The Next Generation

C28: Intern Switcheroo

As Optimus discovered while researching Kamui Woods, he worked on a three person now days, consisting of Death Arms and a relatively new hero, Mt. Lady. He was surprised to discover that the small hero agency would be doubled this week, since all three of them had internship students from UA. Jiro was working under Death Arms and Mineta was working under Mt. Lady.

Woods was taking him on their first patrol today. "So, what's your hero name, Optimus?"

"Optimus Prime."

"That's your normal name."

"Yes," Optimus agreed as he continued walking.

Woods frowned. "Hero names are important. They tell people that you aren't just some random guy. They represent who you are."

"That is who I am," Optimus replied. "And it's not a common Japanese name."

"That's true, but..." Woods sighed. "It's symbolic for heroes. Important."

Optimus didn't reply. According to Aizawa, some of his other classmates had chosen to use their usual names as well. Optimus didn't see the point in changing his name. It changed once already, when he became a Prime. There was no further he could go. Cybertronians always understood what his name meant, but humans had no knowledge of his homeworld. He would have to show them what being a Prime meant.

It was more of a symbol than Woods could imagine.

And if Megatron was right, Optimus wasn't a Prime anymore. Optimus shuddered and tried not to think about it.

The rest of their patrol went smoothly. There weren't any villains around. A few people wanted to get Wood's autograph. They didn't find anyone in need of assistance, aside from a lady who dropped her groceries.

After their patrol, Woods brought him to a training arena that his team used.

"Mt. Lady fits in here?" Optimus asked.

Woods snorted. "She trains with her smaller form. I'll show you her little city."

Optimus followed him to a corner of the room, where there was a tiny city on the ground. A few of the smaller roads had buildings along the edges caved in and some cars were crushed, but admittedly, there were no human smudges.

"I tried doing it once and tripped," Woods admitted. "Killed 103 fake people and smashed a few buildings. It's harder than you think."

Optimus winced.

"Death Arms and I sometimes spar over on the training mat," Woods told him. "You want to give it a go?"

With a small nod, Optimus ejected his swords. "Will it hurt if I hit your wooden appendages?"

"No," he assured him. "They'll hurt you."

They began. Woods started out with hand to hand combat, so Optimus put away one of his swords. He let Woods lead them into the sparring match, watching his moves closely and deflecting most of them. He was muscular, but there wasn't a lot of force behind his attacks, likely due to the weight of his wooden frame. In that case, it must be dense, meaning Optimus wouldn't be able to cut through it. Not with a man-made sword anyway. The attacks were always straightforward and there were many openings. That wasn't a weakness, though. His wooden plating meant he was armoured.

A good strategy, but not perfect.

Optimus watched as another kick came around and he ducked down, under the leg, and for the split second that the leg could not return to the ground, Optimus swept out the other ankle and knocked him to the ground. Thanks to the helmet, it was unlikely that Kamui Woods would be very dazed by the fall, so Optimus had to act fast. He kept his arm wrapped around the man's thigh and as he fell, Optimus let himself fall as well. When they landed, Optimus had the point of his sword ledged between the eye holes in his mask.