(Utopia: Island home of the X-Men)
There is action going on in the Danger Room, overseen by Storm in the control room. As she watches, Dr. Nemesis walks past and asks if it's her time to babysit. Ororo says hello, but no, it isn’t. She's just auditing the class. Down below, Anole, Jonas and Rockslide face their opponent who dazzles them with her lightshow. Nemesis says she cuts a good figure, and Ororo reckons she's quite skilled with her powers and the others seem to like her. However, she's not accustomed to teamwork yet. Nemesis says that some people are X-Men and some aren't. She's certainly got the spirit, but she looks like a solo act to him.
Dagger leaps over the students, bouncing off Rockslide as she whizzes across the room, causing him a little damage. Storm flies down and calls a halt to the session, asking Santos if he requires assistance. Santos reckons he's fine. Storm then tells Dagger that it was a good session, and Anole agrees. He doesn’t thinks he's had his butt kicked faster. Tandy thanks him and says it means a lot to be there with the X-Men. It's the first time she's belonged anywhere.
Dr. Nemesis enters the room and asks if can have a word with the 'bright-eyed girl.' He has her results. Tandy is excited, but the news isn't great. Nemesis informs her that the results are the same as the last three times. There is no altered DNA helix, no hereditary markers and no trace of an X-gene. He shows her a portable device with the scan results on it. He tells her she's a very strong, talented young woman, and one day she will make some lucky man an inexhaustible lightsource. But... she is not a mutant. Her powers are wholly a result of the drug she and Tyrone were injected with.
Anole feels for her and places his hand on her shoulder. At least now she knows. Tandy asks Nemesis if he's sure. Isn't there another test they can run? She mentions that Dr. McCoy was working on something cellular involving latent bone something or other. Nemesis tells her straight. It's very simple. Mutants have X-genes and show up on Cerebro. She hasn't and doesn't! She should be grateful, he adds. Half the island would trade places with her in a heartbeat.
He departs, and Anole tells Dagger that it doesn't matter. Santos agrees. They should go play some G.T.A. She has to let them beat her at something. Tandy bows her head, dejected, but says she has something to do. Ororo appears and tells Tandy that she did well today, but even this compliment isn't enough to cheer her spirits.
(meanwhile, in South Boston)
A group of people are hanging out on the steps of a brownstone, talking about the changes taking place in the neighborhood since the big dig. As they chat, Cloak teleports in and quickly assumes his non-costumed appearance. Tia notices him and tells him he is right on time. She asks him where he came from, but before he answers, she grabs him and they kiss passionately.
(Utopia)
Tandy tries to call Tryone, but his answer machine picks up. She glances at the photograph of them both on the phone, and a tear trickles down her left cheek.
(flashback)
Inside an old church, Tandy is freaking out, her light powers bursting at the seams. She calls for Ty to help her as she can't control it. "What did they do to us?" she cries. Tyrone asks her to take it easy. He reminds her that she saved him before when he was drowning in the dark. He can help her now. He absorbs the light she's giving out which helps to calm her down. Her light fades and she thanks Ty. He tells her that they've got to make a pact - a vow, if they're going to survive this. He swears he will always be there for her, and she reciprocates as they hug each other.
(present)
As Dagger lies asleep on the sofa, Cloak appears beside her. She wakes and asks where he's been. Cloak replies that he told her. He's been on errands and didn't want to disturb her. Tandy sits up. "Errands. Six days in a row?" Ty turns away and says that he took advantage of them, used them as weapons against good people. Tandy says they haven't even talked about what happened... about Norman Osborn. Ty says they turned against him. What more is there to say? Tandy tells him he looks tired. Would he like some of her light? She reaches out to him, her hand glowing, but he grabs her wrist and says no. Not tonight.
Tandy holds her wrist as if his grip caused her pain. She asks why he won't let her touch him. What's wrong with her? Ty stutters his reply, more from not quite knowing what to say than to his old speech impediment. He says he's got a lot of things to figure out, and this place, the whole island segregated from humanity? It's not for them. Tandy barks at him, asking how he would know. He's barely been there. She asks if he'll be around tomorrow, or does he have more errands? Tyrone teleports away without response, leaving Tandy frustrated and tearful.
