THUNDERBIRD 4 was still being attacked by Jeff's white blood cells. They had surrounded the craft and latched themselves onto pretty much every section of hull that they could. Inside, Gordon and The Mechanic got warning lights and alarms on their instrument panels.

"They're melting through!" The Mechanic said. "You've got to get them off of us!"

"Hold on," said Gordon. "I'm gonna shake them off." He put Thunderbird 4 into a steep dive and began to plummet towards the bottom of the vein. Thunderbird 4 went faster and faster, but the cells refused to let them go.

"Gordon! They're not s-shaking off!" Brains cried as he watched the monitor screen in front of him.

"They're not?" Gordon replied. He suddenly realised how close he was to the bottom. "Oh, that's not good! That's NOT GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! Gotta pull up! Please! Pull up! Pull UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"

Thunderbird 4 began to respond, but it wasn't fast enough. It fit the bottom of the tunnel and ricocheted off again causing it to spiral spin and making Gordon and The Mechanic yelp as the latter was thrown around the inside of the passenger bay. They then hit the roof and bounced off. The impact did however cause the majority of the white blood cells to detach themselves from the hull.

"Oh, yeah!" said Gordon once he'd regained control of his craft. "Hey, Mechanic? Are you okay back there?"

The Mechanic picked himself up and groaned. "I guess so," he growled. "Does the word reckless mean anything to you?"

Gordon realised there were still a few white blood cells left. He bumped Thunderbird 4 into the side and it detached as they passed through an opening into a larger section of the inside of Jeff's body. There were several more tunnels leading off in different directions. "I think I've found us a quick getaway," he said, banking Thunderbird 4 round to the right and diving down into another tunnel. The white blood cells tried to follow but were soon lost amongst the red blood cells that swam around. They seemed to follow Thunderbird 4, but didn't try to attach themselves to them.

"Now that's what I call a fancy little bit of piloting!" Gordon said, feeling pleased. "Sometimes I even amaze myself. Wouldn't you say, Mechanic?"

The Mechanic's response was merely a growl of frustration.

Then Brains spoke up again. "Er, G-Gordon?" he said.

Gordon noticed that Brains was shaking his head disparagingly. He then showed Gordon a holographic map of Jeff's body with a yellow dot showing Thunderbird 4's location. It took a moment for Gordon to finally realise what this meant. "We're going the wrong way, aren't we?" he said with a sigh.

"Yep, you finally figured it out," said The Mechanic.

Gordon felt like a balloon that had popped. "Sorry, guys," he said. "Where do we go now, Brains?"

"Give me a m-moment, Gordon," said Brains as he worked on the holomap. "I will f-find you the best new route."

Scott and the others had been listening in. none of them said anything so as to not put Gordon down anymore but they shared Brains and The Mechanic's frustration.

"Trust Gordon to make a mess of things," Alan muttered to himself.

Parker handed a cup of strong tea to Marcus who was sitting in the sitting room with a very shaky Adrian and Mollie. They were all deeply affected by the ordeal they'd been through, so much so that they found it hard to even speak, but Marcus did manage a few nods of gratitude.

A GDF Squadron had also arrived in the Playing Fields behind the house and the hole in the fence had been wider so that the soldiers could enter the garden and arrest Havoc. Having replaced the tape that Penelope had used to bind her wrists with handcuffs, it was decided took keep her legs bound to stop her kicking anyone and to keep her gagged so they wouldn't have to listen to her screeches, although the muffled noises she was making were getting just as irritating.

"How does it feel, Havoc?" Penelope asked as Havoc was carried away. "To have what you do to poor innocent people done to you instead? Unpleasant, isn't it?"

Havoc simply glared at Penelope as she tried to wriggle herself out of the soldiers' grip. She tried to say something but it was muffled. Penelope couldn't be sure, but it sounded like she'd said "I'll kill you!"

"I beg your pardon?" Penelope said. "I didn't quite catch that."

Havoc simply growled in frustration as she was carried away towards the waiting GDF Flyer.

Parker came out and joined her. "Mr Wilkin and the kids h'are alright, m'lady," he said.

"Well done, Parker," replied Penelope. "I wonder how the others are getting on?" She opened her compact. "Lady Penelope calling Thunderbird Shadow. How are you getting on, Kayo?"

"In hot pursuit of The Hood," Kayo replied. "Are you done where you are? I might need some help with this one."

"F-A-B," said Penelope. "Try and stall his advance if you can. We'll do our best to catch up to you." She closed the compact. "Quickly, Parker. To the car! The GDF will take care of the family."

"Right behind you, m'lady," said Parker. They both rushed to FAB1 and were soon airborne, heading off to try and assist Thunderbird Shadow.

Brains finished doing his calculation and then a route via the holomap to Thunderbird 4. "Gordon, I've p-plotted your new route, but it won't be easy," he said. "The path from your current position in the abdomen is up through M-Mr Tracy's heart and then up into his brain."

