Tears streamed down her face. "Help me, please. I don't think it's safe here, even if he is my father. Even if he isn't lying about loving me."
Her face shifted. Tessa stared at him, though they could not see it. "What exactly do you want from me?!"
"Simple," came a male voice. "you're going to lure International Rescue to me."
"Never." Her voice was bitter.
"Aw, but you already have. Though, this is only stage one of my plan." The Hood filled the screen, and they could see a dagger ripping her uniform's arm.
Tessa was tense. "You wouldn't harm your own daughter."
He took the dagger away. "Perhaps not . . ." he began, placing the dagger against the bottom side of her throat. "but you stopped being my daughter the day you said you'd help Jeff Tracy." She gasped, and blood ran from her neck.
He looked up at her wrist. He could tell there was a tiny camera hidden somewhere on it.
He snickered. "Your daughter says 'Goodbye', Jeff." Then he pulled off the bracelet, and it dropped to the floor, soon crushed beneath his foot. The transmission ended.
"That came through just a minute ago, dad," John's broken voice spoke. "He didn't hit any major arteries from our perspective, but . . ."
"Don't say it." Jeff couldn't bare to even look at his son. "Don't even think it. Tessa will come home, if it takes every breathe in my body."
John tried to say something, but words would not come. Even if his dad wouldn't say it, he knew it was hopeless. If the man was desperate enough to cut his daughter's throat, who knows what else he could do to her.
The pressure was getting to the two boys scouting for her. "Scott, I'm sorry."
Scott looked at his brother. "Virgil, what could you possibly be sorry for?"
Virgil just looked down. "For interfering. When you were with Tessa . . . well, let's just say, I didn't exactly act like you were with Tessa."
"Are you saying that while I was seeing Tessa, you hit on her?" his voice resembled that of a mother bear.
"Repeatedly." He ducked as his brother's fatal punch came flying at him.
"You little!!! When I get my hands on you, you'll wish you'd never been-"
"Scott, Virgil." Jeff's voice filled the communicators.
"Not now, Dad. We're a little busy."
"Bring it on!"
"Oh, it's already been brought!"
"That's not saying much then!"
"You think you're so smart. You and your big, fat-"
"Boys! Remember, we're trying to save Tessa," Jeff yelled.
They looked at each other sinisterly. "Tessa," they breathed in unison. Both charged at each other, smacking and punching.
Brains ran over to them, breaking them up. "Boys! Stop it!"
They stood, glaring at each other.
"G-g-go ahead, M-M-Mr. Tracy," Brains said, when all was clear.
"Thank you. In fact, that goes deeper than you think, Brains. Tessa has just transmitted a message to us on the bracelet you gave her. We can now find out exactly where she is."
Scott and Virgil's faces brightened. "Dad, that's great! Where is she? We have to find her!"
Virgil stopped his brother. "Dad, what's wrong? I can see it in your eyes." He was staring at the mobile centre's screen.
Jeff Tracy looked down, then up. "We might have to switch the mission from a rescue to a recovery."
Scott stared wide-eyed at his father. "No."
Jeff had tears in his normally firm eyes. "At the very end of the transmission, The Hood-" His voice broke.
"What, dad?" Virgil asked.
Jeff shook his head. "He - well, it's probably best you don't know, boys."
"Why?" Scott verged into this delicate territory.
"I thought it was implied when I said the mission may - may being the operative word - turn into a recovery."
Brains couldn't even look at the transmitter he had spent so many hours of his life next to.
The Hood crushed the transmitter under his foot, his daughter's fresh blood hanging from the ends of his fingertips. Heavy drops of her blood already caressed the cement.
When he saw them, his eyes widened. He quickly ran out of the cell, and grabbed something, Tessa could not see what it was. He hurried back through. She couldn't believe it.
He took the piece of cloth, and held it to her neck, until the bleeding slowed down. Then, although she couldn't actually see it, since it was her neck, but the sting told her he'd put alcohol on it. He placed a wad of gos on her neck, and used some kind of tape to keep it in place.