(later, back in South Boston)
It's a beautiful day and Tyrone is shirtless, playing basketball with Tia. He tells her he hasn't been back to the old school for ages and it feels right. She comments that he was pretty skinny back then, and his stutter has now gone. He says that she was the only girl who would talk to him. "I always liked the tough jobs," she replies. He dunks a shot and Tia puts her arms around his waist. She informs him that she knows his secret. "S-secret?" he asks, warily. She tells him that she saw the riots on TV in San Francisco with the X-Men, and the one thing that caught her eye was a brother with mad powers... and a real familiar jaw. She shows him a photograph on her phone of he and Dagger in action. Tyrone tries to deny it, but it's clearly him.
Tia tells him he can teleport, right? That makes it easy to visit the old hood once a day, even from three thousand miles away. Tyrone's been rumbled, and he admits that he is lost. She hugs him as he tells her that when he's there, he just wants to be with Tia, but when he's with Tia, he feels all guilty. Tia knows it's a strain for him... keeping a solid form and looking normal. She can tell, though she knows that it can be easier. It's only hard because of the bad patterns he's fallen into. Ty looks over her shoulder at four uniformed men standing there and his eyes open wide. "Trust me Ty," she says. "They can help."
Tyrone begins to power up, but Tia tells him that he has to get away from the X-Men. They're like a cult, taking in kids and teaching 'em to use their powers. Strickland, the leader of the group, remarks that powers are a trap. They've lost a whole generation to that sweet abyss. No more. Cloak is furious and replies that he understood one word of all that... trap! Before he can teleport himself to safety, Strickland shoots him in the chest and Ty drops to the ground. Strickland says, as he falls, that it's not the way. That's exactly what he has to unlearn. As the soldiers carry him away, Tia asks if he's okay. Strickland tells her that she knows the drill. He must be taught. Anyone can be cured. It's a simple matter of retraining. He thinks that Tyrone is an advanced case. He's become very comfortable using his power, but with their help, he will be saved. He's very lucky to have a friend like her.
(back in Utopia, three days later)
Tandy is in Scott Summers' office and feeling anxious because she hasn't heard from Ty in three days. Scott replies that he's been coming and going ever since they arrived on the island. Does she have any evidence that something's happened to him? Tandy admits that she doesn't, but she thinks he's been teleporting to his old neighborhood in Boston. That’s where they should start. Cyclops tells her that he doesn't have the resources right now, and honestly, this sounds like a young lovers' quarrel to him. She snaps back at him, saying he means it doesn't sound like a mutant problem. Is that it? Scott's phone rings and he handily excuses himself.
(soon)
The alpha team is gathered together and Angel wonders if this is a code red. Dr. Nemesis doesn't believe so. It's probably just some unscheduled fighter exercises out of Hickam Air Force Base. However, Cyclops wants all the fliers in the air and he hands each of them tracking devices to show where the seven mysterious airborne objects are. Storm reckons they're almost certainly harmless, but says she will locate and I.D. the objects. Tandy appears and tries to get her attention, but Ororo doesn't have time to talk at the moment. She can find her later, all right? Storm turns to leave along with Namor, Northstar, Pixie and Angel. Dr. Nemesis asks Tandy not to look at him. He has work to do, and for the last time, he cannot help her. As the X-Men take to the air, Tandy heads to the airport, gets on a place and heads east.
(South Boston Senior High School)
Strickland and his team have taken Cloak to a closed high school. Strickland informs Tia that it's not a matter of removing the subject's power. That's been tried and it never works. The trick is to teach him not to use those powers by gently but firmly showing Tyrone the enormous harm caused by super-beings. Only then, can he resist temptation. Tia knows this, but she isn't entirely happy. Strickland asks her if she trusts him. She replies of course, and Strickland assures her that this must be done. She knows this. Will she bear witness and be there for her friend in his time of need? Tia opens the door to a room where Tyrone is sat, shackled, with his eyes forced open in order to watch images of super-being catastrophes. "Of course, sir," she replies. "Of course I will."
