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! #6

Two Many Firestorms- The Conclusion!

Burning Consequences!

By Ralph Angelo

Ba-KROOM!

Two burning figures erupt out of the sheer cliff wall along the Palisades, New Jerseys shoreline. On top, and pounding the fiery figure beneath him unmercilesly, is Firestorm, the Nuclear man. Beneath him, and taking the brunt of the attack is Firestorm the Fire elemental.

Once , both men shared the same existence as the atom manipulating hero. But that was long ago, and far away. Since then, they were separated, each going his own way. Prof. Martin Stein into deep space, as the enigmatic fire elemental, and Ronnie Raymond continued on, as the Nuclear Man.

But recently a great war ravaged the Earth, and somehow, Martin Stein heard the planets agony, as forces from across the galaxy fought to destroy the shining green planet, known as Earth.

Martin returned to Earth, but he was perceptibly changed. Gone was the quiet and reserved scientist with the heart of gold. In his place was a marauder, capable of burning the planet barren. Capable, and intent on doing just that!

Ta-KROW!

The Fire-mental blasts Firestorm from him, with a blistering arc of cosmic flame.

"You fight well, Raymond. Much better then earlier yesterday."*

*see issue #4

"But it will still not save you, and everyone here from destruction at my hands."

Firestorm grimaces, his head still pounds every time he gets near the Fire-mental, but at this point he just does not care! "Give it your best shot, you insane maniac. The gloves are off. You're not the Martin Stein I knew. That man is dead as far as I'm concerned now. You wanted a fight mister, you've got one."

Ba-BOOOM!

Firestorm unleashes his nuclear blasts, explosive fury that tears through the powerful elemental, smashing him a hundred yards instantly!

Again the Fire-mental regains his composure, and his aerial footing but this time Firestorm is upon him instantly, turning the air around him to solid steel, three feet thick.

"There, that should hold him, I hope." Ronnie mumbles aloud, as he rubs his pained neck

As he watches, the block of steel drops into the ocean with a loud splash.

Meanwhile, many miles distant, a tall gaunt man wearing a white lab coat, and face fitting tinted goggles adhered to his bald head, watches a televised replay of Firestorms battle in midtown with the Fire elemental with great concern. He strokes his Goatee repeatedly as he takes in every iota of information contained on the video replay. Watching with almost perverse interest as the battle unfolds before his eyes.

"Hhhmmm. I do hope the Nuclear man survives his encounter with this elemental. Otherwise I'll simply have to dissect his dead form, instead of his living one. But I do suppose he has no idea of Dr Zero's interest in him at the moment."

The man, this Dr Zero, steeples his fingers and leans back in his chair, and watches the video replay yet again.

Back along the New Jersey Coast, the water boils, as a geyser of flame erupts upwards, and the fire elemental returns amid its core!

"Raymond!" It bellows in anger! "I'll destroy you for that!"

"Right here, psycho."

The Fire-mental turns at the sound of the voice, only to be hit by a powerful hand, seemingly made of steel

Boom!

"Like that Martin? Its a derivative of what we used to do when we made ourselves immaterial. Only this time I added mass instead of taking it away. I guess it feels like getting hit with a steamroller across the jaw, huh? I hope it hurts like hell."

The Fire mental roars his pain and indignation as a blast of cosmic heat, Firestorm instantly goes immaterial , allowing the blast to pass through him harmlessly.

"You gotta learn some new moves, Martin. The old ones area getting played out."

Miles distant...

A dozen air force fighters rip through the air, their target? The Fire elemental that so callously shot down two of their own*.

*See last issue.

"Base to squadron, do you copy?" A voice rings through the pilots headsets simultaneously.

"Air raven to base, We copy. Target is acquired, but he is in combat with another meta human at the moment. Orders sir?"

Static fills the headset a moment, then...

"Who is engaging the hostile, Air raven?"

Air Raven clears his throat, then continues, "It is Firestorm, sir."

Another pause, then.

"Affirmative, Air raven. Give the Nuclear man some freedom. If he wins the battle, the Air Force has no problem playing mop up to a man who was so important in the recent alien war. If he loses, clean house. That is all Air Raven."

The lead pilot keys up his headset once again, after another momentary pause. "Alright gentlemen, you all heard the man, give Firestorm some breathing room. If he fails, we turn that area to rubble."

Nearby, the Fire-mental blasts Firestorm backwards with a wave of cosmic flame!

"You lack the killer instinct, Raymond. That is a problem with you humans. A deficiency in your make ups. One I have purged from myself. "

Firestorm rights himself in mid air, painfully, and looks at the Fire-mental floating before him.

"So, now you're saying you're not even human?"

"I am beyond human, I am one with the earth, a God among sheep!"

