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Chapter 6: Experiments and Revelations
Every time he ended up in this situation, Danny felt the need to reflect on the worst things ever about being trapped in a Fenton Thermos. Mainly it was the inability to tell how much time had passed that bugged him, but the untold hours were even worse when passed in so complete a darkness he couldn't even see his own hand an inch from his face. Not that he had anything as solid as a hand to keep track of.
That of course was the second to worst thing about being in the Thermos; being forced into an ethereal form so he could fit nicely in a soup container. Unlike other ghosts, Danny was still half human, so the sensation of not being able to feel any of his body parts was deeply unsettling.
It was like being trapped in a thick cloud of himself, with only his thoughts and the darkness, all his other senses unable to give any information about his environment. It was probably like being stuck in a sensory deprivation chamber.
Or, you know, a solitary in a prison.
The only good thing about the times he had been trapped in a thermos was that moment the cap was finally unscrewed and light pored back into his world. This time around, being grabbed immediately after and strapped down to a lab table kind of killed the happiness of no longer being in the dark.
The bindings tightened around his wrists, a pair of hands holding him down as the straps were pulled and fitted into place. Danny was stronger, but Hunter was fast and the pounding in Danny's head had returned with a vengeance. The pain kept him distracted, and he failed to pull away before all four of his limbs were pinned down tightly.
Green eyes flashed and Danny drew a breath, only to chock on it when something cold and metal closed around his throat. He grit his teeth as his chest heaved with labored breathing—out of fear since most of the time his ghost form didn't need oxygen.
Blue eyes glared down at him, and Danny suddenly realized how close they were. Hunter was leaning over him, kneeling on the table as he checked the bindings. The difference between their body sizes was even more glaringly obvious like this. Danny was smaller and pinned down, completely at the elder's mercy.
Danny's right hand balled into a fist as he tried to call his energy together for a blast. His fingers started to glow brightly, and for a second he thought that he might actually be able to get out of this. A moment later those hopes were dashed as he realized glowing was all his figures were going to do.
He grunted and tried to focus his energy, but drawing on his power had the same effect as him crashing up against a brick wall. Like something was standing between him and his own powers.
Hunter shifted, and Danny shot him a glare, but only earned a noncommittal shrug in return for his scathing glance. "Simple power limiter," Hunter offered by way of explanation. "As long as that collar is on, you won't be able to do much more then float." He stepped off the table, turning his back on Danny. "I've already fallen for your vocal blast once, so it's this or a gag. We can switch if you'd like."
He shot a smirk over his shoulder as he approached the large console to the right of the experiment table. A flick of his fingers to open the program, the keys clicking as he typed. Danny could only see a little bit of the screen from his vantage point, but it looked like it was an electronic profile of some sort.
Danny bit the inside of his lip, trying to keep calm. At least he wasn't in a kitchen being tested for flavor. Not yet anyway…
Without a better option, he took a moment to assess his surroundings. The room was rather large but stuffed to the gills with equipment and disassembled parts. Wires and cables hung from the ceiling, crisscrossing back and forth in a wild mess that linked all the large equipment together in a gigantic hive mind. The console on his left linked to a large monitor that was mounted on the ceiling, the only display Danny could see clearly from the table. Computer code crossed the screen, and Danny found himself looking at a pencil sketch of his ghost form. It looked like a scanned page from a notebook…
He would have pondered this longer, but his eye caught the flash of metal on a rolling side table beside the platform he was strapped to. On top was a tray full of sharp-looking surgical instruments and half a dozen test tubes. The screen above him flashed and went dark, florescent lines beginning to travel across the screen. As they traveled they began bouncing up and down like the lines on a heart rate monitor. The upper one was labeled "core BPM" and the bottom "inter pow lv"
The first line had a huge spike dated from a few seconds ago, matching perfectly with when he had spotted the blades. Wonderful, now he couldn't even pretend not to be scared out of his mind.
A hand cupped his cheek, and Danny jerked in surprise. He earned an exasperated huff from Hunter who followed the movement and tilted his chin up, brushing back some of his white hair to expose the still bleeding cut on his temple.
Danny looked away. "Thanks for that by the way," he muttered, wincing as he remembered the shock of pain the metal pistol had made when it came down on his forehead.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
Danny blinked and looked up at the elder. Did he just apologize? If so he sure wasn't dwelling on it because the hand in his hair had already moved on to toying with the white strands, his fingers brushing them back and forth like he was petting a dog.
The motions were almost soothing, but the fact it was soothing just made it creepy. Danny looked away awkwardly, unknowingly leaving himself open. The sound of two blades coming together made Danny turn his head just in time to see the chunk of hair that had just been snipped from his bangs.
"H-Hey!" Danny tugged against his bonds with renewed vigor as Hunter moved over to the rolling table, a chunk of the teen's white hair in his hand. "What the hell!"
"I just need a few samples," Hunter explained, dividing up the strands and depositing it in five different test tubes. "I'm not taking anything you're really going to miss." He took the opportunity with his tools to open a hypodermic syringe, attaching the five inch long needle. His other hand grabbed Danny's pinned wrist and slid the bindings down, tapping Danny's wrist with a finger until he located the vain. "Little pinprick, try not to squirm."
To his surprise Danny seemed to obey, eyes shut tight as he braced himself. The needle passed through the skin and Hunter pulled back on the plunger. As the chamber filled with bright green ectoplasm, the ghost boy grit his teeth, the odd sensation of having something inside him sucked out drawing a low pathetic whine that he just managed to stomp out.
"Okay, no one said anything about being a test subject!" Danny yelled.
Hunter rolled his eyes and pulled the needle back, the chamber about half-way full. He inspected the few milliliters of fluid with an attentive eye before he placed the syringe back on the table. "Forgive me," he said, "next time I'll be sure to yell that I'm going to experiment on you at the top of my lungs while I'm chasing you through a crowded city center."
Danny swallowed. That would have made his week more stressful. He hadn't needed more incentive to avoid capture. Not that it had helped much.
Hunter pulled out another rack of test tubes and placed a few drops of ectoplasm in each, adding a clear liquid to the mix before sliding the tubes into a machine on the far end of the room, closing the lid as it stirred to life. A low humming sound filled the room.
"You're not like other ghosts," Hunter mused, returning to Danny in the center of the room. "I need to find out why you're different. Whether you care about the results or not, this data could be vital to ending the war."
Danny had to hold back a laugh. Now he was trying to justify his freaky fetish by saying it was for the good of humanity? God this guy was unbelievable.
"And how exactly does taking my blood help win a war?" Danny asked. "You're just going to use it to make a new weapon."
Hunter sighed, but he didn't deny the truth of that statement. "If that's what it takes."
He pulled a glass jar full of cotton swabs from a drawer and unscrewed the top, dumped them out and took one. Realizing what he wanted Danny sealed his lips together, backing up his defense by digging his teeth into his lips to keep them closed.
Hunter raised an eyebrow at Danny's compressed lips. "Now you're just being childish."
Danny didn't rise to the insult, keeping his lips firmly closed. Hunter tilted his head to the side, his own lips perking in a smirk. One hand grabbed the table as Hunter leaned over him. Danny realized where he was going, and his lips parted to protest seconds before Hunter kissed him.
Two endless seconds later, the human pulled away, leaving Danny to gape at him in a mix of shock and confusion, plenty of time for a ghost hunter to grab the saliva sample he needed. Danny attempted to bite the human's fingers but he missed by a longshot.
With a cocky smile, Hunter found another test tube and slid the swab inside. His picked up the tray and the tubes containing the severed strands of hair and placed them into another machine.
"One more sample and we're done," Hunter called, his tone not quite reassuring enough to sway the sudden pang of panic in Danny's core. Blood, saliva, hair… what more was there to take?
A scalpel pinged against the side of a metal cup as it was pulled from it, and Danny's brain went into panic mode. "You really don't want to do that, I'm pretty sure my organs are in the same place as everyone else's. No need to check!" he stammered, noticing the eye roll from Hunter right before the blade pressed to his neck.
