Danny, Rogue, Gambit, Storm, Jean, and Jubilee stood side by side, ready for the danger room exercise to begin.
"Let's do this." Danny said.
Metal tentacles charged out of the darkness at the group.
"Watch your back, swamp rat." Rogue warned Gambit.
The group dealt with this in their own way. Gambit and Jubilee managed to dodge the incoming projectiles. Danny merely phased through them and shot them with his ghost ray. Rogue grabbed two and tangled them up.
"You're tangling with the wrong X-Man." Jean proclaimed confidently as she used her telekinesis to destroy two sawblades rolling toward her. A third was able to slip past and almost struck Jean if it weren't for Storm knocking it out of the way with a tornado.
"Remember, this isn't a game." Xavier reminded them. He was in the control room, watching their progress with Cyclops by his side. "These dangers are patterned on those X-Men might encounter in the field."
He pressed a button, which activated a blaster on the ceiling that fired on Jean. She put up a shield to protect herself, but she was still thrown back by the blast.
"Our continued training is crucial. As long as mankind fears our mutant powers, we are in danger."
The group had finished taking down the mechanical appendages as they waited for the next part of the drill.
"In the days ahead, we will have to depend on each other for our very lives."
Soon more turrets appeared and opened fire on the ghost and mutants.
Danny flew up to one and destroyed it with a blast from his eyes.
"Rogue, take out the wall blasters." Danny ordered. "Gambit, destroy the targeting cameras."
The two followed orders, with Rogue flying towards each of them and punching them, rendering the guns useless. Gambit charged his cards and threw them at the cameras. Storm and Jubilee also pitched in using lightning and fireworks, respectively.
The exercise wasn't over, as the walls began to close in.
"Mon Dieu!" Gambit exclaimed in shock.
"What are we going to do now, sugar?" Rogue asked Danny.
"Everyone, grab hold of me!" Danny commanded. "We'll phase through the walls."
They all gathered around Danny as he turned them all intangible. They then approached one of the walls, preparing to walk through it.
Storm looked at the wall coming toward her, and she felt her heart start pounding. The lights were starting to hurt her eyes. Her breathing became erratic as she started to hyperventilate.
"No." She barely managed to get out. "Stop it!" She ended up letting go of the group, causing her to become tangible again.
Danny noticed this and called out to her in worry. "Storm!" She didn't respond as she huddled down on the floor. A whirlwind started to form in the room. It would've lifted the other off their feat and twisted them around the room if it weren't for Danny's intangibility keeping them safe.
Danny kept on moving the others, but he sent a duplicate, which picked up Storm into its arms. Turning her and itself intangible, the duplicate flew through the wall. The real Danny and the others did the same and met up with Storm.
"Storm, are you okay?" Jubilee asked.
Storm didn't respond.
Rogue attempted to comfort her. "It's okay. You're just saving your good moves for next time."
Danny joined in. "It's okay, Storm. It's over."
Xavier and Cyclops nodded at each other. The exercise was over.
They then made an appearance in the danger room. "Storm, are you alright?" Xavier asked his student.
"Yes Professor." Storm said weakly. "I will be fine."
Xavier nodded. "Fear does not disappear overnight. Don't let this discourage you."
"Other than that, excellent work, team." Cyclops said. "Danny, nice work on making sure no one was left behind."
"Yes." Xavier agreed. "I can say that I was right in putting you in the position of leader for this exercise."
"Professor," Danny began, "I appreciate it, but I don't know about leading. I just don't think I can deal with the responsibility."
"On the contrary, Danny." Xavier said. "You were able to direct orders to the others, think on your feet, and made sure everyone got out safely. That to me confirms you are more than ready for this."
"Yeah, but still." Danny's mind was already made up on the subject. "I just don't think I have enough experience."
"You don't give yourself enough credit, Danny. Didn't you say that you've been fighting since you were fourteen?" Xavier argued. When Danny confirmed this, he continued. "You have been able to adapt to any challenge that your opponents have brought to the table. Didn't you say that you used to hunt ghosts with your friends? Did you not lead them to victory?"
"Wait, how do you know that?" Danny asked. He didn't remember sharing such details with the professor.
Xavier smiled. "I apologize, but I've happened to eavesdrop on you telling your stories to Jubilee on such occasions."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Of course." Ever since Jubilee found out about his secret identity, she has been begging him nonstop to tell her about his adventures.
"Yeah!" Jubilee jumped in. "Remember that time you told me that story about how you led your classmates on a rescue mission to save the adults who were kidnapped by those ghost pirates?"
