Out Of Place
AN – Well this chapter took a while to write (blame the holidays) but I hope it is worth it. Thank you again to LMC25, islandsandstars and Harlow for their reviews on the last chapter, as ever it is really appreciated.
Disclaimer – I don't own Thunderbirds
Chapter Eighteen – Playing with Fire
John stretched in bed, trying to remove the crick from the middle of his back. He wasn't quite sure what the time was, though judging by the fact he felt well rested it must be fairly late in the day. He lay there for a moment, thinking over the events of the day before, until his stomach rumbled loudly enough to prompt him to finally get up and find some food.
One look in the mirror and he decided he couldn't leave until he'd tidied himself up. In space John never worried about his appearance much, but something stopped him from just sauntering into the lounge area looking quite as unkempt as he did. Biscuits kept him going while he showered and shaved, removing the downy red fluff he always grew instead of a proper beard. He took his time choosing an outfit, eventually settling for a light shirt unbuttoned at the top with a pair of dark blue jeans and tan brogues - all the while trying to convince himself he was putting in the effort now to save time later.
Eventually he made his way out of the room, pausing in his doorway as he looked into the lounge. Angel was sat on one of the sofas in her baggy pyjamas, legs folded underneath her and hair messily tied in a bun on top of her head. She was looking intently at some kind of paperwork and hadn't yet noticed his entrance. The afternoon sun slanting through the window caused her to be bathed in a gentle glow and for one moment John thought she lived up to her namesake. Then she stirred as she noticed his presence, looked up at him and smiled.
"Hey."
"Hi," John smiled back softly, leaning against his doorway. "Interesting reading?"
Angel pulled a face. "It's a map," she explained. "John, the not-you one, called a little earlier. Apparently Penelope uncovered some information that suggests Malaysia." She looked annoyed with herself. "I should have guessed really, it's where the Hood from here had his base. In a remote location in Borneo."
"You think Borneo again?" John sat next to her, taking the edge of the map that fell limply down from the edge of her seat and pulling it taut across both of their laps.
"I don't know," Angel admitted as she pursed her lips. "It may well be… but what if this Hood didn't have a secret lair there in your dimension? How does the Black Phantom fit into all of this? I just don't know."
John stood again, heading towards the coffee machine. There was a pause while he worked out how to operate it, then with a hiss hot coffee began to pour into one of the small cups.
"It's still promising," he commented, not turning back to her. "We've narrowed the location down from anywhere in the world to one relatively small country. What next – we find it, grab the Hood and then just head home?" He kept his tone light even as his hand closed more tightly around the cup he was holding.
Angel laughed. "You make it sound so simple! But something like that I guess, if anyone can work out how to send you back home it will be Brains. Two of them together would be able to do almost anything."
"And you get Scott back."
"And I get Scott back." She sighed deeply. "I miss him so much. It's not like we haven't spent time apart before, but this time it feels far more distant. I know he is alive and safe, but it's the uncertainty of when or even if we'll get him back that is so hard."
John moved away from the coffee machine to the window by the balcony, looking out over the flowers in the foreground to the fountains below. "Have you ever wondered what might have happened if you and Scott hadn't met?"
Angel looked at him in confusion. "In what way?"
John gestured expansively. "Where you might have been in life, what you might be doing." He paused and took a sip of his coffee before speaking again. "Who you might be with."
Angel considered his words for a moment, head tilted slightly to the side endearingly as she did so. "I can't say I do. Scott and I… we have been through so much both apart and together, somehow finding each other at the end of it. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am. I don't think about the alternative, because it isn't the case." She stood and walked over to him, eyes searching his face. "It is our shared experiences and memories that make us, as much as what genes we are born with. If there was a version of me running around in your dimension, one that had never met Scott and experienced the things we experienced together, then she wouldn't be me. And for her sake, I really hope that is the case." Angel dropped her eyes down. "My life… wasn't easy. If I do exist elsewhere, I hope that she had different choices. Even if that means she never met your Scott."
