It had been a couple of weeks since Danny, Rogue, and Wanda had officially hooked up. After being released from the infirmary, things slowly went back to normal, or as normal as a school with superpowered teenagers could be. At first the professor decided that Danny should stay within the institute's premises for a bit as to not risk another attempt on his life, with Danny reluctantly accepting, though Rogue and Wanda made sure to keep him company so it wasn't too bad.
Both Logan and Storm would occasionally scout out the town for any sign of Mystique. In their search they couldn't find any trace of the shapeshifter, and so after three days they concluded that it was safe, and Danny was given the all clear to go out again. Free to walk around Bayville again, he took his girls out on many dates as they enjoyed themselves on their various outings.
"Alright, you girls ready?" Danny asked. The three had arrived at the roller rink and got their skates on. With the easy part out of the way, the challenge now was being able to get to the ring without falling over.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Rogue said, making Wanda raise an eyebrow. Was this really that challenging?
"You guys have trouble with this?"
"Oh, like you wouldn't believe." Rogue replied. "But now that we have another person, maybe we'll finally be able to get this." The three slowly got up and joined hands to keep each other stable as they slowly started to inch their way to their destination.
"Easy, easy." Danny muttered. "Keep an even space between your legs—" Unfortunately, his words died as his right foot slipped, and he ended up falling while dragging his girlfriends down with him.
"How is it that we can deal with a high-level Danger Room sessions, but we still can't figure this out?" Rogue wondered.
"Maybe we should ask Logan to implement something like this in his lessons." Danny joked.
"And that there is the Little Dipper." Danny said as Wanda looked through the telescope.
"Space is just so massive." The magic user said in awe. "You ever wonder if we'll go up there in our lifetimes?"
"Maybe. Remember when we saw the Phoenix go up there?" He brought up. "I doubt that's the only thing hanging out amongst the stars; just imagine the possibilities."
Rogue, while thinking about it, suddenly had the image of a group of nasty green aliens trying to make her their queen pop into her head, making the goth shiver. "Honestly, I'd rather be alone in this universe."
"Come on, Rogue! The water's fine." Wanda called as she and Danny were having the time of their lives surfing the waves.
"I'm good. You two go on without me." Rogue replied as she lounged lazily on the beach. "Besides, I could use a good tan."
Seeing that Rogue was just out of reach of the water and looking down at her hand, which was sparking with magic, the sorceress got a wicked idea. Danny, following her line of sight and seeing the mischievous smirk on her face, put together what was going through her head.
"Wanda, I know what you're thinking, and trust me, you don't want to do that."
Wanda's grin merely widened, making her look like the Chesire Cat. "I wanna do it."
"Don't do it."
"I'm gonna do it." With a wave of her hand, she made a small wave douse Rogue in water.
The pale girl glared at the laughing witch before smirking evilly. "This means war." She took off into the air and tackled the two into the water, where they engaged in a massive splash fight.
"A Lego spaceship?" Rogue looked down at the pile of Legos that her boyfriend and girlfriend were currently digging through. "Really?"
"What? You said you were down for anything, remember?" Danny said, getting Rogue to sigh as she put a hand to her head.
"I did say that." She said to herself.
"Hey, Rogue, do you have a black 2x4?" Wanda asked, unlike her fellow goth, she was totally engrossed in the task.
Rolling her eyes, she handed it to her. "Here."
Overall, the three had gotten used to their arrangement. It didn't really feel as weird as they thought it would be. The three had hung out together often, so it was pretty much the same as before, only that, for instance, while watching a movie, not only could Danny put his arm around Rogue, he could put his other arm around Wanda. Also, having two girlfriends during make-out sessions was pretty interesting. The hybrid had to admit he was really enjoying having two girlfriends (he was sure Tucker was cheering him on from the afterlife).
Wanda was having the time of her life as she was enjoying everything to the fullest. It was such a joy that over time Wanda soon became more outgoing, and it was a common occurrence to see her with a smile, a complete 180 from the emotionally unstable girl that first stepped into this school. She was far more relaxed in composure, and her new easygoing personality made her more popular with the other students than before.
Rogue, however, was still adjusting to life without Vampira. Ever since the separation between the two of them, she had felt a bit of a void within her, making her feel incomplete. It was hard to shake it off, but the presence of Danny and Wanda made it easier to bear day by day. Not only that, but Kurt and she had grown closer as well after their talk.
In the infirmary the three were still resting, though Rogue was the only one who wasn't asleep. Just as she was dozing off, she heard a familiar pop and a voice say, "Up for dinner?"
"Kurt!" Rogue gazed at him with a bit of annoyance for disturbing her.
Kurt wasn't fazed by her reaction as he kept his smile and held out a tray of food. "Spicy enchiladas and black beans covered in Kitty's special sauce."
Rogue held her hand out to ward off Kitty's horrible cooking. "Ugh, please just no."
The German boy couldn't help but smile in amusement. "Can't blame you. I'll see if I can order some delivery." He was about to teleport out when he heard Rogue call out to him.
"Kurt?" She said as she looked at him with regret. "I'm sorry for what happened between us back at the church." She apologized, ashamed for how she brushed him off when he tried to stop her from killing their mother. "You were only trying to help me, and I threw you aside. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. I was no better than Mystique."
"Hey, sis, it happens." Kurt waved off. "Brothers and sisters fight all the time, but in the end they always make up."
His response earned him a perplexed glance from his newly revealed sister. "You see me as your sister? Even though Mystique only adopted me."
"Of course." He reassured her. "You'll always be my family, Rogue. We're in this together, and I mean it. Whatever you're going through, I'm here for you, okay? Now sit tight. I'll see if I can sneak you a pizza without Kitty being any the wiser." He was about to leave again when his sister had one last thing to say.
"Kurt?"
"Yeah?"
Rogue gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks."
Kurt grinned back. "Anytime."
Another thing was the loss of her ghost powers. Thankfully, this didn't set her back by too much. She found that she still had the ability to fly along with super strength, so she didn't have to change her fighting approach in the Danger Room at all. Though there were times when she'd wound up hitting a wall or a door, forgetting that she could no longer phase through solid objects anymore.
All in all the three of them had adjusted to the change and despite how shocking it appeared at first, so too did the rest of the institute. Though that didn't stop Ray and Roberto from occasionally asking Danny for advice on how to woo some girls they were interested in. Tabitha, whenever she occasionally visited, couldn't help but make jokes whenever she was in their vicinity.
"Hey, Danny, what does it take to join?" She said in jest. "Do I have to put on some goth makeup to catch your fancy?" This moment was immediately followed by Rogue and Wanda chasing her with Tabitha shouting, "Guys, it was a joke, I swear! I was kidding! Give me a break!"
Eventually the news of Danny having two girlfriends spread around town as the townspeople started to notice them together on dates. Of course there were very mixed reactions. There were some who were secretly impressed or, in Duncan's case, jealous, as he was still single while Danny had two girlfriends who loved him with all their hearts. Then there were those who always had their heads up their asses and just couldn't mind their own business, calling it perverted and other terms, but the three didn't care what those assholes had to think. As time passed the revelation of him having two girlfriends soon became old news as the people of Bayville found something else to complain about.
"Come on out, sugar." Rogue requested. "We want to see how it looks on you."
Danny sighed. The girls had dragged him to the mall and decided to get him some new clothes. That meant he was their model as they simply handed him shirts, pants, etc., and told him to try it on.
He walked out showing off the black shirt that Rogue had given him as the two girls gave their approval along with the stares.
"Gotta say, you look good in black." Rogue complimented. "But then we already knew that.
Wanda handed him another shirt. "Here, I think red would also be a good color for you."
While Danny went back to the dressing room to put on the new outfit, a familiar bunch of misfit mutants were hanging out at the food court of the mall. There was a large space between them and the rest of the patrons of the mall, which they were fine with.
