The silence was overwhelming in the room. The two goth girls stared at each other, and without saying a word, both knew what needed to be done.
"Yes." Rogue finally answered, making the spirit let out a chuckle.
"Excellent. You'll find her at the Bayville church. End her wretched life, and I will fulfill my end of the bargain. Good luck."
The presence then retreated, leaving the two alone in the room. The energy in the room had gone from anxious and distressed to hopeful and promising, but there was a darkness that underlined the whole thing. However, the two girls were too caught up in everything to see what was truly going on.
"So, what are we waiting for?" Wanda said feeling invigorated. "Let's go get her."
"I'll go alone." Rogue stated and when she saw Wanda about to protest, she cut her off quickly. "I need to do this. This is between me and Mystique. Always has been."
"But-"
"Look after Danny for me." Rogue requested. "Make sure nothing else tries to hurt him." She turned into her ghost form and looked out the window to see the full moon—a beautiful sight it was, and if she played her cards right, she'd be able to watch it with her boyfriend by her side once more. "Tonight Mystique dies. I'll make sure of it."
Wanda was about to leave the room when something came to her. "What happens after it's all done?" She asked Rogue, who furrowed her brows in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, how do we tell Danny about this?" The Scarlet Witch replied carefully. "I want him back as much as you do, but I don't think he'll be too happy to know that you killed someone, even if it is Mystique."
Rogue thought it over. Danny might be willing to overlook Mystique's death since she killed his aunt. Although there was chance that he would still approve. The hybrid was obviously averse to killing, not that Rogue could blame him as she knew that his encounter with Dan was the main reason why. And she had similar feelings too, but this needed to be done. And if Danny didn't like that, well, tough shit. She's not gonna let him die.
"He can bitch all he wants about how it was wrong, but I'm not losing him. Especially to someone as twisted as Mystique. He'll see that, in the end, it was the right thing to do." She stated, before muttering, "At least I hope he does." With one last look at Wanda, she said, "Watch over him for me." She then phased through the roof and proceeded on her way to the church, hoping to save her man.
Not knowing that she was damning herself in the process.
The stars of the night sky greeted Danny as his eyes opened and his consciousness returned. Rising to his feet, he found that he was surrounded by miles upon miles of grass and flowers with all kinds of appealing colors ranging from a cool blue to a passionate pink. The light of the starry sky only illuminated the beauty of the meadow.
Although an alluring sight, the hybrid was wondering how he got here. Last thing he remembered was that he was making fireworks with Rogue when he felt an unbearable pain in his stomach and passed out. Where was he, and what happened to Rogue?
Gazing at the masses of flowers, he noticed one that stood out from the rest. It resembled a red rosebud with a purple-trimmed, black stem and leaves. A rather unusual specimen it was as it gave off an aura of death, almost like a reminder of the inevitable end everyone must face at some point or another. The oddity soon shriveled up and died as more flowers started to follow in suit, leaving a patch of dirt visible.
There was a shaking of the ground that made the half-ghost yelp for a bit as he saw a chunk of stone come out of the earth right behind the patch of dirt.
Stepping forward, he could see there was writing on it.
Here Lies
Daniel Fenton
The Bastard Who Tried to Defy Fate
Before he could process any of this, something took hold of him. Down at his ankle was a black gloved hand sticking out of the ground. Whether it was trying to pull Danny down with it or use him to pull itself up, the half-ghost wasn't willing to find out, and so he pulled himself free. Soon another hand popped out, and working together, a figure started to pull themselves out of the grave.
"No." Danny whispered numbly as he recognized the one ghost that tested his resolve more than anyone else ever had. "Not you."
The immoral ultimate enemy himself grinned at being reunited with his old self.
"Hello, Danny."
Immediately, Danny turned ghost as he started charging ecto-blasts in his hands, ready for the fight of his life, as he put on a brave face to hide the fact that on the inside he was afraid—so very afraid.
A part of him knew that one day this might happen. That Dan might break out of the Fenton Thermos despite all odds and try to ruin Danny's life once again in an attempt to corrupt him.
He fixed his future counterpart with a deadly look as he got ready for the toughest battle of his life. Taking the first move, he fired an ecto-blast, only for Dan to catch it and crush it in his hand.
