VIRGIL could do nothing. He plunged down in front of the icy cliff. His arms and legs were wavering uncontrollably. He looked down at the water that was approaching fast. He shut his eyes and waited for the impact. "Goodbye, everyone," he said quietly to himself. He could feel tears in his eyes knowing he wasn't going to see any of his family again.
"GOTCHA!"
Virgil stopped falling suddenly as he felt a hand grab hold of his right arm. He opened his eyes and gasped for air as he looked down again. The water was less then twelve metres below his boots. "Oh, God…" he panted. "Thanks, Scott."
"Guess again," said the voice.
Virgil blinked. That wasn't Scott's voice. He looked up and he blinked again in surprise when he saw who had actually caught him. "J-John?!"
"Hey, bro," said John with a smile whilst he clung on to the ice cliff. "Looks like you could use some help?"
Virgil was stunned into silence. But then they heard a scream from above. "Hayley!"
John looked up. "Get in front of me," he said. "I'll fly us up and then you catch her."
"You got it!" said Virgil as John heaved his heavy brother up in front and then used all the thrust that his EXO-suit had to thrust them both upwards towards the pole that Hayley was still tied to.
Hayley's scream had been caused by the acid burning the ropes at her boots which had now broken away. Like Virgil had been before, she was being kept in place only by her arms.
The Chameleon had moved in front of the rest of the group. The eagerness to see her fall to her doom was becoming too much for him. "Come on. Come on! Fall, damn you!"
Hayley happened to look behind her and she saw The Cabal members watching. In an instant she was overcome by rage. "YOU'LL ALL PAY FOR THIS!" she bellowed. "MARK MY WORDS!"
The villains heard her and started to laugh as more of the ropes started to break.
"Bye-bye," mocked The Chameleon, waving as the ropes finally broke.
"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Hayley screamed loudly as she fell away from the pole and down towards the ocean.
The Cabal listened as Hayley's scream continued and faded away into nothing.
"Yes…" said The Hood. he suddenly began shaking with excitement. "Yes. Yes! YEEEEEEEEEEES!" He punched the air with delight and then grabbed Silver Swan by the hands and began dancing with her. "AT LONG LAST I HAVE FINALLY WON! TAKE THAT, JEFF TRACY! NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO LOSE!" He then burst out with a maniacal demonic almost laughter whilst Silver Swan's eyes were also filled with excited joy as she gleefully danced with The Hood.
The Chameleon too was thrilled but didn't quite get as excitable as The Hood and Silver Swan were. He instead dropped down on his knees and punched the air with both fists with joy. "Vengeance is mine!" he declared.
The Black Phantom and Shocker on the other hand weren't celebrating. They had intended to, but had both become distracted and rather disturbed by what they were seeing between The Hood and Silver Swan. they could not be sure, but before The Hood stopped the dance, they'd seen Silver Swan lean in to try and kiss him on the lips.
"Ewww," remarked Black Phantom.
"Disgusting," agreed Shocker.
Silver Swan had indeed tried to kiss The Hood but he had let go of her before she'd had the chance to.
"My friends!" The Hood called out. "We have finally succeeded in the first step of making International Rescue suffer for all that they have made us suffer for! A Tracy is dead, and a Thunderbird is in our hands. Soon there will be NOTHING to stop us from taking down each and every one of the others!"
What The Cabal didn't know was that the reason why Hayley's scream had not subsided was because she was out of earshot. It was because she'd been caught by Virgil and was now on a ledge about thirty metres down the cliff with him and John. The three of them sat in silence whilst John used a listening amplifier so they could all hear what was being said.
"They really think you're gone," said John.
"I honestly thought we were done for," said Virgil.
"Yeah, me too," agreed Hayley. "Thank you, John."
John smiled. "The others were too far away," he said. "I couldn't stay up there. I had to try and find you, Virgil. It's like I said to Alan. I wasn't going to lose a brother before my birthday. And I sure as hell am not going to lose one on my birthday either."
Virgil felt his heart flutter as he and John embraced in a brotherly hug. Once they'd finished, Virgil and Hayley then embraced with a kiss that was so long that John felt he'd been waiting a day before they eventually finished.
"How are we going to deal with them?" Hayley asked, referring to The Cabal.
"Let them gloat," said John. He checked his scanner. "We're gonna spring a little surprise of our own."
"I'm afraid they have our gear," Virgil said. "It's back inside the base."
John smirked and brought up the scan he'd made of the ice mountain and the base. "Lucky for us I know a way back in without them noticing," he said.
Still unaware that their captives had survived, The Hood led the other members of The Cabal back inside the ice mountain. "I have no doubt that International Rescue will probably find a clue to lead them here," he was saying. "So I want you to start organising the packing up. We need to close down this base and be gone before any of the Tracy's or the GDF get here."
They entered the main control room and The Shocker sealed the door behind them.
"Can I have my money now?" The Chameleon asked.
The Hood nodded. "Yes, Chameleon. Phantom, take Chameleon to collect his reward."
