With the X-Men now gone from their home, the mansion was left empty, with its only occupants being government officials as they explored every crook and cranny in the institute.

At first, it appeared to be just a regular mansion. That was until they found their way into the Danger Room, which only made them all curious.

"What were they doing in here?" One official asked another, only to get a shrug as they continued to examine all the equipment and gear that the mutants had left behind. Outside, the authorities had blocked off the institute as several reporters were trying to get the latest scoop.

"Excuse me!" One reporter asked as she approached the soldiers in front of the police tape. "Have you uncovered any new evidence that the mutants are a threat?" As she asked this, a turret popped out of the bushes in front of two soldiers and fired.

"Hit the deck!" One of them cried as he pushed himself and his comrade out of the line of fire, saving them both. This moment was captured on camera as it illustrated the supposed "threat" that the mutants were.

"Come on!" Another soldier started to shuffle the reporter away. "Step back! It's for your safety, miss."

"I think we have our answer, Frank." She said as she was being escorted away. "Back to you."

"Thank you, Kim." Frank replied as it cut back to him. "The authorities are continuing their search throughout the Bayville area, seeking both known mutants and those yet to be revealed, but they have a difficult and dangerous task before them. For despite their fearsome powers, most mutants look like normal citizens." He said as the news report showed pictures of Scott, Jean, Xavier, Kurt in his true form, and finally Rogue.

This report was being watched by Danny, Rogue, and Wanda as they were in a store incognito trying to buy some supplies for their friends as they tried to hide from the authorities.

While Danny and Wanda were ignoring the broadcast, Rogue was watching it and wasn't flattered by the picture they showed of her.

"Normal?" She exclaimed in disgust as she looked over the photo of herself. "Look at me! I look fat!"

"Maybe you should cut down on the fried chicken." Vampira joked.

"Do I look that fat to you, Danny?" She asked her boyfriend worriedly as she looked over herself. She thought that all the exercise she does in the Danger Room worked off all those calories that she ate, but maybe she was wrong. "Danny?" She asked again.

"What?" Danny asked absentmindedly as he was filling a basket with food.

"Do I look fat to you?" Rogue questioned, making Danny give her an incredulous look. They were on the run from the police, military, and Guys in White and Rogue was more concerned about her weight.

"Are you really asking me that question now?" He said as he wondered why Rogue was so worried about her figure now of all times. In his opinion, she had a body most girls would be envious of.

Rogue narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend's answer. "Oh, so you do think I look fat?"

"What?" Danny mumbled as he shook his head. "No!"

This answer didn't satisfy Rogue at all. "You seemed to hesitate when you said it."

At this, Danny rolled his eyes. "Rogue, you're being ridiculous."

"I'm just asking a simple question, Danny." She pointed at her stomach. "Do you think I look fat?"

"Rogue, you're not fat." Wanda chimed in, not wanting this argument to escalate and get them caught. She glanced at the cashier, who was still reading the paper.

Her response didn't quell Rogue's rising anger at all. "I want to hear it from him so I can decide whether or not I'm buying these cupcakes." She said as she held up the wrapped treats.

"You!" The three turned to see a pair of soldiers who had walked into the convenience store and were glaring at them in suspicion. "Hold on!" Before they could make a move towards the trio, they were blasted through the door by an ecto-blast sent by Rogue.

"Do you mind?" Rogue said irritably to the pair. "We're having a discussion."

"We've been spotted; let's move!" Danny grabbed hold of Wanda and flew them out, with Rogue following them.

"This isn't over!" Rogue promised to Danny about their earlier argument as she watched him and Wanda fly away.

"Why does she get to be carried by him?" Vampira whined.

'Because she can't fly, genius.' Rogue snapped back as she followed her friend and boyfriend, passing by more soldiers who spotted them.

"This is unit six." One soldier said into their walkie-talkie. "We need air support! Now!" He then looked back at the two and saw that they had disappeared. "Scratch that! Targets have vanished."

On the news, security footage of the store showing the confrontation between the three and the two soldiers was shown.

