Freddy Heinz awoke to the thick smell of smoke. In his third story bedroom, he struggled to open the door as the handle was red hot. Outside the window, a man was standing, but he couldn’t see any details. He screamed for his mother and father and heard them downstairs coughing. The door began to disintegrate from the heat. Freddy elbowed down the wood of the door and made his way out. His skin was burning, and he struggled to breathe, coughing as he moved towards the stairs.

Atop the first step, Freddy collapsed, tumbling down to the bottom level of the house. He suffered contusions and his body was damaged significantly, burning quickly.

Meanwhile, in the Underworld, a rogue demon named Morgul ran around putting out Beemon’s eternal flames. Other demons tried to capture him, but he was too elusive. As he channeled a spell of extinguishing one flame, he was caught by Beemon itself. The horrifying figure floated before him, and he had but one option.

Morgul sacrificed his body for his soul to ascend and enter the mortal realm. Of the entire world, all the fires called out to him, but only one had a body for him to inhabit. He traversed the realms and possessed young Freddy. 

Freddy’s body healed and withstood the flame with ease. Morgul couldn’t, however, aid him in breathing. He collapsed once more, and his resident demon was dormant.

Lifted from the floor, Freddy was placed in a mask to provide oxygen. He was carried to the back of an ambulance and screamed for his mother and father. The fireman put up a finger to tell him to wait a moment. He watched as the fireman walked to another ambulance, where he wheeled out Freddy’s mother. She was a little banged up, but she was fine, and happy to see her son.

“Your father didn’t make it, son, I’m sorry.” the fireman told Freddy, and left him to mourn.

Freddy and his mother sobbed together each on a gurney. At the hospital later, the fireman introduced himself as the captain of his squadron. He came by to check on them and handed Freddy a toy fire truck. “I know you’re a little old for toys, but I figure you’ll be bored enough here while they monitor you.” 

“Thanks.” Freddy offered his solemn gratitude, his voice stifled through the breathing tubes. The captain began to walk out of the room quietly, as Mrs. Heinz was sleeping. Freddy stopped him with a question. “How did the fire start?”

The captain made a strange face. “Well, your father left a cigarette still burning near a curtain.”

Freddy nodded and the captain left.

Many years later, Freddy joined the local firemen. He was considered one of the best amongst his peers. His record of saved lives far surpassed any other. People attributed that to his breathing apparatus, which was superior to any mask they’d wear. After a shift one morning, he called to speak with his mother.

“Hey mom. I’ve been thinking…” his voice was muffled through his mouthpiece, “...do you resent dad for causing the fire?”

“What do you mean?” his mother asked.

“His cigarette. He left it near the curtain, remember?”

“Oh, honey, no. Your father never smoked. He hated cigarettes. If anything, they told me my hair dryer was likely the cause.”

Freddy grew silent and Morgul focused his mind on his memory. He saw the captain through his bedroom window all those years ago, before the rest of the firemen even arrived. The captain was smiling and nodding up at the window. Freddy knew right away that he had been lied to, that his father was killed not by his mother’s careless mistake, but by the captain himself.

Freddy geared up and petitioned Morgul to grant him his power. He would find the captain and extinguish him, avenging his father. With demonic power, he controlled his fellow firemen and climbed the ranks of firefighters, searching for his nemesis as Firehouse.