THE week following the incident on the Moon saw many things happen. As Jeff had predicted, a tight security lockdown had been imposed. Only those who had been in contact with, witnessed or known of the aliens were to be the ones who knew anything about it. Only a very select few were to be told outside and the main person being the World President himself. The President became furious upon learning what had happened and vowed to find a way to make the Subterrains accountable for their actions. After initially suggesting creating a deep-space strike force to enact some form of vengeance, he was swiftly dissuaded by Jeff saying that to start a war seemed to be exactly what the Subterrains wanted - and they'd already proved with their Moonquake machine that their technology was far more advanced than Earth's was. It was therefore with extreme reluctance that Jeff finally agreed with the World President's approval to send a peace mission to Planet-46 with Thunderbird 3. Alan had wanted to go alone but Jeff insisted that Kayo was to accompany him as a back-up.

Things with Sophie, her family and the Tracy family had not been great either. Sophie had had to return to her family to help them grieve for the loss of Grace all the while having to hold her tongue regarding the truth. She was desperate to tell them the truth but knew that she couldn't, and not just for the reason of security. After all, would her parents and brother even believe her saying Grace had been killed by a creature from another planet? The idea in itself sounded ludicrous.

Brains spent the best part of five days making modifications to Thunderbird 3. Due to Planet-46 being so far away, it was decided to use the Zero-XL to get it there and then detach for the visit to Planet-46. Brains had been upgrading Thunderbird 3's Maximum-MAX and other features in the hope of having better chances of defence against the aliens should they decide to attack first and ask questions later.

Eventually, tired but triumphant, Brains reported to Jeff in the lounge. "T-Thunderbird 3 is r-ready to go, Mr Tracy," he said.

"Thank you, Brains," said Jeff. He looked out of the window at the setting Sun. "When's our launch window?"

"For the Zero-XL to reach Planet-46…09:00 local time tomorrow, Mr T-Tracy."

Jeff stood up. "Very well," he said. "Then tomorrow's the day." He let out a sigh.

Brains had a feeling he knew what was on Jeff's mind. "You're w-worried, aren't you, Mr Tracy?"

"Worried?" repeated Jeff. "I'm far beyond worried about this, Brains. I'm damn terrified of what Alan and Kayo might end up facing! I should be the one to do this."

"I understand, M-Mr Tracy," said Brains. "But I g-guess it is what it is?"

Jeff nodded grimly. "Indeed it is, Brains. Indeed it is. Which reminds me, I'd better alert Captains Rigby and Madison and let them know that Kayo's going to be off-world for a day or two."

Hayley and Rigby listened carefully to what Jeff was telling them. "Just wanted to make you aware of the situation," he was saying. "Thunderbird 3 has an urgent mission in deep space that requires Alan to have some back-up."

"That's okay, Mr Tracy," said Rigby. "We'll manage fine."

"Let's just hope The Cabal don't decide to do anything in the meantime," added Hayley.

A young female secretary had been across the room sorting out some files. "Will that be all, Captains?" she asked.

"Yes, Jace, that will be, thank you," said Hayley. "Go rest up."

Jace saluted and then left the room. She was the former secretary of Lieutenant Pierce who Hayley had had problems with in the past and smirked darkly after closing the door. "Oh, I've no doubt The Cabal will do nothing," she said to herself.

Early morning dawned on Tracy Island. Alan had been up already for several hours. He'd not been able to sleep. In fact hardly anyone had been able to due to how intimidating the task ahead of him and Kayo was. Penelope, Parker and Sophie had all returned to the island as well in order to bid him good luck and farewell. One by one each gave a hug.

"I still cannot believe you got us to agree to this, Alan," said Jeff who was last to hug his youngest son. "Don't do anything stupid out there, understand?'

"I won't, Dad," Alan promised, and he meant it.

"You'd b-best get going, Alan," said Brains. "If you don't, you'll lose your launch window."

"Okay, Brains," said Alan. "I just need to bid Sophie goodbye and-" He broke off, looking around in confusion. "Err, Sophie?"

Everyone looked around. Sophie had been there, but now she'd disappeared.

"Strange," remarked Gordon. "She was right there a moment ago."

Virgil glanced down at the lido. "No sign of her outside," he observed.

"I'd better find her," said Alan.

"No, Alan, we need to go now," Kayo said.

"She's r-right, Alan," said Brains. "The w-window of opportunity is getting closer."

Alan sighed with huge reluctance. "Fine," he said. "But, someone please tell her that I love her?"

Jeff nodded to show he would do so.

Alan and Kayo sat down on the chairs and everyone watched with trepidation as they were lowered into the floor to a series of "Good luck" and "Be careful" as they went. After passing through the changing rooms they were hoisted by the large yellow hydraulic arm to the entrance of the cockpit of Thunderbird 3. Soon they were inside and at the controls. The blast shield closed and the doors above the silo were opened.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

The chemical rockets roared as Thunderbird 3 gracefully rose up and out of silo before roaring up towards space. "Thunderbird 3 is GO!"

