It had only been a week since the shooting and the kidnapping and International Rescue going offline indefinitely. No one had been expecting another YouTube video from the island. Everyone had actually been expecting the Tracy family to hole up and disappear from society like they had many times before.
The world hadn't been a nice place for Tracys. The people of the world wouldn't blame them for hiding from it for a while.
But a week later, a video was posted, and everyone who could watch it did so with an eagerness that went a little beyond curiosity and fan-worshipfulness. Nearly the entire world loved the Tracys for what they had done; everyone wanted to know that they were doing okay.
"Hello world," Kayo's smooth voice came over the camera. "We're just checking in to let you know that everyone is alive, if not well." The scene was that of the hallway outside the island's infirmary. Kayo wasn't present on the screen, obviously being the one to hold the camera, but she was steadily walking down the hall to the door at the end.
"We figured it was time to let you know," she continued. "Since Scott passed the milestone of being able to breath on his own again." If her voice was a little dark, no one could blame her.
She entered the medical room, panning the camera around the space. It was a little more crowded than it probably should have been, but that wasn't necessarily a surprise. One bed was occupied by a sleeping Scott. He was pale, paler than anyone had ever seen him, and had an oxygen mask over his face. His chest, what little could be seen beneath the thin blanket, was covered in bandages. But he was breathing steady and was resting easy.
The only known information from the attack on him was that he'd been shot in the back. From the look of things, the bullet had gone all the way through and exited the right side of his chest. What damage that had instilled was unknown and likely to stay that way.
Another bed held both Alan and Gordon, the older wrapped around the younger. Gordon was propped up on one elbow, reading through something on a tablet, his other arm holding Alan to his chest. "Gordon?" Kayo asked softly, sounding a little surprised to see him there.
"He's started sleepwalking again," Gordon said with a glance towards her and a frown at the camera. "Found him out by the pool."
"That's distressing," Kayo said quietly, and Gordon gave a nod. Virgil glanced up at her from where he was checking the bandages around one of Alan's wrists, the other one casted. The boy was looking a little worse for wear, all bruises and scrapes and paleness. The pallor of his skin made his freckles stand out. But he was sleeping soundly, cradled as he was against his older brother, and Virgil's light touches weren't disturbing him any.
"When's Johnny due home?" Virgil asked, his baritone voice just barely a rumble in the quiet.
"Meeting was set to end two hours ago," Kayo replied, setting the camera on a counter or something, and stepping away from it. She sat down in a chair next to Scott's bed, reaching out to run a finger across the back of his hand. "He should be on his way back now."
"Should have taken One," Gordon grunted.
"You know how he is," Kayo replied, rolling her eyes. She was dressed differently than anyone had ever seen her, wearing a light purple shirt and skinny jeans. Her ring flashed in the light from the fake window.
"Why are you filming?" Virgil asked, sitting back with a sigh. He looked exhausted, but he was calm. That was probably the most telling that the Tracy family was on the mend; Virgil looked calm and not stressed and worried. As the main medic, he would know whether or not things were looking poor, and he wasn't one that was able to hide that from a camera.
"The world is worried," Kayo replied.
"So let them worry," Gordon said, stabbing at his tablet with one finger while rolling his eyes. "We don't owe them anything."
Virgil reached over Alan and rested a large hand against Gordon's arm, stilling him. "Don't let your anger towards the GDF taint your view of the world itself, Fishy," he rumbled.
Gordon took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, and then gave a rueful smile. "Sorry." He dropped his head, letting his chin rest against Alan's hair. "It's been a bad week."
"No kidding," Kayo murmured. Virgil got up and settled himself into a chair, rubbing at his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in a while. He was scruffy and unshaved, and his clothes were wrinkled. "Virgil?"
"I'm fine," Virgil replied softy.
"No, he's not," Alan grumbled from the bed, giving a jaw-cracking yawn. "He needs to eat and sleep for at least eight hours."
"Go back to sleep, Sprout," Virgil said with a frown. But Alan shifted, sticking his tongue out at his big brother. "Real mature there, kiddo."
"I'm a kid," Alan replied, he wiggled a little, getting more comfortable against Gordon, who still hadn't let go of him. "I can act how I want. Call it my rebellious years or something."
"Pretty sure your rebellious years were a few years ago, Allie," Gordon grumbled. "I distinctly remember something about you blowing up a chemistry lab."
Alan grunted, wincing just a little. He'd bruised his ribs and they smarted some still, even a week on. "That wasn't my fault, and you know it."
"Yeah," Virgil said with a rueful grin, stretching his legs out and tilting his head to one side. "Scott finally got through to Dad on that. Man…and I thought Gordon was rough on his schools."
