So it begins!So much thanks to Gaviiadastra for listening to me bounce vague ideas around! And Gumnut for letting me borrow her characters from her Kermadec AU (We'll be home for Christmas)
Extra special thanks to Sempaiko for contuning to nudge ideas like this at me!
Hope y'all enjoy this!
Silence was a haunting thing. It brought with it memories, undesired and lonely, of hospital rooms in the dark hours of night. Patients were supposed to be sleeping, but sometimes nightmares made that impossible. Silence mocked him when he tried to insert sunshine into his own heart. He'd been broken for so long that his own voice had turned cynical when he was alone.
Gordon wasn't alone, however, and he found himself wishing he were. Then, maybe only one would be dying today.
Twelve hours earlier…
"How long do you think it'll be before those two kill each other?" Amusement played in his father's voice as he stood beside Virgil. The two of them watched Thunderbird 4 skim the surface of the shimmering ocean surrounding Tracy Island and laughed.
"Last time, one of them had a black eye by the second day," Virgil grinned and shook his head at the memory. At the concerned expression that crossed his father's face, he added, "Accidental overreaction that sent Gordon's face into the back of the pilot's seat. That was the report, anyway."
"You think Scott hit him?" Dad didn't sound any less concerned.
"Oh no, Scott didn't hit him. I'm just saying I don't quite believe the 'accidental' part. Scott's too good a pilot. Probably didn't mean for Gords to get hurt. Just annoy him," and knowing his brothers, the closer the proximity, the more annoyed they got.
"Well then, let's hope they've grown a bit since the last time," a twinkle flashed through the grey eyes and Virgil's smile grew with his father's optimism.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," the engineer gave his father's shoulder a squeeze before turning back to the lounge. "So, any big plans today?"
Dad followed with the slight limp he hadn't been able to shake since his return to Earth, "I was thinking about tinkering in the hangar. Maybe work on some old projects."
"Sounds fun," Virgil offered with a raised brow. Between physical therapy and reacquainting himself with Tracy Industries, Dad hadn't shown much interest in his old work. Now, it seemed life had calmed enough for some self indulgence and the second eldest couldn't be happier. "Mind if I join you? I've got a few upgrades to Thunderbird 2 I've been working on."
"Of course!" Jeff let out a soft chuckle as they approached the hangar lift, "Y'know, I remember the first time you came down from schoolwork with sketches of a gun you wanted to attach to the old girl. What did you say it shot?"
Virgil's head tilted, trying to remember that specific idea. There had been so many since then and some merged into a conglomeration of tools. The chime of the elevator jostled his thoughts just enough until a word formed, "Sand. It was a sand cannon to help put out fires."
"That's right! And create instant beaches, according to Gordon," they both laughed at the memory.
"Well, now it shoots fire suppression grenades. Not nearly as much fun as sand, but effective," Virgil hit the indicator for the hangar and they began their descent.
"I saw those, very impressive," admiration filled Jeff's tone. So many changes had happened after they'd lost him, it was nice to hear any level of praise that would've been fantasy before.
When the lift doors opened, they were greeted by the sound of machinery whirring with purpose. As they stepped onto the workroom floor, they discovered who was already neck deep in experimental projects.
"Good morning, Brains," Jeff greeted, managing to startle the scientist.
"Mr. Tracy, Virgil, go-good morning," he smiled under the large safety goggles. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine," Virgil waved off the look of worry. "We just came down to work on some projects. We'll try to stay out of your hair."
The beaming expression spoke volumes of what Brains thought, more so than the words that followed, "That's wonderful! Don't he-hesitate to ask if you need help."
"You'll be the first person we call," Jeff chuckled and placed an arm around his broad son's shoulders, leading him towards an old table and console they'd set aside years ago.
For the day Dad came home, Virgil felt the warmth flood his chest as he realised their decision was worth the wait.
OoOoOoO
"You two are making good time," Jeff watched Virgil talk to his siblings a few steps away from the table that was now covered in holograms. They'd been looking at a glider when Scott had commed with an update, much to the frustration of the submarine's pilot.
"We'd be there by now if we didn't have to do perimeter sweeps every fifteen minutes," Gordon grumbled, his frustration levels already peaking.
