This chapter was made in memory of Peter Dyneley, the original voice of Jeff Tracy in the Thunderbirds TV Show and the announcer of the 5-1 countdown in the TAG! Opening Titles
1921-1977
July 15th 2066 - 07:30 NZST
Today is the day. International Rescue are going on a rescue mission that no one has ever attempted before. To head out to the edge of the Oort Cloud and recover a crashed spacecraft and it's one crew. It marked the first time in around 8 years that the Earth is in the correct position to attempt this rescue and both Brains and Borender are extremely worried about something going wrong. Both Scott and Virgil brushed this off as them being paranoid but there is still a general sense of tense that covers Tracy Island.
Alan and Kayo are currently in Alan's bedroom, sitting on his bed. Over the past few years, Alan had been doing an online bachelor's degree in Astrophysics. He had recently finished his third and final year and the 22-year-old is patiently waiting his results of his final exam. Kayo rubbed circles on Alan's upper back to comfort him.
"No matter what we're all proud of you, Alan," Kayo says, "I'm proud of you. You're the only Tracy to complete his education during IR's operations."
"I know," Alan sighs, "I just hope all this hard work isn't for nothing."
Suddenly, his tablet beeps and Alan quickly picks it up and displays the screen on the holo-projector in front of them. His eyes widen and Kayo squeals in excitement, wrapping her hands around Alan's neck and kissing him on the cheek.
"Oh, wow," Alan breathes, "I just graduated."
"And I get to be the proud girlfriend with bosting rights," Kayo jokes and the pair share several small, gentle kisses and they celebrate Alan's achievement. It would have gone further if it wasn't for the International Rescue alarm going off, followed by Scott's voice over the loudspeaker.
"We need everyone in the lounge," Scott announces, "Brains just confirmed all systems are go. It's time."
"Guess we better head down," Alan states.
"Yeah," Kayo sighs, kind of disappointed that their moment had been interrupted, "Let's go get your father."
The pair walk out of the room to go over the final preparations before transferring over to Mateo Island. However, Alan left both is door and the holo-projector on and as Sally walked past his room, she notices the graduation certificate and beams proudly at her youngest grandson's work.
"Good for you, kid," Sally smiles.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
July 15th 2066 - 07:40 NZST
The Zero-XL stands tall on International Rescue's Ocean Power Rig. All the Thunderbirds, apart from Thunderbirds 5, 10 and Shadow, had been assembled. Thunderbird 1 is upright with its wings at full span on one side while Thunderbird 7 is on the other. Thunderbird 2 is also in an upright position with a heat shield at the front and one of Thunderbird 3's grasping arms holding it up. Thunderbird 3 is the only Thunderbird to be standing on the deck of the Rig, while Thunderbird 4 would be stored inside Module 6. Thunderbird 6 lies in the back of the cockpit of the Zero-XL next to Thunderbird 8 while Thunderbird 9 is kept in the compartment next to Thunderbird 2 in case it needed to be swapped over with Thunderbird 4.
An alert sound goes off indicating that the 20-minute countdown had started.
In the lounge, everyone sat with both John and Ridley appearing in holographic form. On the table projector, the Zero-XL and all the Thunderbirds are displayed. Marion and Nina are sitting down on one sofa taking notes as Brains, Borender, Moffy, John and Ridley talk and go through some final preparations.
"The GDF knows will be out for a few days," Ridley explains, who looks to be in a conference room all by herself, "Emergency calls will be forwarded to local agencies."
"What was your excuse, training exercises?" Scott enquires as Alan and Kayo make their way into the room.
"Family reunion," Ridley deadpans.
"That's another way to put it," Marion chuckles.
"I nervous," Alan whispers to Kayo as they take a seat on the far side of the lounge from most people, "Why am I nervous?"
"It's the mission of a lifetime, Alan," Kayo says and places her left hand on Alan's right thigh and snuggles up into his side, "And at the end of it, we could be bringing your father home."
"Yeah," Alan sighs and his face falls as the nerves start to show.
"And it's perfectly normal to be nervous," Kayo reassures.
"All right, let's gear up," Scott orders.
"John, we'll see you in space," Marion smiles.
"Good luck everyone," Ridley nods.
10
The International Rescue team make their way across to Mateo Island.
9
Kayo gets into her turquoise flight suit and clips on her boots and belt.
8
Nina gets into her lime flight suit and attaches her gauntlets.
7
Marion gets into her black flight suit and puts on her jetpack.
6
Brains gets into his orange flight suit and zips up the front of it.
5
John finishes his final checks as he prepares for docking Thunderbird 5 to the Zero-XL.
4
Gordon gets into his yellow flight suit and heads down the passenger elevator.
3
Alan gets into his red flight suit and remains seated in his pilot seat.
2
Virgil gets into his green flight suit as he heads down his launch tube.
1
Scott gets into his grey flight suit and gets on the monorail to Mateo Island.
Thunderbirds are Go!
July 15th 2066 - 07:50 NZST
As they walk along the platform in their International Rescue Uniforms, a wave of emotion hit everyone as they realised that this is it. The brothers were going to reunite with their father after over 8 years apart from each other. When the near the Zero-XL, Max starts to play a rousing orchestral music to ease the tension that everyone is feeling. However, not everyone appreciates the music.
"The m-music is a bit much, Max," Brains says and Max quickly stops the recording.
"Hey, I kinda liked it," Alan replies, "Makes me feel like a real astronaut."
"Alan, you are a real astronaut," Nina deadpans.
"Oh, yeah," Alan chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck as the nerves from earlier start creeping up again. Luckily, Kayo is on hand and interlaces their fingers together as they walk. They head over to one of the airlock entrances to the Zero-XL as step inside. Using many of the ladders on the walls to help them navigate the spacecraft, as it is technically on its side, they make their way to the cockpit. Alan takes up the pilot's seat with Scott and Kayo acting as his co-pilots. On the right-side of the passenger seats sit, Marion, Virgil and Nina. While on the left-side of the passenger seats sit, Gordon and Brains with Max being inside Thunderbird 6.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Zero-XL," Alan narrates, "This is your pilot, Alan Tracy, speaking. Any questions?"
"Is there a movie on this flight," Gordon asks as he looks around for a panel that would give him a list of movies.
"We're ready to start the countdown, Thunderbird 10," Scott states.
"FAB," Ridley replies but looks very worried. Marion notices this and raises her eyebrows with a questioning gaze.
"What's wrong, Ridley?" Marion asks.
"I've just lost our direct com link to the GDF," Ridley replies, "EOS confirms their communication systems have been hacked. They've been completely shut down."
"It's The Hood," Kayo growls, "He's up to something. You'll have to launch without me."
"Kayo," Alan calls and grabs onto her arm as she unbuckles her seat straps and goes to stand up, "You've been planning for this mission just like the rest of us. We need you. I need you."
