The next thing Danny knew, he had been transported to a S.H.I.E.L.D. holding cell. Apparently he would be remaining in their custody until the trial, which he had no problem with. Sure, it was still a prison, but it was better than being with the GiW. Most of the operatives didn't try to taunt or get a rise out of him; they merely guarded the door and left him in peace.
But his peace would be disturbed as he was escorted to what appeared to be an interrogation room. He sat down at the desk, and a door opened with a familiar woman entering with several folders and documents in her hands.
"Ms. Walters?" He said, recognizing the lawyer who tried her best to help him.
"Hey, Danny." She greeted as she sat across from him. "I hope your temporary quarters are serving you well."
He shrugged. "Beats being with the Guys in White."
"I bet. Well, I have good news: I managed to arrange a retrial. So we got one more shot at this, so let's make it count." She started looking through the folders. "First off, I was able to secure several witnesses to help with your character testimony if the prosecution tries to pull that stunt again. But what I need from you is the truth. I need you to be one hundred percent honest with me about what you are."
"I understand."
"Great." She then looked uneasily. "Now we'll need to perform some tests—nothing painful, I promise you, since S.H.I.E.L.D. has agreed to supervise them. Nothing major; we just need some blood samples and some body scans. That's going to be our main argument. You're not a mutant, but you're human; we need to make them see that."
Danny was a bit hesitant about this, but he knew that there was no other way. He had to. For Rogue. "Alright, I'll do it."
"Perfect." Jen cheered. "Let's get started."
And so Danny had done everything his lawyer requested. He gave statements and explained the nature of his powers and physiology. He allowed several scientists to perform the required tests. Luckily, S.H.I.E.L.D. guards were all on standby and made sure he wasn't harmed at all. He befriended a couple of them; there was Agent Braddock, or Betsy, as she told him to call her, who he had met back when mutants were on the run; and then there was Carol Danvers, who was also pleasant to be around. Eventually, they became the sole agents in charge of watching him.
Overall, his stay here was much better than the GiW's prison as he waited for his time in court. He was eager to prove that he belonged with the rest of the world like anyone would. But for him, it wasn't just about winning so he could be free; it was so that he could make sure Rogue would never turn into that.
He would save the future, and more importantly, he would save the love of his life.
Soon it came to the big day. Riding on a S.H.I.E.L.D. chopper, he was preparing to head back to Amity Park.
'Hang on, Rogue. I'm coming home.'
Lance Thunder smiled for the camera. "Lance Thunder here, once again standing outside the courthouse in Amity Park, where a retrial has been issued for Daniel Fenton, aka Danny Phantom, after new evidence has surfaced." He then saw the man of the hour approaching, his hands in chackles, while being escorted by both Carol and Betsy.
"Here he is." Lance went up to him and put the microphone in front of him. "Mr. Fenton, could you give us a quick word this time?"
Unlike the last time, when he ignored him, Danny quipped, "Velocity." He then walked past him, ignoring all the supporters and detractors as he entered the courthouse. As soon as he stepped in, someone charged at him and suction cupped themselves to him. A pair of lips then attacked his with a tongue forcing its way into his mouth.
Startled at first, he soon relaxed as he returned the kiss, enjoying having his girlfriend back in his arms again. They stayed like this for a couple of minutes before, regrettably, they had to stop.
Rogue leaned her head against her man's. "I missed you." She whispered.
"Same here."
"No matter what that judge says, I'm not letting them take you away." She vowed. "If they want you, they'll have to go through me."
"And me." Vampira agreed.
Before Danny went on his little time-traveling adventure, he would've found that statement sweet, but now, knowing what Rogue would become if he should lose, it only worried him.
"Just keep calm, okay?" He requested. "We'll get through this together, I promise."
Rogue just stared, taking every bit of him, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time she would see him. "Okay, sugar. Just remember, we're rooting for you." She tilted her head to the front, where Xavier, Beast, and Wanda were in the audience. "Here and back home."
"Hate to break this up." Carol chimed in. "But we have to get this trial started."
With one last kiss, Rogue joined the others in the audience as Danny kept walking.
"Nice girlfriend, you got there." Carol complimented. "Scary too. I'd hate to get on her bad side."
Danny shook his head. "You don't know the half of it." He sat down at the defendant table next to Jen and looked to his right to see Agent L at the prosecution table, who looked smug, thinking that he could still win this.
Cameramen were making sure everything was set, as this retrial would be broadcast all around the world with billions of people tuning in.
At the Xavier Institute, all the students were situated around the living room couch, watching with baited breaths; they were all still grieving over Danny's departure, and to make things worse, Evan had also disappeared, and despite searching for days, they were unable to find him. So almost all of them were in a delicate situation after losing two of their own.
"You think we'll get him back, Jean?" Scott asked his new girlfriend, who squeezed his hand.
"You know, Danny." She tried to act confident. "He's always getting us and himself out of these situations. He'll pull through, Scott."
"I hope so."
The Brotherhood was also watching with all of them, except for Pietro, rooting for Danny to win.
"Boring!" Pietro proclaimed as he took out the remote. "I don't know about you, but The Fast and the Furious is playing on the next channel, and I think that'll be more entertaining, don't you?"
"Don't change the channel." Lance threatened.
"Or what?" Pietro challenged. "I'm in charge here; if you don't want to answer to me, then you can tell my father that yourself."
Toad smirked as he pulled out a phone. "Well, then I guess we can let your sister know you're back home. I'm sure she'll want to know where your pops is so you can have a big happy family reunion."
Pietro's eyes widened in fear. "You wouldn't."
"Try us." Lance retorted.
"Grr, fine!" Pietro relented as he sulked in his chair. "I don't even know why you care about ghost boy. He's not even a mutant."
"Like I care about that." Lance replied. "You're a mutant, and I can barely stand you."
Vlad was sipping some tea as he was sitting in his living room, petting his newly acquired cat. He thought he was rid of Daniel for good, but, like always, the little badger could never stay down.
"Let us see how you get out of this one, Daniel." He couldn't afford to let him walk free; he might end up interfering with a certain project that he was working on.
Magneto was narrowing his eyes at seeing the trial. He personally thought it would be best if Daniel was sealed away from the rest of them all. He was neither human nor a mutant, something that shouldn't exist. He believed that he would one day become a threat to mutant superiority, but deep down, although he would never admit it, he was jealous of the power he possessed and wished he could make it his own.
Mystique was in Irene's living room as the TV showed Danny's retrial. The woman was seething at the thought of him somehow managing to come out on top. She thought she had seen the last of him, but no, he just wouldn't stay away from Rogue.
"I swear, if he isn't found guilty, I will end him myself." She raged as Irene sat next to her. "I thought I was rid of this freak, but he just keeps coming back."
