PENELOPE wasn't often angry, but this had been taken to a whole new level. She looked at the mansion. It was fortunate that the defences that Brains and The Mechanic had created for the Creighton-Ward Estate had done their job in protecting the house from any damage. That wasn't what had angered Penelope though. She had been secretly sceptical of what Light-Fingered Fred had said to her and Parker about Cobblepot, even though it was clear Parker was troubled by it. Now she knew for definite that it was genuine.
"I'm sorry, m'lady," Parker said. "This is my mess. I need to clear it up."
"Not on your own, Parker," Penelope said firmly. "If you're thinking of going after Mr Cobblepot, I am coming with you. Nobody attacks my home and gets away with it."
"But m'lady," Parker protested. "The Creighton-Wards and the Cobblepots 'ave no connection with h'each other. You don't want to be making an enemy yourself with Oswald Cobblepot! 'e is h'a man who will never let go h'of a grudge h'or stop until 'e gets what 'e wants!"
"What he wants, he won't get," said Penelope. "If this man thinks he can come back into your life and make it a living hell, he's gonna get more than he bargained for." She then turned to the mercenary who she'd made to talk. "Where can we find your boss?" she asked.
"I…I…I…" stammered the mercenary. "I can't tell."
Penelope looked at him coldly. Then she gave a whistle and Potts came running over. He looked at the mercenary dead in the eyes and let out a vicious growl.
"NO! OKAY! OKAY!" squealed the mercenary. "THE FINAL OFFER!"
"The what?" asked Parker.
The mercenary was shaking as tears rolled down from his eyes. "The Final Offer," he repeated. "It's the name of the ship he came back into the country on. It's where he's hiding out."
"And where is this ship?" demanded Penelope.
"Tilbury Docks," whimpered the mercenary before collapsing on his side in a heap and bawling like a baby.
"Hmph," said Penelope. "And they reckon these guys are supposed to be unbreakable."
"What now, m'lady?" asked Parker.
"First we hand these goons over to the Police," said Penelope. "And then, you and I shall pay a visit to Mr Cobblepot."
Parker felt his stomach churn. He really didn't want to come face to face with Oswald Cobblepot.
Kayo had finally risen from her bed in the Sick Room and taken a shower. She did not feel ill or in pain. She was still confused about trying to process the events of the day before. It just didn't add up. None of it did. When she felt good enough to venture out, she headed out for a walk on the beach. The sea air was refreshing, and she was glad that it was overcast rather than the usual baking hot Sun. She looked out to the Pacific Ocean. Whilst it seemed calm near the beach, it looked less inviting the further out she looked.
Eventually she returned to the house where she was warmly greeted by the others.
"How do you feel?" Scott asked.
"Okay considering," Kayo answered. "I still feel like it was a dream though."
"That's just the way you've slept, Kayo," said Jeff. "Your mind is probably telling you that's what it was. But we know full well that it wasn't."
"Dad spoke to Colonel Jennings," said Gordon. "Fuse has-"
"Obsidian," Virgil corrected him.
"Whatever," Gordon said, trying to ignore the interruption. "The Colonel said he'd woken up but Silver Swan had not yet."
"Like we'd even care if she did," remarked Alan. Everyone stared at him. "Aw, come on? After all the bad things she's done?"
"She's still human, Alan," scolded Grandma. "And who are we to say she had any choice in becoming what she is now?"
"Mrs Tracy is right," agreed The Mechanic. "I never chose to become what I am now. The Hood was entirely responsible for that."
"He didn't make them into Havoc and Fuse though, did he?" asked Scott. "That was their own choice."
Kayo spoke to Jeff. "What did Obsidian say about yesterday?"
"Exactly what you said," said Jeff. "He recounted yesterday's events in perfect detail. He also spoke of a temple and blinding white light. Just as you did."
Kayo was stunned. "Then…it must have happened," she said.
"If it helps, I can t-take you down to the hangar to show you the n-new Thunderbird S to confirm it?" suggested Brains.
Kayo declined the offer. "No, thank you, Brains. Just hearing that I'm not the only one to have gone though this is enough to convince me."
"Colonel Jennings is making some enquiries into that area," said Virgil. "She's trying to find out if any of her contacts are aware of anything unusual happening in that jungle."
