Marina found herself gradually awakening from her unceremonious slumber on where she was pressed against the chilly floor. She shivered as the brisk cold wrapped around her sleek form. She gently sat up onto her knees and rubbed her teal eyes, trying to make note of her strange, new surroundings as her hazy memory started coming back to her.
There had been a man… a man with glowing eyes…
She wobbled to her feet and looked around curiously, shocked to see just how vast the area around her appeared to be.
The room was massive and metallic, reminding her of some of the seaplane hangars she'd visited back at Marineville. There were cranes and gantries overhanging where she was standing, and when she leaned around to get a better look at them, she jumped when she saw a huge green object standing opposite her on two metal legs. The sheer size of the object almost made her fall back in shock. She'd never seen anything like it!
Was that… an aircraft?
She cautiously approached it, eyes flickering over its emerald body, admiring the intricate details embedded within the paintwork. As she walked closer, she saw there appeared to be a part of the aircraft separated from the main bulk, sitting underneath what appeared to be a hole. The secondary part had a squarish cavity in the front, and Marina swore she could hear an echo of voices coming from inside of it.
She quietly came close to the entrance and trotted up the ramp. Upon entering she noticed two rows of strange vehicles lined up parallel to one another, all apparently serving different functions. There was a voice that got louder, apparently cackling to himself. It reverberated off the walls.
"Soon the secrets of International Rescue's aircraft will be mine!"
Marina ducked behind the machine labelled DOMO and watched as a bald man walked loops around a tied-up figure attached to a chair, six Aquaphibians stood around him in a circular formation. She gasped silently, recognizing it was the man who had knocked her out.
He was a frightening sight, and she compared his looks to a typical villain from one of those old films Commander Shore had grown up with which he'd showed her one time.
The man purred to himself. "Excellent. My plan is working perfectly." he turned to his minions. "First I need to find out the access codes for the cockpit of Thunderbird 2, and to do that I will interrogate the Tracy I suspect operates this aircraft." he glared at the unconscious Virgil. "Wake up my friend. I wish to speak to you."
The man's eyes glowed again.
John was feeling pretty ridiculous.
He'd spent the last hour taking the sea tyrant, his servant and two guards on a private tour of their family home, feeling extremely invasive as he showed the creatures their personal quarters, and the places they spent most of their time together when not out on rescues. He hadn't gotten to the silos just yet, and was trying to stall as much as he could to prevent revealing their biggest secrets to the villains.
With Scott and Gordon missing in action, he still had hope.
Strangely, he found the servant quite attentive, seemingly impressed by what he was hearing from the astronaut, coming across as genuinely curious about his home and the human customs he was descibing. Titan however, continued to sneer and make rude comments, insulting the family at every chance he got.
John stalled when they arrived at Gordon's room, standing against the closed door with a heavy heart. On feeling a spiked weapon digging into his back, John typed in the access code and stepped inside.
"This is Gordon's bedroom."
Titan and X-20 were taken aback by what they saw.
"He's captured fish from our beautiful ocean!" Titan choked, gesturing towards the curved fish tanks practically making up the sides of the redhead's bedroom. "These are sacred creatures of the sea! What right does he have to contain them here?"
John held his hands up defensively, "You've got it all wrong, your majesty. Gordon's rehabilitating these fish! You know, studying them! He's an ichthyologist, that's what he does!"
"The red-haired one keeps fish captive for science?" X-20 questioned. "Most fascinating."
"Yes, for science! He's trying to learn more about them. How they live, feed- how they breed. Then he'll take them back to where he found them."
Titan grew increasingly frustrated. "Enough of this now! I don't want to waste any more of my time looking at your pathetic living quarters! Tell me about your magnificent flying machines!"
John shook his head. "You know I can't do that… sir."
"You dare refuse an order from me?" Titan hissed. "Your secrets have already been discovered, Tracy. You need not play coy with us now."
John scowled. "I… won't do it."
The two guards leveled John with their spears.
John looked up. "First you need to tell me where my brother Virgil is. Where have you taken him?"
Titan smirked. "Virgil Tracy is our prisoner. My loyal land agent is taking care of him as we speak."
"If you-" John started, feeling his anger rising. He clenched his fists in a bid to calm himself down.
"What, Tracy? What? Harm him?" Titan cackled. "Carry on performing the way you are currently and I can guarantee he won't be returning to you in the same condition he left in."
"You better listen to him, boy." X-20 sneered.
John grimaced, admitting defeat. "Let's go."