In the deep blackness of space, a whale-like creature floated through the emptiness like it was the ocean. It wasn't an ordinary being, though, as it glowed red as it entered the atmosphere of a nearby planet.
This planet happened to be Earth.
Logan was meditating in the desert when a comet passed by him and landed some feet behind him, causing an explosion that stirred him from his trance.
"Who started the war?" He said to himself as he went to investigate. That meteorite felt like someone had dropped a bomb.
As he got to the crater, he found the whale-like creature, but it was so far down that Logan couldn't see its features and realize it was a living thing.
He did smell something. "Something's down there." A hole appeared in the whale. "And it don't smell human."
From out of the entrance came bipedal, green insectoid-like creatures. They had big red eyes, sharp rows of teeth, and a tail. Despite them being organic, they sported mechanical tentacles as well.
"Whoa!" Logan exclaimed at the ugliness of these aliens. "Cockroaches from Mars. Large economy size."
From their tails, they fired bolts of lightning at Logan, which missed.
Logan pulled out his claws. "This should be fun."
He went down to engage them, only for their metal tentacles to wrap around his limbs and pull him to the ground.
One leaned down to get a closer look at Logan.
"Go ahead, pal." He said sarcastically. "Take a good look." He broke out of their grip and started running. Only to find more approaching him.
"What?" He looked behind him and saw even more. "Just like roaches, find one; you know there's plenty more."
He started to slash their metal tentacles when one managed to hit him with a lightning bolt from its tail.
"Hey, what do you..." Logan tried to attack that alien but stumbled and fell to the ground. "What was in that?" Logan couldn't move as he spasmed on the ground.
"What determination. What vigor!" One of the aliens claimed.
"Just as we expected." Another said. "He will make an excellent addition to our specimens." He turned to the others. "Take him to the ship."
Out of the ship appeared another alien, but this one was covered in armor, indicating that this one was the leader.
"Good thing our research has proven that these earthlings are compatible with our spores." The leader spoke in a feminine voice.
Years ago, a couple of scouts belonging to this group of creatures visited Earth and abducted a human before leaving. During that time, they performed experiments on the human to see if its species was compatible with the spores they used for procreation.
Now they were back, and they had their new human friend with them, now part of their kind.
The new member stepped off the ship. This alien looked remarkably human, as it still sported human clothing and blonde hair.
"My queen, I shall scout out for the others." The human alien said. "I will bring them all. Including her."
At a club in the city, Danny and Rogue were dancing the night away. Danny was wearing a nice suit that he found, while Rogue was in a beautiful green dress with heels to match.
"It's nice to know that these dance lessons I'm giving you are paying off." Rogue said.
Danny smirked. "What can I say? I have a great teacher." He lowered Rogue into his arms and gave her a kiss that took her breath away.
'God, I love this man so much.' Rogue thought to herself.
After a couple more minutes of dancing, the two got some drinks at the bar. Needing to use the restroom, Danny left Rogue as a woman sat down next to her.
"Having fun?" She asked Rogue.
Rogue smiled as she nodded. "Yeah, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have him in my life. I love him."
The woman grinned. "I'm sure he feels the exact same way. I saw you two dancing, and his eyes were filled with happiness. You had any other boyfriends before him?"
Rogue's smile dampened. "One, but it ended..." She didn't know how to explain it without giving away the fact that she was a mutant.
"Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." The woman said. "For me, I only dated one guy, but it turns out he was only using me to get back with his ex."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Rogue said sympathetically.
"It is what it is." The woman brushed off. "Just let me offer you a piece of advice. That man you have is a keeper. I wouldn't let him slip through your fingers."
Rogue smirked. "Trust me, I ain't letting him get away from me."
The woman gave Rogue a look of approval. "That's the spirit. As long as you have each other, no obstacle can stop you." She then got a serious look on her face. "And please, when he's ready to tell you about his secret, don't run.
Rogue was confused. "What secret? And how do you know he has a secret?"
The woman looked somber. "The secret about why he doesn't like to be called Dan."
The southern belle was now getting suspicious. How did she know that Danny didn't like being called Dan?
The beautiful mutant remembered how, after a Danger Room session, Logan jokingly called Danny Dan. This caused the hybrid to glare at Wolverine with glowing green eyes as he threatened him to never call him Dan again.
Wolverine, despite being a hard head, knew that he had crossed a line and apologized.
When Rogue asked Jubilee about the incident, she just said that Danny didn't like being called Dan.
"He says that it brings back bad memories." Jubilee said.
The mysterious lady then looked at her watch. "Oh, look at the time; I better get going. It was nice talking to you."
"Wait!" Rogue got up from her seat. "Who are you? How do you know about my boyfriend? And what's your name?"
The woman looked over her shoulder as she was leaving.
"Jazz." She then left the club.
Rogue looked at her in confusion.
'Jazz? Isn't that the name of Danny's sister?' Rogue thought.
Before Rogue could continue to ponder, Danny came back, and the two finished their drinks before deciding to head home.
As they left, they found the woman that Rogue was talking to stumbling around.
"You all right, hon?" Rogue asked.
The woman shook her head. "All I remember was coming in to get a few drinks, but the rest was a blur. How did I end up out here?"
"Where do you live? We can walk you home if you want." Danny offered.
"Thanks; I appreciate it." The woman said.
"No problem, I'm Danny, and this is Rogue." He introduced.
"Colleen." The lady replied.
Rogue raised an eyebrow. Earlier, she said her name was Jazz. However, she didn't bring this up, as she didn't want to make this situation awkward. Colleen probably had too much to drink and said her name was something else. That was the most likely explanation.
After dropping Colleen off, the couple decided to take a stroll through the city.
Unknown to both of them, they were being watched.
The person watching them was known as Cody Robbins. Rogue's first boyfriend. After being placed in a coma by her kiss, he was taken into the colony and turned into one of them. Cody was thrilled at being awakened. He didn't mind that his mind was taken over or that his body was physically altered because of them. Then again, after his alteration, he didn't have the free will to complain.
But what made him happy was the chance to have Rogue back, his childhood love. Together, they would become part of the colony and live happily ever after. As he tried to find her, he imagined how beautiful she would now look and how tearful she would be at having him back and being able to be with him again.