"And if she does, I want to be on any expedition out to it," said Kayo. "We cannot let this happen again to anyone."
"I'm in agreement," said Jeff. "But before we do that, we'll have to make sure there's a large enough group to counter any-"
Jeff was suddenly cut off by an alarm sounded on the desk which made them all jump.
"The proximity alarm?!" said Gordon. "That can't be good."
Brains stepped down into the well in the lounge where the round table was. "M-MAX! Bring up the radar scope," he instructed.
MAX whirred and sent a large holographic radar map to the table. Everyone looked at it. It showed the location of Tracy Island in the middle. There was then a flashing white light showing on the far-western side of it. The light was moving at some speed and heading on an East-North-East course, not directly at, but in the rough general direction of the island.
"We're not expecting visitors are we?" asked Scott.
"I don't think so," Jeff replied. He pushed the button to contact Thunderbird 5. "Thunderbird 5 from base. Are you picking up this alert, John?"
As well as Tracy Island, Thunderbird 5 had also received the warning that the hundred-mile perimeter set up around Tracy Island had been breached. "Receiving clearly."
"Can you tell what it is?" asked Jeff.
"Trying to identify it," said John. "EOS?"
"Unknown contact is travelling at a high velocity speed of high-altitude flightpath four-zero-eight," said EOS. "Although if it continues on its present course, it will miss Tracy Island."
"Did you catch that, Dad?" John asked. "Flight Path Four-Zero-Eight. Will bypass the island if it continues on its present course."
"I copy that, John," said Jeff. "Keep an eye on it and let us know if anything changes."
"F-A-B."
"Four-Zero-Eight?" repeated Scott. "That's not a regularly used flight-path."
"Can't say I've ever heard of it before," said Gordon.
"What do we do, Dad?" asked Virgil.
"What do you expect us to do, son?" asked Jeff. "So long as that contact continues on its present course and bypasses the island, we'll do nothing. For all we know it could be some exploration aircraft that's gone off its course."
"Your father's right," said Grandma. "I know we're all on tender-hooks after what's happened with Kayo, but so long as that plane out there isn't a threat, we have nothing to worry about."
Brains looked back at the hologram map and the flashing contact. "Even if it does b-bypass us, it will possibly be visual for a b-brief moment," he said.
"How long before it passes?" asked Scott.
"At its p-present speed, in about two minutes," said Brains.
Scott turned to Jeff. "Can I borrow your binocs, Dad?"
Jeff opened one of the drawers and pulled out a pair of powerful long-range binoculars. "Go for it," he said.
Scott took the binoculars and went out onto the balcony above the pool. He put the binoculars up to his eyes and began scanning the grey skies for any sign of the unidentified contact.
"Danger."
Scott turned his head sharply to the left and saw that The Mechanic had come out as well. He too was looking at the sky but without any binoculars. "Come again?"
The Mechanic did not turn his gaze away. "I sense danger," he said.
Scott remained silent, unsure what to make of The Mechanic's words. Then The Mechanic suddenly pointed into the sky. Scott put the binoculars back to his eyes and looked in the same direction.
"Do you see anything, Scott?" Jeff asked.
Scott had been about to say 'no', but now he couldn't. "Yes…Yes, I can!" he said.
Jeff came over and took the binoculars off him. He then looked through them himself whilst the others began to come out onto the balcony to join them. Looking through the binoculars, Jeff could clearly see the dark shape of a small aircraft heading quickly along from West to East. zooming in more, it was of a design he had never seen before. It was sleek, painted black and looked stealthy like Thunderbird Shadow, only even slimmer. Its course was taking it right past the island and not towards it.
"What do you make of it, Dad?" asked Gordon.
"Looks like some top secret jet," said Jeff. "One that the military are perhaps keeping under wraps. But it isn't heading towards us so we can afford to let it pass." He turned to head back inside and the others duly followed him. All that was except for The Mechanic. With his telescopic eyes, he was able to see the aircraft without the aid of binoculars.
Jeff was about to put the binoculars away when John suddenly called through urgently. "Dad! EOS has just reported the aircraft has changed course."
