THUNDERBIRD 2 was making its way across the North Atlantic towards the United Kingdom. Virgil, Hayley and Brains were talking. Hayley had been trying to get Brains to reveal what his plan of action was. But even now he was keeping tight-lipped about it.
"C'mon, Brains," said Virgil after rolling his eyes. "Whatever it is, we're gonna be doing it soon, so you might as well just tell us?"
"I d-don't want to speak too soon, Virgil," Brains replied. "It m-might not even work at all."
"It's something to do with the Rock Snakes reproducing is the aim of this mission, yes?" asked Hayley.
"Y-Yes," said Brains. "That's the p-primary goal of the mission."
"Primary?" repeated Virgil. "I didn't think there was more than one, Brains?"
"There's a m-much bigger goal than what we're doing, Virgil," said Brains. "But I ch-chose not to mention it to the World President."
"And that is?" Hayley asked.
"I would have th-thought that was obvious?" said Brains. "To f-find the missing member of our team?"
Gordon hadn't said a word since realising Hayley was joining them on the mission, but hearing Brains say those words caused him to feel a little warmer inside.
"Of course," said Virgil. "But…where would we start with Lady Penelope? England's small compared to other countries but its huge when you're looking for one person."
"I f-feel we'll be needing luck on that one," said Brains. "But I will remain hopeful. Like I hope my experiment will work."
Hayley looked at Gordon. She hadn't failed to notice how quiet he was. "You okay?" she asked him.
Gordon looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Fine."
Hayley looked at Virgil. He looked at her. They could tell that he wasn't being entirely truthful with them. And it was then that Virgil had an idea. "Say, Gordon. Weren't you going to double-check that Thunderbird 4 is okay for the mission?" he asked.
"Was I?"
"Yes, on the way here, you said that," said Virgil.
Gordon looked confused. "I…don't remember saying that."
"I do," said Brains. "It would be m-most helpful if you could, please, Gordon."
"Okay…" said Gordon as he got out of his seat to leave the cockpit. "I'll go do that."
They waited until the cockpit door was closed, then Hayley spoke. "He's…not good…is he?"
"No…he's not," Virgil replied sadly. "He shut himself in his room all through Christmas. He wouldn't talk to any of us. When he did, I've tried to get him to open up. But he won't."
"He's n-not fully focused, despite claiming that he is," added Brains. "We will n-need him to be for this mission."
Hayley stood up. "Let me talk to him," she said. "As his old confidant, he might do so to me."
Before Virgil or Brains could say another word, Hayley left to go down to the module.
"I g-guess it's worth a try?" Brains said.
"Guess so," Virgil replied. He glanced up into the sky. "I wonder how they're getting on on Mars?"
Jeff, Kayo and the brothers stood around a holographic table where Captain Taylor showed them a hologram image. "I had Iron Monger run several scans of the area before this detailed map was completed," he was saying. "Dr Travers, the kids and the remaining adults are down in this cavern, sealed off from the outside world. Two guards are always inside watching over them. Two more guard the entrance. They are located about five miles from the launch site. Each day some of the adults are taken out and forced to work on the launcher and the machines that serve it."
"What about the Rock Snakes?" asked Kayo. "How do they even manage to get them aboard?"
"That I'm afraid I don't have an answer for," Taylor answered. "I knew they were loading something but I never got a close enough look to see what it was. Now I do know."
"That launcher looks like it's almost ready to start launching cylinders again," said John.
"It is," said Taylor. "And I'd gladly send Iron Monger in and do it again. Or go in there myself."
"With respect, sir," Scott said, "you're in no fit state to go outside."
"I'd be inside Iron Monger," said Taylor.
The others looked at the strange robot-like figure that was standing nearby.
"Inside?" repeated Alan.
"Oh, yeah. He's not a robot, Alan," said Taylor. "He's an EXO suit that can be controlled remotely."
"Then why haven't you?" Jeff asked.
Taylor raised an eyebrow at him. "If you recall, Jeff, those critters kill some of our folk whenever I make an attack. Too many lives have been taken. I can't bear to be the cause of any more."
