Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds or X-Men in any way, shape or form.
GIFTED
I've reloaded the previous chapter because of how bad it was. Sorry about that but I finished it in a bit of a hurry.
Chapter 5 – Journey Begins.
It had only taken TinTin an hour to find out how far away she was from the coach station and luck seemed to be on her side as the receptionist she'd asked offered to give her a lift there.
Once at the station it was simply a matter of deciding on where she wanted to go.
She paused at this. She hadn't really given any thought to where she wanted to go but realized that the further away was probably better incase anyone decided to come after her.
Mind made up she headed for the ticket office she bought a one-way ticket to New York City.
She chose NYC for two reasons. One: There would be lots of people there at this time of year most of them tourists so getting lost in the crowd would be easy. And two: No-one would look twice at a teenager with a rucksack in such a busy tourist spot, they would simply assume that she was visiting the city as well.
TinTin allowed herself a small smile. She suddenly realized why so many runaways are never found. It is just so easy to get lost if you know what you're doing.
The ticket agent told her that the entire journey would take about five days and that she should get anything she might need before leaving as the stops were few and far between.
She found a small pharmacy just outside next to the station where she picked up some toothpaste, having packed her toothbrush and a washcloth.
She also bought a spare pack of batteries for her CD player as well as a box of Granola bars and two bottles of water.
She stuffed her purchases into the black rucksack and ran back to the station just in time to board the coach for New York City.
Luckily her rucksack was small enough for her take onto the coach as hand luggage even though it was a challenge packing it into one of the overhead storage compartments.
With her bag stowed TinTin sank back into the seat she'd chosen near the back of the bus with the CD player in her hands.
Slowly the coach began to make its way out of the station and on to the road.
Loading one of her favourite CDs into the player TinTin placed the small headphones over her ears and leaned back trying to get comfortable. It would be seven hours before the coach made its first rest stop so the best thing she could do at the moment would be to try and get some rest.
Closing her eyes TinTin allowed her mind to drift along with the sound of the music and as the first few drops of rain hit the coach windows she drifted beyond the realm of consciousness.
Alan yawned as he entered the lounge the following morning.
The party had gone on until late and only ended when Jeff threatened to sideline him on all the rescues during Spring Break. His father hadn't meant it seriously and he had to admit that it was rather late.
So grudgingly everyone had filed off to bed Alan being the last one to settle down at 1am in the morning.
Walking over to the kitchen Alan poured himself a glass orange juice before sitting down at the table with his elbows resting on the table, holding the glass loosely between his hands.
"Hey squirt." Virgil greeted sitting across from Alan who was staring blankly at his glass of orange juice apparently deep in thought.
Frowning at the lack of response Virgil tried again.
"You're up late."
Still getting no response he reached across the table and swiped the glass of orange juice from the hands of his unresponsive younger brother and drank it all in one go before replacing the glass back in Alan's hands which hadn't moved from their original spot.
Alan sighed tiredly and finally looked up.
Virgil sat back in his chair and regarded his younger brother with a smug smile.
"Man! You look like hell."
"Yeah well we were all up pretty late last night and incase you haven't noticed it isn't exactly late in the day." Alan laughed half-heartedly but at least he seemed more awake now.
"What do you mean 'we', the rest of us all went to bed at a reasonable hour 'you're' the one who wanted to stay up late and party!" Virgil shot back sarcastically though he wasn't attempting to irritate his baby brother at least not this early in the day.
Alan huffed in mild annoyance and went back to staring at the now empty glass in his hands.
"Hey Virg? Did you notice anything odd about TinTin last night?" He asked after a while.
Startled out of his thoughts by the sudden question Virgil attempted to recall the events of last night.
"No, she seemed ok to me though I didn't actually get to talk to her before she went to bed with that headache."
Alan frowned.
He had been thinking a lot about the conversation he'd had with TinTin the previous night and that something just didn't seem quite right. Even though TinTin had insisted that she was ok Alan couldn't help but notice the look of sadness that clouded her features while they were talking.
It had caused a bad feeling to stir in the pit of his stomach, which only grew in intensity the more he about it.
