RUSS ran forwards to meet with the Rescue Helijet as it landed on the pad. He watched as a single stretcher was carried out and rushed towards the medical bay. Running after it, he saw that it was Kenny, badly injured. "Oh, my God! Kenny!" he exclaimed. "What happened?!"

"Stay back, sir," said one of the Paramedics. "We need to fix him up."

"Where's the driver?" Russ demanded. "Where's Alan Tracy?"

The Paramedic gave him a look. "This man was the only one in the car, sir," he said. "There wasn't anybody else there."

Russ stood silent and still, unable to understand what he'd just heard.


Alan opened his eyes. His head was pounding and his throat was as dry as the Sahara itself. As he picked himself up, he looked around. All he could see were rocks and sand. There was no sign of the car, or any of the other competitors of the rally. He scratched his head in confusion. "Huh? Where the hell am I?" he asked out loud. He scrambled to the top of a rock and looked around. He could see the track that they'd been racing along nearby. But there were no cars, motorbikes or trucks anywhere to be seen. No aircraft were flying overhead either. Alan looked at his watch. It had been damaged in the crash but he tried it anyway. "Calling International Rescue. This is Alan. Can anyone read me? Hello? John? Thunderbird 5, can you hear me?" No response. "For Pete's sake!" he groaned. "Guess I'm walking the rest of the way." He began to walk towards the track. But the pain he felt throughout his arms and legs was quite strong. Nothing was broken but it was still uncomfortable to move about. And the blazing hot Sun was soon making him feel sick and dizzy. He made it less than a quarter of a mile before the pain and exhaustion took control and he collapsed face-down on the ground again.


Scott reached the top of the stairs leading to the lounge. He was stopped in his tracks by the sound of an angry voice. He knew immediately whose voice it was. Worried, he hurried down into the lounge where he found Jeff shouting furiously at a man in a suit over the hologram projector.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BS!" Jeff roared. "WHERE THE HELL IS MY SON?!"

"I'm sorry, Mr Tracy, but we don't know," the man answered. "All we found was the car and his navigator. There was no sign of him anywhere."

"Not good enough!" snapped Jeff. "Get your search teams back out there and I expect him to have been found by the time we get there!" And with that he ended the call. He then let out a bellow of rage and slammed both his fists on the desk.

"Woah, Dad, easy!" said Scott with concern. "What's happened?"

It took Jeff several breaths to calm himself before he was finally able to speak. "Alan's crashed. He is missing. He wasn't with the car when they recovered it."

Scott was horrified and confused. "But…how?"

"Scott, I don't care how!" snapped Jeff. "We need to find him. Come on! I'll meet you in Thunderbird 1."

"Right!" said Scott as he hurried to the revolving wall panel.

Like Virgil and Gordon had done, the suit up of Scott and Jeff and boarding of Thunderbird 1 had no big build-up like normal. All they were thinking was what had happened to Alan. As soon as the swimming pool was open and Thunderbird 1 had been moved into the launch bay, they were ready to go.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Thunderbird 1's engines thundered into life, pushing it up out of the space left by the pool and raced high into the sky before levelling out and being pushed straight to maximum speed to get to West Africa as fast as possible.

"Call Thunderbird 5, Scott," said Jeff once they were underway. "I don't trust those rescue teams to find him before we get there."

"How could they not have found him?" Scott asked. "Even if he managed to escape the vehicle when it crashed he couldn't have gotten far away."

"He wouldn't have abandoned it either," said Jeff. "His best friend was in the car with him. He'd have done everything to make sure Malone was safe."

Scott felt a shiver down his spine. "I hope you're safe, little brother," he muttered to himself.


As part of the unveiling, Colonel Jennings had set up a series of demonstrations to show off just what Rigby could do with his new Captain Liberty title. It was impressive to say the least. The suit he wore increased his strength, speed and greatly enhanced his agility. He was faster, could hit harder, and most of all, his shield was lethal. Almost too lethal as it had bounced off the walls a little too close to the viewing galleries. It was fortunate that a holographic shield prevented Rigby's shield from flying into the audience but it didn't stop a few of the audience suffering almost heart attacks.

"Very impressive, Captain," said the World President when Rigby had finished. "You took down all of those Life-Model-Decoys in less than a minute. Colonel Jennings, when do we get to see him in one-on-one combat with a real person?"

