The X-Men were all distressed at seeing their home in ruins.
"What if the professor's in there?" Jean asked Scott worriedly.
"We're gonna find out." Scott answered grimly.
They all got out of the Blackbird as they started searching for any trace of their beloved professor.
"Begin searching the ruins, but take care." Storm told everyone. "Professor Xavier may be among them."
Rogue lifted up a piece of rubble. "People don't know we live here. Who'd do this to a school?"
"I don't know, but they're not going to get away with this." Danny replied.
"Come on, professor." Wolverine was digging through all the remains of the Institute. "Stop playing around. Tell us you're all right."
Jean was using her telekinesis to remove all the debris, but there was still no sign of Xavier.
Storm summoned the wind. "Wind, aid my hands!" The wind pushed through all the wreckage.
"Storm, any sign of the professor?" Scott asked over his communicator.
"None." Storm said, dejected.
Scott and Jubilee had landed the Blackbird and were exploring the hanger. "No damage to the hanger area." Scott told the team. "We're on our way to the war room."
Jean then had the idea of trying to call out to the professor with her mind. 'Professor, wherever you are, you must answer me now. Please.' The others looked at Jean, who opened her eyes in sadness. "There's no response. That means he's gone or unconscious or..."
"Jean?" Scott called. "Jean!"
"Yes, Cyclops?"
"Have everyone come down to the War Room." Scott ordered. "We've found something."
The X-Men were in the War Room.
"Cerebro has a message from the professor." Cyclops announced. He gestured to Jubilee. "Jubilee."
Jubilee pressed a button, and a hologram of Xavier appeared over the table. "Greetings, X-Men." The translucent Xavier said. "I'm taking a journey whose results may change our lives forever. I cannot tell you anything more now. Farewell."
"Well, we've done a fine job looking after the school." Rogue said sarcastically.
"This message was left before the mansion was destroyed." Scott informed them. "I just hope the professor made it out in time."
As the X-Men were starting to look throughout the underground area of the Institute, Danny walked into the lab where the ghost portal was being built.
"What the hell!" Danny cried as he saw that the room had been demolished. Wires were hanging all over the place. Ectoplasm and broken glass littered the floor. The portal itself was smashed, as if someone went up to the particle accelerator and punched it in rage.
"This is just great." Danny groaned. "Now we're going to have to start all over." He punched the wall in frustration, causing a loose wire from the ceiling to fall into the ectoplasm. The ectoplasm that Danny was currently standing in.
The hybrid screamed in pain as his entire body was electrocuted. Danny had been shocked several times over the years, but although it wasn't as painful as the other times, he felt weaker for some odd reason. Like his energy was leaving his body.
"Danny! What's wrong?" Rogue had heard the screaming and came down to investigate when she found Danny unconscious on the floor. "Oh no!" Rogue panicked. She went to Danny's side to check on him. "Please be alright, sugar." Rogue said to the ghost who she was falling for.
Danny was in the infirmary bed. Thankfully, the infirmary was still intact. Beast was standing beside Danny as he looked over his vitals.
"He's going to be alright, right, Beast?" Jubilee asked the blue-furred mutant.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, but for now I'll stay to make sure he's okay." Beast told the others who were in the room.
"Make sure, Beast." Scott said. "Xavier's missing; we don't need to lose Danny as well."
"Get better, sugar." Rogue placed her hand on Danny's cheek.
Wolverine was still looking outside for some sign of who did this.
Scott came up to him. "Find any clues?"
"Maybe." Wolverine pushed aside some rocks to reveal a set of footprints. Only these footprints were humongous, showing that whoever did this was big.
"Don't take off." Cyclops ordered Wolverine. "We have to plan our next move."
"Do whatever you want, pal." Wolverine said stubbornly. "Something tells me the professor wants to be found while he's still breathing." He went off to follow the mysterious scent he had picked up.
"The professor wants us to work as a team." Scott argued as the others came up to join him.
"Where's Wolverine going?" Jean asked him.
"His own way, like he always does." Scott remarked in a voice that conveyed he was fed up with Wolverine's bullshit. "I just hope his keen senses tell him not to take this thing on alone." He showed them a piece of metal that had a footprint on it.
"Whoa!" Jubilee was in awe. "Bigfoot time. Are you sure we wanna find this guy?"
"Storm, take Rogue and Jubilee." Scott commanded. "Track Wolverine down and stay close to him. I don't care what he says; he's gonna need you."
Storm complied. "We shall leave at once."
Rogue, Storm, and Jubilee were searching through the city in Rogue's car for any trace of Wolverine or the person who totaled the Institute.
Storm was exasperated a bit with Wolverine's lone-wolf attitude. "Why must Wolverine always rush off in this way?"
