Two years later
February 18th, 2060 - 21:54 AEDT
The wind howls like a banshee, a desperate, mournful cry that rips through the basket of the hot air balloon. Rain lashes against the canvas, turning the once vibrant orange fabric into a muddy, sodden mess. Inside, the wicker frame rattles and groans, the rhythmic thumping of the storm a morbid counterpoint to the steady, rhythmic thudding of the father's heart. He grips the wicker with one hand tightly, a radio in the other, knuckles white, his gaze fixed on the churning grey sky above.
"Mayday! Mayday! We're out of control and gaining altitude," the father says.
His son sits huddled beside him, a small, shivering form with a bright yellow baseball cap. His face, normally freckled and bright, is pale and drawn, his eyes wide with fear.
"Dad, I'm scared," says the boy, "Stay low and hang onto me," replies the father, glancing at his son, his heart clenching at the vulnerability etched on his young face. He wants so desperately to reassure him, to tell him that everything will be alright. But he can't. Not with the wind tearing at the balloon, threatening to rip it apart like a fragile paper lantern.
The storm had hit them suddenly, a terrifyingly rapid shift in the weather that had transformed a placid, sunny day into a raging tempest in the blink of an eye. They had been enjoying a leisurely ascent, the world spreading out beneath them like a patchwork quilt of green fields and sparkling rivers. The sun had been warm on their faces, the breeze a gentle caress. Then, the wind had picked up, swirling violently, and the sky had turned menacingly grey.
The father, a seasoned hot air balloonist, had tried to steer the balloon away from the storm, but the wind was too strong, too determined to push them into its swirling embrace. He had tried to pull the burner cord, to generate heat and give them some lift, but the wind pushed them downwards, towards the angry, churning sea of clouds below.
Now, they were caught within the storm's relentless grip, the balloon tossed about like a leaf in a hurricane. The father knew they were in a precarious situation. The balloon was old, its fabric thin and worn, and the wind was testing its limits. Each gust threatened to rip it apart, to send them plummeting towards the unforgiving ground.
Suddenly, there was a large gust of wind and the boy's hat is blown away and the basket flips causing the father to almost fall out.
"DAD!" cries the boy and helps his father back into the basket.
"We're at 10,000 feet and climbing!" exclaims the father after grabbing the radio, "Can anyone hear me?!"
He looks at his son, his heart heavy with the weight of his fear. He knows that this storm is not just a tempest in the sky, but a reflection of the storm raging inside him. He had promised an adventure, a chance to see the world from a different perspective. He had promised him a day of wonder and joy. And now, he is failing him.
He tried to smile, a shaky, pathetic attempt at reassurance, but the fear in his eyes betrays his effort which becomes even more evident when the hear the sound of engines getting closer and close. "What is that?" the father stutters and at that moment a huge green goliath comes out of the storm clouds.
"International Rescue!" the boy gasps.
Virgil rises up on a platform from the centre of the cockpit onto the exterior of Thunderbird 2's nose. His hands are on his hips in a steady stance as he observes at the father and son.
"Looks like you could use a little help," Virgil says and holds out his hands.
"Look after him!" the father cries and passes the boy to Virgil.
"I've got him," Virgil informs and sets the boy down beside him and reaches for the father, " Take my hand."
"I... I c-can't reach!" the father strains before another gust of wind tips the basket over and the father screams in fear as he begins plummeting to the ground. The boy tries to rip himself from Virgil's grip in alarm.
"DAD!" the boy yells.
"Shi—Thunderbird 5, I need you now!" Virgil shouts.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are go!
The velvet blackness of space stretches out in all directions, punctuated only by the twinkling of distant stars. A tense silence hangs in the air, broken only by the occasional crackle of radio static. High above the Earth, hidden from the naked eye, floats an object of mystery and wonder: Thunderbird 5.
From the outside, Thunderbird 5 appears as a sleek and imposing cylindrical structure, its surface shimmering with iridescent colors as it catches the light of the nearby stars. However, inside it is a bustling hive of activity, as the lone crew member works tirelessly to monitor the planet below.
At the helm of the space station John Tracy is the picture of focus and determination as he scans the various screens and monitors before him. His piercing blue eyes remain calm and collected as he assesses the developing emergency situation that has just come through.
"Tracking his descent," John states, "Co-ordinates locked in."
Meanwhile, Virgil has helped the boy into one of the passenger seats and had headed back into the pilots seat to prepare for an emergency decent to catch up to the falling father.
"Please, you have to save him," the boy sobs.
"No-one is losing their dad today," Virgil replies, "John? What's out time window?"
"At terminal velocity? Less than 50 seconds," John deadpans.
"Understood," Virgil acknowledges and he sends Thunderbird 2 into a decent. He quickly passes the father and brings Thunderbird 2 level, cutting the engines leaving his craft in a free fall. Virgil then charges to the back of the cockpit and hooks himself up to an cable. Once secured, he opens the hatch and goes flying out through it.
After a few seconds, he draws level with the father and manages to grab ahold of him. A hologram of Thunderbird 2 then appears on his wrist communicator and this allows him to remotely active the vertical boosters of Thunderbird 2 remotely. This brings his green transporter to a stop just before it hits the ground. Virgil and the father crashes back inside the cockpit and Virgil stands up while the boy rushes to his father.
"DAD!" the boy cries.
"I'm okay," the father pants.
Virgil smiles at the sight before reporting back to John. "This is Thunderbird 2, mission complete."
Thunderbird 2 flies off towards Sydney to drop off the pair.
"Good Job Virgil," John compliments as he watches his holographic instruments before turning his attention to another area of his map, "Thunderbird 3, what's your status Alan?"
"I'm tracking the target now," Alan informs, "All systems go for satellite capture and stabilization. Deploying grasping arms." Thunderbird 3's arms move towards the satellite. "Engaging RCS thrusters."
"Remember Thunderbird 3, you only get one shot a grabbing this thing," John says, "Make it count."
