Infuriation.
That was what Mystique was feeling as she took a shower. What should've been relaxing did nothing to distract her from the consuming fury that she felt towards a certain X-Man.
Daniel Fenton. How she hated that boy, and she had plenty of things to hate about him. There was his disrespectfulness toward her when she was Principal Darkholme. His lack of fear towards her when she threatened him back in the mountains. And of course, he took away one of the most important things to her.
Rogue.
What should've been a simple ruse to get her on the Brotherhood's side was ruined when that boy stuck his nose in business that was of no concern to him. He then had the gall to date her and fill her head with Xavier's nonsense about peace between humans and mutants. Not only that, but she had learned that the boy was destined to bring Wanda Maximoff into the relationship.
Oh, how she wished she could kill him, to see him powerless and afraid as she reveled in his screams, but he was too powerful. She had seen him in his fights against the Brotherhood, Magneto's acolytes, and even that bird thing. He was too strong; it seemed like nothing could stop him. Nothing could-
She stopped as she heard footsteps in her apartment. That couldn't be. No one knew that she lived here. Not even Magneto.
Slipping out of the shower and hurriedly getting dressed, she pulled out a gun and slowly crept out of her room. Peeking around the corner, she saw a man, or something else; she couldn't identify who it was, sitting at the dinner table with his back turned to her.
Taking advantage of the intruder's unawareness of his surroundings. She jabbed the gun into his neck.
"Who are you?" Mystique demanded as she prepared to pull the trigger if needed.
The interloper just chuckled, not phased at all by having a gun in the back of his neck. "Just a friend."
Mystique took the gun and used it to prod him to turn around so she could get a look at him. The intruder sported pale blue skin and red eyes, with black hair that looked like horns.
"What are you?"
"Something you could never understand." Plasmius stood up, not at all dissuaded by the gun that Mystique still had trained on him.
Mystique pushed the gun into his chest. "You have five seconds to explain how you knew I was here."
Vlad's only response was to move forward, prompting Mystique to fire, but to her amazement, the bullet went right through him, shattering a vase.
"My dear, I have experience with knowing where my chess pieces are at all times." Plasmius told her as the shapeshifter looked at her gun in disbelief. "You know, Mystique, we're not so different, you and I. We both have gifts. Gifts that we have to hide out of persecution. Gifts that we have used to survive."
This caught her attention. "You're a mutant?"
With a grin, Plasmius summoned a pair of black rings that went over his body; however, he still remained in ghost form when they passed, as he didn't trust this woman at all with the truth of who he was. No, he did this to show something else about him.
"Those rings." She had seen something like that before. Whenever Fenton had to change his form. "You're just like..."
"Daniel and Rogue?" Vlad gave a toothy grin. "Yes. It's just like I told you, we're so much alike. We both have charges that we know would be better off under our care. You and Rogue, and me and Daniel. We both know that they don't belong together."
At the reminder of Danny, all of her surprise turned to rage. "You think I haven't tried? No matter what I do, Rogue continues to remain with him."
The ghostly vampire moved out of the way, showing a box on the table that he used his telekinesis to shift closer to her.
"What if I could tell you that I had something that could give you the edge against him? Something that could hurt him."
"I'm listening."
With a wave of his hand, the box opened, revealing all of the assorted weaponry one would need when hunting ghosts. "Here are all the standard ghost-hunting weapons. I believe that they will suffice."
"Ghosts?" Mystique scoffed. "Don't tell me you believe in that nonsense the news has been pulling."
Vlad's smirk only grew. "Not nonsense, but fact. You see, I have ghost powers, and so does Daniel. It's why I tried to take him under my wing, but he has rejected me at every turn."
"I know the feeling." Mystique muttered.
The vampire-like ghost's eyes glowed malevolently as he dropped another bombshell. "Yes, Daniel and I are one and the same. And, unlike your daughter, Daniel and I don't have an extra gene. We got our powers through other means."
Mystique's eyes widened at the reveal. "You mean, he's not a mutant?"
"No." Vlad said, grinning at the possibilities of how this leak would come back to bite his rival. "And if you're wondering if the others at the institute know, then no. No one knows his dirty little secret. Not even Rogue."
The blue shapeshifter now had a dark smile that was equal to Vlad's.
"I can see that you know what to do." Vlad said. Although he once wished nothing more than to have Daniel as a son, it was clear that he needed to move on. And he couldn't let Daniel foil his plans forever. "I only ask for one favor."
"What is it?"
Plasmius handed her a small vial. "Bring me back a sample of his DNA."
It was a beautiful day at the Xavier Institute, as Danny, Scott, and Logan were on the roof trying to reinstall the satellite dish. Yesterday, the New Mutants accidentally damaged it during one of their little "games."
As the three were repairing the dish, Scott looked down to see Jean, who was helping Storm repair the fountain that was also damaged by the younger students. To Scott, Jean looked so beautiful with her concentrated look as she used her telekinesis to place the statue back on the fountain.
It had been some time after the redhead had dumped Duncan, and the X-Men's leader felt that this was the time to tell her how he felt, but how? Looking over at Logan, he thought he could ask the older mutant for advice.
"Logan, have you ever, you know, really cared for someone?"
"Pliers." Logan requested, pretending he didn't hear Scott.
Scott handed him the tool. "I mean, you felt it so strong that you couldn't even get the words out?"
"Yeah, once." Logan answered. "Most beautiful bike I ever saw. I was so speechless, someone else bought her." He then noticed that Scott handed him the wrong tool. "Not wire strippers, pliers. Use your eyes, kid."
Handing him the right tool, Scott continued to talk about his dilemma with Jean. "The problem is, how's the guy supposed to know if the girl feels the same way?"
Danny sighed, getting tired of Jean and Scott being oblivious to each other. It was obvious to everyone but them that they liked each other, yet the two still continued to play the will-they-won't-they game. It was time to end it. "Okay, can you stop being vague, Scott?" He said. "We all know you're talking about Jean."
Logan nodded in agreement.
"Alright, it's just that I don't know how to tell her how I feel." The ruby-sunglass-wearing X-Man confessed.
"It's simple; just do it." Danny said.
"Yeah, but it's just, I don't know." Scott looked back at Jean as she managed to get the fountain to look presentable. "I feel like I'm going to mess it up."
Danny placed a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Scott, I'm going to be frank with you. Everyone here, but Jean, knows you have a thing for her. So here's what you're gonna do. You're going to go up to her and tell her that you like her. Not like, as in, a friend, but like like, as in, I want to be your boyfriend."
