Once he was an ordinary high school kid. He excelled in sports, and his grades were average, but then a strange and wonderful thing happened. In a freak accident, his very atomic structure was merged with that of a scientist, and the two joined to become Firestorm, Te he Nuclear Man!

Those days of a shared existence are forever over, but now College student Ronnie Raymond carries on the tradition he started with Dr. Martin Stein , as he fights the good fight, and struggles with maintaining his grades as well as knocking the villain of the week back into the last one! He has the power of atomic manipulation, can fly through space and can fire nuclear blasts capable of leveling a city block! But he still can't get to class on time!

The Fury of Firestorm, The Nuclear Man

Firestorm #12

True power

The end of the Dr Zero epic !

By Ralph L Angelo Jr

Somewhere deep in the Adirondack Mountains of New York...

Firestorm stares angrily at the strange tableau before him. The woman he knew as Dr Jacobs, who he thought was a friend, has revealed herself to be a dire enemy instead, who is calling herself "Frostbyte!" Basically another "Killer frost" but now adorned in black leather, slit to her waist down the front, with icy dagger earrings, and a mass of icy flowing hair. Between her evilly grinning face and Firestorm is the man he's battled several times in the past few weeks. Dr Zero. The seemingly deranged scientist who has plagued Firestorms life with various attacks. Dr Zero stands, a tall gaunt man with a bald head, and silver flecked goatee . A strange pair of softly glowing goggles cover his eyes, as he continues to talk to Frostbyte.

Firestorm stands in a glass cylinder, which he cannot escape from. A humming energy field within the cylinder keeps him from freedom. But his mind is working. He knows there's a way out.

Behind Frostbyte and Zero stand the now silent Karbon robots that Zero used to capture Firestorm. "Yet another debt I owe you Dr Zero." Thinks the Nuclear man as he surveys his jail.

Finally, Firestorm can bear no more. He stares at the two enemies before him, who both have the backs turned to him and shouts "What do you two want? What's the deal with you Zero? You another maniac looking to rule the world?"

Dr Zero turns towards Firestorm and speaks. "Not at all Ronald. What was done here was done to simply assuage my scientific curiosity. Basically, to see if it can be done as it were. "

"And obviously it can, whatever "it" is." Firestorm answers.

"Yes Ronald. What "It" is, is genetic manipulation. I imbued Ms Jacobs with the powers of Killer Frost due to an earlier contact I had with that woman, when I was able to obtain a sample of her DNA. Using what I learned from you, I was able to manipulate that DNA and apply it's abilities to Dr Jacobs."

"And the de-aging was a side effect?

"No Firestorm, that was all part of the plan." Frostbyte answers. "I noticed that both Killer Frosts suddenly became young and beautiful, and I assumed, immortal. And I wanted that. I wanted all of it. Since I had known Dr Zero for some time, and knew of his penchant for genetic research, As well as robotic engineering, I knew he would be interested and the perfect partner for my little experiment."

"So this is how you treat people who trust you, huh Jacobs? Some teacher you turned out to be." Firestorm angrily spits out.

"Do you think I care, boy? "

"Obviously not."

"This is all irrelevant , Firestorm." Zero interjects between the two. "You are our prisoner , Firestorm. And when we are done with you, you will be released, but I will remove your powers from your body, leaving you a normal young man."

"Like hell you will!" Firestorm yells angrily as he tries to phase through the tube once more, only to be rebounded powerfully by the energy field within!

"Ssszzrrrack!

Firestorm slumps to the bottom of the tube, barely conscious. But in his mind, he seethes angrily at his tormentors.

"There's got to be a way out of this tube. Something they over looked."his mind reels, as he exhales in frustration. And then suddenly his eyes flare a little brighter. "I've got it!" He thinks.

Dr Zero and Frostbyte leave the room where Firestorm is trapped, leaving a couple of Karbon units standing guard., as they move to a more private room to talk.

