Marvel's Cloak: Shroud of Darkness

Chapter 7 - Tandy Meets Jessica

A Couple Days Before the Banquet

Romania, Bucharest

Tandy stirred awake from the dream of infinite brightness that usually plagued her mind. Brightness was supposed to be beautiful but all brightness... all the time was not a pleasant experience to have.

Tandy felt like there was something innately disturbing about the brightness inside her dreams... brightness was supposed to be hopeful but her brightness seemed a bit too 'hopeful' for her liking.

It was like her brightness was just one side of the spectrum that tolerated nothing dark and that was a problem because Tandy knew that she lived in a world where not everything was black or white... sometimes grey areas were where people thrived.

Shaking her head to get rid of the thoughts, Tandy turned to the figure sleeping next to her... her lover... her man... and now her soon-to-be husband – Kevin Thompson.

"Ugh... Tandy?" Kevin murmured as he began to stir awake.

Tandy patted his head slowly to keep him from waking up "I'm going for my morning run... don't worry I am not running away or anything." She joked, earning a grunt from Kevin as he went back to sleep.

Tandy got out of the bed, replaced her negligee with sweat pants, running shoes, and an Underarmor shirt, and she was out the door, running the streets of Romania's Capital just before the break of daylight.

Tandy ran and ran and ran and ran... but never to the point of exhaustion as much as she wanted to. She had developed a system of unique balance that kept her steady on her feet but never leaning towards actually remembering anything painful.

She ran to think about everything and sometimes even remember Tyrone but she didn't feel the need to push herself too far to think about him anymore. His memory, still as important as it was, had faded to the back of her mind as she focused on what she currently had – a wonderful family, an awesome fiancé, and a business that was helping people around the world.

A Few Hours Later ----------

Tandy ran up the stairs and into the temporary apartment she shared with Kevin. A few months ago, Kevin had promised to take her touring around the world for her birthday and asked where she wanted to go.

Tandy subconsciously answered a strange place at that time but when it came down to it, the duo traveled all over the world, saving Bacau, Romania for last.

Entering the apartment, Tandy was greeted with the sight of pancakes, strawberries, and Kevin making scrambled eggs.

"Back already?" He asked confused, usually, Tandy's runs would last longer.

Tandy shook her head "I am just... feeling something strange today you know? I feel like I am running out of time to do something, though I don't know what it is."

Kevin put out the oven fire, walked over to Tandy, and gave her a peck on the mouth that she happily accepted "Well... maybe I have some news that will make you a bit more excited today!"

Tandy shrugged, walking into the bathroom to take a much-needed bath "What is it?" she asked loudly from the bathroom.

"Ironically, we got an invitation from the Essex Corporation regarding our partnership. An Outreach Center of theirs is holding a banquet to garner funding and show appreciation for our charitable work. They have invited us to participate..."

"I am happy to hear that..." Tandy shouted, genuinely happy to be helping people "But why are you telling me about this? We get such invitations all the time... is there something unique about this one?"