Earn your Wings

• Writer - Tony Bedard
• Artist - Mizuki Sakakibara
• Lettering - Dave Sharpe
• Ass't Editor - Cory Sedlmeier
• Ass't Editor - Stephannie Moore
• Editor - Mike Marts
• Editor in Chief - Joe Quesada
• Colorist - JC

Summary

  The two teams fight while Beak apologizes to Sue. She tells T.J. to stand down the Exiles, but then Johnny attacks T.J. and she shoots back, so Sue chokes her off with force fields. Heather goes up against Ben, while Kevin matches Reed's stretch and Namor and Namora wrestle. Calvin realizes everyone is enraged and convinces Clarice teleport them out of the city before the fight erupts onto the streets. Sue interrupts, though, encasing each Exile in a separate force bubble. Reed mistakes T.J. for Namora and sees that she's missing; Sue says she ran off; Calvin catches on quickly.

  Sue tells Reed they should consider working with the Exiles, but Namor doesn't want his future rewritten. Reed, also quick, asks Sue who they fought last in the Negative Zone; she doesn't know if it was Blastaar or Annihilus and comes clean: it's T.J. She apologizes and leaves Sue's body; Reed catches her and confirms she's only sleeping, so he's willing to talk.

  Clarice says they're not planning to affect the world; the Tallus only says, "Leave your possessions and earn your wings." Reed deciphers it: T.J. must leave her powers behind or the team must leave her behind; Beak is the wings. Nobody's happy with that exchange, but the Tallus confirms it, and then the Timebroker appears, to insist. Reed scans him, but there's nobody there. Beak doesn't want to leave his family, but the Timebroker says he's unhinged from time, and they think he ran away; he walks away. Beak, frantic, has Clarice take him home, where Angel is kicking the furniture, angry at having been abandoned. Beak sits there on the bed, invisible to his wife and children, and then goes outside to join the Exiles.

  T.J. looks down at the mansion being rebuilt, happy to join her father Nightcrawler but unhappy about leaving her teammates. Clarice hugs her, happy she's not leaving by death. Namora still isn't happy to be a puppet but doesn't see another choice. The team teleports away.

  T.J. walks up to the mansion's gate and rings the bell, but it's still broken. Someone finds her and takes her on a walk, away from the mansion, offering her a different opportunity (see X-Men II:161).