The group all got in defensive positions as they looked over their new foe, while Wanda's eyes lit up in recognition.
It was Rogue. But she was...different. She was older now, probably the same age as Wanda looked (though she had some weird age lines on her forehead making her appear far older for some reason). Her outfit was a simple dark green jumpsuit with a hood. She still possessed the purple lipstick of the Rogue she knew and still had the same bit of white in her hair, though it was slicked back and her skin was no longer pale. She also had green earrings, but the thing that caught Wanda off guard the most was the wicked evil grin making Rogue appear like a stereotypical villainess.
"Did you do that to him?" Iron Man demanded as he pointed to the unconscious Captain America.
Rogue merely smirked as she pulled off one of her gloves, showing her dark green nails. "Poor lil Cap never had a chance. I possess his memories and his powers. Any flesh-to-flesh contact, no matter how slight, will suffice for the transfer."
The purple archer fired off an arrow, but Rogue, using Cap's incredible reflexes, caught it in her hand. "Sorry, darling, but Earth's mightiest heroes are nothing compared to me, the Rogue."
Iron Man was about to fire off some repulsor blasts at Rogue, but the villainess gave the armor-clad man a mighty punch, decimating his suit and leaving him unconscious on the ground.
She then grabbed the archer and kissed him, making his veins surge as he fell to the ground.
"Now that's what I call a kiss." She purred before being tackled by a newcomer. Wanda saw that she wore a suit that resembled that Spider-Man guy she heard about on the news.
"Who are you?" Rogue glared at the woman in red spandex, who gave a kick to her head.
"The name is Spider-Woman, Rogue. I've been looking forward to this meeting ever since I hauled Carol Danvers out of the Golden Gate." Spider-Woman grabbed her in a headlock. "She's alive, no thanks to you, and you're going to pay for what you did to her."
The two engaged in a brief fistfight before Rogue touched the flesh that was exposed around her face, knocking out Spider-Woman, and seeing the man with glasses charge at her, she grabbed him and threw him into a dumpster before throwing a punch that disabled Vision, leaving Wanda the sole remainder.
"Looks like it's just you and me, Scarlet Witch." Rogue reached out to grab her face only to be pushed back by one of Wanda's hex bolts.
"Rogue, this isn't you." Wanda tried to reason. "It's me. Wanda. Don't you remember?"
"Of course I know you." Rogue replied as she narrowed her eyes in disgust. "You're a traitor to your own kind. Siding with the humans instead of standing with the Brotherhood."
"That's not right." Shaking her head at the bizarre sight of Rogue being on their side. "You're not part of the Brotherhood. You never were. Dan's been messing with your mind."
Sadly, Wanda's plea fell on deaf ears as she was punched into a nearby tree. Rogue then lunged at her, holding out her bare hands to absorb her energy, but Wanda luckily caught Rogue by her covered wrists as she kept her deadly hands away.
"You gotta snap out of it." Wanda groaned as Rogue was strong, and it was taking all of her magic to hold her back. "Danny's in danger. We have to save him."
"Don't know who this Danny fella is, but I suggest you worry more about yourself."
"You really don't remember your own boyfriend?"
Now, Rogue gave Wanda an "Are you stupid?" look. "You really think I'm the type of person who has success in the dating scene?"
"He's immune; you would know that if you remembered—" Wait, remember. That's it. Grinning, Wanda soon let go of Rogue's wrists as her hands clamped onto her cheeks as her energy soared into Rogue.
"What the?" Rogue could feel something was wrong as a massive headache was straining on her brain. Images of a boy with raven black hair and blue eyes filled her mind as she felt a sense of familiarity with this stranger.
"No!" The southern woman fell to her knees as it was all too much for her. Whatever she was seeing wasn't real. She must've absorbed Scarlet Witch's craziness. Just as she was about to teach that crimson lady a painful lesson, she saw that the witch in question was gone.
And not only that, but she wasn't in the park anymore. Observing her surroundings, she found that she was standing outside some kind of mansion. Recognizing it as the home of the X-Men, she sneered at the sight. Mystique had told her about the X-Men, how they were fools that believed in peace between mutants and humans.
As she was about to turn and leave through the gates, she ended up almost running into a man in a wheelchair. Charles Xavier was his name.
He tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Rogue.
"Rogue, what are you doing out here? Don't you have a training session with Logan and the others?" He inquired, making Rogue back up as she accidentally bumped into someone behind her. Turning around, she was greeted with a big man in a uniform with the X logo on it.
"Come on, Stripes, we got a level 5 Danger Room course to go through." He commanded as Rogue felt a buzzing in her head that made her hiss.
"Back off! I won't let you hurt me like you did that night." Rogue warned as the memories of the X-Men and how they came for her. It was Mystique who rescued her and took her in, raising her so she could help protect her kind.
"We didn't try to harm you." Another voice chimed as Rogue saw the infamous X-Men come out from behind the man and approach her. Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Shadowcat, and Beast were all there. And the sound of a pop and the smell of sulfur brought forth the arrival of an X-Man that she was most familiar with.
Nightcrawler, who, although he was Mystique's son, did not endear himself as family to Rogue, who refused to associate with him. And why should she? He abandoned Mystique and joined the X-Men. He was a traitor, not only to his own kind but to his biological family as well.
"It was Mystique. She used her powers to deceive you, sister." Nightcrawler tried to explain as he reached out a hand to Rogue, who slapped it away.
"Don't call me that! We're not related."
"Not by blood." He conceded. "But no matter what, you will always be my family."
"Come home, Rogue." Shadowcat begged as she stepped forward. "We miss you. The X-Men aren't the same without you."
"Half-pint's right. You're part of this team." Logan said.
Memories flooded her mind as she was overwhelmed. Instances of herself in what seemed to be another life started to appear along with the feelings and emotions that came with them.
She saw herself rolling her eyes as she listened to Kitty prattle on about something. Another memory showed her trying to comfort Kurt after his discovery of the identity of his birth mother. A third of herself and the others practicing martial arts.
"No! Stay away, all of you! This isn't real." Rogue clutched her head as she glared at the professor. Obviously, the psychic was implanting these thoughts into her head to turn her against her mother. As she was about to attack him, someone stepped in front of her.
"It is real, Rogue." Wanda said. "Everything in those memories was real. Embrace them. They're what make you who you are." She urged as more and more memories continued to overwhelm the poor woman.
Dancing in the woods with Kitty as they waited for Sabretooth to take the bait.
Fighting Carnage and all the other criminals of Bayville as the Bayville Siren.
Talking Wanda into coming back to the X-Men.
"Stop." She begged as she fell to her knees due to the whole mental strain. "Please stop." But her mind continued to process it all. Shopping trips with the other girls of the institute, Danger Room sessions, and studying and hanging out with her friends. They were all there. And the image of the boy with raven hair was in them, almost all of them, as his appearance, although it appeared faint at first, started to grow clearer and clearer with every new memory shown.