Colonel Jennings's mouth opened but no words came out. She hadn't intended for a real person to go up against Rigby. "That…wasn't part of the plan for the demonstration, Mr President," she said. "I mean, he is now at the peak of his condition. No regular person could stand up against him. He's just too good for that now."

"I'LL TAKE HIM ON!"

All eyes turned in the direction of the voice. Kayo had stood up. She looked down at Rigby who let out a massive grin. "KAYO!" Rigby called back. He then turned to Colonel Jennings and the World President. "I do believe I have an opponent after all."

Colonel Jennings was about to cut in but the World President did that instead. "Very well!" said the World President. "Come on down, Miss, er?"

"Shadow!" Kayo called as she headed down the row of seats towards the arena. She didn't want to give away who she really was.

Penelope and Hayley exchanged worried looks.

"I hope she knows what she's doing," Hayley muttered.

"So do I," agreed Penelope.

Kayo passed through an open part of the hologram barrier and entered the arena. She pressed a button on her suit which activated the nanotech armour, which immediately got a reaction from the intrigued crowd.

"Who the hell is she?" Colonel Jennings asked.

"The only person who could take Captain Rigby on in a fair fight," answered Martha Casey.

Rita smirked. "This should be interesting," she chuckled to herself.


Broskitt stared in confusion as the EJ2 jet came over the nearby hill and landed on the ground a short distance from the burning Rig-15.

"Wow," said Charlie. "They got here quickly."

Broskitt wasn't fooled however. "That's not them!" he fumed. "They wouldn't use that antique of a jet for a start!"

As soon as the EJ2 had landed, a hatch opened under its nose. Two men in blue jumpsuits ran out followed by a yellow bulldozer-like vehicle with a big water cannon hose mounted on its back.

"Keep calm, everyone!" called the young man who had exited the aircraft first. "International Rescue is here! Just stay back and we'll have this out in no time!"

Broskitt didn't get a word in as the two men jumped onto the sides of the bulldozer and hurried as fast as it would go towards the inferno.

"But if they aren't International Rescue…" Charlie began, "then who the hell are they?"

"I don't know, Charlie," replied Broskitt. "But that man's voice sounds strangely familiar."

The fake International Rescue team stopped just short of the fire. One of the men climbed onto the cannon on the back whilst the other, who was clearly the leader, jumped down and stood rather uncomfortably close to the flames. "OKAY, MATT! LET IT HAVE IT!"

Parr, the man on the cannon, gave a thumbs up. "YOU GOT IT, TRISTIAN!" He pushed the button to activate the cannon. Two jets of water shot out of the cannon and landed in the middle of the inferno. Suddenly, there came a colossal BANG as another explosion erupted from the site, creating a shockwave that not only pushed the bulldozer backwards, but the flames also engulfed Tristan who screamed as he went up in flames.

"MY GOD!" shouted Broskitt. "WE GOT TO DO SOMETHING!" He started to run forwards.

"PETE, NO!" shouted Charlie as he and the other crewmembers began to run after him towards the scene.

Tristan's suit was not fireproof as it turned out and it was melting onto his skin. His screams were loud and agonising.

Parr was frantic after he jumped off the back of the now damaged and immobilised bulldozer. "TRISTAN! TRISTAN!" He ran to try and help him.

Courtney, the third member of the group who had been driving the bulldozer, now jumped out to help Parr but both men were grabbed and restrained by the rig men. "HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" he yelled as he tried to break free. "GET OFF! GET OFF!"

"LET GO OF US!" screamed Parr.

"STOP STRUGGLING!" bellowed Charlie who had hold of Parr with another.

Broskitt found a fire-extinguisher in a compartment on the side of the bulldozer. "GET THEM OUT OF HERE!" he ordered as he began to spray the burning Tristan with it. It was fortunate for Tristan that he did had a helmet on so wasn't affected by the gas.

A horn then blared out catching everyone's attention. All eyes looked up to see Thunderbird 2 arriving. "Please get clear!" Virgil's voice rang out over the tannoy. "I'm gonna put out the fire!"

Broskitt now risked his own safety by grabbing the burnt Tristan and dragging him away with the help of another crewmember.

