Chapter Seventeen

The trek through the jungles of Tracy Island was long, hot and arduous. Alan, Tin-Tin and Fermat were all covered in sweat and bits of dirt from where they'd all stumbled and fallen a few times. Beneath the canopy formed by the leaves of the trees the jungle was steamy and ferociously hot.

Sweating streams Alan looked at his watch and estimated that they had been moving through the forest steadily moving upwards through the densely forested valleys that led up the side of the islands central peak, the peak that in aeons past had been the main cone of the volcano that had built Tracy Island for about an hour. Though he was in excellent physical shape thanks to all the athletics he did the climb through the crippling heat and humidity was very taxing even for him. It was the fact that it was constant and unrelenting that did it. It was like trying to hike through a sauna. A sauna filled with biting insects especially the red backed mosquito that was native to Tracy Island it was found nowhere else on the planet and unusually for mosquitoes it didn't carry any harmful diseases though modern vaccines for things like malaria meant the mosquitoes weren't a threat to their health just an annoying nuisance. Though Alan had noticed that the mosquitoes seemed to leave him alone now something about him seemed unpalatable to them now. One of the little hidden perks of being a metahuman, Alan thought to himself, natural insect repellent.

Alan looked over at Fermat to see how his best friend was doing. Fermat was after all not the best in the physical fitness department small even for his age and preferred algebra to athletics. Though if they stayed in the same school Alan would do what he could to change that. He could see this trek was really taking its toll on Fermat, the young genius looked like he was going to keel over from exhaustion any minute. We need to stop before Fermat keels over, he thought.

He was about to shout to Tin-Tin who was just ahead that they were going to need to stop for a little while to allow Fermat and themselves to recover a little bit of strength before continuing the climb up to the islands communications array. They were getting closer to their destination the forest was steadily thinning out soon it would give way to bushes and then the rocky peak on which the communications mast stood. But they still had away to go before they reached their destination. Alan didn't have to call out to Tin-Tin for at that moment she looked back and noticed the state Fermat was getting in. She read the look on Alan's face the look that said 'we need to stop for Fermat's sake at least' and nodded her agreement.

Then she looked forward again and resumed the trek. They were almost to the top of this particular ridge at the top was an area of flat land before a forested embankment that led up to the rarely used road up the side of the mountain to the communications array. And the road wasn't covered by the security net this far up just like the underground service tunnels, as it was nothing but a service road. Usually travelled up and down about once every month or so when Brains would come up here to check on the communications array and do any necessary repairs. And repairs were quiet commonly needed since salty air and the delicate internal circuits and cables of the communications mast did not get on very well.

After a few more minutes of climbing she reached the ridge.

"Okay guys take five," she said moving onto the flat area at the top.

"Five isn't going to do it," Fermat's voice moaned even as Alan climbed up onto the open area his left arm brushing a bush as he did so and unknowingly allowing a small but deadly black scorpion to get onto the back of his jacket arm and unnoticed slowly begin climbing up the fabric.

Fortunately for Alan Tin-Tin saw the movement and caught a hint of a small black pincer waving from behind his arm.

"Don't move," she said to Alan in a grave tone of voice. A tone that indicated the grave danger Alan was suddenly in.

"What is it?" Alan asked just as Fermat climbed up onto the flat area at the top of the ridge huffing and puffing as he did so. Like Tin-Tin he also saw the scorpion and recoiled reflexively.

"Androctonus scorpion," Tin-Tin replied as Alan felt movement and looked at his left shoulder just as the scorpion climbed up onto it.

"Is it dangerous," Alan asked looking in disgust at the horrid black creepy crawly on his shoulder and the wicked looking stinger on the end of its upraised tail.

"P…point zero two five milligrams of its venom is f…fatal," Fermat replied.

"I think dangerous is in fact an understatement," Alan replied looking fearfully at the scorpion as it showed ever sign that it was going to sting him. Its venom had to be really potent for such a tiny dose to be fatal and was probably a neurotoxin like some snake venom was. With the scorpion on his shoulder he didn't dare to anything to get rid of it or employ any of his powers. Had it been on his arm he would have somehow made his arm phase as he'd done with his leg earlier and the scorpion would have passed harmlessly through but because it was on his shoulder he didn't dare do anything.

Tin-Tin knowing the scorpion was about to strike and that Alan would die with in a few moments of being stung or at least become very ill depending on what effect the scorpion's venom had on his metahuman body chemistry decided to take action. There was only one thing she could do and while it went against her father's wishes she had no choice, not if she was to have any chance of saving Alan's life.

Gripping the crystal pendant around her neck she concentrated on the scorpion and getting it away from Alan. A gold glow came into her eyes just like the gold glow that came into her fathers and the red that came into her uncles when they used their own abilities.

The scorpion suddenly lifted into the air and moved a foot or two away from Alan before dropping to the ground and immediately running away. Alan and Fermat stared at Tin-Tin in shock and surprise as the gold glow disappeared from her eyes. She's got powers too, Alan realised in shock, just like her uncle.

"Tin-Tin what exactly was that," Alan asked softly he could see that Tin-Tin was nervous now that she had revealed that Alan wasn't the only one who had powers. It was understandable that she would be reluctant and nervous about speaking about it. He knew he would be nervous about talking about being a metahuman to someone who hadn't already known.

"Telekinesis," Tin-Tin answered after a few moments of silence. She knew that she needed to give Alan and Fermat something of an explanation. Hopefully they would be satisfied with a brief expedition as she didn't really want to give them two many details of a secret that had been in the Belagant family for centuries.

