December 14th, 2063 - 19:07 NZDT
"Grrrrr!" Kayo growls as she enters the lounge. She has just come back from another cold lead on The Hood, which had sent her on a wild goose chase across three continents. The GDF were the ones to blame as they had fallen for another loose wire thinking it was part of the larger machine, so to speak.
"Hey, Ka—" Alan starts but suddenly ducks as a chair goes flying over his head, "Woah, woah, woah! Hey, what's the matter?"
"The fucking GDF," Kayo scoffs, "Absolutely useless pricks. Just like all the other law enforcement: Incompetent."
"Okay..." Alan trails, "Well, how about—" Alan stops when an alert goes off and a holo-map of Africa comes up on the screen with a red warning triangle. John and Ridley appear over the holo-coms.
"International Rescue, someone has triggered an emergency beacon in the Sahara Desert," John announces as everyone else enters the lounge in worry, "Ridley's tracking the source." Behind John, Ridley does a scan of the area and raises the area of the scan. She gasps as she identifies the source in space.
"Oh no! We have a situation. A really, really big one," Ridley states and looks out one of the gravity wheel's windows and points a massive structure out to John, "A massive laser satellite just showed up on scanners. Guys, I think The Mechanic's 'Project Sentinel' is online."
"And it's firing up again," John states as they watch the laser line up with the sun before shooting another blast towards Earth.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
December 14th, 2063 - 08:46 CET
"Thunderbird 1," John informs as Scott flies immediately towards the source to the destress call, "That laser blast revealed a hidden underground facility. My scans show one life sign trapped inside.
"FAB, Thunderbird 5. I'm on my way," Scott says, "Marion, we may need Thunderbird 7."
"Standing by," Marion replies.
"Brains, tell me everything we know about Project Sentinel," Scott states.
"Analysis suggests it's an automated w-weapon satellite," Brains starts and Gordon and Kayo join the call from Thunderbirds 4 and Shadow respectively "A single powerful laser p-pointing straight at the Earth. Losing those p-power cells didn't stop The M-Mechanic. He's using the sun to power it now."
"And, it seems to be recharging," Nina notes.
"C-Correct. You may only have a few m-moments before it's able to fire again," Brains says as Scott lands Thunderbird 1 and jumps out. He carefully walks over to the hole in the ground that was created by the laser and jumps in, activating his jetpack. Scott slowly makes his way down and enters the underground facility.
"Thunderbird 5, where am I exactly?" Scott asks.
"I can't find any record of it. Whoever built that place didn't want anyone to find it," Ridley explains as Scott slowly makes his way through the facility.
"Well, The Mechanic found it," Marion states and crosses the African coast. Inside the tunnel, Scott runs a scan using his wrist communicator and it blinks green as it picks up a life form.
"There's the life signal. I'm moving in," Scott says.
"Scott, the Sentinel is firing!" Brains cries.
"Huh?" Scott questions and looks up through the hole in the ground and sees a large red-light glow in the sky. He runs away from the hole but the laser lands right behind him and he gets thrown off his feet, "Woah!"
"Scott, I'm remote piloting Thunderbird 1," Marion states, "We can't risk it getting destroyed.
"FAB," Scott says as he gets back up to his feet,"That was way too close."
"It looks like the l-longer the Sentinel c-charges, the more powerful it's laser," Brains exclaims as he does a can of the most recent firing, the crater from this one, is much larger than the previous two, "With enough solar energy, it could fry that whole p-place with a single shot!"
"Then I better move fast," Scott says and brings the scanner back up and it starts to beep louder as Scott gets closer to the life signal. Eventually, the beep is a constant noise when Scott reaches a door at the end of the corridor and he bangs on the door, "This is International Rescue! Open up. I've come to get you out of here."
"Ah, Scott Tracy," the man says and turns around to show his face, "It took you long enough."
"The Hood!" Scott gasps.
"The Hood!" everyone on the com channel cries.
"Motherfucker," Marion growls and hovers above the base next to Thunderbird 1.
"What are you up to, Hood?" Scott inquires as he puts his fists up ready for a fight.
"Isn't it obvious? The Mechanic is trying to fry me with a space laser," The Hood states, "I'm waiting for you to rescue me."