John scoffed at that. "I can safely say that my Scott has never met anyone quite like you."
"And your brother tells you about everyone he meets?" Angel asked, eyebrow arched.
"He doesn't need to," John smirked at her. "I'm the eye in the sky, remember? There isn't much my brothers can manage to keep from me, and certainly not a girlfriend."
Angel shook her head, mock disapprovingly. "Using your powers to spy on your brothers? I am truly shocked, John Tracy. Tut tut."
At that John did laugh, followed by an embarrassing rumble from his stomach that had him blushing nearly as red as his hair. Angel walked away from the window, bumping his arm in a conspiratorial gesture as she did so.
"I can't get anything else out of the map today. It's nearly three now and we're not due at the Red Dragon until eleven this evening. Let's go and get some food, enjoy the sights of Macau. I saw something I think you'll like!" She disappeared into her room, leaving John by himself momentarily. By the time he had gulped down the rest of his coffee and found a jacket Angel had emerged. Instead of the formal dresses and upmarket suits she had been wearing throughout the trip so far, she now sported a loose, pale yellow skirt and a lightweight grey blouse. It transformed her appearance yet again, this time into something much softer and gentler.
Angel noticed his eyes on her. "Does it look ok?" She asked nervously.
"It's just missing…ah," John pulled out one of the fresh flowers from an arrangement in the hallway of their apartment, some form of large daisy with a sunny yellow centre and delicate white petals that were tinged with pink at the edges. He leant forwards and tucked it behind her ear gently, carefully using it to pin back some of her chestnut hair that she had allowed to fall loose again. "Perfect," he murmured before withdrawing his hand away. Angel reached up with one hand and touched the flower, a slight frown crossing her expression as she used a gilt mirror to check its placement.
"Thank you," she told him.
"You're welcome," came the reply as he held open their apartment door. "After you."
Angel led him out and they walked together through the casino.
"So what did you have in mind?" John asked after a few minutes of walking.
"Street food!" Angel replied happily. "If I have to look at one more consommé or pomme soufflé I'm going to scream. I don't know about you, but I need some real food. Even when I ask them for a simple meal at the hotel it has to consist of seven courses." She led them out of the main door of the hotel but instead of stepping into one of the many taxis lined up there she turned left and headed down the street.
"Do you know where you're going?" John asked sceptically.
"No!" Angel laughed at his concerned face. "That's a bit of a lie, I have a vague idea. I did some research while you were still sleeping and found that the quayside is home to several markets. Seems like a promising place to start."
John was beginning to get alarmed as she led them down rougher and rougher looking streets, away from the clean glitz and glamour of the main casinos. Angel seemed to know where she was going though, confidently following a mental map as she turned first left, then right down the streets.
He was about to suggest that they turn and go back when they suddenly emerged from the city into bright, open air. Water gleamed ahead of them, boats manoeuvring around on the waves. The smell of salt and fish suddenly assaulted all of John's senses and he just breathed it in for a moment. Angel stood with a grin on her face. "Come on," she told him, taking his arm and tugging him along the waterfront towards a shabby looking area. As they got closer John could see it was actually a market – ramshackle tents and temporary buildings that housed a whole array of vendors. Some were selling fresh food, including the fish that added to the aroma, but others sold trinkets, jewellery, bags, clothing and even animals.
Angel continued to tow John along so he didn't get a chance to stop and actually look at any of the wares. Eventually she let go of his arm, by which time they were in the middle of a square of some sort. It wasn't particularly busy, but there were several people still milling around. Their tall figures and unusual colouring garnered John and Angel several curious glances as they stood out from the locals.
Angel made a beeline for a tent that John realised was selling some form of food. She was obviously trying to buy something as she gestured wildly before turning around triumphantly with something in her hand.
"It's a pork chop bun!" She informed him happily, waving it at him "Here!" She handed it over to him and began browsing through the other stalls. John tentatively took a bite and nearly groaned at the delicious, savoury taste. Before he knew it, he had wolfed the lot down and was following Angel to see if she could find something else.