"He is persistent." Irene admitted. "Maybe it's best we leave him alone. You know how much Anna cares for him."
"No! I refuse to have him as my son-in-law." She proclaimed before calming down a bit. "What does the future hold for him, Irene? Will he be found guilty?"
"I don't know. I can't get anything."
The bailiff soon came out as the trial began.
"All rise for the honorable Judge Stephen Wexler." The same irritable judge soon stepped out as the retrial went underway, and Jen immediately got to work. Calling her first witness to the stand.
"State your name." She requested.
"Henry McCoy." Beast replied.
"Can you explain to this court the nature of your discovery?"
"Yes. I was analyzing samples of both Danny's and Rogue's blood. While examining Danny's, I found that, despite containing mostly ectoplasm, there was still a small amount of human blood in there. Now, I must admit, I am not an expert in the supernatural. But I do believe that ghosts having human blood is an impossibility, so naturally that must mean he must still be human."
"Objection, your honor!" Agent L cried. "How do we know this sample isn't tampered with?" He pointed to Danny. "We all know he did that with the evidence last time, so who's to say he didn't do it again?"
Jen smirked. "You'll find that blood tests were conducted with Mr. Fenton under close supervision by a nonbiased party. And that these blood tests state the same thing: he still has human blood in him like the rest of us."
She then continued bringing up tests that showed that Danny still had major organs, with several scientists under S.H.I.E.L.D. giving their testaments.
"We found that his body is able to break down food just like us and that he also needs water to hydrate himself. Personally, that, to me, is a big sign that this kid is still alive." One scientist reported.
As the trial moved on, Agent L could see that the science was against him. Thinking he could do it again, the government agent once again attempted to try and portray Danny's poor character to the court.
He was showing a slideshow of Danny robbing banks while under the control of Freakshow's staff.
"You know he looks really hot with those red eyes, don't you think?" Vampira couldn't help but say to her human half as they saw the picture of him stealing money.
'What?' Rogue had been focused on the events happening and was caught off guard by her ghost half's comment, but before she could respond, she heard Agent L speak.
"Clearly, this boy is a criminal using his abilities to cause terror."
"Objection!" Jen cried. "Files provided by your organization show that one of your prisoners, Mr. Fredrich Isak Showenhower, was at the scene of the crime. Further, he was in possession of an artifact that controlled ghosts. Therefore, my client cannot be blamed, for his free will was hijacked."
L growled before flipping to another picture that showed Danny holding the mayor hostage.
"Then can you explain to me this photo of him assaulting Ernesto Montez?" He questioned.
Danny inwardly cursed Walker's name, as his attempt at revenge was still haunting him to this day.
"Assaulting? I can agree with that. But it is clearly Mr. Montez assaulting my client. You can clearly see that his arms are on Mr. Fenton and not the other way around. Also, explain why the victim in question has red eyes."
Agent L was at a loss as he tried to come up with an explanation.
"It's evident that he was possessed by a ghost." Jen continued. "There were reports of ghosts all over town leading up to this incident, along with several people seeing my client fight against these ghosts. Apparently, this is a frame-up. I call Ernesto Montez to the stand."
The mayor of Amity Park came to the witness stand.
"Do you recall the incident in which my client "allegedly" took you hostage?"
"Honestly, I don't." Montez replied. "It was all just a blur to me. I don't remember it, but people told me it happened and they showed the photos, so I always thought that maybe I had a lapse in memory somehow."
"Unable to remember. A classic symptom of possession. Undeniably, some ghost had taken over your body and tried to frame Mr. Fenton." She pulled out a tape recorder as it played audio of the mayor calling for help.
"Help! Help me! Help!" He cried in a fake-sounding voice.
"Whoever this ghost was, one's things certain. He's not winning any Oscars anytime soon, that's for sure." Jen quipped.
"Man, she's good." Danny couldn't help but admit to himself. He was sure that with Jen's help, he would be able to win. And the lawyer was on a roll as she called in several witnesses to give their views on Danny.
"I'm bit of a bully." Dash Baxter, Danny's old bully, confessed, feeling ashamed for what he had done. "And I used to pick on Fenton regularly. I was the one who started every fight, not him."
'Wow, I never thought I would have Dash of all people sticking up for me.' The half-ghost thought to himself. 'What is the world coming to?'
"He once saved me from this ghost that looked like some policeman." Paulina said dreamily as she winked at Danny, who looked away. "And then there was that time these ghosts that looked like these people from movies I would never watch tried to hurt me, but my ghost boy saved me! I love you, Danny!"
Rogue sneered at the girl.
"Her ghost boy? Rogue, after this is over, we need to do something about this girl." Vampira suggested.
'Maybe.' Rogue replied, not for it, but not entirely against it.
After that came Ida Manson.
"He was always a good boy, always making my bubbala happy. He was one of her best friends. They were all but inseparable."
Danny looked down, remembering the times he had with Sam. If only he could've saved her.
Soon, more witnesses gave their own statements on how Danny had saved them in various ways from ghost attacks. All in all, Jennifer managed to paint the picture of Danny as a good person protecting his town, making the hybrid more confident that he was going to win.
Only for Agent L to stand up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps I cannot refute that Mr. Fenton has done a lot of good for this town. But will he continue to do so?"
Everyone was now confused, wondering what L was playing at.
"Think about it; look at all his powers. He could turn invisible, allowing him to get anywhere without being seen. He can become intangible, allowing him to walk through anything. But what's to stop him from walking into a bank or the white house?"
Danny narrowed his eyes, as did Rogue, Jen, Beast, Wanda, and Xavier. It seems that L was going to try and play on everyone's fears.
"Not only that, but we all saw his battle against that bird made of fire. Can you imagine what a city would look like if he decided to use that scream attack on it? If that's not frightening enough, he can also overshadow people, taking away our God-given free will."
Everyone was listening intently as they pondered over L's words. What was to stop Daniel Fenton from doing whatever he wanted?
"I ask you, can we really let him loose on the world? We all know about the dangers of mutants, but him?" He pointed at Danny. "He's more dangerous than any mutant on earth." He turned to Jennifer.
"And you say he's human? No human can do what he can do. No human has that amount of power. No one could be that much of a danger to the entire world." He then grabbed a piece of paper. "Not only that, but according to this, he doesn't even have a pulse. How is that possible if he's human? The answer is that he's not. He isn't human, and he's definitely not a mutant. He's a ghost, plain and simple."
He then smirked at Danny as he gave his closing statement. "If the heart doesn't beat, you must admit defeat."
Soon everything quieted down as the jury went off to discuss their verdict. As he nervously waited for their response, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he was greeted by Rogue.
