Continuing on from my previous post --
Protectobots: There's a very long, convoluted story that accompanied the Protectobots break-up - which I'll spare you all from recounting - but the reasoning behind it can be summed up simply as; I wanted to shake up the status quo and thought the gestalt team dynamic was far too restrictive.
It was an experiment that produced a few successes - as well as a few failures.
Blades:
Hoooo boy...
Okay, I'll come out and admit it, when I initially sketched out the idea, the break-up was written around Blades -- if it wasn't already obvious to those paying attention. Fortunately, that would change over time. While I can easily blame Blades for some of the hiccups resulting from that plotline, a few cool developments arose from it as well.
But, still...poor, poor Blades. He's had some pretty crappy luck since I sunk my talons into him.
Come along, everyone, let's recap: During peacetime, Blades, along with his unit, was transferred to the ISS. He was soon discharged for being, well, a violent asshole. He then relocated to the Border Regions and fell into some difficult times. Down on his luck, he was then recruited by Axer to join his pitfighting racket, which turned out was being funded by a super eeee-vil corporation. Said super-evil corporation (Tzai Industries) turned out to be a front to an evil-er syndicate ran by self-styled savior/super-villain Banzaitron, who hired Blades as his bodyguard/messenger boy/tough guy. He took part in a violent turf war between the Tzai and a competing syndicate - and inadvertently pulled the Wreckers into that mess when Blades nearly killed one of them. Blades then became a fugitive, changed his name and paint-job (for the second time!). He was ''befriended" by mercenary Doubledealer and currently works for club-owner/ex-Decepticon/rich guy Magnificus, whose hobbies include purging Iacon of renegade 'Cons (particularly former-Cons running for office).
Dizzy yet? I know I am.
First Aid: Forget "
poor, poor Blades", what about Poor First Aid?
He was caught in the middle of the Blades maelstrom. Such a sweetheart, too. Timid, compassionate (which is rare for any of my characters), he only meant well and he still got the shaft in the end.
At any rate, the story thus far: While it didn't happen on-page, it was established that First Aid was the first to leave the Protectobots. He devoted his time at the IMR (Iacon's medical school & hospital) working directly under Ratchet as his apprentice, later taking his place when Ratchet volunteered to join Fort Max's crew in Protihex. He maintained ties to his former-teammates, but was particularly preoccupied by Blades, who at that point, had begun on his downward spiral. He got caught up in all the Tzai Industries/Wreckers drama, and was even marked for death by Banzaitron's assassins. All because he cared too much about his former-teammate. In the end, he was willing to become a fugitive himself, but so as not to be implicated, Blades and Doubledealer convinced him to have his memories of the incident wiped.
There's a moral to that story...
somewhere in that mess
Groove: Groove's development is interesting because it would
sort of become a joint effort later on with some of the other RPG mods. Established as the third to leave the Protectobots, Groove reasoning was similar to First Aid's. He joined Autobase's diplomatic wing, soon becoming impassioned by it. He was soon transferred to Protihex. All his bright-eyed, yet naive notions about pacifism and preserving the neutrality of Protihex were put to the ultimate test. He spent a lot of time there reevaluating his stance, at which point he was approached by a grass-roots organization (optimusskids characters) who wanted to groom him to be the city-state's governor in the then-upcoming election.
However, once he was elected - defeating Shockwave (!) in the polls - Groove sadly disappeared into the background. Only recently he resurfaced as a rallying point during the Imperial invasion.
Still, who'd a thunk it? A nobody like Groove getting that far. I dunno...It's kinda cool
Hot Spot &
Streetwise: Funnily enough, these two walked out of the break-up virtually unscathed. That said, they're also the least developed of my Protectobots. They both remained with the ISS. Hot Spot went from unit commander to ISS captain. Streetwise, over time, went on to become a detective and even got his own SWAT unit to boss around. The most significant development I'd have to say was during the formation of the Guard City Unit. At that point Streetwise and Hot Spot became mentors, commanding a unit that eerily resembles the Protectobots.
Aside from Streetwise, on a couple of occasions, stating his reservations against Guard City's creation, nothing much else on that end. Slingshot (Warcry's character) telling off Hot Spot may qualify as character development, though.