There was always something to be said about who you worked with and that sentiment was never more true than when Gordon wasn't working with Virgil. Seventy percent of the time, it was him and the engineer, the elder dropping the younger off to do his part of a rescue mission, or the two of them heading into the fray as a well oiled unit. It was work, but it was satisfying and they did it well. There were plenty of times when he was solo, but it was the aquanaut's expertise on demand, nothing more. Those days were a thrill for their own reasons that he suspected other brothers understood in their own right.
Then there was the other twenty or thirty percent of the time - when it wasn't Virgil and he couldn't go alone. Rarely, if ever, was it John. The majority of his time with his space-bound brother was spent in hologram form, relaying information needed for the rescue. If he thought hard enough about it, the last time had been on the Zero XL, when they went to rescue Dad. Even then, it hadn't just been Gordon and John saving the day.
Scott was a coin toss on whether the mission would go with or without incident. They were both well trained, military operatives, but occasionally, that training would clash. One couldn't see the other's point of view - didn't want to risk a failure on a barely conceived notion. It was a fifty-fifty shot, but Gordon would never pass up a chance to head out with their commander.
Today, though - today, he found himself on one of those missions that left him feeling like himself. He didn't have anyone to impress or an elder brother breathing down his neck to stay focused. No, today's rescue would be full of banter overlapping precision, jovial antics getting the job done and reducing the apprehension of those they were there to rescue. Above all, it came with a heaping dose of pride for his little brother. Alan had the commanding presence of Scott when he needed it, but the brains of John, able to work out the complicated stuff Gordon couldn't. With every chance the two of then got to work together, the aquanaut was given the opportunity to see his little brother grow into the iR operative they knew he could be.
"Alan to Thunderbird 5, this section's clear. What's the ETA on the fire and is there anyone else showing on your sensors?" The young astronaut, given lead on their part of the fire rescue, relayed their need with professionalism while simultaneously tossing Gordon two of the suppression grenades like they were footballs. The aquanaut activated one and sent it the rest of the way down the hall and into the smoke billowing up from a set of open elevator doors. As it detonated and the smoke dissipated, the blondes turned to each other with both arms up in victory celebration.
"Virgil has the southern corner extinguished," John's voice cut into their musings, a map of the forty story building coming into view. The two brothers were indicated with their icons on the twenty-third floor, well above the rising flames. Most of the people had been evacuated into Thunderbird 2 due to the stairwells being cut off in the initial explosion. Laboratories without failsafes were one thing. Laboratories with the name Fischler Industries emboldened on the side were a whole different matter. "You've got one more lifesign two floors up."
"Plenty of time to get the straggler out," Gordon was already heading towards the stairs with a quick salute to his brothers, Alan giving John the more formal FAB before racing after him. "What d'ya think Scott's gonna do to Fischler this time?" It was partially a joke, but mostly a reality once the mission was complete. The CEO was lucky their commander wasn't on site yet, Thunderbird 1 still wrapping up a rescue on the other side of the planet.
"Maybe we can just buy his company - keep him from all that grant money," it was a good idea if they could manage to convince the shareholders. The problem lay within those willing to fund the dangerous endeavors. There was no way to control that factor, try though they might.
The brothers hit the twenty-fifth floor and found it untouched by the smoke, potentially giving reason to why their straggler hadn't left. The floor was obviously for one of the other experiments with pipes labeled 'Coolant' running to the double doors at the center of the hallway.
"Worth a shot," Gordon hit the door first, peering through the Plexiglas to ensure the area within was safe. What he saw inside managed to draw up some of their elder brother's frustrations. The scientist in question was moving from one console to the next, seemingly oblivious to the world outside - the world that could easily go up in flames if they didn't hurry.
Pushing the door, he found it locked and Gordon quickly turned to his little brother. No words were needed as the astronaut brought up his wrist in front of a keypad, "Hey, John, we need access to the door code please."
They barely had to blink before the light turned green and Gordon was able to push their barrier in, a quick thanks making it to their middle brother. The aquanaut's attention was on Fischler, wondering just how much upper body strength he would need to lift the man and drag him from the room. As much as he would enjoy wrecking the scientist's day, he clung to some of Virgil's restraint, "Fischler, we need to get you out of the building!"
Startled from his path, Langstrom backpedaled into a support beam, glaring daggers at the 'intruders', "How did you two get in here? This is private property! I could have you arrested!"
Gordon bit back the curse that sat in his throat, instead lifting his hands towards a warning light on the wall just above a symbol of flames, "If you haven't noticed, the building's on fire!"
"Of course, I know that! Shouldn't you lot be taking care of it? Put it out before it takes out my entire company - Oh! You'd like that wouldn't you?" Sarcasm dripped from his words as he went back to working on his machine.
The thought of dragging him out resurfaced with a vengeance, "We can't stay here! If you don't come with us, I'll be forced to carry you out." A glance to Alan told of the same thoughts. Safety was priority over their victim's desires.
"And I'm not leaving without this," Fischler gestured to the machine that was humming with life.
Gordon gave it a beat before he made the decision, opening a private channel to the rest of his brothers, "We've got Fischler and he's being stubborn. I'll be carrying him out."
