The Fury of Firestorm #38

Professor Stein visits Vandemeer University. He meets Dr. Emily Rice, the Dean of the University, who tells him of a recent series of murders on campus. Cliff spreads a rumor that Ronnie cheated on his final exams. The Weasel attacks Professor Stein in his hotel room.

Firestorm826's Panel-by-Panel Story Summary (Spoiler Alert)

Steeltown, (a.k.a. Pittsburgh). Dusk. Dusk brings shadows, deep and dark. He likes the dark times the best. At night, the campus of Vandemeer University is like some medieval enclave whose citizens have fled the Black Death. Its twisted streets are deserted, its darkened buildings grim and lonely as any gothic cathedral. He likes it this way. He feels at home in the gloom. He smiles in the shadows. Let them wonder. Let them fear. Fear is his protector. No one knows he is here…none yet, though there are those who suspect. Fear is his friend!

Professor Martin Stein walks along the sidewalk of the quiet campus. A car pulls up alongside him. The driver rolls down the window, calling out, “Martin! Martin Stein! Welcome to Vandemeer!” Stein walks over as the driver parks and gets out to greet him. “So this is the University? I was beginning to think I’d gotten lost…” Stein says, “I’ve never seen a campus so deserted at night. School must have changed quite a bit since my days at Stanford.” He reaches his hand out, asking, “You’re…?” The woman takes his hand and shakes it warmly. “Dr. Emily Rice, I’m Dean here,” she explains, “You may not recall, we met about ten years ago…a symposium in Washington…” Stein smiles and nods at her. “Of course I remember you. That was quite a weekend,” he recalls, adding, “Thanks for recommending me to the University Board - - a teaching professorship is exactly what I…” Dr. Rice interjects anxiously, “If you don’t mind, Martin, I’d like to get off the street.”

She invites him to get into her car and they take their. “’Off the street…?’” Stein asks curiously. Concern flashes across her face as he looks at him. “I didn’t expect you until tomorrow,” Dr. Rice explains, “Otherwise I would have met you at the train station. The campus isn’t safe after dark, Martin.” She puts the car in gear and they drive off. “You’re joking…” Stein says, a bit confused by the ominous news. “I wish I were,” Dr. Rice says sadly, “In the past three weeks, we’ve had four killings on campus…the last only six days ago.” Stein gasps and asks, “A pattern killer…Some kind of psychopath?” Dr. Rice shakes her head slowly, letting out a worried sigh. “You know, I almost wish it were a psychopath,” she continues, “But I think it’s something much worse, Martin…something not quite human…” Far off in the shadows, the reflection of Dr. Rice’s car moves slowly…reflected in the eyes of something…not quite human…

Silence lies between them like a wedge during the short drive to a modest house five blocks from campus. Twice on the way, Emily Rice seems about to speak, but each time she swallows her words. Her face is shadowed with worry…and it is only after they reach the welcoming light of her home that the silence between them gives way, as if breaking of its own weight…

“Well…You must think I’m some kind of lunatic…acting the way I am, talking about killers on campus…” Dr. Rice says, reaching to turn on a light as they walk into her living room. She sits exhaustedly on her couch, her mind burdened by the mysterious and dangerous threat stalking the campus. “No, not at all, Emily,” Professor Stein answers, “You’re upset, I can see that. And from what I remember of our meeting in Washington, you’re not the sort of person given to needless hysteria.” He sits opposite her on a couch. A coffee table filled with a busy collection of books, charts, projects, and research papers sits between them. “So, if you’re troubled, I believe you have a reason to be troubled. Tell me about it,” Stein continues reassuringly. Dr. Rice hangs her forehead in her hand. She takes a deep breath, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Where to start?” she begins, explaining, “Arnie Lintel, he was the first…Three weeks ago. He was the head of our Engineering Department, a nice man…Santa Claus without the beard. He didn’t have an enemy in the world.” She covers her eyes to hide the tears welling up inside them. “Three weeks ago this day, some kids from the football team found Arnie on the practice field…torn to pieces. Like a rag doll with his stuffing torn out,” she recalls. Stein leans forward toward her, listening carefully. “Five days later, Linda Walters died…An instructor in music, middle-aged, nondescript…Nobody was quite sure where she lived,” Dr. Rice continues, “A lonely woman. The kind you wish you’d gotten to know better…afterward. The janitorial staff found her in Fastner Hall, under the basement stairs…in the furnace room…and at the bottom of the main elevator shaft.”