"Come on, Storm." Jubilee tried to lighten things up. "It's cause he's worried about the professor, that's all."
"More like he wants to kick some butt." Rogue corrected.
"Whatever the reason," Storm said, "Professor Xavier's first rule is to work as a team."
"Look, there's his jeep." Jubilee pointed to the parked vehicle.
The three women stopped the car and got out to inspect it.
"We shall find Wolverine more quickly if we separate." Storm suggested. "Remember to keep in touch at all times."
"I hope I find him first." Jubilee said to herself as she went her separate way. "Me and Wolverine can take on anything."
A bartender was making his usual rounds today when he noticed the newest customer walk through the door. And he meant that literally, as the new arrival walked straight through the door like it was never there. He took in the newcomer's appearance. He had a good physique, as shown by his outfit. His clothes were simply a black jumpsuit with white gloves and boots. On his chest was a strange logo. If that wasn't strange enough, he had snow-white hair and glowing green eyes.
The bartender observed as the stranger started walking slowly, as if he were lost in deep thought. He had a blank look on his face that was constantly turning to take in everything he could see. It looked like he was seeing all this for the first time.
The customers all stared at the white-haired man, some muttering slurs under their breath, thinking he was a mutant.
One customer stupidly got up to confront the mutant. "We don't like your kind." He would've said more but was cut off by the man's eyes, which glowed bright green in warning. The bigot smartly backed down as he went back to his booth. The visitor then made his way to the front and sat down on one of the stools.
The bartender came over to him hesitantly. "Can I get you anything?" He only got a stare as a response. The man shivered; it felt like those emerald eyes were looking into his very soul.
Desperate to get out of this awkward situation, he hastily placed a bottle in front of his new customer. "It's on the house; enjoy." He quickly scampered off away from the weirdo.
Now left alone, the intruder started to ponder. It felt. Strange. Usually he felt some kind of warmth from within, but now it was gone, replaced by a cold void. What was he? Trying to sort himself out, his brain was invaded by several different emotions. Anger, sadness, and fear. What was going on? He grabbed his head to pull himself together. Memories flashed before his eyes.
A blonde-haired boy picking on him whenever he had the chance.
A teacher giving him a disapproving look.
A cheerleader glaring her nose down at him in disgust.
A rich-looking couple sneering at him.
A black shadow tormenting him with the fear that he didn't belong anywhere.
Some vampiric-looking ghoul always getting the best of him whenever they battled.
A town crying out insults at him as he flew over them to stop a ghost.
Being cursed at by a police officer from his car.
Dodging projectiles from a girl in red as she chases him down on a glider.
Two people, a man and a woman, wearing jumpsuits, aiming bazookas at him as they vowed to destroy him.
Feeling nothing but anxiety and fear in his home as he tries to avoid the jump-suited couple and all their hazardous gadgets.
Some kind of clown barking orders at him.
Memories of being thrown, scratched, electrocuted, punched, kicked, burned, controlled, beaten, chased, and maimed by several different ghosts as they gave him trouble for getting in their way.
Finally, there was a devil with flaming hair, laughing at six people held captive at a restaurant. A boiler overheats as the establishment takes their lives in a fireball of death.
All because of him.
Voices start to bombard him, almost accusingly.
"Wimp."
"Nerd."
"Freak."
"Ghost."
"Dipstick."
"Welp."
"Loser."
"Halfa."
"Obviously, the apple doesn't fall very far from the overbearing, orange jump-suited tree."
"No escaping me now, ghost boy!"
"Get your hands off our duly elected leader, you odd manifestation of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness!"
"I'll tear you apart molecule by molecule!"
"Look at you. What are you? A ghost trying to fit in with humans? Or some creepy little boy with creepy little powers?"
"You're getting more like me with every battle."
There was one voice that finally broke the camel's back.
"I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me."
A shout of rage came from him as he slammed his fist down on the counter, spilling a bowl of nuts. He flicks one in frustration, and it hits a bottle on the shelf, breaking it. He notices this and does it again.
There is only one sound heard, and it is that of glass shattering. A gleeful smile adorns his face at the show of his strength. Seeing his reflection in a mirror, two beams of light come from his eyes.
Everyone gasps as the mirror starts to melt.
The pain now numbed, he stormed out, glaring as passersby looked at him in fear and disgust.
"What are you looking at?" He challenges them as they all get out of his way.
Jubilee came upon a construction site, where she found a group of construction workers bickering about something.
"What's eating the hardhats?" Jubilee asked one of them.
"Looks like they got replaced by some foreign guy." The worker guessed.
Jubilee questioned him further. "They think he's a mutant? Is he, like, real big?"
The workers were watching their boss as he was talking to a man who was wearing a wifebeater. He was a buff man of considerable strength.