"Fine. Then I guess I better treat you like all the other whacko's who claim the same thing out there."

Firestorm fires energy from both hands, instantly the air around the Fire-mental turns to a transparent balloon!

"This is your idea of how to stop me? You idiot!" Yells the Fire-mental

He turns up the heat, blazing within the bubble.

Firestorm smiles, "No stupid, that's not my idea of how to stop you, this is!"

He points one finger at the balloon, and the color of it suddenly goes opaque with different gasses.

Ba-FOOOMM!

The balloon explodes, but before it does, it turns to solid concrete!

Stunned, the Fire-mental drops ground wards, before righting himself.

"Y-you surprise me , Raymond. Perhaps I've underestimated you."

"Yeah, I guess so, Martin."

Firestorm pulses energy form his hands once again, turning the air around the Fire-mental to a ball of steel bands, trapping him within it.

"Okay, I have to get you help. But how?"

He floats up towards the helpless Fire elemental, who suddenly looks up and smiles from within his web of steel.

"Gotcha, boy."

Fwa-Raaaaooooosssshhh!

He explodes with power, up close to Firestorm, engulfing him in flame

"Arrgghh!" Bellows Firestorm, as the Fire-elemental again and again pounds him with blasts of flame.

"We are to evenly matched, Raymond. This see-saw battle could go on for days before I eventually best you. And so, I leave you now to begin my decimation of this world."

He races away, in a streak of flame. Ronnie Raymond shakes his fiery head, as he stands slowly.

"I have to finish this off. He's just plain nuts. But one thing I just noticed, the headache I had when he was near is just about gone altogether. It's nothing but a buzz right now at worst. I bet we're still linked somehow. That's gotta be the key to beating him."

Firestorm rockets off, following the trail left by Martin Stein.

Miles distant...

The Fire Elemental erupts fire in every direction, as he burns everything near him with powerful blasts of flame. City blocks blaze as he streaks down them, people run screaming for the streets, as the Fire elemental continues his fiery swath of destruction.

Suddenly, the air before the Fire elemental turns into a giant trampoline-like net attached to the buildings on either side of the street, that the Fire-mental flies into at full speed, and suddenly he's sling shot out of the rubberized, fire proof net and back towards Firestorm, who unleashes his powerful nuclear blasts at the haphazardly flying elemental !

Fa-VOOOM!

"Unnnhh!" Howls Stein, as Firestorm immediately turns the air above the flames to water, thousands of gallons of it, all along the blocks that were burning mere seconds ago.

"That problems taken care of, now where's Martin?"

He turns back, as the Fire elemental is groggily getting back to his feet.

"Party's over, Martin, time to call it a night."

Firestorm streaks in, and pounds the Fire-Mental with a powerful flying right cross, that smashes the elemental off his feet, and lands him in a heap, a block away!

Pa-KOOM!

Firestorm lands next to the elemental, and quickly grabs his head with both hands.

"Okay Martin, time to see if I was right or not."

Instantly, Ronnie tries to trigger the transformation that used to merge them both. Used to, and still does!

Suddenly both men glow with energy, as they begin to merge into one man. One man, who speaks with two voices!

"I/We are one again?"

"Yes I/We are again one being, but only temporarily this time. Until I/We can be cured of the madness that infects you/us."

"NO! I/We are not mad! I/we only seek to make the world right."

"That is where you/us are wrong. The world is as it was meant to be, as it should be. You cannot force your/our image upon it. And I/we must remind you of that. Of what it means to be human."

Images play across their connected minds, images of mankinds past, present and future. Images from both their minds eyes, being played for both to see. And suddenly, the Fire elemental stops struggling, as he stands stock still. Feeling and seeing things he had long ago forgotten. Things he is now suddenly remembering with greater clarity.

"My/our humanity! I/we see it now. We/I had forgotten. We/I needed to see it again, to remember! We/I now see through cleared vision. A veil has been lifted from our/my sight."

"Then that means I/we need no longer be connected."

And just like that, the connection Is broken! And two men stand facing each other. One is the fire elemental and the other is...

"Firestorm! T-thank you for reminding me of my true humanity. Something I had forgotten in my years of wandering through space. I had become distanced from my humanity. And I needed to be reminded of who , what I really was. Thank you Firestorm. Without you to stop me, I shudder to think what would have happened."

Firestorm grabs the outstretched hand of the burning man before him, and shakes it. And then the fire elemental begins to float skywards.

"Where are you going, Professor?"

"I need time to think about my mistake , Ronald. But do not fear. This time I will be doing my thinking on Earth, and not off of it. I will return Firestorm, and when I do, you may call me Stormfire!"

And with that, the newly christened Stormfire disappears into the sunset, as Firestorm watches , and smiles.

Nuclear Fallout

C/O CptMarvell@aol.com