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comicbookhyperfixationtime · 7 months

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Uncanny X-Men #194- Juggernaut's Back in Town

Last Issue Recap: The team fought Thunderbird's identical brother and his Hellion friends in a US base, tanked whatever remained of their superhero credibility and then proceeded to just let Thunderbird and the Hellions waltz on back to Emma Frost without any repercussions.

This cover is pretty cool, I wouldn’t say the composition is fantastic but it makes it pretty clear what this issue is going to be about (a big ol’ heavy hitter slap fight) and Rogue with Nightcrawler and Colossus’ powers is intriguing.

The issue doesn't start with a fight though, it starts with Juggernaut having a friendly conversation with the most oblivious cop in New York

Yessir, I'm sure the giant hunk of muscle wider than he is tall couldn't possibly have anything to do with the recently escaped super criminal. 10/10 polic-ing.

Juggernaut watches some news crew give exposition for new readers on him (there's plenty of convoluted backstory but all you really need to know is he's the Juggernaut, bitch) and his recent appearances in other comics (shameless plugins). They also remind us how the X-men and Spiderman (who was Juggernaut's latest foe) are Feared and Hated By the World They Have Sworn to Protect. The popularity of a Marvel character in-universe is indirectly proportional to their popularity IRL, thus why Wonderman is highly successful film star.

Cut to the X-men in the Currently-Not-Destroyed Xavier's School upstate waking up and not giving a singular fuck about one of their super criminals on the loose.

He stayed up all night watching old swashbuckler films ahhhh he's such a dork I love him! (Thirsty Sidenote: this is I think the first time Kurt has been drawn without a shirt and gloves on. In earlier issues he seemed to basically live 24/7 in his costume. Yes I noticed. Don't judge me.)

Nobody cares, that is, except for Colossus (aka Piotr Rasputin), who went from one of my favorite characters to least favorite characters when he started dating an underage Kitty Pryde until Marvel Editor in Chief Jim Shooter told them to stop (possibly the only good decisions Jim Shooter ever made). They wasted so much good himbo potential with this boy. Anyway, he's very excited for a rematch with Juggey after demolishing a few blocks with him in a post-breakup funk several issues ago. So excited he quite literally busts out of his clothes.

See, its dumbass himbo behavior like this I'd enjoy a lot more if I couldn't get the bad taste of him and Kitty out of my mouth. Screw you Claremont for ever thinking that was ok.

Wolverine comes in from his daily barefoot snow jog in purple pajamas to tell Nightcrawler to get the team ready to track down Juggernaut because blah blah its their jobs booo you spoilsport. Honestly I would have loved an issue where the X-men just stayed at home and did nothing. I find the cool-down moments in long running comic series are usually my favorite parts. Its nice to see how these characters interact with each other and live their lives when they aren't constantly in mortal peril. But the cover promised a big knockdown dragemout and so, the plot must keep plotting. (Side note: how did Wolvie even find out about the Juggernaut? Everyone else was listening to the radio but he was running outdoors. His plot sense was tingling I guess).

Since Cyclops is a married man, Storm has lost her powers and Professor X is off in Scotland doing New Mutants stuff, Kurt now has the sole leadership responsibility of the team. I've really enjoyed Kurt's run as team leader so far. He's doing his best but he's not cut out for leadership and its clear he hates every minute of it. He's an extroverted sweetheart who would rather support his friends. Its nice to see Nightcrawler get more stuff to do after barely being present for the past for story arcs. His self doubt is also a fantastic change of pace from the previous leadership dynamics, which were the team leader going "Wah wah wah I'm the leader and you have to do what I say I'm going to be a controlling little bitch," and the second in command/former leader muttering under their breath "I would be such a better leader I deserve this title more leader doesn't know what they're doing wah wah wah." It was basically a three way dick measuring contest between Cyclops, Storm and Professor X and I hated every egotistical minute of it.

Speaking of Storm, we cut to her in her home in Kenya showing some colonial douchecanoes who's boss. Storm was recently depowered by an antimutant weapon created by Forge (long story) and so has quit the team and is returning home to find inner peace or something. Being 80s Marvel Kenya is of course portrayed in a nuanced and intelligent manner- just kidding its a thatched roof bush station in the savannah and I'm pretty sure they only chose Mount Kilimanjaro because it was the only place in Africa they could name.

Also this specific Racist White Dude is using a South African slur (kaffir) in Kenya. I'd like to say the writers meant him to be a South African on vacation in Kenya but to be honest I don't think they were thinking that hard about it. If I'm wrong though and this isn't just an example of lazy writing, lmk.)