"Hey, Mike." One of the workers called out to their boss. "You better make sure Super Russki doesn't malfunction."
The rest of the disgruntled hardhats laughed at the jibe towards their replacement as he walked into the condemned building. A flash of light came from the building and silenced them all.
"That's gotta be him." Jubilee got closer to get a good look when a tremor knocked her off her feet. "Huh?" She tried to stand up, not noticing the building behind her starting to fall apart. She would've been crushed if Wolverine hadn't pushed her out of the way.
"What the!" One of the workers cried at the unbelievable sight.
The Russian man walked out without a scratch on him. Not only that, but he had transformed. His entire skin was a chrome-looking kind of metal. "Your building is crushed." The metal man stated to the boss as he turned back to normal. "Any more today?"
The boss patted him on the shoulder as he congratulated him and slipped money into his hand. "Great job. What'd you say your name was again?"
"I am Colossus, from Russia." Colossus told him.
"His name is mutant scab, and that's our money!" A worker complained.
Jubilee pointed at Colossus as she said to Wolverine, "That's gotta be the guy that totaled the mansion."
"Let's get him." Jubilee was about to attack before Wolverine stopped her.
"Not so fast, little Jubilee." Wolverine noticed all the workers were ganging up on Colossus. "Let's see how he handles these guys."
"Go back to Russia, scab." One worker said as they all got ready to attack.
Their boss got in between the angry crowd and Colossus. "Leave him alone." He demanded. "He got the job done. You guys can clean up."
This didn't deter them at all. "We're not working for any mutant lover."
"What's wrong?" Colossus was confused. Why was everyone so hostile to him? "Was my job no good?"
"No, no." The boss tried to explain. "They wanted to crush..." He stopped before reiterating. "Knock over the building."
"Comrades, let us all work together." Colossus tried to calm everyone down as one worker got into a cement truck and prepared to run over the Russian mutant.
Colossus didn't flinch as he turned his skin metal again. The driver jumped out of the cement truck as it collided with Colossus. The car instantly crashed and was destroyed, but Colossus still stood where he was. The vehicle didn't even move him an inch.
"Did you see that?" A worker spoke in fear and awe to his coworkers.
"Didn't even phase him." Another mentioned.
"Let me go!" The driver cried as he ran away from Colossus.
"Now you run away." Colossus was baffled. "What have I done wrong?"
"The first thing was crushing the professor's mansion." Wolverine told him as he jumped from a girder and landed on top of the metallic mutant. Only to be thrown into a pile of rocks. "Guy's got a great arm." Wolverine couldn't help but admit.
Colossus moved towards Wolverine. "You Americans are all crazy."
Jubilee got in his path. "Leave him alone!" She fired her pyrotechnics, but they only bounced off of him. Jubilee was about to run before he grabbed her by her coat. "Put me down, you big ox!" She demanded as she kept throwing more fireworks.
"Why do you fight Colossus, little one?" Colossus asked her innocently as he carried her to a forklift.
"Just let me get a good shot at you." Was Jubilee's response.
Colossus placed her in the forklift and bent a piece of steel to trap her. "You must stop this, little one!" He chided before being ambushed by Wolverine again. He grabbed Wolverine and held him upside down to talk it out with the feral man. "What do you want? I do not know of any mansion. It is a mistake."
Wolverine sniffed Colossus's scent. "You're right, Ivan."
Colossus threw him aside. "What is it with these Americans? They are very strange people."
Jubilee used her powers to break out. "Wolverine. Come on." She urged him. "He's getting away!"
"He's not the guy." Wolverine said.
"Get a clue." She scolded him. "You think he's not the guy just cause he said so?"
"No, cause I said so." Wolverine countered. "He ain't what I smelled at the mansion, and he could've wasted us both just now, but he didn't."
Jubilee heard her communicator beep and answered it.
"Jubilee?" Came Rogue's voice. "If you got a hold of Wolverine, kindly invite him to join us at the first National Bank. Police radio says it's being robbed by somebody big."
Floating above the city, he gazed down at the mortals who went on with their business. He hates them. He hates their judgmental looks and words. He hates their lack of acceptance. But what he hates most is that they are together while he is alone.
The sound of commotion catches his attention; it's coming from the bank. Curious about what was going on, he flew down and phased through the entrance. People were on the ground, paralyzed in fear.
A metal man is thrown to his feet. He looks down at the mutant with no emotion and proceeds further into the bank. There was no need to walk that far, as the perpetrator was a couple feet away. It was a behemoth of a man in orange armor. His most distinguishing feature was the dome-like helmet that he wore. This giant was prying open a vault with his bare hands. A couple of seconds was all it took to rip it open as the thief started to gather the cash.
