The All New Atom #1 (2006)

100 Days from Now: The Waiting has successfully waged a war on Earth. Approximately 1.2 billion "sentients" were killed, the subatomic bombs have destroyed every major city and the telepathic missiles are keeping resistence to a minimum. While five captured members of the JLA watch, the Waiting reshape Mount Rushmore to the Waiting's likenesses. 10 Days Ago: Ivy University Professor Edwin Katz hurriedly leaves his house only to find a pack of seemingly domesticated dogs waiting for him on the lawn. He runs but they catch and kill him. 14 Years Ago: Ryan Choi, and several other students, are dismissed from a martial arts class after failing to pay attention to the teacher. Two students pretend they are martial art movie stars and Ryan pretends he is the inventor of the rocket...which prompts the others to knock him down and call him "weird." Ryan's father arrives praising his weirdness as the source of his future greatness. The Present: Ryan is dropped off at Ivy Town University by a cab driver who says, "Bleed Nun Artifice." Before Ryan can inquire further, Dean Mayland arrives and takes Ryan on a tour lamenting on Ryan's youth and youthful appearance. The Dean has set Ryan up in Ray Palmer's old position, office and house at Ryan's insistence cautioning Ryan against pursuing Ray's other career (i.e. superheroics). Dean Mayland introduces Ryan to Panda Potter, Ryan's new housemate while two smitten female students watch. Panda takes Ryan to their shared house and helps him unpack then invites him to join the Lighter Than Air Society and join in on their poker game. Ryan meets the other members of the LTAS amd learns of the late Edwin Katz. Ryan races back home realizing that a needle that stuck in his shoe earlier may be the key to finding a microscopic message left for him by Ray Palmer (which he'd been expecting to find). He finds a message "Inflict A Beer Nude" scratched into the needle and solves it as an anagram, "under file cabinet." Moving the file cabinet, Ryan finds the Atom's Bio-Belt. He activates it and shrinks inside his own shirt. He works his way free and realizes he has dropped the belt and must find it in order to return to normal size. After overcoming a few obstacles, including escaping a rat, Ryan gets the belt and returns to normal. He immediately takes the belt to the LTAS where they spend 5 hours examining the belt. Ryan and Panda return home unaware that a dog is camping outside and has several small, plotting voices eminating from its fur.