JEFF was as good as his word when it came to granting Scott a vacation. His eldest son was soon in the capable and caring hands of Lady Penelope and Parker who were treating Scott to a cruise along the coastline of France in the Mediterranean aboard FAB2. The weather couldn't have been better. The Sun was baking hot. The sea was calm and they weren't bothered by any other vessels that were in the area.
Scott however wasn't exactly a man for just sitting around to take things easy. He'd been on FAB2 for a couple of days and was definitely feeling bored as he lay in a deckchair on the aft Sun Deck.
Penelope came out to sunbathe with him. "How's the tan coming along, Scott?" she asked.
Scott adjusted his sunglasses. "You know I could do this any day back home?" he remarked. "We have a beach where nobody can bother us. The Sun shines ninety-nine percent of the time. Only thing that is different between this and home is that I've done nothing for the past few days."
Penelope chuckled. "That's the idea," she teased.
Scott let out a small sigh. "This boat goes fast, doesn't it?"
"It sure does."
"You got any skis?"
"No, but when we stop off in Monaco I'm sure we can pick some up," said Penelope.
Scott smiled. "That'd be swell," he said.
"Mind you, Parker is not one for speeding on the water," Penelope added, looking over at the chauffeur and butler who was sitting right at the very stern of the yacht with a fishing rod next to him. "Have you caught anything, Parker?" Penelope called over.
"Not yet, m'lady!" Parker called back. "H'I 'ave only just started."
Penelope glanced at her watch. "If by starting means you've been sitting there for three hours already as we cruise along?" she asked.
"That's what h'I mean, m'lady," replied Parker. "Only just started."
Penelope and Scott exchanged glances and rolled their eyes with a knowing grin to one another.
Just then there came a little jingle of a bell that was attached to Parker's rod. He suddenly became all excited. "Crikey! I got h'a bite!"
Scott and Penelope sat upright in their deckchairs.
"Quickly, Parker!" said Penelope. "Get it in before it gets away."
"No rush, m'lady," answered Parker, who was grinning broadly. "Slow h'and steady. And 'e will be mine!"
Scott found Parker slowly reeling his line in more entertaining than sitting around. But then an alarm began to sound from the bridge of FAB2.
"Errr, what's that?" Scott asked anxiously.
The controls of FAB2 were linked to Penelope's watch. She tapped the face and checked to see what the matter was. "Proximity alert?" she said, confused. "But the radar's not showing anything within six miles of our position."
Scott stood up and looked around, and then he saw something that made him freeze and his eyes widened. "Could it be that?" he asked, pointing.
Penelope looked round and she froze too. About five-hundred yards away was a thin object that was just breaking the surface of the water. It had quite a big bow-wake and was moving towards them very rapidly.
Penelope jumped out of her seat. "Parker, drop your catch!" she said. "We need to move!"
Parker hadn't heard the alarm or even noticed the object heading their way. "Not now, m'lady!" he protested. "I cannot lose this-" It was at that very moment that his eyes looked to his left and caught sight of the oncoming danger. "BLIMEY O'RILEY!"
"Get him back, Scott!" Penelope ordered. "I'll get us clear!"
Scott rushed forwards, grabbed Parker by the arm and yanked him back away from the edge of the stern just as Penelope activated the engines of FAB2. The pink yacht responded immediately with its powerful thrusters pushing it through the water and out of the path of the oncoming object. The sudden jolt caused the little stand that Parker's rod was attached to to fall off the back and into the water.
"NOOOOOOO!" wailed Parker, clapping his hands to his head in despair. "ME ROD!"
They were only just able to get out of the way before the strange object crossed the stern, right where they had been seconds before. As it passed, they could see it was completely black, but the shape of it was unmistakable as a vast black shape could be seen underneath the surface of the water as it went.
Penelope cut the engines to stop the yacht once certain they were safe before she joined Scott and an equally stunned Parker by the Port-side of the deck to watch the object sailing away from them.