"Yes…" said The Black Phantom begrudgingly. "This way," he said to The Chameleon and led the steel-headed man over towards the door leading out into the rest of the ice-built complex.
Shocker noticed Silver Swan's hand reaching out to touch The Hood's shoulders. He wanted to say something, but The Hood moved before he did, to her frustration. "Soon it'll be your turn, Mr Schultz," he said. "Now we know we can kill the Tracy's. We'll arrange a special trap in space to lure young Alan to where you can get your long-desired justice for what he did to you."
The Shocker nodded approvingly. "I honestly cannot wait," he said. He then noticed Silver Swan trying to make another advance on The Hood.
The Black Phantom and Chameleon soon reached the door leading out of the control room and opened it. Suddenly a streak of red and black swung down from above the door and double-kicked The Black Phantom backwards into The Chameleon.
"OOF!" the two villains exclaimed as they were knocked over to the floor.
Silver Swan, The Hood and Shocker spun round and stared in shock at who it was that had attacked.
"Surprise!" said Hayley, who was now dressed fully in her GDF uniform once again.
"W-W-W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" spluttered The Hood.
The five villains then reacted with shock as Virgil appeared through the door, wearing his helmet and utility sash again. "Hey, guys. Miss us?" he asked.
Finally recovering from the surprise, The Shocker activated his gauntlets and fired at them. They both ducked out of the way and the sonic blasts blew huge chunks out of the walls. The Black Phantom used his suit's thrusters to get clear of the falling debris but The Chameleon was not so lucky. A large piece of debris fell as he tried to run away and it knocked him back down and rendered him unconscious.
Silver Swan let out a furious shriek as she lifted into the air and fired a sonic beam from the device in her neck at Virgil but she was attacked from behind by John who dropped down from above and slammed her into the floor, knocking the wind out of her.
The Hood turned and saw John. "What?! HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!" he bellowed.
"With a little detective work, Hood," replied John. "You didn't seriously think you could attack us and get away with it, did you?"
"Failed again," remarked Virgil. "Just as you always do."
The Hood stared hard at Virgil. Then he did something totally unexpected. He began to shudder and shake with massive beads of sweat pouring down from his forehead. "No…No, no, no, no, no! NO! NO! NO! NO NO!" he screamed and grabbed a laser blaster from behind one of the consoles. "I KILLED YOU!" Then he fired the blaster at Virgil who John managed to push out of the way and got clear himself as the blaster blew a big hole in the wall.
Hayley meanwhile was using her acrobatic skills taught to her by Kayo and Lady Penelope to dodge the attacks of both The Shocker and The Black Phantom. She managed to trick them by standing in between the two and goading them into shooting at her. Then she jumped clear as Phantom's omega beams caused Shocker to jump clear but still get caught by it, damaging his suit whilst the Phantom got hit in the chest by Shocker's blasts.
"Ha! Suckers!" Hayley remarked. Then she saw The Hood shooting at Virgil and John and ran over at him.
Something seemed to have snapped inside The Hood for he was continuing to scream loudly as he fired blast after blast at the two Tracy brothers. It wasn't until Hayley jump-kicked him in the back and caused him to fall flat on his face that he stopped.
"Thanks, Hayley," gasped Virgil and John.
"Don't mention it," said Hayley. "However, might I suggest that we leave now that we got our stuff back?"
"Not all our stuff," said Virgil, suddenly looking disheartened. "Techno's taken Thunderbird 2."
"Let's get out of here before we deal with that," said John. He pushed a button on the control in front of them which opened the door leading out onto the ice. "Come on!"
As the trio ran through the door and into the tunnel, The Hood looked up and saw them go in. "NO!" he bellowed, scrambling to his feet and sprinting after them with the recovering Silver Swan, injured Shocker and dazed Black Phantom one by one getting up to head after him.
As they ran through the tunnel, John activated his radio. "Thunderbird 1, Thunderbird Shadow, please tell me you're close?"
"Closing in now, John!" answered Scott. "Do you have them?"
"They're with me and safe and we've got their equipment," said John. "But The Cabal knows they are alive and are coming after us."
"Just lead them outside and take flight, John," said Kayo. "Scott, you get them out of here. I'll deal with Uncle and his pathetic scumbag friends."
"F-A-B!" said Scott and John together.
John, Hayley and Virgil were soon out in the open, well aware that the vengeful Cabal were chasing them down the tunnel. "Grab onto me!" John ordered. Virgil grabbed John's left arm. Hayley grabbed the right, and then he activated the EXO-suit's thrusters which lifted all three of them off the ice and into the air.
The Hood burst out of the tunnel just in time to see them fly away. In his rage to follow them, he'd not picked up the blaster and therefore left it behind. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGHHH!" he bellowed furiously.
Silver Swan was equally furious as was Black Phantom and Shocker who arrived shortly afterwards. "DAMN IT!" Silver Swan cursed.
The Hood spun round and grabbed her arms before shaking her violently and started screaming in her face. "GET…AFTER…THEM…NOW!"
"Oh, I am!" fumed Silver Swan as she broke free of his grasp. "They're gonna be dead in less than a minute! PHANTOM, WITH ME!"
