Dangerous Intentions

Summary: Set several episodes into the season. Captain Blue has had enough of his friend putting himself in danger. Indestructible or not, Captain Blue knows Captain Scarlet's behaviour is dangerous.
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for most of the original series of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons; AU; some references to violence
Author's Note: Second of the twenty random fics. For those who don't know, the basic premise of the series is a war between an alien race from Mars called the Mysterons and humans.
The Mysterons kill humans and replace them with their own constructs that are virtually indestructible and identical to the humans they replace, but they work to the Mysterons' agenda. The first episode saw that happen to Captain Scarlet and he attempted to capture the President. A face-off between him and Captain Blue ended with Captain Scarlet shot and falling from a great height... but he wasn't killed; and, in fact, his original personality returned, leaving him with the ability to heal from even fatal wounds and also to occasionally sense other Mysteron agents.
Captain Scarlet's real name is Paul Metcalfe. Captain Blue's real name is Adam Svenson. They're both officers in the organisation Spectrum.

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There wasn't even a scratch on his body; no sign of any of the wounds (even the fatal ones). There was no visible sign of how different he now was... how alien.

Scarlet stared at his reflection in the console and pulled at his skin, as if he could see the Mysteron technology working under the surface; repairing his cells at an alarmingly fast rate.

How long was he going to live for now? How long would the technology keep healing him for? Was he going to outlive everyone he cared about? Or would his healing ability just run out at the worst time?

These were fears Scarlet hadn't confined to anyone else; not even his best friend, Adam, codenamed Captain Blue. They were partners most of the time, which meant Adam needed to know his fears about what was happening to him.

But Scarlet couldn't bring himself to voice any of it. Adam still saw him as an ordinary human... to the point he worried every time Scarlet did something dangerous.

Scarlet couldn't bring himself to cause Adam to look at him differently.

Even though he knew he should return home; or, at the very least, go to one of the rooms set aside for the members of Spectrum, Scarlet was reluctant to leave his post... even though he didn't actually need to be there. He couldn't sleep, because when he closed his eyes, he saw everything he should have forgotten. He kept reliving his first death... and all of the events leading up to it.

But he couldn't tell any of them he remembered.

Scarlet glanced up as Adam walked over. One of their comrades had come to relieve him and Adam stopped in front of Scarlet. "You've worked longer than required, so maybe it's time to take a break."

"I don't need to sleep." The response was supposed to sound confident. Instead, to Scarlet's own ears, he sounded exhausted.

Adam must have noticed, because he looked temporarily disbelieving before he grasped Scarlet's arm. "Okay. You don't have to sleep, but we do need to talk."

Scarlet exchanged a nod with Lieutenant Green and then allowed Adam to lead him from their post. "Where are we going?" he asked, a small, paranoid part of him wondering if Adam no longer trusted him and was about to drag him before Colonel White, either for an official reprimand or to be forced to leave Spectrum.

Neither would surprise Scarlet and he wasn't sure he could blame them if they didn't trust him. He didn't trust himself, after all.

Adam didn't answer with words, but he kept his hand on Scarlet's arm as he walked into the main part of Spectrum headquarters, moving down the corridors until he reached the room that had been assigned to him.

Adam put his hand up to the scanner and green light flashed over his palm for a second before the door slid open.

The room wasn't really sized large enough for two operatives to stay inside, but Adam took a seat on the bed and looked at Scarlet.

"Do you need me to keep watch while you sleep?" Scarlet was tired and couldn't help the note of confusion in his voice.

"No... but I think maybe you do."

"I'm fine."

"Are you?" Adam asked directly. "You aren't acting normal, Paul. Before the Mysterons took control of you, you wouldn't have had a problem with resting and sleeping. You might have overworked yourself, but not to the point where I can see the dark circles under your eyes and know that sleeplessness isn't something the Mysterons left you with."

Scarlet flinched at the use of his real name. Even in his head, he didn't use his old, human name. Paul signified a part of his life that was now over. He wasn't Paul anymore... he was Captain Scarlet; and he had to embrace that identity fully. "Staying awake isn't going to kill me."

"No. But it will get you killed. And maybe you can heal any wound that's dealt to you, even fatal ones... but none of us understand how it works. What if the healing factor runs out?" Pausing, Adam added, "And the reckless way you keep acting... it's not a good habit to get into. Not when there are other ways that don't end with you getting hurt, however temporary that might be."

The way Adam was sitting... and he was stood in front of him... Scarlet couldn't help feeling like a child about to get punished. Adam was voicing things he would expect to hear in an official reprimand, but being in his friend's room, with only the two of them, lent a more personal air. "I get things done."

"And when you crash? What happens then?"

Scarlet wasn't sure he knew what Adam meant. He was too worn down to think of anything other than the possibility of him reverting to the Mysteron programming. "If need be, I know you'll do what it takes to take me out."

Adam frowned, his brow furrowed in confusion. His face then cleared, though the frown was still in place. "That wasn't what I was referring to. Besides, I don't think you'll revert back to that programming. I trust you, Paul."

"Don't call me that."

"You can't just take on the identity of Captain Scarlet and ignore everything else." Adam paused before continuing, "And you can't keep putting yourself in danger for no good reason. Not when we don't know if this immortality will even last." He sighed. "I could bring this before Colonel White, but I can't see making this official would do any good."

Scarlet had no idea where Adam was going with this, but whatever his friend planned to do, Scarlet could see it was troubling him. But instead of panic or wanting to fight the situation, Scarlet spoke in a quiet voice. "I trust you, Adam. You're my friend."