Strickland asks Ty if he can hear him. Before he can ask him anything else, the wall explodes and they see Dagger standing on the other side. She doesn't look happy, especially when she sees Ty in the position that he is in. She immediately uses her light powers to take out the soldiers to her right and left and zaps his shackles, releasing him. She helps him out of the chair and tells him that her light found him. He looks at her and recoils. "N-n-no," he cries, "S-s-stay away from me!" Dagger is surprised at this, but Tyrone powers up and tells her that powers only cause death and sorrow. Dagger says she doesn't know what they've done to him, but he has to listen to her. "Accept my light. You need it." Tyrone is confused. He replies that he doesn't need light. It's so dark and he is so hungry. She attempts to get through to him, telling him that he can lie to her and run away if he wants, but he can't deny what he is!
As she speaks, Strickland and his team encircle them, but Ty notices and dark entrails emerge from his cloak and they drag one of the soldiers inside Ty’s cloak. The guy screams as he disappears. Dagger then hits one of them and adds, "What we are!"
Strickland orders a flanking maneuver, and two other soldiers move to the sides. They then shoot both Cloak and Dagger in the stomachs and they fall to the ground. Strickland orders them to be restrained before they get up, but before they can, they are interrupted by Dr. Nemesis and Anole who walk in through the door. Nemesis recognizes their weapon as Smart Dust. It's an experimental U.S. military nanotech, enhanced with a stolen bootleg version of the Avengers' power dampener. He uses his own gun to neutralize its effect and shoots the remaining soldiers. Strickland orders the others to fall back.
Tandy looks up at Dr. Bradley. "You followed me," she says, weakly. Bradley asks her to blame Storm. When her team came back empty-handed, she asked him about her. It triggered a rare, irritating attack of conscience. Anole punches out the sole female member of Strickand's team, and Tia goes mad. She attacks Dagger, telling him that she did this. She turned him into this. Dagger realizes that Tia is also a teleporter, and Ty attempts to restrain her. Tia then looks at her hands and realizes that she's used her own powers without thinking. "
Mister Strickland," she cries. "I need help. It's started again." She turns to find that he has fled the scene. Tyrone tells Tia that he understands now. She needs help and should go with them. "To the X-Men? I'd rather die!" she replies with a snarl. She is confused and turns to leave, asking Tyrone not to let Dagger ruin him. As she departs, Tandy turns to Ty and says, "So... anything you want to tell me?" Tyrone looks at her and Anole and asks what about her and him. "Uh, hello. Gay?" replies Anole.
Tyrone asks if the girl was a mutant. Nemesis doesn't believe so. He's not even sure she's a teleporter, exactly. He thinks they should get lover-boy back to the island. He doesn't know if that process had any long-term effects. Dagger states that Tyrone isn't going back to Utopia, and neither is she. She asks Anole to tell Jonas and Santos that she's sorry and say thanks to Storm, and that anytime they need them, they've got their backs. Until then, they should enjoy Utopia. "You belong there. We don't." She carries Tyrone out of the building and heads away.
(nearby, shortly after)
Tia has rejoined Strickland. She is strapped into similar device that Tyrone was fastened into earlier. She informs Strickland that they thought she was a teleporter. Strickland asks her to hush. He tells her that she has become unstuck in time, just as she was when he first found her. Now she'll have to learn all over again. She replies that she knows, but Ty was always so weak. Strickland asks her not to worry about him now. One day he will return to her. One day he will see the true light and turn away forever from the sin in his heart.
(New York City)
Cloak and Dagger are in the church, and Ty is still feeling out of sorts. Tyrone assures her that this can't last. They're going to tear the place down. Tandy says maybe not. There might still be time. Ty says she doesn't have to do this. Tandy says that she has plenty of light to give and he is damn lucky to have it. She hopes he knows that. She glows warmly and Ty absorbs her light to help his recovery. Dagger leans over him and tells him that the church might be broken and the walls might fall in at any minute. But the vows... the vows still stand.