"F-A-B," Alan acknowledges and begins moving Thunderbird 3 to match the spin, " We are locked for rotational vector. 30 meters... 20... 10... contact!" Thunderbird 3 grabs the satellite. "HA! Capture complete! Stabilizing spin," he releases the satellite a few moments later. "Whew. I think it's going to be okay Thunderbird 5."
"Well done Alan, just in time for my favorite show," John comments.
"Heh!" Alan shrugs, "And that Kayo, is our fifteenth mission together."
"And we've returned TV repeats to people across the globe," Kayo muses.
"Maybe one of these days we'll get a real mission," Alan sighs.
"If I really wanted to complain I would say that even though I'm head of security for International Rescue I don't have my own ship," Kayo says then smirks, "And right now, I'm up here..."
"What? Babysitting?" Alan questions, kind of hurt as he still hasn't made a formal confession to Kayo yet.
"Maybe," Kayo giggles.
"Fuck you," Alan groans.
"You should of seen your face," Kayo smirks.
February 19th, 2060 - 09:41 NZDT
Meanwhile, in Thunderbird 1's hanger Scott is using a grapple to hold onto Thunderbird 1's nose. Below him stands Brains with Max, his personal robot assistant. A hologram of John then appears, "Thunderbird 1? Report please?"
"Ugh, it's bad news, John. This retro fit is going to take a lot longer than expected. Maybe you can come down here and give me a hand," Scott says.
"Not to worry, Scott. With my new mobile engineering lab, I shall have you back in the air in no time," Brains explains. He then moves his controls and a robotic throws Max.
"Whoops. Sorry Max!" Brains apologises and Max whirls at him. There is a beeping sound and Scott walks over to his communicator.
"Incoming call!" Scott smiles, "Lady Penelope!"
"Hello Scott," Penelope greets, "Is Brains still working on your ship?"
"Can't rush a genius," Scott chuckles.
"Right, let him know crisis is averted. I managed to convince the consortium to stop hoarding their iridium reserves," Penelope informs.
"That'll be some good news for Brains," Scott nods, "Tracy Island out."
February 19th, 2060 - 09:57 NZDT
"This is Thunderbird 2 on final approach to Tracy Island," Virgil declares as Tracy Island comes into his view. He lands Thunderbird 2 routinely and heads over the the locker room to freshen up. After a quick shower, he gets back into his usual clothes and heads upstairs to the lounge to greet the what family is currently on the island. When he enters the lounge, he is puzzled to see how empty it is.
"Anyone up there?" Sally shouts from the kitchen.
"Shit," Virgil mutters and goes to take cover under Jeff Tracy's desk, "Gordon?"
"Hey Virgil," Gordon whispers.
"How long have you been under here?" Virgil enquires.
"Since Grandma was looking for a test subject. I'm still recovering from her last attempt at family dinner," Gordon responds.
"Hmm, dad's desk... I guess in a way he's still looking out for us," Virgil muses.
"Hey, you two, get out from under there and taste this," Sally orders.
"He always did take her side," Gordon jokes.
Just as Gordon and Virgil are getting out from under Jeff's desk a beeping sound is heard and the brothers run over to the table as John's hologram appears through the eyes of his portrait. Scott also appears from the hanger and joins them on the couch.
"International Rescue. I'm detecting a sea quake off the Minova reef," John states.
"What can you report, Thunderbird 5?" Scott questions.
"We're getting a mayday from an underwater research station near the epicentre," John explains, and he plays the mayday call, "International Rescue can you respond?"
"We're on our way," Virgil nods.
"Ocean rescue!" Gordon beams.
"You guys are going to have to handle this one without me. Thunderbird 1 is still grounded," Scott sighs.
"We'll do our best, Scott, we'll do our best," Virgil calls.
"Sorry Grandma," Gordon winces as he runs off to get his suit on.
5
Virgil runs over to the painting of a rocket and gets suited up.
4
Thunderbird 4 is loaded into Module 4.
3
Gordon boards Thunderbird 2 via the passenger elevator.
2
Thunderbird 2 taxis down the main runway and comes to a halt allowing the ramp to raise.
1
The blast shield rises.
Thunderbirds are Go!
February 19th, 2060 - 10:47 FJT
It doesn't take long for Thunderbird 2 to make it's way the short distance over the Pacific Ocean to it's target that is just located off the coast of Fiji. Gordon keeps an eye on the navigation and directs Virgil to the area that is just above the location of the underwater research station.
"So, what's the details?" Virgil asks.
"It's a Poseidon class submarine with a crew of three," John explains, "They report no injuries, but they are taking on water. Access to the escape hatch is blocked."
"I'll try to stabilize the station from above and Gordon can help get them out," Virgil informs, "Sound good?"
"F-A-B, Virgil," Gordon agrees and heads down to Thunderbird 4. As the enters the module, the lights turn on and illuminate Thunderbird 4. He climbs the steps leading up to the vessel's hatch and, with a grace born of countless hours in training and in the field, slips smoothly into the cockpit. He quickly secures himself into the pilot's seat, his body moving automatically through the familiar motions. The hatch closes behind him with a soft, reassuring thud.
As Gordon busied himself with additional pre-launch checks, Virgil manoeuvres Thunderbird 2 into position as he hears the sound of Thunderbird 4's powerful engines whirring to life over Gordon's comm link. Gordon's hands move deftly over the controls, making adjustments, calibrating, ensuring the vehicle's systems are synchronized and functioning optimally.
"Prepare for launch Thunderbird 4," Virgil calls.
"Systems check complete; docking clamp released; we are go for module deployment," Gordon lists. Thunderbird 2's Module 4 is dropped into the water and the hatch opens as Thunderbird 4 is lifted to a 45 angle inside the module. "We are go for launch," and Thunderbird 4 enters the water. "Ballast control active, levelling off. We've got sonar lock," Gordon says, "5 minutes out."
With Thunderbird 4 on its way safely down to the seafloor, Virgil turns his attention to working on the grappling. "Alright, make it quick Thunderbird 4," Virgil orders, "I'll get started on stabilizing it from above." Virgil then changes to the subs communication frequency, "This is International Rescue. Is everybody alright?"