"I always knew Dad had a good heart," Gordon replied as he turned Thunderbird 4 around. "Never thought I'd actually get to see it in person."

Scott's patience finally snapped. "Gordon, will you stop messing around and just get there?!" he said crossly.

Gordon's face fell. "Scott, remind me to apologise to you when I get out of here," he said.

"What for?" Scott asked.

"For the way I reacted last night," said Gordon. "I was out of line."

"That makes both of us," agreed Alan. "Sorry, Scott."

"Forget it," Scott said. "You were naturally worried about Dad. I understand." Although he didn't show it, he was deeply moved by their words.

"Your d-dad's heartbeat is sixty times a minute," Brains said. "You'll have less than a one second opening to get through his mitral valve or be c-crushed by it."

"Possible odds - certain doom," said Gordon. "Got it. Situation normal." Just then, Thunderbird 4's radar began to detect a number of small objects rapidly closing in on their position from behind. "Er, we seem to have company," Gordon said. "More white blood cells?"

The Mechanic had a more advanced x-ray scanner with him. "Negative, it's worse than that," he said.

"Worse?!" repeated Gordon. "How can it be worse?"

"Micro-Meccas!" The Mechanic said. "Ray ones! Another stolen creation of mine!"

Gordon grimaced. He could still remember all the times he'd had to fight off the Ray-Meccas with the previous Thunderbird 4 when The Mechanic was under The Hood's control. "Going to have to call you guys back," he said to Brains and the others. He signed off. "Hang on, Mechanic. I'm going to try and outrun them."

The Mechanic held on as Thunderbird 4 picked up speed and began to race up through Jeff's abdomen. The Ray-Meccas continued to pursue them.

"I can't shake them!" Gordon cried.

"Then shoot them!" said The Mechanic. "One carefully-placed missile in the middle of the swarm should take them out."

"I can't shoot a missile inside Dad!" Gordon cried. "What if I miss?"

"Then don't miss," said The Mechanic firmly. "Now spin round and shoot!"

Realising he had no alternatives, Gordon spun Thunderbird 4 around to face the oncoming swarm of the Ray-Meccas. He used the targeting computer to select the one in the middle of the swarm and then pressed the firing button. The missile launched and zoomed into the middle of the swarm. The resulting explosion took out the one it made contact with as well as several of those around it.

Scott, Grandma, Alan and Virgil all reacted when Jeff's stomach suddenly reacted like he was having a seizure.

"W-What was that?" asked Alan.

"Gordon must have touched something sensitive," said Grandma. "Or maybe one of the meccas did."

Virgil tapped his sash. "Thunderbird 4, what's happening in there?"

Gordon couldn't answer though. A small group of three meccas survived the blast and managed to reach Thunderbird 4. Gordon spun the spin around and used the grasping arms to grab one and crush it in its grip. He saw another approaching rapidly and took it out with Thunderbird 4's laser. The final one landed on the top of the cockpit so Gordon had to barrel roll in order to shake it off before he too blasted it with the laser. But he wasn't quick enough to stop the mecca from zapping Thunderbird 4's radio antenna.

""Virgil? Gordon called. "Virgil, are you there? Brains, come in!"

"It's no good, Gordon," said The Mechanic. "They've destroyed the external communication link. We have lost contact with them."

Gordon groaned. "Great! Just great!"

Virgil continued to try. "Gordon, do you read me? Thunderbird 4, are you there? Gordon!"

John's hologram appeared. "The radio antenna has been disabled, Virgil," he said grimly. "They can't hear you."

"WHAT?!" cried Scott. "But that means we don't know what their status is?"

"I still have a signal lock on their location, Scott," said Brains. "I will continue to m-monitor their progress. But we can no longer provide support for them. They're on their own now."

Scott ran his fingers through his hair, the feeling of helplessness having returned, big time.

The Hood's new exo-suit certainly had some power to it. Despite the immense power of Thunderbird Shadow's own engines, Kayo was finding it hard to close the gap on him. She'd never seen him as much of a physical threat in the past apart from the time he got the better of her after she caused him to lose the tablet after he'd robbed Penelope's guests at the glass chateau a few years ago. Now he really did seem to have gotten even with her in terms of speed and agility - and it wasn't something she was keen on one bit.

They were over the outskirts of London when she finally began to close in on The Hood. "There you are!" she said, pushing Thunderbird Shadow even harder. "Now you're mine, Uncle."

The Hood had been focusing on where he was going up until that point, using his cybernetic connection with the mecca to lead him to its location. He then got a proximity alert on the heads-up display in his helmet to warn him something was chasing after him. He looked back around and saw Thunderbird Shadow closing in. "Seriously?" he cursed. "Give me a break!" He then increased his thruster pack to its maximum and tried to pull ahead.

