Countdown to Final Crisis # 34 - 18: Safe House

Overview

Find out where the Heck Ray Palmer has been and what he's been up to! Find out what happened to Mary Marvel after she was left out in space two weeks ago by herself! See who crashes Ray's Christmas party!

Plus, more DC villains origin backup stories. This week learn The Origin of Dr. Light by Scott Beatty and Howard Porter!

The COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS continues!

Flashback to two years ago, Jean Loring is being dragged away to her cell in Arkham Asylum. She screams back to her husband, Ray Palmer, the original Atom. He is so distraught over the fact that she killed Sue Dibny in order to win his love back. So overcome with grief and wanting to get away, he shrinks down smaller and smaller.

Ray wakes up to the nightmare. Lying next to him in bed is Jean. She asks if he's okay. He tells her it's just a dream and goes to the bathroom to splash water on his face. He tells himself to just let go of the past. Heading back to bed, and Jean, we see that he is on Earth 51.

Meanwhile, in outer space, another Jean Loring, still under the influence of Eclipso, searches for the remains of Mary Marvel. She figures after being left floating lost in space for two weeks, Mary's bound to be a basket case. It should be easy to take her powers now. Mary surprise Eclipso by fighting back. She says she should've known she was only interested in stealing her powers just like everyone else. Elcipso, now on the run, tries hitting Mary with everything she has. It's not enough. Mary swoops after her, telling her she's dead.

Back on Earth 51, Ray is at the Arkham Institute for Emotional Disorders talking to an old friend turned psychiatrist, Zatanna. He talks to her about his nightmare and how peaceful their world is. He knows he should be at peace but just can't shake the dreams.

Later there is a Christmas party at Ray's house. The other couples there are Ralph and Sue Dibny and Barry and Iris Allen. When Ralph goes out to get more wood for the fire, he is saddened to see a Monitor standing just on the other side of the fence to his yard.

Back inside, the others are surprised when Ray returns with Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner, Jason Todd, and the Monitor. Ray apologizes to Jean, saying he was foolish to think he could avoid this forever. He decides to tell them his story.

Ray tells them how he's not the Ray Palmer of their world. He tells them that his Jean murdered Sue. After shrinking away from his world, he came across a being that informed him of the multiverse. He eventually found a way to travel between worlds on a quantum level. He looked for himself on each world hoping to see a Ray that hadn't suffered as he had. On this world he found himself working on opening a gateway to alternate realities. He then saw himself die in an explosion when the experiment went wrong.

Ray was scientifically curious what "he" was working on. He now had a reason to stay on this world when he discovered that the research his other self was doing had catastrophic consequences if they weren't completed. He also discovered that this Ray had a blind date set up with Jean. He jumped into this world and tried to figure out what event caused this one to be so different than his own.

Ray's friends have trouble grasping what he is telling them. The Monitor then steps up telling them all that everything he has said was true. Ray, not knowing who he was asked. The Monitor tells everyone that it is his job to become aware of and eliminate multiversal anomalies. Since Ray is not of this world, he tells him he must be eliminated.