"Hello world," Scott said, smiling into the camera. He looked okay, for the most part, if a little pale. He was wearing old torn jeans and a t-shirt that was too big for him, which meant it probably belonged to Virgil. And he wasn't holding the camera, but it was hovering in front of him. "Figured it was about time to check in with the rest of you guys."

He blinked slowly, still smiling, seeming to be completely at ease even if he was standing a little carefully. "Mini Max is helping film today, since I'm still not quite capable of holding a camera for long periods of time. Say hello Mini," Scott explained. There was a series of happy little beeps from behind the camera, which bobbed and weaved for a moment, and then spun in place. Scott let out a soft laugh. "Okay, buddy, calm down. Let's not make our viewers ill."

He crooked a finger, telling the bot to follow him and he started pacing across the lounge to the stairs. "So, update on my brothers. Gordon is nerding out in the ocean. Pretty sure he's over at the nearby reefs doing some counts for the semi-local environmentalists around here. John is nerding out in space; he went back to Five yesterday and has been 'reveling in the quiet'." Scott turned to do the finger quotes, rolling his eyes. "Apparently we're very loud people down here. Alan is looking into school stuff, I think. He graduated two weeks ago, so he's looking at taking more college classes. And that just leaves Virgil, who I can't seem to find."

He gave a careful shrug, eyes pinching just a bit in discomfort. He was looking good, but he was clearly not quite healed yet. It hadn't been long enough, and that was evidenced by the fact that International Rescue was still grounded. With John back on Five, though, chances were they'd be starting up again soon.

Scott made his way carefully down the stairs to the kitchen, glancing in before heading for the hall. "Virge isn't in his room or his studio or anywhere else upstairs, so I'm gonna guess he's with Brains." He paced down the hall, one which had never actually been seen on camera. They passed an open door which led to a familiar laundry room. A closed down that was probably the bathroom. Another closed door, this one metal, which led to what people figured was mechanical. And then the last door, at the end of the hall. There was a painting of some complicated gears on the door.

Scott knocked, waiting until he got the call to enter. And then he gently opened the door and stepped in, Mini Max and the camera following. "Hey Brains, I was wonder—oh," Scott said, stopping himself with a sheepish grin. The camera focused past the eldest to where Brains was seated on the couch. Virgil was curled up with him, his head resting in Brain's lap, face practically shoved into the man's stomach, and the rest of him covered by a large, weighted blanket. He looked like he was asleep. Martian was sprawled across his form, purring heavily. "Oops."

Brains gave him a look that was both amused and annoyed at the same time. "Oops, indeed."

Scott shrugged carefully, stepping further into the space and shutting the door. "Sorry, I was looking for Virge. Found him, I guess. Bad day?"

"B-bad month," Brains grumbled. Scott sat down, and Mini Max flew around for a bit, giving a bit of a tour of the space.

Brains, despite living deeper in the mountain than the rest of the family, had a rather bright and airy space. There was the front room, where he was seated with the two brothers. It had fake windows, like those in the infirmary, although they were currently set to a stormy scene, and two large couches, a television hanging on the wall, and a little kitchenette in the corner. Back behind the front room was the bedroom, separated not by a door but by an open archway. There was a messy king-sized bed that could be seen, as well as a large wardrobe. A closed door led to what most presumed was a bathroom, and then opposite the bedroom was another archway leading to the workshop that had been seen in the previous Floor is Lava video.

The space wasn't the largest, but it was a good size and done in bright, light colors. Lots of whites and grays and blues. It was a peaceful place, for all that it was literally a cave. Mini Max finished his short rounds and came to hover in front of the three men.

"Sorry for outing you two," Scott said, although he didn't sound very repentant. He was likely just using this as a way to get back at Virgil for helping out him and Kayo, to be honest.

Brains rolled his eyes. "N-no you're not," he grumbled. Virgil, not quite as asleep as he seemed, raised one hand and flipped Scott off, causing the older to snort. Brains simply rested his hand on top of Virgil's, pushing it back down and tucking it back under the blanket. He then let his hand slide across Virgil's cheek and into his thick, dark hair. Virgil sighed and relaxed even more.

Martian stood, stretching, and then she leapt across to the couch that Scott was seated on, curling up in his lap. "Hello princess," Scott murmured, scratching her under the chin. Her eye closed in pleasure and she settled down comfortably. "Honestly, though, Brains. A lot of people were beginning to wonder if Virgil was making up his partner in order to be left alone. It's probably for the better that people know that he's been taken by you."