Satisfied with his bounty, he turned to leave, only to see someone blocking his path.
"A little early for Halloween, isn't it?" The robber taunted, but only got a blank stare as a reaction. "If you want to still be breathing, I suggest you get out of my way." No answer, which aggravates the criminal.
"Your funeral." He threw a fist at the bystander, expecting to kill him, when something inconceivable happened. He caught his fist with one hand.
His eyes widened at the failed attack. He tried to pull his hand back, but the smaller man wouldn't let go. He had an impressive grip.
"How did you do that?" The larger man demanded in disbelief. His only answer was for his opponent to begin squeezing his hand. And it actually hurt. Who was this guy?
Looking into his attacker's eyes, a foreign emotion consumed him. One he hadn't felt in a long time.
Fear.
Wolverine and Jubilee met with Storm and Rogue at the bank. Scott, Jean, and Gambit were there as well, tipped off by Rogue about the situation.
"So who busted the piggy bank?" Wolverine inquired.
"The police have captured him." Storm gestured to an ambulance that was loading up the crook. It was a bit difficult, as he was too big to fit in the ambulance. The paramedics had also taken off his helmet, which showed a bloodied mess that was his face.
"Is that him?" Scott wondered.
Wolverine nodded. "It's him, alright."
"Jean, read his mind." Scott instructed. "See if the professor is okay."
Jean closed her eyes as she entered the suspect's mind, gathering all the information.
"He calls himself the Juggernaut, but his real name is Cain Marko. He's the professor's stepbrother."
"They're brothers?" Rogue asked in shock.
Jean nodded. "Yes, and he was always jealous of Xavier; that's why he went to the mansion, but the professor wasn't there."
Scott sighed in relief. "That's good to know. But the question now is, who did that to Juggernaut?"
"I did." The X-Men all jumped before turning around to see Danny in ghost form.
"Danny!" Rogue cried in joy. "You're alright." She brought him into a hug, startling the ghost, who was perplexed by the action.
Rogue felt Danny stiffen at the physical contact. "Danny?" She gave him a concerned look. "Is everything alright, sugar?"
Danny merely stares at her as a police officer comes towards them.
"You there." He looked at Danny. "We want to ask you some questions about what happened."
"I arrived, saw the buffoon, and showed him he was inferior to me." Danny replied to the office in a cold tone.
The officer continued despite his nerves. "Well, we want to ask you for some more details, so if you could just come with us..."
"No." Danny stated, catching the X-Men off guard with his brisque tone. "I've done enough of your job already; I don't need to help you even further. You're a detective; you figure it out."
The X-Men were giving Danny odd looks as the officer tried to deescalate the tense situation. "Sir, it is required by law that we interrogate every witness at a crime scene."
"Fuck your laws." Danny glared as he appeared in the cop's face. "I owe you nothing." He threw the officer against a car. The rest of the police aimed their weapons at Danny, who sent an ecto-blast at an empty squad car, destroying it.
"Danny, what the hell are you doing?" Scott demanded as he got in Danny's face. "You could've seriously hurt them."
"People are of no use." Danny pushed Scott out of his way. "I can always find more." He looked at Rogue. She was distraught at Danny's attitude.
Looking into Rogue's green eyes, he felt desire. A desire to take this woman and make her his. To taste her body and make her cry out in pleasure.
Rogue was staring at Danny; he had just hurt someone for simply asking him questions. What had gotten into him? Was he sick or something? No, it appeared that something had changed. His demeanor screamed arrogance as he held himself like a king walking among the commoners. All of his usual friendliness, compassion, and loyalty weren't there. It was like someone had sucked out all those qualities, leaving him nothing more than an empty shell.
Danny approached Rogue slowly. The southern belle backed up a bit but didn't stop as Danny got closer. Gripping her chin with his hand, he lifted her head to meet her beautiful eyes. The ghostly X-Man smirked as Rogue was flustered by the closeness between them. He traced a finger down her cheek and then played with her hair.
Rogue's heart was beating fast. Her cheeks were red as a tomato as her body shook with lust. Her knees went weak as she kept eye contact with the attractive phantom. She felt a fire inside her that desired touch. Something that had been denied to her ever since she was thirteen. Now all those years of built-up tension were coming up, demanding to be satisfied.
Sensing her need, Danny brought his lips down on Rogue's luscious ones. Rogue's eyes widened, and she made some muffled noises, which only encouraged Danny further. Rogue then relaxed as she closed her eyes. She moaned as she reciprocated, smooching her man. God, it's been so long.
The X-Men's jaws dropped at what they were seeing, but Danny and Rogue didn't pay them any mind as they continued to make out.
