Silence. That's all it was as Danny looked over at where Dan used to be. It was over. It was finally over. Dan was gone for good. His family had been avenged. There would be no more nightmares, no more peeking over his shoulder to see if Dan was stalking him. No more fearing that he would kill another person dear to him. The future was truly bright now that it wasn't clouded by the shadow of Dan and his malevolence.
The relief that washed over Danny conceded perfectly with the sudden roar of applause and cheering from everyone around him. From the heroes to the villains to the ordinary people, they were all sharing their joy at their world being saved from Dan. From the corner of his eye, Danny saw the ghosts that were on Dan's side fading away as they decided to leave now that their leader was gone.
Before Danny could make a sound, someone jumped on him, sending him to the ground as the assailant smooched his lips.
Grinning at Rogue's affections, Danny returned the kiss as husband and wife reunited after being separated for so long.
"I love you." Rogue said repeatedly as she took breaths between kisses. "I love you so much. I missed you."
"I missed you too." Danny said as his wife pulled him up as they kissed again.
Rogue smiled at seeing Danny so calm. "It's over now, sugar. He can't hurt you anymore. How does it feel to finally have him gone?"
"Amazing." Danny replied. "And thanks for the help." He turned to Dani, who embraced him in a hug. "And you." He gave a stern look to his daughter. "When I tell you to do something, you do it, understand?"
Dani nodded guiltily, making Danny smirk.
"You are so lucky that I'm too happy about Dan being gone to punish you." Danny told her before hugging her again. "I'm just so glad you're safe." He then sought out his two sons and brought them into a hug. "You two as well."
"Hey, we can take care of ourselves!" Tucker protested.
"Well, I can." Charlie said to his brother. "But I don't know about you."
"Hey!" Tucker gave his brother a slight punch on the arm.
Danny and Rogue couldn't help but chuckle at the sibling display before they looked over all their descendants.
"Thank you, all of you." Danny said to them. "You have been a big help, and I'm honored to have all of you as my family."
"You should be, Danny." Clockwork said as he came up to him. "For your legacy will continue on through them long after you are gone." He smiled as he looked over at Danny. "I remember when we first met. You were a young, headstrong boy just wanting to protect the people he loved. I'm happy that after all this time, you're still that same boy." The time master then turned his attention to all the time travelers. "But now it is time to go."
Danny nodded sadly at having to see his family go right after he got to know them. "Farewell guys, I love you all."
"We love you too, Grandpa." One woman said before she and the rest of her family disappeared back to their own time.
"Grandpa." Danny chuckled. "Am I already that old?"
"Well, you do have white hair?" Tucker said. "See ya later, Dad, Mom, Dani." He then disappeared.
"Goodbye." Charlie said as he vanished as well.
Danny was about to greet the others when Jubilee jumped into his arms.
"Danny, you're back!" She cheered as she hugged her brother.
"I missed you too, Jubilee." Danny said as she let go of him. "Thanks for your help. I couldn't have done it without you and the others."
"Of course." Jubilee bragged good-heartedly before speaking in a faux superhero voice. "Jubilee, X-Woman Supreme, has helped defeat the evil Dan Phantom."
"Danny!" The X-Men ran forward as Scott brought him into a hug before letting go and giving a genuine smile to the person he saw as a younger brother. "It's good to have you back; the team wasn't the same without you."
"Oh my gosh, is that a smile on your face, Scott?" Danny teased. "I thought only Jean could get that out of you."
The X-Men all laughed as they relaxed in the knowledge that they were reunited and that the danger was over.
"We're glad that you're okay, Danny." Jean told him as she hugged him. "We've all been worried about you."
"Well, sorry about that." Danny apologized. "I didn't count on being put into a coma."
"Just be careful next time." Gambit joked as he elbowed Danny in a brotherly gesture before bringing him in for a hug as well. "Gambit need someone to play cards with."
"It's good that you showed up just in time." Beast said as he hugged him next. "We would've been goners if you hadn't saved us."
"Hey, from the looks of the arena when I got there, it looked like you put up a good fight against him." Danny praised.
"Well, we had help from Vlad along with your gear." Storm explained as she hugged the man she loved as a brother.
"True, but I bet you gave Dan a nasty shock with your lightning, am I wrong?" Danny asked.
Storm chuckled. "Perhaps."
The hybrid then saw Vlad move forward and hug him next.