The hybrid then narrowed his eyes. "And if you don't tell her, I will. I'll tell her everything." He threatened. "Including that dream you had of you two living in a chocolate house."
Logan gave Scott a weird look. "Chocolate house?"
Scott, however, was horrified that Danny knew that embarrassing secret. "You know about that?"
"You mumble in your sleep." Danny explained.
"You wouldn't." Scott challenged, making Danny flash his eyes green.
"Try me."
"Okay, I'll do it." The X-Man with the shades acquiesced. Bracing himself, he got down and went over to the girl of his dreams. "Hey, Jean."
Jean smiled. "Scott, how are you?"
"I'm doing great." Scott then composed himself as he got ready to tell Jean. "Listen, I need to tell you something."
"What?"
Upon seeing her beautiful green eyes, the X-Man leader started to lose his confidence. "I..." He paused a bit before getting himself together. "I care about you."
Jean placed a hand on his shoulder. "I care for you too, Scott."
Danny and Logan were watching the scene from the roof as they wondered if Scott would actually have the guts to tell Jean.
"You think he's gonna do it?" Logan asked as Danny just shrugged.
"No, what I mean to say is that..." Scott took a breath before coming out with it. "Jean, I like you."
"I like you too."
"No, not like that." Scott reiterated. "I..."
"Oh, for crying out loud." The two X-Men turned to see Danny. "Here." He grabbed their heads and brought them together in a kiss. Scott and Jean were a bit surprised by the action at first before they went with the flow and started to make out. Jean could feel a psychic bond start to form with Scott, while Scott was finally reveling in the fact that he was finally kissing Jean.
The two then finished as they looked at each other with blushes on their faces.
"You can thank me by naming your firstborn after me." Danny quipped, causing them to glare at him in embarrassment.
"Danny!" The two cried in unison.
"What?" Seeing his work was done, he went back to Logan as they started to go back to fixing the satellite dish.
Logan grunted in approval at seeing Scott and Jean together. "About time. Nice work, bub."
"Thanks. At least I can do something nice for them before the trial." His good mood then vanished as he thought of the upcoming event. It was only a few days away.
"You nervous?"
"Of course I am." Danny answered. "Rogue and I are gonna have to go up in front of a judge and argue about why we deserve not to be locked up."
"It'll be all right." Logan assured him. "You're a fighter, bub. You can take this. Out of all the runts here, you're the one who's taken to my teachings the most. You make a fine X-Man."
The ghostly X-Man smiled, touched by Logan's words. "Thanks, Logan."
At lunch, Rogue found her boyfriend at the kitchen table, staring at his food, lost in thought.
She sat next to him. "You all right?"
"Just a bit anxious." The hybrid mumbled as he thought of everything that could go wrong at the trial. He and Rogue could get carted away to a GiW lab, where those monsters would be allowed to do anything their sick, twisted scientific minds could come up with.
Rogue placed a hand over his to comfort him. "I know how you feel."
"Only a couple days away." Danny muttered, still distracted.
"Yeah. But we'll be able to make them see that we're mutants; I know it." She said, making Danny frown. Maybe it was time to tell Rogue what he truly was. He'd have to tell her someday. He just hoped that she wouldn't see him as a freak.
"Rogue, I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"I..." Danny stopped as he felt his nerves get the best of him. Gathering his courage, he was about to finally spill it when he heard Wanda enter the kitchen.
"Danny!"
"Oh, hey, Wanda, what's up?" He asked as he saw that she was carrying a phone.
Wanda handed him the phone. "Phone call. It's your aunt."
This surprised him. "My aunt?" He and his aunt had never been close, given the fact that she lived in Arkansas. It also didn't help that she and her father never got along, with Alicia always encouraging his mother to divorce him.
While Danny was intrigued and a bit suspicious of the news, Rogue was interested because, as far as she knew, all of Danny's family were dead, so it was unexpected to learn that he had one living relative. "You have an aunt? You never told me."
"I honestly forgot." Danny confessed. "We were never close. But she's technically the only family I got left." He then took the phone and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hi, Danny." Came the voice of his aunt. Someone he never thought he'd hear from again.
"Aunt Alicia, hi." Danny replied. "I'm taking it you heard the news."
"It's hard not to." His aunt said. "How long have you been like this?"
"Since I was fourteen." He answered, wondering how she reacted when she learned about his powers. His aunt was always a skeptic of the supernatural and was baffled as to why his mother would dedicate a career to it along with his father. So he was sure her world was turned upside down by this revelation, unless she believed him to be a mutant, which made him wonder what her opinion of mutants was.
"I see." There was a bit of silence before his aunt finally spoke. "Look, I know that is so out of the blue and that we've never been that close. But we're the only family we have left. And I want to see you again. I miss my sister, Danny. And you're all I have left of her."
Danny nodded. Although he hadn't seen her in forever, the hybrid thought it wouldn't hurt to reach out. "Okay, I'll come visit."
"See you soon." The call then ended as Danny turned to look at Rogue.
"I got to-"
"It's okay." She told him. "Your aunt needs you." She then kissed him. "You can tell me when you get back."
With a smile, Danny bid Rogue and Wanda goodbye as he prepared to head to Arkansas.
The flight wasn't long for Danny, as he slept through most of it. When he stepped off the plane, he looked through the crowd when he spotted her. She still looked the same since he visited her after his first run-in with Walker. She was still wearing the same pink shirt and blue overalls.
Approaching her, he gave his aunt a nervous smile. "Hey."
Aunt Alicia just gave him a nod, and he could tell that she was just as anxious as he was about all this.
"So, uh..." He tried to think of something to talk about, even though a lot has happened since they last parted.
"There's a nearby diner." His aunt said. "We can eat and talk there."
"Okay, cool." The two started walking down the airport when Alicia pushed him down a hall.
"Hey! What are you..." Before he could say anything further, he saw Alicia morph back into Mystique, who gave him an evil smirk.
"It's payback time, Fenton." Pulling out the Plasmius Maximus, she electrocuted Danny, cutting off his powers, as she then released a vial of knock-out gas that rendered the hybrid unconscious.
Looking over the unconscious boy, she was tempted to snap his neck and end it right then and there. But she held herself back. She didn't want it to be quick and painless. No, she wanted his death to be as drawn-out and painful as she could make it.
The glare of the bright sun made Danny's eyes open as he finally woke up. "Where am I?" Looking around, he found himself in a forest. "Hello? Hello?" Deciding that he was all alone, he was about to go ghost, but couldn't. "Oh, no." Just then, all the memories came flooding back. The phone call, the flight here, and Mystique disguised as his aunt, with her shocking him with the Plasmius Maximus.
