Karolina jumped down onto the lawn from the tree she'd been hiding in whilst the Fire Department's Chemical Team had been busy covering up the hole. Now that they were all out the way she could proceed. After having a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear, she lifted up the tarpaulin and dived in underneath. She used her grapple gun to lower herself down into the hole. It wasn't far down, only about twenty metres and she then found herself at the bottom. She then left the grappling gun hanging and attached whilst she would look around. It was pitch black in the hole so she activated the Night-Vision in her helmet to enable her to see. She was rather shocked by what she was seeing.

"Thunderbird 5, I'm in the hole," Karolina said into her radio.

"What do you see?" Kerry asked.

"It's some kind of laboratory," said Karolina as she looked around. "Or at least it was. Something very bad has happened here."

"I can see the footage from your camera," said Kerry. "Give everything a thorough look."

So Karolina walked around. The first thing she went to look at was a chair surrounded by what looked to be chemical tanks and tubes connecting them which were all severed. The tanks were also ruptured and had smoke emitting from them. "This is where the smoke is coming from," said Karolina.

"Not affecting you, is it?" asked Kerry.

"Negative," replied Karolina. "No problem at all. Should I seal them up?"

"No," said Kerry. "We don't want the authorities to suspect that someone has been tampering with the scene."

Karolina nodded and turned to go and investigate the large table in the middle of the lab. It was as she was approaching it that something rather shocking caught her eye. "Oh, my God!"

"What is it?" Kerry asked. "Oh…" she then added when she saw it too from the video feed. There was the unmistakable shape of a body in a white lab coat lying on the floor on the right side of the room.

Karolina hurried over and bent down to examine it more closely. "It's a woman," she said. "And I'm afraid to say she's dead."

"Oh dear, poor girl," said Kerry sadly. "The smoke must've affected her badly."

But Karolina wasn't so sure. She used the Evidence Scanner built into her helmet to examine the woman's head more closely. She had the answer. "It wasn't the smoke," she said. "Blunt trauma to the head. She appears to have been hit hard by something."

"Must've been the explosion then," said Kerry.

Karolina looked around for more clues. There was a video camera beside the woman's head. It looked like it had been on at the time. "There's a camera here," she said to Kerry. "Maybe it might be able to show us what happened."

"It could do," said Kerry. "Take a look around some more and see what else you can find. Oh, and also it might be an idea to seal up those tanks. After all, if you're the only one who can move around in there, it'd be best for them too. Anyway, I need to go. The others are nearing the danger zone in London."

"I'll get on it," said Karolina. As Kerry signed off, she noticed a computer in the corner of the room. It too was badly damaged but Karolina decided to see whether the data chips inside might reveal any clues. She decided to use her wrist computer to examine it. And what she saw was rather shocking. "Oh, my…" she said.


The English Countryside was just a blur in the underside cockpit windows of Thunderbird 1 as it raced at high speed towards London. Through the front camera, Laura could begin to make out the skyline on the horizon.

"Thunderbird 2 from Thunderbird 1, I'm approaching danger zone," said Laura. "What is your ETA?"

"We're about ten minutes behind you, Thunderbird 1," said Daniel. "How does it look?"

"I have a visual on the site now," said Laura. "The crane's still embedded in the side of the tower."

"Can you see the driver?" asked Daniel.

"I'm should be able to in…what the hell?!" Laura exclaimed. "Dad, Kerry, look at this!" She sent the footage from Thunderbird 1 to Thunderbirds 2 and 5. Daniel and Kerry stared in disbelief at the scene.

"What the blazes it that?!" asked Kerry.

Katie, Beth, Wizzy, Adrienne, Leanna and Rosie all looked and stared in disbelief as well.

"Is that a…bat?!" asked Wizzy.

"Whatever it is, it's attacking the crane!" said Adrienne.

"Laura, get it off the crane before it pulls it down!" Daniel ordered.

"On it!" said Laura adjusting the controls enabling Thunderbird 1 to descend towards the site.