"Security takes priority, Alan," Kayo sighs and gives Alan a peck on the lips before making her way back down the ladders to the exit, "The Hood must know we're about to launch. I have to make sure he doesn't interfere."
"Kayo's right, Alan," Gordon states as he moves to take Kayo's seat in the co-pilots position, "If The Hood is after us, there's no telling what he might try."
"I'll scramble in Thunderbird Shadow to patrol the skies above the launch barge," Kayo informs as her voice comes over the com system, "I'll make sure you get away safely."
"FAB," Scott responds, "All right, let's fire this thing up and get out of here. Commencing pre-flight systems check."
The 60-second countdown begins, and the alert sound rings out over the Rig and Mateo Island. On board Mateo Island is Sally, Borender, Moffy, Penelope, Parker and Sherbet. They are all in the island's control centre where the monitors show the Zero-XL and the Ocean Power Rig from multiple different angles. They all watch with the same emotions that the crew on the Zero-XL are feeling. There is no telling if this mission would be successful despite all of the precautions that have been taken.
"Brains say the word," Scott calls.
"All lights g-green," Brains confirms, "We are g-go for launch."
"Alright," Scott smiles and turns to Alan giving him the nod, "Launching in 5... 4... 3..."
"Stop the countdown!" Brains yells as a security breach comes up on his monitor, "I have a w-warning light. G-Give me a second to check it out."
"Brains," Kayo pants as her hologram comes up on the screen and they see that she is in the Thunderbird Shadow storage room, "We don't have a second. The Chaos Crew, they're here."
She abruptly ends the transmission with the Zero-XL and hops into her Shadow Bike heading down the tunnel towards the main body of her Thunderbird. Kayo presses down on her coms unit and contacts Lady Penelope.
"Kayo, is something wrong?" Penelope asks.
"The Hood's making a move on us," Kayo informs before cutting off the call once again as Thunderbird Shadow takes to the skies. Before Shadow got completely clear of the island, Kayo starts her flight path and heads towards the Chaos Cruiser that has appeared on her scanners. The pursuit is on.
July 15th 2066 - 08:00:35 NZST
The Chaos Cruiser homes in on the Ocean Power Rig before firing two missiles and breaking off their attack. The missiles make a direct hit on one of the supporting legs of the rig and the whole structure starts to tilt. Inside the Zero-XL everyone shakes in their seats as they feel the explosion blast rock the large spacecraft. What is more worrying is the obvious tilt that is getting worse by the second.
"Brains! What's taking so long?" Scott demands, "We need to go!"
"If we have any p-problems with the launch, we may end up a fireball," Brains replies.
"If we don't launch now, we're definitely going to end up a fireball," Scott fires back.
Unknown to them, the Chaos Cruiser lines up for another attack run on the rig but before Fuse is able to fire the next round of missiles, Shadow comes flying in and grabs onto the large cruiser spinning it out of control. She had stopped the total failure of the launch.
"We're tilting!" Nina shouts and tuns on her monitor, which she is sharing with Virgil. Virgil takes a look at the data on the screen.
"10 degrees off axis and climbing fast," he states.
"All clear!" Brains announces, "It was just a hatch sensor. P-Probably faulty."
"Alan, punch it," Scott orders.
"FAB," Alan smirks and fires up the rocket.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kayo smiles as she watches the super-rocket fire up. Seeing that the Chaos Crew couldn't do any more damage, she releases the cruiser and watches as it spins into the ocean landing with a large splash, disappearing under the waves. The engines of Thunderbird 1, 2 and 3 all fire up as well, which have been modified in certain cases to deal with outer space flight. Not long after the Zero-XL clears the Ocean Power Rig, the whole structure crumbles and slips under the waves of the Pacific Ocean. After 20 years of service to the Tracy Family, it had now been destroyed once and for all. Kayo starts to head back to Tracy Island and contacts the rocket.
"Good luck, everyone," Kayo smiles and contacts Thunderbird 10, "Ridley, any word from the GDF?"
"Still nothing," Ridley sighs as she tries and reestablishes communications.
"We're on our own," Kayo states grimly.
July 15th 2066 - 08:02 NZST
"Going for throttle up," Alan informs, "Maximum power!"
"I'm not seeing any wreckage from the Chaos Cruiser," Kayo calls over the IR channels as she does a search for it on her return journey, "They must have gone under."
"There's nothing more you can do, Kayo," Sally replies, "Get back to the island. We'll continue monitoring from this station."
"FAB," Kayo sighs and takes a final look at both the ocean and the sky before flying back to base.
July 15th 2066 - 08:05 NZST
The Zero-XL clears Earth's atmosphere and heads into orbit. In the distance they see the superstructure that is Thunderbird 10 in the background. The past few months that the new Thunderbird had been in operation had seen much success. Both the GDF and the World Council were pleased with International Rescue for their increasing cooperation with world government and the research into new technologies in engineering and medicine.
Much closer to their position is Thunderbird 5. Since Thunderbird 10 became operational, John and EOS's roles have been much reduced as their task is now only relaying situations that Thunderbird 10 forwards to EOS and keeping an important link between the new Mission Control and the rest of the team. Therefore, when designing the Zero-XL it quickly became clear that if Thunderbird 5 became Mission Control for this mission, it wouldn't be a disaster if an emergency came in as it could all be dealt with on Thunderbird 10 and her large crew of workers that Ridley oversees.
"Thunderbird 5, we're on approach to your position," Marion informs.
"FAB," John acknowledges, "EOS, stand by for final assembly of the Zero-XL."
"With pleasure, John," EOS replies and takes control of Thunderbird 5's controls and manoeuvres the satellite into position to connect with the Zero-XL. John, meanwhile, heads down his launch tube that would open up and send him into the area where Thunderbird 6 is being stored, right behind the cockpit.
Alan slows down the Zero-XL and opens up the front hatch that would allow Thunderbird 5 to dock. Next to him, Gordon then remotely accesses Thunderbird 3's controls and releases the other two grasping arms while opening the third one in order to lock them into Thunderbird 5's gravity wheel. They wait for a few moments before the cockpit door opens and everyone turns around to see John enter, letting out a big smile.
"Assembly complete," John announces, taking his seat, "The nine Thunderbirds are locked in."
"Let's hope they stay that way," Nina mutters.
"Impulse engines are offline," Alan calls and turns around, "Brains, it's all you."
"Initiating T-Drive engine start-up sequence," Brains states and turns to face the console to the left of him, up against the wall, "C-Charge couplers at full capacity. Energy field stable. Borender?"
"Readings looking good," Borender replies over the small coms unit on the console.
"I see an EM flutter," Brains indicates.
"It's within normal parameters," Borender dismisses.
"Well, Brains?" Virgil asks.
"We're ready," Brains confirms.
"Start the countdown," Scott orders.