This wasn't going to be good.
Seeing no other choice, Danny began to wander the woods. For how long he couldn't tell, as Mystique had also stolen his cell phone. It wasn't until it became dark that he realized that he had been walking for over six hours. Or that's how long he assumed it had been. For all he knew, it could be more.
"Anybody?" He called out and instantly regretted that as he heard the howls of several wolves in the distance. Immediately, the pack started to surround him as one made a charge, only for Danny to throw a punch to knock it back.
He may be powerless, but he wasn't going to go out without a fight. One tried to tackle him from behind, but Danny threw it over his shoulder as he prepared to fight his way out of this.
Xavier was doing a bit of late-night reading when Rogue barged in with a look of concern on her face.
"Are you all right, Rogue?" He asked, wondering what had come over her.
"Professor, I think Danny might be in trouble." She said as she had felt her psychic link with Danny cut off, but not before she felt a surge of fear and surprise from him. Last time she felt something like this from him was when he, Scott, and Alex were stuck at Vortex's mercy.
"Or could it be that you just had a nightmare?" Xavier suggested. "With the upcoming trial and Danny being absent, a bad dream seems like a strong possibility."
Rogue disagreed. "No. It's not that. I know it isn't. I felt his surprise and fear before it stopped."
"Rogue, I know that you and Danny have a psychic link, but it is too far out of range." Xavier tried to comfort her, but Rogue wasn't convinced.
"No." She denied, unwilling to leave this be. "What we have, it's more than that."
"Rogue, please don't worry." The professor tried to reassure her. "A bad dream is usually just that. A dream."
"No, this isn't a dream." Rogue turned into her ghost form. "He's in trouble, and he needs my help." She then phased through the floor as she made her way down to the hanger.
"Rogue!" Xavier tried to head her off, but he knew it was pointless.
Down in the hangar, Rogue landed next to the Blackbird. She let out a whistle, and instantly Cujo was at her side. "Hey, boy." She greeted before her voice became serious. "I need you to find Danny for me. Can you do that?"
The dog nodded as it started to trail Danny's scent as Rogue got into the jet and started it up. "Don't worry, Danny." She said to herself as she pulled out of the hangar. "I'm coming for you."
"And heaven help those who try to stop us." Vampira said, feeling worried for Danny as well.
The ghostly X-Man was bruised and battered after finally making the wolves back off. Exhausted, he fell to the ground, and as he drifted in and out of consciousness, he could hear footsteps coming over to him before it all went black.
"Wake up, Fenton!" A slap to his face brought the hybrid back, as he was now staring into the yellow eyes of Mystique. As he tried to move away from her, he found his arms being held up by some shackles that he could feel were draining his energy. There were also a pair on his feet as well. Powerless, he was at Mystique's complete mercy.
"You!" He gave the grinning shapeshifter a death glare as he noticed that they were in an abandoned warehouse. "What did you do to Aunt Alicia? And how did you know about her?"
The blue mutant chuckled as she thought of what she had done to that woman. "A new friend of mine told me about her and as for your first question." Her eyes beam wickedly. "Let's just say she's no longer with us."
At this, Danny stopped as he took in her words. Aunt Alicia was dead. Despite not knowing his aunt very well, he still felt guilty for indirectly getting her killed. Just like he did with the rest of his family.
It surprised him a bit to learn that Mystique had gone that far to murder his aunt. Sure, he knew that Mystique had probably killed quite a number of people in her life, but never did he think she would kill someone related to him. It was honestly terrifying to know how far she would go.
Mystique saw Danny's shock at the news and the hint of fear in his eyes, which she took pleasure in. "Yes, she's gone. But I wouldn't dwell on her; you should be more concerned with yourself." She went over to a box of ghost weapons, which Danny noticed as he remembered that she had some energy dampeners on him and had used the Plasmius Maximus on him earlier.
It seemed the fruit loop had enough of him and decided to make Mystique another pawn in his game.
Mystique then came back with a knife in one hand and a vial in the other. "As much as I want to make you suffer, there's something I need to do first. Now don't squirm." Her smirk widened. "Much."
There was a tense silence between the two before it was interrupted by a scream as Danny felt the knife go into his side.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Mystique said sadistically as she took great joy in seeing Danny in pain. She held up the vial as it was filled with his blood. She then put it away; her one favor done, she had free reign to do whatever she wanted with Fenton. Seeing him cry out in agony, she couldn't help but take a jab at him. "I guess you're not as invincible as you let on." She then twisted the knife, making his screams increase in intensity.
Oh, she was so going to enjoy this.
As the supernatural hound was running on all fours to his destination, Rogue was following him up above in the Blackbird. Trailing the dog had led her to Arkansas, where Danny told her he was going.
She tried to access him through the link and was instantly hit with a wave of pain from her boyfriend. It was clear to her that he was being tortured, which was only making her panic on the inside.
"Whoever is hurting him will die." Vampira stated seriously.
Rogue, in her worry, found herself agreeing with her ghost half as she tried to make the Blackbird go faster.
Danny found that his voice was very hoarse after all the screaming. The half-ghost found himself broken from all of Mystique's tortures. The blue shapeshifter had gone from stabbing him to electrocuting him with the various ghostly weapons at her disposal to using him for target practice as she broke in the new ecto-pistols she found.
Ectoplasm was pouring out of the numerous cuts and wounds that littered his entire body. So in pain was he that he couldn't focus his link with Rogue to tell her where he was and what was happening to him.
BAM!
A fist to his face, courtesy of his former principal, caused him to cough up some more protoplasm. Then another and another before Mystique finally got bored of punching him. She then kicked him in the head before heading back to get something else to use on him.
"You should have stayed out of my way and away from Rogue." She stated as she was looking over her gear, wondering which one she would use next.
"And let her be manipulated by a liar like you?" Danny retorted, still having a bit of fight in him.
This remark set her off, as she immediately rounded on her captive prisoner. "Like you're one to talk about honesty."
Danny's rage soon turned to confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play innocent." Mystique snarled. "I know exactly what you are. You're not a mutant. Never have been and never will." She saw Danny's look of shock at her knowing what he was, and she smiled smugly at the glint of fear in his eyes that someone else knew his little secret.
"You call me out on lying to Rogue when you've been lying to not only her but to everyone at the institute." The shapeshifter pointed out as Danny considered her point and realized that she was right.
"I didn't mean to." He argued weakly, only to be stabbed once again.