Wendy screamed loudly as the strange bat creature continued to rock the crane. It continued to shriek at her and was pounding on the glass of the cab trying to get in. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLP!" Wendy yelled.

"What are we going to do?" Leo asked Bob.

"Er…" For once, Bob had no ideas. Like everyone else, he'd never seen anything like this before.

A loud rumble of engines made everyone in the area look to see Thunderbird 1 approaching. Even the bat-creature stopped attacking the crane and turned to felt a bit uneasy. She had no idea what to do but at least it wasn't rocking the crane anymore. Then an idea came to her. "Come get me, ugly!" she said. The bat-creature shrieked again and pushed itself off the crane to charge at Thunderbird 1. Laura held tightly to her controls after pressing a button on the left console. "I hope this works," she said. The bat-creature soared over and tried to grab onto the top of Thunderbird 1 only to get zapped by the electronic force-field that surrounded the craft. It shrieked even louder and then flew upwards into the clouds and disappeared.

"Laura, what happened?" Daniel asked.

"It's okay, Dad, it's gone," said Laura.

"Good," said Daniel. "How's the crane looking?"

Laura looked at the crane. "Uh-oh," she said. "It appears to have shifted slightly. Looks like the tower bit itself is breaking apart."

"Get down there and speak to the foreman," said Daniel. "We'll be there in five minutes."

"F-A-B, Dad," said Laura.

The workers moved out of the way as Thunderbird 1 came down and landed close to the foreman's office. Laura disembarked and headed over to them.

"Who's in charge?" Laura asked.

"I am," said the man in the black hard hat.

"Sir, we need this whole area cleared," said Laura. "My colleagues will be here in four minutes and they'll need plenty of space to land."

"You got it, Miss," said the foreman. He turned to the others. "LOFTY! JACK! TRAVIS! ADAM! GET THOSE MACHINES MOVED TO THE OTHER END OF THE SITE!"

The workers didn't mess about. Laura watched impressed as they began to move the diggers, smaller cranes and even the little cement mixers all from the area. The Emergency Services who were on the scene to deal with the burning remains of the crashed helicopter had luckily finished and were also able to move their vehicles out of the way. Soon there was more than enough room for Thunderbird 2 to land.

"Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 2," Daniel's said over the radio. "Approaching you now."

"Site's clear, Thunderbird 2," replied Laura. "Come straight in."

"F-A-B," said Daniel. "Take us down, Katie."

Kerry then interrupted. "Guys, I've run scans of the two buildings and there are six people trapped on the top floor of Tower 1," she said. "It would seem that the crane's impact with it has caused partial collapses within and disabled the power."

"Is there anyone in the elevators?" asked Daniel.

"Fortunately no," said Kerry. "Those who can are using the stairs to get to the ground floor."

"And Tower 2?" Daniel went on.

"Still being evacuated but no issues that I can see there," Kerry said.

"Good. Thanks, Kerry," said Daniel. He then spoke to the others. "Right then. Beth and Adie, take the Jet-Air Transporters and go rescue those trapped workers. Wizzy and Leanna, go the ground floor and assist in the evacuation down there. I'll take the Jaws of Life and go climbing."

"F-A-B!" the four girls said.

"And me, Dad?" asked Katie.

"Keep Thunderbird 2's engines running," said Daniel. "If I can't get the driver out safely then we may have to life the whole top section of the crane down."

Katie nodded. "Good luck," she said as Daniel left his seat to follow the girls down to the pod.


The main contents of Pod 3 was the big yellow magnetic claw but there was room around it for small vehicles like the round red Jet-Air Transporters. These used hover technology to fly up to places where others could not get too. The powerful air blasters mounted on the backs were designed to catch falling people before bringing them down safely to the ground. Also housed in here were a set of robotic arms that Daniel could use to lift heavy objects and move them around. As he got himself into the harness that came with them, Adrienne and Beth powered up the two Jet-Air Transporters whilst Wizzy and Leanna stood on opposite sides of the pod door ready to disembark. All five had already put on their helmets like Laura had done before she'd got out of Thunderbird 1.