The Black Phantom didn't like being ordered about but he also fired his suit's thrusters to join Silver Swan as they lifted off the ice to chase after the escaping trio.
Hayley glanced back and saw them coming. "WE'VE GOT COMPANY!" she called.
But John didn't change course.
"ER, JOHN?!" said Virgil. "YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTIONS!"
"I'M GOING TO!" John shouted over the wind. His eyes were firmly fixed on something black that was heading straight for them.
Silver Swan and Black Phantom were soon closing the gap as the weight of Hayley and Virgil was slowing John down.
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY ALIVE!" Silver Swan bellowed at them.
"Three…two…one…NOW!" yelled John and changed trajectory, flying straight upwards rather than forwards. He, Virgil and Hayley darted upwards and away from Silver Swan and Black Phantom who now then saw why the action had been taken. The sleek, black shape of Thunderbird Shadow was charging directly towards them.
"Eat sonic, ars-" Kayo's words were drowned out as she pressed the button that fired the sonic blaster on the front of Thunderbird Shadow.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The sonic waves shot out of the front of the craft and hit Silver Swan.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGH!" Silver Swan screamed as the sonic sound pounded her ears but also sent her flying backwards into The Black Phantom who also yelled as they tumbled away towards the sea.
With them out of the way, Kayo focused her fury onto the ice mountain. She could see from the scanners that The Hood and Shocker were outside on the ledge. Without saying a word, she used the targeting computer to lock onto the top of the mountain and pushed a button. Two sleek missiles shot out from under the wings and zoomed at top speed towards the peak.
"SHOOT THEM DOWN! SHOOT THEM DOWN!" The Hood screeched at Shocker.
Despite the pain in his back, Shocker tried to target the missiles with his gauntlets. He fired multiple shots into the sky but only succeeded in hitting one. The other slammed into the mountain, blowing the top off and causing a huge avalanche of ice to come thundering down towards the two villains.
"Oh, no! Not AGAIN!" Shocker cried as the falling ice instantly reminded him of the theatre falling on top of him. He turned and ran towards the edge of the cliff before jumping off and plummeting towards the sea.
Having recovered themselves from the sonic attack, The Black Phantom and Silver Swan saw what was happening. "SHOCKER!" The Phantom yelled and dived down after him whilst Silver Swan was horrified at seeing The Hood trying to flee from the falling ice.
"HANG ON, MY LOVE, I'M COMING!" Silver Swan shouted as she raced to his aid.
The Hood cried out in terror as he tried to flee from the ice crashing all around him. He would have been crushed if Silver Swan had managed to save him in time.
The collapsing mountain was also causing the entire base to fall apart. Inside, the few Hoodlums panicked and ran to escape the complex whilst The Chameleon, who by now was waking up after having been knocked out by falling debris, finally saw the cracks in the walls and floor as everything began to give way around him. "Oh, no…" he exclaimed as he tried to scramble to his feet and escape. But he wasn't quick enough as a huge crack opened in the floor and he fell into it. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!"
Thunderbird 1 arrived on the scene just in time to see the ice base completely disintegrate and huge chunks of ice collapse into the ocean. He opened the cargo bay doors to allow John to fly inside with Hayley and Virgil. He jumped out of his seat and gave them all a huge hug, especially Virgil, before then punching him hard on the arm. "What the hell were you thinking, Virgil?" he asked. "Why didn't tell anyone?!"
"I'm sorry, Scott," Virgil said. "I've been a complete damn idiot."
"Rubbish!" Hayley snapped. "I'd have done exactly the same thing."
"Hayley, I know you're trying to defend him," Scott said. "But-"
"But nothing, Scott!" Hayley cut him off. "He's my man! You'd have done the same if it were Kayo in that situation!"
Scott spluttered. "I'm, er, sorry, what?!"
"Guys, enough!" John interjected. "They're safe. That's all that matters. Now we need to address the other problem."
"Yes…" agreed Virgil. "We have to get Thunderbird 2 back from Techno!"
"You guys go after Thunderbird 2," Kayo said. "I'll keep harassing The Cabal until the GDF arrives."
"Strap in," Scott told the others.
John, Virgil and Hayley quickly strapped themselves into three of the four passenger seats and Scott returned to his pilot seat. He turned Thunderbird 1 around and rocketed off in the direction that Thunderbird 2 had gone.
As the ice around The Cabal's base crumbled and fell into the sea, Kayo flew Thunderbird Shadow over to try and see if she could get a visual on any of its members. She saw their ship, which could also act as a submarine, fall into the ocean and vanish from view. She couldn't see any of them and growled in frustration. "Thunderbird Shadow to base. No sign of The Cabal. Looks like they've escaped again."
"Damn!" cursed Jeff. "What about Virgil and Hayley?"
"They're aboard Thunderbird 1 with Scott and John," said Kayo. "They're going after Thunderbird 2."
"Will they be able to find it?" asked Grandma.