"And Remy thought he had an interesting life." Remy gagged.
"See?" Xavier pressed. "You have leadership skills; everyone can see it, but you."
"Fine." Danny acquiesced. "I'll take the reins as leader when Scott's not here. Happy?"
"Very." Xavier responded.
"Cheer up, sugar." Rogue said. "It'll only be when Cyclops isn't around, which doesn't happen that often. The man's a workaholic, and the day he stops being with the X-Men is the day that pigs fly."
Danny grinned. "I doubt even death would stop him. He'd just come back as a ghost and keep doing his job."
"Just as long as you don't come hunting after me." Cyclops said, making everyone laugh.
Wolverine was in his room, practicing some fighting moves. He was glad to be out of that godforsaken infirmary. For a man of action, being forced to rest was torture.
"Wolverine." Jean was standing in his doorway. "You're supposed to be resting. Even you can't heal this fast."
"Don't bet on it, Red." Wolverine said cockily.
Jean walked into the room. "Sabretooth nearly killed you."
Wolverine disregarded this. "Someday I'll learn not to let my guard down." He was about to do another move when he grabbed his side in pain.
"Oh no." Jean said as she grabbed onto him in an attempt to keep him from falling over. This ended up bringing her face inches away from Wolverine's.
Being this close to Jean was overwhelming to Wolverine, as he attempted to keep his feelings to himself, but to no avail.
"Jean." Wolverine said with longing.
Jean saw that things were getting inappropriate, so she excused herself. "I've got to go. Cyclops is waiting for me."
"So am I." Wolverine whispered, but Jean left. Leaving a heartbroken Wolverine behind.
"Hey Morph. Back from your mission with Beast?" Danny greeted the shapeshifter when he walked into the living room. Morph was sitting on the couch and flipping through various channels.
"Oh hey, Danny." Morph said. "Yeah, Beast and I managed to save some mutants from a group of ignorant jerks. Now I'm just enjoying some TV before Beast and I are sent out for another mission."
Danny sat down on the couch. "That's good. Anything good on?" Morph shook his head. "Figures."
They spent the next couple of minutes channel surfing until Danny saw something that caught his interest. "Wait, go back."
Morph switched back to the previous channel, showing a space shuttle being launched.
"There you have it." A reporter announced. "John Jameson and Paul Stevenson have begun their journey in exploring a mysterious asteroid that astronomers have recently discovered."
"Awesome." Danny simply stated as he watched the report with as much joy as a child watching cartoons on Saturday morning.
Morph couldn't help but think the same. "It is pretty cool."
Danny was so entranced that he didn't notice that Rogue had entered the room and was sitting next to him.
"Someone's happy." Rogue pointed out. "You're smiling as much as a man watching Sunday football."
"I like outer space." Danny admitted. "I always wanted to be an astronaut."
Rogue chortled. "Makes sense, cause you're out of this world."
Danny's cheeks turned crimson, but he wasn't gonna let Rogue leave him stammering this time. "That's nothing compared to you. Your beauty shines brighter than the sun."
This time, Rogue was the one who blushed. "Well, I am feeling hot. I better go cool off in the pool." Rogue turned to leave, before looking over her shoulder at the ghost hybrid. "You should join me. Maybe you could help me put some sunscreen on my back." Her flirting over, Rogue left Danny sitting speechless.
"I could use a swim." Danny then got up to change into a swimsuit.
Morph snickered. "Love birds."
Danny was standing outside Rogue's door in swim trunks.
"You ready yet?" Danny asked, knocking on the door.
"Just a minute." Rogue answered. "Ok, I'm ready."
The door opened, and Danny's jaw dropped open as he saw Rogue wearing a pink one-piece bathing suit.
Rogue pulled her sunglasses down a bit and winked at Danny. "Cat got your tongue, sugar?"
"Copernicus was wrong." Danny stated. "The sun isn't the center of the universe; it's you."
Rogue giggled. "Come on, sugar." She took his hand and led him to the pool.
Getting to the pool, Rogue laid on her front on one of the pool chairs. "Mind giving me a hand, sugar?"
"Not at all." Danny squirted some lotion on her back as he started to rub it into Rogue's skin.
Rogue moaned in pleasure at the skin contact. She could get used to this.
Danny was blushing up a storm as he finished rubbing Rogue's back. "Alright, you're good."
"Thanks, sugar." Rogue leaned in close to Danny. "I think you deserve a reward." She pushed Danny into the pool and started laughing.
