juri cracked a smirk at the thought of the world's most brilliant scientists and researchers with little to no cleaning skills having designed small personal robots to do the tasks for them. She batted one of the disc-like cleaning robots away with her foot as she traversed down the corridors of the facility en route to Seth's office.
Whenever Seth got to planning projects that directly affected human beings, Juri and the others in the facility had every right to be concerned. What would it be this time? A seemingly beneficial virus that would accidentally kill off red blood cells? A poor attempt at pushing for proper hygiene? Another company healthcare reform? Juri remembered the last time the man tried to meddle in human affairs. An apathetic approach to workplace relations had cost him two percent of the workforce, which wouldn't have been such a bother had it not been for Juri, who had to hunt down that two percent.
But it wasn't just every human being in the S.I.N. research facility that was going to be affected by Seth's project. No, it was just Juri Han. The woman fondly recalled Seth's pride and joy, the Feng Shui Engine, being transplanted into her body to replace the loss of her left eye, but other than that, the synthetic man had made no further attempts to make something useful for her. He did, however, oblige her requests and always made a conscientious effort to placate her if need be, but that was the extent of his generosity. Perhaps Seth was preparing a gift of some sort to correct that.
Juri was not gullible enough to think Seth had a gift for her after her recent string of misbehavior. She was simply curious. If Seth had something in store for her, the logical approach would be to confront him about it, lest she was caught off guard by something she could have prevented. By no means would the synthetic man try to rid himself of his confidante. She was far too valuable an agent to be disposed of. Her skills were second to none and the Feng Shui Engine was a deadly weapon when wielded by her.
It was just her personality that was grating, but even Seth didn't have the nerve to tell her that directly.
After making her way through the hallways of the upper levels of the facility, Juri opened the doors to Seth's office and waltzed inside. When she first came to S.I.N., the sight of the elegantly designed room built around a man in power filled her with awe. Mahogany bookcases filled with literature and knowledge lined the walls along with brilliantly decorated curtains which hung over the tops of large floor-to-ceiling windows. A dark red carpet led the way to a desk fit for a king, and sitting behind the desk with a calm and apathetic air about him was Seth himself.
For a moment, the two stared at each other. They could not have been any different. One was a tall 'man' with grey skin, alien blue eyes, a bald head and a suppressed megalomaniacal desire to take over the world while the other was a odd-looking Korean woman with vibrant and violent violet eyes, a coy and malicious demeanor, and an eccentric ensemble that would make a runway model blush. The only thing they had in common was the question on their minds at that moment, which was a curt 'just what are you planning'.
Seth, for once in his short life, beat Juri to the punch and voiced his thoughts.
"Juri? What are you doing here?" The synthetic man turned around in his chair to look at an overhead clock for a quick second before turning back to Juri. "Usually you don't come to bother me until four o'clock. I don't have any assignments for you, if that's what you're looking for."
"I've heard that you've got something in store for me," Juri replied quickly with a thumb cocked at herself. "Spill it."
"Really?" Seth asked with an incredulous look. "Who said that?"
"Doesn't matter. You know how people talk."
Juri approached Seth and placed her hands on his desk. Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion, but her expression was eerily calm, even all-knowing. Seth knew that look meant nothing but ill for him. Try as he might, his confidante knew too much about him to be thrown off by his speech or feigned ignorance. No one ever seemed to fall for his feigned ignorance given that he was the most knowledgeable of all the scientists and researchers in the facility, but still he tried. Today, however, he realized it was a lost cause.
"I may have a project or two in mind that involves you in some way," Seth sighed begrudgingly.
"What are you gonna do? Inject me with spider DNA for the lols?" When Seth didn't immediately respond, Juri scoffed and jumped up to sit on Seth's desk. She purposefully covered up a few folders and papers important to Seth with her body. "I'm not your guinea pig, so go find someone else."
"My dear, I wasn't planning on injecting you with some unstable virus or anything like that. You're far too valuable to me to be treated like a test subject," Seth said as he reached forward to cup Juri's chin. "No, I had something better in mind."
The way the man said 'dear' so endearingly left a bad feeling in the pit of Juri's stomach. Simple affection was beneath the man, as all he saw of the human race was a bunch of labrats and expendable values to further his research and goals. He would show compassion and sympathy from time to time, but only to get the upper hand or to obtain something that could not be gained through brute force alone. Juri could respect her boss's method of operation for only so long until his robotic and genuinely apathetic approaches began to sicken her.
With a disgusted grunt, she ripped her chin away from Seth's grasp.
"Oh good, I'm appreciated around here. What's on your mind then? Better yet, am I going to enjoy it?"
"Do you remember me telling you about the Tanden Engine within my body, Juri?"
"Yeah, its purpose is to copy and translate data gained from martial artists in the field, thus allowing you to properly gather data necessary for the BLECE project," Juri droned out. "Some of its mechanisms were taken and optimized to work within a much smaller device, which was the start of the Feng Shui Engine. Which, I'm sure you remember, was given to me."
"And which belongs to me," Seth added with a smile. "With some of the data that I've gathered, I plan on creating engines similar to the Feng Shui Engine to-"
"Are you an idiot?!" Juri interjected.
"Calm down, Juri. The engines' powers will be small; nowhere near your eye's capabilities. I'm no fool. Having too much power underneath this facility's roof would beg for trouble," Seth said. "There are other agents under my employ than just you, but they are not up to par with your abilities and skills."
Juri smiled lightly at the compliment.
"What's this have to do with more engines?"