As Thunderbird 3 climbed higher into the sky, nobody could have known that its departure was being observed through a periscope several miles away from Tracy Island.

"And there they go," said The Hood. "Just as Agent 34 said they would."

"Shall I tell the others to begin?" asked Techno.

The Hood put down the submarine's periscope and turned to face him. "No, not yet. Give them half an hour. By then Thunderbird 3 will be too far gone for them to call them back."

"You reckon this time will work?" asked Techno.

The Hood smirked. "Of course. When I tried this before, all the rescues were fake and everyone was able to get back to retake the island. But not this time. Today, I shall finally get my hands on Tracy Island - and even the great Jeff Tracy will not be able to stop us!" He then began to laugh maniacally much to Techno's delight.

Thunderbird 3 soon broke free of Earth's gravity and approached the already waiting body of the Zero-XL which had been in space for quite some time. Moving round to behind the giant craft, Alan skilfully moved his ship into its designated docking space and locked in tight. "Thunderbird 3 is secure," he said.

Kayo and Alan left Thunderbird 3 and moved into the cockpit area of the Zero-XL. Given that there were only the two of them there this time, they were having to use Brains's guidance to get all the systems checked and ready.

"How are we looking, Brains?" asked Alan.

"The P-Propulsion system is positive," Brains said. "N-Navigation is green. T-Telemetry is spot on. You are g-green for go. G-Good luck."

"F-A-B," said Alan. he turned to Kayo who was sitting in the seat on his right. "Strapped in?"

"Strapped in," Kayo answered. "Let's go beyond."

Alan put a hand on the throttle. "T-Drive powering up," he said. "Launching in three…two…one!" He punched the throttle forwards.

From his position aboard Thunderbird 5, John observed the Zero-XL's engines powering up and glowing blue before it disappeared off with a whoosh and vanished in the blink of an eye. "Stay safe, you two," John said with concern in his voice. He then contacted Tracy Island. "Zero-XL is off," he said.

"Then they're on their own now," said Jeff.

"How long will they be gone?" asked Scott.

"We won't hear from them until they return," replied Jeff glumly.

"We should have gone with them," said Virgil. "We don't know how large the population of Planet-46 is. They could be flying straight into dea-"

"That'll do, Virgil," Jeff cut him off. "Thinking of potential scenarios isn't going to help matters."

"Agreed," said Penelope. "The world still needs International Rescue. It wouldn't do for any major catastrophes to take place without us being able to offer assistance."

As if on cue, a beeping sound caught John's attention. "Funny you should mention that, Lady P," he said. "I'm picking an emergency call from a mine deep in the North of India. They're reporting an earthquake has caused a landslide that's completely blocked the entrance to the main tunnel. There's at least eight workers trapped inside."

"Sounds like a job for you, Virg," remarked Gordon.

Virgil stood up. "I'm on my way," he said. "If nothing else it'll distract me from worrying about Alan and Kayo-"

"Hold up!" John interrupted. "I'm now getting another mayday coming in."

"Two at the same time?' asked Scott.

"A submersible has become trapped in the wreck of the Mikhail Lermontov off New Zealand," said John. "There's a severe storm raging so the mothership and rescue boats have had to abandon the area. Two men trapped inside."

Brains checked the hologram map. "That's on the way to India," he said. "You could d-drop Gordon and Thunderbird 4 off on the way, Virgil."

"F-A-B," said Virgil.

Gordon got to his feet. "I'll see you down there, Virgil."

But before either could take a few steps, John spoke again. "What? Now what?"

Everyone began exchanging worried looks.

"What is it now, John?" asked Jeff.

"Okay…this isn't an emergency call but I've just picked up urgent Police radio calls coming from New York," said John. "There's a hostage crisis in the Second National Bank. a group of visitors including a group of schoolchildren have been forced into the main vault and the door's been sealed."

"Children?!" exclaimed Penelope. "What kind of monster would do such a thing?"

"You said it yourself, Lady P," said Grandma. "A monster."

Then they all heard EOS talking. "John, I think you should look at this," she said.

John looked at the hologram image that EOS was showing him. He frowned hard. "Base Arkensal is reporting a potential hack in their computer systems. They're trying to shut it out but aren't having much success."

"How is that relevant to us?" asked Gordon.

There was a pause before Scott suddenly blurted out an answer. "The Cabal!"

Everyone turned to him. "Come again, Scott?" said Jeff.

"The Cabal, Dad!" said Scott. "It has to be! Think about it! Four emergency situations coming up one after the other! That's exactly like when The Hood made the attempt to take the island before! He tricked us all into leaving the island and then tried to take over. An earthquake, an underwater incident, a hostage situation and a computer hack? These have to be members of The Cabal trying another major attack!"

"And r-right after Kayo has left as well," Brains realised.

"But 'ang h'about," Parker chimed in. "That would mean that The 'ood must 'ave known that Miss Kyrano was going h'off world?"

"But how would he have been able to learn that?" asked Penelope.