"Us rescue you?" Scott exclaims as The Hood starts to walk off.
"You are International 'Rescue'? Are you not?" The Hood questions turning back.
"And that makes you think we'll save you?" Scott asks.
"Oh, I'm counting on it," The Hood laughs.
"Scott, he has a point," Sally sighs, "We have a duty to protect people from harm. We don't get to choose who that is."
"Grandma..." Scott gasps.
"But just because we have to save him, doesn't mean he'll like it," Sally adds.
"FAB," Scott sighs, "Okay, Hood. Follow me."
"Excellent," The Hood smiles and follows Scott out of the tunnel,"International Rescue, my life is in your hands."
"Just make sure you remember that," Scott says and stops at the end of the tunnel, "Marion, could you remotely deploy Thunderbird 1's rescue capsule?"
"With pleasure," Marion smirks and using her wrist controller, lowers the rescue capsule of from a winch from Thunderbird 1's cargo bay doors.
"You want me to get inside that?" The Hood asks as Scott opens up the capsule.
"Well, you could always stay here," Scott says.
"I warn you: do not try to—" The Hood starts but gets shoved inside the capsule by Scott. The Hood yells in shock and turns around only for the capsule to close in his face, locking him inside. Scott looks back and lets out a quick chuckle knowing he's going to enjoy taking him to the GDF base in Washington DC.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Scott says and starts to wheel the capsule in remotely and flies up alongside it. He opens the pilot's doors and gets back inside, "Thanks for keeping her steady, Marion."
"No problem, Scott," Marion says, "I'll remain a safe distance from Thunderbird 1 encase you need backup. Everyone else is now standing by."
The cargo bay doors close and Scott makes his way into the back to secure The Hood down. "Don't get too comfortable. It's just a short ride to the GDF ultra-max prison," Scott chuckles and turns back to sit down again when the lights in Thunderbird 1 flicker and a hologram of The Mechanic appears at the front.
"To The Hood. You can hide no more," The Mechanic states and watches a Scott enters the frame sitting down in his chair, "Give me what I want or be destroyed."
"Ah, my good friend, The Mechanic," The Hood grins and his cybernetic eye starts to flicker, "Stop this assault immediately."
"No. No!" The Mechanic shouts angrily and slams a fist down before grasping the side of his head, "No! I refuse. Now, give me what I want, or I'll destroy you."
"I don't think International Rescue will let that happen," The Hood smirks and stops using his eye.
"He's right, Mechanic," Scott states and takes his helmet off, "Stand down. Deactivate that laser, now!"
"I'm not after you International Rescue, I only want The Hood. Step aside!" The Mechanic grits.
"As much as I'd like to, I can't do that," Scott sighs.
"Then go down with him," The Mechanic responds and closes the link.
"What does he want?" Scott demands turning to The Hood.
"To blow me up. And now, that means blowing you up too," The Hood states and the lights in Thunderbird 1 flicker back on.
"Scott..." Marion trails as she looks up, "Don't wanna alarm you but the Sentinel is powering up."
Scott quickly starts up Thunderbird 1 as hits on full thrust, heading west. Marion does the same and heads southwest. They both speed away but The Mechanic continues to attack Thunderbird 1. One shot strikes Thunderbird 1's right wing and Scott begins to descend towards the Sahara sand. Several alarms go off and The Hood yells in the background as Scott tries to regain control.
"Thunderbird 1 caught the edge of that laser blast," Scott explains as he messes with the controls, "It won't survive another shot!"
"Allow me then," Marion states and swoops in with Thunderbird 7, "I'll take The Hood from here."
"FAB," Scott sighs and drops the capsule from Thunderbird 1.
"Argh!" The Hood yells and Marion catches him and flies off.
"Maybe we can stash The Hood somewhere quiet whilst the GDF deal with The Mechanic?" Sally inquires.
"Argh, The Mechanic's found a way to track The Hood so we'd be leaving him in danger," John denies.
"I wonder what it is The Mechanic wants exactly," Brains muses.
"He wants The Hood vaporised," Alan scoffs, "You know what? I don't blame him."
"I-I'm not so sure. It seems he wants more than that," Brains says.
