A/N: Wow. This did not want to be written. The ending feels a little forced to me, so I might change it later on (once I figure out a better way to end it).
Amity Park was never considered a normal place. Hunters would come and go, even before the portal was opened. The entire town seemed to be buzzing with energy; some professionals saying magical, others saying spiritual. There was even a scare of demonic energy a few years before the portal opened that set the entire town on edge until the bad feelings and the storm clouds overhead had disappeared.
When the portal opened, suddenly ever motel and hotel room was unavailable as hunters from all over the country came rushing in to see what was happening. Most of those that showed up had never even seen a flicker of ghost energy and others seemed too accustomed to it. A few actually were shocked into silence while watching a fight between two ghosts, as if it had gone against everything they had ever known.
"Ectoplasm only comes from extremely pissed off ghosts!" One of two hunters exclaimed during their meeting with the Fenton scientists. "So how in the hell are they throwing globs of ectoplasm at each other like it's dodgeball in gym class?"
Even the ghosts of Amity Park were abnormal to those who believed and got rid of them. A theory started to circulate that the portal provided each individual ghost with its energy. With it being so close by, ghosts could use the ectoplasm that held them together and not worry about completely destroying itself. The energy coming from the Ghost Zone can easily be found in the air so while the creatures are using ectoplasm as weapons, the energy in the air helps them not to run out; hence, the glowing globs of ectoplasm.
As the Fentons explained this theory to the two men in front of them, one started to flip through a battered old book. His face showed great confusion as his eyes scanned the page he stopped on.
"But ectoplasm is black. It's always been black." The book was shut and tucked back into his jacket. "So why have we been seeing ectoplasm that is friggin' pink?"
Maddie Fenton set down her cup of coffee and looked up. The two men in front of her were perched on the edge of the couch, not in anticipation but like they were ready to defend themselves at a moment's notice. That thought saddened her somewhat. It was obvious these two had years of experience with fighting whatever creatures they did fight. She wondered for a moment how long they had been doing this.
"When the portal first started working, my husband and I immediately were able to capture a low level ghost. Obviously, we dissected it." She ignored the sudden disgust on the two hunters' faces and picked up her mug again. "The creature had a core of sorts. It pumped black ectoplasm throughout the creature like a heart does with blood. Sadly, the specimen dissolved before we could do farther research. Luckily, we soon captured a stronger entity and were able to study it longer. The core was different in this one, along with the ectoplasm. This time, the ectoplasm was a light gray color. With some more research, we came to the conclusion that the type of ectoplasm the ghost produces is tied to what kind of ghost it is." She took a sip of her coffee and waited for a response.
"So, you are implying that a ghost with black ectoplasm is the weakest kind? And green ectoplasm would be the strongest?"
"We believe so, yes. However, we have not been able to capture a ghost powerful enough to test this theory. Ectoplasm changes color with whatever type ghost is using it. There is a low level ghost with blue ectoplasm that can cause objects to levitate from across town and there is also a ghost that uses green ectoplasm for the same purpose. To be totally honest, we are in the dark about what the color of ectoplasm means, but we do know it is tied in with their powers in some way."
"Does the old salt and burn work on these things? What about iron?"
Jack spoke up at this point. He had been so quiet since the two brothers had arrived that Maddie had forgotten he was even there.
"I remember hearing about that growing up. My grandfather would always tell me stories of his hunting experiences." He looked to his wife at this moment and Maddie was shocked to find sadness in his eyes. "The only way he, along with other hunters, knew how to get rid of ghosts was to find the body of the person who had died and burn them after being doused in salt. I never felt right doing it. So, I started working on weapons that would destroy the ghosts themselves but leave the bodies intact. They never worked, until the portal opened and we were able to use ectoplasm to power them." He paused and turned his attention back to their guests. "But salt and iron still works, I just prefer not to burn the bodies."
The taller one, Sam if Maddie remembered correctly, nodded like he understood. His brother, Dean, looked slightly skeptical, but accepted Jack's reasoning. She remembered the first time he had told her the stuff he did when he hunted all sorts of monsters, not just ghosts. She could only hope that her kids would never have to know about what their father did when he was their age. She hadn't gotten into the paranormal until her senior year of high school and the only paranormal things she knew about were ghosts and that was just research on some sketchy websites. College changed her views, along with meeting Jack. And she had thought he was weird the second he mentioned buying a big house and sticking a metal monstrosity on it.
Maddie shook her head and brought herself back to the present, taking a sip of coffee. With slight disgust, she realized that it had gone cold. As she was about to ask if their guests wanted anything more to drink, a high pitched whine filled the room. The brothers seemed to know exactly what it was as Dean began rummaging through the bag at his feet. Glancing to the side, she noted that her husband seemed to also know what the sound was. A few moments passed before Dean pulled a weird object out of the duffle bag. It was rectangular in shape and there were lights at the top of it, all lit up. It continued to whine as Sam looked around.
"I don't understand. This house is filled with all sorts of metal and energy but it chose now to go off?" Sam turned his attention to Jack. "Do you, by any chance, have any-?"
The front door slammed open, cutting Sam's question short. A teenage boy with dark hair skittered in, kicking the door shut behind him. He took a few more steps before the noise seemed to register and he turned towards the small group in the room. His blue eyes widened when they landed on the device in Dean's hand.
Ah, so Danny knew what the device was as well.
"It's an EMF detector, homemade by the looks of it." Jack explained over the loud whining. That explained why Maddie didn't recognize it. Part of her thought it was an advanced Walkman. Dean suddenly stood up, eyes locked on her son. As he moved across the room, the whining somehow got louder. By the time he reached Danny, it had become a high pitched shriek. With a flick of his thumb, Dean shut the device off. Out of the corner of her eye, Maddie caught Sam slowly standing up.
Jack looked extremely confused and Maddie felt the same way. Danny looked scared.
"Possession?" Maddie ventured nervously. Neither brother responded.