Danny held his hand out. "Can you pull me back up?" Rogue took his hand and was pulled into the pool with him.
"Oldest trick in the book." Danny smirked. Rogue splashed him in response, which led to a splash war between the ghost and mutant.
"That was good." Jean said as they walked out after seeing The Phantom of the Opera. "Although I prefer our Phantom back at home."
Scott didn't respond.
"Ground control to Cyclops." Jean said to get Scott's attention.
"Huh?" Scott turned to Jean. "What did you say?"
Jean was a bit annoyed. "What's with you? We finally get a night out together, and you're a million miles away."
Scott let out what was on his mind. "You know, to me, being an X-Man is the most important job in the world. That's why I can't bear the thought of letting Professor Xavier down."
Jean tried to get Scott to loosen up. "And it's making you crazy. You're doing the best you can, but you're no good to the professor when you're like this. Relax a little. For the good of the team." Jean kissed Scott.
"You're absolutely right." Scott said. "From this moment on, my mind is on nothing but you." He leaned in for another kiss.
As the two mutants were making out, a little street boy peeked out of the alleyway. Only he wasn't just any normal boy. For starters, he had green, scaly skin that looked like it belonged on some type of reptile.
If that wasn't strange enough, when he saw some fruit that he liked, he held his hands up, and the fruit levitated to his hands.
Smiling at the sneaky trick he pulled off, he failed to notice that the vendor saw this.
"Let go of my fruit." The vendor yelled before taking in the boy's appearance. "Hey, it's one of those mutants. Somebody grab him."
Scott and Jean stopped what they were doing to see the mutant being surrounded by a group of angry people. Raising his hands in self defense, the people were suddenly pushed to the side.
"What's he doing to us?" One man cried.
Now having an open path, the mutant ran past the angry mob as they went after him.
"Grab him!"
"Don't let him get away!"
"We've got to do something before they hurt him." Scott told Jean as they ran to catch up with the mysterious mutant.
"So much for our night off." Jean said in dismay.
Reaching the subway, the mutant met up with a group of people, with one big, buff man picking him up to protect him.
The crowd got down and was surprised to see more mutants.
"We'll teach you to hunt us like animals." One mutant with blue skin threatened. The crowd turned to leave, but some type of goo appeared and hardened, preventing the mob from escaping up the stairs.
The blue-skinned mutant then shot more goo out of his hands at the fearful humans.
Meanwhile, Scott and Jean had gotten down the subway stairs when they noticed the new wall. Jean used her telekinesis to break it open. They were greeted with the sight of these new mutants attacking humans. The buff man was throwing people around. One mutant who had an eye patch lifted it up and shot a red beam out near some humans, who screamed in fear.
"Who are they?" Jean asked.
"Must be mutants." Scott determined.
"Pay the price for attacking Morlocks." The blue mutant used his goop to throw a couple of humans on the tracks.
"They're dangerous." Scott said. "We're going to have to protect the crowd from them.
The humans heard the whistle of the subway train.
"The train!" One exclaimed in fear. Fortunately for them, Jean used her mind to pull them back up, preventing them from being run over.
The strong man pulled off one of the support beams and charged at Scott.
"I don't think so, buddy." Scott fired his optic blast, sending him back as the other Morlocks backed up in intimidation.
"I better not try that again." Scott said to himself. "Without my visor, I can't control these things."
One of the Morlocks, who looked like an old woman in old clothing, looked at the two from a corner behind them.
"Sleep." She commanded. "I need to sleep."
Jean and Scott noticed the woman as the crowd was affected by the lady's words.
"Must sleep." They all said. "I'm ready to sleep. I must sleep." One by one, the crowd dropped to the floor to sleep, along with Scott and Jean.
A female Morlock with blue hair and an eye patch stepped out of the darkness.
"Good work, Annalee." The apparent leader of the Morlocks told the old woman. "You'll be rewarded." She turned to the strong man. "Sunder, take them below."
Sunder obeyed and placed Scott and Jean over his shoulders as he followed the other two down the subway tracks.
Wolverine was lying on his bed as he looked at a framed picture of Scott and Jean that he held in his hands. He placed his hand on Jean's face. Why couldn't Jean love him? Why did she have to be with Cyclops?
The yellow-spandex-wearing X-Man tried to get his mind off of it, but he heard Rogue talking to Danny.
"Where the heck are the lovebirds?" Rogue was asking Danny as they passed by Wolverine's room.
"Beats me." Danny answered. "They might be too busy making out in some movie theater."
