DR Chase Meridian stepped out from behind the curtain to talk with the Lartivra Royal Family Security Men.

"Well, Doctor?" said the one in charge. "Can she be saved?"

"It will be very touch and go for the Queen," replied Dr Meridian. "We have managed to confirm that the heart found in Philadelphia is compatible and is ready for shipping out to us immediately."

"Tell your colleagues in Philadelphia to take the heart to the airport," said the Head of Security. "Our plane is fast. It will have the heart with us within three hours."

Just then, one of the other security members interrupted with some rather concerning news. "Err, about that, sir," he said nervously. "I'm afraid we won't be able to transport it by air."

"What do you mean?" snapped the Head of Security.

"See for yourself," said the security man, beckoning them to a nearby window and drawing back the curtain.

The Head of Security and Dr Meridian froze at what they saw. The outside cityscape of San Francisco had turned pure white thanks to a fierce blizzard that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"What the actual hell?!" exclaimed the Head of Security. "Why weren't we informed that snow was on the way?"

"It wasn't, sir," replied the security man. He then held out a tablet showing the weather forecast for the day. What it showed was meant to be sunshine with some heavy showers later in the day. The temperature too was meant to be four degrees, which was cold, not the temperature for snow. And yet, there it was; a severe blizzard. "It's not just here either," the security man continued. "Reports are coming in from all over the United States and as far south as Mexico and Argentina!"

"But that's impossible!" said the Head of Security. "The Southern hemisphere is in full summer right now. It can't possibly be snowing!"

The security man showed live news footage from Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, all showing the exact same thing as San Francisco. Other images of reports from Washington, Dallas, San Diego, New York and even Miami were showing that a colossus blizzard was taking place everywhere.

"We have to get the plane out to New York," the Head of Security said sternly. "The Queen's LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"

"Shhh!" hissed Dr Meridian.

"Is there a problem?" Queen Perdita's voice called out from behind the curtain.

"No, your Majesty, go back to sleep," Dr Meridian called. "All is in hand." But then she turned back to being very concerned.

"All air traffic over the entire continents have been grounded," the security man told them. "Even all local rescue services are unable to fly. It's just too severe."

The situation seemed to be hopeless. Nobody could understand why the blizzard had come all of a sudden when it hadn't been forecast. Little did they know that the answer was several hundred feet above them, concealed from view by the clouds.

5!

4!

3!

2!

1!

"Thunderbirds Are Go!"

"COLD-HEARTED"

GORDON's deep sleep was broken by the buzzing of the alarm clock on his bedside table. Normally he would reach over, turn it off and then go back to sleep again. Not this time though, he turned it off very enthusiastically and sat up. "Happy Valentine's Birthday to me! Happy Valentine's Birthday to me! Happy Birthday, and it's Valentine's Daaaaaaaaaaaay! Happy Valentine's Birthday to me! MUWAH!" He then began kissing the person lying beside him, believing it was best to begin his special day with a long intimate moment with his girlfriend. However, he soon stopped and pulled back to realise that what he was kissing wasn't Penelope at all - but his old Teddy Bear instead who simply stared back at him with its normal blank expression. "Eww! Ewwww! EWWWW!" Gordon exclaimed, throwing the bear across the room in disgust. "Stop that, Mr Snuggles! What have you done with my Penelope?" He ran across and grabbed the bear before shaking him. "Tell me! TELL ME!"

"Something wrong, kiddo?"

Gordon yelped and spun around. He saw Grandma had entered the room. "G-G-G-Grandma?!" Realising then that he was still just in his boxer-shorts, he hurriedly ran back into the bed to cover himself up.

"Were you really trying to get answers from that stuffed toy of yours?" Grandma asked with raised eyebrows.

"I, er, er, um, er," Gordon stammered. "Where's Lady Penelope?"

"She's not here, remember?" Grandma said. "She and Parker are helping to keep guard on that young queen that Parker helped save the other day."

"Oh…yeah…of course she is," Gordon said, his heart sinking. "How could I have forgotten that?"

"Now, come on and get dressed," Grandma continued, opening his closet and throwing his clothes out on the bed. "The others are waiting for you so we can have breakfast."