"For the moment, yes. Our escape submersible has malfunctioned, and we're taking on water," is the reply, who turns out to be from Dr Meddings, who is the captain of the sub.
"We're still attempting to attach a magnetic grapple. You may feel another shift," Virgil explains.
"I'll stand on my head if it helps," Dr Meddings jokes with a nervous chuckle.
February 19th, 2060 - 10:51 FJT
Meanwhile, on board Thunderbird 4, Gordon starts hearing a beeping sound coming from his sensors, "Thunderbird 5, have a look at my sensors, will ya? They're picking something up, and so is my famous Gordon Tracy squid sense."
"Your focus needs to be on that research station, Thunderbird 4, not your squid sense," John answers.
"Uh, John, I'm detecting a YT-88 transponder beacon," Gordon replies.
"Holy shit, that's the same kind Dad had on his ship," Scott interjects, who's been listening to the conversation over the comms.
"I know this is important Gordon, but can it wait until after we deal with the station?" Virgil asks.
"Not if it gets buried in another quake," Gordon states, "The signal's coming from inside a fault trench."
"Gordon should check it out, just to be sure," Scott agrees.
Gordon changes his course to head towards the fault trench. He soon enters the trench, which turns out to be more of a dark cave, and begins to look around. The sensors getting louder.
"I'm inside," Gordon calls as he continues to head deeper inside, "The signal's getting stronger!" After a couple of minutes Gordon comes across something. "I've got a visual on something," Gordon calls, "I'm going in for a closer look." He gets very close to the devise and is disappointed.
"Negative. It's not Dad's," Gordon sighs.
"Sorry, Gordon. Now, let's get back to work," Virgil replies, "I'm having a little trouble grabbing onto the station."
"Not so fast Virgil. Whatever it is I'm looking at, it shouldn't be here," Gordon frowns. Suddenly, the device starts beeping rapidly and a rumbling begins, "Shit! John! It's a seaquake!" Gordon exclaims.
"Thunderbird 4, get out of there!" John cries.
"Fuck! John! Thunderbird 5!" Gordon shouts but gets knocked out as Thunderbird 4 is buried by rocks.
"Gordon come in! Thunderbird 4! Can you read me? Gordon?" John yells getting concerned.
February 19th, 2060 - 10:55 NZDT
John's hologram appears in the mission control room. "Scott, Thunderbird 4 isn't responding and Thunderbird 2 is having trouble latching onto the station," he explains, "We may have a situation."
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 5," Scott acknowledges before he hits the button to talk to Brains, "Thunderbird 1 needs to launch, ready or not."
"Scott, these modifications haven't been fully tested!" Brains states.
"I can't think of a better time than now," Scott responds, "I'd suggest clearing out. That hanger is about to get toasty."
5
Scott descends and starts to get suited up.
4
Scott is carried across on a platform into Thunderbird 1's cockpit.
3
The front doors close as Scott gets into the pilot seat.
2
He starts moving along and towards the launch pad.
1
Thunderbird 1 comes to a stop as the swimming pool above starts to retract.
Thunderbirds are Go!
"MIDAS system active; shifting to horizontal flight," Scott mutters as Thunderbird 1 reaches 1,000mph, "She flies great Brains. Turbojets engaged!" Scott speeds up to 10,000mph, "Thunderbird 5, let me know the second you make contact with Gordon," he continues as Thunderbird 1's reaches it's maximum speed of 15,000 miles per hour.
"F-A-B," John acknowledges.
February 19th, 2060 - 11:05 FJT
Virgil sighs as he again fails to latch onto the station below, "The station must be made of some kind of composite. I'm not getting a fucking lock," Virgil growls, "Come on. Just motherfuckin' attach."
Just then the silver sleek ship of Thunderbird 1 appears alongside Thunderbird 2. "Thunderbird 1," Virgil nods, "Welcome to the party. I'm having a hard time grabbing on."
"Must be a shit party. Let me give it a try," Scott laughs and targets the submarine before firing off Thunderbird 1's only grapple cable. Lucky for Scott, he grabs the station first try. "YES! Alright!"
"What the actual fuck?" Virgil gasps.
"Hmm. Lucky shot," Scott shrugs.
Just then Thunderbird 1's earthquake alarm quickly goes off followed by Dr Meddings calling in, "International Rescue! We're having another seaquake!" There is a pause in the transmission as there is a crashing noise in the background. "We've just lost half our legs!"
"Increase thrust to compensate," Scott mumbles to himselve and hits the throttle to increase the thrusters, "We need to get a grip on this thing fast Thunderbird 2, or I'm going under."
Finally, after almost 45 minutes of trying Virgil manages to get a lock, "Okay, I've got it!" and also increases his thrusters to avoid both crafts from going under.
"As long as we keep it stable it should hold out long enough for Gordon to do the evac," Virgil says.
"F-A-B. I just hope John can get in contact with him soon," Scott replies.
February 19th, 2060 - 11:09 FJT
Meanwhile, inside Thunderbird 4 Gordon starts to come to. "Shit, my head."
"You're a sight for sore eyes," John smirks.
"Yeah, I got knocked out for a minute but I'm ok now, Thunderbird 4 is another story," Gordon mutters.
"So much for your world-famous squid sense," John replies.
"Do me a favour, John. Run a seismic analysis of the last two quakes and tell me where the epicentre was," Gordon orders as he gets ready to exit Thunderbird 4.
"Okay, stand by," John responds, "WHOA! The epicentre is exactly your location."
"That can't be a coincidence," Gordon replies, concerned.
"Is this so important you'd risk a mission failure?" John asks.
"I think this machine is somehow causing the earthquakes," Gordon explains.
"Now, find a way out. They need you at the station," John states.
"Not until I get what I came for," Gordon says and grabs his helmet, leaves Thunderbird 4 and he swims down to get the device. As he reaches to grab the device, it begins to flash once again and the whole cave starts to shake and crumble around him. "Ugh! You've gotta be kidding me!"
