-Chapter 6-
The Sandman Cometh
A seemingly peaceful evening in Manhattan was interrupted by the sound of police sirens. Flint Marko ran through the streets, the NYPD in hot pursuit. He quickly scaled a nearby fence, hoping to put some distance between him and the cops. His search for a hiding place led him into an old Fisk Industries building, where he ducked into a nearby room. The police seemed to run past him, allowing Marko to let out a sigh of relief. That was when bright lights flickered on, and he realized he was in a hi-tech looking room, standing in a pile of sand. A three-pronged device lowered from the ceiling, slowly spinning around him and stirring up the sand.
"What the…" Marko let out.
He tried running out, but he ended up colliding with one of the prongs, getting knocked back. They kept spinning faster and faster, kicking up sand and covering Marko in it. All he could do was watch in horror as he began to disintegrate. He let out one last scream before he disappeared completely, and then the machine turned off, leaving only silence…
The next day, Peter met up with Peni outside of the school, visibly annoyed.
"What's with the attitude, Pete?" Peni wondered. "Thought you'd be happier about tutoring Liz Allan."
"It's not that, Peni," Peter replied. "I'm sure you noticed how Jameson's been buckling down on trying to convince the city I'm a menace." he sighed a little. "I risk my life for Manhattan on a daily basis, and that bitter old fart just keeps thinking I'm evil and wants everyone else to do the same. I was almost pepper-sprayed by a woman I saved from a mugging yesterday, for God's sake."
"I take it that's why you've started venting to that gargoyle on that Broadway rooftop?"
"Hey, don't diss Bruce. He's a good listener. And he laughs at all my jokes."
Peni shrugged. "I suppose someone has to."
They both shared a laugh before Peter sighed again.
"Be good and good will follow," he quoted. "That's what Aunt May used to tell me. But I was good before Uncle Ben died. I was good when jackasses like Flash and Carl King used my head as a toilet brush. And I'm doing good as Spider-Man every day. I'm starting to think being good isn't good for me."
"Seems that way sometimes, doesn't it, Pete? But that's because good is hard. Bad is always easy. You didn't get into superheroing for gratitude. You got into it because it's the right thing to do. If you don't, who will?
"I know, but is it asking too much for a simple 'thank you' for the work I do?"
Peni put an arm around him.
"I get it, believe me. But it's not about appreciation. It's about responsibility."
"Still, some appreciation would be nice."
Later, in the library, Peter sat before Liz Allan, a blue-eyed brunette, a biology textbook in hand.
"See, the chapter's really about how biological systems interact." Peter explained.
Liz nodded, listening as Peter went over the details.
"Alright, I think I get it," she said at last. "But I'm stumped by this one part. What is the difference between mutualism and commensalism?"
"Mutualism is the interaction between two or more organisms where both organisms can benefit from the interaction," Peter explained. "An example of mutualism is a clownfish and a sea anemone. Commensalism is when two species interact and one benefits, but the other organism is neither harmed nor benefited."
"So... like Spider-Man and New York," Liz suggested. "He helps the city, but he doesn't get anything out of it."
That got Peter's attention. "Yeah... that's actually pretty fitting."
"Although, wouldn't that be parasitism?" Liz asked. "He's actually getting hurt. I mean, everyone is leeching off of him and all he does, but shunning him."
"Huh…" Peter let out. "I.. guess so. Didn't know you felt that way about Spider-Man."
"I started following news about him around the time he stopped my grandpa from killing Harry's dad."
Peter blinked. "Wait... that Vulture guy? Adrian Toomes is your grandpa?"
"Yeah," Liz sighed. "It sucks what happened to him. Mr. Osborn stole his tech-flight idea, and he was counting on it to help support me and my folks."
"But... you don't hate Spider-Man for bringing him in?"
Liz shrugged. "I'm not happy about it, but I can't say I blame him. Grandpa was right to be pissed at Mr. Osborn, but he went about it the wrong way."
"Yeah… I guess so," Peter agreed before clearing his throat. "Anyway, we're off-topic. We can talk more about Spider-Man later."
"Agreed. You were saying?"
Peter picked the book back up, his mood much improved at the reveal that Spider-Man had at least one supporter in the city.
Back at Fisk Industries, all was quiet. Within the machine, the sand swirled a bit, before something began to emerge from it. It began with a hand, before the upper body of Flint Marko emerged, sand falling from his limbs. He looked down at his sand form, and was shocked by what he saw. Marko stumbled out of the machine, his body fully reforming and taking on his normal appearance. It wasn't long before someone recognized him and called it in, and he soon found himself standing before a police barricade. Yuri stood behind her car, gun at the ready.