"Yes, Grandma," Gordon said reluctantly as he grabbed his yellow Hawaiian shirt. He was so busy sulking to himself that he didn't see Grandma stop in the doorway before then coming back in and walking over to him. She bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, my little squid." She then walked out with a loving smile on her face, which made Gordon feel somewhat better.

Breakfast was always an occasion on the birthday of a member of the Tracy household, although most had grown a little tired of it, Gordon and especially Alan had yet to do so. Jeff had made pancakes for them all and Gordon had more than the rest.

"He'll have no room for cake if he eats all of that," Kayo giggled to Scott.

"Ah, well, you know, Gordon," Scott replied. "Always one to stuff his face."

"Hey, I'm allowed to do this once a year!" Gordon protested whilst the others laughed.

"They do have a point, Gordon," chuckled Jeff. "The more you eat, the smaller your slice of cake will be later on."

Gordon spluttered indignantly. "You wouldn't, Dad?!" he choked whilst everyone laughed even more.

The sound of an incoming call soon caught their attention. It was John calling from Thunderbird 5. Normally he would have been down to share breakfast with them but he'd been caught up with some overdue maintenance on the space-station and had been too tired to head down yet. As his hologram appeared, the others saw that he wasn't alone in the call. Holograms of Colonel Casey and Lady Penelope were there as well."

"John! Martha! Penelope! Good morning," Jeff greeted them warmly.

"Is this all a joint birthday message for me?" Gordon asked cheekily.

But the trio were looking serious. "Sorry to interrupt breakfast, everyone, but I'm afraid we have a situation," said John. "The entire American continent from Canada right down to Argentina has been paralysed by a massive snowstorm. South America isn't too badly affected as the summer temperature is making the effects less bad but North America is completely in lockdown. No vehicle of any kind is moving. Millions are trapped in their homes and power cuts are taking place here, there and everywhere."

"How the hell can it be snowing in South America?" asked Virgil. "As you said, John, it's summer down there."

"That is h-highly unusual," agreed Brains. "W-Weather can be freaky at times, but I have never known it to do anything like this before."

"I'm afraid it's not a natural phenomenon, Brains," said Colonel Casey. "My Flyer was heading above the clouds to try and get back to GDF Command when we stumbled across this."

A live feed image appeared alongside the ones of the trio showing footage from a camera on the front of the Flyer. It showed a strange Flying-Saucer-like object, painted black and was easily three times the size of Thunderbird 2 if not bigger." It had several outlets around its circumference that appeared to be shooting some kind of white chemical out into the clouds below.

"Alien attack?" asked Alan.

"Don't be stupid," retorted Kayo after elbowing him.

"It's some kind of flying fortress," said John. "Origin unknown. And it's not the only one either. I have run a scan of the whole of American airspace from North to South and there are four others. Two are covering North America, one's covering Mexico and the other two are over South America."

"Which one did you find, Martha?" asked Jeff.

"The Southernmost one, Jeff," replied Colonel Casey. "It's currently flying over Oklahoma and from the reports we're hearing, it's utter chaos down there."

"Where could these things have come from?" asked Scott.

"The Cabal!" said Gordon. "It has to be!"

"I'm inclined to agree with you, Gordon," said Colonel Casey. "However it doesn't matter whether it is them or not. These things need to be stopped. Millions of lives depend on us."

"Including Queen Perdita," said Penelope. "Doctors were able to locate a replacement heart for her, but it is in Philadelphia, and she's in San Francisco."

"And because of the snow, all flights are grounded," Virgil said. "That's not good."

"So it's down to us then?" asked Scott.

"Yes, Scott," said John. "GDF forces not grounded by the blizzards are on their way to try and disable the fortresses in any way possible."

"However, there aren't enough of us to go around," said Colonel Casey. "I have a small squadron converging on my position and we shall deal with the one over Houston. Captains Rigby and Madison will be taking care of the two over South America."

"Which leaves two more," said Jeff.

"I can take one," said Kayo. "Use Thunderbird Shadow's stealth and get to it without hopefully triggering its defences. It must have some"

"Parker and I can take the one over Montana," said Penelope. "Providing FAB1 is able to survive the cold."

