It was a dark and stormy night in New York City. A woman was walking the streets with an umbrella. Her face was obscured by the canopy. She passed by a man who was completely soaked and trying to find something to keep him dry.
The man saw the woman and got in her way; even when she tried to move around him, he wouldn't let her go.
"Give me that umbrella, lady." He demanded.
She lifted the canopy, revealing her face to have changed into that of a horrible insectoid monster. The man backed away in fear as the beast roared at him. He stumbled and tripped while trying to get away from her.
Now that the annoyance was gone, she entered the building where she was told to meet. It was pitch black, with the only light being the occasional flash of lightning. She pulled out her lighter and lit a candle as she reverted to her true form. Mystique.
She turned to the other figure that was in the room. Mr. Sinister.
"You said you had a gift for me?" Mystique told him.
"Yes." Sinister droned in his robotic voice. "One day I will ask for repayment."
"Well?" Mystique prompted, wanting to know why Sinister dragged her out here on this rainy night.
"Dr. Charles Xavier is no longer with the X-Men." Sinister informed her.
"I can't believe it!" Mystique let out a hint of excitement at the news. Not too much, though, as throughout her life she has learned to keep her emotions buried. It had always served her well. Although this didn't stop her from dropping the candle.
Sinister stomped on the waxy candle. "Like sheep without a shepherd, they become lambs to the slaughter. Defeat them, and you can reclaim your daughter."
Sinister then used his telekinesis to open the door, letting Mystique go on her way as she returned to her human disguise.
The mutant scientist laughed as Mystique practically skipped out the door.
A bolt of lightning flashed, and Mr. Sinister was no longer in the room.
The sun shone down on a fair in the city. Everyone was enjoying the fun and peacefulness when a sudden earthquake rocked the area. People ran and screamed to get away, passing by Avalanche, who was the cause of the earthquake, along with Pyro, who was by his side.
"Nice work, Avalanche, old stick." Pyro praised his partner in crime. "Allow me." He created a flaming bird and sent it to rampage across the various stands while the Blob burst through another.
The obese mutant looked down at the ground and smiled like a child. There was ice cream. "Oh, boy! Tutti-frutti!" He chugged it down and let out a burp. "This job ain't half bad!"
Up in the sky was the Blackbird, and the door opened, allowing Danny, Storm, and Rogue to fly out. The Blackbird then landed as the other X-Men rolled out.
The flying X-Men observed the area and saw the three renegades causing trouble.
Danny sighed at having to deal with them again. "Not these idiots again."
Scott's voice then came from Rogue's communicator. "Danny, Storm, Rogue, what do you see?"
"The three stooges." Danny commented.
"A fat boy and a pair of juvenile delinquents." Rogue answered. "Old buddies from Muir Island."
"We're moving in." Cyclops replied.
Pyro noticed the three heroes and nudged Avalanche. "Ah-ha! Here comes those tedious teacher's pets. Our job is done. Let's go."
"But I want a shot at those X-Geeks." Avalanche whined. He fired his seismic waves at the three, but they flew out of the way. "Money ain't everything, you know." He was then blasted by Scott's optic blast.
Pyro booked it. "Suit yourself."
Blob was still devouring the frozen dessert as he saw Storm fly toward him.
"No!" He cried like a child, refusing to share their snacks. "You can't have any!"
He threw the bucket at Storm, knocking her to the ground, while Rogue charged at Blob. Unfortunately, she bounced off his belly and into a stand as ice cream spilled over her.
"And I just washed this uniform!" She complained. A shadow looming over her caught her attention as Rogue saw a woman staring at her. "Why is that gal staring at me?"
The mysterious woman was a blonde and had blank, dead eyes that made contact with Rogue's. The southern belle felt a pain in her head as she screamed.
Danny came up to his distressed girlfriend. "Rogue! What's the matter? Rogue!"
Rogue just kept screaming her head off as images passed through her head. She saw the faces of several people from her life, past and present. Although she couldn't see it, she knew something was coming for her.
"You!" She cried. "No! Get away from me!"
Rogue ended up passing out. Danny carried her in his arms back to the Blackbird.
From a distance, far enough not to trigger Danny's ghost sense, a spirit glared at Danny as he murmured.
"Bullies."
Rogue woke up with a scream in the infirmary as Danny tried to calm her down.
"Rogue, what's wrong?" His emerald eyes glowed with concern and worry. "What do you see?"
