January 28th, 2063 - 23:11 NZDT
John and Ridley are currently surrounded by a string of alerts. On the holo-map, all the Thunderbirds except Thunderbirds 1 and 6 are shown to be all over the globe dealing with rescues. It had only just gone midday in London, meaning that there's little chance that anyone is going to get sleep tonight. After dealing with another rescue a new alert comes up on the screen.
"Grandma Tracy, we got another one," Ridley sighs, "Sending situation details."
"FAB, Ridley," Sally says from her set at Jeff's desk and glances over to Brains over by the table, "Alan and Kayo can pick it up when they finish the mining rescue on Venus."
"That fire in Tokyo's officially out. Cross it off the list," Scott sighs as he enters the room after just landing for refuelling.
"Wrapping things up with the shipping lane collision," Gordon announces, appearing from his painting in hologram form.
"Good job, Gordon. Head back, it's a busy day," Sally smiles before looking at the new alert Ridley had sent her, "Scott, be a dear and head over to the north face of K2 once Thunderbird 1 finishes refuelling. There's a couple of climbers there who could use your help."
"FAB," Scott groans and goes to head out the room.
"Heads up," John calls, "Incoming call on the Global Emergency Channel."
"Emergency! Emergency!" the guy says, "This is Professor Quentin Questa reporting a disaster of global proportions. A catastrophic event. Massive world-wide destruction. The Hromundartdinhumindur volcano in Iceland is gonna blow."
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
"Hello Doctor Questa, has it been a year already?" John asks with a sigh.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Quentin fires back.
"Every year I pick up your distress call and every year the same thing happens," John sighs, "Nothing."
"This time it's different, you have my word," Quentin says.
"Alright, I'll do a thermal scan," John says, shaking his head, he starts the scan before turning back, "Like I said, nothing. I'm sorry to cut this sort, but we're a little busy at the moment."
"No, I refuse to let you brush me off, again," Quentin argues, "Let me speak to your supervisor. I'm going over your head this time, young man!"
"You asked for it!" John sighs and patches Sally into the call.
"Doctor Questa, did you ever hear the story of the little boy who cried wolf?" Sally asks.
"This is hardly the time for fairy tales," Quentin complains, "We're looking at a major crisis situation here!"
"What I'm looking at are highly detailed seismic and thermal scans showing your 'major crisis situation' is a bunch of baloney," Sally states.
"Baloney!" Quentin scoffs.
"I promise we'll keep an eye on the situation, Sir," Scott says politely, "Have a good day."
"No, no, no, don't hang up!" Quentin calls and points to Brains, "You, you with the glasses. You're a scientist?"
"More of an engineer really," Brains corrects.
"Good enough," Quentin says.
"I've seen the reports," Brains explains, "We're detecting n-no volcanic activity."
"Then I'm afraid I have no choice," Quentin breathes, "I invoke Isaac Newton's Fourth Law."
"What?" Sally asks.
"His Fourth Law?" Scott questions, "I thought Newton only had three."
"P-Professor Questa, are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" Brains asks.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Quentin replies.
"Then we'll be r-right there," Brains states.
"Brains, there's no volcanic activity," Ridley says, who's overheard the whole conversation, "You said it yourself."
"It doesn't matter," Brains dismisses, "Newton's f-fourth law is a sacred vow between scientists. I have to listen."
"If you insist, but you're the only one available," John says.
"And it looks like you're going to have to talk Thunderbird 6," Sally states, "But that could take a day!"
"That's okay, Grandma," Scott says walking over and patting Brains on the back, "Thunderbird 1 can drop Thunderbird 6 off over the Atlantic when I'm on my way to K2."
6
Thunderbird 6 is transferred to Tracy Island and gets lifted inside Thunderbird 1's cargo hold.
5
Scott descends and gets suited up.
4
Brains and Max are brought into Thunderbird 1's hold and take a seat in the back.
3
Scott retracts the chair inside Thunderbird 1 and closes the hatch.
2
The launch pad starts to move.
1
Thunderbird 1 comes to a stop as the swimming pool above starts to retract.
Thunderbirds are Go!
January 28th, 2063 - 13:17 GMT
"Thanks for the lift, Scott," Brains thanks.
"Not a problem," Scott replies, "Get ready to drop."
"Standing b-by," Brains says as he gets into the cockpit of Thunderbird 6.
"Launching in three, two, one," Scott counts down. The cargo bay doors on Thunderbird 1 open and the tiger moth drops and takes a hard left away from Thunderbird 1 and north towards Iceland.