"F-Fortunately, I have been able to retrace T-Techno's signal and I can guide Thunderbird 1 to Thunderbird 2's location," said Brains. "But to actually b-break the firewalls that he's put up to prevent us from retaking Thunderbird 2…that's a whole d-different problem."
"Keep at it, Brains," said Jeff. "You're the only hope we've got at getting Thunderbird 2 back." He then turned to Grandma. "Mother, do me a favor and call Thunderbirds 3 and 4 and FAB1 back, please? They don't need to be out there now."
"Of course," said Grandma and she headed out of the lab.
The Cabal had indeed managed to elude Thunderbird Shadow by diving into the freezing cold waters of the Antarctic Ocean and gotten aboard the Cabal Cruiser which was now sailing deep under the ice to avoid any detection.
As he hadn't had any protective clothing, The Hood was placed inside a heat chamber to warm him up as he was shivering. Silver Swan stayed close by whilst The Black Phantom took control of the craft and Shocker began to use medical equipment to treat the wound on his back from the Phantom's omega beam.
"Don't worry, boss," Silver Swan said to The Hood. "You'll be snug as a bug in a rug in no time."
But The Hood didn't seem to care about that. Instead he gave an order in a very stuttering way. "T-T-Techno…n-n-n-not…l-l-lose…T-T-Thunderbird…2!"
Silver Swan couldn't have agreed more. "I'll make sure he doesn't," she said. As she walked away, she went over to Black Phantom who was at the controls. "See if you can find out what happened to Chameleon," she said. "I'm going to make sure Techno doesn't lose Thunderbird 2."
"Understood," said The Black Phantom as Silver Swan went into a launch tube.
Her suit's helmet covered her head before the tube flooded and she launched herself out of the craft and up out of the water. She did a quick check to make sure Thunderbird Shadow wasn't around before heading off after the Thunderbirds. "Techno…do you still have Thunderbird 2?"
"Of course I do," replied Techno. "Why wouldn't I have?"
"DON'T lose it!" Silver Swan snapped. "They're coming after you. I'm on my way. Hold them off until I get there!"
"Did they escape?!" Techno asked.
"Yes, and now they're coming after you!" said Silver Swan. "The boss has ordered on no account are we to allow them to take their ship back!"
Techno's teeth began to grind. "Relax, Swan. This ship is now mine! And nobody is taking it from me!"
Thanks to Brains's directions, Thunderbird 1 was able to close in on Thunderbird 2. For Virgil, seeing his ship flying without him at the controls was a feeling he didn't like one bit.
"Brains, we have a visual," said Scott. "I'm going to stay right behind so hopefully Techno won't see us."
"His technology is s-so advanced now, Scott," Brains answered. "I highly doubt he won't see you."
"Any luck at breaking his firewalls?" asked Virgil.
"N-Negative, Virgil," replied Brains. "Although he does s-seem to get a little distracted. It's like he's trying to juggle flying Thunderbird 2 as well as f-fight to keep me out."
"We could use that to our advantage," said John. "If Brains keeps on trying to break Techno's firewalls, Virgil and I could abseil down from Thunderbird 1 onto Thunderbird 2 and get inside to take him down."
"He's connected to Thunderbird 2 in the same way that The Mechanic used to control his machines," added Virgil. "If we can break those, he'll no longer have control."
"It's damn dangerous, boys," said Jeff. "But I don't see that we have any alternative. Brains?"
"I f-fear it is the only option, Mr Tracy," the engineer replied.
Jeff sighed. The danger his boys had been in today had already exceeded what they were used to, but he wasn't going to allow The Cabal to keep hold of Thunderbird 2 and use its equipment for the wrong reasons. "Go to it, boys. Good luck."
"F-A-B," said John, Scott and Virgil in unison.
As Brains continued to try and break Techno's firewalls, his prediction about the villain's concentration turned out to be correct. He hadn't noticed Thunderbird 1 was right behind him. "Still trying to stop me, are you?" he said out loud. "Well…two can play at that game."
"It's working," Brains said. "He's distracted. G-Go for it!"
John and Virgil checked their helmets as Scott brought Thunderbird 1 in above Thunderbird 2.
Whilst Hayley was on board with the plan, she wasn't too happy at not being able to join in. "I want to come with you," she said.
"As do I," Virgil replied. "But you don't have the right equipment with you. How high are we, Scott?"
"Altitude, 150,000 feet," Scott called from the front.
"The wind resistance would tear you to pieces, Hayley," said John.
Hayley sighed heavily. She therefore put her arms around Virgil and the two shared a smooch. It was hard for them both not to shed any tears. She then retreated to the seats and strapped herself in.
"You two ready?" Scott called back.
Virgil and John put on their helmets. "Ready," they said together.
Scott flicked a switch and the cargo doors opened. He then fired a magnetic grapple down onto the top of Thunderbird 2's nose area, close to the front where the round hatch above the cockpit was. John went first, abseiling down. Once he'd landed, secured himself with magnetic boots and got clear of the cable, Virgil followed him down.
But by this time, the sensors on Thunderbird 2's hull had alerted Techno to their presence. "Oh, no, you DON'T!" he thundered, suddenly forcing Thunderbird 2 to pull up just as Virgil landed.
