Exiting the portal, the two time travelers found themselves in some kind of cemetery. Gazing at the place, Danny couldn't help but feel like he had been here before. No wait; he had been here before. This is when they came to Mississippi to recruit Rogue, and he exposed Mystique as a liar.
"I know this place." Danny realized. "This is where we first met." He gained a nostalgic smile. This is where he first saw her. She may have been a frightened girl, but to him, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Rogue looked at all the tombs and graves and couldn't help but chuckle. "Of course she met you in a cemetery. Where else would you meet a ghost? Other than a haunted house, of course."
"What, you didn't meet yours the same way?" Danny asked, interested in how his counterpart got together with his Rogue.
"Try a mall, sugar." The two then heard voices and followed them as Danny noticed that the cemetery had been damaged, as if a hurricane had hit it. That didn't happen, so what was the deal? Before he could wonder what had gone down, he ended up spotting the X-Men, who were missing a certain ghost and goth. They also appeared exhausted, with Cyclops holding an unconscious Storm and Wolverine doing the same with a knocked-out Nightcrawler.
"What do you think happened to the rogue?" Cyclops asked the professor.
"She's gone somewhere." Xavier answered. "Her mind is a jumble. I can't trace it. But I strongly suspect the hand of another at work here."
Wolverine sniffed the area.
"Oh, crap, he's gonna smell us." Danny said as he knew that Wolverine would spot the two.
"Don't worry, darling." Rogue pointed to the top of his medallion. "These fancy things are set so that we're basically invisible when we go through time." Her smile widened. "We're like ghosts to them."
Danny rolled his eyes at the joke before looking at where she pointed at the medallion. There was a small switch between the words interact and non-interact.
"Cool." He couldn't help but comment before returning his attention to the X-Men.
"Mystique." Wolverine snarled as he put together that they've been played for fools. "She can change her body, but not her scent."
"Then we have to go after her!" Shadowcat declared.
Xavier disagreed. "There's been enough damage done today. And the girl must come of her own free will or not at all."
"So Mystique gets her." Danny said, as he realized that they were going to see what Rogue's life would be like without him. And apparently, without him, Mystique laid claim to Rogue, which angered him. He always hated Mystique, even when she was the bitchy Principal Darkholme. But it got personal when she tried to get her hands on Rogue. The shapeshifter claimed that she only wanted what was best for her, but Danny knew the truth. She was just like Plasmius; she only cared for herself and what she wanted. The only thing about Rogue that the blue bitch was remotely interested in were her powers.
"Mmm-hmm." The alternate Rogue had a disdainful look at the mention of her adoptive mother. She gave Danny a knowing look. "If only a handsome ghost was there to rescue her."
Danny looked away. "What happens to her?" Was she going to remain with the Brotherhood forever?
"Oh, well, she ends up joining the X-Men a little later. Thankfully, without putting a superhero in a coma." She muttered the last sentence quietly so Danny didn't hear her before pressing a button on the staff as the two found themselves in a new location.
Danny instantly knew where they were next when he felt the cold. "The mountains."
"You're on fire, sugar." The time master's apprentice praised before pointing over to Scott and Rogue, who were on an icy bridge that looked like it would collapse at any moment. "Wish I could say the same for them."
Not only were the two mutants in danger of falling to their deaths, but they were cornered by Mystique, who was in the form of a wolf.
"That form is fitting for her, don't you agree?" The older Rogue bitterly joked with Danny, who didn't respond as he was more concerned about Rogue and Scott.
"X-Men, they're coming." Scott uttered to Rogue.
"What, they are? Great." She said hopefully, thinking that they would be saved.
"They can't find us." Scott replied, making Rogue let out a sigh of disappointment.
"Figures." She continued to pull him back as they tried to put as much distance between them and Mystique, who was advancing on them slowly.
Getting an idea, Rogue took off Scott's glasses. "Then we'll give them something they can find. Open your eyes, Scott. Now!" He shot out a beam of light up into the sky before Rogue placed his glasses back on and touched his forehead, taking his power.
Glaring at Mystique with glowing red eyes, Rogue gave one final piece of advice.
"Some friendly advice, teach: don't mess with the Rogue!" She shot out an optic blast, causing the shapeshifter to fall off the icy bridge.
"Yeah, you show that bitch, girl!" The older Rogue cheered as she and Danny looked down to see that she had turned into an eagle.
"Damn it!" She cursed. "That woman's like a cockroach." No matter what, she always seems to crawl back into her life and cause trouble.
"Tell me about it." Danny said as they watched the eagle make one last attempt to snatch Rogue before the Blackbird showed up.
"Give it up, Mystique, or you'll be tangling with a wolverine!" Wolverine warned as he stood outside the open door with his claws out, threateningly.
Mystique wisely retreated as Wolverine brought the two teens on the Blackbird before it took off.
"Well, looks like Rogue's with the X-Men now." Danny commented as he and the other Rogue were left alone.
"But there's still one problem." His companion said as the two, in a flash, found themselves now at the Xavier Institute.
"We're home!" Danny smiled, as he had already missed the institute. Never would he think he would find a home after the deaths of his loved ones, but it seems life would throw him a bone once in a while. His good mood was instantly shot down as he saw his Rogue at the window, staring out at Scott and Jean enviously.
"Poor girl." The older Rogue shook her head in sympathy for her counterpart, who was glaring at her hands, blaming them for her isolation. "No friendly ghost for her to cuddle with. No Rogue should have to go through that."
Danny didn't listen, as his gaze was solely focused on his Rogue. She was so much more withdrawn than his. And lonely too. He tried to hug her, but he only simply phased through her as he remembered that he couldn't interact with this timeline.
"Tell me, does it get any better for her?" He asked the alternate Rogue, who shook her head.
"I wish I could say yes, but no." She then transported them to Bayville High's gymnasium with its bleachers filled to the max.
