Ghostly Evolution Chapter 36: Southern Hospitality, a X-Men: Evolution + Danny Phantom Crossover fanfic

The storm raged on in Bayville, as if the weather knew that the world had a dark future coming and that this peaceful town would soon be burned to ashes.

The recent conviction of Daniel Fenton, while a media sensation, didn't stop people from going about their regular lives, case in point with a security guard who was doing his duty watching over the empty factory that was owned by Spear Sports. The company was getting ready to debut their newest sports drink, POW-R 8.

While it was merely a future product that would be put on store shelves, its production has been troubling as the factory has been attacked several times, causing security to be upgraded. Why anyone would try to attack a factory that was making a sports drink was anyone's guess.

The guard was doing his usual patrol, thinking that it would just be a normal night, unaware that they would have some visitors.

A sewer grate was opened by what appeared to be a normal man. Though it was dark, if someone were outside, they would see, through the occasional strike of lightning that lit up the area, that this man had what appeared to be a turtle beak. He was then joined by more figures, each of them carrying weapons like he was.

They came up to a wall, where one of them spoke.

"Through here." The familiar voice of Caliban, who was apparently associated with this group, said. A hand was placed on the wall as it started to melt, like someone had poured acid on it. With an opening into the building, the group carefully moved in, taking great care not to be spotted.

They soon got to work as the turtle-beak man started smashing boxes of POW-R 8 that were on the assembly line with a blunt object. The person who melted the wall earlier, who was a dark-skinned woman wearing a yellow sweater, was taking an axe to one of the canisters that contained the drink.

Meanwhile, another woman, who sported an eye patch, went up to the controls for the assembly line and jammed her bo staff into it, destroying it as she jumped down to join her two comrades. As they were about to continue, a light was pointed at them as the security guard spotted them.

"Hold it right there!" The guard ordered before being taken aback by their appearances. Nervously keeping his flashlight trained on them, he pulled out his walkie-talkie, unaware that another figure was coming up behind them. "Dispatch, we have intruders in the-" He let out a choking sound as he dropped the flashlight. The three then ran with the fourth person, who was a little girl with enormous hands, joining them as they escaped, leaving the guard standing, completely paralyzed after being touched by the girl, as the alarm went off.

The next morning, Spear Sports CEO, Guy Spear was storming into the factory. The man was understandably in a bad mood after being alerted that one of his factories had been attacked yet again.

"What's the damage this time?" He asked his assistant as he proceeded through the building.

"I'm afraid we're shut down for the day." His subordinate informed him as they reached the main area of the factory, allowing Guy to see the damage that had been done. There was a hole in the wall, several of the canisters had been damaged, causing the drink to leak all over, and boxes containing the drink were smashed beyond recognition.

Walking toward one of the boxes, he picked up a bottle of POW-R 8. "I want to know who is doing this to me."

"We're questioning the guard now, sir." His assistant stated. "The paralysis is just wearing off."

"Has he said anything?" Guy inquired.

"Nothing that makes any sense. Should I call the police?"

"No." Guy crushed the empty bottle in his hand. "I can't risk the bad press a week before POW-R 8 hits the market. Upgrade security." He demanded. "Next time I want them caught!" He then stormed out angrily.

The mood at Bayville High was pretty normal, unless you were one of the X-Men, for they were all feeling dreary, despondent, depressed, and just not at all happy. After Danny's arrest, it seemed like all the joy, glee, and elation were taken away from the atmosphere of the Xavier Institute. Each of the residents had taken Danny's forced departure pretty roughly, but the main members of the X-Men had been hit the hardest, as they were the ones Danny was the closest to.

Scott trudged along the hallway. If anyone bothered to pay attention to the mutant, they would've noticed that he was much different than before. Usually, he would carry himself with much more confidence, like a soldier, always ready to move on to the next station. Now, he walked with an air of indifference, as if he didn't care anymore. His eyes, which were always forward so that he could be aware of his surroundings, were now looking downcast at the floor as he made his way to his locker.

Taking his books out of his locker, he noticed something. Inside, he had two pictures. One of him and Jean, and another of the two of them, but this time they were joined by another person.

Glancing at it, he saw Danny, smiling and happy, with one arm around Scott and the other around Jean. The three friends were all grinning at the camera. To Scott, he wished nothing more than to have those days back. When it was just the three of them going to school and living their lives, not having to deal with prejudice or whatever else the world threw at them.

As he was getting lost in his reminiscences of the past, a familiar jock stepped behind him. Typically, Scott would have been aware of Duncan's presence, but he didn't notice as the jock pushed him a couple of feet. It just goes to show how Danny's arrest affected the teen.

"Hey, Summers." Duncan smirked as he saw that his rival was now weak due to his fellow freak being gone. "Heard that Fenton got what's coming to him. That's one freak that Bayville won't miss."

Scott brushed him aside as he got his stuff from his locker before closing it and going on his way, but Duncan wouldn't leave things be.

"What do you think they're doing to him?" He pressed on, hoping to get a reaction instead of silence. "I mean, you think they're dissecting him right now? Or are they poking needles into him? What's your guess?"

Scott continued to ignore him as he walked the halls, with Duncan following him.

"How loud do you think he's screaming right now?" Duncan cruelly asked. He always hated Fenton. He was the only guy in the whole school who never treated him with the respect that he deserved. Sure, he knew Summers didn't like him, but he always tried to remain civil so he didn't make things awkward for Jean. But Fenton never had any fear of telling the blonde that he didn't care about his status.

Not only that, but Fenton was always there whenever he tried to pick on another student, always willing to stand up to him. But now he was gone, never to return, and it gave him so much to use against Summers and his other freak friends.

"You think he's begging you and your other mutie friends to come save him? Or do you think he's already dead?"

That last comment immediately caused Scott to push him up against a locker. His eyes were glowing red with power, ready to use it against his rival if needed.

Jean was coming down the halls when she saw the confrontation going down.

"Scott, no!" She raced over and pulled him off her ex, but Scott refused to stand down. "Please." She begged. "You're better than this."

There was a moment of hesitation before her boyfriend relented, letting Duncan go, though not before giving him one last shove. The two were about to leave when Duncan decided to take one last potshot.

"I hope they cut him open!" This comment earned him another push. A telekinetic push so hard that he was thrown all the way down the hall.

Giving one last look of disgust to her ex, Jean turned back to Scott, who was looking at the photo of the two of them along with Danny in longing.

Jean went next to him. "Scott, are you-"

"I miss him, Jean." He cut her off with his confession in a broken voice, staring at the photo. He wished nothing more than to have Danny back and to have the team whole again. To have his brother back.

Jean's eyes were downcast. She too was affected by the loss, as her hair wasn't as neat as it usually was. "I know, Scott. I miss him too." She took a glance at where Duncan was thrown. Thankfully, he was gone, but the encounter served to make her ask herself an important question. What did she see in Duncan?

After dumping the fool, her eyes were opened as she realized just how ignorant, mean, and racist the guy was, and yet she never noticed this while they were dating. Sure, she thought he may have been a bit impulsive and stupid at times, but now she wishes she had never dated him.

It was just like Danny always told her. She deserved someone better. She then frowned as she thought over Danny, the younger brother she never had, who always looked out for her. And now, looking back on it, he was always trying to get her and Scott together, which he had succeeded in, but now he would never be able to see either of them again.

"Remember when it was just the three of us?" Scott asked as he got lost in his memories.

Jean chuckled. "Yeah. We sure had some wild times. Danny would always get us into some mischief, and through some miracle, he would always get us out of it."

Scott agreed, recalling the time when Danny had them ditch the survival camp. Even when it seemed like they would get into trouble, the hybrid managed to prevent it. "Before Alex came back into my life, I was alone, but then Danny came. He was like a younger brother to me." He confessed. "Sure, he could drive me crazy at times, but he always had my back. And now..."

Jean took his hand comfortingly. "It's okay, Scott. I feel the same way."

"Why didn't he tell us, Jean?" Scott brought up, wondering why Danny never told them that he wasn't a mutant after all this time. "Why didn't he say he wasn't a mutant? Didn't he trust us?" He asked, sounding a bit hurt that Danny didn't think they were allowed to know his secret.

"I don't know." Jean replied as she thought it over in her head. "I'm guessing he hid that for the same reason we used to hide us being mutants from everyone." She assumed. "He must've thought we weren't ready yet."

This answer didn't satisfy Scott; he knew that there had to be more to it, but what? "But why? He should've known that it wouldn't matter to us."

