Chapter Twenty One

It occurred to Alan Tracy that it was a long way back to consciousness. He likened it to drifting along a tunnel towards the bright light of consciousness. A tunnel filled with fog that had the consistency of cotton wool and with randomly variable gravity. He drifted along the tunnel for what seemed like ages moving slowly but surely further and further away from the deep darkness he'd fallen into when he'd been attacked with a tazer.

After a while he passed into the light and felt his body again. A dull ache pervaded his whole body and from all around there was a constant feeling of cold. He could feel the energy within his body had regenerated somewhat though it still was far from being as strong as it had been this morning when he had woken up but it felt stronger than it had been up by the communications array.

Alan forced his eyes open to find that he was lying on his side he could see a pair of legs only a few inches from his face. From the coloration of the clothing he thought they were Gear's. The coloration and design was right for his uniform.

"Peter," he heard Gear's voice say. "Alan's woken up." Deciding that was as good a que as any Alan rolled over onto his back and awkwardly sat up. Awkwardly as he could feel his hands were bound behind his back.

"Alan," Peter said relieved beyond words that his youngest nephew was awake and didn't seem any the worse for ware. "You had me worried there are you alright?"

"I think so uncle," Alan replied. "I'm aching all over but that could be because it's so cold in here as well as being a legacy of the tazer attack. Man did that hurt."

Before anyone could say anything else there came the distinctive sounds of the manual lock being withdrawn and the electronic lock being manipulated. Everyone in the room exchanged puzzled looks. There was no one else left free on the island now so why was the door being unlocked. Was the Hood coming to taunt them about their hopeless situation for a minute before he left on Thunderbird Two to carry out the next part of his evil plan to ruin International Rescue?

The door opened with its usual magnetic hum and to everyone's surprise the dripping wet forms of Lady Penelope and Parker were thrown in roughly by Mullion and two of the Hoods guards. Penny must have realised that something was wrong, Peter thought, she came here to check up on things only to run straight into the Hood.

Penelope and Parker only just managed to stay on their feet when they were thrown in. Penelope spun around and glared daggers at Mullion and the two guards. Mullion laughed under a glare that would reduce most enemies to a quivering wreck. Then Mullion closed the door and they heard both the electronic and manual locks on the door be engaged.

Penelope turned back to look at everyone else. They all looked half-frozen with Peter, Gear, Brains, Kyrano and Onaha being the worst. Though the kids weren't much better except for Alan who although he looked wasn't shivering or anything. His powers must give him a higher tolerance to temperature extremes, she thought shivering violently as the cold environment and her soaking wet clothes conspired to steal the heat from her body and chill her to the bone.

"Right I think we've all had quiet enough losing for one day," she said. "Where are Jeff and the boys?" Inwardly she braced herself for the worst fearing that the Hood had taken their lives.

"Their trapped up on Thunderbird Five," Peter answered. "The Hood attacked and severely damaged the station to lure them away. He then trapped them up there. The stations main power core was knocked off line during the attack but now the Hood has shut down the secondary generators. They still have the solar batteries but those were never designed to power the whole station."

"From what I've been told by Brains here," Richie added. "The solar batteries will power Thunderbird Five's life support systems and artificial gravity plating for a while but not too long and time is running out as the batteries have already been at it for a few hours."

"How much time do they have left," Penelope asked. Peter and Richie both shrugged, as there was no way to know. "Brains?"

"I d…d…don't k…k…know," Brains answered.

"Then we need to get out of here now and get to the control room."

"I agree but how," Peter asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Penelope answered depression sinking on her like a smothering blanket. There had to be away for them to get out of here and save Jeff and the boys from the fate the Hood had set them up for. But for the life of her she could not see it.

Thunderbird Two

The Hood and Mullion arrived at Thunderbird Two just as Transom slid the panel containing the guidance processor back into the computer mainframe and closed the covering translucent plastic panel.

"Status report Transom," the Hood asked.

"I have just finished reinstalling the guidance processor sir," Transom reported moving over to the command/pilot's station and sitting down. "Thunderbird Two is ready to launch."

"Excellent," the Hood replied sitting down in the third bridge seat as opposed to the co-pilots station on Transoms right. While he was a good pilot himself he would leave flying Thunderbird Two to Transom and Mullion. After all that's what henchmen were for. "Begin launch sequence. What is our ETA?"

"Just under an hour," Mullion reported sitting down at the co-pilots station. As Mullion spoke Transom again pressed the keys that began the launch sequence.

Systems throughout Thunderbird Two hummed to life and all around the computer display screen showed everything normal and ready to go even as the hydraulic arms outside lowered Thunderbird Two down onto its transport sled.

"Thunderbird Two launch sequence engaged. Stage one complete," Thunderbird Two's computer said as the huge green leviathan sat on its transport sled and the massive arms that normally held it retracted into the walls of the hanger. "Anti-detection shields on line. Beginning stage two."

A faint jerk ran through the deck beneath their feet then Thunderbird Two began moving slowly forward. Or rather the transport sled began moving carrying Thunderbird Two away from the main hanger and starting it moving down a tunnel to the outside world.

Ahead a line of sunlight appeared and began getting wider and wider as massive camouflaged doors began to open to allow Thunderbird Two to move out to its launch position.

