Marvel: The Sandman Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A Bad Encounter

It is weird.


It is so very weird.


I don't have clothes.


Yet I am clothed.


I don't have organs.


Yet my insides are filled with them.


I don't have blood.


Yet I feel it coursing through my body.


I was sand, but I was alive.


"How… is this possible?"


I ran out of the window with my new found sand powers.


I was nervous and knew that if I stayed there I would end up being killed or experimented on.


Considering there were only scientists around the place, the second option seemed the most plausible.


And I was up for none of that.


So, I ran. And I ran as fast as I could.


Everything about me was turned to sand. No…


I was a single grain of sand that could control all the sand around me. I could make the sand mine as if they belonged to me from the start. 


I knew that this was the world of heroes and villains. Gods and monsters walked this land as if it were their playground. 


From the day I was sent here and was made aware that it wasn't my regular world –I tried everything to see if I had superhuman abilities.


But turns out, I had nothing.


I was a normal human with a little above average genetics and a knack for cooking.


So why did I end up as one of Spiderman's villains?


And Sandman at that.


Now it's not that being Sandman meant I was weak, it was rather the contrary.


However, becoming Sandman came with a cost…


"I am certain that the man that nearly killed me was Marko… the original Sandman."


But he ran and I ended up as the Sandman.


He will most probably end up in jail without powers. But because of him, I ended up with a major issue.


"I have cancer…"


No… I am certain that I have cancer.


Do I see any symptoms? 


Of course, not.


So how do I know that I have such a deadly disease?


Because Marko had it when he became Sandman.


The radiation that gave him his powers also gave him one of the deadliest diseases.


Cancer was something that made him mentally weak as it was always in his mind that he might die. Even with such ridiculous powers, he was never at his best condition –be it mentally or physically.


It is worse when you realize that I never wanted to play the hero or the villain, I just want to live my life and be at peace.


But there is hope.


Marko was able to find a cure. 


I don't know how or when, but he did cure himself. 


I cannot end up as another Marko. I cannot lose my sanity.


Trying to calm myself, I took deep breaths.


Why did I do that? I did not know.


I did not have functional lungs nor did I have a need to breathe.


But maybe it was the psychological factor that made me do it. 


And it was surprisingly working as I felt my mind calming down a lot. I was still worried but it wasn't enough to cloud my judgment.


I took the shortcut to my place. It wasn't the cleanest or the brightest path, but it was easier to stay out of the public sight.


However, as I was getting closer to my house –I realized something.


"They might be on their way to my place…"


I wasn't technically a criminal or someone that did something wrong to run.


However, I was not a human anymore and running into them might not be the best idea. If they notice something wrong with my physiology, I will be turned into a lab rat.


Am I overthinking?


I probably am but it is always better to be safe than sorry. And with things such as this, you can never be too certain. 


So, till I am not certain that I am not being tailed, I need to find a place to crash at.


But where?


I wasn't sure as I did not have many friends and even those that I did were not close enough to share my secrets with.


So, I decided to get away from this place for the time being. And for that, I first needed to change my appearance.


Relaxing my mind, I was able to order the sand particles to move around me and change into a hoodie as compared to my previous clothing.


I had my head covered and while I thought of going with a mask, I ended up deciding against it.


It wasn't the best choice to hide my face and walk out of a dark alley. Nothing was more suspicious than a bulky man keeping his face hidden.


Hoddie? It didn't matter as most gym rats went with that style. 


But mask was a big no-no.


However…


As I tried to get out of the alley, I heard a loud voice.


"Yeehaw… Looks like I finally found you, Mr. Hero."


The voice was loud and bold, enough for it to resonate around the entire area and make my heart drop.


"Or are you a villain? Eh, it doesn't matter." He grinned which caused the temperature around to rise "I was asked to find you and finding you is what I did."


I could feel the heat even with my sand body.


Why?


Because the man was legit on fire.


Like… burning.


"Don't be afraid!" He announced.


I started at his chest as the symbol plastered across his chest was one that I knew very well.


"The Human Torch is here to help you!"


Out of anyone that I could have ran into.


I decided to go ahead and end up in front of one of the most eccentric and narcissistic heroes that one can find.


I ended up standing in front of the Fantastic Four's Human Torch…


…

…


[Baxter Building, Manhattan]


Standing in front of a large spherical device, a spectacled man with brown hair and gray locks around his temples mused. 


He was tall and lean and had carried a rather distinguished look.


However, at the moment his look was of sheer concern and curiosity.


Are you alright, Reed?


The one to ask was a very beautiful woman with blonde hair. 


Similar to Reed, she wore glasses with the exception being that she had bright blue eyes while Reed had brown.


The woman was tall and had a slender built which alongside the way she carried herself made her appear extremely breathtaking.


Yet the man did not care about her beauty.


His entire focus was only the spherical device.


"Are you sure that sending Johnny was a wise choice?" The woman asked at which Reed nodded.


"Johnny might be a bit slow in his thoughts but you cannot deny that he is one of the strongest in our team." Reed said, "And the device picked up the signal at a higher node, which means we needed to send someone strong enough to handle it."


The device in front of them was a radiation sensor. But it was not a simple radiation sensor, instead it was one that could pick radiation from inside people –or superpowered people to be precise.


As Reed and the others of the Fantastic Four had radiation originated powers, he did not want to miss someone that could be similar to them.


"This person is strong, Susan."


And the signal he got was extremely potent, which meant that the person who was affected by the radiation and woke up with superpowers was strong.


"Are you sure that it is a good idea to actively look for superpowered people? S.H.I.E.L.D does not like us and if we keep interfering, they might not take it lightly." Susan said and Reed frowned hearing this.


"I do not care what S.H.I.E.L.D thinks or does. Victor has been actively going after people with superpowers and if he ends up with a cult of devoted superpowered followers, we will regret it." Reed said, "So, we cannot stay behind."


"And you think that this person might be a good choice?" Susan asked with a raised eyebrow all while Reed sighed.


"I do not know," He answered honestly, "But we do not have any other choice either."


"If this person is a good guy who just got his powers, then it is good for us." He sighed, "And if he is evil, then we have only one choice and that is to fight."


"I hope it does not require a fight."


Reed nodded, "Me too, Susan… Me too."