"Yes…of course," said Jeff.
"So what's the plan?" asked Scott.
Jeff looked at the hologram and thought hard. "Lee, how often do they try and take the complex?"
"At least once a day," said Taylor. "But now you're here, I reckon they'll make another attack pretty soon. Especially when that big mother of a ship of theirs passes overhead again."
"A mothership?" said John. "I can't say I noticed one."
"It would have been around the other side of the planet when you arrived," said Taylor. "If it hadn't you'd have known about it."
"It would have attacked us," said Jeff. He thought hard for a moment, then came to a decision. "Right, I have a plan of action," he said. "We have three objectives. One - to save the hostages in that cavern. Two - we need to prevent the Subterrains from launching any more of those cylinders at Earth."
"And three?" asked Kayo.
"We need to make sure they don't take this complex or destroy it," said Jeff. "If they succeed in the latter, those people won't have a home to come back to."
Scott looked around at them all. "Well, there's six of us," he said. "I'm guessing three teams?"
"You guessed right, son," said Jeff. "You and John go to the launch site and conceal yourselves from the view of the Subterrains. See if you can figure out a way to destroy it, but don't destroy it until Alan and Kayo have completed their part of the mission."
"Are we going to get the hostages?" asked Kayo.
Jeff nodded. "You will use her stealth as best you can to take out the guards," he said. "Alan, you'll need to reconfigure the Dragonfly into a Mole-Pod so you can tunnel down to the hostages and get them out."
"And you and Captain Taylor, Dad?" said John.
"We'll stay here and hold the fort," said Jeff.
"If those scumbag lizards try to come down to us, we'll have a little surprise in store for them," said Taylor.
"Are we good with this?" Jeff asked the others.
They nodded.
"They've caused too much suffering on Earth and on Mars," said Alan with determination. "I'm damned if I'm gonna let them hurt anyone else!"
Hayley found Gordon checking Thunderbird 4's starboard booster. "Hey."
Gordon was surprised to see her. "Oh, hello," he said awkwardly.
"She all good?"
"Er, yeah. I've only just started really."
"I see."
"Pardon me for asking, why are you here?"
"To talk."
"About what?"
"You."
"Me?" Gordon said. "What's to say?"
"To see how you really are," said Hayley.
"But I'm fine," said Gordon.
Hayley wasn't fooled. She stood firm between him and Thunderbird 4 and folded her arms.
As he looked at her face, it showed an expression that Gordon hadn't seen in a very long time. "Oh…"
"I've known you for a long time, Gordon Tracy," Hayley said firmly. "I know when you're not okay."
Gordon sank back against the rear of the module. "How much has he told you?"
"Who?"
"Virgil?"
"Nothing," said Hayley. "I may be engaged to Virgil, but don't forget that we weren't a thing some time ago. So come on. Let it out. All of it."
Gordon sniffled as the tears began to emerge from his eyes. "I knew from when we went to Mars that Penny developed a fear of the Rock Snakes. Then to know they were on Earth, I knew how terrified she would be. I worried so much about her. When we found her, I had her in my arms. And because one of them fired at us, I accidentally let go. And she fell…into the Thames! And I don't know if she survived that." He collapsed to the floor, sobbing his eyes out.
Hayley bent down and hugged him. "Shhhh. It's okay, Gordon. Let it out. Let it all out. You need to."
"What if she's dead because of me?" Gordon sobbed. "How do I explain that to her parents?"
"Don't!" Hayley said sharply. "Don't do this to yourself, Gordon. We don't know she's dead. From my experience, Lady Penelope is as strong and as capable as any of us. She might be a member of the aristocracy, but is she in any way a damsel-in-distress?"
"No…she's not," Gordon said. "But…"
"The Rock Snake caused you to let go," Hayley said. "You didn't intend to. It just happened. So do me a favour? Stop blaming yourself. Can you do that for me?"
Despite the empty void that he'd felt since dropping Penelope, Gordon felt Hayley's words sink into him deeply. "Okay," he said. Even though he'd been happy Virgil had stood up for him before leaving the island, seeing Hayley had made him feel down again, even though it was no fault of hers. As she got up to walk away, he began to feel extremely guilty and felt he needed to let it out. "Hayley?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. And I'm sorry."