However, Rogue wasn't going to give in without a fight. Shakily she climbed to her feet. "I'm not gonna let you trick me." She tried to tackle the sorceress, only to hit the ground as Wanda had moved out of the way.
"If you want to know the truth, then follow me." And with that, Wanda started to run, prompting Rogue to give chase to try and get her to make this madness stop.
"Get back here!" The southern villain cried, but Wanda continued to keep a steady pace as Rogue was having trouble keeping up with her.
'Guess her brother isn't the only speedster in the family.' She thought before realizing that she had lost sight of Scarlet Witch, and even stranger, she was now in a cemetery.
Not looking where she was going, she accidentally tripped over a gravestone. Dusting herself off, she looked around; though she didn't recognize any of the names of the deceased here, there was somehow a sense of familiarity. As if she had been here before.
The sound of footsteps interrupted her thoughts as she zeroed in on where the sound was coming from. Standing a couple feet away from her was him, the boy with raven hair.
"You!" Rogue snarled. "I don't know what you and Miss Hocus Pocus are doing to me, but it stops right now." She pulled off one of her gloves and was about to go and drain this kid before rejecting that idea. Who knows what looney things she might get from this guy?
The boy, instead of acting hostile, gave her a look of compassion. "Rogue, it's me. Danny. Don't you recognize me or where we are?"
For a brief second there was a bit of recognition on Rogue's face before she shook it off.
"This is where we first met." Danny continued trying to bring forth her true memories. "Where I showed you that Mystique was the one who'd been chasing you all night. You looked so scared. But when you smiled, I felt butterflies in my stomach, as cheesy as that might sound."
"My mama would never do that to me!" Rogue spat, angered at this boy's false claims.
Danny frowned. "Mystique's not your mother. She never was."
"Shut it before I put you in the ground." She threatened.
"Look at yourself!" Danny went on, not the least bit threatened. "The Rogue I know would never do or act like this. You're more than just a pawn of the Brotherhood. You're-"
"Don't listen to him!" Came a familiar voice.
The two turned to see at the end of the cemetery a recognizable bunch of mutants. There were the typical brotherhood members, Blob and Avalanche. Even though they were grown adults, they were still recognizable, though their outfits were different, with Blob wearing a black unitard with a yellow belt and Avalanche, who seemed to get a decent haircut, wearing a more chrome-colored version of his costume.
Joining them was Pyro and a woman wearing a blue bathing suit with a blue cloak and thigh-high boots, along with a strange gold mask on her face. Leading this band of misfits was the familiar blue shapeshifter herself, Mystique.
"Rogue, we need to get out of here." Mystique urged. "It's only a matter of time before the Avengers regroup and try to find us. Not to mention what could happen if we run into that dreaded ghost."
"Don't listen to her!" Danny pleaded. "All you are to her is a weapon."
"That's not true." The woman in the mask argued. "We've always cared for you, Anna."
"Do you?" The teenager challenged. "Or is it her powers that you care for? Can you honestly tell me that if Rogue wasn't born a mutant, you would still adopt her?"
"You know nothing, boy." Irene stated. "Her fate has always been intertwined with ours."
"Rogue belongs with her own kind. Not you." Mystique replied as she grabbed Rogue's arm. "Rogue, we need to move."
"No!" Danny grabbed her other arm, but unlike Mystique, he held her gently. "Rogue, you need to snap out of it. The X-Men and I, we're your family, not them. We always have been and always will be."
Rogue pushed the teenager off and was about to leave with the rest of the brotherhood when she heard something that made her stop.
"Anna, I love you."
This made Rogue pause. Those four words made her turn around and look at Danny much closer.
"You love me?" She repeated strangely. All her life no one had ever said those words to her. Although Rogue knew that they cared deep down, Irene and Mystique never said something like that to her. They were mostly withdrawn about saying or showing any kind of affection like that, but to hear someone else say that it was...
"You don't know anything about me." Rogue claimed as she snapped out of the temporary haze those words put her under as the distrust towards the boy soon returned. "Much less enough to love me."
"I don't know anything about you?" Danny repeated. "I can name all your favorite bands and artists. Guns N Roses, Linkin Park, Green Day, Marilyn Manson, and Evanescence. I also know you can't stand any music made by Dazzler." The boy stated. "Bram Stoker's Dracula is a book you love to reread all the time, but you also enjoy the works of Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King. Kicking my ass in Doomed is your specialty. And green and purple are your favorite colors."
The mutant woman blinked. He was right. All of it was true.
"You never miss an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And..." Here Danny got a mischievous grin. "Sometimes at night, when you know everyone's asleep, you sneak downstairs to the living room to secretly watch Invader Zim. I remember when I walked in on you and you were so embarrassed. It was adorable."
"How?" She murmured, bewildered that he knew so much. "How do you know all this?"
"Because I love you." Danny grabbed her hand and slowly slipped off her glove. Rogue gasped as he grasped her hand and incredibly didn't fall unconscious. She wasn't getting anything from him, no powers or memories.
"Y-You can touch me?" She stuttered, unable to believe it herself. And like a flood breaking through an unstable dam, it all came back to her, and she knew who she was and where she belonged.
"Danny!" With a happy grin she got down and threw her arms around him, embracing him.
"Rogue?" Wanda said as she felt the southern woman hug her. Once she allowed Rogue to absorb her memories, her friend seemed to be trapped in some trance before she suddenly threw her arms around her out of nowhere.
"Huh?" Looking back, Rogue was confused; where was Danny, and what is this place?
Wanda observed her surroundings. She and Rogue were now back to looking like their normal selves, no longer in those costumes that just screamed '80s.
"Wanda?" Rogue said. "Where are we, and is Danny okay?" She then remembered Vampira. "Vampira! Where is she? I swear when I get my hands on her."
"Long story short, we got to find Danny before Dan gets to him."
"Dan?" The former half-ghost looked around worriedly, almost expecting the evil ghost to show up any minute. "He's here? Wait, how do you know about Dan?"
"No time! We have to stop him, or he'll make Danny just like him." Wanda said, causing a protective glint to appear in Rogue's eyes. She didn't know what this place was or how Dan was here, but she wasn't going to let that monster near her man.
"Let's move." The auburn-haired goth said as they made their way through the destroyed city, stepping around the flaming cars and corpses covered in cobwebs. Both girls were unnerved, more so Rogue, as she was seeing this for the first time. She wondered if things looked this bad in that timeline where she was responsible for humanity's near extinction.
"Holy shit, did he do all this?" Seeing all this destruction was causing her nerves to skyrocket as she imagined just how terrifying Dan would be when they found him. The story Danny told her seemed to do little justice in portraying just how monstrous he could be.
Wanda couldn't blame her, as she was barely trying to put up a brave face to hide her own fear. Scanning the area, she made sure that there was nothing that could attack them, but she had a feeling that he might be watching, just waiting for the right time to strike.