"No matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you." She said to him. "Mutant or not, you'll always be my boyfriend."
And right then, Danny felt all of his fears and worries melt away as he was in her presence once again.
"I'm sorry that I never told you." Danny apologized. "I was afraid that-"
"Danny." Rogue interrupted. "I love you for who you are, not what you are. I don't care if you're human, a mutant, a half-ghost, or a full ghost. You could be a merman or some monster with flaming hair, and I would still love you."
For the first time since he came here, he cracked a genuine smile, though he let out a nervous chuckle when Rogue mentioned flaming hair. If only she knew. Speaking of that, he thought that it was time to tell her. "Thank you." He said. "And when this is all over, there'll be no more secrets between us, I promise."
Rogue smiled back, though Danny could see fear and uncertainty in her eyes as she returned to her seat just when the jury returned.
"Have you reached a verdict?" Judge Wexler asked.
"We have, your honor." One of the jurors replied. "We find Daniel Fenton to be guilty of violating the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act."
There were gasps and cries of outrage at this as Danny quietly bowed his head. It seemed that maybe fate wasn't on his side, though maybe it never was.
Rogue was clenching her fists and was about to grab Danny and get them the hell out of there, when her ghost sense went off. She looked toward Danny, who had his go off as well. Glancing around the room, the hybrids tried to look for any trace of the ghost, but couldn't find it.
The judge then addressed Danny. "Daniel Fenton, I sentence you to the custody-" He stopped as he noticed the boy wasn't paying attention.
"Fenton! Look at me when I sentence you, boy!" Judge Wexler roared, making the hybrid face him. "I sentence you-"
"Uh, sir, there's-"
"Be quiet!" He interrupted, refusing to listen to Danny's warning.
"But-"
"I'm not finished!" He shouted. "I sentence you to the custody of the Guys in White! Where they may be able to do with you as they wish!" Just as he was about to bang the gavel, a small explosion appeared in the center of the room, knocking the tool out of his hand.
Danny covered his eyes from the flash before peering in front of him to see two ghosts standing before the judge.
These ghosts were very human-looking but still stood out as spirits, not only with their auras, but they both had green skin and sported blonde hair, appearing to be in their late forties. For attire, they had the stereotypical black and white prison outfits. The most interesting thing about the duo was that they were identical twins.
The judge gaped at the pair, as he seemed to recognize them. "The Marmel Brothers!"
The two ghosts let out a screech before firing a ghost ray at the judge, who managed to jump out of the way as his stand blew up. Immediately everyone started to scream and run out while Agent L and the other Guys in White personnel tried to rein in the two entities.
The broadcast was cut, leaving the audience wondering what was currently happening.
"Aw man." Toad complained back at the Brotherhood hose. "They cut it just when it was getting good."
"Damn it!" L cursed as he found that someone had taken the ammunition from his ecto-blaster; the rest of the agents similarly found all their ghost hunting equipment sabotaged. Even Valerie had the same result. She had sat down in the audience to make sure that Phantom didn't try anything, but with all of her gear not working, she was forced to leave as the rest of the Guys in White followed suit, with only Agent L, Danny, Rogue, Jen, Xavier, Wanda, and Beast remaining.
The judge immediately crawled under the defense table as Danny and Jennifer looked at him.
"Marmel Brothers!" The judge cried fearfully.
"Friends of yours?" Danny inquired.
"I tried them for murder; gave them the chair!" He explained as the two ghosts floated up in the air to try and find the judge.
"You got to do something!" Judge Wexler pleaded, but before Danny could give a snappy response, the table was lifted up by one of the brothers as the hybrid, his lawyer, and the judge all scrambled away.
The trio, along with Rogue, Wanda, and Beast, who was carrying Xavier over his shoulder, all tried to make a break for it, only to be cornered by the other Marmel brother. The group was forced to run into the room where the jury had made their decision as they heard the ghosts' incessant giggles in the other room.
The judge grasped Danny's arms. "You got to do something! Help me!"
"Don't talk to me; talk to my attorney." Danny nodded over to Jennifer.
"And that's me!" Jennifer got in the judge's face. "My client is currently in violation of the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act. He could be exposing himself."
"And you don't want me exposing myself." The hybrid couldn't help but say.
"I wouldn't mind." Vampira said, and before Rogue could scold her, they heard screams and looked out to see one of the Marmel brothers carrying Agent L by his leg out of the courthouse.
"You're next." Danny said to the judge, who was currently squirming at the thought of being alone with those two ghosts.
"Alright, alright!" The judge conceded. "I've seen the order. Case dismissed!"
"Yes!" Everyone in the room except for the judge cheered, with Rogue and Wanda being the loudest, as Rogue grabbed her boyfriend and brought him in for a steamy kiss.
"Now do something!" Judge Wexler begged.
"All of you stay here." Danny ordered as he turned into his ghost form. "I'll deal with those two."
"We'll deal with those two." Rogue reiterated as she also transformed. "We're a team, Danny. We do this together."
Danny smiled. "Together then."
"I can help too." Wanda said as she came up to him.
"Yeah, you can." He agreed. "Stay here and make sure nothing happens to the professor, Beast, or Jen. And the judge too, I guess; you're the only one who can keep them safe while we deal with the ghosts."
Wanda crossed her arms. "Fine."
The two half-ghosts then left the room to confront the angry spirits.
"Hey guys!" Danny greeted the duo. "Aren't you violating your parole?"
The two ghosts hissed before firing ghost rays, which Danny and Rogue moved out of the way of.
"We'll split up." Danny told her. "You take one of them; I'll take the other."
Rogue nodded. "Got it."
The two then went off to fight their respective Marmel brother. Danny ended up getting tackled into the benches before he managed to kick the ghost off of him. As the deceased criminal got up, he noticed a woman who was still sitting in the audience for some reason. The spirit noticed her too, and grinning, he fired an ecto-blast, but Danny got in its path and raised a shield to protect her.
"Lady, get out of here." He commanded, too busy with the ghost to look her in the face. "It's too dangerous."
"But spooky, I ain't afraid of no ghost."
Danny turned around and was greeted by the sight of the alternate Rogue.
"Catch." She tossed him a Fenton thermos, which he caught as she gave him a thumbs up. "Go get 'em, sugar." She then vanished.
Turning around, he saw that the vengeful spirit was coming toward him. Acting on instinct, he uncapped the thermos and sucked the ghost in. He then turned to Rogue, who was wrestling her opponent to the ground.
"Rogue, throw him here!" Danny called.
"You got it!" She tossed the ghost in the air as Danny caught the other brother in the thermos. With the ghosts captured, the two hybrids came together in a romantic kiss.