He looked, and realized he had, after all, cut her arm. He tied another piece of gos around her wound.
Tessa looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What are you doing?"
He returned the look as he cut the rope that bound her wrists. "You're my daughter."
"We need to know, Dad, where is Tessa?!" Scott was almost yelling at his father.
"Scott, I'm not letting you or Virgil go. It's obvious you both still have feelings for her, and I don't want either of you scarred by the site you might find."
Virgil was equally mad. "Dad, There's no one else here except Gordon and Brains. You can't just send them! They'll need backup!"
"I just don't want you to go there."
Scott stared daggers at his father. "What is it that the Hood has done to her?! Why can't you just tell us?! It would make it a lot easier."
Jeff looked down. "I can't tell you, boys, because I can't even bring myself to say it. Even looking at it-"
Virgil calmed down a bit. "Fine. But we want to help save Tessa. You can't leave us here to do nothing!"
Jeff just stared at him, not a trace of emotion upon his face. "Fine. When Gordon is done with the mole, you both can go looking for her. But be prepared for the worst . . . "
"What are you doing?!"
"You may be my blood but that doesn't mean you won't make a break for it while we're packing-up." The Hood stared at her.
Tess thought for a moment. "Good point. But what is this you've got around my wrist?"
"This bracelet will help me keep you in control."
She just looked at him, her lip rising in a snarl. "How is that?"
"Simple. You misbehave, I push this button, you get shocked. Quite fiercely, actually. Not enough to kill, but, you just won't want to misbehave anymore. Now, you can help me and Alexis pack."
She got up. "Great."
He turned his back to her. "Come."
She stood there for a moment, very tempted to kick his-
"I said come!"
She followed, but not before taking a detour around to her cell to grab her bracelet. Split right in half - perfect! she thought. She didn't feel her necklace fall, though, as she ran to catch up to her father.
"This looks like the place."
Virgil nodded. "Yup. A filled-in hole. Get the Mole."
Scott ran back towards Brains and Gordon. "Yo, Gordy! Fire up the Mole and get your butt in gear! I think we've found the spot!"
Virgil stayed next to it, staring at the disturbed earth. He hoped that it wasn't the soil of a grave they would be digging at.
Meanwhile...
"And, why is it we're leaving our humble home, Mr. Hood?" Tess inquired, as they moved deeper into the tunnel.
He sighed. "Fine. We're escaping because a certain person transmitted a certain message allowing a certain enemy to find us."
She cocked an eyebrow. "Are you certain?"
He snarled. "Oh, quite."
"And are we certain of what our intentions are when we reach a certain destination?"
He looked forward again, trying to ignore her. "There will be an ally waiting for us with an escape plane."
She looked quite serious. "Are you certain he's our ally?"
He turned around, scowling at her. "Will you shut up?!"
"Certainly." She laughed as he attempted to smack her.
"Okay, whoa! That's good, Gordon!" Scott yelled over the ruckus of the Mole. "Let 'er rip!"
The three young men plus Colin (who had been found perfectly fine by a paramedic) stood back as the gears of the Mole turned the earth rapidly. Scott was very anxious to see what they would find. He prayed silently that his father had been wrong.
It seemed an eternity had elapsed between the time the mole began to dig, and the time it came up. Scott was surprised to find that he could actually jump in the hole and hit ground, without hurting himself.
So, of course, as soon as Gordon had moved, Scott and Virgil jumped in.
They were in the centre of an eerily-empty room. The floor was pure cement. There were a few machines sitting around, having been shut down completely. There was only a single room leading off of it, and they could see nothing had been left in it either.
"Oh my gosh-"Virgil took off towards a small cell - a jail cell? - on the other side of the room. Scott took off after him.
Virgil flung the door open and bent down. Scott gasped.
A small puddle of deep red blood lay on the floor.
