Misty Island was a tiny island off the coast of Sodor. It had once been the home of three braindead wood-burning steam locomotives, who'd eventually left for Ireland (after which the undersea tunnel connecting Misty to Sodor was closed up). But the three morons were back on the tree-filled island. Somehow.
It was now 5 p.m. The sun was gradually getting lower in the sky, and the Logging Locos were going back to their sheds.
"Today has been-" Bash began.
"-a good day!" Dash finished.
"That's right!" Ferdinand added.
The fog the island was famous for began to roll in. In the cover of the mist, a hand dropped a small orb on the ground, spilling its invisible contents into the air. The engines began to slow down.
"Why do I-" Bash yawned suddenly, his voice comically deep.
"-feel so tired?" Dash yawned too, his voice also deep.
"Your voices sound funny," Ferdinand yawned, his voice deep as well.
And then the engines passed out.
Men came out from the shadows and knocked out their drivers before taking them away. The three engines were already lined up single file, so it was easy for the shadowy men to couple them together.
From the darkness emerged a huge, hulking diesel engine. It said nothing as it backed down on the three steam engines and coupled up to them. The engine silently rolled away as fast as it came, taking the steam engines with it.
Sir Topham Hatt entered his house and closed the door. He made his way to a chair and slumped into it, exhausted.
"Busy day?" Lady Jane Hatt, his wife, asked.
"Very. I hate to say it, Jane, but I think I'm getting too old for this railway business."
"Nonsense! Topham, your mother is eighty-seven, and she's still very involved with the Northwestern even though she's retired! You're only sixty-three, and you're in much better health than your father was at this age! And besides, think about the engines. You wouldn't want to leave them behind, would you?"
"I know all of that," Topham sighed. "I just wish I could have some help, what with you on Tidmouth City Council, our children schoolteachers, and Lowham a talk show host."
"Work's been slow on the council recently," Jane stated. "Perhaps I have some free time available for managing the railway. You could use the help."
"Right now, I could use a nap."
The telephone rang.
"Oh, bother that telephone!" He got out of his chair and picked up the phone. "Hello, this is Hatt Manor, Sir Topham speaking...A railway inspection? Well, this is unexpected...American, you say? Interesting...You brought your own engines? Whatever for?...You want to test our rolling stock, and you need engines whose functionality is familiar to you...Well that's okay...Electric? I'm sorry, but we don't have any catenary lines...We'll have to set them up? How much of the railway?...That much...Okay, I'll let you know when we're done..." Topham set the phone down, worried.
"What's wrong?" Jane asked.
"An inspector's coming. He wants us to electrify almost all of the Northwestern." Her husband groaned. "There aren't any electric lines on Sodor! None of us here know how to put up the wires!"
"Actually, Topham, there is one part of Sodor that's electrified. Don't tell me you've forgotten about Peel Godred."
Topham slapped his forehead. "Of course. That line. It hasn't had traffic in so many years I forgot it was even there. Now I'll have to do all the needed paperwork, choose some of my engines to go, and-"
"No, you need your rest. I'll start the paperwork. I know Esther better anyway."
"I've yet to see the benefits of all this."
"Well..." Jane tried to figure out the right thing to say, before finally coming out with "at least now you can rescue electric Lifers like you've always wanted to do."
Topham looked at her. "You're right. There were plenty of electric engines who couldn't come to Sodor and wound up getting scrapped. Nikola and Lucy were some of the few who made it." He stood taller. "We will do it! But first, I need to lie down."
So he went upstairs to bed. Jane, meanwhile, called someone on the phone. "Oh, hi Esther! This is Jane. How's your husband? Good? Okay, listen, remember that project we promised we'd do when Topham became controller? Well, looks like we're doing it after all."
The hand on the other end finally set the phone down.
"How'd it go, boss?" asked a man in a gray uniform.
"Perfectly. Fatt Hatt bought the whole thing. He's even going to electrify the majority of his line. The fool. And the Lifers on this island?"
"They've been secured and have been brought to the Cutting Board. They haven't woken up yet. We're waiting for you, sir."
"Good." The owner of the hand stood up, revealing a man dressed like a motorcyclist. He walked out of his office, which was on the top of an enormous ship. He walked outside, down the stairs, and to a door. He opened the door and descended into the belly of the ship.
The Cutting Board had many smelter's pits and cutting torches. It was hot and stuffy. Bash, Dash, and Ferdinand were on three of the many lines of track inside. The diesel that brought them there was leaving and going into another massive room.
The engines woke up, immediately frightened. Then they saw who had brought them there.
The man dressed like a motorcyclist grinned. To his staff, he said "Misty Island is the perfect base of operations for our mission. The freak fog system completely hides us from radar. And it's right next door to the greatest concentration of Lifers in the world. We've hit the jackpot, boys and girls. And we will start our campaign of cleaning out Sodor with these three losers."
"Who are you?" the three engines asked.
"I'm the one who's going to send you to the lair of the devil. Call me...Pete Tiberius Boomer."
Boomer laughed a malicious laugh, grabbing a cutter's torch and a metal block with a square cross-section. On the left hind side of each of the engines, he cut a square out of them, using the block as a stencil. The engines winced in pain.
"Scrap 'em," Boomer said as he left with the three squares, and his evilly grinning followers descended on the three locomotives with gusto.
The agonizing screams of the Logging Locos as they died went unnoticed by the rest of the world.
Except for a certain gray coach on Sodor, who felt them die, and shuddered in her sleep.
Wow! Something big just happened! Ladies and gentlemen, meet the story's main antagonist!
Peel Godred has been introduced into the series! Nikola and Lucy are the two Class 86's that you see on the new front cover. There are seven other engines who work the line. The line will debut in its own chapter later.
So P.T. Boomer has just killed off the Logging Locos. Meanwhile the Hatts are organizing a big ordeal, not knowing Boomer isn't an actual railway inspector.
Why is P.T Boomer scrapping engines? Will he be found out? What's Esther's controller nickname?
All this and more in the next chapter - On Diesels and Indignity!