Inner Strengths

Disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds but my Grandma's neighbour does…-cheers!- I get free merchandise! W00t!

Summary: When a Rescue Mission goes horrifyingly wrong, its Jeff Tracy's Worst nightmare to find out his youngest son has disappeared from the Danger Zone on his first official 'Rescue.' What has become of the youngest Tracy? (-Movie Take-)

Warnings: Psychological references, prepare to be confused! XD

Well? What do ya think? Is every one still in the dark? (Random person turns on the light…) gah! O.o damnit! >. '

Ok I'll rephrase that; can anyone guess where my plot is heading? There that's better… either email me (wolf underscore cubs underscore wish at hotmail . com) or review with your theories and I'll let you know if you're close or not in the next chapter…

Enjoy!


Chapter Seven: Co-Incidences…

His mind was scattered. Pain seemed to haunt him from every inch of his body but he couldn't recall why. Fleeting images of the ground shaking and of falling came back to him but it made no sense. He remembered his Father was upset, his angry voice echoed through his mind over and over again…

"Don't you dare Alan Shepherd Tracy! Stay Awake!" Stay awake? Was he sleeping? He didn't feel like he was sleeping…

Then he remembered.

The pain. The crash. The strangers.

His eyes snapped open and a khaki coloured ceiling greeted his blurred sight. Pounding strikes coursed through his head in response to the sudden light and he briefly closed then again. It took a minute for his vision to clear before he chanced a quick glance without moving his head. He appeared to be in a makeshift tent, expertly made but with recycled materials. He thought of taking a look around but he didn't dare try sitting up, the very idea made him feel ill. A shuffling sound soon caught his attention and he carefully turned his head to look over at where the sounds were originating from.

Dark tunnels surrounded his vision temporarily but soon he found himself staring at a young woman leant over a small hand made table. He watched slightly curious about what she was doing. She was dark skinned and looked to be about his age with long dark hair that reminded him of Tin-Tin…

"Ugh…" He groaned as the pounding in his head increased reminding him of his injuries. His eyes closed instinctively. How he longed for Virgil's healing hands, his infamous home made drugs could cure any pain or discomfort that threatened any of them whilst on a Rescue. At this thought he inwardly groaned again; his family were probably searching for him and beginning to worry about his disappearance. Not that he could help it. He hadn't asked for these kind people to help him, they just did. He wasn't complaining either, if he'd woken up one more time in that godforsaken craft he'd scream.

"Hanja gomuti!" The voice startled him momentarily; he had forgotten she was in the room. He opened his eyes again to find a pretty face watching him intently. She smiled at him and held a cool wet rag on his forehead. It was then that he realised he was feeling very hot. The cooling cloth soothed away some of the pounding and helped him wake up that much more.

"Hi…" he tried. His voice sounded strange to his ears, it was a rough croak that hardly gave any volume at all. The girl quickly put her fingers over his lips to silence him. He got the message and gave a quick nod which in turn sent black dots in his line of vision. She flashed him a quick smile, happy that he was doing as she bid.

But the moment of peace was shattered when another wave of pain assaulted his head. He hissed and quickly squeezed his eyes shut. The sudden pain made it hard for him to breathe, and it began to spread downwards. White hot sensations coursed through his body and he instinctively doubled over, curling in on himself. He could hear the young woman calling out, could hear other voices talking in a rapid language he couldn't recognise. But he couldn't focus on them. The pain was too intense…too much…

The last thing he saw was an eerie glowing light before he fell limply into an unconscious abyss once again…


Xi-Lan had awoken to darkness. A darkness she quickly put down to the blindfold wrapped around her eyes. She tested her surroundings quickly, the floor beneath her felt hard but not cold; almost like her laminate flooring in her kitchenette.

At that thought she instantly remembered what had happened and she sat up like a shot. Her breaths came in short gasps and panic filled her body. She tested her limits and found her hands secured tightly behind her and a nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach beginning to grow. Her over-reactive imagination began wreaking havoc on her fragile mind.

"Miss Pei Xi-Lan." She froze. Her heart leapt into her throat as sweat poured down her face, she was hardly breathing.

"Who's there?" She called out weakly, surprised to find her voice sounding quite strong and loud in her own ears. She heard a shuffling sound and soft footsteps moving closer. Regret at wishing her life had more adventure swamped her thoughts leaving her feeling quite alone and deserving of this end. She shivered and braced herself waiting for the abuse, the violence…the killing blow.

"My dear you may call me…The Hood." Recognition hit her hard. The Hood! As in the expert villain that was on the news some months ago? What did The Hood want with her? Why did an expert criminal mastermind want her dead?

"Calm down Miss Pei, I am not going to kill you…today. You are needed for a specific reason." The shuffling stopped and she could feel him kneeling down to her height. Surprise faintly registered as the man hit her thoughts right in the head. "My, you are quite the exotic beauty." She shivered at his faint touch on her cheek.

"What do you want with me?" She asked, voice still strong but trembling under his caress. If she wasn't going to be killed then that meant he needed her for something…and she had a pretty good idea what that was considering her Diplomas and PhD; she was an expert in her field.

"I have been watching you for a while now Miss Xi-Lan, I have studied your interests, your desires, your day to day schedules…you have such vigour, such passion for your area of expertise, and that should not be wasted on your current mundane job." Disbelief hit her hard. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was he reading her mind?

"I know you are bored with your new job, bored with your new life in Honk Kong. I know you want more in your life. You want to be free…" her heart was beating faster than she could imagine. Her breathing hitched as the truth of his words, that he couldn't possibly have known, hit her core.