Katie brought Thunderbird 2 down and landed in the large open area that had just been cleared. A lot of dust was kicked up due to the thrust from the VTOL jets as it came down. Once on the ground the hydraulic legs lifted the main body clear of Pod 3. The door opened and Leanna, Wizzy and Daniel hurried out followed by Beth and Adrienne with the Jet-Air Transporters.

"What's the plan?" Laura asked when they joined her.

"There's still people trapped in Tower 1," Daniel said. "Beth, Adie and the Jet-Air Transporters are en-route. Leanna and Wizzy will help with the rest of the evacuation down here."

"And where you going?" asked Laura.

"Climbing," said Daniel. "Be ready. I may need your help."

Laura nodded and watched as Daniel hurried over towards the crane. Rosie then came to stand beside her. "He not got a job for you?" Laura asked.

"I'd rather not have to treat anyone," Rosie replied.

Daniel reached the bottom of the crane and looked up. He could see the damaged section where it had been hit by the helicopter. "Okay, here goes," he said. He then began to use the powerful jaws to pull himself up. It was not going to be a quick rescue on his part, but he hoped he'd make it in time.

Four men and two women were trapped on the very top floor of Tower 1. They'd been waving in the hope someone would see them and they were very relieved when the two Jet-Air Transporters arrived.

"There they are, Beth," Adrienne said.

"Looks like they're stuck in that room," Beth replied.

Adrienne then got onto her radio. "Jodie, you read?"

"I'm here, Adie," Jodie answered from Tracy Island.

"We have eyes on the trapped people in Tower 1," Adrienne said. "But they are stuck in the office or whatever it is and there is no way they can reach the roof."

"Pull out the window is my best suggestion," Jodie said. "Get a suction microphone on the glass and speak to them so that they know what's happening."

"Got it!" said Beth. She carefully moved her Jet-Air Transporter closer to the window and placed the suction microphone onto it. "This is International Rescue," she said. "You guys okay in there?"

"We're fine," the ginger-bearded worker said. "But something's blocked the door and we can't get out of here."

"We'll get you down," Beth said. "But first we're going to have to pull out the window so you'll need to stand back."

"What?!" gasped the black-haired female worker with glasses. "But you can't do that! We only just finished putting it in!"

"Then replace it," said Beth firmly. "Now stand back!"

The workers quickly moved back. The woman had to be dragged back. Beth removed the suction cup and moved the Jet-Air Transporter away before firing a larger suction cup with stronger cable to one side of the window. Adrienne then did the same. Both then looked down to make sure there was nobody moving around on the ground below.

"Clear!" said Beth.

"Clear!" said Adrienne.

They put the Jet-Air Transporters into reverse and began to pull hard on the window. They weren't sure whether the whole section would come out intact or whether it would shatter. They soon found out when with a CRACK the whole section came free and began dangling beneath them. Surprisingly though it did not fall to the ground and remained attached.

"No time to drop it," Adrienne said. "Let's get them out."

Turning the Jet-Air Transporters around, the two sisters moved back up against the building. Luckily for them it wasn't too windy and the workers could simply climb onto the vehicles rather than have to jump on them.

"ARE YOU SURE THIS THING'S SAFE?!" the brown-haired male worker shouted over the noise of the wind.

"Yes, sir, we've done this many times. Don't worry yourself," Beth replied. She didn't need to shout for she was speaking to him through the speaker in her helmet.

The workers were all at bit nervous about stepping out onto the backs of the Jet-Air Transporters due to the sheer drop below them. However, one by one they were able to do it. The ginger-haired one with the beard, the black-haired woman with glasses and the black-haired man all got onto Beth's whilst the other three scrambled as quickly as they could onto Adrienne's.

"Everyone set?" Adrienne asked.

"Yeah…" they all replied nervously.