Thunderbird Shadow's engines screamed as Kayo pushed it harder than she'd ever done before. She knew that with every passing second there was danger that The Hood could reach The Mechanic's base and cause mayhem for the GDF and her fellow International Rescue family. And if he managed to get past them all and to Jeff, she didn't even want to contemplate what he might do. She knew she had to stop him - whatever the cost.

Using the targeting computer, Kayo got a lock onto The Hood. She wanted to use missiles but despite her hatred she knew she could not kill him. Instead she decided to use the sonic cannon mounted in the nose of the craft. "Mind your ears, Uncle," she said and pressed the button.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The sonic cannon made an ear-splitting shriek that hit The Hood and caused him to start spiralling out of control towards the ground.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHH!" The Hood screamed as he battled to try and save himself. He managed to reboot the exo-suit moments before hitting a large factory chimney and get back up again. Instead of continuing to track the signal from the mecca, he decided that retaliation was in order. "So you want to play rough, do you? Fine by me!" he said as he reached the altitude he wanted. He watched as Thunderbird Shadow was banking around to make another run at him. It was showing the top of its body which gave him the perfect opportunity. He took a deep breath and activated his own sonic device, built into the front of his helmet respirator. SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The sonic blast struck Thunderbird Shadow's port wing which was at its highest point and caused the craft to begin spinning uncontrollably, terrifying Kayo. "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAHH!" she cried. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAT'S HAPPENIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING?!"

John's hologram then appeared on the instrument panel. "Kayo? What's going on? My sensors detected you took a hit from something?"

Kayo battled hard to regain control of Thunderbird Shadow and only just managed to pull out inches above the surface of the nearby Thames and dart underneath the Dartford Crossing that was nearby. "Sorry, John. It would seem that The Hood's had one hell of an upgrade."

"So I saw," John replied as he watched the holographic contact that was The Hood on his monitor. "No pressure or anything, Kayo, but you're getting dangerously close to Dad's location. You're going to have to stop him somehow."

Kayo gritted her teeth as she regained altitude to chase after The Hood again who was now continuing on his course towards Manston. "I know, John. I know."

Gordon thought he'd shaken off all the meccas but as it turned out there were two more still chasing them down. He had a bit of distance on them but they were closing rapidly. Gordon looked around, trying to find a way to get rid of them. Then his scanner detected a strange black anomaly nearby. "Dad used to say he suffered with a stomach ulcer," he said. "Looks like he still has it. Hang on, Mechanic!" He turned Thunderbird 4 and dived at the ulcer.

"Wait, what are you doing?" demanded The Mechanic.

Gordon didn't answer because he was concentrating. He got closer to the ulcer as the meccas closed in on Thunderbird 4. "Reverse! Full power!" he said at last, rapidly changing the direction of power to the engines. Thunderbird 4 came to a sudden stop as the meccas rocketed right past. Unable to control their own momentum, they fell right into the ulcer and landed in the acid it contained.

The Mechanic from being annoyed to impressed. "Baiting the Nano-meccas to destroy themselves in his stomach acid. Nice one!"

"Thanks," said Gordon. But then he noticed a large green slimy bubble forming at the ulcer. "Although I don't think we need to stick around. "Hold tight!" He turned Thunderbird 4 and made a hasty escape upwards out of the stomach.

The acid bubble reached breaking point and popped. As it did, Jeff let out a belch taking everyone by surprise.

"What was…THAT?!" Alan exclaimed.

"Well…I guess that means they're alive," Virgil remarked.

"Only Gordon could make Dad that sick," agreed Scott.

Escaping the abdomen, Thunderbird 4 made its way up towards Jeff's heart. But they found the path blocked by yet more Ray-Meccas. "Ugh, is there no end to these things?" complained Gordon.

"No choice but to go through them," said The Mechanic grimly. "Do what you can to fend them off."

Gordon reactivated the grasping arms and charged into the massive swarm of meccas. The meccas tried their best to grab and take Thunderbird 4 down but Gordon was more than ready for them this time. The ones he grabbed with the clamp he crushed and the ones that got too near the laser were fried. Gordon refused to fire any more missiles for he was too afraid of it hurting Jeff. Eventually they got through and saw the mitral valve of the heart up ahead. "I see the valve!" Gordon said. "Almost there! But those meccas could still follow us through."

"Gordon, I have an idea," The Mechanic said. "Flood the rear compartment and then open the hatch on my mark."

"What?" exclaimed Gordon. "What for?"

"I have a little something that should stop them," said The Mechanic as he entered the rear airlock of Thunderbird 4. Once the compartment was flooded, The Mechanic readied his EMP grenade. "Get ready to open the hatch," he said. "Once it is, close it again after five seconds."

"If you say so," Gordon said.

"Get ready," The Mechanic said again as he took hold of a nearby handle. "NOW!"

Gordon pressed a button and the hatch opened. The Mechanic pressed a button on the grenade and threw it out towards the swarm of approaching meccas.