"Now, now." Dan playfully scolded his foolish younger self. "Is this really how you want to spend your last remaining moments of life, trying fruitlessly to end me? Though personally, I wouldn't mind one more spar before we pass on."
"What are you talking about?" He demanded, confused by Dan's nonchalant attitude. The demeanor that the evil ghost was giving off, which was one of somebody who had already won, was not boding well for him.
Dan gestured to their surroundings. "This, Danny, isn't real. We're just in your mind. Your body is currently back at your institute's infirmary, resting on your literal death bed."
"Death bed?" Danny repeated, wondering what Dan was getting at.
"Yes." The future ghost confirmed. "You're in a coma while your body is slowly being killed on the inside. Every bit of ectoplasm in you is being infected as your ghost half is slowly disintegrating and consuming your human half in a vain attempt to save itself."
"No." Danny dismissed the absurd idea. This had to be untrue. It just had to be. "No, that can't be. It's a lie. You're trying to trick me!"
Dan scoffed. "Believe whatever you want to. It's not like it's going to save you from the effects of the Blood Blossom."
"Blood Blossoms?"
"A type of flower. Think of it as a primitive specter deflector." Dan elaborated. "You should've been more cautious of Mystique because, thanks to her, both of us are done for." He growled before holding his rage back as a smirk appeared on his face. "But don't worry, you and I, or more precisely, me, will get the last laugh."
Danny ignored his counterpart, as he was too focused on the fact that he was going to die. It seemed that Mystique had finally managed to get one over him. Whether he would come back as a full ghost or not at all, the fact remains that he was going to fully die. He would never be able to see his friends again. And Rogue... That date they had would be their last one.
A tear dripped down his cheek as it dawned on him that he would never see her again.
He would never marry her.
Never have a son with her or grow old with her.
"I'm going to die." Danny whispered. "I'm really going to die."
The dark phantom merely gave a sick grin at seeing his former self deal with his own mortality. "Too bad, huh? Guess that hope of a future with Rogue was nothing but a dream, eh?" He then laughed at seeing his other self's misery, prompting Danny to throw a punch, only for Dan to grab his arm and throw him over his shoulder.
"Give it up." Dan taunted. "It's over. Even if you could beat me, it wouldn't change a damn thing."
Danny gritted his teeth, angry that the last person he'd probably end up speaking with before passing away was Dan, of all people. Just as he was about to utter a curse at his alternate self, he realized something—something that should dampen Dan's apparent good mood. "Why're you so happy? If I go, then that means so do you."
Dan responded with an "Are you stupid?" look. "You think I don't know that?"
"Well, you seem a little too happy for someone who's lost. Because it looks like I won. I might die, but at least I kept my promise to the very end and haven't ripped out my humanity. You'll soon fade away into nothingness."
The malevolent ghost merely started to cackle madly, unnerving Danny, who wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from his future self. He thought Dan would be rageful and full of desperation at the news, but it was the opposite. The ultimate enemy acted just the same; he seemed even happier for some reason, despite being fully aware of his upcoming demise.
"Just because I go doesn't mean that I don't win. Sure, I may be gone soon, but that doesn't mean the future will be safe. My legacy will live on in the next ultimate enemy as she butchers the entire world. So in a way, I'll always exist."
"What are you talking about?" Danny questioned as he wondered what Dan meant by "the next ultimate enemy" and what did he mean by she?
Oh god, no.
"What do you mean by she?" Danny asked warily, wondering what the demon had planned, but he had a feeling he already knew the answer. His earlier fearful thoughts of dying were quickly forgotten as he now had to deal with Dan once again.
"I'll admit, I was extremely enraged at first when I learned about your condition." Dan confessed. "You don't know how badly I want to torture that blue whore." His red eyes glowed with hate as he thought about her. Several images came to his mind. One of him grabbing her by the upper jaw and ripping her head off. Another of him phasing his hand through her chest and crushing her heart, though he'd be surprised if she actually had one. And finally, there was one of him and three copies of himself grabbing each of her limbs and pulling her apart.
He let out a dark chuckle as he imagined her screams before coming back to reality.
"But when I heard someone call on me for guidance, I couldn't help but be curious, and imagine my surprise when I found out that your little girlfriend was looking for someone to help you."