"That cannot be what I think it is, can it?" Penelope said to Scott.
"There's nothing else it can be," Scott replied. "That was a shark."
"Yeah…" agreed Parker. "And a flippin' big one h'and all!"
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
"Thunderbirds Are Go!"
"TECHNO-SHARK"
SCOTT wasted no time in informing the others about what they had just seen.
"A giant shark?" Virgil said.
"Had to be," answered Scott. "That was definitely a fin breaking through the surface."
"How large was it?" asked Jeff.
"Bigger than FAB2 definitely," said Scott. "At a rough guess. Must have been at least the same length as Thunderbird 1, if not longer."
Alan shivered. "That's…frightening," he remarked.
John, who had joined the conversation from Thunderbird 5, shook his head with a sigh. "Oh, man. Not you as well, Scott."
Everyone looked at him. "What do you mean, John?" asked Scott.
"You're not the first to have reported this unusual creature, Scott," John replied. "Over the last two days there have been reports by numerous pleasure cruisers, fishing boats and even the Coastguard have said to have caught sight of a large marine creature swimming off the coastlines of Italy and Southern France. All have said the same - a giant shark's fin breaking the surface yet nobody has seen the rest of the creature. What they have all said though is that it is extremely large."
"Did they say what color it was?" asked Scott.
"No. All these sightings have been distant," said John. "You're the only ones who seem to have gotten a close look at it."
"It gave us a scare, that's for sure," said Penelope.
"And I've lost me rod h'as a result!" added Parker bitterly.
"Did you see where it went?" asked John.
"Was heading West along the coastline," answered Scott. "Do you want us to try and track it down?"
"No, Scott. But I'll alert the Marine Agency," said John. "They'll be wanting to get a closer look and see if they can identify what kind of shark it is."
Just then, Gordon rushed into the lounge in an excitable mood. "Guys! Guys! You're gonna want to see this!" he said. He sent what he'd been watching on his phone to the projector on the table. At once, two familiar figures to the family appeared.
Alan let out a slight groan. "Ugh, them!" he muttered to himself.
"Hey there, folks! Welcome to Into The Unknown with Buddy & Ellie! I'm your host Buddy Pendeghast and today we're returning to a question we asked ourselves several series ago. Ells?"
"Yes, Buddy! Can the elusive Megalodon Shark still exist in the oceans of the world?"
"Last time, we didn't find the answer. But today, we intend to. You see, there have been reports that a colossal marine creature large enough to potentially be a Meg, has been sighted swimming off the shores of Italy and now the Southern Coast of France. Could these be true? Today, I'll risk my life to find out!"
Jeff frowned. "And who are these people?" he asked.
"Buddy and Ellie Pendeghast!" said Gordon. "They're the greatest conspiracy explorers in the world!"
"Don't you mean Solar-System, Gordon?" asked Virgil. "I mean they did go to Europa."
"Ahh, the mission to Europa?" said Jeff. "I remember reading that report. These were who you went to rescue?"
"Yes!" said Gordon.
"And then again in Africa with the giant reptiles," added Kayo, which wiped the happy expression off Gordon's face in an instant. He shivered.
"Yes, I read that as well," said Jeff. "Seems they have a knack for getting into trouble."
"Not recently they haven't," said Gordon. "They're decent people. They know how to stay safe now. Gee, I really hope they can find it this time."
"Then they're out of luck," said Alan with a grin. "Scott and Lady P have literally just seen it."
Gordon stared at the holograms of Scott and Penelope. "H-How long have you two been there?" he asked.
"Since before you came charging in and interrupted us," answered Penelope. She meant this as a joke but Gordon went red with embarrassment which amused the others.
"Guessing we should put ourselves on stand-by, just in case things go south for them?" Virgil asked.
"No, Virg. They're not as reckless as they used to be!" Gordon protested.
But John was quick to interrupt. "Actually, guys, maybe we should," he said. "It would appear that Buddy and Ellie aren't the only ones who are trying to find this giant shark friend of yours, Scott."
