The Thunderbirds and The Phoenix

Chapter Six

I'm awoken from my dreams by a knock on my door. It's Ali. "Hey Nix, sorry if I woke you, but you need to take your tea this morning. If you need me, I'll be down at the beach skimming stones. Bye!" Alan calls through the door. I hop out of bed and throw on some of my sports clothes. I drink my tea and head downstairs, where Onaha had made me a bagel for breakfast. I devour the bagel before heading out on a run around the island. It was a peaceful morning, the temperature was just right, the birds had a lovely tune to sing and there was a soft breeze that just rustled the leaves on the trees which combined together to create a harmonic symphony. I relax as I jog through the beautiful forest. Suddenly, as I'm halfway through my run, my watch vibrates. It's the Thunderbird alarm. I call Jeff immediately. "Jeff, I won't be able to make it, can you go without me?" I ask.

"Of course. When you get back, help Brains in the command and control centre, ok?" Jeff commands.

"F.A.B. See you soon," I reply, before ending the call. As I continue to jog back to the house, I see TB3 take off, which makes my heart sink. TB3 is only called out if there's an emergency in space, which could potentially be TB5. I run faster, determined to get back. I try to contact Ali to see what's going on, but he doesn't answer. That sets off alarm bells in my head. Alan always picks up unless there's a communication blackout, which shouldn't happen.

When I reach the house, I know something is up. Two men in black clothing quickly spot and capture me. I struggle, but it's no use. They lead me towards Jeff's office, where an ugly woman with bright red hair stands over Brains, who are sitting on the sofa. I'm roughly pushed down onto the sofa beside Brains, as the woman chats quietly with the guards who explain where they found me. Suddenly, a creepy voice comes over the woman's comm "Transom, fire up Thunderbird One. And set to boil."The woman, who I'm assuming is Transom, goes over to the controls and fires up TB1's boosters. She turns them off after a couple of minutes before checking the cameras. She then reports over her comm with glee "No sign of the children." That's when I realise what she just did. She just fried Alan, Kayo and Fermat.

"Of course not. The little brats went up like firecrackers. Pop, pop, pop." The creepy voice yells, the owner of the voice entering the room. He's as ugly as his voice portrays. Brains gets up to punch the man but the other creepy man wearing a kimono somehow stops him. "Don't give him the satisfaction professor.This is taking too long. Figure out the equipment you need to get into those banks and load it into Thunderbird Two. No more delays. Now, who is this?" He asks.

Transom answers "This is Phoenix Wren, pilot of TB6 and girlfriend of John Tracy. She's been out on a run all morning, sir."

"Ah. Very well, call TB5. Let's give them the 'good' news and show Miss Wren what she's been missing." The kimono man announces. I turn to face Brains, a look of shock on my face. "What's been going on?!" I hiss.

Brain's doesn't get the chance to answer, as TB5 comes on the screen. Or what's left of TB5. There's a couple of fires in the background, with pieces of scrap metal and debris scattered over the floor, and the lights are flickering. But that's not what catches my attention. It's the five men, their usual pristine white rescue suits covered in dust and dirt. John catches my attention the most. His arm is in a makeshift sling and he has to lean on Gordon to stand. This fuels my rage even more. First off, these mad people burn Alan to death, then injure and strand the rest of the Tracy's up in space and finally,hold me captive. "Ah, Jeff, I'd thought you'd like to receive some good news." The kimono man smirks.

"What is it, Hood?" Jeff snarls.

"We've gotten rid of those pests for you!" The man, now known as The Hood, declares.

"Wait, what pests?" Scott questions.

"Those three wee brats of course! Are you pleased?" The Hood grins.