"Where's it headed now?" asked Jeff.
John didn't answer, but pointed at the holographic map instead. Everyone looked, and to their shock, the light had changed direction.
"It's coming straight towards us!" exclaimed Virgil.
Jeff almost knocked Scott and Alan out of the way as he rushed back out onto the balcony. He looked up at the aircraft through the binoculars. It was most definitely coming towards the island now and steadily dropping in altitude. "Looks like it's attempting to come into land," said Jeff. "Someone get John to radio and find out who they are."
Gordon was closest to the door and hurried back inside. "John, Dad's asked if you could contact that plane and ask it to identify itself."
"Already on it," said John. He pushed the icon above the mystery aircraft on the holographic map. "Unidentified aircraft. You are passing through a restricted area and are approaching a private island. Please state your intentions. Over?" But all John got in return was silence. Nobody answered. "Unidentified aircraft. You are in private airspace. Please respond." There was still no answer. "I'm getting nothing, Gordon."
Gordon felt a shiver down his spine. "I'm not liking this at all, John."
Suddenly there came a cry from out on the balcony. Gordon dashed back to join the others and stared at the scene in front of him. The aircraft was clearly visible to them now, only it was now spiralling out of control towards the ocean with flickers of flame out of its tail section where the engines were located. A long trail of thick black smoke trailed out behind it as it continued to fall.
"What happened?" Gordon asked.
"The tail of that plane just exploded for no reason," said Alan.
"It's gonna crash!" said Virgil.
"No, wait, I think they're regaining some control!" said Jeff.
The aircraft was wavering about a lot indicating that whoever was inside was battling to regain control of it. They were able to level out, but were not able to prevent the aircraft from making a crash-landing on the surface of the water. It skimmed along three times like a large stone before coming to a rest about half a mile off the beach. It floated for a few moments whilst the seawater extinguished the flames that had been burning through its tail. Then it began to sink tail-first, its nose rising up a little before it eventually disappeared from view.
"What the heck just happened?" demanded Scott.
Jeff turned to Gordon. "Gordon, launch Thunderbird 4! Get whoever's in that plane out of there!"
"F-A-B!" said Gordon.
Gordon hurried through the lounge to the large fish tank that housed his model of the W.A.S.P. sub Stingray and put his hand against the glass. After a jingle, a large express elevator rose up out of the floor around him. It then took him down to the lower levels at speed, robotic arms putting his uniform on him as he went. Once at the bottom, he made his way to the sub-pen housed inside the cavern where Thunderbirds 1, 3 and Shadow were housed. Inside this pen was one of two Thunderbird 4s that International Rescue had. This was the one that lived on the island whilst the other was kept inside Module 4 in Thunderbird 2's hangar. Gordon was soon inside the cockpit and powering up the engines ready to launch.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1! The impellers fired and Thunderbird 4 hurried through the long straight tunnel before exiting out through the exit and out into the open ocean.
"Thunderbird 4 is GO!" announced Gordon. He turned his craft sharply to the left and headed in the direction of where the aircraft had crash-landed.
Moving through the rocky underwater terrain, Gordon cautiously watched his craft's movements to ensure he did not collide with any of them. This was second nature to him as he'd navigated the waters around Tracy Island more times than he could remember. It did not take long for him to locate the sunken aircraft which was sitting upright on the ocean floor. Shining the powerful beams from the front of Thunderbird 4, Gordon closely observed the strange plane all whilst sending live video footage back to the lounge for the others to view.
"What do you make of it, Brains?" asked Gordon.
Brains looked at the aircraft closely. "It would appear to be s-some kind of stealth jet," he said. "But it is n-not of any design that I have seen before. This is a complete mystery."
"Should we ask the armed forces if one of their aircraft is missing?" asked Scott.
"No, Scott," answered Jeff shortly. "If this is a top secret test development, they're not gonna want to be explaining to anyone what's going on. If there's anyone aboard who has survived, maybe they can tell us."
Gordon looked at the cockpit. "The windows look to be blacked out," he said. "I can't see if anyone is in there."
"Try a th-thermal scan, Gordon," said Brains. "That's p-provided the aircraft is not shielded from such scans."