Scott stammered. "M-maybe i-i-it's the blood of an animal, o-o-or maybe he cut himself?"
Virgil stood up, clasping something firmly in his hands. "No, Scott. It's her's." He opened his palm, revealing a blood-stained necklace with an angel hanging from it. "I gave her this. She never took it off. Even when we hated each other - she probably still hates me - she wore it."
Scott could barely look at the necklace. "C'mon. Maybe they're still here."
"They're not here; I saw an escape tunnel over there, with footprints in it."
Scott looked hopeful. "Well, maybe we can catch them!"
Virgil shook his head. "That tunnel is miles long; I can tell by the echo. And they've gotten a pretty good start. You can tell by how packed in the dirt is in the footprints."
"Geez, you're cool under pressure."
"It's leftover from the mining mission. Now, let's get back to mobile base, and contact dad. Maybe he'll know where that tunnel went."
They jumped up, grabbing the sides of the hole to help support themselves. As soon as they were just finding their footing again, however, they saw a plane take off just a few miles away.
Scott stood up. "Oh, d-!"
Virgil joined in. "You stupid, freakin'-!"
Gordon got mad. "Aw, -!"
Even Brains put in his two cents. "That b-!"
The boys decided to exercise their extensive vocabulary of "fun four letter words" for the next ten minutes or so. It's easy to learn that stuff with a man like Jeff around.
"Why can't I tell them I'm okay?!"
The Hood rolled his eyes. "That would kind of defeat the purpose. The idea is so that they will pay me their island in exchange for you."
She stared blankly at him. "Jeff won't do that!"
He shrugged. "He would if it meant rescuing you. Even the boys would."
She shot up her eyebrows. "I won't let any of them."
He smiled. "Neither will I."
She squinted her eyes at him. "What? Isn't it the point?!"
"Yes . . . and no. The idea is to get what I want." He looked her in the eye and smiled before looking away.
She shook her head. "I don't follow."
He smirked. "You'll soon see, darling. You'll soon see."
"Dad - for the thousandth time - what did he do?!" Scott begged.
"Scott, Virgil - trust me, you will wish you'd never seen it."
Brains came in then. "Mr. Tracy! Y-you know I a-a-always agree w-w-with you, b-b-but this is r-r-r-s-s-s-dumb!" he stammered in anger.
Jeff looked sternly at Brains. "It's not as if I don't think they should know. I just can't bring myself to say it, and I don't want them to see . . . to think a man could do that to his own child. It would brake their hearts as it has mine."
Brains stared at him. "You're f-forgetting that I-I'm a father too, J-Jeff. And, I-I don't think someone c-could ph-ph-physically hhhharm h-h-his own daughter."
"Brains-"
"Jeff! Show the boys the video now, or I will do it for you!"
"Brains-!"
"Me or you, Jeff?"
Virgil and Scott exchanged looks. It wasn't like Brains to be on their side.
Jeff sighed. "Look, I just don't want them to see what he has-"
Jeff disappeared from the screen. Brains started tapping furiously at the keyboard. "Almost there, boys," he said after a moment. It was a record for Brains even.
Scott was impressed. "Geez,careful there Brains - you wouldn't want to break Fermat's record too bad." Virgil nodded in agreement.
"There. Took now 3 minutes . . . oh my gosh . . . "
Tessa's teary ice blue eyes swept the screen. "Help me, please . . ." she just kept crying. ". . . I don't think it's safe here." The video replayed, and the more that came, the more the boys understood their father.
Then came the dreaded moment. ". . . but you stopped being my daughter the day you said you'd help Jeff Tracy." He slit the side of her throat.
Soon the film disappeared, along with the colour in all 4 men's faces.
"Dad, we saw it."
Jeff looked up briefly at Scott's face.
Virgil couldn't bare to look at his father. "We're sorry dad . . . we didn't find much of anything in her cell - just her necklace, and . . . blood."
Jeff couldn't bare to look at his two boys.