Rogue's toes curled as all of her nerves twitched in excitement. If her socks could, they would pop off right now at the mind-blowing kiss. She placed one hand in Danny's hair and the other on the back of his head to bring him even closer. His lips were so soft, and he tasted amazing. His tongue poked her, begging for entrance, which she granted. Their tongues wrestled with each other as they explored their mouths.
'I could get used to this.' Rogue thought to herself. Danny was a really good kisser and really knew what to do to drive a girl wild. Years of loneliness and repression were finally being answered for. She wasn't a fan of Danny's new attitude right now, but his style of romance. That was something Rogue could appreciate.
After what seemed like forever, they pulled apart, leaving a trail of saliva that connected them. Rogue gave him a look of amazement and suddenly yelped as Danny smacked her bottom.
"See you later, sweet cheeks. We'll have to do this again some time." Danny flew into the bank, grabbed the money Juggernaut was planning to steal, and flew off amid the protests of the police.
"What just happened?" Jubilee broke the silence among the X-Men. She looked at Rogue, who was dazed with a loving look in her eyes. Jubilee snapped her fingers in front of Rogue.
Rogue got out of her trance. "Hell of a kiss, but something is wrong with him."
"You're telling me." Jubilee said. "He was so intimidating; I've never seen him like this before. It was like someone else was there wearing Danny's body."
"Come on, we've got to track him down." Scott turned to Jean. "Jean, can you erase the officer's memories of Danny? I have a feeling that something else is going on, and I don't want Danny to deal with it when we get him back to normal."
"On it." Jean entered the minds of each officer, erasing any memory they had of the spirit.
"Now let's find him and stop him before he hurts anyone else or himself, for that matter." Cyclops said as they all scrambled after Danny.
Heading into downtown, they found that Danny was firing ecto-blasts without a care in the world or for anyone's safety. People were running in fear from Danny as he laughed at them.
"Run! Run, you little parasites!" Danny chanted. His fun was cut off when he was hit in the back by Scott's optic blast.
"Stand down, Danny." Cyclops insisted. "We just want to help you."
"The only person who needs help is you," Danny retorted, "with getting that stick out of your ass."
They were all taken aback by what Danny said.
"Danny, please." Jubilee pleaded. "We just want to find out what's going on with you."
"What's going on with me?" Danny repeated. "What's going on is that I'm embracing what I was always meant to be. A god, standing above the pathetic little worms that dare crawl in his presence."
"Sugar, listen to us." Rogue begged. "You got to stop before you do something you'll regret."
"The only thing I regret is wasting my life protecting these people." Danny remarked. "And for what? Just so they could screech ridicule and threats at me just for being different? Even though they should be down on their knees thanking me for the privilege of being saved. I'm done. It's time that I take what I want, when I want. And to hell with anyone who gets in my way."
"This is your last warning, Danny." Scott warned him. "Otherwise we'll have no choice but to attack."
"Bring it on." Danny challenged. "You can't touch me."
"X-Men." Scott addressed the team. "Bring him down."
Danny smirked at the X-Men as they charged him. He did nothing to stop them besides turning intangible. All their attacks went right through him. Nothing could touch him. Not Rogue. Not Wolverine's claws. Neither could Storm's lightning or Jubilee's fireworks. Jean even couldn't get into his mind.
Eventually, Danny got bored and moved his hand like he was swatting a fly, sending the X-Men back.
"Just like I said, you can't touch me." Danny mocked. "I'll let you live this time, but come at me again, and I won't show you the same courtesy." He flew off to continue his rampage of destruction.
"What do we do now?" Wolverine asked.
"I don't know, but we have to figure out what happened to him." Scott touched his communicator. "Beast, are you there?"
"Is everything alright?" Beast replied.
"No, something is wrong with Danny." Scott said. "Did anything seem off about him when he woke up?"
"I beg your pardon, Cyclops, but Danny is still in the infirmary."
"WHAT!" Everyone yelled. How was that possible? Maybe it was another duplicate.
"He's still there?" Cyclops confirmed slowly.
"Yes, and he's doing fine. His pulse is normal."
"Pulse?" Rogue was dubious. "Danny doesn't have a pulse."
"He doesn't?" All the other X-Men who didn't know this information were bewildered.
"He told me that his heart stopped beating when he first got his powers." Rogue explained. "I don't know why it's doing it now."
"Maybe he doesn't have his powers anymore." Storm suggested. "Perhaps that's why his heart is now beating."
Wolverine wasn't convinced in the slightest. "If he doesn't have any powers, then what the hell was that?" He pointed to the property damage that Danny caused. "Cause I'm pretty sure that was Casper."
"It was scary seeing him that angry." Gambit confessed. "Remy never thought he would see that side of him."
"Side of him." Jubilee muttered. It then clicked for her. Beating heart. Aggressive Danny that was out of control and out of character.