"I wish I had an answer."

"And now we can't even talk to him anymore." Scott looked out the window where everyone was going about their day, not at all concerned or aware that someone who walked these halls was locked up. "I mean, the professor had us all sent back to school, and we're supposed to pretend that the Guys in White didn't just arrest him." He said angrily.

"Scott, the professor cares just as much as you do about Danny." Jean told him, trying to get him to calm down. "I'm sure he's trying to work out a way to fix this and get him back."

This brought up another dreaded question from the X-Men leader. "You think we'll get him back? What if that was the last time we ever saw him?"

Jean didn't have an answer for that as she thought of what kind of state their friend might be in.

As the two were trying to have a normal day, the rest of the X-Men were in the same depressed mood. Kurt, though his spirits were slightly lifted by being with Amanda, was still saddened by Danny's departure. When the German boy first arrived here, he didn't know what would happen. Ever since he was old enough, he was told that he needed to hide himself from those who wouldn't understand him. Because of that, he lived a pretty isolated life before coming to Bayville. When he was given the offer by Xavier, he was still wary, believing that he would still not be accepted. But he was wrong; the others took him in without fuss. Though it took some time for Kitty to get used to him.

It had been Danny who first offered his hand to the blue mutant without hesitation, not even caring that his hand was blue and furry. To him, Kurt was just another person; not only that, but the hybrid was the one who convinced him to stay after he accidentally wrecked the place with Toad. Ever since then, the ghost has been a true friend, encouraging him whenever he felt down, covering for him whenever his holo-watch acted up, and calming him down when he was nervous about going to the dance with Amanda.

He even made sure that the conversation between Mystique and him wasn't interrupted by the Brotherhood. All in all, Danny had done a lot for Kurt, and it hurt to know that he couldn't pay him back. As he thought over all the time he spent with Danny, he recalled when he was still hiding that he was a mutant after the secret had been let out, and while the others were angry with him, Danny was the only one who wasn't, and now he knew why. In a way, Danny was just like him, still having to hide his true self out of a sense of fear of rejection that still existed.

In his musings, Kurt glanced at his watch. A voice in his head was telling him to hell with it and turn it off, to let the world see the true him. As he was about to mess with it, he stopped, still insecure about everyone's reaction. Just like Danny, he still feared showing his differences. He then continued on his way, still missing his friend.

Kitty was feeling the same thing. Usually it was impossible to get the perky girl to feel down, but now it has become a reality. Nothing cheered her up, not even getting her learner's permit. In fact, it only made her feel even more blue, since she would've begged Danny to take her driving, and she knew that he would've accepted, but now the permit only served as a reminder of the loss of a friend.

She missed her friend. He was the first person from the institute that she met. When her powers first activated, she was frightened and afraid of being seen as a freak, but then she met Danny. The friendly ghost was the one who got her out of her locker after Riley and Amy pushed her in. He was the first person at her old school to show her kindness, and he was only visiting.

She remembered when they spoke in the auditorium and how he phased his hand through one of the seats. It didn't seem like that much to anyone else, but to her, it made all the difference. Earlier that day, she thought she was an abomination, but seeing Danny perform the same power made her see that she wasn't alone. Not only that, but he saved her from almost getting killed by Lance and brought her here, where she had made several friends, something that she struggled with previously, but now she had plenty of them.

Danny had always been there to help her. If only she could do the same for him. But now it seems like that may never happen. As she walked to class, she failed to notice Evan walk past her.

Like the others, he was depressed, but mostly he was angry. It just seemed like life was trying to tear him down. First, he and the others got exposed and were now seen as plagues by pretty much the entire student body. Then there were his former skater friends ditching him after he was outed as a mutant. And finally, there was one of his true friends being convicted, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

Like Danny, Evan had been locked up for something that wasn't his fault, thanks to Pietro, but the hybrid managed to help him prove his innocence and get his life back on track. The older boy was always there to help him, like with his video report or helping him memorize that monologue for Beast. Danny had become an older brother figure to him, constantly giving him advice on various things, whether it was school or training. And after all of it, his friend was now locked up in who knows where, leaving Evan alone.

The X-Men all had trouble pretending that they didn't lose one of their members as they tried and failed to concentrate on their classes. After what felt like forever, the bell finally rang, signaling that their day was over, which was fine for Evan, as he had grown a huge hatred of Bayville High with how he and the others were being treated.

As he opened his locker, a cutout of a teenager on a skateboard popped out and startled the poor boy, making him trip and fall to the ground as everyone around him laughed, especially the ones who placed it in there. They had gotten the cutout by using a pair of scissors on a nearby poster for POW-R 8 and thought it could be useful in getting one over one of Bayville's freaky mutants.

"Oh, real funny." One nerdy-looking student named Andy said, not at all amused as he removed the cutout from the locker. "This school's full of clowns." He said to Evan. "I kind of just learned to shrug it off. Otherwise, they keep picking on you." He offered his hand to the skater.

"Yeah." Evan said as he accepted the hand before taking his stuff from his locker.

"I know you." Andy said, wanting to strike up a conversation with Evan. "Evan Daniels, right? You're one of the mutants."

"What was your first clue?" Evan replied sarcastically as he started to leave.

"I saw you guys on the news." Andy continued as he followed him. "I was thinking, whoa, superpowers! I mean, how cool is that? If I could do half that stuff..." He continued to drone on as Evan went on his way.

At the institute, Wanda, the only home-schooled student there, was making her way to one of the rooms. Looking at the poor girl, you could see the dried tears that were the direct result of seeing the one boy she cared about being carted away like an animal. She had spent the entire day in her room, as Xavier was busy trying to get Danny back, leaving her to her own devices.

To her, it was unfair. Danny had been the only person to get her out of the asylum, and how was he repaid for his kindness, not only to her but to others as well? Well, it was to be filed as a government experiment.

The room started to shake as a shelf of books was knocked over, wallpaper was ripped off, and a vase was shattered, all a result of her emotions overriding her control. However, she wasn't in a mood to care. Trying to distract herself from her loneliness, she entered Rogue's room, hoping that the two of them could comfort each other at this time, but walking in, Wanda was greeted with a worse sight than herself.

Rogue was sitting in her bed, and the poor girl was absolutely destroyed. It was as if every single positive emotion and memory she had ever experienced in her life had just vanished. Her mascara was running due to all the crying she had been doing. She was still wearing the same clothes she had for the trial. So distraught was she over Danny being separated from her that she didn't bother to change. Nor did she bathe, for as soon as she was brought back home, she headed straight to her room and stayed there. Xavier let her stay home from school, as he knew that Rogue needed time.

Wanda was startled at how broken her friend looked. It reminded the girl of what she used to be like when she was back at the mental institution, hopeless and accepting of their fate. It was like staring into a mirror of the past. Wanting to offer her commiseration, she sat on Kitty's bed, only to notice that Rogue was cradling something in her hand. It appeared to be a miniature rocket.

"What's that?" The sorceress couldn't help but ask.

"A rocket that we built together from a kit." Rogue explained as she caressed the object, a reminder of the good times she and Danny shared. She was grasping onto it with security, fearful that, like Danny, it too might vanish and leave her alone.

"It looks nice." Wanda said as she admired the construct.

"I bought it for him for Christmas." The half-ghost mutant stated. "He always wanted to be an astronaut, and he was into space, astronomy, and all that. Sometimes we would just look at the stars at night." She then let out a sob as she thought of Danny locked away, never able to see the stars again.

"I miss him too." Wanda admitted. "It hurts knowing that while he got me out of my prison, I can't do anything for him when he's locked up. Can you contact him and ask him where he is so that we can help him?" She questioned, remembering that the two had a psychic link.

Here, Rogue's sobs grew louder. "He's blocking me out. He must think that I hate him." Rogue deduced as she remembered how dejected he looked as he admitted his secret. "He probably has the idea that I don't love him anymore because he ain't a mutant." This was far from the truth, as she just wanted to go and smack him for thinking such nonsense and then wrap her arms around him and never let go.

Danny had done so much for her. He was the first person she met after she got her powers who truly wanted to help her. He saved her from joining Mystique; he brought her to the institute. He was always there for his girlfriend, loving her and comforting the goth whenever she felt down.

"I never knew what love was until I met him." Rogue said. "And now he's gone. The only thing I have left are the memories we shared." She stared at the model rocket with longing.