They would be with each other forever.
He tried to call her, but Rogue didn't pick up as she was at the club.
Feeling impatient, Cody decided to track her down, thinking of how her eyes would light up when she saw him again.
Yet all those hopes and elations went down the drain when he saw Rogue kissing another man.
It was as if someone had ripped his heart in two.
Rogue had left him. Why? How could she do this to him? He thought that she loved him. Or was she just lying? Cody felt an immeasurable rage inside his heart as he desired to rip that other man to pieces.
He also wanted to make Rogue pay for hurting him. He'd been waiting for her for so long, and that slut decides she can fool around while he's been in a coma. A coma that she put him in.
Letting his anger get the best of him, Cody started to destroy anything that he could get his hands on. He ripped parking meters out of the ground and threw them at nearby parked cars. A manhole was thrown into the window of a diner.
In his rampage, Cody failed to see the recklessness of bringing down a power line, which caused the wires to rip off and hit him, electrocuting him to death.
His last thoughts before dying were that he would make that man pay and that he would make Rogue his.
Danny and Rogue were flying back home as their date was over.
"You know that girl, Colleen?" Rogue asked, deciding to tell Danny about that weird decision.
"Yeah?" Danny was wondering why she was bringing her up.
"When you were in the bathroom, she and I were talking, and when she left, she said her name was Jazz." Rogue explained.
"Jazz?" Danny's eyes held a longing that threatened to make Rogue tear up; she knew how much Danny missed his friends and family and how much they meant to him.
Rogue nodded.
"She came back." Danny muttered to himself. "But why now? And why didn't she talk to me?"
Danny turned to Rogue to ask his next question.
"What did she tell you?" He interrogated, eager for anything that she had said, no matter how small and insignificant it may be.
His girlfriend could only shrug. "Basically, she told me not to let you go."
Danny chuckled. "Jazz was always protective. Anything else?"
"She also said not to run when you tell me your secret." Rogue said.
"What secret?" Danny asked, getting a bit on guard.
"The one about why you don't like being called Dan." Rogue replied.
Danny felt like throwing up. His palms were sweaty as he tried to keep himself from hyperventilating. Jazz hinted at that? Why?
"Danny, what's wrong?" Rogue asked him gently. "You know you can tell me anything. I won't judge."
'Even if I'm a monster who has slaughtered millions of innocent people?' Danny thought depressingly. 'How the hell am I supposed to tell Rogue about this?'
Seeing that Rogue had that look that said she wasn't going to drop this, Danny decided to explain the reason for his hesitancy.
"Look, Rogue, the reason I don't like being called Dan is very traumatic." Danny explained before he paused a bit. "It involves the deaths of my friends and family." A flash of hurt appeared on his face, which made Rogue decide to drop the subject.
"Ok, honey." Rogue said. "We don't have to talk about it."
The two were left in an uncomfortable silence, with Rogue feeling guilty as she thought that she had ruined their date with her questions.
"I'm sorry I killed the mood, sugar." Rogue apologized. "And we were having a good time."
Danny gave Rogue a reassuring look. "As long as you're with me, nothing can be ruined."
Rogue blushed. "Flatterer."
Danny smirked. "I try."
The two arrived back at home, where they went to their room, but Rogue pushed Danny out.
"Give me some time, sugar." Rogue said. "I got a nice surprise for you."
Danny blushed as Rogue closed the door.
The auburn-haired lady looked around the room. Its appearance has changed since Danny moved in. There were a couple of posters that Danny hung up on the walls. Although that was nothing compared to the ceiling, which was painted to look like the starry sky. Rogue smiled at the memory. It was after the Dark Phantom Phoenix incident that Danny managed to get her on board with the idea.
There was a vase that held flowers that Danny had made for her using his cryokinesis. Danny had given her the real thing, of course, but he said he preferred the ice ones.
"I just like giving you something I made with my own hands." Danny said.
It wasn't just flowers; Danny would also make her jewelry. Rogue opened a drawer and admired the necklace that he had made for her. It was composed of icy pears with a miniature star at the center.
"You are my North Star." Danny would say to her.
Realizing she would be here all night if she kept reminiscing, she decided to get ready.
A couple minutes passed when Danny heard Rogue call out to him.
"Danny." She said seductively.
Danny walked into the room to find Rogue on their bed in a satin nightgown.
"Surprise." Rogue giggled as she wiggled her toes and bit her lip.
Danny grinned bashfully as he entered the room and got on top of his girlfriend. He leaned down and captured her lips in a heated kiss.
Using his powers, he phased off their clothes. As the two got lost in their passions, they ended up floating up to the ceiling, where they ended up rolling across the walls and knocking down anything that came in their path.
Danny groaned as his back was to the wall and Rogue was bouncing on his cock, riding it like she was in a rodeo.
They swapped several positions, not caring for the state their room was in. They could always deal with it in the morning.
"Give it to me, Daddy!" Rogue cried as Danny thrusted into her doggystyle. The two were now back on their bed, approaching their end.
Danny came into Rogue, triggering her own orgasm as the two moaned in pleasure.
With their act of love over, they started cuddling as they got under the covers and drifted off to sleep.
Rogue remembered Jazz's advice as she brought Danny closer to her.
"I won't let you go, Spooky." Rogue muttered to him. "Nothing will ever come between us, darling. I promise."
Her words said, Rogue let exhaustion claim her as she fell asleep.
Green. That was all Cody could see as he awoke. A vast emptiness of green. Groaning from a pain in his head, Cody got up and took a look at his surroundings. He didn't know where he was, but it wasn't Earth or anywhere in space.
"Where am I?" He asked himself. He tried to move and found himself floating. A few minutes were spent trying to control the low gravity before he moved across this realm.
As he moved across this new dimension, he saw doors floating around and other beings passing along. Cody tried to ask them where he was, but they all ignored him.
Landing on a floating formation, Cody contemplated this new development when he heard a voice.
"Let me out."
A voice that sent shivers down his spine and terrified him to his core, more than the queen could ever accomplish. Despite his instincts telling him not to, he followed the sound of the voice.
