The Hunters and the Hunted!

Spider-Man is investigating the warehouse district after a series of attacks on drug dealers. He suspects that this is the work of Cloak and Dagger, two super-powered teens who got their abilities when forcibly injected with synthetic drugs. The pair later became vigilantes, killing drug dealers. Looking into one warehouse, Spider-Man spots some crooks stripping a car for parts. Their activity is interrupted when Cloak and Dagger teleport into the room. As Dagger stuns the crooks with light daggers, Cloak envelops some of them in the darkness within his cloak. When a bunch of the crooks surrounds Dagger, Spider-Man swings down to lend a hand. The trio easily trounces the crooks and in the aftermath of the battle, Spider-Man asks why two vigilantes have gone from attacking drug dealers to car thieves. Cloak explains that the chop shop is merely a front for a drug operation. They go into the next room where they find a bunch of youths who have suffered overdoses after being injected with experimental drugs. Cloak and Dagger explain to Spider-Man that the men who were responsible for their creation are trying to repeat the process to create superpowered agents to destroy them. With that the pair teleports away, leaving Spider-Man to think that he will see them again, and soon.

Meanwhile, on Broadway, Cannonball, Sunspot, Psyche, and Wolfsbane of the New Mutants are walking out of a theater performance. While most of the group found the show entertaining, Rhane isn't sure how she felt about the actor's skimpy outfits. When Cannonball suggest they take a bus back to Westchester, Sunspot disagrees pointing out that they haven't been away from Professor X in over a month and that they should enjoy their time in the city for as long as possible. When Dani and Rhane agree to stay longer, the four mutants go into a nearby video arcade. As they watch Roberto play a video game, one of the patrons notices that the four youths are not from town. When he tries to make time with Rhane, the rest of the New Mutants come to her defense. The man pulls a switchblade on them, forcing Sunspot to use his mutant powers to defend himself. When the owners try to keep the New Mutants in the arcade, Cannonball uses his powers to bowl past them allowing his teammates to escape. As they flee the scene, they are surrounded by thugs on a catwalk across a train crossing. While Sunspot and Cannonball fight off some of them, Psyche conjures up the image of Cloak and Dagger, putting fear into the minds of some of the crooks. The battle takes a turn when Sunspot's power begins to fade due to a lack of sunlight and is slashed with a knife. When Wolfsbane comes to his aid, her skull is created by a gunshot, knocking her out. The two then tumble down to the train tracks below. There they are picked up by two men who think that these mutants could help them with their problems with Cloak and Dagger. When Cannonball and Psyche notice they are gone, the police arrive on the scene forcing them to flee.

At that moment in Times Square, Spider-Man has found no leads on Cloak and Dagger. As he swings across the area, his spider-sense kicks in, drawing him to the Holy Ghost Church. He finds it hard to believe that the two vigilantes would be hiding out in there but decides to investigate anyway. Watching from a window, Spider-Man witnesses Cloak and Dagger appear before Father Delgado and ask for sanctuary. The pair explains that they are still on their seemingly endless quest. Dagger breaks down because she finds their existence to be awful. Just then, Spider-Man becomes aware of Cannonball and Psyche running to the church. Although he doesn't recognize them, he does notice that their costumes look similar to those worn by the original X-Men years earlier. Inside, Cannonball and Psyche are taken aback by Cloak and Dagger, as they were in the images that Psyche pulled out of the drug dealers minds. When Cloak approaches them, Psyche uses her powers against him and is overwhelmed by the image of the darkness that exists within the tortured the vigilante. That's when Spider-Man makes his presence known.

The two mutants explain that Sunspot and Wolfsbane have been captured. This prompts Cloak and Dagger to teleport away, fearing that they will be experimented on. This leaves Spider-Man, Cannonball and Psyche to search for the missing New Mutants on their own. At that moment, at a meat packing plant, Sunspot and Wolfsbane wake up to find themselves tied to a chopping block. They are greeted by a scientist and his criminal employers who explain that they are going to be injected with experimental drugs in the hopes of making them soldiers to use against Cloak and Dagger. When Sunspot tries to break free, he is easily knocked out again due to his lack of stored solar energy. Wolfsbane manages to bite the lead mobster, who angrily orders his scientist to inject the two mutants. Suddenly, Spider-Man, Cannonball, Psyche, Cloak and Dagger come crashing in to save the others. However, while they are busy fighting off the mobsters, the scientist injects Roberto and Rhane with the drugs, causing a significant boost to their powers and making them turn feral. The other heroes watch in horror as Sunspot and Wolfsbane kill their captors.

The two drugged up mutants then turn their attention to the others. Wolfsbane attacks Dagger and manages to bite her. While Dagger's light manages to cure Wolfsbane, the bite transfers the drug to the woman. Sunspot leaps at Cloak, who envelops the mutant in his darkness, curing him as well. With Dagger raging out of control, Cloak tries the same with her, and manages to cure her. In the aftermath of the battle, Spider-Man wonders if Cloak and Dagger are mutants and suggests that they go back to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngers with the New Mutants. Although they are flattered by the offer, Cloak and Dagger refuse to give up their mission, a mission they have to do alone and teleport away.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, New Mutants (Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Psyche), Cloak and Dagger, Father Delgado

Continuity Notes

• Spider-Man recounts Cloak and Dagger's origins as they were told in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #64.

• Spider-Man recognizes the New Mutants costumes as being similar to that of the original X-Men. Spider-Man first met the original X-Men in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #21.

• Although Sunspot and Wolfsbane are seemingly cured of the drugs they are injected with, this episode has far-reaching consequences that are explored further in New Mutants #23-25.

• Spider-Man suggests that Cloak and Dagger might be mutants. However, the source of their powers is much more complicated than that. The mutant theory was reinforced further in New Mutants #23-25, Strange Tales (vol. 2) #18, Cloak and Dagger (vol. 3) #1. The demon D'Spayre later claimed that while Cloak and Dagger are mutants, he tainted their powers in Cloak and Dagger (vol. 3) #19. However, tests made by Dr. Nemesis in Cloak and Dagger (vol. 4) #1 determined that they were not mutants after all.