Wanda, not knowing what to say, sat down next to Rogue and hugged her, making sure that they didn't have direct skin contact, of course.

"I want him back too." Wanda said as she consoled her friend.

"What if we never see him again?" Rogue couldn't help but ask as she thought over the dreaded impossibility, and as she did, she heard Vampira reply for the first time since the trial.

"We will find him." She stated vehemently, with Rogue feeling so much hate and anger pouring from her ghost half. She was obviously taking Danny's loss as hard as she was.

'And what if it's too late?'

"Then we make the whole world burn."

Down in the computer room, Logan and Storm were watching as the disheveled professor was frantically working on Cerebro. He had been at this ever since they came back without Danny, and both of them were getting worried.

"Charles, you've been at this all night." Storm went up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think it might be time to give it a rest."

"She's right, Chuck." Logan agreed.

"I have to find him." Xavier said, not to them but to himself. "I have to locate him, then prepare a rescue mission." He continued to try to update Cerebro. "Just need to reconfigure this."

Storm took hold of the device. "Charles, you need to rest."

"No!" Xavier snapped, catching them both off guard with his sudden anger. "I can't rest, Ororo, knowing that one of my students is out there and in need of help." He snatched it back. "I have to bring him back."

"Charles, Cerebro doesn't work on Danny." Logan pointed out.

"He told me he tampered with it so I could find him." Xavier said. "If he could do that, then I can get the same result. I can't fail him. I can't..." He placed his head down as he let his own feelings of melancholy consume him.

"Charles?" Storm asked hesitantly.

"Why didn't he tell me?" The psychic was heartbroken to find out that one of his students had been hiding something like this from him out of fear. "He surely should've known that I wouldn't throw him out just because he didn't possess an X-gene." He looked over the entire room as he reflected on all that he had hoped to gain from constructing this school.

He had wanted to make a place where one wouldn't be persecuted for their gifts. This was something that would be beneficial for those with powers. To help them control it and show that they weren't alone. "I built this school for tolerance and helping those who needed assistance with their gifts. Why would he ever think that I wouldn't accept him?"

This institute was supposed to be a home, and no one should have to hide who they are in their own home. And yet Danny did. It amazed him that the half-ghost managed to keep this secret for so long, but he was also ashamed that Danny felt the need to do so.

"I don't know, Chuck." Logan said as he thought over Danny. He liked the kid; he was a good boy, and he always took his training and teachings seriously. Not only that, but Danny had helped him when he had been under the mind control of that scientist associated with the Weapon X program. He appreciated him going through all that to rescue him, and so it really irked Logan that he couldn't do the same.

He couldn't remember anything about his past, but he still had dreams about being a lab experiment. To think of Danny having to go through that same thing was causing him to almost titer into an animalistic rage, but he calmed down. Getting angry right now wouldn't solve anything.

"At the trial, he said that he wanted to convince himself that he was one of us." Logan continued. "Can't say that I blame him. We mutants don't have it easy at the moment, but we have one thing that he doesn't have. Companionship. We're surrounded by fellow mutants who know what it's like to be different, but him? He's all alone; the only other person like him is Masters. And I think we all know that's not an option for him."

Storm and Xavier nodded. No one in their right mind would want to be with Vlad Masters.

"We were the closest thing he had to feeling normal." Logan continued. "If he didn't tell us he was different, it was the same reason we've been keeping mutants a secret; he just didn't think we would understand."

This only made Xavier feel worse; Danny had grown on him. He, like Scott and Jean, was a dependable student, and he appreciated all the help he provided to the other recruits. And now Xavier has failed him. As the three stayed in silence, the professor couldn't help but notice that one of the staff members was missing.

"Where's Hank?"

"He locked himself in his lab, looking over samples of Danny's DNA to try and find something to help us get him out." Storm explained.

Xavier nodded understandingly. Hank had also taken the results of the trial really hard. Danny had been the one to help him accept who he was back at the Redwoods.

"Do you think he'll-" Xavier was about to ask if Hank would find something to help when the aforementioned mutant entered the room.

"I got it!" He cried excitedly as he held up some vials.

"Hank, what is it?" Xavier asked, internally praying that this would be some good news.

"I've found something, professor." Beast handed one of the vials to Xavier. "Look at this; this is a sample of Danny's DNA. You can see that it is mostly composed of ectoplasm, but take a closer look." He pointed over to the strange coloring that existed within the green liquid.

"It's..." Xavier peered closely before realizing what it was. "It's blood."

"Yes!" Beast then handed him another vial. "And if you take a look at a sample of Rogue's blood, it's the same." Xavier observed it and found that Beast's claim was true.

"Researching about ghosts, I found that it's basically impossible for them to have human blood." Beast explained. "The fact that Danny still has this shows that-"

"He's still alive." Xavier interrupted with a wide smile. "He's still human." Holding the vial in his hand gently, as it was the only thing that would get his student back, he started to exit the room.

"If you excuse me, I'm going to make a call to Ms. Walters. I believe we have discovered something that warrants a retrial."

As Xavier was working on getting an immediate retrial for Danny, the X-Men were all starting to head home, with Evan riding his skateboard; however, he wasn't alone. Andy seemed to be determined to make friends with Evan, as he was running along Evan as he skated on the pavement.

"You know, most kids don't want anything to do with us." Evan told him. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing." Andy replied. "Just being friendly." The two then came across a trio of jocks. "Hey, tough guys, remember me?" Andy taunted. "You threw my books in the dumpster yesterday."

"And what?" The leader said to Andy. "You want us to throw you in today?"

"Why don't you just try it, fat head?" Andy smirked as he pointed to Evan with his thumb. "Because, see, I got a mutant friend."

"Whoa. This is why you're hanging with me?" Evan asked, ticked off that this guy was only being nice so he could get a mutant bodyguard. "To fight your fights? I got enough problems. I don't need yours."

"Evan, wait." Andy begged as he saw Evan was about to leave before the leader of the three bullies grabbed him.

"Yeah, Evan, wait." The bully teased as he took his backpack as the three pushed him around. "Evan, Evan, Evan." He said as he grabbed the smaller boy's shoulders. "Hey, aren't you that spike freak?"

"You wanna find out?" Evan retorted. "Keep pushing!"

The thug wasn't scared by Evan's threat. "Come on, where's your thorns? Show us what you got." The three continued to push the boy around as Kurt and Amanda, who were walking home, arrived and saw the scene.

"Come on, Evan." Andy urged. "Fight back!"

Having had enough of all this, Evan's spikes erupted from his body before he grabbed the main bully and threw him into the dumpster. He then made a longer spike appear in his hand, acting as a bo staff for him. He waved it threateningly in front of the other two, who held their hands up in surrender as they backed up.

Taking pleasure in their fear, Evan used his makeshift staff to sideswipe one of them before sticking it into the ground and then using it to propel himself to the other thug, kicking him down.

All the students were staring at Evan in terror as Kurt went up to him.

"Okay, show's over. Thanks for coming." He said to the crowd before grabbing Evan and taking him around a corner, where they teleported back to the institute. Giving a small thanks to Kurt, he walked to his room, passing by Storm, who noticed that his spikes were still sticking out of his body.

"Evan?" She asked.

"Not now, Auntie O!" He snapped as he entered his room, slamming the door, making his aunt feel concerned over her nephew.

Now alone from the rest of the world, Evan sat on his bed as he pondered all the recent events. Looking over at his mirror, he saw that his spikes were sticking out. Concentrating, he tried to retract them, but it seemed that they refused to obey him. Only after a few minutes did they finally obey him. Taking off his shirt, he made sure to check that they were all completely gone, only to see a few sticking out of his back.

"Huh? What's happening to me?" He asked, wishing that things could go back to normal.

Sadly, the boy did not know that things would never be the same here again.

10 Years Later

The lifeless body of Carol Danvers was thrown to the floor, drained of her entire life force; she was nothing but an empty husk.

Vampira let out a sound of contentment as she felt her energy feed on Carol's life force. "What a rush." She then smirked at the lifeless body of her foe. "Thanks for the quick pick me up, sugar." She thanked before looking over the room she was in. Looks like she was in the mansion's computer room.

"Home, sweet home." She said darkly, as she was now back at the institute, a place she hadn't set foot in for over ten years. Looking over all the military equipment that was brought in here, Vampira cackled.

"I like what they've done to the place." She then raised a hand in the air as it glowed with energy. "Though personally, I feel it's desperately in need of a woman's touch."