"Hey, fruit loop." Danny jested. "Thanks for taking care of my team while I was gone."
"It's the least I can do for you, little badger." Vlad replied. "I love you."
"I love you too, Vlad." Danny said before he saw Wolverine come up. "Oh, hey, Logan."
Logan stood silent as he patted Danny on the shoulder. "It's good to have you back, bub."
"Still the same, anti-social X-Man." Danny quipped.
"His sentiments are shared by us all, Danny." Xavier said as he rolled forward in a spare wheelchair. "We weren't quite the same without you."
Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, you guys are the X-Men. No matter what comes your way, you always manage to win."
"There's no X-Men without you, Danny." Xavier told him. "I've been wrong about a number of things, but one of the few things that I knew was right was bringing you to this team."
Danny blushed as Rogue rubbed his shoulder. "He's right, sugar."
As Danny was about to reply, he saw Kurt come towards him.
"Mein friend. You're all right." Kurt cheered.
"Hey, Kurt." Danny greeted. "It's good to see you."
"That was incredible what you did, Danny." Kurt said. "We all have a dark side, but not all of us are able to subdue it like you. But then again, I knew since meeting you that you were special. Your heart always shined like a bright light. I am honored to be your brother-in-law."
"Same here, Kurt." Danny responded before seeing some of his other friends make their way to him.
"Good job, my comrade." Colossus shook Danny's hand.
"That was amazing." Cannonball praised. "I never saw anyone kick as much butt as you did."
"You fought well, my friend." Wulf complimented.
"You put that monster in his place." Archangel added, still sore over Dan ripping off his wings.
"More like put him on ice." Bobby quipped.
Danny then felt Kevin jump into his arms, as the young man was grateful to have him back.
"You're all right." Kevin said, relieved that the man he saw as a father was not killed. "You're not hurt!"
"No, I'm okay, Kevin." Danny assured him as he returned the hug before he let go and shuffled Kevin over to Banshee.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" One citizen cried as he pointed at Danny. "He's weak; destroy him now before he turns out like the other one!"
The crowd then turned from cheering for Danny to crying out for his death as they remembered his connection to Dan.
"How dare you!" Rogue yelled in fury. Her voice was so loud that it silenced everyone. "He saved us all, and now you want him dead?"
The crowd had either guilty or uncertain looks on their faces as Rogue called them out.
"You know he could've left you all to your fate." Rogue told them. "He was on a different planet when Dan started his little tournament. My husband could've just stayed there and started himself a new life, and I wouldn't blame him after the way you all treated him. He's done nothing but help you, and you call him names and try to kill him."
Danny looked at his girlfriend with appreciation, but he still felt the sting of being rejected once again by his old town.
For a moment, he heard Dan's voice echo in his head.
'They'll lock you up in a cage, dissect you, and use your ectoplasm to power whatever weapon they think of next to use against another hapless ghost.'
His demeanor saddened even further as he thought over even more of his words.
'You may think you're some hero, but to them, you're nothing but a freak. Just like me.'
If that wasn't enough to confirm Danny's thoughts, it was the number of bodies that were laid on the ground. Several corpses of heroes and villains were on display, showing the gruesome ways that Dan dealt with them. Seeing Valerie's corpse struck a chord with him, along with the sight of X-Factor mourning over the death of Quicksilver. Magneto was there as well, clearly devastated at losing both of his children.
He was taken out of his musings when he noticed one man in front of the crowd with the most hate in his eyes. This happened to be Jeremy Manson.
"YOU!" Jeremy screamed at him in a drunken rage. "This is all your fault! My Samantha is dead because of you and your freaky future self!" He pointed over to where all the bodies were lying.
"Their deaths are on you!" Jeremy accused him. "Everyone that monster killed is your fault. You brought him into this world. You're a freak! An abnormality that only brings misery wherever you go!"
The drunk socialite raised his bottle, about to throw it at Danny, when someone behind Jeremy grabbed his arm. Turning around, the rich man was confronted by an angry Steve, who held onto his arm with Martha by his side.
"Don't you ever speak to our son like that." Martha spat at him as Steve punched the man in the face, knocking him to the ground.
The couple then raced over to Danny and hugged him.
"Are you all right, son?" Steve asked.
Danny shook his head. "No. He was right; Dan killed them, and it's all my fault."
"No." Martha disagreed. "You're nothing like that thing. You're still that good boy we adopted all those years ago."
Steve nodded in agreement. "Nothing will ever change that."
