Since the main focus of these two stories are Danny, Vlad, Dan, Valerie, and Dani there aren't many oc's in them. But I'll share them anyway because its one of my best fanfics so far, which is ironic since I originally kinda just wrote it on a whim to take a break from Owen's story and then it became something a lot more profound. Especially since writing it helped get me through a difficult time in my personal life after my stepdad passed away. Anyways, lets move onto the happier stuff shall we?
Nowhere To Run: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12861681/1/Nowhere-To-Run
Turning Point (Nowhere To Run Sequel): https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13603725/1/Turning-Point
Evelina Petrov (Nowhere To Run): This is Evelina Petrov, the ghost of a russian noblewoman turned fashion designer who spends her time hidden among normal humans in disguise. She is one of the few ghosts Vlad trusts/considers a friend who tailors his suits and designed the outfit he wears in his ghost form.
Shade Striker (Nowhere To Run): My best friend came up with the name for this ghost creature who doesn't generate its own ecto-energy so it absorbs it through biting or scratching its victims. Whenever it has too much ecto-energy stored in its body it'll break off the excess crystals on its body that can be used by others as a sort of ghostly battery to recharge with. That's why they were hunted nearly to extinction in the Ghost Zone.
Shavi and Prizrak (Nowhere To Run): These two aren't really characters persay but I like how they turned out despite there not being too many references to normal horses in the original show. Shavi is the black one and Prizrak is the white one, Danny and Vlad rode them during a brief vacation they took to Ireland. I just think they're gorgeous horses.
Whisper (Turning Point): After a misunderstanding when one of her Wisps wandered into Vlad's castle and started playing with his cat Maddie, they track down Whisper herself who apologizes on Echo's behalf. The funny part is she floated right over to Vlad too, not knowing who he is, referring to him as a Zoner. Aka a ghost native to the Ghost Zone which she detests because of all the hostility there, preferring to explore the real world with her three Wisps and helping people find lost things or in general whenever she can. Sensing that Danny is still troubled by the aftermath of what happened with Dan, she agrees to stick around for awhile so Danny can make the most of her naturally calming influence.
On top of that, Vlad asks her to use her precognitive powers to find out what's become of Dani since he wants to put the past behind him as well so the two of them can move on from their dark pasts. Unfortunately this triggers Whisper lost memories of her father back when she was alive who only saw her as a tool as well, having to stop using her powers to track down Dani for Vlad. So he decides its not worth the effort and burns the hoodie he had Whisper use to find out her possible location.
Agent Omega (Turning Point): Head of the female division of the GIW (their sector is currently unnamed) Agent Omega leads a team of elite spies and such that the government only assigns tasks to as a last resort because of her famed ruthlessness and cunning. She has been mentioned by name but hasn't made her official appearance yet so all I can tell you about her is that she and Valerie are going to end up very invested in what the other is doing, which is both a bad thing and a good thing because it means the government sees Valerie's potential as a legally licensed ghost hunter but they're a bit late as far as offering her a job now that she knows the truth about Danny and Vlad being half-ghost and saw them risk their lives to protect everyone from Dan, a full ghost fusion of both their ghost halves from an alternate timeline where everyone they loved had died in a cruel freak accident.
Tagging: @dragonoffantasyandreality @thundergeek59 @janetm74 @katblu42 (Please ask if you would like to be alerted when I update or write new stories)
Here it is. The last chapter of Path of Construction, and thus we are caught up! Up next is Danger in the North Sea...
Not my best chapter, in my opinion, but it does its job and I might come back to rewrite it later...
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
“How much longer?!” Virgil yelled over the din of machinery and general chaos in the cockpit. This was both so much like the first Crablogger and so much unlike it at the same time. He silently cursed whoever decided these things were a good idea. “Scott and Gordon need our help!” His brother glanced over to the gauge displaying how much time was left before the emergency stop went into full effect.
“Two minutes!”
“Yeah, the longest two minutes of our lives!” Virgil huffed. “And quite possibly theirs too!”
