Derek had a rapt audience, and he took his time. He wanted to gain their trust, so he was genuine with them. He didn't leave out the details that portrayed him in a less than flattering light, even the ones that painted him in the same shade of the villain. Several times, Bekka would say in his mind, "Ooh, yeah, maybe skip that part," or, "Yeah, they're going to walk out of the room as soon as you're done and never come back." But Derek pressed on, refusing to censor the story that started with a body hopper's telltale shudder.
The only time Derek's tale was interrupted was when he revealed that his body hopping mentor was also his great great great grandfather, give or take a great. The gene that gave a person the potential for body hopping had remained inert, but had been passed down on his mother's side.
Trevor had gasped at this revelation, and exclaimed, "This is the reason for the increase in the others! This Nevyn person is able to pass on his curse genetically! That's why there are so many more threads now."
Derek nodded, then continued on, growing somber when he recounted the loss of his own body, and that of their good friend, Bekka. He explained how he had been able to rescue her soul by fusing it with his own. The fallout from Nevyn's attack had been terrible. He had fled in the body of a host that knew all the research they had done on body hopping. If he chose to apply it, or study it further, who knew what he could accomplish.
Instead of pursuing their enemy, Derek and his sister Aubrey retreated from the world for six months to lick their wounds and decide on a course of action. Aubrey wanted to continue the work she had been doing at the research facility. She had argued that there was still so much they didn't understand, but Derek had wanted to focus on searching for others like them, the ones that Nevyvn had sired over the centuries. In a way, they both got what they wanted. Aubrey developed a rudimentary tracking device that helped them locate potential body hoppers. Derek would search them out in hopes of recruiting them for an inevitable confrontation against Nevyn.
The tracking and recruitment process was a lengthy one that sometimes took months. Aubrey's equipment did improve with time, but never worked with pinpoint accuracy. This meant Derek spent most of his time finding the actual person that had the gene. The rest of the time was spent doing a deep dive into their psyche to try and judge that person's character. If a person character was deemed unscrupulous, Derek would hop out of them and they would never even know he had been there.
If a person seemed worthy, which was rare, Derek revealed himself, and made them an offer. If they accepted, they would relocate to a secret compound where Aubrey had centered her research. Their bodies would be used for a time for Derek to use to recruit others. And eventually, Aubrey would use a carefully controlled means to make them a body hopper as well.
As more people joined them, they tried to make a set of rules that would help maintain order. The primary one was that their existence must remain secret. The people they hopped must never behave out of the ordinary so as not to draw suspicion. This rule helped their new members to maintain a certain level of self control, but was difficult because of the nature of the gene itself. Much like Trevor's, everyone's libido was increased. Orgies broke out frequently.
The second rule was that they were to treat people with a certain level of respect. They were taught to use their gift for good whenever they could. This rule was born out of Derek and Aubrey's sense of shame with how they had treated former hosts. Perhaps it was the gene's nature again, but everyone struggled to follow this rule to some extent. The temptation to become another person and bend them to their will was a powerful one, but to not give in to it was the difference between them and their enemy.
Trevor's mind began to wander here, possibly because he related to it so much. If he went three days without sex, his body would take over and force him on the first person that was in an aroused state. He had thought it was the curse, but maybe this whole thing was scientific in nature. Maybe he had a gene too that was controlling a part of his actions. He admitted that a lot of what Derek had gone through was fucked up, but he knew that he hadn't been the definition of a good guy himself all the time. But it did seem like Trevor was trying. At least, aside from taking Trevor's body to a club and letting it get fucked by strangers. Trevor interrupted again to ask about that. Derek shifted the blamed to Bekka, which Trevor thought was awfully convenient.
There was something else that made it difficult for Trevor to follow Derek's story. He was suffering from a persistent hard on. As Derek had listed steamy detail after detail, Trevor had found it difficult to focus, especially as he sensed Sabrina's lust spike. She was watching her boyfriend, Max, currently controlled by a body hopper, talk about an absurd amount of sexual conquests. They were erotic, and taboo, and most of them hotter than the last. She was turned on to say the least, but her pride kept her from saying anything. She couldn't help crossing and uncrossing her legs though.