"I would say it has a much better chance than our Flyers will, Lady Penelope," said Colonel Casey.

"What about us?" asked Alan. "What do we do?"

"Scott and Virgil can launch Thunderbirds 1 and 2 and be on hand to help whoever is needed," said John. "Alan, you'll need to launch Thunderbird 3 and be ready to act if we need you to."

Alan was confused. "Errrr, okay?"

"Guessing I'm with Virgil then?" asked Gordon.

"Only for the flight to Philadelphia, Gordon," said John.

Now Gordon was as confused as Alan. "Philadelphia?"

"Yes, Gordon," said Penelope. "You have the most important job of all. We need you to deliver the heart to San Francisco."

Gordon couldn't believe his ears. "Wait? What? How?" he asked, more confused. "By myself?"

"Yes, with Thunderbird 4," said John.

Now everyone was confused.

"Errrr, John, how exactly can he do that?" asked Virgil.

Brains however was quick to realise what John meant. "Via the t-tunnel!" he said. "The Pacific-Atlantic Underground Speed Tunnel connects with both P-Philadelphia and San Francisco! If Thunderbird 2 drops Thunderbird 4 in the bay, it can then descend d-down into the tunnel and use the artificial current machine to speed its way across to Seattle."

"Being unaffected by the storm," said Jeff. "Brilliant, Brains and John. Martha and Penelope, we will do what we can to assist with taking out these flying snow fortresses. Everyone, on your way!"

Tracy Island quickly became busy with activity as the International Rescue began their suit-ups with Scott and Gordon going down their respective elevators, Virgil down the chute and Kayo and Alan descending into the floor on the chairs before heading into the changing rooms. Scott reached Thunderbird 1 first and after boarding began the short journey up the diagonal tunnel to the launch bay underneath the pool. Virgil landed inside Thunderbird 2 and closed the hatch above him before selecting Module 4 and lowering the main body down over it once it was underneath. Gordon joined him moments later and they could then taxi out onto the runway towards the launch ramp. Alan and Kayo went their separate ways with Kayo boarding and then riding the Shadowbike down the long tunnel before being lifted up into the main body of Thunderbird Shadow whilst Alan was hoisted on the long yellow hydraulic arm up into Thunderbird 3. Once he was inside the big silo door sealed it off from the rest of the chamber as Thunderbird Shadow headed up its own tunnel before being swivelled round to the outside of the cliff and turning on the turntable to face upwards. By this time the pool had finished opening and the ramp had risen into position so that they were all ready for launching.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Thunderbird 1 was first to launch, rising up from within where the swimming pool had been. Next it was Thunderbird 2, soaring up off the launch ramp with Thunderbird 4 aboard. Then it was Thunderbird 3's turn, rising up from behind the roundhouse on the side of the tallest part of the island. Finally Thunderbird Shadow could drop away from its cliff mounting and scurry off after the much larger ships.

From inside the lounge of the Tracy Villa, Jeff watched the four ships disappearing from view. "Thunderbirds are GO!" he said.

Whilst Thunderbird 3 headed to space to rendezvous with Thunderbird 5 that had moved in to overfly the United States, Thunderbirds 1 and 2 headed for North America whilst Thunderbird Shadow headed for Mexico.

Thunderbird 2 climbed high above the clouds in order to pass over and avoid getting caught up in the blizzard. Virgil hadn't failed to notice that Gordon was unusually silent. "Are you okay, Gordo?" he asked.

Gordon snapped back to reality. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Virgil. Was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About…stuff…" Gordon said, unsure if he was even certain about what he was saying.

Virgil had a feeling he knew. "You don't want to be doing this, do you?" he said.

Gordon sighed. "No, I don't. I'm missing out on the action!" he complained. "You guys get to do the rescuing and taking down of these fortress things and what am I doing? Organ conveyor!"

"Now, Gordon, a young girl's life is at stake," Virgil reminded him. "And don't forget, she's no ordinary girl either. She's a Queen! Can you imagine what would happen if she was to pass away like her dad did?"

