Sandman made his way back towards the new base. After Spidey had taken out the Master Planner's layer, everyone had evacuated to a reserve safe house. The new building was hidden under an old abandoned warehouse on the other side of the city. It wasn't as technologically advanced as the underwater layer, but it was enough to house the sinister six and company.

Flint walked into the warehouse. He pressed passed the old rusted machinery and found a particular rusted control panel. Sandman flipped one of the side panels open and pushed a button. The grated floor slid open, revealing a ladder. Sandman slipped into a sandy form and landed at the bottom of the ladder and reformed into his normal shape. After waking down the series of access tunnels the familiar hand scanner came into sight. He placed his hand on the scanner, allowing the blue light to wash over his hand. There was a buzz and the metallic door in front of him slid open.

Rhino was sitting on a couch in the common room. He looked up from the television lethargically. He must have been expecting someone else, because as soon as it registered in his head, that Sandman was not the man he thought was going to come through the door, he sat up.

"Flint, I thought yous was dead." Rhino said.

Sandman snorted. "Thanks for your faith in me. But I'm alive and well. Hey, is the Doc here?"

Rhino gestured his head towards one of the doors on the back wall. "He's in his lab messing with stuff with the tinkerer or somethin. I don't know. Why?"

"I was wondering if he could help me find someone." Sandman said.

Rhino raised an eyebrow. "Who are you wanting him to find."

The two of them had gone way back. When he was in his early twenties and had just started working for the Big Man, Alex had been his partner in crime. Over the years they had found out quite a bit about each other. The fact that he had a son was no new news to Alex.

"My son." Flint confessed.

"Do you think that's a good idea after what happened last time you saw him?" Rhino asked.

Flint shrugged. "I dunno. He's older now. Maybe Mary will let me talk to him, at least once, just so he can say he's met me."

Alex gave him a skeptical look. He seemed to be mulling things over. Sure the rest of the villains thought that Alex was all muscle and no brain, but the big brute could be quite insightful when the time came. There had even been times where his quick thinking had kept them out of trouble when they had run into big pinches during a few of their jobs.

"Yeah, that might have worked before when we were just goons for the Big Man, but things changed when we became super villains. You had a hard time just with you just bumping into her before. I don't know how well it's going to go over if she knows that you're Sandman." Rhino pointed out.

With that said, Flint felt a twist in his stomach. Alex was right. There was no way Mary was going to let him see him now. But maybe if he found out where he lived, perhaps she would let him send a letter, use his real name to keep the fact that he was Sandman from his son. At least his son would know that his father was out there and did care, that he just kept his distance for his well being.

Flint nodded but said, "You're right. She won't let me meet him, but if she'd let me have a phone call or let me write him a letter, it would be enough."

Rhino shrugged. "Have it your way. Just don't be too disappointed if this whole thing doesn't work out the way you planned."

Sandman nodded. "Yeah, but it's worth a shot."

With that said, Sandman took a deep breath and headed into the lab. The door slid shut behind him and Otto glanced up in his direction. There was the feint hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Ah, Sandman. Good to see that the blast has not put an end to you. It would have put quite the damper on the plans that I had been working on." The doctor said.

Sandman nodded his head, "Yeah, I guess that would. But, ah, I have a favor to ask of ya."

Otto raised one of his eyebrows as one of his tentacles went to work tightening a screw on a nearby machine, and asked, his voice full of skepticism, "And what would that be?"

"You're still connected to the computer network in the city right?" Flint asked.

Otto's tentacles stopped their work for a brief moment. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Well after the accursed Spider-Man had ruined my grand layer, most of our servers were destroyed with it. We still have a few servers here, but I don't have the same amount of access as I did before. But what do you need me to do?" Doc Ock asked.

"I need you to find someone for me." Flint stated.

Otto's face twisted into an interested smile, "Oh, and who is that you want me to find?"