"Thanks to you, Rogue is going to be on trial." Mystique twisted the knife again as she heard him plea for it to stop. "You dragged her into your own legal mess, you bastard! Because someone tried to be something they're not." She roughly pulled out the blade. "You never belonged at the institute. You don't belong anywhere; you should've stayed away. And now it's up to me to fix this mess." She placed the knife near his throat.
Just one swipe, and she would be rid of him once and for all.
"You're going to die, Fenton. And no one will be there to see it. Except me." She was about to finally deal the finishing blow as-
BOOM!
Mystique turned around at the sound and found that Rogue had blasted through the walls. She was floating off the ground, her eyes glowing in anger as she locked eyes with Mystique.
On the ground was a growling Cujo as he barred his fangs at the mutant.
"Rogue!" Before Mystique could say anything else, an ecto-blast knocked her into Fenton. Then she felt Rogue grab her and throw her to the side of the room as the southern hybrid took in the state of her injured boyfriend.
Her eyes were wide as she saw the damage that Mystique had inflicted on him. Seeing her strong and confident boyfriend look so helpless and broken while he was stained with ectoplasm caused something to snap in her.
"Kill her!"
Rogue lurched forward and seized Mystique's throat as she began to choke the life out of her.
"YOU MONSTER!" Rogue bellowed. "What did you do to him?" Every time she thinks she can't hate Mystique even more, the woman just goes to prove her wrong, and now she has finally done it. Aiming an ecto-blast at her head, Rogue thought that she had caused enough misery for one lifetime.
Before she could let loose the energy blast, she felt Cujo tug on her leg. Glancing down at the dog, she saw him dart his head in Danny's direction. Following his line of sight, she witnessed her captive boyfriend cough up some more ectoplasm as he moaned in pain.
Realizing that getting her boyfriend medical attention should be the main priority, she chucked Mystique through a wall before firing ecto-blasts at Danny's shackles, freeing him.
Catching him before he could fall over, she cradled him gently as she was fighting back the tears at seeing what the blue bitch had done to him. She would never forgive Mystique for this. Never.
"Rogue?" He whispered, though it hurt to do so.
Rogue stroked his cheek. "It's going to be okay, Danny. I'll get you help." Gently scooping him up in her arms, she made her way to the Blackbird and set course for a nearby hospital, with Cujo following along.
Too busy were they over getting help for Danny to notice that Mystique had fled the coop once again, leaving the whole place empty. That was until Plasmius appeared. Spotting the DNA sample that Mystique had acquired, he snatched it before disappearing with a swirl of his cape.
His dream of having Daniel as a son has ended, but this vial of his blood will be the beginning of a new dream.
Voices. That's what Danny heard as he was in between the state of slumber and the waking world. As the voices got a bit louder, he tried, with all of his might, to pull himself back into reality. His eyes opened and closed quickly at the bright light.
Trying again, he found his eyes slowly adjust to the light as his vision came to him. By his bedside, he found Rogue, Beast, Storm, Logan, and the professor.
Before he could utter a single word, Rogue grabbed him in a death-grip hug. He held back from hissing in pain as he enjoyed being in Rogue's arms again.
"Danny, thank God! I thought I lost you."
The phantom looked over her shoulder at the others. "What happened?"
"Rogue brought you to a hospital." Beast explained grimly as he checked Danny's vitals. "She then called us, and after patching you up, we brought you back to the institute. You've..." He paused, as he couldn't come up with something to accurately describe the horrors that Danny had been through. "Let's just say you've been through a lot."
"No kidding." Danny couldn't help but snark. "What about Mystique?" His eyes darted around the room, as if expecting her to pop out at any moment. Never before had he ever thought that he would be scared of his former principal. But after everything she'd done to him, he knew never to underestimate her again.
"She got away." Rogue had fire in her eyes as she thought about the former Brotherhood leader. "I swear if I see her again..."
The ringing of a phone stopped Rogue from raging about what she would do to Mystique.
Xavier pulled out his cell phone and answered it. "Hello? Yes, he's awake. He's stable." Here, Xavier frowned at what he heard on the other end. "Yes, but..." He was interrupted, as whoever was on the other end was speaking quite heatedly. "He had just woken up." Xavier argued, but the person he was talking to wouldn't let up. "But you can't..." At this, the professor had a look on his face that consisted of a mix of resignation, frustration, and anger. "Very well." He hung up, as the others were giving him weird looks.
"What was that?" Danny asked, knowing that it was obviously about him.
The professor sighed. "When we got you back, we tried to get the trial delayed, but you managed to heal yourself on the day before it."
Danny bristled as he realized that tomorrow was the big day. Apparently it had taken him some time for his body to heal after Mystique's torture.
"Professor, he just woke up from being tortured, and you still want him to go?" Rogue inquired, furious that after what Danny had been through, he was now being forced through a legal battle.
"It's like they want us to lose. Oh, who am I kidding? That is exactly what they want." Vampira commented, making Rogue agree with her sentiments.
"I tried to argue for it to be pushed back, but once I told them that you were stable, they demanded your presence." Xavier gave Danny an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but you and Rogue must go tomorrow. No exceptions."
Normally, Danny would've been angered by this, but now he was just exhausted and wanted to get some sleep. "I understand."
"I'm sorry, Danny." Xavier apologized. "You've already been through so much."
"Could you..." He looked at Rogue, then back at the professor. "Could you give us a moment?"
"Yes." The adults all left, leaving the two teenagers alone.
Rogue took hold of one of Danny's hands. "Are you okay? I know you were pretty nervous about the trial before this all happened, and now that it's tomorrow..." She stopped, as she realized she was only making it worse.
"Yeah, it's nerve-wrecking." He answered before chuckling. "But I mean, it can't be any worse than what Mystique put me through."
Rogue glared at him, not finding his remark humorous at all. "Don't joke about that."
"Sorry." The two were silent before Danny decided that it was time to get a certain thing off his chest. It was time for her to know the truth. "Rogue, I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"I..." Before he could get the words out, he closed his mouth as he felt exhausted. You can say he was making excuses, but he preferred dropping a bombshell when he wasn't tired. "I'll tell you after the trial." He told her, deciding that telling her before the trial wouldn't be appropriate either. "I promise."
Rogue smiled. "Okay." She then tucked him in. "Here, you better get some rest for the big day tomorrow."
"Can you stay?" He asked as he saw she was about to leave. "Please."
"As if he had to ask." Vampira remarked good-naturedly.
Rogue gave Danny a dazzling smile. "Of course." She got into the bed and snuggled into him. The two just lay there before finally falling asleep.
Danny hoped that tomorrow would go all right.