"Hold your horses, young man," Sally calls appearing on the large monitor in front of Alan, Scott and Gordon, "I have something to say before you go. All of you have worked very hard for this. And what you're doing takes more than guts. It takes hope. And determination. And it takes love. We all love your father, and we all want him home. All of you have found your own love along the way but that never look away from the love everyone here shares for my son. You need to know that no matter what happens out there, no matter what you find, I'm proud of you. We are all proud of you. Now go bring my boy home."
Sally ends the transmission, and everyone looks around at each other as a determined look crosses their faces. This is it.
"Navigation," Scott calls.
"Course set," Gordon confirms.
"Hazard avoidance," Maron asks.
"Path is clear," Nina confirms.
"Air frame," Scott lists.
"Thunderbirds are locked in tight," Virgil nods.
"Helm," John says.
"We're ready," Alan states.
"Activate T-Drive engine on my mark," Scott announces.
5
4
3
2
1
Thunderbirds Are Go!
Alan pulls forward the throttle and the T-Drive engine actives. The engine that had a top speed of 31,557.6c fires up and throws the Zero-XL into deep space. From her monitors on Thunderbird 10, Ridley watches as the Zero-XL disappears from her scanners and lets out a bated breath.
"They're gone," Ridley announces to everyone, "Godspeed, International Rescue."
1 minute since arriving at the Oort Cloud
The distance between Earth and the edges of the Oort Cloud is around 0.03 light years away. The Zero-XL is slowed down to normal speed. If they carried on at the speed they were at, the spacecraft would certainly get destroyed by the large asteroid field that made most of it up. A journey that took the Zero-X years to complete is done in around 30-seconds for the Zero-XL.
"That felt weird," Gordon states as he pulls himself out of his seat after being thrown into it like everyone else, "Did that not just feel weird?"
"It felt weird," Virgil confirms.
"Give me a systems check," Scott orders.
"Everything's still coming, back online," Nina says.
"We do have sensors," Marion adds.
"John, did we make?" Scott asks.
"The good news is we made it," John replies, "Bad news is we overshot our arrival target outside the Oort Cloud by a few million miles. We're actually inside the Oort Cloud."
"Let's have a look," Scott responds, "Monitors up."
"Whoa!" Alan gasps as he turns on the monitors for everyone to see. The sight before them is breath-taking. Thousands of asteroids float around them with a clear blue tint to them. It is clear that ice is making up most of these floating rocks in space. The patterns along the sides were truly eye-catching as none of them had ever seen anything like this before. Not even from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
"Scott, all systems are now active," Brains announces.
"And how about the rest of us?" Scott questions, "That was quite a ride."
"Aside from regretting those tacos I had for breakfast, yeah, I'm okay," Gordon jokes causes everyone to chuckles, lessening the tension.
"John, let's see if anybody's out there," Marion says.
"EOS?" John calls.
"Scanning all frequencies," EOS states and there's a pause before a contact is made on the radar system, "Found one contact."
"That didn't take long," John smiles, "We've got a signal."
"Brains, can you decode it?" Scott asks.
"Yes," Brains states and gets to work as John forwards the data to Brains' monitors, "It's b-binary text. 'I'm all alone. International Rescue. P-Please help me.'"
"That's the same signal Braman picked up," Nina gasps.
"It's coming from the small planetoid right here," Virgil points out reaching over to John's monitors and pointing at a large asteroid on the map.
"We're almost on top of it," Alan says, "We could be there in a few hours."
"We may not have that long," Marion notes, "I'm doing a seismic scan, and it looks like the planetoid is breaking apart."
"Then, let's not waste any time," Scott replies, "Alan, you've got the helm."
"FAB," Alan responds. He fires up the Zero-XL once again and they move in deeper into the Oort Cloud.
2 hours 32 minutes since arriving at the Oort Cloud
After a couple of hours, they near the planetoid where the signal is coming from. John and Marion kept a close eye on the situation of the seismic activity giving Virgil and Nina regular updates. Brains keeps an eye on the Zero-XL's systems to make sure that there will be no issue in returning to Earth once the mission is complete. Gordon watches the navigation and as they close in several warnings appear on his screen.
"I've got a lot of big obstacles ahead. I'm plotting you a course around," Gordon calls.
"Thanks, but this is a hardship to turn," Alan replies as he struggles at the controls as he attempts to do a hard turn, "Argh!" A large asteroid comes out of nowhere and collides with the side of the Zero-XL. Everyone is thrown in their seats but luckily, they are all secured so no-one is injured. "Sorry," Alan apologizes.
"Structural integrity of 100%," Virgil calls.
"No damage from that one," Nina confirms.
"How's that planetoid holding up?" Scott inquiries.
"It's still in one piece for now," John responds.
"Can we go any faster?" Marion jokes.
"Not without risking more hits like that last one," Virgil interjects.
"Then it's time to fly," Scott announces, "We'll leave the Zero-XL here and take the Thunderbirds to the planetoid."
Alan turns off all of the engines and brings the Zero-XL to a stop. It is time to launch. Everyone makes their way to their respective Thunderbirds.
10
The Zero-XL starts to open up its separate compartments.
9
Thunderbird 9 is moved to the storage room for the med-bay is prepped.
8
Thunderbird 8 is loaded inside Module 6 alongside Thunderbird 4 and Nina gets inside.
7
Thunderbird 7 is opened up to allow Marion to slot into the pilot's seat.
6
Thunderbird 6 opens up to the side to allow Brains to access his tools for maintenance.
5
Thunderbird 5 is prepared to act as Mission Control.
4
Thunderbird 4 is attached to Thunderbird 8's cable to lower the submarine inside the asteroid.
3
Thunderbird 3 disengages from Thunderbird 5 and the grasping arms withdrawn.
2
Thunderbird 2 is released from is hold alongside Thunderbird 3.
1
Thunderbird 1 opens up and the pilot chair dropped to allow Scott to step inside.
Thunderbirds are Go!
2 hours 43 minutes since arriving at the Oort Cloud
"Brains, are you sure you want to stay behind?" Scott asks.
"I'm p-positive," Brains replies, "Someone needs to keep an eye on the Zero-XL."
"FAB, see you when we get back," Marion smiles.
"We'll be waiting. Right, M-Max?" Brains asks and gets a positive response from Max.
Thunderbirds 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 detach from the main body of the Zero-XL and move off towards the large planetoid. Alan found it much easier in Thunderbird 3 to manoeuvre around the smaller asteroids in order to get to the destination. Around 1 mile from the planetoid, Thunderbird 5 comes to a stop and John sets up a Mission Control.
"Watch your flying," John orders as he sees Marion do a barrel roll over Thunderbird 1, "EOS is detecting some gravitational anomalies that the planetoid is creating."
No one thinks much of it until a strange pulling force acts upon Thunderbird 3 pulling Alan downwards and making him temporarily lose control of his Thunderbird.
"Like that," John deadpans.
"Mission Control, are you still picking up the signal?" Scott asks.
"Yes, it's transmitting from somewhere down in that crack you're heading over now," John informs and all the Thunderbirds come to a stop.