"CLOSE IT!"

Gordon pressed the button again and the hatch closed.

The grenade spiralled round into the swarm and then detonated, frying all of the meccas and disabling them.

"Yes!" The Mechanic said triumphantly. "That's got them!"

"Nice one, Mechanic!" said Gordon. "Here's the valve. Brace yourself!"

Pushing Thunderbird 4 up to full power again, Gordon darted his craft through the mitral valve just between beats. With each beat of the heart pushed Thunderbird 4 up through the body amongst the many discs of red blood cells.

"Phew!" said Gordon. "We made it! Next stop - Dad's brain!"

Kayo was closing the gap on The Hood again. She thought about using a strong blast of the sonic cannon but he was taking evasive manoeuvres so getting a lock on was getting even harder. Kayo was getting stressed. "I need to make sure he doesn't get that suit rebooted if I take it out," she said. "Looks like I'm going to have to get cuddly." She moved Thunderbird Shadow directly above The Hood and flipped the ship upside down so that she still had a visual on him. She then opened the cockpit and undid her seatbelt. Gravity took over and she dropped out of Thunderbird Shadow and landed right on The Hood's back. He yelped as the force of the impact pushed him down.

"What are you DOING?!" The Hood yelled. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US BOTH?!"

Kayo wrapped her arms and legs around The Hood's body and held on for dear life. "You know, Uncle. I finally remembered how cuddly you used to be," Kayo teased, even though she didn't mean it. "I thought that I would reminisce how you used to be."

The Hood roared and began to spin himself around trying to shake Kayo off of him. "GET…OFF!" he ordered.

"NEVER!" Kayo retorted. "I tried to give you a fair chance to redeem yourself and you threw it back in my face! I'm taking you down - and for good this time!"

The Hood looked around and saw a large electricity pylon nearby. He smirked and then dived towards it.

Kayo's eyes widened when she saw where they were headed. "Er…what are you doing?" she asked.

The Hood simply laughed, "Chicken test time," he said and accelerated faster towards the pylon.

Kayo realised what this meant. Either she jumped off and let him continue or they both crashed into the pylon and got electrocuted together. Realising she couldn't let herself be killed, Kayo released her grip on The Hood and dropped off his back. She was too close to the ground to bring Thunderbird Shadow down so she deployed her Air-Brake to save herself from crashing into the ground and the surrounding trees. She looked up and cursed under her breath as The Hood regained height and got distance between them. She pressed a button on her wrist to call Thunderbird Shadow. "John, it's Kayo. He's too powerful for me to take down alone. You need to warn the others. He's coming!"

Gordon had seen lightning before, but never from within Thunderbird 4. What it did mean though was tell him what part of Jeff's body they were now inside of. "We're here," he said. "The brain. Wow! This is like sailing through a storm." He began to search around. "Now where's our little brain-drainer?" They rounded a part of the brain near to the stem and then their target came into view. "There you are! Mechanic, we're here. Now what?"

"Flood the airlock again," The Mechanic said. "I need to get out there and upload the virus link into it."

Within moments, The Mechanic was outside of Thunderbird 4 with his toolkit and swimming towards the much larger Scorpion-Mecca which although small at his normal size, was now regular size with the size he was currently at. He reached the mecca and began to examine.

"The design's practically the same as my original," The Mechanic said. "Uploading this should be easy. I hope anyway."

Gordon then had a sudden thought. "If you're uploading a computer virus into the mecca, might that not infect Dad's brain?"

"No, I'm only going to infect the primary power-source," said The Mechanic. "Once that is disabled it will disable everything else within the mecca, including the neural-links that connect it to Jeff's brain." He took a small device out of his toolkit and placed it on the mecca. He fiddled about with it and then watched on a small monitor screen as a light began to flash. "I'm in!" he said. "Virus uploading."

"How long should it take?"

"About eight minutes," The Mechanic replied. "How much time do we have?"

Gordon looked over at the countdown clock and his own heart jumped slightly. "Oh, man!" he said. "We only have eleven minutes left!"

The Mechanic grimaced. "Then let's hope we have no interruptions," he said.

It was at that exact moment, that the mecca realised it was being hacked and sent a warning signal to The Hood who received it via his cybernetic eye. "What?!" he cried. "Grrrr!" He then used the eye to create a hologram image of his face which was beamed out of the front of the mecca. "Thunderbird 4 and The Mechanic - inside Jeff Tracy's HEAD?!" he growled. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Trying to undo your despicable act, Hood!" Gordon said furiously. "You didn't seriously think we'd let Dad die, did you?"

"And did you seriously think I'd leave this brain-mecca undefended?" The Hood replied.

Thunderbird 4's scanners then went crazy as about eighty contacts appeared on the screen. "More Ray-Meccas?!" Gordon said. "For crying out loud!"

The Hood gave an evil cackle. "Have fun," he said as the hologram disappeared.