"Ignore it. It's not real; none of this is." She explained as they walked past a car on fire.
"What was that?" Rogue stopped and glanced around worriedly. Wanda stopped and listened to the sound. It was strange; it sounded like the clip-clopping of a horse's hooves. Just then a net was thrown over Wanda as she felt herself being dragged through the street by the Fright Knight on his steed while Rogue tried to catch up to her. Sadly, the alicorn known as Nightmare was too fast for Rogue, allowing the ghostly duo to get away with their captive.
"Wanda!" Rogue continued to try and give chase only to be lifted off the ground as something had grasped her throat. She tried to pry the invisible hand off, only to stop as it slowly became visible, and so too did the rest of the body. Before Rogue's eyes, she looked upon what she could only describe as just evil. Pure. Unadulterated. Evil. Locking eyes with it, she felt she was being consumed by an eternal raging fire of fury.
It didn't help that the grin that he was giving her was making her afraid, oh so very afraid.
"Y-Y-You're..." She stuttered as she realized just who this was. The symbol on his chest was a dead giveaway. But despite that, the goth still had trouble believing that this... abomination and her boyfriend were the same person.
"Hello, Rogue." Dan spoke. "I've heard so much about you. It's nice to finally meet the girl that captured my past self's heart face-to-face."
At the mention of Danny, all of Rogue's fear morphed into anger.
"I don't care how powerful you are!" She seethed with all her might, despite still having his hand around her windpipe. "I won't let you lay a finger on him."
Dan merely shook his head a bit and chuckled, finding her threat adorable. "I've got to say, your loyalty to him is very admirable in a way. Willing to stand up to me to protect him." His face then became more sinister as he added, "And of course we know the lengths you'd go to avenge him if something horrible were to befall him."
The young woman looked away at that reminder.
"Yes." Dan continued as he gave her an impressed look. "Who knew you had it in you? Then again, I'm sure you're well aware of what you're capable of."
"I'll never become that." Rogue stated with conviction. "No matter what you do. I won't let you trick me into becoming you."
"Oh, don't worry about that." He reassured her. "Now that that Blood Blossom and its toxins are out of the way, I won't need you to take over for me." He then tilted his head as an idea came to him. "Though it'd be a shame to have all that potential within you go to waste."
A black aura covered Rogue as she could feel him, his very essence trying to mold her, bend her to his will. She could hear the screams of people in anguish along with his maniacal laughter.
"What, what are you doing to me?" She bit out as she tried to fight whatever he was doing.
"You want to be with your man, right? To always be by his side?" Dan answered. "Well, who am I to break up such a cute couple?" His grin widened at her fear. "Once Danny has unlocked his true potential, you can serve as his follower. Even with the loss of your ghost powers, I'm sure you'll do a better job than Fright Knight ever could."
"No, no!" Rogue tried to fight against it. But she knew it was a losing battle. She could feel Dan's very will pouring into her as he tried to corrupt her. She could hear a voice urging her to kill and maim, another telling her to serve, and even one begging her to just give in and that she would still be with her love in her new twisted existence.
But then a flash of red light hit Dan, forcing him to drop Rogue, who welcomed the unobstructed air into her lungs as she slowly climbed to her feet only to have someone grab her arm.
"Come on!" Wanda cried as she dragged Rogue with her. They dashed down an alley only to meet a dead end. "Shit!" The magic user cursed before they heard footsteps. Behind them they saw Dan approaching them slowly from the other end.
"Nowhere to run."
Wanda threw a hex bolt only to be countered with an ecto-blast as Dan marched on undeterred. Thinking quickly, Wanda threw another hex bolt, this time at the wall behind them, creating an opening. Pushing Rogue through, she got on the other side, and focusing her power, she made the damage undo itself, repairing the wall and separating them from that monster. Knowing that wouldn't stop him for long, the two ran down the other side of the alley only to stop at what was on the other side.
Before them was not the annihilated city they saw earlier but a completely undamaged, untouched Amity Park.
"This must be where Danny is?" Rogue assumed with Wanda nodding in agreement as the two began their search.
Meanwhile, on the steps of Casper High was a confident Danny Fenton sitting down with a self-assured smile on his face. It felt good to smile after everything he had been through, seeing a devastated future, battling his other self, and finally having to watch his friends and family almost die. Thankfully, Clockwork intervened at the last second and gave him a second chance.
He stopped his train of thought at his sister coming up to him. "So, how long have you known?" He asked her only to get a nervous smile from her.
"About the test?" She replied. "For days. But I'm really proud of you for not cheating."
"Not that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and one of her headbands. "Your headband, your note, your handwriting."
"What?" Jazz sputtered, trying to think of an excuse. "That? Oh, I didn't write that." She lied, failing to hide her blush of embarrassment at being caught. "And there must be dozens of headbands."
"Jazz." Danny said in a tone telling her to drop the charade.
She relented, sitting next to him. "Since the Spectra thing. I didn't want to tell you until you wanted to tell me. It's your secret."
"Well, it's our secret now." Danny claimed as the two siblings embraced in a hug.
"DANNY!"
The two Fentons looked over to see two strange goth girls race up to them. Both of them were relieved to have found him but were also a bit taken aback by his appearance. He was much scrawnier and more innocent looking than the Danny they knew. Still, they were just glad to have him back.
Danny, however, looked at them in confusion. "Uh, do I know you?"
At this, Rogue looked heartbroken. "You don't remember me? I'm your girlfriend."
Here, Danny and Jazz shared a weird look, wondering if this girl was all there.
"No offense, but I think I would remember having a girlfriend." Danny then blushed as he added, "Especially someone as pretty as you."
"Look, we don't have time for this." Rogue grabbed him by the arm. "We have to go." As she was about to drag him to his feet, she was pushed off by Jazz.
"Hey, hands off the little brother." The redhead warned, making Rogue pause for a moment as she was caught off guard by the fact she was staring at the face of a dead girl.
"Jazz?" She said in surprise before shaking her head. "No, you're not real."
"What do you mean she's not real?" Danny questioned, wondering just what this girl's deal was.
"She's dead." Wanda stated bluntly. "She's been dead for years. I'm sorry, but you weren't able to save her."
"What?" Danny asked silently, wondering what she meant. Did... did she know who he was?
"You need to come with us before—" Wanda was cut off by Jazz getting in between her and Danny.
"Okay, we don't know who you two are or what you're talking about." Jazz said. "So I think it'd be best that you leave right now."
Narrowing her eyes, Wanda concentrated before firing a stream of red magic from her hand at the unsuspecting Jazz.
"JAZZ!" Danny shouted as all three of them watched as cracks started to appear on the girl's skin before it was all ripped away, revealing her to be nothing more than a skin suit used by Dan, who fell to the ground.