Gordon rolled his eyes. "I dropped out of high school to join WASP, remember?" he said happily enough. "Can't be hard on schools if you don't go to school." They seemed to have forgotten about the camera entirely, and Kayo was happy enough to leave it be. She glanced towards the camera every once and a while, but mostly just watched the three brothers converse with a small smile. Scott remained sleeping, the drug-cocktail in his IV keeping him nicely sedated.
Virgil hummed softly. "You know, I think that was the reason Dad was so against Alan being homeschooled," he said thoughtfully. "Didn't want Alan dropping out too."
"Oops," Gordon replied. "Sorry Allie."
Alan shrugged, just a little, and gave a big yawn. "Eh, it's okay. Scotty pulled me out of school the day Dad disappeared. And now I've finished the last of my finals. Supposing I passed everything, then I've officially finished high school."
Virgil rolled his eyes at that, slumping in his chair. "Geez, you space-cases and your graduating early," he grumbled. "Makes the rest of us look bad."
Alan didn't deem to give that a reply, instead turning and burrowing back into Gordon with another yawn. He was tired, even a week on. There were no details being given about conditions or even what had happened in that building that Thunderbird Two had so indelicately destroyed, but everyone watching felt as though they weren't needed.
"Anybody want to tell the world what's going to happen with International Rescue?" Kayo asked after a moment of silence. That seemed to startle Gordon and Virgil, who both looked back towards the camera with wide eyes. So, they had forgotten. Huh.
"Alan's grounded for at least another two weeks," Virgil said softly. "And Scott's likely to be grounded for the next few months."
"He's not going to like that," Gordon pointed out.
Virgil rolled his eyes. "He doesn't have a choice." The frown on his face said a lot about what horrific injuries Scott must have managed to live through. The Tracys were nothing if not resilient.
"John's dirtside for the next while," Gordon continued, giving a small yawn of his own. "All calls are being fielded to other agencies. The GDF can pick up our slack cause they've got to be good for something."
"You know that not all of the GDF is terrible," Kayo warned quietly.
"They're not in my good books right now, Tin," Gordon replied, using a name that no one had heard used before. She shot him a warning look and he rolled his eyes. "Your real name is going to come out eventually. Might as well do it on your own terms."
"That's true," Virgil said, letting his head fall back to rest on the back of the chair he was seated in. "You can't go by that nickname forever."
"I can for as long as I want," Kayo grumbled. She rolled her eyes, grasping Scott's limp hand, and then she sighed. "My name is Tanusha Kyrano-Tracy. I am head of security and covert operations for International Rescue and the Tracy family in general. I'd say it's nice to meet you but honestly I couldn't care less."
Gordon snorted. "Hello world," he laughed. "What a way to introduce yourself."
"Better this than with a glitter bomb," Virgil pointed out tiredly, crossing his arms across his chest.
Gordon let out a startled laugh. "Yeah…yeah, you're right." There was a story there. Obviously, it was a funny one, but from the glare that Kayo was sending Gordon's way.
"It took me ages to get all that glitter out of my hair," Kayo grumbled.
Gordon gave an approximation of a shrug, being careful not to wake Alan, as it was clear the boy was asleep again. "You were a prissy little girl, and I just wanted you to calm down a little."
"You didn't even know me yet!"
Gordon's grin was unrepentant. "And yet, even at the tender age of ten, I had you figured out." Kayo rolled her eyes, scowling, and Gordon shook his head. "Aw, you love us, sis. I mean, you even married the bonehead over there just to officially join our family."
"I married the bonehead over here because I happen to love him. More than I love the rest of you," Kayo grumped.
"I'd be offended," Virgil muttered, clearly on his way to falling asleep in the chair, "but I think I'm okay with that."
Gordon watched him for a long moment, nodding when he finally seemed to relax completely into sleep. "It's always amazing how he can fall asleep anywhere," he commented to himself.
Kayo scoffed. "You do the same thing," she pointed out. "All you boys do." She shook her head. "All five of your are so alike it's almost terrifying at times."
"You know," Gordon drawled. "Most people like to point out our differences." Because they were all very different. They didn't even really look like brothers, to be honest.
Kayo rolled her eyes and gave him a fond look. "Most people don't live with you," she said. "Anyone who spends enough time around you five would know you're related." She didn't comment on the obvious things like hair color or eye color or whatever. There'd already been speculation from the public that Mama Tracy had been unfaithful, what with the wide array in the family. That had been debunked by news agencies doing some digging; Jeff Tracy hadn't been pleased and had threatened sueing anyone who didn't do proper journalism on that front.