The Mechanic then got an alert on his tablet. "No! The mecca's trying to fight the virus!" he said. "I need some time to fight back!"

"We don't have time!" Gordon said. "And those meccas are coming in fast!"

"You have to keep them off me!" The Mechanic said. "Do whatever you have to do, but hurry!"

"Back at you," said Gordon as he turned Thunderbird 4 to face the oncoming swarm of meccas. "Alright, you pieces of scrap," Gordon said with gritted teeth. "BRING IT ON!"

Virgil walked outside the hangar to talk to Colonel Casey and Rigby. "Just heard from John," he said. "Kayo has not been able to stop The Hood. She's delayed him, but he's on his way again."

"How far away is he?" asked Colonel Casey.

"John says about ten miles and is closing fast," replied Virgil.

"We'll stop him," said Rigby. "One on one he may be tough but he won't be able to take us all out."

Virgil headed back towards the hangar. "Why does that not fill me with any confidence?" he muttered to himself. He re-entered the hangar. "Alan! Give me a hand with closing these doors. These will be our last line of defence!"

"F-A-B!" said Alan and he rushed over to help his brother.

Rigby and Colonel Casey took up their positions behind some strong barrier defences. Their weapons were smaller than what the soldiers, trucks and AA-positions were but that didn't mean they were defenceless. Rigby scanned the sky with his long-range binoculars. For a few moments there was nothing, but then he noticed an odd object approaching. "Strange," he remarked. "That's the strangest bird I've ever seen."

Colonel Casey took the binoculars and had a look for herself. Then she gasped. "It's him!" she said and grabbed her communicator. "Target incoming. OPEN FIRE!"

All units soon caught sight of the approaching villain and began firing all weapons in his direction. The Hood began to take evasive action. He ducked, dived, swooped and spiralled around in order to dodge all the incoming laser blasts being fired his way. "Really?" he said, amused. "Is all this just for me? I'm honoured." He then let out a laugh before diving towards one of the Anti-Air mounts on the grass. He used his own targeting system built into the helmet to lock onto the turret and then fired two mini-missiles out of the back of his suit. The soldiers saw the danger and ran away in panic moments before the missiles hit the turret and destroyed it. The Hood then headed for another and used his sonic scream to obliterate that one as well.

Colonel Casey then called Virgil. "Virgil, we've engaged The Hood, but he's more deadly than we thought. You need to tell Thunderbird 4 to hurry up."

"Slight problem, Colonel," Virgil replied. "One of the Nano-meccas took out Thunderbird 4's communications. It isn't possible to communicate with them."

"And they're running out of time," Grandma said, anxiously looking at the timer. "There's only seven minutes left!"

"Brains, where are they?" asked Scott.

"Still at the b-brain-stem," Brains replied. "I think The M-Mechanic is trying to disable the main mecca but Gordon is having to try and fend off more mini-ones."

The situation was more tense than ever. "Come on, Gordon." Scott said nervously. "Hurry it up!"

Gordon was working furiously to try and keep as many meccas focused on Thunderbird 4. He grabbed several with the clamp and crushed them and destroyed many others with the laser, but it wasn't going to be enough. "There's too many!" Gordon said. "How are you getting on, Mechanic?"

"Just a few more minutes and I'll be done," The Mechanic said. "Just keep them away from me!"

Gordon looked around and down at where The Mechanic was working. He gasped as he saw a group of six meccas diving towards him. "MECHANIC, BEHIND YOU!"

The Mechanic looked round and saw them coming. He gasped and hastily grabbed another of his EMP grenades. He activated it and tossed it at the meccas. It detonated and fried them, causing them to explode. He let out a sigh of relief. "That was close."

"Too bad I haven't got any of those to throw at the rest," Gordon remarked.

Suddenly The Mechanic had an idea. "Wait. That's it!" he said. "Those meccas are being controlled via this Scorpion-one. Once the virus uploads it won't just shut this one down but will also destroy the rest as well. I just need one more minute."

Gordon looked at the timer. It was showing only four minutes left. "This is going to be close," he said as he felt the butterflies in his stomach reach eleven.

The GDF were in a state of terror and panic. None of them had ever expected to be taking on anything like what The Hood had now become. Despite having so much firepower they weren't able to score a single hit on the flying felon whereas he had no problem attacking and taking out one group at a time. Firing missiles into the AA turrets and using his sonic scream on vehicles and any defenceless personnel. It was total carnage and he was getting closer and closer to the hangar.

The Tracy's were getting very anxious now. Not only were the sounds of screams and explosions outside making them jumpy but the countdown clock was getting dangerously close to zero.

"Only three minutes left," said Scott, his entire body was shaking. "How long can this take?!"

A loud CRASH made the building shudder as one of the GDF trucks was flipped over by a sonic blast from The Hood and it created a massive dent in the wall.

"HOLY-!" Alan cried. "HE'S ALMOST HERE!"