The raven-haired boy's eyes widened in horror at seeing his future self, but how was it possible? He should be locked up in Clockwork's custody. Without thinking, he acted on his emotion and turned ghost, too caught up in it all to pay attention to the fact he did it in front of two strangers.
"Where is she?!" He demanded. "What have you done with my sister?!"
Dan merely laughed as he locked eyes with his counterpart. "Why are you asking me? You were the one to watch her be blown to smithereens along with the rest of your loved ones." He grasped him by the shoulders and phased the two through the school doors and deeper into the school as the two girls gave chase.
"This can't be real!" The half-ghost tried to deny as he was shoved against the lockers. "I beat you! I did! I remember it!"
A sneer graced Dan's face at the reminder of that memory. "Perhaps. But Clockwork coming in to bail you out at the last second was all just a big lie I made to lower your guard. And now I have you here at my mercy." He phased his hand into Danny's chest, eliciting a scream. "Time to rip those shreds of humanity out of you."
"NOOO!" He screamed as he in vain tried to pry Dan off as he could feel him in his very soul trying to tear out everything good about him.
"Poor Danny Fenton. No father. No mother. No sister." Dan leaned closer, wanting to get a good look at the hopelessness in his past self's eyes. "You're all alone."
As Dan finally got a grip on it, he was about to pull his humanity out and extinguish it only to be knocked down the hall by a hex bolt sent by a pissed-off Wanda who arrived with Rogue in tow.
"He's got us." Wanda stated before the two goths went to help Danny up.
Danny ignored them as he stared blankly at the floor. The true memories came flooding back as he realized what really went down during their first battle.
"Danny, are you okay?" Rogue asked.
"He... he tricked me. This..." He looked around the hallways of his old school. "This world. It isn't real, is it?"
"No." Wanda answered as she saw Danny slowly starting to break down. "None of it is."
"I...I..." He couldn't say anymore as it was all too much as he was forced to confront the fact that he failed to stop the Nasty Burger explosion a second time.
The two goth teens brought him into their arms as they tried to ease his suffering.
"It's gonna be okay, Danny." Rogue assured him as she pulled him up to his feet. "But we gotta get out of here."
"Aw, what a touching scene." Dan jeered as he approached them. "Too bad I gotta break it up."
As if someone had pulled the trigger to a gun, Danny launched himself at his evil self with the speed of a bullet, pushing the two deeper into the school, where they crashed through a set of double doors, leaving them in the school's gymnasium.
"YOU MONSTER!" He roared with all of the hate he held in his heart towards Dan. "It wasn't enough that you took them from me, but you had to give me that false hope that I succeeded only for you to snatch it away!" He ripped off a metal rod from the bleachers and started to beat Dan, taking pleasure as he let out all the frustrations, the pain, the loss, all of it on the person he despised the most.
"I'm gonna rip you apart until you're nothing but a puddle of protoplasm!" With a cry of fury, he was about to bring the metal instrument down on Dan once more, only for the malevolent ghoul to grasp hold of it. Snatching it out of Danny's hand, the future phantom made a swing on his own as he started to repay Danny for the earlier beating.
"Impressive rage." Dan praised. "To quote Cheesehead, you're getting more like me with every day." Raising the piece of metal above his head, he was about to stab it into Danny's shoulder when it moved on its own, wrapping around his arms like it was a snake.
"You boys don't mind if we girls join in, do ya?" Rogue said as she gave Dan a right fist, pushing him back as Wanda used her magic to make the ceiling above Dan fall on him, only for him to burst through the rubble.
"Wanna play with the big boys, huh? Be my guest." He took an inhale of breath, and Danny, knowing what would happen next, grabbed the two girls and phased them through the ceiling. Thankfully he was able to get them out of range as Dan's ghostly wail tore up the whole school.
"Man, that power really is something." Rogue couldn't help but say as they landed, looking at the wreckage he had left behind.
"And that wasn't even at full strength." The monstrous phantom's voice sounded behind them as he lunged at the trio, but Wanda, thinking fast, muttered an incantation, and as Dan swiped at them, the only thing that happened was sparks erupted as his hand had made contact with a red dome that Wanda had put over them.
Angered by this obstacle, Dan continued to attack the mystical construct that Wanda had summoned as the witch continued to try to keep it up despite the assault it was taking.
"Can't keep me out forever." Dan taunted as he summoned three duplicates, and together they aimed their palms and opened fire. Cracks soon became visible as the wall started to flicker in and out of existence. "Eventually, you'll tire out and be mine." He called his copies back and closed his eyes and took in a breath, making the trio internally panic as they knew what was going to happen next.
Wanda tried to focus her powers as she had one hand focused on keeping the shield up while the other she aimed at Dan. As he let loose the attack, the three braced themselves only to stop as they realized they weren't being bombarded. Looking over at Dan, they gasped, while Dan narrowed his eyes, wondering why they were staring at him like that.
Putting his hand near his mouth, he stopped. Feeling around, he was confronted with the shocking fact.
He had no mouth, and he couldn't scream.
"I didn't know you could do that." Rogue said in astonishment as Danny nodded in agreement while Wanda looked at her hands. She knew her magic was powerful, but she didn't think she had the power or finesse to pull off this kind of trick.
"Neither did I." She confessed before they saw Dan raise his index finger where a claw popped out. In a disgusting sight he used that claw to tear through his ghostly skin, causing ectoplasm to leak, to form a new mouth.
"NOOO!" Seeing Dan was about to try again, he unleashed a massive ghost ray at Dan, pushing him back as Wanda finally let the shield fade away.
"That should buy us time. Now how do we get out of here?" Danny looked to the girls with Rogue looking at Wanda for guidance.
"I don't know." She said. "Where do you think we'd find our way out of here and back to the real world?"
"Real world." Danny muttered in thought as he tried to come up with an explanation. "World. World. Wait? What about the ghost portal?" He looked over his old town. "Maybe the one back at my old house is the way out of here."
"Worth a shot, I guess." Wanda said before they heard the sound of several footsteps. Looking back at the streets, they were confronted with an army of Dan's duplicates. Without a word, the army of ghouls opened fire as the three ducked around the corner to avoid the barrage of attacks coming their way.
"He's too strong." Rogue admitted. "We're not gonna get out of this."
"Oh yes, we are." Her boyfriend stated with a look of fiery determination in his eyes. "Ever since I have known him, Dan has taken everything from me. My parents, my sister, and my friends. I'm not letting him take you two away from me. So this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna go out there and fight our way through."
Both girls looked at him like he was crazy.
"Danny, we're not powerful enough to stop one of him, let alone an entire army." Rogue pointed out.
"Actually, it might be possible." Wanda said. "Back at the asylum, I managed to rip through my straightjacket. I don't know how I did it, but I couldn't stand the thought of you two in danger, and it sorta just happened."