"We have just received word of a mutant sighting outside Bayville; not only that, but one of the mutants is the infamous ghost boy Danny Phantom from Amity Park." A reporter stated as it showed a close-up of Danny's face. "As authorities cordon off the area, we take you now to Washington, where a congressional hearing is underway on the mutant menace."

At the congress hearing, one congressman was giving an argument using rally points that worked for most people. Fear and paranoia.

"And I say to you that these mutants are concealed weapons of the most dangerous sort, and as such..." He stopped as he heard noises coming from outside the room. The doors burst open, revealing Storm and Xavier, along with several reporters, cameramen, and soldiers.

"What is the meaning of this?" The congressman demanded as Storm and Xavier made their way to the podium. "Who are you?"

"We are mutants, and this witch hunt is going to stop now." Storm spoke as she and Xavier were going to argue not only their case but for every mutant out there that was being persecuted.

Among all this chaos, Vlad was sipping his tea as he watched Storm and Xavier on TV. "This is even better than I hoped." He tittered in amusement. "But it seems that Daniel and his allies have gone into hiding to escape the authorities." He placed a hand on his chin and hummed in thought. "And knowing the little badger, he'll be able to stay hidden for quite some time."

"So what is your plan?" The Fright Knight asked as he stood next to his master like the ever-faithful servant that he was.

"To lure him out, using his pathetic hero complex to accomplish it." Vlad stated like it was obvious. He then turned around and smirked at his minion. "But that requires a villain."

Fright Knight understood what Vlad was asking of him as he bowed his head slightly. "I will not fail you."

The Blackbird was hidden in a forest as the remaining X-Men took shelter in a cave. Professor X and Storm had left to try and clear the air of fear, leaving Logan to guard the rest of the students.

While everyone was trying to figure out what was going on with the rest of the world, Cyclops was leaning on the entrance to the cave in deep thought. The young man had his spirit dampened by how everyone had treated them. They had saved the city from whatever that bird was, and now they were being hunted, branded as monsters as everyone was clamming for their heads.

Though the professor assured them that he would be able to reason with the rest of the world, Cyclops had his doubts. He didn't think the rest of the world wouldn't stop fearing them, much less chase them.

Jean came up to him. "Spyke's trying to get his little TV working."

"So?" Cyclops said tersely. "Same thing's on every channel. Us."

"Maybe they're showing the hearings." Jean said. "I want to see how the professor and Storm are doing. If they're able to-"

"I'll tell ya how they're doing. Terrible." Cyclops interrupted as he gave his own cynical thoughts. "I mean, who's gonna listen to them anyway? Everyone's already made up their minds about us."

"Would you stop already?" The redhead scolded. "It's not like we didn't expect this kind of reaction, and your sulking isn't helping." She went to join the others.

"Jean, I'm sorry." The one-eyed mutant apologized. "I'm just worried that we'll have to remain in hiding forever."

"Scott, it's going to be all right." She assured him. "We'll get through this. We always do."

Cyclops couldn't help but be calmed by Jean's words. The telepath always seemed to know the right thing to say to make him feel better.

"Thanks, Jean." Cyclops said gratefully. "I don't know how I'd get through this without you."

What would've been a very sweet and touching moment was interrupted as Nightcrawler teleported in between them, trying to get a signal on Spyke's little TV. "How's the reception from here?" He asked the two.

Cyclops turned away and crossed his arms. "Lousy. Like your timing."

Nightcrawler wasn't paying attention as he saw that the signal was still lost. "Argh." Frustrated that it still wasn't working, he teleported again, this time appearing on the ceiling.

"Don't move a hair." Spyke said as he saw that the position in which Nightcrawler was holding the device was working. "That's as good as it's gonna get. Hey, everyone, the hearings are on." He announced to the others.

"Oh, man!" Nightcrawler complained. "I'm trapped here!"

"I'll take care of it." Shadowcat grabbed it and held it up, keeping the signal stable as all the X-Men crowded around to see what was going on.

"We mutants have lived among you for years without incident." Xavier said at the hearings. "I have made my school for mutants to live peacefully with the rest of the world. Why do you persecute us now? We are peaceful."

"Peaceful?" The congressman repeated skeptically. "Or just biding your time." He pulled out a photo from a folder. "From what we discovered at your institute, you seem to have been preparing for war." He showed the picture of the Danger Room for the world to see.