"We saw a plane take off in the distance just a few minutes ago. We weren't prepared to follow, though, and lost them," Gordon spoke up.
Jeff thought for a moment, fighting back the tears. "Patrol the area for anymore clues. Follow that tunnel you told me about a few minutes ago - see if it was the one they went through. Something tells me the Hood won't take long to send another message though, so take the hover bikes - don't walk."
"Oh, course." Gordon turned to his brothers as Jeff turned the screen off. "Well, you heard him. Scott, you and Virgil go down there. Brains and I will monitor the air waves for any signal. Colin, I think it's time you returned to your friend, Jamie." Colin gave a small nod, and ran toward an ambulance.
Virgil and Scott silently walked towards Thunderbird 2. They grabbed their bikes, and were soon back in the pit, heading towards the site where Tessa has flown off.
They cruised for a minute in utter silence. The tunnel was just too creepy.
The very next moment though, four people repeated at the exact same time, "This is all my fault."
"This is all my fault . . ." Jeff buried his face in his hands. "If only I hadn't said she could be trained. If only I'd trained her better."
Kyrano placed a cup of tea beneath Mr. Tracy's hands. "Cheer up, Mr. Tracy. It was not your fault. She wanted to be trained."
Jeff took his hands from his face. "But Virgil asked me, and I had the power to say no. And I didn't when I should have." He took a sip from his tea.
Tin-tin tried to comfort him. "You could have never known . . ."
He looked directly at her. "I had known who her father was for months. I knew it was a risk having her here, but I chose to ignore it. If I hadn't of let her go, she could've been safe here for a long time."
Alan jumped in. "Dad, this is no fault of yours. The Hood is entirely responsible for this."
Jeff looked at Alan. "But I taunted him . . . he was watching me during the ceremony. Maybe even longer. He was watching when I told her she felt like a daughter to me. He made it clear that he had been watching me when he told me that 'my daughter said goodbye'."
Alan looked determined. "Dad, that's no reason to blame yourself. The Hood only feels threatened because he knows that you have been more of a father to Tessa than he will ever be."
Jeff took a sip of tea again.
Alan turned to Tin-tin for help. She gave him an apologetic, "I'm-all-out-of-ideas" look in return. Alan decided to try to reason his father. "Dad, we don't know for sure that she's dead. It is a definite possibility that she is still alive and well. And, should anything more happen, we are all fully braced for action."
Jeff smiled gently at his youngest son's attempts to humour him. "I know we are fully braced-" He stopped, suddenly realizing something. "Brace - bracelet . . . wait a second . . ."
Lady Penelope looked at him, as did the others. "What is it, Jeff?"
Jeff looked at them. "Virgil said they only found her blood and necklace in her cell, but the Hood clearly dropped it; she might still have it, and might be able to fix it herself! I've got to talk to the boys!"
"This is all my fault," Tess said miserably to herself. She pulled her knees to her chest as she sat on the bench.
"What's that, dear?" The Hood inquired.
She shook her head, staring vacantly at the floor. "It's my fault I'm down in yet another hole in the ground, hiding from my friends. I should've just stayed on the island, and not come on this mission."
The Hood smiled. "Now, Tessa, none of this is your fault. I'm the one who's orchestrated the entire thing - from the start."
She snapped out of it, staring at her father. "From what start?"
"You didn't think I had a master plan? Tut-tut. You sell your father short."
She got up, staring intently at him, her eyes glowing green. "I asked you: from whatstart?!" She screamed as she was shocked by her bracelet - which was more like half a pair of hand-cuffs.
He stared at her. "Be good, Tessa. But since you want to know so bad . . . how did you end up on that island in the first place?"
She rubbed her wrist. "Negligence by a crew who should have never been sailing in the first place."
"Tess, who do you think was driving the boat that hit you?"
She stared at him, looking up slowly. "You didn't . . ."
He looked down. "Unfortunate, though, that Jackie drowned. Not my intention."