"I'm telling you guys, you really need to shape up." Pietro told his crew, who were all ignoring him as they were digging into their food. Despite how much they still resented Pietro for going behind their backs, having him around meant the occasional money payments sent by his father, so they tolerated him. "If you want to prove yourselves to father, then you still have to prove your worth. And all I see is you guys lazing around and goofing off."
"Sure, whatever." Toad replied, bored. He turned to Lance. "So how are things with you and Kitty?" So sick of hearing Pietro talk that he would listen to anything, even Lance about his relationship with one of the X-geeks.
"Actually, we've been distant for a while." Lance answered. "I guess we've both been busy with all the stuff going on in our personal lives."
"Now that you mention it, I think it'd be best you cut her off." Pietro said insensitively, gaining glares from his teammates. "You got to think of the big picture, Lance. Kitty and her loyalty to the X-Men are only gonna drag you, and, by extension, us down. You gotta be tough; you gotta be fearless."
Toad, his eyes drifting off, noticed a familiar mutant walking out of a clothing store. "Hey, look!" He pointed. "It's Wanda."
"WANDA!" Immediately, Pietro dove under the table to hide. "Don't tell her I'm here."
"Relax, Mr. Fearless; I don't think she's looking for you." Lance said as they all looked at the smiling witch as she waited outside. A smile that was very uncharacteristic for the usual grumpy witch.
"Is it me, or does she look a little too happy?" Toad asked.
"I know, if I were related to Pietro, I don't think I'd be able to smile ever again." Was Lance's reply.
"Hey!"
"Guys, look! She's with Danny and Rogue." Blob pointed out as the two came out to join the happy girl.
"Looks like the two girls duped Danny into being their pack mule." Toad observed seeing the bags the hybrid was carrying. "Remember when Tabby made us do that for her?"
"I guess even shopping can make a girl like Wanda happy." Pietro guessed, weirded out seeing his usually hostile sister grinning without a care in the world. "It's just so weird. I haven't seen her smile since we were kids." They kept watching as Wanda wrapped her arms around Danny's neck and brought him in for a quick kiss.
...
...
...
"AHHH—" The massive scream that Pietro would've unleashed was quickly dampened by Blob covering his mouth as the Brotherhood ducked under the railing to avoid being seen by the trio.
"Will, you shut up? They might hear us from over there." Lance scolded, though he was just as shocked by what they had seen. Blob let Pietro out of his grip as the speedster almost fell but caught himself with the table. Too shocked was he to even stand on his feet.
"Yo, you okay?" Toad asked, as Pietro started to stare off into space as he started to make whimpering sounds as his lips trembled. A sudden slap with Lance saying, "He's good" brought him back to reality.
"Wanda." Pietro muttered. "I saw Wanda... kissing..."
"Yeah, we know; we saw it too." Lance reminded him.
"Bu-But why? Why? I thought he was dating Rogue. This can't be real. It has to be a dream. A nightmare." The poor boy started to shake his head with his eyes closed, thinking that he would wake up. "Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake, wake up, WAKE UP!"
*Smack*
"Thanks, I needed that." Pietro thanked Lance. "But Wanda kissing Danny. How? And why was Rogue just standing there? It makes no sense."
"Maybe she's into that sort of thing?" Toad guessed.
"Or maybe Danny broke up with Rogue and is with Wanda now." Blob suggested.
Toad shot that idea down. "I'm no expert on women, but the last thing a girl wants to do after getting dumped is go to the mall with her ex and her ex's new girlfriend."
"Well, whatever is going on, I'm going to put a stop to it." The speedster vowed as he sped off to confront his estranged sibling.
"He's dead." Lance voiced with the others agreeing as they went back to their food. Pietro can fend for himself for all they care.
Meanwhile, Wanda was having a wonderful day as she bought a nice pair of boots along with a very pretty necklace. Nothing could go wrong for her.
"WANDA!" In a flash, her brother appeared right in her face.
"Pietro?" She mumbled as her smile quickly disappeared as she was confronted with her sibling. "What are you—"
"What the hell are you doing, Wanda?" Pietro demanded as he pointed at Danny. "Making out with him of all people? Are you insane? I mean, I know you'd been committed, but I'd thought you'd have enough sense not to..." The rambling speedster stopped as he took in the glare he was getting from his sister along with ones from Danny and Rogue.
"Look, I don't know what kind of relationship drama you and Rogue are going through, but you need to work it out, alright?" He said trying to get the half-ghost to keep his paws off his sister. "Couples therapy, counseling, the works, whatever, just do it and get back together so this nightmare can end."
"We never broke up." Rogue said to him.
Pietro blinked a couple of times as his brain tried to reboot after that revelation. "But... I saw Danny kissing Wanda. So why would you..." His thoughts trailed off as he remembered what Toad said earlier. Maybe Rogue really was into that sort of thing.
"We're both dating him, idiot." Wanda explained seeing the disturbed expression on her brother's face and guessing the conclusions his brain was coming up with.
"...What?"
"We're both dating him." Rogue reiterated.
At this, Pietro placed a finger in his ear and, using his speed, quickly picked around to make sure nothing was clogging it, grossing the three out.
"Sorry, I was just making sure my hearing was okay." He then took a calming breath. "Now, say that again."
The love trio shared exasperated looks with each other before Danny spelled it out loud and clear.
"I. Am. Dating. Wanda and Rogue. At. The same time."
...
...
...
"Hey, Pietro? Not like we care and all, but are you alright?"
"Huh?" Opening his eyes, the white-haired son of Magneto found his team looking down at him. "Wh-What happened?"
"You tell us." Lance replied. "We saw you talking to your sister, and then you suddenly fainted." Blob picked the slim boy up and set him down on the chair as Lance asked, "Just what did she say to you to get a reaction like that?"
Thinking back to before he passed out, he remembered the words Danny said to him, making him want to pass out all over again. "He...he's..."
"What? What is it?" Blob asked.
"Danny's dating both Rogue and Wanda." He repeated calmly as he just hadn't realized what he had just said before his brain caught up to him and it finally dawned on him. "He's dating Rogue and Wanda." The speedster whispered in horror. "HE'S DATING ROGUE AND WANDA! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The people walking by gave the Brotherhood annoyed glances and mumbled to themselves. One of them happened to be Mr. Lee. "Geez, what's his problem?" He said as he shook his head at the Brotherhood's antics before continuing on his way. Mercifully, Pietro soon stopped, leaving the Brotherhood stupefied by this news.
"Seriously?" Lance questioned, only to get a silent nod of confirmation from Pietro.
"Whoa!" Both Blob and Toad gasped in awe and admiration.
"Dang." Lance commented. "Wow, that's impressive. Maybe I should ask him for pointers on Kitty."
"Did you not hear what I said?! That ghost is dating my sister along with someone else! What world are we living in?"
"The world where Danny becomes your brother-in-law?" Toad quipped as the rest of the Brotherhood started laughing. "Oh, and don't forget I think Rogue would also become your sister-in-law."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure you can't marry two women. So Danny is the only one he was to worry about becoming an in-law." Lance brought up.
"Oh, yeah, you're right. So which one do you think Wanda will be, the wife or the mistress?" Toad queried the gang. "What about you, Pietro? Which one do you think your sister will be?"
"Shut up! All of you!" Pietro yelled at his team as they continued laughing at Pietro's expense. "Wanda isn't going to be either of those. Not on my watch." He then sped around the mall on a searching spree for the lovers.
"Oh, man, we're going to have so much fun with this." Lance told the other two as they nodded with smiles.
It didn't take long to locate the trio as Pietro found them in a bookstore.
