Cyclops was wandering around a foggy underground area as he pursued his enemy.
"Cyclops." Wolverine's voice said from afar.
Cyclops turned around a corner, only for Wolverine to drop down behind him from one of the pillars as he whipped his claws out.
"You're mine." Wolverine snarled.
"You want to be?" Cyclops fired his optic blast, but Wolverine jumped out of the way. Wolverine, who was wearing a tuxedo for some reason, kept on dodging Cyclops's attacks before one eventually got him.
"You can't have her!" Wolverine charged at Cyclops, who fired again, forcing Wolverine to move out of the way.
Wolverine roared in frustration as he used his adamantium claws to destabilize a pillar, making it fall on Cyclops.
Cyclops got up, but was taken by surprise as Wolverine stabbed him in the chest. This caused Cyclops to transform, revealing that he wasn't Cyclops but a holographic robot. The robot, now in its true form, kept firing at Wolverine, who sliced its head off.
"I'm beginning to feel much better now." Wolverine said in a satisfied voice. Ever since he heard the news of Scott and Jean getting married, he hauled himself up in the Danger Room to work out his frustrations.
Another Cyclops robot showed up and blasted Wolverine. It then began to grow in size as it resembled a Sentinel. Wolverine charged forward, avoiding its attacks as he jumped onto it and decapitated it.
Wolverine wasn't finished as he approached the disembodied head. It wasn't finished because it blasted him into a wall.
"Jean." Wolverine groaned in pain.
Danny smiled as he watched his friends Scott and Jean pledge their vows to each other. It had been a year since the incident with Technus, Kelly, and the Sentinels. Things had been going smoothly for the X-Men. And now Scott and Jean were getting married. Danny stood along with Gambit and Beast as the best men for Scott. As he was waiting for the priest to finish up, he looked across the room to see Jean's bridesmaids. One of them was Rogue, who noticed him staring. She gave a saucy wink at him, which made him blush.
The two had been going strong as they kept going on dates. Sometimes it was fancy restaurants; other times it was going to the movies, although there was that one time Rogue took him to the planetarium. Danny would also get flowers and chocolate as gifts for his girlfriend. And Rogue loved and appreciated all of his actions.
She would show her love for Danny by cooking him all kinds of southern dishes she picked up back in Mississippi. One time, she bought him a telescope for stargazing. Danny could remember the screams of joy and excitement as he examined his new gift while Rogue smiled at him. He thanked her for the gift by taking her horseback riding.
"Do you, Scott Summers, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The Reverend asked.
"I do." Scott said with all the love in his heart for the woman in front of him.
"Do you, Jean Grey, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
Jean smiled brightly. "I do."
After the ceremony was over, the guests were mingling with each other.
Rogue had walked up to Danny as she admired his tuxedo. "You look irresistible; you know that, spooky?"
Danny couldn't help but admit that Rogue's purple dress drove him wild. "And you look beautiful in that dress of yours."
"Careful, sugar." Rogue waved her finger playfully. "We're in a church now."
They laughed as they moved on from flirting to talking.
"So, you ever been to a wedding before?" Rogue asked him.
"Once." Danny said as he remembered the event. "It was before I got my powers. It was for my Aunt Alicia and her husband."
"How are they doing now?" Rogue inquired, making Danny chuckle as he answered.
"Well, she makes it a habit now to celebrate the anniversary of her divorce."
Rogue giggled. "Oh wow, really?"
Danny nodded. "I remember the last time I saw her, she had tears in her eyes because my mother remembered the anniversary. We had a celebration and everything. Even her ex-husband came."
"That must've been awkward." Rogue noted.
"Well, he was a good sport about being thrown into the dunk tank." Danny joked as Rogue full-blown laughed.
Danny looked around and noticed the missing Wolverine. "Weird that Wolverine hasn't shown up yet."
"I can't really imagine him all dressed up." Rogue commented.
"And Morph isn't here either." Danny said. "Where is he? We haven't seen him for a year."
Rogue shrugged. "Last time I asked Cyclops, he said that Morph was dealing with a family emergency."