"Great, Bayville High." Danny groaned as he hated this place, while Rogue looked around, confused.
"Wait, I thought y'all learned at the institute; what are you doing here?" She asked.
"The institute is where we learn about how to control our powers and whatnot. You know, Danger Room stuff, while we learn math and history here." Danny explained.
"Oh, I get it." She then heard the buzzing of a fly before seeing a tongue snatch it and bring it back to the mouth of Toad, who started to snack on it.
Rogue's facial features twisted into an expression of revulsion as she placed a hand on her mouth to keep herself from throwing up. "That is so gross."
"Meet the Brotherhood." Danny gestured to the four punk-looking boys. "Avalanche, Toad, Blob, and Quicksilver."
"Quicksilver?" Rogue said in confusion.
"Yeah, don't you have a Quicksilver in your universe? Because if you don't, then I am jealous of you guys."
"We do, but he's part of another team of mutants called X-Factor, basically the X-Men, but more militarized and all that fancy government stuff."
This made Danny shake his head. "Pietro doing something other than following his daddy's orders? What a universe you live in, Rogue." Before the two could joke more, they noticed the younger Rogue pass by them as she went to look for a seat before a familiar face called out to her.
"Excuse me?" A purple-haired girl asked. "How long do these assemblies usually last?"
Danny cursed, remembering the time Mystique disguised herself as a student to get close to Rogue. "Fuck, I forgot about her. Without me, Rogue would've been duped by Mystique again." He turned to the other Rogue. "When does she find out about the ruse? Or does she ever?"
The southern belle answered by transporting them to what appeared to be part of the gym in Bayville High, where Scott and Rogue were playing a game of racquetball. They were both giving it their all, but Rogue ended up being the victor.
"Whoo! You whupped me good." Scott admitted
"Want a re-match tomorrow night?" Rogue offered eagerly.
"Tomorrow? Oh, sorry." Scott said as he packed his bag. "That's the concert."
"Oh, right." Rogue replied shyly as she twirled her hair. "So, are you going with anyone?"
Danny merely blinked at seeing Rogue's body language. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on. Even a clueless schmuck like him could see that Rogue had eyes for Scott. He instantly turned to the other Rogue.
"She's into Scott?" He asked incredulously. He had nothing against Scott, but he never thought his friend would be Rogue's type.
The other Rogue was just as shocked. Sure, she respected her Cyclops, but she was never attracted to him. "Don't look at me; Cyclops was never my type either. Too stiff for my liking."
Danny rubbed his head. "This is just so weird."
"Yeah. With, uh, Jean." Scott answered. "What about you?"
"Nah. I'm not really a fan of the Descanso Rivets." The younger Rogue said, avoiding eye contact with Scott, which Danny found adorable. Even when she was crushing on another guy, he still found her beautiful. He really had it bad for her.
"We'll play next week, then?" Scott prompted.
"Sure. Next week." Rogue said with a smile, which immediately dropped when Scott left.
"It'll never work out." Danny shook his head, knowing that Scott would choose Jean over Rogue.
"Nope." The alternate Rogue said as the two teleported to another location yet again.
As they reappeared in another place, Danny found his senses overwhelmed by the loud music and bright lights as he discerned that they were at a concert. He recognized the band, the Descanso Rivets.
"This looks like fun." The alternate Rogue said as she looked at all the dancing people. Good thing she was covered up, and she could also phase through them thanks to the power of the medallion. "I'd ask if you want to dance, but I don't think we have time for that, ironically enough."
The half-ghost scanned the crowd before spotting Risty and his Rogue. Since he couldn't interact with anything, he merely walked right through them as he made his way towards the two, with the other Rogue following behind.
"Hey, slow down, spooky."
Getting up to them, he saw his girl notice Scott and Jean hanging out, and she had a look of jealousy before she grabbed her head in pain as her eyes glowed red for a second.
Risty noticed her look at Scott and Jean. "You still have a thing for him, don't you?" She inquired knowingly.
"What?" Rogue scoffed. "No way. And Scott and Jean are practically a couple."
"Really? Well, they deserve each other. And you, my girl, can do better." She pulled Rogue to the front of the crowd as Danny followed, noticing that Rogue was experiencing some kind of headache.
"I think this was a mistake." Rogue stated. "I don't do well in crowds. I can't even move."
"Oh, relax." Risty waved off. "You're covered up enough."
Danny was getting worried as he saw that her headaches were getting worse, and if that weren't enough, a girl who was on her boyfriend's shoulders ended up falling and grabbing Rogue's sleeve to catch herself, tearing it off as she accidentally made skin contact with a couple of people, causing them to fall down unconscious. As she backed away, she ended up colliding with Risty, making her reveal her true form.
The shapeshifter fell to the ground as Danny watched as Rogue took Mystique's power, causing her to shift from Risty to herself to Sabretooth. The newly transformed Rogue started to head right up to the stage as Danny was about to stop her before he felt someone pull him back.
"You can't do anything, sugar." The alternate Rogue said sadly as she watched her counterpart start to destroy the stage before the two found themselves in a warehouse where Cyclops was pacing around carefully when another Cyclops dropped down.
"Hey, big shot, better help yourself." The new Cyclops taunted as he blasted the original into a pile of boxes.
"She's shapeshifting." Danny figured out. "With Mystique's power at her disposal, she can be whatever she wants, including their powers."
The alternate Rogue shivered. "And trust me, that's an experience I don't want to go through again." She said as this reminded her of the time she absorbed Mystique's power and Ms. Marvel's consciousness used it to take over her body.
They continued to watch as both Cyclops and Logan tried to reason with the self-possessed Rogue.
"Help me." She pleaded as she took back control for a moment.
"We will, Rogue." Logan promised. "Just stay calm."
"We're your friends." Cyclops reminded her, but this seemed to set her off.
"I have no friends." She claimed as her eyes glowed white as she turned into Storm and blew a hurricane that blew them out of the warehouse.