"Okay, Brains. I'll give that a try," said Gordon. "Commencing thermal scan." A beam of orange light was produced from the front of Thunderbird 4 which covered the entire upper fuselage of the mystery aircraft. To his surprise, a single orange blip was detected from in the cockpit. "I got one!" he said. "There is someone inside!"
"How's that even possible?" asked Alan.
"The cockpit's probably airtight," said Virgil.
Kayo in particular was looking at the sunken aircraft with some unease. "Why do I get the feeling that there is something familiar about this plane?" she asked. She'd meant to have kept it to herself, but the others all heard.
"Do you recognise this design, Kayo?" asked Jeff.
"No, I don't, Mr Tracy," Kayo replied. "But there's something about it that feels familiar. I just can't understand what that is."
"It looks to have s-similar technology to Thunderbird Shadow," said Brains. "But I didn't think that it was p-possible for anyone else to have that kind of cloaking technology."
"You're all jumping to conclusions," said Grandma. "The longer we talk, the less time the person in that plane has possibly. We need to get that pilot out of there."
Gordon looked over the aircraft. "The cockpit looks sealed tight. Any ideas as to how to get it back to the surface?"
"You could always try the airbags," suggested Scott.
"Oh, yeah…" said Gordon, annoyed at not having thought of that himself. "I'll do that. Although I might need some assistance in getting it onto the beach. I can only use Thunderbird 4 to push it so far."
"I can deal with that," said Virgil. "I'll go down to Thunderbird 2's hangar and configure one of the Pods into a Recovery Vehicle. Then I can winch the jet onto the beach."
"Sounds good enough to me," said Jeff. "Virgil, go get the Pod sorted. Gordon, set up those airbags and get that plane to the surface. There's not a moment to lose."
"F-A-B," Gordon and Virgil acknowledged together.
As Virgil hurried off, Grandma noticed that out of everyone present, it was The Mechanic who looked the most unsettled. "Are you feeling okay, Juan?" she asked.
"No, Mrs Tracy," said The Mechanic. "My body sensors keep warning me of some danger. A danger that's hiding inside that aircraft."
The others exchanged anxious looks, wondering what The Mechanic could mean.
"You think we ought to be ready in case of trouble?" asked Jeff.
The Mechanic nodded. "If my feelings are correct, we might need to defend ourselves."
Jeff took a special key from inside his shirt pocket and unlocked a draw on his desk. He then pulled out three stun-pistols before handing one to Scott and another to Kayo. "Take those," he said. "Just in case."
Scott and Kayo exchanged a worried glance between them.
"Can't I have one?" asked Alan.
"No!" came the sharp reply.
Virgil had made it down to Thunderbird 2's hangar. Rather than change into his uniform, he decided to remain in his regular clothes for this job. He walked into Module 2 and pressed some holographic buttons, taking one of the green Pods and adding tracks and a pair of magnetic grapple launchers which were mounted on the sides of it. He then drove it out of the module and through a set of secret doors that lead out of the vast hangar and onto the beach.
Gordon had gotten Thunderbird 4 into the correct position. "Launching remote airbags…now!" he said and pressed a button. There were two whooshes as the airpods built into the sides of the small yellow sub were launched towards the sunken aircraft. One attached itself to the starboard delta-wing whilst the other attached to the port. Once he'd gotten two green lights to tell him that they were secure, Gordon pushed the button to inflate the airbags. The large balloons were soon inflated and they began to lift the aircraft off the seabed. "Airbag inflation green," Gordon said. "Aircraft is rising to the surface."
The airbags continued to lift the aircraft up with Thunderbird 4 following close behind.
Virgil reached the location on the beach near the bottom of the steps that led down from the villa and lido where the others were waiting. As he brought the Recovery Pod to a stop he looked out to sea just in time to see the aircraft break through the surface with Thunderbird 4 emerging moments later. He turned the Pod to face the water but quickly noticed a problem. "Thunderbird 4 from Recovery Pod. You're too far out for me to get a lock onto the aircraft. Can you push it in closer?"
"I can try," Gordon replied. "Although I don't want to ground Thunderbird 4."
"You won't," Virgil assured him. "Just get the aircraft to within a hundred yards from the beach. I should be able to get a lock on there."