"Wanda, have you lost your mind?" Pietro appeared in front of his sister, shaking her by the shoulders. "What are you thinking, dating Danny while he's also in a relationship with Rogue?"
"I'm thinking it's none of your business. Now scram, Pietro." His sister ordered as she pushed him off.
"Just what did they teach you in that looney bin? Do you have any idea of how bad our father's gonna freak when he finds out about this?" Suddenly Pietro's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, is that why you're dating him? Just so you can give father a heart attack? Are you that petty?"
"Why would I care what that bitter old man thinks?" Wanda replied scathingly. "And why do you suddenly care about my dating life, huh? Little late to pull the protective brother act, don't you think?"
Pietro, though a bit cowed by his sister's attitude, still pressed on. "But him?" He pointed at Danny. "I mean, he's also with another girl. That's messed up."
"Says the guy who brought four dates to the dance." Rogue pointed out.
The silver-haired mutant ignored her. "He's not even a real mutant."
"All four of those girls you took were mutants?" Danny asked.
The silver-haired mutant glared at the half-ghost before turning back to his sister. "The point is, father will never accept him as part of the family, so—"
"Family?" Wanda started, the word feeling bitter on her tongue. "You really think that after all this time I still consider you and Magneto family?" Seeing Pietro wasn't going to respond, she continued to rip into him as she gestured to Danny and Rogue. "Those two. They're my family. I trust them with everything, and I'd die for them just like they'd do the same for me."
"Wanda, I—"
"How dare you call yourself my brother after all these years. You didn't even bother to visit or check on me. Do you know how many nights I spent wishing that Magneto or even you would come back and take me home?" She tried to hold herself together not wanting Pietro to see her vulnerability. "You were my brother, my twin. Why didn't you come for me?"
"Wanda, I was just a kid too." He argued though it did nothing to rid the guilt he felt. "I had no way of doing that. Father would never allow it. I was scared of what he would do if I disobeyed him. You don't know what it was like living alone with him, alright. I didn't exactly have it easy either."
"But when you grew up, did you consider it then?" Wanda questioned. "Back when father left you on your own, did you think then to get me out, or did you forget just like he did?"
"I couldn't exactly remember the address as a kid!"
"So you didn't bother to look. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard for you, especially someone with all that inhuman speed at their disposal. Or was it too much effort for you to even try?"
"Wanda, I'm sorry." Pietro apologized genuinely. "But I thought that maybe it was for the best that you stayed there. You were out of control. Father said—"
"It's always about father with you!" Wanda raged, angry at how he acted like her time there was necessary and still defending Magneto even after all these years. "Still trying to get his approval. And look what's it done to you."
Her brother now was offended by that jab. "Done to me? What's wrong with me?"
Wanda huffed at Pietro being this clueless. "The X-Men have told me about all the stuff you've done. I know you were a brat when we were kids but I didn't think you'd sink that low."
"Hey, whatever they told you are lies." The silver speedster accused. "I'm not as bad as the X-geeks make me out to be."
"So you didn't straight up frame Evan for theft just for kicks then?"
Pietro sported a guilty look on his face, but not out of regret for what he did, but guilt at being caught.
"Not only that, but I've seen the way you treat your team." She continued. "Lording your power over them." Pietro blushed in embarrassment as he remembered the time when he had Blob make him food while forcing Toad to hold the TV antenna. "I'm sure Magneto does the same, though I doubt he's as childish about it as you are. And let's not forget you left them high and dry during the phoenix incident, all so you can get in good graces with him. Am I wrong?"
Pietro frowned as the stare Wanda was giving him was worse than the usual rage-filled ones. It wasn't a look of anger but a look of indifference. As if Wanda was just done with him like he wasn't even worth the effort of getting angry over. And that hurt more than whatever pain she could inflict on him with her powers.
"No." He responded numbly. "I did do all those things. But you have to understand."
"Understand what?" Wanda countered. "That you're nothing more than Magneto's pawn?"
"I'm not his pawn!" Pietro shot back hotly.
"Yes you are. You always have been. Face the facts, Pietro; he doesn't care. He only came back in your life when he needed more mutants to add to his army. How much time does he spend with you? And when he speaks to you it's probably just to give you an order, isn't it? There's no, "I love you, son" or "How was your day, son?" is there?"
Pietro didn't speak but Wanda could see in his eyes that she was a hundred percent right in her assessment on their relationship.
For once Wanda gave her brother a look of pity. "It's your powers, Pietro. That's all he cares about. No matter how much you chase after his approval, he'll never see past that. You might never realize it but I have and that's why I've moved on. I'm done with him. I don't even have it in me anymore to kill him. He's not worth it."
She turned to leave with her true family when Pietro grabbed her wrist.
"Are you serious?" He asked in astonishment wondering if this really was Wanda. "You really don't want to kill him anymore?"
"No." Wanda answered softly. "I've changed. My childhood was wasted in that hellhole he sent me to. I'm not about to waste the rest of my life on some pointless revenge." Deciding she had seen Pietro enough to last a lifetime, she turned to leave when she stopped, apparently having one last thing to say.
"Pietro... be careful around him. You never know, but one day he might end up getting rid of you."
The slim mutant reared back at this. "No, no. He wouldn't." Her brother protested, but Wanda could see the small amount of doubt on his face.
"When I inconvenienced his plans, he threw me away without hesitation. Who's to say he won't do the same to you?" With that last sentence she then headed out with Danny and Rogue following her, leaving the son of Magneto frozen in place, unable to process what just happened. The girl who walked away was not his sister. Not the one he remembered growing up alongside nor the one who was chaotic and filled with hate. No, this was an entirely new Wanda, evident by the fact that during that whole emotional display, her powers did not go off at all.
She was right; she did change, leaving the unanswered question, what will he do now? He had no clue, and so for the first time in a long while, he walked, not sped nor ran, but walked at a reasonable (maybe a little too slow) pace with plenty of conflicting thoughts running in his head over this new development.
Meanwhile, Danny and Rogue were at Wanda's side as they noticed she was obviously down after that grueling conversation.
"Are you okay?" Danny comforted. "I know that must've been difficult for you."
"It was, but I'm fine." Wanda answered, still trying to get over her complicated feelings for her brother. "Can we go home now? Please?"
"Of course." Rogue said as the trio headed out.
Gambit broke into a run as he eyed the metal gates that were coming into view. Pulling out his staff, he used it to catapult himself over and land gracefully on his feet. Looking around to see if there was anyone watching, like a guard. Seeing he was in the clear, he made his way closer to the mansion he was assigned to infiltrate.
Peering through one of the windows, he saw it was empty, and, using his powers, he drew a happy face of energy on the window, causing it to vaporize the glass and give him a way in. A normal thief would've hopped right in, but Gambit was no amateur. Spraying the floor, he found his hunch was correct.
Invisible infrared lasers. Child's play to someone like him. Taking out his staff again, he added some attachments to it. With a quiet leap he landed on one of the dressers and aimed his staff. Flicking the switch, it shot out a cable from both ends that collided with the walls on each side, creating a makeshift zip-line for him.
In one of the bedrooms, the place's occupant, one Warren Worthington III, briefly heard the sound as his wings rose up before rising down as he went back to sleep. Probably just the house settling.
Back with Gambit, he zipped up his coat and wrapped his arms and legs around the staff. Pressing another button made him silently zip past the lasers. Reaching the other side of the room, he lowered his upper body so that he was hanging upside down. Carefully avoiding the lasers, he used his powers to draw a circle of energy on the floor, causing it to vaporize and give him an opening to what lay underneath. Unfortunately, the sound it made was just loud enough to stir Warren up.
Not knowing that he had woken Warren up, Gambit dropped down through the makeshift hole, and right in front of him, sitting on a stand, was an interesting stone that was starting to flicker green. Grabbing it, the Cajun was about to make off with it when the doors to the room opened, revealing a shirtless Warren.