Scott had a theory on that as well. "Dad, did you tell Hayley or Captain Rigby that Kayo was going off-world?"

"Yes, I did, Scott," Jeff said. "Why?"

Scott huffed heavily. "There's your answer. There must still be a spy in the GDF!"

Virgil rounded on his eldest brother. "Scott…not that I believe you're thinking it, but don't you dare say that Hayley could be the spy!"

"Don't be stupid, Virgil!" Scott snapped back. "I wouldn't point a figure at Hayley for even a second! But there has to be someone there who's spying for The Hood!"

"Alright, ENOUGH!' Jeff thundered to silence the room. "Maybe telling Hayley and Rigby is on me. But we're going to have to deal with this the best way we can." He took a breath and pulled himself together. "Right. Here's what we do. Scott - launch Thunderbird 1 and fly to New York. see what you can do to get those people out of the bank."

"Yes, sir!"

"Virgil and Gordon - launch Thunderbird 2 with Thunderbird 4 and Pods in Module 4. Virgil, drop Gordon off the coast of New Zealand as close to the wreck as you can then fly on to India and help those trapped miners. Gordon, you then go help that minisub."

"F-A-B," Virgil and Gordon said together.

Jeff then turned to Penelope and Parker. "Penny, given that Kayo isn't here, could I ask you and Parker to go and investigate this hacking at Base Arkensal, please?"

"Of course, Jeff," said Penelope.

"Right h'away, Mr Tracy, sir," added Parker.

Jeff gave a small smile and nodded. "Get going, everyone. Thunderbirds are GO!"

The International Rescue team swung swiftly into action with Scott and Gordon going down their respective launch elevators and Virgil down his tunnel. Once suited up they boarded their respective crafts. Thunderbird 1 was moved from the hangar to the launch bay under the pool which was being moved out of the way whilst Thunderbird 2 selected Module 4 before moving out onto the runway, passing through the avenue of palm trees and stopping on the ramp which hoisted it into place.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 soared off their respective launch ramps. Thunderbird 1 turned to head North-East towards the United States whilst Thunderbird 2 turned to the West to head for New Zealand. FAB1 had launched ahead of the two ships due to it taking Penelope and Parker next to no time at all to get into the car which had been parked in a special landing pad near to the villa. Due to its considerably lower speed, it had been attached to the bottom of Thunderbird 1 after it had levelled out and strong clamps held it in place. Now Penelope and Parker had to brace themselves for the incredible speeds that Thunderbird 1 could do - even though Scott couldn't go at top speed to save stress on the car's body.

Like with Thunderbird 3, The Hood had been observing the launches of Thunderbirds 1 and 2 and was delighted to see them heading off in opposite directions. "There goes the cavalry," he said. Then he turned to Techno. "Are you in?"

"Just about," answered Techno. "They're trying hard to shut me out but I've got access to one of the missiles."

"One is all we need," said The Hood. "Is the target locked?"

"Yes, boss."

"Prepare to fire."

Jeff and Brains watched the Thunderbirds disappear from view. Jeff then turned his attention to the hologram table. "Thunderbird 5?"

John's hologram appeared again. "Yes, Dad?"

"These emergency situations," Jeff went on. "If these are definitely The Cabal, who would you say is responsible for these?"

John pondered. "For the earthquake/landslide I'd say The Shocker. The Black Phantom is the only one with a suit to operate underwater. The hostage situ could be either Silver Swan or The White Ghost and the hack could easily be Techno."

EOS then spoke again. "John, the situation at Base Arkensal has escalated," she said. "I'm getting reports that the base is under attack by a winged menace, so someone has said."

"Silver Swan!" said John. "Well I guess that answers that question."

"Alert!" EOS said suddenly. "Missile launch detected!"

"Damn!" said Jeff angrily. "Where is it headed, EOS?"

"Trying to access the system myself, Mr Tracy," EOS answered. "It's not easy with all these firewalls being reset. No, wait…I have it! Missile is on a vertical trajectory. Targeting system is locked onto Global-1."

"Global-1?!" exclaimed John. "Ridley! I need to warn them!"

"Then get on with it, son!" barked Jeff. "There's not a second to lose!"

Global-1 hadn't had any dramas since the time it had been pulled clear on an oncoming meteor by Thunderbird 5. Captain Ridley O'Bannon had led a fairly event-free life as commander barring the occasional trip out with John and International Rescue.

O'Bannon was pleasantly surprised to get a call from John. "Well, hello, John," she said sweetly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ridley, you need to evacuate everyone from Global-1!" John said urgently. "A rogue missile has been launched and it's locked onto your station."

O'Bannon looked worried. "Can't it be intercepted?" she asked.

"There isn't time!" John barked. "Please, Ridley. Get everyone out of there. And that includes you. We can't save Global-1 this time."

