Okay, my sister and ScribeOfRED talked me into posting the next chapter already, so here you go. Please don't kill me after reading this!
Unknown Location
Probably Still March 7
Unknown Time
Gordon woke up slowly, his head pounding. He raised his head and stiffened as he looked straight into a pair of cold blue eyes. He tried to move away from the man, but discovered that he was sitting against a pole, with his wrists handcuffed together behind the pole. There was a strip of duct tape over his mouth.
The mystery man was standing a few feet in front of Gordon, arms crossed over his chest, silently contemplating him. His eyes seemed to glow with a glimmer of cool amusement as he watched his prisoner become more alert.
Not wanting to be sitting while the man was standing, Gordon managed to push and wiggle his way to his feet, grimacing as the handcuffs bit into his wrists.
Once he was upright, Gordon returned his kidnapper's silent stare, studying his opponent intently. He'd seen the mystery man so many times now – and watched him in so many videos – that he could identify him by more than just his eyes, but the man was still oddly difficult to describe.
He mentally catalogued the man's characteristics: mid-thirties, average height, well-muscled, and built like a dancer – or an acrobat. He tended to stand like he owned the world. The clothes – all black and well tailored, with a sort of covert-ops military flair. There wasn't anything particularly distinct about his face – other than his eyes, of course. Dark hair. Strong hands with long, fine fingers. The only ornament a heavy gold ring emblazoned with the letter "K."
A smile playing around his thin lips, the man let Gordon stare at him for a few more moments, then spoke up, his voice soft and cultured.
"Well, Gordon, it's good to finally be able to speak to you. I've been eagerly awaiting this day for quite some time now, and if I'm right, you've been rather looking forward to it yourself – although I suspect our reasons are quite different. Oh, yes, I do apologize for the handcuffs and the gag…a necessary evil, I'm afraid. I'd like for you to hear me out, and I'm sure you'll agree that this is the only way that would happen."
Gordon growled in response.
The man ignored him.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kane. There's more to it than that, of course, but for the time being, that will do.
"You may be interested to learn that I've been planning this little chat for many months. I know you've been seeing me frequently over the past several weeks, and I could tell I was beginning to cause you considerable consternation. Believe it or not, that was not my goal, so I actually moved my timeline up by a few weeks so that I could answer all your questions.
"But I should begin at the beginning. You, of course, are wondering why we are here today. Well, the journey to this point began two years ago, with a simple moment of curiosity on my part. I was between jobs when I happened to hear a report that International Rescue had just saved the day again – at some flooded village in Indonesia, if I recall correctly. I had some time to kill, and I decided that it would be an entertaining diversion to find out who the Thunderbirds really were.
"This is a side note, but I have to say that you have guarded your secret very well – it took me nearly twelve hours to figure it out. Don't look so worried…at the moment, I have every reason to keep your identity a secret. You'll understand what I mean by that in a few minutes.
"So, my curiosity was assuaged on that front, and truth be told, I did briefly consider selling your names. As I continued to research your family, however, I found myself becoming more and more impressed by the incredible skill set encompassed by you and your brothers – and I am not easily impressed."
Kane began to pace, his eyes fixed on a distant point on an imaginary horizon.
"The seed of an idea began to take root in my mind, stemming from a thought I first had about ten years ago. You see, I am the ultimate criminal. There is no one else in the world with my level of skill, my database of knowledge, and my rate of success. I have worked nearly my whole life to achieve this status, and it occurred to me at one point that the skills and information I have accumulated are far too valuable to waste. So, for the past ten years, I have been searching for a worthy successor – a young person I could train to walk in my footsteps, to take my skills to heart and perhaps achieve even more than I ever have.
"For ten years, I have searched for that person. I have considered dozens of young men and women, but every candidate to date has come up short."
Kane glanced toward Gordon.
"And then that one moment of curiosity led me to discover the Tracy family, and all the pieces suddenly fell into place. Here, hidden away from the world on a small island, was a pool of exceptionally talented young men, just waiting for someone to take them in hand and raise them up to be all that they could be!
"Five young men…and all I had to do was pick one. At first, I thought I could choose any one of you, but then I began studying each of you in more detail, and I'm glad I did.