"Thunderbird 4," John calls in, "I'm picking up another quake."
"No shit, Sherlock," Gordon growls and he grabs the device and hastily swims back towards Thunderbird 4. Rocks from the ceiling rain down around Gordon as he it forced to dodge and swim in an erratic fashion in order to reach the safety of his submarine. Once back inside, he races back to the controls. "I need to find a way out of this cave," he mutters. He fires two grapples over to the opposite wall and pulls Thunderbird 4 out from under the rocks that had left it trapped from the previous quake. This frees Thunderbird 4, sending it into a spin to face the exit of the cave that is now blocked by falling rocks. Acting quickly, Gordon fires a demolition missile at the rocks and leaves the fault trench.
"International Rescue, Thunderbird 4 is on route!" Gordon announces, and opens communication with Brains, "Brains, I'm gonna need you to take this shit apart as soon as we get back to the island."
"F-A-B. I'll be standing by," Brains replies, and Gordon then opens communication with Lady Penelope, which Gordon has developed a slight crush on since the pool party,
"Gordon! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Penelope asks causing Gordon to blush,
"Afraid this isn't a social call, your lady ship," Gordon states, "I need a favour."
"Whatever you need," Penelope replies.
"I need our London agent to do some agenting," Gordon explains before hanging up.
After a couple of minutes Gordon checks in with Scott and Virgil, "Okay folks, I'm almost there."
"Good news Thunderbird 4. But make it quick, I'm not sure how much longer we can hold on," Virgil responds.
"International Rescue, the control room is flooding. Just get us out of here," Dr Meddings cries sounding worried.
February 19th, 2060 - 11:22 NZDT
Alan and Kayo walk in and sit down in the mission control room. Sally and Brains are already in the room sitting on the couches.
"We leave the planet for a few hours, and the whole world falls apart," Alan says and sit down on an empty sofa.
"But at least it has TV," replies Kayo and rests her head and Alan's shoulder causing him to blush and Sally to smile at the two teenagers.
February 19th, 2060 - 11:23 FJT
Back at the Minova Reef Thunderbird 4 arrives and latches onto the larger sub. "Okay, here's the plan. I'm cutting my way in from underneath. I'll evac the crew in dry tubes," Gordon explains, "Thunderbird 5, have the crew prepared for immediate evacuation. Everyone cool?"
"F-A-B," Virgil acknowledges.
"Works for me," Scott nods.
"Okay, then. Here we go," Gordon says, and cuts a hole into the station before diving out of Thunderbird 4 and into the submersible. "Okay, I'm inside. Making my way to the crew compartment," Gordon continues and knocks onto the hatch so he can be let in. Once in he looks at the crew checking they're all there, "I'm inside the control room. All hands accounted for. I'll take them out one at a time."
"Good news, Thunderbird 4. But hurry. We're hanging on by a thread here," Virgil shouts as Gordon returns the first person and puts her into the dry tube before heading out for the second person. "First dry tube away," Gordon calls. He quickly goes back in and comes out with the second person. "Second dry tube away. One more to go. I'm going back in," Gordon manages to get back to the control room, "The lab is shifting! It's gonna flip any second." Just then the station starts to slide into the trench below causing Gordon to go flying into a wall.
"The lab is too heavy. It's pulling us both under," Scott exclaims.
"Thunderbird 4, can you read me?" Virgil asks but gets static, "Gordon do you read me? Gordon?" but silence... until,
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 2," Gordon shouts, "My radios damaged, but we're alright," and sends the last dry tube, "Release the cables," Gordon says and Scott and Virgil releases their cables. "Stand by for retrieval Thunderbird 2."
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 4," Virgil replies and retrieves the crew from the dry tubes before docking Thunderbird 4 back into the Module.
"See you back at the ranch Thunderbird 1," Virgil says.
"F-A-B," Scott acknowledges before leaving the scene.
February 19th, 2060 - 19:32 NZDT
Scott, Virgil and Gordon arrive back after being called to another emergency on the way back home. Gordon carries the device, that is suspected to of been causing the seaquakes, on the table in front of Brains.
"Hey, good work, guys," Kayo says, still snuggled up to Alan.
"Oh, welcome back," Sally smiles.
"Good to have you back," Brains continues.
"Yeah," Alan finishes, who now has an arm around Kayo.
"Well, what do you think?" asks Gordon motioning to the devise.
"I think you found where sea junk goes to die," replies Alan.
"It is rather crudely made," Brains says as Virgil yawns, sitting beside him, "I'll begin my analysis immediately." Just as Brains is about to start John appears on the hologram.
"International Rescue, I'm picking up seismic activity like I've never seen before. Multiple earthquakes all under sea; epicentres are equal distances apart and they're going off in sequence," John explains.
"Earthquakes t-typically don't work like that," says Brains, "This is highly unusual."
"I'm telling you, it's because someone is causing them on purpose with these things," interrupts Gordon.
"Why would someone want to cause an Earthquake? It's 2060. That's not the kind of world we live in," Virgil argues.
"I'm afraid it might be, Virgil," says Penelope, appearing next to John in hologram form, "it was made with off-the-shelf components, according to my expert..."
"Expert?" interrupts Scott.
"That would be me, sir," says Parker appearing next to Penelope, "quite a brisk trade for these bits on the black market. So, I'm told."
"In that case, they should be easy to track," Brains states.
"Precisely, Brains. I already have, we're at the address to where much of the equipment was shipped," Penelope explains as herself and Parker walk into a large warehouse and look around for clues. After a few seconds Penelope finds something, "This is rather alarming. There's a note here addressed to International Rescue, it says; 'Press me and all your questions will be answered,'" Penelope explains.
"I say we press the button and deal with the consequences," says Scott.
"I smell a trap," argues Alan.
"I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole," Sally says.
"I want answers," replies Scott.
"I'm telling ya, trap," Alan says moving his from around Kayo quickly causing her to yelp as she was drifting off to sleep, "Sorry," whispers Alan.
