Upgrades and Improvements

[Mani4c]

Noxus smirked and activated his armor, he then held out his hand towards The Doctor. "Doctor, is that upgrade you were making done yet? I want to put Saber through his paces." The Doctor visibly stiffened, he was hoping that Noxus wouldn't ask for that. "Ah, heh, yeah. One second mate." The Doctor walked up to another console, this one looking like a centrifuge used to test samples. "I was hoping that we could wait until you were approved in a court of law for this, but no time like the present." The Doctor pulled out a small vial, it held a purple fluid inside that gave off a faint glow. "Just...make sure you don't go crazy alright? I mixed this for maximum effect, and I don't want a leveled city to my name."

The Doctor tossed the viral solution to Noxus who deftly caught it. He chuckled darkly and placed the tube in an injector, he plunged the needle into his neck. "No worries my dear Doctor, I shall be a paragon of self-control." Noxus injected himself with the solution and sucked in a breath. His armor began to crack and glow, a hum could be heard growing louder and louder, and finally his armor exploded into  a swarm of pitch black shards that swirled around him before flying back into his body, forming his new armored body.

When the process was done, Noxus was in a new organic looking armor. The armor was much slimmer in profile than his original armor, with the bulky armor plates replaced by smoother plates that were connected by flexible armored tissue, the tissue mimicked human muscle to an unnerving degree in appearance. The arms of the armor no longer had the protruding fins that elongated into blades. Instead, the arms of the armor seemed to lack any armaments at all, flowing smoothly from the rounded shoulder armor down to the claw-like tips of Noxus' fingers.

The armor's Torso was had six small ports on the back running parallel to the spine, almost like vents, as well as four spine like protrusions on the shoulder-blades and in between the 6th and 7th rib. the torso armor itself was mostly unadorned, with a more angular look to the plates than on the arms, but the plates still seemed to flow together in a similar manner.
 
The legs of the armor were smooth as well, with a small spine on the kneecaps and on the heels of the feet. Finishing off the ensemble was Noxus' new helmet, which had no eye holes or a mouthpiece to speak off, was possibly the most unnerving part of the suit(See the armor here:link) Noxus' voice was still harsh and metallic when he spoke, "So...how do I look?"

[Prythian]

"If he tries to find out during an attempt to destroy Halberd... Halberd will take immediate advantage of it to destroy him." Merge said, grim tones in her voice. "Someone needs to find out if Integrate can be changed before any full-scale confrontation against him. Your brother is... he seems too easy to go from one emotional extreme to another. He's out of the question. And even if he didn't have that problem... if he got close to Halberd, he'd end up revealing this secret weapon." She knew who she wanted to find out if Integrate could be changed... herself. But that wasn't feasible on her own, and she didn't dare risk Dagger for her own personal issue.

"Dagger, should I get my shields ready, in case there are stray attacks too close to those of us who aren't involved?"

[Saber]

Saber watched with crossed arms as Noxus injected himself with a new strain of code, boosting his power even more. When asked about his new appearance, he smirked "Better than your old armor, but I wouldn't walk around too much with it on until people get used to you in it." He lowered his arms and flexed his arms in a defensive stance "So, are you going to come at me or not? We still have unfinished business, and you still haven't said a word about what you hate about us."

Dagger crossed his arms and nodded, watching the scene unfold as Noxus himself was powering up. "...Do it..." It was going to be a battle of two titans, and it was going to be an intense one. He walked over to Masamune and whispered in his ear "That A rank virus may have just become an S class. I would advise caution if these two will be fighting at their best."

[Mani4c]

Masamune nodded when Dagger warned him about Noxus' power level. "Understood." The Doctor walked back to the console along with Mani4c.