"Flint Marko!" she called. "You are completely surrounded! There's no use trying to run, so just come quietly!"
Marko scoffed. "No. I don't think so."
"We're authorized to use lethal force if you don't give up! Put your hands on the ground, or I swear I'll drop you!"
"Go ahead. Make my day."
After a minute, Yuri obliged, shooting him multiple times in the chest. They seemed to do nothing but go through him, leaving him completely untouched. Yuri could only gape in shock.
"What… what the hell?" she managed.
"Told you," Sandy particles filled the bullet holes as he made his fist grow, the grains of sand hardening into a stony weapon. "My turn."
He smashed in the hood of Yuri's patrol car, forcing her on the run.
In Peter's lab, Peni was putting the finishing touches on his utility belt, munching on a chocolate bar when the police radio they'd set up crackled to life.
"All units! Flint Marko is at it again! He's on the warpath at the corner of Lee and Ditko! (1)"
Peni immediately set down the belt before grabbing her phone, texting a message to Peter.
"Marko's on a rampage at Lee and Ditko. Sounds like he's giving the cops a run for their money."
After a moment, Peter texted back, "Kinda in the middle of something right now. Besides, Marko's a joke. Let the police handle it for a change."
Peni texted, "He's actually giving them some trouble. Ten minutes there, web him to the wall, then ten minutes back. You can do that with your mask on backwards."
A few moments passed before Peter texted back. One could almost hear the sigh in his message.
"Alright. I'm on it."
At the library, Peter pocketed his phone.
"Hey, Liz, sorry to cut this short, but I just remembered. My Aunt wants me to pick up some eggs from the store, and I gotta go before they close."
"I get it. Pick this back up same time tomorrow?"
Peter smiled. "Wouldn't miss it."
Peter headed out, ducking into the bushes before emerging in his costume and swinging away. It wasn't long before he saw Marko emerging from a jewelry store with a sack of diamonds.
"Flint, old buddy, old pal!" he called. "How ya doin'?"
"You again," Marko scoffed. "Well, you ain't gettin' me this time!"
"C'mon, Flint," Spider-Man snorted. "We both know what's gonna happen. You rob a place, I swing in and make you eat pavement, you go to jail, and we won't see each other for... about a week. Then we do the same thing all over again."
"Not this time, Bug-Boy."
Spider-Man sighed. "Guess some people are just too stupid to quit."
He jumped down, throwing a punch... only to be surprised when his fist went right through Marko's torso, spraying sand everywhere. Before he could pull it out, sand filled in the hole, trapping his arm.
"Aw, is the big-shot hero stuck?" Marko taunted. "Well, let me give you a hand!"
He placed his palm on Spider-Man's chest, shooting out a burst of sand that sent the web-slinger flying back into a wall. He pulled himself up, rubbing his head.
"Am I losing my mind?" he let out. "Did you just turn into…"
"Sand?" Marko offered. "Yep."
Spidey blinked. "Uh... since when are you not a laughingstock?"
"Since about last night, give or take a few hours," Marko raised his hand, forming it into a rocky mace. "Now, time to squish the Spider."
Spider-Man quickly leapt out of the way just as the mace landed.
"Neat, huh? Flint Marko may have been a joke, but soon, everyone's gonna respect the name: Sandman!"
"Sandman?" Peter asked. "What, you gonna start visiting people in their rooms at night and sprinkle sand in their eyes to get them to sleep and dream? Laaame."
"Dreams? Nah, what I can do is the stuff of nightmares!"
Spider-Man shot out weblines, trying to wrap him up, only for Sandman to evaporate, slipping through it with ease before reforming. After a minute, he leapt up, landing a jumping kick to his face, only for his foot to slam into what felt like a sheet of bedrock. His eyes widened in pain as he clutched his battered toes
"See what I can do now? You can't hurt me, Spider-Man. But I can hurt you!"
Spider-Man was soon forced on the defensive as the Sandman came at him, swinging with rocky fists, maces, and hammers. Eventually, the Sandman dissolved into a pile of sand, swarming around Peter and trapping him before forming into a sandy guillotine.
"Off with the web-head!" Sandman boasted before laughing evilly.