The two laughed, not knowing that their conversation only enraged Wolverine, as he popped out one claw and stabbed the picture.
Scott grunted as he woke up. "Who dropped the house on me?" He tried to get up, but he realized that there were restraints on him. "Hey. Where am I?"
"Thanks for trying to help me up there." A voice thanked him.
Scott looked to his right, where he saw the street mutant from earlier sitting on a chair and smiling at him.
"Who are you?" Scott questioned before he realized something important. His glasses were gone. "My glasses." He blinked a couple of times as it dawned on him that his powers were gone. He could actually see without having to wear something on his eyes. "What happened to my powers?" He demanded.
"You help Leech; Leech help you." Leech informed him. "You see better now, for a while."
Sunder then entered the room and picked up Scott by his shirt. Holding the mutant like he weighed nothing, Sunder brought him to another room and threw him at the feel of his leader.
"Welcome, pretty one." The Morlock's leader greeted. "I am Callisto. You've already met some of my tribe." Scott saw a group of mutants who all had something about their appearance that made them stand out. One had a beak instead of lips. Some had other deformities, like an extra mouth or a third limb. There were others who had odd skin colors, such as green and gray. One person even had wings.
"We Morlocks are outcasts," Callisto continued, "mutants too deformed and unsightly to pass for human on the surface world. Unlike you, we have no choice but to dwell here, away from those who fear us." She gave Scott a look of admiration and snapped her fingers, making the monitors behind her turn on to show footage of Scott fighting sentinels. "When I saw your bravery and leadership, I knew it was my destiny to have one such as you to rule beside me." She gestured to Leech. "That is why I sent this one into trouble to help show you the way."
"Right." Scott responded. This woman was obviously crazy. "Where's Jean?"
Callisto caressed Scott's face. "When you agree to stay."
Scott pushed her hand away. "Sorry, not interested."
"That wasn't a request." Callisto said with an edge to her voice.
Scott tried to reason with her. "Sunlight fuels my power. I won't be much good to you down here."
"Do I look like I need a protector?" Callisto scoffed. "To serve my people, I need a companion. Someone to provide me an heir."
"So take out an ad." Scott replied, irritated. "Now where's Jean?"
"Sunder." Calisto snarled. Sunder began lowering a chain that was holding up a tied-up and blindfolded Jean. "Does this help change your mind?"
"Jean!" Scott blurted.
"He refuses me." Callisto addressed her subjects. "Destroy her."
Jean wasn't going to go without a fight as she used her powers to free herself, making the Morlocks back off. "Forget it, lady. Scott's my date." Jean sent a telekinetic blast at the prideful leader and proceeded to do the same to the other Morlocks.
"Guards! Restrain her." Callisto directed her people.
Knowing that she and Scott wouldn't be able to get out of here on their own, she reached out to the professor's mind.
"Professor. We need you. We've been captured."
All the way back at the institute, Professor Xavier answered her call. "Jean, where are you?" He didn't get a response. "Jean?"
Jean was passed out on the floor as the guards came to drag her away.
Scott attempted to run to Jean's rescue. "Let her go!" He only got as far as a couple of feet before Sunder picked him up and threw him into a wall.
"That was very stupid." Sunder scolded him as he snatched the back of Scott's shirt.
"Stop it, you idiot." Callisto admonished. "I need him alive."
Sunder obeyed reluctantly, dropping Scott unceremoniously on the cold floor.
Unknown to the Morlocks, the X-Men were in the war room, planning to find Scott and Jean.
Xavier pressed a button on the console as a red dot appeared on a digital map. "This is as close as I can pinpoint their location. Danny, you'll take the X-Men and rescue Scott and Jean."
"Right." Danny said. "Let's move out, team."
They moved out and reached the entrance to the subway.
Storm shuddered a tiny bit as they walked down the stairs.
"You alright, Storm?" Danny checked on her.
Storm breathed in and out. "I am fine."
"Gal, it's tight down here." Gambit brought up. "If things get rough..."
"Can it, Cajun." Wolverine chastised. "It's her call."
Getting to the bottom, the heroes approached the tracks and waited for a train to pass.
"Alright, in which direction do you smell them?" Danny asked Wolverine.
Wolverine pointed to their left.
"Let's move." Danny ordered. "But slowly, we don't know what else is down there. We're in the subway at night, so who knows what kind of creeps or messed-up shit we'll find?"
"I once watched this movie where the guy was taking the subway at three a.m. and he looked out the window and saw two guys on the railing, and one of them was holding a decapitated head."