Both Trevor and Sabrina were in a near frenzy when Derek began to wrap up his monologue. "So Trevor, I hope you believe me when I say I was never here for you. I had set a formal meeting with a recruit that had passed my scrutiny, and I noticed you watching us. I assumed you were Nevyn or someone sent by him, otherwise I wouldn't have threatened and chased you down. And then, I hope you saw in your memories, I couldn't hop out of you, not for awhile anyway. Every time I tried it was physically painful. Then I connected to something in your core, something that is fused with you, the way that Bekka is fused with my soul. I got lost in there for a time, and it was only because Bekka was her usual nympho self that saved me. When someone's lust forced a transformation, your core relaxed and I was able to break free."
Trevor nodded dumbly. He wanted to hit pause. He wanted to go rub one out, or fuck Sabrina, or something, before he lost himself. "Well super glad you got out. So...we're going to go now? If you could just give us back our friend..."
Derek sighed. "Trevor, don't you see? We're connected somehow. And after being inside of you, I've seen what you want the most, and I think I can help give it to you."
Hope flared in Trevor, and it momentarily quelled his sexual need. He didn't understand everything that Derek had said, but the hope was rocketing upwards. "Are you saying, maybe you can fix me? You can make it so I can be in a crowded room and not be affected by every horny person there? Or I could touch someone who...who wants to use me and not become their plaything?"
"Is that...did we make you feel like that?" Sabrina asked with a quiver in her voice. "I thought we were having a good time, and that we were helping you."
Trevor went to touch Sabrina's hand, but pulled away at the last second, knowing what it would trigger. "We... I mean, most of the time. But it's hard not being in control through most of it. Sometimes I didn't mind. Sometimes I really didn't mind. Sometimes it was hot as hell. But... other times, I'd lose myself completely, like that time in the hotel forever ago. I couldn't stop, and it was like it wasn't me at all."
"He's wrong. That would be hot all the time," Bekka said in Derek's head.
"I'm not saying I can for sure cure you, Trevor," Derek said, ignoring Bekka like he so often did. "But I know I can help you. I also want to protect you. If Nevyn ever got his hands on you... I think it'd be worse than your mother and father ever imagined."
"When can we start?" Trevor asked without hesitation.
Derek grinned. "So, does this mean you trust me?"
It was the million dollar question, and Trevor didn't answer right away. He let the words hang there between them. None of this had gone the way he'd thought it would. And now he had the chance to partner up with someone who had a crazier story than his. Did he want to give this person a foothold in his life? He still couldn't forget the memory of Derek chasing him down, watching as Derek's soul passed from person to person, until it had consumed his own. That loss of control, of self, that had been very different from what he experienced when shapeshifting. He could be made to do anything and not even know it, or if Derek was to be believed, he could think it was his own idea. He wanted what Derek was offering, but there had to be a price.
"I think we'll take it slow," Trevor said carefully. "I've heard your story. I've seen what you can do. I know that if you wanted, you could hop inside all of us and make us think whatever, so I appreciate you giving us a choice. I guess what I'm saying is, I'll accept your help, but no, I don't trust. What you, what your kind can do, it is terrifying."
"I don't disagree," Dered said, nodding Max's head as if this were completely normal. "And I get it, trust is earned. Let me earn a bit of it now by trying something, showing you what I'm talking about."
"I...what do you need me to do," Trevor agreed with a hint of dread in his voice. "Are you going to...to have to go inside of me again?"
Max's face gave a half smile as Derek answered, "Honestly I don't know. What I have in mind might not work, but if it does, I think you'll love it. Go ahead and touch Sabrina."
Sabrina's face went red and Trevor stammered, "That's...that's a bad idea."
"Why?" Derek teased. "Because a bodyhopper's tale has both of you more than a little worked up? I don't have your psychic sense of arousal, Trevor, but it's plain as day that you both are very turned on right now."
"They're so cute," Bekka said to Derek as Trevor's face went the same shade as Sabrina's. "Do we have to wait much longer to get it on?"