The battle continued as the X-Men tried their best to take in the out-of-control Rogue, while Danny watched on helplessly, feeling useless that he couldn't do anything. The X-Men all tried their various powers to stop her, but Rogue managed to counter them all, forcing everyone but Logan to retreat as he managed to tackle her to the ground, only for her to duplicate herself with Jamie's powers.
"Rogue. I know what it's like for nothing to make sense in your head." Logan said, trying to reach her. "I've been there." He then felt Rogue use Magneto's power to lift him off the ground before the others all used Scott's optic blast to knock him into the X-Van before they lifted him up again.
"Listen to me, kid." Logan pleaded. "The others inside you—you're letting them push you around."
At this, the alternate Rogue narrowed her eyes. She had been pushed around by the others in her head. Back when she fought Dan, the monster overshadowed her and used everything in there—her memories, her insecurities, and all her regrets—to break her. And to top it all off, he had all of the people she absorbed unite to try and beat her into submission.
"Come on, Rogue!" Danny cried. He knew that he couldn't hear her, but he didn't care. He wanted his girlfriend to take back control, to take back her body and her life. "You can do it."
"Yeah." The alternate Rogue said silently in agreement. She managed to take back control and kick that evil phantom out of her mind. "If I can do it, so can you, girl."
"The Rogue I know wouldn't take that off of anybody." Logan said, causing the duplicates to merge back with the original as Rogue struggled to fight back.
"That's right." Logan encouraged. "Stand up to them."
As Logan was put down, Rogue cried out, "Logan, there's too many of them."
"Fight them, Rogue." Danny demanded alongside Logan.
"Stay tough." The long-lived mutant added.
"You can do it, sugar." The three watched as Rogue continued to fight all the personalities.
"No. No. No!" She shouted as Xavier rolled up to help her with his psychic powers.
"Rogue, you can do this!" Danny shouted. "I love you, and I know you can take back control. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. I believe in you."
As if Danny's words somehow managed to pierce Rogue's soul, the girl continued to fight as she started shifting between all the people she had absorbed before finally turning back to her regular self and collapsing into Logan's arms.
Danny breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally over.
"That's one tough girlfriend you got there." The older Rogue said as she patted him on the back.
"Yeah." He agreed before seeing Logan pick her up.
"She's gonna be okay, right, Charles?" He asked the professor, and before the professor could answer, Danny found himself in the institute's infirmary. In the bed was Rogue with Logan standing over her.
"I won't lie to you, kid." He said. "Getting over this ain't gonna be easy. Something about betrayal always sticks with you. But trust me. You learn to deal with it." He placed a gloved hand over one of Rogue's bare ones. "You move on. And you let your real friends be there for you." He felt her grip it, and he looked up to see Rogue smiling at him with tears in her eyes.
As Logan smiled back, Danny stood next to him and looked down at his girlfriend. "I'm sorry." He put a hand on her cheek. Pointless as the action may have been, Danny still wanted to let her know he cared. "I should've been there for you. I promise you, I-"
In a blink of an eye, he found himself back at the Axis of Time with the other Rogue. Surrounding them were mirrors that showed all of his moments with his Rogue. The two were quiet, gazing at all the beautiful moments in time between the two.
Rogue took notice of one moment in time where Danny and his Rogue seemed to be communicating without talking.
"I've heard of people who can know what their partner is thinking just with a look, but this seems a bit much."
"We have a telepathic link." Danny revealed solemnly, making Rogue shake her head in amusement as she tried to lighten the mood.
"Now I wish I had that. I'd be able to know if my man is thinking of other women." She joked as the two laughed before going back to watching the history between Danny and his Rogue.
As she watched Danny support his girlfriend from the very beginning, the alternate version of Rogue felt a bit of envy worm its way into her heart. "Gotta admit something, spooky. I'm kinda jealous of your Rogue."
"You're jealous?"
Rogue nodded. "I didn't meet my husband until I was an adult, honey." She flashed back to her father throwing her out when her mutation kicked in. "I had a pretty lonely childhood, with Mystique being the only company I had." She said with a hint of bitterness in her voice. The lady acted like she cared but in the end all she was to the shapeshifter was a weapon. And it only took putting someone into a coma for her to see it.
She looked over at the point in time where Danny introduced his Rogue to the X-Men. "Your Rogue, she met you the same day her powers came up. I wish the same happened for me."
She then felt Danny's arms wrap around her.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." He said sincerely, getting Rogue to smile. It seemed every version of him always managed to cheer her up.
"Hey, it's okay. At least in the end, I got my Danny Phantom." She returned the hug, and they stayed there for a couple of moments before Danny saw something that caught his attention.
He wordlessly went down the orange path as Rogue followed in confusion.
"Danny?" She asked, but she was ignored as she continued to pursue him before finding him standing in front of another mirror. On it was Rogue, crying her eyes out as she clutched Danny's model rocket as Wanda tried to comfort her.
With tears in his eyes, he could only watch the conversation unfold.
"I miss him too. It hurts knowing that while he got me out of my prison, I can't do anything for him when he's locked up. Can you contact him and ask him where he is so that we can help him?"
"He's blocking me out. He must think that I hate him. He probably has the idea that I don't love him anymore because he ain't a mutant."
His eyes were glued to the screen as he felt shame and regret wash over him; not even the alternate Rogue taking his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze made him feel any better.
"I never knew what love was until I met him. And now he's gone. The only thing I have left are the memories we shared."
As the image of Rogue continued to cry, Danny looked away in shame for being responsible for causing his girlfriend's breakdown. He immediately tried to contact her with their link, but it seemed that being at the Axis of Time prevented the message from being carried out.
While contemplating what to do next, he noticed another mirror in the corner of his eye. Walking over to it, he saw Bayville, or what was left of Bayville, in shambles. The entire town looked like it had been nuked. He saw crowds of people running away from something. Or someone.