Danny raised an eyebrow. "Must be something if it lasts for a whole year." He would have to ask Scott about it later. Not right now, as he didn't want to ruin the happy mood.
Meanwhile, Scott was being congratulated by the Reverend.
"Congratulations, Scott, and good luck."
"Aren't you coming to the reception, Reverend?" Scott asked him.
"If only I could." He said regretfully. "But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep." He shook Scott's hand. "Pleasant dreams."
When the Reverend left, Jean embraced her new husband. "I wish everyone could be as happy as I am." The two kissed.
The Reverend left the church as he muttered to himself. "Promises to keep." He then changed his form, showing that it was Morph, except his face had taken on a hint of yellow with sunken eyes. "Promises to keep, my friend." Morph laughed to himself.
A man was slipping on some strange costume as he watched Kelly be sworn in as president on TV.
"I, Robert Jefferson Kelly, do solemnly swear that I will defend the Constitution of the United States of America and that I will faithfully execute the duties of the Office of the President."
The man then finished getting his costume on, making him look like a feral beast.
Back at the Institute, Jean was about to throw the bouquet.
"Are you ready?" Jean asked.
Jubilee pushed past Rogue. "No fair flying, Rogue."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Gal, you're too young to be catching bouquets anyway."
"Isn't marriage a little too early for you and Danny?" Jubilee retorted.
"Hey, when you find a man that you like, it's better to tie him down before he gets away from you." Rogue joked.
"Here it comes!" Jean threw the bouquet, which landed on a present that Beast was carrying in his hands.
Scott smiled. "Beast."
"Damn it." Rogue muttered to herself disappointedly.
Jean grinned at Beast. "If you're going to be the next to marry, perhaps we should start calling you Mr. McCoy."
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Beast quoted.
Kelly was giving his thoughts on the mutant issue as reporters filmed him.
"Recent events have convinced me that mutants must not be excluded from our society."
In the audience was a man wearing a button that said Friends of Humanity as he glared at Kelly angrily.
He then whispered into his secret communicator. "Now!"
"We must act affirmatively to bring mutants into the mainstream..." Kelly's speech was interrupted when the man in the feral costume burst into the building as people began to flee.
"Stop this!" Kelly protested. "I'm trying to help!"
The man who ordered this attack shouted an accusation at Kelly. "You were elected to protect us from mutants! Mutant lovers!"
Security tried to apprehend the fake mutant as they tackled him, but they were thrown off like ragdolls. The fake mutant grabbed a chair and threw it through the windows as it jumped through to escape.
The mastermind then whispered again to his secret communicator. "This is Creed. Stage one successful. Begin stage two."
The Danger Room powered off, leaving an exhausted Wolverine on the ground. "I must've hit my head or something. These holograms are starting to smell good."
"Wolverine?" Came Jean's voice.
"Jean." Wolverine gazed at her in her wedding gown.
"We missed you at the wedding." Jean informed him.
"I..." Wolverine tried to think of an excuse. "I must've lost track of time. I'm sorry I couldn't be there."
The two stared at each other in uncomfortable silence before Jean turned to leave.
Wolverine tried to talk about his feelings. "Jean, I still..."
"I have to go." Jean interrupted. "Scott and I..." She didn't know how to say they were going on their honeymoon without upsetting Wolverine. "We have to catch a plane." She left the room, leaving Wolverine alone with his thoughts.
In a motel room, Morph was struggling with his internal thoughts. "No! He's my friend." He argued with himself. "They were all my friends. I don't want to hurt them."
"You can, and you will." A voice said in his head. "You'll destroy them all."
Morph kept on fighting until eventually his will couldn't stand against the darker presence that lay in his mind.
"I'll destroy them all." Morph proclaimed as his skin went back to yellow. "All the X-Men!" He started shifting to the X-Men that he named. "Cyclops. Storm. Wolverine!" He changed back as the pain in his head returned. "What's making me do this? Why?"
It was nighttime as more members of the Friends of Humanity started to surround a defenseless mutant.
"Come on, let's get the mutant!"
"Yeah, get that lousy mutant!"
"We'll show him!"