"Glad to have you back." She said to Danny.
"I know." He then turned to the room. "It's over, guys! You can come out now!"
Wanda was the first to run out and tackle Danny in a hug, almost knocking him to the ground.
"I'm so glad that you're okay, Danny." She said to him as Rogue looked on jealously. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"I thought the same thing. Glad we were both proven wrong." He replied, happy to know that Wanda still cared for him even if she knew he wasn't a mutant.
Rogue coughed, and the two hastily separated as Beast rolled the professor over to him.
"I'm happy to see that you are free, Danny, along with having all your charges dropped." He then offered his hand to Danny. "I would like to welcome you back to the Xavier Institute."
The hybrid was flabbergasted as he regarded the professor's offer. "You want me back? Even though you know that I'm not a mutant."
"Danny, the institute is for those who need help with their gifts. There's no rule about the specifics of how one obtains their gifts. Whether you were born with these powers or gained them in an accident, you'll always have a place at my school."
With watery eyes, he accepted Xavier's hand. "Thank you. I'd love to come back."
Xavier grinned, happy to have one of the two boys he saw as a son back. "Then let's go home."
"It'll be great to have one of my favorite students back." Beast added.
"I'm one of your favorites?" Danny asked; he had never had a teacher say that to him before.
"Yes. Somehow, you managed to do that. How? I don't know." Beast joked, making everyone laugh.
Danny then turned to his lawyer, grateful for all of her help in this. "Thank you, Jen. You're a lifesaver. You really don't know how much you fixed everything. And sorry about dragging you into this complicated mess."
"Are you kidding?" Jennifer said. "This is totally going to make my career. Thank you." She then fished out something from her pocket. "Here, take this." She handed him a card. "My card. Call me if you ever get into any more legal trouble." She then gave him a sexy smirk. "Or when you get to college."
"Nope." Vampira stated as Rogue decided to take action against another possible rival.
"I'll take that." Rogue snatched the card out of his hand and pocketed it. "Let's go." She then took Danny's hand and dragged him off like they were an old married couple.
Jennifer chuckled at the scene. "They make a cute couple." She said to Xavier, who smiled in agreement.
"That they do."
Outside the courthouse, everyone was gathered with reporters and cameramen filming, wondering what was going on. And just then, the doors opened, and out stepped a triumphant-looking Danny Phantom.
"I'm the best! I'm the beautiful! I'm the only... Danny Phantom!"
The crowd cheered as Danny's newly proclaimed freedom was broadcast all over the world with many different reactions.
"HE DID IT!" Scott cheered as all the other residents of the institute were hooting and hollering in joy that one of their own was free.
"I told you, Scott." Jean said. "I told you he would make it out."
"Yeah, yeah." Her boyfriend teased. "You're right as always."
Jean smirked. "Glad you learned how this relationship works."
Scott then dipped Jean down and kissed her, catching her off guard with his sudden act.
Storm was clapping at the news along with Logan. "Thank goodness that's over; now we just need to find Evan and we can get everything back to normal."
"Don't worry, Storm." Logan assured her. "We'll find the porcupine."
At the Brotherhood house, three-quarters of the members were cheering at the good news.
"My mama was wrong. There is justice in this world." Toad proclaimed as he and Blob were dancing. Lance shook his head at their antics, but there was a smile on his face.
Pietro had an annoyed look on his face. "Yeah, yeah, he's free. Big whoop."
Vlad shook his head. He should've known that Daniel would prevail yet again. Oh, well, he may be free, but he won't be able to stop what he has been currently working on.
"Enjoy your freedom, Daniel." He said. "Your replacement will be here soon enough."
Magneto was dissatisfied to discover that Daniel was now free. Free to wreck his plans and help Xavier with his foolish dream. Not only had he helped Charles bring in several naive mutants to their cause, but he had also brought Wanda into their group.
He shook his head. No matter. Daniel Fenton, like the rest of the human race, will soon kneel before the power of all mutantkind, with him leading them to their rightful place as gods.
"It's a darn shame." Gambit shook his head at the news, but Magneto ignored him as he left the room, leaving Gambit and Colossus, who, after making sure their boss wasn't looking, shared a fist bump at the good news of Danny's freedom.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Mystique raged as she saw Danny step out of the courthouse on Irene's TV. "Why can't you just die?" She screamed at the image of Danny. "Just die and stay away from her!"
It seems she would have to take drastic measures to take him out. This was all her fault. She had him at her mercy once, but she let her sadism stall and prevent her from achieving her goal. Well, not again. Next time, she will kill Danny Fenton, and Rogue will be hers.
Irene just shook her head at Raven's tantrum before she received a splitting headache.
"What's wrong, Irene?" Mystique asked her in concern, seeing her groan in pain.
"I'm having another vision." Irene gasped as visions of the future came to her.
This intrigued the shapeshifter. Perhaps this could give her information on how to finally get rid of Fenton. "What is it?"
"It's the boy, but he's a man now. He's with Anna and the Maximoff girl. They're in a bedroom together; they're... oh no."
"What?" Mystique pressed hoping they had something they could use to their advantage. "What do you see?"
"Oh, no no no no no no." Irene pleaded. "Please, God, no."
"What? What's happening?"
"They're removing their clothes."
Mystique paled. Oh, God. No. She turned away, pressing her fingers into her ears. "I don't want to hear this." She said, but Irene was too focused on her future visions to hear her.
"Oh, Anna, don't! You don't want to choke on that." Irene warned, as Mystique grimaced from hearing that.
"Irene, stop!" Mystique pleaded, not wanting to hear another word of this. "Please, just stop."
"Oh my goodness, there's another person in the room."
"What?" Mystique turned back to Irene. "Who?" Had that bastard managed to snag another woman?
"Good lord, Raven, why didn't you tell me he could do that?"
"Do what?"
"Copy himself." And there, Mystique's mouth was wide open as she learned that interesting tidbit.
"He's doing them both at the same time." Irene, at this point, was going into shock. "Oh, Jesus, there's another one of him. And another. And another. And another. There's like ten of him in the room."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Mystique demanded as she was trying to force the image of the orgy out of her head.
"Anna...she...she's covered in all of their..." Irene stopped as Mystique was now in tears, sobbing.
A neighbor was walking past their house when he heard a loud shout.
"DAMN YOU, FENTON! DAMN YOU!"
Shrugging, he continued on his way, as Mystique was having a mental breakdown.
Irene sniffled at what she had been forced to watch. "Well, Anna, you sure know how to pick them." She couldn't help but admit.
Danny waved to all of his fans as he passed through the crowd on his way to the Blackbird.
"Hey, Fenton!" Danny found himself face-to-face with his old bully.