"You've nothing to be sorry for," she said. "To get separated from the person you love can make-"
"I didn't mean that," Gordon said.
"Oh?"
"Because I pushed everyone away over Christmas, Grandma's been mad at me. Virgil stood up for me before we left. I felt a little better. But when you joined us, it made me miss Penny even more, and it made me sad. That's why I went really quiet. Just knowing that Virgil's got his girl with him and I haven't. Sorry."
But Hayley wasn't angry. She came back over and rubbed him on the top of the head. "Like I said, you have nothing to apologise for," she said kindly. "I totally understand. And we'll do everything we can to find her. Who knows…maybe the Luck Gods will smile on us today." She gave him a caring smile, then turned and walked away to head back to the cockpit.
Gordon smiled properly for the first time in ages. He actually felt a lot better as well. "Wow…" he said quietly to himself. "I think I needed that."
Due to the location of the launcher being quite some distance from Colony-1, the Tracy brothers and Kayo used Thunderbird 3 to get closer much quicker. However, they put it down in another secure valley so as to keep it as best hidden as possible from the Subterrains. They then split up into their respective teams. John and Scott made their way towards the launcher with their EXO-Suit and Jetpack respectively whilst Alan drove the reconfigured Pod now carrying tracks and a Mole drill-nose towards the location of the hostages. Kayo sat behind him as they went.
"Good luck, you two," Scott said as they parted ways.
"And you, bro," replied Alan.
"Remember what your father said, boys?" added Kayo. "No unnecessary risks."
"F-A-B," said John and Scott together.
"Same goes to you both," added John.
They headed off on their respective journeys. A huge mountain range separated the two sites. Scott and John went to head around the Eastern side where they would find the launcher off to the South-East. Alan and Kayo headed to go around the West side where the underground cavern was located. All the while, they kept their eyes on the scanners to make sure they didn't run into any Subterrain patrols that might be guarding the area.
Jeff and Taylor were alone inside the colony control. Taylor had sent Iron Monger off to make some repairs to parts of the base. Jeff walked about, checking the controls whilst Taylor sat back in the command chair. Jeff took note of how his friend was. His breathing sounded very off. He frequently had to pick up an oxygen mask and get fresh air from it. He coughed a lot as well and would curse whenever he stopped.
"You haven't got long left…have you?" Jeff said to him.
Taylor let out a long, low sigh. "I sound like hell, don't I?" he said. "Hopefully I'll live long enough to see this through to the end."
"Hey, don't talk like that!" said Jeff sharply. "We can find a way. That serum worked on you before and I'm sure that-"
"Jeff…" Taylor cut him off. "I'm too far gone for that to make any-" He had to stop as he had a massive coughing fit and Jeff had to grab him some water. "Ugh, son of a…" He stopped himself. "You see?"
Jeff could feel his heart sinking like a ship that had been torpedoed. His best friend was dying right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He walked away for a moment as a huge bout of guilt suddenly began to flood through his veins. In all the time he'd been back since being rescued from the Oort Cloud, this was only the third time he'd seen Taylor, and that really didn't sit well with him.
Alan and Kayo reached their location first. They reached a ledge and Alan brought the Pod to a stop. Together they got out and turned their suits to stealth-black-mode, crawled over to the edge and peered over. Down below they could see a small cave entrance that was being guarded by two Subterrains in their suits.
"Do I need to cause a distraction so you can sneak inside?" Alan asked.
"No, they need to be taken out so that they can't warn anyone else," replied Kayo. "If the ones inside get even a hint that something is wrong, they could kill everyone inside."
"Yeah…I don't want that on my conscience," agreed Alan.
"I'll get in behind them," Kayo said. "Then when I give you the word, flash your lights. It should distract them for a split second which is all I'll need to knock them out."
"Okay, but be careful," said Alan. "The ones inside the complex were able to see you."