Thinking fast, Spider-Man fired two web lines at a nearby wall and yanked hard, pulling himself and Sandman into it. As the Sandman collapsed and reformed, Peter wracked his brain for a solution. Soon, his eyes fell on a nearby fire hydrant
"Physics 101, Marko!" Spider-Man called out. "What happens when you mix sand with water?"
He shot out a webline, catching the hydrant and pulling with all his might. The hydrant snapped open, spraying Sandman down with a torrent of water. He yelled as he soaked up the water like a sponge, the pressure tearing into him.
"What's wrong, Marko? Can't take the-"
Sandman cut him off by backhanding him with a spiked hand. He crashed into some trash, holding his head in pain. Spider-Man went wide eyed when he felt his bare face. He looked in a nearby window, seeing the Sandman's attack had torn off a good portion of his mask, exposing the lower half of his face and some hair.
"Crap!" he let out. "Can't risk Sandman seeing my face!"
He quickly leapt onto the wall and started crawling away.
"Yeah, you better run, Spider-Punk!" Sandman taunted. "Next time I see you, you ain't gonna be so lucky!"
Later, at Peter's lab, he explained what had happened to Peni while stitching up his mask with a sewing machine. He sighed.
"Worst thing about having a secret identity? You can't ask someone else to do your sewing."
"Hey, don't look at me," Peni replied. "I make gadgets, not sweaters."
Peter shrugged before getting back to work.
"So... Marko's upgraded to supervillain?" Peni asked.
"Yeah," Peter nodded. "Considering sand doesn't have DNA, we can rule the Neogenic Recombinator out."
"So how are you gonna beat up a beach?"
"Giant vacuum?"
Peni snorted, before her expression turned serious.
"That... might not be such a bad idea, actually."
"I was joking, Pen."
"I'm not. Marko's body has the properties of sand. He turned into mud when you ripped open that hydrant, right?"
"Yeah…" Peter recalled.
"So he can probably be sucked up into a vacuum cleaner, like dust."
Peter nodded. "Okay, makes sense."
He kept that idea in mind as he continued stitching up his costume.
Across town in his highrise, a shady man watched security footage of Flint Marko being turned into the Sandman, followed by his fight with Spider-Man on Lee and Ditko. Hammerhead stood off to the side.
"Interesting." he mused.
"Word is this guy would've crushed the web-head if he hadn't bailed," Hammerhead reported.
"Spider-Man's activities have become quite an inconvenience for us as it is," the man remarked. "This... Sandman could prove quite the asset."
"You want me to arrange a meeting?"
"Yes. At Montana's club. Whatever the outcome, it works out in our favor."
Hammerhead nodded. "Of course. Either Sandman agrees to work for you, or he goes off on his own and squashes Spider-Man for us. Either way, you win."
The figure smirked in response.
"That, Hammerhead, is why I'm the Kingpin."
After sending Spider-Man packing and drying himself out, Marko headed for his usual pit stop: the Bar with No Name, a go-to hangout for most seedy crooks and thugs in Manhattan. As he sat down and ordered a drink, another man sat down next to him.
"Flint Marko, I presume? Or Sandman, whichever you prefer."
Marko turned to him. "Who wants to know?"
"They call me Hammerhead. Maybe you've heard of me. Right-hand man of the Kingpin?"
Everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing upon hearing that name.
"Yeah…" Marko said after a minute. "I've heard of him. What does he want with me?"
"We have a common foe in Spider-Man. The bug has been sticking his nose into our business, and the Big Man doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit."
"Yeah, that still doesn't answer my question. What does that have to do with me?"
"It's simple. The Kingpin wants to extend a job offer. Mutual benefits, the pay's good. And think about this; whatever happened to you, you've got power no one else got. Not even Spider-Man. Now you can get revenge for all those times the web-head put you behind bars."
"Yeah…" Sandman mused before shaking his head. "Hey, wait a minute! Revenge is for chumps. I don't care about Spider-Man! All I want is a big score! And with these powers, I can get it too!"
He looked Hammerhead in the eyes. "Sorry, pal. But I don't work for anyone.
Tell the Kingpin to take his offer and shove it."
Several people gasped at Marko's audacity. Hammerhead seemed annoyed at first, before shrugging.
"Suit yourself. The boss said there was a possibility you'd refuse."
Sandman blinked. "That's it? No threat? No 'you're making a mistake?'"
