Out of Place
AN – Hi! Two updates in a week – who would have thought? I've finally got around to actually plotting out the rest of the story to this, which is something I'm not always good at doing so let's hope it helps to tie it together more cohesively! If you enjoy, please let me know either via a review or PM, it's nice to know the things you like/don't like about it.
Disclaimer – I don't own Thunderbirds
Chapter Eleven – Nature versus Nurture?
Scott sat on the edge of the balcony, swinging his legs freely over the end. He could admit that he liked the bigger balcony and free edge, the glass windows and the general modern appearance of this Tracy Villa. Not that he was sure whether they called it that or not. Absently he playing with the leather cord hanging around his neck as he watched small clouds scuttle across the sky, the wedding ring strung from it knocking against the metal claw he'd worn for years now.
Footsteps behind him caused Scott to drop the necklace back underneath his shirt. The borrowed shirt was more creased than he'd like but he's noticed that the other Scott generally wore more casual clothing. Scott only wore casual clothing at Angel's, his father preferred them all to be smart. Since arriving here, Scott had realised how suffocating his father's strict rule actually was. Even though the Jeff from here was present, he was a more passive observer. Though, Scott thought ruefully, that was far more likely to be due to his extended stint in the Oort Cloud than his nature.
The footsteps stopped closely by and a figure dropped down next to him, swinging their legs over the edge and mimicking Scott's position.
"Am I intruding?" Kayo asked, looking sideways at Scott out of the corner of her eyes whilst still facing the Ocean.
"Not really," he turned towards her and smiled. "Just thinking, that's all."
"Anything interesting?"
"Just about how different it is here. How different we all are."
"Hm," Kayo started swinging her legs forwards and backwards. "I still can't get over the fact that in your dimension I'm ridiculously clever and engaged to Brains. Who seems to be very much like our own Brains, with a slightly different accent."
Scott shook his head with a smile. "You and Tintin are obviously very different, that is true. Other differences are more subtle, like between Scott and I."
"You look very similar," Kayo hesitated. "You dress smarter, our Scott is more casual but otherwise you'd be able to pass for each other pretty well. Superficially, at least."
"Only superficially?" Scott faced her with a smirk.
"Well yeah," Kayo lay back, propping herself up on her elbows as she peered into the blue sky. "Scott, our Scott I mean, wears his heart on his sleeve. I think the years he spent leading International Rescue by himself have had a toll on his temper and definitely his hair." Now it was Kayo's turn to grin. "He's got greys, though he'd never forgive me if I pointed it out. You seem far less prone to dramatic outbursts."
Scott snorted and looked down at his hands. "I think my father would disagree with you there. He considers me pretty hot-headed, at times."
"But that's the thing," Kayo brought her gaze down to rest on him. "He is there to tell you when you are being hot-headed, as you put it. Scott didn't have that for years."
"That would make a difference," Scott agreed. "But at the same time, your version of dad is pretty relaxed about it all."
"He's still adjusting," Kayo replied softly. "He was gone for so long, his sons turned from boys into men and the whole world changed. International Rescue came out into the open, Scott ended up running the business and forging close links with the GDF. All the while he was stuck in the Oort Cloud, wondering if today was the day he would die. I think he's so relieved to be given a second chance with the family, with his life, that he's happy to go a long with pretty much anything."
"It makes my wish that dad was a bit more like this Jeff feel a bit childish," Scott admitted. "It's like they are two extremes – dad still hasn't realised that we have actually grown up. Well, maybe apart from Alan although that could just be because he's going to be a perpetual child."
"He is a little sheltered, isn't he?" Alan hadn't been making anyone's life easier – he'd constantly been hassling Tintin to try to find them a way home, or grousing about the things about home that he missed to anyone that would listen. Most of the family had gone out of their way to avoid him, meaning that most of the time Alan spent sulking alone.
"He looks at life with a very clear cut ideal of what it should be, a bit like dad does at times. We're all waiting for him to mature out of it."
Kayo fully lay back on the balcony, folding her arms behind her head as she stared upwards. "You know, there's another way that you are very different from our Scott." Scott turned to her curiously, prompting her to continue. "Our Scott is very expressive. What you see is what you get. You… there is something more closed off about you. I think that, despite everything we've been through with Jeff missing and then the Hood, the Mechanic, the Chaos Crew… something tells me you've been through something too, something that has defined who you are even more."
Scott thought about it. "Maybe you're right. I'm not sure our lives have been that comparable." He didn't say anything else and after a few minutes it was clear he wasn't going to. Kayo decided to change the subject instead.
"So, tell us about Angel? I know most of the others are amazed that you've managed to actually find someone to put up with this lifestyle, goodness knows that our Scott is always telling us he doesn't have time for romance."
Scott looked at her again, his face transformed by the smile he sported. "Well Angel is… unusual, to say the least. She understands the job in a way I wouldn't expect anyone else to."
"How did you meet?"
"That's a long story."
Kayo raised an eyebrow as she propped herself back up on her arms. "It's not like we're short of time."
"Maybe later. I should probably see how Tintin is getting on anyway, see if she's thrown something at Alan yet."
Kayo grimaced. "I know he's your brother, but I wish someone would."
Scott didn't say anything else as he stood and walked back into the villa, although the wink he shot Kayo meant that she knew he wasn't offended by her observation.
Kayo stayed on the balcony for a few more moments, watching the darkening sky as dusk began to encroach in the Pacific. The breeze lifted, swinging the end of her customary ponytail and she realised a storm was coming in. She shivered slightly and decided to head back inside the den.