The underside hatch of Module 1 opened and the same kind of nitro-glycerine tanks that had been used on the blaze and Bensheba were lowered out.

"Do you reckon one will do the job this time?" Gordon asked Virgil.

"Only one way to find out," Virgil replied. He flicked a switch and one of the tanks was dropped down into the heart of the inferno. After a few seconds it detonated, engulfing the entire rig site in a cloud of white smoke. It choked the fire at its core and extinguished it. "Ha!" said Virgil triumphantly. "Brains, whatever you did, it worked. Only one was required."

"P-Perfect, Virgil," Brains answered happily. "Although I s-should point out that this fire was smaller than the one at Bensheba."

"Ah, no need for technicalities, Brains," joked Gordon.

John then joined in the conversation. "Good job, Thunderbird 2," he said. "I've informed the GDF about these…imposters. There's a Flyer heading for you right now. ETA - two minutes."

"Glad to hear it, John," said Virgil. He peered out of the window down towards the EJ2 Jet. "But I'd sure like to know who these fools are before they're arrested."

Charlie examined Broskitt's hands. Even though he'd managed to put the flames on Tristan out, he had still been extremely hot and he'd burned his own hands in the process. "Easy, boss," he said. "You should have let International Rescue handle it."

"I know, I know," sighed Broskitt. "But I couldn't let the kid die."

"We were doing fine until you intervened!" snapped Courtney.

"Is that so?" asked Broskitt. "You're not even the real International Rescue." He then indicated up at Thunderbird 2. "I'll think you'll find that they are." He then looked down at the weakened Tristan. "As for you, boy! I'd love to hear what your father will say when he finds out you've been impersonating those who he hates it would seem."

Courtney and Parr looked at each other. "We've been rumbled!" Parr exclaimed.

"Come on!" said Courtney. He and Parr then broke free and ran back towards the EJ2 Jet. The workers tried to follow but weren't quick enough to catch them.

Gordon had also spotted the two men running back to their craft. "Errr, Virg? They're trying to get away."

Virgil watched as the EJ2's engines powered up and it began to rise off the ground. "Oh, no, you don't!" he said firmly, moving another lever. The drop-down cannon appeared from underneath Thunderbird 2's nose and was aimed directly at the EJ2. "Firing EMP!" An electro-magnetic pulse blast was fired out from the cannon. It fried the systems of the EJ2 and it crashed back on the ground, its engines burning out and smoking, much to the dismay of the men inside.

"Nice shot," said Gordon. "We've got them."

Virgil gave a smirk of satisfaction.


Alan stirred at the sound of distant vehicle engines. He lifted his head and looked over towards the track. A pair of trucks were heading along, the last of the race to pass the point that day. Despite the exhaustion and the pain, he managed to lift himself up and began waving in hopes of getting their attention. "Hey…HEY!" he called out. "I'M OVER HERE! PLEASE! OVER HERE! HELP!"

But the people in the trucks didn't hear or see him and just continued on. Alan allowed himself to fall back down and lie against a rock. He'd never felt so alone before.

"Nobody's coming for you."

Alan froze. He knew that voice. Slowly, he turned his head to the left and saw a familiar figure sitting on another rock nearby. "S…ophie?"

"Yes! It's me," Sophie said. "And I'm gonna enjoy watching your life come to an end."


Rigby and Kayo got themselves ready to duel. "It's been a while since we've done this," Rigby said. "Shall we see how your suit fares up against mine."

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," chuckled Kayo.

"Oh, please, don't," grinned Rigby. "Make it as hard as you can."

Kayo smirked. "With pleasure," she said.

An alarm sounded to tell them to begin. Rigby and Kayo charged at each other. Kayo tried to drop-kick him but he blocked her feet with his shield and flipped her backwards. She landed on her feet and he threw the shield at her feet, tripping her up and knocking her to the floor.

"Goodness!" exclaimed Penelope. "Nobody's ever taken Kayo down like that before!"

Kayo was quick to recover as Rigby tried to jump on her. She rolled over and he fell flat on his face. The two then engaged in a short bit of hand-to-hand combat before Rigby managed to reclaim his shield and use it to knock Kayo sideways.

"Aw, come on!" Rigby said mockingly. "I said make it a challenge!"

