SCOTT was in a state of panic. In the dark and slightly smokey-wrecked factory building that he was running through the debris of, he found himself lost and feeling alone, despite having come with all four of his brothers. "GUYS! WHERE ARE YOU?!" he called out into the darkness. "I NEED BACK-UP! FRONT-UP! HECK, I'LL EVEN TAKE SIDE-UP!"
"Scott, not so loud!" Scott turned sharply to see he'd been joined by Virgil. "You're supposed to be the leader out in the field!" Virgil reminded him as they stood back to back and watched their surroundings. "Please try and act like one!"
"Tell me you're not freaking out and maybe I'll calm down?" Scott said timidly.
"And if I am freaking out?" Virgil asked.
Before Scott could answer, they heard a metallic clunk-clunk of something bouncing across the floor in their direction. They looked down to see a small silver and black ball rolling towards them. It had some glowing blue energy inside of it.
"MOVE!" shouted Virgil, shoving Scott out of the way. The device then detonated, releasing a blast of bright blue energy and creating a powerful shockwave that sent Scott and Virgil flying off in opposite directions.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" yelled Scott as he landed hard on the floor about ten metres away. After picking himself up, he looked back round and froze. "Virgil? VIRGIL?!" But Virgil had completely disappeared. Even as Scott ran back to the location of where they'd been, he found no sign of his first brother. Scott was really scared now. His legs felt like jelly. So far on this assignment they'd already lost John and Gordon to whatever their mysterious attacker was and now it had claimed Virgil as well. "He's gone!" Scott cried.
"GAME OVER, BRO! AW, MAN, IT'S GAME OVER!"
Scott looked in time to see Alan come flying overhead using the thrusters on his utility sash. He'd got a pair of hand-blasters on his gloves which he was using to try and take out whatever it was that was attacking them. Due to his sudden entrance, Scott had to duck to avoid getting hit first by Alan's boots and then again when the equally terrified youngest brother sent two of the blasts in his direction. "ALAN! WATCH WHERE YOU SHOOT THOSE!" His attention was then caught by a lightning-quick shadow that seemed to dart across by some busted up crates close to where he and Alan were.
"SHE'S EVERYWHERE!" wailed Alan as he fired his blasters in the direction of the shadow. "HOW CAN SHE BE EVERYWHERE?!"
"ALAN, STOP!" Scott yelled. "WE NEED A PLAN! SAFETY IN NUMBERS! GET DOWN HERE AND-"
Before Scott had a chance to finish, the mysterious attacker struck again. Its shadowy figure shot out from the right of Scott's view, grabbing Alan and the pair disappeared off to the left.
"ALAN!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" was all he heard before there came a loud CRASH and Alan's screams went silent.
"NO!" bellowed Scott, firing up his jetpack and flying off in pursuit. "IT CAN'T END THIS WAY!" He flew over the nearby crates and landed on the highest one so he could get a look around. He couldn't see Alan anywhere. Nor was there any sign of Virgil or the mysterious attacker. But then he spotted two figures he'd not seen since they'd first entered the building. "John and Gordon?!" He could see his middle and second-youngest brother down on the floor on opposite sides of one of the building's support columns. They appeared to both be unconscious and had been bound to the column with a thick rope. "GUYS, HANG ON!" Scott called down to them. "I'M COMING!" He was about to jump down when a thought made him suddenly stop dead in his tracks. "Wait a second. Why am I getting the feeling that they're bait and I'm heading into a trap?"
"Because that's exactly what you've done."
Scott spun around and let out another gasp as a black metallic boot struck him in the chest and sent him flying backwards off the pile of crates. "YAAAAAAAARGH!" he yelled as he fell to the floor and landed on his back. It was painful due to the jetpack being between his back and the floor. Luckily his padded uniform saved him from any damage. As he lay there, slightly winded, he looked back up the crates to see the mysterious attacker now standing on the top, looking down towards him. "Do I at least get a prize for being the last Tracy standing?" he asked.