Brains gave Scott a deadpan look and then rolled his eyes again before looking into the camera. "He's m-mine. You can't have him." Scott laughed and then winced, his hand raising to hover over his chest. "S-sorry."

Scott waved him off. "Well," he said softly. "While I have you here, shall we introduce you to the world? People are quite curious about you, you know." Brains gave him a look and Scott shrugged again. "You've come off as rather mysterious."

"I don't l-like, uh, cameras." Brains sighed, fingers tangling in Virgil's hair a bit as he thought about it. Since the video was posted to YouTube, the viewers all figured that the scientist (and, in turn, Virgil) had given it his okay. The Tracys weren't ones to post things without explicit consent, after all. "What, um, what should I s-say?"

"How about we start with your actual name?" Scott offered, settling back a bit to be more comfortable. Martian stretched in his lap a little, giving a soft contented mew. "No sane parent names their kid 'Brains' after all."

"Hiram Hackenbacker."

Scott smirked. "Right. How old are you?"

"T-twenty-two."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Are you making this difficult on purpose?" he asked, looking rather amused. Brains smirked at him and Scott had to stop from laughing again, knowing it would hurt. "How'd you come to work with us and International Rescue?"

Brains looked thoughtful for a moment. "Your f-father gave m-me a, uh, a scholarship when I was f-fifteen. And then I, um, met Virgil at school, when I was getting my M-masters. It all snowballed from there."

"Was it love at first sight?" Scott asked, batting his eyelashes playfully.

Brains laughed, long and hard, at that. It was, apparently a hilarious thought. "N-no. Not at all. We, uh, we were more r-rivals than anything. Drove each other n-nuts trying to, um, one-up each other." He shrugged, smiling widely and looking down at Virgil, sleeping peacefully in his lap. "It g-grew from there."

"Aww," Scott cooed. Because, honestly, Virgil and Brains were just cute and their story—which he'd obviously already been aware of—was the stuff made of fanfiction. Frenemies to lovers and all that. "So, what do you do for International Rescue?"

"I am the m-main engineer and inventor," Brains said softly, in deference to how Virgil had shifted during his laughing spell. "I oversee, uh, everything t-to do with the Thunderbirds and their b-builds. I implement the, um, the ideas that V-virgil and the rest of you c-come up with, since you d-don't have time yourselves. And I keep everyone s-safe."

Scott looked to the camera with a nod. "Brains is very big on safety. If it isn't safe, it doesn't pass." He smiled a bit. "He also oversees a lot of the TI R&D with Virgil. Brains is probably the smartest person in the world and we're lucky to have him with us."

"Have you, um, ever explained your r-rolls in the company?" Brains asked, apparently eager to get the attention off him.

Scott rolled his eyes, but let it go. He was lucky that Brains had even consented to be on camera at all; the man was notoriously camera-shy. "Nah. But you have a point. Okay, let's see." He thought about it for a moment, absently stroking Martian's back. "I'm CEO and John's CFO, but we more or less do both jobs together. Virgil's head of R&D and Engineering. Gordon's our HR rep; that man can read a person from a thousand feet. Squid Sense, he calls it." He rolled his eyes. "Alan's doing a bit of everything at the moment. Testing the waters, he says. I think right now he's working in marketing." He shrugged a bit. "Alan will probably end up in Engineering with Virgil, though, if I'm honest."

"He'll be a-amazing wherever he g-goes" Brains commented softly.

"That's true," Scott said, with a bit of a proud smile. "Any plans before we go live again?" he asked Brains, probably talking about International Rescue.

"Looking for s-something to do?" Brains asked knowingly.

Scott sighed, giving a put-out look. "I'm so bored. And everyone's running around preparing for launching. And Kayo's been busy doing something for Lady Penelope and the GDF so I'm also lonely. Sue me." He wasn't allowed to help; it was beginning to rankle just a bit. And you could only do so much paperwork before you wanted to scream.

Brains chuckled. "If you, um, you want something to do, you c-can overlook the plans for the Cliff House for L-lady Penelope."