At that, Adam made eye contact with him... and then nodded, as if coming to a decision. "As I said, an official reprimand would be pointless. Colonel White could tell you to take leave, or suspend you, or only keep you back at base." He paused. "But if any of those were used, I know you would continue to carry out missions; and then you'd be without backup. So I'm going to handle it myself."

"How?" Scarlet wondered if he should be nervous. He understood the position Adam was in. He really did. And if it was the other way round, he knew he'd be just as concerned.

"I'm going to spank you." Adam said the words in a rush, but he continued to hold eye contact with Scarlet, even though he was blushing.

"I'll heal from whatever you do. Fast." Scarlet didn't know how he felt about Adam's words. If it wasn't for the serious nature of the situation, he would have assumed Adam was joking.

"I know," Adam replied seriously. "But you'll still feel it, which means it will be effective." He started to hold his hand out, then arrested the motion and patted his lap instead. "Come and lay over my knee, Paul. Let's get this done."

Scarlet faltered, not sure he could take the personal nature of the punishment. For just a second, he considered fleeing... or, rather, making a tactical retreat. He could leave the room before Adam would react and he was certain the other man wouldn't try to follow him.

But he had too much respect for Adam to do that.

It only took two steps for Scarlet to move round so he was stood next to Adam's knee. He bent slowly at the waist until he was stretched across Adam's knees, feeling the press of his thighs against his stomach.

Adam cleared his throat but didn't immediately speak and Scarlet wondered if his friend had thought things through past this point. For his part, Scarlet wondered that he felt calmer than he thought he should.

Scarlet couldn't imagine what was about to happen would be pleasant, but it felt good to let Adam be in control... even if it was only for a short time.

"Your reckless behaviour needs to stop, Paul. You might be able to heal any wounds, but if the Mysterons can, they'll figure out a way to stop you. Maybe kill you for good."

Scarlet opened his mouth, but before he could respond, a smack landed on the seat of his trousers.

It didn't hurt. Not really. The next ones that landed didn't either, although the cumulative effect began to build until Scarlet felt a tingling sensation in his bottom and thighs.

Adam must have noticed the lack of response, because he paused and spoke softly. "I'm going to take your trousers down now, Paul."

Scarlet couldn't do more than grunt in acknowledgement, his face heating up as he felt Adam's fingers in the waistband of his trousers. With one sharp tug, Adam had them down to his ankles, followed by his underwear.

The faint tingling had gone now, but Scarlet winced when Adam's hand landed on his backside. He couldn't tell if his friend was using more force, or if it just felt more intense due to being on the bare, but as Adam settled into a rhythm, working his way from the crest of Scarlet's backside down to his thighs, Scarlet found it nearly impossible to stay still. Tiny groans and whimpers escaped his clamped-tight lips and he felt his eyes grow wet with the beginnings of tears.

By the time Adam began covering skin he'd already swatted, Scarlet's whole world had shrunk down to the position he was in... and the reason why. Adam wasn't scared of what he'd become. If he was, he wouldn't be doing this.

Each smack seemed to echo in the room and they landed on their target, alternating between his bottom and thighs. Scarlet had been wounded before... much worse than this... but something about the repetitive nature of the punishment, and the personal aspect behind his friend doing this, made him react in a different way.

Scarlet knew he was close to losing control. The tears were running down his cheeks, though he managed to keep from audibly sobbing.

And then Adam started speaking. "I can't really understand what you must be going through. But it doesn't help that both Spectrum and the Mysterons consider you a weapon. But nothing's changed for me personally. You're still my friend. I still trust you with my life. And I'm not going to stand by and watch you destroy yourself. So if it needs to, this will happen again."

Scarlet wanted to respond, but before he could say anything, he felt his body shifted forward. When Adam began addressing hard smacks to the creases between his bottom and thighs, he couldn't help squirming as he gasped quietly.

The smacks seemed to increase in force and speed and Scarlet felt his legs jerking. He threw his hand back, needing the spanking to pause... at least for a moment; long enough for him to collect himself and not lose control... like he was so close to doing.

Adam didn't speak, instead moving Scarlet's hand out of the way. Scarlet drew in a sharp breath as more smacks landed from Adam's heavy hand and he found his breath enough to voice half of a plea. "Adam... please..."

"You need to keep this in mind the next time you act without thinking, because if this happens again? I will take off my belt. Because you might not care about your safety, but I do. And I will do whatever it takes to stop you trying to destroy yourself. Am I understood?"

"Yes...!" Scarlet squirmed frantically as Adam's hand swatted harder and faster. He slumped across his friend's lap and felt something break inside of him as the tears came hard and fast.

It took a while for Scarlet to realise that Adam was no longer spanking him. He lay slumped across his friend's lap, trying to calm down... but it took a while for the strength of his sobs to die down.

As Scarlet began to calm down, he felt Adam pull his underwear and trousers back into place. Even though the action was gentle, it still made his backside throb and Scarlet had to choke back more tears.

Once his clothing was aback in place, Scarlet allowed Adam to help him up. Even with the thorough spanking, the pain was beginning to fade as his healing factor kicked in.

Adam wrapped his arm around Scarlet's shoulders, drawing him in close. "I want you to get some sleep now. I'll be here to watch your back. And I'm always going to be here to watch your back."

Paul couldn't force himself to argue. Wiping at his eyes, he nodded as Adam pulled the blankets back from the bed. He carefully settled on the bed and closed his eyes, sleep overtaking him faster than anything else.

The End