Virgil opened a nearby chest he'd brought with him. "Alan, Scott, take one of these!" he said as he took out three small items and tossed one to each.

"Guns?!" exclaimed Scott.

"Stun ones," Virgil replied. "Brains created them but hoped they'd never be used."

"But use them we must," Scott said. "Grandma, watch Dad. We'll protect you."

The three brothers stood defiantly in a line near the main doors of the hangar. Scott in the middle, Virgil on his left and Alan on his right. All three gripped their weapons tightly, and waited. Fear was flooding through their veins like water from a dam that had burst, but they knew they had to make a stand.

Gordon had taken out some more of the meccas but there were still several more trying to attack Thunderbird 4. "Mechanic, come on! We only have two minutes!" Gordon said.

"Almost…there…" said The Mechanic as he typed furiously only his tablet. Finally the light turned to green. "GOT IT!" he said triumphantly.

The main mecca shut down and as it did so all the minute ones self-destructed.

The severing of the link caused a sharp pain in The Hood's cybernetic eye. "GAAAAAAH!" he cried. He shook his head to clear it and then a quick diagnosis check on his display revealed what had happened. "The mecca's been disabled! MECHANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!" He realised he could no longer waste time fighting the GDF and had to finish Jeff off before he could be revived. He turned to face the hangar and looked down at the last group of defenders which included Colonel Casey and Rigby along with ten other soldiers shooting at him. He drew breath and let out his biggest sonic attack yet, aiming at one end of the line and hitting the first soldier, sending her flying before turning his head to the right taking out each one as he went, including the Colonel and Rigby. All were thrown backwards several feet before landing painfully on the floor.

The Hood swooped down and landed close to where Colonel Casey was groaning in pain. He retracted the wings into the suit and began to walk forwards. He took no notice of her as he passed until she used what little strength she had to reach out and grab his left leg. "You're…not…going…anywhere…" she said weakly.

The Hood snorted as he effortlessly pulled his leg free before bringing out some kind of glowing blade out of his right gauntlet which he then stabbed into her left arm causing her to scream in agony. "Got a touch of pain there, Colonel?" he asked after he pulled the blade out again. "Good. Oh, by the way. Your son sends you his regards." He cackled evilly as he continued on his way towards the hangar doors. He stopped just in front as two laser cutters rose up from his shoulders and began to slice their way through the doors.

"This is it," Scott said to Alan and Virgil as sweat trickled down their heads. "Here he comes."

The Mechanic was now back inside Thunderbird 4. "Okay, Gordon. I'm in," he said. "How long do we have?"

"Just over one minute!" said Gordon, who was also sweating nervously. "I don't think we're gonna make it!"

"Yes, we are!" said The Mechanic. "Listen carefully. Fire a grapple onto the mecca, then tow it behind us. Head back down to the oesophagus."

With no idea why, Gordon decided to trust The Mechanic. He fired a grapple from one of Thunderbird 4's arms onto the mecca which was now detached from the brain-stem and began to race as fast as it would go back down through Jeff's body towards the oesophagus. He only hoped there were enough seconds left.

Having cut through the door, The Hood kicked it in and entered the hangar where he found the three brothers standing defiantly in a line with their guns aimed at him.

"Hold it right there, Hood!" Scott ordered.

"Or what?" The Hood replied. "You'll shoot me?"

"If we have to, we will," said Virgil dangerously. "Now get back out that door!"

The Hood thought for a moment. "No…" he said darkly. "I won't."

Alan opened fire and began shooting the stunners at The Hood who reactivated the wings and took to the air. Virgil and Scott followed in shooting as well but even they weren't prepared for this new upgrade. The Hood dived back down and double-kicked Scott backwards across the room. Scott cried out as he landed on the floor.

"SCOTT!" yelled Virgil, but before he could do anything The Hood took a swing at him. Virgil ducked and forward-rolled out of the way. He avoided getting hit by The Hood only for The Hood to unleash a new weapon - a feathered missile-like flying blade from his left wing causing a rusty old shelf to break up and then fall on top of Virgil, trapping him. It wasn't that heavy and Virgil had protection from his suit but it was enough to keep him out of the fight.

"MONSTER!" screamed Alan as he ran up behind The Hood and jumped onto his back like Kayo had done earlier. The Hood activated the thrusters and shot upwards before doing a loop inside the hangar and throwing Alan off of him. Alan yelled as he flew across the room and crashed into some old discarded boxes.

The Hood then glided down towards the bed where Jeff lay. Only Grandma now remained between the two former friends. She grabbed an old metal pipe that had been laying on the ground near to the bed and held it up at The Hood. "Stay back!" she ordered. "I am armed, and am not afraid to use it!"

The Hood chuckled, amused. "Grandma Tracy I presume? The one who caused Fuse to crack if I am not mistaken?"

"You think I'm afraid of you?" Grandma said.