Ecto-blasts fell from the sky as people tried to avoid the vicinity of the explosions with little success. The sound of warning sirens and people screaming was deafening.
"No." Danny muttered weakly. This couldn't be. He thought he had erased this future, wiped it from the time stream. Or was he right all along? Was the future truly set in stone? Despite everything he had done, was it all doomed to fail? Was humanity just fated to fall by his hand?
Any more nihilistic thoughts that would've come to him stopped as he noticed a collapsing building about to fall on a running crowd of terrified people. His protective instincts kicking in, he jumped through the mirror.
"Danny!" Rogue called after him, but he couldn't hear what else she had to say as he felt himself be pulled through time before finally ending up in the destroyed future. Flipping the switch on his medallion so that he could interact with everything, he placed his hands above his head and created a massive ecto-shield that covered him and the innocent people.
The broken piece of the construct was smashed into several pieces when it made contact with the dome, which safely kept everyone from getting crushed.
The half-ghost hero let out a sigh of relief at seeing that no one was unharmed; the only problem they had now was that they were now surrounded by a bunch of wreckage that was too high to climb out of.
"Everyone, join hands!" He ordered, and they all complied as he turned them intangible. "Don't let go!" He then phased them all through the remains of the building before letting go. Looking at the people, he saw them stare at him with fear and confusion, obviously wondering why a ghost would help them. He was about to reassure them that he wasn't going to harm them when-
KABOOM!
An explosion went off in the distance, with more screams sounding out. Letting his hero complex overwhelm him, he ushered the others to find shelter as he went to save the other poor souls who were at his mercy.
Approaching the district, the half-ghost hero saw a tornado in the middle of the whole place.
"He can control the weather?" Danny said as he landed on top of a nearby tower, perplexed that he had that ability as well. Then again, he was never able to see what that monster was truly capable of. Snapping out of his thoughts, he saw that there was a silhouette of someone standing on a building, moving their hands in accordance with the tornado.
It was him. It had to be.
Feeling himself freeze up at being in the demon's presence, he mentally told himself to keep it together, as there were lives at stake. With grim determination, he aimed his hand at what he thought was his future self and fired a ghost ray.
Vampira cackled as she watched her former home town fall into ruin thanks to the whirlwind she summoned. Standing on top of a building, she watched the fun unfold before seeing a few more tanks come from the other side and aim at her. She lazily pointed a finger as green flames came out and took the form of crows as they swarmed the small army.
"And they call a group of crows a murder. Looks more like a barbecue to me." She joked as she saw the melted metal and burning corpses. With all of the resistance neutralized, she raised her hand and was about to let loose a thousand ecto-blasts, which would rain down on all of Bayville, when she was hit by a ghost ray that almost knocked her off her feet.
Darting her eyes to the right, she could see someone, a young man she believed. He was too far away to really make him out any further details as he stood on another skyscraper.
"Well, what do we have here?" She obviously knew that this person was a ghost, but any ghost that tried to challenge her faded into oblivion, causing almost all the denizens of the Ghost Zone to stay out of her path. Hell, the only one she could think of who had the ectoplasm to challenge her was Skulker, or Skulktech, as he liked to be called now, but this new individual obviously wasn't the hunter. So who was he?
Her contemplative look instantly turned into a toothy grin. "Looks like Mama's got herself a new challenger." She fired off a few low-level ecto-blasts, believing it to be enough to take down this ghost, thinking it must be a newly formed one by the looks of it. Only to be mildly surprised when the figure held up a shield to absorb the blasts and fired back at her, causing her to move to the side to dodge her opponent's ghost ray.
"Ooh, courageous." She complimented as she licked her incisors. "I like that in a man."
They continued this little duel, or dance, as Vampira saw it, with both standing on their respective man-made structures as they flung their various energy attacks at each other. Vampira couldn't help but be impressed by this one's tenacity. Not even Danvers gave her a fight like this. Perhaps this new guy could serve as her playmate now that her former rival is gone.
"Wonder how this one died?" She thought out loud. Although it was possible that he was one of her victims who had risen from the grave to take revenge on her, God knows she's dealt with plenty of those.
As she was about to move closer to get a better look at her new foe, an ecto-blast managed to cut her cheek, leaving a mark. Touching the cut with her finger, she could see that it bled, which only served to enrage her.
"Alright, you got my attention. Now let's see if you can survive the aftermath." She charged at him, with him doing the same as the two fought in the air briefly as they started wrestling. Both were too caught up in the fight to notice who they were fighting as they fell to the ground, leaving a massive crater in the street.
The young half-ghost groaned as he felt that his head had landed on something. Something soft. Something sturdy. Something-
"PERVERT!" A voice screamed as Danny was thrown off his enemy.
Looking up, he found himself staring at an angry female ghost whose eyes were flashing red.
"You're... you're a woman?" He stuttered as he took in her appearance—the familiar color scheme of her suit, her blue skin, and her flaming hair—it all screamed him, but this was clearly someone else. Sadly, he couldn't ponder any further as his earlier comment earned him a blast from the ghost's eyes, which knocked him back a couple feet.
"What was your first clue, genius?" She was about to end him once and for all when she-
Wait, does he have white hair? Inspecting him, she found that he did indeed possess that, along with a black and white jumpsuit with a familiar DP emblem.
She sucked in a breath, daring to not believe who was standing before her.
No...
It couldn't be...
He was gone.
Danny, on the other hand, was now confused. Who was this lady? It then dawned on him. He had seen her before. In Rogue's notebook.
"What gave you the inspiration for this?"
"I don't know. I saw it in a dream once."
Rogue...
No...
It couldn't be...
She wouldn't...
Why?
Silence reigned as the two did nothing but gape at each other. Neither made a move to attack or say a word. They merely stayed in what would appear to be the most uncomfortable and awkward staring contest ever. Both of them were feeling something completely different about being in each other's presence.