The institute blew up in a small fireball as Vampira laughed at the destruction. Standing in the middle of the wreckage, she looked over the place that she once called home, where she had walked down those halls, eaten in the kitchen, studied in her room, and trained in the Danger Room.

Back then, she never thought she would ever leave this place, but that was a different time and a different life. Surveying the damage, she noticed that there were some things that still survived the explosion. She could spot one of the books from Xavier's library, along with a necklace that possibly belonged to either Jean or Kitty. She also saw a glimpse of what appeared to be Kurt's watch, fried beyond recognition.

The vengeful woman pushed her memories of the past aside. Although she would never admit it to anyone, in her weaker moments, she sometimes missed the fuzzy one's droll sense of humor. Crushing the object under her boot, she was about to continue with her rampage when something appeared in the corner of her eye.

A small fin was sticking out of the pile of planks. Curious, she phased it out of the rubble and was confronted with a familiar sight.

It was the model rocket that she had bought for him all those years ago, damaged but still somewhat intact.

A wave of nostalgia and memories came flooding back to her.

"Danny, this thing looks like it will take forever." Rogue said as she looked over the instructions as Danny was getting the glue.

"I know, it's going to be so fun putting this thing together." Danny replied as he sat at his desk in his room. "Trust me." He said to his girlfriend. "You'll love doing this."

The goth couldn't help but smile at her boyfriend's childlike enthusiasm.

For a moment, her eyes, which were always filled with rage, softened a bit as she gently cradled the rocket. It was the only thing she had left of him.

"My lady." She turned around and was greeted by the sight of her servant. "Most of the humans have started to retreat underground." The Fright Knight reported.

The destroyer rolled her eyes at this. As if anything could escape her. "They only delayed their fates. We'll get to them eventually." She looked over the rest of Bayville. "But for now, I'd say it's time to tear this city down once and for all. All while having fun with the poor saps that failed to evacuate in time."

"Very well." Fright Knight pulled out his sword eagerly.

"I will do it alone." Vampira ordered before holding out the rocket to Fright Knight. "In the meantime, return this to my lair."

"This toy?" He questioned in disbelief before being blasted a couple feet by his enraged master.

"Do what you are told!" Vampira snarled at her servant. The Fright Knight may be loyal, but even he was known to fail her at times. The only reason she kept him around was that his weapon made a great torture device for her enemies. Sadly, that meant she had to keep him, since his energy was tied to the sword.

"And I swear, if this thing is destroyed, I will crush your core in my hands, Fright Knight. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, my lady." Fright Knight replied fearfully. "I will not fail."

"See to it that you don't." Vampira said ominously as she watched her minion retreat. After that, the raging psychopath returned full force as she flew over to the rest of the city.

It was time to have some fun.

From his lair, Clockwork watched on as the military arrived to engage Vampira, with the evil spirit happy that she had new toys to play with.

"All this for little old me?" She said as she looked at all the tanks and helicopters aiming their guns at her. "You shouldn't have." She then let out a ghostly wail that decimated their forces.

With a good chunk of the military force disabled, Vampira set to work on killing all the poor souls that remained in the city. Some were incinerated by the ecto-blasts she threw at them; others were lifted into the air telekinetically and dropped to their deaths.

For those who chose to hide in the abandoned buildings, found themselves with a brutal fate as Vampira flew up to one.

"Going down?" She placed her hand on the structure, and all the floors turned intangible, causing all the office supplies, furniture, computers, and people to fall all the way to the very bottom. Needless to say, the ground floor was a bloodied mess.

If that wasn't bad enough, she started to use the powers that she gained from all the people she had fed on. The clouds darkened as lightning struck all over the city, sometimes causing buildings to collapse and crush the citizens, while others were unlucky enough to be hit by it directly.

The ground shook as a crevice opened, with screams being heard as the people fell in, never to be seen again.

Metal started to move on its own, with cars and other vehicles being dragged across the ground as they were used to crush any fleeing humans to death. Guns that belonged to the dead soldiers were lifted into the air as they fired on more helpless civilians.

But the victims who were the worst off were the ones that Vampira fed on, for they were left as empty shells that littered the destroyed city.

One unfortunate sap was trying to make a run for it, dashing through an alley, only to find a brick wall on the other side.

"No!" The twenty-eight-year-old Duncan Matthews cried as he realized that this was the end.

"What's wrong, sugar? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Duncan paled at the sight of Vampira, who was advancing toward him.

"Stay away, you freak!"

Vampira tutted. "Now that's no way to speak to a lady." She then narrowed her eyes as she thought she recognized this guy. Didn't she go to high school with him? Derek, she thought his name was. Oh, well, it didn't matter to her. Taking off her gloves, she started to approach the screaming man.

Clockwork shook his head as he watched Duncan's fate. He stared at Vampira with a mixture of disappointment and pity. What happened to the girl who cared for the people around her? He then sighed as he sensed the Observants entering his domain. Great, just what he needed.

"Clockwork, I take it that you have seen the future." One of them said as they came up to him.

"Yes." Clockwork nodded. "Rogue grows up to be the most evil ghost on the planet. Well, next to him." He said, gesturing to the thermos that was in his possession. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Isn't it obvious, Clockwork?" The other Observant said.

"To save the future, the X-Woman known as Rogue must perish." The first one proclaimed.

The ghost of time shook his head at their foolish idea. "That won't solve anything. Even if you do eliminate her, word of her demise will get to Danny, and this will be the future." He changed it to a different timeline. It was the exact same, but instead of Rogue destroying the city, it was Danny, now embracing his inner darkness. "You'll just be trading one monster for another."

The two Observants looked at each other as they realized that they needed a new plan. Something that would allow them to move the time stream without getting caught between the metaphorical Scylla and Charybdis, but what?

"What can we do?" The first Observant asked.

"How is it that the girl becomes evil?" The second one inquired.

Clockwork changed the time window as it showed a news report of Jennifer Walters arguing for a re-trial. "New evidence is discovered and a retrial is arranged." It then changed to show the GiW opening Danny's cell to escort him there, with Danny refusing to leave his prison. "But Daniel refuses to cooperate, leading this to be seen as a refusal, and thus the whole appeal is thrown away."

"He refused the retrial?" The first Observant was confused. Why would someone reject a second attempt at proving their innocence?

"He does." Clockwork answered sadly. "Therefore, the X-Men are forced to search for and rescue him themselves. But by the time they get to him, it's too late."

The time window now showed a tear-stricken Rogue, crying as she held something close to her. It was a large jar that was used to hold samples. When Rogue first saw it, all her reason, all her sanity, all her hope... were crushed.

Now she clutched it to her as the X-Men surrounded her with equally sorrowful and teary looks as they stared at the contents of the receptacle.

Floating within the green liquid that surrounded it was an organ that no one could live without. An organ that never beat for him and continued to remain still even when he was now gone.

"And you know what happens next." Clockwork then had the window show Vampira destroying the world as the three ghosts tried to think of what to do next.

"If the retrial was able to commence, would the boy be found innocent?" The second Observant wondered.

"Possibly." Clockwork replied. "But the problem now is getting Daniel to accept it. For he wishes to die."

"What?" The two one-eyed ghosts exclaimed in disbelief.

"He believes that his existence has caused nothing but pain to everyone around him." The time master explained feeling deep sorrow for Danny. "He doesn't see that his existence is needed; to him, he views it as a blight on society."

"Clockwork, you must be able to make the boy see sense." The second Observant pleaded. "That he is needed in order to prevent this dreadful future."

The master of time shook his head. "I cannot. But there is one who can. I will bring her to him."

How long has he been in here? Danny estimated it may have been a couple of days. Mercifully, he hadn't been through any tests since getting shoved into this cell, but that didn't matter to him.

The agents, who often walked past his cell, were dumbfounded. For years, Phantom had been their most wanted, so when they finally got him, they expected him to be kicking and screaming as they apprehended him, only to be proven wrong.

He had gone with them without putting up a fight. He didn't backtalk; he didn't scream, yell, or threaten anyone. It confused them, as this wasn't the usual behavior of ghosts.

Danny paid them no mind as he thought of how everything had played out at the trial. The X-Men all know that he's not a mutant, and he was sure that they didn't want him back anymore. And why would they? He brought Vlad to their doors and got them exposed. It was his fault. Everything was his fault.

It was because of him that Mystique murdered his aunt.

His town had been under constant attack because he was the one who got the portal working.

And most importantly, his friends and family were dead because he decided to cheat on a stupid test, not to mention the millions of innocent people destined to die at his hands.

