Christmas Bells

by Criminally Charmed

YES! I am back. I know I said I would be back in the summer, so I am only running a few weeks late.

Dislaimer: Jingle Bells, can't you tell, I don't own a thing. Thunderbirds, that's the word, belong to the Andersons. seaQuest too, sad but true, belongs to Amblin. But what fun I will have with them, when I borrow as I play.

Chapter One – You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

There was something about him that was just plain creepy.

Paul Merryweather had worked at Kingston's Prison on the outskirts of London for sixteen years, and had seen the worst of humanity in his time. But Trahan Belegant, aka "The Hood", had to take the cake. Paul had heard the stories about the man, and in most cases he would have taken them with a grain of salt. Yet when the security officer looked into the cold, dead eyes of The Hood, he had to resist the urge to cross himself. Several times, Paul had flinched at the hatred that was the only sign of emotion that ever passed through the villain's gaze. He tried to fight that as well, since it seemed to amuse the prisoner's cohorts.

Now these two were a piece of work as well. Donald Mullion, a disgraced extreme fighting champion, had been easily lured into criminal activities and had worked as "muscle" for several other crime lords before ending up in the inner circle of The Hood. And Corrine Transom had been a promising young scientist prior to that nasty scandal a few years ago when she had attempted to tamper with a rival's work in order to discredit the fellow scholar, only to ruin her own future. She had all but vanished only to be arrested with the Hood and Mullion at the Bank of London.

There were still whispers and rumors about what had happened in the financial institute. No one knew all the details, but the alleged story had been that the Hood, for reasons real or imagined, had discovered the secret base of International Rescue and had somehow attacked or trapped the Thunderbirds allowing the villains to steal the massive Thunderbird Two, which had then landed in London. The damage caused by the Hood's crew had included property damage in Jubilee Park, a near-fatal monorail accident and of course, the damage at the Bank caused by their digging machine. But relief had come first with the arrival of the jet-like Thunderbird One, followed the red rocket known as Thunderbird Three. While no one had seen them up close, people had been shocked to see teenagers in civilian clothes emerge from the first vehicle.

An additional rumor that had made the rounds had focused on the teenagers. What if the Thunderbirds home base was really their home also, one where they had family? Some theorized that while the members of International Rescue had been held at bay by the villains, their families had done what they could. And a few of the early responders to the Bank of London had seen an older man that had been referred to as the Commander of International Rescue slip out, sheltering a blonde boy. From what had been pooled together, it was said that the Hood had tried to kill the teenager at the bank. How horrifying had that been for the Thunderbird Commander to see the Hood try to do this? And what kind of monster would go after a child to avenge himself on his enemy? Obviously, the Hood held the belief that the sins of the father would be paid through the son.

Trahan Belegant pretended not to notice Officer Merryweather's scrutiny of him. He knew of the man's combination of fascination and disgust that emanated at him whenever the guard watched him. It didn't bother the Hood in the least. After all, it wasn't as if he was concerned with the emotions or thoughts of lesser being like Merryweather. Why, the man should be honored that he even remembered the man's name! And, Belegant thought slyly – it wasn't as if he would be here much longer.

Under the guise of his new lawyer – the last boob had done nothing but see that the Hood and his associates had been swiftly convicted in a closed courtroom designed to "protect the well-being of Earth's Heroes, International Rescue" – Belegant had been alerted that deliverance was at hand. Whispers of his supposed crimes had spread wide and far. The lawyer had confirmed that the Hood's attempt on Alan Tracy's life (although the jurist didn't know the boy's identity) had intrigued someone willing to aid in the freeing of the Hood, Transom and Mullion. The villain had no doubt that payment would be required for the services rendered but to be given the opportunity to be free to exact justice on the entire Tracy Family would be more than worth any duty that was required.

Even as these thoughts passed through the Hood's mind, his attention was drawn to the flickering lights. Suddenly, the lights went out, the doors flew open and all sounds of technology ceased as if someone had pulled a plug. At shift change in the correctional institution, most of the personnel had been trapped away from the high security wing. Belegant smiled cruelly as he simply walked out the door, turning to face Officer Merryweather.