Danny's body tensed at the thought of his future self being anywhere near Rogue.
"I got to be honest; when I first learned about her, I wasn't that impressed. Mostly just saw it as you trying to fill the void left by Sam, but when I saw her potential and what she could become..." Dan's grin widened. "Well, let's just say she got a whole lot more interesting."
"You stay away from her!" Danny thundered, making Dan laugh.
"Hey, she was the one who summoned me. But don't worry, I was discrete with my identity. Although I must admit, I might've told her a little fib."
"What did you tell her?" The hybrid questioned, making Dan's eyes gleam with glee.
"I simply told her that I could heal you. All that she needed to do was kill Mystique."
No. Dan couldn't. Oh, who was he kidding? Dan would be that manipulative. And Rogue. If she did think that killing Mystique was the only way to save him, then...
He couldn't think about that. Sure, he hated Mystique, especially after finding out about what she did to Alicia, but this wasn't about the shapeshifter; this was about Rogue doing something that she may regret.
"She won't!" Danny defended. "Rogue will keep her promise."
"Promise?" At this, the ultimate enemy broke out in laughter. "You're still on about that? Grow up, Danny. Promises can't stop the flow of time or destiny as it knocks on one's door. Face it, Rogue will become my successor."
"Never!" Danny roared as he tried to push back his fears of Rogue going down that path. "She'll never become anything like you! She's stronger than you think."
"You still don't get it." Dan leaned up against a nearby tree as he crossed his arms and shook his head. "Despite all the power that Rogue possesses, at her core, she's just some pathetic being longing for love. And let me tell you, love is its own temptation. You'd be surprised at what people are willing to do for someone else, especially when that person is their whole world."
He then gave Danny a knowing expression. "I should know. I became this way when I lost the love of my friends and family in that explosion. And now look at me now."
"Yeah, but I managed to move on after they died." Danny countered.
"True, you did find a new family with those circus freaks. But there's one thing you forget: Good old Rogue doesn't have the luxury of finding someone else. Not with her mutant powers being a constant barrier. She'll never be able to feel the warmth of someone's hand or the taste of a person's lips. Not with anyone but you, of course."
The supernatural X-Man felt his resolve weaken a bit as he couldn't help but admit that Dan had a point. That only meant that he had to try harder and stop Rogue from killing her.
"She'll grow bitter and cold. Filled with envy as she watches from the sidelines as her friends all fall in love, get married, and have kids." Dan pointed out. "Forced to stay in the background, afraid to hurt anyone, all while wondering what it could've been like to be Mrs. Fenton. It's only a matter of time before she has enough and snaps. Perhaps I'll get lucky and she'll rip out her humanity like I did."
He then smirked at his former self. "What do you think of that, sugar?" He asked as he mocked Rogue's accent.
With a snarl, Danny tackled Dan and started to pummel him with his fists.
"I'll save her! I won't let her become anything like you! I won't! I WON'T!"
"I won't!" He cried from his bed, startling Wanda in the process.
"Danny!" Wanda's shock turned into delight at seeing him awake.
"Wanda." Danny tried to speak, but he felt a burning in his chest as he strained to just stay conscious. The realm of dreams was trying to pull him back in, but he couldn't, not before warning Wanda of what would happen to Rogue.
"You got to stop Rogue." He rasped through his breathing mask. "Can't...let her kill...Mystique."
"Take it easy, Danny." Wanda said as she tried to calm him down. "Everything's gonna be alright. We'll fix this; Rogue's on her way to make sure you'll be okay."
"NO!" The ghost on death's doorstep shouted. "You've got to stop her. He lied, Wanda."
"What?"
"Dan lied." The hybrid revealed. "There is no cure."
"Dan? What are you talking about?"
"He lied to you, Wanda!" Danny choked out. "He tricked Rogue into trying to kill Mystique."
The Scarlet Witch felt fear creep into her heart at the revelation that it was Dan she had been speaking to. She felt unclean at the thought of being in that monster's presence. Not only that, but now he knew her name along with Rogue's. This was all her fault; she was so stupid. She should've been more careful with her spells, and thanks to her carelessness, she had invited him in. Twice.
"You got to stop Rogue, Wanda." Danny pleaded. "Please stop her before it's too late. Don't let her go down that path."