He voice was broken. "What were your intentions?"
He pursed his lips, swaying his head from side to side, thinking. "For Jackie, I wanted her to be found by IR, and returned to America, safely, not to hear from you again. But noooo. She had to be inconsiderate and fall in before the ship even sank. For my confounded brother-in-law, I really don't care either way. And for you - everything worked out perfect. Well, as perfect as most things can get." An evil grin spread across his face.
She shook her head, tears coming from her eyes. She tried for sarcasm as she spoke. "Yeah, I really believe that."
He cupped her chin in his hand. "Tessa, I did not mean for harm to come to her." He let go. "My dear, no matter what problems your mother and I had, I always loved you and your sister. You've no idea what pain I went through as I watched your sister leave me. I had not felt as strongly towards her as I do you, I'll admit, but she was my blood - I loved her."
She smiled a bit. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yes."
She looked down. "So, if you and my Mother didn't love each other, why did she marry you?"
He smiled. "My dear, are you familiar with the term 'shotgun wedding'?"
She laughed. "What's the real story?"
He just shrugged. "We made a mistake. Tess, dear, take my advice: don't marry young. It's not a pretty picture."
She shook her head with laughter, suddenly feeling a little more comfortable around her father.
A little.
He turned toward her. "I must leave now and make sure your friends are still on a cold trail, but I will be back. I enjoy our little chats." He smiled, and shut the door to the room.
She didn't waste a moment. She grabbed the bracelet Brains had given her. She was assessing the damage. Yes! she thought, Just a little tweak here and there, and I should be able to send another signal!
"This is all my fault," Virgil and Scott spoke in unison.
Virgil put up a hand to silence his brother as they rode along. "I want to apologize for not being the model brother when you two were dating. I did flirt a bit, but it never went anywhere. She was very determined to stay with you. I should have respected that more. I'm sorry."
Scott nodded. "It's understandable. I accept your apology. And I'm sorry for freaking out when you starting pursuing her. And I'm sorry for trying to kill you earlier today."
Virgil smiled. "Hey, it's been a long 48 hours. You're forgiven."
Scott was happy again, as was Virgil - well as happy as one could be given the situation.
Virgil looked down, then back at his brother. He was silent for a moment, and only the sound of the hovering crafts could be heard. "Scott?"
Scott looked at his brother intently. "Yes?"
Virgil decided to confess everything. "I think . . . I think Tessa hates me. I guess I could live with that. I mean, there are a lot of girls who hate me - Sharon, Hiedi, Susan . . . well, you know, but I . . . I. . ."
Scott smiled at his brother's inarticulateness. "Well, what did you say to her to make her 'hate' you?"
"I asked her out."
The brakes slammed on Scott's bike just in time as he fell over sideways laughing.
Virgil took to being offended. "It was not that funny."
Scott used his bike to support him as he got up. "Oh, yes it was. Virgil, when a girl hates you just because you ask her out, then it's funny. Now, what are the details to this?" he laughed.
"Fine. I asked her out, she said no, she wasn't ready. She said she'd just been through a bad relationship. She told me she'd 'think about it after she was allowed on a mission'. I told her I didn't want to be tossed aside for later."
Scott thought as he caught up to his younger brother. "Seems you both were a being jerks. Then what happened? I sense that there is more to this story than is being told, younger master jedi."
Virgil ignored the joke. "I turned out to be the jerk . . . I - I - I said something that no one should ever say to another human."
Scott knew it had to be bad. "What did you say to her?"
Virgil sighed and looked at the ground. "I told her to forget thinking about it. I told her that I wouldn't be the one she turned to afterwards. And-"his voice broke.
Scott coaxed him on. "And, what?"
Virgil's voice was barely a whisper as the end of the tunnel drew ever closer. "I told her that if she got in trouble, I wouldn't help and that I wouldn't even look."