"Dash." Danny replied awkwardly as Rogue stood next to him.
"Listen, man. I'm really sorry for everything. The punches, the shoving you into your locker, the wedgies, the swirlies—and that time I hung you on the flagpole by your underwear. All of it."
"Why you!" Rogue was about to tackle him when Danny held her back.
"Water under the bridge." Danny said to the jock. "Now get out of here before she breaks out of my grip."
Dash immediately booked it out of there as Danny managed to get Rogue to calm down.
"I'd like to give him a wedgie." Rogue muttered to herself. The two then heard a chuckle and turned around to see Ida Manson.
"I see you got yourself a nice girl, Danny." She smiled at Rogue.
"Grandma Ida." He greeted with the nickname she requested he call her by when they first met. "Thank you for coming down to testify on my behalf."
"It was no problem, Sonny." She rode her scooter closer to get a look at the boy her Sam had befriended all those years ago.
"And about Sam." Danny looked down. "I'm sorry-"
"I don't blame you." She said. "I never did. I actually wanted to thank you for being there for my bubbala all those years. Jeremy was wrong, son; you were a great influence on her. You made her happy. You always were a good boy." She looked at Rogue. "You take care of this one, honey; he's a keeper."
"I know." Rogue wrapped an arm around him, making Ida chuckle.
"Good luck; you sure did a lot of good for this old town. I'm sure you'll do the same for the world one day."
"Thank you, Grandma Ida." He said before parting ways. As they were making their way through the crowd, he felt someone grab his arm.
"Danny!" The hybrid was greeted by his old crush, Paulina Sanchez.
"Uh, Paulina, hi." He replied, not knowing how to respond. Once upon a time, he would've given everything for her to look at him like she was now. But things had changed. He grew up, realizing that Paulina wasn't the girl for him. That honor went to his fellow half-ghost.
"I can't believe that you were the ghost boy this whole time." She put her arms around his neck. "If you had told me from the start, we could've been together much sooner. Now you can drop that loser and be with me."
"Excuse me?" Rogue's supernaturally green eyes were peering at Paulina with a strong distaste for the arrogant girl.
"I want to rip her hair off and make it into a rug and then scratch her eyes out." Vampira demanded, incensed by the bitch's dismissive tone towards them.
"You heard me." Paulina kept going. "My ghost boy and I are soulmates, so he doesn't need you anymore." She waved her hand as if she were dismissing a servant. "Shoo!"
Danny was about to yell at Paulina for her words when Rogue got right in the girl's face, pushing her off her man.
"Soulmates, huh? And what makes you think he'd be with you? What's so special about some shallow, braindead bimbo?"
"I'm not shallow!" The queen bee shouted. "And he liked me first."
"Really?" Rogue slipped off one of her gloves. "Let's put that to the test." Using all of her concentration, she touched Paulina but was able to keep the girl from passing out, though she did feel a bit dizzy.
"Wha...what was that?"
"Just took some of your memories." Rogue explained as she saw flashes of Paulina's life and all the times that she slighted her man, from calling him a loser and insulting him to dating him just so she could get back at one of his friends. Sure, she may have liked Danny Phantom, but she couldn't care less about Danny Fenton. She had a nice, sweet boy interested in her, and she went and ruined it. Well, too bad for her; he was hers now.
"Well, you were right about one thing; he did like you." Rogue admitted. "Emphasis on did. And you treated him like crap."
"And now he's ours." Vampira added. "And we're not gonna let him slip away like this girl did."
Wanda narrowed her eyes at all this information. How could someone act like that to a nice guy like Danny?
"I..." The vain girl couldn't form a response, as she was right. She had been nothing but a bitch to him. She had always loved Phantom, not just because he was good-looking but because he was a hero who had saved her. To think that all this time that hero had liked her back, but she had barely paid any attention to him.
"Well, tough luck, girl, because that boy's mine now." Rogue took Danny's hand as the two walked off, leaving a tearful Paulina.
"He liked me." She whispered. "He liked me, and I never saw it."
Wanda came up to the girl. "It's your own fault." She looked over at Danny in admiration. "You couldn't see the man that boy could be." She then left the girl alone to stew in her own misery.
The X-Men soon approached the Blackbird, and as they were about to board, Danny remembered that he still had the thermos that contained the Marmel brothers.
"Hey, can we wait?" He asked the professor. "I got to do something real quick."
"Of course." Xavier allowed as Danny motioned for Rogue to follow him.
The remaining three were about to wait in the jet when Wanda asked, "You mind if I go and explore the town?"
"Be careful." The professor cautioned her as she left.
Danny and Rogue stood outside his old home. Both of them were giving their own reactions to being here.
For Danny, it felt a bit daunting to be back here after so long. A part of him was almost afraid to step in, not wanting to confront the ghosts (metaphorically, or course) of his past.
Rogue was looking at the place in complete bafflement; she had never seen a building with this many satellite dishes on it.
"Looks like they're trying to contact aliens rather than hunt ghosts." Vampira joked.
"So this is your old home?"
"Yeah. I'd say it isn't much, but looking at it, you can tell that it's the opposite." He quipped as Rogue let out a small giggle as they phased through the door. However outlandish the exterior of the building was, the interior of the living room was pretty normal, all things considered.
"Follow me." Danny had Rogue follow her down into the basement, where the southern goth was mesmerized by all the gadgets, gizmos, and doo-dahs.
"Wow, this stuff is amazing."
"You call being surrounded by stuff that can hurt you amazing? Obviously, this means you're the stupid half."
Danny wordlessly inserted the thermos into the console connected to the ghost portal. A second later, the two ghosts were transported back to the realm of the dead.
"So this is the portal that started it all?" Rogue said, intrigued by the supernatural glow it gave.
"Yeah." He said softly, his mind occupied with other things.
Sensing her boyfriend's sudden dreary mood, she snuggled up to him.
"What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."
With a sigh of resignation, he phased him and Rogue on top of Fentonworks, allowing them to view the town.
"I need to tell you something important." Danny started. "While I was locked up-"
"I swear to God, Danny, if they so much as touched you-" Rogue was about to promise pain when Danny cut her off.
"They didn't do anything." He stopped for a moment to gather his courage to tell her what he saw. "While I was locked up, I went on a little time-traveling adventure."
"Time travel?" Rogue repeated. "That's real?" This world was just getting crazier.
"It is. And I saw several different timelines." He said to Rogue's amazement. "I saw the future, the past, and the present. I witnessed other timelines, like one where I never joined you guys and one where I died from the Guys in White."
Rogue clutched onto Danny's arm, refusing to imagine a world where those monsters took him away from her.
"And in that future, you...you..." He didn't know how to break it to her. How could he tell her? How could he tell anyone something like this?