"Because this isn't the real world. In this place the only strength that matters is one's will." Danny figured out. "So long as we fight back, we can win no matter what. We can get out of here." He looked at the two girls. Wanda seemed convinced while Rogue still appeared doubtful. "We can do this, Rogue. If anyone can give Dan a whooping, it's definitely you."
Rogue sported a nervous grin before kissing him. "If we don't get out of this. Just want you to know I have no regrets."
"Neither do I." Wanda said as the three walked around the corner and stood calmly in front of the army.
There was a brief stare down between the two groups before Danny finally said, "Alright, let's do this. Maximum effort."
The two groups then charged as Danny immediately grabbed two Dans and smashed them together, causing them to vanish. He threw an ecto-blast at a third before bringing his fists over his head and smashing it on a fourth. Seeing one coming to the right, Danny hoisted it up by the arm before throwing him over his shoulder with Rogue flying into the air before kneeing him in the gut. Wanda unleashed a massive surge of magic at a dozen Dans, turning them into nothing but ash, as Rogue grabbed a nearby taxi in an incredible show of strength before bringing it down on three more evil phantoms and then kicking it as it collided with a couple more.
The army started to throw ecto-blasts, only for Wanda to catch them and throw them back as Danny unleashed multiple ghost rays to disintegrate any in his path. Rogue, seeing a nearby lamppost, ripped it off and stabbed one through the chest. She then used all the martial arts training she learned in her sessions with Logan to fend off any more copies that came near her.
Wanda was throwing hex bolts into the air at the airborne ones that were trying to swoop down on them like a swarm of vultures. The three were making ample progress before the horde of future phantoms doubled their efforts and charged at the three all at once...
Only for several of them to be thrown back as Rogue took charge and, using all of her strength, was able to push the stampede back with Danny and Wanda at her side giving their effort as well. As they forced them to scatter, Rogue dove on top of one and was taking extreme pleasure in pummeling its face. Wanda waved her hands as several more were stuck motionless, caught in her magic before her powers forced them to melt into nothing but piles of ectoplasm. If that wasn't gruesome enough, Danny saw that Rogue started to rip them apart with her bare hands. It was a cool/sick sight, though Danny did find Rogue beating one of the Dans with its own arm pretty funny. He then grabbed one by the tail and was swinging it around before letting it go as it crashed into a few that were coming his way.
For the next couple of minutes, the only sounds that could be heard were the shouts and cries of Danny and the girls, ectoplasm being spilled on the ground, and the Dans shouting threats of retribution, along with the faint singing of Madonna that played on a boombox left on the street. Noticing they were moving slowly, Danny looked around, and to his good fortune, he saw a bus driving by and motioned for the two girls to join him as he phased them in. The remaining Dans phased in as well, only to immediately regret it as the trio held no mercy and started to rip them apart with their bare hands. Once the bus finally came to a stop, the interior was stained by the ectoplasm and body parts of what remained of the evil phantoms. The doors opened, and the trio stepped out.
"Good luck, you crazy kids." The driver, who happened to be Mr. Lee for some odd reason, said encouragingly as he gave them a thumbs up before driving off, leaving the three in front of Fentonworks.
"This is your home?" Wanda asked seeing this place for the first time and got a nod of confirmation from Danny.
"Let's just hope that the ghost portal really is the way out." Rogue said being covered with ectoplasm. In fact, she was the one covered with it the most. "Also, am I the only one who really enjoyed what we just did?"
"Save it for later, Rogue." Danny said as he pointed at the trail of Dans they left behind, who were slowly getting up like they were zombies.
Rushing through the door, the trio made their way to the basement, where the spectral glow of the portal greeted them at the bottom of the stairs.
Immediately they ran through and found themselves traveling down a dark tunnel that seemed to go on for miles and miles. As they kept moving, they started to see the light that was always at the end of these.
"Almost there!" Danny shouted, encouraging them all to move faster. Just as they were within reach, a loud thwap came as something took hold of Wanda's foot, causing her to trip. As Danny and Rogue turned around to pull her up. Dan burst his way through the floor and wrapped his arms around Wanda's waist in an attempt to pull her under.
"Let go of her, you bastard!" The hybrid cried as he and Rogue each grabbed one of Wanda's arms to pull her away. Danny tried to phase her through, but Dan somehow was able to prevent that.
"I'm not letting you go, Danny." Dan stated as he tried to keep his grip on the struggling witch. "Not when I'm so close."
"Get off her, you freak!" Rogue ordered as the couple tried to save their friend.
Dan chuckled as he finally had the advantage here. "It's you or her, Danny. Give up now and I'll let her go."
"Never!"
The two parties continued to engage in this tug of war over Wanda, with no team seeming to be the victor. All the while Wanda continued to ignore the pain. Not that of not her body being pulled, but the fact that she was only endangering Danny. Dan was right. Danny either had to choose saving her and risk leaving himself here to be corrupted or leave her behind to save himself, Rogue, and ultimately the rest of the planet.
In the end, she knew that Danny would try to save her, and she couldn't let that happen. She couldn't risk his soul falling into Dan's clutches. And so, despite her trepidation, she knew that it was up to her to stop this.
"Danny, you have to let me go." She said calmly.
"What?!" Came his bewildered response. "I'm not leaving you, Wanda."
"We're in this together." Rogue echoed in agreement. "We're not gonna leave you alone with that monster. You're coming with us."
"Just hang on; we'll get you free." Together they tried to inch their way toward the portal, only for Wanda to resist.
"No." Wanda said brokenly. "It's you he wants. And it's my fault that he's here." At seeing their shocked expressions, she continued. "My magic, it's the reason he's here." She was now in tears at this point. "I've brought him here." She locked eyes with Danny. "You've given me everything, and all I did in return was give him a one-way ticket to your soul. I'm sorry."
"Wanda, I—"
"Dan's right. I only added to your suffering. That's all I'm capable of doing." She took a breath to calm herself down. "I... I love you, Danny Fenton. I always have, ever since you first made me laugh at the asylum. And so I'm gonna let you go. You won't have to worry about him or me ever hurting you again."
"Wanda—" He was cut off as she used her right arm to pull him closer as she gave him a kiss that conveyed everything she ever felt for him. Love, admiration, and gratitude.
"Goodbye, Danny." With a surge of power, she used her magic to push the two away from her and into the light. As they cried out Wanda's name, she felt herself being pushed aside as Dan tried to make a grab for them, but it was too late. They were out of here. And she was alone.
With Dan.
For the next remaining seconds, the only sound that could be heard was Dan as he let out every curse, expletive, profanity, and obscenity he had ever learned as he was confronted with the truth that he had been thwarted yet again.
He turned on Wanda with a fury. "You little bitch, do you know what you've done?!"
Instead of fear, Wanda returned his gaze with a calm exterior. "Yes. I saved the love of my life from you. And no matter what torture or horrible act you do to me. I'll never regret what I did. You can break my mind and try to make me forget he even existed, but it won't change the truth that I saved him. So go on." She urged, challenging Dan with all her spirit. "Do your worst."
