Hunter: M.D.

[Aardvark2]

Another chapter for you guys. Please enjoy - and tell me if you do. Questions, concerns, praise? I like it all!

------

The minute Hunter burst into the apartment, Katie knew something was wrong.

?Dad, Dad?slow down. Who?s that in the background? Is that Mom? Why?s she crying? Why?s Mom crying, Dad??

He looked up and she could see the fear all over Hunter?s face as he listened to Sean over the phone.

It had started out as a normal evening. They had had dinner together in the penthouse, had a quick fuck, and then Hunter had had an interview, so he?d left. She was on the treadmill when she heard the door open and slam, and saw Hunter struggling with removing his jacket without taking the phone away from his ear.

He was talking fast, even as he told Sean not to. ?Hunter, sweetie??

He looked up at her and went white. Katie turned the same color instantly. ?What is it?? She quickly jogged over to him and stood in front of him as tears began to stream down his face.

?Dad, what do you mean? I ? I don?t understand, what do you mean??

?Hunter, what is it?? Her voice got higher in pitch, and softer. ?What?s wrong??

?Dad, don?t tell me that!? He backed into a wall and cried more. ?Don?t say that, Dad. Don?t, don?t, don?t??

?What is WRONG?? She jumped up and held his face in her hands as he cried and cried.

Hunter didn?t remember the last things he and his Dad said to each other, but the call was over and he was crumpled on the floor, Katie holding him as if he were a child. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him up, and they sat, crouched together.

?You have to tell me,? she whispered. ?What did your Dad say??

?It?s Henry,? he sputtered. ?It?s Henry. My little brother Henry??

She talked so low that it was barely audible, because she was starting to cry too. ?What happened to Henry??

?Car crash,? he moaned, pressing his face up against hers as the tears coursed down. ?Dad says he?s paralyzed. Henry?s paralyzed.?

And they cried together, in silence, until Hunter looked up into her eyes and his tears quickly dried.

?I can fix him, Kate.?

?No, no, it?s not your job. Your Dad has money too, Hunter?I?m sure the doctors are doing everything they possibly-?

?No, you don?t understand. I can make him better.?

She wiped her eyes and they stood, instinctively, and he sat her down on one of the plush chairs, cuddling up next to her with their faces still red from tears. ?Katie, sweetie?? He dropped his head and looked at his hands, made them into fists, and then looked back up as they unclenched. ?I have something I have to tell you.?

?You?re scaring me.?

Two more tears were squeezed out of each of his eyes. ?I don?t know how to tell you this, I?it doesn?t make sense, even to me??

She leaned forward, back into the direction of his gaze. Her voice was laced with urgency. ?What is it??

?I have, I have?this power.?

?A power??

?I can change things.?

She leaned back, thoroughly confused, but not breaking eye contact. ?What do you mean??

?I?I can CHANGE things. Physical appearance, mental capacity, I can alter them. Just with a thought.?

She stood up and pulled a blanket around her slim, beautiful shoulders. ?Hunter?is this a nervous breakdown? Hunter, should I be calling somebody about you? Do I need to take you to the hospital??

?No. I?? He looked up and stared at her. ?Look at the light.?

She turned obediently and looked at the soft lamp. The light got brighter, then brighter ? impossibly so ? until the room was filled with blinding white light. Then, it flicked off completely, and back on at a normal level ? and the glass around the light turned blue, then red, then back to its translucent white.

And then, just to show off, the lamp melted into a molten pool of glass and metal, and then reshaped itself back into the same lamp it had been.

The blanket dropped to the floor. She was frozen, mouth open, and then she stumbled backward into another chair without looking away from the lamp. ?H-Hunter?how did you??? She looked at him, then back. ?How did you do that??

He stood up and walked toward her, and she pulled her knees inward and buried her face in the cushions. ?No! Don?t, don?t?don?t come closer??

?Katie, please?? He walked closer. She looked up and threw a pillow at him, then whimpered.

?Kate, don?t do this.?

She began to cry once more. ?I?m so confused! Please, don?t?? She felt his strong arms wrap around her and recoiled, then was horrified at how she was reacting.

?Do you love me??

She was shaking but managed to look up and deep into his kind eyes. There it was, there was Hunter. The Hunter she loved. The Hunter she knew.