Marion continues to fly off in Thunderbird 7, but The Mechanic has resorted to frequent lasers blasts. It's not long until Thunderbird 7's tail gets clipped by one of the lasers.
"Fuck!" Marion groans, "I've been hit."
"Maybe Thunderbird Shadow could carry the weight for a while?" Kayo questions as she pulls up alongside Thunderbird 7 before swerving out of the way to avoid a laser.
"Ah, perfect timing, Kayo," Marion states.
"Woah, what are you doing?" The Hood asks as they go to a higher altitude.
"This is where you get off," Marion replies and releases the grapple causing the capsule to drop like a rock.
"Arrrrrrrrgh!" The Hood yells and Shadow dives in and grabs the capsule using the landing gear before heading off towards Washington.
"Hello Uncle. I can honestly say this is the first time I'm happy to see you," Kayo chuckles.
"Kayo, why don't we continue this family reunion somewhere a little more comfortable?" The Hood questions.
"Sorry, Uncle. No can do. Besides, this is way too much fun," Kayo smirks.
"Kayo, incoming," Ridley informs and Kayo looks up and sees a brighter red glow in the sky directed at the space in their flight path.
"Hold on!" Kayo shouts as swerves to avoid the blasts and laughs at The Hood's screaming.
December 14th, 2063 - 20:21 NZDT
Alan, Sally, Brains and Max stare at the data of Project Sentinel displayed on the holo-screen. Alan glares at the screen and reads the co-ordinates on the screen and makes a dash for his chair.
"Alan, where are you going?" Sally asks, grabbing onto his shoulder.
"To Thunderbird 3. I'm going to take out The Sentinel and The Mechanic before he takes out a Tracy!" Alan states.
"Alan, that's a t-terrible plan. Firstly, The Mechanic will be operating The Sentinel remotely, so we don't know where he is," Brains responds, "And secondly, it's a g-giant laser. Thunderbird 3 would be shot c-c-clean out of the sky."
"Got any better ideas?" Alan questions.
"A small, low-powered craft could p-possibly slip by undetected," Brains answers.
"Go on," Alan adds.
"Then someone could shut down the laser from the inside, but it would require a person with highly advanced knowledge of astro-m-mechanical systems," Brains finishes and Max whirs from behind him.
"Now who does that sound like?" Sally asks.
"Oh m-my!" Brains swallows.
"Time to earn another hero badge, Brains," Alan smiles sadly.
"Max, g-grab my tools and meet me in the space elevator," Brains says.
"Actually," Ridley interrupts, "We've moved Thunderbird 5 slightly due to Sentinel. You'll have to head over to the mainland, and we can pick you up there."
"Meet me at Thunderbird 6 then," Brains corrects and the pair head off.
6
Thunderbird 6 waits on Mateo Island as the lights in the hanger turn on.
5
Brains descends and gets suited up.
4
Brains and Max arrive on Mateo Island and head over to Thunderbird 6.
3
Brains turns the propellers and starts the engine up.
2
The hanger door opens.
1
The Tiger Moth taxis down a small runway and starts to pick up speed.
Thunderbirds are Go!
December 14th, 2063 - 09:42 CET
"Kayo, that laser isn't firing at full power, but it can still do some serious damage," John explains as Thunderbird S continues to dodge incoming laser blasts.
"Understood. Enjoying the ride, Uncle?" Kayo asks as he loudly screams. However, just like Thunderbirds 1 and 7 before her, one blast clips the tail engines at the back, "Guys, I'm hit, sorry, but the joy ride is over."
"No problem, Kayo. Let Thunderbird 4 take the package for a while," Gordon announces. At this point, Kayo is just over a hundred miles off the coast of Western Africa.
"He's all yours, Gordon. Goodbye Uncle," Kayo says before adding, "I do hope that thing's waterproof."
"What do you mean? Where are you taking me?" The Hood yells and realises he's being dropped into the ocean and screams again.
"Hope you don't get seasick, Hood," Gordon comments as he uses Thunderbird 4's arms to grab hold of The Hood's capsule, "Cos we're going all the way down."
"Oh, no..." The Hood groans.