"I will. I know where she is." Wanda assured him. "I promise you, everything is going to be okay." She uttered as she saw Danny fall unconscious once again. Dashing out of the infirmary with lightning speed (honestly, she wishes she had Pietro's powers right now), she made her way to the garage, got on Danny's moped, and sped off to find Rogue.
Meanwhile, Danny found himself back in the meadow, with Dan standing over him.
"Nice try, but do you really think the sorceress has a chance at stopping Rogue?" Dan said, shaking his head, still confident that Rogue's fate was set. "You know it's funny; even in defeat, I still win. I'll have my revenge on both you and Mystique. All thanks to your precious love." He grabbed Danny by the throat, bringing him to eye level.
"You shouldn't have tried to change your fate, Danny, because now you have passed your destiny on to Rogue." Dan informed him. "And it's all your fault. You caused this by stepping into her life." Seeing that he struck a nerve, the evil phantom continued his barrage. "And she thought you made her life better. She was clearly mistaken. And I'm sure that other version of her would agree. If she were here, she'd tell you that it was a mistake to help you."
With a snarl, Danny blasted two ghost rays out of his eyes at Dan, freeing him from his foe's grasp.
"Still want to do things the hard way?" Dan raised his fists. "Fine then, be my guest."
While a mighty battle was about to occur in the mental world, another was getting ready to begin in the physical world.
The cathedral stood high and mighty in the dreary night. Its gargoyles all stood at their perches as the silent guardians they were. And joining them was an ebony bird overlooking the whole city, its yellow eyes peering for any trace of its foes.
With its paranoia quenched, the raven was about to fly off when five digits wrapped around the avian's throat. Wings fluttering and feet kicking, the bird struggled as their assailant became visible.
"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend." Rogue quoted as she stared at the woman who brought her so much pain. All she had to do was squeeze hard enough, and her troubles would finally be over—one simple action to end a life.
Unfortunately, Mystique managed to break out of Rogue's grip and try to fly off.
"Oh no, you don't!" Rogue flew up behind her and sent a kick towards the bird, sending it right through the cathedral's stained glass and having the shapeshifter violently impact against the floor.
Now back in her regular form, Mystique looked up to see Rogue floating above her with her crimson eyes glowing in absolute fury, making her appear like a fallen angel.
"Show no mercy, Rogue." Vampira encouraged.
"R-Rogue? What are you doing?" Mystique cried as she failed to hide her fear as she gazed up at the girl she took in.
"Don't play games with me. We both know you're the one who poisoned Danny."
"Rogue, please listen." Mystique begged. "I know I've hurt you. But I only-"
"Save your excuses!" Rogue cut her off. "I've had it up to here with all your shit." She threw an ecto-blast, only for Mystique to roll out of the way.
"Rogue, you don't understand. There's a reason why I-" The older mutant was forced to move out of the way of another green blast of energy sent her way.
"Don't bother! I know the truth now. You adopted me only because of my powers."
Mystique was dumbfounded by Rogue's knowledge of them being related. "You know?" Before she could pry for more information, she felt a fist to the face, causing her to fall on some of the benches, toppling them over.
"I know everything! I've been nothing but a pawn to you since I was a little girl!" Rogue cried. "All my life, I've been made to be your little puppet. But now it's time to cut the strings." Using her strength, Rogue lifted Mystique off her feet. "You want my powers so bad. Well, here! Take them!"
The sounds of Mystique's screams as she was being electrocuted brought a dark smile to the goth's face. Now she only knew a portion of the pain she put Danny through.
So caught up in taking pleasure in her mother's torture she didn't notice the green blade popping out the front of Mystique's boot and used it to slash Rogue's arm, causing the girl to drop Mystique.
Growling at this, Rogue turned invisible, forcing Mystique to be on her guard as her eyes scanned the room, only to feel an elbow in her back.
Reacting quickly, the blue woman fired off a kick in that direction but failed to land a hit on her daughter.
"What's the matter?" Came Rogue's voice. "Can't you see me?"
It continued for several seconds as Mystique was getting punched and kicked all around the church by the invisible Rogue. If anyone was here to watch this fight, they would only see Mystique blindly attacking the air as she kept getting frustrated the more she continued.