“Virgil…” John sounded calmer than he should be. “Calm down…”
“Oh trust me, John. I’m as calm as I could be in this situation!” Thunderbird 2’s pilot started to rant. “We’re here, still waiting for this ginormous government passion project to stop while our b-“ He caught himself, remembering the two crew members that were in there with them. “While our colleagues are quite possibly being held hostage by a complete psychopath! Who, by the way, we have no idea what they look like, or even what their gender is…”
John gave him a look as the Crablogger slowly, surely, came to a complete stop. “You were saying?” The astronaut looked towards the crew, who simply gave the operatives a thumbs up. Having gotten the sign that they could leave with no fear of further danger, John stalked out, determination set in his gaze as he dragged Virgil behind him.
Back to Thunderbird 2 to quickly formulate a plan, and they would be ready to take on this saboteur and get their family back…
------
Gordon could hear Scott moan as he pulled his head up in a futile attempt to stay awake. The aquanaut frowned. The blood loss was starting to affect his big brother a concerning amount. Not much longer, and Scott would loss consciousness. Significantly longer than that, and they would lose Scott. He grimaced. They better get here soon…
“Hang in there, Scooter.” He muttered. “Just a bit longer, and we’ll be at home with a slice of Grandma’s apple pie before you know it…”
His frown deepened when he got no response from his brother, verbal or otherwise.
Then, he heard something. A soft rumbling sound, and one he was very glad to hear. He smirked, earning a sneer from Omega, who looked up from sharpening their knife to glare at him.
“What now?” Omega snapped. Gordon couldn’t find it in him to care about that.
“Are you familiar with techniques used to mask the sound of engines when on stealth missions?” He asked innocently. Omega glanced around, rightly suspecting something. Despite this, Virgil and John had thankfully hidden themselves very well.
“No.” Omega deadpanned. “And I hardly think I want to know…”
Gordon sighed. “Well, you see that’s where you’re wrong…” The tranquilliser dart seemed to come from nowhere, embedding itself firmly in Omega’s thigh. The last thing the Hood’s agent heard before passing out, struggling to stay awake for just a little longer, was the aquanaut’s soft chuckle. The Hood was right. These people were terrifying and needed to be stopped… “I was trying to warn you. John’s an excellent shot…”
------
Virgil took one look at Scott’s leg as he strapped his unconscious brother onto the stretcher, and promptly decided that he wasn’t going anywhere for the next few weeks. Quite right too. From the looks of it, he was going to struggle with it even when it was fully healed.
Arrangements had to be made for who would be flying what home. Jeff, upon hearing the situation, made the decision that Gordon would fly Thunderbird 2 home while Virgil stayed in the medical bay with Scott, and John would take Thunderbird 1.
“I want a full report when you boys get home.” Those had been Jeff’s exact words. Their father hesitated. “After that, International Rescue is shutting down for 48 hours while we decide what to do.” Having sensed their arguments, Jeff had held up a single hand, and gave them a look. All words that would’ve been said for IR to remain operational died on their tongues. Their father had stuck to that decision, and he was sticking to it. All that was left to do now was to head home…
------
It wasn’t until a few hours after they had gotten home that Scott finally woke up. The eldest Tracy brother groaned, blinking away the blurry vision that he was forced to struggle with, before sighing regretfully, recognising the room he was in all too well. He looked around groggily, before his gaze fell on an exhausted looking Gordon, who was holding his coffee protectively. Virgil was asleep on his other side, clinging to his hand as he slept. Scott squeezed back.
He cleared his throat, alerting Gordon to his new conscious state. The aquanaut almost dropped his coffee. “Scott?” Gordon whispered, trying not to wake Virgil up. The medic was truly terrifying whenever he was woken up for no reason. Sure, Scott waking up after being shot probably would’ve curbed that fury somewhat, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
“I’m okay.” Scott croaked back, frowning when he realised how thirsty he was. “Just some water, and an explanation as to how we managed to get home…”
Gordon nodded, sprinting out to get some water, and presumably, the rest of the family. He came back with the water and quite literally the entirety of the household, taking Scott somewhat aback. He wordlessly took the glass as Virgil stirred next to him, undoubtedly woken up by the onslaught of extra people.