"Here we go," said Beth. "Hang on tight."

The Jet-Air Transporters began to move away from Tower 1 with the workers on the back and the large section of glass still hanging underneath. They needed to go round behind Tower 2 in order to keep clear of the crane. The Jet-Air Transporters wouldn't have affected it but they couldn't risk going near it in case it suddenly gave way and fell on top of them.

Daniel was making steady progress up the crane. He couldn't go fast and had to be sure he had a firm grip with each claw before releasing the other to reach up further. He soon reached the tricky section where the metal had been damaged after the helicopter had crashed into it. Up until this point Daniel had been able to go upwards vertically, but not he would have to climb around the twisted metal and onto the section that was at a thirty degree angle.

"Daniel how it's going?" Kerry asked over the radio.

"Slow, but I'm getting there," Daniel replied. "I'm over halfway and trying to climb over the damaged section." He'd barely finished speaking when the crane suddenly lurched and moved slightly. "WOOAH!" he exclaimed loudly as he lost his footing and almost fell off. Luckily the jaws held firm and he remained attached to the crane.

"DAD!" Wizzy cried out having seen him.

Laura hurried forwards.

"It's okay, I'm fine!" Daniel assured them all as he pulled himself back up. "Although an item of…"

"Daniel, we don't wish to know that," Kerry interrupted.

"Joke-breaker!" Daniel grumbled as he began to climb again.

The Jet-Air Transporters had now landed safely at the far end of the site where the rest of the construction team had been gathered.

"Did you get them all?" Bob asked.

"Yes, sir," replied Adrienne as the workers disembarked. "All six are accounted for."

"Let's go check on the others," Beth said as she began to head back towards Thunderbird 2. Adrienne waited for the last worker to be helped down before she too followed.

After dropping the two Transporters next to Thunderbird 1, Beth and Adrienne hurried over to where Rosie and Laura were standing watching Daniel.

"You get them all?" Laura asked.

"Yes, Laura," replied Beth. "No injuries."

"We didn't even need to use the jets to catch them," added Adrienne.

"Good," said Laura.

Then Leanna and Wizzy came hurrying over.

"That's everyone out," Leanna said.

"Building's empty," added Wizzy.

"Great," said Laura. She then looked up. "Just the crane driver to save now."

Everyone looked up at the crane. They could just make out Daniel's shape as he continued to climb.

Just then, Laura's radio bleeped. She expected it to be Kerry, but was surprised by who it actually was.

"Laura, you there?"

"Lady Penelope? Bad timing, we're kind of busy."

"At the Construction Site, I know," said Penelope. "I saw you arrive."

The girls looked at each other. "Where abouts are you?" asked Laura.

"In the gridlock surrounding the area," Penelope replied. "We can see everything that's going on. And is that your Dad on the crane?"

Before Laura could reply, the crane suddenly shifted yet again making everyone jumpy.

"Goddamnit!" Daniel cursed. "Keep still you stupid thing!"

"Yes, it is," Laura said to Penelope. "Please excuse me, Lady P, but I think he may need some help."

Daniel had now reached the top of the crane and he pulled himself round to the cab where Wendy was trapped. "International Rescue here."

"Oh, thank heavens!" Wendy exclaimed. "Wait, did you climb up here?"

"Yes," Daniel replied. "Didn't want to risk the downdraft from our ships to cause trouble. Now don't worry, er, what's your name?"

"Wendy."

"Wendy, I'm going to get you out of here," said Daniel. He then grabbed onto the door of the cab and pulled it clean off before throwing it aside.

Wendy up until now had been desperate to get out the cab, but as she tried to step out, she suddenly noticed the angle the crane was at and cried out in alarm.

"What's wrong, Wendy?" Daniel asked. "I need to get you down."

"I…I…I can't!" Wendy cried, trembling like a leaf. "And where is that monster?"

"Monster?" Daniel asked. Then he remembered. "Oh, that bat thing? Gone luckily. Now…"

The crane suddenly shifted yet again.