"Virg, when was the last time you spoke to TinTin?"
It was Virgil's turn to frown as he struggled to remember the last time he'd spoken to TinTin and as he thought about it his frown deepened.
Alan saw it and suddenly the bad feeling he'd been getting seemed small in comparison to the greater feeling of foreboding that began to make itself known.
"Now that you mention it I haven't really spoken to TinTin in a while. We've spoken in passing but not in conversation………weird."
"It's not weird Virg. I think it's deliberate."
Now Virgil was confused.
"What do you mean Alan?"
He didn't get an answer as Alan got up out of his chair and made his way from the kitchen leaving the empty glass on the table.
"Alan? Where are you going?"
But Alan was already out of the lounge and down the hall.
Sighing in frustration Virgil heaved himself out of his chair and followed in his brother's footsteps passing a puzzled Gordon on his way.
"Hey Virgil, what's going on?"
Virgil didn't answer instead he picked up the pace in order to catch his youngest brother.
He finally reached Alan outside TinTin's door. Alan had his ear pressed to the door and a look of concentration on his face.
"Alan! What's going on?" He demanded feeling slightly out of breath.
"Sshh!" Alan turned and hissed at him before turning back to listen through the door.
Throwing his hands up in defeat Virgil crossed his arms and settled himself against the wall next to the door his brother was listening through.
Gordon came strolling down hall to see what all the fuss was about and mirrored Virgil's posture by leaning against the wall on the other side of the door. Glancing at his older brother in askance Virgil just shrugged in response and continued to stare at Alan.
"That's called spying y'know." Gordon stated to his baby brother who continued to ignore their presence.
Sighing in frustration Alan took his ear away from the door and knocked on it gently.
"TinTin? Are you in there?" He called keeping close enough to the door to hear even the quietest response from the room inside.
There was no reply.
"TinTin! Are you in there!" He repeated louder but was still met with silence from inside the room.
Moving his hand to the door release Alan tried to open the door.
It was locked.
At this Virgil and Gordon stood up straight.
"That's strange. Why would she lock her door at this time of day?" Virgil asked curiously glancing at his watch, which told him it still wasn't even mid-day.
Suddenly Alan rounded on them, a determined expression on his face.
"Did ANYYONE see her at breakfast!" He asked almost angrily from his two stunned brothers.
"Uh…..no Alan. I don't think she came to breakfast. Not that it was a surprise Fermat didn't turn up either." Gordon stammered in response.
"I haven't seen her all day. Alan, what is it?" Virgil asked fiercely grabbing his youngest brother by the shoulder forcing Alan to look at him.
That Alan now looked unsettled was an understatement. Virgil noted that his younger brother seemed to be struggling to remain calm.
He and Gordon watched the array of emotions that crossed Alan's face while in his mind everything began click to into place.
He knew these signs.
TinTin's withdrawing from the family both hers and the Tracy's, the hiding away in her room all day and last night at the party, the strangely emotional conversation they had had just after he and Fermat had been dropped off by the jet.
The jet!
Realisation dawned which must have shown on his face because now Virgil and Gordon both looked as worried as he did but Alan didn't stop to explain.
"Gordon! Go get Brains we need to get this door open."
"What! Alan I know you're crazy but I never pegged you for suicidal. That's a girls bedroom, you don't break into a 'girls' bedroom."
"Gordon! She's NOT in there ok, now GO!"
Gordon looked about to protest further but an elbow in the ribs and a stern look from Virgil convinced that perhaps he should just do it.
Grumbling in annoyance Gordon went to get Brains who was most likely down in the lab.
Virgil watched him go before looking worriedly at Alan.
"Alan?"
Alan was staring at the locked door with a saddened expression and answered absently.
"Do you remember what happened three years ago? When I was having a tough time adjusting to the new school."
"Yeah. Dad got a phone call saying that you refused to take part in lessons and that you didn't talk to anyone. But you were ok in the end."
"Only because Dad asked Brains to send Fermat to the same school as me."
Virgil frowned. What did this have to do with TinTin?
"Virgil, did Dad tell you guys what happened before he asked Brains about Fermat switching schools?"