He tried to pull away another inch, but the blade caught on the collar of his jumpsuit. The sound of tearing fabric filled the room and Danny felt his suit loosen around his chest, the black material splitting like it was made of paper.
"It-it has a zipper, you know," Danny said faintly, shivering a little under the intense gaze of the other male. The scalpel lifted and came down again, cutting a large, angular strip out of his suit and taking another portion out of the logo on his chest.
Danny let out the breath he had been holding as Hunter pulled away again. The human swapped his scalpel for a pair of scissors and cut the strip of fabric into smaller strips before sliding them into the last set of test tubes.
"See?" Hunter said, looking up from his work to smile at Danny. "You can relax, I'm not going to hurt you."
The ghost boy was far from reassured, though. "You mean besides handing me over to Vlad?" he muttered, glaring up at the ceiling so he didn't have to look at Hunter.
The elder man made a soft humming sound in response as he walked back to the machine to deposit the last set of samples. "Actually, I was hoping we could avoid that particular outcome."
The machine clicked as the test tube holder set in place, followed by a creek that must have been from a cabinet opening. Danny didn't feel inclined to look and make sure. He didn't like Hunter's tone one bit, but at least it was more hope than he had a second ago.
"And what exactly do I need to do to avoid this outcome?" Danny asked warily, pushing himself up a little in a vain attempt to feel less helpless.
Hunter cocked his head, his fingers closing around Danny's shoulder. "First of all you need to relax."
"You mean I have to let my guard down so you can get the jump on me?" the ghost boy snapped, defensive. He tried to shrug away from the hand, but the fingers followed the movement, tracing across his exposed collarbone.
"You're already tied up," Hunter pointed out. "I don't think I could have more of an advantage." He withdrew his hand and leaned against the examination table. "If you behave I'll consider removing the restraints, but otherwise you're completely at my mercy."
Danny swallowed, internally weighing whether he wanted to be free of the glowing bounds enough to justify sacrificing his dignity, especially when he had so little left to spare. A glass bottle full of clear liquid entered his plane of vision, and Danny traced it back to Hunter's hand where the man dangled the jar in front of his face, making it impossible to concentrate.
"I supposed you want me to ask what that is?" the ghost boy said, keeping his eye on the jar.
Hunter took it back into both hands, screwed open the lid, and poured some into his hand. "I originally designed it as a weapon, the prototype for the grenade you used. Something that would only hurt ghosts."
The liquid-covered hand strayed to Danny's exposed chest. The teenager tensed, his skin prickling, prepared for agony. The first few drops hit his chest and it was cold…no wait, hot. Burning like fire but… No, no it wasn't…and the pain?
The unexpected tingling sensation made Danny shiver violently, the strange feeling overtaking him everywhere the gel touched his skin. He had to force his eyes to remain open, but the battle to keep his body still was already lost.
The hand on his chest moved as Hunter massaged the gel into his skin, his ripped suit parting to give the older man access to most of his shoulders. Danny even found himself shifting a little to allow access to the part of his upper back that was resting against the table. The feeling was just too good and he wanted it everywhere.
Hunter leaned over him as he slid his hands under the ghost boy's back. "As you've probably noticed, the formula failed, but I still keep a little of it around. It's useful for persuasion." He picked up the bottle again and poured some more into his hands.
Danny attempted an angry growl but only got as far as a slightly broken whine. His head was getting fussy, a sensation that he knew should scare him consuming his upper body. If there was anyone on this twisted planet he should not be letting his guard down around it was his messed up alternate self. Especially not after that random kiss...and now all the touching…
Something clicked in Danny's brain, but Hunter's hands moved down his chest and onto his tummy. He glared up at Hunter, only to find that the human was looking back just as intensely, observing every curve and contour of Danny's frame. His fingers explored every nook and cranny, treating it all with intense care, like an archeologist observes a Ming vase.
The man's lips parted and he murmured, his voice husky and low, "How does it feel?"
"It…tickles," Danny hissed, his stomach muscles twitching involuntary under the elder's fingertips. "I don't like it, knock it off." He finished with a flash of his ghostly eyes, his voice much firmer then his willpower.
"Is that so?" Hunter purred, leaning close to his prey as his hand slid even farther down Danny's exposed torso. His other hand moved to the bonds holding Danny's wrists. A soft click of a button and the glowing bonds dissipated like smoke. For a moment, Danny was too surprised to move, but that only lasted until the urge to punch Hunter right in his smug face kicked in.
The move ended up being closer to a slap since Danny couldn't get his fingers to curl on time and Hunter grabbed his wrist before he could complete the swing. Danny's chest was heaving again from the tangled mix of emotions, though he only became aware of it when Hunter's other hand pressed against his upper torso and pushed him back to the table.
His gloves and sleeves were pulled off, leaving his top half completely exposed. Danny had never intentionally gone shirtless in public. Even when swimming he usually had on at least a tank-top, if only to save himself from Dash making jokes about his scrawny chest. Even in his relaxed state it was uncomfortable, and the cold lab table and Hunter's piercing gaze just made it that much worse.
Danny was planning his second attack, trying to figure out the best way to get Hunter off of him, when the tingling sensation still griping his shoulders spread to his arm. His thoughts jerked and his mind blanked as Hunter coated his arm in the gel.
He didn't miss a single inch, even getting the spaces between Danny's fingers, massaging each individually and stretching out the stiff joints and muscles. The ghost boy felt his extremity go limp in Hunter's grasp, the mental alertness he needed to counterattack wrenched from him.
His right arm fell limply over his head as Hunter did the same with his left, pausing halfway through to kiss Danny's knuckles and wrist softly. Every touch was gentle and slow, so much so that Danny's body couldn't believe this was the same man who had roughed him up so badly less than a week ago.
The second arm fell as limp as the first, and Danny looked up to see Hunter hovering over him. He couldn't ignore the way he was being looked at anymore. No one could mistake the hunger in the elder man's eyes, and here he was, lying half naked, hot and bothered. He couldn't have been presented better if Hunter had added a parsley sprig.
"Why are you doing this?" Danny panted, managing to fit a question between his attempts to wrestle his breathing back under control.
Hunter tilted his head and lifted a hand to brush white strands from Danny's emerald eyes. "Why do you think I'm doing this?"
Danny growled and pulled away from the hand stroking his cheek. "Because y-you're a sick fuck who wants to see me suffer?"
"You don't look like you're in pain to me…" The hand found his cheek again and held his head still as the elder leaned in for a kiss, this one a little more forceful than the gentle one that had tricked Danny into opening his mouth. There was no mistaking it this time. Hunter was kissing him for pleasure, because he wanted to.
Of course he didn't know what Danny knew, so he wouldn't understand why the ghost's insides turned backwards at the thought. He didn't know about their shared history, about how closely he was related to his newest little plaything.
Hunter pulled back from the kiss, looking pleased that his prey was relenting to him so easily. A momentary smile and a slight shift later, his fingers tugged on Danny's boots, sliding the protective footwear off.
Danny had to do something, anything! Above him the line indicating his core BPM (like a heartbeat for his ghost form) waved back and forth like a hummingbird's wings. He could feel it thrumming as the panic set in. There was only one thing for it, he needed to change back.
But the idea of revealing his secret made Danny's nerves quake. He held his secret identity so close there was just no way for him to even consider letting it go without that nagging feeling he was making a huge mistake.
Logic was on his side though, even if Hunter assumed it was just a trick it would likely still shake him enough to at least stop the fucking touching. His boots hit the floor in two successive thumps and Danny felt the bottom half of his jumpsuit slide from his hips, sparking another wave of panic and stirring him to action.
A flash of bright light erupted around his midsection. The glowing rings caused Hunter to reflexively pull back, a mix of shock and wonder flashing over his face. A second passed, but the rings didn't move. Danny grit his teeth, fighting to get enough control to force the transformation, but the harder he tried to force it the farther away it seemed.