Thinking back to that future, he thought of his former enemies and how they tried to get revenge on him.

"To everyone you've ever come in contact with." Came the voice of Technus. And he was right. Everyone that he had ever met ended up suffering because of him.

Perhaps it was best to stay here. And if they do end up ripping apart, well... at least he won't ever have to worry about hurting anyone again.

"It's nice to see where you belong, Phantom." Agent L bragged as he moved in front of his cell. "Under our close watch." He raised an eyebrow at Danny's silence. "What, no response? From what I read of your exploits in Amity Park, you were quite the quipster, no?" Danny still refused to talk, as he just stared into the man's shades.

"If this silent treatment is an attempt to gain sympathy, it won't work, ghost. We all know that you have no feelings; any emotions you show are nothing more than an act to fool-" He stopped in mid-sentence and just stood there like a statute; not only that, but the door to his cell was open even though it was locked a second ago.

Danny was confused before he felt something on his neck. Looking down, he saw that he was wearing one of Clockwork's medallions. His curiosity getting the better of him, he stepped out and walked past the frozen L as he looked around. Everything was frozen in time.

Turning to his right, the hybrid stepped back a bit. Down at the end of the hall was a figure wearing a purple cloak with the hood over their head, along with a time medallion. If that wasn't shocking enough, in one of their hands was Clockwork's scepter.

"Clockwork?" Danny asked as he saw the figure move closer to him as he backed away, only to hit a wall. Once the figure was close enough, they reached up a hand and pulled the hood down, making Danny gasp.

"Howdy, spooky." The figure, now identified as a woman, said in a happy tone.

Danny was dead silent as the woman chuckled at seeing him open and close his mouth repeatedly. "Speechless?" She teased. "Well, that's okay. I always did have that effect on boys." She then winked at him.

Snapping out of his daze, he inspected the woman. She had green eyes and wore a headband, but what got his attention was her long, curly auburn hair with a recognizable streak of white in it.

"Rogue?"

The woman smirked. "In the flesh, sugar."

Danny gaped as he fully inspected this Rogue. She was older, probably in her mid- or late-twenties, and her skin was not as pale as that of his Rogue. Not only that, but this one seemed to smile more. Not to say that his Rogue didn't smile—well, she did when she was with him—but his girlfriend always seemed to be a bit more guarded. While this Rogue just screamed confidence.

"I'm guessing you're from the future." Danny said, finally finding his words.

Rogue chuckled. "Not exactly."

"Then what are you-" He was cut off as a blue portal appeared in front of them.

"Let's have this conversation over dinner." Rogue said as she placed her arm around him and steered him into the portal. "This gal is hungry."

On the other side, Danny found himself and Rogue inside a burger establishment that was frozen in time. There was a waitress about to write down an order, two men with one frozen in laughter, probably due to a joke that the other one said, and a spilled cup that had coffee that was stuck in mid-air, keeping it from falling to the ground. He could even see a chef in the back stuck cooking with a burger stuck in mid-air as well.

"You go and find us a seat, hon." Rogue said as she walked into the kitchen. "I'll go and whip us up some grub."

A couple of minutes later, Danny found himself sitting down in a booth, his food untouched, as he watched the older version of his girlfriend devour a burger.

After finishing her meal, Rogue looked at Danny's burger. "Are you gonna eat that?" She asked. Shrugging, Danny slid it over to her as she went to town on it. "Sorry to be a chow hound." She apologized after finishing it as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "But I was riding home on the Blackbird from a long mission when I got dragged into this, so I'm starving."

"Uh, no problem." Danny waved it off. "So, uh... Rogue." He felt weird calling her that, as she was nothing like his Rogue. She seemed more... perky. It kind of reminded him of Kitty a bit. "Where did you come from if you're not from the future?"

"Another universe, darling." She explained as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Given that this Rogue was older, Danny assumed that she was used to such strange things. "You see, there's this thing called the multiverse where-"

"I know what the multiverse is." He cut her off. "I've read comic books." Not only that, but he had also heard about it from Tucker, who would've be ecstatic to know that it was real. He also remembered, back in the mountains, how he glimpsed someone who looked like him. Guess that must have been a version of him from another universe, and that this Rogue must really be from another world. When did his life get so weird?

Rogue ran her hand through her hair. "That's good, because I really didn't want to explain it all. That science stuff is mostly Beast's spiel."

"Alright, you're from another universe; I can accept that." Danny said, trying to get things back on track. "Next question: why do you have Clockwork's time staff along with two medallions and a cloak that looks like it came straight from his lair?"

"Well, that's simple. I'm his apprentice." She said proudly, brushing a strand of her hair aside.

"You're his apprentice?" Danny asked as a small glowing light came into his sights as he saw a note appear on the table. Picking it up, he read it.

"It says temporary apprentice." Danny noted before Rogue snatched it out of his hand.

"Let's not focus on the specifics, darling." Rogue said as she rolled her eyes. "The point is that I'm here to help you. After all, what kind of wife would I be if I didn't help my husband? Well, a version of my husband, to be exact."

"I appreciate that, Rogue, but—husband? You're MARRIED?"

Rogue took off one of her gloves and gazed at her bare hand, which had a wedding ring on it, with a loving sigh. "And proud." She then saw Danny's awestruck look and decided to mess with him even further. "We even got a lovely daughter."

Now Danny's mind had crashed as he was taking in this new information, making Rogue laugh.

"Y-you, me, kids, marriage, I, uh-" His stutters were cut off as Rogue leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"As much as I would like to talk about how good I have it, we're not here to talk about me; we're here to talk about you."

"About me?"

"Yes, sugar." Rogue fixed him a worried look. "I was filled in on everything—how those no-good gutter trash jerks in white booked you. And how you let them take you without a fight. What's up with that?"

Danny looked away, not wanting to speak about this, but Rogue wouldn't let up on him.

"Danny, why did you go with them?" She demanded heatedly, frightening him, as he didn't want to piss this woman off.

"Because it's best for everyone." Danny confessed as he let out all of his self-deprecating thoughts. "Ever since I got these powers, I've caused nothing but trouble for everyone—my town, my friends, and even my family. At least when I'm with the Guys in White, I won't have to worry about ruining someone's life."

Rogue was giving him a look that was a mixture of anger, annoyance, and disappointment. "So you think letting those sickos cut you into itty-bitty pieces is best for everyone?"

The young man didn't say a word, but his silence was enough for Rogue to guess his answer.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." She couldn't help but say. "And I've met Graydon Creed." She put her hand on her forehead. "Clockwork was right; you really do need some help." Her frown then turned upside down. "Which is why I'm here." She got up and took his hand, pulling him out of his seat. "Come on, sugar, we're going on a little adventure."

"Adventure? Adventure to where?"

"To-" She stopped as she accidentally knocked over Clockwork's staff, which was leaning on the booth, causing it to fall to the floor and let out a giant burst of energy.

"What was that?" Danny asked in concern.

Rogue picked up the scepter and examined it. There were no dents, so it wasn't broken, but she was sure that energy wasn't good. "Okay, don't get worried, darling, but I think I might've destroyed a couple timelines."

"What?"

Clockwork was shaking his head as he was working on repairing the fractured timelines back in his lair.

Why did these Fentons always have to give him headaches?

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Rogue said as she made a portal form with the staff. "After you." She playfully said to Danny, who entered it only to gasp at what was on the other side.

It appeared to be outer space, but he was walking on an orange road that split off into several directions. It wasn't strange enough. He saw several mirrors floating around, showing events. He recognized some, like the moon landing, while others, he determined, were far in the future.

"What is this place?" He asked as Rogue came up beside him.

"This, honey, is the Axis of Time." She answered. "This place is where all points of time—the past, the present, and the future—all connect."

"Incredible." Danny breathed as he looked around. "Have you been here before?"

"Once." Rogue was now going down memory lane as she remembered how Apocalypse had kidnapped Jean and the professor and brought them here. The ancient mutant was planning to use them and his other captured psychics to destroy everything. The X-Men followed Xavier's trail, and in the confrontation between them, Mystique and Magneto, Sinister, and Sinister's Nasty Boys, the all-powerful mutant was destroyed by the newly released Dan Phantom.

"It was when we came here to stop Apocalypse." She revealed seeing Danny's look, which was asking for more details.

"Apocalypse?" Danny was unfamiliar with the name.