"I know what's happening!" Jubilee cried. The others gave her their undivided attention. "Danny once told me this time when he was younger how hard it was to balance his normal life and superhero life. Back then, he hadn't mastered his copying ability."
"And?" Wolverine was wondering when Jubilee would get to the point.
"And he used one of his parents inventions to split himself in half. Separating his human self and ghost self. The only thing was that it also split his personality in half, so both the human and ghost only held half of Danny's emotions and feelings. He told me that the human half was lazy and more interested in having fun, while the ghost half was obsessed with making sure his town was safe."
"If that's the case, then why is the ghost half acting like a maniac?" Wolverine questioned.
Jubilee shrugged. "That I don't know."
Gambit had a possible explanation. "Maybe whenever he splits in half, whatever gets separated is random. It's like shuffling a deck of cards. You always get something different every time."
"That means the ghost half is all of his negative emotions." Jean pieced together. "While the human half probably has the positive emotions."
"So how do we fix this?" Cyclops asked Jubilee.
"We have to get the two halves to merge back together." Jubilee expounded.
"Easier said than done, kid." Wolverine snarked. "We can't even touch him."
"If only we had something to use to capture him." Scott threw out.
Jubilee had an idea. "Maybe there is."
The Blackbird touched down outside of Amity Park as the X-Men came out to look at the peaceful community.
"So this is where he grew up?" Rogue looked around. "Seems pretty peaceful."
Gambit agreed. "Yeah, hard to believe this place is supposed to be haunted."
They saw the sign that read, Amity Park: A Nice Place to Live.
"I doubt that." Wolverine commented.
They made their way into the town as they tried to find Danny's old home.
"Do you know where it is?" Scott asked Jubilee.
She shook her head. "No, but he said that his place stood out easily among the rest of the homes."
"I'm kinda curious to see where old spooky lived." Rogue admitted.
Scott turned to Storm. "Storm fly overhead and see if you can find it."
Storm nodded and flew off. A couple minutes later, she reappeared. "I know where it is; follow me."
They stood outside an apartment complex. It was interesting, to say the least. There was a neon sign that was no longer in use that read out Fenton Works. On top of the building was a large observatory area that sported several satellite dishes and antennas. It was also abandoned, with one of the letters of the neon sign barely hanging on. The paint was faded, and most of the windows were boarded up.
The X-Men gave each other looks at the abnormal appearance of the home.
"This is." Rogue didn't know what to say. "Original, to say the least."
Wolverine wasn't as optimistic. "I guess bub grew up with a family of weirdos."
"I'm amazed that they had this much equipment." Storm said.
"Hopefully there's still something left we can use to capture Phantom." Scott. "Now how do we get in?"
Gambit came up to the front. "Leave this to Gambit. Remy can open any lock that comes in his path."
He managed to unlock the door and open it, producing a nice, long creaking sound. They all stepped inside. It was dusty and dark.
"Looks like a regular home." Rogue observed. She walked through the living room and saw some family portraits. "Here's his family." She said to the others.
They all saw several photos. One of them was a wedding photo of a couple.
Gambit was confused by what the bride was wearing. "Why'd she wear a mask to her wedding?"
Wolverine pointed to another photo of the whole family showing Danny's mother and father wearing jumpsuits. "Looks like they have something for jumpsuits."
"Oh, look at this one." Rogue showed a photo of a younger Danny with his mother. "He's so cute."
"We should split up and search the house." Scott proposed.
Everyone agreed with that plan as they started searching.
Rogue was upstairs and saw a door with a sign that said, Danny's Room Keep Out. She went in and looked around. It looked like any other teenage boy's room. There were posters of some bands. Comic books littered the floor, along with CDs and video games. Rogue picked one up and saw that it was for Dumpty Humpty. Continuing to look around, she was amused to see that hanging from the ceilings on some strings were models of space shuttles.
Rogue chuckled. "He wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to be an astronaut." She even saw blueprints for one space shuttle along with a Junior Astronaut Certificate of Completion.
Going to the dresser, she found a photo. Examining it, she saw that it was a teenaged Danny with his arms around two other teens. One was a black, nerdy-looking kid who sported glasses and a red beret. The other was a black-haired girl dressed in gothic clothing. They were all smiling for the camera.
Rogue smiled sadly. It was such a shame that his friends had died when they were young and had such bright futures ahead of themselves. She put the photo back and began looking through the drawers, where she found a journal. She debated with herself about whether she should read it. It wasn't like Danny was still using it. Finally, she decided to open it and read the last page.
They're all dead. Sam, Tucker, Mom, Dad, Jazz, and even Mr. Lancer. They died, and it's all my fault.
