Thunderbirds Are Go! The Next Generation

By Raina McCallen

It was the sort of news that had stunned the world into silence, brought everyone to a complete standstill, and left people reeling in shock and disbelief. It was something no one expected to hear, and something that would send shockwaves through every country in the world. International Rescue, also known as the Thunderbirds, an organization that had saved thousands in the few short years that they had been in business, was no more. They had been lost during a mission to protect innocent people, as had been their way for as long as people could remember. And now they were gone.

The sad news had been broken to the world's press in a statement given by one of its top agents. For those that had been there for the press conference, they would never forget the look of pain on the young woman's face as she had made her statement, the tears that filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks as she spoke of the loss of five of the bravest, most heroic men she had ever had the pleasure of knowing, and how she and the world would miss them.

That was especially true for one young man watching the press conference, tears streaming down his cheeks with no sign of stopping, the pain almost robbing him of the ability to breathe. It was one of the hardest things he had ever had to watch. It was something that reminded him that his father and brothers were gone. Not that he needed something like that to remind him; the deathly stillness of the house and island were clue enough. He would never again hear Gordon's laughter as another one of his brothers fell to the mercy of the prankster brother, or hear the sound of his brother's voices raised in mirth as they got Gordon back. He would have given anything to have his family back, or to have been with them and suffered the same fate as them, but it seemed that the fates were not that kind, and so he was the last Tracy.

He had always thought that his family was untouchable; that they could make it through anything, and they would be stronger, but he could see now that that was not the case. They had been taken by a simple mission that was supposed to be a breeze, leaving him alone by himself, the last son of a powerful famous man; a powerful famous family. He was along now. He was the last one. The last… the tears flowed harder and he dropped his head into his hands as the pain began to engulf him.

Not for the first time, he cursed rather loudly the cast that encased his left leg. He had fallen and broken his leg the week before on Thunderbird Five, and his family had forbidden him from taking any role in International Rescue, his only job to get better, his father had told him with a stern face, though John could see the worry in the older man's face, hence why his father and brothers had been on that mission, and he had been left at home. But he would have given anything to have them home once more. He could still hear them that last morning before the alarm had gone off as they had been sitting down to breakfast together. In his memories, he could see the gleeful look on his younger brother Gordon's face as he had teased him.

"I'm telling you Johnny, we're gonna have to put hand rails up there for you. I mean, how could you have tripped over your chair?" The disbelief was plain on Gordon's face, but John knew that the teasing from it would last for months. If there was one thing about his copper-headed brother, it was that he never turned his back on good material to get his brother's with, and heaven knew that Gordon had enough material on each of his brothers to last him for years, not to mention all the new material he seemed to get daily. He couldn't help but grin as he locked eyes with Alan, the grin splitting the Sprout's face almost as big as the one on Gordon's was, and John cursed silently to himself. Now he knew he was in for it. With Gordon and Alan working together, he was sure to hear about this for a good long while.

"Yeah, Johnny, are you getting feeble in your old age?" Alan had quipped in as well, knowing that his older brother couldn't get to him from the other side of the table. But it seemed that he had forgotten about the fact that one of his other brothers could. John watched as Virgil swatted Alan upside the head with a grin. John locked eyes with Virgil, and he knew that his younger brother would be able to read the thanks in his eyes. He saw a hint of a grin cross Virgil's gaze before he nodded, returning to his breakfast.

"Okay that's enough boys." Their father said as he watched them, his face impassive. But John could see the hint of a grin that Jeff Tracy was trying to hide as he watched the antics of his two youngest boys. If nothing else, Alan and Gordon were always guaranteed to give a person a laugh, and in their father's case, a few grey hairs in the process. But he knew that Jeff Tracy loved his sons more than his own life, and it was something he would gladly tolerate, to a certain point. John knew that he could not allow Gordon to think that he had THAT much leniency to push his pranks too far. He heard Gordon mumble something under his breath that sounded like 'Party Pooper' and John had to bite his bottom lip to keep from bursting out into laughter. That would have definitely been the wrong thing to do at the time.