She knew that if they got out of this and drove her evil uncle off it wouldn't stay secret for much longer. Though if any family outside the Belagant's were to know of the psychic secrets then she would much prefer it to be the Tracy's. As they were one family who knew how to really keep something secret.

"Telekinesis," Alan repeated. "Please don't be offended but are you a metahuman as well Tin-Tin."

"I'm not offended," Tin-Tin replied. For a second she contemplated saying that she was a metahuman to protect the secrets of her family but decided against it. Alan and Fermat were her friends she'd grown up with them especially with Alan since he was the same age as her. She couldn't lie to them like that, and even if she did it was very likely that they would see through it since they knew her so well. "I'm not a metahuman," she continued.

"If y…your n…not a m….m…meta…h…human like Alan h…h…how c…c…can you do that," Fermat asked.

"It's a long story and here is not the place to tell it," Tin-Tin replied silently praying to whoever was listening that the boys would drop the subject at least for now. "We have rested enough we need to get going again," she added to distract them. Then she started up the steep embankment towards the level of the winding maintenance road that threaded its way through the forest and up the central peak.

Alan and Fermat followed along.

"Still think everything can be explained by science Fermat," Alan asked his friend referring to a conversation they'd had earlier when they'd started the trek through the jungle.

"Everything except girls," Fermat answered. Alan laughed as they started climbing up the embankment.

Primary Pod Bay

Thunderbird Two

Mullion smiled as the last piece of equipment they would need to break into the biggest banks in the world was loaded aboard Thunderbird Two. Among them were the Thunderizer which Alan had used so easily earlier and International Rescue's mighty drilling machine known as the Mole. It was the last piece of equipment to be loaded aboard as it would be the first one they would be using. Getting into the Bank of England from above would be almost impossible but getting at it from underground with the Mole would be a lot easier.

"We will use this to get into the Bank of England vault," he said to the Hood who had been watching the loading. The Hood smiled and shook his head.

"Subtle as usual Mullion," the Hood replied. Mullion so liked to just bludgeon his way through things. Sometimes like now it would work wonders.

"We are robbing banks are we not," Mullion replied sarcasm in his voice. "I did not realise we would be getting points for style." And I don't really care about style, Mullion thought, all I want is the money.

The Hood sighed and shook his head again he knew what Mullion was thinking even though he hadn't probed his mind or anything like that. Mullion was only real in this for the huge share he was going to gain from robbing the banks.

"Don't worry you'll get your money," he told Mullion sending a slight telepathic probe his way that let Mullion know that he didn't appreciate sarcastic comments. Mullion flinched as a momentary blast of pain rippled through his head. Note to self, Mullion thought, never again work for an employer whose has extremely powerful and unusual psychic abilities.

Even before he'd started working for the Hood he'd heard rumours about the man's mysterious abilities. But he'd always assumed that they were just that rumours. After all the Hood was not a metahuman and as far as Mullion had known at the time it was impossible for a normal to have such abilities. But as he knew now it hadn't been a rumour in fact the rumours didn't do the Hoods awesome psi abilities justice.

Mullion shook himself out of his thoughts and spoke into his radio. As the Hood had said earlier they had been here for too long. It was time to get moving.

"Transom initiate launching sequence," he said.

Sitting in the central pilot's chair in the control cabin of Thunderbird Two Transom smiled as she heard Mullion speak over the radio. With a quick command she closed the pod bay doors and then keyed in the commands to start the launch sequence.

Systems began humming as Thunderbird Two began powering up for launch and the huge hydraulic arms started to lower it onto the transport sled.

Abruptly lights on the control panels flashed read and the engines shut off from preheat and Thunderbird Two was lifted back to docked position.

"Warning! Warning! Guidance processor error! Launch sequence aborted. Warning! Warning!" Thunderbird Two's computer said.

"What's going on," Mullion's voice said over the radio.

"It's the guidance processor," Transom replied getting up and moving to the back of the control room. Pulling aside a translucent green panel made of some sort of plastic that covered the circuitry panels for Thunderbird Two's computer Transom frowned as she saw one pop out panel wasn't quiet in its slot. Pulling it out her eyes widened when she saw the crystal state processor was missing from the centre of the panel. Without it Thunderbird Two would not launch since the main drives would not be able to function without the navigational computer.

"What's wrong with it?" Mullion asked.

"There isn't one," Transom replied. Clever, she thought in admiration, the kids have disabled Thunderbird Two in away that I cannot fix without that one piece of circuitry. Especially since I don't know where the spare parts for the Thunderbirds are kept.

"There isn't one."

The Hood smiled and shook his head as Transoms words echoed through the pod bay and Mullion cursed in rage.

"Clever boy Alan," he said softly a hint of admiration in his voice. The young metahuman and his friends were obviously smarter than he had previously given them credit for. They were proving themselves worthy opponents. But then he wouldn't have expected anything less from the son of Jeff Tracy. "It's the children they have it," he added.

"No way," Mullion replied in disbelief. "They are dead. No one could have survived the blast from Thunderbird One's engines."

"I did. Take my word for it Mullion they are alive and well," the Hood replied. "Find them Mullion. And make sure you get the guidance processor before you loose your temper."

"Yes sir," Mullion replied and left to do the Hoods bidding. He had no idea where to look when you were trying to find three kids Tracy Island was a hell of a big place to look. Still he would find them and bring back the guidance processor that they had taken.