yarol2075 asked:

For Whumptember 2024, would it be possible to have Captain Black and the Hood (TOS, or not your choice) in something for 3. "You're my last chance."/Enemies teaming up/Returning home? Please? Thank you!

With much thanks to Sineater for her suggestions and to both her and MariaShadow for the discussions.


He hadn't intended this to happen at all. And he wasn't sure how he felt about this…was it a trap by the Mysterons? By the Hood? A mere coincidence?

Conrad Turner shook his head and sighed heavily as he took in the temple that had appeared as if out of nowhere as he'd been trekking through the jungles of Malaysia.

The compulsion to investigate this area had come upon Conrad several days ago, and he knew where that had come from. The "voice" of the Mysterons was always loud, a command that he could not fail to obey. And Captain Black knew from experience that it wasn't worth even trying to fight it.

These days he didn't always know where Conrad Turner ended and Captain Black began, and in the moments when the Mysterons left him alone he'd dwelt more on what he'd lost and how he could possibly regain himself without them knowing. It wasn't easy, but the years he'd been under their control, alongside his previous training, had taught him how to box off a part of himself that they couldn't access.

The temple loomed large in front of him. Conrad's first thought was that the Mysterons wanted to enslave the power that the Hood reputedly had. Yeah, he knew the man by reputation only.

Agent 79 had been of interest to Spectrum before the man turned his attention to stealing Thunderbirds tech. The man was known to have a talent for acquiring…things for the highest bidder, but it wasn't until those ridiculously high-tech machines began rescuing people that the man's hidden talent had come to the fore.

Telepathy. Mind control, even if it was brief, was the stuff of science fiction. But then the Mysterons had happened and the stuff of science fiction was now science fact and the Hood's powers were being taken more seriously.

Spectrum had paid close attention to the time the Hood had seemed to control the two eldest sons of Jeff Tracy when they had disappeared for a week. The world at large may not know about that event, but very little escaped Spectrum's knowledge.

A disturbance in the trees had Conrad crouching in the shadows but it was just a flock of birds that had taken flight. He blew out a breath and grinned to himself. Man, he was getting jumpy. He still hadn't made his mind up exactly why he was here but…but Conrad was nothing but decisive, and with a deep breath he pushed on, carefully crossing the cleared jungle to the door which was bizarrely ajar.

The inside of the temple was dark – a stark contrast to the brightness of outside. Conrad paused until his eyes got used to the gloom before slowly inching forward, gun at the ready. He'd worked his way around the parameter and was about to enter the central room when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

There was the heavy scent of incense – a smoky note overlaid in cinnamon and some kind of greenery but the overwhelming not was sandalwood. The light here was slightly brighter, flickering like it came from candlelight or some kind of fire – the warmth inside was increasing too.

'Welcome, Captain Black. Enter.'

The voice boomed out of nowhere and was accompanied with a gong sounding. It was a little unnerving, but Conrad entered just as carefully as he had been exploring the outer rooms of the temple.

'I have been waiting for you, Captain.'

'Have you. What do you want?'

'You. I want you.'

Conrad's heart froze and unintentionally he stopped moving.

'Come, Captain. Come into the light. I have been waiting.'

'Waiting? Waiting for what.'

'For you to come visit me.'

'Why – why did you think I would come?'

'Because you want to be free. And only I can set you free.'

The words made Conrad's legs turn to jelly. Ever since he had managed to partition a part of his mind off from the Mysterons Conrad had been carefully searching for the Hood. Hoping against hope that the man's mind control powers could be used to strip the aliens from controlling him.

His enquiries had had to be discreet – the man was a globally wanted criminal and so was he – and recently he'd been about to give up. There had been no indication that the Hood was even aware of him searching, and yet now the Hood was not only inviting him in, he was ready for him.

'How did you know?' he whispered, not entirely sure he wanted to know the answer.

'Who did you think called you here?'

Without consciously thinking about it Conrad lowered his gun and stepped into the light.

Several braziers were aflame, and their flickering light cast the man before him in crazy shadows. They did nothing to dispel the man's visage.

The man was bald and had thick bushy eyebrows. He was dressed in some kind of gold outfit with huge epaulets the outfit was decorated with rich blue and red threads, pearls and amber, ruby and sapphire gems. Everything refracted the light so that the centre of the temple looked like the patterns from one of those old kaleidoscope toys.

Conrad looked around him as the Hood gestured to what looked remarkably like a throne, although not as…glamourous as the throne that the Hood sat himself at.

'You want to be free of the mind controlling you. I can make that happen.'

An overwhelming feeling of relief whelmed up and for a moment Conrad couldn't speak. He could be free. Actually free.

'You are my last chance.'

He hadn't meant to say that out loud, but it felt good to voice it. Maybe – maybe if the Hood actually could remove them he could actually go home. Home. Conrad drew in a shuddering breath.

'Please sit. I will help you.'

'And what do you want in return?'

'What makes you think I want anything from you?'

'Please. I have researched every scrap of information the world has on you. You do nothing without some kind of financial gain.'

'Touché.'

'So I ask you again…what do you want?'

'I want what you have.'

'What I have? What could I possibly have that could benefit you…'

Conrad paused. Like a bolt of light he suddenly realised what the Hood was after.

'You don't know what you're getting yourself involved in.'

'Oh, I think I can handle them.'

'No – no you can't and I'm not prepared to let you…'

But before he could say anything further there was a crushing pain in his head and a new voice overlaid with the multitude of the Mysterons.

"SIT DOWN"

He sat.

"YOU WILL DO AS THIS HUMAN SAYS"

'I will.'

And the Hood's eyes glowed.

The last thought through Conrad Turner's head was that the Mysterons had used him to find the Hood. They had known all along he had been searching, that his thoughts had never been shielded from them.

They had wanted him to find the Hood, and now the world's two worse enemies were about to team up…the howl of despair had the Hood grinning.

...

The hospital in Manchester, England was quiet, as befit a mental health facility. Susan Deane moved through the corridor on silent shoes and knocked quietly on room 281. There was no answer, not that she was expecting one.

She opened the door and entered, putting the tray down on the table beside the patient. The man didn't stir, as he hadn't since he'd arrived. No word spoken at all for several weeks. No recognition of anything. He would eat and drink and wash and dress only when told to do so, otherwise the man never moved from the chair on the bed. He was never angry or sad or happy or anything. He just sat there, staring out the window.

They didn't even know his name.