"No. You don't," said Kayo simply as she leapt off the crate and dropped feet-first towards Scott with glowing blue energy shining out of her suit as she went.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in terror.
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
"Thunderbirds Are Go!"
"UPGRADE"
KAYO landed with one boot on the opposite side of Scott's torso. She peered down into his helmet as his long scream continued. He eventually stopped when she tapped his visor. His eyes snapped open and he stared with wide, frightened eyes into her own.
Kayo broke into a grin before placing her right four-finger on the visor right where his nose was. "Tag - I win," she said smugly before standing up.
"Simulation complete," EOS's voice rang out as the hologram projection of the destroyed warehouse slowly faded away.
As Kayo walked towards the exit, she looked back at the five Tracy brothers, all looking beaten and bewildered on the floor now that the holograms had revealed their true positions. "Good workout, boys," Kayo called back.
"No, it wasn't," Gordon responded grumpily.
Jeff and Grandma stood behind the control desk where Brains was sitting. Lady Penelope and Parker watched from nearby as Kayo left the training room followed shortly by the brothers.
Jeff felt mean but he couldn't help but feel a little amused by just how beaten his sons looked. "Hard to keep up with her, boys?" he asked innocently.
Alan and Gordon were quick to voice their displeasure. "Dad…" said Gordon. "Permission to vent?"
"Granted," said Jeff.
"This isn't fair, Dad!" objected Alan. "This new suit of Kayo's is far too powerful for us to take down."
"We didn't even get her in our sights," added Virgil as he gulped down some water.
"I've never known anyone move so fast, or so stealthy," added John.
Jeff looked at Scott. "Want to add, Scott?"
Scott didn't reply. He just shook his head.
"You've made him speechless!" exclaimed Grandma. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Hmph!" retorted Scott indignantly.
Kayo giggled as she tapped her right wrist controller which deactivated the new nanotech metallic armoured suit that Brains had finally completed for her. It deactivated to reveal her regular IR uniform underneath.
"Ah, now that's more like it!" said Gordon.
"We didn't stand a chance against her!" Alan said. "How was that supposed to be a fair fight?"
Jeff dropped the amusement he'd shown and became deadly serious. "Would you expect a fair fight from The Cabal, Alan?"
"Well, no," replied Alan. "But-"
"Exactly!" said Brains. "The Cabal has had m-major upgrades. The Hood and Havoc in particular. Kayo g-got defeated because she wasn't prepared for it. It's time we g-get even with them. Kayo needed a new and improved s-suit in order to have a chance of taking them on. Especially if she is b-by herself."
"So when are we getting ours?" asked Gordon.
There was an awkward pause as Jeff and Brains looked at each other.
"This was s-supposed to be a one off," Brains said.
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Alan and Gordon together. "WHY?!"
"Because you're not going to be sent to take The Cabal down," said Jeff. "That's for Kayo and the GDF to do. Your job is to perform rescue missions."
Gordon had had enough. He turned and stormed off. "Of course, Kayo gets all the important stuff!" he said bitterly, deliberately bumping into Kayo as he went.
"Gordon…" Jeff began.
"I'm going to my room!" Gordon snapped and disappeared. "And I'm not coming out until I get one of those suits!"
Penelope got up to go after him but Parker stopped her. "I think 'e be wanting some h'alone time, m'lady," he said.
Alan then began to head for the door as well. "Well if Gordon's going to protest, so shall I." He however did not bump into Kayo and left slightly less aggressively unlike Gordon.
The awkward silence continued for a few seconds before Virgil stood up and walked towards Jeff. "Dad, with the greatest of respect. They aren't wrong. What if we do happen to come across The Cabal. Should we not at least have something similar to Kayo's suit just in case it is needed?"
Jeff sighed. "In an ideal world, yes, Virgil," he said. "I'd feel a lot more comfortable knowing you had got these same suits. But Kayo's suit is a prototype. We'd need to know how it functioned against The Cabal in order to know whether it needs fine-tuning or not."