"F-A-B," said Gordon. He moved Thunderbird 4 around behind the now refloated aircraft and activated the robotic arms. He attached them onto the burnt-out engine area of the aircraft and powered up the engines. It was very heavy, but slowly he managed to get it moving towards the beach.
As the others waited on the beach, Jeff heard his watch start beeping. He looked down as John's hologram appeared from the face. "Dad, you might want to pick this up. I'm picking up a storm approaching the island from the North. You might want to batter down the hatches. It looks to be a big one."
Jeff looked up and saw that the sky behind Thunderbird 4 and the aircraft was looking rather threatening. The clouds were getting very dark and he thought he saw flashes of white light within them which indicated there was lighting. "Copy that, John," he said. "Gordon's just pushing the aircraft to us now. We won't be long."
As John signed off, Alan felt a drop of water land on his forehead. "I think it might start raining before then," he remarked.
"It's just rain, Alan," scoffed Scott. "It won't kill you."
Virgil continued to monitor the aircraft as Thunderbird 4 pushed it closer. "Okay, Gordon. I think it's in range now. Stand-by." He checked the instruments. "Yes! I have a lock. Firing grapples." He pushed a button. The two grapple guns fired, shooting the large grapple clamps across the surface of the water where they clamped tightly onto the aircraft's fuselage. "I got it!" he said. "You can ease off now, Thunderbird 4."
"F-A-B," said Gordon. "I'll stay here until you get it ashore, just in case it breaks away."
Inch by inch, Virgil reeled in the cables, carefully dragging the aircraft closer to the beach. Soon it began to ground on the sand concealed beneath the surface which caused a greater strain on the motors. Virgil gritted his teeth but kept his cool as he dragged the aircraft out of the water where it became too stuck in to go any further. It wasn't completely out of the water, but it was enough for it to be grounded and not get moved by the waves which were now splashing around it.
Scott, Kayo and Alan moved cautiously towards the plane. Scott and Kayo kept the stun-guns aimed at the cockpit whilst Alan remained nervous. Jeff, Grandma and Brains stood as far back by the rocks as they could whilst The Mechanic stood between the two groups with his taser-stick at the ready. Nobody said a word as they waited to see what would happen next.
After two minutes, nothing had happened, which was when Jeff broke the silence. "Alan, climb up and put a com-link on the side of the cockpit. I'm gonna try and talk to them."
"Uh…sure, Dad," said Alan uneasily. He moved cautiously towards the jet, water lapping around his ankles as he did so. "Ugh, man. My socks!" He tried his best to ignore this though and clambered up onto the side of the aircraft. He took the small communications disc from his pocket and placed it next to where the cockpit canopy met the rest of the fuselage. He then gave Jeff a thumbs up to tell him it was done.
Jeff nodded and then spoke into a microphone. "Hello? Can you hear me in there? If you can, please answer." Everyone waited. But no answer came from inside the aircraft. "Do not be afraid," Jeff continued. "We are International Rescue. You will not be harmed. Please come out."
There was still no reply. However, as Alan put his ear close to the device, he thought he could hear something through it.
"What are you doing, Alan?" called Kayo.
"I can hear something," said Alan. "Sounds like…heavy breathing."
"Then whoever is in there m-must still be alive," said Brains.
Jeff thought for a moment. "Alan! Can you see any levers or buttons that might open the canopy from the outside?"
"Errr, hang on a sec," said Alan. He began to look around the cockpit canopy until eventually he found what looked like a concealed cover behind the canopy. He managed to open it and found a small lever behind it. "I think I might have found something," he called.
"Move it and see what happens!" Jeff called.
Alan was nervous. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then moved the lever. There came a series of dull clunks followed by the hissing of escaping air from within the aircraft as the cockpit canopy was released and began to rise upwards like a shark opening a huge mouth. Alan peered inside. The cockpit looked very sophisticated and advanced. Possibly more advanced than any of the Thunderbirds were. He'd never seen anything like it. There was a single seat, in black like the rest of the plane, but something wasn't right. There was something very obvious missing. The pilot!
"What do you see?" asked Scott.
"Er…nothing!" Alan called back. "There's nobody here!"