Danny was... words couldn't do justice to the horror he felt at seeing Rogue follow in his footsteps. It left him feeling numb as his whole world came crashing down. After the explosion, which claimed the lives of his parents, friends, and sister, he thought that he would never see anything as horrifying as the abomination that set it all in motion. Since then, nothing has scared him. Not Magneto. Not Mystique. Not the Sentinel. Nor the Phoenix.
Even the Hungan was only a formidable foe because he unknowingly triggered the fear that still lay in his heart at the memories he had left.
But seeing Rogue now brought down to his level was a hundred times—no, a thousand times worse. But instead of looking at her in fear, like many have done before him, he regarded her with pity and sorrow.
Vampira, however, was forcing herself not to cry at seeing him again. It had been ten long, painful years since she had last seen him. And her last encounter with him was a painful memory. How accepting he was of his fate and didn't put up a fight—not an ounce of resistance at all. And when she finally found where he had been taken, everything changed.
The familiar rage that always existed after his death sparked once again as she felt the urge to kill the long-dead people who were responsible for her beloved's death.
She had made them all pay. All the scientists who ripped him apart, the soldiers who guarded him, even the people who were merely delivering supplies to the GiW—none of them were spared, as she made sure their deaths were anything but pleasant.
And that was when she shed the name Rogue as she continued to push her humanity aside and embrace her newfound vendetta against all her enemies. The rest of the GiW who were still active, the judge and jury who ruled him guilty just for the crime of existing, the people who did nothing but watch as an innocent soul was persecuted. She personally saw to all their deaths.
It was all for him.
But despite all of her hopes to the contrary, she knew that he was gone forever. She had thought that maybe he may come back as a full ghost and had searched the Ghost Zone endlessly for him, but to no avail. Whatever was standing before her was some imitation. A shapeshifter perhaps? One that was supernatural, due to being able to replicate the glow of a ghost's aura. Impressive as the disguise may be, it didn't do much for the fury she felt at seeing someone take his form.
How dare they desecrate his memory like that? Her arm stretched out, grasped his throat, and reeled him back in like a fishing pole.
"Who are you?" She interrogated. "Who are you, and why are you taking his form?"
"It's me..." He choked as he could feel her eyes bore into him. "It's Danny, Rogue." The hand squeezed tighter at the mention of her former name, with Vampira growling at being reminded of her past.
"There is no Rogue. Only Vampira. And Danny Phantom is long gone. Now tell me, who are you?" She raised a finger to his eye, and a spike of ice extended, just barely an inch away from stabbing him. "Answer me, and I might make your destruction quick and easy."
He was gone? That was news to Danny. He tried to pry off his girlfriend's hand, but it seemed that the promise Rogue once made of surpassing him had indeed come true. Hell, it was possible that she was even stronger than him.
Thinking quickly, he grabbed his time medallion and showed it to her.
"What is this?" She loosened her grip, allowing him to speak.
"It's a time medallion. I'm from the past. I'm Danny; I'm your boyfriend." He tried to convince her, but Vampira scoffed. Time travel? Well, considering the life she's lived, that wasn't too out of the ordinary, but it would take a lot more than some fancy necklace to convince her of his claim.
"You have to do better than that."
As he felt his windpipe continue to get crushed, he tried to think of something about Rogue that only he would know. Wait! He had it!
"Remember that time we were training and you tried to split yourself into two Rogues?" He felt his vision get woozy due to the lack of oxygen. "You ended up getting a second head, and you promised me to..." He could feel himself starting to pass out. "Never... tell... anyone."
His whole world went black.
Cold. That was the first thing he felt as he woke up. It took a moment for him to realize that it was snowing. Getting up, he shook off the snow that had piled on him as he realized he was on some kind of mountain. Was this the same one he and Rogue had once taken a field trip to?
Before he could ponder further on it, he saw something at the edge of a cliff. Focusing on it, he could see that it was a figure.
"Hello?" He called but got no answer. Frowning, he inched his way forward, only to come face-to-face with...
Himself.
He was staring at an identical copy of himself, except that this Danny was made of stone and smiling triumphantly with his fists at his waist in a heroic pose. He was also taller because he was standing on a block of stone. On it were four words.
Gone But Not Forgotten
The young man stumbled back as he realized he was staring at his own grave. So this is what had happened to him. He had died, probably due to the GiW, and Rogue like him had let grief consume her until she became the ultimate enemy to the human race.
"Strange, isn't it?" Danny looked over to see that Vampira had appeared behind him. "Seeing your grave. I think you're the only one who can say that that's happened to you."
The two just stood there, not knowing what to say, until Danny finally broke the veil of silence.
"What happened to you?" He asked softly. "How could you? You destroyed everything! I... I... Why? WHY?"
"I DID IT FOR YOU!" She roared, angered and hurt that he had looked at her as if she were a monster. "They took you from me! The only man I ever loved. The only man I could ever love. The only one I would want to love. They butchered you, and I gave them what they deserved!" Tears were now pouring from her as she continued.
"Those government bastards—they're the real monsters! All of them! If I hadn't killed them, they would've tortured countless more innocent ghosts. So I made sure that they'd never practice any of their twisted science ever again."
"And what about all those people you massacred back at Bayville?" Danny retorted as he looked at her in disgust. He always thought Rogue had the potential to be better than him, not just with her powers but as a hero. He remembered that girl who disobeyed the professor so she could go out and protect the townsfolk—the same girl who had the courage to stand up against Carnage and win. What happened to that Rogue?
"They had nothing to do with my death." He defended.
"They would've killed you if you were still alive." Vampira argued. "That dream that Xavier had of mutants and humans living in harmony." She leaned closer to him. "Total. Bullshit. Humanity will never accept mutants, much less people like you and me. It's best for everyone if they were just wiped out."
