Marvel: The Sandman Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Test Results

"I-I think that's enough, Lukas."


I could almost hear the desperation in his voice. And looking at the four broken machines, I could understand why.


"You can get out of that room now."


Yeah, definitely not happy with the broken stuff.


Nodding at the man who was barely holding back tears, I walked out of the room. 


"That was something I did not expect to see." I heard The Thing say, "You even broke my record."


Huh?


Really?


"The punching device that you broke measured twice as much as Ben's total output before breaking," Susan walked forward, surprising me.


Was I really that strong?


I do not think so.


"I am glad Johnny wasn't here," Ben breathed out, "It was a good idea to send him out."


Sending him out was putting it lightly. Susan pretty much kicked him out, forbidding him from entering this lab.


"Lukas," Reed called, a worried expression on his face as he kept staring at the monitor. "Can you please come here?"


I think… I think I know why he was calling me.


"Ah, sure."


Putting my hands inside my pocket, I walked towards him. He was glaring at the screen, seemingly trying to understand something.


As I stood near him, he took a deep breath.


"The test results are pretty impressive, except… except one thing."


I know exactly what he means.


"Okay?"


He looked at me, "Your strength, speed, endurance and even your resilience is off the charts. Without using your powers, you are already at peak human levels for strength and endurance and far beyond human limits in terms of resilience and speed."


That I noticed as not many are able to lift and run so much.


"And what about with my powers?" I asked, expecting it to be high.


But what I did not expect was the estimation that was given to me.


"With your powers… You can match the level of Ben, no you have already surpassed him."


This came as a surprise. While I did hear that I broke Ben's record, it was still shocking to hear that I was even stronger than one of the strongest heroes.


Especially one that was known for his physical prowess.


"If you want, you can easily act as a hero." He suggested, "Your ability to control the sand is quite versatile, especially the fact that you can mold it to any shape and size that you think of."


I immediately declined the offer, "I would rather not. Being a hero is not for me."


I did not actively involve myself with heroes and villains, despite having knowledge of them, because I was trying to live a normal life.


I have no wish to play the hero or a villain. I am fine as I am.


A normal guy working as a chef and earning enough to live happily.


But the normal part was taken away from me almost immediately and I did not want to lose the option of living peacefully as well.


"So, I will have to decline." I said, "I am just a guy that likes to cook. I don't have a single heroic bone in me."


Reed looked at me with an understanding face. "I can respect that."


Surprisingly he did not force me, instead he encouraged me not to be a hero.


"Helping others, playing the hero might sound great and all… but it is not for everyone." He sighed, "It can be taxing and I respect that you are not blinded by the powers that you received."


Is this really the Reed Richards that I have read about?


I expected him to be a bit more… stubborn and skeptical.


But he is quite different from my expectations.


"But…" His expression turned grim, "Everything is not that good."


"What do you mean?" 


He stared at me, "Have you had a health checkup recently?" 


I shook my head, immediately figuring out what he was referring to.


He closed his mouth and took a deep breath before slowly turning the monitor towards me. "Look at that."


In the monitor, there was a figure of a man that was displayed, quite big and muscular but the facial features were not visible.


Of course, that figure was mine.


However, what Reed was referring to was not the muscles, but the countless black spots that covered the figure.


"What are those?" I asked, which caused his face to contour a pained look.


"Those…" He muttered and looked at the people around him, "Those are cancer cells."


"What?" Ben yelled while Susan gasped.


"And worst of all, it's not a type of cancer that we know about." He frowned, "It is not blood or skin cancer, it is a type of cellular cancer that is being created and destroyed rapidly in your body."


That…


That I didn't know.


I knew that Sandman had cancer, but I expected it to be one of the known types of cancer.


This… this definitely complicates things further.


All the three people in the room looked at me with pity and I could understand them. It was difficult for them to even talk about it.


"Cancer… is incurable, right?" I asked and Reed looked down.


"It can be cured if it is noticed during the early states and for you, we did notice it quite early." He bit his lips, "However…"


"However?" Ben frowned, "What do you mean Reed?"


Reed looked at Ben and then at me, "However this cancer is of an unknown variant and I do not know if it can be cured."


Now, this was a horrifying reveal.


But…


Flint Marko did cure it somehow, I just don't remember how.


But what does that mean for me?


Simple, it means that there is a cure, I just have to figure it out.


Ben looked at Susan and then at Reed, "Is there anything that you two can do? You two are scientists goddammit!"


Ben was a good guy. And I liked how he was much more emotional than the others, considering his stone cold appearance.


"I can try to do some research," Reed sighed, "But I cannot promise you anything."


I scratched my head, "That… that  is quite scary to think about." 


And it was.


"But I am glad that you are helping me out."


They were surprised upon hearing my words.


"You took this news… quite well." Susan said, feeling a bit guilty about being unable to help.


"I mean there isn't much I can do about it," I showed her a sad smile, "I can just pray that you guys come with a cure."


I wasn't showing much, but I was scared.


"And besides," I exhaled deeply, "I have bigger issues to worry about."


This surprised them. I mean of course it did.


What could be worse than cancer?


"Which is?" Susan asked.


"I cannot return to Cadmum, which means… I am jobless."


The thing that was worse than cancer, was being unemployed.


The three heroes looked at one another in disbelief, until Reed showed a tiny smile.


"You… you are truly something, aren't you?" He said, making me shrug.


"I am just trying to make a living here."


But this was when Ben got an idea.


"Lukas," He stared at me, "You know what?"


This drew my attention.


"Reed is a horrible cook, Susan has no time to even enter the kitchen, Johnny would rather starve than cook and for the love of god, I cannot even pick a pan with these hands," He smiled, "So… how about you work here? As a chef?"


Was this…


Was this a job offer?