Transformers: Rise Up And Roll Out!
Chapter 4: Meet Orion Pax
Standing up in the security halls above the audiences, Orion Pax smiled beneath his lucky mouthplate at Ironhide's victory. Jazz was also a close friend of Pax's, having helped the Autobots deal with street gangs in the past, and would certainly take his defeat in stride. That night, Pax hoped to introduce his two friends and that they might become friends too.
Looking over at Bumblebee, Pax noted that his young companion hadn't stopped cheering. In fact, it was so loud that he had considered deactivated his audio receivers in response to Bumblebee's endless cheers. Orion turned back to the crowd, looking for anything out of the ordinary, and froze. In the crowd, he could see a solid black, skinny robot making its way towards the VIP Box, where Sentinel Prime still watched. Something about the black robot triggered Pax's police instincts.
Orion tapped Bumblebee on the shoulder. "Trouble. Black armor, row 30. You go to the VIP box and check on Sentinel Prime. I'll handle this."
Bumblebee looked through the crowd until he spotted the suspect. "Captain Pax, you gotta let me help!" he pleaded.
"No. If there is one Cybertronian that presents a possible danger to the Prime, then there will no doubt be several others."
Though he was torn between his desire for action and his dedication to helping others, Bumblebee's hesitation lasted only a split second. He took off running towards the security entrance to the VIP box.
Orion looked back towards the black mech in the crowd, noticing that one of its hands had changed into a silver blade. Pax shifted into his vehicle mode and drove backwards before quickly speeding forward and smashing through the windows of the security hall. Propelled by his momentum, Pax sailed over the crowd and began transforming back into his robot mode. He completed his transformation as he landed behind the suspect and drew his blaster.
"You, the robot in the black armor! In the name of the Autobots, I order you to freeze!"
At the sound of Pax's commanding voice, the robot turned around and retracted his small blade as his other hand revealed a long, slender sword. Upon seeing that the robot's entire body was black, save for two red optics visible between his black helmet and black mouthplate, Pax sighed. He knew what kind of robot this was. This was a ninja. Pax hated fighting ninjas. It seemed to happen far too often for his tastes.
The ninja spun his sword around, almost faster than Pax's optics could track it. He had been trained in the Cyber Ninja arts and was a master of hand-to-hand combat! This foolish police officer would die before he so much as_
Orion Pax blew the ninja's head off with a single shot of his blaster. At the sound of a second blaster shot, Pax turned around to see Ironhide, who had also emerged into the crowd, finishing off a second ninja. Behind him, Jazz had begun helping the civilians evacuate the arena. Pax nodded approvingly. Jazz could have been a great Autobot.
"Ironhide," he called out, "I sent Bumblebee to protect Sentinel Prime! Go give him some cover! Jazz, will you stand with us?"
As Ironhide ran to the VIP Box, Jazz nodded and gave a thumb up. "I got your back, OP! Ain't no shenanigans going down with Jazz around! Throw me a gun, I'll give you a hand!"
Pax nodded, reached into the trailer that made up part of his back, and threw Jazz a blaster from the trailer's confines. Jazz grabbed the gun and integrated it into his arm. Scanners built into Jazz's body sprang to life and registered the blaster's power at 370. Additional scanners stated his blade had a power level of 695 and his physical strength at 555. Jazz smiled. That didn't look half bad! He then spun around and slugged a ninja that was trying to get the drop on him in the face, launching him into the arena.
Another ninja dropped down from some hidden spot and leapt at Pax too fast for the Autobot to shoot. Reacting quickly, Pax ducked under the airborne ninja's blade, grabbed his leg, and slammed him into the ground. Quickly drawing his sword, he slashed the ninja's arms off, switched his grip to the throat of the ninja, and slammed him into a wall. He retracted the blade of his other arm, activated his blaster, and shot another ninja attempting to sneak up behind him in the chest. After a long and interesting career as a police officer, filled with many stories that have nothing to do with this story, Pax had learned to predict what squads of ninjas would do.
Pax turned back to the ninja he had against the wall and leaned in close. "Who do you work for?"
Jazz walked up behind the two and crossed his arms. "I'd answer the 'Bot if I were you. Pax's my old buddy and he ain't kidding around! If you want proof, look how thoroughly he's disarmed you!"
The ninja looked at the mess of wires and metal where his arms once were, looked Pax in the optic, and sighed. He whispered one word to Pax before his head suddenly and without warning exploded into a shower of fire and metal, blinding Pax for a few moments and causing him to drop the now-dead robot to the ground.
Jazz ran to Pax's side and checked him for damage. "That was an internal suicide bomb, right? I always thought those damned things were illegal and a war crime!"
Pax nodded. "They are. It would appear, however, that someone was less than concerned by the ethics of the situation. It is fortunate, then, that we have the name of the group employing those ninjas."
"Well don't leave me hanging, OP!"
"They're called…" Pax paused in the kind of dramatic pause that tends to pop up when something important is revealed. "The Decepticons."