He was led down a cavern, which he floated to the bottom of. Stuck between a couple of rocks was some weird device.
Picking it up carefully, Cody examined it.
It was some kind of thermos.
And on the side was the imprint of a face. A face that petrified Cody. He thought he had seen the scariest things this universe had to offer, but he was wrong.
"Let me out!" The thermos demanded, making Cody drop it.
"What are you? What is this place?" Cody panicked.
"This is the Ghost Zone." The thermos spoke in a patronizing voice. "And I am a ghost. Just like you."
Cody couldn't believe it. He was a ghost? He was dead?
He looked down at his body and saw that the voice was right. He was see-through.
"I can't be dead!" He cried in denial. "I can't be dead! No, this can't be true! I had so much left to live for!"
"Give it a rest!" The thermos scolded, not in the mood for this one's tears. "You're not the first to say that. And you definitely won't be the last."
Dan was now getting annoyed with this newcomer. When he sensed another presence approaching, he got excited, as he figured he could dupe this spirit into letting him out. But this ghost was newly formed and, as a result, was still getting used to the idea of being dead.
He would just have to wait for this ghost to exhaust themselves from sadness. Then he would get it to free him, and he could finally ensure his existence.
"How will I ever be with Rogue now?" The ghost bemoaned.
Rogue?
That name caught Dan's attention.
"Rogue?" Dan said, thinking that if this was the same person, then he could use this to his advantage. "Who are you talking about?"
"She was my love." Cody said. "We were going to be together." He stopped as he felt his bitterness and resentment take over.
Dan was then reflecting on what he had learned about Rogue from being at Clockwork's lair. She did mention she had a boyfriend before her powers activated. Could this be?
"Is this Rogue a mutant?" Dan asked, wishing he had more details. Since he was locked up in this infernal device, he wasn't able to see what the harlot looked like, but he was able to hear the details of her life that she told his past self.
"Yes." Cody answered. "But she replaced me with some damn Yank."
"This Yank." Dan said with amusement. He had been called many things in his existence, but not that. "Does he have raven-black hair and blue eyes?"
Cody snarled at the reminder of the man. "Yes."
"Well, I'll be damned." Dan pretended to be surprised. "That's the same bastard who locked me up in this device."
Cody raised an eyebrow. "He did?"
"Yes." Dan confirmed. "You see, he is something interesting. He's both half human and half ghost."
"How is that possible?" Cody demanded.
"I think the better question is what isn't possible." Dan replied. "Now I believe we have a common enemy. If we work together, I could have my revenge, and you could have your love back. All you need to do is let me out of here."
Cody shook his head. "No."
"No?" Dan repeated with a generous amount of anger in his voice. "Why not? Don't you want Rogue? Don't you want your revenge against that freak?"
"I do." Cody said. "But I don't trust you. Who's to say you'll just run off when I let you out? You help me get my girlfriend back first, and then I'll let you out."
Dan was about to threaten Cody with oblivion before he thought about this. He could still come up with a way to get Rogue away from Danny, and this in turn would cause Danny enough pain to make him turn into him.
Perhaps it was better to let this idiot think he was pulling all the strings.
"Alright, my friend." Dan said. "You drive a hard bargain. I'll help you get your true love back, and in exchange, you will let me out. Agreed?"
Cody nodded. "Deal."
Dan smirked from inside his prison. "Perfect. Now could you be a pal and tell me what led to your untimely death?"
Inside the ship, an alien had Logan strapped to a floating device that served as a stretcher.
"I'd hoped it was a nightmare." Logan said as he woke up. He used his claws to cut him out of his restraints. "Do I feel lousy." He smelled something very putrid that caused him to hiss in disgust. "Whoa! These bugs just don't look ugly."
He looked at the surroundings of the ship. "Wait, there's something else here." The feral mutant touched the veiny interior, only for it to wiggle in response to his touch. "What do you know? It's alive. Tough setup, pal. Bet it wasn't your idea to be a roach motel."
Wolverine saw an alien attempting to tackle him, only for the mutant to knock him into one of his brethren.
"I was hoping you'd try that again." Logan said as he tried to escape, only to run into another creature that tried to attack him. Logan cut off its tentacles, forcing it to retreat using its jetpack, as Wolverine climbed the wall of the ship as he got out and tried to get home, only for the same alien to catch up to him.
It electrocuted Logan before it suddenly stopped and left Wolverine alone.
"Playtime's over." Logan said as he continued on his way.
The alien that left Wolverine met up with the queen.
"He was more powerful than we thought." The alien reported.
"All the better." The queen said. "He and his friends will make a strong addition to the colony. The first of many from this planet." She looked at a monitor, which displayed the X-Men. She paused it when it showed Rogue. "Especially this one."
Cody then appeared. "My queen, I have returned."
After making his deal with Dan, Cody was directed to a nearby portal by his new friend and found himself in Amity Park. Luckily, his new ghost powers made it easy to fly all the way here.
"What news do you bring?" The queen demanded.
"This." Cody raised a hand and shot a ghost ray out of it as the queen disintegrated. The rest of the colony tried to attack, but Cody flew above them and aimed his glowing hands at them.
"I'm in charge now; you all have experimented on me for the last time!" He yelled. "Now bow!"
The colony had no choice, as they all bowed to their new king.
Cody smirked. "Now we shall expand our numbers, and I will rule this universe. All I need is my new queen." He looked at the thermos he had in his hand. "And I know how to get her."
"Morning, sleepyhead." Danny said as the two lovers got up.
"Morning." Rogue responded before looking at their destroyed room. "Wow, we really got ahead of ourselves last night, didn't we?"
Danny snickered. "Yeah, but it's nothing we can't fix."
Wolverine staggered to a nearby gas station as he got to a pay phone.
"Professor." Logan mumbled as he dialed the number.
"Logan?" Xavier answered from the War Room. "What is it?"
"They're here." Logan tried to explain. "You must..." He made a pained sound. "Roaches..." Gambit, Storm, and Beast were now listening in.
"Too many..." Wolverine stopped as he screamed. "No!"
"Where are you?" Xavier demanded, but his only answer was more screams.