"My God, that's not going to last much longer," Rosie remarked.

"Dad, the angle's gotten steeper," Laura said. "I think it might be your weight that's shifting it."

"I have not put on weight!" Daniel spluttered indignantly.

Laura rolled her eyes. "You combined with your gear I mean!" she said crossly.

"Oh…" Daniel realised. "Sorry. Er, yes, perhaps so." He paused as he collected his thoughts. "Ok then. Katie, we're going to need a lift."

"On my way, Dad," said Katie. She closed the door of Pod 3 and lowered the main body back down. Then she fired the VTOL engines and Thunderbird 2 lifted up off the ground. Once it was at the correct height it began to slowly move towards the crane.

"What's the plan then?" Kerry asked Daniel over the radio.

But it was Jodie who answered. She'd been monitoring the whole thing from Tracy Island. "The angle that the crane is at is too dangerous for Mr Tracy to climb down alone let alone carry the driver," she said. "So Thunderbird 2 will have to lift it clear of the building and then lower it to the ground."

Laura looked at the support tower. "Would it be an idea if I were to use my laser to cut the top arm of the crane free from the tower?" she said. "That way there might not be any complications when Katie starts to move it."

"Good thinking, Laura," said Jodie. "That would make things easier. Go to it."

"Stay here," Laura told her sisters, Leanna and Rosie as she hurried forwards. Unlike Daniel, who had climbed up the tower, simply used her Jetpack to rise up to the crane. "You know, Dad, maybe Jodie should fit your Jaws of Life with a Jetpack?" she said as she approached.

"Didn't you try that, Jodie?" Daniel asked.

"Yes," Jodie replied hesitantly. "It didn't go well from what I remember."

Joanne frowned. "What happened?" she asked.

"I had to rebuilt MAX after he tried it out," Jodie said.

Thunderbird 2 was now above the crane. "In position," Katie said. "Lowering Magnetic Grabs."

Looking up, Daniel and Laura saw the hatch in the underside of Pod 3 open and the big yellow grabs began to lower towards them. They didn't need to guide it down for her as she could use a hologram projector which showed the position of the crane in relation to where the grabs were.

"There!" Katie said when the grabs had locked themselves around the arm of the crane. "Got it."

"Laura, you're up," said Daniel.

Laura grabbed onto the arm of the crane just below the cab area. After securing herself with a line, she took out her laser gun and began to use it to cut through the support tower. "Katie, I'm cutting my way through now," she said. "Be ready for a sudden swing. Same with you and the driver, Dad."

"F-A-B, sis," said Katie. "I'm ready."

"Careful, Laura," warned Daniel. He then turned to Wendy. "You might want to strap yourself in," he said.

Wendy obeyed and secured herself to the chair with the seatbelts.

Due to the gridlock, a huge crowd had gathered at a distance on both side of the Thames. There were even people in nearby tower blocks watching what was going on.

With every cut that Laura made, the crane wobbled some more. Laura to check to make sure there was nobody below before she finished off. With a creaking groaning SNAP, the tower broke free. From the top half to down where the helicopter had hit broke away completely and hit the ground with a loud clatter. The arm of the crane, no longer supported began to swing around wildly as it broke free from Tower 1. Daniel, Laura and Wendy held on for dear life.

"Easy guys, I've got you," Katie said as she began to lower them to the ground.

The crowds around the outside of the site, in the overlooking tower blocks and the other builders on the ground all began to clap and cheer as Thunderbird 2 lowered the crane safely down onto the ground. With the danger of falling debris now over, the other builders were able to come up and greet and very relieved Wendy who ran straight into Bob's arms once the crane was firmly on the ground.

"Oh, Bob!" Wendy cried hugging him tightly and bursting into tears. "I was so scared! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I was scared too, Wendy," Bob replied. He and Wendy then turned to Daniel. "Thank you," they both said together.