Virgil looked tiredly around, eyes landing on Scott’s surprisingly alert face, and smiled, a look of relief appearing on his own. Then he looked at the crowded doorway and the smile vanished almost as soon as it appeared. “Okay. Anyone who isn’t one of our brothers or our father, out! Give him some space.”
“Virgil…” Scott attempted to soothe. He was ignored. Until his next words, at least. “What about Grandma?”
Virgil stiffened, feeling the eyes of Ruth Tracy fall on him. “Okay, Grandma too…” Jeff’s mother grinned. “But no one else. Sorry, but you can talk to him later…”
Once Brains and the Kyrano’s left, Scott looked around his family, silently demanding an explanation. “So… what happened?”
Virgil’s harsh whisper seemed to echo through the room. “The Crablogger’s cursed. I’m sure of it.” Jeff gave his second eldest a warning look.
“It’s… complicated.” John scratched the back of his neck. “And long…”
Scott smiled tiredly, gesturing to his bad leg. “We’ve got a while…”
------
Alan grinned as Thunderbird 3 docked, waiting patiently with his bags around him as the airlock swung open, his brothers walking out. Well, on crutches in Scott’s case, but it still counted.
His eldest brother smiled as he waved in his direction. “Heya, Allie…”
Alan grinned as he waved back. “Hi Scott!” He caught the gaze of the other astronaut behind, who was carrying the bags. “Hi John! Bet you two didn’t think you’d see me this soon, huh?”
Scott huffed in amusement. “Didn’t think I’d be starting my shift early with a bad leg, either.”
John hummed. “Oh, trust me, big brother, it’s for the best.” His grin widened. “You won’t be able to push back your recovery time by doing too much up here. Plus, you’re doing next month’s full shift as well. It will give the rest of us some peace and quiet…”
Their brother gasped in mock shock. “So you guys are banishing me…” Scott chuckled.
After John had finished moving the bags around, he grabbed one of Alan’s and moved in to give their elder brother a hug. “Remember what Virgil said. No walking without crutches for another week, and-“
He was quickly cut off. “And call him if I need help. I got it, Spaceman. Don’t worry…”
John pulled away, heading for the airlock. “We always do…”
Alan was next, barrelling into a tight hug, although he was mindful of his brother’s injury. “Be careful, Alan…”
“I will.” Alan grinned. “Same goes for you. See you in a month and a half!”
Scott chuckled, giving Alan one last squeeze. “See you then, Sprout. I love you…”
“I love you too, big brother…” And just like that, they were gone. Thunderbird 3 was on the way towards home. And towards new adventures.
Scott sighed as he watched his brothers disappear. Hopefully those adventures would lead them far away from the Hood. And Agent Omega. Now that was a thought. Just what had happened to Omega after International Rescue had left?
------
“I’m so sorry, Master!” Omega’s tone was frantic as they knelt in front of the Hood, who leaned back in his throne, unimpressed. “I will not fail you again! I assure you, International Rescue will fall at my hand, in your name. Please, just give me another chance…”
The room fell silent, and the sound of the Hood’s fingernails hitting his armrest echoed. “Why should I?” The Hood spat. “I already gave you a perfectly good chance. The perfect chance, in fact, to destroy that pitiful band, and you blew it.”
“I’m sorry… I will do whatever you wish of me… Just please don’t kill me…”
The Hood smiled, a sickly smile that somehow conveyed sympathy and care. “Why would I kill you? You are my best agent. I would not kill you.” Something seemed to click in the master criminal’s demented mind. “Yes. You are my best… But even you must make mistakes occasionally…” The Hood hummed. “Very well. I will give you another chance.” Omega swallowed down their sigh of relief. “But fail me again, and the consequences will be dire…”
“Of course, sir…” Agent Omega could barely hide their fear and anxiety. Maybe if they were lucky, the Earth would open up and swallow them whole…
“Good.” The mastermind closed his eyes, sighing. “Now go. I have some planning to do to fix your mistake of letting those Tracy’s survive.”