"You should be," sneered The Hood.

Grandma took a swing at The Hood but he grabbed the pipe and pulled it around causing her to lose her balance and fall over. She whimpered after landing.

"My apologies, Mrs Tracy," The Hood said as he made his final approach towards Jeff. "But what I am about to do next has got to be done - for me to make peace with myself."

Thunderbird 4 had now reached the oesophagus. "Okay, we're here," Gordon said. "Now what?"

"Time to dump the trash in the incinerator," said The Mechanic.

Then Gordon understood. "Ahhh, dropping the remains into Dad's stomach acid. Smart one!" He then looked at the timer. There were only twenty-five seconds left. "This is it," he said. "It's now or never!" They dived down towards the large pool of green stomach acid that was bubbling in what looked like a volcano-like crater. As Thunderbird 4 passed over it, Gordon released the grapple cable and the Scorpion-Mecca fell down towards the acid. "Gut-bombs away!" Gordon said as he pushed Thunderbird 4 back up to maximum and raced as fast as she would go up the oesophagus. But as they went, Gordon noticed a blue glow coming from outside the sub. "Er…what's that light?"

"The shrink particles are wearing off!" The Mechanic cried. "We've run out of time!"

Gordon's teeth were clamped tighter than ever. There was nothing he could do now.

The Hood reached the side of Jeff's bed and observed his former friend for a moment. The closure he had been wanting for years was finally in front of him. He'd taken down the GDF and the majority of the International Rescue team with his new flying exo-suit as they had been totally unprepared, and Jeff was still lying unconscious in front of him. "At last. My victory has come," he said. He opened the visor of his helmet and he extended the same kind of blade from his gauntlet as he'd used on Colonel Casey. "I almost feel sorry that it has come to this, Jeff. But you shouldn't have denied me my rightful place in the world. I'd ask if you had any last words - but you haven't got any." He let out a small chuckle. "Goodbye…Jeff Tracy!" He swung his right arm and the blade down towards Jeff's chest.

"Wrong!" The Hood froze and stared. He could have sworn he'd just seen Jeff's mouth move. Then suddenly, Jeff turned his head towards him and his eyes snapped open, glaring at The Hood. "Go to hell!" He then swung his left arm around with a clenched fist and punched The Hood right in the face.

"AARGH!" The Hood cried out, stumbling back and covering his hand over his face. When he pulled it away he saw that his nose was bleeding.

"JEFF!" Grandma cried, scrambling to her feet and running over to her son as he sat himself up to get out of the bed.

Jeff's sudden movement caused Thunderbird 4 to spin around.

"What was that?!" exclaimed Gordon.

"Your father's awake!" The Mechanic realised. "We need to get out now!"

Then Gordon saw the stomach acid below them and had an idea. "I've got it!" he said. "Strap in. It's gonna get bumpy!" He pointed Thunderbird 4 downwards towards the stomach acid.

"What are you doing?" The Mechanic asked.

"Just giving Dad a little tummy ache!" replied Gordon. He pressed a button. "Missiles away!"

Two missiles shot out from Thunderbird 4 and down into the acid. They exploded causing an eruption of acid and an almost tsunami-like wave that swept up Thunderbird 4 and sent it shooting at high speed up through Jeff's oesophagus.

Jeff reacted to the weird goings on inside him. "Damn!" he said. "That's some indigestion that I have!"

An angry roar of rage caused him and Grandma to look up at The Hood, who despite having a bloody nose was still determined to finish the job. "DAMN YOU, JEFF!" he bellowed as he produced two green blades from his gauntlets. He then fired his thrusters and rose a few feet off the ground. "THIS ENDS NOW!"

Kayo, Lady Penelope and Parker suddenly ran in through the cut in the door made by The Hood. Scott, Alan and Virgil were also starting to recover and they saw what was happening. "NO!" they all cried together, but there was nothing they could do.

And then, it happened. Jeff reacted again and let out an almighty belch, much larger than the one he'd done earlier. As he did so, a small blue glow of light emerged from his mouth. It was not a second too soon for a big WHOOSH came and a flash of light as the shrinking particles finally gave out and Thunderbird 4 reappeared at full size once more - heading straight for The Hood.

"WHAT?!" The Hood shrieked in surprise. He had no time to react as Thunderbird 4 slammed into him and its momentum having been shot out of Jeff's mouth sent both it and the startled Hood flying across the hangar before smashing through the old wall, bursting out into the open. The Hood was thrown several more yards before crashing and rolling along the grass. Thunderbird 4 also fit the grass but skidded along leaving a long muddy mark in its wake as it spun around before coming to a stop, front end facing back towards the hangar.

Gordon for once in his life, was almost speechless. "I…I can't believe it! We DID IT!"

"Ohhh, excuse me!" Jeff said as he recovered from his belch.

"DAD!"

Jeff hardly had time to register who'd shouted before Scott, Virgil and Alan practically threw themselves onto him.