"I'll pulling ahead for a closer look," Marion informs as Thunderbird 7 is the smallest Thunderbird that is currently flying. They watch as Thunderbird 7 heads towards the large crack, but Marion is forced to come to a stop when a large eruption comes upwards, and a thick white cloud comes up and out of the canyon. Several small balls of rock burst outwards and the other Thunderbirds are forced to move out of the way to avoid getting hit.
"It's starting to close up," John announces.
"I'm on it," Alan replies and deploys Thunderbird 3's grasping arms before moving in on Thunderbird 7's position. As the walls of the crack close up, they hit the sides of Thunderbird 3's arms and are held open. The gap however is now no longer wide enough for Thunderbird 7 to fit through.
"Gordon, you're up," Scott orders.
"FAB," Gordon replies.
Virgil moves Thunderbird 2 in closer, so it is sitting right about the crack, next to Thunderbird 3. He then opens up the bay doors in Module 6 that is directly below where Thunderbird 4 is situated. When they fully open, Nina starts to wheel out Thunderbird 8's rescue cable which lowers Thunderbird 4 out of the module and down past Thunderbird 3. The gravitation pull that the planetoid is creating, is enough to pull Thunderbird 4 downwards instead of it just floating around in space and not moving anywhere. Everyone watches as the lights of Thunderbird 4 get dimmer and dimmer before they completely disappear from view. It's not for another couple of seconds until they hear anything from Gordon.
"Ungh! It's tight in here," Gordon announces, "Scanners on full power. Wait. I see something ahead. Looks like part of a ship." Everyone's eyes widen until they hear a crash come through on the com unit, "Argh!"
"The cracks too tight, Gordon," Virgil states as he notices the damage that is made to Thunderbird 4's hull, "Babe, can you reel him in?"
"FAB," Nina replies and turns Thunderbird 8's winch in the opposite direction.
"I'm going down there," Alan announces as he gets out of Thunderbird 3 and onto one of his Astro-boards, heading straight for the crack.
"We'll both go," Scott states as he gets on his helmet and jetpack before exiting Thunderbird 1.
"So will I," Marion says and does the same.
They go past Thunderbird 4 as it is coming up and through the window, Gordon gives the team a thumbs up, wishing them good luck. The lights from Thunderbird 4 came in handy as the trio go further in as it is their only source of light, except for the small ones they have on their helmets.
"Argh!" Alan cries as his Astro-board wobbles, "John wasn't kidding about the crazy gravity swings. One second, I'm floating, the other, I'm falling."
"Scott," John calls, "Scans are telling me this planetoid is going to break apart any moment."
"Understood, Mission Control," Scott responds as the group land at the bottom of crack where there is clearly a small base made by a human at the bottom. There is a light coming from inside which became helpful as Thunderbird 4 disappears from sight above them.
"We're here," Marion informs.
"Dad, put this here. He's created an airlock," Alan cries and they rush their way over to the door entrance. Scott leads and bangs on the door several times hoping to get an answer. When he doesn't, he turns around and shrugs his shoulders before opening the door himself. The door creaks open and they make their way inside. When they reach the main room, they see a makeshift bed, sketches over the walls, and the basic supplies in order to survive. There is even an artificial gravity device on with many green oxygen tanks lie around the place but there are no signs of life.
"Dad?" Alan calls out and gets no response, "He's not here."
The group look around the base once again but a loud crash outside throughs everyone off their feet and they all scramble for the exit.
"This place is coming apart," Marion states.
"But what about Dad?" Alan questions, "He can't just be gone? I mean, the lights are still on. There's air to breathe. We've come so far."
"He must have known that planetoid was breaking apart and move to safer ground," Scott muses and places a comforting hand on his youngest brother's shoulder, "We'll keep looking. We'll find him."
"We're not going home till we do," Marion adds.
"Agreed. Now, let's move," Scott orders.
Alan takes one last look at the sketch of Tracy Island that is on the wall before deciding that it is time to go and races after Scott and Marion. They rush over to the small platform where Alan left his Astro-board, and he hops onto it. As he and Marion prepare to leave, they turn around and see that Scott is not following them.
"I'll take one more look around," Scott shouts, "You get back to Thunderbird 3 and move it to safety. I'll be right behind you."
"FAB," Alan replies and flies off but Marion stays.
"Scott, we need to go now," Marion states, "We'll find your dad."
"He could still be around here," Scott reasons, "Waiting for us to arrive."
"Scott, Marion," John calls.
"I know," Scott growls in response.
"We have a wedding next month and you kinda need to be there," Marion shouts.
"Fine, I'm coming," Scott answers and he starts to walk away but the whole ground shakes beneath him with a massive explosion, throwing him off his feet, "Whoa!"
"SCOTT!" Marion yells and flies towards him but is unable to see where his is from the white smoke that is covering her view. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she sees a dark shadow make a dive towards, sliding down the side of the platform as it falls deeper towards the planetoids centre. It reaches out and grabs onto Scott's hand with one arm and using a climber's tool to stop them from further falling with the other. Marion flies in closer to the pair and her eyes widen. Scott looks up and is face completely pales.
"Dad," Scott breathes.
"I've got you, son," Jeff smiles, "Now, what do you say about getting both you and your girl outta of here?"
3 hours and 4 minutes since arriving at the Oort Cloud
At the entrance to the crack, Alan moves Thunderbird 3 out of the way before joining Virgil, Nina and Gordon in Thunderbird 2's cockpit. Nina is keeping a close eye on the vitals of the planetoid and is holding her breathe in anticipation. There has still been no word from either Scott or Marion, and this is getting on everyone's nerves. Alan is starting to feel terrible as he felt like he left the couple for dead when he left the crack without any hesitation.
"Any word yet," Alan asks.
"Nothing," Nina replies with a sigh, "The gravitational field is interfering with our coms."
"It's been too long," Gordon argues, "We need to get back out there."
"Hold on a minute," John suddenly calls and appears next to the planetoid's hologram and brings up an updated image, "I'm picking up two life signs. Actually, no. Three life signs."
"It's Dad," Alan gasps.
"I've got him, Mission Control," Scott calls.
"Virgil," Marion orders, "Prepare a temporary med bay on Thunderbird 2 before we can transport him to Thunderbird 9."
Without any hesitation, everyone charges out of the cockpit and heads down into Module 6. Nina makes sure to open the bay doors in order to allow Scott, Marion and Jeff to enter inside.
"Bay doors are open, Scott," Virgil announces, "We're standing by."
The brothers and Nina enter the module and see Scott and Marion on either side of a new figure. Scott seems to be talking to him and helps him in getting off his helmet. Gordon and Alan's mouths hang open as they also remove their helmets, now the bay doors have closed once again. The figure then turns around and they see Jeff Tracy's face for the first time in over 8 years.