Omega quickly turned, bowing to their master, before hastily leaving the room. They were looking forward to going toe to toe with International Rescue again. But until then, it was going to be a long few months…
Thank you for the tag @for-lovely-things! All images made with this picrew.
First up is Vellan Reyes, next is Agent Omega, and the last is Elio Amari. All are my OC's.
I don't have anyone to tag so go ahead and do this if you want, say you got it from me!
I've been meaning to make a full body version of Agent Omega for a while now so since I've started tidying up a bunch of my female oc's it seemed like as good a time as any. I also went ahead and deleted the previous two concept versions because I don't really need them anymore. After all, this IS now her final design.
Nowhere To Run: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12861681/1/Nowhere-To-Run
Nowhere To Run (Convalescence ~ Oneshot): https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13581224/1/Nowhere-To-Run-Convalescence
Turning Point (Nowhere To Run ~ Sequel): https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13603725/1/Turning-Point
I didn’t expect to go on a tirade about Elliot/Gregor in the previous part but I guess since he’s a big part of that episode “Double Cross My Heart” I guess there was no getting around it. It looks like there’s a lot more to unpack than I thought so I’m going to have to split this post as well, but hey, the more the merrier right?
Speaking of which, here are links to the first two!
Part 1: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/675957179159871488/regarding-the-guys-in-white-part-1
Part 2: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/676128138448748544/regarding-the-guys-in-white-part-2
Part 4: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/676585479837302784/regarding-the-guys-in-white-part-4
Final Part: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/677951564575588354/regarding-the-guys-in-white-final-part
Regarding the Guys in White...
I promise, this time I’m only bringing Gregor/Elliot up again to point out how the Guys in White have a bad habit -just like Valerie used to- of putting innocent civilians in danger. Aka as Danny said “right in the line of fire” because when they shot a missile at Elliot he clearly had two girls next to him so they should have made sure they had a clear shot before firing.
And let’s not forget them damaging public property just as badly if not worse than any ghost! Not to mention this building is on a freaking cliffside! The whole thing could come crashing down or worse, cause a landslide. Frankly they’re lucky it didn’t.
And ok, I know we don’t like Elliot for being such a huge liar, but you’d think the Guys in White would have scanners to tell if someone is human. I mean, plenty of people have white hair either due to a hereditary condition or old age and tell me more people didn’t start dying their hair white to look like their hero Danny Phantom besides him.
Also, given how much they know about ghosts, you’d think they’d line their jets, planes, hover boards, or what have you with anti-ghost shielding to prevent ghosts from phasing in or out of them as easily as this:
On a side note, maybe Danny should have forced them to land instead of phase them out of the cockpit, leaving the jet to veer out of control. But I digress since it at least crashed to the side of the observatory.
That brings us to our next point when Danny drops Agent’s K & O off at the Guys in White Headquarters in Amity Park which makes you wonder just how long its been there. This is the only time we actually see it and it doesn’t have much detail to it apart from having no windows and only one entrance we can see, although they probably have secret ones knowing them leading to other locations such as the other safe house we saw.
Now here’s where things get interesting!
Personally, I have this headcanon that Walker may have actually been an older agent of the Guys in White from another time period. Because for one thing, he knows how to create anti-ghost tech in order to contain other ghosts like himself which his obsession is to contain and control and to follow the rules. The Guys in White are serious about the rules too so again, I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch since contrary to what Butch has stated before there ARE documented existences of ghosts that were ones either human or animal. I’m sure you know who I mean so I won’t list them.
There’s also the similarities in their designs:
Both have Notch-Lapeled collars
A black tie
Black gloves
Black boots
And at least 2-4 buttons
So that said, again this is only my personal headcanon, Walker could be a former agent from another division that existed generations ago and since then their uniform design has been updated.