"Your oldest brother, Scott, caught my attention first – perhaps too much so. With his striking physical appearance and strong personality, he would not easily be forgotten by those whose paths he crossed, and in my business, being easily recognized is far from a desirable trait. Still, I could have worked with that, especially considering Scott's assets - his physical strength, his determination, and his military training. In the end, however, what led me to cross his name off my list was his black-and-white sense of morality. While I'm sure that Scott could be manipulated into working for me, since my research indicates that he would do anything to protect his family, I feel certain that the choice would break him. He would be left a shell of his former self, and I don't think I'm wrong in saying that he might even lose his will to live after a time in such a lifestyle.
"I studied John next. What an amazingly talented young man! With his intellect and his technological skills, he could take the criminal world by storm. However, I insist that my protégé also be extremely adept at the physical side of the job, and while John is certainly capable of learning such skills, physicality does not seem to be his forte, and I am skeptical that he would apply himself to the necessary degree.
"Virgil intrigued me for a little while. He presents an interesting dichotomy – he is physically very strong, but he also possesses an incredible attention to detail, which has only been enhanced by his artistic and musical training. With those skills, he could be particularly successful as a thief. However, my observations have led me to believe that he is guided by his emotions too much of the time, and that he is too closely connected to his family. Take him away from those he loves, and before long there would be nothing left of him.
"Then there's your younger brother, Alan. Typical youngest child – he feels he has so much to prove. Oh, how I could shape that burning desire, that raw talent! But he is too much of a loose cannon, and I've noticed that he doesn't take orders well. As tempting as I found his potential, I felt that the risk to me was too great.
"So we come to you…you, Gordon Cooper Tracy."
Kane stopped pacing and swung around to face Gordon.
"The more I've studied you, Gordon, the more I've come to want you. I can see the question on your face, though: Why would I choose you over your brothers? You have always compared yourself to your family members, and you have always believed that you come up short. Scott – pilot extraordinaire and Field Commander of International Rescue. John – astronaut, published author, linguist, technological genius. Virgil – pilot, artist, musician, engineer. Alan – astronaut, race car driver, underachieving but brilliant. And then there's you. You struggled in school. You didn't even go to college. You don't like to fly, and outer space doesn't do a thing for you. You've always wondered why you aren't like your brothers; in fact, your passions and skills are so different that when you were young, you even wondered if you were really a Tracy."
Kane suddenly closed the gap between them completely, placing his hands on Gordon's shoulders.
It took all of Gordon's willpower to keep from flinching away, to meet the man's gaze and hold his shoulders straight.
Kane continued, "Let me tell you why I find you so fascinating, Gordon, what made me choose you above any of your other family members. You are superior because even though you doubted yourself, you didn't for one moment stop pursuing what you love. You swam, and you did it so well that you won the Olympic Gold. You joined WASP, and you excelled in whatever task was set before you. When you nearly died in the hydrofoil crash, you pulled yourself back up, practically from the grave, and learned to walk again through sheer willpower. I've hacked into your medical records, Gordon, and I know the odds against you being able to stand on your own two feet right now.
"You have faced obstacle after obstacle in your life, Gordon Tracy, and after each one, you have come out stronger – you have proven time and again that you do not crack under pressure. You are physically strong and fit, and you are far smarter than you act. You are courageous, you are resilient, and above all, you are determined.
"For all of these reasons and more, I have decided that you are the culmination of my ten years of searching. You are the one who will receive my training, and at the end of that time, you will be feared and revered as the world's foremost criminal!
"Gordon Tracy, I have chosen you to be my apprentice."
Kane stepped back, letting his words sink in. After a moment, he smirked. "Feel honored?" he asked. "Well, you should." He didn't take his eyes off Gordon's face. "I can see that you have plenty you'd like to say. Well, you'll get your chance in a moment. I just have one more thing to tell you, and then you may say whatever you wish.
"Actually, this will no doubt answer one of the questions you would have asked me. Why did I purposefully collide with each one of your brothers, but not with you? Don't tell me you haven't wondered – I can see it in your eyes. Here's the answer – it was all a part of my plan to secure you as my apprentice. As I ran into each of your brothers, I was carrying a small, quick-release hypodermic needle. I made sure I bumped them hard enough that they wouldn't notice the slight prick of the needle over the shock of the collision. John was the hardest to track down, but since I know his secret identity, I was able to catch him in Chicago at a book signing. Excellent book, by the way.