"Wolverine don't normally make sense, but this makes less sense than usual." Gambit observed.
"I shall trace the cell's origin." Beast said as he began typing.
Danny and Rogue came in.
"What's happening, guys?" Danny asked.
"Wolverine is in danger." Storm answered.
"Of what?" Danny replied.
"We don't know." Xavier informed him. "We got a call from him saying that something was there, but he was suddenly attacked. We're tracing the call's origin to rescue him."
"Well, count us in." Danny said. His ghost sense went off. "Oh, shit. Count me in after I deal with the ghost."
Xavier nodded. "I shall send you the coordinates to catch up when you return."
Danny turned ghost and phased out of the building to deal with the ghost.
Cody glared at the institute where his girlfriend lived and the freak who stole her.
"I told you, I could've helped you with this part if you let me out." The thermos said. It was now strapped to Cody's belt.
Cody shook his head. "And let you leave without fulfilling your end of the bargain? I don't think so. You will be free when Rogue is mine. Besides, I have the perfect bait to lure away her new lover."
Cody looked at his hand, where he held an Ectopus in his grip. He let it go as it flew above the mansion. A few seconds later, Cody saw Danny phase through the roof and follow the ghost's trail.
"The rival is gone now." Cody said. "Now get Rogue to meet me at the diner."
Dan growled internally. As soon as he was out of here, he was going to rip this little shit apart.
While in this thermos, Dan discovered he could interfere with electrical equipment. Using this, he was able to hack into the X-Men's communication lines.
As the X-Men were about to leave for the Blackbird, Rogue's communicator went off.
"Rogue, I need your help." Danny's voice said. "This ghost is giving me trouble. Meet me at the diner in downtown."
"Sorry, guys, but Danny needs my help with this ghost." Rogue explained to the others. "We'll meet up with you guys after it's over."
She was given several nods as she headed to her destination.
Rogue landed in front of the diner. She was a bit perplexed that Danny called her here, of all places, to help him deal with a ghost.
'Maybe he ran into that lunch lady ghost.' Rogue thought.
As she walked in, she noticed that it was empty except for one occupant. She saw that it was a well built blonde man.
For some reason, he seemed familiar to her as she examined him.
She walked up to him. "Do I know you?"
The man gave a cocky grin. "I expect you would, Possum."
Rogue recognized this nickname. It was the one Cody gave her.
"Cody?" She breathed. She took a closer look and realized it was him. Her old childhood friend. "Oh my goodness. It's really you." She then had an irritated look on her face as she remembered what he called her. "And don't you dare call me that!"
Cody chuckled. "What can I say? Old habits die hard."
"How on Earth did you find me?" Rogue questioned, happy to learn that he wasn't still in a coma. At least she didn't have to deal with that burden anymore.
"You wouldn't believe the places I've been and the people I've met to find you." Cody said mysteriously.
The thermos strapped to his belt was unseen by Rogue, as Dan wished he could be anywhere but here listening to this.
"So what have you been doing lately, Rogue?" Cody asked.
"Well, I'm with a team called the X-Men." Rogue said. "They're mutants like me, so they don't get their britches twisted like everybody else does."
"Do the X-Men not allow their members to have time off?" Cody replied bitterly. "How come you never came to visit me in the hospital? You left before I got out."
"I tried to visit you." Rogue defended. She really did; it was when she was still with Mystique. Although she forbade it, Rogue still went to visit him but found that he was gone. There was no sign of forced entry, according to the authorities, so Rogue assumed Cody woke up and left. She was a little hurt that he never tried to contact her; she thought it was because he blamed her for being placed in a coma.
"I'm really sorry for putting you in that coma, Cody." Rogue apologized. "I never meant to hurt you."
Cody also had an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry too, Rogue. I didn't mean to say that." He placed his hands around her. "I'm just glad you're here and we can be together." He tried to lean in for a kiss, but Rogue pushed him away.
"Whoa, take it back there." Rogue said. "I have a boyfriend."
"Yeah, me." Cody said as he tried to get a kiss, but Rogue refused his advances.
"No, Cody." Rogue said. This was going to get awkward quickly. "I'm actually in a relationship with one of the X-Men."
Cody narrowed his eyes. "Is he a mutant too?"
He knew perfectly well who Danny was, but he decided to play dumb for Rogue.
Rogue didn't know how to answer that. "Sorta."
"Rogue, I still love you." Cody confessed. "Remember when we were kids and we promised that we would always be together?"
"We were just kids, Cody." Rogue pointed out. "I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving my boyfriend for you. That's not how it's going to work."
"So you're throwing me away, then?" Cody accused. "After everything we've been through, it didn't matter to you at all?"
"It did matter to me!" Rogue shouted. "But that was the past, and I can't live in the past for the rest of my life. I thought you were gone, Cody. What was I supposed to do? I've moved on, and you can too, Cody. I'm sure you can find someone who can make you happy."
"You're the only one who can make me happy." Cody said, gripping her shoulders. "And I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me."
Rogue was not getting irritated. "Cody, let go of me!"
"No!" Cody refused.
Rogue was about to punch Cody when an alien burst in and shot her with its tail. Rogue fell unconscious as Cody threw her over his shoulder.
"It's time to bring you home, Rogue." Cody said.
The Blackbird flew through the desert.
"There's someone down there on the sand." Storm said as she saw someone staggering on the ground on the monitor.
"It's Logan." Beast said.
The Blackbird landed as they all gathered around the exhausted Wolverine.
"Wolverine!" Gambit cried. "Can you hear me?"
"Stay back." Wolverine muttered.
"Logan, what has happened to you?" Storm asked.
"I'll be okay, Storm." Logan replied. "It's them we got to worry about."
Beast approached the ship. "What on Earth?"
The creature opened its mouth as a group of aliens flew out to engage the X-Men.
They fired their tails at Beast, who dodged them by doing several flips.
"You want to play with Gambit?" He charged a couple of cards. "Okay!" He threw them at a nearby alien as one was wrestling with Beast.
"Let him go, roach, or your head is shish kebab!" Wolverine pulled it off of his friend.