"Boy," Jeff nods. Alan feels like that he has become a 14-year-old kid all over again and shoves everyone else out of the way and tackles Jeff in a massive hug. Tears fall out from his eyes as he lets out a sob, holding onto his father with a vice like grip, afraid that he would disappear any second. Marion calls John so he can witness the moment as the rest of the Tracy Brothers charge over to join the large hug. Marion, Nina and Scott hold off for a second before Marion shoves Scott in the direction of Jeff with a knowing look. The family has finally been reunited.
"You got the old bird into space," Jeff marvels as he looks around the module, "Impressive."
"It was Brains' idea," Gordon informs.
"That doesn't surprise me," Jeff chuckles but abruptly stops as he lets out a very dry cough.
"Let's get a monitor on you," Virgil says, reaching over to his utility belt and attaching one to Jeff's chest.
"How did you do it, dad?" Alan questions, "How did you last so long?"
"Surviving was easy," Jeff admits, "How did I last? Thinking of all of you. I knew you'd find a way. I never gave up hope."
Everyone smiles before an alarm goes off inside the module and everyone looks over to Nina and she brings up a hologram on her wrist communicator.
"Incoming debris," Nina states.
"We'll take care of dad," Virgil says as he leads Jeff over to the med bay area that had been temporarily set up, "Get back to your ships."
"Scott... Marion..." Jeff calls stopping Virgil and turning around to look at the engaged couple, "Thank you."
Scott nods and a single tear falls down the side of his right cheek. This doesn't go unnoticed by Marion who gives Scott a peck on the lips before reapplying her helmet.
"Thunderbirds are go!" Marion laughs and the bay doors open below them. They, along with Alan, exit through them and head back to their respective ships. Once they all get back into their seats, they quickly move out of the way to avoid getting hit by the large debris that are flying out of the planetoid.
"Mission Control, this is Thunderbird 7," Marion calls, "We're heading home."
"FAB," John smiles and turns Thunderbird 5 around before contacting Brains, "This is Thunderbird 5 to Zero-XL. Brains we're on our way back with one extra passenger."
"Yes! They d-did it!" Brains celebrates looking over to Max who is over by Thunderbird 6 before wincing as he crashes into a wall, "I'll b-begin the launch preparations immediately. But for safety, I'll move the ship away from the ice field."
As the Thunderbirds make their way back to the Zero-XL, Alan takes the lead in Thunderbird 3 while Thunderbirds 1 and 7 remain to the left and right of Thunderbird 2 with Thunderbird 5 taking up the rear. Jeff looks up from where he is lying down in the cockpit and spots Alan's expert flying skills and is immediately impressed. When he disappeared in 2058, he was still the designated pilot of Thunderbird 3 and Alan had never been to space before.
"Who taught Alan to fly like that?" Jeff questions with a proud smile on his face.
"He's pretty much natural," Gordon responds.
"Dad, you need to lie down flat and let the med-scan finish," Virgil orders.
"You sound like your grandma," Jeff smirks.
"Yeah? Who is always right!" Virgil fires back.
July 15th 2066 - 11:16 NZDT
Back on Earth, Penelope and Parker have been in search of the Chaos Cruiser since it crashed down into the ocean after its encounter with Thunderbird Shadow. They had spent the last few hours searching the wreckage of the Ocean Power Rig but have found no signs of the Chaos Crew. Defeated, Penelope tells Parker to call off the search and they head back towards Mateo Island.
"FAB 1 to Mateo Island," Penelope calls, "No sign of the Chaos Crew below the surface, wreckage or otherwise. As far as we can tell, they simply vanished."
"I can't imagine they'll stay vanished for long," Sally grumbles.
"They're coming from me," Borender states, "The Hood wants a T-Drive engine, and besides stealing the Zero-XL itself, I'm his only way to get one."
"As long as you're on Mateo or Tracy Island, you're safe," Sally replies.
"The Hood is fuelled by anger, jealousy, and revenge," Borender lists, "I'm not safe anywhere."
"He's right," Kayo sighs and points to all the monitors, "Our system's just been hacked."
Suddenly, the proximity alarm goes off and they turn to the steel doors of the Thunderbird 6 hanger that are locked shut. On the other side, they hear a roar of an engine before a loud crash causes the doors to the taxiway fall to the ground. A cloud of soot and dust rises but a silhouette of Basher is clearly seen. Out jumps both Havoc and Fuse.
"Sorry about the door," Fuse states.
"No, we're not," Havoc deadpans.
"She's right," Fuse scoffs before laughing, "We're not. Power punch!"
Fuse slams his fist into the ground sending out a shockwave that nocks Kayo, Sally and Borender all of their feet. With them down, Havoc fires a grapple line towards the ceiling before swinging herself over towards where Borender is lying. Borender sees this and quickly rolls out of the way before Havoc could slam herself into him.
"The boss isn't through with you yet," Havoc snarls and raises her arm towards Borender, "And neither are we."
From her wrist, she fires an electrical wire that coils itself around Borender as he stands up to fight back. This gives him an electrical shock that sends him tumbling back down to the floor.
"Take all your like Havoc," Kayo shouts as she helps Sally to her feet and steps in front of her protectively, "Brains keeps our files so heavily encrypted there'll be nothing but ones and zeros to you."
"Oh, I'm not taking. I'm leaving," Havoc declares. She slams her left hand into a nearby console and hacks into the controls to the equipment in the room. The platform that Kayo and Sally are on is sent towards the roof of the hanger. The several maintenance cranes that are dotted around the hanger are also switched on are they start to fly around mindlessly.
"Isn't that a shame?" Fuse chuckles nudging Havoc's arm, "Tracy Island caught one of your viruses."
"Kayo!" Sally cries as the platform starts breaking up, "Help!" Kayo's eyes widen in alarm, and she throws herself across the platform, falling onto her stomach and reaching out with her hand. Just as Sally completely falls off, she manages to get a hand on Kayo to prevent her from falling to her death. "Oh!"
"I've got you," Kayo sighs in relief. However, this is short lived as one of the cranes comes their way and would have taken Sally out if Kayo didn't react quick enough. Using all her strength, Kayo pulls Sally all the way up and back onto the platform, to safety.
On the ground, Havoc and Fuse celebrate the chaos that they are causing but as they turn to leave, they notice that Borender is no longer where they left him. They look around in alarm before Havoc points out to the centre of Thunderbird 6's hanger. There stands Borender with all his gear on and ready for a fight.
"I've spent months in this lab rebuilding the T-Drive engine," Borender growls as he brings up the central hologram with The Mechanic's symbol on full display, "Do you really think you can use my own tools against me?"
With the Chaos Crew now distracted, Kayo and Sally can now assess the situation up above without having to run around, or attempt to run in Sally's case, to get away from the maintenance cranes.
"We need to get to Havoc and shut her down," Kayo explains, "Can you follow me?"
"I'll try, dear," Sally replies and follows Kayo towards another platform that is comes down. Kayo hops over and reaches out to get Sally when she hops over to join her on the new platform. Inside of going up now they are heading back down to the ground. They change platforms one more time before landing at the bottom of the hanger. They see Havoc trying to fight Borender digitally but is having no success so far.