"Mr. Merryweather. I would love to say it had been a delight, but sadly it has not. Now, my friends and I are going to leave you. We will not be back." Merryweather swallowed as the bulky form of Mullion came up behind his boss. He could feel more than see or hear Transom approach him from the other direction. A sharp pain to the back of his head absorbed his senses and he knew no more.

The trio made their way to a service passageway. Doors that would usually only be accessible by two employee ID's were easily opened by Mullion's massive strength. In short order, they had made their way to the roof. A helijet was rapidly approaching. With all computerized security down, the vehicle was making its way unchallenged. As the helijet lowered a rope ladder down, Transom snagged the ladder, passing it to Mullion to hold it tight. The Hood made his way up casually, making his companions nervous. They wanted to get out of there – now! Once their employer was near the top, Transom began to rapidly follow.

A sudden noise caught the escapees' attention. Looking around, they saw Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her loyal servant, Parker, attempting to find a way to the roof. Seeing none, the International Rescue Agents ran back towards FAB-1, Lady Penelope's flying car. In that vehicle, the duo could easily follow them, dragging them back to prison.

Looking down from the helijet, the Hood said to the as yet unseen pilot, "Go. Now. Top speed." As the helijet began to rise, wobbling with the weight of Transom almost at the top and Mullion at the half-way point. Reaching into a tool bag under the seats, the Hood pulled out a small blade, one used to cut at tubing. Passing it down to Transom, he gave a small nod. Sucking in her breathe through her oversized front teeth, the scientist stared coldly at the former athlete.

Raising his eyes to meet Transom's, Mullion stared in shock as she rapidly cut at the rope ladder. "Sorry about this, Mullion." Before the man could form a retort, the weakened ladder gave way and Mullion plunged not only the fifteen feet of space they had risen, but bouncing off the edge of the prison roof, the stunned man fell the height of the three story building to the cement courtyard below.

As the villains rapidly made good their escape, Lady Penelope and Parker abandoned the start of the pursuit to run to the fallen Mullion, still breathing – barely – in the shadow of the prison.


In the helijet, Transom secured the door and with the sealing of the vehicle, a conversational atmosphere was possible. The scientist stared at the pilot, while the Hood leaned his head back, relaxing, reveling in his new freedom. In the silence, the pilot began to speak.

"Quid pro quo, the saying goes, doesn't it?" As the man spoke, the Hood didn't say anything. Going under the presumption that silence equaled agreement, he continued. "My name is Martin Clemens. In hacking circles, I am known as Mycroft. In my own way, I am as legendary as you are. I have dreams, ambitions, plans. Sadly, one error I made months ago could destroy them forever. In my anger and frustration at a long-held dream of mine being shattered, I tried to kill a teenage boy. The boy's name is Lucas Wolenczak. Here is a folder with critical information, including pictures." The Hood did not acknowledge the outstretched hand but Transom took the offering, not opening it until given instruction by her boss. Mycroft continued, "Lucas, who uses the hacker handle of Frankenstein, is a genius. The boy graduated from Stanford at age fourteen. He was later placed aboard the seaQuest and has grown very close, developing a paternal relationship, with its Captain, Nathan Bridger. Lucas has never mentioned my attacking him to Bridger."

"How can you be sure?" The Hood asked without opening his eyes.

"Because I am still free," Mycroft said coldly.

Sucking in his breathe, Mycroft continued his explanation. "Now, only two other people were aware of the attack. In fact, they witnessed it. Julianna and Nick are fellow hackers, but both are at Node-3 still and I have all their communications monitored. Lucas has never mentioned it again, nor have they. While I am not able to monitor all of the seaQuest's communications, I was able to ping enough to track people Lucas regularly contacted. There weren't many. However, since last spring, he has regularly been in contact with a hacker code named Phoenix. The two have discussed personal issues in great detail and some time in November, Lucas confessed his distress at the attack, something having triggered a memory of it. Phoenix has been encouraging Lucas to tell Bridger about the attack. Lucas finally agreed to it, said he would do it when they were off the seaQuest for Christmas."