"Please, don't hurt me!" The mutant begged. He had hair all around him, making him look like a mini-sasquatch. "I'm just an ordinary mutant! I don't have any special powers. I just look different."
His attackers didn't care, as they kept on chanting their hatred for anything different.
"No more mutants!"
"No more mutants!"
"No more mutants!"
"No more mutants!"
Creed was watching the attack from afar through a set of binoculars with glee. "No more mutants." He said to himself.
Several places that were advertising their acceptance of mutants, like stores and churches, were now being destroyed by the Friends of Humanity.
Several mutants caught by the Friends of Humanity were being chased down by their angry mob of intolerance.
The X-Men were watching a news report talking about these recent attacks.
"Let me emphasize that we do not know who or what has triggered this outbreak of anti-mutant violence." The reporter said. "The demonstrators claim to be defending themselves against mutant attacks."
Jubilee was confused. "I don't understand, professor. Why has it gotten worse?"
"When we saved President Kelly's life last year, he learned that not all mutants were evil." Xavier explained. "Now his followers feel betrayed. So often in our history, unhappy, misguided people have created scapegoats, blaming those that are different for the problems in their own lives."
"It is an evil in men's hearts that must be fought." Storm added. "If we stand up to troublemakers, they will give up their cruel designs. If we fail, their intolerance will grow, and many could perish."
Xavier's chair beeped, signaling that he had a call.
"The private video line." Xavier said. He turned to his students. "Please excuse me."
Xavier went to his office, where he found a video of Magneto on his computer. "Terrible violence."
"What?" Xavier leaned closer to see where Magneto was, but he couldn't find a clue to his location. There was only fire behind him.
"Xavier!" Magneto implored. "Please, hurry!"
"Magneto! What is happening?" Xavier demanded.
"Meet me at these coordinates." Magneto told him. "Hurry!"
Xavier looked at the coordinates Magneto sent him. "That's in Antarctica!"
"Please! Hurry! I cannot last." Magneto fell out of view of the camera as the call ended.
"Magneto!" Xavier cried in worry for his old friend.
On the other end of the call. Magneto turned his monitor off. "Bon voyage." He then shifted into Morph and laughed at his trick.
Wolverine aimed his cue stick as he hit the ball. He was hanging out in a bar with Gambit and Beast.
"Look like you scratch again, Wolverine." Gambit observed.
Beast was pleased that his friends were getting their minds off the recent events, but he felt like it was getting late. "This regrettable civic upheaval has distracted you, my friend. Perhaps we should call it a night."
"I'm fine." Wolverine replied. "Play pool, Cajun."
One of the servers at the bar pointed at Beast. "Hey! I saw you guys on TV! The president was talking about you saving him!"
"Yes, very true." Beast answered timidly, hoping this didn't result in more persecution.
"You know the president?" She asked him with the fervor of a fangirl.
"Famous Beast will now have many admirers, no?" Gambit said to Wolverine. "Do not break their hearts, mon ami!" He said to Beast.
Beast was stuttering, not knowing how to answer the lady's question. "I hardly think..."
"I bet you know the president!" She said.
"They're like brothers, petite!" Gambit told her.
"Yeah." Wolverine deadpanned. "I noticed a resemblance."
The peaceful air was ruined when the door to the bar was blown open.
"What?" Wolverine shouted.
"Mutant lover!"
Outside, the Friends of Humanity were forming a mob.
"Send out the muties, or we'll burn them out!" One of them cried.
"No more mutants!"
"No more mutants!"
A member of the hate group opened fire into the bar, almost hitting a customer if Wolverine hadn't pulled him out of the way.
Beast and Gambit ducked for cover when Beast noticed one of the pool balls on the ground. He tossed it to Gambit, who charged it and threw it at the racists.
"Look out!" They scrambled out of the ball's path.
One of them kept firing randomly, only for it to be grabbed by Beast, who was hanging on a lamppost. "Hey!"
"Perhaps you are unaware that this is a dangerous weapon." Beast said to him like he was an ignorant child.
The man fired away as Creed pointed Beast out. Next to Creed was another Friends of Humanity member holding a camera that was filming Beast.
