Once he was an average high school kid. He excelled in sports, and his grades were average, but then a strange and wonderful occurrence happened. In a freak accident, his very atomic structure was merged with that of a scientist, and the two joined to become Firestorm, The 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! #1

"Beginnings, again...."

A Cold Armageddon Cross-over.

By Ralph Angelo

Ronnie Raymond can't believe his eyes! All around him Manhattan burns! Warships zip across the fiery skyline of New York, energy beams burn everything they touch, and this was supposed to be his first day back in school!

"No way do they do this to my city, my world, no way!"

He concentrates momentarily, a mental switch is thrown in his head, as , suddenly Ronnie Raymond, returning college student is no more, in his place is FIRESTORM, the nuclear man!

Amid a corona of nuclear energy, Firestorm arcs skyward, as a Gordanian battle cruiser bears down on him, preparing to fire its heavy forward weaponry at his form, he aims both hands at its hull, and releases energy from them. Energy that turns that hull to rubber, simultaneously the engines suddenly begin to release helium instead of energy thrust, and like a balloon that's been punctured, the ship flies across the city out of control, to land with a soggy splash in the east river!

"One down." Thinks Firestorm. "Only another 150,000 to go."

He streaks skywards once more, his mind trailing back to recent events. Was it only months ago that he helped Superman battle the villainous Hybrid?* That was the last time he became Firestorm. He had so much going on at that time. His move back to New York, his enrollment at Empire State College, as a science major of all things, studying nuclear theory. And this was the first day of the summer session he had signed up for!

*See Superman #6

High above the city Firestorm gains a new perspective on the battle, and it's one that sickens him! The Chrysler building burns, as half its face is torn away, One of the World Trade towers lies in rubble, as the harbor is lit by the flames of burning ships.

"That's the place where I start ." He speaks aloud.

In a blur of nuclear energy, Firestorm races down to the harbor, as dozens of small Gordaniun ships fire a blistering barrage at the naval vessels docked there. The big ships fire back, but for the most part miss their marks as the faster, smaller Gordaniun ships simply dart out of the way of the heavy weapons fire.

"Time to even up the odds some."

Firestorm points his hands at several Gordaniun ships clustered close together, and energy dances from his fingertips, to play over their surfaces. Seemingly nothing has happened, but the next time the individual ships fire their weapons ......

Poof!

Flowers! The Gordaniun ships are firing flowers now, instead of energy blasts! Then they try to escape, but suddenly their engines are puffing steam instead hyper-flight thrust! The naval ships suddenly have no problem picking the flying ships from the air.

"Okay. One problem solved. Now time to clear the city streets up."

He drops to ground level, as he sees dozens of brutal Gordanian slavers rounding up innocents and herding them with glowing rods to awaiting ships.

"Move it filthy hu-mans." Snaps a particularly nasty looking Gordanian, glowing energy whip in hand "You must be made good for something. You certainly are not warriors."

Bramm!

Suddenly an energy blast throws the Gordaniun from his feet, to tumble through the air and land ignominiously amid the rubble on the other side of the street.

A voice roars above the din, heroic, young and powerful. And one last thing, angry!

"What's the matter Gordie? They're no challenge for you? Try someone who is!"

"You!" Roars the bewildered Gordaniun, "FIRESTORM! I knew I would run into one of you meta human scum before the destruction of this petty world was complete."

"Destruction? You mean you're not trying to simply conquer the Earth this time? Then why are you taking prisoners?"

"The prisoners are a way to turn a profit when this planet is nothing but debris, but that is none of your concern, your immediate worry is ME!"

The brutal slaver snaps his energy whip out at blinding speed, to wrap it around Firestorms body, as intense pain wraps itself around Firestorms very being!

"AAAAA!" He screams , as his body and mind burn at the energy whips touch !

But suddenly the whip falls through Firestorms body, as, with a thought , he becomes immaterial.

"That hurt you gorilla. Now it's time to see if you give as good as you get."

The Gordanian begins to run, when inexplicably, his boots suddenly turn to steel, and the patch of ground he's standing on becomes part of his boots! He falls forward, then whips backwards to smash his head on the asphalt, as his legs from the knee down remain rigid in the now steel boots and street combination.

"Arrgh, I'll kill you Earther."

He rips his feet free of the boots, while Firestorm hovers above the slaver, arms crossed nonchalantly.

The Gordanian throws himself upwards at Firestorm, whose fist suddenly glows with energy, as he levels a haymaker to the Gordanians exposed jaw!

Poom!

The slaver crumples to the street , as Firestorm lands next to him.