"Oh, man." Cyclops knew this wasn't going to help their case at all. "Not good."

"The Danger Room was designed to train my students to control their powers and use them for good, to protect themselves and others, as they did at the incident back at Bayville." Xavier argued. "That fiery entity attacked us; we had no choice but to defend ourselves."

"But how do we know that you didn't create that thing yourselves?" The congressman retorted.

"What?" Storm couldn't believe the audacity of this man. "That's ridiculous?"

"You made it, but couldn't control it, endangering innocent lives." The congressman stated before glaring at Xavier. "And teaching your students to use your powers for good, is that right, Xavier?" He pulled out a photo of Danny holding Amity Park's mayor hostage. "Then why is one of your students wanted for several criminal charges? Can you answer me that?"

The X-Men were all wide-eyed at the picture except for Spyke.

"That's a lie." Spyke said as he recalled Danny telling him about this incident. "Danny told me he was framed."

Jean nodded as she took a closer look at the picture. "Look at this. The mayor's hands are over Danny's, making him appear to be the one holding the other hostage."

"I don't think they'll buy that, Jean." Cyclops was certain of his friend's innocence, but he doubted that anyone would see it that way.

Just then, Danny, Rogue, and Wanda returned.

"Hey, guys." Danny greeted. "We made it back without anyone following us."

They then heard the sound of military choppers, making Logan glare at the ghostly X-Man. "You might want to retract that statement, bub."

"Choppers?" Rogue was confused. "But how? We were invisible."

The group then saw the choppers, which belonged to the Guys in White, hover outside the entrance to the cave.

"That doesn't mean anything to the Guys in White, they must have detected us with their fancy ghost trackers." Danny realized as the X-Men were wondering what they would do now that they had been caught.

"Two ectoplasmic entities spotted." One of the pilots said over the radio. "Confirmed, one of the targets is Danny Phantom." They aimed their guns at the group as Logan got ready for a fight.

"Alright!" Logan told the others. "We got a fight on our hands." He brought out his claws and was about to engage the enemy when Cyclops got in his way.

"No, we don't." Cyclops said, trying to stop the violence. If they fought now, then they would just prove to the world that they were as dangerous as everyone claimed them to be.

"What?" Logan was surprised that Cyclops of all people was disobeying him, but before they could argue further, they heard the voices of the Guys in White.

"Attention mutants!" One of them said over a speaker. "This will be your only warning. Surrender the two ghosts, or you will be taken in as well."

This made Rogue raise an eyebrow. "They just want us?"

"They don't care about mutants, only ghosts." Danny said before he looked down at himself. Perhaps it was best to hand himself over so his friends wouldn't get hurt. "Look, maybe I should give myself up." He said to the other X-Men.

"No!" They all unanimously refused together.

Cyclops got in front of Danny to make sure he didn't do something stupid. "We X-Men stick together. No one's getting left behind."

Rogue agreed. "I'll be damned if I let them take you from me."

"Scott, they'll kill you." Danny pointed out. He appreciated the others wanting to stand up for him, but they were here for just him. They shouldn't have to deal with all of this. "I'm the one they want."

"No!" Cyclops yelled. He wasn't going to let a teammate be separated. Part of being a leader was making sure that your team all reached the same goal, and he wasn't going to let those Men in Black rip-offs lay a finger on his teammate. Especially Danny, who was like a brother to him.

"This isn't up for negotiation." Cyclops said in a tone of finality. "We're a team, and we're all going to survive as a team." He looked over the others. "We've all trained for when something like this will happen. This is just like another training session. And we've never given up then, so we're not doing it now."

"Ok, fine, you made a nice speech." Danny relented. "But how are we going to get away from them? Invisibility means jack shit to their fancy ghost hunting tech."

Cyclops looked over the choppers, a plan forming in his head. "Yeah, well, they're not going to be fighting ghosts, only mutants."

"What?" Danny asked, wondering what Cyclops was referring to when the Guys in White fired their missiles, but Wanda used her powers to make them crash into each other.

"Here's the plan." Cyclops announced. "You and Rogue keep their attention on you, and we'll take care of them."