"It s-shouldn't do," said Brains. "But that doesn't 100% guarantee that."
John looked over at Kayo who was looking somewhat crestfallen. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I was," Kayo answered. "But after seeing and hearing what Alan and Gordon have to say, I feel bad for kicking your butts so easily."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," said Grandma. "You needed some kind of practice."
"Yes, but the boys aren't as well matched on fighting as I am," Kayo said. "The only people who come closest to my level of fighting are…them," she said, looking at Penelope and Parker.
Penelope and Parker looked at each other. "Well, if you want a challenge, Kayo," said Penelope. "I am sure we can give you one, can't we, Parker?"
Parker didn't look too keen on the idea. Through monitor screens he'd seen just how powerful this new suit of Kayo's was and hadn't quite wanted to become a test subject himself. "If you, er, think so, m'lady?"
Kayo perked up. "Well if Mr Tracy and Brains agree?"
Brains and Jeff looked at each other. "Why not?" said Jeff with a smile. "Practise will make perfect. And besides, I think it'll give the boys a chance to see what she can do without being subject to the suit?"
Virgil, John and Scott nodded in agreement.
"Should we get Alan and Gordon back?" asked John.
"No, leave them," said Scott. "They were being childish. I get why Kayo needs this suit. Whilst I do agree with Virgil that it would be useful, throwing a tantrum about it isn't the solution."
Everyone now nodded in agreement.
"Well then," Kayo said as she turned to Penelope and Parker. She pressed the button on her wrist and the chrome blue nano-suit and helmet humming with its concealed energy. "Think you can take me?"
Penelope seemed confident. "Let us see," she said.
Parker grimaced uncomfortably.
The family were taking some time out away from Tracy Island and were visiting their second home at the Gran Roca Ranch. The amount of rescues and the stress of knowing The Cabal were out there had finally gotten enough and Jeff had decided to give everyone a week's rest away from the world. Or at least that was the plan. It had also become the perfect place for Kayo to try out her new suit.
Grandma found Alan in the lounge sulking whilst playing one of his mobile computer games. "Are you okay, kiddo?" she asked.
Alan sighed. "I will be, Grandma," he replied. "Did Gordon and I overreact back there?"
"No, we didn't!" came a gruff voice from upstairs. Gordon was in his room and he thought he'd slammed his door shut, but turned out he hadn't.
"Where are the others?" asked Alan.
"Your brothers are with your father and Brains," Grandma said. "Kayo's back in the training room with Lady Penelope and Parker as opponents."
"WHAT?!" Gordon suddenly came sprinting down the stairs and running off towards the sub-basement.
Alan suddenly stopped feeling down. "Kayo vs Lady P and Parker?!" He threw down the device and leapt out of the chair. "Oh, I gotta see this!" He hurried out after Gordon.
Grandma smirked to herself. "Knew that would work."
Penelope and Parker walked through the burnt-out warehouse with their torches shining against the wooden crates and steel support columns. Penelope hadn't failed to notice how uneasy Parker seemed.
"Aren't you feeling well, Parker?" she asked.
"I've been better, m'lady," Parker answered.
"Whatever's the matter?"
"I 'onestly don't think we stand a chance h'againt Miss Kyrano's new suit," Parker said.
"Nobody's invincible, Parker," said Penelope. "We just need to be on our toes and make sure she does not catch us out. We'll stick together. Safety in numbers. And also, shush, Parker. Keep the talk to a whisper. She might be listening to us."
They walked on, not realising Kayo was in full stealth-mode, crawling along the ceiling, watching their every move.
Scott, Virgil and John watched the monitor screens with interest as Kayo moved about, closing in on Penelope and Parker's position.
"This is strangely fascinating," John remarked. "Kayo's never been this stealthy before."
"It's absolutely ideal for spying and hopefully the eventual capture of The Cabal," said Jeff.
"Not hard to see why it was so easy for her to take us all down," agreed Virgil.
"What's that blue energy coming from within her suit, Brains?" asked Scott.