Kayo gritted her teeth. She too had been caught off guard at being knocked down by Rigby. She had a reputation to maintain. Then again, it wouldn't look very good if Rigby got defeated by her for it would show to everyone that actually he wasn't unbeatable as Colonel Jennings had told the guests. However, she did want to show them that she was no pushover either.

Several members of the crowd had been chanting and encouraging Rigby to keep up the fight. Rigby spun himself around and threw the shield again. But this time, Kayo reached out and caught the shield in her right hand, stopping it dead. Now Rigby was the one caught off-guard. The audience gasped and fell silent.

"What?!" exclaimed Colonel Jennings as Kayo then threw the shield back. Rigby managed to catch it with both hands, but in doing so, he took his eyes off Kayo allowing her to charge forwards and perform the drop-kick she'd attempted before. Rigby yelped and fell over onto his back, resulting in even more gasps from the crowd.

Colonel Jennings stormed over to the World President. "Mr President, this needs to be stopped!"

"Why?" asked the World President. "They're only just getting started."

Rigby jumped back to his feet and the fight continued. He threw the shield again just as Kayo produced her own shield out of nanotech and threw it at him. The two shields met in the middle, causing sparks and bouncing off each other and being sent away from their owners. Kayo's automatically homed back in on her arm whilst Rigby had to run over to get his. Kayo tried to take him from behind but he performed a back-kick and sent her flying backwards in the wall of the arena.

"OOF!" Kayo cried as she landed with a crash on the floor. She then saw Rigby jumping up to land on her, so she threw up her arms and legs to stop him before he could get to her fully. "We're still friends, right?" she asked.

"Depends on how hard you do end up hitting me," Rigby replied with a grin. He pulled Kayo up and spun her around, sending her flying across the arena and bouncing along the ground again. He then ran after her to knock her about some more.

He's enjoying this far too much, Kayo thought to herself, seeing the look of delight on Rigby's face. The two had fought each other many times before in the past in training sessions. So far, Rigby had failed to beat Kayo at all. Once again she was conflicted. She didn't want to break her winning streak, but at the same time, she didn't want to make Rigby look bad by defeating him. As it turned out, the fight was about to take a turn that neither could have expected. With each hit and knock that Kayo had taken throughout the fight, the kinetic-energy regulator in her suit had been increasing, storing more and more power until it got to a point where it could be released as an energy weapon. It had now reached that point, but as Kayo hadn't used it in a very long time, she'd forgotten all about it. As for Rigby, he never knew it was even a feature of her suit. As Rigby came in for another attack, Kayo jumped up and performed a roundhouse kick - which upon impact with Rigby's chest, released the kinetic energy. There was a great BOOM accompanying a blinding bright blue light and a huge shockwave that sent both Kayo and Rigby flying backwards in opposite directions. Both crashed to the floor several yards apart.

Everyone had had to throw their hands over their faces to shield themselves from the light. When they were finally able to recover and look at the arena again, they were stunned by what they saw.

Kayo groaned and picked herself up. Then as she looked across the arena, she gasped. Rigby lay motionless on his back on the far side of the arena. She hurried over to check on him. "Rigs? Rigs, are you okay?" she asked anxiously.

Rigby didn't answer. He just lay motionless on the floor. A quick scan from Kayo's suit told her that he was alive…but had been knocked clean out cold.

"Oh dear…" Penelope said. "I don't think Kayo meant to do that."

"No…" agreed Hayley. "There's gonna be hell to pay for this I feel."

She wasn't wrong. Colonel Jennings was looking absolutely furious.

"Hmmm," remarked the World President. "Unbeatable, did you say, Colonel? You might want to be careful when you make claims like that." He walked off, unimpressed, leaving the new Colonel fuming.


The GDF Flyer sent to arrest the fake International Rescue members had now arrived. Virgil and Gordon watched with Broskitt and Charlie as Parr and Courtney were taken away, kicking and screaming. A medical team tended to Tristan who was put on a stretcher and taken away to the Flyer as well.

"OI, THUNDERBIRDS!" Parr bellowed at Gordon and Virgil. "THE BOSS AIN'T DONE WITH YOU!"

"YEAH! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" added Courtney as they were forced into the Flyer.

Lieutenant Fallowfield was the person in charge of the squad of soldiers. "Be quiet!" she ordered. "You have the right to remain silent. I suggest you keep it that way."