"WOAH!" the two brothers exclaimed as they suddenly found themselves rising and Thunderbird 1 getting close to them again.
"SCOTT, LOOK OUT!" yelled John.
Scott saw the danger. "HANG ON!" he yelled at Hayley and detached the grapple. But he wasn't quick enough to avoid a collision as Thunderbird 2's massive green bulk slammed into the much smaller hull of Thunderbird 1. The craft went spiralling away, spinning round and round with Hayley and Scott crying out in alarm as it went. Luckily, Scott managed to regain control of his ship and levelled out to climb up after Thunderbird 2 again.
"Scott! Hayley! Are you okay?" Virgil asked frantically.
"We're fine, Virgil," Scott answered. "Hayley?"
"Yeah…I'm okay," Hayley panted from behind.
"This can't go on!" said John. "Brains, for Pete's sake, break those firewalls!"
"I'm t-trying!" Brains said, the pressure was getting a bit too much for him now. "The encryptions are t-too strong!"
"Well, TRY HARDER, BRAINS!" Jeff suddenly bellowed, taking everyone by surprise.
Brains in particular was startled by Jeff's outburst. "M-Mr T-Tracy…I'm s-sorry. But I don't w-work well under-pressure."
But Jeff wasn't having any of it. The pressure he'd been feeling had broken. "OF COURSE YOU'RE UNDER-PRESSURE, BRAINS! SO ARE THEY!" he thundered. "GET THAT THUNDERBIRD BACK UNDER OUR CONTROL! NOW!"
Brains's lips quivered but no words came out. Instead, it was another voice that answered.
"Allow me."
Jeff and Brains stared at each other for a second, then looked across the lab towards the chamber where a certain guest of theirs had been lying motionless in a coma for weeks. Both then gasped in shock at the sight of the tall figure walking towards them. Grandma had returned by this point and she too froze in shock when she saw who it was.
"J-J-Juan?!" Brains stammered.
The Mechanic walked up to him, gently moving Brains in his chair out of the way. "Move aside, please, Brains," he said. He then turned to Jeff. "You'll have your ship back in less than a minute."
Before anyone could say a word, The Mechanic lifted up his right forefinger. Then the tip of it opened up to reveal what looked like a metallic plug which he then inserted into a small cable connector on Brains's desk. It turned and clicked into the place. The Mechanic let out a grunt. Brains, Jeff and Grandma recoiled in surprise as a burst of orange electricity began to emit from The Mechanic's eyes and all around his body. It then went down his right arm and into the computer before instantly starting to attack Techno's firewalls.
An alarm began to sound in Thunderbird 2's cockpit. "What?!" exclaimed Techno. "What the hell is going on?!" Suddenly, the entire console of Thunderbird 2 began to be covered in the strange orange electricity and bolts started shooting off and striking Techno. "ARGH! WHAT?! WHAT IS-GAAGH!"
Virgil and John had managed to make their way to the hatch on the top of Thunderbird 2's cockpit. Like when Alan and Kayo had to break into Thunderbird 3 after Havoc had stolen it, Virgil was going to use the special hatch opening mechanism to get it open.
"You realise once this is open, we'll have seconds to take him down," John said.
"Yeah, I do," said Virgil. "But given the mood I'm in, John. You might have to pull me off of him."
John gave him a look. "Don't make me do that, Virgil," he warned. "We're not like them!"
"I know," said Virgil. "But nobody messes with my ship and gets away with it!" He pulled the switch and the hatch opened.
Techno found himself being pulled back by the sudden suction of air. He screamed as he tried to save himself but Virgil leapt in on top of him and pinned him to the ground. John jumped in afterwards and closed the hatch behind them.
Virgil untangled himself from Techno and would provide the distraction for John.
Techno fixed Virgil with a shock and disgusted stare. "You!" he snarled.
"Yes…us," retorted Virgil.
Techno tried to activate his Techno-drones but John grabbed the control device and snatched it out of his hand. "HEY! THAT'S MINE!" Techno yelled but now both the brothers were on to him. A huge brawl broke out in the cockpit of Thunderbird 2. Although John had thrown the device clear so Techno couldn't reach. It turned out he was stronger than either of the brothers had realised. He was able to knock them both away with punches and kicks. "YOU'RE NOT TAKING THIS SHIP BACK!" he bellowed at Virgil.
"LIKE HELL WE ARE!" Virgil shouted back. This time, he was ready for Techno's attack. As Techno tried to kick, Virgil grabbed the leg and held on. "UNPLUG HIM!" he yelled.
John grabbed one of the tubes in Techno's back and tried to pull it out. But the connection was stronger than he expected.
"FOOLS!" rumbled Techno, knocking John off with a backward headbutt and shook his leg out of Virgil's grasp. "YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"
"Maybe they can't. But I can."
All three men turned to look towards the control console where the voice had come from. Neither John nor Virgil had noticed the orange electricity, and Techno had been momentarily distracted because of their attack on him. Now they stared at the hologram face of a man that only the brothers recognised that was staring back at Techno.