Despite being at least a decade old, Rogue could still feel Danny's sorrow as he wrote this.
I wasn't strong enough. I should've never even considered cheating on the CAT.
C.A.T. What was that? Sounded like some kind of test.
I got nowhere else to go. I'm being placed in a foster care program. It's for the best. Even though Vlad and I have put our differences behind us. I can't live with him and risk becoming him.
Him? What was he referring to? Rogue would've kept reading when she heard Wolverine scream from downstairs. Tossing the journal aside, she raced downstairs, where she and the others found Wolverine in the kitchen.
He was on the ground, wrestling with what appeared to be some kind of sausage. That's what they looked like to her, except they had mouths and glowing green eyes.
Wolverine managed to get out of their grip and slice them all to shreds.
"What were those?" Rogue couldn't help but ask.
"I believe those were hot dogs." Storm said dryly.
"I'm never letting bub cook if this is what happens." Wolverine promised.
"Gambit, I found a door that's locked." Scott drawled from behind them. Gambit unlocked the door, revealing stairs that led to the basement. Down there were tables that had gizmos and all kinds of devices. The main thing that stood out was the fully functional ghost portal.
"Incredible." Jubilee whispered.
"Let's see what we can find." Scott picked up a thermos. "What's this?"
"Oh, that's a Fenton Thermos." Jubilee claimed. "Danny used to use them to catch the ghosts when he defeated them."
"Well, we found a way to contain him, but what about weakening him?" Wolverine looked around and saw several guns and other blasters. "Jackpot."
Rogue picked up a strange-looking belt. "What's this belt for?"
"That's the Spectre Deflector." Jubilee said. "When you wear it, ghosts can't phase through you, and if you touch them, you give them a nasty shock."
Storm picked up a device that looked like a type of radar. "This looks to be some kind of tracker for ghosts."
"Looks like we have everything we need." Scott declared. "I have a plan; it'll take all of us working together." Scott gave Wolverine a look. "For a change. But it just might work."
Beast was reading when he heard a groan beside him. He smiled as Danny woke up. "Glad to have you back."
"Where is everyone?" Danny asked.
"I'll go check." He went to a monitor. "According to the homing device on the Blackbird, they're near the city's junkyard."
"That's where I'll be going." Danny got up as Beast tried to stop him.
"Danny, you need rest; the others will take care of it."
Danny shook his head. "I have to stop him before he goes too far." He left the infirmary and went to the garage, where his motorcycle was. Revving it up, he sped off to find his other half.
Phantom was currently chasing away some workers when he heard a familiar voice.
"Oh, spooky, where are you?"
Phantom turned to his right. Rogue was standing in the middle, looking around for him. He was a bit suspicious. What was she doing here alone? He advanced toward her.
"What are you doing here?" Phantom interrogated her. "And where are the others?"
Rogue just crossed her arms, which emphasized how big her breasts were. "They're back at the institute. I'm here because I'm getting lonely." She winked at him. "And I thought I could use some company." She licked her lips. "If you know what I mean."
Despite his reservations, he couldn't help but get aroused. He gave a sexy grin to Rogue. "Well, I think I can help."
Spread throughout the junkyard, the other X-Men peered through their hiding spots. Each of them was equipped with an ecto-blaster, except for Jubilee. She instead had a Fenton Thermos.
The plan was for Rogue, who was wearing the Spectre Deflector, to touch Phantom, giving him a shock that would leave him open for the X-Men to bombard him with their weapons. After being weakened enough, Jubilee would catch him in the Fenton Thermos, and they would bring him back to merge with Fenton.
Phantom was about to give another kiss to Rogue when he saw a bit of the Spectre Deflector peek out from under her regular belt. Peaking through the corner of his eye, he could see Jubilee with the Fenton Thermos.
Growling at this deception, Phantom blasted Rogue before throwing another ecto-blast at the thermos, destroying it. The X-Men knew the jig was up as they all came out to try and attack Phantom.
"After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me?" Phantom dodged all their shots and fired back, destroying their weapons. "I thought you, of all people, would know what it's like to be feared for your powers, but I see it now. You're just like the rest of them."
He charged up a big blast and sent it at his former friends, forcing them to scatter. He heard Rogue flying towards him and got out of the way. He picked up a wrecked car, flew above her, and tackled her with it, preventing himself from being electrocuted by the Spectre Deflector.
Rogue cried out in pain as the car pinned her bottom half to the ground. Phantom was standing on top of it, his hand in front of her face, preparing to fire another ecto-blast. "I warned you that I wouldn't show mercy; now you only have yourself to blame for not listening."
"Let her go!" Phantom turned around to see Fenton glaring at him.
"You!" Phantom said in disgust. "What are you doing here?"