Noxus cracked his knuckles and lashed out at Saber, his fists were moving at a blinding speed, Noxus wasn't attacking angrily, simply attacking Saber as if he were any other opponent. "Where to start? I don't despise the idea of the project, or even most of it's members, Halberd not withstanding." Noxus feinted with his left fist before striking out at Saber's ribs with a roundhouse kick, when he kicked at Saber the bladed spur on his heel extended outwards by about two feet, looking more like a miniature scythe. "I suppose what I hate about you is how you constantly go on and on about how what I was doing is immoral. The only crime I ever committed was attacking you. Before then I was nothing more than an observer and a scientist hoping to cure the world's ills, and yet you treat me like Halberd. The fact that the NPD hasn't exactly kept it's hands clean either doesn't help things. But what about you, what do you hate about me? Out of all of Mani4c's companions, you are still the most critical of me, do my barbs against your family truly wound you that deep?"

[Prythian]

Merge simply let the two floating bits slide out of the forearms of the armor she was currently taking the form of on Dagger. Just as he was cloaked, so two were her shields; a fact they'd made use of before when that army attacked the city. Though invisible, if they could be seen, someone would see the two bits grow into large, rectangular tower shields made out of golden energy, one floating in a position where she could easily direct it to intercept any shots. She also activated both Redirective Shields and Broken Limits, allowing the shields to fly up to 30 feet away from her, and also take shots from one shield and send them to the other.

The other shield she carefully placed behind them, pointed away. If any shots fired at them, she's snatch them up with the shield and send them to the other side harmlessly... at least, harmlessly to the avatars involved. The building wouldn't be so lucky.

[Saber]

Saber blocked some of Noxus' strikes, letting some go through to test how tough his new form was. Given Noxus' new upgrade, he noticed a decent amount of power behind the strikes, and could still feel the effects of the attacks. When Noxus went in for his roundhouse with that scythed heel blade, he stepped forward and caught Noxus' calf, gripping it firmly with his hand as Noxus started questioning him about what he hated about the viral avatar.

"You want to know what I hate about you?" His grip grew tighter on the ankle of the leg he was holding, lifting the leg up before aiming his clenched fist right for Noxus' midsection, the force of the punch sending him lifting up about a foot from the ground. "I hate that no matter how much I try and show you the differences, all you ever do is compare me and my family to that no good!" His fist reared back, aiming high as Noxus was coming down for a landing, throwing the first jab at Noxus' chin "Genocidal!" And again "Son of a BITCH!" His last punch he threw Noxus' leg out of range of hitting him, before putting more force into his punch, and slamming it into Noxus' law. The force of the punch caused him to go flying several feet back.

"Have I made mistakes in the past? Yes, and I regret every one of them. But I and the rest of my cyberblade kin are many things that he will never come close to achieving. And if you insist on comparing me or the rest of my family to him, then come at me again, and I'll fill even more holes in the fact you have..." Saber gripped his sword, bracing for Noxus' next move.

[Mani4c]

Noxus skidded backwards from the force of Saber's blows, he cracked his neck and chuckled, "Speedy, as I expected. As to me comparing your family to Halberd, like it or not, there are similarities between you and him, even more so now that you have genuine emotions." Noxus's left arm reconfigured into a straight blade and charged Saber, moving far faster than he could originally. "The biggest similarity between the two of you is your lack of self control!" Noxus slashed and stabbed at Saber rapidly, never striking in the same place twice. "And now that you don't have your programming holding you back, you're even more at risk. Trust me, I know." Noxus leaped backwards and reconfigured his arm into am organic looking blaster and leveled it at Saber. "So let me ask you Saber...what will you do when the time comes to face your brother? Will you kill him? Save him? You must be sure when the time comes, because your new emotions shall make something that was previously a foregone conclusion into a soul wrenching choice."

[Saber]

Saber noticed Noxus' increased speed and his blade shifted to his flash mode, quickly parrying Noxus' strikes either with his sword, or with his free hand. When Noxus tried playing mind games with him, he had heard enough. "...I've given Halberd his chance to change his ways...And he's made it perfectly clear where he stands. The only thing we share is our origin, nothing more..." His blade shifted to Aether mode, and he held the blade in front of him in a reverse hold "...He is no brother of mine. If I see him again, I'm going to erase him from existence. I won't let him achieve his goal of human extinction, not while I still live."