"Who the hell are you?!" Techno demanded.
"I'm The Mechanic. And this ship does not belong to you!" Then with a growl and strained roar, a large surge of orange energy erupted out of Thunderbird 2's controls and zapped Techno.
"GAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Techno screamed and fell to his knees.
"He's no longer in control," The Mechanic said. "Unplug him now."
Virgil and John wasted no time in grabbing the tubes on Techno's back and ripping them off one by one. Techno was too stunned to stop them.
Virgil then walked over to the controls. "Mechanic? Is that really you?"
"Yes, Virgil. It is," The Mechanic replied. "My apologies for taking control of your ship for a second time. But-"
"Second time?" Virgil asked. And then he realised. "Wait…the Thunderbolts attack. Was that you?"
The Mechanic nodded. "Indeed it was," he said. "My body may have been in a comatose state, but my mind hasn't. It's…a hard one to explain."
Virgil knew deep down he'd been very angry at an unknown source taking control of Thunderbird 2 at the EXPO event. But now he realised who it was, and why they'd done it now, he found himself feeling very grateful. "Thank you…Mechanic."
The Mechanic gave a smile and a nod.
Whilst Virgil and The Mechanic had been talking, John had been trying to move what he'd thought was an unconscious Techno. "Okay…Noel. Let's make this easy on yourself," he said. "Just need to keep you secure until the GDF can-"
That seemed to suddenly make Techno snap back to reality. "GDF…? NO!" he yelled and somehow managed to escape John's grasp. He performed a backhand attack to knock John away. Lucky for John he'd been wearing his helmet so he wasn't hurt but still stunned by the attack.
Virgil spun round as he saw Techno now lunging at him. This time however, he was ready for him. He moved aside to allow Techno to miss the punch and he collided with the controls. Thunderbird 2 suddenly went into a nose-dive and began to race through the clouds towards the ocean.
"Where are they going?!" gasped Hayley.
Scott dived Thunderbird 1 after Thunderbird 2. "Virgil? John? Talk to me! What's happening?!"
But Virgil and John were too busy to answer. Virgil grabbed Techno, pulled him back and then threw a punch which sent Techno tumbling back onto the floor.
Suddenly, Thunderbird 2 began to level out on its own. "I have control, Virgil," The Mechanic said. "You kick his ass!"
Virgil never thought he'd ever hear The Mechanic say that. Nor had the wish to do that to anyone ever been in him. But it was now. "Gladly," he said as he threw himself onto the top of Techno.
John was just recovering. "Hang on, Virgil!" he said and began to come over.
"NO, JOHN! NOT ME! FLICK THE EMERGENCY FLOOR LEVER!" Virgil shouted.
"WHAT?! BUT THAT-"
"DO IT!"
Unable to understand why, John hurried over to the switch and moved it. The floor began to lower, still with Virgil and Techno on it. Virgil braced himself for what would come next whilst Techno was so busy trying to break free that he hadn't realised - until they were both hit by a huge blast of wind as they came out into the open. Both men cried out as they were blown right off the platform. But Virgil had planned for this. As he tumbled away, he pulled out a grapple and fired it at Thunderbird 2. It locked onto one of the supports for the elevating floor and it stopped him from going any further. He then held on with both hands and began to reel himself back in.
"VIRGIL?!" Scott's voice said frantically over the radio. "HE'S STILL ON YOU!"
"Huh?" Virgil replied. Then he felt a tug on his left boot. He looked back and gasped. Techno hadn't been blown away at all. But instead he'd gotten his own grapple which he'd used to attach to Virgil's boot. Now he'd reeled himself in and grabbed hold of the boot.
Virgil grimaced as he held onto the support of the platform for dear life whilst Techno tried to pull himself back up using his leg. Virgil looked at the supervillain. He knew he had to get rid of him. And then he realised there was only one option. It was totally against what International Rescue stood for, and he knew that the man who was trying to climb up him was the son of Colonel Casey. But he also knew this man had no such regard for human life - especially his own mother, and for Virgil…he knew he had to let him go. With a huge effort, he managed to pull himself up onto the platform and wrap his left arm around the support. He had his right leg secured on the platform and then pulled his left leg up as far as he could go without Techno being able to get a hold of the platform. Then Virgil reached down with his right hand, and started to undo the boot.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Techno shouted above the noise of the howling wind. One strap went. Techno was then horrified when he realised what Virgil was doing. "NO!" he yelled. "STOP!"
Virgil had undone a second strap. He could feel his boot loosening as Techno's weight was pulling at it. He then fixed Techno with a hard stare. "GET…OFF…MY…SHIP!" he thundered, and undid the final strap.
With nothing left to hold it, the boot slipped off Virgil's foot and fell away from Thunderbird 2 with Techno's weight doing the rest.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHH!" Techno screamed as he fell away towards the ocean far below them. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"
Virgil pulled himself fully onto the platform. "John, bring me up!" he panted.
John did so, and once Virgil was back inside, his brother threw himself on top of him as they hugged. "Don't ever do that to me again, Virgil," he pleaded.