The next day, Danny was looking at himself in the mirror. He was dressed professionally in a suit and tie. After checking that his outfit was in order, he met up with Rogue, who was decked out in similar attire, albeit with a skirt and heels.
The two were now in the hangar, about to depart with the professor to Amity Park, which is where the hearing was. Danny had thought their case would go to the Supreme Court, but according to their lawyer, the GiW had been arguing over how it was unnecessary and that their lack of knowledge of the supernatural would be a detriment to the case. Finally, after several disagreements, the courts of Amity Park ended up taking the case since the town was familiar with ghosts.
This only made Danny feel worse, as he was now forced to walk back into his old hometown, where he left everything behind. Where he had also lost everything. It was starting to make him feel queasy.
He felt Rogue take his hand, sensing his nerves through their link. "Everything's going to be okay, Danny." She tried to reassure him.
"Good luck, you two." Logan said as all the inhabitants of the institute were saying their goodbyes.
"Just remember to keep your cool." Jean advised them.
"Don't worry, guys; you'll be in and out in no time." Kurt encouraged.
"We'll all be watching." Kitty told them. "So like, in a way, we'll be there."
After saying goodbye, the three got on the Blackbird as it set course for the small town in Illinois. The ride was silent as Danny didn't feel like talking, and Rogue, sensing that, just sat by his side in silent support as Xavier piloted the jet.
A couple of hours later, though it didn't feel long enough to Danny, they finally arrived, landing outside of the courthouse where a crowd had gathered. Stepping off the jet, his sight was blinded by the number of photos that were being taken. As the trio were moving along, he could see several fans of his holding signs saying things such as "Save the Ghost We Love the Most," "Phantom Forever," and "Ghosts are Human."
Though there were others with signs that said "The Dead Should Stay Where They Belong," "Demon in Disguise," and "Ghosts Are a Menace." There were also some people wearing shirts of him in a circle with a line over it, referencing that one particular movie.
Ignoring the detractors, he could spot some familiar faces. He saw Dash Baxter, his old bully, who was giving him a look of shock and shame. There was Paulina Sanchez, who was drooling at the sight of Danny's new physique. Before, he had been a scrawny little boy, but thanks to Logan and the Danger Room drills, he had developed quite the body.
The fangirl or phangirl, as they started calling themselves, held up a sign that said, "Marry me."
"Yoo hoo! Danny!" She called. "Remember me? You had a crush on me back at Casper High."
Rogue gave Danny a questioning look, but the hybrid merely urged her forward as they tried to get to the courthouse. Several reporters were trying to swarm the ghosts for interviews and statements.
Amity Park's Lance Thunder smiled for the camera. "Lance Thunder here, standing outside the courthouse in Amity Park, where it will be determined whether Danny Phantom and his ghostly companion will be given full rights due to being mutants or confiscated by the Guys in White as ectoplasmic entities. Here they are now." He moved over to Danny. "Mr. Fenton, could you give us a quick word?"
The half-ghost ignored him as he continued on his way, as more questions were being directed at him.
"Mr. Fenton, what are your feelings on the trial?"
"Mr. Fenton, are the crimes you're accused of true?"
He wasn't the only one, as Rogue was also being questioned.
"What is your exact relationship to Mr. Fenton?"
"Do you hunt ghosts as well?"
"Have you engaged in any criminal activities?"
The two finally entered the courthouse and made their way to the front, where they were greeted by their lawyer, Jennifer Walters.
"Don't worry." Jennifer said with a positive smile. "I'm very confident in winning this case." Danny wished that he had her confidence, as his was lacking at the moment. It didn't help that there were cameras recording everything, with almost the whole world watching.
Back at the institute, all the X-Men were in the living room, crowding around the television.
Jean, who was sitting next to Scott on the couch, noticed her new boyfriend was nervous and gave him a reassuring smile.
"It's going to be okay, Scott. Danny and Rogue will win this. I'm sure."
"Yeah." Scott agreed as he stared at the screen. "They'll be fine."
Wanda stayed silent, worrying over Danny and Rogue. If this didn't go well, then she would never be able to see them again. The amateur sorceress didn't know what she would do if it came to that.
They weren't the only ones watching, as the Brotherhood were also observing the trial on their TV. While Pietro was uninterested in what would happen as he didn't care much for Danny, since he was an X-Man and he also broke his leg back on Asteroid M and got him arrested, Lance, Blob, and Toad were somewhat curious about how it would all play out.
Sure, he was an X-Man, but Danny had helped them out before. Danny was one of the first few people who showed Blob kindness, and although the large mutant threw it back in his face, a part of him was still thankful for the gesture.
For Toad, he remembered how Danny, along with Scott, stopped Duncan and his fellow jocks from laying the smackdown on the poor mutant.
Lance, on the other hand, was the Brotherhood member who was on the most decent of terms with Danny. The half-ghost was one of the few people who weren't hostile to Lance when he briefly joined the X-Men.
"Yo, you think that those two goody goodies will win?" Toad asked Lance, who shrugged.
"Hard to say?"
Magneto was also watching the proceedings in his lair, joined by his acolytes. Vlad was doing the same in his mansion, enjoying the problems that his actions had caused Danny.
Mystique, who managed to reach Irene, was also viewing the events as she sat in Irene's living room watching the TV, while the blind woman just listened.
Both women were fearful of the consequences that could befall Rogue, while Mystique was also raging at Fenton getting away once again.
The bailiff then came out. "All rise for the honorable Judge Stephen Wexler."
Once all the introductions were out of the way, the trial began with Jennifer taking the stage as she called the professor to the stand.
"Professor Xavier, would you state the nature of their mutations?" She requested.
"Of course. Rogue has a mutation that allows her to absorb the memories, life force, and powers of whoever she comes into direct skin contact with."
"Can you state how her mutation relates to her ghost powers?" Jennifer asked politely before the prosecutor, Agent L, could object.
"Yes, there was an incident where Rogue was exposed to Danny's energy, and I believe that her X-gene allowed her to absorb his energy and make it her own." Xavier explained for everyone. "As for Daniel, he's told me that he grew up exposed to ecto-energy due to his parents' work. His mutation was energy absorption, and after an incident with his parent's ghost portal, he too absorbed ecto-energy, which granted him his abilities."
After Xavier had given his statements, Rogue was then called in to talk about her mutations. She explained how her powers worked and how, after fighting "an pathetic lonely ghost," a term that made Danny snicker at how she described Plasmius, she had gained ghost powers. After that, Danny was then called to the stand by Agent L, who was giving him a calculating, disdainful look.