"What? What happened to me?" Rogue demanded worriedly.
"I think it's better to show you. I just hope you can forgive me and, most importantly, yourself after seeing this."
"Wha-" Before she could get a word in, she felt Danny's mind enter hers, and in her subconscious, she saw an image. An image of herself looking like she did in that dream she had, Bayville gripped in terror, and her being the cause of it all.
"No." She pushed Danny out of her head and backed away from him as she looked down at her hands. Hands that would soon be covered with the blood of billions. "No! It can't be! OH, GOD, NO!
"Rogue-" Vampira tried to interject before Rogue's panic prevented her response from being heard as she tried to fly away. Where she would go, she didn't know, but she didn't have time to figure it out as Danny grabbed her ankle and yanked her back down.
He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Rogue, listen to-"
"Stay away!" She ordered. "I'm a murderer! A monster! A freak!"
"PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!" Danny shouted as he shook her. As she quieted down, his tone became softer. "You're a hero. With these powers, you've-"
"I'm gonna end up killing people with these powers!" Rogue shot back. "I don't want them anymore! I don't want to be her!"
"You won't be her!" The hybrid assured her passionately with all the hope that was in his non-beating heart. "I promise you."
"Promise?" Rogue looked at him as if he were crazy. What good could a promise do?
"Yes. I promise you like I promised her." He then entered her mind to show her another memory.
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise. I promise I will save you."
"Save me? You really want to save me? After all I've done? Knowing how many people I've killed, even when you said that I'm not the girl you once loved, you still want to save me? Why?"
"Because I've been in your place, and everyone deserves a second chance. Even you."
With intense love, Danny grabbed his tearful girlfriend and embraced her, comforting her. "I won't let you become that, ever. I swear to you. No matter what happens, I'll be by your side. Nothing is going to stop that."
He rubbed her back as she started to cry into his chest, traumatized by what she had just learned.
"I don't deserve you." She sobbed as she felt so terrible about herself. She didn't deserve anything. A monster like her only deserved to be destroyed before she could inflict any harm on people.
"You deserve everything." And with that, the two just stayed in the comfort of each other, not speaking a word. The only sounds being heard were the occasional breeze of the wind and Rogue's sobs as she tried to process this bombshell of a revelation. Not even Vampira had anything to say, with Rogue assuming that even she was petrified at what they had learned.
It had been several hours after Rogue had learned this, and they were still on top of Fentonworks, still holding onto each other. Danny, thinking that there had been enough silence, spoke.
"How you holding up?"
Rogue pulled her face off of his chest and looked up at him.
"I... I don't know." She led him over to the edge of the roof as they looked over the town. "I honestly never thought I would be capable of something like that." She then took off one of her gloves, took Danny's hand, and stared at it. "But after thinking it over, one of the main questions going through my head was what made me like that. And then, when I realized how she ended up like that, I felt worse because I saw where she was coming from."
"What do you mean?"
"Wanda has been showing me some of her books." She explained. "And one of them caught my eye. It was about ghosts and their obsessions—the thing that keeps them from moving on."
"Yeah, mine is-"
"Protection." Rogue answered. "Anyone would be able to figure that out after five minutes of knowing you. But I wondered what mine was. I couldn't figure it out. Until now." She put her head on his shoulder. "It's you."
"What?"
"You, Danny. You're my obsession. When I was trying to save you while you were sinking through the ground and I got shocked by your energy, I felt like I was going to die." She admitted, making Danny feel guilt for causing this, along with anger at Plasmius for his role in that.
"But I knew I couldn't die. Not without saving you first." She kissed him. "And that was what allowed me to come back. It was you. It was always you. That boy who helped me from the graveyard all the way to here."
Danny didn't know what to say, but he felt honored that Rogue felt he was worthy enough of coming back for.
"And when I thought I lost you to the Guys in White I felt broken, like my entire purpose was gone. And now I realize why she was so miserable. Her obsession was gone; it was twisted and corrupted. And now I feel nothing but pity for her because I know exactly how she must feel."
"I'm sorry, Rogue." He apologized, feeling responsible for all this. "It was me who-" He was interrupted by a kiss.
"None of this is your fault. She made the choice to do all those things. It was all on her." She turned away from her fellow hybrid and gazed out into the sky. "And all on me."
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Rogue. A wise, beautiful, and strong woman once told me that all of us have a dark side. She also told me that all it takes to change the future is one person willing to stand against it."
"Who told you that?" She questioned, making Danny smirk.
"You did. Or at least a version of you did." He answered before explaining how an alternate version of her had helped him along on his adventure.
Rogue just rubbed her head. "Alternate universes and timelines. When did my life get so weird?"
"Probably when your mutant powers activated or when you got ghost powers and your heart stopped beating." He joked, hoping to make her smile after all this, and he succeeded as she saw a small grin on her face before she kissed him again.
"Danny, I promise you that no matter what happens, I will never turn into that ever, I promise."
"I know, Rogue. I know because, deep down, you're a kind, courageous, and gorgeous girl who'd risk everything to save the people she loves. Nothing makes me happier than to be your boyfriend."
"Kiss him, Rogue." Vampira urged. "You got to reward your man when he says things like this."
Rogue complied, smooching her boyfriend. As she pulled her lips away, she noticed Danny seemed tense.
"What's wrong?"
Danny turned his head in the direction of where it all happened. "There's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Follow me." He flew into the air, and Rogue followed as he led her to the sight of the incident.
Wanda had been looking around the town and, quite frankly, was bored. How someone like Danny came from a town as dull as this was anyone's guess. Strolling through the streets, she was ignored, as everyone could sense that this girl didn't want to be disturbed.
She was about to head back to the Blackbird and wait for Danny and Rogue to return when she came across something that stood out in this bland settlement.
There was what appeared to be the remains of a building. Stepping closer, she saw a sign in front of the obliterated structure that said Nasty Burger.
'Is this some kind of fast food place?' Examining the wreckage, she saw that it was indeed a fast food restaurant, but it had been annihilated. The sorceress wondered what could've possibly happened here. It appeared to have been here for quite some time, so she was curious as to why the town didn't bother to clean this place up. But, to her right, was the answer to her question.
This was a memorial, as there were two statues. One of them was a pillar with five figures on top. From left to right were a young boy with glasses, a girl in goth clothing, an older-looking girl, and a middle-aged woman wearing some kind of jumpsuit. Behind them was the large figure of a man who was also wearing a jumpsuit.
The other statue was of a bald, out-of-shape man.
Both statues had the same words on them.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Seeing this, the daughter of Magento reflected on how these people died. Was it some kind of massacre? Was the one responsible ever apprehended? As she continued to list the possibilities of whatever happened to these people in her head, she could hear footsteps.