"Now! Over there!" Creed cried. "The mutant has a gun!"
Beast started to leave the area.
"Stay on him!" Creed ordered the cameraman.
Gambit was using the cue stick as a makeshift staff as he battled the bigots coming toward him.
"I hear you don't like mutants." Wolverine jumped in the path of an armed member. "Well, we don't much like you." He sliced the gun up, making the man flee.
Gambit swung a chain and charged it. He let it go as it flew towards three more members, who ran in fear.
"Let's get out of here!" One got into his car with three others, but Beast grabbed the rear, preventing it from moving.
Wolverine got on top of the car. "Let's take these sardines out of the can!" He began to rip off the top of the car, terrifying the people inside.
"A colorful metaphor, Wolverine." Beast said as he was being filmed. "I'm blue-green with envy."
The men fled from the car, while Gambit swung his staff to knock out torches from more members who also retreated.
"Don't y'all leave now!" Gambit said in mock disappointment. "The fun just starting!"
"Might we not profit from their example and depart?" Beast suggested. "A crime scene is no place for us."
Wolverine snorted. "Yeah, I bet I got some unpaid parking tickets."
"Stay on him!" Creed urged the cameraman.
"Come on, gumbo!" Wolverine ordered as the trio headed home.
The X-Men were watching a message from Xavier in the War Room.
"I apologize for my abrupt departure." Xavier said. "I have been called away on a personal matter of the greatest importance. Until Cyclops returns from his honeymoon, Danny will be in charge."
"Hmm. Personal, huh?" Rogue remarked. "The Professor's getting mighty mysterious these days."
"Well, he said personal." Danny pointed out. "It really is none of our business."
"Hey!" Jubilee ran in. "Check the news!" She turned on one of the monitors, showing a news reporter.
"And the president has no comment tonight about the presence of mutant Henry McCoy at a near-riot." She announced as the footage showed Beast hanging from a lamppost wielding a gun. It then showed Beast lifting the rear of the car that belonged to one of his attackers, making Beast appear as the aggressor. "McCoy is seen here wielding an energy weapon and attacking an occupied vehicle."
It reminded Danny of the time that Walker framed him for attacking the mayor.
"We've been set up!" Wolverine raged as he stormed out of the room.
"Wolverine!" Danny couldn't let the man's rage complicate the situation even further. "I know that we've been set up, but getting pissed off is only going to make it worse. The last thing we need is to add to the climate of violence."
"Climates are Storm's department. Unmasking is mine." Wolverine said as he left the room.
"How does Cyclops put up with that guy?" Danny asked everyone.
Hidden in a bush, Morph watched as Wolverine left the institute in his jeep. "Even Wolverine's jeep sounds angry."
"Let's see if I can upset everybody else." Morph said as he rubbed his hands together like a supervillain. "Making copies." He changed his form to that of Wolverine as he entered the institute.
Rogue was walking the halls with a cup of coffee in one hand and her boyfriend's hand in the other. The two lovebirds ran into Wolverine.
Rogue yawned, which Danny thought sounded adorable. "What are you doing back?"
"I forgot something." Morph said.
"Well, don't slam the door on your way out." Rogue said. "I haven't had a break since this mess started. I'm going to grab forty winks in the rec room."
"You getting some rest too?" Morph asked Danny.
Danny shook his head in amusement. "No, Rogue wants me to cuddle with her while she sleeps."
"A gal likes to cuddle with her men while she naps." Rogue stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Don't worry, you two." Morph said to the couple. "I'll be quiet as a corpse."
When they were gone, Morph turned into Rogue.
"Pick a card, petite." Gambit held his cards out to Jubilee. "I show you a trick."
Jubilee ignored him as she was watching the news while eating popcorn. "Get real, Gambit. Things are getting crazy tonight, and you're playing games. Anyway, card tricks are for kids."
"You are a kid, hon." Rogue said. "Now run along and play while I talk to Gambit."
"I happen to be watching the news." Jubilee argued.
"Do what I said, Jubilee." Rogue demanded in a no-nonsense tone.