December 14th, 2063 - 21:09 NZDT
Thunderbird 6 lands at Gisborne Airport and makes his way over to where Ridley and John have placed the Space Elevator. They both head inside and launch from the heli-pad. After around six minutes, they clear Earth's atmosphere.
"Orbital v-vector attained. Detaching Space Elevator from Nano-Tether," Brains says and detaches the cable from Thunderbird 5 and Max beeps. We're on our own now, Max. Next stop, P-Project Sentinel." The Space Elevator's rockets then fire up and the pair start heading towards the laser as it fires again.
December 14th, 2063 - 10:16 CET
Gordon is now having trouble escaping the laser blasts that are ever getting closer to him. He dives into a small cavern and the lasers follow him.
"Ah! Hey! I'm burning up!" The Hood yells and Gordon brings up the sea temperature scanner on his holo-screen and see that it's a lot higher than it's supposed to be. It rises rapidly and enters the red.
"At this rate, The Mechanic doesn't have to hit you, he can just boil you alive!" Gordon exclaims and contacts Thunderbird 5, "John, this isn't working. We're in hot water down here."
"Don't worry Thunderbird 4, help is on its way," John states and someone else joins the com frequency.
"Our turn to play pass the parcel," Penelope says and strokes Sherbet, who is on her lap, "Parker, activate the magnetic bumpers."
"Yes, m'lady," Parker says.
"Hear that, Hood?" Gordon chuckles, "You're going for a nice drive in the country." The Hood lets out an annoyed sigh as Gordon starts to rise to the surface and let's go of the capsule, "He's all yours, Penelope."
"Parcel received," Penelope confirms as the capsule breaks the surface and is grabbed by FAB 1's magnets. Sherbet starts to bark aggressively, "Now, now, Bertie."
"The magnet's locked h'on, but cor, hit's 'eavy. H'I do 'ope h'it will 'old," Parker states.
"Huh?" The Hood questions.
"Parker, that magnetic could hold a tractor if it had to," Penelope whispers.
"We know that m'lady... But The 'ood doesn't," Parker chuckles and listens to The Hood scream as they continue their journey across The Atlantic.
December 14th, 2063 - 21:27 NZDT
"N-No, Max. This laser's far too d-dangerous for anyone to be on board," Brains says as Max whirs behind him. The rockets on the Space Elevator then power off and the vessel gently floats towards The Sentinel that continues to fire, "Rockets d-disengaged. That should let us slip through undetected." One of the firing arms turns around to them and Brains gasps in shock, "Quick, p-power down until we're past the robotic defences." Max does so, which causes the laser arm to lose a clear lock on them and turns away."Phew," Brains sighs and docks the Space Elevator with The Sentinel, "Okay, M-Max. We're in." The door then opens, and the pair slowly make their way through the main body. "Shh. Q-Quietly, Max. There's no one here, but we d-don't know what kind of alarms there are on board," Brains states and kneels down by a screen and presses a button that displays the whole detailed schematic of The Sentinel, "Wow, this p-place is absolutely remarkable!" Max quietly beeps behind Brains, and he gets up pressing the button again to switch it off, "Sorry. But it is very imp-pressive. The Mechanic truly is a—" Brains starts as they go through a door. He looks up and the door shuts behind them. To his surprise, The Mechanic stands in the main chamber with his back turned to the pair, "—oh dear!"
"What are you doing here?" The Mechanic and Brains say.
"Well?" The Mechanic questions.
"Er, I asked f-first?" Brain stutters.
"It's my satellite," The Mechanic says
"Yes, good point," Brains notes, "Erm... Mr Mechanic, I'm asking you, engineer to engineer, to stop f-firing this laser immediately."
"No. Not until The Hood gives me what I want," The Mechanic states.
"What could The Hood p-possibly have that you want so badly?" Brains asks.
"It's not what he has. It's what it does. What he makes me do," The Mechanic replies and grabs the side of his head when The Hood attempts to use his cybernetic eye against him.
"His cybernetic eye. The Hood is c-controlling you!" Brains realises and watches The Mechanic stand up again.
"Not always. I've learnt to fight it," The Mechanic says as steps closer to Brains, "That's much easier up here. But I can't fight him forever."