"It's time to merge." Fenton replied as Phantom snorted.
"In your dreams, why would I ever want to merge with a weakling like you?" Phantom asked rhetorically. "On my own, I have power, fear, and respect. The world is all mine for the taking. I don't have to hold back or worry about the consequences." He boasted. "I am free from you." He glared hatefully at Fenton. "You, who's done nothing but hold me back from my true potential."
"Potential?" Fenton asked. "You caused nothing but destruction, and you were about to hurt Rogue. It's time to come back."
"Never!" Phantom vowed. He charged at Fenton, punching him and sending him across the junkyard.
Fenton got up. "I can give as good as I can get."
"Come on then!" Phantom taunted. "Come at me!"
Phantom sent several ecto-blasts at Fenton, who dodged them with his aerobics. He was successfully avoiding them until one nicked him in the shoulder.
"What's the matter, Fenton?" Phantom mocked. "Too painful for you, huh? Huh? Huh!" The specter created a staff with his cryokinesis and started to bash his counterpart with it. "You've been getting on my nerves for a long time!"
He raised his weapon above his head for another swing, when Fenton sent a kick at the ghost's leg, knocking him to the ground. Taking advantage of this, Fenton jumped onto Phantom and began pummeling him with his fists.
He got in several good hits before he was kicked off by Phantom. Phantom then grabbed his hated half and lifted him above his head.
"You always wanted to fly, Fenton. Now's your chance." He threw Fenton into a pile of crushed car parts.
Phantom flew down and snatched him by the front of his shirt as he stared into his eyes.
"You think you're so special, Fenton? But I'm the one with all the powers, strength, and endurance. You're just some loser. You're worthless. Without me, you're nothing. I don't need you, but you need me. Without me, your precious little Rogue can't even kiss you." Phantom made kissing noises to further taunt the human. "Before I came into your life, you were a nobody. Now I'm leaving you behind, so get used to living a life of mediocrity. After all, why would someone choose you over me?"
"For one thing, he knows how to treat a lady." Rogue grabbed Phantom from behind as he screamed in pain from the effects of the Spectre Deflector.
She tossed Phantom to her friends, who attacked him. Phantom was assaulted by optic blasts, fireworks, lighting, and exploding cards.
He got up and glared at them all. "This isn't over. I'll make you all pay."
Fenton grabbed onto Phantom.
Phantom struggled as he felt himself start to merge back. "No, I won't go back! You can't do this to me!"
Fenton grinned. "You say I'm nothing without you? I disagree. Without me, you have no purpose. Without me, you have nothing greater to work towards. Without me, you're nothing but a sad, lost creature struggling to find acceptance in a world that doesn't understand you. I was here before you and will always be here. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even exist. Everything you are, you owe to me." He gave Phantom a smirk and whispered into his ear. "Also, without me, Rogue wouldn't kiss you, even if you're immune to your powers. After all, you have a terrible personality."
Phantom screamed in rage as he went back into Fenton.
Now back to being one person, Danny fell to the ground in exhaustion.
Danny woke up in the infirmary. Not wanting to be here much longer, he got up and went to leave when he saw Rogue about to enter.
"You're awake." Rogue smiled. "Good to have you back in one piece."
"Yeah, it was crazy. I feel shitty for all the things that my ghost half has done." Danny confessed, remembering all the destruction he had caused. Thank God no one was hurt too badly.
"Good thing Jean was able to wipe the people's memories of what he did." Rogue comforted him. "No need for people to blame you for something that was out of your control."
"No kidding." Danny replied, thinking back to the time he was forced to rob banks by Freakshow. He could've used Jean's help for that back then.
"I'm really glad you're alright." Rogue told him. "Because to me, you're not just Fenton or Phantom. To me, you're just Danny."
Danny blushed. "Thanks Rogue. I really appreciate that."
Rogue thought back to her kiss with Phantom. Although Phantom was cruel and immoral, he was a good kisser. Now that the two were one, she had both the likable personality and the good kissing skills. A good win in her book.
She was about to lean in for another kiss when her hand made contact with Danny's, shocking him.
Danny yelled in pain, making Rogue look at her hands.
"How's that possible? You're immune to my powers, and I'm wearing gloves."
Danny looked down at her belt. "You're still wearing the Spectre Deflector."
"Ah." Rogue said in realization as she turned it and removed it. "Sorry about that, sugar."
"I hate these things with a passion." Danny grabbed it as he flashed back to dealing with the sadistic belt when he was in the Rocky Mountains with his mother. "I'm going to go modify it so that it will ignore my ectoplasmic signature. See you later, Rogue."
Danny took off, leaving Rogue, who was feeling disappointed that her kiss with Danny was interrupted yet again.
"Damn." She muttered.