"FAB," was offered threefold and Alan shot him a thumbs up, finding the entire exchange amusing. He was leaving the aggravating part to the big brothers.
Switching back to his external comms, Gordon advanced on the scientist, "Don't say I didn't warn you -"
As his hand landed on the scientist's shoulder, a loud drone filled the room and sparks creaked up the support beams - not support beams… part of the machine. Fischler spun, arms out in triumph as the mechanisms continued on, unhindered by the danger looming below, "It still works!"
"What did you do?" Gordon quickly dragged him away from the console, shoving him not too gently towards his little brother, "Get him to Thunderbird 2 while I have John figure out how to shut this off!"
Alan looked ready to protest until a streak of energy shot across the room, striking a storage unit. An instant later and the unit was gone. Gordon's eyes widened with Alan's, instruction no longer necessary as they both aimed for the exit, Alan's fingers wrapped tightly into the uniform of the so-called engineer. They made it a step before another beam shot out, hitting the two as they fled and Gordon watched in horrified disbelief as they disappeared.
He only had a moment to process it - Alan was gone… his little brother - before something slammed into him. It didn't hurt - not like he expected - and the last thing he heard as he fell was the frantic call from John. He couldn't respond - couldn't move - and as the world brightened around him, Gordon could no longer see the disaster brought on by the scientist they'd been trying to save.
A breath and the light faded with his consciousness.
OoOoOoO
When his senses returned, Alan was acutely aware of two things - the siren in the room was way too loud and something was laying on top of him. One of the two was easily remedied as he rolled the goaning figure off of him.
"Oi, no need to be so rough," Fischler's grumblings brought with them the memories of a very present danger. The alarms were still telling of the fire raging below and urging him to move.
"C'mon," Alan got to his feet, shaking his head as the world tilted with the movement. He blinked it away and offered a hand to the fumbling scientist who seemed more interested in their surroundings than getting to safety. "Fischler, we have to go! This place could -"
"Oh, no no no no! This can't be right!" Langston scrambled to his feet, ignoring the outstretched hand, his own fingers digging into his hair as he spun. "This has to be a mistake. You!" A finger jabbed in Alan's direction, "You lot did something! Threw off my configurations!"
Anger sparked with the accusations and Alan let himself react, unrestrained, "What are you talking about? We're here to rescue you!"
"What am I talking about?" Came an almost hysterical response, Fischler's arms flung wide. "Look around you! That's what I'm talking about!"
Alan frowned at the obviously panicking engineer, but did as instructed and turned to view their surroundings. For a moment, he thought they were in a different part of the lab, white tile floors spreading wide with white walls, but as his brain finally registered the problem, he felt the overwhelming urge to deny it. A blink and the white walls became the towering side of a console, it's height matching that of a mountain range. He spun and found doors, his neck aching as he tried to see the tops.
Alan pressed a hand to his baldric, watching the connection flicker before going out. He hit it again, but nothing came through. He turned back to Fischler, his voice no longer calmed by professionalism, "What the hell did you do?"
"I created a technical masterpiece! My invention will revolutionize the future!" He shot back with just as much ire. "You lot are the ones that came and interrupted the process!"
"What process? What did it do to us?" The answer was obvious, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Fischler waved another hand in exasperation, "It shrinks things - us - for easier transport or - or reducing waste! I was going to use it on this room so I could move it to a safer location - remotely reverse it - but no! You boys and your need to be the heroes! Messing everything up!"
Alan's stomach flipped with the confirmation, but he grasped onto finding a solution for this seemingly impossible situation, "You can reverse it, right? Just unshrink us and we'll deal with your machine after we get out!"
"Key word - Remotely! My tablet's up there," a gesture to the console mountain. "We should wait here for one of my employees. They'll know what to do."
"Except the building's on fire and everyone's been evacuated," mind racing for an answer Alan quickly spun, eyes searching the room in hopes of finding a brother who could alert the rest that there was a problem. With dread building inside his gut, he realized the room was empty, "Where's Gordon? We couldn't have been out that long. He wouldn't leave without us."
"So sure of that are you?" Fischler seemed to consider the idea absurd. "Most people run when they can't explain how we just vanished."
"Not my brothers," Alan practically growled. "Gordon would've found somewhere safe, but he'd have to be dragged out if they couldn't find us." A quick glance at their communication logs indicated it hadn't been long enough for Virgil to make it from the floor still on fire. "No, he's - he's still here, but he could've been shrunk too."
A mumbling about incompetence was ignored as the scientist offered his own theory, "If he was, then - given his position from when you started dragging me - he would be about a half a kilometer in that direction." He pointed further into the lab, past the console.
"Then we head that way," there was no second guessing his decision. They would either find Gordon, or wait in the same predicament for his brothers to arrive. His head was already feeding him ideas on how to get out of the building if they couldn't figure out how to reverse the device's effects.
Reclaiming his grip on Fischler's jumpsuit, Alan began the long trek that would likely test his nerves and patience. Part of him hoped to find Gordon, if only for the backup. Who knew what lay in store for him and the scientist if they couldn't contact their family.
Pushing the thoughts away, Alan fell back on training. Stay calm. Read the surroundings for the best possible solutions. He could handle this - no matter how ridiculous.