"Mr. Fenton, Xavier tells us that your ghost powers came to you as the result of your X-gene absorbing ecto-energy. How did you come into contact with that energy?" Agent L requested.
Danny thought back to that eventful day. "My friends and I were exploring my parent's ghost portal, and one of my friends dared me to go in, and I pressed the on button inside the portal, and it electrocuted me."
Agent L smirked as he looked like he had caught Danny in a trap. "So you were in point blank range of the blast?"
"Yes." Danny said, as even he wondered how he was able to survive that. Vlad was hit with a small blast, but he was caught in between the worlds of the living and the dead.
"How is that possible, Mr. Fenton?" Agent L interrogated. "Your X-gene may have allowed you to take in large amounts of energy, but being at ground zero would've killed anyone." He stressed the last three words for everyone listening, indicating how suspicious it all seemed. "How do we know that you didn't die and that your ghost hasn't been parading around in your corpse ever since?"
Danny countered this claim by pointing out one small hole in this story. "How would my corpse not be incinerated by the portal then?"
Agent L had no further arguments as Danny returned to his seat. Although the trial seemed to be going well at first, it started to go downhill when Agent L called on one particular witness.
"State your name and relationship to Mr. Fenton." Agent L requested.
The blonde socialite that was at the stand frowned at the mention of Danny. "Jeremy Manson, father of Sam Manson, a friend of Daniel Fenton."
"Mr. Manson, has Mr. Fenton ever acted strangely in your eyes?"
"His whole family was strange." Jeremy sneered. "Freaks, all of them." The man leveled a deadly look at Danny, who couldn't help but feel like he deserved it. The man may have been a snob and a real dick to him, but he was responsible for his daughter's death.
"Would you say Mr. Fenton is an exemplary citizen?" Agent L continued.
"Hell, no!" The Manson patriarch raged at the idea that that monster could be good. "I remember my wife and I being called in by the school principal telling us that he and my daughter ditched school."
"She's the one who ditched." Danny whispered softly to Rogue, remembering how this day happened when Freakshow showed up. It had been Sam who was ditching school, and he had been trying to convince her not to. "I told her not to."
Unfortunately, this wasn't quiet enough as the judge banged his gavel. "Silence!" He roared. "Another outburst like that, Mr. Fenton, and I will hold you in contempt."
After Jeremy gave his two cents on the issue, Agent L started to bring several people to give statements about Danny's behavior back at Amity Park in order to give everyone the impression that Danny was a criminal that needed to be locked up.
"Mr. Fenton has had more absences, detentions, and tardies than I have ever seen in a single student in all of my career." Principal Ishiyama said. "Not to mention several altercations between him and a fellow student."
Next came Valerie, who was still angry with Phantom for ruining her life. "I was with my father at work when he and his damn dog ended up wrecking the place, costing him his job."
People began to murmur in their seats as Agent L's scheme started to work. Jennifer tried to argue that this evidence was irrelevant since the issue was whether Danny and Rogue were mutants and that their actions didn't technically matter for the issue they were all here for. Still, Agent L tried that course of action as he called Danny to the stand once more.
"Witnesses, say that you were in the area before the Nasty Burger exploded." Agent L said, as Danny was hit with flashes of his last encounter with him.
"I was." Danny admitted as he tried to push the memories out of the forefront of his mind. "I was fighting another ghost."
"Really?" Agent L replied skeptically. "Who was this other ghost?"
"My ultimate enemy." Danny answered, giving the agent a look that actually started to creep him out. After that, Agent L had no more questions for Danny.
Jennifer was showing the scans that Beast had supplied here.
"As you can see here, both of my clients have X-genes, proving that they are not ghosts but rather mutants with ghost powers." She said as she gave Agent L a smug smile.
"You claim their mutants?" Agent L scoffed. "How do we know those scans provided are legit? They did come from one of the members of the staff at the institute. It could be sabotaged."
"Agent L, you believe that these scans are forgeries?" The judge asked.
"I believe so, your honor." He then motioned for one of his men to hand over a briefcase. "And I have a way to prove it." He opened it and pulled out a scanner-looking device. "This device will be able to show a mutant's X-gene, and this has been tested and proved reliable."
"Very well, then." The judge allowed. "You may perform your scans."
Danny stiffened as he realized that his secret was going to come out. There was no way he would be able to get out of this one. Rogue, who wasn't afraid at all, thinking that this would prove them as mutants, stepped forward as Agent L scanned her. It came back as positive, making Rogue smirk.
"See? I'm a mutant."
Agent L frowned before looking toward Danny and motioning for the half-ghost to step forward. There was a long silence before the judge finally lost his patience.
"Fenton! Step forward!"
Seeing Jennifer and the professor give him encouraging looks, he decided to get on with it, as he knew that there was no way out of this. Rising slowly, he made his way over to Agent L, taking as much time as he could before he was within range.
The gadget glowed an ominous red as a light went over him and the device and gave its decision.
"Negative." The computer voice droned as everyone took a gasp of breath all over the world, from the shocked X-Men to the equally surprised Brotherhood all the way to Magneto, who narrowed his eyes at the machine's verdict.
Both Mystique and Vlad watched with eager smiles in their respective homes at the reveal that Danny's jig was up. There was no going back now.
"What?" Rogue stepped forward toward Danny's side. "That can't be right."
"It is." Agent L said proudly with a victorious grin. "He's not a mutant."
"No, you're wrong!" Rogue raged as she thought that this had to be some kind of trick. There was no way Danny couldn't be a mutant. "Tell him, Danny!" She demanded. "Tell him that it's a lie." Danny just stayed silent as Rogue looked him in the eye; the southern ghost could see guilt, shame, and self-loathing in them. "Danny." She spoke in a quiet tone. "Are you truly a mutant?"
"No." He whispered quietly, but everyone could hear it clearly.
"You're..." Rogue couldn't believe this was happening. Danny wasn't a mutant? Why didn't he tell her? After all this time, he kept it to himself. "You're not a mutant?" She had to ask one more time to know that she wasn't hearing things.
"I'm not." Danny avoided eye contact.
"That's impossible." Xavier said. "You have to be a mutant. Cerebro registered you as a mutant when I first discovered you. I-"
Danny cut him off. "Cerebro only saw me as a mutant because I made it." He stated heatedly.
Now Xavier was giving him a look of astonishment. "What?"
"Rogue, professor, I should've told you this a long time ago." He took a breath as he knew that things would never be the same, but it was time to be honest about who he really was.