"Listen to me, it d-doesn't have to be like this. International Rescue can help you. I can help you," Brains reasons and The Mechanic turns away.
"No one can help me. And I won't let you get in my way!" The Mechanic suddenly growls, and a Mecha Scorpion jumps out in front of Brains as starts to chase him and Max out of the main chamber and back the way they came. "The Hood won't give me my freedom, so I'll take it by force!" The Mechanic yells as taps on The Hood's location and powers up the laser again.
December 14th, 2063 - 10:45 CET
FAB 1 continues to drive along relatively uninterrupted when the laser beams suddenly begin. Parker swerves the car out of the way to try and avoid the lasers.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Flippin' struth," Parker grumbles and dodges another laser beam that lands directly in front. Sherbet whimpers at the swerving and Penelope covers his ears.
"Parker, language!" Penelope exclaims.
December 14th, 2063 - 21:46 NZDT
"W-Wait, Max," Brains says and kneels behind one of the screens, "I won't let this continue. We have to shut down the laser. Everyone is c-counting on us." Max beeps understandingly before pulling away a piece metal from the side of the corridor walls and heads back towards the Mecha. The Mechas approaches and starts to attack Max, who the welds the metal in place, blocking the Mechas from advancing. "G-good idea, Max," Brains compliments and Max gets another piece of metal to give it extra stability, "You hold them off! I'll break into the controls and t-take this laser off-line." Max continues to add more metal panels as the Mechas try to ram through the wall.
December 14th, 2063 - 10:49 CET
"'Old hon, M'Lady!" Parker cries as he sees another blast strikes very near to them. The Hood screams as he could see how close they were getting to him.
"Parker, we're quite the moving target," Penelope comments.
"Can't we just ditch The 'ood? Better 'im than h'us," Parker asks.
"That's not very International Rescue now, is it Parker?" Penelope replies.
"No, m'lady," Parker sighs then looks up again as the sound of Thunderbird 2 flies overhead with Virgil, Nina and Alan inside. Nina prepares a grapple to drop from Module 3 to take The Hood off FAB 1.
"Thunderbird 2 couldn't sit by and let you guys have all the fun," Virgil chuckles.
"Too right," Nina says and locks onto the capsule and lifts The Hood into the air.
"Oh... I think I'm going to be..." The Hood groans.
"Ugh, charming," Penelope says.
December 14th, 2063 - 06:03 EST
Thunderbird 2 takes The Hood all the way over to the Eastern Coast of the USA when all the other vehicles arrive to join them on taking The Hood the last few miles.
"Magnetic coupling detached," Alan announces and throws the capsule backwards only for it to be caught by Thunderbird 1.
"Woah!" The Hood cries.
"Got it!" Scott states and then narrowly has to avoid being hit by another blast and detaches from the capsule. The Hood yells as Thunderbird 7 picks it up and immediately throws it over to Thunderbird S.
"I'm enjoying this," Marion laughs.
"This is the most fun I've had in ages," Kayo agrees before Shadow gets another direct hit by the laser. This time, Kayo drops The Hood and speeds straight to DC to avoid any damage. Marion picks The Hood up again in Thunderbird 7 and flies around for a bit.
"See you in DC," Marion calls and throws the capsule over to Thunderbird 1. When the next laser blast hits, Scott throws The Hood back to Virgil and Nina. Thunderbird 2 takes a hard turn and in order to keep The Hood 'safe' the three Thunderbirds continue to throw him to a new ship whenever The Mechanic fired a new laser blast. The laser then stops firing all together and The Hood remains with Thunderbird 7. Thunderbird S takes the distant front, Thunderbird 1 takes the left, Thunderbird 2 takes the right and FAB 1 sticks to the back.
"What's going on?" Nina asks.
"The Mechanic is powering up for a single, massive shot," Ridley informs as she runs a simulation of the damage that'll be caused. The blast radius displayed shows that all four Thunderbirds and FAB 1 would be destroyed in the blast, "Everything within the vicinity of The Hood will be destroyed!"
"Brains, it's now or never," John states and Brains starts to panic as he rapidly taps on the screen in front.