Scott just stared at his brother. Then, he smacked him upside the head. "Well, if I got told that, I wouldn't ever speak to you again either." His voice softened then. "But, since you're out here anyways, looking for her, helping, I think she'll forgive you."
"Really?"
"Yup. But you kind of blew it on romance, I think - I don't understand women enough to know how that will turn out, though."
Virgil smiled. He looked up. "Here we are-"
Just before they reached the top - to find burn marks on the ground, proving Tess was there - their portable communication mike beeped.
"Virgil! Scott!"
"Yes, father?" Scott asked, dismounting his bike.
"Boys - when you were down there, did you find her bracelet?"
Virgil shook his head, though only Scott could see him. "No, we didn't."
Jeff's voice was triumphant. "Then she might just have it - and she might just be able to fix it herself. Get back to mobile base, and keep the air waves open!"
Tessa desperately tied the wires together, placing them ever so delicately next to each other. She knew she would only have a couple of seconds for her distress call, and so she wanted to make the most of it.
A green light off of one of the beads - Yes!
She cleared her throat. "John! It's Tess! I'm in another pit! Trace this message to find my location - I don't know where I am. If I don't get out of here, I want you to know I love you all dearly. All of you-"
She was cut off as her father - who had snuck up behind her - flicked one of the wires out of place, and confiscated the bracelet. She gasped as she turned to star at his evil expression.
She grimaced, bracing herself for the shock of a lifetime. When nothing came, she opened one eye at a time to see the Hood's smile. "No," he began, "I'm not going to use that thing on you anymore. I'm going to thank you. My plan is moving along nicely." He took her arm then, and lead her out of the room, which she'd never see again.
"Dad! Scott! Virgil! Alan! Gordon! Brains-"John ran out fo breathe before he could call to the rest.
"What is it?!" almost everyone gasped in unison.
John was on every communicator with a screen. "This just came!"
A flash of static burst on the screen. Then Tess's worried face. The film was bad, and they could barely hear or see her in parts, sometimes not at all. "John! . . . Tess! . . . another pit! Trace . . . message . . . Don't know where . . . If I don't get out . . . love . . . all of you-" It cut out.
Jeff came over the sound. "John, where did that come from?!"
John tapped in his computer. "It says . . . Scotland. Point Place, Scotland. In an underground mine . . . hold on, I'm getting something else."
A picture of the Hood filled the screen. His sinister voice filled their ears. "Hello, Tracys. Well, by now, you've gotten my daughter's message. However, she is not here - but I am. She's moved on to a - to a better place." He smiled sinisterly at his obvious choice of words. "But, if you do want her location, that can be arranged. Meet me right here - in this mine. One hour." The film cut out.
Virgil shook his head. "No . . ."
Scott got himself together. "We don't have much time. Even if Tess is gone, we can still put this monster behind bars."
"Virgil - ready for landing?!" Scott pressed. He had been overly-pumped since the news The Hood had delivered.
"Everything's good for go. Let's land." The phrase 'F. A. B.' had died - er, rather had not been used since the news had been delivered.
The landing was extremely smooth considering that both boys had nerves that seemed to have been shot - or, overly stressed.
They got out of their birds quicker than ever before. The mobile command centre was set up in minutes.
"Virgil - you get on a frequency and call the police. When we find the Hood, I want the police to be right handy. I'll try and get in touch with him after you've finished. I would use another frequency, but I don't want him to overhear you." Scott's voice was firm, but his eyes were teary.
Virgil didn't have to be told twice. He was on the frequency, calling the emergency workers in a heartbeat. "Yes, this is International Rescue - I need to speak to the police . . ."
Scott leaned back. He was rethinking his every thoughts that had come with Tess. He thought of how he cared for her. How he spent his time with her. He was thinking about how deep his thoughts about Tess had run.
Had run.
Scott looked over to his younger sibling. The determination in his eyes said a lot. The emotion behind it said a lot too. No matter how much Scott loved Tessa, Virgil was in love with her more.