Scott was puzzled. "Oh? Well we're in no rush to be the first. I'd happily let them have the glory."
"I…didn't mean you," said John. His hologram then pushed Gordon's footage of the Pendeghasts over to the side and brought up live footage from the broadcast he'd intercepted. Everyone stared in disbelief as another familiar figure appeared on the screen - one that was far less pleasurable than the Pendeghasts.
"Hello, beautiful people of the world. This is Francois Lemaire here. And I am aboard my submarine, the Jules Verne 2 where we shall be the first human beings, that is myself and my darling wife Madeline, to see a real-life Megalodon Shark and show it to the world. This is going to be a glorious day for me. And who knows, maybe I'll get a knighthood for it?"
Madeline was not visible but was heard to sigh quietly off camera.
"Hey, get out of it!" Gordon spat at Lemaire's image. "Buddy and Ellie should be the ones to find it. Not the ars-"
"GORDON!" Grandma barked, cutting him off.
"Aw, Grandma, why did you cut me off?" Gordon complained. "You know I'm right about him."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean anyone wants to hear you swearing out loud, does it?" Grandma said.
Gordon huffed as Lemaire spoke again.
"Today's adventure is a bit different to normal," Lemaire said. "For today I shall be taking calls from a number of my extremely loyal fans on how much seeing this magnificent elusive creature of the past, that is believed to have been extinct, means to them."
"You have fans?" Alan remarked. "Dream on, pal."
"And we'll start with Line 1," said Lemaire. "Hello there. Give me your name, your location and what your interest in the Megalodon is."
Everyone had been expecting some random person's voice to answer. So it came as a surprise when the voice turned out to be someone they'd never suspect.
"Yes, my name's Buddy Pendegast. I'm right off your Starboard quarter and if you think for one second I'm gonna let you ruin my show by trying to find the Meg first, you've got another thing coming!"
"BUDDY?!" exclaimed Gordon.
"Yeah, tell him, Buddy!" jeered Alan.
Lemaire however was furious. "How DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT?!" he thundered. "I am the premier explorer of this planet. I will be the one to find the Megalodon first."
"Dream on, mate!" snapped Buddy. "Me and my wife have been to more dangerous places and seen things that you could never have even dreamt of!"
The International Rescue team exchanged worried looks.
"Forget stand-by," said Kayo. "Maybe we need to get out there?"
"No, Kayo. We're not the GDF or the Police," said Jeff. "John, make a call to the GDF and tell them that they need to defuse this tension building between Mr Lemaire and Mr Pendeghast."
"F-A-B, Dad," said John. But then he stopped. "Hold on a second. I've got Buddy and Lemaire's subs on my scope. They're not far from FAB2's position. Lady Penelope - can FAB2 go underwater like FAB1 can?"
"No, but we have got FAB1 in the garage," replied Penelope. "Would you like us to go and be the referee?"
"That might be an idea," said John. "We don't want any underwater collisions if we can help it."
"If there are then I guess Thunderbird 4 will be needed?" said Gordon.
Jeff scratched his chin thoughtfully. "In that case, maybe we should be on standby. Penny, take Scott and Parker in FAB1 and go and shadow the two submarines. If you think any foul play is about to take place then step in and try and prevent it if you can."
"Right away, Jeff," said Penelope. She closed down the link and turned to face Parker and Scott. "Get the car ready, Parker. We're going for a swim."
"Very well, m'lady," answered Parker as he gloomily headed for the door. "H'I will never get it back."
"Come again, Parker?" asked Penelope.
"Nothing, m'lady," said Parker as he sulked out of the bridge.
Jeff now turned to the others. "Virgil and Gordon, get down to Thunderbird 2 and select Module 4. If things get nasty, we may need a swift launch."
