---
Bruce sat in the Wayne Manor library with the Men of Letters books all around him. He had scanners on both sides. His fingers moved fast across the keyboard.
Exorcism texts. Demon classifications. Binding rituals. Everything from the bunker.
He made a secure drive. He copied every important file onto it. Then he encrypted it three times for safety.
After that, he wrote a short note:
"Dean — check these copies of the family archives. — Cousin Bruce"
He packed the new laptop and the drive into a box. No return address. He shipped it to a PO Box in Kansas.
"Done," Bruce said to himself.
He didn't really expect a reply. But he needed them to have this knowledge.
---
Lawrence, Kansas
When the package arrived at Dean's house, he opened it carefully. The drive had a huge amount of data. He connected it to his laptop. The note was short.
He read it twice.
Then he called his father.
"Dad. You need to come home. Now."
John Winchester was in Nebraska, working on a hunt. It took him six hours to drive back.
When he arrived, Dean already had the exorcism book open on the laptop.
"What is all this?" John asked.
"It's from Bruce. Our cousin. He sent copies of everything. Demon classifications. Binding rituals. Ways to kill different creatures. It's all on this laptop." Dean pointed at the screen. "Look at this. Various monster weaknesses. Exactly what we needed back in Minnesota."
John sat down slowly with the laptop. He opened the exorcism guide.
Page after page. So detailed. So accurate. Everything they had learned over the years through trial and error was right here. All organized. All in one place.
"This is... this is Men of Letters knowledge. My father's work. So he really didn't abandon us after all," John said quietly.
"Yeah. That's what the note says. Family archives."
"Bruce sent this. How did he get it?" John looked at his son.
"I don't know. But somehow he got all of it."
John closed the laptop. "We need to be careful with this. If other hunters find out we have it..."
"Everyone will want it," Dean finished.
"Exactly."
John stared at the exorcism guide. Years of hunting. Years of making mistakes. Learning things the hard way.
All of it was right here. It could have saved so many lives.
"Call Bruce," John said finally. "Tell him thank you. And tell him... tell him we'll keep this safe."
---
New York, Hall Street
On the other side, Peter Parker had discovered his new powers three days ago. The spider bite. The changes. His body was completely different now.
Stronger. Faster. And something else he couldn't quite explain.
He went to an old warehouse to test what he could do.
Bruce and his team watched from the shadows. Wade, Selina, Ivy, Herman. All of them were there.
"Is that him?" Ivy asked.
"That's him," Bruce said.
Peter climbed straight up the warehouse wall. His hands and feet stuck perfectly. He had total control.
Then he jumped. Twenty feet straight up. And landed perfectly on the roof of another building.
"The kid's got skills," Wade said.
Peter swung between buildings using a web-like material. His own body was making it. Something he had created himself.
"He's adapting faster than I did," Bruce said quietly.
Peter dropped back down to the warehouse floor and checked a poster on the wall.
"That prize money," he whispered to himself.
It was a strength contest. Prize money for the winner. He decided to enter.
Bruce and Wade watched from the crowd.
Peter easily beat every competitor. Lifting. Jumping. Speed tests. He won every single round.
The announcer called him up on stage. "What's your name, kid?"
Peter hesitated. "Spider... I mean, Man Spider."
The crowd cheered. He won five thousand dollars.
---
Walking out of the competition, Peter was counting his prize money.
Then it happened.
A man in a hoodie ran straight at him. Fast. Desperate.
He grabbed Peter's bag.
Peter reached out on instinct. But the thief was already past him.
The man ran toward a car and grabbed an old guy—maybe around 65 years old.
"Quick! Give me the car keys!" The frightened thief raised a gun and demanded the keys.
Bruce and Wade were watching. Wade moved before anyone else could react.
He stepped right into the thief's path. The man crashed into him and went flying backward. Literally flying. Wade's strength sent him into the air.
The thief slammed against a wall twenty feet away and collapsed.