Having had enough of this game, Rogue struck a kick at Mystique's leg, forcing her to the ground as Rogue grabbed her in a headlock.
"Let me tell you something." Rogue whispered into her ear, still invisible. "You might think adopting me makes us family, but I'll never be your daughter. I'd rather die than have you as family. You mean nothing to me."
Of all the things Rogue did to Mystique, those last five words were the ones that hurt the most.
"You're nothing more than a parasite! Forced to steal bits and pieces of other people's lives. And you've taken enough of mine." Rogue threw her underneath a chandelier and shot a small ghost ray from her finger at the chain holding the chandelier, causing it to fall on the shapeshifter.
Rogue slowly took several breaths as she realized that the deed was done. Only to curse as she saw the blue mutant crawl her way out with shards sticking out all over her body.
Seeing the blood from those wounds made Rogue snap out of her rage for a moment as she contemplated whether she really could go through with this.
"It's either her or Danny." Vampira reminded her as the images of her favorite ghost in a coma brought all the resentment and outrage back. Mystique deserved this. Hell, she deserved a lot more.
The once peaceful meadow that represented Danny's mind was now up in flames thanks to the battle between the two phantoms. However, Danny was too busy to care as he had his own problems. The young half-ghost was currently pushed up against a tree as he was trying to pry Dan's hand off his throat.
"I can hear the events playing out from Clockwork's lair." Dan revealed. "She's already found dear old mom. And boy, is she going to town on her. She'll make a good replacement. I'd rather be the one to do it. But hey, when you're trapped in a small, confined space, you learn real quick to take what you can get."
"No!"
"Yes! After tonight, nothing will ever be the same again."
The changeling pulled herself to her feet as Rogue advanced toward her slowly.
"Don't make me do it, Rogue." She tried to warn her. "I don't want to, but if you force me to..." At seeing Rogue take another step, Mystique regrettably pulled out the Blood Blossom and held it in front of her like she was holding a cross against a vampire.
On the flip of a dime, the vengeful Rogue hissed in pain as the anti-ghost flower started to do its job at warding her off. Mystique grimaced as Rogue's screams sounded through the church.
It was absolute hell for the mutant hybrid as she started to squirm around on the floor. She tried to summon an ecto-blast, but the effects of the flower were preventing her from summoning the necessary energy.
"Come on, girl." Vampira urged. "Power through. You can do it!"
'I can't.' Rogue replied. 'It's too much.'
Vampira tried again to encourage Rogue to keep going, but the girl was too distracted by the Blood Blossom's crippling affliction to listen as she let out another cry of anguish.
The city roads were reflected in Logan's sunglasses as he rode his bike. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't get any trace of a scent from Mystique, which was impossible as almost any living thing left a scent. The only possible explanation he could come up with was that after her evolution from Magneto's chamber, her powers allowed her to hide her scent completely, which didn't bode well for the senior X-Man.
He then heard a beep from his communicator.
"Logan, have you found any sign of Mystique yet?" Cyclops asked.
"I can't get a whiff on her at all." He answered.
"We'll keep looking." Cyclops replied on the other end as he drove the X-Van with Jean beside him, searching for any sign of the cunning shapeshifter.
Nightcrawler and Shadowcat, on the other hand, were on top of a building, looking around with binoculars.
"See anything?" The German-speaking mutant asked his companion.
Shadowcat sighed. "No."
Nightcrawler shook his head. "I'm gonna keep searching." He teleported away before his teammate could reply back. Porting around the city, he looked for any trace of his mother. Right when he was about to call it quits and head back to where Shadowcat was, he heard the sounds of screams.
Realizing someone was in need of help, he followed them and found himself at the cathedral. Noticing the broken stained glass, he popped up next to it and looked in to see Mystique holding Rogue at bay with the Blood Blossom.
Reacting quickly to the sight of his fellow X-Man in danger, he appeared next to Mystique and snatched the toxic flower from her before pocketing it. He then went over to Rogue, helping his friend to her feet.
"Rogue, are you okay?"
The southern belle's features soon twisted into a mighty glare that made Nightcrawler shiver.
"I will be." Rogue said as she saw Mystique trying to make a run for it. Flying after her, Rogue wrestled her to the ground and stomped her foot on her adoptive mother's back, pinning the morphing mutant to the floor. Looking over at the exit, the ghost noticed a stand with a bowl of holy water on top.