O'Bannon sighed heavily. She was fiercely devoted to Global-1, but she knew John was right. "Okay," she said reluctantly and pushed a button on the desk in front of her. Lights flashed red as an alarm rang through the space-station. "Emergency! Emergency!" her voice rang out across the speakers. "Evacuate the station immediately! This is not a drill! I repeat - this is NOT a drill! Evacuate! Evacuate!"

The crew of Global-1 dropped everything that they were doing and began to hurry to the station's escape pods. One by one, they were loaded and rejected from the station with O'Bannon observing from her control room. Soon she was the only one left aboard. The instruments on the desk began to wail, alerting her to the incoming danger as the missile was exiting the upper atmosphere.

"RIDLEY!" John's voice yelled over the radio. "THE MISSILE'S ALMOST UPON YOU! GET OUT OF THERE!"

O'Bannon grabbed her helmet and hurried towards the doors. "I'm going! I'm going!" she called back. But she never made it out of the control room for the missile struck the long section between Ridley's control centre and the area where the escape pods had been. It was totally obliterated, cutting the station in two. Ridley's section was blown right out of orbit and although she wasn't ejected into space whilst the main part began to spiral and start to slowly fall out of its orbit.

Ridley cried out in terror as she was spun around like inside a washing-machine, unable to escape from the control room.

"RIDLEY!" yelled John. He then swore which he tried to hide from his father.

"I heard that, John, but I'll let it slide," Jeff said. "Get your EXO-Suit on. Go save her!"

John nodded and signed off. "EOS, set course for Global-1's location," he said. "Hurry!"

"Right away, John."

Thunderbird 5 was turned to face the direction that Global-1 was located in. EOS then fired up the thrusters and the space-station hurried off to the rescue whilst John went into the changing chamber to have his yellow EXO-Suit attached to his body.

Jeff paced back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. He then had a thought. "Brains, can you perform an ultrasonic underwater sonar sweep of the area?" he asked. "I have a hunch that I need sorting."

"Give me a m-moment, please, Mr Tracy," Brains replied. He made some adjustments to the hologram computer system. An image of Tracy Island appeared out of the projector. Then he pushed a button. It sent out a silent sonar beam from the sensors on the base of the island, spreading out to cover a two-hundred mile radius around the island. But it hadn't gone far before it detected a man-made object moving at a steady speed under the water. Brains and Jeff looked at the contact.

"Is that what I think it is, Brains?" asked Jeff.

Brains examined it carefully before nodding grimly. "Y-Yes, M-Mr Tracy," he stammered. "It's a l-large underwater craft - heading d-directly towards T-Tracy Island."

Jeff gritted his teeth. So Scott's prediction and his hunch seemed to be true. "Hood, you son of a-"

The warning of bad weather over New Zealand wasn't wrong. A Force Eight was blowing hard, sending huge waves up against the rocks on the shores. As Thunderbird 2 came down to fly down through the heavy squall near Marlborough Sounds, they caught sight of the lights of the submersible's mothership just visible in the murk.

"Wellington Dancer, this is International Rescue," Virgil said into the radio. "Do you copy?"

The voice of the ship's captain swiftly answered. "International Rescue! Boy, are we glad you're here? All contact with Porpoise 2 is completely lost."

"Don't worry, sir. My brother will go down and get them out," Virgil said. "I'm needed elsewhere so I will drop him off and carry on."

"Not a problem," said the captain. "Just be careful. The guys said something about someone else being down there. Keep us informed."

Virgil and Gordon exchanged a look.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Gordon.

"Black Phantom?" said Virgil.

Gordon nodded. "Thought as much."

"Just do what you can to stay safe, okay?" said Virgil.

Gordon got up to leave. "Of course," he said. He made his way out of the cockpit and down into the module where Thunderbird 4 was waiting.

"The sea's too rough to drop the module and then recover safely, Thunderbird 4," Virgil said over the radio as he entered the cockpit. "I'll drop you straight down from this height."

"F-A-B," said Gordon. "In position."

"F-A-B." Virgil opened the doors on the underside of the module and released the clamp that held Thunderbird 4 in place. It dropped down through the hatch and landed with a SPLASH in the water, submerging instantly.

"Thanks, Thunderbird 2," said Gordon. "Thunderbird 4 is GO!"

"Good luck," said Virgil. "And watch out for the Phantom."

"And you watch out for whoever's caused that landslide," added Gordon.

The hatch under the module closed and Thunderbird 2 turned to climb back up out of the storm and head off towards India whilst Thunderbird 4 began to make its way towards the wreck of the Mikhail Lermontov.

Thunderbird 1 and FAB1 had now crossed the coastline of the United States near Los Angeles. They crossed the States and got close to the border with Arkansas. "This is as far as I can take you, FAB1," Scott said. "The airspace is closed off due to what's going on. You'll have to sneak your way in."

"F-A-B, Scott," replied Penelope. "Thanks for the lift."

"Yeah…thanks…" muttered Parker, who was feeling a little groggy after travelling at the speed they'd been at.

"You okay, Parker?"

"I will be in h'a moment, m'lady," said Parker as she shook the feeling off.