Not to say Scott did not love her. Scott had deep feelings for Tessa, but in the end he knew - just by looking at his brother - that his brother was more in love with Tessa than he had been with any other woman in his life. In the end, Scott felt like Tess was one of his first girlfriends, someone he would always love, but knew there was someone better out there - for both of them.
Though, thought Scott, it would have been her choice.
Virgil placed down the mike, and looked at his brother. "Your turn."
Scott picked up the mike, flipping to the frequency The Hood had used. "Hood - this is IR. Can you hear me? We've arrived on site. We want to negotiate."
The Hood filled their screen, a broad smile upon his face. "Welcome, young master Tracy. Now, I assume you want the whereabouts of your friend. First, you'll have to meet me, though. Walk exactly ½ a mile north-east of your location. I'm below ground there. Come only with your brother. No one else, or I run, and you don't get a final look at Tessa." It cut out.
"C'mon, Scott. We're going - now!" Virgil began running.
Scott turned to Gordon. "If the emergency workers show up here before we get back, tell them we are trying to catch him." He took off after Virgil.
Below Ground, a few minutes later . . .
Scott and Virgil stopped dead at the end of the tunnel leading below ground. There, sitting in a chair, was The Hood. Rage burned the eyes of both boys. He was entirely responsible for the death of Tessa in their minds.
"Hello, boys. I assume we want to come to an agreement."
Scott glared at him. "What do you want?"
The Hood laced his fingers. "Simple. Your island and all its contents, for the whereabouts of my daughter."
Scott looked at him sternly. "We can't give you that. We're not in the position of authority."
The Hood smiled. "I know. I know Jeff is the 'top dog', but maybe you should make your own decisions."
Virgil thought. "Is Tessa alive?"
The Hood made an offhanded gesture, then stared directly in his eyes. "What do you think?"
Virgil snarled and lunged at him. Scott stuck out an arm to stop him. "No, Virg."
The Hood looked dead serious. "Now, I want that island. You have only a few seconds."
Virgil looked at him harshly. "You're mad."
The Hood's eyes went red, causing Virgil tremendous pain. "Maybe so, but I know what I want."
Scott lunged at him, falling in midair under The Hood's powers. The Hood was in an awkward position. He had months to plan, but when he failed to capture Scott, he had been thrown into a new base of action. The Hood soon winced, and shook his head, trying to see straight.
"Now!" Scott and Virgil pounced on him. Virgil managed to get him in a full-nelson. "Let's go."
The Hood tried to kick Virgil, but Scott elbowed him to stop. The Hood tried to use his powers on Scott, but he punched him in the stomach. The Hood was urged on fairly easily from that point. Scott followed Virgil and The Hood.
This may seem like it's too easy - but if you really think about it, here we have two well-muscled, athletic, young men who are very mad. In the other corner one older gentlemen, in fair-condition, who's only basic defence is one that robs him of almost all energy after use. As well, his henchmen had disappeared to-
"Scott? Do you smell . . . burning?" Virgil asked.
The Hood laughed. "What are you going to do with me now, boys? You want to hurt me, have me meet my doom, but yet, duty is calling."
The end of the tunnel was very near. Virgil smiled, seeing something neither of the other two men could see. "Maybe so, but you will meet your doom."
"Really?"
Scott saw it then. "Yup, I think you're pretty well screwed."
Virgil pushed him into the light, where half a dozen Scotland Yard officers lunged at the Hood. "Take him. Arrest him for murder."
The Hood laughed. "Without a body, you can't prove I committed murder." His eyes gleamed, matching the hand-cuffs.
An officer laughed. "You do realize you've basically confessed?"
The Hood looked at him. "That was not a confession. I was merely pointing out facts."
Virgil's eyes slipped to see a burning oil rig in the distance as the officer and Hood continued to argue. He knew it had been meant only to be a distraction, but the line of duty called.
"Virgil! C'mon!" Scott had already started running.