Eventually he had to give up, the strain of keeping the rings in place quickly draining his already weakened power reserves. With a sharp intake of breath, the rings vanished and the room darkened back into the electrical twilight. The two electronic lines on the display above his head dipped sharply as his body went into recovery mode, leaving him with nothing to show for his efforts.
Hunter was still staring at him, transfixed by rings even after they had vanished. Clearly he had at least found the light show interesting, but unless it left him too flabbergasted to continue stripping him it was small comfort to Danny.
"Nice try," Hunter scoffed his hand resting on Danny's hips again. "You're good, Phantom, I'll give you that, but I'm still better. All your powers are blocked until I say so."
Danny felt the thin fabric of his jumpsuit slide all the way off, and his hands moved to cover his underpants in a reflex born of having his suit ripped off one to many times by marauding ghosts.
Using up his power trying to transform had drained most of what was left of Danny's logical thought process. The parts of his skin coated in gel still tingled, the relaxing feeling soaking into his skin like heat from a warm bath.
Hunter took Danny's wrists in one hand and pinned them over his head, and Danny couldn't even muster an ounce of strength to stop him. He wiggled a bit on the metal table, his legs unable to find much room to shift. He could feel Hunter's eyes on him again, every action stretched out on display for his visual enjoyment.
Something in the macabre part of Danny's brain reminded him that he didn't exactly have anything Hunter hadn't seen before, and suddenly what he had been worried about just moments ago came rushing back.
"S-stop!" Danny interjected, managing to get Hunter to pause mid kiss-lean. "You don't know what you're doing! You're not going to believe me, but you have to try to understand!" Danny's heart leaped for a second as he thought he might be able to convince hunter. "You're making a huge mistake, I'm y—"
A finger pressed against his lips, and Hunter smiled down at him, hushing him with a soothing sound you might use on a crying infant. The hand moved to Danny's cheek and their lips pressed together again. Danny groaned in exasperation against the kiss. Damn it, couldn't he just stop and listen for once?
Somewhere behind the sound of soft whines and moving lips, Danny heard the glass bottle being lifted. He attempted to brace himself, but the cool drip of gel on his leg caught him off guard anyway. The chill going up his spine triggered an involuntary spasm and his head banged against the metal of the table.
When the pain in his head faded he pushed himself up to see his socks had gone missing. His whole left leg tingled, and Hunter had his foot resting in his lap, his thumbs digging into the middle of Danny's foot in a rhythmic manner that would have been relaxing even without being coated in liquid aphrodisiac.
"Don't worry, little Phantom," Hunter murmured, releasing his foot and dripping more liquid onto Danny's other leg. "This isn't my first time with a ghost." His fingers left Danny's skin and found a golden chain, pulling his amulet out from its hiding place under his shirt. "You won't hurt me no matter how hard you thrash when I make you cum."
Green eyes blinked at him, the mind behind them processing this new information and almost immediately crashing. The human version of a blue screen of death gripping him. Internally, he had figured out that Hunter wanted to have sex with him fifteen minutes ago, but the panic and rushing thoughts had spared him from addressing it until the older man practically looked him in the eyes and announced his intention.
Danny's mouth opened, his unsteady emotions trying to settle on something to express (not helped at all by Hunter's fingers that were busy rubbing his thigh.) Why was he doing this? What could be possibly gain?
The answer hit Danny over the back of the head and he spat, "It's because I'm a ghost, isn't it? You have some kind of creepy ghost fetish!"
A moment passed, Danny's heavy breathing and the gentle whirrs of computers doing an inadequate job of filling the silence. Fingers moved from Danny's ankle to his other foot, the first traces of anything but a confidant smile creasing Hunter's lips. "You're much more than a simple ghost," he said quietly, pausing for the low groan from Danny, "you're special, a challenge…"
"You don't have sex with challenges," Danny shot back, eyes narrowing even though he was finding it oddly difficult to be mad and receive a foot massage at the same time.
Hunter released his foot, and Danny wondered when the bindings on his legs had been released. The hand moved to his hip, and he found himself pulled towards Hunter, his hands reaching out to brace himself against the elder's chest. "Who says sex has to be about love?" Hunter asked, their foreheads bumping lightly. "Consider it an act of mutual appreciation of each others' abilities."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Danny growled.
His indignation cut off abruptly as a gel-coated hand slid under the hem of his boxers. Hunter's arm crossed behind his back, and Danny found himself clinging to the elder's white shirt. Lips pressed against the spot behind his ear, and Danny felt his hips beginning to move, bucking up into those teasing fingers. The slippery hand closed around him, and it was like nothing he had ever felt before. His already tender body craved the pleasure even though it was the only part of him that was even remotely considering giving in to Hunter.
Warm breath bushed his cool cheek, and he could feel Hunter's smile. "Let me make this perfectly clear then," he murmured, the hand in Danny's pants not slowing even a little bit. "I'm nothing if not a gentleman, and I don't backstab my lovers. This is your opportunity for a forth chance, Phantom. If you choose to become a confidant of mine, I'll let you go. No strings attached."
Danny's core throbbed against his ribcage. Was he serious? Freedom it return for…sex… That was his plan this whole time? The hunting and the battles. A twisted game of cat and mouse, but not for the reasons he had assumed.
Danny couldn't dwell on it, though. It was much too hard to concentrate with Hunter's hand down his pants. A low whine came from somewhere deep in his throat. That was it then. He had lost. Hopelessness surged through him, paired with the rush of relief that comes from giving up.
The hand fisting Hunter's shirt loosened, replaced by two ghostly arms wrapping around his shoulders.
Phantom's body slumped in Hunter's hold as the man stood up with the ghost in his arms, his normally bright eyes dulled to a flat green. An unfortunate side effect of his little helper in the glass bottle.
It worked in three stages. Once in contact with a ghost's skin it delivered a concentrated burst of sensation to confuse and distract, reacting with the energy that radiates around the ghost so that the power level of the ghost in question directly affects how powerful the sensation becomes.
Stage two happened after the mix settled farther into the skin and into a ghost's ectoplasm. The gel took on the role of a drug, a powerful relaxant and depressant. This quickly cut into the mental resistance of the specter, making thoughts of escape or alternatives to his suggestions seem unviable or not worth the effort.
Then finally, about ten minutes after the lowest point, the third and final component would kick in, rapidly boosting arousal levels and excitability just in time to seal the deal. In theory it sounded like a dirty trick, but Hunter hadn't heard any complaints about the procedure. He had yet to have a partner who didn't leave his bedchamber skipping, or the ghost equivalent anyway.
They usually weren't so positive about the experience a few weeks later, but then getting plasma bolts shot at him was a firm part of his job description.
A soft moan and cold breath on his neck brought Hunter back to the situation at hand. The near naked Phantom in his arms was getting restless. The sliding door hissed shut behind them and the elder took the last few steps to his bed.
This room was much like the lab, dark and cave-like and full of computers and wiring. Books and notes spilled off the surface of a curved wooden desk and spare coats hung from the closet door. Messy, but not in a way that was uncomfortable or deterred walking. Hunter doubted Phantom was playing much mind to the decor anyway.
His pale skin stood out against the dark blue sheets, the slight glow of the ghostly presence illuminating the air around him, a thin inch of brilliant light. Hunter ran his hand over Phantoms' chest, the glow swallowing his hand and sending a pleasant chill up his spine. It radiated energy and power, life and immortality. One tiny little teenager who straddled the infinite gap between life and death. He leaned down to trail soft kisses over Phantom's skin, hands straying to his hips as his mind wandered.
How could anyone look at these creatures and not see how gorgeous they were? Perfection in both form and purpose, just like Phantom. He felt the thrumming against his lips, the pulsing of the ghost boy's core. He probably couldn't even begin to guess at how much strength was stored inside that little ball, ghosts had powers beyond human understanding and among the supernatural, Phantom was a god. He sometimes wondered if he was the only ghost hunter who appreciated how they walked among giants and beat them at their own game.
