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"Marko!" I call as I slam down on top of the super villain, driving my fist through his sandy face. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own genetically altered size!"

"How is it that you always show up when I'm tryin' ta pull of a job?" the Sandman grumbles as he tosses a crate of something my way. I duck underneath it, and it smashes into a wall, spraying the room with splinters.

"Okay, Marko. I'll tell you my terrible secret," I respond as I motion for the police officers, and my Dad, to get out of the warehouse. "I'm stalking you, Flint. I just can't get enough of following loser criminals around New York."

"Raaaaaaah!" he turns his hands into sand wrecking-balls and swings them down towards me. I manage to make it out of the way in time, and they crack and crumble the concrete floor of the warehouse, sending a spray of pebbles into me. "Why are you so damn annoying!? The Octopus is right about you! Nothing more than a kid playing dress up!"

"Who does he think he is? My father!?"

I snatch two fire extinguishers off the walls nearest to me, and bring them in a violent arc towards Marko's head. They smash together right in front of him and explode, sending pressurized CO2 all over the place. I can hear the yelp of surprise and frustration come out of my opponent as the chemicals blind him. At least I assume that's what they do. I still don't understand if Marko sees like we do, or if he even still feels pain. Or anything for that matter.

Pete is fascinated by Flint. He says what happened to him should be impossible. I would agree, but then again I would have said being bitten by a radioactive spider would have meant my painful, horrible death instead of super powers. So maybe possible just doesn't mean what we think it does in our world. Who knows.

The biggest problem with the impossible Sandman, though, is that he's a bear to take down. Water helps, and it seems like the CO2 is affecting him more than I figured it would, but he still keeps coming. I have no idea how I'm going to put him in jail for good.

The chemical fire suppressant eats away at his limbs, and partially disintegrates his body. He falls apart completely before reforming in a smaller version of himself, leaving behind the parts I had covered with my impromptu move.

"You think you're so smart, dontcha?" he growls at me. "But we still got away with the drugs. And you ain't gonna stop us. We're gonna get our revenge, and leave you in the dust!"

Suddenly, the part of him that he left behind leaps off the ground and surrounds me in a choking sandstorm. I fight against the buffering particles, as they start to fit between my mask. I can feel the sand trying to choke me, and I fire off a desperation webline. It hits something solid, and I pull myself out of the maelstrom, ready for Marko to press his advantage.

But instead I find myself alone in the warehouse. It was nothing more than a diversion. Yet again the Octopus's lackies got the drop on me and came out ahead.

Great.

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"So the fire suppressant destabilized Sandman's bonding ability?" Peter asks as he spins around in his desk chair, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. "I can definitely work with that. I'm done homework for the week anyway. Maybe I can mix the web-bomb and a fire extinguisher? Seems easy enough."

"Well that's good, because I think I'm gonna have to fight them on their own turf," I grumble.

It's not my first choice. I already know Tombstone doesn't want me there, and the last thing I want to do is set off a gang that more or less rules a part of the city. But I can't keep dancing around the Octopus and his drugs. Sooner or later I'm going to have to deal with him, and at this point it's gonna have to be sooner.

During my run in with the Sandman, the cops who I bailed out, including Dad, followed the truck into the Bronx. They were lucky to get out of the area with their lives. Not only did they get attacked by the Pale Horses, but the Octopus's lair now has its own defenses.

Dad says the police are taking a beat to decide how to continue, but I already know that an assault is coming. There's no way the new mayor is going to let both the Octopus and Tombstone's haven slide for long. When that time comes, a lot of people are going to die. No way can I let that happen.

"You're gonna risk Tombstone getting mad at you?" he raises his eyebrow.

"No choice," I shrug. "Better that than a bunch of dead cops and metahumans in the middle of New York. Besides, I seriously doubt they're going to get the Octopus. Dude always seems to be one step ahead of me. I can't imagine he won't see them coming from a mile away."

"Good point," he concedes. "Do you have a plan?"

I nod, "Yea. So I'm going to need those new web bombs ASAP."

"Yes, ma'am," he winks. "You wanna help me build them?"

I sidle up next to him, "Thought you'd never ask."