"You're welcome," Daniel replied. "Bit of a slow start but we got there."

"Where's Leo, Bob?" Wendy asked. "I need to hug him too."

Bob looked around and scratched his head. "Er…" he said. "That's odd. I could've sworn he was here a minute ago."

"What's this?" Daniel asked. "You lost someone?"

"My apprentice," Bob replied. "He's just under five foot, dark skinned and has a white hardhat."

Daniel turned to the girls. "You seen anyone matching that description?" he asked.

"Not in the last ten minutes, no," said Laura.

Katie had now landed Thunderbird 2 and came to join them. "What's this?" she asked Beth.

"One of the builders is unaccounted for," Beth replied.

"Okay, we'll find him," said Daniel. "Everyone split up and search the site. He has to be…"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone jumped and looked around.

"That's Leo!" Wendy gasped. "But what's happened?!"

The scream had come from between Towers 1 and 2 near to where the bottom section of the crane had been. Then Leo came sprinting out from between the two yelling at the top of his voice and waving his arms in the air. His eyes were wide with fright. "IT'S GONNA EAT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" he wailed.

Suddenly there came a loud shrieking noise and then the strange bat-creature came swooping out from behind Tower 1. It spotted Leo and then began to dive down towards him.

"OH, MY GOD!" exclaimed Leanna, Rosie, Beth and Wizzy all at the same time whilst Katie, Laura and Daniel were too stunned for words.

"LEO, HURRY!" Bob shouted.

Leo tried to run as fast as he could only to trip over on a piece of pipe and fell flat on his face.

"LEO!" screamed Wendy in horror.

Daniel charged forwards towards Leo and the bat-creature. He used his left Jaw to quickly pull him to his feet. "RUN, KID, MOVE!" he ordered.

Leo didn't need telling twice and ran towards the others.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" The foreman shouted.

Everyone began to move, but Daniel stayed right where he was. He was facing down the bat-creature that was now heading straight for him. The girls couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"DAD, MOVE!" shouted Adrienne. "IT'S GONNA GET YOU!"

Daniel gritted his teeth. "No," he said firmly and calmly. "I'm getting it!"

The bat-creature was less than ten metres and approaching fast. Then right at the last second, Daniel jumped to the side and grabbed its right leg. It shrieked again as he then thrust it back and slammed it hard into the ground. Then he quickly used both jaws to grab hold of the wings pinning it down.

"Dad, have you gone nuts?!" Laura cried hurrying over as the others tried to stop her.

"Quick, someone get a blood sample!" Daniel ordered.

The girls looked at each other with confused expressions. Then Beth pushed past and hurried forwards taking out the Blood-Extractor device from her utility sash.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" groaned Katie and hurried after Beth.

As Daniel struggled to hold the creature down, he could could see its face a lot more closely. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before. It was grotesque. In fact, it looked somewhat human. "You know what…" he said to it. "You are one, ugly…"

"Hold it down, Dad!" Beth said as she got down on her knees and pressed the Blood-Extractor hard against the creature's chest. It began to extract a sample of its blood into a small tube attached to the device.

Laura, Wizzy, Adrienne, Katie and Leanna were all thinking to try and stop this process, but they were even more surprised when Rosie got in their way.

"Stay back!" Rosie ordered. "Let them finish! I know what your father's thinking."

Beth then moved back. "Got it!" she said holding up the extractor.

She was just in time. The creature finally gained enough strength to wiggle itself free and push Daniel back. It jumped to its feet and shrieked loudly at them. It was now that the other girls could see it properly and found themselves unable to do or say anything. It definitely had a humanesque shape with hair on its head and body. Its wings appeared to also be arms at the same time and its eyes were blank. It was certainly one of the most disturbing things anyone had ever seen. It then flapped its wings and lifted off before disappearing into the clouds.

"What the hell is that thing?" Leanna asked.

Daniel panted as he got his breath back. He watched as Beth handed the blood sample to Rosie.

"Let's find out," Rosie said.