He lowered his head to try and hide the grin that he knew was still there as he tried to finish his breakfast. He looked across the table at Scott, and saw that older brother was also trying to hide a grin. It got harder to hide the grin as the two oldest brothers locked gazes over the table, and John could see the amusement dancing in Scott's eyes. Oh yes, times were good.

Coming out of his memory, his gaze returned back at the screen, at the live feed of Lady Penelope whom he could see was trying so hard as to not break down in the middle of the press conference as she made her announcement. He could see the faint tracks that escaping tears were making down her cheeks, but somehow she held it all together. He did not know how she was able to do it. He knew that if he had been there, he would have not been able to get a single word out.

As he thought it, another tear slipped down his cheek and landed on the dark cotton of his t-shirt. His bloodshot bright blue tear-filled eyes studied the look on her face, seeing the silent determination on her face to keep it together long enough to say what she needed to say. Afterwards, he knew that Parker would be there to hold her as she wept, just as he was doing now.

As if she could sense what he was thinking to himself, Penny looked up directly into the camera and took a deep breath. That simple motion from her caused John to grip the arm of his chair until his knuckles were white and he lost feeling in his fingers. He knew what was coming next. It was one of the last things they had discussed before she had left the island to travel to the mainland to hold the press conference in London. They had been sitting at the desk in his father's office going over the statement for her to read, deciding exactly what they wanted it to say.

"I have one last idea for my statement, John." She told him, her voice quiet and somber as she motioned to the paper that lay between them, both of their distinct handwriting styles covering the paper. She turned her face to look at him. "What do you think of the idea of telling the public who … was … International Rescue?" She had asked him and he looked up at her from where his gaze had been fixed on the paper between them, but not really reading it.

He had noticed how she had taken that pause, as if telling herself that she had to say it, to remind herself of the correct words to use. He studied her for a few moments and then truly thought about it. Immediately he wanted to say no, as had always been their way, but he instead made himself really stop and think about it.

From the moment that Jeff Tracy had come to his three eldest sons, each in their own careers of the Air Force, NASA, and college, telling them of the thoughts he had come up with, the idea of International Rescue and the Thunderbirds and what they would stand for and do for the world, they had always agreed to keep their identities a secret to keep them out of the limelight more than they already were. His father's opinion that if people knew who they were, they would never get any peace or privacy. Everyone would want a piece of them; want them to do something for them.

And what had really factored into his father's opinion was the fact had it been known who they were, all of them, including Alan would be pulled into the spotlight, and with Alan have been in school, that was not something that Jeff wanted to expose his youngest son to. Now that it was gone, the Thunderbirds now being permanently offline, was it right to tell the world who the famed Thunderbirds had been?

"I don't know Penny." He said finally. "Dad always said that no one could know besides our informants, and I have always lived up to that." But the more he thought about it, the more it just seemed right, that the world should know who they were, to truly morn the end of a family that had done so much for the world, and had never asked for anything in return. He finally nodded. "Do it."

"During the entire five years of the existence of International Rescue, the identities of those brave souls who have risked their lives to save others, complete strangers, has always been a mystery, save for a select lucky few who had been trusted with that great secret. However now, after this great tragedy, it seems that the secret no longer needs to be kept. After speaking with the last remaining member of the Thunderbirds, we have decided that it is time for the world to know who they were, to know the selfless acts of courage they faced on a day to day basis to keep the world safe, asking nothing for themselves from it. All we ask is that these five men never be forgotten." Another tear slipped down her cheek, and she did nothing to stop it. "Rest in peace my friends. I will miss you dearly. I love you all." She said softly. "To the fallen members of International Rescue: Jefferson Grant Tracy, Scott Carpenter Tracy…" A loud murmuring started building in the room as people recognized the names that were being spoken. "Virgil Grissom Tracy, Gordon Cooper Tracy and Alan Shepard Tracy. And to the remaining member of this amazing family still alive, John Glenn Tracy."