"Almost... got... it," Brains says over the banging of the Mechas on Max's barrier.
Everyone looks up as a blinding red beam begins to fill the sky above them. They all hold their breathes as they wait to be cooked. Then, the red beam dissipates and only the shining of the sun can be seen.
"There. I've shut d-down his controls," Brains sighs and Max beeps in the background.
December 14th, 2063 - 22:18 NZDT
"No!" The Mechanic cries as all his screens shut down. He turns to see Brains and Max re-enter the room, "You've ruined everything! Now I'll never be free of him."
"Mechanic? As C-Chief Engineer of International Rescue, trust me, we'll find a way so The Hood will never have p-power over you again," Brains says, when suddenly, alarms start to blare, and red warning lights start to flash.
"Brains, you shut down the firing controls, but the laser is still charging. The Sentinel's going critical," Ridley cries.
"Brains! Get out of there, now," John shouts.
"Oh dear," Brains says and electricity starts to spark around then. He turns to leave when The Mechanic takes his mask off. "Oh my! Professor Borender!"
"The very same," Borender sighs. Borender once worked with Brains, Jeff Tracy and Sir Jeremy Hodge on creating the TV-21.
"You're c-coming with me," Brains says approaching him and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You want to arrest me that much?" Borender asks.
"I'm n-not arresting you. I'm saving you. Now come on!" Brains says and the pair charge out of The Sentinel with Max close behind.
"The Sentinel's gonna blow in five, four, three, two, one!" John says and they watch as the holo-diagram of The Sentinel blows up and goes offline on the screen.
"International Rescue, this is B-Brains. We're coming home," Brains announces.
December 14th, 2063 - 06:52 EST
The GDF have land several flyers at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington DC. Thunderbirds 1, 2, 7 and Shadow land opposite with FAB 1 parked just off the runway. Out of one of the flyers, Thunderbird 6 is wheeled out and handed over to Thunderbird 2 for transport back to Mateo Island. Alan and Kayo exit in Thunderbird 1 with The Hood's capsule in tow and Borender stands next to Brains waiting for his fate. Colonel Casey steps out and shakes Scott's hand.
"Colonel Casey," Brains says, stepping forward, "The Mechanic, Professor Borender, is not f-fully responsible for his actions. He must be p-protected from The Hood."
"I got your briefing. We'll see he's kept safe," Casey nods and two GDF guards step forward to take him away.
"International Rescue will be in t-touch. I promise. Engineer to engineer," Brains says to Borender who nods in appreciation and walks off with the guards. Casey then walks over to Alan and Kayo who are standing over The Hood and joins them. Kayo smirks and four guards' approach to take The Hood away.
"Hood, you're under arrest," Casey states.
"Yes, please. Just get me away from International Rescue!" The Hood wails and the guards take him away.
"It seems we can't say it enough. Thank you, International Rescue," Casey says.
"All in a day's work, Colonel," Scott smiles.
"And quite a day it's been. With those two in custody, all of you might get a break," Casey states and everyone watches as the two GDF flyers take off and go in their sperate directions.
"Well, to be honest, I'm looking forward to some good old-fashioned rescues for a change," Marion says.
"Sea-quakes," Gordon starts.
"Rockslides," Virgil sighs.
"Fires," Nina adds.
"Runaway asteroids," Alan continues.
"Petty thieves stealing classified technology," Kayo chuckles.
"Unruly ambassadors," Penelope groans.
"Dog sitting," Parker complains.
"And fused p-power relays!" Brains finishes and Max whirs happily next to him.
December 14th, 2063 - UNKNOWN
The Hood walks down the corridor of the GDF Flyer towards the cockpit. His handcuffs lie open of the floor and the guards sent to keep an eye on him all lie dead on the floor. Blood scatters the floor indicating there was a fight involved.
"Everything has gone according to plan. The Tracy's have taken care of The Mechanic and now nothing stand in the way of us causing global chaos," The Hood states and the two pilots turn around to face him. They reveal themselves as Mullion and Transom, wearing purple and grey flight suits. Mullion cracks his knuckles as The Hood takes his place between them, "Thank you... International Rescue."
The three of them cackle. The world will not know that hit it.
End of Part 3B