Wanda did not flinch nor scream as the monster stepped towards her.
The poor girl shivered as, despite the heavy straightjacket that was forced on her, she could still feel the cold air. How long has she been here? Days, years? She couldn't tell as Dan had messed with her sense of time. He had been furious with her and made sure that she would suffer. And so he had returned her here to her old cell. At times it felt like the walls were closing in on her, whether it was due to her own hallucinations or part of Dan's torture was up for debate.
But Wanda, despite the intense claustrophobia that permeated her senses, refused to break. Tears, pleas for mercy—none of it did she make, for the sorceress did not want to give the son of a bitch any satisfaction. Although it got hard when the monster would bring illusions to taunt her. They would vary between Danny, Rogue, and her father, all calling her dangerous, unpredictable, and, most of all, too powerful for her own good.
The worst of it was when he showed her visions of Danny and Rogue living their lives, growing closer, and eventually getting married as they moved into a nice house very similar to the one she had been living in in that dreamworld. And all the while they had moved on, forgetting about her, leaving her here forever.
Perhaps they blamed her when she told them about Dan's connection to her magic. She couldn't blame them, but the idea that they hate her... she... no, she can't show any weakness. Not in front of...
"Wanda."
Looking to her right, she could see Danny at her side, and on her left was Rogue. They were obviously illusions that Dan had made to break her further.
"No." She faced forward, refusing to make eye contact with them. "Go away, I'm not falling for this again. I know you're not real."
"We are real." Rogue said firmly as the two lifted the daughter of Magneto to her feet. "And we're getting you out of here."
Just as Wanda was about to tell them to leave her alone, she was cut off by Dan's voice.
"I knew you'd take the bait. Just can't leave an innocent in harm's way, can you, Danny?"
Behind them they were confronted with the alternate phantom, who had a look of delight at seeing his counterpart had returned. He knew his weaker self's pathetic obsession with protecting others would draw him back here in an attempt to save that wretched witch.
"No, I can't." Danny agreed. "You know me. Willing to go any distance to protect the people I love."
"Too bad that sentiment wasn't enough to keep the Nasty Burger from blowing up. So tell me, what makes you think it's going to be any different this time?"
"Because this time he has help!" A familiar voice to both phantoms echoed, making them both let out a face of incredulity.
"Sam?" "Manson?" They both whispered, stupefied at hearing that voice again, before a blue light came down and shined upon Dan, and there was a bit of an earthquake before a hand burst through the floor and grabbed Dan's foot.
The destructive spirit attempted to pull free but to no avail as the person holding on to him pulled themselves out of the ground, revealing Samantha (you better call her Sam if you don't want her to kick you in your soft place) Manson, translucent and shimmering like any other ghost. With a growl, she lunged at her killer, grasping hold of his leg.
Another figure followed, the techno geek himself, Tucker Foley. He took his other leg as more figures followed. Maddie Fenton, in her iconic blue jumpsuit, along with her daughter Jasmine, both grasped hold of Dan's left arm, while Mr. Lancer took hold of the right one. Jack Fenton, even as a ghost, was still full of life and energy as he burst through the ground behind the evil Phantom and wrapped his arms around his neck in a chokehold.
"We got him handled, sweetie." Maddie said to her son. "Take Wanda and get out of here!"
The three got over their shock at the new arrivals before heading over to leave as Dan tried to break free from his old family's grip, but they weren't going without a fight. Just as the three were about to head out the door to the cell, Wanda looked back at Dan.
"Wanda, we need to leave." Danny tried to usher her out, but the Scarlet Witch refused.
"This is my fault. I've brought him here with my magic." Holding her hands up, she focused on the energy, her energy, inside of Dan; connecting to it, she attempted to withdraw it. "I have to make sure that he never comes back."
The red aura around Dan started to flicker as he felt a bit of pain near his core. At first it was like a sting before it eventually started to grow with more intensity. Growling, the alternate phantom started thrashing around, but his former loved ones were still holding on.
"What are you doing?!" He shouted at Wanda, who kept her look of concentration as she attempted to purge him of the chaos magic.
"I gave you my magic, and now I take it back." She stated as a red stream of magic burst out from Dan's logo and split into two, each going back into Wanda's hands as she felt like she had been shot with adrenaline.
"M-my power." Dan choked out as the ghosts of Danny's loved ones finally let go of him, leaving Dan on his knees. Wanda wasn't done yet, as with the added energy, her eyes glowed with power as she had one last thing to do.
"Dan Phantom." Her voice echoed with power, making her seem all too similar to a goddess come down to earth to give rightful punishment. "You shall live out the rest of time, trapped inside your prison as you did before." She declared as Dan looked down to see his arm start to fade away along with the rest of his body.
With one last act of defiance, Dan cried, "This isn't over, Wanda! I'll get you for this! I swear it!"
Opening his eyes, the monster could only see the darkness that made up the inside of the Fenton Thermos. He immediately tried to connect himself back to Danny, but Wanda apparently had placed the psychic barrier back up, now reinforced, and he had no power to break it again.
Despite his anger, he managed to compose himself as he knew that eventually, his future would come to fruition. Danny would still become him.
It was inevitable.
Wanda was still staring at where Dan had just vanished from, unwilling to lower her guard, for she was still paranoid that she didn't do it right and that he would pop out at any moment.
"It's okay. You can put your magic away. He's gone." Danny tried to get her to relax as he lowered her arms.
"For now." Wanda said, noticing the way he said those last two words.
"Sadly." He returned in agreement before looking over to his loved ones. There was no need for words, as the smiles they gave him before fading away left him feeling light and a bit saddened. There was so much that he wanted to say, but he knew that it wasn't needed. He was forgiven.
The three stayed there in that aura of peace before Danny gestured for Wanda to walk with them. "Come on, let's go home."
"Home." The witch repeated. The word sounded so foreign on her tongue. Glancing at her two rescuers, she couldn't help but say, "You came back."
"Of course we did." Rogue answered, feeling a bit offended that Wanda thought they would up and leave her. "Did you really think we'd leave you with him?"
"You heard what I told you." Wanda replied, trying/failing to hide her tears. "Wouldn't blame you if you two thought I wasn't worth the trouble."
"Don't say that!" The southern belle snapped, startling Wanda, surprised that Rogue took those words that hard. "If anyone's to blame for any of this, it's Mystique. She's the one who poisoned Danny and led to all this."
"She's right." Danny added. "You couldn't have possibly known that something like this would happen."
"But with my magic he could've—"
"Could've what?" Her fellow goth interrupted. "Who cares what could've happened? Danny could've been that monster, and I could've been a similar monster." Wanda was curious about the last statement but didn't ask as Rogue wasn't done. "Wanda, you saved me three times. One from Vampira." At Danny's look, Rogue gave him a "we'll talk about it later" look. "And twice from Dan. But most importantly, you saved my boyfriend from that twisted abomination. And for that, sugar, I'll always be grateful."