Storm was floating above the extraterrestrial. "Be gone, hissing vermin!"
The alien was blown away by Storm's wind.
Despite this, the aliens soon ganged up on all the X-Men.
"Any suggestion as how to deal with your newfound friends would be welcome." Beast said.
Logan screamed in pain as he slowly transformed to resemble the rest of the colony. He then ran off.
"Logan!" Storm was horrified at the state of her friend. "What is happening to you?"
"You brought us here!" The X-Men heard Rogue's voice. "For them!"
They turned to see Cody arrive with Rogue, who had her hands tied behind her back.
"It's for the best, darling." Cody said. "You'll see. They need us, Rogue. Just like I need you."
Rogue groaned in pain as she felt herself start to transform. "It's happening to me too, isn't it?"
The other X-Men were entangled in the creatures' metal tentacles.
"Professor?" Storm mumbled, hoping to reach out to him with her mind. "Professor, we need your help."
In a nearby cave, Wolverine was fighting his transformation. "I'm gonna get this out of me." And miraculously, with his healing factor, he returned to his regular form.
Back on the ship, Beast, Storm, and Gambit were loaded on stretchers to be taken away, while Rogue was left alone with Cody.
"How could you do this to me?" She yelled at Cody, who had transformed into his alien form. "What did you do to me, you bastard?"
"Rogue, I love you." Cody insisted. "Don't you see? This way, we can finally be together. We can touch; we can kiss."
Rogue screamed in pain as she saw the tips of her fingers start to look like those of the colony.
"No!" She shouted. "I won't let it happen!"
"There is no use fighting it, Rogue." Cody said. "You were infected with the spores when you were brought here. Soon, you will have the honor of being in the colony."
"Never!" Rogue refused, but soon the transformation was complete, as Rogue had green skin and red insect eyes.
"It's going to be all right, Possum." Cody tried to comfort her.
Rogue pushed him away. "Don't call me that!"
"You see, Rogue, these guys don't reproduce like me and you do." Cody explained. "They need host bodies for their race to continue. That's why they chose me. I went to bring you back so you could be my queen, but I found you with that freak."
"Don't you dare call him that!" Rogue roared, infuriated at the insult to her boyfriend. "He's more of a man than you could ever hope to be. He didn't have to kidnap me or infect me with something to get me to be his gal."
Rogue was now even grateful for Danny's decision to let her get the cure back at Muir Island. Unlike Cody, he cared more for Rogue's happiness than his own. He didn't try to force her into a relationship.
"He is what he is." Cody said. "And let's just say I wasn't a happy camper when I found out, and I may have done something foolhardy that caused me to die. But you know what they say: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Cody then became see-through as his aura glowed.
Rogue's eyes widened. "Cody, you're a ghost?"
Cody nodded. "Yep, I'm more of a freak than your new squeeze. Now join me, Rogue. Be my queen."
"I'd rather die!" Rogue snarled.
"That can be arranged, Possum." Cody said. "You can be a ghost just like me." He raised his arm to swipe at Rogue when he felt something grip his arm. Turning to his side, he saw someone appear out of thin air.
"Now, now." Danny waved his finger at Cody. "That's not how you treat a lady."
"Danny!" Rogue cried in delight.
"You!" Cody roared before Danny threw him back.
Danny turned to his girlfriend. "Rogue, what happened to you?"
Rogue tried to hide her face. "Don't look at me! I'm hideous!"
Danny smiled. "You'll always be beautiful to me, Rogue." He then kissed her on the lips. "Now what happened to you?"
"They infected me with some spores that made me like this." Rogue answered.
"Well, let's get them out." Danny used his powers to phase them out of Rogue's body, turning her back to normal.
"Thanks, Spooky." Rogue said. "Green skin isn't really my thing."
Cody came back as he fried an ecto-blast at Danny. "We will be together; you can't stop us."
"This is just like Vlad all over again." Danny said as he and Cody battled.
"I won't let you take her from me!" Cody was transforming, looking more like the rest of the colony; his head was elongated with his hair gone, and he also sported a tail.
Danny dodged Cody's attempt to swipe him with his tail.
"Hey, I'm sure there are plenty of other aliens out in the galaxy." Danny joked. "You ever tried online dating or getting a cat?"
Meanwhile, Wolverine snuck on board the ship and rescued the other X-Men from their prison.
"Rogue is my future!" Cody cried as he strangled Danny. "She's my queen."
Danny pushed him off. "You really need to let go, man. Trust me, it's not healthy to obsess over people."
Cody let out a bellow as he used his ghostly strength to charge at Danny as he flew the two out of the ship, accidentally dropping the thermos from his belt.
Rogue was battling the other members of the colony when the other X-Men came.
"Come on, Rogue!" Wolverine said. "We got to get out of here." He threw a stretcher at one of the creatures. "Out of my way, roaches."
As they were leaving, Storm contacted the professor. "Professor, help us."
"I've been trying, Storm, but the creatures' minds are impenetrable." Xavier replied. "However, I do sense another presence. The Acanti. What an extraordinary being. Gentle, fast. Of course. The colony needed it as a ship. Enslaving its mind, it remains conscious but unable to do anything to stop the colony's implacable search for hosts. What a terrible fate. Perhaps we can help each other, my friend."
The X-Men were currently losing the fight against the colony.
"Bring them to the spore chamber." One member ordered.
"What about this one?" Another gestured to Wolverine.
"He has the power to purge the spores." The first one said. "We did not know this. Get rid of him."
"No!" Rogue pleaded as she struggled against their metal appendages. "No, stop! You can't do this!"
The Acanti then let out a sound as the colony gripped their heads in pain.
"Stop!" One member cried. "Stop that excruciating sound!"
Rogue was confused. "What do you mean? It's..." She listened closely. "It's beautiful."
"Who freed the Acanti?" A member asked.
"The Acanti?" Rogue asked. "Who's the Acanti?"
Wolverine pointed to the ship itself. "Right here, Rogue. Right here."
The Acanti opened its mouth, making an exit for the X-Men.
"Let's go!" Wolverine prompted as they all left.
On her way out, Rogue noticed the thermos on the ground and took it with her.
