| abstract | - Summary: With the Pretender armours in the lab, Ultra Magnus decides to take off his own armour for once... Paradigm is in the lab, looking over some of the exoarmours that lie on various beds, of particular interest is the lion armour, that is in pieces, with various scanners attached to it, humming away as he jots down notes on an electronic pad With the soft hiss of the laboratory doors sliding open, the blue and red form of Ultra Magnus strides into the lab's confines. His gaze shifts towards the armors, head tilting to the side as he places his attention in particular on the disassembled Lion armor. "So these are the Shells, huh? They look considerably different from the previous line..." "Indeed." Paradigm grins, still looking battered from the fight, looking up at Magnus. "They are a different production run, whether that means superior or just /different/ remains to be seen. We will be taking the Lion Armour apart later, I want to know exactly what we're dealing with before we use them properly." Right. Probably in our best interest to -understand- these things before we start using them." Ultra Magnus' gaze turns towards the Eagle and Shark armors, hands crossing over his broad chest as he considers them. "So I suppose they just act like a variant of power armors, huh? Strange things..." Sentence trailing off, the Autobot XO considers for a moment, before carrying on: "I actually came to you for a different matter today, Paradigm, though the priority of it isn't nearly as high as deducing what these shells can do or what they're made of." Paradigm stands up stiffly, running a hand over the broken shards of the lion armour. "Yes, we used them last night, but that was in order to steal them. I really don't want to start using them properly until we fully understand them. Ignorance is a disease." He raises an unthemely eyebrow at Magnus's second statement. "Mmmm, if it was anyone else Magnus, I would send them away on the spot. What is it you need?" "And who knows what these things might do if we try to pilot them without a firm grasp on their capacities?" musing almost to himself, Magnus takes his concerned gaze away from the shells a moment longer as Paradigm speaks. As he does, the City Commander offers a wry smile, tapping a large white hand against his chest with a metallic clang. "It's something about power armors, too. Mine hasn't been looked at or updated in... quite a while. Its weaponry might need some upgrades so I can keep it up to snuff with the Decepticons. I was wondering if you could take a look at it and modify it -- update its weapons systems a little." Paradigm smiles, walking over to Magnus with a great deal of curiousity. "Power armour? I hadn't realised. Simply for power enhancing abilities, or to make up for weakness of injuries?" He starts to walk around Magnus in a circle, looking him over. "Mmmm, I did want to ask about your age, but I thought it pretty rude to ask..." Offering a mild sort of grin in response to Paradigm's queries, Magnus responds first in explanation, "The power armor acts sort of like an exo-skeleton; it gives me further protection and provides addition weaponry, like the missile launches." A hand taps against one of those crimson missiles mounted at his shoulders. "It overall enhances my efficiency in battle. As for how old I am..." as Ultra Magnus speaks, the armor starts to peel away, red and blue metal expanding in bands and rotating outwards to open up in the back. From it, a slightly smaller robot steps out with the slight hiss of moving metal. A distinct form indeed: despite the almost pure white coloration, he's nearly a spitting image of Optimus Prime. "... I've been around for a long while." Ultra Magnus' power armor expands and seperates from his body, leaving the distinctive form of... Optimus Prime?!?! Paradigm freezes in surprise as Magnus emerges from his armour, hand jerking almost instinctively to his side where he keeps his gun. "Oh..." he mutters. "Oh... well... I can see why you might want to cover yourself up..." He starts to walk around Magnus and the armour now. "Well well, that is pretty remarkable. I take it it is specially designed for you, yes? Unlike these newer one-size fits all..." Looking up towards the now-empty shell of his armor, Magnus taps a single finger against his chin. "Yes, it's a bit more distinct. The suit only responds to me. It's something like an extension of myself, I guess you could say. Whatever it feels, I feel." He knocks a hand against the power armor, considering it from an outside perspective now. "But no one has really tinkered with it since it was made, so I think I could afford to get it looked at and upgraded. I came to you first for it; the work on the Shells comes first, but whenever you have the time, if you could give it a once-over and update it's weapons systems, I would be very thankful." "Mmmmm" Paradigm sticks his head into the armour out of curiousity. "You've come to the right person, I am one of the best technical assets you have. Apart from Perceptor, but he's such an unimaginative bore, I hardly think he counts." He pulls his head out and walks over to a workbench. "You seem to have faded too Magnus, I'd go get a lick of paint if I were you whilst you are at it" "Perceptor is fine," comes