"It definitely looks dodgy, but what's the worse that could happen?" asks John.
"My thoughts exactly," interrupts Parker and steps forward to press the button.
"Parker!" exclaims Penelope but it was too late, Parker presses the button.
On board Thunderbird 5 the globe map goes static, "Global airwaves are being taken over. I'm running a trace, but it looks like the source is being masked," John says just before a person appears censored out in darkness.
"Now that I have our attention; You have, by now, felt the earthquakes in the Southern and Pacific Oceans. Those were only the beginning. There will be more. Many more. And they'll be increasing in magnitude until my very reasonable terms are met. If not, every city along the Ring of Fire will be brought to its knees. And there is nothing anyone can do to stop it, including International Rescue. If you put your trust in them, you will regret it," says the person before disappearing. Kayo knew who it was and immediately leaves the room, quickly followed by Alan.
"Only one person has that much contempt for International Rescue," Virgil says.
"And judging by Kayo's reaction it's the same person who was responsible for Dad's crash," Scott explains, "The Hood. He's back."
February 19th, 2060 - 21:06 NZDT
Alan runs towards Kayo's bedroom "Hey, came I come in?" asks Alan from outside the door. Despite being best friends Alan had always respected Kayo's privacy.
After a few seconds Kayo opens the door "Why?" asks Kayo, before Alan engulfs her into a hug.
"It's not your fault Kayo," Alan says, "You may think it is but your family is way out of your control. The important thing is, is that you made the right choice." Kayo looks up to Alan and smiles, " I want the Kayo that was full of energy, Kung Fu expert, and most importantly my babysitter," Alan jokes, refuting to when they fixed the TV in the early hours of the morning. Thankfully Kayo laughed at the joke, which brought a smile to Alan's face. "Now go and have a shower and meet me back in the deployment room as the confident Kayo," Alan says. Kayo smiles then walks into the bathroom.
February 20th, 2060 - 08:01 NZDT
A few hours have passed since the family had originally gathered in the lounge. Since then, they all decided to get some rest and gather their thoughts in the morning. There had been a lot of debate over the reappearance of The Hood who first made himself known during International Rescue's first mission where Scott and the great Jeff Tracy had to deal with a bomb threat at London Heathrow Airport. The Hood had disguised himself as an airport police officer and attached a bomb to the landing gear of one of the planes that was at one of the terminals. This drew International Rescue to the scene allowing him to get a good look at Thunderbird 1 until he was caught by the ACD or Automatic Camera Detector.
Due to the threat that The Hood is posing. Scott had got the attention of the GDF and they were now in convers with the new Chief Commanding Officer.
"It has to be The Hood. There's not other explanation," Scott argues.
"Scott, even if that was him, we can't confirm it. As far as the Global Defence Force is concerned, The Hood is still nothing, but a phantom," a women says in a GDF uniform.
"What about the bank robbery in 2058, Colonel Casey? The Metropolitan Police were pretty sure it was The Hood that escaped afterwards," Virgil says.
"That's our problem Virgil. All you need to do is help people in trouble. We'll bring him to justice," Colonel Casey says before hanging up.
"They don't stand a chance, do they?" Gordon deadpans, who by now had taken a seat next to Scott.
"If the devices like these are causing earthquakes, we'll find a way to shut them down," Scott states getting up and addressing everyone.
"We still don't know what we're dealing with here," Virgil points out.
"I can give you a pretty good idea," John interjects from his portrait hologram and produces a hologram on the table of the Pacific Ocean, "Seismic activity has been steadily growing since the first quake, and its spreading north along the Pacific Plate. This is a global catastrophe in the making."
Suddenly, everything starts to shake causing plates to fall off the shelves. There is crashing heard in the kitchen and everyone grips onto their seats a little tighter.
"Do you feel that?" Scott gulps, "It's another quake."
On board Thunderbird 5, John looks at his satellite map of Earth. There are red warnings displaying around the Pacific Ocean an earthquake symbol in the middle showing where the epicentre is. A large red ring surrounds each of the warnings highlighting the extent of the area that each epicentre is reaching.
"We're reviving hundreds of distress calls from along the southern Pacific Rim," John explains.
"Just tell us where you need us, Thunderbird 5," Scott replies.
Just then something catches Brains' eye.
"Holy shit, the solar collector in Taiwan has fallen out of alignment," Brains cries.
"Is that an actual emergency, Brains?" Scott questions, raising his right eyebrow as Brains opens the solar collector hologram with information about it.
"Here's how it was before," Brains explains as runs a simulation that is displayed on the hologram, "Thousands of individually controlled mirrors concentrated the sun's rays into a frighteningly p-powerful beam."
"We're talking heat so intense, you get the same kind of hydrogen fusion the fuels a star," John continues.
"This is the collector now," Brains shows, "When the sun comes up, those rays will be aiming d-directly at the city of Taipei."
"Sounds like we need to move that reflector," Virgil states.
"Gordon," John pipes up as another distress call comes in, "I'm picking up a distress call from a fishing trawler taking on water."
"Tell then I'm on my way," Gordon nods.
"Alright, then. Time to gear up," Scott orders.
"YES! Let's do this!" Alan exclaims standing up and fist bumping the air.
"Sorry, Alan. We need to keep you and Thunderbird 3 in reserve," Scott explains.
"In case the TV goes out. I get it," Alan sighs glumly, once again taking his seat as Kayo places her hand on his shoulder. Alan only shakes his head in dismay.
5
Virgil's rocket painting tilts backwards as Scott and Gordon descend down their launch tubes to get suited up.
4
Thunderbird 4 prepares to exit from the cave doors at the seabed.
3
The lifting equipment is loaded into Module 3.
2
Thunderbird 2 taxis down the main runway and comes to a halt allowing the ramp to raise.
1
Thunderbird 1 comes to a stop as the swimming pool above starts to retract.
Thunderbirds are Go!
February 20th, 2060 - 09:53 NZDT
"Activating scramjets," Scott announces.