"The agents that we have are sophisticated in certain areas, unlike you who is what a common man would say, 'A jack of all trades'. Having engines utilized by these agents would increase their potential and performance in the field. Obviously I don't trust any of them to allow them access to an engine's full potential, but perhaps a small taste would ensure their trust," Seth mused. "I propose applying one program and one program only to an engine to increase the agent's effectiveness."
"Program?" Juri repeated with a tilt of her head. "You mean like a computer program?"
"But of course. The program, when initialized, will bestow upon the user one special power attuned to their set of skills."
It seemed like a bad idea to Juri for Seth to hand out engines like her own. Granted, the man was playing it safe by stripping the devices of their power to allow one perk only, but that perk was power, and power- no matter how small or large it was- could be used to cause much havoc. Perhaps Seth had a failsafe or restrictor in mind, as he wouldn't be the type to just hand something out and turn his back. He watched over his investments like a hawk, even Juri, much to her chagrin.
"Huh… Ok, so what does this have to do with me now?" Juri grunted.
"Since you have the Feng Shui Engine and you enjoy variety in your life, I figured you would be delighted to test out these programs."
"And this doesn't make a guinea pig… how?"
"You won't be a test subject, Juri. You'll simply be a… oh how do I put this in terms that you'll understand…" Juri put on a playful yet insulted pout as Seth tapped his chin in thought. "You will be a playtester. Think of the programs as being in closed beta status with you being the sole participator. You will test out the programs to your liking, whether through practice, recreational use, or in the field, and then you will deliver onto me a report of the program."
"Have the programs been tested before?" Juri asked. "I don't wanna have something glitch out on me."
"They have been tested regularly in virtual interfaces and have had their fair share of diagnostic run-throughs. There are no glitches to be found as of yet, at least with the first two programs, which were the first to be developed."
Juri turned away in thought. In a way, the testing of these strange engine programs would be familiar to her given that she was Seth's Feng Shui Engine tester from the very beginning. The scientists who worked on the eye were very patient and thorough in their work, and whenever a glitch appeared in the eye's system, they would quickly correct it and send the agent back on her way. The same thing would happen here with the programs should something go wrong. While it did seem safe enough to go ahead with, Juri had one more thing on her mind.
"…What's in it for me?" she pressed.
The synthetic man chuckled as if he had expected such a response.
"Depends. What is it that you desire?"
"I'm curious here," Juri said with a finger to her lip. "When this testing is over, I want three of the programs for myself."
"You're already a force to be reckoned with," Seth replied with a frown. "One program from the selection would be a reasonable choice."
"I'm the one testing the programs. I'm the one giving up my precious time for S.I.N.," Juri growled as she gestured to herself. "You're the one sitting on your ass."
"One program only."
"Three."
"Juri, don't be greedy and unreasonable," Seth scolded.
"You're one to talk, chrome-dome," Juri spat back as she hopped off Seth's desk. "You're the one hiding information from everyone, even me. Three programs should be just the right payment for my work."
"I will not allow you to take three programs, and that is final," Seth barked as he placed his hands on his desk.
The two stared each other down for a moment before Juri sighed and hung her head.
"Alright, alright… I understand." Suddenly, she looked back up at Seth with a mischievous grin. "Two programs then."
Seth glared at his confidante. He should have known that she would not take no for an answer, but he had always held onto an immature idea that she would change for the better; for his and S.I.N.'s sake. An organization was only as strong as the workers and personnel who comprised it, and while Juri was wickedly strong, she worked at her own languid pace punctuated with excitement every now and then. Such inconsistencies could not stand, but at the same time, they were what got problems resolved time and time again.
With his right eye twitching in disgust, Seth yielded.
"F-fine. Two programs it is."
"I get to pick them!" Juri shouted, as if the chrome man needed to be reminded that.
"You get to pick them," Seth growled. "You may leave now."
"Ey, nice doin' business with ya," Juri cackled in a poorly performed Boston accent. "You won't regret a thing."
"Leave. Now. And if you're wondering when you'll start testing, why, that will just be tomorrow in coming."
Juri smirked and turned on her heel to leave Seth's bland, pointless office. While she was genuinely interested to see where her boss's programs would take the organization, she was more concerned with where it would take her. She was being offered power, and since she would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind to not capitalize on it, it would serve her well to be used in further escapades and schemes. Seth was essentially handing his confidante the nails to his coffin, and Juri would be so cruel to not oblige him by pounding them down into his body again and again.
But that would have to wait. Power was useless if the wielder had no clue what it was supposed to do. Juri rubbed her hands with glee as she thought of the resources that would be thrown into her deck of cards. They would be hers to do whatever she wished, provided there was no opposition. Besides Seth, the other agents of S.I.N. would have to be confronted and removed either before or after Seth's demise. Best case scenario was that the few agents yielded to her power and acknowledged her as the true heir to S.I.N.'s throne.
However, Crimson Viper, no matter what direction the others went towards, would forever prove to be a pain in Juri's side. She played by her own rules and followed her own goals, even if they coincided with S.I.N.'s. A freelance agent that happened to be picked up by the organization just because she had the know-how to make a flashy suit full of gadgets and knickknacks? Juri would rather place her trust in an insect than even think of sparing a thought of doubt for that woman. The facility wasn't big enough for the two of them to waltz about comfortably.
Putting the troublesome agent in the ground or in her place, sadly, would have to wait until the programs were tested and eventually put to use.
Yes… All good things come to those who wait.