Rogue laid back down and started massaging her head. "Guess I had one of them flashes."
"Flashes?" Cyclops said.
"Last few weeks." Rogue explained. "Since the professor disappeared."
"Can you remember what Professor Xavier was working on with you?" Danny asked her, hoping to find the key to solving the problem.
Rogue shook her head. "Not exactly. I know he blocked out a whole bunch of memories."
The door to the infirmary slid open as Jean walked in. "Scott, I ran a computer search on that woman Rogue saw." Jean started to place the information in a device. "She really gets around."
Scott looked at all the photos of the mysterious woman. One was her at an anti-mutant protest. Another was the sight of a burning building being put out by firefighters. There was also one of a car accident.
"It's almost like she wants us to see her." Scott pointed out.
Danny showed the photo to Rogue. "You remember anything about her?"
Rogue was uncertain as she looked at the photos. "Uh... I don't know." There was something about her that felt familiar. Her headache returned as she yelled.
"Rogue!" Danny placed his hands on her shoulders. "What is it?"
"I'm fine." Rogue replied. "I just need some air."
She got out of bed and flew out an open window.
Wolverine was chopping some wood when Rogue flew down near him.
"Can't keep me bottled up forever." A voice whispered to her as Wolverine's image turned to one of the blonde lady.
"Leave me alone!" Rogue roared as she bashed a stump, knocking Wolverine back.
Rogue realized what she had done. Wolverine! I'm sorry!"
"Way to go, Rogie-roo!" The voice mocked.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and pushed it away. "Get away!" She turned around, only to see that it was Danny.
Danny wasn't deterred by Rogue's outburst. "Rogue, I just want to help."
"Why can't she leave me alone?" Rogue bemoaned. "Why does..." She stopped as an idea came to her. "That lady, I keep seeing her popping up. What if she's a ghost?"
Danny shook his head. "It can't be. My ghost sense didn't go off."
Rogue growled in frustration, angered that they couldn't solve this problem by sucking that woman up in one of Danny's thermoses.
She realized she needed a telepath to help her. She flew back into the institute as she called for Jean.
"Jean!" She knocked on her door. It opened as Danny came up behind her.
"Rogue? What do you need?"
Rogue hugged Danny, using him as an anchor of support. "Danny. I need to talk to..."
Her vision of Danny turned into the ghostly woman. "Hey, girlfriend, miss me?"
"Stop haunting me!" Rogue demanded. She fell to the ground, and when her eyes opened, she found herself floating inside some kind of void.
"Where am I?" She asked.
"In the lower depths of your mind, where you put me." The voice answered. "I wanted you to see what you had done!"
"Who are you?" Rogue asked weakly. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"You took away my life!" The woman accused her. A giant apparition of her appeared and tried to reach for Rogue, as she flew to escape.
"Get away from me!" Rogue cried, only to run into Danny and realize that she was back in the real world.
"Calm down, Rogue." Danny said. "Jean's here. Tell us what's going on."
"What is this place?" Rogue asked in a different voice. "Who are you people?"
Danny was confused; Rogue was looking at him like she had never seen him before.
"Everything's going to be alright, Rogue." Jean tried to reassure her.
"No!" Rogue backed away from the two. "Get away!" She lifted up a couch to threaten them.
Jean used her powers to snatch it out of Rogue's hands. "Rogue! Stop it!" Jean then connected her mind to Rogue's.
The auburn-haired woman fell to her knees. "What are you doing? Get out of my head!"
"I'm probing her mind." Jean told Danny. "There's another presence in there."
"You mean there's a ghost possessing her?" Danny asked. It could be possible, as overshadowed people didn't set off his ghost sense.
"No, it doesn't feel like a spirit." Jean answered. "It's more like a psychic consciousness."
Rogue then saw her reflection change to one of a zombie that burst out of the mirror and tackled her.
Rogue started to defend herself, but to Danny and Jean, it looked like she was just punching the air.
The tormented X-Woman then started flying around wildly and through the ceilings, shattering them as she finally reached the sky.
"I'm going after her." Danny told Jean as he flew after his troubled girlfriend.
Danny maneuvered through the sky as he finally spotted his girlfriend. He activated his communicator.
"Danny to Cyclops. Rogue is moving toward the Statue of Liberty."
"Acknowledged." Scott replied.
Danny sat down next to Rogue on top of the statue's torch.
"I'm... I'm scared, Danny." Rogue admitted, feeling helpless.