"You watch too much television, Jubilee." Rogue said trying not to sound creeped out by the story.
Going deeper into the tunnel, the X-Men failed to notice that a Morlock was behind them, watching. She had pink, blue, and yellow striped hair, but that wasn't her most distinct feature. No. It was the fact that she was flat. Two-dimensional flat, like a piece of paper.
Observing the intruders, she began to follow them from a distance.
"Scott and Jean pick one strange romantic hideaway, non?" Gambit tried to make small talk.
"Please." Danny scoffed. "My parents once spent their anniversary night staked out in an abandoned mental hospital, hoping to catch some ghosts. Wolverine, how close are we getting?"
"Pretty close." Wolverine sniffed again. "Wait, I'm getting another scent."
"Someone may be tracking us." Danny assumed. "Stay on guard, everyone."
Danny was right in saying this, as Sunder came at Rogue from behind only for the southern belle to flip him over her shoulder.
"Roaches grow big down here." Rogue joked.
The blue-skinned mutant from before threw some of his goop at Danny, Wolverine, and Gambit. Quickly, Danny grabbed the two, and they all turned intangible, allowing the weird cement-like substance to pass through them. More Morlocks emerged from the darkness to defend their home from these trespassers.
Sunder got back up and started grappling with Rogue before taking her in his arms and running off. Danny fired his ghost ray at the overgrown thug, making him drop Rogue.
"Now now," Danny said to the large man, "that's not how you treat a lady. You've got to be a gentleman first before you can sweep her off her feet."
Danny started throwing more of his ecto-blasts, and Storm added her lighting to the barrage. Gambit and Jubilee also created mini-explosions with their mutant powers, forcing all the Morlocks to withdraw from the fight.
"After them!" Danny pointed to the retreating Morlocks. "They might lead us to Scott and Jean."
The X-Men chased them down before coming across a tiny tunnel.
"We'll have to climb in." Danny got in first, with the others trailing behind.
Storm started gasping for air as she felt like she was suffocating. Like the pipe was about to close in on her and squeeze her to death.
"She's not going to make it." Gambit spoke in an uneasy tone.
"Danny turned intangible, passing through the others as he made his way to Storm; this ended up causing the others to feel discomfort at a ghost passing through them.
"Cold!"
"Warn us next time you do that, bub!"
"A gal needs her personal space."
"Am I the only one who thought it felt tingly?"
Danny grabbed onto Storm, letting his friend be able to pass through solid objects. "It's okay, Storm. You're intangible; you can pass through the walls. They can't touch you."
Storm got out of her crouching position as her head stuck through the ceiling and her legs through the floor. Danny pulled her down a bit so that her head could see where she was going.
"Just keep on moving; nothing can stop you." Storm started walking slowly with Danny as they walked through the tunnels. The others kept on crawling.
It was so surreal for Storm. Her and Danny's legs were deep in the floor, but they kept moving, as if the bottom was nothing, but an illusion. Still, she felt a bit nauseous, but at least she could walk.
Thankfully, Storm got to the end of the tunnel, where they all found themselves in some large subterranean area.
Danny was able to spot a door. "There's a door. Maybe that's where they're keeping Scott and Jean." Though Danny doubted it would be that easy.
Jubilee fired her fireworks at the hinges, breaking them apart.
Inside, they found Jean and Annalee.
"Jean?" Wolverine cried out.
Jean quivered at the strange people as she hugged her mother like a security blanket. "Mommy?" She talked in a tone that sounded like that of a six-year-old. "Who are these bad people?"
There were eyebrows raised at this weird scene. Danny thought that maybe he hit his head and was hallucinating. This was just bizarre.
Annalee glared at the X-Men as if they were a group of bullies that were harassing her kid on the playground. "Leave me alone with my daughter."
"Daughter?" Danny snorted. "I think we all would like to see the maternity tests, grandma."
"Make them go away." Jean begged. "Please, Mommy."
"Ok, this is starting to get weird." Danny said.
Wolverine got in front of them. "Lady, you picked the wrong girl to adopt."
"Please." Annalee said. "No." Her eyes turned black. "Covered with scorpions."
The last three words echoed when Wolverine felt something crawling on his shoulder. And his leg. And his arm. And his elbow. Wolverine inspected himself and found that the lady was right; scorpions were all over his body. "No. Covered with scorpions. Get them off me! What're you doing to my head?"
Wolverine rushed forward to stab her. Annalee barely managed to dodge as the metal claws went through the wall.
With Annalee gone, her mental hold on Jean faded away. Exhausted, she fell and was caught by Wolverine.
