Legends of Firestorm #10

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Legends of Firestorm #10
Nuclear Winter

Written by Joel A. Sawyer (Glippernip)
Edited by Daniel Dyer (Spider-Man Beyond)

Brushing his red hair back, he peered out the tiny window of the DEO transport chopper as it circled toward Kennedy International Airport. It gave him a nice view of Manhattan. He wore a somewhat uncharacteristic outfit, a green T-shirt depicting an armless, legless knight with the words “It’s just a flesh wound” printed over it and a pair of dark green, knee length shorts with cargo pockets on the sides. This was a Helicopter ride, and he intended to relax. Of course, his Federal ID allowed him to carry his weapon through the airport, so anyone who tried to mess with this Kennedy Airport today would be in for a surprise. He smiled, sipped his whiskey and Coke, and ran through some of the questions that required answers about the Hudson Nuclear Facility.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Hi, Ronnie,” Doreen called. She knew he didn’t have much time after school with an unusually scheduled Wednesday game on tonight.

“Hey, Beautiful,” he replied, giving her a strong hug. A stray thought crept through his mind: Kind of scary how... comfortable I’m getting with her. It made him kind of nervous.

“Good Luck with the game,” she continued. “Daddy will drop me off, so I’ll be cheering you on.”

“I’ll need the encouragement,” he laughed. “Now, everyone expects another solid performance tonight. We’re really feeling the pressure. By the way, did your sister make it to Africa?”

“She made it. We won’t hear from her for a while, but Summer called to tell us the plane had landed.” Doreen’s face grew a far-off expression. “I can’t believe that she is on a tour with the Peace Corps. I don’t think I could do it.”

“She is your older sister. She probably needs to walk a bit on her own. I’d hate to be twenty-one and still at home. Right now, she’s doing what she needs to do for herself, and we’re doing just what folks our age should be doing.”

“Including all of the kissing?” she coyly asked.

“Especially the kissing,” he answered, kissing her. “People would think we were weird if we didn’t.” Ron looked at his watch. “I have to get to Coach. I’ll look for you in the stands.” Another quick kiss, and he ran.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Stein,” the voice from the intercom cut into the silence, “you have a visitor coming up.”

“A visitor?” Martin asked. “Who?”

“He wants to introduce himself,” the security man replied.

Martin pushed his square-lense glasses further up on his nose and ran a hand through his slightly greying hair. It was not long before quitting time, not the best time for a guest.

Minutes later, the knock came to the door of his office. There stood an average height younger man, likely in his mid-twenties, with short-cropped red hair. He wore a casual suit in navy blue, with no tie but with dark red tinted sunglasses. The man showed a silver badge.

“I represent the DEO. Are you Martin Stein?”

“I am.”

“I do apologize, Dr. Stein, but I’ll need some of your time. My name is Agent Roy Harper.”

Martin sighed. “I though I was finished with government interviews.”

“My department deals directly with certain aspects of metahuman activities,” Roy said in a truly professional manner. “The other bomber captured, Ms. Bella Souci, spontaneously exploded yesterday. That is the fourth meta directly linked to the incident at the Hudson Nuclear Facility.”

Martin asked, “Four?”

“Danton Black, found unconscious at the site,” Roy began, indicating the number with his pointer finger, “Crystal Frost, trapped in her own Thermafrost device (two fingers), Bella Souci, (three fingers), and Firestorm.” Roy looked into Stein’s eyes as he stated the fourth name, noting any reaction.

“Firestorm?” Martin repeated, then asking, “I thought he had been seen before the incident.”

“It is possible,” Roy agreed, appearing to relax but still observing Stein’s demeanor. “We have recorded confirmed appearances of unidentified metas. So far, though, no sightings of a fire-haired man have come up, not until the attempted bombing of your plant. Logically speaking, Dr. Stein, that means someone at the site became Firestorm during the attack. There are only a few more names of people who lived through the blast. Guess who’s name is on the list?”

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

The duo walked slowly, both wearing long skirts and shirts that were easy to remove. Hats partially concealed their faces.

“Why not attack now?” Killer Frost asked as they approached their target, the Concordance Building.

“If we just attack now, everyone will recognize us as super-humans and the authorities will quickly identify us, responding accordingly.” Plastique brushed a lock of her long, reddish-brown hair from her eyes. “If we wait until we reach the lobby and deal with the desk clerk and security quickly enough, the authorities may find out something is wrong but they won’t know what. They won’t immediately send for the military or other stronger personnel. We should be able to cause serious damage and be gone before we are recognized.”