"Let me help you, Rogue." Danny said, his heart going out to his girlfriend. "Let us all help you. I'm here, and I'm not going to let anything hurt you."
Tears were streaming down the beautiful woman's face. "Only Professor X could have helped me. And he's gone now, maybe forever."
"Trust me, Rogue." Danny said gently. "I'll find a way to help you, I promise."
"Forget it, Rogue." The woman appeared in front of Rogue. "You're mine now!"
Rogue glared hatefully at her. "No!"
She flew at the hallucination while Danny called out for her. "Rogue, wait!" He pressed a button on his communicator. "Danny to Cyclops. I had her for a moment, but she fled. I'm following her."
Rogue kept flying after the woman, who kept floating back out of her reach. "Come find me, Rogue." The illusion taunted. "I'm inside."
"Inside where?" Rogue demanded.
"The hospital, where you put me." Her tormentor answered.
"Then I'm gonna come down and shut you up!" Rogue vowed as she flew toward the hospital. She landed on the roof and ripped the top door open. As she floated down the stairs, she failed to notice a figure peeking out from the top.
"Finally, she is ready to come back to me." Mystique smirked.
"Rogue?" Danny's voice sounded through the sky. "Where are you?"
Mystique disguised herself as Rogue and waved Danny over.
"Dan! I'm down here!" The fake Rogue shouted.
Danny narrowed his eyes at the nickname. He hated to be called Dan and made sure everyone knew it. One time, Steve called him that, and Danny angrily told him to never call him that. Steve, while confused, saw that the name had some trauma associated with it, so he complied with Danny's request.
Not only that, but Rogue, in all her time with him, never called him that name. She didn't know that he hated the nickname, but there was never a time when she called him that.
That could only mean one thing. This wasn't Rogue.
Danny flew down and blasted Rogue, causing her to revert back to her true form.
"Mystique, I thought you were locked up?" Danny said before he realized that it would be child's play for a shape-shifter to escape from a prison.
He had a feeling that someone was behind him, so he turned around to see Blob. Danny had enough of the simple-minded fool. He let loose a powerful ghost ray that knocked him over the edge and caused him to fall down the street.
Avalanche and Pyro came out to attack him, only to be frozen solid.
Danny then grabbed Mystique by the throat. "You have something to do with what's going on with Rogue. What did you do?"
Mystique glared at Danny bitterly. "I'm not telling you a thing."
The hybrid had enough of this bitch and her actions hurting Rogue, so he squeezed her throat tighter. "Tell me, or you'll never take another breath of air."
Mystique struggled, but Danny's grip was firm.
The ghostly X-Man didn't want to have to do this, but Mystique left him no choice. He phased his hand into the blue mutant's chest.
"Either you tell me, or I'll rip out your heart." He threatened. "Although I sincerely doubt that you have one."
Mystique's eyes widened in panic at seeing a hand phasing through her.
"Fine!" She complied. "I'll tell you!"
Danny removed the hand from Mystique's chest. "Not here. You're gonna tell it in front of Rogue."
"I hate you." Mystique whispered with all her anger. "You stole something very important from me. And I'll make you pay."
"Rogue isn't some object that you can take." Danny lectured her. "She's her own person who's allowed to make any choice that she wants."
Danny's ghost sense went off, and he turned around to see a familiar ghost.
"Poindexter?" Danny looked at the nerdy ghost. Since he was dead, he didn't age, so he was still the same dead teenager he met back in high school.
Poindexter narrowed his eyes at Danny. "Bullying mutants now, halfa? I shouldn't be surprised that you would sink even lower."
Danny sighed. He was irritated with Poindexter and how he assumed Danny was the bully when he saw him getting even with Dash. The ghoul then forcibly switched bodies with Danny and didn't switch back until Danny tricked him.
"I don't have time to explain to you, Poindexter. I'm very busy."
The adolescent ghost refused. "You put that poor mutant down, you bully."
"I don't have time for this." Danny threw an ecto-blast at him, sending him flying.
"What was that?" Mystique asked.
"Don't worry about it." Danny, with his hand still around Mystique's throat, entered the hospital.
Rogue wandered the hospital halls, passing by a nearby room.
In that room, a nurse was explaining who the patient was to the new nurse. "This is our Jane Doe." She gestured to the woman on the bed. The same one that had been haunting Rogue. "We call her Sleeping Beauty. You see this brain activity monitor?" She pointed to the monitor. "No change since she's been here."