The clamps underneath Thunderbird 1 were released and FAB1 dropped away before switching to flight-mode and heading off into Arkansas.

"Better go stealth, Parker," said Penelope.

"Yus, m'lady." Parker touched a button and FAB1's pink paintwork turned into stealth-black before continuing on its way.

Thunderbird 1 meanwhile continued its journey towards New York.

Thunderbird 5 reached the damaged Global-1 just as John was finishing suiting up. EOS brought Thunderbird 5 to a controlled stop just clear of the floating debris field created by the explosion. "We're here, John."

"Thanks, EOS," John replied as he exited the airlock. "Hang on, Ridley, I'm coming!" He fired up the rocket motor and zoomed around the side of Thunderbird 5 towards the floating control centre. "Ridley from John. Do you hear me?"

O'Bannon had managed to grab hold of her desk and cling on for dear life. "J-John?" she gasped, having finally gotten her helmet on and was able to breathe properly again. "I'm afraid I didn't make it out."

"It's okay, stay calm," John said. "I'm coming to get you. Just open the inner doors to your office. You'll be sucked out but I'll catch you. I promise."

"Okay, John. I trust you," said O'Bannon. She reached out and pushed a button. The doors leading out of the control centre opened and the air was sucked out, dragging her out with it.

Seeing O'Bannon get sucked out of the wreckage, John hurried forwards and grabbed her. "Gotcha!" he said.

"Wooo!" exclaimed O'Bannon when they finally stopped spinning. "Now I know what laundry must feel like."

"Did everyone else get out?" John asked.

"Yes. there was only me left," O'Bannon replied. "Just as well really." Then she noticed something. "Oh, my God. John!"

John turned to look. Whilst the section she'd been rescued from was floating harmlessly out into space, the rest of Global-1, which was at least over a half of it remaining, was now falling towards the Earth. "Oh…that isn't good," John said. "Will it burn up on re-entry?"

"Maybe," said O'Bannon. "But it was constructed to withstand a re-entry. There's every chance it could make it through."

"And if it does, it'll fall right on top of the USA!" John said grimly, having noticed the massive continent on the planet below.

Three hours went surprisingly quick for Alan and Kayo as the T-drive reached the end of its programmed burn. The Zero-XL slowed to a stop and the pair gave themselves a moment to recover.

"Woah," said Alan. "I'll still struggle to get used to that."

"You don't say!" Kayo replied. For her that was the first time. "Good job I hadn't eaten right before we left."

Alan chuckled, then his attention was caught by what was showing on the monitor screen. "Woah…Traxton…"

"You mean Planet-46?" Kayo corrected him.

"Huh? Oh…yeah…" Alan realised. "Well…let's go pay them a visit."

They left the cockpit of the Zero-XL and made their way to Thunderbird 3. As they did so, Kayo thought she saw movement behind one of the bulkheads. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Alan asked.

"I thought I saw something move around there," Kayo said. She activated her life-sign scanner. But nothing was detected. "Huh…odd."

"Maybe you're just edgy about the mission?" Alan suggested.

"Of course I'm not!" said Kayo indignantly. "I'm…" She stopped herself, noticing Alan's raised left eyebrow. She sighed. "Okay…maybe I am," she said. "I guess I never thought the day would come when I'd get to visit an alien planet."

"Yeah, we'll you're not alone," Alan said. "Come on. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home."

They continued on and boarded Thunderbird 3. Once strapped in, they disengaged from the main body of the Zero-XL and reversed out before activating the chemical rockets and continuing the remaining part of the journey towards Planet-46. It had looked impressive through the telescope and TV monitor screen, but now they could see it with their own eyes through the cockpit windows of Thunderbird 3, Alan and Kayo couldn't help but find themselves somewhat awestruck by it.

"Okay…despite the danger we're flying into, that is pretty awesome," Alan said.

"Agreed," said Kayo.

Alan composed himself. "Okay, Subterrains. Here we come."

The tall skyscrapers of Manhattan loomed in the distance as Thunderbird 1 approached the city. As he circled around above the Hudson River, Scott couldn't help but wonder who was behind the attack on the Second National Bank. Hmmm. Nowhere easy for me to land, he thought to himself. I'd better put her into a hover and jet down there.

It wasn't difficult to locate the source of the trouble for the streets all around the bank had been sealed off by the Police and some GDF forces were there as well. As he jetpacked down to ground level, Scott recognised the person in charge. "Captain West?"

Captain West of the NYPD turned. "Tracy!" he said with relief. "Are you a sight for sore eyes?"

"What's the situation?" asked Scott.

"At least thirty hostages are locked inside the vault," said West. "Six cashiers, two guards, the manager, fifteen schoolchildren, five teachers and one customer we reckon."

"What of the attackers?" asked Scott.

"Well, that's just it," said West. "We haven't seen any. We've run thermal scans of the building and all we can see are the hostages inside the vault."

"Anyone else in the building outside the vault?"

"None. We've kept it free to make sure we don't confuse any hostage-takers with our own people."