"Those two have different helmets," Kayo observed. "They don't look as high-tech. I'll bet they don't even have the stealth tech the ones we took on had. I'm gonna move now. Get ready."
"F-A-B."
Alan returned to the Pod whilst Kayo made her away along the mountain ledge towards a spot above the cave entrance. Then she carefully climbed down until she was just above the cave. She almost slipped once but luckily no rocks fell to alert the guards. Then she turned herself with her front facing away from the rocks and got herself ready to attack. "Okay, Alan. Now."
Alan flicked a switch which turned the Pod's lights on for just a second. It was a case of blink and it would have been missed, but it did catch the attention of one of the guards. He walked forwards, spoke in their language and pointed in the direction of the light. As they both took a step forwards, Kayo jumped down and landed right behind them. Before they even had a chance to realise she was there, she grabbed hold of the back of their heads and slammed them hard into each other. They both cried out as the impact knocked both of them unconscious and they slumped down onto the ground.
"Clear," Kayo said. "Come down and hide them whilst I go inside. Then be ready to burrow."
"F-A-B," Alan answered.
Kayo carefully made her way down through the tunnel, turning on her suit's ultra-stealth mode once the nanites had been activated. "Kayo to Scott. The outside guards are down and Alan's getting into position. I'm inside the tunnel and making my way to the cavern."
"Copy that, Kayo," Scott answered. "We're almost in position, too."
"Not almost," said John. "We're here."
Scott looked up after walking around from behind a rock. "Woah…" he said in awe as his eyes fell upon the giant launching pad where a cylinder stood, ready to be launched at the Earth.
The coastline of the southern United Kingdom came into view. Virgil kept Thunderbird 2 low as they headed up past Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and then along Sussex before coming to the country's only desert - the shingle of Dungeness in Kent.
"Where abouts do you want to go, Brains?" asked Virgil.
"T-Thermal scans from Thunderbird 5 are showing me where the Rock Snakes are located," said Brains. "And I am p-picking one up on the piece of land ahead of us. It appears to be alone as well which is p-perfect."
"Okay," said Virgil. "Hang tight. We're going overland."
Thunderbird 2 climbed a little to pass over Dungeness where they saw the unusual sight of two Lighthouses, a small railway and a massive building in an otherwise barren landscape.
"What building is that?" Gordon asked. "It looks kind of dangerous."
"That's the old nuclear power-station," Hayley said. "It was decommissioned years ago and the reactors have been removed. There's no danger from that."
"That's a relief," said Virgil. "The last thing we need is a Rock Snake to attack one of those."
They headed across the large open landscape until they approached the nature reserve area of Romney Sands. A large caravan park was off to their right. Like everything else in the area, it was abandoned and empty. Some strange concrete structures were amongst the bushes and trees. These were the old sound mirrors developed in the last century as a means of trying to detect enemy aircraft.
"Where's the snake?" asked Gordon.
"It should be just behind those b-bushes," said Brains.
Virgil cautiously moved Thunderbird 2 over the area. Everyone kept their eyes peeled. Although trying to locate a rock-creature in amongst a landscape that didn't look too dissimilar to it clearly wasn't as easy as they originally had thought.
"Wait, is that it there?" Hayley asked, noticing an unusual coil nestled amongst some bushes.
The others looked. To the others, the shape looked very familiar. "Y-Yes…that's it," said Brains. "Hold our position here, V-Virgil."
Virgil brought Thunderbird 2 into a hover a good distance and height from the sleeping Rock Snake. The rumble of Thunderbird 2's engines didn't seem to be disturbing it. "Okay, Brains…now what?"
"Deploy the d-drop-down turret," said Brains. "Then b-blow it up."
The other three exchanged puzzled looks. "I thought you wanted to study it?" asked Hayley.
"In order for m-my experiment to work, it needs to be broken up f-first, Hayley," Brains said. "When you are r-ready, Virgil?"
"F-A-B…I guess," said Virgil, sounding rather unsure. He flicked a switch and the turret was lowered out of the bottom of Thunderbird 2's front. He used the targeting computer to lock onto the snake and then fired. There came a big explosion as the unsuspecting snake was blown into several pieces which scattered around in all directions. Same landed in the lakes whilst others disappeared into the nearby brush and surroundings.