"Why'd you bring me to this hospital?" Rogue asked out loud, knowing that the woman would hear her. "There ain't nothing you can show me that..."
She saw Danny walk up to her with Mystique in his hand.
"I found out who's behind it all." Danny said.
Rogue clenched her hands. "Mystique, I ought to knock you three ways from Sunday!"
He gave Mystique's throat another squeeze. "Explain it to her!"
"Fine, but I need to show her something." Mystique said.
"What do you have to show me?" Rogue had an uncertain look in her eye as she looked at her adoptive mother.
Following Mystique's directions, they found the room that had the woman who was in Rogue's head.
"What's going on here?" Rogue wanted answers. "Why have you been doing this to me?"
"How have you been doing this?" Danny asked. From what Rogue told me, that woman passed through objects and flew around. You can't do that."
"I only appeared once at the fair as her to trigger her memories."
"Why have you been doing this to me?" Rogue interrogated her.
"To get close to her." Mystique gestured to the woman. "To help you remember the past that Professor Xavier purged from your memory."
"Why do you care what I know about my past?" Rogue asked.
"Touch me and remember." Mysitque held out her hand.
Rogue, knowing that there was no other way, took off her glove and touched Mystique.
Mystique fell unconscious, prompting Danny to drop her to the floor.
Rogue's skin turned blue, although to Danny it didn't detract from Rogue's beauty.
The memories came flowing back as Rogue saw it all.
"I see it, Danny." Rogue told him. "My past. I remember kissing Cody and my powers putting him in a coma. My Daddy." Rogue's eyes lowered in sadness. "He disowned me when he found out I was a mutant. The last thing he said was that I wasn't his daughter, not anymore."
Danny placed his hand on Rogue's cheek as he tried to comfort her. A deep rage worked its way into his heart at the way Rogue's father cruelly rejected her. If he ever ran into the man, he would make him pay.
Rogue continued her story. "I had no choice. I had to leave. I had no one to turn to until..." She glared at the unconscious Mystique. "She taught me everything about my mutant powers. How I could steal people's memories. And their powers. She was training me for what she said would be the most important day of my life."
A flight officer was looking over his clipboard when Rogue came up to him and made a sexy pose. "I'm lost. Could you help me?" She placed her hand on his cheek, knocking him out.
Rogue then got into one of the jets and prepared it for takeoff. "Initiate takeoff procedure now!"
Mystique and Blob entered the compound when Blob noticed someone in the sky. He pointed at her. "It's Miss Marvel!"
It was the same woman who would later haunt Rogue. She was wearing a black, skin-tight leotard with a lightning bolt on it. She also wore a domino mask on her face.
"That's Ms. Marvel to you, round boy!" Ms. Marvel threw Blob through a wall.
Rogue flew the plane out of the compound, with Ms. Marvel following after her.
"You won't stop me this time!" Mystique said. "If my guess is right, my daughter has a serious surprise for you."
Ms. Marvel caught up to the plane and tore the opening off, sending Rogue to the back. Ms. Marvel then got into the pilot's seat as she tried to steer the jet back to base.
"Grab her, Rogue!" Mystique ordered her daughter through Rogue's headset.
Rogue did what she was told and grabbed Ms. Marvel's face.
"What are you doing?" Ms. Marvel struggled.
Rogue gasped as she felt the energy enter her body. It was too much. "Momma, something's wrong! I want to let go."
"No!" Mystique commanded. "Hold on! No matter what!"
"But something's happening, Momma." Rogue said. "I'm scared!"
Mystique refused to listen to Rogue's plea. "Don't let go!"
Rogue, still holding on to Ms. Marvel, flew out of the plane as it crashed.
The two women fell to the ground.
Rogue pushed Ms. Marvel away and confronted her mother. "Why did I have to hold on, Momma? It felt bad."
Pyro looked at the unconscious superhero. "I wonder who she is." He took off her mask.
"How could you do that to me, Momma?" Rogue questioned Mystique, who had regained consciousness. "Didn't I love you enough? You knew what would happen next. I had Ms. Marvel's super strength and her ability to fly permanently. But that wasn't all. I also had her mind trapped inside me. That's when the spells started."
Rogue was testing her newfound flight when Ms. Marvel appeared at her side.
"You stole my powers!" She accused her. "You stole my life!"
"For the second time, I had to leave the place I called home." Rogue narrated miserably. "And that's when he called out to me."
Rogue was flying through the sky when she heard a voice in her head.