Virgil began to laugh. "F-A-B," he said, and soon they were both laughing.
With Techno gone, Virgil could now retake control of his ship from The Mechanic. "This is Thunderbird 2. We've got her back!"
This was greeted by a huge eruption of cheers and sighs of relief from the rest of the International Rescue team. Gordon and Alan whooped and high-fived. Grandma and Brains clapped whilst Jeff fell into a nearby chair and placed a hand over his head. He had one massive headache, but he soon began to weep. Tears of relief trickled down his cheek. He couldn't ever remember feeling this worried about any of his family before.
Brains then turned to The Mechanic. "Juan…" he said. "T-Thank you."
"You're welcome," said The Mechanic.
Jeff then got up. He walked over to The Mechanic and held out his hand. "I second that," he said. "And for all of us, that is." The two men shook hands. "However…I do believe you owe us all an explanation."
The Mechanic nodded. "I do indeed," he agreed.
"But it can wait," said Grandma. "We need to make sure Virgil and Hayley are okay."
The others couldn't have agreed more.
Silver Swan was flying over the sea looking for Thunderbirds 1 and 2. "Ugh - where are they?" she asked, starting to get frustrated. But then her scanners detected something down below. She looked down and saw a body in the water. "What the?" she asked out and went down for a closer look. She then stopped dead in mid-air when she recognised it. "TECHNO?!"
Sure enough, there was Techno, lying flat on his back and floating unconscious in the water. She soon fished him out and looked around. Then in the very far distance, she caught sight of Thunderbirds 1 and 2 flying off into the distance before disappearing from view.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!" Silver Swan roared as she realised what this meant.
Despite looking and sounding fine, as soon as the Thunderbirds returned to Tracy Island, Hayley and Virgil were instructed to undergo strict medical examinations and to tell them all what had happened whilst they sat in beds in the Sick Room. It made for very grim story-telling, especially the bit about The Hood injecting the K-14 virus into Virgil and then leaving him to die with the expectation Hayley would contract it and perish as well. Then came the added shock of The White Ghost's betrayal and escape from The Cabal. But most disturbing of all was that of The Hood's sudden change following the realisation he'd failed to kill them after they'd dropped off the metal poles.
"Gee…" said Jeff when they'd finished. "That's one hell of an ordeal you two have been through."
Virgil had to admit he felt guilty and entirely responsible for the whole thing. "Sorry, everyone. This is all my fault."
"Er…how exactly?" asked Alan.
"I should have convinced Hayley to decline that letter which turned out to be fake," Virgil said. "And I allowed myself to fall into their trap by landing. I should have told you all about finding The Cabal's ship. I put myself, Hayley and the whole of International Rescue in jeopardy. Do not forgive me. Any of you. Please." He closed his eyes and hung his head.
An awkward silence followed this. Everyone exchanged looks with one another. Nobody seemed to know what to say. What they could tell from looking at each other though was they didn't hold Virgil responsible for this. Even Jeff couldn't bring himself to be angry with his son. Instead, he walked over to his son's bed and held his hand. "Virgil…what you have said is very true. You did put us all in danger with what you did. But…The Cabal did not succeed. You are both alive. You're shaken up big time and it'll be a little while before you'll both get over this. But don't think that one second you'd not be forgiven. You are too valuable to me. To us."
Everyone openly agreed.
Virgil was touched, but he still felt guilty.
Lady Penelope then spoke up. "This has all been a rather sombre evening," she remarked. "Is there anything any of us can do to lighten the mood?"
"With the greatest of respect, Lady Penelope, how is that possible?" asked Kayo, who was easily the most disturbed at hearing what her uncle had done. "The Hood has crossed a major line. He has to pay for this."
"He will, Kayo," Jeff said. "Once he's back in custody, I will stop at nothing to make sure he is put somewhere he can never escape from again."
"They said that about Aquatraz though," remarked Gordon. "And look how that turned out."
"Guys, please," said Hayley. "I agree with Lady P. Can we try and forget about what's happened for at least this evening?"
"I agree as well," said Grandma. "It's John's birthday, remember? We still have that cake to eat."
"Sorry, Grandma, but I don't feel like celebrating anything right now," said John.
"Me neither," agreed Alan.
Scott had remained silent. But as he rummaged through his trouser pockets, he felt his hand touch something. Confused, he pulled it out and realised it was the box that Virgil had given him earlier. He then noticed Virgil was looking in his direction and he quickly repocketed it and hoped nobody else had seen it.
It was at that moment that Virgil suddenly remembered something. Something he'd said earlier that day to Hayley whilst tied to the poles. "Hey, Scott? Could I have that box, please?" he asked.
Scott gulped as he took the box out. "Er, sure, Virgil," he said.
"Box?" said Kayo. "What box?"
Everyone else watched in confusion as Scott handed the box to his brother.
"What's in the box, Virg?" asked Gordon.
Virgil smiled. "The mood-lifter, Gordo," he said. He then turned to Hayley. "I think maybe now is the better time to ask this rather than earlier," he said. "I just wasn't sure if we were going to make it."