Everyone was very confused. "That's impossible, Alan!" said Gordon who was still floating nearby in Thunderbird 4. "I detected a life-sign in there!"
"And you said you could hear deep breathing through the comms-link," added Virgil.
"Well, I thought I did," said Alan. "But…" He broke off as something caught his attention. "Hang on! There's something behind the seat." He moved position and looked behind the cockpit seat. His eyes widened as he saw what was unmistakably a human body curled up in a ball tucked in between the back of the seat and rear wall of the cockpit. He could not see the head or face as they were covered by the hands. The figure wore an all black flight suit and a helmet which wasn't going to make identification any easier. What was apparent though was that the figure was shaking and making what could only be described as whimpering sounds. "There is someone here!" Alan called. "They're hiding behind the seat!"
"Well get them out!" Jeff ordered. "They must have been scared out of their wits."
"Could need medical attention," agreed Grandma. "Get them out of there, Alan!"
Alan cautiously reached in to tap the figure on the leg. "Hello?" he said nervously. "Hey, buddy, can you hear me?"
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Before anyone could even blink, the figure suddenly unravelled itself, let out a bellowing roar and leapt out of the cockpit, grabbing hold of Alan who also screamed in surprise before both fell off the plane and landed in the water which for Alan was quite painful with the hard sand under him and heavy figure on top. The figure then grabbed Alan round the neck, trying to strangle him.
"ALAN!" cried pretty much everyone present. Jeff and Kayo instantly began to run towards them whilst Scott wasted no time in shooting the pilot with the stun-gun.
"GAAARGH!" cried the pilot as the sharp burst of electricity caused him to release his grip on Alan and then fall over.
Kayo and Jeff grabbed Alan and pulled him back onto softer sand away from the water. Alan was choking and Grandma and Brains rushed to attend to him whilst Scott and The Mechanic got themselves ready to take on the pilot who was now picking himself up.
Jeff turned back and stood beside his eldest son. "Alright, mister. We gave you a chance. Now give it up before-"
Jeff didn't get to finish his sentence. The figure had managed to pick himself up again and was staggering about with his head down, like he didn't seem to be in control of his body. Then he got hold of his helmet and pulled it off to reveal a bald head.
Everyone froze. Then the figure turned to face them and everyone gasped in shock.
"THE HOOD?!"
It was The Hood. But straight away, Jeff noticed that something was different about him. He didn't look like the sinister and evil mastermind that he'd known for years. Instead, he was thinner, not so well-looking, and his eyes showed what Jeff could only describe as fear.
Nobody seemed to know what to say or what to do. The whole Tracy family, including Gordon and John who'd been watching and listening respectively were all stunned into silence. Not even once had any of them with the exception of The Mechanic had even considered the possibility that the person inside the plane might have been The Hood.
If it wasn't for an ominous click to his left, Jeff might have remained frozen in shock. But the click made him look to see Scott raising the gun up which was now aimed directly at The Hood's chest. "NO!" he bellowed and yanked Scott's arms towards him, just as Scott pulled the trigger. BANG! This was followed by the sound of a ricochet off the hull of the aircraft. Jeff yanked the gun out of Scott's hands and looked at it. The setting for the gun had been switched from 'Stun' to 'Kill'.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" bellowed Scott in anger.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Jeff bellowed back.
Suddenly The Hood rushed forwards. Everyone cried out and The Mechanic raised his taser-stick to strike The Hood down. Scott also tried to leap at the criminal but Virgil, who had come out of the Pod, grabbed him to hold him back.
But instead of attacking, The Hood instead threw himself down on the sand, right at Jeff's feet. He then looked up at him and to everyone's surprise, started to beg. "J-J-J-Jeff…s-s-s-s-s-save m-m-me!"
Jeff stared at him for a moment. Then frowned in confusion. "Save you?" he repeated. "From who?"
Quivering, The Hood slowly turned his head to look at to see. The sky was getting darker by the second as flashes of lighting were now becoming visible and thunder could now be heard rumbling as the storm got closer. "T-T-Them…" The Hood said shakily, pointing an equally shaking finger towards the sky.
"Errrr, is anyone else getting creeped out here?" Gordon's voice was heard over the communication links.