"F-A-B," said Virgil and Gordon together. Gordon was already standing up and he began to make his way to the express elevator round by the Fish Tank whilst Virgil got up from his seat and began to make his way to the rocket painting. Leaning against the painting, it tilted back so Virgil could make his way down the long chute in the harness towards Thunderbird 2's hangar. Gordon meanwhile reached the Fish Tank and placed his hand on the glass. A little jingle rang out as it recognised his handprint and the elevator came up out of the floor. He stood in it before it took him down at high speed. As both brothers made their way down, robotic arms attached their suits to their bodies. Virgil arrived at Thunderbird 2 first and dropped down into the cockpit before closing the hatch above him. He ran to his seat and sat down before selecting Module 4 from the computer. The conveyor rolled the Modules (including the newly built Module 2 to replace the one destroyed by the McGinley brothers) underneath the main body before stopping at Module 4. Virgil pulled back a lever which lowered the steering console as well as the main body down onto the module and the clamps locked it into place. Gordon then arrived via the floor elevator and sat himself down in the co-pilot seat.
"Okay, here we are," said Gordon. "Now what?"
"We wait," replied Virgil.
"But…shouldn't we wait on the ramp?" asked Gordon.
"No, just in case we get a more serious situation that requires a different Module," answered Virgil. "Let us hope Scott and Lady Penelope can resolve this one though."
Parker had not got FAB1 ready and Penelope and Scott were in the back seats.
"Let's go, Parker."
"Yus, m'lady." At the flick of a switch, the garage door of FAB2 opened. Parker activated the flight-mode and lifted the car a little bit off the deck before flying forwards out from the stern of the yacht and then dived down into the water where he then switched to aqua-mode. "FAB1 is h'off."
Now they were underwater, they began to make their way towards where the submarines of the Lemaires and the Pendeghasts were chasing each other in a desperate attempt to be the one to locate the supposed Megalodon first. The argument between Buddy and Lemaire was still raging despite the best efforts of their respective wives to stop them.
"Have you ever climbed K2?" Lemaire asked.
"Have you ever been to Europa?" growled Buddy.
At that moment, Penelope decided to intervene. "This is Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward to Buddy and Francois. Gentlemen, please stop this ridiculous squabble before someone ends up sinking the other person's sub."
"This is none of your business, Lady Penelope!" snapped Lemaire.
"It is now," replied Penelope. "We can see your reckless actions are getting dangerous-"
"RECKLESS?!" Lemaire and Buddy squawked together.
Madeline then spoke in. "Lady Penelope. My husband might not be too thrilled of your timely arrival but I am. Please tell these so-called adventurers to back off and let my husband find the shark."
"NO!" yelled Ellie, joining in now. "Buddy and I were here first. We've been searching for proof of a Megalodon for years! This glory should be ours!"
Scott and Penelope looked at each other.
"This is getting us nowhere," Penelope said.
"Maybe they'll talk to me," said Scott. Penelope turned the compact to face him. "Hey, Buddy. Ellie. Mr and Mrs Lemaire. Do any of you remember me?"
The two married couples looked at him.
"Should we?" asked Lemaire.
"You look kind of familiar, mate," added Buddy. "Can't say I remember your name though."
"Hey, aren't you Gordon Tracy's brother?" asked Ellie.
"That's right," said Scott. "I'm Scott. Look guys, I know finding this shark potentially means a lot to you, but is it worth risking your lives for?"
"Yes!" snapped Lemaire. "I want to be the man remembered for revealing the Megalodon to the whole world!"
"We just want to see that it exists," said Buddy. "We're not glory-hunters like Mr Snooty there."
"HOW DARE YOU!" Lemaire bellowed.
"Oh, be quiet!" snapped Madeline. "Before you give me another migraine!"
Suddenly there came a WHOOSH as a third submarine, a bright orange one appeared out of nowhere and narrowly missed colliding with the dark blue and grey-coloured Jules Verne 2 and the aquamarine and grey-coloured submersible that Buddy and Ellie were using.
"WOAH! CRIKEY!" exclaimed Buddy.