Oh right, speaking of anti-ghost devices. I totally forgot about this but in this same episode, the Guys in White have these jet packs with intangibly capabilities. Meaning, they can replicate a ghosts ability to phase through walls and objects! So my question is, why don’t they use this for all their devices? Like for example the plane they were in to avoid being hit by an attack? Is their version of this unstable or can’t be relied on? Sort of like how Maddie had a portable ghost-portal gun we saw in Wulf’s first episode that we saw did drain a lot of power which meant it could only be used maybe once or twice max.
To end things off since this post is getting too long, I also wanted to mention how the Amity Park Penitentiary now seems to have prison cells or containment at least for ghostly inmates so I wonder if the Guys in White funded that? This is where we see them holding Lydia hostage to get Freakshow to give them the information they want which I’d rather get into in the next part because this is why I really REALLY wish they had expanded on in the show.
I know there’s a lot we don’t know and things we wish we knew which is why I’m digging up what info I can and as for the rest, as you can see, I’m sharing my fan theories and headcanon’s. Feel free to borrow or expand on any of them if you want to, I’d love to see what you come up with!
A lot of this is going to be really important for what I have planned for my OC Iris Brooks since she and the Guys in White have a complicated history together which I’ll hopefully get to share through my rpg maker project “Psionic.”
Not to mention I always wondered why there were never any female agents in this agency which is why I made a division of my own in my fanfic “Turning Point” which I’d love to continue eventually with its leader I call Agent Omega to got along with the Guys in White’s leader Agent Alpha, I’ll show you her really quick before I conclude this post.
Tagging: @dragonoffantasyandreality @thundergeek59 @janetm74 @katblu42 (Please ask if you would like to be alerted when I update or write new stories)
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
Alan sighed as he leaned against the console. Normally, he wouldn’t mind being up here, but the Hood almost bringing down Thunderbird 2 on the rig had him more than a little puffed up. As a matter of fact, the whole family was on edge, hence why Alan was up here instead of down here. He understood, really he did. But what he wouldn’t give to be close to the action…
“Thunderbird 2. How’s it going over there?” Scott’s voice was barely heard over the sounds of panicked civilians. Alan allowed himself a small smile. Their father couldn’t have picked a better person for crowd control. If Scott could handle and calm down both Gordon and Alan himself in the rowdiest stage of their childhood, evacuating a large group of people was a piece of cake for him. “I’m just about finished; there are just a few stragglers that are heading out now.”
A small flash of red from the dashboard somewhat distracted Alan from focusing on the full conversation, but he still managed to listen and investigate the probable cause at the same time. “We’re aboard Scott. No sign of the saboteur, but hopefully the crew will tell us. They’re tied to a pole outside the cockpit. Gordon’s untying them now.”
The tension in Scott’s voice was audible. “Be careful. We don’t know how dangerous this saboteur is, or where they are…”
“Guys. We have a problem…” Alan heard the words come out of his mouth at the exact same time as Gordon said it. Even miles and an entire atmosphere apart, the Terrible Two were so in sync.
There was a small pause before Scott answered both of them. “Okay. One at a time… Alan?”
The youngest Tracy’s voice rose a pitch as he fought the panic in his tone. “Someone’s monitoring our conversation… They’re listening in…” He gulped at what that could mean. “If… if the saboteur can get through to our radio frequency then…”
“He’s more dangerous than we thought…” The realisation hit them hard, and John’s horror was clearly audible.
Gordon cleared his throat. “The crew has something to tell you guys…” The aquanaut must’ve handed a crew member his mic, because an unfamiliar and very Norweigian male voice could be heard speaking some very bone-chilling words.
“The saboteur isn’t here anymore. They left just as you guys arrived!”
“They could be anywhere around here!” Virgil groaned. “How are we supposed to find them?”
Scott’s breath hitched on the other end. “Can you describe them?”