"You okay, old man?" Wade asked, helping the man up.
Ben nodded, terrified but unharmed.
Peter quickly came over to help Ben. "Thank you for helping us, mister... mister, where did they go?"
But Wade and Bruce had already disappeared into the crowd. They were following the thief.
---
The thief was Flint Marko. He was wanted by the police.
Wade and Bruce tailed him for twenty miles, all the way to a nuclear research facility.
Flint ran straight into the restricted area. Yellow tape everywhere. Warning signs. Everything screaming danger.
Behind him, the guards stopped at the barrier. They wouldn't go any further.
Flint kept running.
Then the ground collapsed beneath him.
He fell into a massive pit. Nuclear material was all around. Unstable. Active.
The radiation hit him all at once.
His body started changing. His skin became grainy and heavy. His bones turned to sand. His cells broke apart and reformed in a completely new way.
He screamed.
The whole transformation took just minutes. His entire body was sand now. He was still conscious. Still aware. But he was no longer human.
He rose from the pit. The sand formed a shape. A body. A man made entirely of sand.
Flint Marko was gone.
Sandman was born.
---
"Let's go," Bruce said.
They arrived to find Sandman destroying everything. Police cars were crushed. Buildings were damaged. Sand was flying everywhere in huge waves.
"What is that?" Selina asked.
"Something new mutation," Bruce said.
Sandman saw them and pulled himself into a human-like shape. The sand packed together, becoming solid.
He launched an attack. A wave of sand, sharp as glass.
The team scattered.
Wade pulled out his katanas. But the sand just cut right through them like paper.
"This is not good!" Wade shouted.
Selina threw her whips. They tangled in the sand but did nothing. The sand simply reformed around them.
Ivy tried to bind him with her plants. But the sand flowed right through them.
Bruce moved forward.
He jumped and stuck to the wall. He climbed above Sandman. Then he dropped down with a powerful punch.
His fist hit the sand body. The impact made a huge crater.
But Sandman reformed instantly. No damage at all.
"You can't hurt me," Sandman said. His voice sounded like sand scraping against stone. "I'm not like you."
The sand exploded outward. A hundred sharp spikes formed.
Bruce shot out webbing to defend himself. It caught most of the spikes. The rest cut through his suit.
His body reacted on its own. More webbing. Stronger this time.
Then Bruce spotted a water barrel on the road. He punched it hard.
Water splashed everywhere. When it hit Sandman, his body started turning into mud. He lost his shape. He slowly lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"Stop!" Bruce shouted.
Sandman paused.
"You're not a monster. You're a man," Bruce said, breathing hard. "Something happened to you. You changed. And i can help you, if you give me a chance, think about your family, this will give them more trouble"
Sandman stayed still. Sand swirled slowly around him.
"My daughter," Sandman said, thinking about her family. "I need money. For her. For her medicine."
"What's your daughter's name?"
"Penny. She's sick."
Bruce lowered his hands. The webbing pulled back.
"If I help your daughter, would you work for me?" Bruce asked.
Sandman's form shifted back to a more human shape. He moved closer. "Who are you?"
"Bruce Wayne. And I'm sure you've heard of Wayne Enterprises."
Sandman was quiet for a long moment.
"Okay," he said finally. "Help my daughter. And I'll do whatever you need."
Wade stepped forward. "We have a hospital. Wayne Medical. Best in the city."
---
Bruce called ahead. Dr. Sarah Chen was ready.
They brought Sandman's daughter in. She was small, maybe eight years old. Thin. Pale.
Blood disorder. Immune system failure. The treatments were very expensive.
That was why Flint had robbed people in the first place.
"We'll treat her," Dr. Chen said. "Full care. No cost at all."
Sandman looked at his daughter, then at Bruce. He took Bruce's hands.
"Thank you for helping me, boss!"
Flint stayed in the waiting room while the doctors examined Penny.
---