"WHAT IN THE DEVIL?!" shouted Lemaire.
Penelope contacted Thunderbird 5. "John, did you see that? Where did that come from?"
"I have no idea," replied John. "I appeared on my screen seconds before that near-miss."
"Who else is trying to claim the Megalodon prize then?" asked Scott.
Before John could reply, Lemaire's furious voice came over the comms as he tried to raise whoever was piloting this other submarine. "TO THE COMPLETE AND UTTER IMBECILE WHO IS DRIVING THE BIG ORANGE MONSTROSITY IN FRONT OF MY SHIP! I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT YOU WILL REGRET ALMOST HITTING THE JULES VERNE 2! GET OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE I REPORT YOU TO THE GLOBAL DEFENCE FORCE!"
There were a few moments of silence before a response from the third submarine came. It was another Australian accent that was heard, but it wasn't Buddy. It was another all-too-familiar voice to the members of International Rescue.
"Okay. One - no need to raise your voice. It sounds horrendous as it is. Two - I'm on a very important recovery mission and your presence isn't welcome. And that goes to the other two in the area as well. Stay well out of the way. I don't want any interference. Understand me?"
The Tracy brothers and Kayo all had the exact same reaction at the exact same time. "LANGSTROM FISCHLER?!"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" shouted Kayo.
"Lemaire on his own is a nightmare but Fischler and the Pendeghasts too?!" exclaimed Alan.
"Hey! Buddy and Ellie aren't bad people!" protested Gordon from Thunderbird 2.
"Okay, enough!" Jeff said, jumping to his feet. "Clearly this situation is getting out of hand. I know what Langstrom Fischler and Francois Lemaire can be like. This is going to get rather nasty very quickly. Virgil, launch Thunderbird 2. I have a hunch Thunderbird 4's going to be needed after all."
"On our way," said Virgil.
The rock covering the hangar exit lowered and Thunderbird 2 began to taxi out onto the runway. The palm trees fell back to allow it to pass as it made its way to the launch ramp. Once on the ramp, the wings folded out and it rose upwards before the blast shield lifted into place.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
The engines roared as Thunderbird 2 soared off the ramp and climbed away from Tracy Island before setting course for the Mediterranean.
"Thunderbird 2 is GO!" said Virgil.
The chase was very much on now. Fischer's submarine was in the lead with the Jules Verne 2 in hot pursuit. The Pendeghasts were not far behind and FAB1 was bringing up the rear.
"This is madness!" said Scott. "What the hell is Langstrom Fischler doing here?! He's an inventor. A bad one admittedly, but what could he be wanting here."
"He didn't say he was looking for the Megalodon, Scott," Penelope said. "Maybe he's after something else."
"To be honest, I don't care what he's after," said Scott. "He's putting everyone in danger by just being here. Him and Lemaire - it's like my worst nightmare come true."
Parker meanwhile seemed to be muttering something.
"What are you saying, Parker?' asked Penelope.
"Nothing, m'lady."
Penelope scowled. "Parker, you avoided a similar question back on the yacht. Something's bothering you. What is it?"
Parker sighed. "H'I lost me rod when that pesky shark came h'at us, m'lady."
Scott and Penelope looked at each other again. "Oh, for goodness sake, Parker!" said Penelope. "There are much more important things to worry about than your fishing rod I think. Keep focused on chasing our friends down here."
Easy for you to say, Parker thought to himself. You weren't the one who paid for it. He would never have dared to have said that out loud to Penelope. He was so busy thinking that he didn't realise the alarm was going off until it was too late.
"LOOK OUT!" Scott shouted suddenly as a massive black shape appeared out of the darkness in front of FAB1. The car slammed into it with great force and the impact caused it to fly backwards and spiral out of control whilst Scott, Penelope and Parker cried out in alarm.
Even though they were spinning, Scott thought he caught a glimpse of the object. It was massive, and shark-shaped. It seemed that instead of them finding the Megalodon, the Megalodon had found them instead.