"T-Thanks Scott," Brains calls. Thunderbird 6 is known as the slowest Thunderbird with an average speed of around 110mph. Thankfully, because of this, Brains doesn't get queasy flying his Thunderbird. It's also the least used Thunderbird, which is why its stored-on Mateo Island. However, it does get called out to missions in the local area and even sometimes gets a ride in Thunderbird 2's Module 2, if required. It takes just over an hour for Brains to reach Iceland from where Thunderbird 1 dropped him off.
January 28th, 2063 - 14:24 GMT
"P-Professor Questa, hello?" Brains calls once he arrives at Quentin's base, "It's International Rescue. Oh my, it's a b-bit... rustic."
"That's it?!" Quentin cries as he appears from a pile of rubble, "Where are the heroes in their fitted jump suits? Where are their big ships? I need the Thunderbirds!"
"Thunderbird 6 was the only T-Thunderbird available," Brains says, pointing over to the tiger moth, "The others are busy saving the world right now, but you've g-got us."
"An engineer and a multi-tool," Quentin sighs, "Oh, well, I guess it will have to do. We don't have much time. Hromundartdinhumindur is going to blow."
"You've predicted this before and every time you've been w-wrong," Brains argues.
"Since when is science just about being right?" Quentin questions.
"P-Professor, this is serious," Brains states, "You've invoked Isaac Newton's Fourth Law. Your entire scientific future rests on this. You need p-proof."
"Proof. Yes, of course. Proof.This time I am right," Quentin says as hepicks up a monitor and whacks it to turn it on. The reading on the monitor shows red, "Look! Lava. A big whole lake of it. Proof. Evidence."
"Hm, P-Professor, this is the very latest in cutting-edge in volcanic detection equipment," Brains says taking his own device out of his pocket and shows the reading is blue, "See? There is no volcanic activity. Hromundartdinhumindur is n-not erupting."
"How curious. Are you sure you're using that thing correctly?" Quentin inquires.
"P-P-Professor Questa, I'm sorry, but you're just w-wrong!" Brains states and starts walking over to Thunderbird 6, "Now, let us all out of here."
"You want evidence? Incontrovertible, undeniable, in-your-face proof?" Quentin growls, "Fine! Fritzi, where are you?" A robot appears from beneath all the rubble and Max looks over in awe and starts playing music. "This... is my robotic assistant," Quentin introduces, "I call her Fritzi."
"M-Max, why are you playing that music?" Brains asks and Max turns the music off. Brains looks up again and notices Quentin and Fritzi are walking away, "P-Professor Questa, w-where are you going?"
"Under the volcano!" Quentin announces without looking back.
"Absolutely b-bonkers. I guess there's nothing left for us t-to do. Let's go home m-Max. Max? Max?" Brains calls and notices Max following in the direction of where Fritzi when and sighs, shaking his head, "Robots, always thinking with their d-diodes. Max, come back here." Brains follows after Max and eventually enters the base of the volcano, "M-Max?! T-There you are. Listen Max, Fritzi seems very n-nice, but she's m-much too old a model for you. Come on." Max lets out a saddened whir and turns around to head back to Brains. Brains however, notices that his scanner has started to beep, "That's odd. Sulphur dioxide levels are near m-maximum. It seems to be coming from this wa—" Brains stops as he falls down the side of a small cliff and lands at the bottom of Quentin's feet.
"I'm glad you could join us," Quentin states, "You say Hromundartdinhumindur's dormant. Then how do you explain this?"
"B-But that's impossible," Brains cries as he looks over the edge as sees lava bubbling up, "According to m-my device, this lava simply isn't there."
"What are you going believe? Your gadgets or your eyes?" Quentin questions.
"Usually I'd defer to my g-gadgets... Whoa!" Brains starts but loses his balance as a bubble of lava shoots up and almost gets him in the face. Quentin manages to grab him and pull Brains back from the edge.
"What do you think now?" Quentin asks.
"I, I think Hromundartdinhumindur is going to blow!" Brains states.
"I concur. Now let's get out of here," Quentin says.
January 28th, 2063 - 14:32 GMT
"The rare Earth m-minerals in this region must be b-blocking my advanced thermal imaging. That's why your old device registered the lava and mine didn't," Brains explains, "You were right. I'm sorry I doubted you."
"Don't sweat it. That's why Newton made his Fourth Law. What matters now, is saving lives. We've got to evacuate the locals. Fritzi, the corp."
"Locals? What locals?" Brains asks.
"Those locals," Quentin points as he calls a number, indicating to a hotel at the bottom of the volcano.
"Hromundartdinhumindur, Hot Springs Resort. How may I assist you?" the receptionist asks.
"You have to evacuate the resort immediately. Hromundartdinhumindur is going to blow!" Quentin exclaims.