"Let's split up," Kayo orders. Sally nods and runs forwards while Kayo heads round the back of the console towards where Havoc is standing. She creeps up slowly and steps up onto the console itself to gain some height. Once she thinks she is close enough, Kayo jumps out with her arms out, ready to tackle Havoc to the ground. However, instead Kayo ends up on the floor and what she presumed was Havoc disappears. It turns out it had been a clone and across on the other side of the room she her laughter as the real Havoc flickers into view. Annoyed, Kayo gets back to her feet and kick away the hologram projector ball that Havoc used. It's at this moment that Moffy, Penelope and Parker enter the hanger via Thunderbird 6's runway.
"Crikey!" Parker gasps as he looks as the destruction as chaos in front of him.
"Holy shit!" Moffy gasps.
"Sorry, we didn't have a chance to warn you about our unexpected guests," Kayo muses.
"What can we do to help?" Penelope asks as she approaches Kayo.
"There's a power relay in the walkway above us," Kayo indicates, "If I disconnect it, it shuts down Havoc. I'll need a distraction."
"Leave it to us," Penelope nods, "Parker?"
"Right h'away, m'lady," Parker replies.
"Moffy," Kayo whispers, "Go outside and prepare for some more guests who will be arriving. The more friendly kind."
"Right away," Moffy says and heads back out.
Over on the far side, Penelope heads over to the old yellow pod capsules that Thunderbird 2 used to use until they were replaced by the new green earth pods. Havoc sees Penelope as she runs past her position and gets distracted by what she is doing. Meanwhile, Parker runs over towards where he sees Fuse lingering around.
"Here to stop me, then?" Fuse queries.
"Be warned," Parker smirks as he raises his arms, "H'I know six different styles h'of the fighting h'arts. Jujitsu, joe-jitsu, bo-jitsu, bi-jitsu, ken-jitsu and ojo-jitsu."
"Is that last one for real?" Fuse scoffs.
"Try me!" Parker taunts.
"No. You try me!" Fuse declares and punches his fists together sending out a shockwave that sends Parker flying into the nearby wall. Parker shakes his head, a little disorientated, before smirking back at Fuse.
"Ah, didn't mention my h'ultimate weapon, though," Parker states and the pair turn to the sound of growling as Sherbet the dog walks over and stands protectively in front of Parker, snarling towards the attacker.
"All right! Easy!" Fuse cries in alarm, raising his hands up in surrender.
"That's right, Sherbet," Parker calls causing the dog to look around before Parker commands, "Get him!"
"Oops, that that thing away from me," Fuse yells as he runs away with Sherbet giving chase.
With both Havoc and Fuse distracted, Kayo makes her way back up the platforms again to get to the top. However, Havoc notices and calls on Fuse to give chase to Kayo. Fuse gladly accepts and gets onto one of the platforms before it starts to head upwards under Havoc's control. The walkways assemble at the top with Kayo on one side and Fuse on the other. Both run around but Kayo is the fast runner and gets across first. Fuse goes to follow her by out of nowhere Sally appears and blocks his path.
"Out of my way, Grandma!" Fuse demands.
"That's Mrs Tracy to you. Or ma'am. Or even Doctor Tracy, even though I'm retired," Sally states, "But no one calls me Grandma, unless you are part of the family. This is our home, young man. Shame on you. Is that any way to treat your elders?" Sally walks up to Fuse with an accusing finger and places it on his chest once she is close enough. She pauses as she awaits a response from Fuse but gets none except for a look of guilt to cross Fuse's face. "Well, is it?"
"No," Fuse quivers.
"What was that?" Sally demands.
"I said no," Fuse replies, louder this time, "Mrs Tracy."
"What has International Rescue ever done that makes you hate us so much?" Sally inquires.
"N-Nothing, Mrs Tracy," Fuse trembles.
"I didn't think so," Sally scoffs, "In fact, we've saved your skin on more than a few occasions, haven't we?"
"Mm-hm," Fuse nods.
"That's what I thought," Sally scolds, "So what do you have to say for yourself? Whatever your name is."
"It's Clarence," Fuse replies, "Clarence Mullion."
"Well? Clarence?" Sally presses.
"I'm sorry," Clarence replies.
"That's more like it," Sally smiles and turns to look over at Kayo, who is working at the control panel, "Kayo?"
"I got it," Kayo states shutting down the power on Mateo Island.
"Ugh!" Havoc cries as she runs over and gets into the passenger's seat of Basher, "Fuse! Forget The Mechanic, forget everything! We're leaving." She fires up a grapple line that connects to the rock that makes up the hollow cave that stores Thunderbird 6 normally.
Fuse takes one look at Sally before hopping over the railing and sailing down into the driver's seat.
"What were you doing up there?" Havoc growls, "Let's go!"
However, before they could move the sound of squealing tires are heard coming down the taxiway and several GDF Armoured Cars enter the hanger. When the proximity alarm went off, the GDF Headquarters in Washington D.C. immediately got an alert and scrambled to get over to the International Rescue base of operations.
"GDF," Rigby shouts as he jumps out of the lead car charging over to Basher, "You're under arrest."
"Fuse, drive!" Havoc orders.
"It's not working! We can't..." Fuse states as he tries to start the engine but only gets the engine to start making spluttering sounds. They then feel the Basher to drop in height and they turn to see Borender had removed one of the tires, meaning they really couldn't escape now.
"Ugh!" Havoc growls
"Go h'on," Parker smirks as he approaches with Penelope and Sherbet in tow, "This is where you get to 'ave your last word."
"Be my guest," Borender chuckles.
"H'End of the road for you two," Parker states as he walks over to Basher and leans against the side of it in a cool fashion.
"Well said, Parker," Penelope compliments. Sherbet barks and Clarence raises his hands in surrender.
"Ugh!" Havoc mutters before doing the same.
Colonel Casey and Moffy then walk over to the two members of the Chaos Crew and witnesses their arrest.
"Moffy, Colonel Casey," Kayo calls, turning her attention over to the IR co-ops leader and smiles, "Thanks for stopping by."
"We knew The Hood had something to do with our communications hack," Casey states, "Thanks to Thunderbird 10 we have quickly restored to normal operations."
"It was all a smokescreen so the Chaos Crew could attack us," Kayo informs.
"Obviously the Zero-XL got away safely," Casey states, "Any word?"
"No," Kayo says worriedly, "Nothing at all."
5 hours and 36 minutes since arriving at the Oort Cloud
The Zero-XL had been positioned on the edge of the Oort Cloud, where they were supposed to arrive at. This meant that it took a couple of hours for the Thunderbirds to catch up to the spacecraft in order to reassemble safely. Thunderbirds 1 and 3 switch places so Scott could lead the team back in.
"Thunderbird 1 to Zero-XL," Scott calls, "We're coming in for reassembly."