John shut the TV off with a vicious jerk of the remote as reporters started to leap off their seats to get Lady P's attention as Parker followed her from the room where he had been standing in the corner of the room out of the way of the reporters. Letting the remote clatter onto the desk in front of him, he dropped his head into his hands and let the pain and tears engulf him.

For the first couple of weeks after the press conference, it was safe to say that nothing much happened on Tracy Island. In fact, it was pretty much a ghost house. Despite the fact that John was now in charge of everything, he could find no will to do much of anything. He would either sit in his father's office, staring out at the ocean, or he would be down in the silo's, taking in the remaining Thunderbirds, hearing the echoes of his family in the great hollow cavern.

In the back of his mind, he knew there were other people in the house that were hurting almost as much as he was, but he could not convince himself to be able to reach out to them, to comfort them as he knew they probably needed. All he could think about was how his brothers and his father were gone, and he was all alone. He wished he could just go up to Thunderbird Five and pretend none of this had happened, that this was all just a bad dream, and he'd wake up from it, and everything would be back to normal. But finally, after being reminded by Tin-Tin that he could not just allow himself to wallow in his grief, but do what needed to be done, he finally snapped out of it.

She had found him three weeks after the press conference sitting down in the empty silo to Thunderbird Three sitting on the metal grating that had once surrounded the great bird, his legs dangling into the empty space. Sitting in the monstrous cavern all by himself, it amazed him again just how big that Bird was – had been. The silos was the place on the island that he felt the most connected to his family, it having been the last place they had been. He hadn't heard her approach until he felt her standing right next to him.

"Tin-Tin?" He said after a moment. She nodded and sat down next to him on the walkway. "What's up?" He asked, and winced at how stupid that sounded.

"How long are you going to keep doing this, John?" She asked him, getting right to the point.

"Do what?" He asked her.

"Act like you are the only person that lost someone they loved." She replied, a bit of a bite in her tone. John winced at that as he looked down at his mother's engagement ring adorning Tin-Tin's left ring finger. A few months earlier, Alan had finally gotten his act together and asked Tin-Tin to marry him just after his birthday. He could remember just how nervous his littlest brother had been leading up to the proposal, but as John had told him, he knew she would say yes. He could still hear Alan the day he had told John what he wanted to do.

He had at first thought that his little brother was too young to be getting engaged. He was only 18 years old. But the more he thought about it, the more he just knew it was right. The Sprout had grown up very quickly years before, after the incident with The Hood, and he and Tin-Tin had basically been dating for the past three years, and the whole family loved her and trusted her. It could not have been more perfect.

"Are you sure, Johnny?" Nervousness and doubt clouded Alan's voice, making him sound younger than he actually was. "Are you sure she will say yes?" John smiled and messed Alan's hair.

"Of course I'm sure, Sprout. Why wouldn't she say yes?" John reached out and set his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You love her, Alan. And I know Tin-Tin loves you. Dad would not have given you moms' old engagement ring if he did not believe in this as well."

And finally, that seemed to be the one thing he needed as a giant grin broke over Alan, lighting up his whole face. "Thanks Johnny!" He hugged his older brother briefly before running off to wherever, and John watched him go, a smile on his face. He had been there later on that night to congratulate Alan when he and Tin-Tin had appeared later, his mother's engagement ring around her slim finger

John sighed and looked back at the Malaysian girl. He could see the pain and hurt in her eyes that he was sure ran a close second to his, and he finally realized that she was hurting as well, but he had been too caught up in his own pain to see anyone else's. Well that, he decided, was going to stop now. He turned more to face her, and pulled her into his arms. It was moments later that he heard the sound of her crying into his shoulder, and he wished that he could take her pain away.

"I'm sorry Tin-Tin." He said softly. "I should have stopped to see other people's pain, but I was so wrapped up in my own. Please forgive me." He felt her nod after a moment and her arms snake around his waist to hug him back.