A mortal human and ghostly god. Yet, Phantom was the one stripped and lying on his bed.
Phantom was the one who whimpered as slicked fingers entered him.
Phantom was the one who bucked against him, seeking more.
Tongues mixed in a heated kiss. The ghost's saliva was cold as the grave but his tongue moved against Hunter's regardless. His mouth tasted unlike anything of this earth, as he was long since passed the need to eat or brush his teeth.
Energy seeped from every inch of him, lighting up the dark room like a miniature sun. Shadows waved as his wild emotions flicked back and forth in time with Hunter's hand movements. It wouldn't be enough for Phantom, though, not as soon as the third stage of his drugged cocktail hit its stride.
The boy's legs fell open and ethereal hands griped his, Phantoms' whine echoing with his power like reverberations in a cave, his disappointment at the removal of Hunter's hand clear in every repeating syllable.
The gel that had started all this felt only sticky and wet to Hunter, but Phantom reacted to being filled as if it were the most pleasurable thing that had ever happened to him. And to Hunter's knowledge, it might well have been.
Tight around him, Phantom was far from relaxed. Short fingernails clawed at his shoulder blades, legs crossed behind his back, a heel digging into his spine. Hunter's hand caressed Phantom's thigh, the other rested on the boy's heaving chest. Hunter didn't dare move an inch until Phantom gave him some indication to continue. He owed him that. Much more than that. Small pinpricks were gathering at the corners of Phantom's eyes, but it was the pain. They were just watering, he wasn't crying.
How small he looked under him, but that was an illusion. Hunter wondered how old he was, how long he had been a teenager for. It could be anywhere from one year to hundreds, it didn't matter for a ghost.
His green eyes were open now, soft sounds pouring from his lips. Encouragement to continue hidden in the soft sounds and vague words. Hunter braced the two of them, balancing the smaller form in his lap and holding him close. His pleas answered, Phantom's eyes closed again, his mouth opening to take long gasping breaths. Just like a human.
Remarkably human-like would have summed him up well and not just in his appearance. The ghost boy had the core of a specter but the heart of the human. When Hunter closed his own eyes he could still picture Phantom holding that little girl, protecting the kin of what should have been his mortal enemy without a second thought.
Phantom was special, oh so special, and Hunter told him so. Again and again between his own sharp intakes for breath and the gentle rocking of two bodies engaged in unabashed intercourse.
Phantom was far from silent himself. Growled curses seemed to be the norm, but every once and a while a tangible string of words broke free. The response to his compliments and praise was a sharp "shut up," but his cheeks were the most delightful shade of green.
Given the circumstances this wasn't supposed to be a tender moment, rather the ultimate confrontation between predator and prey, a release for weeks of anger and tension. However, the kisses Hunter left on every part of Phantom's body were gentle and caring, no doubt confusing the poor teen to no end.
But Hunter couldn't explain himself, he barley understood his own actions.
An inhuman growl came from underneath him, and Hunter barely had time to register what happened next. Phantom managed to get enough traction on the bed to surge forward and push the larger man down. Energy crackled from the ghost's fingers, quickly being sucked away and into the center of Hunter's chest where the amulet still hung. Hunter drew a breath and Phantom slammed his hips down, a breathless moan filing the air.
Hunter's hands gripped Phantom's rocking hips, his own head dropping to relax on the smooth surface of the bed as Phantom rode him with a lot more gusto than should be possible considering the amount of relaxant in his system.
The ghost's smaller hands fit perfectly over his own, fingers intertwining tightly as Hunter helped the ghost keep his balance while maintaining the short, jerky motions. First to gain speed with his confidence, then purely for the rush of pleasure gained from every stroke.
Hunter's skin prickled as energy kept pouring from Phantom. Uncontrolled flashes of ectoplasmic power were an important part of the ghostly mating cycle. If he were a ghost, no doubt the flashes would have given him five different kinds of bliss, but to a human they were fatal.
Ghosts and humans were never meant to mix, everyone knew that. But here he was, cockdeep in the most gorgeous silver-haired creature that had ever walked the mortal realm, and he loved every second of it.
Phantom arched his back, his breathing hitching in the oddest way. His lips parted and the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. Hunter watched, transfixed as green faded to bright blue and Phantom's breaths became visible, like he was standing outside on a crisp winter morning.
An elemental core…but they were only a theory. Hunter pressed the palm of his hand to Phantom's chest, and if it weren't for his protective amulet he would have gotten frostbite on the spot. Elemental ice from the depths of the darkest corner of the Ghost Zone.
Frost decorated the fringes of Phantom's white hair, but he didn't even seem to notice as he rocked back and forth. Hunter pulled Phantom down by his shoulders, switching from shallow and fast, to deep and hard.
Phantom whined softly against his shoulder, his breath making the human shiver. Hunter pulled the icy creature to his chest, trusting his amulet to protect him. He slid his fingers down Phantom's back, his soft humming barely audible over panted moans and skin-on-skin traction. He purred some words into Phantom's ear, before bowing his head and nibbling along the ghost's shoulder.
Phantom responded with an echoing moan, and, much to the human's dismay, pulled away. Frosty blue eyes met his own, then trailed down until they were both looking in the same place. The human licked his lips and moved a hand from the ghost's hip to between his legs.
Phantom moved against his hand and sighed deeply, closing his piercing eyes as Hunter stroked him, losing himself in the feeling. At long last the ghost boy had surrendered to him.
The only thing that could have ruined this moment was the lurking knowledge it was almost over.
Hunter kept his pace with his hands and hips, his senses finely tuned so he would know when Phantom was on the very edge. The sharp intakes of breath suddenly hitched and Hunter leaned up to press his lips firmly to Phantom's. A quick shift to an open-mouthed kiss, and he felt the ghost's last desperate moans as well as heard them. Phantom spasmed and shivered, and Hunter bucked his hips hard, throwing his own head against the pillow.
His eyes closed, the world seeming to slow to a crawl, sounds falling away for a moment of pure bliss.
Phantom collapsed on his chest, whimpering softly. Hunter rode out his pleasure and wrapped his arms tightly around the younger ghost. He caught a few words, enough to know Phantom was talking to himself.
As quickly as it had come the moment evaporated, and Hunter noticed that the frost and the chill in the air had dissipated. Phantom looked exhausted. His eyes were barley open and he was still mumbling to himself.
Hunter pulled the ghost from his lap and eased him to the bedspread, hovering over him for a moment. He reached out a hand and touched the release mechanism on the collar around Phantom's neck. It beeped at it recognised his fingerprints and popped open obediently.
That was his end of the deal then. If Phantom wanted to leave, he could. Though Hunter doubted he would go just yet, he looked like he was about to pass out.
He was trying, though, pushing himself up but making no progress. He looked distressed, maybe even scared. Hunter rested a hand on the ghost's cheek and hummed softly, trying to sooth the younger male.
"Easy, Phantom, it's okay," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to the ghost's cheek. "You can rest here." Green eyes looked back up at him, drained of their usual brightness. His power must have been sapped from the offshoots during sex.
"No…I have to…you don't…" the ghost stuttered.
Hunter shook his head and hushed him. "Just relax, Phantom, I'm a man of my word. After you rest, I'll let you walk away. I promise." He pushed Phantom down and held him lightly, keeping him still until his eyes closed and his breathing slowed.
The human breathed a sigh of relief.
A snap of the air and suddenly the room was filled with sharp white light. Hunter shielded his eyes and pulled away from Phantom. He barely had time to recognize the silver rings before they vanished.
Hunter blinked. Phantom had just passed out…how could he have summoned the power for that? He lowered his arm and looked at the spot where the ghost was lying.
Except there wasn't a ghost there anymore. There was just a human, the exact same shape and size as Phantom. The same haircut and the same facial features, only this time his hair was black and he lacked the ghostly aura.
He looked…familiar…Without the trappings of a ghost, Hunter could finally see passed the glowing and the floating, could see the boy underneath the power. He forgot to breathe for a long moment.