"Her dad was assassinated, wasn't he?" Gordon asked. "I think that's what Pen said anyway."

"Yes, and her uncle was the mastermind behind it," said Virgil. "He wasn't apprehended."

Gordon thought for a moment. "You don't suppose he's behind this, do you?" he asked.

"Count Vertigo?" said Virgil. "I mean anything is possible, but to do this to an entire continent just for the sake of taking out a single person seems a bit far, even for him."

"I guess," said Gordon. "But it just seems a bit too much of a coincidence."

Jeff went over to see Brains at the holo-table in the middle of the lounge. He was observing the images of the Ice-Fortress. But Jeff was quick to notice that Brains didn't seem to be doing much thinking. "Everything okay, Brains?"

Brains jumped. "Oh, g-g-g-goodness!" he stammered. "You s-s-s-startled me, M-Mr T-Tracy!"

Jeff was taken aback by this. "My, er, apologises, Brains," he said. "Must have caught you deep in thought?"

"Mmm, y-yes," Brains answered.

"So what are your thoughts on these?" Jeff asked.

Brains didn't answer.

"Brains?"

"W-What's that, s-sorry?"

Jeff began to frown. "Something's up, Brains. This isn't like you," he said. "What's up?"

Brains let out a deep sigh. "I'm s-sorry, Mr Tracy," he said, sounding rather ashamed. "I am f-finding it a b-bit hard to concentrate right now. L-Lately to b-be exact."

Jeff looked at Brains's low-hung head and downcast expression. He recognised the look. It was the face of someone mourning. "The Mechanic?"

Brains nodded and turned to look at him. "Y-Yes," he said miserably. "I g-gave him back his life after The H-Hood stole it from him. He t-tried so hard to fit in and be m-make things right. And now…now he's gone." He began to weep.

Jeff comforted him. "He didn't die in vain, Brains. He more than redeemed himself. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. First the T-Drive for the Zero-XL. And then his miniaturisation particles that allowed Thunderbird 4 to be shrunk and enter my bloodstream. I'm just sorry I never got to repay him."

"And it g-gets worse," continued Brains. "He had n-no family. The only ones to m-mourn his passing are us."

Jeff squeezed Brains's shoulders. "Better us than nobody, Brains," he said.

Brains wiped his eyes and blew his nose. "I s-suppose you're r-right, Mr Tracy," he said.

"Once this crisis is over, we'll hold a ceremony for him," said Jeff. "It's the least he deserves."

Brains lightened up. "T-Thank you, Mr Tracy," he said.

Jeff smiled. Then he turned to the image of the Fortress. "So, this then?"

Brains turned to it as well and pulled himself together. "From what I can g-gather, it is spraying some kind of chemical into the clouds that is c-causing it to snow heavily," he said. "But I'm g-going to need to have a full scan of one of the craft to be able to fully understand h-how it works and if there's any w-weakness it may have. Thunderbird 5, come in?"

John's hologram appeared from the eyes of his portrait. "Go ahead, Brains?"

"John, in order to know how these f-fortresses work I am going to n-need a full structural and x-ray scan of one," said Brains. "Are you able to d-do that for us?"

"Funny you should mention that," said John. "I have been trying to do one myself but there seems to be a kind of long-range disruptor field around the fortresses. I can't seem to make one proper from up here in space."

"Could we get the GDF to send us one?" suggested Alan who was with John aboard the space-station.

"Those Flyers don't have the kind of sophisticated scanning equipment that we have, Alan," replied John. "But that doesn't mean we can't get one of our own ships to do it. Thunderbird 1 isn't far from one right now. I'll get Scott to take a look."

Thunderbird 1 had just crossed the West Coast of the United States near San Diego. Scott was checking out how the blizzard was going to affect Thunderbird 1's performance. As Brains had predicted, it showed no sign of struggling despite the severity of it.

"Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 5. We're having difficulty in getting a thorough scan of any of the fortresses," John explained over the radio. "You're not too far from the one that Colonel Casey is near to. Can you go and see if you can send us a more detailed scan of the craft."