Virgil was behind a thick mask. Firefly was ready for action.
"All ready, Scott." Virgil's voice sounded out, appearing as though he'd forgotten Tessa - which was certainly not true. "Firefly is go."
The old, abandoned oil device was up in flames. The smoke made it almost impossible to see your hand in front of your face. Thankfully, there was very little - if any at all - oil on that property, so it would not grow much more, although flames were already at least a hundred feet high. It was a job only International Rescue was equipped to handle.
Scott looked on as Virgil pressed the button, releasing greenish liquid foam at the base of the rig.
The Hood had been cuffed, blind-folded (to help prevent the telekinesis), and hauled away by Scotland Yard just a few minutes ago - Scott had overseen it while Virgil saddled-up Firefly. The Hood would be placed away in a maximum security facility for a long time.
The foam just kept coming for awhile, and Virgil finally cut it off and backed away from what had been large flames.
Scott moved forwards to view this monstrosity. Did the Hood really think we'd be unprepared for this?
Soon, Firefly was back in Thunderbird 2, and Virgil came over to join his brother. "It's a shame . . . Tessa always did wonder what Firefly would look like . . ."
Virgil knit his brow and walked over towards the site. Scott followed.
Virgil screamed and jumped back. Scott's eyebrows shot up, and he took a step back as well.
Never in any of their hundreds of missions had they ever seen a blob of green goo emerge from the flames. Virgil wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
Two long things appearing to be arms detached themselves (well, okay, there was a web of goo strung in between like a spider's web) from the main blob. It shook these new limbs.
Scott grabbed a nearby burnt plank of wood to defend himself.
He dropped it though, when the blob wiped away goo from its front, revealing two ice blue eyes and a face. They blinked. "Did you have to use so much, Virgil?!"
"Tess!"
"You're alive!"
Scott smiled, and was about to go over, but Virgil beat him to it. He pulled her into his arms - goo and all - and she returned his embrace, crying against his shoulder.
She held on to him tightly. "Virgil, I've never been so scared."
He softly laughed, crying a few tears of his own. "You have no idea."
She pulled back. "Virgil, I had a lot of time to think back there. I'm sorry for making you feel like something that could be thrown around. I don't want that day to ruin what we have."
He smiled at her. "You're forgiven. If you forgive me for being an incredible jerk. I know I said I would never search for you, and I wouldn't help if you ever got in trouble, but I was angry. Please forgive me? I'd get on my knees and beg, but with the goo and all, I don't know if I could get back up."
She grinned. "Of course." She took a deep breathe. She had thought it over. It had been one of the few things she'd thought of the entire time she was with her father. She needed to say it. "Virgil, I thought about it a lot, and well, I realize . . . I . . . well, quite frankly, I . . . um, I just, I guess . . ."
"What?"
It came out. She looked into his eyes. "I have deep feelings for you, Virgil. Very deep feelings. If it's still an offer, I do want to be your girlfriend."
He smiled, and pulled her into his arms. "I love you too, Tess. And, I promise, we don't ever have to see your father again."
She pulled back, looking down. Her voice was quiet. "Please don't promise me that. He may be a maniac, but he loves me. Very much. Right after he cut me, he cleaned the wound and bandaged it. He loves me, Virgil. I know he had problems with my mom and sister, your father . . . well, people in general, but he loves me. I'm not asking to see him every weekend, but I want to keep in touch with him . . . somehow. He needs someone to maybe help him become 'sane'."
He smiled. "I understand completely," he said, and pulled her in for what would be the first of a long line of kisses.
Scott looked on from the touching scene, at what he would never have again. He was glad that her father had only hidden her away, and not killed her. His heart ached slightly, though, at the fact that he would never hold her again. He knew that this was her horizon to chase, and that his brother would care for her as long as he lived - even longer. His brother was a loyal man. As he walked away from the new couple, though, he found a sense of comfort in the thought that he himself maybe had a new horizon to chase into eternal romance.
Maybe.