"Mutant." Xavier said. "Mutant. I feel your pain. Let me help you."
Rogue saw Xavier on the ground in front of the Blackbird. She landed right in front of him.
"In order for you to heal, you must forget." Xavier said.
"I can't!" The poor woman exclaimed. "What's gonna happen to Ms. Marvel?"
"I'm sorry, Rogue, but I cannot return her to her real body." Xavier apologized. "For now, I can only quiet her, for both your sakes."
"That is how I lost you to Xavier." Mystique said. "I swore one day I'd get you back. Today is that day, daughter."
Rogue had enough of Mystique's manipulations. "You used me! I was just a weapon for you against Ms. Marvel!"
Rogue then started changing, much to her and Danny's horror. "What's happening to me?"
"You still have my shape-shifting power." Mystique informed her. "It will fade soon, but you can't control it."
Rogue then shifted into Ms. Marvel, who was fully in control of Rogue. "I'm taking over this mind and this body. Finally, Ms. Marvel is reborn!"
Danny pushed her to the ground. "Not if I have anything to say about it." Danny then went intangible and flew into Rogue, entering her mind.
Danny looked around the void that was Rogue's mind.
"Rogue, where are you?" He called out.
Ms. Marvel snuck up behind him and put him in a headlock. "Go away! You have no business here!"
"Get away from him!" Rogue yelled.
Ms. Marvel pushed Danny aside and flew towards her enemy. "I've been waiting a long time for this, sister!" Her voice betrayed her excitement at finally getting her revenge.
The two battled within the wide open space as Rogue tried to pull herself together. "This is only happening in my mind."
Ms. Marvel grabbed Rogue's ankle and spun her around. "That's exactly why it's real. When I defeat you here, your mind and body will be mine."
Danny blasted the bitter woman. "If you do that, you'll destroy yourself as well."
"Better to have it end like this." Ms. Marvel said coldly. She charged at Rogue, only to receive a punch from the mutant lady.
Ms. Marvel was getting infuriated with Rogue's resistance. "You took everything I had, everything I ever was!"
"I'm sorry!" Rogue apologized. "I didn't mean to do it."
Tears were in Ms. Marvel's eyes. "Sorry doesn't give me back my life!"
She grabbed Rogue and started choking her.
Danny came up and tried to pull her off. "Let her go!"
Ms. Marvel wouldn't back down; she started to fight Danny as she kept trying to punch him. "Never! She's a monster that needs to be put down!"
"It was an accident!" Danny tried to reason with her. "She never meant to hurt you!"
"I don't care!" She howled. "I want her to pay for what she's done!"
"I won't let you!" Danny retorted.
"Then you're just as much of a monster as her!" The superheroine snapped. "Makes sense considering you're her boyfriend. You think you can stop me, Danny Phantom?"
Danny was now being choked by Ms. Marvel. Rogue tried to rescue her lover, but Ms. Marvel snatched her neck with her other hand.
"Both of you will be destroyed!" She promised. "Especially you, Rogue! You will die by my hand, and I'll finally be at peace." She turned to Danny. "And you won't get in my way, Dan! How does it feel knowing your girlfriend was a monster, Dan? You're going to watch her die!"
Ms. Marvel was ignorant of Danny's feelings about that nickname, but her taunting along with her threats of killing Rogue caused Danny to snap.
The three were blown across Rogue's mind as it started to shift around. When they all got their bearings, they noticed everything had changed.
The color green encompassed everything around them. But above them was an opening that showed a starry sky. The moon was shining along with the stars. Not only that, but there were shooting stars everywhere.
Rogue, Danny, and Ms. Marvel were standing on some green rock formation as they looked around.
"Where are we?" Ms. Marvel felt fear. What was happening?
"Look's like the Ghost Zone mixed with outer space." Rogue observed.
There were thousands of purple doors that floated around the Ghost Zone portion. They had signs of them. One said, Meeting Rogue. There were others like, First Mission with the X-Men, Rogue and I's First Kiss, Tucker, Sam, Jazz, Mom, Dad, and Vlad.
"What is this place?" Ms. Marvel asked, feeling confused instead of angry.
Danny saw one door float closer to them. It had chains around it, and something was banging on it, demanding to be let out.
"We're in my mind." Danny said.
"What?" Rogue and Ms. Marvel reacted in unison.
"You think you know what a monster is?" Danny asked Ms. Marvel, his voice indicating the dread he was experiencing. "You know nothing."