"What was that all about?" Gordon asked Broskitt.

Broskitt shifted uncomfortably. "When the young man who was burnt first spoke, I thought I recognised the voice. Seeing his face confirmed my fears."

"Fears?" asked Virgil. "What's there to be afraid of?"

Broskitt let out a deep sigh before revealing the truth. "His name's Tristan Grafton. Need I say more?"

He didn't, because the pale looks on Virgil and Gordon's faces were enough to show that the realisation of the situation had hit them as hard as an express train.

"Oh, f-"

"Is he on his way?" Virgil asked, cutting off Gordon's cursing.

"I don't know," replied Broskitt. "But I'd suggest you boys leave here just in case he does."

"But what about you?" Virgil continued. "Putting you here was punishment by him wasn't it? He's not going to go easy on you."

"I know, Mr Tracy," replied Broskitt grimly. "Maybe I'm in the wrong job." He looked over at the burnt-out remains of Rig-15. "Maybe he should accept this as my resignation?"


Alan felt mixed emotions at the sight of Sophie. Having been haunted by her image for so many months, now he was actually talking to her. He felt scared, but also a little bit of bravery as he hadn't forgotten what Dr Charles had said about confronting her fears. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sophie asked. "Do you remember what you did to me?"

"I didn't do anything."

"LIAR!" Sophie screeched, jumping up off the rock. "YOU ABANDONED ME, ALAN! YOU LET THOSE PEOPLE TAKE ME AWAY! I DIDN'T NEED ANY HELP! I JUST NEEDED CLOSURE FOR LOSING MY SISTER!"

"You think I wanted you to be taken away?" Alan tried his best to sound brave. "You were prepared to kill me so that you could murder the Subterrain Chief."

"Not murder," Sophie said. "Execute. He needed to die for what his kind did to Grace and the others on the Odyssey. Losing Grace hurt me so much. But you allowed me to be taken away to be locked up in a metal hospital? That's taking things way too far, Alan! I will never forgive you for that."

Alan felt sick. The guilt he'd had came flooding back. He felt tears forming in his eyes. "I'm so sorry," he croaked.

Sophie sniffed. "It's too late for that, Alan," she said coldly. "I've wanted to pay you back for betraying me. And watching you succumb to hunger and exhaustion from being out here all alone, that'll be the best revenge that I deserve."

Alan tried to lift himself up.

"Don't bother trying to move," said Sophie. "Just give up and accept your fate."

It was at that moment that something clicked in Alan's head. He no longer could only hear Sophie's words, but the words of two others. The first of Dr Charles. The second of Jeff.

"Sooner or later, you'll have to face your fear head on, Alan."

"Remember the rule of International Rescue. Never give up at any cost."

And then came Grandma's voice, saying something that she'd said to Alan not long after he'd started getting the visions of Sophie. "What you're seeing isn't Sophie. Your guilt is causing you to see her. Remember, she isn't really there."

Alan wrapped the fingers of his right hand around a loose stone and used what little strength he had to push himself to his feet.

"I thought I told you to stay down!" Sophie said dangerously.

Alan managed a smirk. "Sophie look. I do regret what happened to you. Seeing you get taken away to that plane broke my heart more than you broke it yourself when you tried to kill me. But I am done with being haunted by your spectre."

"Spectre?!" hissed Sophie angrily. "I am no spectre, Alan. No get down before I force you to!"

"So you're saying you're real?" Alan asked.

"You're damn right I am!" Sophie snapped.

Alan raised an eyebrow. "So how are you able to walk again?"

Sophie stared and fell silent. She looked down at her legs.

"Dr Sophie Telford lost the use of her legs in an accident," Alan said. "The doctors said she'll never walk again. That's how I know you're not real."

Sophie's face turned very ugly. "Grrr! For that, your nightmares and pain will haunt you endlessly until you die!"

Alan scoffed. "No, they won't," said Alan firmly. "I'm done with being tormented. I'm not afraid of you anymore!"

Sophie let out a screeching bellow and began to charge at Alan, only for him to throw the stone that he'd picked up at her. As it hit her in the chest, she let out an ear-splitting scream and was instantly turned into a cloud of desert dust before the scream faded away into nothing.