"Run along and play." Jubilee mocked Rogue as she left the room. "Ooh! I hate them!" In her irritation, she accidentally let out a firework, which blew a hole in the door. "Oops!" She walked off, not wanting to get into trouble.
"You got something to say to me, chere?" Gambit asked. He was confused by the look Rogue was giving him. It was a look of lust and want.
Rogue smirked at him. "What if I'd been lying about not being able to touch another human being? What if I could, if I wanted to?" She took off a glove.
"What's this supposed to mean to me?" Gambit asked. Was Rogue trying to come onto him? What about Danny? Didn't she care about him anymore?
Rogue placed a hand on Gambit's hand as he backed up. Gambit was many things, but he wasn't going to make a move on his friend's girlfriend.
"Come up to the rec room in five minutes, and I'll show you." Rogue told him as she left the room.
When the door closed, Morph shifted into Danny's human form. He couldn't do the ghost form, as he was unable to simulate his ghostly aura. It was time to mess with Jubilee.
Jubilee was roaming through the fridge. "If they're going to treat me like a kid, they could at least keep some junk food in the house."
Danny walked into the kitchen. "Jubilee, we have information that a violent anti-mutant attack is expected at the mutant halfway house."
"What can I do?" Jubilee asked.
"Go and report back what you find." He handed her a piece of paper. "Here's the address. I know I can count on you."
"Thanks, Danny!" Jubilee replied gratefully. "I'm glad someone around here thinks I'm not just a little kid."
Gambit was wandering the underground area of the institute when he came across Storm. "Where's Danny?" He asked her.
"He's in the rec room with Rogue." Storm answered.
Gambit had a look of disgust on his face. "She want Gambit to cheat in the same place as her boyfriend?" The Cajun mutant shook his head. "That just cold."
He ran off, with Storm chasing him. "Gambit! What are you talking about?"
Rogue was sleeping in Danny's arms as they laid on one of the couches. Danny was awake as he looked at his peaceful girlfriend. Even when sleeping, she still looked gorgeous.
'I'm sure my younger self is hollering in victory that I'm cuddling with a girl like her.' He thought.
Rogue was having a very interesting dream.
She was cleaning some glasses as a bartender in a bar set somewhere in the old west when the doors slammed open and a man stepped through.
All the patrons' eyes were on him. It was Danny, dressed up like a typical rugged cowboy. He wore a button-up shirt that showed a bit of his chiseled chest. Rogue just wanted to go up and rub her hand down that perfectly sculpted body.
She licked her lips as she pushed another bartender out of her way to cater to this good-looking stranger.
"What can I get for you, handsome?" She asked as she stuck out her cleavage in front of the man.
Before Danny could speak, another patron burst in with a gun in his hand.
"This is a stick-up! Hand me all the money!" He advanced further into the bar as he grabbed Rogue and held the gun a couple of inches from her face. "Tell me where the money is, miss, or your pretty head won't be looking so pretty anymore."
Sadly for the scoundrel, Danny had snuck up behind him and grabbed the gun out of his hand. He then placed a blow on the robber's head as he let go of Rogue. The heroic man then grabbed his foe's hand and threw him over, making him crash into a table.
The wicked villain whimpered in pain.
"My hero!" Rogue embraced her rescuer. She gave him a seductive look as she rubbed his chest. "How can I ever repay you?"
Danny merely gave a smirk as he scooped up Rogue in his arms, making her yelp in surprise. "I can think of a few things."
He then walked outside to his horse and got on it with Rogue still in his arms.
They rode to his house, where he brought her to his bedroom. The good-looking renegade threw her onto the bed, and Rogue gazed at Danny with lust.
"Take me." Rogue breathed. "Take me here right now."
Danny kissed her as Rogue wrapped her legs around him. Danny then started leaving a trail of kisses down her neck towards her breasts.
"Oh...yes...right there." Rogue gasped.
Danny took off his shirt, getting Rogue excited. She grabbed his belt.
"Let me get that for you, darling." She was about to remove it and...
"I can't believe you would betray Danny, Rogue!" Gambit accused her as he burst into the room, making Rogue wake up.