But that was in the past and unfortunately, that was not how life was going to be now. There were duties and responsibilities that were up to him to take charge of now. He had to make sure that everything was taken care of the way they were supposed to be. And the first order of business was Tracy Enterprises. Since Lady Penelope had given out their names at the press conference, it was not like he could travel to the office to take care of business. If he could help it, he never traveled to the mainland anymore.

After making the mistake of doing it once and being bombarded by reporters and other people looking for a chance in the limelight before he made it to the front door of Tracy Enterprises, he made a decision to never travel again. Anything that needed to get done, he could do from home, and he would never have to be bothered by reporters or someone wanting to take his picture again. As it was, no one knew where the island was, so no one could bother him there. Of course, this wasn't the biggest thing to happen to him as he started to try and put his life back together after losing his family. The biggest change to his life came the day that Lady Penelope told him that she was pregnant with his brother or sister.

John had been floored, as he hadn't known that his father and Penny had been involved in that sort of a relationship. He was sad that his father would never get to meet his child, but later that night as John stood on the balcony outside his room looking out over the pool and beyond it, the Pacific Ocean, he made a silent vow to himself that his brother or sister would know everything about their dad. They would know of the man who had sired him or her, and they would know of the amazing things that their family had done.

And so it was. One day became two, two became three, three became four and so on until before John knew it, a month had passed since he had lost his family. He slowly started to become used to the life he was now starting to live. As the last surviving Tracy, he took the reins of Tracy Enterprises and vowed to keep it on top in memory of his father who had worked so hard to build it to what it was now in the early days after the death of John's mother, Lucille. It was now his duty to keep the family name and strength intact. He was a source of strength for Tin-Tin and her family, and for Fermat and Brains as well. It seemed that now he was the pillar of strength, no matter how much he was hurting at the time. He did not have the time to be selfish in his pain. Too many people were depending on him. But over time, he came to realize that the more he shared his grief with those he cared about, it got a little bit easier to tolerate. Yes, it still hurt, and John had a feeling it would never stop hurting, but for right now, he could function with it and not allow it to overwhelm him.

At the same time, during all of John's pain, he had found someone he could lean on. His girlfriend Sarah Robinson became his strength, and he thanked her day after day for being in his life. He had known her since the days of his career in NASA. If there was one person that he could trust with his secrets, Sarah was that one person. Right after he had lost his family, she had come to Tracy Island and had taken him into her arms and told him that everything would work out, and that she was there for him. It made his love for her grow larger and larger. He honestly did not know how he would be able to live without her and her love. It was one of the main things keeping him going. Of course, when she got pregnant with their children, he knew that a new chapter of his life was starting.

After John and Sarah were married and babies started being born on Tracy Island, John found a new purpose in life once again. His life was going to be dedicated to the safety of those six babies who had been brought into the world. He now understood why his own father had acted the way he had so many years ago when he and his brothers had been such young children, and he respected the memory of Jefferson Tracy that much more. He had never realized growing up just what a battle that his father had had on his hands when it came to raising John and his brothers. Well, most of them had not been a problem to raise. It had not been trouble until little Gordon had come into the picture. John had only been small himself, but he remembered the birth of each of his brothers after him. He could remember seeing Gordon for the first time in the hospital, and wondered what the redheaded bundle was. That thought made John smile a little to himself.

Of course, while the next generation of Tracy's were still small, John had no idea the turn that his life would take once more. How due to the strength and determination of his newest brothers and sisters, as well as his own children, something thought long dead would be brought back to life after a long hibernation. John would once again have the choice that he had been given so long ago; to risk his life to save strangers that he would never meet. How they would be inspired by stories of rescues told to them at bedtime about the amazing Thunderbirds would inspire them to take the risk that their family had taken on before them. Oh yes, it would always seem that the draw of The Thunderbirds and International Rescue was strong in Tracy blood, no matter what the age.