"He did not take that well." Zero announces to his co-conspirator

"That's his problem, lover." The icy woman intones as she strokes his back.

Zero turns and looks down at her. "I am unsure of this, Bernadette. Scientific curiosity is one thing, but to kill a man, a hero... This is more then I believe I can do, for any woman. Even one as icily beautiful as yourself."

She leans forward and lightly touches her lips to his, and then grips him strongly, as he begins to struggle...

In the other part of the hidden lab, where Firestorm is held captive...

"Okay," He thinks, "Time to get busy while they're both out of here."

He suddenly turns himself immaterial and floats in the cylinders center, not touching anything.

"That worked, and the Karbons haven't budged. I gotta figure that they're not going to be activated until I break free of here, or threaten them in some way or another. This should work."

Firestorms eyes flash, as he turns the oxygen in the cylinder to solid steel, flush with the energy field and cylinder walls, with himself in the center of the steel.

"Now I can't even see if they reacted to that or not, so I have to do this quick. One last step."

Suddenly he begins to superheat the steel cylinder inside the glass tube, agitating it's atoms to a high speed frenzy, creating a heat that expands the steel, shattering the glass cylinder into a billion pieces !

Cha-KRAASSHHH!!!

Instantly the Karbons leap forwards ,as Firestorm flies free of the steel cylinder,

"No more messin' around boys. Time to get serious."

Firestorm raises both hands and fires a wave of explosive fury at the Karbons, , smashing them backwards, and blowing them all through the wall behind them, where Dr Zero is on his knees as Frostbyte kisses him, stealing the very heart from his body, seeking to kill him as Killer frost has done in years past!

She pulls away from Dr Zero angrily, seething at Firestorm!

"YOU! I'll kill you, you child!" She roars furiously.

"I stopped being a child a while ago, you old hag. You want to rock? Lets go for it." Firestorm answers through clenched teeth.

But... Suddenly another player returns to the game.

"You thought me defeated, Bernadette? You thought to kill me? Think again!"

Dr Zero tears the goggles from his eyes, as beams of horrific energy rip from them, smashing Frostbyte across the room, and through another wall !

Sha-BOOM!

"What th-?" Firestorm stammers as he rips skywards, avoiding the Karbons lunging for him. He becomes immaterial, and phases through the roof, and out, followed an instant later by half a dozen raging Karbon robots, who far less gracefully smash their way free of the building.

"Okay, I can't affect you buckets of bolts directly, but I bet indirectly I can turn you all to scrap."

The six attack as one, flying in formation after Firestorm across the sky. Blistering the sky with energy beams all around him, as he dives and swoops, avoiding them all, finally, executing a rolling dive that he turns into a blistering ascent, Firestorm comes up quickly beneath the Karbons, as energy plays about his fingers, leaping to envelope the rampaging robots, as suddenly steel bars connect them all in odd places around their bodies! And as one they tear each other apart with their sheer thrust and speed, as six robots seek to go in opposite directions at once, their bodies shattering like glass, or ice...

Back in the lab...

"Die Bernadette! You will pay for what you have done to me !" Dr Zero's eyes blaze again and again, smashing the beleaguered Frostbyte almost continuously, smashing her like a rag doll before his fury!

Firestorm flies back into the lab, this time disintegrating a wall to gain egress. "Okay you two freaks, time to go to jail. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Just go to jail."

Both turn simultaneously and fire bolts of both cold and crushing force at Firestorm.

"Never !" They shout in unison.

'Whoa!" The nuclear man exclaims as he dives around their blast. "You two wanna play rough, that's cool with me.!"

Firestorm suddenly encases Frostbyte in a block of ice!

"Don't try to break free Frosty, that's not regular ice, that's liquid Oxygen and water. More then enough to keep you in place."

Bra-KOOM!

A blast of energy crushes Firestorm, beating him through another wall. On the other side he immediately takes to the air, refusing to lose, to be beaten, through pain and agony, his anger and resolve shine through like a beacon in the cold dark night. He will not fail!