Danny separated from them as he gave them a look of puzzlement. "You're not afraid of what I am or who I can become?"
The two shook their heads.
"Not even a bit?" Danny asked.
"Ever since we learned Jubilee was a mutant and about your powers, Steve and I have tried to be more open and accepting of others who are different." Martha explained.
"Ghost or not, we care about you, Danny. We always will." Steve reiterated.
With a look that had tears of gratitude, Danny thanked the people who took him in after his first family had perished. "Thank you. For everything."
"It's not just them, sugar, but us too." Rogue said. "The X-Men will never abandon you."
"You may not be a mutant, but you're still one of us." Scott agreed.
"Always have been." Jubilee added.
"And always will be." Xavier finished.
In that moment, Danny felt something click, as he didn't feel like two separate halves but as one being. A bright blue aura surrounded him as everyone shielded their eyes.
As the light faded, everyone's eyes widened in shock. Before them, Danny was standing in a brand new form. He was made of flames, which sent off several alarms in the X-Men's heads.
"The Phoenix again?" Wolverine asked in disbelief. "Will that flaming turkey never go away?"
"No, Wolverine." Rogue said as she approached Danny. Gazing upon her husband's new form, she felt a serene feeling. Like she was safe and that there was no need to worry about anything again. It was protective and strong, but also gentle and caring. "Something's different this time."
She was right, as the flames were neither green nor red, but blue. A clear and compassionate-looking blue. It made Danny look like an angel as he acknowledged his friends with a smile.
A bright blue flash engulfed them all as it all faded to black.
"I'm sorry, sir, about what happened to Dan." Domo apologized to Mojo, who waved it off.
"Forget it, Dan's old news." Mojo said as he looked at all the ratings. "I already have footage of everything he's done so far, and that's more than enough. Plus, we don't have to deal with him or any estate he has. We don't have to worry about using his likeness illegally." He pulled out action figures of Dan, along with comic books that had him on the cover.
"We can make loads off of all this stuff alone. Along with the footage of the tournament. I'm gonna sell it on video and become stinking rich. You hear that, Domo? This is my big break. Dan may be destroyed, but he will live on through my merchandising. We can make an animated series off of him, young adult novels, and video games. I'm going to make it big!"
He gazed at the action figure of Dan as he spoke to it. "All because of you." He kissed it in thanks. "Nothing can ruin this for me!"
The bright light did just that as it engulfed him.
A crowd was protesting outside of a press conference where Henry Gyrich was arguing for the passing of the Mutant Containment Bill.
"Can't you see?" He showed a clip of a mutant attacking someone on a projector. "We are looking at the end of the world as we know it. For years, I've been trying to warn you."
The projection showed a mutant in London destroying Big Ben. "One: Incident in London. Millions in damage." It then showed a picture of Asteroid M. "Two: Their nuclear asteroids slamming into our planet."
The final one then showed Colossus attacking a tank. "Three: Mutant freedom fighters level a town in the former Soviet Union. I've seen what these monsters can do. Don't be fooled by bleeding-heart mutant appeasers. We are at war! The human race must take measures to survive. We must ratify the Mutant Containment Bill!"
On stage, was Xavier who was looking around as he took in his surroundings. He felt a serious case of deja vu.
"Well, what do you have to say about that, Xavier?" Gyrich taunted.
Xavier put all of his questions about what had happened aside as he confronted, Gyrich. A part of him weary, remembering that Dan possessed him last time. But scanning his mind, Xavier found no other presence. Dan was gone. That had not changed.
"Containment, Mr. Gyrich?" Xavier said on stage in disgust, but with a bit of relief that he was dealing with a politician instead of a demon like Dan. "Your precious bill speaks of taking innocent American citizens and treating them like prisoners of war. There has been much strife between mutants and traditional Homo Sapien humans with mutants usually the victims. Mr. Gyrich's terrorists were actually heroes, risking their lives to save hundreds of innocent humans."
"They aren't like us." Gyrich protested. "They don't want rights. They want to destroy us."
In the audience, Beast, Danny, Logan, and Scott were watching this go down. Logan, Beast, and Scott were trying to process what was going on. They were in Amity Park before the bright light engulfed them, and now they were back here. The three turned to see Danny sitting next to them with a nonchalant attitude about him.
"Bub, what the hell happened?" Logan questioned him.
"I'll explain when we're back home." Danny promised. "For now, take a load off. You guys have earned it."
