Hey guys, it's been a while hasn't it. This was originally cowritten with Jess Maximoff but due to me not being the most reliable of cowriters, I thought it was best for me to do a reboot on my own. Well, here it goes.

It had been a little over a week since the oil tanker exploded off of the shores of New York City. The explosion had caused Flint Marko, a.k.a. Sandman to be turned into glass. Sure the guy had been one of the city's worst supervillains, but in the final moments of his life, he had sacrificed it for the sake of those he had accidentally put in harm's way, and he had even saved the super hero's life as well. Needless to say, the turn of events had been an unexpected one and had left the red and blue clad hero with a lot on his mind. But right now, with the crime rate as low as it was right now, it gave the teenage hero plenty of time to think.

One of the things that repeatedly crossed Spider-Man's mind was whether or not Sandman had managed to survive the blast. He wondered that if there was enough of Sandman under the water, out of reach of the glass creating explosion that he could have gotten away. If he did survive, when would he show himself again?

It seemed as though the answer to the question that had been hanging most on the wall crawler's mind was finally answered. Spidey had perched himself on a rooftop of one of New York's buildings, taking a small breather after stopping a carjacking. He hadn't been on the building too long before there was the familiar tingling of his spider sense coming from the back of his neck. Spider-Man spun around and was met face to face with Sandman.

"I had a feeling that that explosion wouldn't be the end of you." Spidey said.

Sandman rubbed the back of his neck and snorted. "Let me tell ya, it wasn't a fun feeling having half of your body getting melted into glass in that explosion."

Spider-Man hesitated before speaking. "Yeah, I bet. You know if you hadn't of done what you had done, me and a lot of those men would have felt that explosion and not have lived."

There was a strange twist in his stomach. He'd never been saved by anyone else before. He was the one who did the saving. It was strange to think that despite their history, Sandman would save him from a horrible fate. It also made thanking him feel all the more strange and out of place. But Spider-Man felt that some form of a thank you was in order, after all, Sandman could have easily let him go up with the oil tanker as well.

"I wasn't no big deal." Sandman said, brushing off the attempted thanks. "It was all my fault anyhow. Besides, I just thought that you were one of those workers, so don't be getting any ideas of me getting soft and saving your webbed butt on purpose."

Spiderman nodded a faint smile on his lips beneath his mask. Of course, he should have known Flint better than that. At least he got the general idea of what he was trying to say.

"I would never dream of it. Besides, I figured it was a mistake, especially after all the times you and your buddies tried to kill me." Spidey joked.

Sandman slowly nodded. "Yeah, well, like I said, don't get no ideas that I've gone soft or nothing. That's the only reason why I'm here was to make that clear to ya. You understand? After this, things go back to the way they were."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Spidey said.

As if on cue, the familiar sounds of a jewelry store alarm started ringing. Spidey gave Sandman a salute, signaling the end of the temporary goodwill. The hero managed to catch a slight grin and nod from Sandman as he dove off the roof, ready to stop the attempted robbery.

Sandman shook his head after the young hero disappeared from his sight. That guy was never going to stop with the wise cracks. He must have driven his parents crazy when he was younger. Flint didn't know what he would have done if he had a smart mouth like that as a kid. He'd probably would have rolled his eyes so often that they would have been able to freely spin around on their own. It was then that Flint felt a twinge in his chest and stomach. He thought back to the memories of his son.

Flint had been one of those stupid high school football playing boys who had fallen for one of the cheerleaders at his school. The two of them were inseparable as they had been close friends since they were in fourth grade. Mary had been an amazingly smart girl and with her help, he had managed to pass science and math so he could play football. Too bad that one night one of their studying sessions had gotten a bit off topic.

Barely a month later they had learned of the consequences of their diverted study session. The two of them wished that it was a failed test, but it resulted in them going to become parents instead. They had both panicked, each not taking the news all that well. Flint supposed that Mary had taken it better of the two of them, seeing how in order to provide for a family that he was soon to care for, he took a high paying job opportunity with a high risk. That risky job got him five years in jail.

By the time he had gotten out Mary had already met and married another guy. After doing time in the slammer, the girl that he had known had changed. She became a different person. But becoming a mother would change any woman. Mary felt it best that with his recent track record it would be best for Flint not to be in their son's life. After all, what would the influence of having a father who would be constantly going in and out of a jail the way a cop went in and out of a doughnut shop do to the psyche of their son? Flint, unfortunately, agreed with Mary's decision and distanced him from his son and former girlfriend.

But that had been ten, eleven years ago. Perhaps after all of this time, it was time to check in on his son. After all a lot can happen during a decade.