?Yes. Yes, I do.?

?Do you trust me??

?Yes.?

?I?ll explain everything. I promise. I don?t want to hide anything from you at all. But, I have to go to Henry, baby. I have to go to him now.? He pulled her in close, on his lap, and kissed her blonde hair.

She inhaled deeply at the gesture, drawing in a breath that had been forced out from all the tears. She smelled him. He was still Hunter. ?Can you get a flight??

He smiled, so kindly. ?I don?t need a flight.? He leaned in and kissed her again, then whispered in her ear, ?I love you so much. I?ll be right back.?

She felt his words, his breath on her face. But when she opened her eyes, he was gone.

?Hunter??

She looked around. No sign of him. He was gone, vanished.

She collapsed back into the seat, digging her fingers into the plush material and sobbing anew. This was going to take all of her strength.

-----

Nothing could prepare Hunter for the sight of his brother in a hospital bed. The sight of Henry, filled with needles and tubes, in that dark room, was almost too much for an older brother to bear.

Hunter stood in the doorway, unnoticed by Henry. When he looked out, he could see his parents in the hallway, surrounded by his younger siblings, most of them asleep. Sean was awake with Hudson sitting on his lap, and Hunter knew his father was tenderly trying to explain what had happened to Henry, without upsetting Hudson too much. Wendy held Hailey in her arms; the girl was asleep, the mother was not.

He wanted to burst through the door and hold them all, tell them everything was going to be alright and that he would fix it. He looked at his Dad, still handsome and strong as ever, his enormous body hunched over the small, shaking frame of crying little Hudson.

Hunter loved them all so much. He tenderly touched the glass, knowing that they could never see him or know that he had been there.

?Who?s that??

He turned and saw Henry ? tall, strong Henry, almost a man now. He hadn?t seen Henry in nine months, and the boy was all but gone, replaced with a handsome, rugged teenager. His jaw had gotten stronger and sharper, his shoulders broader and his muscles fuller. And when he spoke, his voice was tinged with manhood, low and powerful, like his father?s.

He could see the whites of Henry?s eyes in the dark. ?Hi, Henry.?

?Hunter?! How did you?but Dad, Dad was just??

?Shhhh, buddy, shhhhh.? Hunter walked over and tenderly placed his hand on top of Henry?s. ?Nobody can know I?m here.?

Henry started to cry. ?I?m sorry, Hunter, I don?t want to be a problem?I wanted to be like you. I don?t want people to have to, to have to?? His words were choked with sobs. ?I don?t want somebody to have to take care of me. I wanted to be a quarterback.?

?You can be, still.? Hunter held his brother?s hand and tenderly stroked it.

?No, no, no. I can?t use my legs. My legs don?t work anymore.? He sobbed so loudly that Hunter was afraid Sean would come in. ?I want to walk! I don?t even care if I can?t play football, I just want to walk. We didn?t even see that guy coming.?

Henry had just started driving; unbeknownst to Sean or Wendy, he had hitched a ride home with a friend from football practice. Another driver ran a stop sign and hit them so hard that the car had flipped. Henry?s side, passenger, had sustained the impact. His spine was shattered.

Hunter reached down and carefully, gingerly began unplugging IVs and needles. ?Hunter, stop, I think I need-?

?Shhhh. Henry, trust me.?

He wanted so badly to tell Henry what he was doing, but Henry couldn?t know; nobody in his family could. That would mean having to explain Sean, and that would shatter all of them, he feared. Only Katie and Neil could know. Maybe Mel. Maybe.

They were in a different room, but Henry didn?t know. They were out of the ER and in a different wing, resting in intensive care. Another bed was in the room, with a small boy in it.

?Henry, go to sleep. It?s okay. Go to sleep now.?

His little brother dozed off, and Hunter kissed him on the cheek. ?I love you, Henry. You?re only going to hurt for a few weeks.? And then Henry turned to his side and pulled his legs up in a ball.

They worked. His spine was whole again. His legs worked as well as they always had, and in the years to come, they would grow longer and stronger and propel him to as successful of a career as his brother.

Hunter sat there, their hands still intertwined. They looked almost exactly alike, ten-year difference aside. Tall, black hair and tan skin, handsome, athletic, muscular, with those kind green eyes.