She runs a trembling hand through her hair and stands. “Peter Banks was the next…A professor of physics, one of the people you would have been working with. Not a particularly pleasant man, arrogant, childish…but brilliant. What happened to him…I can’t even describe it.” She stares sadly down at the floor. “And then there was Chuck Gherkin, our nightwatchman…Six days ago, in the Administration Building. He was just a rent-a-cop, not even part of the regular campus security…Someone we’d hired since the killings started,” she explains, “The police think he was killed by a wild animal of some kind…he and the other three…But what animal could have done what was done to Peter Banks? What animal could be so cruel and sadistic? What animal but man…?”

Professor Stein walks over to her. “Emily,” he says, reaching a hand to touch her shoulder, “don’t you think…” Dr. Rice flinches at his touch. “Please…don’t touch me,” she says, stepping away nervously, “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since this began. I don’t want to be touched.” Stein pulls his hand back abruptly. “Sorry,” he says softly. She reaches for the phone on the wall and starts dialing. “It’s nothing personal,” she replies, “I’d better get you a cab to your hotel. I’ve told you all this because I thought it only fair you understand the situation here, before you take the position we’ve offered you in our Physics Department. Under the circumstances, if you want to refuse our offer…” Stein shakes his head, answering, “No, I’ll stay, if you’ll have me. Perhaps I can help.” She begins speaking to the taxi cab dispatcher. Stein rubs his chin in thought. “If not as Martin Stein, then perhaps as part of the composite persona, Firestorm,” he thinks quietly. A shadowy figure perches in the darkness, staring into Dr. Rice’s window from a rooftop across the street. The moonlight reflects in its cat-like eyes. It opens its mouth slightly, and its fangs gleam and glisten as it stares intently…

The Big Apple, (a.k.a. New York, New York). Night. Ronnie Raymond and Doreen Day dance together in a crowded nightclub. The dance floor is packed with energetic people. The music thunders across the floor and sparkling lights blink and shine around the room. Doreen says something to Ronnie, but the music drowns out her words. They lean close to each other and decide to step away to a table overlooking the dance floor in a slightly quieter area. Doreen leads Ronnie by the hand up the stairs. Cliff Carmichael sits across the room, watching them. “What does Doreen see in that creep Raymond?” he sighs jealously, “The way he’s treated her, you’d think she’d rather date a plague virus. But she won’t even look at another guy when Ronnie Raymond’s around…not even me! God, I hate that guy.”

Doreen sits at a table, leading Ronnie to the spot next to her. The dance floor continues buzzing with activity below them. “…loud can’t hear what you - - Hey! Is this better, or what?” Doreen says, finally able to communicate over the eardrum-rumbling nightclub sound system. “Lots,” Ronnie agrees, asking, “Do you want a Coke?” A nightclub waitress walks over with her notepad. “Uncola for me,” Doreen says, “I’m off caffeine.” Ronnie nods at the waitress, asking, “Make it two, okay?” She scribbles on her pad and heads off.

“I can’t believe this. A couple of weeks ago, Doreen and I were nowhere,” Ronnie thinks, smiling at her, “but after that talk we had in the park a few days ago, we’ve gotten close again. It’s like a whole new thing between us.” She wraps her arm cozily around his. “Nickel for your thoughts,” Ronnie asks. “Isn’t it supposed to be a penny?” Doreen giggles. “Hey, inflation,” Ronnie replies, asking, “Have I told you lately…I love you?” She leans in to kiss him. “Mmmm…Not in the past five minutes,” she answers. Ronnie lays a hand on her cheek as they kiss again.

An unexpected hand suddenly breaks their mood. Tap-tap-tap! Cliff Carmichael’s index finger annoyingly pokes at Ronnie’s head. “Knock-knock…anybody home?” Cliff asks. Ronnie breaks from his lip lock with Doreen and turns to look. “What…?” he asks, then sighs upon recognizing Cliff. “Carmichael,” Ronnie groans, “What do you want, Cliff?” He stands to face Cliff, a bit annoyed at the unwanted interference. “Always quick with a comeback - - eh, Raymond?” Cliff snorts, asking, “I thought you’d like to confirm a rumor…The rumor is you’re a cheat.” Ronnie looks shocked. “What?” he blurts out. Doreen stands up next to Ronnie, facing Cliff. “That’s the lowest, Cliff - - even for you!” she scolds.