He turns towards his tormentor, Dr Zero steps through the wall, his lab coat and short sleeve shirt beneath torn away to reveal a gleaming steel skin worn under his clothes.

"What are you?" Firestorm grunts as he avoids another blast from Zero's eyes.

"This was done to me by those who I once worked for. I was a scientist assigned by the Government to the Suicide Squad. But a battle between them and others resulted in my being wounded to the core of my being. My body began producing this powerful energy, which can only be expelled through my eyes, and the body armor was a mere precaution, using the Karbon technology I had developed. While Frostbyte DID wound me, she did not do so to any great extent, to your eternal regret."

"Mine baldy? No, make that yours! All this means is I don't have to hold back."

Firestorm swings both arms forwards, unleashing his explosive nuclear blasts, pulverizing Dr Zero out yet another wall !

Then, the room around Firestorm begins to shake and rumble "It's all going down, cool." He streaks skywards, out the side of the hidden lair that begins to fall underneath its own weight , as Dr Zero seeks to raise himself up off his knees in the dirt outside. "Forget it , Doc. You're going down, and staying that way."

Firestorm streaks in and hammers the mad scientist across the jaw, smashing him back to the ground in a heap.

POW!

"Now THAT was satisfying." He says as he lands , wiping his hands together.

"Not as satisfying as this will be, boy."

He turns towards the female voice behind him quickly, knowing already who it is, as sub-zero cold envelopes him head to toe instantly in a wave !

Frostbyte painfully limps past him, grabbing Dr Zero by the collar, and creating an ice slide beneath her feet, before turning back to him.

"You win this round, Firestorm, I know you'll be free of that in another few seconds, but just remember, we'll be back, and we know who you are."

She dives off the cliff face beneath her, dragging the unconscious Dr Zero with her. Almost simultaneously , Firestorm shatters the ice from within, causing it to explode away from him, as he flies instantly after them, but...

"They're gone. I don't see any trace of them at all, and you know what? I'm glad." He slumps to the ground, exhausted. Behind him , the rest of the structure collapses with a sickening groan, as if in agreement.

Epilogue: Ronnie Raymond returns to his dorm room, where his room mates both are sitting watching him walk through the door.

"Ron, you're okay? We were both worried as hell." Marco Rollo exclaims excitedly.

"Hey man, speak for yourself, Brian McCormick laughs, "I was just worried that we'd have to find another roomie."

"Nice welcome back, guys. Thanks." Ronnie answers sarcastically. "Right about now though, I need a break." He walks towards his room, as both his room mates turn towards each other and smile, as Ronnie shuts the door behind him.

He slumps into his bed, kicking his shoes off, as a hand slips itself sensually around his shoulder, causing hin to leap from the bed like a bullet! "Whoa! Who?"

A light goes on at the night stand and a beaming blonde enshrouded face smiles back at his own astonished, slack jawed face.

"Jennie??? You're back??? B-but I thought you were s-staying in Atlanta??? H-how?" He hugs her tightly as he speaks , and she giggles , returning his hug.

"I told daddy that I could take care of myself, that I missed you, and that if I was going to make it in fashion, it would be best for me to do it in New York, the fashion capitol of the world. Plus I told him you'd protect me. " She smiles playfully as she strokes his face. "You think you're up to it, handsome?"

"You have no idea, beautiful." He kisses her then, long and hard, then hugs her again, before wording again' You have no idea" and as he does , his eyes flash with an atomic signature, matching the smile on his lips.

Nuclear reactions C/O

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And there you have it, gang. My last issue (for the foreseeable future at least ) of Firestorm , the nuclear man. I hope you enjoyed it, I know I did. Especially my last half dozen issues or so. It was a blast. Now if no one picks this series up in the next year or so, I may be back. But if I do, it'll be a while. So all you guys out there who liked this series, let me know if you want more from me on 'ol hothead. Thanks again, Ralph. 2/1/02