DAWN was breaking over the South Pacific Ocean, the rising Sun catching on the mountain peaks of Tracy Island. Most of the International Rescue team was still asleep. Scott had risen early. He wanted to have a workout in the gymnasium. He hoped that by being up so early he could have it to himself. He reached the door that led inside and cautiously pushed it open. He didn't know why he was doing that, nobody else was about. And yet he couldn't shake an uneasy feeling that he wasn't.

The gym was empty. All the training equipment was sitting in its rightful place, waiting to be used. Hmm, Scott thought to himself. What should I start with? The rowing machine? Or maybe the-
"HAAAA!" Something dropped down from above and grabbed him from behind.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGH?!"


5!

4!

3!

2!

1!

"Thunderbirds Are Go!"


"ABOMINABLE"

SCOTT felt himself being held against the floor. He cursed and banged his fist on it. "Not again!"

Kayo laughed as she stood up and released him. "Are you ever not going to fall for that, Scott?" she asked as she helped him to his feet. Scott grumbled to himself. "What's up?" teased Kayo as she watched him go over to the weight lifter. "Are we Mr Sulky Pants this morning?"

"I just…thought I'd be the only one up," Scott mumbled as he laid out on his back and started lifting the weights above him. He heaved and grunted. The weights seemed fairly normal for him. At least at first they did. But then he began to struggle as the bar seemed to get heavier. He liked to do it with his eyes closed, and soon he was sweating heavily and straining hard. "Why…is…this…so…HARD?!"

Laughter could then be heard. A lot of it. Scott opened his eyes and blinked in surprise at the sight of Kayo right above him and sitting on the bar with her legs off the floor. But it wasn't Kayo who was laughing despite her having a big grin on her face. The laughter was coming from the door. Scott looked over and saw Virgil and Gordon doubled over with laughter at the sight of him.

"Feeling the pressure this morning, Scott?" Virgil joked.

The combined weight of Kayo and the bar became too much for Scott to handle. With a roar of frustration he allowed it to drop back on its holder and began breathing heavily.

Kayo chortled as she stepped off. "We can work on this," she said as she peered down at him.

Scott looked up into her golden yellow eyes. He found himself looking at them in a way he'd never felt before. He found himself mesmerised by them and unable to speak or move. And then she touched the tip of his nose with the tip of her finger.

"Boop," Kayo said and then walked off. "Have a good sweat, boys," she said to them all as she left.

Virgil and Gordon continued to chuckle as they went to start their work out. Virgil went onto a treadmill whilst Gordon went on the rowing machine near to where Scott was.

It had been well over two weeks since the New Year had come in and since the war between Earth, Mars and Planet-46 had come to an end. Scott and Gordon had made peace with each other following the latter's behaviour. Gordon had apologised to both Scott and Alan, but only Scott had accepted it. Scott had come quickly to the realisation that conflict between them wouldn't be any good.

Gordon looked over at his eldest brother who remained on his back, still trying to regain his breath. "Scayo strikes again," he teased.

Scott glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"If you know, you know," Gordon replied mischievously.

Virgil then piped in. "They're not an item, Gordon," he said. "Kayo's our sister. Nothing more."

"Not biologically she isn't," Gordon said.

"That's besides the point," said Virgil. "Right, Scott?"

But Scott didn't answer. He clearly had a fair bit on his mind right now.


After getting dressed, Scott went to go down to the kitchen to have breakfast. But he stopped halfway down the stairs when he saw Kayo sitting at the table. She had her back to him and therefore she didn't notice him. She was too busy talking to Grandma who was making a cooked breakfast.

Virgil then came up behind him. "Frozen in time, Scott?" he asked.

Scott jumped, then ushered Virgil back up the stairs. "Virgil, I need to talk to you."

Virgil frowned. "What's up, bro?" he asked.

"What's going on with everyone?" Scott asked in a low voice. "Why do some people think Kayo and I are a couple?"

"Nobody thinks that."

"Don't pretend that, Virgil! That's the second time Gordon's called us Scayo and Hayley said right to my face that there was something going on between us!"

"Is there?"

"What?"

"Is there something?" Virgil asked.

"No! Of course not!" fumed Scott.

"Then you've nothing to worry about then, have you?" Virgil said. "Now if you'll excuse me. I want my bacon." He walked past, leaving Scott alone with his thoughts.


The Tracy Family Jet made its way across the open green fields of Southern England. Jeff and Gordon were on board, having been invited to Creighton Manor. Since the Rock Snakes had been defeated by the snow and all were discovered to have perished, people were allowed to gradually return to the UK - but only those who lived there.

Jeff had wanted to see London before going on to Creighton Manor, and the sight of the once great city now in ruins sickened him. Gordon had already seen the devastation from when he, Virgil, Hayley and Brains had come to look for Penelope. But now that the snow had melted and the visibility was much improved, he could see everything a lot more clearly than he had before.