"He said that you tried to run away but you were picked up by the cops when the school reported you missing."
"Exactly! I ran away. Don't you see it?"
Now Virgil was really confused.
"See 'what' Alan?"
Alan sighed in exasperation. Sometimes he wondered whether his brothers were actually ever teenagers themselves.
"Think Virg! She hides away in her room, she doesn't talk to anyone. Any of this ringing any bells!"
Finally Virgil cottoned on to what Alan was talking about but it didn't seem to make much sense.
"Are you saying you think TinTin's run away? Alan that's ridiculous we live on an 'island' in the 'middle' of the Pacific Ocean." Virgil scoffed at his brother's seemingly idiotic idea.
But before Alan could reply Gordon returned with Brains in tow.
"Hi guys. What's wr…wro up?"
Brains was a little puzzled as to why they were all congregated outside TinTin's room but decided to wait for answers before jumping to conclusions.
Alan was just about to answer when Virgil beat him to it.
"Alan thinks TinTin has run away." He laughed and glanced skeptically at the locked door.
Gordon laughed and shook his head at his baby brother's wild imagination.
"I'm SERIOUS! Her door's locked but I don't think she's in there." Anger rising Alan willed himself to stay calm.
Brains watched the exchange quietly, refusing to get involved in the developing argument until it was necessary.
"HELLO Alan! We live on an Island!" Gordon stated sarcastically.
"That's just what I said." Virgil added.
Throwing his hands up in frustration at his brother's ignorance Alan moved next to the locked door and crossed his arms in defiance.
"Ok……….open it and prove me wrong."
Virgil took a deep breath to calm his nerves and looked at the bespectacled scientist.
"Well Brains. Care to do the honors?"
Brains looked from Virgil to Alan to the door.
"Are you su……sur…..su positive you've tried knocking?" He knew it was a stupid question of course they would have already tried knocking but he had to ask.
Alan dropped his arms back to his sides and stepped away from the door.
"Yes we tried and there was no answer." He replied calmly and gave the scientist the room he needed to work.
It only took a few minutes before they heard the click that signaled the unlocking of the door. Stepping back Brains hit the door release and door slid back with a soft hiss.
Alan didn't waste any time and pushed past Brains and into the room.
He stopped in the middle of the room and looked around.
The bed look like it hadn't been slept in and the door to the small bathroom was open reveling that it was empty.
Brains, Virgil and Gordon stepped into the room behind Alan who was turning in slow circles trying to find anything odd or unusual.
At first glance nothing appeared to be out of place but then something caught Alan's eye and he stopped mid-turn and walked slowly over to the closet.
It was open.
Grabbing the handle he pulled the door open fully and switched on the light inside.
Inside the closet was a mess, boxes and bags were strewn all over the place some of their contents spilled onto the floor as the door opened creating even more mess.
Gordon came up behind Alan and whistled at the state of the closet.
"Wow! TinTin doesn't tidy much, does she!"
"Neither do you." Alan commented under his breath and turned away from the mess to continue his search round TinTin's room.
His heart sank as he came to a stop at the dressing table. With a trembling hand he picked up the International Rescue pin and looked at it closely.
"Hey, take a look at this."
Alan, Virgil and Brains walked over to where Gordon was standing at the patio door that opened onto the balcony.
"What is it Gordon?" Asked Virgil.
"The door's open." Alan answered him absently and stepped out onto the balcony and taking a deep breath looked over the railing at the ground below.
The flowerbeds directly under the balcony were ruined. The flowers were squashed and soil was splayed over the neighboring flower beds.
Virgil looked over the railing next to Alan, Gordon doing the same on Alan's other side.
"We gotta tell Dad."
Virgil looked at his baby brother worriedly. Alan was tense and was gripping the railing so hard that his knuckles were turning white.
"How did she get off the island?" Virgil asked absently and looked back to see Brains standing just inside the patio door wearing a similar worried expression.
Alan turned around letting go of the railing to lean his back against it.
"The jet that brought me and Fermat back to the island. It was here for at least 20 minutes before Dad got the call from it asking permission to take off."
TBC
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