The women running bush station who Storm saves turns out to be a member of the tribe that worshipped her as a Goddess in her first appearance (because, again, Marvel is well known for their fantastic African representation /s) and falls at her feet. The implications of this are that the regional drought mentioned in previous panels is the result of Ororo joining the X-men and no longer acting as weather Goddess, which raises a whole bunch of questions about the morality of her decision to leave in the first place, as well as broader questions about the ecology of the Marvel Universe as a whole that literally superpowers were needed to keep the climate in the region stable in the first place (climate change must be hitting them hard and fast, forget the Setinels, this is the bad future y'all should be going back to stop!). Anyway, I'm sure at least some of these will be answered the next time we see her.

Back to the main storyline, Kitty and Rachel are spying on Juggernaut, who is in a bank in civies, seemingly doing ordinary, none-crime stuff.

Look at his giant butt in that tiny chair how could anybody be fooled by this?!

The stakeout is going pretty quietly until Nimrod shows up to finally do something. The panels showing him locking in on the X-men's location is pretty neat, but its giving me Deja Vu. I wonder if its because the panel is so famous I've seen it before, or if they copied some iconic imagery from something else (it is giving me Escape From New York vibes)

Rachel and Kitty evacuate the civies and regroup with the rest of the X-men as Nimrod focuses his attention on Juggernaut. He punches Juggernaut into a conveniently empty construction lot where they can beat the stuffing out of each other without the writers having to worry about civilians. Do you think construction lots cause superhero fights, or do superhero fights cause construction lots? Its a chicken-egg sort of thing I feel. The X-men show up to stick their noses in like a bunch of idiots and this is where I have to make my opinions on Nimrod known.

Nimrod is a mutant hunting cop-robot that had been introduced previously, having been pulled into the current timestream from the Days of Future Past timeline when Dr Strange reversed time to stop the spell of an evil wizard from turning Manhatten into a Hyborian Era fantasy kingdom. I personally think exchanging Fantasy AU Avengers for pink murderbot is a pretty lame deal, but what do I know. Anyway, he's spent all his time since his initial appearance living in some poor guy's basement, eating his snacks, taking up space and barely masquerading as human, much like me.

So. I'ma be honest. I don't like Nimrod. I think he looks like a stupid pink trapezoid. Also, his name is dumb. Yeah, yeah, Nimrod was a famous biblical hunter, I know, but like. This was the 80s. Bugs Bunny had been a thing for decades, "Nimrod" was already well established as an insult and honestly giving the guy that goofy-ass triangle head and Looney Toons-esque invulnerability is not helping the associations. Like, what the hell were the DoFP folks thinking?! But then again this is same Evil Future Government that decided Rachel's mutant hunter outfit should be a literal goddamn gimpsuit so I think its been well established that their real crime aren't against humanity but fashion.

He's also extremely OP in the worst way. I can't even keep track of how many powers this guy has. And you'd think that might make the fight's interesting, right, like you'll you never know what's going to happen next? No actually it makes everyfight extremely boring because I know exactly what's going to happen next, the X-men are going to attack with something and Nimrod is going to go "Nu-uh, you can't hit me I have my everything shield!" and take them out of the fight with some new weapon he pulled out of his ass. And that's exactly what happens this time. Nightcrawler and Colossus teleport into the fight? Nimrod's tracking systems immediately detect them and he blasts them unconscious. Wolverine does a fastball special?But oh no, a force field! Kitty phases through him? Not only does she not disrupt his systems, she gets knocked back by energy field!

The demonstration of Nimrod's bullshit powers is great here, but I actually wanted to post this because of Rachel's fit. Its so 80s but I kind of adore it. This nonsense continues even after Rogue absorbs Kitty, Nightcrawler and Colossus's powers in a Hail Mary. Don't get me wrong, Rogue kicks ass and its hella entertaining but Nimrod once again is on his bullshit. She punches him into a million tiny pieces and he just reforms himself! Then he teleports out of there because I guess even he knew this fight had dragged on long enough. Which is another thing I hate about Nimrod; they can never actually kill the bastard. He'll just teleport away and come back next time with even more bullshit. It'd be so cathartic if Rogue had finally just smacked him down for good but I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the future. The X-men let the Juggernaut go, despite him being a literal criminal, because they've been doing that a lot recently. Unfortunately for them, this time surprise news crews have been behind the fourth wall the whole time like its an episode of Impractical Jokers and now the whole world knows they didn't even try to do their job. And don't give me any "oh they were weak they knew they couldn't taken him" Juggernaut had his psionic bucket hat off and Rachel Summers was right there she could have taken him down with a single thought.

We end the comic with an ominous discussion about the X-men by two members of the Russian Security council.

You can tell its Moscow because of the picture perfect view of St Basil's which magically appears in the window. Also, how the heck am I supposed to take Eyepatch Ivanovich here seriously when he's wearing little red booty shorts?! Anyway, this certainly was an issue of X-men. It started off really fun, then it got kind of generic. Certainly not the worst or most infuriating by any means. Looking forward to next issue!