"It's j-just the suit's power-source, Scott," answered Brains. "It's a scaled down version of what's in the ships. There's a k-kinetic energy regulator in the suit as well. The h-harder Kayo fights, the stronger the suit should become."
"No wonder she wiped the floor with us," said John.
Suddenly the door flew open and Gordon came sprinting in. "STOP THE TEST!" he yelled.
Everyone jumped in surprise. "What? Why?" asked Jeff.
"Grandma said Penelope's in there with Kayo!" cried Gordon.
"And the problem is?" said Scott.
"I-I-I don't want her in there!" Gordon spluttered. "She might get hurt by Kayo!"
Everyone rolled their eyes.
Virgil pulled Gordon aside. "What injuries do you have following our training?" he asked.
Gordon was confused. "Er…none?"
"Exactly," said Gordon. "It's a training exercise, Gordon. Kayo's not going to hurt Penelope."
"And besides, Parker's in there," added Scott with a smirk. "You should know better than anyone that he will never let anybody hurt Lady P."
Alan then entered. "How's the test going?" he asked. "Has Kayo beaten them yet?"
"Not yet, little brother," said John. "But I think the action's about to start."
Everyone turned back to look at the screen. They could see Kayo's position was almost upon the unsuspecting London Agents. It would seem they were going to fall for exactly the same fate as they had done.
Penelope and Parker continued to make their way down through the maze of broken boxes and crates inside the warehouse. They looked left and right, up and behind for any sign of Kayo. But soon even the silence and stillness began to get to Penelope. "Parker?"
"Yus, m'lady?"
"Maybe you were right to be afraid?" said Penelope. "I don't like how quiet this is."
"I'm sorry, did I hear that right?" Kayo's voice said from out in the darkness. "Lady Penelope has just admitted to being scared?" She began to laugh menacingly.
Penelope scowled. "Afraid? Never!" she said defiantly. "I am a Creighton-Ward and you cannot scare us easily, Kayo Kyrano! Isn't that right, Parker?" A yelp was all Penelope got in response. She spun around and froze to see that Parker was no longer with her. She was alone. "Parker?"
Kayo had grabbed Parker and thrown him at high speed across the warehouse before dropping him into some crates which fell all around him. Parker groaned and coughed as he tried to recover himself from the impact.
Kayo stood above him with a mischievous grin on her face. "What's the matter, Nosey? Didn't see me coming?" she teased. "You realise now with you down I'll be able to capture Lady P with ease."
Parker sprang to his feet with his fists clenched and poised ready to fight. "Nobody lays h'a finger on 'er ladyship!" he said defiantly. "Not so long as I'm around."
Kayo grinned and lifted her own clenched fists ready to brawl. "Come on, then," she said. "You got the guts to hit a lady?"
Parker lunged forwards, but then stopped himself with his fist inches from Kayo's helmet. "No…" he said meekly. "H'I cannot 'it a lady." He lowered his fists and backed off.
Kayo sighed. She then swung her leg round and tripped him up. "Bad move, Parker," she said. "You'd not stand a chance against Silver Swan or White Ghost. I'm wasting time with you. Time to get my prize." She turned and in the blink of an eye, she'd disappeared from Parker's sight.
Parker was down but not quite out. "LOOK OUT, M'LADY!" he yelled. "SHE'S COMING FOR YOU!"
Penelope heard Parker's cry and readied herself. "Okay, Kayo. I'm ready for you. Show yourself!"
"As you wish," Kayo whispered in Penelope's ear.
Penelope gasped, before getting knocked forwards onto the ground.
Gordon saw this and tried to run into the training room resulting in him having to be restrained by Scott and Virgil. "GET OFF ME!" he shrieked, kicking to be free.
"STAND DOWN!" ordered Scott.
Penelope was stunned, but only briefly. Unlike Parker she was able to flip herself around and get back on her feet before Kayo had a chance to get her again. The two women stood in silence, staring at each other hard. Even though only Kayo's eyes were just visible through the eyelets of the new helmet, it was all Penelope needed to see. "That wasn't sporting, coming in from behind," Penelope remarked.