"I'm sorry, I thought I was talking to Rogue." Danny bit out sarcastically. "I didn't know I was talking to Magneto."
Vampira snarled at the comparison before calming down. It wouldn't do well to accidentally lash out at him. "He may be a pathetic little man, but a broken clock is right at least twice. So I decided to get rid of them."
"Decided? You think you're some kind of god who chooses who lives and dies?"
"That decision became mine when they killed you." Vampira proclaimed.
"I know what you lost."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "And you judge me?"
Danny refused to meet her eyes, for she had a point. Who was he to judge her, considering he could've ended up just like her? And if he had been the one to lose Rogue instead of the other way around, would he still be committed to his morals, or would he just say to hell with it and rip out his humanity with those damned gauntlets of Vlad's?
Still, he knew that what she was doing was wrong. "My death doesn't justify what you did."
"THEY STOLE YOU FROM ME!"
"And you stole their lives!" Danny floated a bit off the ground, his hands lighting up with energy. "That's unforgiveable."
Vampira held rage and what appeared to be betrayal in her eyes as she saw Danny prepare to battle her. "You would dare go against me? Your girlfriend? Your Rogue?"
Danny's eyes hardened. "You're not my Rogue. Not anymore."
Vampira was deadly silent, her expression guarded. "Alright then. Have it your way." She disappeared and soon reappeared right next to Danny, grabbing him by the arm.
The hybrid felt his rings go over his body, leaving him in his human form. Acting quickly, he grabbed his time medallion and was about to rip it off when Vampira snatched it.
"I don't think so." She then phased it into his body. "Fused inside you. Nice, huh? Intangible and unreachable, whether you're-"
"Ghost or human." Danny finished with a glare. "I've heard it all before."
"Oh, don't be so angry, sugar." Vampira then brought him closer as she caressed his face. "Think of this as a new chapter in our lives."
"Let me go!" Danny tried to struggle out of her arms, but Vampira was strong. Too strong.
"And tell me, why would I do that?" Vampira joked, sporting a smile on her face for the first time in ten years.
Seeing that she wasn't going to release him, Danny got an idea. Gathering his energy, he let loose a pulse of energy from his body, pushing his girlfriend off of him as he broke out into a run.
Vampira was dazed for a moment, puzzled, and slightly impressed that he pulled off that move even when he was stuck in human form. Only to frown at seeing him run away in the blizzard as she decided to give chase.
"You can't get away from me!"
Danny could hear her shout. Panicking, he saw a nearby cave and dove right in to avoid her. Keeping his hands out to steady himself so he didn't trip, he slowly made his way deeper into the tunnel, and as he kept proceeding, he could see a light. Curious, he got closer until he realized that it was a torch, but not a normal torch as the fire glowed green.
Passing by the torch, he found a small area that held a messy, modest queen-sized bed in the corner and... nothing else. It was pretty much barren of anything except for a trail of candles. You couldn't really call this a room; it was more like a hideout than anything. He doubted that Rogue, or Vampira, as she now called herself exclusively by her ghost name, spent much time here other than to sleep. And apparently eat as well, as he spotted some empty food cans on the ground.
'She must still be half-human then.' He mused. 'Guess that means she didn't rip out her humanity like he did.'
Continuing to explore the place, he noticed that the candles were arranged like steps that led to a hole in the wall. Curious about what may lie inside it, he reached in and felt his hand touch something cylindrical. Pulling it out, he found the rocket he had built. Amazed that she had kept it after all these years, he inspected the damage. It was a miracle that the thing was still intact, although barely.
"I remember putting that thing together with you."
He almost dropped it in shock as he turned around to see Vampira gazing at the model with remembrance and wistfulness. But what caught Danny off guard was her appearance. Gone were the flaming hair and black and white jumpsuit. Instead, she was now in her human form, and what a sight for sore eyes she was. She was thin—very thin, as if she only ate the bare minimum needed to survive. Her skin was paler than usual, and her hair was all greasy, as if she had stopped giving a damn about shampoo. Her clothes were all tattered and barely hanging. Danny assumed that she hadn't bothered to change them in years.
"I'd give anything to have those days back." She continued.
"Yeah." Danny said awkwardly, as he didn't know what else to say. "I see that you still have your human half."
"I do." Vampira nodded. "I..." She looked at her appearance. For the first time in a decade, she felt a bit self-conscious about how she looked. "You can tell that I don't like this form anymore." She joked self-deprecatingly, feeling embarrassed that he was seeing her like this. "Unfortunately, it constantly hinders me with sleep and food. The only reason I changed for you was to show you that I'm still your girl." She pointed to the white in her auburn hair.
"I see." Danny speculated that if she kept going at this rate, her human half might die from being neglected, and what would happen next? Would she be gone forever? Or would she come back this time as a full ghost? He didn't like either option. He had to change this.
He needed to fix this.
"Rogue, I need you to get this medallion out of me." He explained, feeling that he could convince her. If she still had humanity in her, then maybe he could reason with her. "Then I can pop back to my time and make sure this never happens."
"Go back in time?" The vengeful hybrid said skeptically. "And how do you know this will fix anything? For all you know, you might be able to change your past, but I'll still be stuck here. Alone."
"Because I've changed the future before." He stated as Vampira tilted her head in confusion. When has he ever changed the future?
"Let me explain." He sighed, as he never thought this would be the time he would tell her about him. "Before I met you, I once encountered a future like this. But it wasn't you destroying everything. It was me."
"What?" Vampira couldn't believe it. Her Danny ended up just like her.
"I was destroying everything. Turns out that in the future, the deaths of my friends and family turned me into a monster."
Vampira was now listening to Danny's story with rapt attention. Just by cheating on a test, he managed to set off a chain reaction that turned him into a monster like her. But unlike her, he became a full ghost that was devoid of any humanity.
This supposed future phantom had set fire to the world the same way she did and had even phased his medallion into him to keep him from changing the past.