He heard a whimper from the other bed. ?Nuuuurse??

When Hunter looked over, he saw a child with no hair and practically translucent skin. He was a boy, but it was hard to tell, the lack of hair made him look very unisex.

?Do you need a nurse?? Hunter looked over the bed?s railing into the wide eyes of the cancer-ridden boy. He picked up a stat sheet attached to the bed. ?Do you need a nurse, Max??

?N-no. I just heard the door and thought there was one in here, to make me take my medicine. I don?t want to take my medicine. Are you Hunter Hardy??

?Yes, I am.?

?Wow. They took my wish!?

Hunter cocked his head. ?Your wish, Max??

?I told them I wanted to meet you before I died.?

?Max, you?re not going to die.? Hunter crouched down next to the bed, level with Max?s face.

?Yeah, I am. They told me I have six more weeks.? He was young, so young that death did not yet have a feeling of permanence. He was scared of it, but he could be frank. They had given him that prognosis, so that was it.

?Oh, no, Max, you?re going to live a full life,? Hunter smiled. ?I?m sure of it.?

?I want to. If I get out of here, I want to be a doctor like the doctors here who help me. I want to help people, kids.?

?You want to be a doctor??

?Yeah. Yeahhhhhh?? Max arched his back and wriggled his toes, and then slowly, laboriously climbed out of his bed. ?Yeahhhhh, I want to help people.?

His small, sick body slumped against the wall. He breathed deeply and shut his eyes, giving into the inevitable changes that were about to occur.

The boy grew, his ten-year-old body stretching taller and healthier as his head groggily swung from side to side, drunk with exhaustion. He could not process what was happening to him. Legs and arms got longer, his neck became statuesque, his torso did the same. The boy reached five-foot-six, then eight, then eleven, then six-foot-one, then six-foot-three, every part of his body stretching to accommodate his impressive height.

?Nnrrgmph,? Max muttered, making an incomprehensible sleep noise. ?Help people??

The sickness ravaging his body began to subside. Millions of dark brown hairs burrowed out of his scalp, and he developed a set of thick eyebrows, characterizing the dark blue eyes underneath the hooded lids. He began to fill out, aging has he went. His ribcage got wider, and his back and shoulders quickly developed, giving him a powerful upper body almost instantly.

The burgeoning teen whimpered as hormones shot through his body. Small dime-sized nipples became as big as 50-cent pieces. The boyish features on his face began to harden, the soft skin around his neck tightening as he grew a jawline and a thicker neck. ?I wanna HELP people.? The rounding of his shoulders became strong and square.

Puberty began to change him faster. His balls dropped and his penis grew longer and bigger, heavy balls weighing down a large sack as a powerfully built, muscular man began to emerge from within the boy. A proud, puffed-up chest appeared, two rock-solid pectorals pushing out over suddenly-rippling abdominals, as two sharp creases appeared in his sides, leading the way down into a large dick. His thighs pressed together and his butt raised higher, tighter and pert, the ass of a collegiate athlete who refused to give up his body when he became a doctor.

Curly brown hairs dotted the wide expanse of his pecs, and as his arms filled out, becoming large and empowered, his face began to scratch with stubble. A set of full, masculine lips led up to a straightening nose, and his eyebrows moved slightly as his eyes became larger. ?Heeelp people?I wanna?? Max?s voice had dropped into a man?s, the boyish whisper becoming a deep, kind tenor. He was clean-shaven but stubbled, and with a sharp crack he immediately had a large, pendulous jaw, almost lantern, its solid lines leading up into sharp cheekbones.

Shaking his arms, he could only watch as they got bigger and bigger, veins knotting in squiggles up and down as they got bigger, like watermelons with skin stretched across them. He turned and twisted as his back knotted with muscle, as his shoulders got even wider and he developed a distinctive V-taper. He scratched his big balls awkwardly, breathed deeply and felt every muscle in his body grow in response, as the six-foot-three man developed into 220 beautiful pounds of sinewy muscle. His biceps were pressed against his developed pecs, and he scratched the light hairs decorating his abdominals.

Underwear tightened around his large equipment, then black pants and a white collared shirt appeared on his developed, beautiful body. There was no tie to hide the muscular beauty of his thick neck. His blue eyes fluttered open and he reached down to slip on his white jacket, then affixed his name badge to it, even though everyone in town already knew Dr. Max Rogers.