"Let's go, sugar." Rogue grabbed Danny, and the two flew into the air past the choppers as they turned around and fired more missiles at the ghostly duo.

Cyclops fired his optic blasts at the missiles.

"Mine!" Spyke cried as he shot a spike at one of them.

"And mine!" Jean made a telekinetic shield appear in front of the projectiles, causing them to explode as they collided with it.

"Mutants have become hostile; attack all mutants." One of the pilots ordered as the X-Men made their way to the Blackbird.

"Phantom is escaping! Focus on him!" Another pilot cried as he concentrated his efforts on the ghosts. Before he could fire on either Danny or Rogue, Nightcrawler appeared in the cockpit along with Shadowcat.

"Hi, I'm Nightcrawler." The blue X-Man waved. "This is Shadowcat."

"And this is your weapon system." Shadowcat phased her hand through the console, shorting it out.

"Bye!" The two said before teleporting out and doing the same to the other helicopter.

Danny and Rogue then joined with the others in the Blackbird as Jean used her powers to force the two helicopters to the ground gently before using her mind to bend the propeller's, making them incapable of flying again.

With their enemies incapacitated, the Blackbird took off.

In the same area, a news van was following a group of police cars, hoping to catch a story. "Yeah, we're following the police cars right now." The reporter said over the phone. "Still need to confirm it's really a mutant they're after, though."

The driver then gasped as he saw a police car thrown at them. Luckily, he managed to swerve out of the way so they wouldn't get hurt.

The reporter spoke into the phone again. "Oh, I'd say it's confirmed."

In front of them were a bunch of damaged police cars strewn across the road as the officers looked over the perpetrator leaving the site.

"Dispatch, uh, I think we're gonna need some backup." One police officer said over their walkie-talkie.

"How many units?" Dispatch asked.

The officer looked over as the Fright Knight was making his way over to the dam. "Well, let's start with the army, and then we'll go from there."

Back at the hearings, the congressman was still convinced that mutants were a threat.

"Look at the evidence! The wake of destruction!" He yelled at Xavier and Storm. "You are to blame!"

Storm was about to curse this guy out when Xavier placed a hand on her arm to calm her down before addressing the congressman. "We are people, Mr. Chairman, not monsters, regardless of what we can do."

"You are atrocities!" The congressman insulted as everyone in the room started to murmur as someone spoke in the congressman's ear.

"Let's see it." He said as a screen showed a news report of the Fright Knight engaging with the Guys in White on top of the dam. The battle-hardened knight used his sword to cut through the gun of a tank as the soldier retreated. He then fired an ecto-blast at the powerline, causing the power to the nearby town to go out.

The congressman turned back to Xavier and Storm. "Not monsters, Xavier? Tell that to the 63,000 innocent people living in the valley below that dam!"

"What is that thing?" Storm asked as she looked at the entity that was causing the destruction.

Xavier noticed the ghostly aura that the Fright Knight had. "I think it may be a ghost."

On the Blackbird, the news feed was showing, and Danny instantly recognized one of his old foes.

"It's the Fright Knight."

"Who?" The others all asked.

"An ancient ghost." Danny explained. "His Soul Shredder is a powerful weapon. If he slices you with it, you get transported to another dimension where you're surrounded by your worst fears."

This naturally creeped everyone out as they thought of the idea of confronting their worst fears.

"Oh, man, are we ever gonna get a break?" Nightcrawler wondered.

Back at the dam, GiW choppers were trying to engage the Fright Knight, only for a paddling of hooves to be heard in the distance. Just before they could fire, one of the coppers had their engine bitten off by the Fright Knight's trusty steed, Nightmare.

The pilots ejected out of the damaged chopper as it caused an explosion, which was caught by the cameras as a nearby reporter captured the scene. Fright Knight, with a might leap, landed on his alicorn and, using the Soul Shredder, sliced the propeller of the other helicopter, forcing the pilots to eject as well.

"It appears the military has run up against a mutant even they can't handle." The news lady reported. "It seems nothing short of a catastrophe will satisfy this mutant."

"So are we getting involved or not?" Jean asked Cyclops, who was unsure of what to do.

"It'll be just like the disaster back at Bayville again." He said. "Somehow they'll blame us."