"And how does that involve Transom and I?"

"Lucas and Captain Bridger will be visiting Phoenix's family for Christmas. The other boy's family is wealthy and lives on a remote tropical island. It is very secure. But if you can penetrate the security of the Thunderbirds' home base, surely you can get onto Tracy Island."

At the name of the target, the Hood's eyes snapped open. Mycroft flinched at the pure hatred that filled the orbs. But the Hood didn't even acknowledge him. He turned to Transom, sitting behind them, her gaze wild as she handed him a photo from the folder.

Pure hate filled every fiber of the Hood as he stared at the picture. Mycroft nodded at the image. "I had to pay a lot for that picture. It was taken at a UEO conference in Hawaii. Bridger was there, as was billionaire Jeff Tracy. You know - the former astronaut? The blonde boy on the right is Lucas Wolenczak but the other blonde is Alan Tracy, Jeff Tracy's youngest son. He is known in hacking circles as Phoenix." Mycroft muttered, "If they had only been killed by the kidnapper in Hawaii. Instead, they lived and formed a tighter friendship. Now Alan Tracy has convinced Lucas to tell Bridger everything. I can't find where Alan Tracy goes to school and no one could get to Lucas aboard the seaQuest. But you could get to them on Tracy Island, right? Make sure their fathers don't ruin me."

"You want the boys dead?" Transom asked, shocked.

The Hood smiled cruelly and leaned back, closing his eyes again. "Mr. Clemens, for securing our freedom, killing two trouble-making teenagers seems a small reward. We would be delighted to accommodate you."

As his mind reflected on how Alan Tracy had snatched his victory from his very grasp, denying him his much-deserved revenge against International Rescue, the Hood thought to himself, "Oh, yes, we would be more than happy to rid the world of your problem and my own. And in destroying his youngest son, the living image of the late Mrs. Tracy, I will finally get my ultimate revenge of Jeff Tracy and his entire family. If I had knows the Thunderbirds were secretly the Tracy Family, a close, loving family, I would have sought their destruction by ripping the heart of the family from them. Alan Tracy would have simply vanished, never to be seen again. At least, not alive. This time, Jeff Tracy, there will be no rescue. You will be punished, and Alan will pay for your sins against me along with his misdeeds."

Transom looked at the remaining pictures, morose. She had wanted nothing more to do with the Tracys and was sure this would once more lead to their downfall. But only a fool would try to speak out or betray the Hood. And Corrine Transom was no fool.

a/n - In case you missed it, this is the start of the third part of a trilogy between Thunderbirds and seaQuest. While not completely neccessary, I would recommend that you read "Every Father's Son" and "Reclaiming Control" under seaQuest. But while I used that show's villains and settings (UEO Headquarters and the sub itself) in the first two stories, as you can see, I can never resist bringing the Hood into the mix. And most of the action will take place on Tracy Island. So this story belongs under Thunderbirds. Mycroft has made a brief appearance but not sure how much he will appear for the rest of the story. Except for that one moment in "Photon Bullet" (a great Lucas centered episode) that he just referred to, Mycroft was not much of one for getting his hands dirty (lets not get into that whole earlier incident, it would confuse non-SQers too much). But - he would happily take advantage on overriding the computer security and freeing the Hood to do his dirty work. As for the Hood being willing to kill Lucas? Ends to the means, m'dear. Especially if it hurts Alan by seeing it.

Oh, and each chapter will be the title of a Christmas song (hey, who doesn't like Christmas in July?) so if you have any requests I will see if I can accomidate you. The only banned one is "Grandma got run over by a reindeer". Then again, I might get Gordon to sing that...And Sam1 will hurt me.

Now, I will be doing my best to update once a week, but life has been a tad more difficult lately. Someone I love very much was recently diagnosed with cancer and my priorities have shifted. I still love to write but it is not as easy as it use to be. I am having trouble sleeping and my stress level is unbelievable. So review, encourage me and be patient. Oh, and be sure to thank the most super-awesome beta ever Sam1 - this story is dedicated to you, my friend: my editor, my cheerleader, my shoulder to cry on. Thank you. - CC