"A very powerful mutant, sugar. And old too." Rogue said, remembering her fights with him. "He's been around since Egyptian times; apparently, back then, he fought against another mutant who was an ancestor of yours."

"Wait, I'm descended from a mutant?" Danny asked, a bit happy to learn that while he wasn't a mutant, he did have mutant blood in him, though it was probably a small amount. At least he wasn't completely different from his friends.

"Yep, and like your ancestor, you ended up giving old Apocalypse a hard time as well." Rogue replied. "You helped us fight against him when he tried to conquer the world with his four horsemen, that time when he used a plague to wipe out almost all of mutantkind, and the time he tried to destroy all of time."

"Wow, your universe sounds cool." Danny praised imagining the kinds of adventures this version of him and his X-Men go on. "Dangerous, but cool."

"Thanks, Danny." Rogue patted him on the head before walking down the path. "Now, come on. There's something I'd like to show you."

Danny followed her for what seemed like a couple of minutes, but he didn't know if time had even passed in this place. Well, time or no time, they arrived at a part of the road that had mirrors that were showing scenes that were familiar to the hybrid.

"I know this." He said as he saw one mirror show his accident with the ghost portal. "This is my life."

"Gold star, sugar." Rogue confirmed. "This is where you discovered who you are. A hero." She pointed over to one mirror that showed him rescuing a bunch of kids from a fallen roller coaster back when he split himself in half.

"You saved a lot of people, Danny." She gestured to his battle with Ember McClain. "Like that time you stopped that rocker from brainwashing the whole world." Another mirror floated over and showed his battle with Spectra in the hospital. "Or the time you saved your class from being used by that nasty little shadow. And don't forget when you stopped that Robin Williams rip-off from becoming all powerful." She said as they saw him stop Desiree from using the wishes made on the shooting stars.

They passed by another mirror that showed the mayor, possessed by Walker, giving a speech to the town.

"And we've located the ghost responsible for all the terror inflicted on our town." Walker said, using the politician's body. He then held up a photo of Danny Phantom. "This one."

Danny turned away, much to Rogue's dismay.

"Oh, cheer up, Danny." She tried to ease his spirits. "You know he's only saying that to turn the town against you. It's not true."

"He's not wrong." Danny retorted. "He and his men were here because of me."

"Those yahoos threw you into the slammer without even a phone call." Rogue argued. "You had every right to bust out."

"Well, I wouldn't have ended up trespassing in his territory if I didn't have the stupid idea to use my powers to clean my parent's lab and accidentally knock my father's anniversary gift into the ghost portal." He then pointed to several points in time where he had made mistakes. "Just like I wouldn't have almost doomed my town to the Fright Knight if I didn't take his sword. Or almost doomed it to Technus by selling all of my dad's junk that was covered in him."

He sat down on the orange road in contemplation as Rogue joined him.

"So you made mistakes. Everyone does." Rogue then looked down. "Even me. There's some things I wish I could take back." She thought of the times she put both Cody and Ms. Marvel in comas.

Danny still wasn't convinced. "I don't know, Rogue. I still feel responsible for all this."

Rogue gave the alternate version of her husband an annoyed look. "You still think that things would be better off if there was no Danny Phantom?" With a tired sigh, she grabbed him by his shirt.

"Hey!" Danny protested as Rogue shoved him in front of a mirror that showed him saving Jazz from getting killed by Spectra.

"What would've happened to your sister if you weren't there?" She asked before showing him fighting Vlad's vultures. "Who would've been there to stop Vlad from killing your daddy and stealing your mama?"

On and on, Rogue kept showing him all the good he had done. All the hours of sleep he sacrificed so he could fight ghosts at 2 a.m. so no one would get hurt. Putting aside study time in order to make sure Skulker, Ember, or even Youngblood were not causing trouble. Pushing time away that he could be spending with his friends to do his job. Rogue showed it all.

"Who would've stopped Freakshow and freed those poor ghosts under his fancy orb? What about that computer ghost Technus? That little virus would've probably infected every computer in the world by now if it weren't for you. And what about your sister? She would've ended up as that biker's new girlfriend if it weren't for her little brother."

She then stopped as the two found themselves in front of one of Danny's most important and toughest battles to date.

His fight with Pariah Dark.

"That fancy suit of yours could've sucked you dry like my powers do." Rogue reminded him as they saw the past Danny sweat from the suit that was currently eating at his energy. "But you took that risk to save your town." She looked at him in pride. "Like a hero."

"Well, who else was gonna do it?" Danny said simply, not thinking that it was a big deal.

"No one else would." Rogue explained. "Because if it weren't for you, that one-eyed creep would've conquered the world. And I know. My husband told me this story about how he ended up in a world where he never got his powers."

This piqued Danny's interest. A world where he never got his powers? He couldn't say that he wasn't curious. "He did?"

"Uh-huh." Rogue confirmed. Her Danny had told her about how Pariah Dark ended up taking over the entire planet with no one strong enough to repel him. "And let me tell you, that world he described was no Mississippi sunrise."

Danny could only imagine the kind of world where the ghost king was allowed free reign over everything and everyone.

"So I guess that's one ghost that would've attacked regardless if you didn't get that portal working." Rogue said triumphantly, pleased that she found something that Danny couldn't give a counterargument to. "And he ain't the only one. Remember what Vlad said when you two first met?"

She pointed to another mirror that showed his first encounter with Vlad.

"Skulker? The ectopuses?" The currently trapped Danny couldn't figure out why those ghosts were in Vlad's lab. "I don't understand."

"Of course not." Vlad scoffed. "You're what, fourteen? Too young to drive and not in college yet. I sent those ghosts and others to test your father's skills."

"Those ghosts weren't there because of you." Rogue said before holding up the scepter as another mirror arrived in front of them. "Same thing with these ones."

On the mirror Danny saw Desiree emerge from her lamp, Poindexter come out of his mirror, and Cujo return to get his squeaky toy back. All of them were ghosts that arrived in Amity Park with no assistance from the ghost portal.

The hybrid could feel Rogue staring at him with a smug smirk, as if to say, I told you so.

"Yeah, but still-" Danny was about to say something when Rogue raised the staff, and another mirror came over, showing Danny fighting a ghost cobra.

"Where are all these ghosts coming from?" The young phantom wondered.

Back in the lab, the ghost portal was opening and closing repeatedly, letting several ghosts out. As Jack Fenton was pressing the button with his wife and daughter watching, none of the three noticed the ghosts or the sounds they were letting out as they escaped into the mortal world.

"See?" Rogue pointed to the ghosts that were escaping. "Your home would've been helpless without you. Why can't you see that?" She asked him frustratedly. "Why can't you see yourself the way I see you? What is it that makes you keep blaming yourself for everything?"

Danny avoided her eyes as he quietly mumbled, "Because I was always meant to end up destroying everything."

"You mean as Dan?" Rogue asked, making Danny turn around quickly, surprised that she knew about him.

"You know about him?"

Rogue placed her arm around him. "I do. And I'm going to tell you the same thing I told my husband. You're not Dan, and you never will be. As Storm would always say, we all have a dark side."

"Well, why does my dark side have to be the worst thing ever?" Danny couldn't help but ask. Why, of all people, was it him who was at risk of destroying the world?

Rogue didn't have an answer for that. "Beats me. But I know you'll never go down that road. Mine didn't, and I know you won't either."

Seeing Rogue's look of encouragement only amazed Danny. She knew how awful he could be, but she still stayed with his counterpart. What did she ever see in him?

"I can't believe he told you about him." He admitted. "I haven't even told my Rogue."

This made Rogue give him a sly grin. "Maybe you should." She suggested. "It's not healthy keeping all those problems to yourself."

She made it sound so simple, but he knew that it wasn't. "But what if she-"

"She'll accept you just like I did when my man told me." Rogue interrupted, figuring out what he was already going to say. She had seen the same hesitations in her phantom.

Danny hoped that it would go as well when he told her about him. "Yeah, but I'm sure she hates me, just like the others do."

Rogue tilted her head to the side, confused. "Why would they hate you?"

"Because I'm not a mutant." He pointed out. He was sure that the others blamed him for everything wrong in their lives right now. "And I also got them exposed. How did your Danny deal with that?"

"He didn't." Rogue admitted. "Everyone knew about mutants before my Danny joined the X-Men."

"Lucky him." He bit out enviously. "But I'm sure he brought along Vlad, who tried to ruin your lives."

Rogue scratched her head, wondering how she was going to break this news to him. "Actually, sugar, the Vlad in my universe ain't that bad."