"Jean. You okay?" Jean moaned as she took in her surroundings. "Don't worry, I'm here." Wolverine reassured her.
"Where am I?" Jean asked. "What's..." She remembered that she and Scott were captured. "Cyclops. We got to help him."
"You're too late, X-Men." Callisto stood in the entryway of two iron doors. "No one can help him now." At her feet was Cyclops' body.
"Cyclops." Jean raced to her lover's body. "Oh no!"
She covered her face as she started to cry over the death of her boyfriend.
Wolverine growled as he saw Jean's miserable state. He couldn't stand to see her so heartbroken and full of sorrow.
The other X-Men were standing over Jean as they tried to process this. Scott, their leader, was dead. Gone. Never again would he give an order to lead them to victory.
"I'm sorry, Scott." Danny whispered. "If I'd been a better leader, we could've saved you." Danny shut his eyes. Why could he never keep the people around him safe? Why did they always have to suffer a horrible demise?"
"Your leader was a great warrior." Callisto praised. "We mourn his loss. My Morlocks will provide safe passage to the surface world."
Danny glared at Callisto with all his hate; his eyes glowed like embers. How dare she think that they would just leave after learning of Scott's death.
Callisto stepped back a bit, alarmed by the apparent power of this individual. This could be a problem.
While the X-Men were mourning for their friend, Wolverine was skeptical.
"Great warrior, eh?" His claws unsheathed. "How about we take him back in pieces?"
The X-Men gave Wolverine looks of disbelief.
"Wolverine, no, don't." Danny tried to dissuade him, but Wolverine ignored him.
The grouchy mutant dug his claws into the floor on either side of Scott's head.
Danny was about to question Wolverine about what he was thinking when Scott's eyes opened as he screamed in fear. He jumped up in fright as he put as much distance between him and Wolverine as possible. His appearance changed to that of an old man wearing clothes that looked like they came from the seventies.
Wolverine shook his head. "Cyke has his problems, but he don't smell like a Morlock. Looks like we're going to persuade them to give him back."
Danny turned to Callisto and asked, "Did you really think we would go peacefully after we thought Scott was dead? Did it ever occur to you that this would just make us angrier?"
"Yeah, that was a pretty bad plan." Jubilee agreed.
"Fools, you can't fight us here." Callisto boased.
The Morlocks came for another battle, and the X-Men were more than ready to bring it.
Jean pushed a couple of Morlocks back with her telekinesis.
Rogue was currently having a rematch with Sunder. The musclebound mutant tried to hit her with a broken column, but Rogue kept flying out of his reach.
"You all need to brush up on your hospitality." Rogue teased.
Wolverine went towards Callisto. The Morlock leader took out a staff to defend herself.
"Come on, lady," Wolverine jeered, "you can do better than..." Callisto kicked him in the chest. Wolverine grinned. "That's more like it. Huh?" He watched Callisto book it, which excited her enemy. "I love it when they play hard to get."
"Everyone, stay together." Danny told his team. "We can't let them divide us."
Wolverine didn't listen as he chased after Callisto.
Danny sighed. "Now I know what it feels like to be Scott." He made a duplicate and told it, "Follow him and make sure he doesn't get himself killed."
The duplicate saluted and went off after Wolverine.
The X-Men were holding their own as they fought.
"Here is mud in your eyes, mes subterranean freres." Gambit threw a card at a trio of Morlocks.
"Come down here and fight me fair." Sunder said as he chased after Rogue, only to be knocked unconscious.
"That fair enough?" Rogue taunted.
Gambit threw his cards at some balls of energy that were thrown at him before a female Morlock with white hair jumped on his back.
Gambit pulled her off, but the lady wasn't done. In a flash of light, she transformed into a giant iguana.
It roared and was about to take a swipe at Gambit before it was blasted by Danny, turning her back to normal.
"Nice shooting." Gambit applauded.
"If I had a nickel for every time I encountered a woman who turned into a giant reptile, I'd have two nickels, which isn't much, but it's still weird that it happened twice." Danny said to himself.
Sunder was holding a rock that he was planning to use against Rogue, but the problem was that he couldn't find her.
Sunder looked around as he said, "Where did she go?"
Rogue then dropped down and placed Sunder in a choke hold. "Don't tell me you missed me."
Sunder tried to punch her, but it was futile as Rogue was latched onto his back. "Hey, get off me."
"Sure, sugar." Rogue complied as she let go and shoved Sunder into a wall.
"Gambit, there's one behind you." Danny cautioned his comrade.