The crew member nodded. “Medium height and build. Wearing a grey suit and full mask with black eye sockets, and using a voice modulator. We have no idea who they are…”
“I think I might have some idea…” Everyone froze. Scott sounded truly terrified. That was rare. And very concerning. “Because I’m staring right at them…”
“Scott… get out of there!” John exclaimed, rushing for the controls and beckoning the crew to follow him. He was going to need help to shut this thing down.
Scott panted on the other end, a sure sign that he was on the move. “You don’t need to tell me twice!” There was static on the line; their brother didn’t want them to hear in the high likelihood he got hurt, or worse.
Gordon frowned in Virgil’s direction as they lost radio contact. “You stay here with John and help shut down the Crablogger. You’ve done it before; you’re the best choice.” The aquanaut looked in the direction of Thunderbird 1, barely visible in the trees beyond. “I’m gonna go help Scott…” Virgil stiffened, before reaching out to try to stop his brother. Gordon just shook him off. “The saboteur is down there, Virgil. You heard John, they must be dangerous if they could intercept our comms. As strong as Scott is, he doesn’t stand a chance alone…”
Virgil considered his brother, squeezing his eyes shut. Gordon had a point. The more help Scott had against this guy, the better. “O-Okay…” He struggled out. “But as soon as we stop this thing, we’re coming to help…”
Gordon grinned sadly back at him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way…” The aquanaut quickly hugged his brother.
“Be careful…” It was suddenly very hard to let go. But he knew he had to as the brothers separated.
“I will…”
------
The gunshot rang out across the dense Norweigian forest, echoing in the ears of wildlife and humans alike. Immediately after, Scott fell to the ground with a sickening thud, grunting as the wind was knocked out of him. He clutched his leg, wincing at the sharp pain that spread through his entire body as he shot into a sitting position. He tried as best he could to stop the blood, before giving up, seeing his adversary advance on him from the corner of his eye.
Their struggle was regretfully brief on Scott’s part, but at least he could die knowing that his brothers would be spared the sight and sound of it. He had known going into this that not only did he have no choice, this was quite possibly the last fight he would ever be in. The only choice he did have? Protecting his brothers. Turning his comm off so they wouldn’t here this saboteur land the final blow.
“Scott!”
The eldest Tracy brother cursed under his breath. Of course, Gordon had to prove him wrong. The aquanaut moved quickly to help his brother up, but the saboteur was quicker, and Scott almost immediately found himself in a choke-hold with a pistol to his temple. He struggled in vain, trying to pry the agents grip off of him, but this guy was stronger than he looked.
Gordon’s eyes widened in horror, and took a tentative step forward. Scott only felt the pressure at the side of his head get harder. “Not another step…” The voice modulator muted the cadence of the saboteurs voice, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female just from hearing them growl those three simple words out. “Not if you want me to blow your brother’s brains out!” They snapped.
“H-How did you know we were…” Gordon trailed off, knowing deep down that they all knew the truth. This was one of the Hood’s people…
Scott grit his teeth; this was starting to get painful. “Don’t listen to them Gords! I’ll be okay. Just do what you have to do!”
Gordon promptly ignored the agent, staring his brother down in concern. “You know I can’t do that…” The aquanaut grimaced, reaching slowly to his holster to pull out his weapon. The gun next to Scott’s head cocked in warning as Gordon threw his own as far away from himself as possible, raising his arms in surrender.
The saboteur made no move towards the other Tracy, simply keeping their eye trained on him as they beckoned him with a long finger, still holding Scott in a death grip. When Gordon eventually made it to the agent and their captive, a long rope was handed to him, and his breath hitched when he realised what they expected him to do. He was going to have to tie up his own brother.
He hesitated, wondering if there was a way out of this for them. Unfortunately, the agent didn’t seem to have too much patience. “Do it now! Or neither of you are going to live long enough to see your family again…” Gordon nodded, offering Scott an apologetic look as he got to work, a look that was met with an exhausted but understanding smile. “And make sure those knots are tight. He’s a flight risk…” Was… Was that supposed to be a joke?