Scott took after Jeff to an almost insane degree. Alan and Gordon looked the most like Lucy, their mother—although the blue eyes came from Lucy, and both Alan and Scott shared those. Jeff also had blue eyes, but his weren't quite the same shade as his two boys'. Virgil took after his paternal Grandfather, Grant Tracy. The dark hair and dark eyes and even the strong build were very reminiscent of him. And John got his looks from his maternal grandmother, Ruth. She'd had the same red hair and green eyes. Anybody that looked at any old family photos of the Tracy family could see the resemblance among them. The same grins, the same noses, the same chins. It didn't matter the small things; all the boys seemed to resemble each other in some way or another.
"Anyway," Gordon said, running a soothing hand down Alan's back when the boy shifted restlessly. "As for IR, we have someone shunting calls. We'll be back in the air in a few weeks, likely." He frowned. "We may be having to pick and choose a little more carefully though, so do us a favor and don't do anything stupid that we'll have to save you from."
Kayo gave a huff. "Gordy," she said, her voice just a little warning.
"What?" Gordon replied, rolling his eyes. "Half the rescues we go on are because of human stupidity. The other half are natural disasters. And you know we're limited for the moment."
"It would help if Virgil wasn't restricted to land and air," Kayo pointed out.
Gordon's eyes narrowed and he shot her a look. "Virge isn't allowed in the ocean unsupervised, and you know that."
"Yeah, I know," Kayo said, waving a hand. "We still haven't come up with a way to keep him from getting distracted?"
"Nothing concrete," Gordon shrugged, glancing at his next older brother, snoring softly from his chair. He glanced towards the camera, frowning. "The sounds of the ocean are particularly distracting for Virgil," he explained softly. "Drives him batty. So, we don't let him go in alone."
"Something about the colors being too strong," Kayo murmured. She gave a soft laugh, her face turned towards Scott. She was stroking his hand again, almost as though she wasn't realizing she was doing so. "He keeps trying to get me to paint Shadow."
Gordon laughed as well. "Purple, right?"
"You can't have a covert craft be purple," Kayo replied, rolling her eyes. She looked to the camera and gave a small smile and a soft sigh. "Well, there you have it, world. We're all still alive here. And getting better every day."
"Goodbye world," Gordon said gently, turning back to his tablet which had been forgotten for a while. "See ya on the flipside."
And the camera went dark
NuttyButter22 8 hours ago
I wasn't expecting them to upload anything for a while, but it's good to know that everyone's going to be okay.
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SaxonItalian23322 7 hours ago
If this is them looking better, than I really don't want to know how they looked before. Good to know they're all alive though!
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KHSOI89723LJ 6 hours ago
Get well soon boys! We love you! Thanks for the update!
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5 hours ago
Do you get the feeling they were talking to specific people when asking not to have anyone do anything stupid? Is there a Frequent-Rescue-Club or something that we don't know about?
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ForgetMeKnotsSailor 4 hours ago
Did Gordon really introduce himself to Kayo with a glitter bomb?! What a way to go!
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Tracy Family On The Mend
By Lydia Clarance
Without anyone expecting them to, the Tracy family has posted a new video to ThunderbirdsAreGo. Not only that, but updates were also given at a press conference through Tracy Industries early this morning.
According to John Tracy, both Scott and Alan Tracy are on the mend after their harrowing experiences just last week. Scott is expected to recover fully from the bullet he took to the back at a setup rescue. The bullet, according to John—the second eldest of the Tracy sons—missed Scott's spine completely but did damage to his lung and ribs. He was initially in critical condition, placed on a ventilator and in a coma. As of yesterday, he has been taken off the ventilator, has woken a few times and is set to recover fully in a few months' time.
Alan Tracy is suffering from a broken wrist, sprained knee, a fractured rib, concussion and multiple scrapes and bruises of various degrees. His physical injuries are nothing to scoff at, but John says its more psychological trauma that is plaguing him. He has been in touch with his usual therapist, and John states that he is in good humor most of the time. The video posted on YouTube seems to collaborate such.
It has been determined that Alan Tracy may have had to resort to killing those who had threatened him while being held captive by The Hood for a series of days in Russia. Many of those recovered from the remains of the building that Thunderbird Two took down had been dead for far longer than IR had been present and had been killed without the use of a weapon. The Tracy Family has, in a previous video on their channel, demonstrated that they are more than capable of protecting themselves if need be. It stands to reason that they would have taught Alan everything they could.
While this attack on the Tracy family has been tragic, we are pleased that there have been no extreme consequences to The Hood's actions. No deaths of International Rescue agents and it has been stated that International Rescue will be returning to duty in a few weeks' time.
It has previously been stated by Gordon Tracy that International Rescue is a voluntary service, not a job for which they are getting paid. In fact, it stands to reason that the family itself is funding the service. It would be in our best interests to remember the sacrifices that this family has made in keeping the world safe, and to do our best not to make their work harder for them.