Not wanting to talk to anyone, she hid behind the statue of the bald man and peeked out to see Danny and Rogue approaching the destroyed establishment.
Danny closed his eyes in grief. Lancer was right; if he didn't succeed on the C.A.T., his future was doomed at the Nasty Burger, though he was wrong on the exact details.
Rogue was concerned; this place looked like it had blown up, and judging by Danny's look, it was likely that someone died here. He did say a demon killed the people he loved; was this where it happened?
"Danny, is this-"
"Yes." He confirmed. "This is where I watched my family die." He stated bluntly as he walked her over to the statue of his friends and family.
"One day I ended up traveling to the future, and I saw it completely destroyed. The person responsible for this...me."
"No." Rogue shook her head, refusing to believe that. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. "That's...that's impossible. You could never do something like that."
"We all have a dark side, Rogue." He reminded her before looking back at the smiling faces of his loved ones. He wondered if they were happy wherever they were.
"These people were my parents, my sister, and my best friends. The people who gave my life meaning before I met you. I found out that in the future they died here and that I didn't take it well, becoming the worst kind of monster imaginable."
"So the demon that killed your family was you." She grasped, horrified at realizing the amount of guilt Danny must have been carrying all this time. "Oh, god, sugar, no one should have to go through that." She knew how bad her future self was, but to imagine Danny, someone more experienced with these powers, doing something like that, it must've been a complete nightmare for him.
"Dan Phantom is what he called himself." Danny said, revealing to Rogue why he didn't like being called Dan. "He destroyed everything in his way and was willing to kill the people he once loved just so he could continue his twisted existence. I managed to trap him in one of my thermoses, but they still died." He was now crying as Rogue comforted him. "Despite everything, he killed them all. And it was all my fault."
"No." Rogue disagreed. "You're nothing like that. I know you, Danny. You're not like that guy, and you never will be."
"I'm sorry." Danny uttered, but Rogue knew he wasn't saying it to her but to the memorial. "I'm sorry I failed you all. I..."
"Danny, they wouldn't have blamed you. If they loved you, they would've known you tried your best. I know you did. You'd do anything, go to any length for those you care about. It's one of the many things I love about you."
Danny embraced her, as it was now Rogue's turn to comfort him.
"I'm sorry that I never told you about this." Danny told her.
"It's okay. I understand—a lot more after what I've just learned about myself." She had learned so much about her man today. And instead of scaring her away, it only reinforced her love for him. She'd make sure Danny would never lose himself to grief, just like he would do the same for her. They would keep each other centered.
"I appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me about this." She saw that he was still staring at the memorial. "I'm sure they still love you. And I know you'll never become that monster."
There was a slight breeze, and the two oddly felt a bit calmer. It was as if something had taken away all their sorrow, all their stress. Danny, for some reason, was smiling widely.
"There's something here." Vampira noticed.
'What?'
"Trust me, Rogue, there is something here. It might not be strong enough to set off our ghost sense, but it's here."
"Thank you." Danny said happily as if a burden had been lifted off him. He took Rogue's hand "Come on. It's time to go home."
"Just give me a moment." Rogue requested. "I'll be back in a jiff."
Danny nodded before leaving, leaving Rogue alone with the statue. Staring into their faces, she pondered on what it would be like to meet these people.
"I'll look after him for you." She promised. "He won't be alone ever again, I swear."
There was another breeze, and Rogue could've sworn she felt a pat on the shoulder and heard a faint whisper.
"Thank you."
With her business done, the southern girl headed off to rejoin her boyfriend as Wanda watched them leave with tear-stained eyes, her makeup a mess.
"Danny." She said sadly, as she felt nothing but empathy for him. The sorceress had just learned that the boy of her dreams had been tormented with events that no one should ever have to endure. She could see why he didn't want her to give in to her desire for vengeance against her father. She always thought it was because he was a kind soul who was too pure for the concept of hatred, but now she knows.
He carried darkness in him, just like she did. He knew what it was like to have his life destroyed by a monster. In a way, they were so similar.
Deciding that she had spent enough time here, she went off to catch up with the others, now with a greater understanding of her crush.
The Blackbird soon landed in the docking area, and out the window, he could see the rest of the institute gathered there, anxiously waiting for Danny to join them.
"Welcome home, Danny." Xavier said. The ramp extended down and as Danny stepped off, he was engulfed in a hug by Scott, then Jean, then Kitty, and finally Kurt. They were all speaking at once, letting him know how much they missed him.
"It's great to have you back, Danny."
"It wasn't the same without you."
"I'm just, like, so glad that you're okay."
"I knew you'd get out, dude."
After greeting his fellow X-Men, he exchanged hugs and high-fives with the New Mutants before meeting Logan's hand in a handshake.
"Good to have you back, bub." He said. "This place was getting a little too irritable without you."
"Glad to be back, Logan." Danny replied with a chuckle before noticing Storm's depressed mood. "Are you okay, Storm?"
"I'm fine, Danny." She said. "I'm glad you're home; really, I am, but it's just that Evan-"
"Don't worry, Storm." Danny assured her. "We'll get him back." His eyes glowed green. "And I know where to find him."
The Morlocks had broken into Spear Sports once again, with Cybelle using her powers to melt a hole through the wall and Torpid paralyzing a guard. Currently, Scaleface was using his X-ray vision to look through a wall, and on the other side, he saw the vats of POW-R 8.
"Through here." He told the others, who all had sacks over their shoulders.
Cybelle handed her bag to Facade and used her powers to melt the wall, granting them entrance. Evan was the first to step through, using his spikes to destroy a security camera, causing the feed to go dark in the main security office.
Guy Spear walked into the security room at the exact moment. He had decided to check in to make sure everything was going well. Noticing the guard, who was holding a mug of coffee, seemed a little stiff, he touched him, only for him to fall over, revealing himself to have been paralyzed by Torpid.
Evan was currently on top of one of the vats of POW-R 8, pouring some white powder from the sack into it along with Callisto.
"What's this stuff gonna do?" He asked.
"It'll taint his entire supply of POW-R 8 and then gum up the plumbing." She revealed.
As they were all climbing down with their work done, Guy barged in with two security officers.
"Fire!" He ordered as the guards shot their tasers, which hit the metal ladder, causing the charge to electrocute Torpid, who screamed in pain, before falling down and being caught by Evan.
The Morlocks all started to run, avoiding the guard's fire, with one charge ending up hitting a circuit breaker.
"No!" Guy cried in alarm as it caused a wire to be let loose and cause a small explosion, which tipped over one of the vats and started to knock the ones next to it over, like dominoes.