"You expect The Cabal to be sporting?" Kayo replied before lunging at Penelope. Penelope managed to dodge and Kayo ended up punching the crate instead. Penelope then got a kick in of her own causing Kayo to stumble over to the side.
"Woah!" exclaimed John. "Penelope got a strike in."
Everyone was now standing very still, eyes glued to the monitor screen as the vicious fight between Kayo and Penelope began to escalate.
The fight went back and forth between the two. Both managed to get solid punches and kicks on each other, although it was clear that Kayo still had the advantage due to her suit's power. Penelope however was much more capable of taking the hits it seemed and was able to quickly recover herself and counter before Kayo could get in a finishing move.
The two then went for each other again and ended up with their arms interlocked with one another.
"Nice!" said Kayo. "This is more like it."
"Are you enjoying this?" asked Penelope.
"Hell yeah!" replied Kayo. "And you?"
Penelope grinned. "Haven't had this high an adrenaline rush since Gordon and I-"
"HA!" said Kayo, using the chat as a distraction to grab Penelope's arm and swing her around. She let her go and Penelope flew a short distance before crashing into Parker who'd finally managed to make his way to them in order to help. But they both collided with a stack of crates and fell to the floor. Before either could then get up, Kayo used a pair of grapplers in her new suit's gauntlets to grab the crate above them and yank it out causing the others to fall down around the two agents and trap them.
Kayo smiled as she retracted the grapples and walked over to where Penelope's boots were poking out from under the crates and tapped on one of them. "Tag - I win," she said.
"Simulation complete," EOS's voice announced as the hologram images of the warehouse faded away again to reveal and dazed and surprised Penelope and Parker.
Unlike the brothers who she'd simply left to get themselves up, Kayo sportingly offered her hand to Penelope and helped her up. She then opened up the nanotech helmet. "I've got to hand it to you, Lady P. That was quite a fight you put up," she said with admiration.
Penelope was panting to get her breath back. "That…was…quite…a task…Kayo," she said between breaths. "I think…The Cabal…should watch…their backs."
The two grinned at each other before starting to head to the door.
"Come on, Parker…stop slouching," Penelope said as she followed Kayo.
Parker was still lying on the floor. "Coming….m'lady…" he said, trying to sit up, but slumping back on the floor again.
Kayo and Penelope exited the training room where Gordon flung himself into Penelope's arms. "Oh, thank God!" he said. "She didn't hurt you too bad, did she?"
Penelope laughed. "Oh, Gordon, you silly," she said. "I'm not hurt. Maybe a few bruises, but it's nothing I'm not used to."
Gordon gave Kayo a look. He was about to snap at her but Kayo cut him off. "You want to go again? One on one?" she asked with a smile.
Gordon quickly backed down. "Er, no, I'm good," he said hastily.
Everyone else chuckled.
"Well, Kayo," said Jeff. "How's the suit?"
"It's awesome!" Kayo said. "I know it's taken a long time, but it was worth the wait. Thank you, Brains."
Brains blushed. "You're w-welcome, Kayo," he said. "Although we w-won't know how good it really is until you next encounter The Cabal."
"And who knows when that will be," added John.
Kayo began to think about her uncle and his villainous group. They'd caught her out before by having their new upgrades. She was desperate to return the surprise on them. "Soon, I hope," she said.
The Romanov was one of the Russian Navy's old stealth submarines dating back to the Global Conflict of 2040. It was currently on a patrol in the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland. It was nearing the end of the patrol and the crew were in high spirits for they would soon be returning back to base in Murmansk. Little did they know that some of them would not be returning to their homeland because a hostile craft was closing in on them undetected. A small manta-shaped stealth submarine was gliding through the water towards the Romanov. It remained completely undetected by the Russian vessel as it moved up and over the front and then docked with the access hatch above the missile room. As soon as the enemy force could gain access to the sub - a bloodbath was about to begin.