The Hood inwardly smiled as Thunderbird Two began to pass out into the daylight. Finally after so many delays the final phase of his master plan was commencing.

The Fridge

"Thunderbird Two launch sequence initiated."

Alan looked up from where he was staring at the floor as the voice of Tracy Islands computer came from the intercom beside the door. An emergency intercom was included in this room in the eventually that someone became trapped in the fridge and needed to call for aid.

"We need to get out of here," he said.

"We're all agreed on that Alan but how," Penelope asked. Alan considered before answering. Ever since he had woken up he had felt the power inside of him sort of regenerating somehow, perhaps because of the cold environment. He remembered Gear or Richie as he knew his name now to be describing him as a primarily elemental metahuman. And one of his powers used cold i.e. his ice power so it was conceivable that he'd somehow been unconsciously drawing power from the cold environment of the fridge. It would explain why he wasn't as cold as anyone else in the room. If I've got enough power back maybe I could try phasing, Alan thought, I need to get my hands free. Then I can untie everyone else.

Alan concentrated imagining his hands and wrists being able to pass through the plastic of the zip cuffs just as he had imagined Mullion passing through him at the communications mast. Almost immediately he felt his powers flare and both hands from the wrist down suddenly felt light and insubstantial. Pulling his hands apart Alan felt what he could only describe as a tingle as they passed through the zip cuffs. Smiling he stopped the energy flow and brought his hands around to the front.

"How did you do that," a shocked Peter asked then he remembered what Fermat had said earlier about Alan having the ability to selectively phase parts of himself. "You phased your hands didn't you," he answered his own question.

"Yes," Alan replied surprised that his uncle knew about his selective phase ability for a moment until he realised that Fermat and Tin-Tin had told him. He stood up. "Now let me untie the rest of you."

Moving quickly Alan first untied his uncle then went to untie Richie while Peter untied Brains. In no time at all everyone else was untied and on their feet once more. Alan looked at the shivering soaking wet Penelope and Parker and realised that in their soaking wet clothes they would catch their death of cold in no time. And when someone got a cold on Tracy Island everyone tended to get it in short order. Like last year John had caught the flu on the mainland just after a return from Thunderbird Five and brought it back with him to Tracy Island. The result was everyone had been suffering with the flu over Christmas. Which hadn't made John popular especially with his brothers.

"Let me help you there," Alan, said coming over to Penelope and Parker. "I'll have you both dry in a minute."

"Literally," Tin-Tin added remembering how Alan had dried himself, her and Fermat earlier.

Penelope was curious as Alan put his hand on her wondering what he was up to. Then Alan concentrated imaging Penelope dry and letting his power flow.

Penelope was startled when she saw a blue glow appear in Alan's eyes right before a pulse of blue light passed down his arm and then she felt a tingle as the wave of power from Alan washed over her and suddenly she was dry the water that had soaked her now in a puddle on the floor. Alan then did the same thing with Parker.

"Impressive," Penelope commented then became all business. "Now lets find away out of here. Parker can you pick that lock."

"Certainly my lady," Parker replied.

"But," Penelope asked hearing the 'but' in his voice.

"But it would do us no good. I can pick the electronic lock easily but there would still be the manual lock on the outside I would have no means of accessing it."

"Then Alan will have to do it," Richie said.

"Me," Alan questioned.

"Yes. You will have to phase through the door and open the locks from the other side."

"I've never phased through anything like a door before."

"You phased to let Mullion pass through you up at the satellite station," Tin-Tin said. "I don't see how phasing yourself then walking through the door is any different."

"Tin-Tin is correct it is no different Alan," Richie told the younger metahuman putting a hand on his shoulder. "You can do it. The door is no obstacle to you. The only obstacles to your phasing power are ones you build yourself."

Alan looked up into Richie's eyes and knew that the older metahuman was correct. There were no physical barriers to his phasing abilities the only barriers were the ones in his head. As long as he had enough power inside to phase he could pass through anything.

Alan then looked away at the door and thought not about the door or what was beyond it. No he thought about his family. His father and his brothers trapped on Thunderbird Five and running out of time. That door was really all that stood between him and saving them. With the Hood now leaving Tracy Island the door was the only barrier left. And it didn't have to be.

Turning away from Richie and shaking off the hand Alan took the few short steps up to the door. Then he took a few every deeper breaths and held the last one before concentrating imagining himself as being light and insubstantial able to pass through the door with ease. The power inside flared and the sensation of phasing filled his whole body.

Then he walked fearlessly forward and felt a tingle pass through his body as he passed through the door and was out in the corridor.

Alan stopped the emission of power and released the breath he was holding as he solidified. Then he turned back to the door and retracted the manual lock before keying in the familiar locking code all the while hoping that the Hood had not changed it out of sheer spite.

The door opened and Alan sighed in relief even as he stepped aside and everyone filed out into the corridor all grateful to be back in the warmth of the complex not the lethal chill of the fridge.

"Now lets get to the control room," Alan said even as in the distance there came the powerful roar of Thunderbird Two's engines as the craft left Tracy Island.

Without pause to say anything everyone turned and headed for the control room at a run. They might have gotten out of the fridge through Alan's powers but they still had much to do if they were to save Alan's father and brothers. And defeat the Hoods evil plan to ruin International Rescue.