Once they were out, Wolverine patted the Acanti.
"Bye, old girl." Wolverine said. "We owe you one."
They all waved as the Acanti left to return to space and dispose of the colony permanently.
Rogue then realized something. "Where's Danny? We got to help him!"
Rogue heard a voice from the thermos. "I know where he is."
The southern belle looked down and saw it was the same one she saw back at Clockwork's lair. "You again? How did you end up here?"
"Your boyfriend brought me here." Dan said.
"Danny brought you here?" Rogue asked dubiously. Why would he bring this thing here?
"No, you simpleton." Dan insulted. "Cody did."
"I don't have time for this; I gotta find Danny before Cody hurts him." Rogue was about to hand the thermos to Logan and search for Danny when Dan stopped her.
"I know where he is." Dan revealed.
"How do you know?" Rogue narrowed her eyes.
"I can sense his energy." Dan stated. "I can lead you to him."
Rogue was wondering why he wanted to help Danny. "Why do you care?"
"I don't want him destroyed." Dan said. "Now are you going to listen to me?"
Danny was on the ground as Cody choked him with his tail.
"What makes you think you deserve her?" Cody interrogated him. "I knew her before you did. I was her first kiss. Her first love. What makes you think that she should be with you?"
"Well, I didn't try to abduct her into some weird alien group." Danny replied jokingly. "I think that really helps my chances."
Cody hissed as he tightened his tail's grip over Danny's throat.
"It's over, freak! Rogue will be mine! She will be my queen, and we will rule!"
"Don't count on it!" Rogue cried as she caught up to them.
"Rogue." Cody looked at her with sadness in his eyes. "You would choose him over me?"
Rogue pulled the cap off the thermos and aimed it at Cody.
"In a heartbeat." Rogue then sucked her old boyfriend up in the thermos as Cody screamed.
Cody was surrounded by darkness all around him. He tried to figure out where he was until it hit him.
He was inside the thermos.
"All you had to do was let me out of the thermos." Dan's voice sounded. "But you couldn't even do that."
Cody felt a presence behind him and turned around, only to scream at what was in front of him.
It had the same face that was on the surface of the thermos. But it looked more evil and sinister than ever. He wore the same outfit that Danny had, which caught Cody's attention, especially the logo.
"You're him." Cody realized.
"I was." Dan responded. "But I grew out of it."
Dan then grabbed the ghost and ripped him apart until he was nothing but a pile of ectoplasm.
Cody was now gone.
Permanently.
Danny and Rogue were cuddling back in their room.
"I'm sorry about what happened to Cody." Danny said. "I know it must've been hard for you to capture him in the thermos."
"It wasn't." Rogue revealed as she turned to look her man in the eye. "Danny, whatever history Cody and I had is nothing compared to what we have. I couldn't let him hurt you. So when it came down to between you and Cody, well, I knew my choice from the very beginning."
"Still, I know it must've been difficult seeing him like that." Danny said.
Rogue sighed. "Cody died a long time ago, honey. Whatever that thing was, it sure wasn't Cody. Just something wearing his skin." She then rubbed Danny's hair. "I'm just glad we're all safe and nothing happened to you, darling. I love you."
"How sweet." Dan said from the thermos. It was now resting on the windowsill of their room. "If I had any humanity left in me, this would be a very heartwarming moment. But of course I surrendered my human half a long time ago."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "I forgot about him." She then gave Danny a questioning look. "By the way, what is that thing, anyway? I know it's a ghost, but what was he doing with Cody? I thought he was with Clockwork."
Danny turned to her, looking alarmed. "How do you know he was with Clockwork?"
Rogue shrugged. "When we were over there to see if Gambit was the assassin and Clockwork wasn't there. We all split up, and I ended up finding him in one of his rooms. He changed his voice to yours to try and trick me into thinking that it was you, so I would let him out, but I saw through his trick."
Danny shivered at the fact that Rogue had encountered Dan. "Did he say anything else to you?"
"Not really." Rogue replied. "But how did he end up in Cody's hands?"
"I was placed into the Observant's custody." Dan answered. "But something came up during my transfer, and I ended up somewhere deep in the Ghost Zone. I simply waited until your friend showed up, and I made him a deal."
"What deal?" Rogue demanded.
"Simple, I would help him get you back, and in exchange, he would free me." Dan stated.
"Wait, if you can talk from inside there, then can Cody as well?" Rogue asked.
Dan started howling in laughter, startling the couple.
"Cody is gone." Dan said. "He was gone the moment I got my hands on him. Does that hurt you, Rogue? Taking away your boyfriend?"
Rogue glared at the thermos, picked it up, and slammed it down on the windowsill harshly. "He's not my boyfriend. And whatever it was that you killed wasn't Cody. He died at my hands a long time ago."
"You trailer park trash." Dan insulted. "When I get out of here, I will make you regret the day you were ever born."
Rogue turned to Danny. "Who is this monster anyway?"
Danny sighed. He hoped he wouldn't have to do this.
"If you don't tell her, Danny, I will." Dan threatened. "And I won't be lax on all the gruesome details."
"Tell me what?" Rogue asked interestedly.
Seeing that there was no other choice, Danny decided to come clean.
"Rogue, I should've told you this a long time ago." Danny said. "Inside that thermos is the ghost that killed my family and friends. His name is Dan Phantom."
Rogue looked at the thermos and back at Danny. "He killed your family?" Then an epiphany hit her. "That's why you don't like being called Dan. Because it reminds you of this guy."
Danny sat down on the bed. "That's part of the reason why. But the real reason is that Dan is me."
Rogue was now confused. "I'm sorry, what?"
Danny patted the seat next to him, gesturing for Rogue to sit. "It's a long story, Rogue. When I was still in high school, my class was having this big, important test, the C.A.T., and I was in serious danger of failing it. A test that the teachers said would determine our future. With all the ghost fighting, I didn't have any time to study, so I knew I was doomed for failure. But during one fight with a ghost, I ended up with the answers. I thought all my problems were solved."
"How does this have to do with the deaths of your friends and family?" Rogue asked. She was wondering why Danny was talking about some stupid test, of all things.