Cliff raises his hands, feigning innocent curiosity. “Don’t blame me - - this word’s from a friend of mine in Principal Hapgood’s office,” Cliff continues, “You scored high marks on all your final exams, Raymond…a whole lot higher than you ever did before. And so people are asking, ‘How’d this jock get so smart so quick?’ People like our Chem teacher. People like Principal Hapgood.” Ronnie clenches his fists in frustration, frowning. “Don’t make too many plans for college, Raymond,” Cliff taunts, “Could be you won’t graduate this June, after all.”

Cliff turns and walks away, his mission accomplished. Ronnie stands dejectedly, stinging from the accusation. “Damn! Just when things were finally breaking my way!” he frets to Doreen. She rubs his arm, looking him closely in the eye. “Ronnie, what Cliff said,” she worriedly asks, “It isn’t true, is it?” Ronnie looks surprised. “Huh?” he stammers. Doreen quickly reaches a shushing finger up to his lips. “No. Don’t answer. I never should have asked. I know it’s not true because I know you,” she says reassuringly, “You’re no cheat. But, Ronnie…how did you improve your grades so quickly?” Ronnie turns away for a moment, staring at the floor. “What’s my Dad going to say when he hears this? How can I tell him? What can I tell him?” Ronnie thinks quickly. He turns back to Doreen. “Maybe you won’t believe this, Doreen…Maybe I don’t believe it myself, but the truth is…I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

The Daily Express, New York’s third morning newspaper, goes to bed at 7:00 p.m. every night but Saturday, when the presses begin rolling at 5:00 for the Sunday Edition. Since his promotion to City Editor, Ed Raymond has found his own bedtime falling later and later. These days, he counts himself lucky when he leaves work by 9:00. Working late, however, does have its compensations…

“Raymond, wait up! You’re gonna buy me a drink!” yells out Felicity Smoak. She steps out of the Daily Express lobby to meet Ed on the snowy sidewalk. “Make it a hot coffee, and you’ve got a deal,” Ed answers, asking, “What’s the occasion?” Felicity holds up a large file in her hand. “This…the papers just came back from my attorney,” she announces, “I’m starting my lawsuit against that nuclear creep, Firestorm.” They turn to walk together. “Congratulations, Felicity,” Ed replies, somewhat half-heartedly. “You think I’m being vindictive, don’t you?” Felicity asks, “I can hear it in your voice. Ed, before Firestorm came into my life, I owned a profitable computer software company. We were moving up - - until Firestorm accidentally magnetized our computer chip memory banks and wiped out months of effort.”

Ed listens, then suggests, “’Accidentally’ - - your word, Felicity.” She thinks otherwise. “’Malpractice’ - - that’s another word, Ed. One I’m going to stick to that creep in court,” she explains. The wind blows cold down the busy sidewalk as they make their way to the coffee shop. “Should make quite a story,” Ed answers, asking, “How are you going to get him into court, anyway?” She smiles at him. “Trust me, lover, I’ve got ideas. Believe me, have I got ideas.” Ed nods at her determination. “I’ll bet you do, lover,” he replies, asking, “By the way, doing anything Friday night?” She ponders for a second, then answers, “Don’t know…am I?” She takes his arm as they walk along. “There’s somebody I’d like you to meet. My boy, Ronnie. I think you’ll like him,” Ed says, “I know he’ll like you…”

Pittsburgh. Hotel Sheridan. Professor Martin Stein finds his way up to his room and begins unpacking his bag. “I’m not sure what to do. Obviously, as half of the Firestorm persona, I have an obligation to investigate these killings at Vandemeer,” he thinks, “but to be honest, I feel…burned-out…as a ‘super-hero.’ Ronnie may be the ‘active’ half of our composite Firestorm persona, but my share of the ‘teamwork’ is no less exhausting than his.” He strips down and heads for the bathroom to take a shower. “The primary difference between us is age. Ronnie is a teenager, full of energy,” Stein thinks, “I’m a middle-aged man…and while I dare say I’m not yet ready for the grave, I am ready for a rest. In a way, I hoped the academic life at Vandemeer would provide that rest…but now it seems that was a forlorn hope at best. To quote Ross MacDonald’s Lew Archer…’Trouble follows me.’ Ah, well…”

The bathroom grows very steamy from the hot shower. “…maybe I’ll see things more clearly after a shower,” Stein figures, “’See clearly…’ That’s quite a jest. Without my glasses I can barely see the shower stall door.” He reaches for the sliding shower door. “Eh?” he gasps in shock.

