It was in this industry that a large, broad-shoulder man found a new purpose. This man, despite the bitter attitudes his siblings had adopted, still hosted a desire to fulfill his purpose. He was created to help humanity, and he was going to do so with or without approval from the powers that be. However, he would not do so as directly as he had with the Tetsu Roku- he couldn’t afford to make himself a target anymore.

This man, Erik Mauser, helped out in smaller ways. Things like devoting time on the volunteer fire department, cleaning the city, and generally looking for ways to improve the hopeless situation around him. He had, over the last few years in this washed out city, become the go-to man. He was someone that was respected even more than elected officials, and probably had more power than his humble heart would allow him to realize.

And still he wondered if all of this would be true if they only knew who he was. He was Gutsman of the so-called “Sinister Six”- a walking battle tank of a creature that could, and would, run straight through buildings in order to get the job done. He would destroy whatever was in his immediate path to “get the bad guys”. In doing so, he became the bad guy.

The hate that he felt in the waning days of his “hero days”, the jeers directed towards him and the threats of death he was faced with on a daily basis because of his methods, never left him. It haunted him as clearly now as it did a decade ago. With this guilt-ridden heart, he sought out redemption amongst the very people who would see him dead if they knew his secret. It was the only way, he felt.

Somewhere in the back of his troubled mind, he always knew he risked it all by not living a life away from these men and women that despised him. He knew that someday, they’d find out, and he would have hell to pay no matter what good deeds he did to make up for it all.

Perhaps that’s why it didn’t really surprise him all that much when four men dressed in dark armor surrounded him as he left the work site this day. Quite frankly, he was amazed he had lasted this long without being found out. His only question now was what these men would do now that they supposedly had him cornered.

“Come quietly, Mauser.”, commanded one of the anonymous looking soldiers. “No one has to get hurt.”

“Hmm…”, Erik contemplated with his hand upon his pronounced jaw. “I should hope not…But what are the charges?”

“Charges?”, the same trooper echoed. “Just who do you think we are? The local police?”

“I was hoping so, yeah. So, who are you then? U.S. Army? British Intelligence? Japanese, maybe?”, the giant inquired.

“…No. But it really doesn’t matter. Now, are you going to come quietly or do we have to get noisy?”

“Well, it’s gonna be that way, I guess I haven’t much of a choice, do I?”, Erik submitted as he held his hands up in a calming manner.

“Good man. Good Gutsman.”, the lead soldier commended.

Somehow, the two parties weren’t on the same page, as the “spokesman” of the group found himself laying on the ground with a broken jaw and clavicle after a sharp lariat by the nearly seven foot tall gargantuan. Before the other three could squeeze the triggers of their assault rifles, the master of urban warfare had created an impromptu diversion by stomping his massive foot on the ground as he reeled back from his clothesline- instant smokescreen.

The dirt his signature stomp had kicked up flew upwards and directly into the dark visors of the soldiers, blinding them for a few precious seconds. That was all he needed. The former Gutsman may have been the slowest of his siblings, but he was still superhuman. A few well placed kicks and throws landed these men a similar fate to their spokesman.

“Hmm…Bunch of kids, it seems.”, Erik noted. “No group of pros would have been taken down by such an obvious trick. Maybe they’re not government guys after all…”

“Heh…Still got it, Gutsy!”, a high pitched voice proclaimed from atop a neighboring scaffold. “Oh, I’m sorry…It’s ‘Erik’ now, right?”

“I am who I am, I suppose. Just as you’ll always be my brother no matter what name you pick out for yourself.”

* * * *

It was well into the evening, and after hours of reminiscing and catching up, until Iceman finally got down to business and let his long lost brother in on the real reason behind his visit.

“Yeah…I saw that on the news last night.”, Erik confirmed as he sipped his coffee in the small diner he often visited. “Couldn’t believe it at first, but there was no mistaking that…thing. And I had a feeling one of us was the one that took it down.”

“Believe me, I didn’t want to.”, Gary grumbled as he again rotated his still stiff shoulder.

“So…You say that our old beetle buddy was being piloted this time around?” Any ideas on who?”

“No.”, Iceman huffed into his chocolate malt. “They died before I could get anything out of them.”