"Trust me, you'll see." Danny said. "Anyway, soon after that, I ended up getting attacked by ghosts who claimed they were from the future. During one fight, my friends and I ended up being teleported to Clockwork's lair for the very first time."
Rogue listened, entranced by Danny's story.
Dan was reveling in what was going to happen. When Rogue sees what Danny will become, she will leave him, devastating him enough that he will have no choice but to turn into him.
"And in his lair, we saw the future." Danny stopped, not wanting to continue, but he realized he couldn't stop now. He had to finish it. "It was in ruins; buildings were destroyed; people were dying and running for their lives."
"Just like the future Dani came from." Rogue said. "Or the one that Bishop and Cable came from."
Danny nodded. "Yeah, but this future wasn't destroyed by Sentinels, a plague, or the lack of antibodies from a plague. It was caused by a ghost. Just one ghost." Danny pointed to the thermos. "Him. I saw him destroying everything with a smile on his face. I looked at what he was wearing. He had a black and white jumpsuit with a cape, and on his chest was a logo of a D with a P inside it."
Rogue put a hand over her mouth. "No." This couldn't be true. Danny would never do something that horrible.
Danny looked at her grimly. "It was me. I killed everybody, and I didn't care. I reveled in it and took pleasure from it. The Ghostly Wail." Danny brought up. "The first time I saw that power, it was when he used it to annihilate a small army that was trying to take him down."
Rogue was horrified as she imagined the horrors that Dan had caused. She knew how powerful Danny's abilities were, but she never imagined what could happen if they were put to a more nefarious use.
"I thought how cool that power was." Danny said. "I don't know why I thought that when I was seeing him commit murder, maybe I was trying to distract myself from the reality of his atrocities."
Danny felt Rogue give him a sympathetic look as she started to rub his back, encouraging him to keep going.
"Then Clockwork showed up. He told us that he was hired by the Observants to eliminate me so that the future never happens. We resisted, of course, and in trying to escape from him, we ended up in that future."
"I remember the first time I saw him in person." Danny said. "He was so frightening, and he didn't care at all about what he'd done. He looked at my friends who were dead in his timeline, and you want to know what his reaction was to seeing his friends for the first time in ten years?"
"What was it?" Rogue asked, though she already had an idea what the answer was.
"He didn't care." Danny said. "He didn't care that his friends were back. He didn't care about the memories he had of them, if he had any at all. He just looked at them like they were a pair of cockroaches that crawled out from under the pavement."
Danny had tears in his eyes at this point. He could never understand how Dan could be so cruel.
"When they tried to run away, he attempted to kill them." Danny said. "His two best friends in the world, and he was going to kill them. They managed to get back to their time, and I tried to follow them, but Dan wouldn't let me. He trapped me in the Ghost Zone while he went back to the present disguised as me to make sure the future would stay the same."
"In the Ghost Zone, I came across my old enemies; they were all full of hate and vengeance because of what Dan had done to them. I don't know if he did it because he wanted revenge for all the crap they put us through over the years or because that's the kind of bastard that he is. They tried to attack me and would've destroyed me if it weren't for my Ghostly Wail surfacing. I don't know how, Dan told me that he just learned the power."
Danny then got to the part where it all came together. "Searching through the Ghost Zone, I ended up in Vlad's lair. He was nothing but a weak old man, but he did have information."
"It turns out that my teacher knew I had the answers the whole time and was willing to let me return the answers before the date of the test. When I didn't, he called my parents. We all met up to talk it through. I brought along my sister and my friends to back me up. Then there was a horrible explosion, and everyone died. Except me."
Rogue had tears in her eyes now. Danny shouldn't have had to go through this. Someone as kind and caring as him didn't deserve this.
"In my grief, I went to live with Vlad, the only person on the planet who could possibly understand my situation." Danny explained. "All I wanted was to make the hurt go away. Vlad honored my wishes." Danny glanced out the window. "There was a reason I was terrified of the operation Sinister was going to perform on me."
Danny sighed before continuing. "With the ghost gauntlets, there would be no more painful human emotions to drag me down."
"You separated yourself." Rogue realized, remembering the incident where the ghost half was separated, and acted aggressively.
Danny nodded. "Sadly, that freed me up to rip the ghost out of Vlad."
"Just like the Dark Phantom Phoenix incident." Rogue said.
"And when his evil ghost half mixed with mine and his evil side overwhelmed me." Danny said.
Rogue could only imagine how powerful Danny's ghost half could be if it added Vlad's power to its own. She was glad they were able to stop the Dark Phantom Phoenix from doing it.
But Rogue still had one question.
"What happened to your human self?" She asked.
"Vlad just told me that some things are better left unsaid." Danny answered.
"I killed him." Dan stated coldly, scaring the two who had forgotten his presence.
"When I realized that I had to stop my friends and family from dying in that explosion to save the future, I managed to get Vlad's help to get back to the present." Danny said. "But it was too late. He had them all strapped to the building, and he wasn't going to let me interfere."
Rogue was hoping that this story would have a happy ending, but she knew that it wouldn't.
"I fought him with everything I had." Danny said, feeling guilty that he couldn't save his family. "It still wasn't enough. Even with the specter deflector on him, he still couldn't be defeated. I only managed to do it with the Ghostly Wail, and then I was able to capture him in that thermos."
"Unfortunately, I used all my power and wasn't able to save them." Danny said. "I failed them. They're all dead because of me." He started to sob.
Rogue hugged her boyfriend. "You did all you could do, Danny. It's not your fault."
"It is!" Danny insisted. "If I had just returned those answers, none of this would've happened. They would still be alive and he wouldn't exist, but because of my stupidity, I ruined it."
"You didn't know." Rogue comforted him.
"I should've." Danny said. "I'm supposed to be a hero. What hero can't protect the people who matter the most to him?" He continued to cry as he finished his story. "There you have it, Rogue." He stared at the thermos, feeling Dan staring back.
"I'm a monster."
A brief second later, Danny rubbed his burning cheek as he realized he had been slapped.
"DANIEL FENTON!" Rogue roared. "I don't want to hear you talk about yourself like that! You're not a monster! You're the farthest thing from a monster!"