"See something you like?" The winged mutant said sarcastically.
Not in the mood to waste time on idle chit chat, Gambit threw one of his cards, creating an explosion to distract the mutant. Throwing another one at the wall to make a way out, he started to make his escape, using his staff to once more leap across the fence. Getting over to the street, he met up with Magneto and handed him the stone.
"You sure this thing is worth all the trouble?" Gambit asked his boss.
Before Magneto could respond, they noticed Warren up above. Thinking fast, Gambit threw another card, creating an explosion that pushed Warren to the ground. Magneto then summoned the metal poles that made up the fence and impaled them in the street around the downed angel. Making the poles bend, he trapped Warren in a makeshift cage.
"We have what we need." Magneto said. "Let's move." And without another word, the two took off, leaving Warren, who vowed he'd get to the bottom of this.
Back with the gang at the institute, all the students were getting pumped up as they were starting an exciting game of baseball. And up to bat was the X-Men's very own Rogue.
"Game on, Jean." She bantered good-naturedly with the redhead, who was the pitcher. "Give me your best shot."
Jean smirked as she held the ball up in the air with her telekinesis. "Oh, I'll give you my best shot."
"Wait, are powers allowed?" Rogue asked the umpire, who happened to be Beast.
"Come on, people. Let's play ball." Beast said, hoping that they would have a nice, relaxing, and responsible game.
"Come on, Jean." Scott (who was the catcher) encouraged. "Rogue's got no bat. She's a no batter. No batter, no batter!" He held three fingers under his glove.
Smirking, Jean threw the ball, and Rogue, deciding to use all her strength, got an instant home run as the ball flew right out of the institute, where it smashed through a car's window. Luckily, it was only Kelly's car. So no damage done.
"And here we go." Beast commented as Rogue ran (or more like flew) around the bases. "Time for a seventh-inning stretch." He knew things were about to spiral out of control, and he was correct when Bobby shouted, "Mutant ball!" and iced his bat.
And just like that, the residents of the institute brought their own abilities to the game. Whether it was when the mutant was up to bat, as was the case with Jean, who slowed a ball down with her telekinesis so she could hit it, guaranteeing she could get no strikes, or running the bases like Sam, using his speed to get to any base in time, it was all fair game.
The team in the outfield was making their own rules as well, with Jamie covering more ground with his copies and Kurt using his teleportation to catch the ball. Although things got a bit out of hand when Amara made a ball burn right through Ray's bat, the game still continued on. Even Scott decided to break the rules as when Roberto was about to run to first base, the visor-wearing mutant fired his optic blast to create a ditch for the boy to fall into.
The most amusing bit was when Bobby was about to get to home plate when it floated up out of reach. Narrowing his eyes, he looked to the one responsible for this, Wanda, who gave him an infuriating smirk.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Bobby?" She taunted. "You gotta touch home base if you want to be safe."
Refusing to give up, Bobby created an ice slide as he chased the base all over the field. Wanda, wanting to get back at him for all his pranks, kept making the base move away from the ice-wielding mutant. However, the young boy wasn't deterred as he eventually jumped off his slide and tackled the base.
"He's safe." Scott called as Bobby's team cheered before they noticed something blocking the sun. Looking up, the residents of the institute were greeted by Warren, in his hero outfit, landing down on the field.
As the students were all mumbling in confusion, Danny went up to him.
"Warren?" He said, surprised to see the guy here. Catching the concerned look on his face, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"I must see Professor Xavier immediately."
Magneto's acolytes were all gathered in the control room as Magneto was at the computer doing a bit of research.
"So what's so special about this stone?" Gambit asked as he looked at it indifferently. It was flickering before, but now it was full-on glowing a bright green. "It shines nice, but I don't see the big deal."
The leader of this group of mutants ignored his subordinate as he gazed at the stone with frustrated curiosity. One of the interesting perks of his unique mutation was that Magneto was able to sense magnetic waves and electromagnetic fields. And this stone was giving off those like crazy. It piqued his interest, and so he had Gambit snatch it for him.
"According to this, it is part of a pair." He stated as he looked at all the necessary information he had gathered on his computer. "No doubt the other half is giving off the same kind of signal. It's like they're trying to pull themselves together, but for what?" Just as he was about to come up with a theory, the stone continued to glow more vibrantly this time as it started to shake.
The acolytes all got in defensive positions in case something went wrong. They all warily observed as cracks started to form on the stone before it shattered altogether. The occupants of the room stood speechless as, before their eyes, a green orb rose from the rubble and hovered for a brief moment. It then shot up, phasing through the roof and to parts unknown.
"Where do you think it's going?" Gambit wondered.
Magneto looking back at the computer, which displayed the coordinates to the other half's location. "Move out, all of you." He commanded believing it to be prepared for the worst as they don't know what they're dealing with yet. But Magneto intended to find out.
Meanwhile, Wanda was heading over to the computer room. Apparently Danny and Rogue had encountered this angel guy, and so they went with him to meet with the professor. Peeking in through the door, she eavesdropped on their conversation.
"You were right to come here, Warren." Xavier said as they stood in front of the monitor. "Knowing Magneto, he could be up to something that could jeopardize us all."
"Tell me something I don't know." Danny muttered.
"But why would he want that stone?" Warren wondered, as compared to all the other trophies his family owned, that spider stone seemed very insignificant.
"The other half of the stolen spider stone is in a London museum." Beast explained as a model of the stones appeared on the screen. "When put together, they complete the spider."
"And what happens when the spider is completed?" Warren asked.
"I don't know, but with Magneto after it, I feel it imperative that we secure the other half before he does." Xavier replied.
"Absolutely." Wanda said as she made her presence known. "Who knows what he could want with it. We have to stop him." She said determinedly only to see the looks everyone else was giving her. "What?"
"No offense, Wanda, but none of us here are really keen on the idea of you being within distance of your dad." Danny said.
Wanda grimaced. "Look, I understand your hesitation, but this isn't about revenge, okay? This is about making sure that Magneto doesn't hurt anyone else like he did to me. You heard the professor. If Magneto wants those stones, it's definitely not for anything good. And what if it leads to people getting harmed? I'm not letting that happen."
Rogue chuckled. "Seems like you rubbed off on her." She said to Danny, as the two saw that Wanda had apparently acquired Danny's hero complex.
"You have." Wanda confirmed. "And that's why I want to help others. Not only that, but I've known what it's like to be helpless against evil." The Scarlet Witch remembered when she was trapped all alone with Dan. That feeling of helplessness and fear. She never wanted anyone to ever experience something like that. "So please, let me come. I've been making great progress on my powers; don't you think it's about time I join a field mission? And besides, I didn't try to kill Magneto the last time we met, and that was when he tried to mess with my mind. That's got to count for something, right?"
Professor Xavier thought it over. Wanda had indeed shown great restraint as Danny had told him of that incident. She did have a point. It was time to show her that he trusted her. "Very well, you have indeed made remarkable progress, Wanda, but I insist that you stay near Hank at all times. Understood?"
"Yes." Wanda answered, happy that she was being brought along and excited to go on her first mission. She looked at Danny and Rogue. "Looks like we'll be visiting London. Any romantic spots we can check out when we're done?"
The XM-Velocity had arrived in London, and after passing by the museum, made a quick descent and landed on top of a parking complex.
"Well, the museum looked pretty quiet." Beast said as they all unbuckled. "Maybe we got here in time."
"Still, we better hurry." Xavier said. "I have no doubt that Magneto will be making his move."
And right he was as the doors to the museum shattered as they were forced open by Magneto's magnetism. The five mutants entered the building as their leader ordered, "Fan out. Secure the building."
Obeying his command, the four split up as they moved to deal with any security that would get in their way.