“Iceman…You didn’t…”, the gentle giant’s eyes grew in disbelief.

“Nope. Some sort of surgically implanted bomb in the base of their skulls. Designed to keep ‘em quiet at any cost.”

Gutsman sighed in relief. He hoped his own kin hadn’t sunk so low that killing came so easily.

“At any rate, it seems as though someone’s out to find us, and they’ll go to any lengths to bring us in.”, Iceman continued.

“I see you came ready for a fight.”, Gutsman said quietly, looking at the familiar backpack that Iceman carried around when he was off duty in the Tetsu Roku days. “I can only assume you’ve visited Rock and Roll already?”

“Yeah. Your crap was too heavy for me to carry around, so you’ll have to go back home to get it.”

“I don’t want it.”

Iceman stared blankly at his larger brother as he searched for the meaning behind those simple words. They just seemed to not sink in as quickly as they should have.

“Guts, what the hell do you mean ‘you don’t want it’? You have any clue as to what we might be going up against? We need as much support as we can get!”

The hulking, quiet man looked into his nearly empty mug on the table in front of him. “I knew this day was coming. I knew I’d have to make a choice one day; to live in the past or to embrace the future.”

“Look…”, Iceman started as he rubbed his hair in visible frustration. “Do you really think they’ll stop with one try? For all we know there’s guys watching us right now! We could have dozens of those soldiers looking over us right now, ready to pounce.”

“Ice…Gary…I don’t want that life anymore. I’ve found a purpose. I’m finally doing some good here. If I have to deal with a few punks every now and then to continue living, then I will.”

“Oh for the luva…How can you be so two dimensional? You do realize that even if you do try the stupid ‘big hero on the block’ method that they’d eventually start using the people around you as bait, right?”

Gutsman stared defiantly at his significantly smaller sibling, but he knew there was truth to those words.

“The longer you hang around here, the more you put everyone you care about in danger. The only way to do any good in this case is to get away from here. Just until we figure out what’s going on.”, Gary rationalized.

Gutsman shut his eyes slowly and replied plainly: “So…what’s the plan?”

Seeing that he had finally talked some sense into his infamously stubborn brother, Iceman smirked. “The plan is…That we do as I did today. We’ve got to find the others before whoever is after us does. I get the feeling that this isn’t some simple revenge thing- it’s much bigger than that. Someone wants us alive for some reason, and judging by the lengths they’ve already gone to, we may have only seen the beginning of this. It’s just going to get tougher from here on out.”

“And because of the pact we made, we have to do this one by one.”, Gutsman added.

“Right. Big pain in the ass that ended up being.”, Iceman rolled his eyes. “So, here’s what we’ll do for now: tell me who you’re in contact with and their address. I’ll get them while you head back home to grab your gear. I’ll ship back whoever it is that I’ll be going after and you and I will re-group to find the next one. Then we’ll take it from there.”

“Hmm…Alright. A bit of a headache, but it’s really the only option we’ve got.”, Gutsman agreed.

“Unfortunately. So…Who’s next?”

Chapter Five Extra Content: Erik Mauser

Human Identity: Erik Mauser
Original Name: Gutsman
Serial No: DLNO-RE-004
Specialized In: Urban Riot Suppression and Large Scale Operations
Height: 6’11”
Weight: 375 LBS
Current Location: Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.

Like the other Tetsu Roku members, Gutsman found himself without a use to society, much to his anger. Taking the Germanic name "Erik Mauser" and traveling the world, Gutsman, for the first time, found himself interacting with humans on a regular basis outside of Light Labs. After a few years touring Europe incognito, Erik's demeanor changed from an anti social, brutal soldier to a more "gentle giant" persona.

This also meant Erik took on the guilt of causing so much destruction in his career with the "Sinister Six", and he soon came to hate his days as Gutsman. Now, as he still wanders the United States on occasion, Erik finds himself lending his strength to construction crews working with charities, as if to atone for his "crimes".

As Gutsman, Erik wasn't necessarily the most skilled warrior, but his enormous strength and head strong "at any cost" mentality assured the task at hand would always be finished, even if it meant destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars in public property. Despite bickering within the team about who caused the most property damage, Gutsman was the figure head of the "Sinister Six" in the eyes of the media.

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