The banging got even louder as one chain snapped.
"Danny, what's going on?" Rogue asked him.
Danny ignored her and gave a piercing stare to the leotard-wearing woman. "It wasn't until I was fifteen that I learned what a true monster was."
More chains kept snapping as cracks started to form on the door.
Rogue was apprehensive about what was behind that door. "What is that?"
"Something that's best left forgotten." Danny made his way to the door, only for the door to be blasted off its hinges as it collided with Danny, sending him further into his mind and leaving Ms. Marvel and Rogue alone with the thing on the other side.
There was a black, rectangular hole where the door used to be. Shadowy wisps flew out as they slithered around on the ground. They went for the two women's feet, but they backed away from the shadows.
They then swarmed around each other. Merging as a black whirlwind formed around it.
The ladies hair blew in the wind as they saw something starting to take form in the center. It soon faded away, leaving something truly terrifying.
Rouge placed her hand over her mouth in shock. Standing in front of them was some kind of shadow. A humanoid shadow that was three-dimensional. It had the same body type as Danny, but there were noticeable differences.
On the ends of his fingertips were claws so sharp that they could break Wolverine's if they came into contact with them. Instead of the usual hair Danny possessed, the shadow had a flaming fire on its head. Strangely, it was colored black, just like the rest of its body. It burned but gave off no color or light.
The only other color on this abomination were the blazing red eyes that stared into their souls. For a while, the shadow stood there, assessing them, until its gaze focused on Ms. Marvel.
"I'll tear your soul apart." It spoke even though it had no mouth. Its voice was just like Danny's, but there was a darker inflection to it, as if it were speaking through the darkness that existed in every corner of the universe.
"Danny?" Rogue asked, not knowing what to call this thing.
"Not quite." The shadow answered before it charged at Ms. Marvel and threw a punch at her, knocking her into another door. The shadow went on to chase her when Rogue got in its way.
"What are you doing?"
"Saving you." The shadow raised its hand, and a dark bubble-like shield formed around Rogue, keeping her from interfering. With her out of the way, the shadow grabbed another door and bashed it on Ms. Marvel's head, causing it to shatter into several splinters.
"I will destroy you!" The shadow roared. It grabbed Ms. Marvel by the ankle and threw her across Danny's mind. Ms. Marvel tried to punch it, but it caught her fist in its hand and squeezed it, causing her to cry out.
"Did I hurt you?" It asked sarcastically before unleashing a Ghostly Wail. Unlike Danny's, which was colored green, this one was dark black. Ms. Marvel felt several punches and kicks at several areas of her body, all being performed at lightning speed as the shadow was giving her all its wrath.
Her face was then scratched as the claws pierced her skin, drawing blood that mixed with her tears of pain. She was then grabbed by her hair, and her head was brought down hard on her foe's knee. Her arms were seized telekinetically and twisted, causing the bones to shatter and break. Rogue's tormenter shrieked in agony before being thrown back to the ground, a couple feet away from where Rogue was trapped.
The shadow landed gracefully in front of her as Ms. Marvel rasped out one word.
"Monster."
The shadow chuckled in amusement. "Really? That's what you think I am? Well, it's fitting for a monster to do battle with another monster."
The beaten woman was too weak to talk, but her look already told the shadow what she was thinking.
"Yes, that's what I called you, monster." The shadow confirmed. "After all, what else would you call someone who hurts someone else?"
"She took my life; she's a monster." Ms. Marvel found enough strength to argue back.
"Really?" The shadow brought her face closer to its face. "Would a monster help innocents? Save people? Be a hero?"
"She's no hero." Ms. Marvel bit out.
"What, and you think you're a hero?" The shadow asked, offended by her words. "Would a hero torment someone and try to kill them? Take someone's body against their will?"
"She did it to me." Ms. Marvel expounded.
"You've been in her mind all this time; haven't you felt the remorse and guilt she had at learning what had been done to you? Did you not think she didn't feel regret? You do know that she never wanted this to happen, right? You've been through her memories; didn't you know that she wanted to let go, but her bitch of a mother was the one who told her to keep holding on? She didn't trap you; that was Xavier, who had no other choice. And when he told her about his plan, she felt worried about what would happen to you."
Ms. Marvel could do nothing but listen as the shadow continued its rant.
"You think you're the only person to have lost their life?" The shadow screamed. "To have lost something or someone?" When Ms. Marvel was about to protest, the shadow kept going, refusing to let her speak.
