Chapter Text
The child was practically born inside a Ghost Investigation Ward facility. He had been kidnapped the moment he was able to eat solid food. He didn't have a clue who his family was. He didn't even have a name other than 'child,' 'creature,' or 'abomination.' The ghosts called him various things, but he had no true name. All he had ever known were cold, white walls and epoxy flooring.
The scientists used him as a human test subject to experiment how ghostly items would affect humans. They would inject him with ectoplasm to see how his blood reacted, or feed him things taken from the Ghost Zone. One day, an experiment to see the effects of prolonged exposure to ectoplasmic radiation went too far, effectively killing the boy when he was only 12 years old.
Or so they thought.
They were certain the boy had died and become a ghost. However, when he collapsed from exhaustion, he had shifted back into his human appearance. The scientists were thrilled to have an entirely new 'creature' to experiment on.
Oh, how the boy cursed that fateful day. If only he hadn't half died, the tests would never have gotten so brutal. He would do anything to return to the days when they tortured him with mere ectoplasm. Now, they would bring him to the brink of death. There were times a test would escalate further than expected, temporarily killing him. They always brought him back.
He would rather stay dead.
The tests were endless and excruciating. His only escape was when he was allowed to heal in his blood-spattered cell, or interact with the other captive ghosts. On occasion, the captive ghosts were brought together to battle against each other or against machines chosen by the scientists.
The half-ghost had become especially close with one ghost named Wulf, who was notorious for his escape attempts. The boy's only education came from those rare interactions with other ghosts. His English and writing were both incredibly choppy, since most ghosts did not like associating with the 'freak' child. Rarely, Skulker or Technus would sneak over to teach him how to read, write, or speak. It didn't usually end well for them.
Wulf was the only one who always returned to the child. He would bear the torture and punishments that came in turn with helping him. The werewolf ghost valued the boy, teaching him Esperanto at any chance he could get. He'd escaped his cell countless times to assist, teach, or comfort the halfa. The child would do the same any time he could.
Wulf was there for the boy, and the boy was there for Wulf. No amount of punishment would separate them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The halfa was 16 now. He was clearly undernourished, ribs poking obviously through his tattered jumpsuit. His eyes were a dull, gray-green. He was dirtied and pale. The occasional stain of blood or ectoplasm dotted his suit or skin. He had a sunken in face with a lost, hopeless expression.
He sat miserably in his cell, staring blankly into nothingness. His hands were cuffed together. He had recently attempted to escape during a power outage, and currently sat awaiting his impending torture. He knew it was coming at any moment. He tried to look calm, but he was trembling. He was terrified. He had no idea what they might do.
He heard footsteps approach and he clenched his eyes shut. The door slammed open. He couldn't help but flinch. The agent stormed in and gripped him by the collar wrapped around his throat. It was a collar capable of electrocuting him at any moment, and it intensely weakened his ghost abilities.
The agent yanked him to his feet, gruffly stating, "Move it, freak." He shoved him out the doorway and down the long white hallway, directly toward the experimentation room. His breath hitched in his throat. That wasn't the punishment room. He stopped in his tracks, but the agent behind him roughly pushed him forward. He stumbled, holding his breath in fear.
The walls were cold. The blinding white lights were something the boy had been forced to grow accustomed to. White was a color associated with pain. The halls were empty. The walls had doors to additional cells. As he walked further down the hall, he peered down a corner on the way. Wulf's cell was at the end of that hallway. He was dragged away before he could notice if Wulf was there or not.
The teen shuffled into the experimentation room, terror gripping at his body. He looked up, seeing the chilling face of the lead scientist, who was stirring something in a strange container. He swallowed thickly, frozen in fear. The agent behind him shoved him again, leading him to the padded chair and strapping him down. He knew better than to struggle.
The scientist approached him, looking smug. "Ah, my favourite little ghost-creature." He caressed his cheek, ignoring his flinch. "I have something very special in store for you today." He removed his hand and stood up, straightening his back. He gestured to the liquid he was stirring before. "Do you know what this is? ...No, of course you don't." He sneered. "This-" He stated with clarity, "is fluoroantimonic acid."
A chill of pure terror shot down the halfa's spine. Any kind of acid was bad news. He lurched against his restraints, letting out a whine.
The scientist smirked, leaning forward. He stared coldly into the half-ghost's fearful eyes. "This is one of the most dangerous superacids in the world. I've been wanting to test its effects on a ghost's enhanced healing for quite a while now, and guess who decided to act up and misbehave?" He cooed, grabbing the boy's chin and tilting it up.
At this point he was shaking uncontrollably, attempting to thrash against his binds. "N-no, no!" He choked.
"Would you like to know what fluoroantimonic acid does to flesh?" The scientist purred. "It melts it. Just like cheese on a pizza." The halfa's eyes widened in horror. The scientist had a ferocious glint in his eye. "And would you like to know what your punishment for running is?" He reached behind him and grabbed a funnel, tilting the teen's head up further. "I'm sure you can already guess," he snarled, shoving the funnel between the child's lips.