Scott looked up at the bank. "Okay, I'm going in," he said. "Keep all exits sealed."

"Roger that," said West. "And we'll alert you if we see any movement."

Scott bit his lip. "If the attacker is who I think it is, you probably won't," he muttered to himself as he headed towards the doors of the bank. He walked inside. The foyer area was deadly silent. It was almost eerie and he felt somewhat uncomfortable. He looked left, right, up and down for any sign of anyone. "HELLO?!" he called out. "SWAN?! GHOST?! IF YOU'RE HERE, SHOW YOURSELF!" No response came, so Scott cautiously made his way further into the bank towards the large round door that led into the vault. He switched on the infra-red vision in his helmet. He hoped perhaps it would allow him to see something not visible to the naked eye. He reached the door and examined it closely. So…if I were Parker, what would I do? He had to think hard. He then looked at the keypad, eye-scanner and hand-print scanner that were beside the door. This clearly wasn't a vault that was easy to get into. He picked up his Multi-Tool and was about to attach a laser cutter when he was suddenly grabbed from behind. "What the?!" Before he knew it, he found himself pushed right through the door as if it wasn't even there and found himself inside the vault. He spun around just in time to see The White Ghost phase back through the door and disappear. He lunged up and punched the door in frustration.

"Who are you?"

Scott turned back to find the hostages all huddled in various locations around the vault amongst the many shelves of boxes of money and other things. "Er, hi. International Rescue here," he said awkwardly.

The manager, who had spoken, stood up. "Well, I hope you have a plan to get us out of here. We'll be out of oxygen within an hour."

Scott looked at the air-gauge on the wall. It was already in the flashing amber section meaning air was low. "Great…" he muttered to himself.

The Mikhail Lermontov was a former Russian Cruise Ship which had sunk in 1986 after striking rocks off Port Gore in Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. It was fortunate that only one lift had been lost during the sinking - a member of the crew - and all the passengers had been saved. Being so close to the shore had helped. Now the ship lay in shallow water on its port-side, with regular underwater surveys being carried out to make sure no third-party divers didn't attempt to enter the vessel or to tamper with any hazardous chemicals that may leak out.

Gordon had never seen the wreck of the Mikhail Lermontov before and was taken aback by the size of it. "Woah. And to think that ship is tiny compared to modern vessels," he remarked to himself. "Now to find that minisub."

Finding it didn't take too long. Moving Thunderbird 4 around to the port-side, he noticed a large hole in the upper deck near the stern. It looked as though something had rammed into it. He brought Thunderbird 4 in as close as he could and then checked the scanners as well as making a visual observation to see if he could see anything or anyone that shouldn't be there.

"No sign of Black Phantom. But I'm not gonna take any chances," Gordon told himself as he suited up into his deep-sea EXO-suit and then exited the craft. He swam around underneath Thunderbird 4 before entering the hole in the deck. Sure enough, there was the small minisub with the two-man crew hiding in the back of the cockpit. Gordon attached a speaking device to the hull of the minisub. "Hey, there. I'm with International Rescue."

"Crikey, mate!" exclaimed one of the minisub-men. "We didn't think anyone was coming for us!"

"Has the creepy guy gone?" added the other.

"Let me guess, black-suited figure with red laser eyes?" Gordon asked.

The two men looked at each other in confusion. "How do you know?" asked the first.

"Ah, well…" Gordon began. "Firstly, we've dealt with this creep before. And secondly, he's RIGHT BEHIND ME!" He spun himself to the side just as The Black Phantom's armoured fist narrowly missed him and punched the hull of the minisub instead. Gordon tried to activate his laser-chainsaw but the Phantom managed to turn and grab him before pushing him deeper below the decks of the ship. Gordon had seen the red eyes of the Phantom's helmet reflected in the glass of the minisub's cockpit. "Yo, Phantom! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Of course you'd come," growled The Black Phantom. "Like a shark to blood. You just can't let innocent people suffer, can you?"

"Hey, saving lives is my job," Gordon said. "Now if you'd just-ARCK!"

The Phantom had Gordon pinned down by his foot. "That suit looks tough, Tracy," he remarked. "Let's see how long it can withstand being crushed by my foot." He pushed down and Gordon felt the pressure increase on his chest. He could only hope to think of a way out of this quickly.

Base Arkensal was located in a valley surrounded by mountains. Parker had brought FAB1 onto the ledge of one that overlooked the valley and the base. They could hear alarms sounding as well as see the empty launcher that had once held the missile that had been launched at Global-1. The other hatches that concealed the remaining missiles were still closed but they could see various trucks and other military personnel armed with weapons at every perimeter, every gate, by every door and close to each hatch as they were looking out for whoever it was that had been causing trouble.

Keeping FAB1 in stealth-black and out of sight, Penelope and Parker concealed themselves behind some rocks to observe the goings on.

"Guessing Miss Swan 'as moved h'on?" Parker whispered.

