Transformers: Rise Up and Roll Out!
Chapter 3: Meet Ironhide
"And Brawl is down!" The crowd cheered at this announcement as a squat, bulky, tan robot slammed into the ground. Standing over him was the black-armored old Autobot veteran and Bot Shot champion 40 years running, Ironhide.
The glowing orange arena blade, designed for non-lethal arena combat, that had been sticking out of Ironhide's arm retracted as the old 'bot raised his fist in victory. He had only one match left until he was crowned champion yet again, just as he had been every year since he first entered the Bot Shot tournaments, and he intended to end it fast and hard. After all, the boss was watching.
Looking up towards the VIP arena box seats, Ironhide could see the huge red and black form of Sentinel Prime, Supreme Commander of the Autobots and defender of Cybertron. Sentinel winked at the old warhorse and gave him a thumbs up. A bit further down, standing on one of the security hallways designed to allow security to move around the arena easily without having to fight through the crowds, Ironhide could see his old friend and student Orion Pax, standing with a little yellow 'Bot Ironhide had seen before in the Autobots' command center, the massive Fortress Maximus.
Ironhide readjusted his left arm, which had begun feeling stiff. While it was true that old age had resulted in slight problems like stiffened joints, there was still plenty of kick left in him. There was no way he was going to let some young punk like his next and final opponent bring him down.
Ironhide shifted his form into that of a large, black off-road transport vehicle and began driving across the arena towards a hatch that had opened. As he turned around and backed into the hatch, Ironhide thought over the Cybertronian he would soon be facing. His last match of the tournament was going to be against a young up-and-comer named Jazz. The punk, normally a laid-back robot, loved a good fight and had promised the press he was going to knock Ironhide into retirement. If Orion Pax hadn't vouched for Jazz and said he was just putting on a show for the audiences, Ironhide would have pounded him into scrap. As is, he figured he'd just give Jazz some dents to remember to respect his elders.
Every year, some turbo-revving young punk tried to knock him down. But every time, Ironhide had shown them that he was no pushover.
Ironhide positioned himself on the launcher inside the hatch and felt the grooves of said launcher beneath his wheels. Giving his three options a quick consideration, Ironhide, set his automatic weapons deployment systems to "none," meaning he'd be starting off with his fists.
3….
2…
1….
Ironhide launched through the hatch and charged through the arena. Across from him, charging at high speeds as well, was a white and blue speedster. The sound of their impact resonated through the arena as the two bots were thrown backwards and shifted into robot mode. Jazz had readied his sword, meaning that Ironhide, using hand-to-hand combat, was allowed to throw the first punch. Charging forward, the old warrior slammed his fist into Jazz's black helmet. The impact launched the younger robot backwards and slammed him into the wall of the arena.
As Jazz climbed to his feet, he shifted to his blasters and began peppering Ironhide with blasts of green energy. This was about as effective against Ironhide as throwing beetles would be against a full-grown elephant.
Jazz started yelling something to Ironhide that the old soldier didn't pay any attention to. Something about junkheaps, it sounded like. Whatever it was, the crowd found it funny. Ironhide frowned. In all of Jazz's previous matches, he had talked too much for Ironhide's taste. It was time to shut him up. Ironhide activated his powerful cannons, modified like all arena-weapons to be non-lethal. One shot from them knocked Jazz into the wall once again.
The white robot slowly climbed to his feet, clearly shaken from the second impact. Old age might have given Ironhide a few issues like stiff limbs, but the experience that came with that old age had made Ironhide mighty. Ironhide could see, even though Jazz's visor, the look in his optics that said he had realized that there would not be a victory here, only a beating. Ironhide, having decided to end this, gave Jazz a powerful uppercut that launched him into the air and brought him crashing down onto an empty seat in the audience, startling the poor snack cart robot.
Sentinel Prime stood from his seat and slammed his hammer into the ground, silencing the roar of the crowd. "The winner and still champion," his deep voice boomed, "IRONHIDE!"