The three simply shrugged as they relaxed in their chairs.
"Mutants are human beings." Xavier argued back on stage. "They wish only equal protection under the law. To be accepted as..."
"I've always wondered why you're such a mutant lover, Xavier." Gyrich said. "Xavier, the great peacemaker, friend of poor, misunderstood mutants. Could Charles Xavier be a stinking mutant himself?" He pulled out some kind of remote and aimed it at the professor.
When he pressed the button, Gyrich screamed as the device electrocuted him. A couple seconds later, he fell to the stage unconscious, with security guards coming in to drag him away.
"Well, I guess that means it's over." Danny said as he got up. He turned to the others. "Come on, let's go home."
"Alright, we're all here. What happened?" Wolverine asked as the X-Men were all in the living room, standing around Danny, who was sitting on the couch.
"Yes, Danny, how did everything go back to before Dan hijacked the summit?" Xavier questioned.
"Well, when I was in that coma, I found that I could merge my human and ghost halves together into one entity." Danny explained. "I was planning to do it so I would have the power to get rid of Dan, but Lilandra woke me up before I could do it."
"It would've made things easier." Gambit said, making Rogue elbow him.
"Yeah, but hey, Dan's gone, so I'm not complaining." Danny said. "But I felt guilty over what he'd done, along with all the people he's murdered since getting out. So when my halves finally merged together, I altered reality, changing it back to the summit before Dan ruined it all."
"You mean?" Cyclops asked before Danny nodded.
"Yes." Danny answered. "That means all the people Dan has killed since revealing my identity are now alive. I've reset everything to before he pulled that stunt. With some exceptions, of course. I transported all those ghosts that the GIW had captive back to the Ghost Zone, where they're getting the help they need to heal. I also erased everyone's memories with the exception of you guys, Steve and Martha, Vlad, Kurt, and Magneto."
"Why Magneto?" Jubilee asked.
Danny shrugged. "I don't know. I heard Clockwork's voice telling me so."
"Well, either way, I'm glad that it's finally over." Xavier said. "Dan is gone, the world isn't clamoring for Danny's destruction, and all my X-Men are safe and sound."
"You got that right, Professor." Rogue placed her arms around her husband and daughter. "I'm happy that everything is back to normal."
"As are we all." Beast said. "I doubt anyone would be sad that Dan's gone."
"Sir, are you all right?" Domo asked as he looked over at a depressed Mojo.
"I don't know, Domo." Mojo answered. "I just had this feeling that the greatest thing had ever happened to me, only to be snatched away."
"I wouldn't worry about it." Domo told him. "I'm sure it wasn't that important."
"Probably." Mojo said as he went back to work. If the alien had known about the opportunities that had been taken away from him, he would've used every swear word in the universe.
Meanwhile, a man in a red suit ran into the center of Amity Park, holding a bat in his hand.
"I don't care what you say, Mojo!" Deadpool cried. "I'm fighting in this tournament, and nothing is going to stop me!" The mercenary then looked around as he noticed that everything in this town was back to normal. The tournament was no more.
"Damn it!" Deadpool shouted at his chance being erased. "If only there were something I could take this out on!" He then got a bright idea of what to do next.
J. Jonah Jameson was sleeping peacefully in his bed, unaware of Deadpool standing over his bed with a bat in his hand.
"Hello, misplaced aggression." Deadpool said as he raised the bat over his head.
"There's just one thing I still don't understand." Cyclops said.
"One thing?" Logan asked incredulously.
"Back at Amity Park, when we were being held captive, our collars turned off by themselves." Cyclops explained.
"They did?" Rogue asked.
Jean nodded. "It was right after you went over to confront Dan. They just deactivated on their own for some strange reason." She looked at Danny. "Was that your doing?"
"No." Danny said before he felt his ghost sense go off.
"It was us."
They all turned around and gasped. Standing before them were the ghosts of Tucker, Sam, and Jazz, who smiled at the X-Men.
Sam smirked. "Boo."
Danny ran over to them and brought them into a hug as the X-Men looked at them in awe.
"It's them." Cyclops said in astonishment.
"Unbelievable." Rogue murmured in awe.
"This is so cool." Jubilee said in excitement at seeing Danny's friends.
"What are you guys doing here?" Danny asked the three.
"We just wanted to say goodbye." Tucker said.
"But don't think that we're gone forever." Sam added.