Alan collapsed back onto the ground. The heat was getting too much. He needed a drink more than ever, but unless he was found…And then he heard it. The sound of an aircraft approaching, and a sound he knew all too well. Too weak to get up, he managed to turn his head to the right and saw the outline of Thunderbird 1 approaching.

In the cockpit of Thunderbird 1, Scott's scanners showed him a weak life-form. "Hang on, I've got something," he said.

"Is it Alan?" asked Jeff anxiously.

Scott used the remote camera on the outside of the hull to zoom in. He soon caught sight of the figure and his face lit up. "Yes…Yes, it's him!"

Jeff collapsed back into his seat as relief flooded through his body.

Scott swiftly landed Thunderbird 1 on the ground and together he and Jeff ran over to where Alan lay.

"ALAN!" Scott cried.

"Scott…Dad…" Alan said weakly.

The trio soon embraced in huge hugs as they all shared tears of joy.


"HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW MUCH TIME, EFFORT AND MONEY HAS GONE INTO CREATING CAPTAIN LIBERTY?!"

"Do you mind?" Kayo asked, wiping the spit off her face due to how close Colonel Jennings had been when she'd been shouting. "And I'll have you know that I did not intend for that to happen."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER YOU MEANT TO DO THAT OR NOT!" thundered Colonel Jennings. "THIS WAS OUR BIG MOMENT TO SHINE! TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT THE GDF IS NOT TO BE MESSED WITH! AND YOU EMBARRASSED THE HELL OUT OF US WITH YOUR LITTLE STUNT!"

"I'm sorry, Colonel," said Kayo. "I really am."

"It's my fault, Colonel," said Rigby, who was lying on a nearby bed. "I told her not to hold back."

"Rigby, you should have turned her down!" snapped Colonel Jennings. "Why didn't you?"

"Because I invited her to this event," Rigby replied. "She's my friend."

"FRIEND?!" thundered Colonel Jennings. "We don't have FRIENDS in our line of work, Captain! You will end your friendship here and now, AM I CLEAR?!"

"ABI!" They all turned to see Martha had entered the room. She was looking visibly shocked. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Giving this so-called stealth person a piece of my mind, Martha," Colonel Jennings replied.

"I'd advise against that," warned Martha. "Kayo is not someone who you want to get on the wrong side of. Trust me."

Colonel Jennings growled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, for God's sake, not you too, Martha, PLEASE!"

"I have known Kayo for a long time, Abi," said Martha. "She's always been the person to call in to help us take down criminals."

"WHY?!" shouted Colonel Jennings. "WE ARE THE SECURITY FORCE, MARTHA! WE CATCH THE BAD GUYS! NOT INTERNATIONAL RESCUE!"

"How do you know I'm-"

"You think I don't know who you are, Tanusha Kyrano?" Colonel Jennings replied. "I've been an undercover operative for years. I know more than you could possibly imagine." She turned back to Martha. "Martha, whilst I've always admired and respected you, there's one thing you did in your time as leader of the GDF is allow International Rescue to take over our operations."

"I think you mean assist?" Martha said.

"No, I don't!" said Colonel Jennings angrily. "The Hudson University Incident. You led that, am I right? But who got the credit for saving that scientist? Was it the GDF? No! It was International Rescue! And worst of all, you got an ex-con to break into the vault for you!"

"Because, Abi, only they were able to get into the vault because they're the only ones who could!" said Martha, starting to get angry herself. "Now I strongly suggest you take back everything you've said to Kayo, or you may find yourself regretting what you've said."

"I've never regretted anything I've done or said," said Colonel Jennings. "And I'm not going to start now." She turned and glared hard at Kayo. "If you or any of your International Rescue teammates ever interfere with the GDF again…there WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!" And with that, she turned and stormed away, leaving Rigby, Kayo and Martha quite taken aback by it all.

"Abi!"

Colonel Jennings stopped in the doorway. "What?"

"I thought you were better than this," said Martha.

Colonel Jennings now turned her glare onto Martha. "Excuse me?"

"I thought you were the perfect replacement for me," said Martha, giving her a look of disapproval. "But with an attitude like that, you're making me have doubts now."

Colonel Jennings wasn't phased. "Don't try and influence me, Martha. You're no longer a part of the GDF. You have no control over what I do from now on."

"I have friends in high places," warned Martha.