They watch as the Zero-XL carries on moving in the clear area of space but get no response from inside. Jeff gets up from the bed once again as his eyebrows raise in worry.
"Brains?" Marion calls.
"Maybe there's something wrong with the coms channel," John calls, "EOS do a full spectrum blast."
"Yes, John," EOS replies.
"Brains, this is Mission Control," John states, "Do you hear us? We need to reassemble."
They wait for another few seconds, but they still get no response.
"Alan, see if you can match speed to dock," Virgil orders.
"FAB," Alan responds and moves Thunderbird 3 in closer to dock with the Zero-XL. However, as he makes his approach, he sees the hatch start to close up and the collision alarm goes off inside the cockpit. Alan cries and turns Thunderbird 3 just in time, saving any damage to it or the Zero-XL. "He's shutting me out," Alan mutters.
"He's shutting us all out!" Scott cries as he brings up a hologram of the Zero-XL and sees that all the docking hatches have been closed up. The main engines of the Zero-XL finally cut out before a familiar blue glow replaces it.
"The T-Drive's powering up," John cries, "Brains is going to leave us behind."
They watch as the blue light starts to get brighter and brighter as the Zero-XL prepares to go beyond the speed of light.
"Brains. What's going on? Brains!" Marion yells down the coms channel, desperate to get a reply.
"Mission Control, we need to do something," Scott says, "If the Zero-XL leaves us behind, we'll never get back to Earth."
"We can send out an electromagnetic pulse," John suggests, "That will force the T-Drive engine to reset."
"Will it damage the T-Drive?" Nina asks.
"No," John dismisses, "It will only shut it down for a few minutes."
"Do it," Scott orders.
Nina then prepares Thunderbird 2's EMP device bringing it up on the holographic screen. She pulls a lever that starts to charge the device to full power. As soon as it reaches 100%, Nina fires the pulse out. It travels the short distance between Thunderbird 2 and the Zero-XL and to everyone's relief the T-Drive engine shuts down. The EMP also opens up all the docking hatches and immediately, Alan pulls Thunderbird 3 in. This is followed by Thunderbirds 5 and 2, which Alan then safely locks into place using Thunderbird 3's grasping arms. Once the main Thunderbirds had attached, Scott and Marion attach both Thunderbirds 1 and 7 back up before exiting their craft and making their way inside the body of the Zero-XL.
The team split up in search for Brains, with Scott and Gordon heading towards the cockpit. They pry the doors open with force and enter.
"Brains?" Scott calls out as they find an empty control room, "Brains?"
"I'm here, Scott," a voice says, and the pair turn to see Brains crouched down under his control unit that sits in front of his seat.
"Brains, what's going on?" Gordon demands, "Were you trying to ditch us?"
"It was, er, engine trouble," Brains replies, nervously, "I'm sure it will be fine, now. Shall we get going?"
"Hey, Brains, look who we found," Alan calls as he, Virgil, Nina and Jeff enter the room, "Where's Max?"
"It's good to see you, Jeff," Brains says.
"It's good to see you too..." Jeff states with a slight glare before reaching out his hand, "Brains." Brains reaches out and accepts Jeff's hand but is quite surprised to find Jeff bringing him into a headlock and slamming him against the wall. There's a loud thud and Brains groans in pain.
"Whoa, Dad!" Virgil cries, "Easy."
"This isn't Brains, Virgil," Jeff informs. There's a banging before the doors to the cockpit open up again and other Brains, this time with Max enter.
"N-No storage locker can hold me!" the real Brains yells before looking over to see Jeff who still holds the imposter against the wall. Brains removes his safety goggles, and a surprise look covers his face, "M-M-M-Mr Tracy!"
"Hi, Brains," Jeff smiles, throwing the imposter to one side, "In all our years together, he's never once called me Jeff to my face. It's good to see you again, partner." Jeff reaches over and gives Brains a hug which Brains accepts beaming from ear to ear. There's a growl from the imposter, who is now being held by Alan and Gordon. The disguise flickers before revealing that The Hood had been on board the Zero-XL this whole time.
"You never give up, do you, Hood?" Jeff growls.
"Not as far as you're concerned," The Hood replies.
"What is it with you?" Alan demands, "Why do you hate my dad so much?"
"It may be hard to imagine, but we were friends a long time ago. The two of us were going to change the world," The Hood monologues, "But my ways never suited the mighty Jeff Tracy. He had this funny thing about right and wrong. At every turn he was there to undermine my pursuits. I finally had enough. If Jeff Tracy wanted to make me out to be the villain, then the villain I would be. And the best villain our world has ever seen!"
"You need better goals, Hood," Jeff scoffs before turning around to face Brains again, "Brains, tell me about the storage locker. We have some baggage to stow before we take off."
Alan and Gordon escort The Hood out of the room towards the storage locker and they pass John and Marion on the way who give him a deadly glare. With him tied up and out of the way, they could finally start preparing to return to Earth. Virgil helps Jeff into Thunderbird 9 and seats him down in one of the seats and connects him up to a couple of monitors to check his vitals. He keeps his eyes down, afraid to make any eye contact. Nina enters the room and helps assist Virgil knowing this is still very hard for Virgil to get his head around his dad being alive and well. Jeff notices this as well and places a comforting hand on Virgil's shoulder.
"Virgil," Jeff states, "I'm gonna be okay."
"I know, Dad," Virgil says and finally makes eye contact.
"Alright," Scott calls over the coms, "Go no go for launch. Telemetry."
"Go," John replies.
"Navigation," Marion asks.
"Go," Gordon confirms.
"Airframe," Scott calls.
"Go," Nina states.
"Propulsion," Marion lists.
"Go," Brains shouts.
"Helm," Scott finishes, turning to Alan.
"Go," Alan smiles.
"Then let's go home," Scott states and turns to Jeff, "Wanna count us down?"
"I was hoping you'd ask," Jeff chuckles, "5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are go!"
July 15th 2066 - 14:01 NZDT
Onboard Thunderbird 10, Ridley waits patiently to hear any response from the Zero-XL. Due to the distance, it had travelled, they are unable to pick up any signals from the Zero-XL until it returns to Earth. The super-light speeds would also restrict in any signals from transmitting two and from the spacecraft anyway despite the distance. As a result, it meant a long anxious wait for the team onboard Thunderbird 10, awaiting the news from their orbit patrols. Ridley has kept herself inside the International Rescue private quarters since the launch at 08:00 with constant reports coming in that she is mostly ignoring as they could be delt with another day. Suddenly, a call comes in and Ridley answers it.
"This is the Zero-XL to Thunderbird 10, do you receive?" John calls.
"Thunderbird 10 receiving you loud and clear, Zero-XL," Ridley beams, "Welcome back."
July 15th 2066 - 14:02 NZDT
On Mateo Island, the GDF have gathered on Thunderbird 6's runway as they prepare to take the Chaos Crew to a new prison facility that is deep under the ocean waves. As they are doing their final checks Kayo's com goes off and she answers the calls.