Getting a very disturbing idea, Rogue grasped a handful of Mystique's hair and led her to the stand before pushing her face into the water.
"Rogue, what are you doing?" Nightcrawler asked fearfully as he saw his fellow comrade trying to drown his mother.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Rogue retorted. "I'm finally putting an end to our mother once and for all."
"Our mother?" Nightcrawler looked at Mystique and back at Rogue, wondering if it was true. He must have misheard things.
"She adopted me." Rogue revealed as she glared down at her struggling mother. "All this time she's been ruining our lives, Kurt, but not anymore. After tonight, we'll never have to deal with her again."
"No!" The teleporting X-Man tried to pull Rogue off, but was pushed away. "Rogue, you can't! She's our mother!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Was Rogue's response as she gave a pointed glare at her brother, who backed up a bit in fear. She looked down to see that Mystique had stopped struggling and was wondering if she had finally died, but her mouth fell open in astonishment as she saw that the shapeshifter had used her powers to sport gills.
"What the hell?" Rogue exclaimed before Mystique pushed her off and tried to escape again, but Rogue grabbed her by the ankle and threw her to the altar of the church, knocking her out.
As Rogue was about to go and finish this, Nightcrawler teleported in front of her, blocking her path as he held his arms out to somewhat try to placate his newly discovered sister. "Rogue, what's wrong with you? You can't kill her."
"Killing her is the only way we're gonna get Danny back!"
"What? How is that-"
"Get out of my way!" Rogue demanded, not in the mood for giving an explanation. "Mystique is going to die, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"Rogue, you can't kill her!" Nightcrawler tried to reason with her, shocked that Rogue was planning on going that far. "I know you have every reason to hate her. So do I. I mean, look what she's done to us and to Danny, but-"
"I don't have time for this." Phasing through her brother, she floated over to Mystique, prepared to fulfill her end of the deal. Peering at her wounds, Rogue saw that they were slowly starting to heal, indicating that she had a healing factor like Logan.
"That just means we'll have to destroy every part of her all at once." Vampira said as Rogue was starting to charge up a ghost ray in her hand when Nightcrawler grabbed her arm.
"You can't do this, Rogue!" He pleaded. "Anger and hatred destroyed her. If you don't get rid of yours, it will destroy you too."
Rogue paused as she took in her brother's words. Slowly, the ghost ray faded away, and the hybrid gave her brother an unreadable look. Thinking he had gotten through to her, he smiled, only to feel her pale, ungloved hand on his cheek before falling to the ground.
"It already has." She said, regretting what she had to do to her brother, but he would understand, just like Danny would. Raising her hand towards the unconscious Mystique, she charged up a ghost ray and fired.
But unfortunately for Rogue, a church bench was thrown into the blast's path, saving Mystique's life. Cursing at being cheated out of her kill yet again, Rogue turned around and was greeted by the sight of Wanda standing at the entrance with her hands glowing with red magic.
Narrowing her eyes at the witch, she asked. "What are you doing?"
"You can't kill Mystique." Wanda spoke rapidly as she hurried with her explanation. "He tricked us, Rogue! It was Dan that we spoke to. Dan!"
"W-What?" Rogue stuttered as she processed this new development.
That... that thing... that was Dan? She couldn't believe it—couldn't contemplate it. She knew that there was something off about that entity she spoke to. But...it was him? He had been right there. It was a miracle that they came out of there alive, knowing his reputation.
"It can't be." Vampira chimed in, refusing to believe the lie. "She has to be lying. Rogue, don't listen to her. Finish off Mystique."
Rogue ignored her, as she was too caught up in the fact that she had been in that monster's presence. She had been played. Bamboozled. Scammed.
But wait.
Did that mean?
She locked eyes with Wanda. "So, does that mean he can't heal Danny?"
Wanda's silence was enough of an answer to let the tears roll down Rogue's cheeks as the hope of ever seeing her boyfriend again died.
They were gonna lose him. And this time, it would be permanent.
Hearing groaning from her right, Rogue turned to see Mystique getting up. The blue-skinned woman stumbled to her feet as she tried to get her bearings, all while Rogue was slowly being filled with a deep, simmering vengeance. Dan's presence was forgotten as she focused on the one who started this whole mess.