Gambit turned around and came face-to-face with another Morlock who looked like an elderly woman. "Stay back, old woman." He warned her. "You going to get hurt."
"I'm feeling fine, dearie." She reached a hand out to Gambit.
"Gambit, get away from her!" Danny yelled. The Cajun backed up as Danny punched her.
"How'd you know she was a threat?" Gambit asked him.
"She wouldn't have gotten that close unless she had a trick up her sleeve." Danny answered. He then saw Jean defenseless, with Sunder standing over her.
"Jean." Danny picked up Sunder.
"Put me down." Sunder demanded.
Danny shrugged. "You asked for it." He threw him hard to the floor.
"Run all you like, lady. I like to hunt." Wolverine pursued Callisto through the tunnels. Just then, a familiar scent reached his nostrils.
"Cyclops." Wolverine was directed by his animal senses to a door. Slashing it open, Wolverine found Cyclops motionless on a bed.
The duplicate then caught up to Wolverine and saw the unconscious Cyclops. "Is this the real deal or just another imposter?"
"It's the real thing." Wolverine confirmed. "Sadly."
"What are we waiting for? Let's get him out of here." The Danny duplicate threw Scott over his shoulder. "Come on." The duplicate left the room, leaving Wolverine alone.
"I may not like you, Cyke, but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's seeing Jean cry." Wolverine said out loud before following after the duplicate.
His words were overheard by Callisto and Annalee, who were hiding behind a corner.
"So he loves the woman." Callisto realized. She turned to Annalee. "You know what to do."
"Jean." Danny called out to the redhead as the group had their backs to the wall with the Morlocks closing in. "See if you can contact Wolverine telepathically."
"Don't bother." Wolverine returned to the group with the duplicate and the unconscious Scott. "Blow those slugs off, and let's bust out of this puke hole."
Annalee's voice sounded throughout the area. "So close, so tight. So tight..."
Storm went to her knees as she felt like something was wrapping around her.
"Now for the animal." Callisto gestured to Wolverine.
"You. Keeping me from what is mine." Annalee chanted.
Wolverine became angry as he glanced at Scott, who was being held by Danny's duplicate, and rasped out, "You. Keeping me from what is mine."
"Wolverine." Jean pushed him away psychically. "Fight it, Wolverine." She urged.
Wolverine advanced on Jean, pushing back against her power.
"She's making you love her." Annalee said. "Making you weaker."
Danny sent a flying drop kick at Annalee, breaking her control over Wolverine.
"I've had enough for tonight." Danny complained. He brought his attention to Callisto. "Why do you even want Scott anyway?"
"I desired him for a mate." Callisto elaborated. "So I can have an heir to take my place as leader of this tribe."
Danny was instantly reminded of Vlad and his former desire to be with his mom. "Have you ever tried online dating or getting a cat?" Danny asked, feeling a sense of deja vu.
"Your mockery will continue no longer. My tribe will destroy you all for your insolence in crossing over into our territory." Callisto promised.
"I feel bad for your tribe." Danny couldn't help but say. "It must be rough having a leader as weak as yourself."
"You dare say such blasphemous things in my presence!" Callisto thundered, but Danny wouldn't stand down.
"The only thing that's blasphemous is that you call yourself a leader when all you do is hide behind your followers. How about you come out and show you can fight without relying on anyone else?"
Callisto reluctantly gave in to Danny's challenge. "Very well. We will duel one-on-one. If you win, you will be the leader of the Morlocks and will be allowed to leave with your friends. Use your mutant powers in any way, and my Morlocks will kill your people."
"Two things. First, I'm not a mutant. Second, I don't need my powers to kick your ass, so I'll accept your terms."
Callisto was then handed two staff-like weapons, and she gave one of them to Danny.
Danny whistled in appreciation. They looked like double-bladed lightsabers. "You sure you guys are mutants and not cosplayers that got lost on your way to Comic con?"
The Morlocks and X-Men watched as the two leaders stared each other down.
"You got this, Danny." Jubilee cheered in support.
"Show that old hag not to mess with Danny Phantom." Rogue joined in.
The two began to duel, with Danny successfully holding his own against the one-eyed lady.
"Not bad." Callisto approved. "I guess surface life hasn't made you soft."
"Trust me, lady. I've seen more dangerous things up there my entire life than the couple of hours I've spent down here." Danny bragged as he swung his weapon at Callisto. He managed to knock her weapon out, only for her to do a flipping jump over him and catch it back in her hand.
