Strange Tales #9 (V2)

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The issue begins with Cloak recalling how he had lost his power (again) and had become human; but then visited Mr. Jip’s Store, who gave him an obsidian cube to swallow that would grant his darkest desires; which turned out to be becoming Cloak again (specifically so he could have Dagger back in his life). Dagger was furious that Cloak would do anything to bring the “curse of the cloak” back upon himself and left.

Craving light, Cloak observes two young boys seemingly breaking into an abandoned warehouse. He assumes they’re up to mischief and teleports inside to find that the boys are taking care of a pregnant canine that was once theirs.

Then he sees what appears to be a robbery as a man is running out of the store with the owner shouting for the man to stop; but it turns out that the man who was running was a customer who had left his wallet on the counter and the owner was merely trying to return the wallet. It gets harder and harder to simply wait and see as the hunger grows stronger.

Not far, sitting on a roof, Dazzler is singing and emitting light from her mutant powers when suddenly a hand grabs her leg and she sees a thin, frail, Cloak grasping her foot. Dazzler creates light to see if she can find Cloak’s wounds and he grabs her arm and pleads for Dagger. Meanwhile, the shadows leaking of Cloak’s shroud begin to devour the lights throughout the city.

Elsewhere, Dagger, still hurting over her separation from Cloak, seeks to call her mother (who is too busy and headed to a party), and her step father (but she gets his voicemail at work), so she decides to seek out Spider-Man.

On the roof, Dazzler lights up as much as she can to feed Cloak’s darkness and it’s not enough, before she lapses into unconsciousness from the strain. Cloak flees and thinks he sees Dagger – but it’s a man in white, able to project light – and his partner, a woman scantly dressed in black who calls herself Night. Day throws one of his lightning bolts into Cloak’s chest and it knocks Cloak out. Mr. Jip steps out of the shadows happy to finally have his hands on Cloak.