"Everyone plays into the Kingpin's hands, whether they know it or not," Hammerhead replied. "It's just a matter of time. Besides, if you sent Spider-Man running for the hills, what exactly can we do to you for refusing?"
Sandman smirked. "Not a damn thing."
"In any event, the offer stands," Hammerhead stood up. "At the very least, consider the Big Man's proposal. It may very well lead you to the big score you've been after."
He departed, leaving Sandman to his drink.
The next afternoon, a bus pulled away from Midtown High. Peter was slumping lazily in his seat when he felt goosebumps rise on his arms, the hairs standing on end. He perked before looking out the window, seeing a massive cloud of sand flying after an armored truck. He turned to Peni, who was listening to J-pop music on her iPod, and elbowed her to get her attention.
"Pen, Marko's at it again," he whispered. "I need you to cause a distraction."
Seeing the sandstorm out the window, Peni nodded. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she clutched her temples.
"Ugh…" she groaned. "I don't feel so hot…"
She collapsed into the aisle, eyes closed, which got everyone's attention As everyone gathered around Peni, Peter slipped out the slipped on his mask and quickly swung off, pulling off the rest of his street clothes to reveal his costume as he went.
-X-
Spider-Man reached the truck just as the sandstorm swept into the truck. The driver's side door opened, tossing the driver out into the street as Marko took the wheel. Peter landed atop the truck, and narrowly managed to avoid a sand-spear that stabbed through the roof. He quickly leapt down and kicked through the driver side window.
"Surprise!"
He knocked the Sandman back, slamming him into the passenger side door before landing several punches to his face. Marko caught the third punch, chuckling
"Question, web-head." he began. "If I'm over here... who's driving?"
Peter blinked before turning to see the empty driver's seat, no one at the wheel as the truck began to swerve out of control.
"...I'm gonna chalk that up to poor planning."
-X-
The truck swerved into a construction site, crashing through the gate hard. Spider-Man was thrown from the vehicle, bouncing across the ground before skidding to a stop. He pulled himself up, his head spinning.
"Yes, Aunt May," he let out dazedly. "I'd love another stack of wheatcakes."
He shook his head, trying to clear it as the Sandman swarmed out of the car. Before he could react, he was suddenly grabbed by a sandy fist. Sandman pulled him closer, his free hand morphing into a spear.
"Any last puns or quips before I gut you like a fish?" he asked.
"Just one…" Peter replied. "Ever consider changing your name to the Human Litterbox?"
Sandman scowled. "Why, you little...!"
He made to impale Spider-Man, who quickly caught the spear, using the point to slice through Marko's sandy fingers and free himself. Spider-Man quickly backflipped onto a nearby wall and began webbing him up. Sandman just laughed.
"You really thought this'd work?" He disintegrated before reforming, free of the webs. "Spider tricks don't work on the Sandman. But Sand tricks work on the Spider-Man!"
He turned into sand and moved under a pile of girders, springing up and sending them flying at Spider-Man.
"Oh, crap…"
He jumped off the wall, but was unable to dodge before the girders landed on him and pinned him down. As the Sandman advanced on him, Peter heard a scream, and turned to see one of the stray girders was falling toward a little girl near the site. He gasped before managing to fling the girders off of him, running at full tilt toward the girl and tackling her out of the way just as it hit.
"You okay?" he asked the girl in his arms.
"Yeah…" she let out, nodding.
Peter stood up, the kid in his arms as her parents ran over.
"Taina, don't just wander off like that!" the mother screamed. "You scared us to death!"
Spider-Man handed the girl over, the mother hugging her in relief. "God bless you, Spider-Man…"
"Thank me later. Just get away from here."
Spider-Man then swung back into the site, ready to fight Sandman again.
"Y'know, I hadn't planned on comin' after you," Marko admitted. "But you just insist on being the cloud hanging over my sunny, sandy beach! It's time to change the weather… for good!"
"You can come after me all you want, Marko," Peter snapped. "But when you attack innocent kids in my city, that's when I get mad!"
He snatched up a girder, swinging it down with all his might and smashing Sandman into the ground. Spider-Man managed to swing on top of a girder as Sandman recovered.
"Come on, Sandman!" he shouted. "Show me what you got!"
"You asked for it, bug!"
"Better yet, I'll show you!"
He grabbed the girder he was standing on top of, slamming it on top of him. Sandman immediately reformed, decking him as his hands turned into hammers.
"Boy, you sure showed me," he scoffed. "I can keep this up all day! Can you, web-head?"