"What?" Her mind was still reeling from being taken from her fantasy.
Jubilee stood in front of the address she was given. "Spooky place. Well, as long as I can help." She rang the doorbell.
The door opened, and the person who answered was Creed.
"Hi!" Jubilee greeted. "You needed some help protecting mutants?"
"Why, yes!" Creed answered as two members of the Friends of Humanity came up from behind Jubilee. "Won't you come in?"
"There are new reports of anti-mutant unrest as a night of violence continues across America."
Storm was watching the news as Gambit and Rogue argued.
"Gambit, that's impossible; Rogue has been with me the entire time." Danny disproved Gambit's claims that Rogue tried to seduce him.
"Gambit know what he saw, and Gambit saw Rogue about to cheat on Gambit's friend."
"How dare you!" Rogue yelled at him. "I would never cheat on Danny."
"Then who was in the room talking about meeting in the rec room?" Gambit pressed. "You got a twin sister?"
"Wait a minute." Danny realized what was going on. "I think I know what's going on. That wasn't Rogue you saw, but Mystique."
"That bitch!" Rogue ranted at the idea that her mother was trying to sabotage her relationship with Danny.
"But wasn't she apprehended after we prevented her assassination attempt?" Storm brought up.
Danny sighed. "You're right. It couldn't have been her. Still, I better check up on everyone." The ghostly superhero called for Jubilee on the intercom. "Jubilee? Jubilee?" He didn't get a response. "Could Jubilee have left without telling us?"
"Something screwy's going on around here." Rogue said. "Where's Beast?"
"I think he's in the danger room." Danny replied as he communicated with Beast in the Danger Room. "Hey Beast, we're going to go
"You all fly on ahead, and I shall meet you at the site of disturbance."
"Ok, Beast."
After saying goodbye, Beast then turned into Morph as he looked down on the real Beast, who was still practicing in the Danger Room.
"How about a truly beastly workout?" Morph then set the Danger Room's difficulty setting all the way to high.
As Beast was swinging on some cables, a turret gun fired on him. He attempted to use his acrobatics to avoid them, but he fell to the ground and nearly avoided being cut in half by a buzzsaw.
"This seems a bit excessive." Beast said as he made his way to the door, but it was locked. Oh dear."
The Friends of Humanity were marching towards the Mutant Counseling Center as one pulled the pin off a grenade.
"Come on, blow up that mutant center!"
The grenade was thrown as the building caught fire.
Storm landed on the building, and one of the members threw a grenade at her, only for it to be caught by Rogue.
"Y'all want to play catch?" She threw it into the air, where it exploded harmlessly.
"Get the mutants!" One ordered before they were all blown away by Storm's gust of wind.
"I summon torrential rains!" The sky darkened as rain fell and put the fire out.
The Friends of Humanity fired on Storm, making Rogue grab a street lamp from the ground and swing it at the hate group.
Danny phased the ground they were standing under, causing their feet to be stuck in the ground. "Now don't go running off."
"Rogue, you go find Jubilee." Danny told her. "We'll take care of it from here."
"You sure you can handle this bunch alone?" Rogue asked.
"Trust me, I've tangled with worse." Danny said.
Rogue flew off in search of their missing member. "I'm out of here."
More Friends of Humanity members showed up as Storm froze the streets. "The arctic cold will cool their ardor!"
Most of them ended up slipping on the icy road.
Morph was watching this all unfold from an alleyway as a police car passed by. "Do something!" The insane shape-shifter spurred. "Destroy them!"
"Hey! Look out!" the cop in the passenger seat warned as the car came to a stop before they ran over one of the ignorant idiots and ended up crashing into a street lamp.
"If you want something done right." Morph turned into the unconscious police driver and approached more officers with guns.
"Fire on that mutant." He ordered. "Full energy."
"But Captain." One of the officers tried to reason with him.
Morph was losing his patience. "I said fire!"
The cops kept on firing at Storm and Danny as they avoided the plasma shots.
This was all being witnessed by a pale man wearing black and red armor with a sadistic smile. "Enjoy your destruction, Morph." He said. "I know I am."