Another thing Gary hated. It was hot, it was dry, and it was bright. Three things that went against what Iceman was built for. And here he was, under the scorching sun, searching for his next old comrade. Was Gutsman right about him being here? Gary would hate it if it turned out he wasn’t here after all.

He’d been walking around the streets of Las Vegas for two hours now, and still no sign of Bombman. You’d think a guy with an ego big enough to give the moon a run for it’s money wouldn’t be that hard to find. At least, that’s how Iceman remembered his old friend. After seeing how much Gutsman had changed in the past ten years, maybe Bombman had changed as well.

Las Vegas itself had changed, that’s for sure. A lot of the glitter was gone, the neon lights. Even during the night, Vegas struggled to remain a shell of it’s former self. It’s casinos, most of which had dried up and shit down a few years ago, were boarded up and abandoned. Without jobs or money, an extra like Las Vegas was the first thing dropped from most people’s lives. All the people that had money lived in Antarctica, anyways, and Gary knew the last thing they’d be doing in that haven was gambling their lives away.

Still, some people clung to their former lives with a death grip. They just couldn’t shake their addictions, no matter how broke they were. Gambling was just part of the problem now; drugs, alcohol, crime…All were part of the everyday norm of the Vegas life. Even gas was hard to come by here, as nobody had seen a gas delivery tanker come anywhere near here in years. With dry, unbearable desert wasteland surrounding the dying Sin City, escape was only a dream.

This made strangers stick out like a sore thumb.

People eyeballed Gary everywhere he went, glaring at him and examining every aspect of him. They seemed most interested in his duffel bag, which unbeknownst to them carried his Iceman gear, just in case. He already had to fend off three separate street thugs since landing just out of town, and his patience was at an end. He almost killed the last attacker.

It was in this state of mind that Iceman nearly mutilated a poor man that reached out and grabbed his pant leg from the curb. About to shoo away yet another bum, Gary looked at this broken man to find a surprising set of eyes looking into his.

“…Bomb…Man?”, he muttered.

The man stood up, not too much taller than the five-foot-four Gary, and tried to cover up his beggar actions by brushing the sand and dirt off of his sun-bleached clothes. An empty bottle crashed to the broken sidewalk as he stood upright, matching the distinct aroma of whisky on the man’s breath and attire. He almost fell over just standing up right.

“Jesus…Bomb, it is you. What the hell are you doing?”

“Ahh, hush with th’ ‘Bomb’ stuff. Y’know those days ‘r over. Folks ‘round here jus’ call me Rich, now. Kassidy…”, he slurred, barely stringing the words together in a somewhat decipherable order.

“You’re all beat up, Bomb, I mean ‘Rich’. What have you been doing out here?”

“Drinkin’, mos’ly. Some fightin’, too.”

Rich collapsed forward again, with Gary barely catching him and putting him upright again.

“Well…leave it to you to find out if an android can become an alcoholic…”, Gary mused.

“…What are ya doin’ here?”, Rich said, looking down at the street to avoid the last statement. He wasn’t particularly proud of what he chose to be when the Tetsu Roku disbanded.

“There’s been some trouble, Rich. Someone may be after all of us. They’ve already attacked me and Erik…Gutsman, and they probably won’t stop there.”

“’Someone’?…Like, soldiers, y’think?”, Rich looked at Gary with a twitch.

“Yeah! How’d you know? Didn’t think you’d be so on top of things in your…condition.”, Gary said, picking his wording carefully.

“Oh…Cause a few of ‘em came around a few days ago, lookin’ for me. I tol’ ‘em to piss off, but then they got all rough. Had to blow one of their heads off ta get my point across, an’ then they up an’ left…minus a few arms n’ crap.”

“Still got it, huh?”, Gary smirked at his friend, who was in his prime one of the most clever fighters he had known.

“Nah, man…Jus’ got lucky…”

“Well, glad you made it through alright. Listen…we’re gonna get you back home, clean you up, and then we’ll go from there, alright? We’ll go looking for the team mate you happen to know the location of and-”

“Fa….Fireman? The hell with that…”, Rich spat.

“Oh dammit, Bomb, not this still! You’re not still blaming Fireman for causing the split, are you?”

“You’re damn right I am. It was him! Him and the Philly job! That’s what did it!”

“We don’t have time for this…Look, let’s just get you home and Gutsman and I will look for Fireman. You just tell us where he is, alright?”

Rich gritted his teeth and looked away.

“Right?!”, Gary shouted.

“Alright! Fine…Dammit. Not like I got anything better to do, anyways. ‘Sides…it’ll be nice ta see Rock an’ the others after so long….”

“There ya go. C’mon man, let’s go home.” Gary said as he helped Rich maintain his balance once again.

“Yeah…Home…Hey, Ice?”

“What’s up, Bomb?”

“I’ve been thinkin’…Maybe I should give up drinkin’…”, Rich said as he pulled a flask from his pocket and unscrewed the cap. He looked down into the bottle and seemed to think hard for a few moments before pouring it’s contents on the street as they walked off together.

“That’s probably a good idea, Rich.”

“Yeah…Well…Maybe just on the weekdays…”

Gary sighed. “Y’know…You’re starting to sound more like your old, stubborn-ass self every second.”

Chapter Six Extra Content: Rich Kassidy

Human Identity: Rich Kassidy
Original Name: Bombman
Serial No: DLNO-RE-006
Specialized In: Desert and Wide Range Fighting
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 150 LBS
Current Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

With the Tetsu Roku disbanded, Rich wandered, eventually taking root in the shunned city of Las Vegas, which has largely been abandoned as an extravagant luxury of days gone past by the U.S. government and public alike. Likening himself to the dilapidated Sin City, Rich felt abandoned by the very people he wanted to protect as a Tetsu Roku member.

Within months, he was a drunk, having no will to make anything of himself in the post-Sinister Six era. His electronic brain eventually became addicted to alcohol, much like a human's would- a true testament to Dr Light's dedication to replicating the human mind, as well as showcasing the flaws of that thinking.

As Bombman, Rich was sober and extremely cunning and tactical in his approach. He often relied on elaborate traps to defeat large amounts of enemies, and often served as Elecman's spotter during sniping missions due to his innate penchant for detail. He also was in charge of keeping ammunition on hand for all of the Tetsu Roku, due to his abilities.

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