Day Two: From dress to dressing / Gunshot


Trope: When miles away from a first aid kit, your jammies will do. Somebody is injured and there is no hospital, drugstore, or first aid kit in sight. This leaves only one option; someone is going to have to tear off a piece of their clothing to make a bandage or sling to help patch up that wound.

This is an action that, though seemingly a simple display of kindness, can say many things about the characters involved. If a character rips their clothes without hesitation, they're probably either a battle or survival pragmatist and if they do hesitate they could be a tiny bit vain or at least image-conscious. Or if said clothes were expensive and/or new, they are more mindful of the money they're wasting than the needs of others.

It also can be used to send romantic signals about the characters involved. It is not uncommon for the person ripping the clothes to be a girl and the injured party to be a guy she likes.


Characters: Penny, Virgil

Warnings: Gunshot wound, Knives, Mentions of blood


His instructions had been very clear.

Meet Lady Penelope at the café, drug her and bring her and the plans to his boss. She was trying to capture his boss by selling fake International Rescue schematics, but they were wise to her.

The unexpected arrival of one Virgil Tracy, middle son of billionaire Jeff Tracy, had definitely put a spanner in the works, and before he'd been aware of it he'd kidnapped and shot the man.

The boss didn't like it when plans went awry, and he could only hope that since it wasn't Lady Penelope he'd shot that the boss wouldn't come down too hard on him.

He frowned to himself. There was enough sedative in that drink that the Lady should be out for the count. Instead, she was keeping pressure on Tracy's arm as the car drove through the narrow streets until finally they arrived.

Another man came and hauled Tracy out of the car while he took the Lady's arm and steadied her – so the drugs had done some work on her – and they took the pair down to the basement and locked them into the room, waiting for the boss to show up.

Lady Penelope sat on the only bed and sighed. This was not quite the way she'd planned things to go, but she was trained to improvise and she had a secret weapon.

At the moment, all that she was concerned about was Virgil. He was currently sitting on the end of the bed, clutching his arm tightly and staring into space. Penny wondered what he was thinking.

'Why is it I always get shot when I'm with Penny?'

That was the thought going through Virgil's mind. The last time it had hurt more than this time, but he guessed that abdominal wounds verses upper arm wounds would do that. His thoughts were straying when Penny's hand gently pulled him down onto the bed.

'Virgil, darling. Let's get that seen to, shall we?'

'I don't have a first aid kit with me, Penny. And there are no sheets on the bed.'

'Have a little faith, darling. A Lady is always prepared.'

Virgil chuckled at that. Penny might be a Lady in every sense of the word, but she was so, so much more, and yes, she was always prepared.

'My Lady, I am in your hands,' he replied with a small bow.

Penny slapped his good shoulder lightly and went to work. Virgil looked away as she wriggled out of her petticoat and began to tear it into strips. Wadding one long strip up to use as a pad, she used the remaining fabric as bandages. It was nowhere near enough to be as secure as she'd like, but it would do for now.

Now, she had work to do.

'Darling, I have work to do. Will you be alright if I leave you here for a while?'

'Sure thing, Penny.'

She looked with some concern at the man, but Virgil lay back on the bed, arm over his eyes, and for all intents and purposes it looked like he was trying to doze off. Penny smiled. He was trying to conserve his energy in case he was needed later.

He didn't stay that way for long, the sound of a zipper causing him to sit up.

'Penny? What are you doing?'

'I told you, I have work to do.'

'Do you need help?'

'No thank you, darling. If you could just be ready to assist me in a bit.'

'Ok, Penny. You're the boss.'

Virgil averted his eyes once more as Penny stepped out of her dress. She was…boy, she was something else.

Clad in a pair of tight trousers and a tight, low-cut top, shoes discarded, she looked nothing like the woman who had stood there not five minutes ago. He watched as she unpicked the hem of the pink dress and a pair of small knives fell out. And a key. And a lock pick. And a pair of what looked like ballet pumps. And a thin piece of cotton. Penny peeled the cotton apart to expose two thin wires.