"Good…God…" Jeff said to his son. "These are the sights you see in the movies. It's not something one thinks will ever come true."

"I know, right?" said Gordon. "I sure hope we never see anything like this again."

"You and me both, son," agreed Jeff. "I just hope we can do our share in helping the people of this country rebuild what they've lost."

"How long would it take, do you reckon?" asked Gordon.

Jeff shrugged. "Not quickly," he said. "Minimum of ten years, I'd say. But that's just the buildings we are talking about. The lives of the people here, for some the pain may never go away."

Gordon said nothing. He began to think long and hard. He'd thought he'd lost a lot when he'd dropped Penelope by accident when attacked by a Rock Snake and she'd fallen in the river. He'd spent days shut away in his room, refusing to let anyone talk to him. And now he'd managed to get her back, he had felt lucky. But it was only now that he realised just how much some people were less fortunate than the Creighton-Wards and started to feel rather ashamed of how selfish he'd been.


The Creighton-Ward Mansion was one of the few buildings to have been lucky not to get attacked or damaged in any way by the Rock Snakes. Lord Patrick and Lady Patricia were allowed to return and reunite with Penelope and later Colonel Jennings had returned Parker to them once the medical staff at GDF Headquarters were satisfied he could leave.

Penelope and her parents came out of the mansion to wait as they watched the Tracy Jet come in to land vertically on the lawn. The greetings were warm and of relief for the patriarchs of both families.

"I'm sorry we couldn't have done more for this country, Pat," Jeff apologised.

"It's okay, Jeff," replied Patrick. "I highly doubt anyone could have done anything more than what was done."

"Those creatures were terrifying," agreed Patricia. "I really thought we were going to die on that boat we were on."

"And to think I threatened the captain of that vessel to go back and pick up Penelope," added Patrick. "I would do anything to get my daughter aboard, but…it would have doomed us all. We'd have been sitting ducks for those snakes. They'd have blown us all to hell."

"A natural reaction for any father," agreed Jeff.

"Shall we go inside?" asked Penelope. "I'll get Fiona to make us some tea."

"Fiona?" repeated Gordon. "Who's that?"

"A new chief maid for us," said Penelope. "She's taking on Parker's role from now on."

"Wait, you mean Parker's-"

"He'll still be with us," Penelope cut in. "Fiona is excellent at what she does but…she doesn't have a driver's licence."

"Even if she did, we wouldn't give her FAB1," added Patrick. "Only Parker can have that."

"FAB1 is no ordinary car," agreed Jeff. "Only those who know about our connection can be trusted with it."

They reached the front steps of the house and a woman in her mid-forties appeared. She was about five feet tall with glasses, orange hair and a warm smile. She wore a black and white uniform too - a modern one at that.

"Jeff, Gordon, this is Fiona Chapman," said Patrick.

"Ms Chapman," said Jeff, shaking the woman's hand.

Fiona seemed almost star struck by him. "Mr Tracy," she said. "It's an honor to meet you."

Gordon was taken by surprise. "She's American?" he whispered to Penelope.

"So are you," she whispered back with a wink.

They headed up the steps to the main entrance when they heard a sudden CRASH from inside. It sounded like someone falling down the stairs. They ran inside and found a rather winded-looking Parker, head still in bandages in a crumpled heap on the floor. "Oooh, me blinkin' back!"

Fiona suddenly turned angry. "Mr PARKER! FOR THE LAST TIME, GET BACK TO YOUR ROOM!" She turned to the others. "My apologies, your Lordship, but-"

"It's fine Ms Chapman," said Patrick. "We can wait." He then gave Parker a stern look as they helped him to his feet. "Parker…this is getting beyond a joke. You've been ordered to rest."

"Please, m'lord…I've been h'in bed for weeks!" Parker moaned. "I 'ave to get back to serving you h'all."

"Not in the condition you're in," said Patrick sternly. "You'll rest until the doctors say you are fully recovered. Until then, you do nothing. Am I clear?"

"Yus…m'lord," sighed Parker gloomily. He then noticed Gordon and Jeff. "Mr Tracy. Gordon."

"Hey, Parker," said Jeff. he walked up and shook Parker's hand. "Glad to see you're alive. Now, can I please ask that you do what they tell you. We need you back and the more you try to force yourself when you are not right, the longer it will take."

"Very well, Mr Tracy, sir," said Parker as he allowed Fiona to help him back up the stairs.

"Does this happen often?" Gordon asked Patricia and Penelope as they headed into the Drawing Room.

"It's happened at least twice a day for the past week," said Penelope.

"I do feel for him," said Patricia. "All he wants to do is protect us. Especially Penelope."

"He feels he failed when the Rock Snakes attacked," said Patrick as he and Jeff joined them. "He wants to make amends."

"I've no doubt he'll get his chance when he recovers," said Jeff.

"You seemed to be better at making him see sense than the rest of us have, Jeff," observed Patricia. "Perhaps you should visit more often?"

