Opening Note: My entry for the February edition of a monthly fan-run short story contest on IDW Publishing's forums. The character prompt was for Defensor.
Defensor stood his ground and took the punch straight on, proving sturdy enough to spare the building behind him. Bruticus pressed forward, but Defensor met the charge and spun them both away from the buildings into the middle of the road. They circled, grappled, and traded blows, one pair of feet narrowly missing bystanders in a desperate warrior's dance, the other rendering the stay of execution fleeting for those whose luck finally ran dry.
Metal fingers eventually caught and pressed hard into seams, only to be forced away by a wall of energy before they could start tearing. Bruticus snarled in frustration, then lifted a convertible that had been trapped by falling debris during the battle. "Why don't you stop this, then!" The driver screamed as her car sailed through the air.
"No!" Defensor deactivated his force field in time to catch the car and set it on a nearby roof... only to note in confusion that the driver was gone. There was no confusion about the driver in Bruticus' second attempt, however - their scream cut off abruptly as the makeshift missile crunched into Defensor's now unprotected shoulder. Bruticus laughed maliciously.
Defensor stared in horror at the remains of the vehicle, then gestured imperiously. "I've had more than enough! This stops here and now!"
"That's right, it does!" Bruticus drew his stun gun, but the watchful part of Defensor's mind spotted the movement and swatted the weapon away before it was fully raised. Bruticus found himself momentarily off-balance, and Defensor seized the opportunity to slice forearm rotor blades through vulnerable joints and send the arm flying as well. A final well-placed swat ensured that the dazed Blast Off landed away from anything that could suffer damage. Bruticus tried to regroup, determined to triumph even with one arm behind his back (or missing entirely!), but soon his remaining components were trounced and sent packing in similar fashion.
Defensor tracked their grumbling retreat. Then, after surveying the wake of the battle, he lowered his head and shook it sadly. Finally, he raised his optics to the response teams that had gathered to wait for the chance to move in and managed a reassuring smile. "It's all right, they're gone. You can get to work." But still no one moved, as terrified of him as they were of Bruticus. Defensor frowned and moved towards them, causing nearby wounded to scream in fright and the mobile ones to scrabble away panicked.
A bullhorn called out, "Back away, you've done enough damage!"
Defensor paused. "I know, but I had no choice..." He held his hands out in supplication. "I was trying to protect you! Trying to help!"
"Help me, then." Defensor turned to see a woman stranded on the remains of a fire escape. She smiled. "I got stuck here when my convertible got used as a grenade. Who knew getting thrown from your car was a good thing?"
"That wasn't my fault... I didn't mean..."
"I know, I saw the way you fight. Just... get me down, yes?"
Defensor hesitated, then held his hand up to the fire escape. The woman crawled onto it, and he gently lowered her down near a wide-eyed paramedic. She disembarked and smiled upward. "Thank you."
Defensor returned the smile, then straightened a sign he saw had been knocked askew in the fight. The response teams looked at each other and moved in hesitantly, eventually becoming more confident as they saw the giant robot wasn't harming them. Defensor separated into his individual Protectobots, who also pitched in. There were people who wanted their help, after all.