"So do I," replied Colonel Jennings, and with that she disappeared through the door, almost knocking Hayley over as she did.

Kayo let out a deep sad sigh. "Ohhhh…what have I done?" she asked, a little louder than she'd meant.

"Nothing wrong, Kayo," said Martha firmly. "What happened in that arena was an unfortunate accident. I know that. You know that. Captain Rigby knows that."

"Try telling her that," Kayo retorted, indicating after Colonel Jennings.

"Leave her be, Kayo," Martha replied. "One day she will realise that she is wrong. Believe me, it'll come."

Kayo felt a little better after hearing this, but she was still worried all the same.

Hayley had remained silent throughout the whole encounter, but she too was deeply worried. If Colonel Jennings wasn't going to allow Kayo and Rigby to maintain a friendship, how would she react to her being in a relationship with Virgil?


Colonel Jennings needed fresh air. She went outside the building they'd been in and stood on a terrace overlooking a plaza in Unity City.

"Quite a humiliation, that was, Colonel?"

Colonel Jennings turned to see a slightly plump man and a tall woman with brown bushy hair in a red dress standing beside her. She'd never met them before, but instantly knew who they were. "Mr and Mrs Grafton? What brings you here?"

"We were amongst the privileged to get invites to this event," said Larissa.

"Hmm," said Colonel Jennings. "Sorry you had to be witness to that."

Grafton puffed out his chest. "It seems we have a common problem, Colonel," he said. "We've both suffered humiliations at the hands of International Rescue. I believe we can therefore help each other in order to get even with them."

Colonel Jennings frowned. "I am an officer of the law, Mr Grafton," she warned. "I will not be bribed by either of you."

"And I'm a person of law, too, Colonel," said Larissa. "But we are law-abiding so we won't be trying to bribe you. You have our word on that."

"Indeed," said Grafton. "We'd just like to offer you our-"

He was interrupted when his mobile phone started ringing. "Excuse me," he said as he answered. "Yes, what is it?" Suddenly he turned white. "What? WHAT?! WHERE?! We're coming!" He hung up abruptly. "Do excuse us, Colonel. I'll be in touch. Come, Larissa!"

"Warren, whatever's the matter?" demanded Larissa as she was pulled away.

Colonel Jennings watched them go, unsure of what to make of what had just happened.


It took almost three bottles of water before Alan's thirst was satisfied. "Oh…man," he remarked. "How did you find me?"

"I was informed by the race official that you were missing," said Jeff. "They found the wreck of your car and your friend Kenny."

Alan gasped as the memories of the crash suddenly returned. "Oh, God…Kenny, is he-"

"He's fine, Alan," said Scott. "The paramedics are looking after him. He's badly hurt, but he'll live so they've said."

Alan felt relieved but also very guilty. "Man, this is all my fault," he said.

"Why?" asked Jeff. "What happened?"

"I saw her again, Dad," said Alan.

"Sophie?"

"Yes, she was in the back of the car," said Alan. "I freaked out and that's the last I remember. Next thing I knew I was far out in the desert about a mile away from the track. I have no idea how I got there."

Jeff sighed. "Guess coming here didn't rid you of Sophie after all?"

Alan perked up. "Actually yes!" he said. "Right before you showed up. She confronted me about me leaving her. But I remembered what you, Dr Charles and Grandma had said in the past. I turned the tables and sent her away."

Scott and Jeff exchanged puzzled looks.

"How…did you do that?" asked Scott.

Alan grinned. "Easy," he said. "She was standing up and walking. I know the real one can't do that."

"So you think she's gone?" asked Jeff.

"Yep," said Alan as he took another swig of water. "Dr Charles said I'd have to face her sooner or later. And I won." He seemed very happy and confident at that, which Jeff and Scott both noted and were inclined to accept what he'd said as the truth.


The Grafton's limousine pulled up outside the hospital in Dubai. As they exited the vehicle, they saw the GDF Flyer where Courtney and Parr were being transferred to a truck ready for transportation to the nearest prison.

"HEY, THAT'S HIM!" Courtney shouted, pointing excitedly at Grafton. "HE'LL VOUCH FOR US!"

Lieutenant Fallowfield turned to Grafton. "Do you know these men, Mr Grafton?" she asked.