As she entered through the glass doors she waved at Sally who was about to head down into the kitchen. "Storm's coming," she told her. Sally nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll let Gordon know, he was planning on hitting the pool but probably best to wait now. Good chat?" Kayo coloured slightly as she realised Sally must have seen her talking to Scott.
"Just making conversation," she replied with a shrug.
"Mmhmm," Sally regarded her shrewdly for a moment. "Just remember he isn't here to stay, and has someone waiting for him back home."
"Grandma!" Kayo hissed, feeling scandalised.
Sally simply raised an eyebrow. "He's handsome, all my grandsons are no matter which dimension they come from. This one you don't have a brotherly relationship with, I'm just saying."
"Well don't!" Kayo glared at her. "I'm just trying to find out what is causing the differences, whether it's nature or nurture. There is no way that I could ever be the same as Tintin, yet with Scott I wonder if they are actually the same and it's their experiences that have changed them."
"I'm not sure you'll ever know that answer," Sally told her gently. "But does it matter? Just don't forget that they aren't here to stay. It's unlikely that whatever we do to send them home and get our boys back will ever be able to be repeated."
Kayo let out a deep breath. "I know. Anyway, I should head out on perimeter checks. I'll see you later."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Jeff was actually managing to get through some paperwork when the call from Val Casey came through. For a change he was alone in the lounge, although he wasn't sure where everyone had got to except Scott who was out on a mission to find a missing hiker.
"Hi Val," he answered with a smile, receiving a brief one in return.
"Jeff," the hologram paused for a moment. "I know you've been back a while, but have I ever told you how good it is to see your face again?"
Jeff chuckled, his rich baritone filling the room with sound. "Not often enough Val. How can I help you?"
"I'm afraid this isn't a social call Jeff, though one day I promise I will just call to chat. I thought you should be the first to know that we have had a break in at one of our holding facilities that has left several guards dead."
"Another break in?" Virgil and Gordon had entered the lounge while Val was talking, Virgil was the one who had spoken. "Who escaped this time?"
"It's a what, not who. The holding facility was for compounded equipment pending criminal trials and decommissioning. They took the large purple juggernaut that we've been referring to as the Chaos Cruiser, along with an array of advanced weaponry and a couple of other vehicles. The vehicles aren't a concern, except that they were evidence for several criminal trials. The weapons are alarming but nothing that couldn't be found elsewhere on the black market. My biggest concerns are the Cruiser, and the fact that I've had to ring up a dozen families and tell them that their loved ones won't be coming home."
Gordon swore, loudly, earning himself a whack from Sally who had come up to listen to the message. Jeff looked at his sons, concern in his expression. "You have both dealt with the Hood before now, is this along his lines?"
"I don't know," Virgil frowned. "He has always set up schemes that have completely disregarded human life, but I don't think he's been so direct about taking it."
"Our previous interactions have had casualties, but small scale." Val informed him. "Almost as though they are collateral, this was targeted. These people were taken out simply because they were there."
"Thanks for letting us know, Val." Jeff sighed deeply. "It's concerning, we'll ask Penelope to look into it and keep our eyes open."
"You do that Jeff, whoever this Black Phantom is he's obviously very dangerous." With that the hologram disappeared. Jeff looked up, his eyes tracking from Virgil to Gordon. Virgil sighed deeply.
"This is… we're aren't equipped to deal with murderers."
"No," Jeff agreed. "I think we have to try to stay as far away as possible, but at the same time this man is obviously too dangerous to be running around loose. Scott's girlfriend said he was bad news and it looks like she is right. We'll ask Penny to discretely investigate in case we can find out anything of use to the GDF, but leave it to them."
Gordon had a concerned expression, probably considering the risk. "Should we be involving Penny at all?"
Jeff was spared from answering by Virgil. "You know she'd want to, Gordon. Penelope is sensible, she won't get in deeper than she should."
"I guess," Gordon puffed out a sharp breath of air. "Who wants to tell Kayo she can't go after the bad guy this time?"
"You leave Kayo to me," Jeff stated firmly. "I know I've been gone a long time, but I set up International Rescue and set its direction. Difficult questions about our jurisdiction shouldn't be something that Scott, or any of the rest of you, have to deal with."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Kayo, in the meantime, was watching two very excited pilots bouncing around Thunderbird Shadow. She'd been on her way back in from her reconnaissance sweep around the Island and neighbouring Ocean, trying to stay ahead of the storm clipping at her wings all the way, when Tintin had accosted her and asked her to show her craft to Scott and Alan. Kayo suspected it was more to get them out of Tintin's hair than anything else, although the other girl had come with them. She was standing next to Kayo now, watching the boys fondly as they poked around Kayo's precious machine.
"I thought it might be the kind of craft Angel would like, Scott." Tintin called out to the brunette, who flashed her a grin.
"She'd love the bike bit, but would steer clear of the plane. She gets really air sick! Did I tell you she almost threw up in Thunderbird 1 once?"
"No, really?" Tintin moved closer to Scott to continue the discussion, Kayo trying to pretend she wasn't listening to find out as much about the mysterious Angel as possible. Sadly for Kayo, Alan took the opportunity to come and ask her about the specs for Thunderbird Shadow.
She couldn't stay annoyed though, his enthusiasm was infectious. She was busy discussing the cloaking system when the worrying thought slipped through her mind that this Alan was about her own age. Followed by the even more worrying thought that when he wasn't pouting, his smile lit up his face and his blue eyes sparkled as he discussed speed and altitude. Very worrying indeed.