"You know nothing about my pain! I lost everything to someone who was just as full of hate as you. I managed to pick up the pieces of my life, but there was something missing. I had to hide who I truly was, afraid of not being accepted. And then I met her."
The shadow continued speaking as it looked back on the memories fondly. "She accepted me for who I am. Not once did she see me as a freak. She was a hero. Several people were saved because of her. Her friends could always count on her help on missions. And she helped save the future twice."
Its tone then returned to one of anger. "She was more of a hero than you were or could ever be. But you're not a hero anymore, are you? No, you're nothing but a consciousness of anger and bitterness. What do you think would have happened if you had killed her? Did you think of the people who cared about her? Did you think about how Xavier would have felt if he had lost his student? Did you think about how the X-Men would have felt if they had lost their friend? What about me? Did you think how I would have felt if you took away the love of my life?"
Rogue couldn't do anything, but she could hear the shadow's words. She could feel the fear of losing her and the pain of the deaths of his loved ones. Ms. Marvel could also feel the creature's sorrow.
"Rogue has given to many and has used your powers to help spread peace between man and mutant." The shadow defended Rogue. "She's no villain, no monster. You are the monster. You blame Rogue for your misfortunes, even though she never wanted to hurt you. If you want to blame someone, blame Mystique, for she was the one that set this all up."
"And now I will destroy you. I won't let another person I care about be killed by a monster. It's time to end this." The shadow unleashed volts of electricity from its claws as it bombarded the injured woman.
"Stop!" Rogue cried. She knew that Ms. Marvel had tormented her, but she didn't want this to happen to her.
The shadow continued on, increasing the voltage as Ms. Marvel screamed as loud as she could.
Rogue tried to bang on the shield, but it wouldn't break until a green blast hit and caused it to disintegrate. Rogue looked in the direction that the beam came from and saw Danny flying toward her.
He got in front of her and glared at the shadow. "Let her go!" He commanded.
The shadow refused. "Never. I won't stop until she's gone."
"You can't do that!" Danny protested.
"And I can't let another monster kill someone we love." The shadow shot back. "If we don't stop her, she will never leave Rogue alone. Is that what you want? To lose her?"
"It's not right." Danny said.
"And it's not right for her to kill our girlfriend." It argued. "I'm tired of letting the world take what I care about away."
"Please, you don't have to do this!" Rogue begged. She didn't know what this thing was, but she knew that it was a part of Danny, so she felt like she could reason with it. "I know that she tried to kill me, but you can't destroy her. It's not right."
"I won't lose you!" The shadow wailed.
"You won't." Rogue replied with a look of steady confidence. "Now let her go. I know you're better than this. You're a hero, and you always do the right thing."
The shadow simply stood at its spot with his hand around Ms. Marvel's neck. It contemplated Rogue's words, and after what seemed like an eternity, it dropped Ms. Marvel to the ground.
"Very well." The shadow acquiesced. It gave one last deadly look to Ms. Marvel. "Consider yourself lucky. You were spared by the very monster you hated. Ironic, isn't it?"
It then turned its attention back to Rogue. "Such strength, willing to save an enemy. That's one of the things we love about you."
With nothing else left to do, the shadow faded away, leaving no trace of its existence.
The three were left in an uncomfortable silence before Ms. Marvel broke it.
"He was right." Ms. Marvel said in a defeated voice. "I was the real monster. I shouldn't have done what I did. I'll go back to the deepest corners of your mind, Rogue. I won't bother you anymore."
"I'm sorry for what I did." Rogue said.
"I'm sorry for what I did." Ms. Marvel apologized before she disappeared.
Danny clasped his hand on Rogue's shoulder. "Come on. It's time to go."
Danny then phased out of Rogue as she turned back to her normal appearance. Rogue groaned at the headache before she noticed Mystique in the hospital room.
"Rogue?" Mystique was concerned about her daughter. "Are you okay?"
"Save your pitiful tricks on someone else." Rogue replied venomously. "I belong with Danny and the X-Men now."
"Xavier's gone. Only I can help you." Mystique said. "Only I could ever help you."
"You never loved me." Rogue stated. "You only cared about my powers. You made me worse than a killer!"
"How can you do this to me?" Mystique was flabbergasted. "I raised you like my own."
"I ain't your daughter, Mystique." Rogue replied. "Not anymore."
She grabbed Danny's hand, and the two left Mystique alone.
The two were walking down the halls when Danny's ghost sense went off.