Hunter was gone.

He looked around, slightly confused, the tight white shirt unable to hide the rugged power of masculine body. He smelled like sweat, his manly odor wafting into the air; it had been a stressful shift and he?d been called from a meeting, so he was more formally dressed than he?d liked being. But the white shirt looked good on him, the black pants fit perfectly, and it showed off just what a handsome man he was.

The door opened. ?Dr. Rogers??

A light flicked on in Max Rogers? head. ?Ahh, yes, Mr. Hardy.? He extended his hand and Sean met the grip, making a powerful handshake. Max picked up Henry?s chart, and furrowed his brow. ?We have the charts mixed up, obviously, Sean. In layman?s terms, it says here that Henry?s spine was shattered in two places, and he was unable to move his legs, which indicated permanent paralysis.? Sean?s face became cloudy, but Max calmed him. ?But, as you see, sir, that is not the case. In fact, he only blew out his left knee. That?s just a couple of months of physical therapy, probably; he?s a strong boy. How tall is he??

?Six-foot-two, 180 pounds,? Sean beamed. ?And he?s 14. You know how big his brother is, though, and he??

?Well, obviously it runs in the family,? Max smiled as he scribbled instructions messily on the paper. ?Your son will be just fine. You know, this room is a very special room. When I was young, I was treated in here.?

?Really?? Sean crossed his powerful arms over his chest, flexing his polo to the limit, not tearing his eyes off of his sleeping son.

?I had cancer when I was ten. It got so bad, they told me I had six weeks. I prayed every night, that if I recovered, I would become a doctor and help people the way my doctors helped me. And sure enough?? Max smiled.

?You?re obviously in very good shape, Dr. Rogers. I can?t believe you were ever that close to death.?

?They said it was a miracle, and even moreso because I wound up being so robust,? Max said as he lightly flexed his shoulders and upper arms to show off his power, causing the white fabric of his shirt to ripple, the visible pecs to tighten and bounce. ?I played baseball and football, got a lot of free school out of that, which helped because I was in school for a damn long while.? The men laughed. ?So, once I was done with med school, I got a job at the hospital, moved back here with my family and I love it. And, might I add, my wife and I are members of your gym.?

?Oh, really? Which location??

?14th and Stowe. There five days a week.? Max clicked his pen and set the clipboard back down, smiling at the sleeping Henry.

?Ahhh, one of the newest. Grant Brewer manages that one, I?ll tell him to comp you both a year?s membership. You bodybuild??

?Sort of. I don?t compete, but I live the lifestyle, essentially. It?s easy since I?m a doctor, ya know? I get all of that body stuff. And, thank you for the membership, Sean. That?s very generous!?

?You helped my son, so I owe you.? They shook hands. ?Thanks, Dr. Rogers.?

?My pleasure. It?s the room, I?m telling you.?

-----

Hunter and Neil quietly slipped into a booth at the bar of a nearby hotel. It was late, quiet. Nobody really noticed them except the waitress. Hunter explained Henry?s crisis and subsequent recovery, and told Neil about Max Rogers.

?I told Katie.?

Neil sipped a Rolling Rock. ?And??

?She was devastated.? Hunter massaged his temples. ?She told me that I had to move out for a while, that the wedding was postponed because she had to clear her head.?

?No.?

?Yeah.?

?Soooo,? Neil paused. He thought for a moment, then said, ?She doesn?t remember you telling her anymore, does she??

?Nope. I had to do it, I had to erase that. I couldn?t let her go. I just love her too damn much, and I know she loves me ? it was better to avoid the confusion. I hate to have to keep covering my tracks, but there will be a better time to tell her, I?m sure of it.?

?Maybe she?s not meant to know.?

?I don?t know, man. I don?t know. I hate this shit.? Hunter drank a swig of beer. ?I hate having to manipulate her, but she didn?t react the way I thought she would.?

?Really? You just thought ?Hey, Katie, I can transform anyone around me, that cool?? would suffice??

Hunter shrugged. ?Well, pretty much, yeah.?