"Get up you filthy monster. And take this message back to your masters, whoever they may be. Tell them no one is going to take this planet out. No one! We've got enough firepower here to make sure galactic garbage like you creeps don't have a chance here, ever! Now get outta here!"

He kicks the Gordaniun in the face, as the crowds around him cheer. Suddenly the Gordaniun ship nearby begins to glow with power as its engines ignite, and it starts to lift off.

"Firestorm!" Screams a young woman from he sidelines, "There's people in that ship! They've got hostages on there already."

The ship suddenly arcs away, towards the open water past the bridges that connect Manhattan and Long Island, as well as the mainland itself!

"Oh hell!"

A nimbus of nuclear power marks the spot where Firestorm once stood , as he races after the slowly rising space craft.

"I can't just turn it to rubber like that other one, 'cause the people inside could be killed. How do I play this? Sometimes I really miss *Martins input."

*Martin Stein used to be one half of Firestorm.

The ship begins to pull away from Firestorm, as its hyper-light drive begins to power up.

"If that thing makes the leap to hyper speed, I've lost it. There's no way I can keep up with it."

Suddenly He fires energy from his hands once more, to turn the powerful engines to jelly, and subsequently to hang a huge helium filled balloon from the ships upper hull. Then, slowly at first, all its forward momentum falls away, as the balloon begins to support its weight.

Then the guns begin to fire, with Firestorm as their intended target!

"Yow!" He yells as blazing energy beams pummel him, only his quick thinking in turning immaterial again saves him from certain death!

"These guys don't know when to quit , do they?"

Once again Firestorm gestures, and the ships guns fall silent. Each one that fires, simply releases a sign that unfurls saying ":Bang"

"Okay Gordanians, now's the time to be smart, something you guys aren't exactly known for. Now you surrender, and I take it easy on you. Or you try to continue to play rough. And I get angry. What do you say?"

Silence.

Then.....

A hatch somewhere opens in the belly of the ship, and a woman is thrown out screaming!

"No! You dirty sonuva...."

Firestorm accelerates downwards, creating a giant catchers mitt out of the air itself to catch the frightened woman. Once he does, he turns the mitt into a large raft, that settles on the Long Island sounds surface, peacefully.

Turning skywards he hears the Gordaniun officers voice roar over whatever passes for a loudspeaker for their race.

"Human, You will return us to our space worthy former state, and then leave the area, or we will continue to drop these future slaves from our vessel , to the cold waters below."

"No Gordie, I don't think so."

Firestorms energy enwraps the ship. Splitting it open in the middle, as he creates a giant floating colander, one that catches the people who drop from the ship, but lets the Gordanians fall below to land hard in the water, where they float unconscious.

"I knew their hard heads were good for something."

Minutes later.....

Firestorm lands back at the docks in New York, as he tows two large rafts behind him. One filled with cheering humans, the other, more like a floating cage, filled with snarling and angry Gordanians.

"Nice job Firestorm."

Firestorm turns his head upwards, as a silver-blue figure slowly lands next to him. Firestorm nods his head grimly.

"Hello Captain Atom. What brings you here? Or do I really have to guess?"

"You already know Raymond*. I'm putting together a battle group to take on these scum, and I'd like you to be a part of it."

*Captain Atom knows Firestorms true identity from their days together in Extreme Justice.

"Another Justice League offshoot? I thought those days were over?"

"This has nothing to do with the League . We're playing for keeps here, something their rules won't allow. Are you in?"

Firestorm looks around him at his devastated city, and the ships still flying overhead. Fires burn all around him, as jet fighters engage enemy ships above the clouds. The water roils and splashes angrily as somewhere, battles are fought beneath its surface, as well as above it. Then he hears a terrible wrenching sound, as if a thousand tons of steel were screaming in agony. Both he and Captain Atom turn towards the sound, as they watch, horrified, as the Empire State building tears itself asunder, collapsing under its own embattled weight.

He turns back to Captain Atom, as screams fill the air anew.

"Yeah, I'll join your merry band. Lets just get these bastards."

Next: Firestorm and Captain Atom recruit more heroes and battle against the elite forces of the enemy, for what's left of New York! Nuclear fires!

C/O CptMarvell@aol.com

Well gang, it's been months in the making, and finally it's here. The first fDC issue of Firestorm! Let me know what you all though of this issue, as it sort of wrote itself. This is going to be a fun book, as Firestorm and friends struggle with all the complexities of young adult life, as well as FS's battles with the worst of the fDC U ! Look for some classic Firestorm baddies as well as some new ones to pop up here. Oh, and don't think you've seen the last of Martin Stein either. The Fire-mental plays heavily in our first big arc after Cold Armageddon. So hang on guys, this ones gonna be fun!