A trap is as only good as the person who makes it. When the Hood makes one though, expect trouble. After all, Scott and Virgil are.

Let the action resume.

The Choice
by Girl-Detective

Chapter 5 - Time Crunch

-two hours until deadline-

The malevolent voice sounded through each of their heads.

"Hello, boys. This is the Hood. I do hope you like my trap, because you will not be escaping from it."

Virgil recoiled from the sudden mental intrusion, and gave Scott a weird look.

"This is crazy, did you just hear-"

Scott finished his brother's thought. "-the Hood's voice in my head? Yeah I did."

The Hood laughed as if the whole thing was a normal occurrence. "Odd, your brother didn't think it so strange when I talked to him this way."

Scott flinched, shouting out to the open air. "Where is Alan? If you killed him-"

The Hood replied quickly. "Relax, relax. Do you think I would revoke my deal with your father so easily?"

Virgil grew impatient. "SO what do you have in store for us? What's to stop us from using our ship to blow you out of the water?"

The Hood's voice took on a bemused tone. "Well, for one thing, I don't think you would be that willing to attack one of your own ships, and for another..."

All of a sudden, Thunderbird Two shuddered violently. Scott looked out the cockpit window and realized that they were slowly going towards the ground. "What's happening? We're landing?"

Virgil worked at the flight controls frantically, but to no avail.

"I can't stop it, we are locked out!"

Jeff sat at his desk in the control room, lost in thought.

Brains had returned to his lab with the promise to find something to counteract his neural net device, and after repeated hails, neither Jeff nor John could not contact Thunderbird Two.

He should have seen this coming. If the Hood was able to trap Alan, he would very well be able to set a trap for the rest of them as well.

Tin-Tin was able to give him some information about the powers that ran in her family, which helped paint a interesting picture: From what she knew, her parents had told her that the incredible gift they were given was passed along to the first-born child of every family in their bloodline. Her uncle had been the first-born in her father's family, and from what he told her, he was already abusing his powers back then.

Not much to go on and with Scott and Virgil in trouble, it had put him off balance.

"Dad, I want to go after Scott and Virgil."

Jeff hadn't heard Gordon enter the room, but he looked up and there he was, standing in front of his desk, looking determined and angry.

He replied calmly. "No can do, Gordon. We need to find out more about what the Hood has planned first."

Apparently Gordon was having none of that. "John told me what was going on. If we wait, he may very well kill them, Alan included. You don't seriously believe that the Hood is going to keep his word, do you?"

Jeff heard the fear and the frustration in his son's voice. "Scott and Virgil have been through some of the toughest of situations and have proven themselves time and again. They can hold their own, Gordon. The best way we can help them right now is to find a way to disable the control device that the Hood is using."

"I don't like it," Gordon declared.

"And you think I do?" His father shot back. "We get distress calls all the time, and we have always acted upon them without a second glance. This is one of the first real times that we have been taken advantage of. Now Scott and Virgil are MIA, and I sent them into there. I am not going to let you get anywhere near that scene without something that will let you all have a fighting chance against the Hood. Do you understand that?"

Gordon was taken aback. He took a step back, eyes wide. "I'm sorry dad, this business has me uneasy...I'll go see if Brains can use some help."

He turned and quickly left the control room.

Jeff breathed a heavy sigh. He couldn't blame Gordon-this whole situation had him uneasy too.

His comm panel began beeping, breaking Jeff from his thoughts. Flicking a switch, he was surprised to see Brains face on the screen "Mr. Tracy..."

Jeff didn't expect to hear from him so quickly. "Brains, what is it?"

Brains replied with excitement. "I-I have an idea, but it is going to t-take time. I'll need h-he-"

Jeff replied eagerly. "You have it Brains. Gordon is coming down to help you now, and if Thunderbird Five can help in any way, do it. There's not much time until the Hood makes his way here, and the less leverage he has, the better. Keep me posted, ok?"

"FAB."

As Brains transmission ended, Jeff turned to stare at the view of the ocean from his window.

There was finally a reason to hope.

Scott and Virgil looked out the windows helplessly as Thunderbird Two lowered gently to the ground. The computers had even deployed the landing gear and fired the retros.

A textbook landing, Virgil thought ironically, but where was the trap?