"They're standard safety measures," Scott bit back. "We don't know if anything else is out here."
"We're almost five kilometers down. The odds of us running into anything down here are pretty slim," and knowing his second youngest, that wasn't ideal. They were surrounded by darkness where Gordon prefered the light of the reefs and caldera.
"Alright you two," suddenly, Jeff could hear Lucy's words echoed in Virgil's. "Be safe and don't murder each other."
"I make no promises," Gordon made it clear for them to hear.
Scott sighed, just as exasperated, "We'll do our best." The transmission cut out and Jeff had to blink away old memories of his eldest's high school days.
"You okay, Dad?" Virgil was watching him now, dark brown eyes trying to discern if medical attention was necessary. It was a habit his son hadn't been able to shake.
Jeff smiled, nodding, "I'm fine. Just some old memories of you boys and your mother. You remind me very much of her."
Caught off guard, his raven-haired son floundered for a moment before finding a sad smile, "I guess it comes from helping keep Gordon and Alan out of trouble."
"I could see that," the two had caused their fair share of headaches in the early years. He couldn't imagine what they got up to without their father around. Returning his attention to the glider and away from the ache that was trying to needle its way out of the suppression, Jeff snagged a memory, "I remember the day they thought filling a pool with gelatin would be fun."
Virgil cringed, "Ugh, that was a sticky mess. The bugs were thrilled." He bit his lip a moment later and Jeff could see the hesitation. The story followed anyway, but the effort to save his brothers' dignity was well noted, "One time, I caught them trying to make Scott a sandwich. Now, if it had been Alan on his own, sure, believable. Even Gordon had his thoughtful moments as a teen, but both of them screamed trouble."
"What had they done?" Jeff chuckled, already piecing together that the sandwich was a trap.
"Well, at first glance it looked like a normal sandwich, but when I asked them to take a bite, Alan immediately refused. Gords tried to play it cool and started to go on about who's fault it would be that a bite was missing. I called his bluff and it wasn't ten seconds when he had his mouth under the faucet," Virgil's grin was infectious. "That was the last time they messed with food… and ghost peppers."
"Ouch, hard lesson learned," and he would've given anything to be a part of that lesson.
The morning disappeared with more stories and going over old and new schematics. Lunch was brought over by MAX and they ate over their work.
Jeff found it all so overwhelmingly normal. It felt like putting on an old, well worn jacket that clung just right. He could find peace in the laughter and the quiet. The two could pour over one project together before falling into a rhythm all their own, working on whatever they pleased. It was almost like a dream, one he'd had so often back in the wreckage. He never wanted to lose it again.
A hologram of a pod swiveled in front of them, new heat shields forming as they discussed the best way to attach them, and then, it all went dark.
Dark was an understatement. Not a single light filled the expansive hangar, leaving its occupants blindly shuffling into anything solid. Virgil broke the silent gap created by the machines shutting down, "Brains? Any idea what happened? Why haven't the backup generators kicked in?"
There was no mistaking the fear as the scientist replied, "The systems are de-designed to withstand storms and power surges. This should not happen."
"My watch is dead too," Virgil added to the growing problem.
"Think it could be interference from beyond the island," meaning people who either didn't know what they'd be effecting or people who did. This level of shut down didn't just happen and as Jeff's thoughts followed that path, so did Brains and his son.
"The Hood's supposed to be in prison," Virgil sounded closer, shuffling noises of him pulling at drawers giving the former astronaut hope that he would find something to help. The crack and subsequent green glow that came not long after at least gave them a chance to group up with Brains and a motionless MAX.
"The Hood's a very pow-powerful man," the scientist tried a set of switches in hopes of restarting the robot to no avail. "He could have allies willing to get this close to us."
It was a very real possibility that Jeff was willing to entertain if it meant keeping them all safe. Steadying himself, he started with what they did know, "Your grandmother will know something's up when she tries to contact the island on her return."
"And hopefully, she'll contact Col Casey," Virgil continued.
"Right, so we can either stay put and try to avoid whoever decided to attack our home," though Jeff would gladly accept that it was just a fault in their systems and no one with malintent.
"Or?" Two sets of eyes regarded the former astronaut at Virgil's prompting.