“Oh trust me…” Gordon deadpanned. “I know…” By the time it was Gordon’s turn to get tied up, the aquanaut had built up enough courage to talk to their captor. “So… can I ask you a question?”
“You just did.” They huffed underneath the modulator. “And I hardly think you’re in a position to bargain with me…”
Gordon gave them a blank look as the knots tightened. “I was thinking more along the lines of a name…”
“Oh.” They paused, stunned. “You may call me Agent Omega. I doubt either of you will live much longer to get to know me anymore than that…”
“We’ll see about that…” Scott huffed. “We may not be able to get to know each other too well, but I’m certain our brothers won’t like you when they eventually meet you.” He smirked, causing Gordon to grin in turn. If Scott was still being his stubborn self, even held hostage with a bullet in his leg, everything was going to be okay.
“Interesting…” The sarcasm in Omega’s voice tore through the air as they pushed both brothers down on the ground, back to back. Scott hissed as he landed on his bad leg, and Gordon frowned. They were ignored by Agent Omega. “Get comfy boys. We’ve got a long wait before your family gets here to see me end you both…”
Tagging: @dragonoffantasyandreality @thundergeek59 @janetm74 @katblu42 (Please ask if you would like to be alerted when I update or write new stories)
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
When his brothers had all left the room, Alan gave his father a look. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how I’m up here on Scott’s month. Immediately after we spot our old pal Hoody on a rescue…” He smiled, although Jeff saw no humour in it. “You guys put me up here to protect me, didn’t you?”
Jeff froze, realising they’d been discovered almost immediately. “Well…” He cleared his throat. “That and Scott would go absolutely insane up there knowing you guys were down here without him to ‘Smotherhen’, as you boys call it…”
Alan huffed. “You’re talking as if Scott isn’t already crazy…”
Jeff frowned. “Alan, this was my decision and my decision alone…”
His son didn’t look convinced. “Mmmhmm. Sure. Let’s go with that…” Alan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I get you guys wanna protect me, but I’m not a kid. Youngest or not, I’m in my mid-twenties, Father.”
“I know son. But you’ll still always be my child, and it’s just so hard to separate adult you from child you sometimes…” When Alan gave him a downcast look, Jeff went a little farther. “You know I feel this way with all your brothers too, right?”
Alan looked surprised. “Even Scott?”
Jeff nodded. “Even Scott.” The patriarch looked his son in the eyes. “Capable operatives or not, you will always be my children. And on my worst days, I want nothing more than to scoop all of you up and never let any of you off the Island ever again, and tell you how much I love and appreciate you. But all of you believe in International Rescue so much, I know it would crush you and your brothers, and so do I, so I never bring up shutting it down.” He smiled. “I may not be able to protect your brothers right now, but at least let us all protect you. You’re the heart of this family, Alan Shepard Tracy. And that’s not just because you’re the youngest. You’re the purest of us all…” He looked away, melancholy. “You always protect the purest…”
Alan hesitated in the silence his father left before answering. “I… I can’t say I’m okay yet with being up here still, but I do appreciate what you’ve said, Dad.” He grinned mischievously. “And I’m sure they will too…”
Jeff frowned. “What do you mean?” Alan flicked his head toward the receiver on Jeff’s desk, prompting the patriarch to look over. He immediately felt his blood run cold. It was transmitting to all Thunderbirds. “H-How much did you boys-” All the other portraits in front of him switched to visual.
Gordon shrugged from where he stood behind Virgil’s shoulder. “Pretty much all of it.”
John cleared his throat. “Dad, I get that you’re worried about us, but…”
Scott nodded from the other side of the room. “You’re right, International Rescue is important to all of us, and the Hood is threatening it, and our family directly.” He stared his father down, determined. “We all made a promise a long time ago that we’d put our lives on the line to rescue people. And we’re not about to stop now.” Jeff got an almost pleading look from his eldest. “Are you about to stop?”