Danny, however, knew what he had to do. "I don't know about you guys, but I can't let him kill all those people." He looked at the others. "Can you guys say the same?"

All the X-Men knew what they had to do.

"Alright, then." Cyclops said. "Let's go stop that ghost."

As the Fright Knight was continuing his destruction, another GiW chopper tried to intervene, only for the medieval ghost to fire lasers out of his eyes, bringing it down. The men would've fallen to their deaths if Nightcrawler hadn't teleported in and out, placing them in front of the reporter and her cameraman as they filmed everything. Nightcrawler gave a smile and a wave to the camera before teleporting next to the X-Men as they stood in front of the opponent.

The knight's green eyes glowed with interest when he spotted Danny. "We meet again."

Danny nodded as he recalled the last time he saw this particular ghost. It was during the Pariah Dark incident that the ancient ghost helped his master take over Amity Park, only to join Plasmius and help seal him up. "Let me guess, you're on Plasmius' payroll, aren't you?" He remembered that the two had some sort of deal going on.

The Fright Knight leaped off Nightmare and tried to stab Danny as the hybrid moved out of the way.

"I'll take that as a yes." He quipped as he kept on dodging the Fright Knight's swipes while the X-Men were occupied with Nightmare, who was firing lasers out of his eyes at the mutants.

While this was going on, Plasmius appeared in the distance and saw how well Danny was holding up against his subordinate. "Perhaps Daniel experiencing his worst fears will be just what I need to humble the lad." He mused as he shot out a ghost ray that managed to hit Danny in the back, allowing the Fright Knight to slash him, causing Danny to get teleported away to another dimension.

"Danny!" Rogue and Wanda cried as their worry turned to fear, then absolute rage as the two angry female mutants glared at the Fright Knight.

"Where am I?" Danny groaned as he looked around and found himself standing in the yard at the institute.

"You lied to us." The hybrid turned around and saw Rogue standing behind him, glaring at him.

"Rogue?" He went up to her, only to get punched in the face as he fell to the ground.

"You lied to us." Rogue raged as her eyes shone with rage and hurt. "You lied to me. You're not a mutant; you're just a freak."

Danny tried to explain himself. "Rogue, I-"

"This is all your fault; we wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you." Rogue yelled as Danny was filled with guilt as she knew he was right. It was all his fault. Being on the run, being persecuted by the masses, and being unable to go home. All of it was his fault.

"I-"

"We're through." Rogue pushed beside him as she entered the institute, with Danny following her. He wanted to fix this. He wanted to make things right between them.

"No! Rogue!" Danny called as Rogue passed through the doorway, and before he could enter, Xavier blocked him out of the mansion.

"Professor." He was cut off by the hostile look the kindly mutant was giving him.

"I must request that you leave this institute, Danny." He said politely, but Danny could tell that the man was barely holding onto his civility. "This is a school for mutants, not for people like you."

"But..." The half-ghost looked down as he realized that Xavier was right. He wasn't a mutant. He wasn't an X-Men. He was just a half-ghost freak of nature, destined to be hated forever. It was hopeless to think he would be welcomed here anymore. He didn't belong.

"You don't belong here!" Cyclops had appeared, along with all the other mutants in the school. The X-Men, the New Mutants, and the instructors. They were all here, and they all looked at Danny as if he were an intruder.

"You made our lives worse!" Rogue yelled as she stared at Danny with nothing but hate in her eyes.

"I can't believe I ever called you my friend." Wanda joined in.

"Guys, wait!" Danny called as the door was slammed shut. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He tried phasing, but that didn't work either. "Don't leave me!" He begged. "Please!"

"It's all right, Daniel." He felt Vlad's hand on his shoulder. "You'll always have me."

Danny noticed that on his hand was a very familiar gauntlet. "No." He backed away as he stared at Vlad. The man was dressed like a doctor, prepped for surgery, as he wore the ghost gauntlets, which had their claws extended. "No, not you."

"Come, Daniel." Vlad urged. "Come with me. There'll be no more painful emotions to drag you down."