"P-Perfect, Virgil," said Brains. "And n-now we wait."
"Wait?" repeated Gordon. "Wait for what?"
"If our th-theory is right," said Brains. "You'll soon find out."
"Our theory?" asked Virgil.
Brains nodded. "Well, strictly-speaking it was actually J-Juan's theory. I am s-starting to think with that cybernetic body of his, he's a lot smarter than I am."
Hayley's mouth fell open. "What, stop, back-up! Juan's a cyborg?!"
"Partially, yes," said Virgil. "We performed an MRI scan on him a while back. Several of his internal organs and skeleton have become metallic and cybernetic."
"That explains how he m-managed to survive the Sidewinder explosion," said Brains. "And why he's so technologically advanced now."
Hayley wasn't normally lost for words but on this occasion, she couldn't find anything to say.
Gordon then spoke up. "Hang on, guys, something's happening out there."
The others turned to look. Gordon was right. There were like small steams of glowing orange lava speaking out from the broken pieces of rock. Then they started to solidify into another piece of rock. The lava then continued on before solidifying into another piece. And there wasn't one either. There were at least half a dozen of them that they could see, if not more. With the more pieces that were made, the more what they were becoming was starting to become obvious.
"Oh, God…" gasped Hayley. "They're literally reforming from the pieces that are left behind!"
"C-Cut off one head…two more shall t-take its place…" said Brains.
"What was that, Brains?" asked Virgil.
"Oh…I believe that's from a m-movie," Brains said.
They all watched with a mixture of fascination and apprehension as at least ten new Rock Snakes began to rise from the ground, the final piece to form being their large heads with round open mouths. They stood upright and motionless for a few seconds before the lids that covered their sinister red eyes began to slowly open. Then one by one they began to turn their heads to look right up at Thunderbird 2.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Virgil said and increased power to Thunderbird 2's engines. The green craft rose quickly away from the ground just as the Rock Snakes began to open fire. Huge balls of flame shot upwards into their air like anti-aircraft fire but Virgil wasn't going to let them damage his ship again. He applied full power to the aft thrusters and turned Thunderbird 2 sharply around to starboard to head back out over the English Channel once again. None of the fireballs struck home but they all came back down to Earth, some setting fire to the nature reserve and others landed in the caravan park causing some to go up in flames.
"Woo, that was too close," said Gordon. "Quick moving, Virgil."
"They damaged my ship before, and I'm damned if I'm gonna let them do it again!" said Virgil.
"Well, Brains," said Hayley. "Does that prove yours and Juan's theory?"
"The f-first part, yes," replied Brains. "The Rock Snakes can reproduce from the pieces of their bodies if broken. However, there's one more thing I w-want to check out. Virgil, can you take us to where the rivers Thames and M-Medway meet?"
"Sure, Brains," said Virgil. "But what are you hoping to find there?"
"There was a b-battle there between the British N-Navy and some of the snakes," said Brains. "But from the reports I've read, n-not as many snakes reproduced as should have b-been. I would l-like to check the remains of the ones destroyed by the warship that are in the water."
"So that's why you need Thunderbird 4 on this mission!" Brains said. "I was starting to wonder what she had to do with it."
Virgil changed Thunderbird 2's course and headed north. He decided to stay out over the sea. The Rock Snakes seemed to have a connection with each other and tended to all become awake if one of their own was destroyed. He didn't wish to have any more encounters with live ones.
"What happens if we encounter any more?" Gordon asked Brains.
"We avoid c-conflict from now on," Brains replied. "Our little experiment removed one but now several have taken its place so-"
"WAIT!"
Everyone jumped at Virgil's sudden outburst. They looked at him. A look of shock and paleness had come across his face.
"Virgil?" Hayley asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"
Virgil slowly turned his head to look at them. He looked rather freaked out and haunted. "The first cylinder. I destroyed it…and then Lady Penelope's village gets destroyed by a group that came out of nowhere. That was us! We caused this to happen!"