“They will know I’ve been there,” Frost observed. “I leave too much evidence.”

“It is a hot summer day,” Plastique offered. “If we create enough wreckage, your ice may well melt before they can really examine the scene. Just remember not to create any large objects of ice.”

Frost gave her new partner a side-long look. “You are very knowledgeable,” she commented. “Why do you want to punish Concordance?”

“Their infernal device caused my mutation, and they left me at S.T.A.R. Labs for months to be tested.” The next lie came smoothly to her lips. “After you gained your abilities, they wanted to know if they could create other super-powered beings. With me, they succeeded. Now, I will pay them back.”

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Martin Stein’s Office

“Of course, we have compiled more data on the incident than anyone,” Harper explained. “So no one else would know what the DEO knows, and only a few of us know. Even your boss doesn’t know as much as we do. Firestorm is one of five people, Dr. Stein, and I intend to learn which one.”

“And why is this so important, Mr. Harper?” Martin pressed. “What has Firestorm done to deserve such scrutiny?”

Inwardly, Roy smiled. Sometimes it was too easy reading people. “Don’t get the wrong impression,” he replied. “We aren’t out to capture or imprison Firestorm. He’s proven quite resourceful against dangerous metas. We want him on our side. But we also want to understand how and why so many metas sprouted up after the Hudson Incident, and Firestorm is smack in the middle of it all. We want to make sure that there is no threat of metas randomly generating from that technology.

The door to Martin’s office opened just a little bit. “Martin, do you have a guest,” the stern, female voice called from the hallway.

“No,” Stein whispered as he stood up and backed away from the door.

“Dr., what...?” Roy began as the door swung fully open, revealing Killer Frost. He thought, Great, it’s her! “Stein, get down!” he commanded as he drew an automatic pistol from under his shirt and confronted the villainess. Killer Frost moved just as fast, crossing the room and throwing Roy aside with great strength. He slammed into the wall and hit the floor behind Stein’s desk.

“Crystal, I...” Martin began.

“You didn’t visit even once,” she whispered, fury evident in her voice. “You haven’t tried to find a cure. You’ve been too busy saving your reactor.”

“Crystal,” Martin stammered.

“No more words,” she sighed, encasing him in ice, “and call me Killer Frost now.”

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Five minutes into the game, and Ron had already scored a basket. Adrenalin pumping, the ball smacked solidly into his palms (Ping!) and he pivoted to find the next player in the chain. Suddenly, sharp stabbing pain ran up his legs, then torso, then arms, and he began to shake. Professor, Ron thought.

To the audience, it looked like he stumbled. The player trying to cover Ron couldn’t stop his forward momentum and barreled into him, both of them hitting the hardwood floor in a heap.

Coach Mason was right there. “Ronald,” he said, “are you hurt?”

Ron stood up, visibly shivering. “Cold,” he muttered, eyes focusing on something that wasn’t there.

“Shoot,” Coach said, “it would figure that, after losing Boone, one of you would get a concussion. Go to the locker room, Raymond. I’ll send the EMT to look at you.

Ron never made it to the locker room. Once out of everyone’s sight, he vanished in an orange burst of energy.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

FZAAAMMM!!! With a shot like thunder and an orange explosion of light, the ice encasing Professor Stein shattered, pieces shooting in every direction. Roy looked up to see Firestorm, the Nuclear Man standing in Martin Stein’s office, powdery snow drifting to the floor around him.

Firestorm looked at the settling ice crystals. “Frost,” he said to no one in particular.

He doesn’t look at all like Stein, Roy thought, taking off his button-down shirt. “Killer Frost attacked us,” Roy told the hero. “I would have been taking Frost to better imprisonment facilities before leaving New York. Hadn’t heard that she had escaped.”

“And you are?” Firestorm asked.

“Roy Harper, DEO,” he answered, pulling a second pistol from a shoulder-holster. “You’re either Firestorm or you’re doing an impression of Michael Jackson during a Pepsi commercial.”

>>He questioned me about Firestorm,<< Stein told Ron. >>I believe he knows I’m involved.<<

I’m sure my popping up here didn’t help, Firestorm thought. He said to Harper, “Stein is safe. I’ll take care of her,” and phased through the floor out of the room.

Now in a T-shirt, Roy holstered one of the pistols and contacted HQ. “Killer Frost is loose, and she came here. She tried to kill Stein, Firestorm arrived to recapture her. I’m going to back him up.”