Nobody knew what to say. But The Mechanic narrowed his eyes and looked out into the sky. Then with his sensor eyes, spotted something that nobody else could. "There!" he said, pointing.
The others looked. But they couldn't see anything. Scott then broke free of Virgil's grasp and charged at The Hood. he couldn't shoot him now that Jeff had confiscated the gun so he let out a roar and kicked The Hood over instead. He was then about to stomp on him before both Jeff and Virgil grabbed and had to literally throw him to the ground away from The Hood.
"Scott, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Virgil demanded.
"What's wrong with ME?!" Scott fumed. "What the hell is wrong with all of YOU?! WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING HIM?!"
"YOU CHANGED THE SETTING ON THE GUN, SCOTT!" thundered Jeff. "YOU WERE GONNA KILL HIM!"
"IT'S THE GODDAMN HOOD, DAD!" bellowed Scott. "I TOLD HIM YEARS AGO THAT I'D KILL HIM IF HE EVER SET FOUND OUR ISLAND AGAIN!"
"WE DON'T KILL PEOPLE, SCOTT!" shouted Jeff.
"HE'S AN EXCEPTION!" screamed Scott.
POW! Scott spun around and fell face-first onto the sand. Virgil nursed his hand whilst Grandma rushed to check on Scott. He was out cold but unhurt.
"Did you have to do that?!" Grandma scolded.
"If it makes you feel better, I took no pleasure in that whatsoever," Virgil snapped.
"ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU!" Jeff thundered, making everyone go silent. He turned back to The Hood who was still lying in the water next to the aircraft. "What are you doing here, Hood? Who's after you?"
The Hood didn't seem to be able to answer. But Brains approached The Mechanic. "W-What do you see, Juan?" he asked.
"There's two more aircraft out there," said The Mechanic. "They're identical to this one. They looked as though they were coming in to attack, only to then turn away at the last moment."
Jeff called up John. "Thunderbird 5, any trace on other planes in the area?"
"What other planes?" John answered. "I'm not picking any up."
"They're cloaked," said The Mechanic. "Flying in stealth-mode. That's why only I can see them."
Hearing this, The Hood suddenly seemed to regain his composure. He slowly got to his feet before walking out through the water, his eyes no longer filled with fear, but blazing anger instead. "Thought you could imprison me, did you?!" he called out towards the empty grey sky. "WELL YOU COULDN'T, COULD YOU?!"
The others all looked at The Hood in confusion.
"Who is he yelling at?" Alan asked.
"YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO HOLD ME AGAINST MY WILL!" The Hood continued to yell. "ME! ME! THE MAN WHO MADE YOU WHAT YOU ARE! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! DO YOU HEAR ME?! KYRANO?! KYRAAAAANO!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"
The loud scream made everyone turn to see Kayo, who had been so stunned by The Hood's appearance and Scott's actions that she'd been unable to do or say anything, now fall to the ground, clutching her head and crying out in agony.
"KAYO!" came several cries.
The Mechanic, thinking that it was The Hood's yelling causing Kayo pain, blasted him with his taser-stick, causing The Hood to fall face-first into the water. The Mechanic then quickly pulled him out onto the beach and placed him on his back before he could drown.
The others gathered around Kayo who continued to cry out in pain.
"Kayo!" Jeff cried. "What's wrong?"
Kayo didn't hear Jeff's words as several images flashed through her mind. Visions of a vast stone temple deep inside a jungle. Visions of being inside the temple with dimly lit passageways. Visions of people in strange black outfits. But it was the final image that stuck with her most of all. The vision of a man in a black armoured suit suspended inside a tank of liquid with a breathing mask over his face. Her mind seemed to focus on the man's face who opened his eyes which seemed to glow yellow. And then he spoke with a voice distorted by the mask. "Daugh…ter."
Kayo suddenly sat bolt upright, no longer screaming, but hyperventilating instead.
"Kayo!" said Jeff. "Are you okay? What happened?"
Kayo continued to breathe heavily before eventually she stopped. She seemed to be frozen like a statue before then looking up into Jeff's eyes. Her own eyes were as wide as saucers. Then she grabbed his arms and said "I…I remember!"