"Professor Questa, every year you warn us to evacuate and every year, absolutely nothing happens," the receptionist scoffs.
"I know, I know, but this time I'm right," Quentin states.
"I'm not going to disturb our guests on the word of a... a crackpot!" the receptionist fires back.
"If you won't listen to me, perhaps you'll believe this guy," Quentin says and pulls Brains to appear on the hologram.
"Excuse me, but P-Professor Questa is not a c-crackpot, he's telling the truth," Brains confirms, "This volcano is erupting."
"Oh yes, and who are you exactly?" the receptionist asks.
"Hiram K. Hackenbacker. C-Chief scientist, engineer, inventor of International Rescue!" Brains announces.
"And I'm Jeff Tracy," the receptionist says sarcastically and hangs up.
"He d-didn't believe me," Brains mutters, "I told him the truth. I told him who I was, and he wouldn't listen."
"Cheer up," Quentin says, tapping Brains on his shoulder, "It happens to all the best scientists. Galileo, Darwin, Pons, me. All of us weren't believed at some point."
"If n-no one believes you, how do you keep d-doing science?" Brains inquires.
"Science isn't about belief. It's about experimentation, observation, knowledge," Quentin explains, "Just like I know we're not going to sit on our buts doing nothing whilst that volcano erupts."
"B-But what can we do?" Brains asks.
"If we can't get those people out of harm's way, we have to get harm out of their way," Quentin states, "Make sense?"
"You mean we're going to stop the volcano from erupting," Brains says confused.
"Are you nuts?" Quentin cries, "There's 13.2 cubic kilometres of molten rock inside that volcano. We can't just shove a giant cork in it."
"B-But we could re-direct it. Vent the volcano, reroute the lava flow," Brains muses.
"Yes! I know this volcano like the back of my hand," Quentin smiles and indicates with his hand, "If we drill shafts here and here, the lava will flow down the sides of the volcano, across the tundra and miss the resort. It'll take serious equipment and I've got a feeling we're not going to find it in my scrap piles."
"If it's serious equipment you want, you c-came to the right person," Brains smiles and calls Tracy Island, "International Rescue, this is B-Brains. We have a situation."
January 28th, 2063 - 14:36 GMT
"In order to vent the volcano, we're going to create exhaust tunnels in two key structure points," Quentin says as he moves some equipment around.
"We can p-pilot the pods to drills tunnels through the v-volcanic rock," Brains explains.
"Oh no, this is a one-way trip for your fancy vehicles," Quentin states as he goes into the pile of rubble again, "There's no coming back. They'll need to be on autopilot."
"But how will they know w-where to go?" Brains asks.
"We're going to show them," Quentin grunts pushing a button and a beeping noise starts.
"Homing beacons?" Brains realises, "But, you mean, we have to go back in there?"
"Ain't science grand," Quentin chuckles and puts his arm around Brains. Brains sighs and gets starts to make his way back to the volcano. Quentin sprints off in front of him and Brains struggles to keep up. Max and Fritzi take the rear. They enter the maze of tunnel and Quentin directs them to where one tunnel splits into two.
Place this at the point I've marked on your scans," Quentin says handing over one of the beacons over to Brains, "Then haul yourselves out of there fast, because Hromundartdinhumindur is going—"
"G-Gonna blow," Brains finishes, "I know."
"Good luck, Hiram K. Hackenbacker," Quentin smiles.
"G-Good luck, Professor Quentin Questa," Brains nods and the two go their separate ways.
Outside the volcano, Thunderbird 2 arrives on scene with Module 2 and lands next to Thunderbird 6. Virgil looks out the window and notices the huge bloom of smoke coming out the top of the volcano.
"Max, be brave," Brains mutters as the two make their way to the point Quentin marked on their scanner. The monitor beeping comes to a stop and Brains places the beacon onto the volcanic wall. When secure, Brains radios Virgil, "T-This is the point Max. Thunderbird 2, first homing beacon is in p-position."
"Thunderbird 2 is standing by," Virgil says, "What do you need Brains?"
"Configure two M-Mole Pods and set them on autopilot," Brains orders as Virgil lands Thunderbird 2.
"FAB. Two Moles coming right up," Virgil replies and makes his way into the Module and assembles the Moles using Pods C and D, "Mole pods configured. Awaiting autopilot destination."
"Okay, activate homing b-beacons, now!" Brains states and presses a button on his pad that turns the beacon green which starts one of the Moles, "Now head d-down to that resort. If this doesn't work you've got to get those p-people out of there."