?Next thing you know, you?re going to pull me into all this and be like ?Guess what, Katie, Neil used to be short, fat and ugly! But I fixed all that.?? Hunter grinned and shook his head, then sighed with frustration. Neil reached across the table and smacked his friend?s back. ?Well, don?t stress. That?s the last thing you need. Your wedding is coming up, your season is coming up. She never knew about your power, it didn?t happen. You saved your brother. You saved a kid. It?s been a good night, okay??

Hunter smirked and looked at Neil. ?Okay. You?re right.?

Their beers clinked together, and they toasted to the upcoming year.

[TheMM]

Good chapter, very touching, just one thing...

No Scrubs or House references?! How could you not throw such a cheap joke in? It wouldn't have been hard for moi!

I don't know you anymore! *runs away crying dramatically*

[wolfotehmoon]

Aww, don't fret, MM. I'm sure we can, without hesitation, give Max the distinction of being "The Wooooorld's Most HEALTHY Doctoooor!"

BTW, Aardvark, yet another great installment. Keep up the good work!

[michael1111ca]

I really liked this one. More so for the character stuff with Hunter than anything else. It almost looks like you're getting into the questions of how far Hunter should go with his god-like power. Is it going to come back and bite him in the ass that he manipulated Katie? If he does tell her about his power again, he won't be able to honestly tell her that he's never used it on her.

Nice work, Aardvark. Your Hunter series is awesome.

[Aardvark2]

Originally Posted by TheMM

No Scrubs or House references?! How could you not throw such a cheap joke in? It wouldn't have been hard for moi!

Hopefully this doesn't shatter your world, but I've actually never even watched House (been meaning to get around to that...), and it's been YEARS since I caught an episode of Scrubs. My TV viewing schedule consists mainly of football games, Animation Domination Sunday nights on Fox and those damned Real World/Road Rules Challenges on MTV, which always suck me in!

Thanks for the compliments so far, everybody.

[cutlerfan]

Another hit in the hunter series! How about changing multiple people at the same time; like skinheads into community activists or drug addicts into hospital/rehab volunteers? Drug addicts who WANTED to get off drugs hopefully! Great stories, terrific writing, a real heartfelt piece of hope! Peace, cutlerfan

[philat99]

Really enjoyed this one. I'm a sucker for miraculous healing of youngsters, and then with the added age progression - just great!
Mike

[memorex414]

I won't wax poetic about the ethical nature of all of this but me thinks Hunter is reaching a crux in the means and ends of things. I hope his conscience keeps him on the means and not dangling towards the ends; which leads to the dark side!

[bulknola]

i would agree with memorex, the central conflict is becoming hunter's efforts to conceal/reveal his secret

the stories are getting a bit more tenuous. i was thinking it would be cool if there story had a conflict with someone immune to hunter's power or even the power to undo what he has done or even just to watch the world burn . . .

it seems that hunter is pushing closer and closer to full exposure.

[Aardvark2]

Originally Posted by bulknola

i would agree with memorex, the central conflict is becoming hunter's efforts to conceal/reveal his secret

the stories are getting a bit more tenuous. i was thinking it would be cool if there story had a conflict with someone immune to hunter's power or even the power to undo what he has done or even just to watch the world burn . . .

it seems that hunter is pushing closer and closer to full exposure.

Tenuous? Ouch.

I've been getting other story suggestions like this, too. Let me explain that the main goal of the Hunter series was to remain positive and uplifting. For me, there are enough MG stories out there that have mayhem and death and extreme conflict. This one is supposed to be different: people achieving their dreams.

Hunter is trying to help people, plain and simple. He does not want to hurt, ever, so for me to start introducing supervillains would negatively impact the series. I do like exploring his humanity and the way he reacts to situations: what would we be doing with our power, if we were Hunter? Would we go crazy with it? He hasn't, not in any disastrous way, at least.

The genesis of the Hunter series was that I had several ideas that I couldn't make work with the usual array of potions, magical rings and scientific experiments. So, the Hunter universe was born, and has taken on a life of its own. But please don't expect me to start killing people, to start having horrifying situations spring from this character that I love. Hunter wants to give other people their wildest dreams while he himself strives for normalcy. I would not forgive myself if I did not give him that.