What the fu—

Description

Chapter 6: Experiments and Revelations
Every time he ended up in this situation, Danny felt the need to reflect on the worst things ever about being trapped in a Fenton Thermos. Mainly it was the inability to tell how much time had passed that bugged him, but the untold hours were even worse when passed in so complete a darkness he couldn't even see his own hand an inch from his face. Not that he had anything as solid as a hand to keep track of.
That of course was the second to worst thing about being in the Thermos; being forced into an ethereal form so he could fit nicely in a soup container. Unlike other ghosts, Danny was still half human, so the sensation of not being able to feel any of his body parts was deeply unsettling.
It was like being trapped in a thick cloud of himself, with only his thoughts and the darkness, all his other senses unable to give any information about his environment. It was probably like being stuck in a sensory deprivation chamber.
Or, you know, a solitary in a prison.
The only good thing about the times he had been trapped in a thermos was that moment the cap was finally unscrewed and light pored back into his world. This time around, being grabbed immediately after and strapped down to a lab table kind of killed the happiness of no longer being in the dark.
The bindings tightened around his wrists, a pair of hands holding him down as the straps were pulled and fitted into place. Danny was stronger, but Hunter was fast and the pounding in Danny's head had returned with a vengeance. The pain kept him distracted, and he failed to pull away before all four of his limbs were pinned down tightly.
Green eyes flashed and Danny drew a breath, only to chock on it when something cold and metal closed around his throat. He grit his teeth as his chest heaved with labored breathing—out of fear since most of the time his ghost form didn't need oxygen.
Blue eyes glared down at him, and Danny suddenly realized how close they were. Hunter was leaning over him, kneeling on the table as he checked the bindings. The difference between their body sizes was even more glaringly obvious like this. Danny was smaller and pinned down, completely at the elder's mercy.
Danny's right hand balled into a fist as he tried to call his energy together for a blast. His fingers started to glow brightly, and for a second he thought that he might actually be able to get out of this. A moment later those hopes were dashed as he realized glowing was all his figures were going to do.
He grunted and tried to focus his energy, but drawing on his power had the same effect as him crashing up against a brick wall. Like something was standing between him and his own powers.
Hunter shifted, and Danny shot him a glare, but only earned a noncommittal shrug in return for his scathing glance. "Simple power limiter," Hunter offered by way of explanation. "As long as that collar is on, you won't be able to do much more then float." He stepped off the table, turning his back on Danny. "I've already fallen for your vocal blast once, so it's this or a gag. We can switch if you'd like."
He shot a smirk over his shoulder as he approached the large console to the right of the experiment table. A flick of his fingers to open the program, the keys clicking as he typed. Danny could only see a little bit of the screen from his vantage point, but it looked like it was an electronic profile of some sort.
Danny bit the inside of his lip, trying to keep calm. At least he wasn't in a kitchen being tested for flavor. Not yet anyway…
Without a better option, he took a moment to assess his surroundings. The room was rather large but stuffed to the gills with equipment and disassembled parts. Wires and cables hung from the ceiling, crisscrossing back and forth in a wild mess that linked all the large equipment together in a gigantic hive mind. The console on his left linked to a large monitor that was mounted on the ceiling, the only display Danny could see clearly from the table. Computer code crossed the screen, and Danny found himself looking at a pencil sketch of his ghost form. It looked like a scanned page from a notebook…
He would have pondered this longer, but his eye caught the flash of metal on a rolling side table beside the platform he was strapped to. On top was a tray full of sharp-looking surgical instruments and half a dozen test tubes. The screen above him flashed and went dark, florescent lines beginning to travel across the screen. As they traveled they began bouncing up and down like the lines on a heart rate monitor. The upper one was labeled "core BPM" and the bottom "inter pow lv"
The first line had a huge spike dated from a few seconds ago, matching perfectly with when he had spotted the blades. Wonderful, now he couldn't even pretend not to be scared out of his mind.
A hand cupped his cheek, and Danny jerked in surprise. He earned an exasperated huff from Hunter who followed the movement and tilted his chin up, brushing back some of his white hair to expose the still bleeding cut on his temple.
Danny looked away. "Thanks for that by the way," he muttered, wincing as he remembered the shock of pain the metal pistol had made when it came down on his forehead.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
Danny blinked and looked up at the elder. Did he just apologize? If so he sure wasn't dwelling on it because the hand in his hair had already moved on to toying with the white strands, his fingers brushing them back and forth like he was petting a dog.
The motions were almost soothing, but the fact it was soothing just made it creepy. Danny looked away awkwardly, unknowingly leaving himself open. The sound of two blades coming together made Danny turn his head just in time to see the chunk of hair that had just been snipped from his bangs.
"H-Hey!" Danny tugged against his bonds with renewed vigor as Hunter moved over to the rolling table, a chunk of the teen's white hair in his hand. "What the hell!"
"I just need a few samples," Hunter explained, dividing up the strands and depositing it in five different test tubes. "I'm not taking anything you're really going to miss." He took the opportunity with his tools to open a hypodermic syringe, attaching the five inch long needle. His other hand grabbed Danny's pinned wrist and slid the bindings down, tapping Danny's wrist with a finger until he located the vain. "Little pinprick, try not to squirm."
To his surprise Danny seemed to obey, eyes shut tight as he braced himself. The needle passed through the skin and Hunter pulled back on the plunger. As the chamber filled with bright green ectoplasm, the ghost boy grit his teeth, the odd sensation of having something inside him sucked out drawing a low pathetic whine that he just managed to stomp out.
"Okay, no one said anything about being a test subject!" Danny yelled.
Hunter rolled his eyes and pulled the needle back, the chamber about half-way full. He inspected the few milliliters of fluid with an attentive eye before he placed the syringe back on the table. "Forgive me," he said, "next time I'll be sure to yell that I'm going to experiment on you at the top of my lungs while I'm chasing you through a crowded city center."
Danny swallowed. That would have made his week more stressful. He hadn't needed more incentive to avoid capture. Not that it had helped much.
Hunter pulled out another rack of test tubes and placed a few drops of ectoplasm in each, adding a clear liquid to the mix before sliding the tubes into a machine on the far end of the room, closing the lid as it stirred to life. A low humming sound filled the room.
"You're not like other ghosts," Hunter mused, returning to Danny in the center of the room. "I need to find out why you're different. Whether you care about the results or not, this data could be vital to ending the war."
Danny had to hold back a laugh. Now he was trying to justify his freaky fetish by saying it was for the good of humanity? God this guy was unbelievable.
"And how exactly does taking my blood help win a war?" Danny asked. "You're just going to use it to make a new weapon."
Hunter sighed, but he didn't deny the truth of that statement. "If that's what it takes."
He pulled a glass jar full of cotton swabs from a drawer and unscrewed the top, dumped them out and took one. Realizing what he wanted Danny sealed his lips together, backing up his defense by digging his teeth into his lips to keep them closed.
Hunter raised an eyebrow at Danny's compressed lips. "Now you're just being childish."
Danny didn't rise to the insult, keeping his lips firmly closed. Hunter tilted his head to the side, his own lips perking in a smirk. One hand grabbed the table as Hunter leaned over him. Danny realized where he was going, and his lips parted to protest seconds before Hunter kissed him.
Two endless seconds later, the human pulled away, leaving Danny to gape at him in a mix of shock and confusion, plenty of time for a ghost hunter to grab the saliva sample he needed. Danny attempted to bite the human's fingers but he missed by a longshot.
With a cocky smile, Hunter found another test tube and slid the swab inside. His picked up the tray and the tubes containing the severed strands of hair and placed them into another machine.
"One more sample and we're done," Hunter called, his tone not quite reassuring enough to sway the sudden pang of panic in Danny's core. Blood, saliva, hair… what more was there to take?
A scalpel pinged against the side of a metal cup as it was pulled from it, and Danny's brain went into panic mode. "You really don't want to do that, I'm pretty sure my organs are in the same place as everyone else's. No need to check!" he stammered, noticing the eye roll from Hunter right before the blade pressed to his neck.