"Sure can, Thunderbird 5," said Scott. "I'll have to be quick as I'm sure there's a heck of a lot of people down there who need rescuing."

"You're not wrong there," said John. "We're picking up hundreds of calls and emergency services are already over-stretched. Get to that fortress and run the scan, then start making your way through the calls. EOS is ranking them in order of severity. Will have Thunderbird 2 do the same after Virgil's dropped off Thunderbird 4."

"F-A-B," said Scott. He adjusted Thunderbird 1's course and climbed up through the blizzard and up to above the clouds where it was clearer. He then began to make his way towards the fortress.

Parker and Penelope made their way out of the front doors of the hospital in San Francisco where Queen Perdita was. Despite being wrapped in appropriate winter clothing, they felt the bitterness of the cold hit them like it was an avalanche.

"Goodness me!" gasped Penelope once they were safely in the warmth of FAB1. "Feels like the Arctic has migrated."

"I couldn't h'agree with you more, m'lady," said Parker. He powered up FAB1's newly-repaired engines and the pink car took to the air despite the ferocious weather. "FAB1 is h'off. Where to?"

"To the Ice-Fortress above Montana," said Penelope. "Hopefully by the time we get there Brains will have found a weakness that we can exploit."

Thunderbird 2 had flown high above the clouds and used the Gulf Stream in order to get across the States as quickly as possible before dropping down into the storm clouds just off the coast and into Philadelphia. "I'll drop you in the bay, Gordon," said Virgil. "You'll have to make your way to the entrance to the tunnel. I believe the medical team will be waiting for you."

"Guess I'm transferring them as well as the heart?" asked Gordon.

"No idea, but I would assume so," replied Virgil. "You all set back there?"

Gordon had already moved from the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 into the module and into Thunderbird 4. "Yep. Good to go."

"F-A-B."

Despite the heavy snow and next to no visibility, Virgil was able to use an infrared filter in the windows of Thunderbird 2's cockpit to drop down over Delaware Bay. he then released the docking clamp and Module 4 dropped down onto the surface of the water which surprisingly hadn't quite yet frozen but didn't look far off. The door opened and once the ramp was raised, Thunderbird 4's engines fired up and it slipped down into the water. The door then closed up and Virgil used the clamps to retrieve the module from the water back into the main body of Thunderbird 2. He then headed off to begin searching for people to rescue.

Thunderbird 1 soon caught sight of the fortress over Oklahoma. His arrival was also noted by Colonel Casey. "Nice of you to join us, Thunderbird 1."

"Flying visit, Colonel Casey," Scott replied. "Brains needs a scan of this fortress so I'll be off handling rescues once this is done."

"Understood," said Colonel Casey. "Our reinforcements are three minutes away."

"I'll be done way before then," said Scott. He brought Thunderbird 1 in closer towards the fortress. "Thunderbird 5, I have a visual on the fortress. Closing in for the scan."

"Be careful, Scott," warned John. "That fortress might have automated defences. If it does, back away from it immediately."

"F-A-B," said Scott. He moved cautiously towards the giant Ice-Fortress until he was about a mile from it. "This should be close enough," he said. "Commencing scan." A beam of green light emerged from the front of Thunderbird 1 as it began its scan of the fortress.

From her position in the cockpit of the Flyer, Colonel Casey watched anxiously. "Make sure all our weapons are primed and ready," she ordered. "I want Thunderbird 1 protected."

"Yes, Colonel," acknowledged one of the Flyer's crew.

Then the one manning the radar scanner suddenly called out. "Contact! Unidentified object incoming."

Colonel Casey glanced at the screen and saw the contact. Then her eyes darted back outside where she immediately caught sight of what looked like a man-sized bird diving down towards Thunderbird 1. "Scott, look out!"

Before Scott could reply he felt a hard THUD as something landed on the top of Thunderbird 1. "Huh? What the hell was that?" he asked. There then came more thudding, like someone was trying to punch their way through the hull. He turned on one of the ship's outer cameras to see what it was. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the figure in the unmistakable green and black winged exo-suit using razor-sharp claws on its gloves to try and punch or slice its way through the hull. "Oh, crud! The Hood!"