"No!" Danny shouted. "I won't go!" He tried to break through the doors to the institute, but it was futile. "Guys, help me! Please! Rogue! Wanda! Anyone!" There was no response, as the X-Men left Danny to his fate. The half-ghost wasn't surprised at this reaction. After all, he wasn't one of them, so why should they care about what happened to him? Just then, a familiar voice was heard in his head.

"You were always destined to be alone, Danny. You shouldn't have tried to change that."

"No!" Danny knew that this couldn't be real. He knew that this was just an illusion, but that didn't change the fact that it felt very real. "Not you!"

"You're time is up, Danny. It's been up for ten years."

While Danny was dealing with his worst fears, the X-Men were doing their best to avoid the Fright Knight's sword as they were forced to move away.

"X-Men, fall back!" Cyclops ordered as they moved further away from the ghost. Cyclops tried using his optic blast, but Fright Knight's intangibility made it pointless.

"Well, bub, what do we do?" Logan demanded as the Fright Knight, who was back to riding on Nightmare in the air, tried to swoop down and attack them, but they all managed to avoid his blade. "Our powers are nothing to him, and we just lost Phantom."

"I wish we had the proton packs like they do in the movies." Nightcrawler weakly joked as he avoided a torrent of flames that Nightmare shot out of his mouth.

Rogue wasn't ready to give up the fight. "Danny may be down, but there's still one ghost who's still kicking." She flew up toward the ghost in armor, ignoring her teammates warnings.

"Rogue, wait!" Cyclops cried, but Rogue didn't listen as she punched the knight of his horse, making him fall back down on the dam. Nightmare let out a cry and was about to attack Rogue when Nightcrawler teleported onto his back and tried to take control.

"Easy, there." Nightcrawler said as the alicorn started to thrash around in the air as Nightcrawler held onto the beast for dear life. The alicorn started to fly around the dam in an effort to get Nightcrawler off. With the steed occupied, Rogue was now left alone with the Fright Knight.

"Give me back, Danny!" She demanded as she threw an ecto-blast at her enemy, but the former servant of Pariah Dark smacked it away. As he got up, he examined his newest opponent. Ever since her battle with Carnage, the ghostly warrior wanted nothing more than to see how well she would do in a fight against him.

"So you are the one that he fights alongside?" Fright Knight said in curiosity. "I confess that I am intrigued by how well you fight."

Rogue's green eyes flared with anger. "Let me show you." She threw a punch, but the Fright Knight caught it and threw her back. He then tried to swipe at her with the Soul Shredder, but Rogue rolled out of the way.

"Such resilience." Fright Knight praised as Rogue dodged another strike from his blade. "You have the makings of a warrior inside of you."

Up above, Plasmius was watching. "Now, now, we can't have you win so easily." He fired another ghost ray, but this time Wanda spotted him.

"Oh, no, you don't." Using her powers, Scarlet Witch made the ghost ray change direction, causing it to smack right into Plasmius, sending him flying into the air.

Rogue was still avoiding the blade, not wanting to experience her worst fears.

"You think that tin man is willing to fight without his toy?" Vampira asked, making Rogue smirk.

"How about we make this fight a bit more fair?" She suggested. "After all, aren't you knights all about honor? Where's the honor in beating an unarmed opponent when you have a weapon?"

The Fright Knight saw her point as he stabbed the Soul Shredder into the ground. "Very well then." The two continued their fight as the X-Men watched on.

"What do we do, Scott?" Jean asked.

Cyclops couldn't figure out a plan. "I don't know. I think we'll just have to let Rogue take care of this."

"Or not." Wanda said. She had been reading several books about spirits to not only satisfy her curiosity but to also use the knowledge to impress a certain someone she had feelings for. In one of her books, she came across an entry about the Fright Knight and how to seal him away. "In order to defeat him, we need a pumpkin."

This made Logan give her a weird look. "A pumpkin?"

"Where the hell are we supposed to find one?" Kitty wondered.

Cyclops then realized where they could get one. "I got it!" He looked at Spyke. "Spyke, I need you to give me a ton of spikes." Spyke did just that, shooting several spikes into the ground. Cyclops then turned to Jean. "Jean, use your powers to make them into the shape of a pumpkin."

Jean, seeing where Cyclops was going with this, used her powers to lift the spikes out of the ground and bend them, making a makeshift pumpkin.