"Because we will always be with you." Jazz finished.
"Thank you." Danny thanked them. "For everything." He turned to the X-Men. "Guys, these are my old friends Sam and Tucker. And this is my sister, Jazz."
Danny then pointed at Xavier. "This is Professor Xavier; he's the guy who runs things here."
Xavier smiled. "It's great to meet you. Danny has been a tremendous help since he's crossed our doors."
Sam chucked as she locked eyes with Danny. "I never thought I'd ever see a teacher praise you, Danny."
Danny gave a playful shrug. "Anything can happen."
"Well, I think it's great, Xavier, that you opened your doors to helping people struggling with their powers." Jazz praised.
"Yeah, dude." Tucker agreed. "And your chair is pretty cool." He pulled out his PDA and started typing on it. "I wonder if I can connect my PDA to it."
"Well I..." Xavier was interrupted as his chair moved backwards on its own, crashing into Wolverine in the process.
"Oops." Tucker said as he saw Wolverine get up and snarl.
The techno geek cowered as Wolverine got in his face.
"You're lucky, bub, that you're a ghost; otherwise, you'd be impaled on these." Wolverine threatened before he saw Tucker's PDA. Getting an idea, Logan snatched it from the ghost's hand and threw it to the ground before impaling it with his claws.
"NOOOO!" Tucker cried in despair as he fell to his knees and started crying. "My beauty! She's gone! Gone!"
Everyone just stared at Tucker as he kept sobbing over his destroyed PDA.
"Wow, you were right, Danny." Jubilee said as she watched the ghost continue to cry. "He really is a techno geek."
"So that's where that PDA back at Skull Mesa came from." Cyclops said as he watched Tucker's pathetic display of grief over an inanimate object.
"Yep." Danny confirmed as he decided to introduce Wolverine next. "Sam, Jazz, Tucker, this is Wolverine."
Tucker continued grieving over his PDA as Sam and Jazz looked over Wolverine.
Sam snorted. "Yellow spandex? You really think that's intimidating?"
Wolverine merely growled before he noticed Jazz move closer to him.
"Man, you really have some issues. Periods of rage and loss of memory. You know, I was practicing psychology when I was alive. If you need help, then I can sure give you some."
Wolverine backed up as Jazz continued to psychoanalyze him. He turned to Danny.
"Bub, get her away from me." He whispered to his friend.
Danny put his arms on Jazz's shoulders and pulled her back gently. "Alright, Jazz, I think that's enough." He saw Jubilee step forward. "This is Jubilee."
"My new sister!" Jazz said in excitement.
"Sister?" Jubilee said in confusion.
"Well, you're Danny's sister, which makes you my sister." Jazz pointed out.
Jubilee brought Jazz in for a hug. "I always wanted a sister."
"Well, now you got one." Jazz said.
"Awesome." Jubilee replied. "I can't believe I'm meeting you three. You're all so cool, just like Danny said you were."
Sam chuckled. "You're pretty cool yourself. Nice shades, by the way."
"Thanks." Jubilee said.
"Speaking of family." Jazz continued. "Where's my niece?"
"I'm right here." Dani said as she hugged her aunt.
Jazz chuckled as she looked at her. "You have your father's eyes."
"And his powers." Sam added before turning to Tucker. "Tucker, Danny's daughter is here."
Tucker ignored her. "There's no reason to go on! Why! WHY!"
Sam turned back to the others. "Ok, he's going to be doing that forever unless we fix that stupid thing."
"I can do it." Beast said as he scooped up the pieces.
Tucker let out tears of joy as he hugged Beast. "Thank you, Mr. Blue Sasquatch."
"It's Hank McCoy, actually." Beast corrected.
"Same thing." Tucker said as Beast went down to the lab to fix the PDA.
"Tucker, this is my daughter, Dani." Danny told him.
"Oh, hey, what's up?" Tucker shook her hand.
"I'm so proud of you, Danny." Jazz said as she hugged Dani again. "You've become such a good big brother and father as well."
Danny merely blushed before introducing Gambit. "This is Gambit."
"Bon jour." Gambit greeted.
"Ah, hey, man." Tucker greeted. "I'm Tucker. I'm a ladies man myself." The nerd started flexing his nonexistent muscles. "Maybe we could go out on the town together one day and pick up some babes."
"Maybe, mon ami." Gambit said, trying to hold in his laughter.
Scott and Jean were next.