"Not necessarily, Parker," Penelope whispered back. "If The Hood's got them to cause the attacks, I am sure he'll have told them to remain in the area and to keep them occupied. We just have to keep our eyes peeled for her."

"Clearly you're not doing a good enough job."

Penelope and Parker jumped and looked behind them to see that Silver Swan had appeared behind them. Before they had a chance to react, she jumped forwards and grabbed Penelope with her left retractable claws whilst she did the same with Parker using her right. "WOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHHH!" they cried together as they were lifted up off the ground and into the air.

Silver Swan laughed loudly as she swooped down towards Base Arkensal.

"THERE!" shouted one of the guards in a lookout tower in one corner. "SHE'S COMING BACK!"

"OPEN FIRE!" bellowed General Garr, the base commander.

The soldiers and vehicles began to open fire with their weapons as Silver Swan overflew the base with her captives dangling helplessly beneath her feet. Penelope and Parker waved frantically in hopes of getting their attention.

"STOP!" Penelope yelled. "STOP SHOOTING!"

One of the soldiers, peering through her gunsight, was the first to spot them. "CIVILIANS! HOLD YOUR FIRE! GENERAL, THE ASSAILANT HAS HOSTAGES!"

General Garr could now see it too via the monitor screens in the control room. "HOLD YOUR FIRE! REPEAT - HOLD YOUR FIRE!" he bellowed.

Most soldiers heard and stopped shooting, but others failed to hear the warning and continued shooting leaving Penelope and Parker with the very high chance of taking a bullet - or several.

Thunderbird 2 flew over the mountains of Northern India. Virgil checked his instruments. "Must be getting close," he said. "Thunderbird 5, any update on the trapped miners?"

To his surprise, it was Brains who answered. "J-John's got his own mission, Virgil. Everyone is on their own for t-these ones."

Virgil didn't feel comfortable with this. "Er…F-A-B, Brains."

But as Thunderbird 2 passed over the last mountain before the mine, he caught sight of a GDF Flyer on the ground, and his mood lifted dramatically when the long-range cameras caught sight of a familiar figure in red and black coordinating the people on the ground. He flicked open a secret radio link. "This is Green Turtle calling Captain Scarlet. Do you read?"

Hayley's response was rather blunt. "Virgil, not now. I'm busy!"

"On your left."

"What?"

"THUNDERBIRD INCOMING!" shouted a nearby worker. "CLEAR THE AREA! MOVE!"

Hayley looked around, and then up to her left to see Thunderbird 2 approaching. "Okay, I retract what I was saying," she said, a grin spreading across her face. "Come on in, Green Turtle."

Virgil grinned. "F-A-B!"

Once Thunderbird 2 was on the ground, Virgil configured a Bulldozer-Pod and trundled out towards the landslide that blocked the entrance to the mine, pausing only briefly so Hayley could jump up and ride on the side.

"Sorry about shrugging you off," Hayley apologised. "I should have known you'd be coming."

"Guessing you're here because of The Cabal?" asked Virgil.

"Yeah. Your dad reckons they're behind multiple attacks again?"

"That's the theory," said Virgil. "It would make sense given what we've been hearing." He opened the canopy of the cockpit. "Climb in. There could be some rock dust flying about."

They reached the rockslide and Virgil began to use the Pod's blade to push away the rocks blocking off the entrance. The rest of the GDF soldiers and mine workers had been told to clear the area to safety behind the GDF Flyer and Thunderbird 2.

"You're getting there," Hayley said. "I can just see the top of the entrance tunnel."

"Good," said Virgil. "One more pass should-"

A flash of green light and a powerful BOOM cut Virgil off as a blast caught the Pod and flipped it over causing Virgil and Hayley to yelp. The Pod now lay upside-down.

"Jeepers!" exclaimed Virgil. "Are you okay, Hayley?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Hayley replied shakily. "What was that?"

They heard a commotion off to their left. They turned their heads to look and saw miners and soldiers rushing towards them only for more blasts of green sonic energy to come shooting down from above causing them to retreat. Then a figure dropped down from above. A figure in an unmistakable yellow and brown quilted suit.

"Damn it!" cursed Virgil. "It's The Shocker!"

The Shocker then turned to face them. They were stuck inside the Pod and could do nothing as he began to walk menacingly towards them, his wrist gauntlets powering up as he approached.

"Shocker to Techno-Sub - I have the green ship brother and his little scarlet lady-friend trapped in their little bulldozer thingy. They have nowhere to go!"

"Thanks, Shocker. Do feel free to end their lives if you so wish to," said Techno.

"Ohhhhh, if it means hurting his little brother, I will indeed," sneered The Shocker menacingly before signing off.

Techno looked up at The Hood. "That's full confirmation," he said. "Ghost has one brother trapped in the vault in New York, Phantom has the submersible brother drowning in the wrecked liner, Swan's about to drop the English lady and her manservant from a great height and Shocker's got the big-lifter and his girlfriend stuck in their bulldozer."

