A/N: Hi! I've calculated that there are three more chapters after this one. I think. Three more? It's so weird! I never imagined I'd finish this...just thought I get up to the part where Sophia is kidnapped and leave it at that. But you lovely people made me want to carry on! And now I have 100 reviews! Yay, I'm in triple digits now...so exciting!
Thank you to killhill2003 and miz greenleaf - who gave me my 100th review! Yay! Ah, I'm just so happy!
Harry believed he was having the worst day of his life, aside from the time he…never mind. Let's just say today was a bad day for Harry Stamford-Blake.
Right now, he was stalking down the halls looking for Sophia who could be basically anywhere. But he had to look for her on his own with no clue to where she might be.
Harry's head gave a horrible throb at the thought of Sophia. She had hit him really hard and if he hadn't passed out, he probably would've thwacked her back. He had begun to feel bad for her but now he hated her again. He hated being forced to run after her when The Hood clicked his fingers.
When Harry had joined The Hood a few months back, he had all kinds of grand plans formed in his head about their exploits, robbing banks, taking over countries, perhaps even getting to meet the Thunderbirds…well one out of three wasn't bad.
The Hood spent much of his time thinking or muttering and swearing about the Thunderbirds. Apparently it took The Hood quite a long time to come up with his grand plans. He'd been working on this current one for six months and it had still messed up by those idiots that mistook Sophia for Penelope.
Harry wished Sophia had nothing to do with this. Mainly because her sister wanted to maim him and partly because he just wanted to forget all about her. Harry felt a tiny bit guilty about his actions and Sophia's presence made them concrete in his mind.
Muttering and sighing to himself, Harry thought it would probably be best if he started searching for her or The Hood may just get a little grumpier than he already was.
- - -
Five minutes into her plan and already Sophia was regretting it. She was scared that instead of causing havoc, she'd just fry everyone inside.
But second thoughts were a little too late now and time wasn't on her side. Sophia had to act and act now. So, mustering every little shred of confidence she could, Sophia opened the door to her hiding room and stepped outside with the fire remote firmly in her hand.
If her memory served her correctly, The Hood had been holding her in his main room which was near the top floor so hopefully he was holding everyone else there too. And Sophia had counted as she and Scott had ran, she was currently three floors under the top floor. Excellent.
So, turning back to look at the room she had been hiding, Sophia gave a little sigh and her head gave a horrible throb. Trying to ignore the pain, Sophia held the remote with both hands to steady it and pushed down the silver button causing it to shower the room in golden flames.
The heat burnt her face almost immediately as the room went up in flame. Deciding it would be in her better interest to get away from the burning room, Sophia began running back down the hall, her body calling out in protest. She was so tired and weak and had such a terrible, terrible pain in her head.
Her feet pounded the carpet as she ran further and further away from the fire and smoke. Her stomach was twisting into frightened knots and lurching uncomfortably but she tried to remain strong. The plan would work, it would work. It had to work.
Sophia began climbing some stairs, jumping up two and three at a time and gasping for breath. Her legs were protesting and her chest was straining but she ignored it. She was grateful to get to the third floor where she ran faster now, imaging the damage the fire was causing below her.
Sophia flung the door open to another room and it collided with someone on the other side with a horrible crunch.
Sophia yelled out in shock and surprise then realised who it was she'd hit. Harry, right in the face.
The force had sent him flying and he was sprawled on his stomach on the floor.
Sophia stopped in her tracks and looked down at him, seeing him in pain and a hundred different thoughts and feelings came flooding over her.
"Harry?" She heard herself saying, knowing this was no time to be getting Stockholm Syndrome. "Harry, are you ok?"
"Sophia? That you? I think you've broken my nose," Harry said in a muffled voice, pushing himself up on his elbows as Sophia knelt down beside him.
"Here," She said softly, tearing a strip off her already torn dress to stem the flow of blood. She held it under his nose for him whilst he sat up and regained composure.
"I'm taking you back to The Hood," Harry said in the muffled voice. Sophia doubted Harry could take her anywhere in his current state.
"You don't want to do that Harry," Sophia replied, squeezing her eyes shut as another wave of pain throbbed in her head. "You need to get out of here, right now."
"Why?" He asked, looking up at her.
"Because the second floor is well and truly ablaze and if we don't move soon, this floor will be too."
"The second floor? How're we supposed to get out?" Harry said shrilly. Sophia's mouth fell open. That was very, very true. How were they supposed to get out from five floors up? Oh dear, oh dear.
"We better move, where's my sister?" Sophia asked quickly, hoping Harry would be in too much pain to argue with her.
"Where you were," Harry admitted. "Sophia, listen. Are you with that guy up there? Thunderbird Two?"
"Virgil?" Sophia asked, really believing this was not the time. "I don't know Harry. It's complicated and there really are more pressing things at the moment."
"I'm sorry about everything Sophia. I really am," Harry sighed, and as he looked up at Sophia once again she saw the old Harry she once knew and loved so much.
For a few seconds she was utterly speechless. This was just the bloody cherry on the cake. For a minute Sophia almost forgave him and fell into his arms but then she remembered Virgil, sweet and caring Virgil who was trapped with a fire threatening to burn everything in its path if she didn't do something quick.
"I'm sorry too Harry," Sophia said finally, getting to her feet and looking down at him, his shirt and face splattered with blood. "I'm sorry I ever had the misfortune to meet you. Now excuse me because I have to go save someone I love. Get yourself out or don't, it doesn't bother me. Goodbye Harry."
And with that Sophia turned on her heel and continued to make her way up to Virgil and everyone else leaving Harry open mouthed and bleeding behind her.
Sophia now believed she could now take on the world and come out victorious.