"I'd like to," said Jeff. "But, I feel we have more pressing matters to attend to. We passed over London on our way here."

"Terrible, isn't it?" said Patrick. "We only saw a few of those monstrosities down in Kent and they were alarming enough. We feared the worst for Penelope when we heard the explosion."

"Explosion?" said Gordon. "Oh, wait. Was that the warship that tried to defend you?"

"The Verulam, yes," said Patrick. "It succeeded with the ones we saw. We were long gone when we heard the explosion that sent it down to a watery grave. Those poor souls. Never stood a chance."

"Whatever my companies can do to help with the rebuilding of this country, we shall do our best," said Jeff.

"Actually, Jeff, London and the other cities will be okay," said Patrick. "People who have a lot of money and resources are already putting together what they need to start rebuilding. That's not why we called you here."

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Go on?"

"It's the smaller towns and villages that got wiped out in the attack that will get overlooked and forgotten about," said Patrick. "Including ours."

"Oh, yeah," said Gordon. "Your village got wiped out in one attack, didn't it?"

Penelope shuddered. In her mind the image of the Rock Snake using its fiery heat beam to destroy the village of Creighton in one had haunted her sleep almost every night since.

"Ah, of course," said Jeff. "Yes, we cannot allow that to happen. What would you like from me, Pat?"

"Funding and resources for a start if that's possible?" said Patrick. "But Penelope and I had come up with an idea to assist with raising the funds."


The snow may have melted in England, but there was no shortage of it in certain parts of the world. The Himalayas being one of them. In the vast bleakness of its many mountains, a team of four people were the only living souls for several miles - although for the purpose of their mission, they hoped that they weren't.

This was the Mardon Scientific Team which consisted of three men and one woman - each were easily identifiable by their different coloured suits. Tanya Van Holden was the leader of the group. She wore a bright pink snowsuit. On her team was Dave Boyd, dressed in red, Simon Hunter in green and Mike Grinter in yellow. They had been in the Himalayas for a good few days now as they were determined to do what so many explorers before them had tried and failed to do. To find evidence that proved the existence of the The Abominable Snowman, also known as a Yeti.

After more than a few days of searching endless mountains covered in snow without finding anything, it was safe to say that Tanya was starting to have doubts about their mission. "Dave - do you really think we'll find proof of a yeti?" she asked.

"Don't worry, Tanya," Dave replied confidently. "We'll succeed where everyone else has failed."

Tanya admired Dave's optimism, but secretly she had her doubts.

Simon had walked on ahead of the group, up a ridge on the side of a mountain. On the right was a crevice which had an ice bridge crossing over onto the next one. Simon had been about to walk past when something in the snow caught his attention. It was a set of footprints. Not prints made by a set of boots, but these had toe marks in them. He followed the trail with his eyes and saw that they were going across the ice bridge. He then turned back towards the others and waved eagerly at them to join him. "GUYS! OVER HERE! I THINK I'VE FOUND SOMETHING!"

Mike was leading Dave whilst Tanya had brought up the rear of the group. Mike saw Simon waving and turned to the others. "Hey, guys, I think Simon's found something," he said and hurried eagerly over. Dave and Tanya also followed quickly, intrigued to find out what it was that Simon had found.

"What have you got, Simon?" asked Tanya once they'd arrived.

"Look!" said Simon, pointing to the tracks.

The other three gazed in wonder.

"Incredible!" said Dave. He pulled out a measuring stick to take note of the size of one of the footprints.

"They go that way!" added Mike, pointing across the ice bridge. He then began to walk out across it. Simon immediately began to follow him.

Tanya on the other hand was a little concerned. "Guys, this bridge isn't very wide," she said. "I don't think we should be going across."

Mike and Simon were too busy concentrating on following the tracks and so didn't answer her.

"The tracks definitely lead this way!" Mike called to the others.

Tanya reluctantly followed Simon with Dave bringing up the rear having taken his measurements.

As they headed across, Tanya became more and more uneasy at the sound of an ominous creaking that was coming from under their feet. "Guys, I really don't think we should be doing this!" she called out.

"Quit worrying, Tan!" said Simon. He stamped his foot on the snow. "You see? Solid as a rock!"

But before Tanya could reply, the creaking sound started to get louder. Tanya had been the only one to notice it before, but now the others could hear it too. They looked down at the snow. Then Simon used his heavy boot to brush the snow away to reveal the ice underneath. It was full of cracks, and these cracks were growing at an alarming rate.

"Uh-oh…" Simon said.

"QUICK!" cried Tanya. "EVERYONE GET BACK BEFORE IT'S-"

Her warning came too little too late. Before she'd even finished her shout, the ice bridge disintegrated beneath their feet.

"OH, NO!" cried Tanya.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" yelled Simon.

"YIKES!" shrieked Dave.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGH!" shouted Dave as they all plummeted down into the crevice below.