"After my family's death, I was supposed to go with Vlad, but I didn't want to." He started as he tried to stop himself from snarling at the reminder of Vlad and what his actions had led him into. "I couldn't. So I ran. I ran away from it all, and I eventually ended up in Bayville."
The entire courtroom was in silence as they all listened to Danny's story.
"I thought I could start a new life there. I tried to be normal. I tried to pick up my life and start over. So I got myself into Bayville High. That's where I noticed that there was something off about Scott and Jean."
He remembered seeing them in the hallways and how Duncan had tripped Scott. The boy ended up losing his glasses to the floor. Jean had managed to get them back to him in time before he could end up destroying something with his optic blast, but Danny remembered being by his locker and watching as some kind of red glow emanated from his eyes.
"I followed them back to the mansion, and while I was invisible, I learned everything about you guys." The hybrid explained. "Cerebro, mutants, the Danger Room, all of it."
Both Xavier and Rogue were giving him unreadable looks, which made him feel terrible, but he still kept going.
"It honestly seemed like a dream come true. A school for people with powers. Ever since I got these powers, I wanted to feel normal, and I thought your school would be just that, but then I realized that I wasn't a mutant. It hurt to be reminded that, despite being so similar, I'm still different from all of you. So I secretly messed with Cerebro so that it would pick me up with an X-gene."
"The first meeting you and I had, I already knew everything." Danny said to the professor. "I'm sorry."
Once he was finished, Rogue only had one question on her mind. "Why didn't you tell me?" She was hurt and a bit betrayed. She had thought that the two of them were close enough that there were no secrets between them, only to learn that Danny had been keeping something like this from her.
"Is it really that important?" Vampira asked. "I mean, he doesn't have an extra cell in his body. So what? I don't see what the big deal is."
Danny felt his heart break at seeing Rogue's look. "Rogue, I'm so sorry. I was gonna tell you before all this happened. Believe me, I was, but then I got sidetracked by Mystique, and I was going to tell you in the infirmary, but I was just too exhausted after my ordeal."
"But why did you keep this hidden?" Rogue pressed. "Did you not trust me?"
"No!" Danny cried, not wanting Rogue to think that. "Rogue, it's not that I didn't trust you. I just..." He wished that this conversation didn't have to be in front of so many people. "I just wanted to forget that I wasn't a mutant. I didn't bring it up because I wanted to convince myself that I was one of you. That I wasn't alone. I shouldn't have lied. I'm no better than Mystique."
"I..." Rogue didn't know what to say, and Danny didn't blame her.
"I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess and that I got you and the others exposed." He apologized. "It seems no matter what I do, I'm always destined to cause pain wherever I go. Mystique was right. I don't belong here. I don't belong anywhere."
The two just stood in silence before the judge ordered them to return to their seats. The rest of the trail was a blur to Rogue as she was comprehending what she had learned. Truthfully, she was hurt by Danny keeping this from her for so long, and she didn't know what to do.
"Daniel Fenton, aka Danny Phantom, I find you to be in violation of the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act." The judge ordered. "And you are to be under the jurisdiction of the Guys in White." At this, Rogue's skin went paler than normal. So focused was she on this that she didn't register the judge's next verdict, which proclaimed Rogue was a mutant and therefore out of their grasp. What mattered to her was that Danny was going to be taken away. They were gonna do whatever they wanted to him.
"They'll cut him open." Vampira said, sounding fearful for the first time in her existence. This was when Rogue realized what was important. She didn't care that Danny wasn't a mutant. She didn't care that he had kept this from her; that could always be worked out later. In that crucial moment, she knew that she needed to make sure that they didn't take her man away. Whatever secrets he kept from her could be worked out later; right now, they needed to deal with this.
Agent L stood up along with Agents O and K as they approached Danny, who didn't put up a fight as he held out his hands to them. Ecto-cuffs were placed on him as Rogue pulled him away from them.
"No! You can't take him!" Rogue roared, but Danny gave her a look of sadness and acceptance.
"Rogue, you have to let them take me. You'll only make things worse for yourself."
"I won't!" Rogue placed her hands on his shoulders. "Danny, we can work through this! I don't want to lose you! You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. It doesn't have to be this way!"
"It does, Rogue." He replied with regret. "I know the truth now; you and the others are gifted, but me? I'll always be a freak."
"No!" Rogue brought him into a hug as she felt the GiW try to pry him off her. "You're not a freak! You're an X-Man. You're my boyfriend! You belong with me! Don't do this! Don't go!"
As Danny was pulled away, he said one last thing to her. "I'm an X-Man, no more." He was then escorted out of the courtroom by O and K as Rogue tried to chase after them, only to have two more agents grab her by the arms.
"NO! GET OFF ME!" She tried to phase through them, but they were wearing armor that prevented that. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM! LET HIM GO!" She could see them leaving through the doors. "DANNY!" She cried with all of her might as she saw his back leave as the doors closed.
He was gone, never to be seen by her again.
"Your honor, I object!" Jennifer yelled. "This is a travesty of justice! A violation of human rights!"
The judge was indifferent. "It's the law, Ms. Walters. He's not a mutant; he's a ghost. According to the law, he has no rights."
"DON'T TAKE HIM FROM ME!" Rogue was still trying to get out of their grip as the professor was trying to calm her down when Agent L came up.
"I suggest you stop this childish display." He told her coldly. "He's not real; he never was. Your boyfriend was nothing more than some ectoplasmic manifestation of posthuman consciousness. He's but an echo from the past that threatens us all." He then glanced at the door. "Well, used to threaten us."
The destroyed young woman was now snarling like an animal as she wished death upon L and the rest of his group. Finally, she managed to throw them off and was about to go get Danny when Agent L aimed an ecto-gun at her.
"Enough!" Xavier screamed as he saw agents surround his student. He already lost one of them; he wasn't going to lose another. "You heard the judge; you have no authority over her."
"Just making sure she doesn't cause trouble when we transport Phantom out of here." Agent L said. "Though, I recommend you keep watch over her, Xavier." He threatened. "Because if she steps one toe out of line, my men and I will take her down. Mutant or not."
The government agents soon left the room among the flashes caused by the cameras, as Rogue could only watch as those bastards left, taking Danny away to some government lab to perform painful experiments on him.
Her head flashed with images of him all in pain and crying out for someone to save him. Fury coursed through her as her eyes, for a brief moment, flickered red.
The mood at the institute was silent as everyone there was taking in the news. Danny, one of their own all this time, was not a mutant. And not only that, but he was taken by the Guys in White for who knows what.
No one knew what to do or what to say, as they just realized that they had just lost an X-Man.