Martin Stein has an impression of movement, shadows in steam - - and then the world explodes before him. Fragments of glass batter his skin like hailstones, drawing blood. His feet slip on the wet tile of the bathroom floor, as something hairy and foul smashes into his chest. He barely has time to register shock - - as fingers tipped with claws grope for his naked throat - - and a voice like rasping steel whispers in his ear:

“I’ve been waiting for you, Stein,” the horrible beast snarls, “You’re the last…Then I’ll be safe. I’ll be safe.” Its powerful, muscular body has Stein pinned helplessly on the bathroom floor. It holds a claw tightly around his neck. “Arrrrr…” Stein moans fearfully, wide-eyed. The beast reaches its other hand to Stein’s throat, wrapping both tightly to strangle the life from the terrified Professor. Stein reaches behind him, groping desperately. His hand locks around a metal wastebasket. He flings it down hard into the beast’s skull! WHAM! “Uhhhh!!” the beast growls, stunned and pushed back. Stein leaps to his feet to try to escape. The beast stands, slightly stunned. “You hurt me…hurt me!” it screeches, sprinting out of the bathroom to pursue Stein. “My God…What is that thing?” Stein yells as he flees across the hotel room, “Can’t see…my glasses…the door?” He sees light ahead through his uncorrected vision and hopes it is the door to the safety of the hallway. He smacks into it…glass. “No…not the door…the window!” he nervously discovers, “Heaven help m…”

SKRASSH! The beast slams into his body, carrying them both through the window. They fly out into the air through a rain of broken glass! They begin to fall and their bodies separate from each other in mid-air. Stein claws at the curtain flapping from his hotel window. “Ronnie…have to summon Ronnie…transform us to Firestorm…!” he thinks as he wraps his left hand around the curtain, “Catch the curtain…hold myself…try to concentrate!” The beast grabs the other curtain, hanging in the air along the edge of the building right next to Stein. “Just one of you to go - - then I’m safe,” it growls. The beast pulls itself back up to the windowsill. Its dangerous claws rest on the sill just inches above Stein’s face. “None of this is my fault, you see,” it tells the dangling Stein. “…concentrate…” the Professor stammers, looking up at the beast wide-eyed and holding tightly to the curtain. “All I want is to be safe. Is that so terrible? Is it? Is it?” the beast hisses. Suddenly, it kicks! KRAK! A powerful right leg snaps its foot into Stein’s head! The blow stuns Stein, and he begins to fall! “Lord!” he yells in panic, plummeting face-first towards the street six floors below.

Months ago, Professor Martin Stein and teenager Ronnie Raymond were caught in a bizarre nuclear accident. “Ronnie…” Stein thinks, trying to focus his mind as he falls toward certain doom. Far away, Ronnie Raymond and Doreen Day are locked in a tight embrace, their date night out together coming to a close. They kiss each other warmly. Under any other circumstances, Stein and Raymond would have been killed. Instead, something almost miraculous occurred. “…Ronnie…” Stein concentrates. Doreen and Ronnie bid each other goodnight. “See you tomorrow, okay?” Ronnie asks with a wave. “Okay!” Doreen answers back happily. A bond that was formed in that original instant of destruction and fusion, a bond which now allows either to summon the other to join in the composite persona whose nuclear powers they share… “…Quickly!” thinks Stein. Panicked bystanders realize what is happening above them. They look up at the falling man in abject horror. Suddenly, strange rings of light wrap around his flailing body. Simultaneously, Ronnie Raymond is encircled by nuclear energy. “Professor?” Ronnie blurts in surprise.

