July: In Ivy Town, Jean Loring (ex-wife of Ray Palmer, the Atom) is present at a bank robbery when a figure appearing to be the Atom and using his size-changing belt knocks out the robbers. Meanwhile, Ray Palmer awakes from a nightmare in which he witnesses the death of all the yellow-skinned warriors he had lived with in South America, including his beloved Laethwen. He is now back in the U.S. The newspaper headlines claim the Atom has returned to Ivy Town. Paul Hoben, Jean Loring's second husband, jealously accuses Jean of wanting Ray back, while Jean is determine to talk with Ray. Meanwhile, Batman notes the headline and is puzzled by it. A mysterious figure in Washington, D.C., also notes the headline. Ray Palmer himself notes the headline with chagrin. [“The Atom: The Ivy Town Project, Chapter 1: The Atom Returns”]
Searching unsuccessfully for Ray in five other places, Jean finally visits Enrichetta Negrini at the Physic Department of Ivy University, who suggests she might find Ray at his parents' beach house. Returning home, Jean is surprised to find there Amanda Waller (head of Extreme Justice) and Captain Boomerang present, with Deadshot holding a gun to Paul's head. Waller demands to know where Ray is, explaining that he and a research assistant named Adam Cray are responsible for stealing the size-changing belt and the top secret government research on it. After Jean explains she knows nothing, they leave, while Paul confesses to having sold the belt left with him by Ray to the government for a lot of money in order to pay off gambling debts. She and Paul split up. [“The Atom: The Ivy Town Project, Chapter 2: Up Against the Wall”]
Ray Palmer, staying at his parents' beach house, thinks back on how he got there. The Ivy Town Project had supposedly been a top secret government project to develop new medical procedures. But research assistant Adam Cray overheard Gyrich and Dugan, two special agents assigned to the Project, discuss its actual uses for assassinations and other black ops. He was forcibly made a volunteer, and they expected him to explode as all previous volunteers had done after using the belt. Instead, Adam alone survived and became a test subject. Deciding they needed Ray Palmer to figure out what X factor he and Adam shared, those in charge of the project destroyed Laethwen's village and then lied to Ray about it, who joined the project. After Ray discovered the truth, he broke Adam out and escaped with the size-changing belts, and with Batman's help, Ray disappeared and had been in hiding ever since. Jean Loring drives down the driveway of the beach house and spots Ray, even as he spots her. In Washington, D.C., Gyrich learns that Waller failed in her mission and makes plans to kill both Ray and Adam by the end of the day. Waller, meanwhile, consults with Oracle (Lyla, the former Harbinger). [“The Atom: The Ivy Town Project, Chapter 3: Double Dealings”]
[“The Atom: The Ivy Town Project, Chapter 4”]
[“The Atom: The Ivy Town Project, Epilogue”]