Now she stopped by a stall where a man was ladling something into small porcelain bowls. "Stew?" She asked John, who wrinkled up his nose. With an eye roll she accepted one for herself.
"How do you know what's in it?" John asked suspiciously, looking at the mixture of colours and textures nestled up to a neat mound of rice.
"It's a vegetable stew so I highly doubt it's anything particularly disgusting. How about noodles?"
"Noodles I can do." Angel nodded and a few moments and another expressive discussion later John was cradling a cup full of noodles and chicken in a broth. They perched on a bench in the centre of the square and enjoyed their purchases, watching the people moving around them.
"This was a very good idea," John said after a long, contented silence.
"I'm glad you like it." She finished up the stew, somehow managing to deftly use the chopsticks to grab the last few grains of rice.
"How do you do that?" John asked in wonder – he'd long since had to abandon the chopsticks for the rice spoon he'd pilfered from Angel.
"I learnt at an early age," Angel replied, clicking the sticks in front of her. She looked sideways at John. "I spent a lot of time in Asia in my youth, further west than here but they still occasionally used chopsticks." John was about to ask her more about it when she stood up, gathering her bowl and taking his now empty dish away too. "Come on, I want to browse the market."
They spent an hour or so browsing through the counterfeits and tourist merchandise in the market, enjoying the range of items on display, before they started to walk back to the hotel.
"Thanks for that," John told her as they approached the casino quarter, ever bigger hotels with bright lights surrounding them as they left the hustle of the marketplace behind them. "It was more fun than I expected it to be."
Angel grinned. "That wasn't the main surprise. Come on!" She almost skipped off down the street, leaving John to hurry along behind her.
"There's more?"
"Yes! I saw something earlier I thought you would like and booked us some tickets. Exclusive tickets! And we're just on time." She turned quickly, dragging him with her. John looked up at the hotel they were entering.
"The Royal Grand Hotel?"
"I know, bit of a pretentious name. But that isn't why we're here." She continued leading the way, threading her way through the centre of a slot machine hall. "We need to get to the middle – ah, there it is!"
John was so busy looking around that he nearly collided with her when she stopped. He looked up at the neon sign above his head, stating that the room they were about to enter was the Royal Planetarium.
"Wait…is this what I think it is?"
"Yes!" Angel's enthusiasm was infectious and John felt a grin begin to cross his face as she discussed their entry with the woman on the door. Very soon, they were being ushered inside and shown to the centre of a dark space.
"Ready?" Angel asked him once the usher had gone, a green exit sign the only light in the room.
"Go ahead," John replied. The next second Angel hit a button and the room was flooded with light as a million, million stars sprang into being around them. "Wow," he murmured, admiring the holographic effect that let them feel like they were genuinely in space. It felt like the real thing.
But it was slightly different to the view he was used to from Thunderbird 5 and not just because the part of the planetarium they were stood in was centred on the core of planet Earth.
"There is far less junk around than in my dimension," John commented, wandering around the projection and studying it closely. He huffed in amusement. "Sometimes we have to send up Thunderbird 3 just to clear a path for us so that we can launch without problems. It can interfere with signals too, one of the main reasons why Brains equipped Thunderbird 5 to be mobile." He continued walking around, looking at all the stars closely and marvelling at the sight.
"It's incredible," Angel breathed as she drank it all in. Looking over, John could see that she was still standing in the centre, just looking around her in amazement. A small smile pulled up the corner of her mouth. "I bet you can't wait to get back to Thunderbird 5 so that you can see this all in person again."
John looked over at her and the reply died on his tongue at the expression of almost childlike wonder on her face and the universe reflected in her shining eyes. Her skin glowed in the light of the thousand stars and for a moment he wanted to take her up for real, show her the universe from outside the confines of the planet. Then her gaze turned to him and he remembered that she had asked him a question.
"I really can't," he replied, stating it so convincingly that for a moment even he believed it.