"Well, that's as good as a pumpkin as we're gonna get." Spyke said as he made one more spike, which served as the fake pumpkin's stem.

"Now what?" Cyclops questioned Wanda.

Wanda pointed to the Soul Shredder. "We need his sword."

"Guys!" Nightcrawler cried as he was still holding onto Nightmare. "Get me off this ride!"

The X-Men all looked up to see Nightmare trying to shake Nightcrawler off. Taking advantage of the beast being distracted, Cyclops fired his optic blast at the alicorn, knocking it out, as Nightcrawler teleported next to them.

Cyclops then pointed to the sword. "Nightcrawler, get us that sword."

Nightcrawler saluted. "On it!" He then teleported to the Soul Shredder and, after a few seconds of trying, managed to pull it out and teleport back to the X-Men with it. "Got it!"

Meanwhile, the Fright Knight was still battling Rogue; both of them were unaware that the sword had been taken.

"You can't beat me!" Fright Knight boasted. "I am the Fright Knight, the spirit of Halloween!"

"Yeah, well, you're a couple months too late!" Rogue retorted as she sideswiped him.

Back with the others, Wanda took the sword and went up to the pumpkin.

"To cease the storm!" She began to recite the words.

As the Fright Knight kept fighting, he noticed his sword was missing and turned to see Wanda with it. "What?"

"To end the fear." She continued.

"Stop!" Fright Knight ignored Rogue as he made a bee line straight to Wanda.

"The sword must sheath." Wanda recited.

"I forbid you!" The spirit of Halloween shouted.

"In pumpkin near!" Wanda finished as she stabbed the sword into the pumpkin.

"NO!" The Fright Knight reached the X-Men and, after shoving Wanda out of the way, tried to pull out his Soul Shredder, only for it to glow and let out an energy pulse that pushed him back. The weapon shot out a beam of green light into the air, creating a portal that started sucking everything up. Nightmare let out a cry as he was dragged in while the X-Men were holding on for dear life.

"I will have my vengeance; mark my words!" Fright Knight promised as his helmet crumbled into pieces that were sucked up, leaving him without a head. The headless body then followed before the portal closed, and the pumpkin soon disappeared.

Back at the hearings, the congressman was awestruck at what he had just seen. You don't see a portal opening into the sky that often. "Uh, what did they just do?" He said.

Xavier smiled proudly. "What they were trained to do. Use their powers for good."

"We did it!" The X-Men all cheered in celebration at beating the Fright Knight.

"That ghost didn't know what hit him!" Nightcrawler pumped his fist into the air as Danny popped back in, looking haunted after witnessing his worst fears.

"Danny!" Wanda and Rogue cried in relief as Rogue squeezed him in a hug, never wanting him to leave.

"Oh, thank God, you're okay." Rogue was glad that her boyfriend was back where he belonged, in her arms.

It seemed that Danny finally noticed that the nightmare was over. "What happened?" He asked them.

"Rogue beat the Fright Knight." Wanda said, making Danny look at his girlfriend in awe.

"You did? Awesome."

Rogue blushed at the praise before deciding to give credit where credit was due.

"Hey, I just distracted him." Rogue gestured over to the other goth girl. "Wanda was the one who performed the ritual to seal him away."

"Now, now." Vampira said. "Let's not give her too much credit."

"Nice work, Wanda." Danny praised, giving the daughter of Magneto a dazzling smile that made her blush.

Logan patted Cyclops on the back. He had been impressed with the young man's leadership of this whole operation. And, while he would never admit it, he respected Cyclops for standing up to him. "Good job." He complimented.

"My fellow Americans." The president announced. "All my fellow Americans, human and mutant." He reiterated. "I stand before you now to clear the X-Men of all wrongdoing in the Bayville disaster. The real criminal behind the attack has been arrested and charged."

Indeed, Trask was now behind bars as he vowed vengeance on the mutant race and wouldn't stop until they were all eliminated.

"This has all caught us all by surprise, but that isn't reason for any of us to judge people solely by their differences." The president continued. "To put it as simply as I can, we need to learn more, we need to be open-minded, and we need to give this mutant question more time."