But she remained focussed…

"You still haven't answered my question." She had managed to keep her voice strong and controlled yet again. She found herself feeling quite rebellious toward the evil master mind, at his mercy or not.

"Such dedication, such devotion…" The Hood trailed off as though thinking about his next words carefully. "You will find out soon enough." His voice came out sterner this time and his hand dropped from her cheek. The shuffling began again only this time it was moving away. Seconds later she heard a door closing and then silence.

She shuddered fearfully in the dark…


"Dad," John greeted with a smile but he paused when he saw his father's image on the screen. "You look…" Jeff turned to the camera with a warning grimace. He and Fermat had closed the Danger Zone an hour ago and were currently hurtling through the darkening sky.

"Don't say it, don't even think it." He said warningly, daring his son to defy him. John had always had respect for his Father's requests, but that didn't stop him from having a little fun.

"A little too well done…I like my steaks slightly less charred personally but if that's how you like it then I'm not complaining." John's sweet and innocent face grinned at him from the screen. He swore that his kids just teamed up against him for the hell of it. His sarcastic grin subsided as he grew serious.

"Funny John, very funny…Any word?" he asked knowing John knew what he was asking about. John also flicked a switch and became the calm, level headed man he'd been brought up as.

"Tin-Tin's ETA is 30 minutes, she hit a slight weather problem and had to change course slightly. Virgil and Gordon are just about finishing with the English Channel rescue and you look like you need some time to cool off." He couldn't help it. His Father was just a joke magnet right now. Well what with all the tension and worry in the air right now everyone needed some sort of tension relief and John had found out that laughing helped a lot quicker than crying did…

Jeff rolled his eyes, which just served to produce a slight chuckle from his middle son. "Let Tin-Tin know we're not far behind her. I want Thunderbird Two to stop off at HQ though. Tell the boys to clean her up before heading out after us; it's been on too many rescues as it is." He said, thinking back to the morning in which the chaotic day had started with. It had certainly been a busy day for the Thunderbirds.

"Yeah, five rescues in one day, sheesh. I mean first thing in the morning the Oil Refinery Station in Sydney blows up, and then three hours later a Tsunami hits the Indonesian Islands, then almost immediately after that the miners in the Amazon Rainforest call for help and now the BSI and English Channel Rescues…" He rambled whilst ticking the Rescues off on his fingers. "Boy, do I feel over worked and under paid… Sometimes I think the world is just plotting these dangerous situations just to get us to show up. I do believe we are loved…" His comment had been sarcastic and light but Jeff latched onto that idea with a deep concern. John didn't miss the look that flashed on his father's face and suddenly stopped smiling.

"It's very possible." Jeff said gravely. "It's happened once already." John was reminded again of the time when The Hood had almost destroyed IR. If it hadn't been for Tin-Tin, Alan and Fermat, they'd be dancing with the stars right now, and Alan would be orphaned.

"Speaking of Alan…" John gave his Father a worried questioning glance…John had seen the footage too; he'd been the one who had to connect the two vid links.

"He'll be fine John, he's a fighter. Its Scott im worried about, I've heard nothing from him and from what Alan was babbling about he was outside when the after quake hit. T1 would have protected Alan but Scott…" Jeff trailed off. His eldest son had completely disappeared off both his technical and fatherly radars, and his worry was increasing dramatically. Yes Alan was in critical condition given what he'd witnessed, and yes it had terrified him when he'd seen what those people tried to do but at least he was alive and with people who wanted to help him. Scott, on the other hand, had yet to report in…

"They'll both be fine Dad." John offered, a ghost of a smile gracing his features, "They're both too stubborn to stay away for too long." Jeff had to smile at that. It was true; both his eldest and youngest sons had the famous Tracy stubborn streak and a healthy dose of it too. And when they clashed it was a spectacular eruption for the onlookers.

But that had been why he'd paired the two up. Alan had to learn to control his temper and keep a professional front even when Scott was irritating the hell out of him…and Scott also had a few lessons to learn too. He had picked up this bad habit where he'd just ignore Alan's ideas and do what he thought was necessary and many a time Alan's ideas had been quite ingenious and valuable. Scott had to learn to listen to Alan and Jeff had thought that by placing the two in the same "Vehicle" they could both focus their stubbornness on saving the lives of those in need.

"Thanks John, keep me updated…Thunderbird Six out."


"We're just bout done. The ship has been fully evacuated; there were minimal casualties and minimal deaths. Thunderbird Four is back on board and we're just about to head after Dad." Virgil reported. He was sat in the cock pit of Thunderbird Two while Gordon closed down the Danger Zone outside. John quickly shook his head on the small screen in front of him.

"No can do, Dad wants the bug back at HQ for now. He says you can go wash up and follow in the second jet." Virgil fumed silently and John realised his mistake too little too late.

"Bug!" Virgil exclaimed. "What is this! 'Pick-on-Thunderbird-Two' day?" John winced and gave an apologetic grin, just as Gordon waltzed inside.

"Sorry Virg didn't mean for it to come out…" John tried. Virgil shot him a silencing glare before sighing. "Anyways, I got to go keep an eye on things, I'll keep you informed. Thunderbird Five out." John said before beating a hasty retreat. Gordon sat down heavily and leaned back in the co pilot's chair, smiling slightly; atleast he wasn't the only one in trouble now.

"Ready to go home?"

"Long ago…"


He stepped off the plane and took in the dazzling sights and smells before him with disdain.

Brazil…

The wonderful country of dance, song and music; where festivals and parties continued throughout the night and on into the next day; where a girl would bat her eyelids and lift her skirts and a boy would swoop in and claim her as his.

Where Dr Romano Pedro; his next victim, would be…