Wanda didn't know what to say. She never expected a heartfelt speech from Rogue; she thought that the other girl would hate her, blame her, or curse her. Rogue sensing Wanda's apprehension brought her into a hug.
"We'll always be here for you, Wanda. We're not going anywhere."
Danny joined in the hug. "I promise you, I've never regretted getting you out of that asylum. And never will." He said, with Rogue nodding as well.
"Me neither."
The only sounds that could be heard were Wanda's sobs as she was overwhelmed by the love and trust that Danny and Rogue had shown her. She realized that Clockwork was right: these two did truly love her, but whether that will move to romantic love... well, they'll figure it out when they come to that.
"Now let's go home." Danny took her arm with Rogue doing the same, and together the three walked out of the cell and through the halls of the mental institution, and as they approached the exit, the doors opened on their own, bathing the three in a warm light that made Wanda smile.
They were going home.
Never would the magic user ever think she would be grateful to see the institute's infirmary. She jumped at the feeling of a cold hand on her shoulder and turned around to see a smiling Clockwork.
"Excellent work." He pointed over to Danny and Rogue, who were slowly waking up. With a happy squeal, she went over and embraced Danny before doing the same to Rogue, while making sure not to make skin contact.
"Clockwork?" The hybrid was surprised to see the ghost of time again and a little worried; if he showed up, it only meant there was a serious problem.
"There's no need to be worried, Daniel. Everything's the way it's supposed to be." The ancient spirit assured him.
Rogue, after pulling a happy Wanda off of her, looked on in amazement at this ghost who grinned when he noticed her.
"Ah, Anna Marie, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Clockwork, the ghost of time."
Before Rogue could utter a word, they were all joined by the professor, Storm, Logan, Beast, and the senior X-Men, who all noticed the new arrival. Logan, thinking that this was some threat to his runts, immediately pulled out his claws and was about to slash at the ghost, only to be surprised that his adamantium claws were blocked by Clockwork's staff.
"Easy there, James. I mean you no harm."
This made the Wolverine back up as he assessed the ghost. "James?"
"A story for another time I'm afraid. I'm just here to make sure that your students are okay and that the timestream is now heading in the proper direction."
"Time stream?" Beast asked, intrigued by their new guest, as he made his way over. "Judging by your attire and the look of the device in your hand, I think it's safe to assume you have control over time?"
"Astute as always, Henry. I am Clockwork. I monitor the time stream and make sure everything is the way it's supposed to be." He then changed to his older form. "And as for my change in appearance. Time moves in different directions." He turned to an infant. "Backwards, forwards, you get the point."
"Then it is you I can thank for saving my students?" Xavier asked as he looked in awe at the ghost.
"Partially, but Wanda is the one who deserves all the credit." Everyone turned to Wanda, who blushed. "She successfully used the bond she shared with Danny and Rogue to awaken them."
"Bond?" Everyone other than Wanda asked, making said girl tense as this revelation was now out in the open. She managed to avoid Danny's and Rogue's eyes as Clockwork explained to them all that the three of them shared a bond, gaining many interesting reactions.
"Extraordinary." Beast couldn't help but say. "I've never heard of anything like this." He turned to the professor. "Have you?"
Xavier shook his head. "I have not. It is quite unbelievable."
"Yeah." Jean jumped in. "I mean, I feel a connection to Scott, but I don't think it's on this level. Not to mention having it be between more than two people."
"Man, sis, you get into weird situations." Kurt couldn't help but comment.
However, the strongest reactions were from Danny and Rogue, who were just staring at Wanda. Both of them were understandably stunned by this, Danny more so as he realized that he, on some level, loved Wanda (according to Clockwork, in order for the bond to form, both parties need to return the feelings), which made him feel guilty as he was with Rogue. Though the thing that surprised him the most was that Wanda had feelings for him. Who'd imagine?
Rogue, however, was just dumbstruck. She had been through a lot. Her ghost half tried to take over; her boyfriend's evil future self trapped her in an illusion and almost tried to make her like him along with her boyfriend, and to top it off, not only did Wanda share some kind of bond with her boyfriend, she also shared one with the Wanda as well.
Before she could think further, she was cut off by Wanda, who addressed the pair with a saddened and awkward look on her face.
"Look, I get it. You don't want me involved. I understand. I'll leave the institute. You won't have to worry about me coming between you two." She said as she was about to leave, head hung low as she pondered where she would go.
"Wait!"
Everyone turned to see Rogue get out of bed and race over to the other girl.
"I don't want you to leave." Rogue said. "Please, Wanda. I already lost Vampira along with almost losing Danny. I don't want to lose my best friend."
"But what about—"
"We'll work it out." Rogue looked to Danny, who got up to join them. "I don't know how, but we'll find a way to make this work."
"She's right." Danny began. "We can work something out." He rubbed his head. "Though to be honest, I didn't know you felt this way about me."
This earned him a smack from Wanda. "God, you can be so clueless sometimes." She muttered. "Of course I love you." She then confirmed for him. "After everything you've done for me, how could I not?"
"Hehe." Danny rubbed his red cheek as he looked at Rogue. "So how are we gonna do this? I mean..." He stopped as he decided to finish the rest of the conversation with Rogue in private mentally. 'You're not suggesting?' Sure he didn't want Wanda to leave, but for them to...
'What? That we have Wanda join us in our relationship?' Rogue finished. 'Believe it or not, sugar, but yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying.'
'Whoa, whoa. You're making this decision without my input?'
Rogue raised an eyebrow. 'Are you seriously complaining about having two girlfriends? Isn't that like every guy's dream?'
The ghostly X-Man was now blushing up a storm at the thought of being in a relationship with both Rogue and Wanda. 'Eh...well...I mean...uh...' His brain was short-circuiting as he was trying to think of a response. 'Why are you so calm about this? I didn't really think you'd be okay with something like this. No offense, but you kinda come off as the jealous type sometimes.'
This earned him a glare and a slight punch on the shoulder from Rogue. 'I'm gonna forget you said that. Or thought that.'
'Sorry. But still, are you sure you want this? I know that you said that you almost lost me along with... wait, what did you say happened to Vampira?'
The goth pursed her lips at the thought of her ghost half. With great reluctance, she explained to Danny how her ghost half gained sentience and tried to take over, but thanks to Wanda, was expelled from her body.
'Rogue, I'm so sorry.' Danny apologized as he contemplated this recent development. Seeing Rogue trying to hold back tears from this betrayal, he embraced her as he whispered soothingly in her ear.
'It's fine.' She pulled away a bit as she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. 'I'll get over it. But Wanda, she belongs here, with us. I can feel it, and I know you can too. I guess this was all just meant to be. It's alright, Danny. You can let her in.'