He tried to pull away another inch, but the blade caught on the collar of his jumpsuit. The sound of tearing fabric filled the room and Danny felt his suit loosen around his chest, the black material splitting like it was made of paper.
"It-it has a zipper, you know," Danny said faintly, shivering a little under the intense gaze of the other male. The scalpel lifted and came down again, cutting a large, angular strip out of his suit and taking another portion out of the logo on his chest.
Danny let out the breath he had been holding as Hunter pulled away again. The human swapped his scalpel for a pair of scissors and cut the strip of fabric into smaller strips before sliding them into the last set of test tubes.
"See?" Hunter said, looking up from his work to smile at Danny. "You can relax, I'm not going to hurt you."
The ghost boy was far from reassured, though. "You mean besides handing me over to Vlad?" he muttered, glaring up at the ceiling so he didn't have to look at Hunter.
The elder man made a soft humming sound in response as he walked back to the machine to deposit the last set of samples. "Actually, I was hoping we could avoid that particular outcome."
The machine clicked as the test tube holder set in place, followed by a creek that must have been from a cabinet opening. Danny didn't feel inclined to look and make sure. He didn't like Hunter's tone one bit, but at least it was more hope than he had a second ago.
"And what exactly do I need to do to avoid this outcome?" Danny asked warily, pushing himself up a little in a vain attempt to feel less helpless.
Hunter cocked his head, his fingers closing around Danny's shoulder. "First of all you need to relax."
"You mean I have to let my guard down so you can get the jump on me?" the ghost boy snapped, defensive. He tried to shrug away from the hand, but the fingers followed the movement, tracing across his exposed collarbone.
"You're already tied up," Hunter pointed out. "I don't think I could have more of an advantage." He withdrew his hand and leaned against the examination table. "If you behave I'll consider removing the restraints, but otherwise you're completely at my mercy."
Danny swallowed, internally weighing whether he wanted to be free of the glowing bounds enough to justify sacrificing his dignity, especially when he had so little left to spare. A glass bottle full of clear liquid entered his plane of vision, and Danny traced it back to Hunter's hand where the man dangled the jar in front of his face, making it impossible to concentrate.
"I supposed you want me to ask what that is?" the ghost boy said, keeping his eye on the jar.
Hunter took it back into both hands, screwed open the lid, and poured some into his hand. "I originally designed it as a weapon, the prototype for the grenade you used. Something that would only hurt ghosts."
The liquid-covered hand strayed to Danny's exposed chest. The teenager tensed, his skin prickling, prepared for agony. The first few drops hit his chest and it was cold…no wait, hot. Burning like fire but… No, no it wasn't…and the pain?
The unexpected tingling sensation made Danny shiver violently, the strange feeling overtaking him everywhere the gel touched his skin. He had to force his eyes to remain open, but the battle to keep his body still was already lost.
The hand on his chest moved as Hunter massaged the gel into his skin, his ripped suit parting to give the older man access to most of his shoulders. Danny even found himself shifting a little to allow access to the part of his upper back that was resting against the table. The feeling was just too good and he wanted it everywhere.
Hunter leaned over him as he slid his hands under the ghost boy's back. "As you've probably noticed, the formula failed, but I still keep a little of it around. It's useful for persuasion." He picked up the bottle again and poured some more into his hands.
Danny attempted an angry growl but only got as far as a slightly broken whine. His head was getting fussy, a sensation that he knew should scare him consuming his upper body. If there was anyone on this twisted planet he should not be letting his guard down around it was his messed up alternate self. Especially not after that random kiss...and now all the touching…
Something clicked in Danny's brain, but Hunter's hands moved down his chest and onto his tummy. He glared up at Hunter, only to find that the human was looking back just as intensely, observing every curve and contour of Danny's frame. His fingers explored every nook and cranny, treating it all with intense care, like an archeologist observes a Ming vase.
The man's lips parted and he murmured, his voice husky and low, "How does it feel?"
"It…tickles," Danny hissed, his stomach muscles twitching involuntary under the elder's fingertips. "I don't like it, knock it off." He finished with a flash of his ghostly eyes, his voice much firmer then his willpower.
"Is that so?" Hunter purred, leaning close to his prey as his hand slid even farther down Danny's exposed torso. His other hand moved to the bonds holding Danny's wrists. A soft click of a button and the glowing bonds dissipated like smoke. For a moment, Danny was too surprised to move, but that only lasted until the urge to punch Hunter right in his smug face kicked in.
The move ended up being closer to a slap since Danny couldn't get his fingers to curl on time and Hunter grabbed his wrist before he could complete the swing. Danny's chest was heaving again from the tangled mix of emotions, though he only became aware of it when Hunter's other hand pressed against his upper torso and pushed him back to the table.
His gloves and sleeves were pulled off, leaving his top half completely exposed. Danny had never intentionally gone shirtless in public. Even when swimming he usually had on at least a tank-top, if only to save himself from Dash making jokes about his scrawny chest. Even in his relaxed state it was uncomfortable, and the cold lab table and Hunter's piercing gaze just made it that much worse.
Danny was planning his second attack, trying to figure out the best way to get Hunter off of him, when the tingling sensation still griping his shoulders spread to his arm. His thoughts jerked and his mind blanked as Hunter coated his arm in the gel.
He didn't miss a single inch, even getting the spaces between Danny's fingers, massaging each individually and stretching out the stiff joints and muscles. The ghost boy felt his extremity go limp in Hunter's grasp, the mental alertness he needed to counterattack wrenched from him.
His right arm fell limply over his head as Hunter did the same with his left, pausing halfway through to kiss Danny's knuckles and wrist softly. Every touch was gentle and slow, so much so that Danny's body couldn't believe this was the same man who had roughed him up so badly less than a week ago.
The second arm fell as limp as the first, and Danny looked up to see Hunter hovering over him. He couldn't ignore the way he was being looked at anymore. No one could mistake the hunger in the elder man's eyes, and here he was, lying half naked, hot and bothered. He couldn't have been presented better if Hunter had added a parsley sprig.
"Why are you doing this?" Danny panted, managing to fit a question between his attempts to wrestle his breathing back under control.
Hunter tilted his head and lifted a hand to brush white strands from Danny's emerald eyes. "Why do you think I'm doing this?"
Danny growled and pulled away from the hand stroking his cheek. "Because y-you're a sick fuck who wants to see me suffer?"
"You don't look like you're in pain to me…" The hand found his cheek again and held his head still as the elder leaned in for a kiss, this one a little more forceful than the gentle one that had tricked Danny into opening his mouth. There was no mistaking it this time. Hunter was kissing him for pleasure, because he wanted to.
Of course he didn't know what Danny knew, so he wouldn't understand why the ghost's insides turned backwards at the thought. He didn't know about their shared history, about how closely he was related to his newest little plaything.
Hunter pulled back from the kiss, looking pleased that his prey was relenting to him so easily. A momentary smile and a slight shift later, his fingers tugged on Danny's boots, sliding the protective footwear off.
Danny had to do something, anything! Above him the line indicating his core BPM (like a heartbeat for his ghost form) waved back and forth like a hummingbird's wings. He could feel it thrumming as the panic set in. There was only one thing for it, he needed to change back.
But the idea of revealing his secret made Danny's nerves quake. He held his secret identity so close there was just no way for him to even consider letting it go without that nagging feeling he was making a huge mistake.
Logic was on his side though, even if Hunter assumed it was just a trick it would likely still shake him enough to at least stop the fucking touching. His boots hit the floor in two successive thumps and Danny felt the bottom half of his jumpsuit slide from his hips, sparking another wave of panic and stirring him to action.
A flash of bright light erupted around his midsection. The glowing rings caused Hunter to reflexively pull back, a mix of shock and wonder flashing over his face. A second passed, but the rings didn't move. Danny grit his teeth, fighting to get enough control to force the transformation, but the harder he tried to force it the farther away it seemed.