"If we can't save Danny, then we can at least avenge him. If he can't live, then neither should she, am I right?" Vampira said, as her words were like gasoline being poured on an already raging fire.
"I'm gonna kill you, Mystique." Rogue whispered silently, but Wanda could hear it. "I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone else ever again."
Using Nightcrawler's power, she teleported next to Mystique, and in an act of total hatred, she grabbed one of the church's candlesticks and thrust it into her abdomen, pinning the shapeshifter to the wall.
The sound of Mystique's screeching was music to Rogue's ears as blood poured from her wound and onto the ghost's hand.
Ironically, Danny's attempt to get Wanda to stop Rogue only made it worse.
"I'm going to destroy you slowly." The hybrid threatened. "And when you start begging for me to end it, I'm going to remind you of one thing." She twisted the candle, causing Mystique to shout out at the torture.
"You killed the man I loved! And for that, you're going to die." She grabbed another candlestick and was about to stab Mystique in the head when Wanda blasted it out of her hand with a hex bolt.
Glaring at the witch's interference, Rogue growled out, "What the hell are you doing?"
"You can't kill her." Wanda said, making Rogue snort.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you of all people. It's okay for you to try to kill your dad, yet I can't kill Mystique."
The daughter of Magneto looked away. Rogue was right; it was hypocritical of her to try to talk someone else out of revenge, but she still couldn't let her friend go through with it.
"Look, I know I don't have any right to say this, but I promised Danny I'd stop you." The mystical goth replied. "He would-"
"I don't have time for this." Rogue interrupted, focusing back on Mystique. The southern belle raised her hand towards her adoptive mother, preparing to incinerate her, when she noticed a red aura envelope her and lift her off her feet.
"What the? Put me down!" She hissed at Wanda.
"Not until you listen to me!" Wanda shouted back only to grimace as she felt Rogue's power fight against her own, prompting her to add more energy to her magic. Unfortunately, the strain was too much for Wanda, as Rogue managed to break through, and the ticked-off half-ghost launched herself at Wanda to try to punch her, but the sorceress moved out of the way.
"Listen to me!" Wanda cried. "Danny wouldn't want you to kill her. You can't do this!"
"I can't let her go! Not after what she's done." Rogue justified as she fired an ecto-blast towards Mystique, but Wanda used her sorcery to move it out of the way, causing it to hit a nearby window.
Irritated with Wanda interfering yet again, the half-ghost threw another one, this time at Wanda, but it was knocked off course yet again. Pissed off, Rogue continued to throw more ecto-blasts at Wanda, who countered them with her hex bolts.
Fed up with this, Rogue fired off a powerful ghost ray, which collided with a blast of magic sent by Wanda, causing a small explosion that sent them flying back.
"That's it!" Vampira roared from within Rogue's mind, tired of Wanda getting in their way. "Time to drop her ass."
Taking off one of her gloves, she turned invisible, flew behind Wanda, and did the same thing she did to her brother.
Wanda's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she collapsed. With no more distractions, Rogue found herself in front of Mystique, who was struggling to pull the candlestick out of her body.
"Please, Rogue." Mystique begged. "Don't do this. I never wanted any of this to happen."
"SHUT UP!" Rogue summoned a spare candlestick to her hand and swung it at Mystique's head, causing the shapeshifter to start coughing up blood.
"You couldn't leave me alone!" She kept swinging it over and over as she finally let out all of her frustration and all of her hatred for the blue mutant. "Or let me live my life or do what I want. YOU JUST COULDN'T LET ME BE HAPPY!"
Raising the blunt object, she was about to stab it through Mystique's head when-
'Rogue, stop!'
Startled at the sound of Danny's voice, she turned around, hoping that maybe somehow, despite all odds, he managed to get better and was here right now. But sadly, she didn't see any sign of him.
"Danny?" She whispered, wondering if she was hallucinating.
'It's me, Rogue.' Came his voice as she realized that he was speaking to her telepathically.
'Danny, I-'
'Don't kill her, Rogue!' He cried. 'For the love of God, don't do it. Dan's been manipulating you! He wants you to kill her. Don't let him win.'