[cutlerfan]

I have to agree with Aardvark2! I don't like negative or abusive stories. A little abuse/unwanted morphing is okay if it is to teach someone a lesson and then restore them afterwards. I have always wondered what I would do if I had the power that Hunter does. I hope I would always try to be constructive in helping people even if that causes them to be temporarily uncomfortable. I would want to heal/restore people before I left unless they wanted to keep the changes. I'm just a sucker for happy ending!
Peace, cutlerfan

[magusfan]

Nice, but I would like a bit of mental change too. Frail kid turning into arrogant jock or something like that.

[xythan_shadow]

Originally Posted by Aardvark2

Tenuous? Ouch.

I've been getting other story suggestions like this, too. Let me explain that the main goal of the Hunter series was to remain positive and uplifting. For me, there are enough MG stories out there that have mayhem and death and extreme conflict. This one is supposed to be different: people achieving their dreams.

Hunter is trying to help people, plain and simple. He does not want to hurt, ever, so for me to start introducing supervillains would negatively impact the series. I do like exploring his humanity and the way he reacts to situations: what would we be doing with our power, if we were Hunter? Would we go crazy with it? He hasn't, not in any disastrous way, at least.

The genesis of the Hunter series was that I had several ideas that I couldn't make work with the usual array of potions, magical rings and scientific experiments. So, the Hunter universe was born, and has taken on a life of its own. But please don't expect me to start killing people, to start having horrifying situations spring from this character that I love. Hunter wants to give other people their wildest dreams while he himself strives for normalcy. I would not forgive myself if I did not give him that.

I know exactly what you're going through man. I tend to write all happy stories myself too, but then I realized something when I was reading some famous author's advice.

He said that the heights of joy look even higher when you've been in the depths of sorrow and the hero looks more heroic when he's just conquered a vile villain.

I wouldn't change anything bout your chain of stories, but just want to include this piece because I'm trying to do it in my stuff. Conflict makes the resolution that much sweeter.

[philat99]

How about developing a gay side to Hunter, falling head over heals with another muscle hunk?
Mike

[wolfotehmoon]

I like the idea of Hunter having not so much as a nemesis, as a counter. Opposition doesn't have to take on a negative characteristic; just like in... Tao teachings, I believe, light and dark are not necessarily chained to good and evil; they're just opposing forces that bring about a peaceful equilibrium in their opposition.

They don't even have to be ideologically opposed for a useful dynamic to present itself. Neil is a good start, but he's more of a sidekick, if one who can sympathize with Hunter. Someone who can EMPATHIZE with him, though, would be very interesting. On that note, this hypothetical character doesn't even have to have powers(and by extension shed light on the nature of Hunter's powers); it could just be someone who is in a similar position of being able to change peoples' lives in big ways(a philanthropist, for example).

These are just a few ideas. The series is excellent as is, but it seems like you're trying to occasionally spice it up by focusing on things outside the transformation aspect, and I felt maybe this could help. :3

[bulknola]

Aardvark2,

I really didn't mean to touch off this discussion. I read your stories, and I have to say, I like them a lot. My most recent comment came from my reaction of Hunter's fiancee and how he "changed" her at the end of this chapter. I thought that would be an interesting thing to flush out and fun to read . . . you know, kind of explore that theme a little more. As for a hypothetical character, I thought a foil/counterweight would be interesting, and what I was thinking but didn't communicate well was that it would be interesting to see someone who may have the same or similar or other gifts from Hunter's and how Hunter interacts with the person, and that person with the world. So far we've seen brief glimpses into some of Hunter's feelings and fears about how he relates to and fits in with the world, but those feelings haven't been challenged. It's part of what makes him human and not a sociopath.

However you feel, for example, about Batman vs Superman, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are counterweights to each other in their identities and in their superhero personas. When Batman appears in a Superman story, he provides something of a check or competition that makes it richer, and vice versa for Superman.

Anyways, I do enjoy reading your stories and like many on here, I'm a sucker for a positive, uplifting story and a happy ending. So please keep on writing cause it'd be a shame if these stories stopped.

[stiffreed]

Originally Posted by Aardvark2

For me, there are enough MG stories out there that have mayhem and death and extreme conflict. This one is supposed to be different: people achieving their dreams...

...Hunter wants to give other people their wildest dreams while he himself strives for normalcy. I would not forgive myself if I did not give him that.

And this is why I love reading your stories.

Don't change the formula, learn a lesson from Coca Cola!!