"What?" Danny thought he had misheard her. He must've had, because there was no way Rogue said that about Vlad.

"Yeah, my Danny and that Vlad made a truce." She elaborated. "He's actually helped us out of some tough situations, believe it or not."

And he did. The elder hybrid had helped them when they were all stranded on the Savage Land by Sinister; he had battled alongside them in the trial of combat against Lilandra's top men to save Danny; and he had assisted them in their final battle with Dan in his tournament.

"I don't." Danny said, jealous that his counterpart seemed to have it easier. "I wish my Vlad was that decent. If it weren't for him, my friends wouldn't be having a difficult time right now."

"Well, not really." The alternate Rogue said, making Danny look at her strangely.

"What do you mean?" Was it possible that the revelation of mutants to the world wasn't entirely his fault? Seeing his questioning look, Rogue led Danny further down the orange path.

"Follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"It's time to move on to the next stage of your life, sugar." Rogue said as the two of them were now seeing his life as an X-Man in the various mirrors. They saw it all. From him trying to set Scott up with Jean to convincing Kitty to join the X-Men to clearing Evan's name. It was all here.

"You sure helped them, I reckon." Rogue said as she watched with interest, curious in how this universe was different from her own. She had seen her counterpart once and always imagined what her life was like. Gazing at the images, she noticed all the differences between her world and this one. There was Wolverine, who wore orange instead of yellow; Kurt, who seemed to be a permanent member of the team; and herself, who had...

"I have ghost powers?" Rogue looked at her counterpart as rings passed over her, changing her form. She never thought she'd see something like that.

"What? You don't have ghost powers?" Danny asked.

"Uh-uh." Rogue mumbled as she watched her counterpart fight alongside Danny against Skulker in amazement. She would forever be glad her husband was immune to her powers, but there were times when she wondered what it would be like to have his abilities.

"Yeah, she's taking to them pretty well." Danny complimented as he watched one of her training sessions with him. They then saw Danny coaching Rogue on how to duplicate before the goth ended up sporting two heads, making the older Rogue laugh out loud at that.

"Ah shucks, now I wish I had ghost powers." Rogue said as she got a mischievous look in her eye. "It looks like fun. Heck, if I could turn invisible, I could use it to get back at Wolverine the next time he makes me mad."

"But he'd be able to sniff you out." Danny commented, making Rogue sigh in defeat.

"You're right. Ah, well." She thought over what she could do with other ghost powers at her disposal. "Though I wish I could duplicate, that could give me a lot of free time." She then noticed a moment in time that showed Kitty phasing through a wall. "Oh, does she have ghost powers too?"

"No, that's Kitty." Danny answered, wondering why Rogue didn't recognize her. "Her mutant power is the ability to phase through stuff."

"Really?" Rogue looked at her with intrigue.

"Yeah. Don't you have a Kitty in your universe?"

"Nope. At least I don't think so." She then noticed Evan shooting out his spikes. "Who's that?"

"Evan, you know, Storm's nephew." Danny was now wondering who else didn't exist in this Rogue's world.

Now that interested Rogue. "Storm has a nephew?"

"Yeah, doesn't yours?"

"No." She then thought of that time she, Danny, and Storm went to her home in Africa. "Though she does have this kid who's like a son to her named Mjnari."

Danny thought that this Mjnari must be the Spyke of her universe. "Can he shoot spikes out of his body?"

"No, his power is superspeed."

"Huh." Danny thought that was ironic considering Evan's rivalry with Quicksilver.

Rogue continued to observe Danny's adventures with the X-Men, noticing more differences, such as new members like Magma and Berserker. Even Scarlet Witch apparently joined the team. "Still, this universe may be different, but there's one constant: you helping them like mine does."

Danny was still skeptical. Sure, he had been there to listen to his friend's problems, but he didn't think that they couldn't function without him. "I feel like they'd still be all right even without me."

"Really?" Rogue had a challenging gleam in her eyes. "Let's put that to the test." She walked to the middle of the road as they were surrounded by the points in time that showed Danny and the X-Men.

"What are you talking about?"

Rogue once again waved the scepter as the mirrors had static like they were all old television sets. "Fun fact, hon." Rogue stated as she waited patiently for the mirrors to change. "This place can also show alternate timelines if you have one of these fancy staffs."

The images in the mirror came back as Rogue dragged Danny over to one in particular. It showed the outside of the base where Trask was hiding with his Sentinel. The mutant killing machine was currently engaged in a battle with the X-Men.

"I know this." Danny recognized. "This is back when we were searching for Wolverine." He looked closely and noticed that he wasn't there at all. "Where am I?"

"That's the thing, sugar. This is a timeline where you never met the X-Men. And it looks like they could use some help." They watched as the Sentinel trapped some of them in some kind of green goo, but what got Danny's attention was the helicopter that was recording everything for the whole world to see.

"They were still exposed." The half-ghost whispered. "Even without me." He didn't know what to think—relieved that it wasn't his fault or depressed that no matter what, everyone would find out about his friends.

"You see?" Rogue chirped. "It's not your fault. It was always going to happen. Heck, I think having Vlad expose you was the better option."

"What do you mean?"

"Look here." Rogue pointed to a mirror that showed Jean, but she was a few years older. She was screaming in pain as she was being covered in some kind of psychic energy before it exploded, leaving the outline of a familiar bird behind her.

"The Phoenix." He said, recognizing the entity that used to reside within Jean.

"That chicken stayed in that poor girl before it decided it was time to wake up." Rogue then made it change to show the X-Men, all much older, on some distant planet fighting the possessed Jean before it showed a crying Cyclops holding the dead body of Jean.

"No." Danny was in tears at seeing someone he saw as a sister die. Jean was a great person; she didn't deserve any of this, and neither did Scott deserve to lose the love of his life.

Rogue consoled Danny as she too watched the tragic scene. She knew that it would hurt him to see this, but he needed to know how harder it would be for the X-Men if Danny didn't cross their doors.

So with a heavy heart, another mirror was summoned, and it showed Wanda back at the asylum, looking miserable in her cell.

Danny frowned at seeing Wanda so broken, while Rogue gave the girl a look of sympathy. She didn't know that much of the Scarlet Witch from her universe, but she did know that she was never locked up like this one. "You gave that poor girl something to live for other than revenge, but if you weren't there, this would've happened."

The two watched as they saw a doctor escort Wanda out of the mental institution before they were revealed to be Mystique in disguise, making Rogue resist the urge to curse. It seemed no matter the universe, Mystique would cause trouble for others.

Danny saw as Wanda was soon taken in by the shapeshifter and drafted into the Brotherhood, where she alone forced the X-Men to retreat when confronted at the abandoned mall. He felt sorrow for this Wanda, as she was now alone and had nothing but a desire for revenge against her father. Sure, his Wanda had that, but she still had people who cared for her. This one had nothing else.

"Without you, that girl would've had nothing in life. Nothing but wanting to get even with old bucket head; but he ain't going to take that lying down." Rogue said as she made the mirror change to show a different point in time.

Wanda was captured, her wrists pinned to a metal chair in some kind of military base. In front of her was Magneto.

"Wanda, I had hoped we could start building a new relationship." He said hopefully, only to get a glare from his own flesh and blood.

"Not in this lifetime." She silently seethed.

Her father frowned. "I see. Unfortunate." He used his powers to summon his helmet and placed it on as he faced his acolytes while continuing to speak to Wanda. "The fact is, Wanda, your single-minded quest to eliminate me has become a serious liability. And since I can't secure your cooperation voluntarily, I will do it by other means."

Raising his hand, the doors opened as a scruffy-looking man in a trenchcoat entered the room.

"Mastermind here will delve into your memories and alter them." Magneto revealed. "Hopefully, your mind won't be too damaged by the process."

Danny watched in horror and rage as he saw Wanda's memories of the asylum be replaced with memories of her enjoying her childhood with her father and brother. Though they were happier than the real thing, it didn't change the fact that they were lies.

"How could he do that?" Danny whispered, unable to believe Magneto would do that to his own daughter. "HE MESSED WITH HER MIND!" He roared as his hands were now glowing with energy, and so were his eyes as he wished that he could jump in and make the master of magnetism pay. Before he could try and see if it could work, he felt Rogue hold him back.

Though she was much calmer than he was, he could see in her eyes that she was just as mad.