"You're alive, Dad!" Alan said through tears of joy.

Jeff now felt warmth running through his body. "Yes, son. Yes, I am."

Gordon then came in through the massive hole made by Thunderbird 4. He saw Jeff was awake and ran to hug him too. The Mechanic peered in and smiled with relief seeing that Jeff was okay.

Colonel Casey and Rigby then came in through the hole made by The Hood. they were battered and bruised like everyone else but they too showed great relief that Jeff was no longer in danger.

Finally John arrived, having come down in the Space-Elevator and was the last to get a hug with his Dad.

Once everyone hugging Jeff had let go, he addressed them all. "Glad to see you all here," he said. "Now I have a question - where the hell are we?"

"It's a long story, Dad," said Scott tearfully. "But boy are we glad you're safe."

A loud pained yell suddenly grabbed everyone's attention. It was coming from outside. Everyone except for Jeff and Grandma, the latter of which helped him out of the bed. Heading out of the hangar they saw the cause. It was The Hood, screaming in agony for The Mechanic was standing over him with his left foot on The Hood's chest. He looked as though he was trying to crush him.

"MECHANIC!" Colonel Casey shouted. "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The Mechanic took no notice as he continued to stare down at The Hood.

Everyone began to run over. Kayo and Virgil got there first and together they pulled The Mechanic off of The Hood.

"Hey!" Kayo said. "That's enough!"

The Mechanic shook himself free before looking down at The Hood. he seethed for a few moments before letting out a sigh of shame. "I'm sorry," he said. "This is the first time I've actually seen him in the flesh since our encounter at the dam. I guess I just saw red."

"He has that effect on people," said Virgil. "Believe me, Juan. We were having to hold ourselves back just now."

Everyone formed a circle around The Hood. He was in a state. His nose was smashed. His left leg was twisted in an uncomfortable shape and the impact had destroyed his exo-suit's power meaning he could no longer move. He was weak and barely conscious, but he managed to notice the angry faces of everyone, including those of Jeff and Grandma's all staring down at him. "Not…fair…" he said, barely able to speak. "My…victory…stolen…from…me…"

Colonel Casey bent down and glared hard into his eyes. "It's the end of the line for you, Hood," she said. "We're taking you straight back to Aquatraz and then you're going to tell me where my son is."

The Hood wasn't phased by this. "Not…the…end…Colonel…" he said hoarsely. "Just…beginning…" He then coughed heavily spitting blood out of his mouth. "The Cabal…will…rise…"

Kayo suddenly stamped on his face, knocking him out cold.

"You know, I was about to suggest you do that," Alan remarked.

The International Rescue team watched as The Hood was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away aboard the same GDF Flyer that Havoc was on.

"Security for this flight has been tripled to more than any normal prisoner transfer," Colonel Casey told them. "Next stop for those two is Aquatraz."

"Glad to hear it," said Scott. "I don't want to see those two ever again!"

"Hear, hear!" everyone else said.

"I on the other hand will be seeing plenty of him," said Colonel Casey. "I don't care how long it takes, or even what it takes. But I am going to find out where Noel is. That's a promise."

"And if you need help in rescuing him, Martha, you know where to find us," said Jeff.

Colonel Casey nodded. She and Jeff then hugged. "Thank you, Jeff," she said. "I can always count on you. I guess it's back to Tracy Island for a long needed rest?"

"Rest?" laughed Jeff. "What's that?"

"It's what you'll be doing until you've fully recovered," said Grandma. "However may I suggest that we take you somewhere far away from International Rescue?"

Colonel Casey then had an idea. "Say, Jeff - when was the last time you saw my father?"

Jeff pondered. "Tim?" he asked. "Not since before the Zero-X shot me into space."

Colonel Casey smiled. "Let me call him," she said. "I think I can provide the perfect getaway for you."

Whilst Grandma and Alan helped Jeff back towards Thunderbird 2, the others took it in turns to thank The Mechanic for his idea.

"I've seen some crazy things in my time, but that beats all," Scott said.

The Mechanic smiled. "I don't know why but despite helping with the T-Drive engine and taking you boys to Venus, I never felt like I had really redeemed myself," The Mechanic said. "But now…I feel that I have."

"If you ever want to join International Rescue and help Brains full-time, I'm sure he wouldn't object," added Gordon.

"I'll consider that," The Mechanic said. "However," he added, his expression suddenly turning serious. "I think for now I may start working with the GDF on potential defence measures."

"What do you mean?" asked John.

"What was it The Hood said before Kayo knocked him out?" The Mechanic said. "The Cabal will rise I think it was?"

"Something like that," said Virgil. "Although what could mean by that?"

"I have no idea, Virgil," said Scott. The rumble of engines made him and everyone turn to watch as the GDF Flyer carrying The Hood and Havoc lifted off to begin the long journey to Aquatraz. "Let's hope we never find out."