"Slow and steady wins the race. I'll see you when we get there," Virgil says.
"F-A-B," replies Scott before speeding up and flying away.
February 20th, 2060 - 09:57 NZDT
Meanwhile, on Thunderbird 5 John goes to contact Lady Penelope for information.
"Lady Penelope, I need some information," explains John when she picks up.
"John, of course," Penelope replies.
"It's about The Hood. I know Dad had you looking into him leading up to 2058," says John.
"True, but I'm afraid I didn't learn much," Penelope sighs with disappointment, "I uncovered at least seven aliases he operated under. But since your father's accident in '58, the trail went cold. He simply disappeared."
"Gordon was right. The Global Defence Force doesn't stand a chance finding this guy," John scoffs before hanging up.
February 20th, 2060 - 10:02 NZDT
Back on Tracy Island Brains is dismantling the device that Gordon had retrieved from the ocean cave. Next to him are Alan and Max who are looking at his work with great interest. Kayo had left to do some digging into The Hood, hoping to find something.
"Hmm, this looks to be some kind of transmitter," Brains observes, "Thunderbird 5? Do you read me? I need you to monitor a frequency for me."
"Standing by," John replies over the noise of all the global channels that are picking up hundreds of distress calls.
"What's this thing do?" Alan asks as Max picks the small piece up. He then proceeds to shake.
"It appears to be the seismic actuator. In a working device, the vibration would generate an earthquake," Brains explains as they watch Max vibrate around the room, "Might I suggest, 'Look don't touch.'"
Max could only respond with a whirl sound.
February 20th, 2060 - 06:24 CDT
Scott flies Thunderbird 1 towards the solar collector. It resembles a large satellite dish, perched high above on a rocky mountain. There is a similar one that is located in the Italian Alps which Parker had taken a great interest in on a holiday several years ago.
"I've got a visual on the solar collector," Scott calls. As he flies around the collector he sees the intricate support structure that is holding the collector up and several warning lights are are flashing at various points around it. "This is going to be trickier than I thought. I'm gonna have to land at the base of the mountain and jetpack up to the site to get a closer look."
"F-A-B, Scott," John acknowledges. He keeps an eye on the holo-map as Scott lands Thunderbird 1 at the base of the mountain. All seems well until there is another taking over of global airwaves, "Hold on a minute, I'm getting another breakthrough. All global frequencies."
"People of Earth, you have seen the power I command. My demands are simple. I require three perfect spheres of diphyllium alloy, an island above the 33rd parallel, and The World Council will deliver the Thunderbirds to me. All of them. Before this day is done. Fulfil my request and the earthquakes will stop. Ignore them, and the suffering will see no end," The Hood says before disappearing.
While The Hood was talking, Scott had exited Thunderbird 1. He actives his jetpack and starts flying up the side of the mountain.
"Scott did you get all that?" John enquires.
"Yeah. He has to be bitching with us," Scott scoffs.
"That list of demands is right out of a bad movie," John agrees.
"He may be a dickhead, but there is no way are handing over the Thunderbirds," Scott says.
February 20th, 2060 - 10:29 NZDT
Back on Thunderbird 5 John is still trying to trace the frequency that Brains wants to look at. John then changes the frequency again to a different code and gets a breakthrough. A satellite. John calls Brains immediately. "Brains, I think you may have found the key to stopping these earthquake generators," John beams, "Using that frequency, I was able to isolate the control signal linking all the devises together. Over 500 devices total, and they're all controlled by one single satellite."
"Of course, John!" Brains smiles, reaching into his pocket and brings out a module, "If we can attach just one of these bypass modules to the satellite, it will redirect control of the earthquake generators to us. Then we'll be able to shut all of them down at once."
"It gets even better," John smirks, "When The Hood tries to check in, we'll find out exactly where he's hiding. Alan, Kayo, time to gear up."
"Finally!" Alan exclaims and runs over to his launch chair, "Another mission for us."
"Yeah! I'm ready to kick ass," Kayo adds.
"I'll leave that to you," Alan chuckles.
5
Alan and Kayo descend and start to get suited up.
4
Alan and Kayo are lifted on a crane from the bottom of the hanger into Thunderbird 3.
3
Thunderbird 3's blast door closes.
2
Alan and Kayo's chairs roll up to the controls.
1
The rockets start up.
Thunderbirds are Go!
February 20th, 2060 - 10:37 NZDT
Thunderbird 3 ascends into the morning blue sky as it escapes from its launch tube on Tracy Island. It doesn't take them long to rise high above the Earth's atmosphere. Ahead in the start-filled sky, the Sun shines brightly as the glowing red rocket enters Earth's orbit.
"Sorry about last time, the babysitter thing," Kayo giggles.
"Ah, no big deal. Most guys would kill to have you as a babysitter," Alan replies, then realises what he said and his cheeks turn dark red, "Um because your so um, responsible.. and stuff."
On board Thunderbird 5, John watches Thunderbird 3 in the far distance confident that they're on course to the mystery satellite. He turns to his contact list and calls Penelope to let her know about The Hood's demands.
"You know those demands are a joke, right?" John deadpans.
"The World Council is desperate," Penelope sighs, after being patched in to an emergency meeting over the phone, "I wouldn't put it past them to make you hand over your ships."
"Can you buy us some time?" John enquires, "We might have found a way to stop all this."
"Consider it done," Penelope says and hangs up, "No. 10 Downing Street, if you would Parker."
"Right away, milady!" Parker says. He reaches across the dashboard and presses a button. Wings pop out the side of the car as FAB 1 into flying mode. "FAB 1 is h'off!"
February 20th, 2060 - 07:15 CDT
In Taiwan, Scott has finished his own scan of the solar collector and in his updated schematics finds a door almost completely hidden with rubble. He flies down to the base of the collector and starts to move some of the debris and he listens inside. There was an alarm going off and then he hears a voice, "Is anyone out there?"
"International Rescue, we have another situation. I found a control room crushed under the base of the collector. I think there may be people inside," Scott explains, "I'll try and get them out. Brains, is there any other way inside this thing?"