'Then what am I supposed to do? Let her go?' Rogue was incredulous at the very idea. 'After everything she's done, to me, to you, you want me to just let her leave and pretend that this never happened? You're dying, Danny, and it's all because of her. I can't let her get away. Not this time.'
'Rogue.' She could hear the desperation in his voice. 'I don't care about Mystique or whatever happens to her. She can go to hell for all I care. What matters to me is you. I don't want you to end up like Dan. You're better than this. I'm going to die, Rogue. And if I'm going to go, then I want to leave this world knowing you haven't lost yourself.'
'But-'
'You can't kill her!'
"It's just Mystique." Vampira argued, trying to convince Rogue to still go through with their original plan. "She deserves it; think of all the people that she's probably killed over the years, including Danny's aunt."
'I know you hate her. Trust me, I feel the same way, but you can't let revenge cloud your mind.'
"This isn't revenge. This is justice."
Poor Rogue could only stand there as she heard both her boyfriend and ghost half try to convince her to take their side.
"If you don't end this right now, Mystique will never stop."
'You do this, and you'll have blood on your hands forever.'
"Don't listen to him. Just this once, I need you to ignore him and follow through. We can't let it end like this. We're so CLOSE."
'You're just giving Dan what he wants! You're letting him win! He wants you to be just like him!'
The southern hybrid was now clutching her head as she dealt with the warring voices in her head. Her emotions and desires started to conflict with each other as she wondered what she should do. Should she kill Mystique, therefore crossing that line? Or should she let her go, giving her another opportunity to hurt another person she cared for?
Who would be next after Danny? Would it be Logan? Or perhaps Kitty, and maybe Wanda afterwards. Hell, what's to stop her from killing Kurt? She already knew that Mystique didn't stop at family. The way she handled Rogue was already proof enough.
"What are you waiting for? End her!" Vampira ordered as Rogue locked eyes with Mystique and slowly she raised the candlestick to stab her in the head.
'NO!'
"KILL HER!"
Gripping it tightly in her hand, she prepared to land the finishing blow.
'Rogue...Anna...remember your promise.'
Those words forced her to stop as several images flashed through her mind, making her relive several important moments of her life.
There was Carnage standing over the corpses of those men belonging to the car theft ring. It was there that she learned how far some monsters were willing to go. She could still visualize the blood that he left behind.
Next was when she learned about her potential future, along with the many nightmares that kept her up at night.
And finally, the words she said to her boyfriend back at Amity Park.
"Danny, I promise you that no matter what happens, I will never turn into that, ever, I promise." The words continually echoed in her head.
"My...my promise." She opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of her reflection in one of the many broken pieces of glass still lodged in Mystique. And in that reflection, she could see her eyes.
Glowing red.
Just like hers did.
Rogue gave Mystique a long, uncomfortable stare before looking back at the candlestick she wielded in her hand—the same hand that was covered in Mystique's blood.
Perhaps it was already too late for her. Maybe this was her destiny.
Steeling her nerves, Rogue rose the candlestick up above her head, and as it came down...
...
...
...
It broke right through the wall, just mere inches away from Mystique's head.
Breathing heavily, Rogue let go of the weapon and took a couple steps back to calm her nerves as she felt pride from Danny before his presence left her head, leaving her saddened.
It would probably be the last time she would ever speak to him, now that there was no hope of saving him. But she would honor his memory by making sure that that future never happened.
Noticing a piece of glass by her foot, she picked it up and was relieved to see that her eyes were back to their usual beautiful green color. But before she could truly appreciate it, her head started to ache as she could feel Vampira seething in the corner of her mind.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Vampira cried. "You were supposed to kill her! What's wrong with you?"
'I made a promise.' Rogue answered calmly, unwilling to be deterred by Vampira's demands for revenge. 'And I'm not going to break it. After everything he's done for me, it's the least I can do for him.'
"Bull shit." Vampira breathed. "You get over there and end this. Right fucking now!"
'Don't you talk to me like that! I'm not going to break my promise to my boyfriend, and that's that.'
"You're making a big mistake. Turn around and finish this."
'No.' Rogue stated with finality. 'I'm not going through with it. And nothing you say can convince me.'
There was a heavy silence before Vampira spoke again.
"Fine. I'll do it myself."