In the past, powering up these systems required a heavy demand in the number of laser light sources required.
Once the novelty of powering up your team has worn off, the game boils down to a great deal of rather repetitive combat.
The counter will be reset to zero at the time of powering up.
Websites such as Byte Tips include many methods of doing everything from powering up your character to gaining thousands of "friends" to even playing while you're not at the computer!