The Hood cackled delightedly. "Excellent," he said. He raised the submarine's periscope and peered through it. His grin widened and he snickered with delight at the sight of Tracy Island, now standing less than three miles away. "That just leaves us to deal with Jeff Tracy, his mother and Brains."

"They'll be pretty defenceless against us, right?" asked Techno.

"Brains may try to use his robot friends against us," said The Hood after lowering the periscope. "But I have taken out one of them myself. They won't be a problem. Not with your talents."

Techno created a grin of his own. "At long last, our victories are at hand," he said.

"Indeed, my boy," said The Hood. "Now if my memory serves, there is a cave under the water on the North side of the island. That's where we accessed before. And that's how we'll get in again."

Techno checked a scan he'd made of Tracy Island. "I see it," he said. "But this boat won't fit in there."

"Then we'll take the smaller one," said The Hood.

Leaving the big submarine sitting on the seabed, The Hood and Techno boarded a smaller two-man submersible and set off to complete the last part of their attack run on Tracy Island. Neither man spoke as they went. They just sat with confidence on their faces, knowing full well that nothing was going to stop them. Or at least that's what they believed until they rounded an underwater rock to make their approach to the cave.

The Hood had been checking the systems on his Vulture-suit when Techno suddenly reduced power all of a sudden and brought the submersible to a stop. "Why are we stopping?" The Hood demanded.

Techno was hesitant with his answer. "Errrrr…boss? Do you see what I'm seeing?"

The Hood peered over the top of Techno's seat. He stared out into the dark water in bewilderment. "What?" he said, unable to believe what he was seeing.

About five-hundred yards away was the entrance to the cave. But sitting roughly halfway between it and them was a small yellow submersible. One that was easily recognisable.

"It can't be…" The Hood said, disbelievingly.

"It's…Thunderbird 4!" said Techno.

Thunderbird 3 had now reached Planet-46 and was entering its atmosphere. They flew high above the surface of the dark, grey planet. Its surface looked very similar to the Moon's, only darker, and a lot more hostile. There were big mountain ranges and very few signs of life. No figures could be seen anywhere. Only little tree-like shapes and the occasional plant.

"Where is everyone?" Kayo asked.

"Probably underground," Alan replied. "They are called Subterrains, after all?"

"Fair point," said Kayo. "So what do we do?"

Alan pondered the problem. "Hmmm. Can't see a lot up here," he said. "Perhaps we should use the Astroboards to go down and take a closer look?"
"Good idea," said Kayo. "Then we can examine a wider area between us."

After programming Thunderbird 3 into a slow, steady orbit roughly 100.000 feet above the surface of the planet, they exited on Astroboards and made their way down towards the surface. It seemed even more unsettling as they reached it and made their way along. Neither of them spoke as they searched. Even though they couldn't see anybody, both were getting an overwhelming feeling that they were being watched.

"Anything?' Alan asked when they met up after fifteen minutes of searching an area.

"No, nothing," Kayo answered. She sighed. "This could take a while."

"Maybe they don't want to be found," said Alan.

"Or they don't know we're here," said Kayo.

"They must do," said Alan. "If they've been able to somehow watch our planet, surely they would have realised that Thunderbird 3 is here." He paused and glanced up at the rocket which was just visible high above them. "I sure hope they don't shoot her down though," he added anxiously.

Kayo looked around. "There's a cave over there," she said. "Why don't we go check that out?"

Alan nodded so they hovered their way over to it. Cautiously they went inside. It was very dark so they both lit white orbs to light their way. This helped but not by much.

"Hold it," Kayo said suddenly.

"What is it?" Alan asked.

"Over there," Kayo said, pointing deeper into the cave. "Do you see an orange glow?"

Alan squinted to peer through the dark. "Yeah…I do," he said.

"Come on," said Kayo. "And take it slow."

Slowly but surely, they made their way towards the glowing light and turned a corner where they both stopped dead in their tracks. Ahead of them was a large stone door with two glowing orange torches on either side.

"Woaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…" said Alan in awe.

"I think we might be onto something," agreed Kayo.

But the excitement was short-lived. Suddenly, two small wall sections on opposite sides of the large door slid upwards to reveal a pair of Subterrains in their distinctive black and purple suits with green scally helmets covering their faces. Both were armed with some kind of ray gun each.

"ALAN, GET OUT OF HERE!" Kayo bellowed, urging Alan to make a run for it.

Alan didn't need telling twice. He spun his Astroboard around and darted back through the darkness. Kayo turned her board as well and tried to follow but was hit by a blast from one of the Subterrains's weapons. She cried out and fell off the board, landing front-down on the hard ground.

Alan failed to notice Kayo getting taken out and continued to hurry towards the exit of the cave which was ahead of him. But he also failed to notice a third Subterrain hiding up above the exit. It dropped a small grenade down onto the ground which detonated as Alan approached. "AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHH!" Alan cried out as he was blinded by the light and thrown off the board by the shockwave. He slammed hard into the rocky ground and lay motionless as he slipped into unconsciousness.