"You heard what I did, Rogue." Danny argued. "I killed everyone. Hell, I probably killed you in that timeline."
"Danny, you're not Dan." Rogue assured him. "I know you, sugar. You are the most heroic person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. And I'm not going to stand by and listen to you talk about yourself like that. I love you, Danny. You're not Dan, and you never will be."
"I could be." Danny said.
"Anyone can be like Dan, darling." Rogue said. "We are all capable of great evil, sugar. But it's what we chose to do that shows who we are."
"Then how come he hasn't vanished from existence?" Danny asked. "If I don't become him, then why is he still here?"
"I don't know, honey." Rogue admitted. "But we can't let that stop you from being who you are. My boyfriend. The best thing that has ever happened to me." She held Danny's face in her hands. "I love you."
The two kissed.
"How inspiring." Dan mocked. "But I'm still here. I still exist. That means he still turns into me."
"That won't happen." Rogue said firmly. "Danny won't let it happen. And I won't let him become you."
"You think you can change my past?" Dan challenged.
"Dan, let me tell you something about our relationship." Rogue said. "I have him wrapped around my fingers."
At Danny's affronted look, Rogue rolled her eyes. "Don't deny it; you know it's true."
Rogue then turned her attention back to the thermos as she leaned closer to it. "And if I say he isn't going to become you, then he's not going to turn into you."
"You're a fool." Dan said. "A dead fool."
Rogue huffed. She was getting sick of listening to him. "So can we take him back to Clockwork's?" She asked Danny.
Danny shook his head. "I tried earlier, but I couldn't find his lair; it's like he's avoiding me."
"He is." Dan confirmed. "After I made contact with Sinister, the Observants forbade him from interacting with you."
"Well, there goes that plan." Rogue said. "Where are we gonna put him now?"
Danny had an idea.
"They looked like nice people, honey." Rogue said as they stood in front of the memorial for Danny's friends and family.
It read, Gone But Not Forgotten.
"They were." Danny confirmed. "And I think it's appropriate that since this madness started here, it should end here." Danny pulled out the thermos and turned intangible as he phased through the dirt.
He traveled far down the Earth before stopping and leaving the thermos here. No one would ever hear his voice again.
It was time to bury the past.
"This isn't over, Danny." Dan vowed. "I will break out of here, and you will become me."
Danny glared at the device. "Don't count on it."
He then left Dan for the last time.
Hopefully.
He phased back up and rejoined his girlfriend.
"Thanks for coming with me." Danny thanked her.
"No problem, sugar." Rogue replied. "It's kinda nice seeing where you grew up."
The two were walking down the sidewalk when they heard a voice.
"Fenturd? Is that you?"
Danny sighed as they stopped. Why, of all people, did they have to run into him?
"Fenturd?" Rogue repeated in an offended voice. How dare anyone insult her boyfriend's last name.
And her future last name as well.
A muscular blonde man wearing a white shirt that showed his physique approached them. He had a cruel smile on his face as he looked at Danny.
"Well, I'll be damned." Dash said. "I never thought I'd run into your loser ass again. Amity Park has been doing great since you left, and now you have to come back and ruin everything by showing your face."
"Excuse me?" Rogue was now getting pissed off as she realized who this person was.
Dash Baxter. Her boyfriend's old bully.
Dash turned to Rogue with a lecherous look in his eyes. "Well, what do we have here? Who's this, Fenturd? She's too pretty to be talking to you. Is she a family member?"
"I'm his girlfriend!" Rogue yelled.
Dash laughed. "Oh, that's a good one. As if Fenturd could ever land a hottie like you. Why don't you ditch this loser and try out a real man?"
"Sugar, I wouldn't date you if you were the last man on Earth." Rogue shot back. "And I think it's time that you apologize to my man for all the crap that you gave him."
Dash sniggered at the memories. "Like pushing him into lockers, or shoving his head into toilets, or that time I hung him from the flagpole by his underwear."
Rogue was getting angrier and angrier as Dash continued to insult her Spooky.
"You're so pathetic." Rogue said. "Bullying others just to feel good about yourself, I don't know why you're such an asshat. Maybe deep down you knew that you were going to end up a failure after high school, so you decided to take it out on everyone else who had a future. Hell, the only thing you were good for was football, but I bet you didn't put any effort into training; you went straight for the steroids, didn't you?"
Danny was staring at Rogue as she unleashed all her vitriol on Dash.
He wasn't going to lie. He was really turned on by this.
In front of Casper High, a crowd gathered to view the unusual sight that was on the school's lawn.
Rogue had not been kind to Dash and had been very brutal in teaching him a lesson.
Dash was hanging from the top of the flagpole by his underwear. Rogue had given him the mother of all wedgies before putting him up there. He sported two black eyes, courtesy of Rogue's fist. If that wasn't bad enough, Rogue had broken into the school and stolen the biology lab's supply of frogs and stuffed them in Dash's pants. She also stole a used jockstrap from the locker room and stuffed it into Dash's mouth. His face was also wet as Rogue shoved his head into a toilet before she placed him on the flagpole.
The crowd was laughing at the former King of Casper High getting his comeuppance. Most of the people there were the nerds and geeks that Dash and his friends picked on, so it was nice to see their bully receive his karma.
One of the former nerds saw Danny and recognized him.
"Danny?" He said.
Danny smiled. "Hi, Mikey."
"I didn't know you were back." Mikey said.
"Who cares?" Paulina brushed off. "It would've been cooler if the ghost boy came back and asked me to marry him."
Rogue glared at Paulina venomously and was about to teach her who the ghost boy belonged to when Danny held her back.
"Reel it in." Danny said.
"Wait, Danny, did you do this?" Mikey asked. Everyone turned to Danny, who blushed.
"Actually, the credit goes to my amazing girlfriend." Danny admitted.
Rogue blushed as she waved at the crowd.
"Your girlfriend beat up Dash?" Mikey asked in awe as he looked at Rogue like she was a superhero. Which she was. "Dude, you've gotta marry her."
The superheroine smiled at Mikey. "I like the way you think, Mikey."
Danny laughed. For the first time in forever, he was happy to be back home.