Evan managed to jump off the ladder before the vat fell over as the room started to flood with POW-R 8.
"Quickly!" Callisto started running. "Into the drains."
The small group jumped in and started to flee as the liquid started to follow them in a massive wave, only to meet a dead end in the form of a brick wall.
Evan shot out several spikes for them to use to climb up when the ceiling above them exploded, revealing the grinning face of Danny Phantom. He held out a hand to them.
"Need a lift?"
"Danny!" Evan said in surprise. "You're back."
"And better than ever." Danny replied as he helped bring them all up to the surface with the rest of the X-Men.
Evan looked up to see his aunt making the weather rain.
"What is she doing?" He asked Danny.
"Diluting it!" The hybrid answered before offering his hand to Evan. "Good to have you back, Evan." He said.
Evan couldn't help but smile. Despite all the recent hardships he had endured, he was glad to have his friend back. He then looked back at the Morlocks, who were all looking at him.
Danny followed his line of sight. "I see you made some new friends."
"Yeah. And I think they'll need me." He looked over the rest of the X-Men. "And I don't think I can go back with the others." He gestured to his protruding spikes. "Now that I look like this."
Danny examined his friend. He had really matured since he stepped through the institute's doors. What was once a boy who loved to goof off was now someone who wanted to protect the innocent and persecuted. It reminded him of himself a bit.
It was then that he knew he couldn't stop Evan from leaving, but he could make sure he and the Morlocks had a better home.
"I get it." Danny told him. "But at least let me give you and your new friends a better place to stay at."
Evan raised an eyebrow, wondering what he had planned.
"Holy shit!" Evan swore as he saw the inside of the new fancy house, or mansion, as it appeared to be. The Morlocks all had similar looks of awe as they went off to explore their new home.
"Evan, language." Storm scolded before turning to Danny. "Though I agree with his sentiment, how were you able to get this place, Danny?"
The hybrid smirked. "Blackmailing Plasmius."
"How?" The both asked.
Danny smirked.
"Daniel, what a pleasant surprise." Vlad said over the phone. "I never thought you would be calling me."
"Yeah, yeah, let's cut to the chase, cheesehead. I want something from you, and you're gonna give it to me."
"And why would I do that?" The elder hybrid said in amusement at Danny's attempt to act threatening.
"Because this time, I'm the one with all the cards." Danny explained smugly. "The world knows about me, but what will they do when they know about you? I'm sure they'll find all your sudden wealth a bit suspicious given the fact that it's known that ghosts can overshadow people."
"You don't have any proof, you little rat." Vlad hissed as he realized that he should have thought his plan through a bit more.
"But do you really want to risk everything you've built being taken away from you?" Danny replied. "Well, do you?"
There was a bit of silence before Vlad said in resignation, "What do you want?"
"One, I want you to leave my friends and I alone."
"Fine. Anything else?"
"Man, that is awesome." Evan complimented. "You managed to stick it to that rich jerk."
"It'll be good to know we don't have to worry about him anymore." Storm agreed. "Now, I believe the three of us should be heading home."
"About that, Auntie O, I think this is where I belong, helping the Morlocks and bringing any other mutant like us here for safety."
"But-"
"Please, Auntie O, I can't go back to the institute; I just got to take a break. Everything's so crazy now. I don't fit in anymore. And here, I think I can do a lot of good for these guys."
Storm gave her nephew a proud look. "Very well. You've grown up a lot since coming to Bayville. You can stay after you tell your parents about this. I'm not going to their house and explaining that their son up and left. I don't think my sister would ever speak to me again."
Evan rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit ashamed about forgetting his parents. "Oh, yeah, you're right."
"Great, we got it all sorted out." Danny said as he started to head back to the Blackbird. "Let's go."
"Danny, what's the hurry?" Storm asked.
"There's one last thing I need to do."
Guy Spear and his subordinate had just had a meeting with the professor about POW-R 8's harmful effect on mutants.
"Well?" His assistant asked, wondering what their next move would be.
Guy was about to say to continue production when a sudden presence took him over, and for a brief second, his eyes glowed green. He slammed his employee against the wall.
"I want it all gone! Do you hear me? I don't want to see any trace of it whatsoever. I want it all destroyed—the recipe, the ingredients, everything! All gone! And I swear, if I see one bottle of it, I'll have your ass! Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir!" The fearful man whimpered as he scurried off to fulfill his boss's demand.
Clockwork nodded in approval as he watched over the timeline. It seems the lesson has sunk in, and Danny has realized that he has done a lot more good for the X-Men than he gave himself credit for.
His thoughts were interrupted by a shaking sound. Turning around, he saw the alternate Rogue shaking the thermos that contained Dan Phantom with furious vigor.
The time master cleared his throat, getting Rogue's attention.
"Oh, sorry." She apologized as she gave the thermos one last good shake before placing it back in its spot. "So is everything all peachy now?"
He gestured Rogue over to the time window, where it showed the present.
Danny and Rogue were standing in the park, looking over its fountain.
Rogue fished out a quarter from her pocket. "Wanna make a wish?"
Danny gave a good-natured grin. "Why? I got everything I want." He kissed her, making her giggle.
"Well, I'm gonna make one."
"Make sure you don't say it out loud." Danny warned, remembering his encounters with Desiree. "In my experience, saying it out loud is bad luck."
Rogue tossed the coin in, and for a moment, her reflection in the water resembled something else for a brief second, making her frown.
"What'd you wish for?" Danny asked curiously, making Rogue give him an uncertain look before looking back at her reflection, which was back to normal. Shrugging, she smiled back at her boyfriend.
"If I tell you, it won't come true." Her boyfriend laughed as the two continued on their way.
"Yes. All is as it should be." Clockwork answered. "And I must thank you, Rogue, for all your help."
"Hey, no biggie." Rogue waved off. "They're good kids; they deserve to be happy."
Clockwork then held out his hand. "And now, if you can give me back my belongings, I can send you back home."
Rogue handed him the two medallions and the cloak before looking back at the staff. "You know, I could really use one of these." The staff was then yanked out of her hand and summoned back to Clockwork's thanks to his telekinesis.
"Oh, come on." Rogue whined as she pointed to her counterpart on the screen. "She gets ghost powers; why can't I get time powers?"
Clockwork narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Don't you have a husband to be getting home to?"
Rogue then grinned, as she had a lovesick look in her eyes. "You're right. I got some catching up to do with my man, if you get my drift."
The time ghost rolled his eyes as he waved his staff, making Rogue fade back into her universe.
The last thing she saw was the image of Danny and his Rogue meeting up with Wanda.
'Note to self.' She thought as she returned to her home. 'Keep Scarlet Witch away from my man.'