He didn't have to wonder for long, for the Hood spoke through their heads once more.

"As now that you are safely on the ground, gentlemen, I shall make this distress call a real one. There are six scientists in the camp I have you parked near. See if you can protect them and your own hides without being able to fly. Good luck, you'll need it."

Scott and Virgil looked at each other as things went silent.

"We better see if we have any control left," Scott stated grimly.

They both checked the instruments, and with the exception of the scanners and the door controls, they were still locked out of the rest of their systems.

It was then that they felt a rumble from in under them.

Virgil looked around at Scott. "Did you feel that?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah. I don't like this at all. That was a seismic occurrence according to the scanners, with only a brief burst of energy beforehand. I also confirmed what he said with the sensors, there are indeed six people in that general area. They won't stand a chance without some help."

Virgil looked around wildly as they felt another rumble. "They would have better luck in here with us. Those buildings out there will fold in a heartbeat, so we don't have much time."

Scott stood quickly. "I'll go round them up, you try to keep reaching dad and the others and see if you can break the Hood's control."

"FAB. Be careful, Scott."

Scott raided the clothing storage in Thunderbird Two and quickly donned a thermal flight suit along with a heavy jacket, hood, boots, and gloves.

He was thankful that Brains had prepped their weather supplies. In the past, they rarely had rescues in this region, but with the temperature only reaching a brisk -34 degrees Fahrenheit, what winter gear they had was most welcome.

When Scott stepped out into the harsh environment, he made a beeline for the camp.

The rumbling that he had felt in Thunderbird 2 now was intensified under his feet, making the few hundred yards to the camp treacherous. More than once, he stumbled and had to pick himself up as the rumbling increased in frequency.

When he reached the camp, Scott began banging on the cold metal buildings, until he managed to find a building with three of the scientists, where they quickly let him inside.

The building was small and looked to house scanning and heating equipment. Three very confused and very concerned scientists surrounded him. They were dressed in heavy winter gear as well and it looked like they were getting ready to mount a search for something. Various maps were spread out on a small table nearby.

Before they could launch into any major questioning, Scott held up his hands. "There's no time for formal introductions. I am from international Rescue, and we need to get out of here pronto. A series of quakes is set to flatten and bury this area at any moment so we have to move."

One of the men piped up. "Our other three colleagues had went to collect some ice and ground samples about a thousand meters due west from here. When the rumbling started we tried to reach them through their communicators-"

Scott grimaced. The Hood wasn't pulling any punches. "Let me guess, your communicators are jammed, right?"

They nodded solemnly in reply.

Scott hesitated for a moment until a loud rumble reminded him why he was there. The building that they were in shook violently and the machinery sparked from the sudden pressure that the building was putting on it.

There was no time to lose. "Due south about a few hundred yards from here is an international rescue ship. I need you three to head out towards it. There will be someone there to give you a hand onboard. I will find your comrades and join you shortly"
The ground started to rumble again with a renewed vengeance.

Scott opened the door. "C'mon, get moving! This place is coming apart! Go!"

The scientists took the hint and quickly left the building. Scott followed them out, and made sure they were on their way in the right direction before he turned and headed towards the direction of the rest of the group.

The frozen ground swayed wildly in front of him, and then he heard the sound of an explosion.

Turning around, he saw that building that they had just been in had exploded.

-No time to lose.-

Turning, Scott broke into a run. Visibility was ok, so he was able to scan the landscape. He hadn't known how much of a head start the group had, but he was hoping that they had not gotten too far ahead.

The ground vibrated unrelentingly, and cracks were starting to form around him, some small, some as wide as a meter or two. Scott chose his steps carefully, dodging and weaving around the cracks until he spotted the scientists up ahead running towards him. Scott rushed towards them and met with them halfway.

"Come on, we have to get you guys out of here!"

He began leading them through the unstable terrain. They had gone a few hundred meters when all of a sudden, the rumbling intensified sharply, making them stop so they wouldn't fall over-

and that is when the ground opened beneath Scott's feet.

Ok, next chapter should be out in about a week or so. Job woes are leaving me cold. Hoping to score interview soon, and my troubles will be over(I hope)!

Hope to see you then,

Girl-Detective