"Oh great." He moaned.
In front of them, Poindexter appeared.
"Let that poor mutant go, halfa!" Sidney demanded. "I've had enough of your cruel acts, you monster!"
"Monster." Rogue muttered the word in a deadly quiet tone. "What did you say to him?"
Poindexter was confused about why this woman was glaring at him. She should be happy that he's here to save her.
"My boyfriend is no monster and certainly no bully, Poindexter." Rogue knew about his encounter with Danny. She came across Danny telling stories to Jubilee, and she was interested. So she listened to Danny's tale of switching bodies with the ghoul and how he learned not to use his powers to get even.
Rogue was personally irritated at how the ghost accused Danny of being a bully. She also vowed that if she ever came across Dash Baxter, she would give him a black eye and a massive wedgie for the way he treated her Danny.
"You know who I am?" Poindexter drawled slowly.
"Yeah, and I know that my Danny is no bully." Rogue said. "He's the most kind and generous person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."
"But he's a bully!" The ghost protested. "He used his powers to bully the kids at his school."
Rogue snarled. "That kid was bullying Danny. He was the one who was pushing everyone out. Danny was just getting even, and you thought he was the bad guy and tried to steal his body."
Poindexter was taken aback by this woman's hostility. Not only that, but he was shocked to learn that Danny wasn't the bully.
"He wasn't the bully?"
"No!" Rogue yelled. "If you knew anything about my boyfriend, you would know that he is a hero who helps people."
"But he was hurting those poor mutants at the fair and on top of the hospital." Sidney argued.
"Those mutants were the ones causing trouble, and Danny was stopping them." Rogue revealed. "My boyfriend has fought alongside mutants like me to help end the persecution of other people."
"I didn't know." Sidney said weakly.
"Of course you didn't know." Rogue was disgusted. "You didn't bother to get the whole story and immediately cast judgment on him. I swear if you do anything to him, I will bring you back to life just so I can kill you."
Rogue took a breath as she finished letting out all her frustrations. The words she heard from that shadow about her being a hero really struck a cord with her. Did Danny truly see her as that? Well, she wasn't going to let some spook trash talk him, that's for sure.
"I'm sorry." Poindexter apologized. "I didn't know." He sobbed as he realized he had hurt an innocent person. Just like a bully would.
Danny went up to Sidney. "It's okay, Sidney. You didn't know. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for what you had to go through in life. You didn't deserve any of it, and those people were wrong to pick on you."
"That's all I wanted." Sidney said. "For someone to care."
The weeping ghost was brought into a hug as Danny tried to soothe him. "Well, I care."
Poindexter ended the hug and thanked Danny. "Thank you." He then faded away. He had found peace, and now it was time to go.
Danny never thought he would ever see a ghost move on, especially one of his old foes, but life always surprised him.
"Thanks for speaking up for me." Danny thanked his amazing girlfriend. "I really appreciate it."
Rogue let out a genuine smile for the first time since this whole thing started. "Well, I appreciated the words that shadow said about me. You really admire me and think I'm a hero?"
Danny nodded. "You're the strongest person I've ever met, Rogue. No matter what problems come your way, you always manage to do the right thing. It's very inspiring and motivating."
Rogue kissed Danny passionately on the lips. "You certainly inspire me as well, sugar."
Danny smiled. "Let's go home."
The next day, Rogue and Danny came to Ms. Marvel's room. Rogue was carrying some flowers and laid them by her bed.
A nurse walked in and noticed the two. "You know our Jane Doe?"
"Her name is Carol Danvers." Rogue placed an ungloved hand on Carol's face. "We were very close."
The two left, not seeing the smile that was on Carol's face.
"Thank you, Rogue." She whispered.
"Thanks for coming with me." Rogue was walking home with Danny.
"No problem." Danny said.
Rogue couldn't help but ask her boyfriend about something that had been on her mind for some time.
"Danny, that shadow that we met in your mind. What was it?"
Danny stopped as he tried to come up with an answer. "That was me. It was all my fears, rage, and pain given form. My dark side, something I promised to never let out."
"There's more to it, isn't there?" Rogue asked knowingly.
Danny didn't know what to say when Rogue grabbed his hand.
"I know you, Danny. You may have a dark side, but everyone does." She assured him. "You're a good man, one that I'm happy to call my boyfriend." She gave a dazzling smile. "I love you, Danny Fenton."
"And I love you, Rogue."
The two embraced in a loving kiss.