"Wow, you look like an older version of me." Jazz said in shock.
"Yes, there appears to be a resemblance." Jean agreed.
"We wanted to thank you for deactivating our collars back at Amity Park." Scott thanked them.
"Hey, it was no problem." Sam waved off. "We wanted that asshole gone for killing us."
"You guys were there for that?" Morph asked.
"Yeah, it was pretty awesome seeing Dan fade away." Sam answered.
"It was also cool that you named one of your kids after me." Tucker said to Danny. "Looks like Tucker Phantom will live on after all."
"Let's hope that he doesn't misuse his powers like you did." Sam said. "Remember that time you overshadowed Paulina?"
"Man, Danny told you about that?" Tucker asked, getting a nod in confirmation. "That totally violates the dude code."
Beast soon returned with a repaired PDA as Sam was praising Storm for her impressive greenhouse.
"It is repaired." Beast said as Tucker gasped in delight and hugged the gadget. He then gave Beast another hug.
"Thanks, man, you rule!" Tucker complimented before he started typing in it. "Now let's see if I can connect to Cerebro."
"Wait, what?" Xavier asked as the couch raised, revealing a turret that shot out an energy blast at Wolverine, knocking the mutant into a wall.
"Oh, crap." Tucker said as Wolverine growled.
"Give me that PDA, bub!" Wolverine demanded as he started to chase Tucker around the mansion.
"No! You can't have her!" Tucker cried as he flew upstairs to get away from Wolverine.
Danny couldn't help but laugh before getting himself together as he introduced Rogue to his sister and friend.
"And last, but certainly not least, my lovely wife, Rogue." Danny said.
Jazz grabbed Rogue's hands. "Thank you for looking after my brother. He's so lucky to have you with him."
Rogue smiled as she stood in front of her sister-in-law. "Thank you."
Jazz then took off Rogue's gloves and touched her bare hands. "Remember, you're not alone. You have family. Not only with the X-Men but with us Fentons as well. Because you're a Fenton, Anna Marie." She whispered that last part to Rogue. "You always will be. And I'm proud to have a mutant as cool as you as part of my family."
Tears of joy came from Rogue at being accepted as she embraced Jazz in a hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I promise you that I'll make sure nothing happens to your brother. I swear."
"I know." Jazz said as Rogue turned to Sam, who smiled at her.
"I like you." Sam stated. "But I think you could use a better style."
"Style?" Rogue said in confusion.
"Yeah, something less country." Sam confirmed. "You ever tried using some darker colors?"
"No." Rogue said hesitantly, making Sam grin.
"Well, there's no better time than the present." Sam then snapped her fingers as Rogue realized her entire outfit had changed. She was wearing a sheer long-sleeved blouse over a black halter top, along with a short black leather skirt. She had black leggings with thick combat boots and dog collars around her neck and wrists. Completing her outfit were black gloves.
"I think that's a good look for you." Sam said as she appraised Rogue.
"I agree." Danny said, looking over his wife in lust.
Rogue chuckled. "You know what? I kinda like it. It feels familiar, though."
"Well, now that we've met everyone, it's time for us to go." Jazz stated. She gave her brother one more hug. "Good luck, little brother. Just remember, we're always with you."
She then faded away.
"Ditto." Sam smirked as she faded away.
"GET BACK HERE!" Logan ordered as he kept chasing Tucker.
"It was great seeing you, dude. Hope we meet again." Tucker said quickly as he faded away before Wolverine could lay a hand on his PDA.
"No offense, Casper, but you've got some weird friends." Wolverine said to Danny.
Danny smiled. "You won't get any disagreements from me."
"So, what do we do now?" Jubilee asked.
"I'd say we go and run a level 5 Danger Room session." Scott said, getting looks of disbelief from everyone else.
"Psych!" Scott grinned. "And you say I don't have a sense of humor."
"It could use some work, though." Danny responded, getting everyone to laugh.
The next day, Xavier was in his office when he got an alert from Cerebro that someone was at the gates.
"Who is it?" Xavier asked the computer.
"Magneto." The computer responded.
"Magnus?" Xavier said in disbelief. "Let him in." He ordered Cerebro as he made his way to the living room.
"Charles." Magneto greeted his old friend.
"Magnus." Xavier replied before getting a good look at Magneto. He looked terrible, with bloodshot red eyes and bags under them. Xavier wondered if his old friend had gotten any sleep since the tournament.