"Through the server room. B-But you'll have to use the access hatch," Brains says.
"And where's the access hatch?" asks Scott.
"In the centre of the collector," Brains answers.
"Alright. I'll focus on the workers. Thunderbird 2, you'll need to move that dish," Scott orders, "It's sunrise."
"F-A-B," Virgil acknowledges.
The silhouette of Thunderbird 2 appears in the rising sunlight as it starts to peep over the tops of some mountains in the distance. Some rays of light start hitting the collector dish, causing the dish to glow a bright gold. Using his jetpack, Scott flies up to the centre of the dish.
"I'm at the hatch," Scott announces.
"Scott, get in there or you are going to become a fucking burned chip," Virgil calls.
"I feel like one already," Scott replies, as he climbs inside through the hatch, "Okay, I'm in."
Virgil flies Thunderbird 2 overhead and hovers above the collector.
"I'll drop the magnetic claw and try and pull the dish skyward," Virgil informs. The bay doors below the module open and Virgil lowers the magnetic down onto the edge of the collector dish, and manages to grab it first try, "Would you look at that first try."
Inside, Scott climbs down a ladder and enters a room. "I'm in the server room, Brains. I can hear people below me, but I don't see a way down," Scott states.
Thunderbird 2's downward thrusters then spring into life as it begins to rise up and lift the collector dish upwards. The dish shakes violently as Virgil attempts to pull the dish clear.
"Scott, I think we may have a slight complication," Virgil winces.
"Thunderbird 2, there's too much pressure. Disengage!" Scott orders, "We have to find another way to move it."
Virgil disengages the magnetic claw and flies Thunderbird 2 upwards away from the collector as the light ray hitting the collector intensifies.
"Well, we better think of something fast. Taipei is about to get cooked," Virgil says.
"Scott, I may have a solution," Brains calls, "The collector is made up of thousands of tiny mirrors. If we can override the main controls, it's as simple as turning the m-mirrors instead of the whole collector."
"Tell me what to do Brains," Scott demands.
"Scott, your looking for a junction marked A18," Brains explains.
"I don't see it, Brains. It jumps from A15 to A25," Scott replies.
"These s-schematics must be out of date!" Brains cries, "Look for the p-power distribution relay. Rack 4."
"Uh... Rack 4..." Scott mumbles as he looks for it, then he spots it, "Got it!"
"Turn it to the left," Brains orders, and Scott does so, but nothing happens.
"Brains?" Scott questions.
"The earthquake must have d-damaged the mechanism," Brains realises, "The solar collector is going to destroy the city, no matter what."
"We have to destroy this dish," Scott growls, "I need options Brains, fast!"
"Here the primary support arm!" Brains calls, forwarding a schematic image to Scott's wrist controller, "Remove that and the entire dish will detach. I'm sending you co-ordinates now."
"Virgil, get the engineers out. I'm taking out the dish," Scott states.
"Are you sure about this?" Virgil asks.
"It's what Dad would've done," Scott replies and heads back outside. He climbs behind the dish and runs up the primary support arm to the dish. In his pocket, Scott reaches for his laser gun and fires it towards the steel girder. Slowly, it begins cutting through the support. "Virgil, I'm cutting my way through."
Virgil jumps down from Thunderbird 2 with his exo-suit on and bursts through the control room using the mechanical pincers. The exo-suit he has on allows him to have extra strength to lift and break things. "Who's up for getting out of here?" Virgil jokes and lifts a large pipe that landed on one of the workers throwing it to one side, freeing him. Virgil knows he needs to act quickly as Scott is cutting pieces of the support arm off at the same time.
Suddenly, there is a large shift as the disk becomes disconnected from its base and slumps backwards violently. Virgil helps the last of the workers evacuate the control room before using his wrist controller to bring the nosecone grabs down with seat attached to pick up the workers. With the dish starting to slide down the mountain behind him, Virgil jumps down a small section of cliff before throwing himself off the side, using a clamp to attach himself to the nosecone grab. Unfortunately, Scott isn't so lucky as he is stuck on the edge of the dish, which is now crashing down the side of the mountain. He tries to activate his jetpack.
"Shit!" Scott cries, "The heat must have fried my jetpack!"
"Scott! Scott do you read me?" Virgil yells as he hears Scott's screams over the comm channel as the dish plummets towards the base of the mountain.
Then there is an eery silence as the solar collector settles at the bottom of the mountain, with Thunderbird 2 hovering next to the where the structure formally stood. A few seconds later, the sound of Thunderbird 1's thrusters can be heard with Scott standing on fuselage.
"Alright, hotshot, save your surfing for the beach," Virgil jokes as the two Thunderbirds fly away from the scene.
February 20th, 2060 - 11:26 NZDT
Meanwhile, with Thunderbird 3, Alan spots The Hood's satellite dead ahead of them and starts to bring Thunderbird 3 to a halt.
"This is Thunderbird 3, we've got eyes on the satellite," Alan informs.
"Alan, it's essential you don't take Thunderbird 3 too close," John orders over the comms.
"Matching orbit for intercept," Kayo responds.
"If The Hood suspects we're tampering with his satellite, he could set everything off at once," John explains.
"Electronic shielding active. We should be invisible to any sensors on board," Kayo says.
"F-A-B," Alan acknowledges as the couple unbuckle from their seats. Alan floats over to his hover board and puts on a helmet. Kayo does the same. "Wish me luck."
"You've got this," Kayo nods placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, a proud smile clear on her face.
"This is Thunderbird 3 commencing EVA," Alan announces. Standing on the rocket-propelled hover board, which Alan like to call an astro-board, Alan flies out of Thunderbird 3 and heads towards the satellite.
"One other thing," John suddenly interjects, "There is an automated status signal sent every 30 seconds. You'll have to attach the bypass module between bursts."
"Sure," Alan trails.
"Okay. Standby... in 3... 2... 1..." John says, then a beeping sound is heard, "You have 29 seconds, Alan."