"But I digress. You are wondering, of course, what I injected your brothers with. I have to say that the answer to that question is perhaps the most ingenious part of my plan. I have a contact who works in a cutting-edge facility producing experimental nanotechnology – microscopic robots, if you will. These robots, often called nanites, can be programmed to perform a variety of functions, and I had him design a special batch just for your family. Your brothers now have little tiny bits of machinery floating around inside them which are designed to attack the body from the inside out at the press of a button."
Kane held up a small remote control that was dominated by a single, large red button. "I've been told that the nanites tend to settle in some of the more important areas of the body – the heart, the brain, the lungs, the spinal column…you get the picture, I'm sure. They will also last indefinitely – theoretically, I could press this button ten years from now, and all four of your brothers would die a quick but excruciating death.
"Of course, I have no reason to harm your family as long as you agree to submit yourself to my tutelage – to obey me and to serve me without question from this day forward, and to cut off all ties to your past.
"So…let's try this again." Kane said, his voice lowering to a hiss. "Gordon Tracy, I have chosen you to be my apprentice." He reached out and pulled the tape off Gordon's mouth.
Gordon gasped in a shaky breath, panic and rage warring within him in equal measure. All the defiant words that had been welling up within him during Kane's monologue…they had all left him the moment Kane held up that remote control. That one little remote control could end all of his brothers' lives in one moment, and Kane held it in the palm of his hand.
No, there were no words.
The only option left to him was to surrender.
Gordon bowed his head and sank to his knees, defeat pressing him down like a physical weight on his shoulders.
Kane chuckled – a low, cruel, triumphant sound. "I thought that that would be your answer," he breathed. He reached down and unlocked the handcuffs, then turned and disappeared into the shadows. A door closed a moment later.
Shivering, even though he wasn't cold, Gordon slowly pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs, and rested his aching head on his knees.
Two months earlier, Alan had teasingly compared him to a superhero. He wondered what Alan would say if he ever found out that Gordon was about to become a super villain.
Mexico
March 7
3:15 PM
"Gordon!"
"Where are you, Gordon?"
The words reverberated through the cavern, the echoes shaking them around and then throwing them back hollow and desolate.
When Scott and Virgil circled back to the shoreline for the third time, the glances they cast each other were full of fear and worry.
"Scott, we've been calling for two hours," Virgil said, his voice soft with weariness and raw from overuse. "And we've searched the whole cave three times now. I-I don't think he's down here."
Scott stood on the shoreline, staring out toward the gently bobbing yellow submarine. His shoulders slumped as he came to a decision. "All right," he said quietly. "You take the Mole back up. I'll take Four back through the underwater river and meet you on the surface."
Virgil's eyes widened as the possible implication in Scott's words hit him. He leapt backward. "No, wait, I changed my mind – I'm going to keep looking!"
"Virg," Scott said. He looked up and met Virgil's eyes, straightening his shoulders. "I'm not giving up. I'm just agreeing that Gordon isn't down here any more. We're going to go back to the surface and get John and Brains to figure out why Gordon's tracker stopped working. Then we're going to come back down here and find him, even if it means searching every one of these caves!"
Virgil took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Right," he said. "Okay." He turned and walked reluctantly toward the pointy nose of the Mole that was poking through the opposite wall of the cave. "I'll see you at the top, then."
Scott watched him go, then headed for Thunderbird Four, unconsciously letting his shoulders slump again once Virgil was out of sight. He wasn't going to let himself give up, and he didn't plan to let Virgil see what he was really thinking, but somehow he knew that they wouldn't find Gordon in any of the underwater caverns, no matter how long they looked.
It wasn't anything more than a gut feeling, though, so Scott knew that he had to go through the motions of searching for his little brother…especially since he had absolutely no idea where Gordon might really be. That was what scared him more than anything else.
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A/N – I should mention that I got the inspiration for this story from the final two episodes of the first season of the 2003 cartoon Teen Titans.