He let loose a cry, kicking out in terror. He tried to spit out the funnel, but the scientist had it firmly positioned, shoving it further into his mouth so the opening was positioned just above his esophagus. Tears streaked down his face, his breath hitching in his throat. "N-no way!" He attempted to scream past the funnel.
"Oh don't worry, little monster." The scientist chirped, seemingly delighted at the ghost boy's distress. "The funnel won't melt with the acid. It's specially made of polytetrafluoroethylene! Not that you know what that is. You can just call it teflon." He grinned, raising the large bottle of acid and holding it above the funnel. "Open wide!" He purred, tilting the bottle into the funnel.
He shrieked, experiencing indescribable levels of pain. The burning travelled from his throat down to his stomach. He released an anguished sob. The agony was unbearable. He could feel his flesh give out as the acid viciously ate through it. The scientist was right, his flesh simply melted under the cruel bite of the acid. It ate directly through his throat, dripping onto the tile below.
"Oh my! A bit messier than expected!" The scientist exclaimed, jumping backwards to avoid it splashing on himself. He stared in awe at the acid dripping from the child. He even grimaced when the boy choked, causing another spill of acid to splash onto the floor.
The acid reached his stomach, reacting with the additional acid there. His shrieks tore through the air. It felt like his stomach was boiling and twisting apart from the inside out.
The boy was only grateful of the fact that the acid ate through everything, including his nerves. The pain was excruciating, but it only lasted for mere seconds. When the acid finally finished reacting with his flesh, he could only sob in relief. He was sure his wails of agony were heard throughout the entire facility. He sat limply, spasming as violent sobs escaped his bloodied mouth. He wished to anyone that could possibly be out there to free him, to end this misery he was forced to endure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam Manson and Tucker Foley had both lost their families when they were young children. They refused to be adopted unless they were adopted together. After several years cycling through orphanages, they were met with the billionaire Vlad Masters. He could see the pain and fire in the teens' eyes, and he hastily decided he would take them in as his own. The children had a desire to live much like himself.
They made an odd family. Vlad was an upper-class citizen, dressed in formal attire at all times. He busied himself with paranormal research, which the kids soon discovered and became part of.
Sam was a darker individual, refusing to conform to society's standards. She had an interest in the occult, and quickly forced her way into Vlad's paranormal interests. She was a clever child, able to adapt rapidly to changes in her surroundings.
Tucker focused his interests on the technological side of things. He easily adopted his role as the 'tech-geek' of the family. He was happy to help in the lab, tinkering with all the different machines and devices.
In Vlad's early days of his ghost studies, before adopting the children, he had been working on his very own ghost portal. It exploded due to a miscalculation relating to the fuel, exposing him to lethal levels of ectoplasm. He became the very first half-human, half-ghost hybrid on that day.
As Sam and Tucker had become more and more interested and enveloped in his paranormal studies, Vlad eventually told them the truth about himself; how he had acquired his wealth, how he gained power, all the wrongs he had committed. Vlad had become a different person since Sam and Tucker entered his life, and believed they deserved to know his past. They had been shocked and infuriated at first. Sam didn't speak to him for several weeks. They finally accepted that he was still the same man who took them in and eagerly studied the paranormal with them, understanding that he had now changed for the better.
Presently, they had just received information about a government agency capturing and performing experiments upon ghosts. Vlad was currently locked in his studying, researching everything he could about the group. Sam and Tucker were checking equipment in the lab.
Tucker was fiddling with one of the blasters. "How serious do you think this is?" He asked Sam. "Vlad is almost... scary focused. Ooh, maybe we'll go on a rescue mission!" He exclaimed eagerly. They weren't a ghost-hunting family; they were simply dedicated to the paranormal.
"Not sure." Sam mumbled. "Whatever those scientists are doing, it can't be good. I'm going to help those ghosts whether Vlad wants to or not." Her brows furrowed.
Vlad stormed into the lab at that moment, causing the teens' heads to shoot up to attention.
"We're rescuing the ghosts." He stated flatly. He looked enraged. Sam and Tucker shared a wide-eyed stare before turning back.
"What did you find out?" Sam asked cautiously.
Vlad tensed, placing his hands on his desk and leaning forward. He let out a low growl, "That isn't a laboratory." He spat, gesturing at his own lab. "This is a lab. What they have, that's just a massive torture chamber. They've trapped dozens of ghosts to brutally experiment on. They have a child with them." Sam gasped, and Tucker dropped the blaster he was working on.
Sam was adamant on protecting everyone and everything, including ghosts. Her fists clenched and she ground her teeth together. "When do we leave?" She hissed.
Vlad lifted his head. "As soon as I learn everything about their building. I'll find the floor plans and discover the best way to break in. In the meantime, you two prepare the ecto-suits and the blasters. We'll need them. Tucker, you make sure you have everything needed to hack into their systems. I will give you the basics of their security." The kids both nodded, immediately turning to work on their respective jobs.
"We're getting those ghosts out."