She looked away, realizing that she had done the same thing to her beloved. She still didn't give a damn about the rest of the world, but Danny, she would always love him no matter what. To find out that this future phantom was indifferent to the ones he lost made even her balk.
Even in her own current personal hell, she still thought of him, wishing that he was still here. And now here he was standing before her, telling her this incredible tale.
She could see the spark of hatred in his eyes as he told her how his future self trapped him in that time period while the evil phantom went back to make sure everything stayed the same.
It was just so unimaginable to learn something new about her love. She had thought she knew everything about him, only to find out he had been keeping this from her all this time. To think that all those years in that coffee shop where he was telling her about the monster that killed his family, that monster had been himself all along. Honestly, she was a bit hurt that he had kept this from her all this time. Why didn't he trust her more? Didn't he know that she wouldn't care? She would've still loved him.
"I tried to save them, but I couldn't." He was still surprised to find himself crying over their deaths. He thought he had gotten over it, but apparently not. "And that's why I didn't want to go to Vlad. I wanted to make sure that that future never happened. And it didn't. I can do the same for this one. I can change it."
There was a long pause, making Danny think he had managed to convince her to let him go.
"But your friends and family still died." The southern half-ghost pointed out. "Who's to say that when you go back, you still end up dying?"
"I won't." He promised.
"How do you know, huh? What makes you think you can change this? Maybe this is fated to be." The undead woman could feel her emotions start to overwhelm her. "Perhaps I'm destined to be this, no matter what."
"No, you won't." Danny declared with such conviction that Vampira could almost believe it for herself. Almost.
"What makes you so sure?" She retorted. Her boyfriend may be capable of many things, but defying fate—something that may have failed to do with countless stories telling the tragedy of those who couldn't change their destinies—was impossible.
"Because I once made a promise to my friends and family to never become him. And now I'm making a new promise. I won't let you become this, ever. I promise."
"You promise?" Vampira scoffed. What good could one promise do against the all-powerful concepts of fate and destiny?
"Yes, I promise." Danny replied. "I promise I will save you."
"Save me?" She repeated the words, as they felt foreign to her. Save her; that was a new one. Ever since her descent, all anyone wanted to do was destroy her or curse her name, which she admits was a reasonable response, but never had anyone wanted to save her. Except for the X-Men, but they were long gone. And even then, they finally had their moment where they realized she was a lost cause.
"You really want to save me?" She asked in surprise, thinking that Danny was disgusted with her. "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." He approached her, and slowly he wrapped his arms around her. "Even you."
Her eyes were red with tears at seeing that, after everything, he still cared. He still loved her. She really didn't deserve someone as incredible as him.
With a shaking hand, she phased into his chest and pulled out the medallion, placing it back around his neck. As he was about to pull it off, she took his hand softly.
"Just remember one thing, no matter what happens. I will always love you. Even after everything, I never stopped. I could never forget you."
"I'm sorry that I never told you I was a mutant." Danny apologized. "I should've-" He was cut off by Vampira, who placed a finger over his lips.
"I forgave you a long time ago. And mutant or not, you're still the man of my dreams."
Danny gave her a kiss on the cheek, and as he was about to remove the medallion, he felt someone else grab his hand.
"Not yet, sugar." Danny yelped, startled by the sudden appearance of the other Rogue. He looked toward Vampira, wondering what her reaction would be to the alternate version of herself, only to see that she had been frozen in place.
Rogue gave Vampira a scrutinizing look before gesturing Danny over to a portal that appeared. Without a word, the two made their way to leave when Danny gave one last look at Vampira.
"See you soon." He whispered before stepping through the portal.
As they returned to the Axis of Time, Danny just sat down on the orange road as he contemplated everything he had just seen.
Rogue sat down next to him. "I'm sorry you had to see that." She had wanted to pull him back the second he jumped in, but Clockwork appeared and told her that he needed to see this. So, against her better judgment, she stayed back and let Danny explore that future on his own.
Like him, she too was astonished and horrified at seeing a version of herself become just like Dan. She never thought she would stoop to his level, but then she remembered a phrase that Storm once said.
"We all have a dark side."
Heck, she even remembered saying something like that to her Danny when he told her about Dan.
"Anyone can be like Dan, darling."
Although when she said that she never expected that one alternate version of herself would actually do that. Hell, she wondered if there was a timeline where she did that. She shuddered at the thought of ever becoming a monster like that psychopath. But then, if she ever lost Danny in a horrible way, would she be able to resist the darkness, or would she fall just like her counterpart did?
Deciding that it was best not to think of such things, she turned to Danny.
"You all right?" He gave her a glare in response. "Sorry, stupid question."
"Maybe she was right." Danny admitted. "I mean, I wasn't able to save my friends and family from dying, so how can I make sure that she doesn't go down that path? What if I can't change the future?"
Rogue patted him on the back. "Sugar, my friends and I have been through many dark futures."
"Really? How many?"
Rogue thought for a moment. "Let's see, there was the one with Technus and the Sentinels; that's one. There was also the one with the plague made by Apocalypse; that's two. And then there's the one where people didn't develop antibodies to the plague, so that's three. I think there may be more, but in the end, we stopped them all. And I've learned two things from all of them, honey. One, time travel is darn confusing, and two, all it takes to change the future is one person willing to stand up against it."
"You really think so?" Danny asked her, feeling a surge of hope from her words.
"I know so." She then messed with his medallion, setting the switch back to non-interact. "The future can be anything you choose it to be." She pointed over to the mirror that showed Vampira's future. "You can choose that to be your future. Or..." She led him over to another mirror that showed the Xavier Institute. "You can choose this to be your future."
She grabbed his arm and flew the two in, as they soon appeared on the lawn of the institute.
Danny surveyed everything. It looked normal. "Well, it's sunny and non-apocalyptic, so I think it'll do."