"I assume you remember what happened with Dan?" Magneto asked.
"Yes." Xavier said. "Danny reset reality. No one remembers him except us, his other loved ones, and you for some reason."
"I deserve to remember him." Magnet mumbled brokenly. "To remember how he slaughtered my children and that it was my fault. How I almost condemned the world to being destroyed by him."
Xavier was concerned about Magneto. He'd never seen the man look so broken, not since the remnants of the army that occupied his country returned to retake it.
"I've seen him several times, Charles." Magneto announced. "In my nightmares. Every time I close my eyes, he is there, taunting me. Reminding me that I gave him free reign of the planet." Magneto gazed at Xavier with a haunted look in his eyes. "Whenever I look into his eyes, I see myself as the same kind of monster that he is."
"You're nothing like Dan, Magnus." Xavier reassured.
"We both know that's a lie, Charles." Magneto replied heatedly. "I've done nothing but kill all my life. Some who deserved it, yes, but how many innocent peoples blood is on my hands? Remember when I tried to launch those warheads? Or how I tried to destroy that power plant. Also, who could forget how I allowed Apocalypse to almost destroy time itself?"
"I won't deny you've done terrible things, Magnus." Xavier replied. "But you can change your destiny. Please join me and my X-Men. Together, we can create a better future for both mutants and humans. You don't have to go down the same path that Dan did. It only brings pain."
Xavier held out his hand as Magneto considered it. Could he join the X-Men, or was he fated to become a monster just like Dan? He could still hear that creature's voice.
"You just want to make people suffer. You bring misery and despair wherever you go."
'No.' Magneto thought to himself. 'I won't become that. I refuse.' And in that moment, Magneto knew what he had to do.
He took Xavier's hand. He won't ever let himself go down the same path that Dan took.
It was time to make things right.
"It's good to have you back, old friend." Xavier said with a smile.
Magneto returned the smile. "Likewise, Charles."
Danny and Rogue were walking down the streets. They had just left the fancy restaurant they were at on their date. As they were walking arm in arm, they passed by a couple. A man with brown hair and a redhead.
Danny and the guy nodded at each other as they passed by.
"Hey." Danny said.
"Hi." The other man said.
As they passed by each other, Danny stopped and looked back at the couple as they continued walking.
"Something wrong, sugar?" Rogue asked her husband.
Danny shook his head. "Nah. I just thought for a second that guy over there sounded familiar."
"Now that you mention it, he kinda did." Rogue said. "Wonder why?"
The couple just shrugged before continuing their way home.
"Peter, are you okay?" Mary Jane asked him as they were heading home. "You look like you have your mind on something."
"It's nothing, Mary Jane. For a second, that guy we just passed sounded familiar for some reason." Peter answered. "Oh well. Let's go home."
"The moon's beautiful tonight." Rogue observed as they gazed at the full moon in admiration.
Danny smirked. "Not as beautiful as you."
Rogue giggled. "You're such a charmer." She pecked him on the lips. "Now come on, let's go home."
Danny smiled as he turned ghost and floated off the pavement. "Race ya there."
"I can't fly in this dress." Rogue said as she looked down at her lovely red dress. "What if the wind blows it up?"
"Well, then I get a lovely view of your panties." Danny said as he used his telekinesis to make her dress go up, exposing her sexy underwear and making Rogue gasp indignantly.
"Why you!" She flew in the air and started to chase her man as he flew back home.
"Get back here!" Rogue demanded as she tried to grab a hold of Danny, who flew higher into the air. The two played their game of tag before Rogue managed to grasp his tail.
"Got you!" Rogue cried in victory before the tail slapped her rear, making her let out a yelp and let go of Danny, who kept laughing.
"You'll never catch me!" Danny bragged before Rogue came out of nowhere and put her arms around him.
"You know I can just phase out of your grip, right?" Danny asked her, making his wife smirk.
"Yep. But I have something to make sure you stay." Rogue then placed her lips on his as the two made out in the air.
As they separated. Danny gave his wife a loving smile.
"I love you, Anna Marie." Danny told her.
"And I love you too, Danny." Rogue replied as they continued to kiss.
From his lair, Clockwork watched the ghost and mutant make out as he smiled. The couple has earned this moment of peace. But Clockwork knew that there would be new obstacles that would come in the future, but he wasn't worried. No matter what future challenges would come, Danny and Rogue would face them together.
"All is as it should be."