Jeff smiled. “Of course not, son…” He couldn’t have been prouder of them. All of them. “Of course not…” He sighed. “But maybe we should discuss this more later when you’re all home.” They all nodded, murmurs of agreement spreading around the family. “And I don’t think I need to tell you to watch your backs…”
The other portraits winked out as Scott and Virgil disconnected, leaving Jeff and Alan alone again. The blond had the common decency to look sheepish.
“What was that about?”
Alan grinned evilly. “Revenge…” It was all he said before he waved goodbye, his portrait returning to a static image of himself almost immediately, leaving Jeff in the dark.
Well, he thought. That just happened… And yet, he couldn’t stop smiling.
His boys would keep an eye out for each other…
------
“The bait has been set, my master.” A robotic voice cut through the silence of the cabin, the great machine’s crew already removed from the controls and tied to a nearby pole in the Crablogger’s structure. Agent Omega was of medium build and was wearing a grey bodysuit with a mask that covered the entirety of their face and neck. Their eyes were concealed by the obsidian black glass of the eyepieces embedded in the mask. All these elements made it impossible to tell what Omega’s gender was, which was kinda the point. “International Rescue has arrived, and are on their way here to stop the Crablogger in its tracks.”
“Good. Good.” The Hood’s ominous voice filled the air, making even a hardened agent like Omega’s blood run cold. They shook it off, awaiting further instruction. “Have the ships split up?”
Agent Omega nodded, despite knowing the Hood would not see it. “Yes, my Master. From what I can gather from the transmissions I’ve intercepted, the Field Commander will be handling the evacuation of their precious little civilians while the other operatives come to handle Crablogger itself.” The evil smirk was clear in his tone.
“Perhaps a change of plans is in order.” The Hood hummed. “I want you to go after the pilot of Thunderbird 1. Leave the crew of Thunderbird 2 to the mercy of the Crablogger.”
Omega raised an unseen eyebrow. “Surely it would be better to remain here to take as many of International Rescue out as I can?”
The mastermind on the other end of the line chuckled. “You are one of my best agents, Omega. But even you have a lot to learn…”
“What do you mean, Master?”
“You see…” The Hood began. Even now, Omega could imagine the criminal pacing in front of them. “There are many benefits of working with family. But when dealing with lives, things can get a bit more…” A huff escaped him. “Complex…”
“I’m not sure I understand.” Agent Omega looked out at the horizon from the window in the cockpit.
“International Rescue losing not only their Field Commander, but the Tracy family losing the eldest of Jeff Tracy’s spawn?” The Hood grinned maliciously. “It will sting far more than any blow we could possibly throw at them…”
Omega smirked, already formulating a plan. “Excellent idea, Master. And I think I might know how I can proceed…”
“Then do it.” The Hood snapped. “I look forward to hearing about your success…” And that was the end of that, the line cutting off.
Now fully briefed on their next course of action, the agent left the relative safety of the cockpit, only stopping to salute the still trapped crew members immediately outside, ignoring their pleading looks. They leapt off the side of the Crablogger, rolling to absorb the shock better as they landed, running into the treeline to avoid getting trampled.
The Thunderbirds roared overhead, the silver rocket plane travelling further than her green sister did. Omega smirked as Thunderbird 2 landed on the wide path the Crablogger left, ignoring the green ship and following as closely behind Thunderbird 1 as they could. They were going to have so much fun with this…
Ok, getting back to the rpg maker stuff again I might be borrowing my Agent Omega OC from my fanfic “Turning Point” who is scheduled to make an appearance in that story as a character in my “Ghost Stories” fangame. As you can see I already made a sprite for her. It’s a shame the male GIW agent sprites don’t look quite as good so I may need to consider redoing their uniforms.
Agent Omega:
Bonus! Here are her old concept drawings! She looked a bit too young and like a model in these so these ideas were scrapped, including the undercover version. The hair from version 1 was easier to make a sprite for though.