[Mani4c]

Noxus smiled behind his helmet, "Good...your path is clear then, now I won't have to kill you if you falter." Noxus deactivated his cannon and slammed his fists together, the shockwave from the impact shook the room. Mani4c activated his scanner to gauge Saber and Noxus' power output. "Incredible, Saber's operating at about 300% of his normal power, and Noxus...damn." Mani4c showed The Doctor and Bit the readings from his helmet, Noxus was putting out three times his original power output, and he still didn't seem to be using all of it. "This is bad, he could level the building if he's not careful."

Noxus' fists reconfigured themselves once more, becoming heavily armored and covered in razor sharp spines that could rend flesh easily. "Let's see if that upgrade lets you bleed." Noxus charged again, dodging a retaliatory swing from Saber and Delivering a Vicious uppercut to Saber's ribs. What happened next was unexpected from everyone in the room.

The barbs on Noxus' back shot outwards, revealing themselves as insectoid appendages with wickedly sharp blades at the end, Noxus delivered a rapid barrage of stabs to Saber, holding him in the air before stabbing him in the shoulder blades and pinning him to the ground. The lower blades retracted into Noxus' back, leaving Saber pinned by the upper pair still embedded through his back, four feet from Noxus.

[Saber]

Saber noticed Noxus shifting his blaster back into claws and shifted his swords again to Burst mode. But his swing wasn't quick enough to hit Noxus, and he quickly found himself impaled and suspended in midair, before a barrage of strikes assaulted him with insect-like barbs, before impaling his shoulders and pinning him down. Through all of this, it took all of his willpower to keep from dropping his sword.

But Saber wasn't going to be stopped so easily. Using sheer strength, he started pushing back against Noxus' barbs, forcing himself onto his feet with the help of his sword as a prop. Grabbing one of the barbs, he ripped it from his shoulder, howling out in pain and anger. He then extended his arm with the barb as far out as he could, before swinging with his sword and slicing the barb off, still imbedded in his shoulder. He yanked back hard with his free hand, pulling Noxus towards him and rearing back with his sword, the runes glowing on the blade as he swung at Noxus' midsection.

[Mani4c]

Noxus grunted in pain, the Barbs were nowhere near as sensitive to touch as his normal limbs, but having the appendage sliced off still smarted something fierce. Despite the pain, he was impressed by Saber's drive, most people probably would have screamed in agony and given up after that. When Saber swung at Noxus with his sword, the Viral avatar used another new attachment. The vents near his spine opened slightly, and long, whip like tendrils, maxing out at 20 feet each, and shot towards Saber's arm, holding it in place with the same strength as Noxus' arms could produce. Noxus smirked. "I must say, you're proving to be quite taxing, unfortunately I can't use all of my power without leveling this building, but I'm sure that you could still think your way out of that one." Noxus' tone was surprisingly respectful, he wasn't mocking Saber at all. "So? what next?"

[Saber]

Saber grinned and flexed his arm, testing the strength of the tendril's hold on his arm. It was surprisingly strong "I guess that's something Halberd and I actually do have in common...We're both stubborn." His free hand was starting to emanate heat waves, staying close to his side so as to keep it hidden. When Noxus asked him what was next, his eyes lit up with the fire of a warrior "...Well, you have my sword arm, I can't exactly do much with my sword now, can I?"

A swift motion and a fist suddenly crashed into Noxus' head, the resulting explosion forcing him back long enough for Saber to shift forms again, this time he had shock fire mode out, and he used his free arm to slice the tendrils free of Noxus' control. The resulting slice hit all 6 tendrils at once, each one sending an electric shockwave throughout his body. He flexed his right arm as the dismembered tendrils began to disintegrate, flexing his muscles and adjusting to the damage done so far

"It's a good thing we're not flesh and bone. How does that electricity feel? Probably unpleasant I'd wager." His grin faded as he got focused on the battle again "...Next...We fight for real..." He rushed forward and aimed both of his swords in the direction of Noxus' arms, one burning blade and the other crackling with electricity as he targeted the arms first, then proceeded to slash away at Noxus' midsection relentlessly. "I have to admit, for a viral avatar who doesn't fight much, you're just as durable as your brother!"