"Impressive." Danny admitted. The two continued to duel as everyone watched in anticipation. Callisto began to tire out as she couldn't keep up with Danny's endurance. This led her to make sloppy mistakes and lower her guard, giving Danny an opening.
Danny took advantage of this and aimed a kick at Callisto's feet, knocking her to the ground. He then knocked her weapon out of her hand.
"You've lost. It's over." Danny said with finality.
"Go on then." Callisto urged. "Finish me."
Danny gave her a hard look. "No. I won't kill you. I won't let myself go down that path. I refuse."
The X-Men cheered at Danny's victory.
"Way to go, Danny?" Jubilee congratulated, with the others giving out similar words of admiration.
"You sure know how to keep things exciting, sugar."
"Nice work, bub."
"You showed that vieille sorciere."
"You fought admirably."
"Good job."
The color of Danny's cheeks tinted at the words of his friends.
"Morlocks." Danny addressed the mutant outcasts. "You don't have to be outcasts. There is more for you than living down here. You can join us at the Xavier Institute. I promise you it will be safe there."
"Our place is down here. We can't live among normal humans." Annalee said.
"When humanity accepts mutantkind, then we will come to the surface." The Morlock with the blue skin said.
"That may take some time, and no offense, but this place is a dump." Danny thought of a place for them to live. A place where they won't be disturbed. Danny's eyes brightened as he got the perfect idea.
"You guys ever been to the Rocky Mountains?" Danny asked them.
"Ok, guys, here's your new home." Danny presented to the Morlocks as they stepped off the Blackbird.
The Morlocks jaws dropped as they saw their new home. It was a very lavish mansion that was surrounded by a forest.
"This is where we're living?" Callisto asked, her voice conveying awe at the good fortune her pack has stumbled upon.
"Yep. A big and beautiful place for all you guys to live in peace." Danny explained. "It's also in an area that is cut off from the rest of the world, so you won't be bothered by anyone."
Callisto gave Danny a short bow, grateful for their new home and also for being given her leadership back by Danny. "Thank you, Danny Phantom. We, Morlocks, will forever be in your debt for the kindness you showed."
"Don't worry about it." Danny told her. "See you later. Enjoy your new home, guys." Danny got back on the Blackbird, where Rogue was sitting in the pilot's seat.
"That was very sweet of you, sugar." Rogue complimented him. "But how did you get this for them?"
Danny smiled. "I know a guy, and I asked if he would be kind enough to give his summer retreat to some people who need it."
"And he said yes? Just like that?" Rogue was surprised that Danny had such connections. "Who is this guy?"
"Vlad Masters." Danny said, making Rogue give him a stupefied look.
"You know Vlad Masters, the billionaire?" Rogue had heard about the billionaire when she would occasionally watch the news. She recalled that the man had bought Microsoft.
"He's an old friend of the family." Danny left it at that. "We stay in contact, and he makes sure that I'm doing alright."
"He must be very generous, giving a piece of his property to a bunch of mutants." Rogue said.
Danny frowned. Sure, Vlad had changed for the better since the deaths of his friends and family, but the man was far from being a saint. "I wouldn't say generous, but he has his moments of good. I still had to convince him first. Had to argue that since he doesn't use it that much, there'd be no point in having it. Although he did ask for something in return."
"What's that?" Rogue was curious.
"I have to go with him to the Packers' game." Danny said, making Rogue chuckle.
"I heard that he was a cheesehead. Didn't he try to buy the team?"
Danny laughed. "Yeah, but they still won't sell it to him. It drives him mad."
The two laughed as they piloted the aircraft back home.
"I'm so glad that we're all okay and that you're alive." Jean hugged Scott as they were in Xavier's office with the professor and Danny. "Not only that, but I got to see your beautiful eyes."
"I take it your date was sufficiently memorable?" Xavier bantered.
"Yeah. Now all we need is a vacation." Scott said as he reflected on what just happened. "I can't believe that woman wanted me to be her mate."
"I guess Remy isn't the only ladies man then?" Danny cracked as the others laughed.
"Jean tells me you acquitted yourself well as field commander." Xavier informed Danny.
Danny rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I guess you weren't wrong about me being able to lead the team. But don't expect it to be an everyday occurrence. I'm perfectly fine with letting Scott take the reins."
Xavier was amused. "I think I can manage with that."
Scott and Jean opened the door to Wolverine's room.
"Wolverine?" Scott began. "Jean and I wanted to thank you for..."
Scott stopped as he saw that the room was vacated.
"He's gone." Jean stated in sadness.