He wasn't a demolition expert for nothing, and he was sure his mouth must be gaping as Penny deftly removed the buttons from the bodice and attached the wires.

She glanced up at Virgil, a smile breaking out at his expression only to then frown as she took in the blood already seeping through the makeshift bandaging. Penny regarded the dress sadly. She rather liked this one, but Virgil's need was greater.

The man was definitely a bleeder. The bullet hadn't broken any bones but had gouged out a nice furrow along Virgil's deltoid. He wouldn't be doing any heavy lifting for a while, that was for sure. Penny used one of the knives to cut a generous piece of the skirt and bound it over the petticoat bandages. He grunted as she pulled it tight.

'What's the plan, Penny?'

'I have to make a trip outside and then I'll come back for you. By then Parker and Scott should be waiting.'

'Scott?!'

'Yes, dearest. Let's just say this has been fully planned by your father. If that absolute buffoon had been on time you and I would have been sipping drinks at that delightful little café as planned.'

'Oh. I thought you were telling me I was late.'

'Of course not, darling!'

'Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?'

'I'm sure. Just be ready to run when I say so.'

'Ok, Penny. I'll be ready.'

Lockpick used and door open, she cast one last look at Virgil, the man smiling warmly and giving her a small wave that made her heart jump, and Penny smiled back as she left, pulling the door to but not locking it. Making her way through the complex was easy thanks to the extensive mapping John and Thunderbird Five had provided, and before long she found herself, not in the main control room but in a small server room out of the way from where everyone would be situated.

John had talked her through what she needed to do, and, removing the headpiece of the key she inserted the hidden USB into the computer terminal that had been highlighted to her. Once the virus had been uploaded Penny set the explosives as instructed and fled back to Virgil.

She wasn't even halfway back to the room when Penny encountered an obstacle in the form of two armed men heading down the corridor. Towards her, and there was nowhere for her to hide.

They saw her a moment later, and that second they took to register her was all Penny needed. She didn't have time for this, and she leapt into the attack, knives drawn and resigned to the noise their guns would invariably make.

She needn't have worried.

Virgil, worried by how long Penny seemed to be taking, had taken it upon himself to go and find her. It had been sheer luck that he turned the right way, but he came up behind the two men just in time to see Penny moving.

He moved forward quickly and swiftly banged their heads together, knocking one out completely and leaving the other groaning on the floor. The man tried to raise his gun but it was uncoordinated, and Penny easily kicked the gun aside and followed through with a kick to the face, leaving the man out cold.

An explosion rocked the building, and for a moment Penny thought they were going to be buried as the corridor rocked and dust fell, but nothing more happened and Virgil grabbed her hand and they started running as she directed.

A door opened to the outside and for a second time she thought they had been discovered, only for a familiar outline complete with cap to appear in the light.

'This way, M'Lady,' Parker beckoned, and they made it out into the light. She was never so grateful to see FAB1 waiting and Thunderbird One hovering protectively above. They raced for the pink Rolls and just made the door when the door burst open and men spilled out.

One's machine gun fired and the men scattered, diving to cover. Scott kept the bullets flying as Parker got FAB1 away and continued as they disappeared from sight.

Virgil and Penny exchanged a glance and he let out a noisy breath.

'Phew! That was a close one, Penny.'

'Of course it wasn't, darling. I had everything under control.'

He thought back to the vision of Penny, a knife in each hand, charging towards two men bigger than he was, and grinned.

'You sure did.'

Pink with pleasure at the praise, Penny turned away from him and brushed dust off her trousers. He frowned.

'I'm sorry about your dress, Penny,' Virgil said. 'You ruined it for me.'

'It was just a dress, Virgil dearest. You are far more important.'

She momentarily laid a hand on his arm before getting her compact out and calling his father.

'Mission accomplished, Jeff.'

Virgil zoned out a little as whatever that little mission was was discussed, until once more Penny brought him back to the present by placing her hand on his arm.

'Let's get you home, darling, and we can see about rearranging our tea.'

'Sounds good to me, Penny.'

If she left her hand on Virgil's arm, well, he wasn't going to complain.