[Mani4c]

Noxus skidded backwards from the force of the punch, he dug his heels into the floor and ground to a halt. The viral avatar rubbed his chin and shook out his arms and legs, working out the cramps that the electrical discharge caused. When Saber asked him how the electricity felt he chuckled, "Well, I must say, it was rather invigorating actually, perhaps I've inherited my brother's Masochism. Or perhaps that's my viral code talking."

When Saber went on the attack, while simultaneously complimenting Noxus' durability, Noxus started to dodge, moving at speeds so fast that he appeared only as a hazy grey blur. "I was created as a specialized combat unit by PariahTech remember? I wouldn't be surprised if that Hunter program that Mani4c uncovered during the raid was born from my test data, another sin that I have to atone for..." Noxus reconfigured his arm into a rapid fire blaster and began to fire a barrage of shots at Saber, stopping only for a moment to open fire before dashing off to a new location.

[Saber]

Saber leapt back when Noxus began firing a rapid fire blaster, his sword shifting again into flash mode as he started slashing at all of the blaster rounds to deflect them. The result forced the blasts to fly elsewhere in the building, some of which came right at Bit and the doctor. The bullets were too quick for either of them to react, but the shield in front of them made that a moot point as they vanished on impact. "...Who's idea was it to let those two fight!?"

Saber rushed after Noxus as he ran away, sword trailing behind him with an extended arm. "Running away won't solve anything Noxus, unless you're ready to forfeit."

[Mani4c]

Noxus was about to retort, when an alert sound came from Mani4c's communicator. Noxus stopped moving and looked at his brother. "What is it?" Mani4c was silent for a moment before looking up. "We might have a lead on Justicar and Amp's location, one of Masamune's contacts just ringed us up on an encrypted channel and gave a tip. We need to head back soon." Noxus deactivated his arm cannons and nodded. He looked at Saber, "I do hope you won't mind us postponing our little bout to tie up some loose ends. Heaven knows we both want to kill one another." Noxus' voice was positively dripping with sarcasm.

[Saber]

Saber stopped when Mani4c's communicator, waiting until Noxus' cannon deactivated. He smirked when Noxus joked about their fight, going back to his breaker mode and strapping his sword on his back again "No, not kill. Though caving your face in wouldn't be out of the question." He let his limit form shut down, and immediately felt a severe strain on his frame, forcing him down on all fours and struggling to keep from collapsing entirely "Wh-What?"

Bit walked toward Saber when he collapsed, bumping into the invisible shield and feeling her way around it before continuing towards Saber "I was afraid of that. Having to boost your power output that much puts a strain on your form. Have it running for too long and you'll lock up until your memory overload dies down."

Saber strains and tries to force himself to move, only to fall back into place on all fours "...Well...That's inconvenient...Thanks for telling me that NOW!" Saber glared at Bit, who merely pushed her glasses up and walked away, going over to the doctor and waiting for the rest of the group to come over "Lets' get moving before this trail gets cold."

[Mani4c]

The Doctor sighed and walked over to Saber, pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver and waving it over him, the device activated and repaired the overload, ending the lockdown. "There you are mate, good as new." Noxus deactivated his new armor and walked over to Saber, helping him to his feet. "Are we ready to go?" Mani4c nodded, and so did The Doctor. "We're ready when you are, Baretta's gonna be there when we arrive."

[Saber]

Saber finally got to his feet when the doctor helped refresh his processors, helping him refresh his processors so he could move "Thanks doc." He followed the doctor into the newly summoned TARDIS "Let's head out." Saber gave a mock salute to Masamune, bidding him farewell "Until next time, Masamune. Keep in touch."

The TARDIS doors shut and they were suddenly gone from the server, and cyber tokyo itself, returning to the north american network to talk with Baretta about this new lead.

(thread closed)