Alan opens up the system box and looks at the wires, "Whoa," Alan comments and thinks about what how to do it. He looks back at Kayo for advise.
"Any false move, and The Hood will be alerted," John says.
"No pressure," Alan gulps.
"Lady Penelope bought us some time, but this may be the only chance we get," John explains.
Alan holds the bypass module looking completely bewildered at what to do at the control box that is full of multiple different cables and switches.
"Relax, it's just like fixing a TV," Kayo states, noticing Alan's hesitation, "You can do this."
"10 seconds, Alan," John says. Alan takes in a deep breath and rushes to add the bypass module in and then closes the system box, "Bypass module attached, and hatch is sealed."
"Fuck yes! You did it," John cries, "The signal is ours. Okay, Brains, shut 'em down."
"Command set," Brains says as the earthquake generators are all shut down, "They're turning off. High-Five, Max. Ow!"
"Whoo," Alan says as he returns to Thunderbird 3
"That's a relief. You really had us shitting ourselves, Thunderbird 3," John says.
"Wait, you didn't think I was chocking back there, did ya?" Alan scoffs, "I had to make sure I had the correct input selected."
"Riiiight. In any case, we're proud of you," John replies before a beeping sound is heard, "I have The Hood's location.
February 20th, 2060 - 09:34 ACDT
Thunderbird 3 rockets through the sky as it returns to Earth and over the Australian sky. Kayo gets ready as she stands at the open hatch in the side of the cockpit.
"Good luck on your first solo mission Kayo," Alan calls over his shoulder. Kayo grins and stares at the ground below.
"Commencing halo drop," Kayo announces before she jumps off Thunderbird 3 and goes headfirst in a freefall.
"6,000 meters... 4,000," John relays as he keeps an eye on Kayo's decent as she plumets towards the ground.
"YEAH!" Kayo shouts.
"2,000... I've got eyes on you now, 1,000 meters," John says.
"Deploying air brake," Kayo announces and it opens up into the shape of glider wings. She glides through several bit of antenna and lands safely on top of The Hood's bunker that is located to the north of the Australian Outback. "I'm down."
"Good luck, Kayo. Be careful in there," John orders.
"You should be warming the other guys," Kayo says.
Kayo enters the base and heads down some dark steps bypassing the security codes. She stays in the shadows, jumping over pipes and along edges of balconies until running down a set of stairs into a dark cavernous space. Kayo then hears a sound, turning all she can do is gasp. Out of the shadows, a bald man in a black suit steps out in front of her. The Hood.
"Well, this is a surprise," he comments. Realising the importance of this confrontation between the two, Kayo switches her comms off causing John and Brains to loose her feed.
"Kayo..." is all she hears from Brains before the signal goes silent. Kayo clenches her fists and stands ready for combat.
"I haven't seen you in a very long time, Tanusha Kyrano," The Hood grins and the pair start to circle each other, "But they call you Kayo now don't they? For the knockout punch no doubt. I have assume since you are here, International Rescue found a way to stop my earthquake machines. Bravo!"
He smiles sinisterly at Kayo and pauses, waiting for her response.
"You're in a good mood for someone who just got their ass kicked," Kayo deadpans.
"I can assure you my objective was most certainly achieved," The Hood quickly interjects. "I've made my presence known again, I've accessed the Global Defence Force's pitiful ability to mobilize against me. And it's been made perfectly clear that the world's leaders are all too willing to sell out International Rescue to save their own skins," he rapidly lists off.
"So you can rule the world?" Kayo quires, her question making The Hood chuckle.
"I don't want to rule the world," The Hood scoffs, "I simply want to own it. Let someone else run the place." He pauses again before showing his sinister smile again. "I could, however use a little help around here. Interested?"
"Never!" Kayo says defiantly.
"Come now, we are family after all," The Hood concurs.
"I already have a family. On Tracy Island," Kayo replies defiantly.
This causes The Hood to laugh again and shake his head, presumably because, in his eyes, what Kayo had said is ludicrous.
"Families shouldn't keep secrets, Tanusha. Do they know yours?" he asks and the response he got was a deep intake of breath from Kayo, somehow making his evil grin wider, "The man they believe is responsible for the great Jeff Tracy's demise is your very own uncle."
"I'll tell you something they DO know. You're finished... uncle," Kayo replies and takes a step back when some of The Hood's goons turn up behind him.
"Did you really think you could take me and the rest of my forces down all by yourself?" The Hood asks, but is concerned when Kayo starts to smile in return.
"No, I didn't. That's someone else's job," Kayo says and Colonel Casey turns up along with the GDF.
"The Hood, I presume," Casey says.
"You're an impressive young women Tanusha, I'm sure we'll meet again," The Hood says and turns away pressing a button that starts a series of explosions to rock the underground building. The GDF starts to retreat apart from Kayo who continues to watch her uncle get away.
"He's blowing the place up, everybody out! That means you too Kayo," Casey says and helps Kayo escape the falling rubble and back out the building.
"Thunderbird 5, it's Kayo. I'm gonna to need a ride."
February 20th, 2060 - 13:54 NZDT
Everyone walks down to the Thunderbirds hangers only to be greeted with a 7th Thunderbird, which Brains had been working on since just before Jeff's disappearance. "Whoa!" exclaims Kayo.
"How's that for a ride?" Scott asks, "It's all yours Thunderbird S."
"It stands for Thunderbird Shadow," Gordon adds.
"Wow, Brains. I've never seen anything like it," Kayo says.
"I'm sorry it look so long. I wanted it to be p-perfect," Brains explains.
"It is. Thank you Brains," Kayo replies.
"Now your really one of us, I guess," Alan says sounding disappointed.
"I should probably check your suit camera for a malfunction," Brains says reaching out.
"That's ok, I accidently turned it off," Kayo responds and walks over to Alan.
"What's wrong Alan?" Kayo asks.
"Nothing, you should be concerned of," Alan replies.
"Alan, we've known each other for years, I know when your lying," Kayo argues.
Alan thinks for a second before replying, "We'll it's just that..."