"Actually, I have a dentist appointment later. So if you could just give up now…"
Instead, Peter was pinned to the wall, the Sandman preparing a hammer strike.
"Bet you never saw this coming." Marko gloated.
At that very moment, they heard an engine going, and both turned to see Peni leaping over the fence on a dirt bike. In mid-jump, she leapt off of the bike, sending it flying into the Sandman's face and knocking him away from Spider-Man. The minute he was free, Peter shot a webline, swinging to grab Peni and taking her to a higher level.
"Peni?!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"
"I was in the neighborhood," Peni replied. "Thought you could use a hand?"
"You could have been killed!"
"How's that different from what you do everyday?"
Peter sputtered in response.
"I heard what was going on through the police radio. I don't care if I don't have any powers or not. You're my friend, and I'm here to help."
They looked down, seeing Sandman beginning to reform.
"Okay, no giant vacuum," said Peni. "Anything around here we can use to stop him?"
Spider-Man looked around, seeing the cement mixer nearby.
"That," he said. "Get into the mixer, and get ready to move on my signal."
"I'm on it. Hope nobody wants to see my union card."
Peni hurried over to it as Peter jumped down to face Marko.
"It's over, Spider-Man," Marko swore. "When you were the only one with powers, you had me beat. But now, King Sandman reigns supreme!"
"Your Majesty…" Spider-Man bowed mockingly. "I'd get down on my knees to kneel, but the floor's kinda dirty."
Sandman swung at Spider-Man, but he quickly leapt out of the way and swung near the cement truck. Peni powered it on, giving him a thumbs up as Peter got Sandman into position.
"But here. Allow me to build a statue in your honor."
He shot a webline, snapping open the nozzle of the mixer and splashing Marko with quick-dry cement. It rapidly hardened, leaving him stuck in place. Peni got out of the truck, blowing a kiss at it.
"Not bad," Peni mused. "Not great, but not bad."
"Eat your heart out, Michelangelo," Peter lifted up his mask, spitting out some sand. "Now to dig the sand outta my costume."
At the Parker house, Aunt May waited in bated breath for any sign of Peter after hearing of the Sandman's rampage. The door opened to reveal Peter himself, battered, bruised, and covered in sand. Aunt May got to her feet, going to hug her nephew, but he held up a hand before sheepishly pulling a carton of eggs out of his backpack.
"Got caught up taking pictures of Spider-Man at the construction site," he explained. "Almost forgot to pick these up on my way home."
May just looked at him blankly for a few minutes. Peter half-expected her to start tearing strips off of him... but then she suddenly just burst into laughter, covering her mouth.
"Sorry. It's just…" she managed before cracking up even more, setting the carton to the side. After a few minutes, Peter couldn't help but join her. Before long, they were leaning on one another for support, letting out deep, unrestrained belly laughter at the absurdity of the situation.
A few days later, after turning the photos in to Jonah and collecting his paycheck, Peter was headed out when Whitney intercepted him.
"Peter, glad I caught you," she greeted. "Random question, but you think you'll be seeing Spider-Man anytime soon?"
"He comes and goes at random," Peter replied. "No telling when he'll show up. Why?"
Whitney handed him an envelope. "This is from the parents of that little girl he saved at the construction site. They asked us to give it to Spider-Man next time we see him."
Peter took the envelope. Moving off to the side, he opened it up and saw a crude drawing of Spider-Man. Written in the corner were the words "Thank you, Spidey," and on the back were the words "From Maria Taina Elizando, your biggest fan." Peter looked the drawing over again and again, his disbelief slowly being replaced with happiness.
Later, at his lab, Peter pinned the drawing to the wall, himself and Peni looking it over.
"So…" Peni began, "still think being good isn't good for you?"
"Not gonna lie," Peter began. "It can be thankless, and the rewards are small, if any."
He looked at the picture, a smile slowly spreading. "But in the end... it's little things like this that make it all worth it."
Author's Note:
(1): A reference to Spider-Man's creators, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Also a nod to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they also had a reference to their creators, streets named Eastman and Laird.
So... yeah. This chapter was meant to throw Peter a bone. His career as Spider-Man may suck, and a lot of people are ungrateful, but he does have some supporters.
BTW, Liz Allan's design takes from the 2017 cartoon, with some of her MCU characterization thrown in. I made the Vulture her grandpa rather than her father, since I'm using the classic old man Adrian Toomes here.
Please R&R. Until next time!