"And there you have it." Frank Lee said as it cut back to him. "The president's position that the mutant population should be free from persecution. But will it work? That remains to be seen. This is Frank Lee speaking. Good night."

Magneto was watching the broadcast along with Gambit, Colossus, and Quicksilver. The long-lived mutant knew that this wouldn't last. Eventually, humanity would turn against mutants.

Vlad was furious as he watched the news. He had just lost the Fright Knight, and not only that, but now Danny and his friends weren't being hunted anymore.

"Butter biscuits!" He raged.

Back at the mansion, everyone was watching the president's speech. After the X-Men were cleared of all charges, Xavier was given the mansion back and contacted both the X-Men and the New Mutants, telling them that it was safe to come back home now.

"Well, I guess it's over." Danny said as he and Rogue sat on the couch. "We're not being hunted anymore."

"I wouldn't say it's over."

Everyone turned to see Fury standing behind them.

"Fury?" Logan said suspiciously as he glared at the man. "What are you doing here?"

"Here to talk about two of your charges." He pointed over to Danny and Rogue, who approached them. "You see, the Guys in White are still adamant about arresting you two, and they sadly have grounds to do so."

"What? How?" Danny demanded, angry that it wasn't over, but he should've known the Guys in White wouldn't give up that easily.

"Under the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act, all ectoplasmic entities are to be contained or destroyed under the jurisdiction of the Guys in White." Fury explained. "Not only that, but you still have charges against you." He reminded Danny.

"Hey, I can explain." Danny defended. "I was mind-controlled during those robberies, and a ghost was possessing the mayor at that time. He was the one who took me hostage."

"Besides, we're mutants, not ghosts." Rogue argued, angered that those morons in white were still after them.

"Mutants with ecto-signatures." Fury pointed out. "That means you have ectoplasm, which falls into the category of ectoplasmic entities."

Danny was frustrated beyond belief. It wasn't bad enough that those hunters knew who he was, but they also knew about Rogue. "So you're here to take us away, then?" He asked dangerously, prepared to fight his way out if it came to it.

Fury shook his head. "Not exactly. There's been an undergoing battle between the Guys in White's department and all the other departments over what you two are. There will be a trial that will decide whether you are to be handed over to them or not."

"What, so they're gonna decide whether we deserve any rights or not?" Danny was now feeling even more anxious. He was sure that this trial would be some spectacle for the world to see him and judge him as a freak. And poor Rogue. His girlfriend didn't deserve to be dragged into this as well.

"Afraid so." Fury said, feeling sympathy for the two.

"No." Danny turned away. "This can't be happening."

"When's the trial?" Rogue asked as she glanced at her boyfriend worriedly. She felt the exact same way about this whole debacle.

"This is the thanks we get for saving them from that loser in a Halloween costume?" Vampira was angered by how Rogue and Danny were still being treated after saving the ungrateful humans' asses.

"It hasn't been scheduled yet." Fury answered. "I'm sorry, you two. Really, I am. But I'm sure you'll be able to win, and I'll make sure that you're provided with a damn good lawyer. Until then, good luck." He then walked off, leaving the X-Men alone.

"Fuck!" Danny exclaimed as he turned to Rogue. "What are we gonna do? I can't let them take you." He placed his arms around her protectively. "I won't."

"And I won't let them take you." Rogue said in agreement. She rubbed her boyfriend's back. "We'll get through this, Danny."

"She's right, Danny." Xavier said as he rolled up to his two charges. "Today you all managed to convince the whole world that we are not here to harm them, and when the trial comes, we will show the world that you and Rogue belong in this world just like everyone else."

Cyclops put a hand on his shoulder. "No matter what happens, Danny, we'll be there for you, all of us. Because the X-Men stick together."

Danny wondered if they would feel the same way if they knew he wasn't a mutant. But that worry was nothing compared to what he was feeling over the trial. He knew what would happen to him and, most importantly, what would happen to Rogue if they lost.

He couldn't let that happen. As he mused on this, he remembered, back when he was experiencing his worst fears, a certain phrase that he told him.

"You're time is up, Danny. It's been up for ten years."

Perhaps he was right. Maybe he was out of time.