Eventually he had to give up, the strain of keeping the rings in place quickly draining his already weakened power reserves. With a sharp intake of breath, the rings vanished and the room darkened back into the electrical twilight. The two electronic lines on the display above his head dipped sharply as his body went into recovery mode, leaving him with nothing to show for his efforts.
Hunter was still staring at him, transfixed by rings even after they had vanished. Clearly he had at least found the light show interesting, but unless it left him too flabbergasted to continue stripping him it was small comfort to Danny.
"Nice try," Hunter scoffed his hand resting on Danny's hips again. "You're good, Phantom, I'll give you that, but I'm still better. All your powers are blocked until I say so."
Danny felt the thin fabric of his jumpsuit slide all the way off, and his hands moved to cover his underpants in a reflex born of having his suit ripped off one to many times by marauding ghosts.
Using up his power trying to transform had drained most of what was left of Danny's logical thought process. The parts of his skin coated in gel still tingled, the relaxing feeling soaking into his skin like heat from a warm bath.
Hunter took Danny's wrists in one hand and pinned them over his head, and Danny couldn't even muster an ounce of strength to stop him. He wiggled a bit on the metal table, his legs unable to find much room to shift. He could feel Hunter's eyes on him again, every action stretched out on display for his visual enjoyment.
Something in the macabre part of Danny's brain reminded him that he didn't exactly have anything Hunter hadn't seen before, and suddenly what he had been worried about just moments ago came rushing back.
"S-stop!" Danny interjected, managing to get Hunter to pause mid kiss-lean. "You don't know what you're doing! You're not going to believe me, but you have to try to understand!" Danny's heart leaped for a second as he thought he might be able to convince hunter. "You're making a huge mistake, I'm y—"
A finger pressed against his lips, and Hunter smiled down at him, hushing him with a soothing sound you might use on a crying infant. The hand moved to Danny's cheek and their lips pressed together again. Danny groaned in exasperation against the kiss. Damn it, couldn't he just stop and listen for once?
Somewhere behind the sound of soft whines and moving lips, Danny heard the glass bottle being lifted. He attempted to brace himself, but the cool drip of gel on his leg caught him off guard anyway. The chill going up his spine triggered an involuntary spasm and his head banged against the metal of the table.
When the pain in his head faded he pushed himself up to see his socks had gone missing. His whole left leg tingled, and Hunter had his foot resting in his lap, his thumbs digging into the middle of Danny's foot in a rhythmic manner that would have been relaxing even without being coated in liquid aphrodisiac.
"Don't worry, little Phantom," Hunter murmured, releasing his foot and dripping more liquid onto Danny's other leg. "This isn't my first time with a ghost." His fingers left Danny's skin and found a golden chain, pulling his amulet out from its hiding place under his shirt. "You won't hurt me no matter how hard you thrash when I make you cum."
Green eyes blinked at him, the mind behind them processing this new information and almost immediately crashing. The human version of a blue screen of death gripping him. Internally, he had figured out that Hunter wanted to have sex with him fifteen minutes ago, but the panic and rushing thoughts had spared him from addressing it until the older man practically looked him in the eyes and announced his intention.
Danny's mouth opened, his unsteady emotions trying to settle on something to express (not helped at all by Hunter's fingers that were busy rubbing his thigh.) Why was he doing this? What could be possibly gain?
The answer hit Danny over the back of the head and he spat, "It's because I'm a ghost, isn't it? You have some kind of creepy ghost fetish!"
A moment passed, Danny's heavy breathing and the gentle whirrs of computers doing an inadequate job of filling the silence. Fingers moved from Danny's ankle to his other foot, the first traces of anything but a confidant smile creasing Hunter's lips. "You're much more than a simple ghost," he said quietly, pausing for the low groan from Danny, "you're special, a challenge…"
"You don't have sex with challenges," Danny shot back, eyes narrowing even though he was finding it oddly difficult to be mad and receive a foot massage at the same time.
Hunter released his foot, and Danny wondered when the bindings on his legs had been released. The hand moved to his hip, and he found himself pulled towards Hunter, his hands reaching out to brace himself against the elder's chest. "Who says sex has to be about love?" Hunter asked, their foreheads bumping lightly. "Consider it an act of mutual appreciation of each others' abilities."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Danny growled.
His indignation cut off abruptly as a gel-coated hand slid under the hem of his boxers. Hunter's arm crossed behind his back, and Danny found himself clinging to the elder's white shirt. Lips pressed against the spot behind his ear, and Danny felt his hips beginning to move, bucking up into those teasing fingers. The slippery hand closed around him, and it was like nothing he had ever felt before. His already tender body craved the pleasure even though it was the only part of him that was even remotely considering giving in to Hunter.
Warm breath bushed his cool cheek, and he could feel Hunter's smile. "Let me make this perfectly clear then," he murmured, the hand in Danny's pants not slowing even a little bit. "I'm nothing if not a gentleman, and I don't backstab my lovers. This is your opportunity for a forth chance, Phantom. If you choose to become a confidant of mine, I'll let you go. No strings attached."
Danny's core throbbed against his ribcage. Was he serious? Freedom it return for…sex… That was his plan this whole time? The hunting and the battles. A twisted game of cat and mouse, but not for the reasons he had assumed.
Danny couldn't dwell on it, though. It was much too hard to concentrate with Hunter's hand down his pants. A low whine came from somewhere deep in his throat. That was it then. He had lost. Hopelessness surged through him, paired with the rush of relief that comes from giving up.
The hand fisting Hunter's shirt loosened, replaced by two ghostly arms wrapping around his shoulders.
Phantom's body slumped in Hunter's hold as the man stood up with the ghost in his arms, his normally bright eyes dulled to a flat green. An unfortunate side effect of his little helper in the glass bottle.
It worked in three stages. Once in contact with a ghost's skin it delivered a concentrated burst of sensation to confuse and distract, reacting with the energy that radiates around the ghost so that the power level of the ghost in question directly affects how powerful the sensation becomes.
Stage two happened after the mix settled farther into the skin and into a ghost's ectoplasm. The gel took on the role of a drug, a powerful relaxant and depressant. This quickly cut into the mental resistance of the specter, making thoughts of escape or alternatives to his suggestions seem unviable or not worth the effort.
Then finally, about ten minutes after the lowest point, the third and final component would kick in, rapidly boosting arousal levels and excitability just in time to seal the deal. In theory it sounded like a dirty trick, but Hunter hadn't heard any complaints about the procedure. He had yet to have a partner who didn't leave his bedchamber skipping, or the ghost equivalent anyway.
They usually weren't so positive about the experience a few weeks later, but then getting plasma bolts shot at him was a firm part of his job description.
A soft moan and cold breath on his neck brought Hunter back to the situation at hand. The near naked Phantom in his arms was getting restless. The sliding door hissed shut behind them and the elder took the last few steps to his bed.
This room was much like the lab, dark and cave-like and full of computers and wiring. Books and notes spilled off the surface of a curved wooden desk and spare coats hung from the closet door. Messy, but not in a way that was uncomfortable or deterred walking. Hunter doubted Phantom was playing much mind to the decor anyway.
His pale skin stood out against the dark blue sheets, the slight glow of the ghostly presence illuminating the air around him, a thin inch of brilliant light. Hunter ran his hand over Phantoms' chest, the glow swallowing his hand and sending a pleasant chill up his spine. It radiated energy and power, life and immortality. One tiny little teenager who straddled the infinite gap between life and death. He leaned down to trail soft kisses over Phantom's skin, hands straying to his hips as his mind wandered.
How could anyone look at these creatures and not see how gorgeous they were? Perfection in both form and purpose, just like Phantom. He felt the thrumming against his lips, the pulsing of the ghost boy's core. He probably couldn't even begin to guess at how much strength was stored inside that little ball, ghosts had powers beyond human understanding and among the supernatural, Phantom was a god. He sometimes wondered if he was the only ghost hunter who appreciated how they walked among giants and beat them at their own game.