Rogue chuckled. "Come on, let's go inside." The two walked to the doors, and thanks to their medallions, they walked right past the door as Danny heard singing in the distance.
"Wonder what that's all about?" He pondered.
"Let's go check it out." She led him to the dining room, and as they entered, Danny was able to hear what they were singing.
"Happy birthday, dear Jack. Happy birthday to you."
"Oh my god." Danny whispered as he took in the whole scene in front of him. The whole room was filled with streamers and balloons, with bits of confetti on the floor. The long dinner table was filled with many guests. And though they were older, he still recognized most of them.
He could see Scott and Jean, both happy, holding their hands, which both sported wedding rings. They weren't the only ones, as he saw some on Kurt and Amanda. Kitty had one with some big buff guy that Danny didn't recognize. He saw Evan, who was now covered in bone-like armor and had a smile on his face despite his massive change in appearance.
Overall, he could see that his fellow X-Men were all happy. And so were the New Mutants. He could see them all. Jamie, Amara, Ray, Roberto, Bobby, Alex, and Sam. They were all here, along with Tabitha, Rahne, and Jubilee. They all came back, and they were all smiling brightly.
He saw all the instructors. There was Xavier, still sitting in his wheelchair, Logan, who was sitting next to a girl that, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out who she was, Storm, and Beast.
Then there were some new faces that he was surprised to see, like Warren and that one acolyte. Gambit, he thought his name was. They were there, as well as others he couldn't recognize. But the one person that stood out was the birthday boy.
For Danny, seeing Jack was like staring at a photo of a younger version of him. He looked exactly like his father did when he was five. The little tyke looked adorable with his party hat on as he blew out his birthday candles.
He had a son. An adorable five-year-old son. He couldn't help it; he was smiling so wide as he saw his son tear into his cake.
"He'll grow up to be a kind and heroic man." He heard his time-traveling companion's voice as she stood next to him. She smiled at him and then at the boy. "Just like his daddy."
Rogue couldn't help but chuckle at seeing Danny's reaction to his son. She knew the feeling as she was once visited by her two sons from the future. Words couldn't describe the feeling of seeing your offspring staring right back at you.
Glancing over at the side of the table, she saw Danny's future self, who looked almost identical to her husband. Next to him on his right was her counterpart, who was a far cry from the woman she saw in the previous future. This one was happy and healthy, with a big, stupid grin on her face as she held her husband's hand. The temporary apprentice couldn't help but let out an aww at seeing them share a kiss, but then suddenly he turned to the woman on his left, the future Wanda Maximoff. And before her eyes, she saw them share a quick kiss.
Her reaction, to say the least, was:
"WHAT THE FUCK!" She dropped the staff to the ground as it let out another burst of energy.
Clockwork was reading one of his favorite books when he felt the destruction of several timelines, causing him to let out a groan as he slammed his book shut.
"Again?" Resigned, he went over to correct Rogue's mistake.
These Fentons just couldn't go five minutes without messing up the space-time continuum. What did he ever do to get stuck with them?
Danny was interrupted from looking at his son by the massive burst of energy and the curse Rogue let out. Thankfully, the two were invisible to everyone, so the guests didn't notice a thing.
"Are you okay?" He asked the alternate version of his girlfriend, who seemed to be staring at someone. Following her line of sight, he saw the future Wanda. He couldn't help but smile at seeing her look so happy. It seems she finally managed to get over her hatred for Magneto. Not only that, but she had a daughter who was sitting in her lap.
"Looks like Wanda's happy being a mom." He wondered who the father was as the girl looked just like Wanda.
"And a mistress." Rogue murmured in disbelief, unwilling to think of the idea of Danny being with both her counterpart and Wanda. How the hell did that happen? And how do they even make it work?
"What?" Danny didn't catch that last word.
"Nothing." Rogue insisted as she looked at the couple, or truple, as it was revealed to be. Looking at the future Danny, she saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. Even though he couldn't see her, Rogue had the feeling that he damn well knew that they were there and that she would react like that to that kiss. But how did he know? She then looked at the younger Danny and back at the future one, piecing it together that the future one remembered this time-traveling adventure.
"You cheeky son of a bitch." Rogue muttered as she realized she had been played.
"What? What's wrong?" Danny asked, still out of the loop about the whole thing.
"Don't worry about it, sugar." She said as she picked up the staff. "But I think it's time to go."
"Alright." Danny acquiesced as he and Rogue left through a portal, though he took one last look at his son. He vowed that this future would come to pass.
"Happy birthday, Jack." He said as he now found himself back in his cell.
"Well, sugar, this looks like the end of our little adventure." Rogue ruffled his hair. "Got to say, it's been fun."
"Yeah." Danny smiled; he was gonna miss her. She had helped him through his doubts and insecurities and showed that he wasn't a burden to his friends. He would forever be grateful to her. He kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you for everything."
Rogue giggled. "It was my pleasure. Now remember, your friends care about you, whether you're a mutant or not. You have helped them in so many ways and will continue to do so. Never stop being who you are."
"I won't."
She then rubbed the back of her head. Not knowing how to say this. "And don't forget. Despite what people say, monogamy can be quite exciting, you know."
"What?" The hybrid was caught off guard by that comment.
"Just something to think about, sugar; take care." She then removed his time medallion, leaving him frozen in place. She then shook her head. "Of all the people I thought would date two women at the time, I never expected it to be him. Gambit, maybe, but Danny..." She then pressed the button on the staff. "Time in."
In a flash, she vanished, and time was unfrozen as Danny found himself staring back at Agent L, who was about to continue his barrage of insults when another agent came in.
"Sir!" He went up to Agent L, and after a disdainful glance at Danny, he whispered in his superior's ear.
The hybrid smirked as he knew what they were talking about.
"Dismissed!" Agent L ordered the agent as he scampered off. Turning to Danny, he gave him a heated glare before leaving to speak to his superior.
It looks like there was a chance that he could get out of here.