Hayley looked confused. In all that had happened, she'd forgotten what Virgil had said.
Virgil turned himself in his bed in order to face her bed. He then lifted the lid and said, "Hayley Madison…will you marry me?"
A huge gasp of surprise erupted from the others as Hayley's hand flew over her mouth. She looked at the ring inside the box. And then at Virgil. Then she began to sob as she threw back the bedsheets and came over to him. "Yes! Yes, of course I will!" she said, throwing herself on top of him.
The others all looked at one another again. If they'd been stunned into silence earlier, they definitely were more so now.
"W-Wow!" said Jeff. "Congratulations, both of you!"
Virgil hadn't been wrong. The mood had definitely changed. Everyone had forgotten to be miserable and were now full of excitement following this announcement.
Whilst the International Rescue team had taken one of their lowest moments and turned it into something to celebrate, aboard The Cabal Cruiser, sailing deep under the surface of the Pacific Ocean, the mood was far from joyous.
Techno lay on a medical bed, still unconscious and was having his stomach pumped to get rid of the seawater. Also, The Chameleon had been found but remained trapped in the huge block of ice he'd been frozen in after falling through the crack.
The Hood was seething with anger. With Techno unconscious, they had no way of knowing how the International Rescue team had managed to get Thunderbird 2 back. But The Hood didn't care how. The truth of the matter was, they had managed to get Thunderbird 2 back, meaning that once again, The Cabal's plans had ended in failure.
"Now what do we do?" The Shocker asked Silver Swan and Black Phantom.
"We make them pay," The Black Phantom replied. "This should have been our greatest triumph."
"Cut out what could have been!" snapped Silver Swan. "Our great and wonderful leader will tell us what we do now."
The Hood, who'd had his back to them up until now, slowly began to turn towards them. But he had an expression unlike any of them had ever seen before.
"Er…boss?" said Shocker, backing away slightly. "Are you okay?"
"Get out…" The Hood said in a low voice. "Get out. GET OUT!" He grabbed a box of medical supplies on a nearby desk and threw it at them. "GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"
Startled by this, the three supervillains raced out of the room and closed the door behind them, for once almost fearful of their lives as The Hood grabbed any object in the room that wasn't secure and threw it in all directions across the room, all the while screaming and bellowing in an uncontrollable rage. John had been right. The Hood's sanity…had snapped.
Following Virgil and Hayley's engagement, the lounge in the Tracy Island had erupted into a party. The birthday cake that had been meant for John had turned into a celebration cake instead. Despite being overjoyed, Virgil and Hayley were quick to realise this.
"Sorry about this, John," Virgil apologised.
"We seem to have stolen your special day," added Hayley.
But John wasn't remotely bothered by it. "Guys, please, don't apologise," he said with a smile. "I don't tend to celebrate birthdays. They're nice to have, but you know me. Always the quiet one."
"Too quiet I think sometimes," said Hayley. "It's not just Virgil and I who deserve happiness. All you brothers do. And that includes you." She gave him a caring rub on the arm.
John was touched by Hayley's words. "Thanks…Hayley," she said. He was even more surprised when she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Happy Birthday," Hayley said sweetly.
John was too speechless to respond as Hayley and Virgil walked away hand-in-hand.
"WE'RE JUST GOING OUTSIDE FOR A BIT!" Virgil called to the others.
"Take all the time you need, Virgil," said Jeff. "But first. A toast! To the husband and wife to be! TO VIRGIL AND HAYLEY!"
"TO VIRGIL AND HAYLEY!" everyone called in unison, raising their glasses as they did so.
Grinning from ear to ear, Virgil and Hayley left the lounge and headed down to the kitchen before heading out onto the patio by the pool.
"Does John actually have someone?" Hayley asked. "I mean you have me and Gordon has Lady Penelope. Alan…had Sophie, poor girl. I'm still sad over that."
"We all were," agreed Virgil. "Sophie was what Alan needed. But, no, John doesn't have anyone. But I think he prefers it that way. He'll always choose being aboard Thunderbird 5 than down here."
"That's not healthy," said Hayley. "He can't spend his whole life up in space."
"Give him half a chance, he would," said Virgil. "Also, he's not the only one. Scott doesn't have anyone either."
"Yes…although I know who he has his eyes on," Hayley said mischievously.
Virgil raised an eyebrow. "You do? Who?"
Hayley whispered in his ear.
Virgil was so surprised by what she said that he nearly fell into the pool. "GET OUT!" he exclaimed before howling with laughter. "There's no way that's true!"
"But the way he looks at her, talks to her, etc," Hayley said with a giggle. "You really don't think he has any feelings for her?"
"Definitely not!" laughed Virgil. "Those two could never be a thing. She's our sister after all."
"Ah…yes, that is very true," Hayley admitted. "Sorry, I guess hanging from that pole has made me go all funny in the head."
The two laughed as they headed towards the beach. What they did not see however, was Scott, who had followed them down to the kitchen to get another drink, had heard everything they'd said, and had gone rather pale in the face.