A mortal human and ghostly god. Yet, Phantom was the one stripped and lying on his bed.
Phantom was the one who whimpered as slicked fingers entered him.
Phantom was the one who bucked against him, seeking more.
Tongues mixed in a heated kiss. The ghost's saliva was cold as the grave but his tongue moved against Hunter's regardless. His mouth tasted unlike anything of this earth, as he was long since passed the need to eat or brush his teeth.
Energy seeped from every inch of him, lighting up the dark room like a miniature sun. Shadows waved as his wild emotions flicked back and forth in time with Hunter's hand movements. It wouldn't be enough for Phantom, though, not as soon as the third stage of his drugged cocktail hit its stride.
The boy's legs fell open and ethereal hands griped his, Phantoms' whine echoing with his power like reverberations in a cave, his disappointment at the removal of Hunter's hand clear in every repeating syllable.
The gel that had started all this felt only sticky and wet to Hunter, but Phantom reacted to being filled as if it were the most pleasurable thing that had ever happened to him. And to Hunter's knowledge, it might well have been.
Tight around him, Phantom was far from relaxed. Short fingernails clawed at his shoulder blades, legs crossed behind his back, a heel digging into his spine. Hunter's hand caressed Phantom's thigh, the other rested on the boy's heaving chest. Hunter didn't dare move an inch until Phantom gave him some indication to continue. He owed him that. Much more than that. Small pinpricks were gathering at the corners of Phantom's eyes, but it was the pain. They were just watering, he wasn't crying.
How small he looked under him, but that was an illusion. Hunter wondered how old he was, how long he had been a teenager for. It could be anywhere from one year to hundreds, it didn't matter for a ghost.
His green eyes were open now, soft sounds pouring from his lips. Encouragement to continue hidden in the soft sounds and vague words. Hunter braced the two of them, balancing the smaller form in his lap and holding him close. His pleas answered, Phantom's eyes closed again, his mouth opening to take long gasping breaths. Just like a human.
Remarkably human-like would have summed him up well and not just in his appearance. The ghost boy had the core of a specter but the heart of the human. When Hunter closed his own eyes he could still picture Phantom holding that little girl, protecting the kin of what should have been his mortal enemy without a second thought.
Phantom was special, oh so special, and Hunter told him so. Again and again between his own sharp intakes for breath and the gentle rocking of two bodies engaged in unabashed intercourse.
Phantom was far from silent himself. Growled curses seemed to be the norm, but every once and a while a tangible string of words broke free. The response to his compliments and praise was a sharp "shut up," but his cheeks were the most delightful shade of green.
Given the circumstances this wasn't supposed to be a tender moment, rather the ultimate confrontation between predator and prey, a release for weeks of anger and tension. However, the kisses Hunter left on every part of Phantom's body were gentle and caring, no doubt confusing the poor teen to no end.
But Hunter couldn't explain himself, he barley understood his own actions.
An inhuman growl came from underneath him, and Hunter barely had time to register what happened next. Phantom managed to get enough traction on the bed to surge forward and push the larger man down. Energy crackled from the ghost's fingers, quickly being sucked away and into the center of Hunter's chest where the amulet still hung. Hunter drew a breath and Phantom slammed his hips down, a breathless moan filing the air.
Hunter's hands gripped Phantom's rocking hips, his own head dropping to relax on the smooth surface of the bed as Phantom rode him with a lot more gusto than should be possible considering the amount of relaxant in his system.
The ghost's smaller hands fit perfectly over his own, fingers intertwining tightly as Hunter helped the ghost keep his balance while maintaining the short, jerky motions. First to gain speed with his confidence, then purely for the rush of pleasure gained from every stroke.
Hunter's skin prickled as energy kept pouring from Phantom. Uncontrolled flashes of ectoplasmic power were an important part of the ghostly mating cycle. If he were a ghost, no doubt the flashes would have given him five different kinds of bliss, but to a human they were fatal.
Ghosts and humans were never meant to mix, everyone knew that. But here he was, cockdeep in the most gorgeous silver-haired creature that had ever walked the mortal realm, and he loved every second of it.
Phantom arched his back, his breathing hitching in the oddest way. His lips parted and the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. Hunter watched, transfixed as green faded to bright blue and Phantom's breaths became visible, like he was standing outside on a crisp winter morning.
An elemental core…but they were only a theory. Hunter pressed the palm of his hand to Phantom's chest, and if it weren't for his protective amulet he would have gotten frostbite on the spot. Elemental ice from the depths of the darkest corner of the Ghost Zone.
Frost decorated the fringes of Phantom's white hair, but he didn't even seem to notice as he rocked back and forth. Hunter pulled Phantom down by his shoulders, switching from shallow and fast, to deep and hard.
Phantom whined softly against his shoulder, his breath making the human shiver. Hunter pulled the icy creature to his chest, trusting his amulet to protect him. He slid his fingers down Phantom's back, his soft humming barely audible over panted moans and skin-on-skin traction. He purred some words into Phantom's ear, before bowing his head and nibbling along the ghost's shoulder.
Phantom responded with an echoing moan, and, much to the human's dismay, pulled away. Frosty blue eyes met his own, then trailed down until they were both looking in the same place. The human licked his lips and moved a hand from the ghost's hip to between his legs.
Phantom moved against his hand and sighed deeply, closing his piercing eyes as Hunter stroked him, losing himself in the feeling. At long last the ghost boy had surrendered to him.
The only thing that could have ruined this moment was the lurking knowledge it was almost over.
Hunter kept his pace with his hands and hips, his senses finely tuned so he would know when Phantom was on the very edge. The sharp intakes of breath suddenly hitched and Hunter leaned up to press his lips firmly to Phantom's. A quick shift to an open-mouthed kiss, and he felt the ghost's last desperate moans as well as heard them. Phantom spasmed and shivered, and Hunter bucked his hips hard, throwing his own head against the pillow.
His eyes closed, the world seeming to slow to a crawl, sounds falling away for a moment of pure bliss.
Phantom collapsed on his chest, whimpering softly. Hunter rode out his pleasure and wrapped his arms tightly around the younger ghost. He caught a few words, enough to know Phantom was talking to himself.
As quickly as it had come the moment evaporated, and Hunter noticed that the frost and the chill in the air had dissipated. Phantom looked exhausted. His eyes were barley open and he was still mumbling to himself.
Hunter pulled the ghost from his lap and eased him to the bedspread, hovering over him for a moment. He reached out a hand and touched the release mechanism on the collar around Phantom's neck. It beeped at it recognised his fingerprints and popped open obediently.
That was his end of the deal then. If Phantom wanted to leave, he could. Though Hunter doubted he would go just yet, he looked like he was about to pass out.
He was trying, though, pushing himself up but making no progress. He looked distressed, maybe even scared. Hunter rested a hand on the ghost's cheek and hummed softly, trying to sooth the younger male.
"Easy, Phantom, it's okay," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to the ghost's cheek. "You can rest here." Green eyes looked back up at him, drained of their usual brightness. His power must have been sapped from the offshoots during sex.
"No…I have to…you don't…" the ghost stuttered.
Hunter shook his head and hushed him. "Just relax, Phantom, I'm a man of my word. After you rest, I'll let you walk away. I promise." He pushed Phantom down and held him lightly, keeping him still until his eyes closed and his breathing slowed.
The human breathed a sigh of relief.
A snap of the air and suddenly the room was filled with sharp white light. Hunter shielded his eyes and pulled away from Phantom. He barely had time to recognize the silver rings before they vanished.
Hunter blinked. Phantom had just passed out…how could he have summoned the power for that? He lowered his arm and looked at the spot where the ghost was lying.
Except there wasn't a ghost there anymore. There was just a human, the exact same shape and size as Phantom. The same haircut and the same facial features, only this time his hair was black and he lacked the ghostly aura.
He looked…familiar…Without the trappings of a ghost, Hunter could finally see passed the glowing and the floating, could see the boy underneath the power. He forgot to breathe for a long moment.
What the fu—