Grafton stared at the two men. "Never seen them before in my life," he replied bluntly.

Courtney's eyes went wide in shock.

"JUDAS!" shrieked Parr as the soldiers forced them away to the waiting vehicle.

Grafton and Larissa were led by Hicks up to the hospital ward and to the side room where they found Tristan lying covered in bandages that concealed the burn injuries he'd sustained in the fire.

Larissa let out a shriek and ran to try and comfort her son. "Oh, my GOD, MY BOY!" she whimpered as tears flooded out of her eyes. "My beautiful baby boy, what have they done to you!" She sobbed almost uncontrollably.

Grafton stayed outside the room as he and Hicks went to have a quiet private talk.

"What happened?" Grafton demanded.

"International Rescue showed up at the rig fire," Hicks said. "The boy tried to put it out himself and then got caught up in the flames. Those suits did nothing to protect him"

Grafton began cursing under his breath as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "Who called them?" he asked.

"I suspect it was Broskitt, sir," said Hicks. "But I'll try and find out. Sir, if I may say so, you should have gotten me to do the job."

"No. They'd have recognised you," said Grafton. He said no more as he walked into the side-room where Larissa and Tristan were.

"Your son's suffered significant burn injuries, Mr Grafton," said the Doctor who'd been looking after him. "He's lucky International Rescue was there, otherwise he would have died."

Grafton didn't answer.

"I'll give you both some time alone," said the Doctor and he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Larissa was still sobbing and holding Tristan's left bandaged up hand.

Tristan was awake. Slowly, he turned his head to the right and laid eyes on his father. He then slowly began to lift up his right hand which he held out towards him. "D…a…d…" he said weakly.

But Grafton didn't take his son's hands. Instead he shook his head with disapproval. "Can't you get anything right, boy?" he snarled. He then turned and stormed out, leaving a distraught Tristan to let his arm drop back down in shame.


Everyone had finally regrouped back on Tracy Island and news had been shared. It was safe to say that the mood was grim.

"So, let's sum this up then," said Jeff. "Grafton's son is in hospital with severe burns after trying to pretend to be us with two others. One of his oil rigs has been destroyed, landing another major blow to his operations, and he was seen at the demonstration in Unity City talking with the new head of the GDF who as it turns out also now has a grievance with us."

Kayo looked at her knees, full of guilt. "Sorry, Mr Tracy," she said. "That last one is on me."

"I'm not blaming you, Kayo," Jeff replied. "You didn't mean for any of that to happen."

"Maybe not, but if I had just kept my mouth shut and not volunteered to take Liberty on-" Kayo said.

"Liberty?" repeated Scott. "Is that what he's calling himself now?"

Kayo nodded. "He's literally become a real-life Captain America."

Gordon snorted. "Pathetic," he remarked. "Did he really think he had a chance of beating you, Kayo?"

"I actually wish he had," said Kayo. "At least it wouldn't have wrecked our relationship with the GDF."

"This Colonel Jennings sounds like trouble," said Scott. "Did she say that you and Rigby can't be friends anymore?"

"That's kind of what she was implying," Kayo said sadly.

Virgil was looking very uncomfortable at this. "This had better not jeopardise my relationship with Hayley," he said.

"She may be Hayley's new superior, Virgil," said Grandma. "But as for family relationships, she has no power over that. And Kayo, I'd suggest you keep your friendship with Rigby. Colonel Jennings will only dig herself a big hole if she tries to interfere."

"I'd rather not get my friends in high places involved in this," agreed Jeff. "But I will if it comes to it."

John, who was still aboard Thunderbird 5 thanks to there being no elevator still, decided to try and bring Alan into the conversation. "So, Alan? What's this I've heard about you facing your fear?"

"Ah, yeah!" said Alan. "I faced Sophie's spectre in the desert. I told her where to go and she went. I do believe I'm over it now."

"Just like that?" asked Kayo. "These things don't just vanish in an instant, Alan."

"Well, we'll take it as it comes," said Jeff. "Alan, you'll still need to be medically assessed before I can put you back on active duty, but you certainly seem a lot brighter than you have done recently. I guess we call it a big step in the right direction?"

"Hear! Hear!" agreed the others.

Alan grinned. Like Jeff had said, for the first time in a long time, he really did feel like things were about to get better for him.