In the museum's break room, an alarm went off alerting the one guard who was playing solitaire. Pulling out his walkie-talkie, he said, "Someone want to check that glitch in the alarm system? I'm on a break."
As he was contemplating where to put his card, another one, which was charged with energy, was thrown onto the table. Looking up, the guard was confronted with a smirking Gambit.
"Need an ace of clubs, monsieur?" He asked as the card made a small explosion that knocked the security guard back, making him collide with the cupboard, making one of the doors open. Simply poking the man with the staff, Gambit ushered the man in there before closing the door and blocking it with a chair as the employee demanded to be let out. Seeing that this part was taken care of, Gambit went off to secure the rest of his section. Though not without placing the five of hearts over the six of spades.
In another part of the museum, a guard was making his usual strides, walking past a bunch of suits in armor, when out of the corner of his eye he noticed one that wasn't right. Looking over, he found that it was instead Colossus who reached out for him, looking terrifying with his skin of metal. However, it wasn't as bad as what a third guard was going through as he ran away from one of Pyro's fiery constructs. It was a man on a horse who had a skull that was also on fire. Pyro based it on that one weird night where he could've sworn he saw some guy with a flaming skull riding on a steed. Though whenever he brought it up to Gambit and Colossus, they always said it was likely based on his weird imagination.
Pyro laughed as the man ran into the storage room. "Don't fret, mate." He said as he incinerated the doorknob, trapping the guard. "We'll be out of here in five."
Outside, the X-Men were approaching the entrance.
"Guess Magneto didn't see the "We're Closed" sign." Danny quipped as they saw the damage to the doors.
"You stay with me." Beast said to Wanda as they moved in closer. The girl nodded, not in the mood to argue as she braced herself, for she was going to encounter her father for the first time since he tried to mess with her mind. She hoped that she had the strength to hold back her rage.
"The three of us will scout it out." Danny said as he, Rogue, and Angel took off into the air.
"I wish I could fly." Wanda said enviously.
Beast chuckled. "Join the club."
While the X-Men were making their move, Sabretooth was patrolling his area when he looked to his right, where outside the window was a floating Rogue. Before he could make a move or utter a sound, Rogue burst through the glass and lifted the feline mutant up by his ankle.
"What's wrong? Got separated from your tour group?" She mocked, channeling her boyfriend's bravado. As Sabretooth continued to snarl, Rogue saw an exhibit that contained mannequins of sabretooth tigers. Grinning, she said, "Oh, my mistake, you're part of the exhibit." She tossed the mutant, causing him to crash into the animals that were his namesake.
The rest of the acolytes came to investigate the noise and found Rogue who landed on her feet as Danny shimmered into existence by her side. Angel then swooped down gracefully as Wanda and Beast, who heard the commotion, ran in.
"We got X-Men." Pyro announced.
"And I think they want to..." Gambit stopped as he saw Danny. "Oh, great, you again." He said, remembering how easily they lost to the half-ghost. And just like last time, the trio of mutants was defeated in seconds.
"Where's Magneto?" Wanda demanded as she grabbed Gambit by his trench coat.
"Down the hall." Gambit said, pointing to the right, not wanting to go through any more pain. He was then dropped to the floor as the group made their way to Magneto.
Elsewhere, in another part of the museum, the second half of the spider was starting to glow and shake like its counterpart. The doors burst open as Magneto arrived, but he was too late as the other half shattered, leaving a glowing green orb just like the first one. As the master of magnetism was about to capture it in a magnetic field, he was soon tackled by the X-Men.
"Alright, bucket head, what do you want with the stones?" Danny asked before his ghost sense went off. "A ghost? Here?" Looking around, the X-Men then spotted the glowing green orb.
"Doesn't look like it'll give us too much trouble. Where do you think it came from?" Wanda asked as she inspected the round spectral ball of light.
"My guess is the stone." Warren commented, seeing the shattered remains below it.
The heroes were then pushed aside by one of Magneto's magnetic fields as he concentrated his powers on the orb, but before he could do a thing, the first orb from Warren's stone arrived and merged with the other, combining into one sphere of energy. It released an aura of energy that pushed Magneto back. The heroes watched as the sphere soon expanded and took shape. Once it was finished, standing before them was a giant glowing green spider.
As the giant arachnid started to move on its merry way, Magneto attempted once again to stop it, only for the spider to continue marching on, dragging Magneto along. Carving a hole into the wall, it was about to leave when it felt Magneto's pull; luckily for the construct, Magneto was too busy to notice the metal beam next to it being affected by his magnetism. Soon the beam broke, and the two halves were pulled towards him, knocking him across the room.
"Well, there's something you don't see every day." Danny said as they watched the spider, with nothing else to stop it, hop down on the streets below.
Outside of the museum, Xavier could only watch as the spider crawled over a couple of abandoned cars, destroying them in the process. As he was about to go and regroup with his X-Men, he saw Magneto and his men at the doors.
"I don't care what it takes. Destroy that spider!" Magneto ordered his troops as they went off to accomplish their task.
"Magnus, stop." Xavier protested. "We don't know anything about it."
"I know enough. It's too strong to be controlled and so it must be extinguished." Magneto said as he flew off after the arachnid while the X-Men met up with the professor.
"We have to capture it and then protect it." He urged them. "That spider stone possesses answers we need."
"It's gonna be a bit tricky, professor." Danny told him. "Apparently that thing is some kind of ghost as well."
"A ghost?" Xavier hummed in thought. "This complicates things."
"We'll see what it wants." Danny told him as he and the others gave chase.
With a scowl on his face, Colossus was chasing the spider as both of them were bursting through the walls in a derelict building. Getting right next to it, the metal mutant jumped onto its head, causing a bit of a struggle, before the spider pulled him off with its legs and electrocuted him with some kind of energy.
It threw Colossus aside near the building, where on top stood Sabretooth with a broken beam of wood in his hand. He leaped down and got in a good couple of whacks before the ghost had enough and threw him on top of an abandoned station wagon.
Pyro, thinking quickly, created a ring of fire around the spirit. "Yeah!" He laughed. "Ha! Ha! Barbecued spider. Specialty of the house." He sucked the fire back into his flamethrowers once he thought he had incinerated the thing, only to see that the spider burrowed underground. "It's gone down under." He said in shock before he moved out of the way of the tremors the specter was causing as it made its way to the docks.
Danny and Rogue were flying up above with Danny holding Wanda in his arms as they watched the spider dive into the river.
"What do we do?" Rogue asked.
"I don't know." Danny answered. "But I don't think this thing is a threat."
Rogue gave him a dubious look as she examined the destruction of property that the ghost had caused. "You sure about that?"
"Okay, granted it can be dangerous." Danny admitted. "But you saw it when it was fighting Magneto's guys. It only attacks when provoked or threatened." He pointed over to where it crawled on shore. "See, look." They watched as, while the people ran in fear, the spider did not make any attempt to hurt or chase the people. "It doesn't care about the people."
"It's just minding its own business." Wanda observed.
"Though it doesn't seem to care about what gets in its way." Rogue added as it saw a double-decker bus heading towards it.
"Come on, let's make sure no one gets hurt." Danny said as hurried off to prevent any unnecessary damage from occurring.
Meanwhile, the double-decker bus, which was being driven by Gambit, was getting closer to the spider.
"Been waiting for you." Gambit said as he turned the wheel, causing the bus to fall on its side as it was heading toward the spider. Gambit managed to climb on top of the vehicle and jumped off as the bus smooshed the spider. Taking advantage of this, the Cajun ran over and charged up the bus with energy, making it explode.
Looking at the damage in pride, he said, "I do believe that slowed it down."