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

>>This is the central security office,<< Martin explained as Firestorm stared at the twelve screens. He watched Killer Frost as she approached the lobby. From the camera’s viewpoint, the front doors appeared to be iced shut.

“What’s she up to?” Firestorm muttered.

>>I don’t know, Ronald, but it does not appear as if she’s leaving.<<

“Well, we know how to beat her now,” Firestorm added as he launched himself out of the security office.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“She’s in the lobby,” Roy’s contact told him through his ear-piece transmitter. “She comes across really well on the heat sensors.”

“I’ll let her know you appreciate her coldness,” Roy whispered. He hit the exit to the stairs and found himself sliding down fifty feet and slamming painfully into the wall of the landing, his teeth jarring against each other with the impact. Killer Frost had turned the stairway into an icy slide. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he stood and began to “skate” down the stairs, using the railings to control his speed and make tight turns. It actually allowed him to go faster and conserve energy.

That’s when he heard the first explosion.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Firestorm drifted down into the first floor hallway. >>That way leads to the lobby,<< Stein helpfully stated.

Then, they heard the second explosion.

“That one did not come from the lobby,” Firestorm remarked. “Frost will have to wait.”

>>Not for long,<< Martin replied. >>She’s iced over the main exits, and these explosions will cause a panic. My colleagues will flee to the lobby and find themselves trapped.<<

“Great,” Firestorm spat as he flew toward the explosion. He smelled smoke.

As he flew, a woman ran towards him from down the hall. They saw each other at the same time. She was a leggy red-head, not beautiful but not plain, either. Her skin-tight magenta outfit seemed out of place.

“Is there a fire?” he asked, and the woman nodded hesitantly. “Don’t go to the lobby, the exits are blocked. The sprinklers will turn on soon to fight the fire.” He flew by her, then heard her speak.

“Frost disabled the sprinklers.”

He instantly slowed at the words and began to turn when he heard the KAA-KOOOM! of the explosion just behind him. Heat seared him and concussive force pounded him, slamming him into the ceiling, the wall, and to the floor. Ears ringing, eyes stinging and watering, Firestorm couldn’t even stand.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Roy tried to be stealthy, but then the Concordance employees began swarming out of the stairwells. Luckily, the building was not as heavily staffed as your average office building. Roy fought his way to the huge lobby. There were already a hundred people there, pressed up against the iced over entrance doors. The smoke started to build.

Good Lord, Roy thought. She trapped everyone and then started a fire? That could kill all the folks in the company! Walking calmly to the center of the room (noticing the frozen security guards), he loaded his pistol with rubber bullets and fired into the air, gaining the attention of every frightened person in the room. He ejected the magazine and casually loaded both pistols with armor-piercing ammunition.

“I am a Federal Agent!” he shouted. “Calmly move away from the doors and I will get them open.” No one moved.

One man, a weaselly fellow, argued, “How do we know you didn’t cause this?”

“Sir, I have the firearms here, and I will blow you to Hades if it will save everyone else. Now stand aside!”

Like Heston, the crowd parted away from the doors. Also, like Heston in a real-life role, Roy fired both pistols in a loose pattern. It took over thirty rounds, but finally the ice came crashing down to the floor.

“Now calmly file out of the building,” Roy commanded while reloading.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“What hit us?” Firestorm said, shaking himself.

>>I don’t know,<< Stein admitted. >>I think she was a suicide bomber.<<

“What-ever,” Firestorm growled angrily, again taking off.

Although a bit woozy and his hearing temporarily halved, the Nuclear Man zoomed through the complex. It took about ten minutes for him to kill the fires. In the end, the attack caused some damage, but nothing that would shut Concordance down, and even the frozen security guards and desk clerks were freed before suffocating and would fully recover. Wearily, Firestorm flew into the lobby where Roy Harper still navigated Concordance personnel out of the building. Firestorm noted the remains of Frost blockade busily melting away.

“Nice work,” he said. “I stopped the fires. The building is out of danger.”

“Depends on your definition of danger,” Roy replied. “Frost is still loose. She’ll try again.”

“They’ll try again,” Firestorm corrected. “Someone else set off the bombs.”

Roy nodded. “Firestorm, I came to New York to investigate the Hudson Incident and also to take custody of Frost. A transport will arrive tomorrow to take her. Are you willing to help me bring her in?”

Remembering Green Arrow and Adrian Chase, he nodded. “She murders without thinking twice,” Firestorm answered. “I’ll do everything I have to.”

To Be Continued in Arsenal: Legend Watcher #10!