My whole vision was locked on the ceiling of the workshop, occasional sparks flying into view as intricate operations on my robotic frame were executed with surgical precision. The clanking and humming of my new equipment, the whirring of servos and the chugging of cooling units was filling the space. Scientists and roboticists tersely conversed with each other, their words lost in the clamor.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder at the small group of scientists in white coats who had assembled around the back of my frame. The two foremost, a man and a woman, wore name tags that identified them as Dr. Nicholas Marlowe and Dr. Elizabeth Parrish.

"Okay, this is our last run," Dr. Marlowe said. He had an authoritative baritone and spoke in short, sharp syllables. "Let's see how we're doing."

Dr. Parrish nodded, then turned to look at me. She held up a clipboard, and readied her pen. "Ultraman, do you hear me?"

"Yes," I said. My voice sounded flat, metallic, and unenthusiastic. My mechanisms were still locked, and I was still unable to move beyond the occasional head swivel. "Am I complete?"

Dr. Marlowe waved his hand at me, and smiled. "Ultraman, you are magnificent! Your voice, your reactions... everything is working."

I am magnificent. Interesting. "What is my purpose?"

"Your purpose," Dr. Marlowe began, "is to help us find survivors. You will be the sole method of search and rescue for the denizens of the attacked cities. And, as this will be a dangerous operation, you will have to defend yourself as well."

"Defend myself."

"Yes," Dr. Parrish said, her tone grave. "You are the most powerful weapon we have to combat the monsters who ravaged our planet."

Monsters. I understood the words, but lacked the context. Had something bad happened on Earth? Had some outside force invaded and destroyed its cities? What would such a force look like?

"Parrish, perhaps we should refine Ultraman's mission parameters before we launch him into the field," Marlowe said. He stared directly into my chrome visor. "If his morality circuits malfunction, he could be a menace to the population. Or worse."

Parrish pursed her lips. She stared down at the clipboard. "Ultraman's circuits have been tested, and they're fine."

"Is that a risk you can aff-" Dr. Marlowe was cut off by the whole room beginning to shake violently. He looked up, his eyes widening in surprise as his mouth opened to say something, but the sound of an explosion filled the air, followed by screams. Red, swiveling lights strobed across the ceiling, and the air became filled with the smell of smoke and burnt metal.

"Marlowe, we're out of time! Get him moving!" Parrish yelled.

"But what about-" Marlowe began again, but was silenced by the grotesque image of a creature which appeared out of the smoke. It was a four-armed monstrosity, a nightmare from an abyssal pit, with three mouths jammed into a gaping, lipless maw. It had slashed Marlowe's neck, and his body collapsed in a heap. The creature continued its attack on the corpse, and Parrish rushed over to the controls to unlock me. She knew she had mere moments before the abyssal monster would be upon us.

"Ultraman! Fight!"

My movement has been unlocked. I sat upward on the robotics table, which caused the horror to face me.

"I am Ultraman. I have come to fight you." My voice sounded flat and emotionless.

The beast charged at me, and I jumped off the table to properly face it.

"I will destroy you," I said, my voice deep and sonorous as I dodged its full-force slash, taking the opportunity to end the fight before it really started. I grabbed the monster by the head and drove it into a wall with my fists, my synthetic muscles far far stronger than those of its own. The abyssal monster roared in agony as its head was pressed further and further against the concrete. It started to swipe at me as I continued crushing its skull, waiting for the crunch which would signal its demise. A few slashes hit my smooth armor, but no more, until finally, my arms relaxed, and the abyssal monster crumpled to the floor. I knelt beside it, looking at its head, which was misshapen and broken.

"This is my purpose?" I asked. "To destroy?"

"Ultraman... this is your purpose now," said Parrish. She stared at Marlowe's lifeless body, her face pale and her eyes wide. "You can't save them all, but you can save some."

"I understand," I said, and then looked around the room. "There are many survivors who need my assistance. I must leave now, Dr. Parrish."

I rose to my feet with a whirr, and began to walk for the door with newfound purpose. I had just entered existence, and I had done so with a drive. A drive to eradicate monsters from the face of our world. A drive to do good. When I entered the once-clean and white hallway, I found it filled with the remnants of combat, with a few corpses of scientists lying in pools of blood on the ground. There were scorch marks and bullet holes on the walls and ceilings.