"Just long enough." Magneto said bluntly as he entered the fray. Gazing at the fiery wreckage, he watched the spider climb back up on its legs, not at all damaged by Gambit's stunt. Using his powers, Magneto tried to trap it in a magnetic field and pull it apart when he heard the sound of the XM-Velocity arriving. Out of it came Beast and Xavier, who were then joined by the other X-Men.
"Don't do it, Magnus." Xavier pleaded. "Do not destroy it! We don't know anything about it."
Magneto ignored his warning as he continued with his task, prompting Wanda to charge up a hex bolt. However, just as she was about to throw it, Danny beat her to the punch, firing an ecto-blast at his back. With the magnetic fields holding it gone, the spider then swatted Magneto aside like he was nothing but a common insect.
It then continued on its march where it found Danny in its path.
"Hey, buddy, can we just talk this out?" He tried to reason, but the spider continued marching. "Look, I don't want to fight you, but I can't let you hurt someone." Still, the spider marched on. "I said STOP!" Danny cried, releasing a bit of energy that pushed the spider back a couple of feet.
The spider shook its head. It was about to attack the one who had disturbed it from its mission only to see the aura around Danny. Curious it leaned down and examined Danny closer with its eight eyes with a bit more clarity now.
That face. It looked just like...
"Did it work?" Rogue asked, and just when she said that, the spider did something unexpected and incredible.
It spoke.
"It is you."
Everyone was in shock at this. From the X-Men to the acolytes to even Magneto.
Danny, getting over his own disbelief, calmly approached the ghost. "You can talk?"
The spider cocked its head. "Of course I can talk."
"Then why didn't you do it before?" Danny asked.
The spider made a sound that sounded remarkably like a snort. "Just because one can talk doesn't guarantee one will be listened to or heard. Besides, I have no time. I am in a hurry."
"Where are you going?" Danny said, trying to get things back on track. "And what do you want? Also, who are you?"
"I am Khepri. I am a guardian spirit summoned to guard the second door."
"Second door?" Danny remembered that incident before with Mesmero and how it had something to do with him wanting to open a door.
"There are three doors." Khepri continued. "Behind them lies the most powerful mutant the world has ever seen. En Sabah Nur. Though he is also known by another name. Apocalypse."
"Apocalypse." Danny remembered that name from his visit to the Axis of Time. In another universe he was a constant foe and struggle for the X-Men. Recalling his conversation with that over version of Rogue, she explained that he had been an ancient mutant, possibly the first, and he had history with an ancestor of his.
"Yes. Long ago, the Pharaoh Rama-Tut seemingly fell from the stars and brought him some kind of technology that was never seen by the eyes of men. He used this as a source of power to take control of the land. But during this time a mutant was abandoned by his parents and left to perish in the desert. However, this was no ordinary mutant, and the tribe of bandits saw it too when they found him. Especially their leader, Baal. He saw the power in the child and took him in as his own. The child was named "The First One" and under Baal's tutelage, he became an incredible warrior.
Word of his power soon reached Rama-Tut, and he grew fearful of his power. So he ordered his destruction. There was a battle between the tribe of bandits and the pharaoh's men. Apocalypse was not destroyed, and neither was he alone, for he had a partner. Another mutant, this one was known as "The Second One." Together the duo hunted the pharaoh, who fled, never to be seen again. With the pharaoh gone, there was nothing to stop Apocalypse from taking the technology for his own. From here, the ambitious warrior discovered a device known as The Eye of Ages. He planned to use this to reshape the world in his own image."
"Mutants." Xavier realized. "He was gonna turn humans into mutants. All of them."
"Correct. But when he activated it, his life force was nearly depleted, leaving him weakened. It was then he was betrayed. The Second One found that the one he called his brother had changed, become consumed by power. Not willing to let Apocalypse have his way, he sealed him inside, and Apocalypse was entombed, hidden in the highest reaches of the world. The Second One then used his powers to summon me. He linked me to the second door. If one wanted to get past that door, they would have to not only find the two spider stones I inhabit but destroy me as well."
"Sheesh, that's a little harsh." Danny couldn't help but admit, feeling a bit disturbed that his ancestor dragged some ghost into this.
"Perhaps, but at the time my summoner didn't think there was anyone who had the power to destroy me, so he thought it would be a perfect defense."
"So, you're here to prevent Apocalypse from being awakened." Wanda said, bringing things back on track.
"Yes, but I believe he already has been. Someone has disturbed the tomb. Sensing this, I slowly began to pull myself back together to investigate. And if he has indeed been freed, then we are all in terrible danger."
"Can you defeat him?" Rogue wondered.
"No, he is beyond my power. But there is one who can. The Second One was known as the only one who had the power to match Apocalypse. And though he is dead, his descendants still carry on his legacy." Khepri then looked at Danny. "It is you. You are his descendant and the only one who can stand in his way." Khepri slowly inched his way toward Danny.
The boy in question backed up a bit at Khepri's lack of personal space. "Whoa, what are you doing?"
"I'm to give you my power and energy, for I have no use for it anymore. In the event that Apocalypse has been awakened my job was to find you. And that I have. I now leave this world in your hands."
"Wait, you're leaving already?" Danny frowned. "But you just woke up."
"I am a guardian spirit, young one. Our lifespans are random and pertain to our tasks and duties. Once my duty is finished, I am to pass on to the other world."
"I see. That sucks." The half-ghost said in a disappointed tone, feeling a bit of a kinship to Khepri since he was summoned by his ancestor. It would be nice to have someone connected to his family since he was the last Fenton.
"Do not mourn, for I've accepted my end. I will be at peace knowing that you are here to protect the world from Apocalypse's wrath." Khepri raised one of his legs and pointed it toward Danny, where the tip of his leg made contact with his forehead. "Good luck and farewell, heir of the Second One."
Everyone watched as the spider's very essence slowly poured into Danny, making him glow green. There was a brief flash that blinded everyone, and once it was over, only Danny remained.
The ghost boy let out a breath as he felt energized, and in his mind he saw something. The tomb that contained Apocalypse. It stood on a very high mountain covered in snow as freshly colored white as his hair.
"Goodbye, Khepri." He whispered before looking at his friends. "I know where he's imprisoned."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Wanda said. "Let's go find him and kick his ass."
"There is a new enemy." Magneto said to his acolytes. "Something we have never seen the likes of before."
"Same old story." Gambit couldn't help but say as he processed all of this. "Prophecy about an ancient warrior who's gonna return one day to rule the land. And a hero destined to stop him."
"You know nothing! Apocalypse will not rule this land! Not as long as I'm alive." Magneto promised.
"Oh, shut up." Wanda insulted. "You know you should count yourself lucky my boyfriend stopped you from destroying Khepri. If not, then we wouldn't know what's truly at stake here."
It was then that Magneto fully noticed that his daughter was here. Just as he was about to think of what he would say, he recalled what she had just said as it echoed repeatedly in his head.
'Count yourself lucky my boyfriend stopped you.'
'Lucky my boyfriend stopped you.'
'My boyfriend stopped you.'
"My boyfriend."
'Boyfriend.'
"Boy-Boyfriend?" Magneto uttered with incredulity, but one could detect the absolute rage at the idea of that... that freak laying his hands on his daughter.
Wanda couldn't help but smirk at the horrified look on Magneto's face. She was surprised to see that he didn't know already. Guess Pietro didn't really feel like being the one to tell him, not that the magic user could blame him for that. Still, the damage was done; might as well come clean with it.
"Yeah, didn't you hear?" She rubbed her hand on Danny's chest. "Danny and I have gotten very, very close." She then made out with her boyfriend in front of her father, making sure to use tongue to really seal the deal.
...
...
...
Silence. That was all that could be heard as the bad guys were watching the two make out. Magneto's weird choking noises were the only audible sounds that one could hear as he gawked at the couple. There was also the fact that all pieces of metal in a five-mile radius started to shake uncontrollably, illustrating his opinion on this new information.