"That Magneto is a piece of work." She shook her head, comparing this Magneto with the one from her universe. She doubted that the one she knew would go that far, though that one was still in hot water for trying to kill her husband, so it wasn't like he was a saint in her book.

"And I thought my daddy was bad." She commented, remembering how her father cruelly kicked her out of the house when her mutation kicked in.

"What happens next?" Danny demanded urgently, worried about what else Magneto had planned for her. "Does she end up getting her real memories back?"

"She does, but it ain't pretty." Rogue pointed back to the mirror as it showed something different.

Wanda floated in front of Magneto, infuriation and betrayal stung to her red aura as it glowed with rage.

"Wanda, please." The master of magnetism pleaded. "I was only trying to help. I never wanted it to be this way."

This only caused Wanda to snarl as she screamed out in hate.

"Help?" Wanda was now in tears. "You locked me away because I was too much of a burden for the so-called "savior of mutants." And you couldn't take responsibility for your own actions, and so you wrecked my mind so I would be your perfect soldier."

"No, Wanda, you were more than that." Magneto tried to argue. "You are my daughter, and I love you. Please, I only did this for your own good. Because I'm your father, and I only wanted what was best for you."

The Scarlet Witch could only sneer at the pathetic excuses of her father. "You really think you can call yourself a father?" Wanda was now beginning to lose it as her mind, now fractured, was growing more unstable as her powers were responding, causing reality to shift all around them.

"You act like you're this god, a beacon of hope for mutants everywhere, but you're not! Even when you get what you want, you're still this horrible man."

"Wanda, I only wanted to help you." Magneto said, trying to get her to see reason. "To help you control your powers so that when the time was right, we could lead the mutant race to a new age, an age free from persecution. We can take our rightful place as the next step in evolution."

"We're not the next step." Wanda argued, finally seeing the truth about what she and her father were. What they all were. "We're not gods. We're freaks! Look at us, father! We're freaks! Mutants!"

Now at her absolute breaking point, Wanda would do something that would haunt the mutant race forever.

"No more mutants."

Before his very eyes, Danny was forced to watch as mutants everywhere lost their powers, leaving them as normal humans.

"My god." Was all he could say as he saw a race be brought to the brink of extinction. "I don't believe it." To think this all happened because Magneto failed to be a father.

Even Rogue, who seemed more calm than Danny, was still taken aback by this. She hoped to God that this never happened in her universe either. Glancing down at Danny, she couldn't help but feel bad for having him watch his friends meet horrible fates, but it was for his own good. And he still had more to watch.

Using the time scepter, she made the mirrors show static as she was preparing to go back to his timeline. After a couple moments, Danny found himself watching Evan and Ray at the kitchen table.

"Is this the future?" Danny queried.

"Only a day in the future." Rogue specified.

Evan was drinking some milk, more like gulping it, as he needed high amounts of calcium due to his mutation.

"Evan, quit zoning out, man." Ray chuckled as he sat across from his fellow student at the table. "How about sharing some of that milk?" Evan handed him the milk. "Thanks." He then saw that Evan was about to leave. "Hey, uh, you entered in that POW-R 8 skat this morning?"

Evan almost forgot that he did enter that skating tournament. Usually he would be excited, but now it just seemed pointless. After all, he was sure he would be kicked out if the judges found out he was a mutant. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if, later down the line, Bayville banned all mutants from sports. There was also the fact that Danny wouldn't be there. The older student had always shown up to any skating contest, and it didn't feel appropriate to go, not when his friend was possibly being used in a lab experiment.

"Yeah, but I'm not going. Doesn't feel right now that Danny's gone."

Ray's smile disappeared. He also missed Danny. "I know."

"They miss me?" Danny had thought they would resent him because he wasn't like them.

"Of course they do." Rogue looked at Danny as if he were stupid. "You're their friend, Danny. It doesn't matter that you're not a mutant. Now hush up and keep watching."

Evan had decided to skate around town to get his mind off things. The boy reached the empty stadium that held the skating tournament this morning. To his right, he saw some bottles of some new sports drink in a bucket of ice. Feeling thirsty, he drank it, only to spit it out as he clutched his stomach.

"Evan!" Danny cried out as he saw the boy scream in pain.

Spikes shot out of his body all over the area, causing the scoreboard to tumble and crash on the empty bleachers. Seeing the damage he had caused, the young X-Man started skating away, coming towards the amphitheater that Beast used to go to to clear his mind.

"Can't we do something to help him?" Danny pleaded with Rogue, who shook her head sadly.

"We can't, honey. But it looks like help has already arrived." She pointed over to the screen as it showed a woman with an eye patch approaching Evan.

"What do you want?" He asked as he backed away slowly, only for a man to phase through the wall and grab him from behind. A little girl then took off her gloves, showing off her enormous hands.

The hybrid was scared of what was going on with Evan. Had he been poisoned? "What's happening to him? Who are those people?"

Rogue made the image change to show Evan in a different location.

Down in the sewers, Evan was twitching as a familiar face known as Caliban approached him. A mutant with a turtle beak gave him some concoction that made him cough, but it seemed to do the trick as he felt better. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by his abductors.

"What happened?" He asked.

"The POW-R 8." The woman with the eye patch said. "It's dangerous for mutants."

"Will I..." Evan hissed out in pain before finally asking, "Will I be all right?"

"We can ease your symptoms, but you must rest." The woman said. "Don't worry, Evan, you're with the Morlocks. We understand you."

"Morlocks?" Danny looked to Rogue, knowing that she had the answer.

"Mutants that can't hide like us because their mutations are too obvious." She explained as she looked at the mutants in question with pity. "Now they live in the sewers. Poor things."

Danny agreed. And he thought he had it bad. "That's horrible."

Rogue nodded. "You won't hear any arguments from me. Lucky for the Morlocks in my universe, my husband helped them out."

"How?"

"He got Vlad to give them a new home." Rogue replied.

Danny snorted, as if Vlad would do something charitable without an agenda at hand. "Wish I could do the same, but Plasmius doesn't care for anyone but himself."

"You could make him do it." Rogue suggested before smirking. "After all, your secret's already out, so you got nothing to lose by exposing him."

Thinking about it, he saw that Rogue had a point, but before he could ponder on it further, his attention was brought back to what was happening in the future.

Evan could hear Caliban and the woman talk.

"Callisto, bringing him here was a mistake." Caliban argued.

"I had to." Callisto replied. "Even if he wasn't poisoned, you've seen his mutation. With those plates growing on his skin, they'll never accept him topside."

"But they will be looking for him." Caliban pointed out, referring to the X-Men.

"Night has fallen." The turtle-beaked mutant, who was called Lucid, informed them. "And I have seen that Spear has added security. We could use the boy's help."

"No." Caliban refused. "We cannot trust him yet. He does not belong with us down here."

"Why are you down here?" Evan said as he joined them.

"The world is not a kind place for mutants who look like us or you." Callisto said. "Here we find acceptance and safety. Well, it's not safe anymore." She corrected.

"Why?"

"POW-R 8." Callisto explained as she showed him the tunnels of their lair. "It has seeped into every tunnel. When Spear cleans out his vats, this is where it goes. We're all being poisoned. Some of us will not survive unless we do something."

"Like what?" Evan asked.

Callisto narrowed her eye. "Like stop him."

Evan furrowed his eyebrows. "I want to help."

"Do they stop him?" Danny had a bad feeling that, despite their efforts, the Morlocks would fail.

Rogue looked down. "I wish."

"You have to believe me." Guy said as he and Xavier were speaking in the destroyed factory. "I didn't know it was dangerous to mutants."

"I believe you, Mr. Spear." Xavier assured him.

"If they'd just told me. Why didn't they say anything?"

Xavier sighed. "These people, they've learned not to trust anyone. I'm afraid they've seen the dark side of human nature too many times. They now only depend on themselves."

The professor then got into his car as it took off, leaving Guy and his assistant alone.

"Well?" His assistant asked.

"I want us back in production ASAP." Spear said, gaining a greedy smile. "POW-R 8 suddenly became a lot more valuable."

Danny's glare could've killed the greedy businessman.

"If only someone could've taken over his body and made sure it was all destroyed." Rogue non-subtly insinuated, making Danny nod. He knew what he had to do and that he was needed.

"I understand now."

"Do you?" Rogue motioned for him to follow her. "Well, sugar, there's still one last thing you need to see." A portal opened, and as Danny stepped through, he had a feeling that what he was going to see on the other side was going to be worse than what he saw in here.

Much worse.