The only sound that was heard was the crying of Wanda as she watched the boy who freed her from her prison be carted off to be locked up in one of his own.
The same thing was happening with the Brotherhood, as they didn't know how to react to all they had learned. Not even Pietro could muster up something to say. They were all speechless. Sure, they had their fights with Danny along with the rest of the X-Men, but they would never condemn him or the others to a fate as some government test subject.
Magneto frowned in thought. So Daniel wasn't a mutant, was he? He should've known that something was up. Daniel was always powerful, and he was jealous that Xavier had access to a mutant like him. But now the truth is out. He wasn't a mutant, but merely an aberration. Well, then it was a good thing that he was being taken away. The boy was a freak who didn't belong in this world. His existence was irrelevant, and so he was glad that he was out of the way so that mutants could take their rightful place as rulers of this world.
Vlad was sipping a drink in delight at seeing Daniel finally defeated. He had offered the boy many chances to join his side, but he was spurned at every turn. But now Daniel is the one who is alone and is now one of the GiW's experiments. Normally, he would try to use this to gain Daniel's loyalty as a son, but that wasn't needed. No, he had what he needed to make a new son. One who would be obedient to his father. Daniel, unfortunately, was now obsolete.
"He's gone." Mystique said in awe before it instantly turned to glee. "He's finally gone. It's over, Irene. He's finally out of our hair. Now Rogue is ours."
Irene could only shake her head at Raven's shortsightedness. "Raven, I only think this is the beginning."
"What do you mean?" She asked. "Have you had another vision?"
"No. I can't get anything." Irene replied. "But I have a feeling we have a dark future ahead of us."
Mystique wasn't concerned in the slightest. "As long as Danny Fenton is gone, I'll take any future. Now we can work on getting Rogue back."
"I don't think that will work, Raven." Irene pointed out. "She still cares about the boy. And now that he's gone..."
Mystique waved it off. "She'll get over it, Irene. She'll be fine."
10 Years Later
A cockroach was seen crawling out of the wreckage that consisted of bricks, rocks, and whatever poor soul was crushed under them. It was like this for millions and millions of miles. City to city. The whole world was destroyed, and all that was left were painful reminders of what could've been. And in the center of this dystopia was Bayville. This ordinary town was once home to the famous X-Men, but now it is one of the few safe havens left for the human race. What little was left of it, that is.
Surrounding the city was a powerful ghost shield. This shield was their only defense to keep out what lay beyond. The protective barrier was generated by several towers that were spread throughout the city. If any of them were to go out, then everyone inside would be doomed.
And that was why Agent Carol Danvers, the only hope standing between humanity and the ultimate enemy, was making her rounds to make sure all towers were performing efficiently. Flying on her glider, she passed through the city as some waved to her in greeting.
Making her way to the final tower, she checked the power outage and found that everything was normal. Making her report, she pressed a button on her watch as the image of Nick Fury appeared.
"Ghost shield tower is 100% operation." She informed him.
Fury nodded. "Good job, Agent. Check the last tower and get ba-" The signal was cut off by static.
"Nick? Nick?"
The image then returned, but instead of Nick, it was a black screen with two red eyes glaring at her.
"Hello, Carol." Came a voice that sent shivers down Carol's spine, even though she tried not to show it. Despite having battled the ultimate enemy multiple times, even she couldn't say that she wasn't afraid of her longtime foe. And how could she not? No matter how brave one was, it was meaningless when one was up against her.
"You again?" She glared, putting up a strong front against her enemy. "I don't care how powerful you are, ghost; you can't break through the shield."
"Until today." The ghost then let loose a terrible cry that had Carol and everyone in Bayville all covering their ears as they tried to block out the horrible sound. The high-wave frequency was so bad that the towers all shorted out one by one before going offline.
Carol, along with everyone else, could only watch as the ghost shield slowly faded away, leaving them all exposed.
Panic erupted throughout the city as everyone ran for cover. Parents were carrying their children, while others were holding onto any important possessions they had. Bunker's opened, allowing the frightened people to hide underground. But even this wouldn't protect them for long.
Carol was dumbfounded as she realized that the ultimate enemy had destroyed their only protection in just one move.
"You like the new power?" Carol looked at her watch to see that the monster was still there. "I call it my ghostly wail."
Snapping out of her shock, she activated her glider as she made her way to where Nick was when she was blasted off and landed on a roof. Looking up, she was greeted by her foe's right-hand man.
The Fright Knight.
"You?"
"Yes, me." The Fright Knight proclaimed. "And now all will bow before my master." He fired another blast as Carol rolled out of the way before jumping off and landing back on her glider as she sped off.
"Gotta get back to Nick." She muttered before finally finding it. The abandoned Xavier Institute. Flying through the halls, she made her way to the underground tunnels, where she found Nick at a computer console.
"Nick, the Fright Knight's here." She told him. "Which means she can't be far behind. What do we do? What do we-" She stopped as the sound from earlier came back, only this time louder.
As the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents tried to block out the noise, the ground near them began to crack. Soon the cracks increased as a fissure opened up, showering the room with green light.
From out of the fissure came a hand, and soon a figure started to pull themselves out. The two were now wide-eyed in terror as they stared at the ultimate enemy.
She was a young woman in what looked like her mid-twenties, with a two-piece black and white jumpsuit that had a cape to complete the ensemble. She would have been a looker if one were to ignore the pale-blue skin that she had along with the elf-like ears. But her most distinct feature was her hair. It was long and curly, but more importantly, it was made of white flames that lit the dark room. And the thing that topped it all off was the symbol she wore. On her chest was a D with a P inside, a reminder of what the world had taken from her.
Her red eyes shone with a sadistic glee as she gave them a grin that showed her sharp teeth.
"Vampira." Carol gasped as they were now face-to-face with the one that devasted civilization. For the past decade, Vampira has made it her goal to wipe out any trace of the human race, and with her many powers, it has become a reality. Though she possessed many destructive abilities, none of them were as dangerous as her very skin.
For if she touched you, she would gain your memories, powers, and even your very life force.
"Carol, run!" Nick warned as he pulled out an ecto-gun and tried to shoot Vampira, but the vengeful spirit threw an ecto-disk that sliced him in half vertically. Before Carol could react to her superior/friend's death, Vampira instantly appeared right in front of her.
"Hello, Carol." Vampira spoke in a southern drawl as she removed her gloves. "And goodbye." She placed her bare hands on Carol's cheeks as she absorbed all of her rival's energy.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent could do nothing but stare into the monster's eyes. The eyes that vowed vengeance on the world for taking away her beloved.
Vampira would kill them all.