"I'm pleased to announce that the Zero-XL has appearing in orbit," Ridley states with a smile, "Patching them through now."
Zero-XL to International Rescue Headquarters," Scott calls as Casey and Rigby walk over to Kayo, "We're home. With two extra passengers."
"That's amazing news, Scott," Kayo states but then goes puzzled, "Did you just say TWO extra passengers?"
"We had a stowaway," Marion confirms.
"Colonel Casey," Kayo calls, "Do you have room in there for one more?"
July 15th 2066 - 14:56 NZDT
Everyone gathers inside Thunderbird 2's hanger as Virgil returns. Thunderbird 5 and the Zero-XL have been docked with Thunderbird 10 once the other Thunderbirds where back on Earth. A small group forms as Thunderbird 2 rises to reveal the door of Module 6. It slowly lowers to reveal Thunderbirds 4 and 8 with Gordon on one side of Jeff and Nina on the other. Sally rushes forward to greet her son after over 8 years apart and the two share an emotional hug. Nina and Gordon step back to allow the two to have their moment together.
"My boy. My dear, sweet boy. Welcome home," Sally cries before grabbing his arm and dragging him away, "I want you in the medical pod immediately, young man. You're getting a full scan. And after that, a home-cooked meal."
"Help me!" Jeff jokes calling back to Nina and Gordon for support.
"Welcome home, Dad," Gordon laughs.
July 15th 2066 - 19:31 NZDT
In the kitchen, Alan and Kayo are sitting down at the dining table. Alan is working on fixing an old tablet of his while Kayo is snuggled up to his side. Unfortunately, Alan received the news that he had missed out on his graduation ceremony which turned out to be today, though he didn't read most of the letter that had come in this morning as he was rushed off to the lounge. Kayo, being the supportive girlfriend she is, took Alan's mind off things by giving something to do with his hands and talking to him for a while.
They had spoken for hours about their first mission together with Fermat all those years ago just before Jeff's disappearance. They still wonder about what Fermat is up to as they hadn't heard from him in a long time. He seems to have completely dropped off the face of the Earth. Maybe he had taken another asteroid mining job. Who knows. As they sit in a comfortable silence, they look up at the sound of footsteps and see Sally had entered the room.
"I understand we have a new BA graduate in the family," Sally states.
"Ah, it's no big deal," Alan shrugs, "I missed the ceremony, Grandma. It happened right around the time we re-entered Earth's orbit."
"Don't be so sure," Sally smirks, "Your grandma was able to pull a few strings."
July 15th 2066 - 19:45 NZDT
Alan stands before everyone as he makes his way up the stairs to the platform where Jeff and Sally are standing. Everyone had taken a stand next to their partners. Scott and Marion stand off to the left, then stand Virgil and Nina with Penelope, Gordon, Parker and Kayo standing in the middle. To the right of Kayo stands John and Ridley, with John holding a phone, recording the whole thing. Then finally Brains, Moffy and Borender stand just off right. Jeff had been given the all clear and had freshened up in a suit to present Alan with his diploma. Alan had gotten into his formal International Rescue uniform as he didn't have any robes to put on.
"You need to wear the hat, Alan," Jeff states as Alan reaches him, "It's tradition."
"Oh, do I have to?" Alan asks but relaxes as he sees it is just a mortarboard, "Oh, right! I was thinking of a different hat."
"Alan Bartlett Tracy..." Sally announces, clearing her throat and handing the diploma over to Jeff. Jeff reaches out with his hand and Alan gives a firm handshake and a small blush appears on his cheeks. He looks down at the diploma before being pulled into a hug with his father.
"Come here," Jeff says.
"Wooo!" Kayo cheers, "That's my boyfriend right there!"
Alan's blush deepens as everyone starts clapping and cheering. Despite the embarrassment, he knew that deep down this is turning out to be the best day of his life. He has changed a lot over the past few years, working for International Rescue. Alan had matured and taken responsibility for actions he took. He is now a leader. He is quick to learn from his mistakes and never fails to help the little guy.
"Congratulations, son," Jeff states proudly.
"I have some news too!" Marion suddenly calls and everyone turns to face her and a puzzled look crosses Scott's face. Marion turns to Scott with a nervous look. "I've known this for a while now but decided not to tell you until after you found your father."
"What is it?" Scott asks, nervously.
"I'm pregnant!" Marion blurts out and there is an audible gasp that goes around the room.
"W-W-What?" Scott stutters, clearly in shock, "How far are you along?"
"Two months," Marion winces knowing that Scott could only react one of two ways from here. Scott pauses for a moment as everyone waits for his reaction but smiles and grabs onto Marion, picking her up and giving her a massive bear hug.
"I'm going to be a father!" Scott laughs and the room erupts with more applause and congratulations for the soon to be parents.
As the cheering starts to quieten down, an alarm of John's phone goes off and Thunderbird 10's symbol appears on the holo-screen. Everyone looks over to John as a determined look crosses his face.
"Sorry everyone. We have a situation," John announces.
10
Thunderbird 10 directs multiple emergency calls to different organizations across the world.
9
Thunderbird 9's hanger lights turn on and it rotates into position.
8
Thunderbird 8 awaits in a small hanger, separate to the modules.
7
Thunderbird 7 pulls out from a hanger underneath Thunderbird 1 to allow Marion to get inside.
6
Thunderbird 6 taxis down a small runway and starts to pick up speed.
5
Thunderbird 5's space elevator arrives back with the main body and John prepares the pod.
4
Thunderbird 4 prepares to exit from the cave doors at the seabed.
3
Thunderbird 3's blast door closes, and Thunderbird S's platform heads up to turn around.
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!
"This is Jeff Tracy of International Rescue," Jeff calls as he sits down at his desk, "How may we be of assistance?"
July 16th 2066 – UNKNOWN
A man walks through the busy city streets, dressed in all black. He holds a black briefcase in his left hand as he turns down one of the side streets and into a back alley. The man pauses and turns around slightly to lower his sunglasses to check if anyone is following him. When he sees that there isn't, he continues walking. He slowly reaches into his pocket and places a black cap on his head as he approaches a small black limousine. The front passenger door opens, and a female gets out to open the rear door for the man to step into. The man gives a slight nod of appreciation before sliding inside and having the door close behind him. Next to him sits another man who seems to be the leader.
"Is that the money?" the leader asks.
"Sure is, boss," the man replies.
"Pass it over," the leader demands and the man pass the briefcase over for the leader to open up. A wicked smile crosses the leader's face as he sees all the cash in front of him.
"Is that all, boss?" the man asks.
"For now," the leader states and the door opens again allowing for the man to exit the vehicle. Once the door closes behind him, the leader starts laughing before leaning over to whisper to the female in the front getting right up close against her ear. "Kill him," he orders.
"Yes, sir," she replies and leaves the car.
"The World Council will not know what hit them," the leader cackles, "The Black Phantom always wins!"
END OF SEASON 3C
END OF SEASON