Magnus' easy reply, "but he's a bit too apt to go off on tangents." Tangents that Magnus often can't understand. The City Commander twists, looking over himself as Paradigm speaks, glowing optics closing in a slow blinks. "Eh? I suppose you're right. It has been a while since I've operated outside of my armor, maybe it's about time I got it touched up." He pauses here, looking back towards Paradigm. "So, you can get this done, then? Whenever you've completed your work on the armor, just let me know." "Mmmm tangents can be dangerous" Paradigm mutters. "Especially when they are irrational ones." He starts to take apart the shoulder launchers on the armour. "You know, I was on Trenchern IV a few hundred years ago researching their power relay systems. I'd say such an upgrade would suit you perfectly..." "Oh?" Ultra Magnus begins as he turns on his heel, arms crossing over his chest as he settles his gaze upon Paradigm. "Trenchern IV, huh? What, exactly, do those power relay systems do?" His gaze shifts towards his power armor, considering it as Paradigm gets to work. "--In simple terms, please." Paradigm starts to rip out the boxy innards of the launchers and replace them with small chips from inside a box he has appropriated. "In simple terms Magnus? They /relay power/." He grins widely as he strips down part of the insides of the armour. "That simple enough for you Magnus?" "... Simple enough," Magnus echoes with a bit of a frown behind that blue faceplate of his, watching as Paradigm works on the missile launchers. "If you want to be technical, anyway. What made them any different from a standard power relay system?" Paradigm doesn't have enough hands to hold things and work at the same time, so his mouth currently has several components lodged in it. He sighs, straightening up and placing the components on the side. "This" he says, holding up a string of wires connected to boxes "this is your standard power relay. Cheap, easy to manufacture, and very fragile. Prone to burnouts and failure. This however is a new version. Much more expensive to manufacture, but the advantage is all in its strength and increased output. A logical transaction." Magnus watches on curiously, optics flitting down to the power relay as it is presented, leaning in to get a better look at it. "Mm," he mutters thoughtfully, scratching the side of his helmet'd head. "So increased efficiency in output for more resources. Seems like a simple enough trade to me. I imagine this power relay will last considerably longer than the standard?" "Of course" Paradigm mutters. "It would be pretty useless if it didn't. And it won't degrade so fast in battle either, unlike the ones that the other scientists here might try to pawn off on you." He closes up the boxy side of Magnus's armour with a slam. "Mmmm, do you want to see if that feels any better? Before Elita One walks in here and has a laser-core attack" "Hmmm, let's see." Taking a couple steps forward, Magnus maneuvers towards his power armor. The armor slides open once more with the metallic hiss of red and blue metal sliding apart, and he steps within its confines, the exo-armor once more closing around the Autobot City Commander's white frame. A moment later, the optics of the armor flare to life once more as Magnus lifts a hand, flexing the digits and giving a sidelong glance towards his missile launchers. "Hmm. Much better. So, you replaced the power relay systems. Anything else I should know about?" "Oh yes, very nice" Paradigm smirks, stroking his chin as he watches Magnus strut about. "Yes, I upgraded some of the Sidelong Adaptors too, you should find yourself with a longer lasting rate of fire as well. No chance of overheating. Just don't go getting yourself killed, I'd hate to end up with Kup in charge" Shark Armor says, "If I'm reading these controls right, this one is suited to air and water operations. No more hitching a ride in someone's passenger seat!" Allowing a grim smirk to pass across his lips, Ultra Magnus nods once to Paradigm, tapping a single finger against his right launcher. "This should work perfectly. Thank you for your help here, Paradigm. And don't worry -- I won't be going anywhere for a long while to come." Giving a glance towards the armors, Magnus offers a bref nod towards Paradigm. "I'll leave you to your work, then." Paradigm nods and goes back to studying the broken Lion armour. "Thank you Magnus. And Blaster, saying that everyone to stay out of the armour was not a request, it was a statement. Please, not until we completely understand them. Last night was for emergency purposes only, they are not playthings" Blaster hurriedly unseals the armor and climbs out. "Sorry Paradude...just wanted to see if all that trouble last night was worth it." He grins cheerfully. "And I'm happy to say that it was." He flashes a thumbs up. "These things could turn Lil' Bee into a heavyweight." "Yes, until we figure out what they're capable of and what risks there might be -- keep away from using them," reiterating Paradigm's point, Ultra Magnus turns on his heel, making his way out. "I or Rodimus will probably be back soon to check up on your progress. Until then..." Magnus steps outside, the doors opening for him as he exits.
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