'Is it too late to say that I've been listening all this time?' A third voice entered their mental link, making the two look at Wanda in amazement. Wanda was avoiding eye contact as she too had been stupefied by Rogue's suggestion.
Blushing, she said, 'Sorry, I could just hear your voices in my head, and I didn't want to interrupt.'
The two shared a glance before Rogue smiled and gestured for Wanda to come over and join their hug. The magic-using mutant felt content being in their arms before they were interrupted.
"Like, are you guys okay?" Kitty asked as they turned to see the rest of the occupants in the room staring at them.
"We're fine, Kitty, it's just..." Danny looked to Rogue. "It's your idea, so you can explain it." He said getting an eye roll from his girlfriend as she addressed the others.
"We decided that we're gonna be..." Gosh, even she was getting nervous at telling them. "Together, all three of us."
"Like dating?" Kitty asked again as she and everyone else were startled by this revelation.
"Exactly." Rogue replied, feeling her confidence coming back. "We all care for each other, so I guess Wanda and I will both be dating Danny."
Both Jean and Scott shared incredulous looks at each other before Jean said, "Rogue, are you sure? I understand that you share a connection. But are you really okay with that?"
"Yeah." Kurt agreed. "This just seems a little out there, don't you think?"
Rogue placed an arm around Danny and another around Wanda. "Why not? We all love each other, and we're all okay with it. Right?" She looked at Wanda, who nodded, and then at Danny, who was a bit unsure. Smirking, the southern belle looked at her fellow goth and nodded. Wanda went over to Danny and brought him into another kiss.
Wanda was relishing this, as while their previous kiss was loving, it wasn't as passionate as this one. And it felt so good to finally kiss Danny. Danny at first was a bit shocked, not used to kissing another girl, but he soon reciprocated as everyone watched the two make out.
Slowly they separated, both of their cheeks red as they turned back to the crowd. Rogue let out a small giggle before kissing Danny in return.
There was a long silence before Logan went up to the professor. "Pay up, Chuck." He ordered with a smug grin as Xavier let out a groan and pulled out his wallet and slipped some money into his old friend's hand.
"What?!" Everyone vocalized in disbelief.
Logan still had his smirk as he explained. "When hocus pocus joined us, I knew something like this would happen. Chuck disagreed, and so we made a little wager."
"You bet on Wanda and I sharing Danny?" Rogue asked in shock and also a bit of anger at her personal life being bet on.
"Yep." Logan said proudly. "Saw it coming a mile away. Thanks."
Xavier sighed. "Despite the loss of the bet, I want to assure you that despite the... unusualness of this arrangement, nothing will change. You still have our support." He turned to his other students. "Correct?"
Everyone nodded while Kitty sighed dreamily.
"Am I the only one who thinks it's romantic? Can you just imagine being connected by love?"
Jean shook her head at Kitty being a sucker for romance, but she couldn't help but agree. "It is." She then noticed Scott and decided to set things straight with him. "But don't think that just because it works for Danny it'll work for you." She whispered to him. The telepath saw the subtle thumbs up that Scott gave his friend.
"I won't, Jean." Scott promised her. "You're the only girl for me."
This earned him a kiss on the cheek. "Good answer."
"Well, this has been nice and all, but I think it's time we head out of here." Rogue said, wanting to get out of the infirmary. She took Danny's hand and Wanda's hand and was about to leave only to gasp as she realized she wasn't wearing any gloves.
"What's wrong?" Danny inquired worriedly only to see Rogue's bare hand holding Wanda's, and the sorceress wasn't showing any signs of passing out.
"H-How?" Rogue wondered. "I remember back at the church I used my powers to knock you out. How is-"
"The bond, while too weak to protect her from your powers back then, is now strong enough to suffice." Clockwork explained. He gestured to the beam of light between them. "See for yourself."
"I can't see anything." Kitty said. "Or is this one of those things where they can only see it?"
"Precisely."
Both Wanda and Rogue looked at the beam of light that connected them. To Wanda's amazement, she found that before it was dimmed, but now it was a tad brighter.
"You really are immune." Rogue said as she held Wanda's hand.
"Yes, after all, she is now a part of you, along with Danny." Clockwork said before raising his staff. "Farewell, I wish you all a bright future." He then vanished.
Rogue looked at their hands as she smiled at Wanda. "Nice to have someone else immune to my powers." Without another word, Rogue took their hands and was about to herd them out of the infirmary only to run into Beast.
"Oh no, you don't." He playfully scolded. "None of you are leaving until we make sure you're all in perfect health."
Danny and Rogue both groaned as they got back into bed.
"You too, Wanda." Beast told her getting a whine from the girl as she moved to another bed as the others started to leave as they said their goodbyes.
"Rest easy, you three." Xavier said as he was the last to leave, along with Logan and Ororo. "And I just want to remind you that the rules are still the same." He looked at Danny. "I don't want to catch you in either of their bedrooms or them in yours." He then exited the room with his instructors.
"You do know he's going to break that, right, Charles?" Ororo said to him.
Xavier sighed. "I know." His face then became one of concern. "Though I must admit I am worried for when this news eventually reaches Magneto's ears. I don't think he'll take it very well."
Logan chuckled, imagining the look on his face when he finds out his daughter is in a relationship with both Danny and Rogue. Yep, things were going to get very interesting now.
After being examined, the three of them were deemed to be in good health, though Beast still insisted that they spend the night in the infirmary. Danny started to doze off peacefully when he felt someone get in bed and snuggle up to him on his right. Then another person repeated the same motion on his left.
"Some night, huh?" Rogue joked, getting a grunt of agreement from her boyfriend. So much had happened this night. He had been poisoned; Rogue had almost been taken over by Vampira; he was almost taken over by Dan, but the most shocking was the fact that he had gone into his date with one girlfriend and now came out with two.
Danny remained silent, which made his lovers look at him with a twinge of worry.
"You still thinking about Dan?" Wanda asked.
"Sort of." Danny admitted, though it wasn't enough that he saw Dan again, but for a brief moment he had been reunited with his friends and family. "I just... so much has happened in just a couple of hours. And what about Mystique? I'm sure she's not gonna quit anytime soon. And what do we do about Vampira?"
"It's gonna be okay." Wanda assured him. "We're here for you, Danny, and whatever happens next, whether it be Mystique, Vampira, or even Dan, we'll face it together."
A bright smile appeared on his face, the first time he's done it since this whole ordeal started. Maybe he could get used to this whole two-girlfriends thing. "I guess I'm stuck with you two." He said jokingly, getting chuckles from them.
"Face it, sugar, you just hit the jackpot." Rogue said as she and Wanda snuggled up to Danny. Getting an idea, Wanda pulled out her phone and got in position to take a picture of the three of them.
"What are you doing?" Danny asked as Wanda took the picture.
She gave the two a sweet smile. "I just want a reminder to know that this moment is and forever will be real."