"Oh right," Scott said, blinking a bit. "I'd forgotten about that. We should probably get that done before the wedding." They weren't giving any more clues, but from the context it sounded like Gordon and Lady Penelope were planning on moving into the Cliff House after they got married. Which made a few viewers wonder what kind of set up Scott and Kayo had, since they were married now and all.

"When is the w-wedding?" Brains asked.

Scott rolled his eyes. "I can't get a clear answer from either of them," he admitted. There was a soft knock on the door, and Brains called out to let the person enter.

Alan stepped into the room, holding a laptop. "Hey guys," he said. "Scotty, I need your help." He paced forward and plopped onto the couch.

"With?" Scott asked, leaning just enough to see Alan's screen.

Alan rolled his eyes expressively, slumping into the couch and barely refraining from leaning on Scott. His wrist was still casted, but the rest of him was looking a lot better than the last time he'd been seen on camera. He was no longer so pale, and his bruises and scrapes had all healed up nicely. "Despite having graduated high school, I'm still technically a minor so I need parental permission to register for classes." Scott smiled at the muttered, "Allowed to fly a rocket but can't sign my own paperwork."

Scott glanced over the screen and gave a hum. "I'll help you with it in a bit. You okay?"

Alan shut the computer, curling up on the couch a bit. He liked Brain's quarters; they were always so peaceful. "I'm good. You?"

"Fine. How'd you find us?" Scott asked, curious to know the answer. The Tracy Villa may not be a mansion, but it was still a pretty large house, what with it being four stories, and Scott was hardly ever found in Brains' quarters.

"John had all of us microchipped," Alan quipped with a wry grin.

There was a pause, as Scott froze for a moment. "I…want to say you're joking. But…that sounds like something John would do." Brains broke then, sputtering into laughter that shook him enough for Virgil to shift and grumble.

"I wish I was joking," Alan said with a humorous grin. "But you know John."

Scott gaped a little, and Brains was desperately trying to control his laughter before he disturbed Virgil any further. "Is that even legal? Are you allowed to microchip people? And when would he even do that?"

"When we were last in the infirmary," Alan said, reaching out to pet Martian. "Said he wasn't going to lose sight of any of us ever again."

Scott's brow furrowed and he looked just short of pouting. "I should probably talk to him about that."

"Eh," Alan grunted. He was watching Virgil, who had curled up even more, a little too big to be doing so on the couch the way he was, but oh well. Brains was running his fingers through his hair, soothing him back to sleep. "You should finish your video," he said softly.

"There's really not much else to say," Scott replied with a shrug. "Frankly, I think people are going to get bored of us at this point."

Alan's eyes rolled and he grinned. "You wish."

Brains smiled, shaking his head. "The w-world will never be b-bored of you guys."

And the camera went dark.

CarlisleJohnson 9 hours ago
They're right. They could put up a video of them just washing dishes and I think millions of people would enjoy it. We'll never get bored of this family.
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HandyMandyDandy62 8 hours ago
Aw, they're so cute. I want more stories of Virgil and Brains in college. It sounds like it would have been hilarious!
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LampMoth5313 7 hours ago
Good to see everyone seems to be on the mend! And that IR is about ready to launch again!
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MathMastermind33 6 hours ago
Brains is the smartest person in the world? Dude, how smart is he?
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LilyLilyQuiteContrary 5 hours ago
Poor Alan. Still needing someone to sign his paperwork for him. One more year, buddy, and you'll be a legal adult.
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BraceletsforSunnyBun 4 hours ago
John microchipped them?! That's hilarious and sad at the same time! Funny, because duh. But sad because he must have been really upset at losing Alan like he'd lost his dad. At least he got Alan back.
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Notes: As someone with both depression and anxiety, I can attest to the power of weighted blankets. My hubby got me one for Christmas. And we now have a rule that it has to stay in the bedroom unless circumstances are dire. Because I will fall asleep within ten minutes of getting under it. I love that thing.

If anyone wants to write the story of Brains and Virgil in college, I would love that.

Also, the housing sitch: I see it as Gordon and Penny moving into the Cliff House. Virgil would eventually move down with Brains. And Scott and Kayo take over the upstairs rooms, with Grandma moving into Scott's old room. If John and Ridley (who I also see as Ace) ever get together then they'd turn the Round house back into a living space instead of just a library. That's my personal opinion. Or, they could all just build little houses on the island and use the Villa as the main house.

Also...send ideas my way? I'm once again out of inspiration.