"FAB," Virgil says and watches the other Mole Pod start moving. With the Module having more space, Virgil moves Thunderbird 6 inside to get it out of the way of the lava before taking off. It only takes Virgil a few seconds to park outside the entrance of the resort and he makes his way inside. He takes a look around the grand entrance and walks over to the reception desk where the receptionist is sleeping. Virgil sees a bell on the counter and rings it in the receptionist's face waking him up with a start.
"How may I assist you?" the receptionist coughs.
"Hi, I'm from International Rescue," Virgil introduces.
"Yeah, and I'm Jeff Tracy," the receptionist scoffs, but Virgil clears his throat and points out the window causing the receptionist to turn around and gasp at Thunderbird 2,"Oh my!"
The mole pods continue on their course as Brains and Max meet up with Quentin and Fritzi. They all make a dash towards the exit of the volcano, but Max suddenly stops and starts beeping at Brains.
"What's wrong Max?" Brains asks as Max continues to beep, "Pod number four has stopped? The homing beacon's out. G-Go on. We have to go back and restart it."
"Hurry, we'll meet you out front," Quentin says sternly and turns and leaves with Fritzi. Max and Brains have no choice but to head back the way they came. Within seconds they're back at the beacon.
"We don't have much time. M-Max hand me my tools," Brains breathes and Max hands him a couple of tools. Brains looks down at his hand and hears the bubbling of lava in the background. He shakes his head and hands the tools back, "No time!" Brains then does a Jeff Tracy fix and whacks the beacon which resumes working, "What do you know? It worked!" The bubbling intensifies and Brains and Max sprint out of the volcano. The increase in heat is felt and Brains starts to scream. As they exit the volcano, lava erupts from the top and starts to run down the sides of the mountain. The pair arrive to were Quentin and Fritzi were standing, and Brains takes a breath.
"It's finally happening," Quentin marvels, "After all these years, Hromundartdinhumindur is actually erupting."
"N-Now let's hope out experiment w-works," Brains says and watches as the lava starts to be redirected, "Professor, you did it! You're plan w-worked!"
"You know, it feels good to be right," Quentin says.
"We s-should get clear," Brains says and turns around to see a volcanic rock come flying out of the volcano and lands near them. "Oh!" Brains cries and sees the lava is starting to head directly towards the group.
"We've got to go. Come on Fritzi," Quentin yells and everyone starts running, "Come on! Come on!"
"We're not f-fast enough!" Brains complains and Max and Fritzi pick up their respective creator and starts to wheel them away, "Go Max! G-Go!"
"Hit it, Fritzi!" Quentin smiles but that quickly disappears when a rock lands in front of them,"Watch out!" Fritzi swerves to avoid impact and scrapes the side of the rock, causing on of her side plates to fall off and melt in the lava. The lava is quickly getting closer. "Come on. Any... moment..." Quentin calculates, "Now!" They pull onto a lump of raised rock that is in front of them, and the lava splits either side.
"Yay!" Brains shouts as Max and Fritzi come skidding to a halt.
"We made it!" Quentin chuckles.
"Well done, Professor," Brains smiles.
January 28th, 2063 - 15:12 GMT
The group eventually make it back to the resort and are greeted by Virgil and a very greatly receptionist.
"Thank you! Thank you, International Rescue!" the receptionist cries.
"Oh no, d-don't thank us, thank—" Brains starts.
"Thank, Isaac Newton," Quentin finishes.
"Very well," the receptionist says, clasping his hands together and making his way back towards the resort, "I'll send... Mr Newton a gift basket immediately."
"Should we t-tell him?" Brains asks.
"No, he'll figure it out. Eventually?" Quentin questions and everyone chuckles. Quentin and Brains along with their counterparts head off back towards Quentin's camp to see if anything survived and Virgil watches them go.
"Shame I didn't see you in action," a voice says causing Virgil to turn around.
"Nina?" Virgil asks as he recognizes the girl approaching him.
"The very same," Nina laughs, "I'm surprised you remembered me."
"Now, how could I forget a screaming crane girl?" Virgil chuckles and Nina joins him, "How are you doing?"
"I'm doing very well actually," Nina smiles, "After that incident, I changed career and decided to work for the London Fire Brigade to help people who may be trapped like I was."
"Very noble of you," Virgil compliments, "Maybe we should get you employed with International Rescue in the future."
"Stop it," Nina laughs, "I just get promoted to Chief, so I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while."
"Well, congrats," Virgil smiles but is slightly saddened by what Nina had said and doesn't know why."
"I may take up on your offer in the future though," Nina smirks seeing Virgil's slight change in attitude, "I mean who can say no to a Tracy."
"I—" Virgil starts and blushes slightly before chuckling, "I guess so."