Gambit, though shocked by this development as well, snapped out of it as he approached Rogue. "Boyfriend, huh?" He smiled at her. "So, cherie, does that mean you are available at the moment?"
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Back off! I'm still with Danny."
Okay, now Gambit was confused as he looked at Danny and Wanda and back to Rogue. "Wait, but she said she was dating Danny."
"We're both dating him." Rogue said to him simply as if that was the most obvious conclusion, making Gambit back up as he processed this news.
"It's a Ménage à trois." Gambit uttered in awe. He stood there in disbelief for a moment and did what he knew he was obligated to do. He raised his hands and started clapping.
"Wait, what's a Ménage à trois?" Pyro asked. Gambit merely pointed to Rogue, who walked over to Danny and kissed him next, resulting in another set of gasps and curses from those unaware of their arrangement. The fire-wielding mutant's eyes widened. "Whoa." He grinned at Danny and gave him two thumbs up. "Way to go, mate!"
Colossus nodded in approval. "Good job, Phantom. That's how we do it in Mother Russia."
"Even I'm sort of impressed." Sabretooth added.
Wanda giggled a bit at their reactions before turning to her speechless father, who looked as if he were about to have a heart attack or stroke. He was standing in place, his mouth wide open, his hands itching to strangle something, preferably a certain human ghost hybrid that thought he could stick his tongue down his daughter's throat. Breathing heavily, he glowered at Danny, who looked unashamed. There was no fear, no worry, nothing, which served to only infuriate him further.
"You...you little BASTARD! You cretin! You insignificant, worthless creature!" He seethed. "You dare think you have the right to be with my daughter?" He then gestured to Rogue. "Not only that, but apparently Wanda alone is not good enough for you, so you date another girl. Have you no shame?"
"Look, I know what you're thinking. And I was unsure about the whole two girlfriends thing as well, but they insisted, and it kinda grew on me." Danny said causally as if he were discussing the weather, which only angered Magneto to new heights. "And you know what? I'm glad they suggested it because Wanda's a nice girl." Danny continued. "You'd know that too if, you know, you were actually a parent."
With a sudden boom, Magneto shot up into the air like a bullet as bits and pieces of metal started to float in a circle around him, making it look like some kind of tornado. His eyes filled with nothing but a desire to see that anomaly twelve feet under.
"I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD, BOY!" He boomed, ready to strike that half-ghost down, only to find himself pulled down courtesy of Wanda's magic; this caused him to lose a hold on his powers, and all the objects crashed to the ground.
"You stay away from him!" Wanda snarled back, ready to do anything to defend her man.
"Wanda, release me!" Magneto demanded as he tried and failed to break out of Wanda's magic.
"Never. I won't let you lay so much as a finger on him." His daughter defended.
"Wanda, he isn't worthy of you. He is only with you to sate his own ego. You deserve more than being another girl in his collection. So much more."
"Oh, and who would you have me be with?" She retorted. "One of your flunkies? Or one of those losers that Pietro hangs out with? No, I found my guy. And nobody's gonna take him away from me." She then made her magic squeeze Magneto a bit to make him squirm. "Now do me a favor, take your lackeys and get out of my sight. And stay away from Danny and Rogue."
She then threw Magneto at the feet of his men. Enraged, infuriated, and just about any other word that was a synonym for angry, Magneto stubbornly got up and unwisely tried to try to attack Danny again. He threw an empty car, only for the boy to phase through it, causing the master of magnetism to snarl as he forgot the boy had intangibility.
"Call it a hunch, but I don't think he approves of me." Danny joked.
"Too bad." Wanda, having had enough of this, raised her hand, and Magneto was trapped in a red aura of magic that surrounded him. "I warned you." She told him before turning to her girlfriend. "Rogue."
"On it." The southern belle took off her glove and placed her bare hand on his face. "Sweet dreams." She said as Magneto tried to fight against her touch but eventually succumbed to its effects but not before getting one last word in at Danny.
"One day, I'll make you pay for this." He promised before passing out.
Wanda then turned to the acolytes. "Get him out of my sight." She commanded with the group wisely complying. Sabretooth threw him over his shoulder, and they scampered off back to where they came from, leaving the X-Men alone.
"So where to?" Beast asked Danny of the tomb's location as they got back on the XM-Velocity.
"He was imprisoned in the highest reaches of the world. Tibet. Makalu peak." Danny answered.
The XM-Velocity touched down as Danny, Rogue, and Wanda raced towards the door. Grabbing Rogue and Wanda, he phased them through the door, then the second one, and finally the third one, where behind it lay...
"It's empty." Danny voiced. "There's nothing here. No Apocalypse. No Eye of Ages. Nothing."
"Who could've done this?" Rogue wondered.
Deep in an underground lab lay what remained of Apocalypse. In another life his minion, Mesmero, would've succeeded in opening all three doors and would've delivered him the power to restore him to his former strength. He would've then attempted to force his will on the whole world. But fate had taken some interesting twists and turns.
With no power, he was easily dispatched. Vivisected and examined by the one who discovered him, Vlad Plasmius, all that remained of the mighty mutant was a few organs floating in jars. And the device he had stolen from Pharaoh Rama-Tut had now been taken from him, for the fiendish half-ghost had his own plans for the technology.
Pressing a button made a glass full of pure ectoplasm turn, pouring the supernatural substance in the Eye of Ages, filling up the spot where a person was supposed to lie down. Another button caused several electrodes to unleash the electricity on the ectoplasm while the Eye of Ages glowed, putting its own energy into the chemical.
Vlad stood over the contraption with a smirk as he finally was able to make it work for him. Though no slouch when it comes to computers, what he hauled back seemed to be beyond this world and was a bit tricky to get to operate. But now he had the perfect energy source he needed to keep the mid-morph DNA stabilized and to prevent the whole specimen from collapsing.
"Why, Wanda?" Magneto asked as he poured himself a drink. "Why him of all people?"
After coming back to their lair, the master of magnetism made a beeline to his private quarters, though he made sure to grab some wine (he made sure it was extra strong) on the way there. Once he was finally alone, he tried to process what he had just learned as he started drinking more than he had in a long time. Now he wasn't normally much of a drinker, but then again, normally people don't find out that their daughters are part of a three-way relationship, especially when one of their hated enemies is involved. Things just seemed to go wrong for him ever since he first encountered the ghost.
His Asteroid M was gone. Project Rebirth could no longer be acquired for his own uses. He ended up getting buried by a giant green dog, twice. And worst of all, his daughter had been turned against him, having her head filled with Charles' lies of human and mutant cooperation. All while Danny sticks his tongue down her throat.
That boy, Magneto sneered as just thinking of him made him want to snap. Strength, stealth, and the skill to wield them both effortlessly, he was a formidable threat he had to admit. He remembered fighting that freak and being forced to spend the holidays with Pietro as a consequence. That was the worst of it all. He could still remember the fear that Danny made him feel.
Not only that, but he wasn't even a real mutant. Just some insignificant, weak, worthless human who, in a chance of one million, was given supernatural powers. It only raised the questions. Were there more like him? And was it possible for him to gain that power?
No, Magento pushed the thoughts out of his head. He didn't need that power. He was superior. One of the strongest mutants on the planet. What would he ever need to envy a lower breed for? What he needed was a way to get rid of the boy. It was obvious that Wanda's only reason for her association with him was to get back at him. An unusual tactic for sure, but he'll admit it was effective at making his blood pressure rise. The bottle in Magneto's hand soon shattered at the thought of Danny making out with his daughter and doing more... intimate things together.
"He's done it." He muttered to himself. "That boy has finally done it. Ever since he first joined Charles' X-Men, he's been a constant thorn in my side. I need to get rid of him." So focused on this that he had forgotten the warning of Apocalypse that Khepri brought, for he was too concerned with his own affairs.