"We can always try heading to the Raoul research station and see if their communications have been affected," Jeff had been more than pleased to learn Mel was still very much involved with his family. "Just gotta figure out how to get there," he frowned, the pods quiet and useless.
A smirk formed on his second eldest's face, "I've got an idea, but Gordon won't be happy."
"I'm sure he'll understand," without the immediate threat of danger, smiles came easy. "What's your plan, son?"
"Gords has a few boats that won't need electricity. Should be easy enough to get one through the bathhouse doors," his head tilted, brown eyes shifting to ponder the idea further. "We should be able to go through the manual exit down here, but if someone is on the island, they might have people watching the beaches."
"Weapons?" The word felt wrong as it rolled off his tongue, but Jeff wasn't going to risk his family over the wellbeing of intruders.
Brains moved first, Virgil heading in a different direction and holding the glowstick high to help with visibility as they began digging through supply closets. A soft curse from the engineer and something was tossed aside. A few moments later, Virgil returned with a crowbar and wrench, handing the longer of the two to his father.
"It's no laser cutter, but they'll do some damage if we need them," Virgil tucked the wrench under his arm, grabbing a few more glow sticks for each of them.
Brains hadn't been much more successful, returning with another wrench and a handful of zip ties, "Just in ca-case we need to restrain someone."
"Good thinking, Brains," Jeff smiled as he accepted his supplies.
Distant, but unmistakable, an explosion sounded above them. Like a spark igniting fuel, it sent his pulse racing, jaw tight as it appeared their preparations were warranted. Tone hushed in the vastness of the dark hangar, Jeff turned to the men with him, "Let's move."
Virgil led the way, the green glow covering the floor in front of him as he tried to limit their own visibility to anyone looking for them from above. Jeff's stomach clenched at the thought of anyone in his home uninvited, much less potentially hostile. The one blessing was they were all together. It was the one advantage they had above knowing the island like the back of their hand.
Another explosion, closer and infinitely more visible showered the hangar in orange flashes as sparks and metal fell. A shout from Brains and they dove for cover as more blasts echoed off the walls. Jeff pushed himself against a storage unit, eyes searching for the green glow and finding it laying on the floor a few feet away. Virgil, however, was nowhere in sight.
"Son? Virgil?!" It was difficult not to yell, his heart hammering in his chest as he waited for an answer. The clattering of debris was the only response until the edge of a shoulder appeared, a hand waving in the low light. Instead of indicating he was okay, however, Virgil gestured towards the door they couldn't see. It was where they'd been headed and would be detrimental to their escape.
Without another thought, Jeff scrambled forward, grabbing the glow stick as he ran. He was glad to hear two sets of footfalls behind him. The explosions had stopped, but there was no way they were going to slow down, not with the threat of those who'd caused the destruction. When Jeff hit the door, the manual lever groaned from lack of use, but eventually turned into a click as it unlocked. He pushed it open and sunlight flooded in, blinding him for a moment as they stumbled through.
Jeff blinked in the perfect day that had changed so quickly, the water coming into view a moment later. If it weren't for the mayhem happening within their home, it would been a peaceful sight. Slamming the door behind them, the three began their trek towards the boathouse, eager to gain some advantage. It wasn't far, thankfully, and the former astronaut could only hope it hadn't been compromised. He needed to get his family to safety.
At that thought, he glanced back to see that Brains and Virgil were still with him. They were, the scientist frantically scanning the ocean and the sky above for anything that might attack. Virgil was just behind him, eyes focused on the ground as his arm wrapped around his abdomen.
The sight of red seeping through his son's fingers halted Jeff's steps as he spun, catching Brains off guard as the older man dodged. He caught Virgil's shoulder to stop him from continuing until they all knew how bad he was.
"Virgil, report," dark brown eyes blinked as they lost focus on the ground and met his father's stern gaze. There was pain written over his face, but also that stubborn determination they all seemed to possess.
"I'll be okay, just need to get to the boats," his voice was reassuringly steady. "Lots of first aid on board."
Before Jeff could question any further, they could hear more explosions, the reality of their situation cutting through the father's need to assess his son's wounds. Virgil broke from the hand on his shoulder, urging them all to keep going. There was little else they could do and as Jeff fell in step behind the engineer, he silently cursed whoever decided to attack them.
They would pay for the rest of their lives.