FAAAZAAAAAM! Instantly, the falling man becomes Firestorm, the Nuclear Man! In a microsecond, Ronnie sees the sidewalk rushing up at his face. He tucks into a somersault, reverses course, and launches himself back up into the air! Bystanders gasp in amazement as he soars past them! “Professor - - what’s happening - - everything’s a blur!” Ronnie asks as he levels off in flight above the street. “My glasses - - still back in my hotel room - - but that’s not important, Ronald!” Stein answers quickly, explaining, “There have been killings here - - four people dead - - and I believe the creature that killed them just tried to kill me!”

Ronnie flies down to the shattered hotel room window and speeds inside. “Here, in your room? Where is he, Professor?” Ronnie asks, hastily scanning the interior. “I don’t know, Ronald…He was here, but in the seconds since I summoned Firestorm…he’s disappeared. Undoubtedly fled,” Stein sighs. Ronnie looks around at the unfocused imagery in the room. “Heck, Martin, our vision’s so lousy right now, he could be squatting at our feet and I’d never know it,” he answers. Ronnie shifts a foot carefully. “Uh…nope. I think,” he says, asking, “Where did you put your glasses, Professor?” Stein recalls, “The bathroom, I think.” Ronnie initiates the reverse transformation. “Hold the fort a sec…Before we do anything, we’ve gotta fix this,” he says, “Then I want the whole story, from scratch, okay?”

FZAAAM! One man transforms into his two separate components as Ronnie and Stein appear together in the hotel room. “And maybe you better get some clothes on,” Ronnie says, noting his friend stands in just his underwear, “With all the ruckus up here, the house detective is probably on his way up - - and you’re gonna have enough to explain as it is.” Ronnie walks into the bathroom while Stein rummages through his bag for fresh clothes. Ronnie calls out to Stein, “Here’s your glasses. Now what’s this about a creature?”

Silently, from behind Ronnie, the beast stalks into the bathroom. A look of horror flashes across Ronnie’s face as he looks up at the mirror’s reflection of the hideous beast ready to strike! “I’m not sure, exactly,” Stein calls back as he dresses, “It smelled like an animal, smelled of hair and blood…I was terrified, Ronald” The beast walks silently out of the bathroom behind Stein. “He kept saying he had to kill me…to keep himself safe.” A hand reaches a familiar shape into Stein’s field of vision. He recognizes the shape as his glasses and reaches for them. “Ah, thank you, my boy,” he smiles. He puts his glasses on and turns around. The lenses reflect…the beast! Blackout.

Shaker Steel Corporation, Smelting Plant #3, (temporarily closed since 1978), the hour before dawn. “Good, you’re awake,” the beast observes. It sits high above Ronnie and Stein on a control platform. He has bound them tightly with rope, sitting back to back on the plant floor. Huge cauldrons of molten steel hang from a massive conveyor belt above them. The beast toys with the control switches for the conveyor system on his elevated perch. “You’ve given me so much trouble, I wanted to do something special for you…and I wanted you awake to enjoy it,” the beast explains to his captives. “I don’t think its fair, the way you’ve treated me,” it gripes. Stein looks up, asking, “…fair…? You’re…out of your…mind. Why all this…why?” The beast scowls down at him as it answers. “I wish I could explain, but it’s obvious you’ve been out of academic life too long, Stein,” it says, “You’ve no idea the pressure I’ve been under. No idea at all. My life has been hell. All the years I spent…working for tenure…working to be safe, finally safe…working for a little security…You’ve no idea what that cost me, Stein.”

The beast wraps its claw around the cauldron control and activates the conveyer. The giant cauldrons overhead lurch and start to move along in a slow, mechanical procession. The sign next to the beast warns of high-temperature danger. “Well, that doesn’t concern you, now does it?” the beast concludes. Its eyes gleam a menacing red. It runs its tongue around its razor-like fangs. “Marvelous craftsmanship in these old steel plants,” the beast says, looking around admiringly, “A few repairs, a few adjustments…They fire up so easily. I’ve spent my free time here the last few weeks, fixing things. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to test my work. See how well it runs?” He points to the cauldron that has moved into position above Stein and Ronnie. “You are mad,” Stein says nervously. “No, Stein…I’m not mad, I’m the Weasel. That’s what they all called me, you know,” the Weasel answers calmly, “And I…I’m finally safe.” The Weasel pulls the control lever. The cauldron tips. Stein and Ronnie look up in horror as molten hot liquid steel begins to rain down on top of them!

To be continued…