"I swear, Daniel Fenton." He uttered. "I will not rest, and I will not waver until I have destroyed you and made you pay for this insult. And nothing will get in my way. That I promise you."
In his lair, the master of time himself sighed. It seems like Magneto was going to be a bit of a problem. He groaned as he had already cleaned up after Mystique's mess; he didn't need to deal with another one made by him.
Looking through the various timelines, he saw ones where Magneto failed to destroy Danny. Though there were a few where he somehow got lucky and managed to finish off the half-ghost. Those scenarios ended up branching off into their own series of what-ifs that starred Rogue and Wanda.
Some of them had the duo managing to pull through and prevent themselves from letting grief and anger overwhelm them. But then there was the chance that everything could go to hell, like that one horrible future with Rogue. Only instead of all existence being threatened by one grieving, pissed-off woman, it was two.
So yeah. Not good. That's why he needed to set the record straight with the mutant with delusions of grandeur to prevent that slim possibility from coming true.
And he had the perfect idea how.
The wine bottle shattered when it hit the ground as Magneto screamed in pain while clutching his head. It felt like someone or something was trying to penetrate his mind. Acting quickly, he used his magnetism to put his helmet back on to block it out, but to his disbelief, the helmet did nothing. The pain still continued.
"Impossible." The mutant supremacist muttered. No one could penetrate this helmet. Not even Charles Xavier himself. So what was...
'Greetings, Erik.' A voice sounded through his head. One that held both wisdom and power.
"Who... who are you?" Magneto demanded.
'Introductions? Fine. I'm someone that wants you to stay away from Danny Fenton. Whatever grief you have with him, I don't care; leave the boy alone. Same goes for Rogue and Wanda. There's already enough on my plate to deal with. I don't need you giving me more work, so I highly suggest you back off. If you don't... well, let's just say that I'm not someone you want as an enemy. So let me give you an example of what I can do to you.'
Magneto shrieked as his head flared in pain again as an image started to form in his mind. As he focused on it, he found that he was staring at a blank room, white walls as if it was about to go through refurbishment soon. The door opened, and before his eyes was Wanda, but this wasn't the girl he had just seen a couple of hours ago. No, this was a fully mature woman who had finally found peace in adulthood, carrying several painting supplies in her arms.
Setting everything down and making sure the items were in their proper place, she opened a paint can and, after dipping a brush into it, started to paint the walls, happily humming to herself. It... it was strange for the father of Wanda to see his daughter act so calm. He hadn't seen her like this in a long time. It seemed that she finally gained control of her emotions. Remarkable. If only she had been able to achieve this in her youth, then he wouldn't have had to send her away, and he wouldn't have to be living this nightmare of her dating that mongrel.
Just as Wanda was about to dip her brush into the paint can again, it slid across the room, causing the woman to roll her eyes.
"Kids, I'm not in the mood for one of your jokes. I have to paint this room." She said, as Magneto blanched.
Kids. He had grandchildren. He... he was a grandfather. This... he didn't know what to think. Never once did he imagine he would have grandchildren. He always thought that Wanda would remain at that mental institution. And Pietro. Well, he knew it was... unlikely for his son to give him grandchildren.
The sound of the paint can moving again jolted him out of his musings on this incredible revelation as Wanda said, "Jack, Maddie, I swear if you don't leave right now, so help me—" Her threat was interrupted as the paintbrush was snatched from her hand. Floating in midair, the brush drew a line of green paint over Wanda's forehead much to her protests.
"Hey! This isn't—" The brush was then thrown aside, and Wanda was then bent over in a dip as the invisible assailant showed themselves, revealing it to be her mischievous husband instead.
"Surprise." The older Danny Fenton grinned at his wife, making Magneto growl at seeing the hybrid's arms around his daughter. His fury was now doubled as he was forced with the reality that this freak had already impregnated Wanda.
"Danny, I don't have time for this. I have work I need to—Hey!" Her protests were interrupted as Danny summoned the brush into his hand and painted on his wife's face. "What are you doing?"
"Bored. Thought I could have some fun." Danny said nonchalantly.
"Well, I can't help you with that right now. I need to—" She felt the cold texture of the paint as Danny continued to paint on her. "Stop it!"
"Come on, have some fun." Danny encouraged, only for Wanda to take the brush and start to paint on him. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be." Danny, not one to back down, picked up a bucket of paint and poured it over Wanda, making her yelp.
"Oh, you are so going to get it, mister!" She then tackled him. The two wrestled across the room, getting paint all over themselves. They kept going at it for a few minutes before the couple started to make out. The father of Wanda wanted to hurl at the scene, but unfortunately for him, the worst was yet to come as he saw the two share an aroused look with each other.
"You ever considered doing some erotic art?" Danny asked, making Magneto shiver. He felt as if something bad was about to happen and right it was as Wanda soon replied saying in a sultry voice, "I think I'm willing to give it a try." Then, much to his horror, she began to take her shirt off.
"NO!" Magneto cried as he was forced to watch as they stripped and then embraced each other. "Get your hands off her, you swine!" The two then got into that familiar position. "Don't you dare stick that in her!" He ordered, but Danny could not hear him, and so the two continued on as they engaged in every act of debauchery known to man, all within Magneto's mind. Every depraved, licentious, and oh-so-sinful act was on full display. The only sounds that he could pick up were Danny's grunts and Wanda's howls of pleasure, making him cry out in misery.
In his dreamlike trance he fell out of his chair and onto the floor where he started to roll around, unable to notice that he was making a fool out of himself. Thankfully, no one else would see this. But that did nothing to cure the trauma that was being dumped on him as he saw what no father should ever see their daughter doing. His shouts did nothing to stop the images as they became more and more graphic showing the two lovers getting messy in their lovemaking.
After what seemed like forever, and after a whole lot of screaming from both the couple and Magneto, both participants were reaching their ends.
"I swear." Magneto uttered to the future vision of Danny. "If you—AHHHH!" He screamed as he watched Danny inject his daughter with his seed. It took all his willpower not to break down at this.
'Do you get the picture now?' Clockwork's voice asked.
"Yes! I get it! Please, have mercy!" He begged Clockwork. "Stop these visions!"
'You'll stay away from them?'
"YES! I'll leave them alone, I swear. Just stop. Stop these perverse visions."
'Very well. But do not go back on your word. And to make sure you don't, I'll leave you with a reminder of what happens to those who incur my wrath.'
"What are you..." Magneto stopped as the vision returned to his mind, showing the door to Wanda's art room open, and standing there in the doorway was a mature Rogue gazing down at her lovers splayed out on the floor.
"What the hell happened in here?" She took in the sight of the paint splatters that decorated the walls. Not only that, but both Danny and Wanda were nude and covered in paint as well.
"Uh, let's just say things got messy." Danny explained as Wanda rolled her eyes.
"This knucklehead kept bothering me until I gave him sex." The former Maximoff explained. "So that was my day. How'd yours go? You said you had a meeting with your publisher?"
Rogue straightened up her posture in pride. "Yep. And I got myself another novel published."
"Congrats, Rogue." Danny praised as he and Wanda cheered at the good news.
"We should celebrate." Wanda suggested.
The southern woman quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? And what do you have in mind, sugar?"
"Well, I've been helping Wanda work on her new piece. I call it Lovers Tangled." Danny said. "Want to join in?"
"Lovers Tangled, huh?" She kicked off her boots and started unbuttoning her shirt. "Sounds like fun."
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Magneto screeched as he was forced to endure this torment again. Even worse this time, now that there was another person involved. In the end, once it was all over, Magneto only had one thought on his mind.
"I HAAATE YOOUU, DAANNNY PHAAANTOMMM!"