Edit: I took the comic at face value and wrote that Mount Kilimanjaro was in Kenya. Mount Kilimanjaro is actually in Tanzania, near the Kenyan border, so unless the borders have shifted since 1985, Claremont is an idiot and so am I.

#comic books #marvel comics #uncanny xmen #juggernaut #rouge #storm #nightcrawler #kitty pryde #wolverine #Colossus is there too I guess #nimrod #way too long #way too many tags

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glorious-blackout · 1 year

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I was tagged by @byesca to list five songs I actually listen to, thank you! 🥰

I’ve already done this for songs I’ve been listening to recently so I’ll go for (not-so) guilty pleasures that I genuinely love this time:

Rasputin - Boney M

Yes Sir I Can Boogie - Baccara (aka. Scotland’s new national anthem... don’t ask)

Dragostea Din Tei - O-Zone

Love Machine - Girls Aloud

Thunderbirds Are Go - Busted

Tagging: @rock-n-roll-fantasy, @alexturne, @thespiritofvexation, @see-sawed, @1llusionmachine, @aeolianblues and anyone else who fancies a go (no pressure of course!) 🥰

#I could have filled this list with Eurovision songs but then it'd be endless #tag game

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piratefishmama · 9 months

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For the ask game...

🙃💌🎵

Hope your having a good day. Also loved the latest Fake It update. Nearly did a spit take of my own at John's tactful description of his son's dating proclivities...

~ 💖 ASK GAME 💖 ~

🙃 - What's a weird fact that you know?

If a submarine were to ping its sonar around a diver, the sound would bore directly through the diver's brain causing hemorrhages, and the vibrations would rupture the diver's lungs! The diver would die almost immediately.

💌 Do you talk to yourself?

Sure do! It's the only way to get an intelligent conversation around here!

But I also often say the dialogue I write out loud, basically having a conversation with myself, to make sure it sounds like a person would actually say it without getting tongue tied.

Hence why I use a lot of italics and things because those italicised words are words i've naturally laid emphasis on while speaking out loud.

🎵 Last song you listened to?

Thunderbirds are go, by Busted.

It's on my playlist.

----

Hehehehe, it's why they didn't think he'd be fussed about not really knowing the people they were throwing at him! Steve's known as a bit of a slut. He's a healthy young man, they're just glad there's been no surprise babies yet!

#pirateanswers #ask games

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theselkiesea · 2 years

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Top 5 bands from your youth/childhood

Oohhh let me have a think. I struggled for a long time to find my taste in music and when I discovered that I loved rock and metal I was constantly mocked by my mum and sister about it. But before all that I was hard-core for:

1) Busted - I didn't know anyone who didn't love them. Crashed the Wedding, Who's David, Year 3000, Thunderbirds Are Go hit so hard for me.

2) S Club 7 - the first band I cried over when I heard they were splitting up.

3) Ronan Keating - my dad played drums in a band and was listening to this album non stop during a holiday and is a huge part of my childhood soundtrack.

4) P!nk - The I'm Not Dead album ruined my life. I loved it.

5) Britney Spears - a cousin had put a ton of albums on to my dad's computer and I was listening to it all and came across Lucky. I now have that song on my dnd characters playlist.

#thank you sweetie!!!#my answers #prawns-are-cannibals #ask me my top 5 anything!

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thebeckyjolene · 1 year

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🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨

1) Thunderbirds are Go by Busted

* From the 2004 movie, Thunderbirds!*

2) Love Really Hurts Without You by Billy Ocean

*From the James McAvoy movie, Filth!*

3) Wait for Me by Theory of A Deadman

*Be prepared to shed a few tears!*

4) Running Up that Hill by Kate Bush

*Thanks Stranger Things!*

5) Hold My Hand by Lady Gaga

*From Top Gun: Maverick, but also dedicated to my late dad, who passed from lung cancer in May 2021.*

Now I tag: @stanathanxoox, @bradshawsbaby, @stardancerluv, @callsign-dragonbaron, and anyone else that's interested in this!

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jaeyongf · 5 years

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Okay but the 2004 Thunderbirds movie was amazing and fuck you if you think otherwise

#im literally listening to thunderbirds are go by busted rn #i was OBSESSED with this film i love thunderbirds

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gumnut-logic · 2 years

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Season 3 spoilers

-o-o-o-

Virgil Tracy is not a fish.

That’s not to say he has no love of the sea. Nor does it say he can’t swim. It’s just his preferred medium is air and rocket engines. Besides, he has a little brother who would rather swim than fly any day, so there was no need for Virgil to get his feet wet.

But he had never wanted his ‘bird to swim more than he had in the last couple of days.

Thunderbird Two had been in the water...once. Gordon had taken great joy at poking fun at his older brother as TB4 ran circles around the swamped Two as they all worked to get her space-rigged shell out of the Pacific. It had taken four souped-up pods to lift her module-less carcass off the surface of the ocean. The rest of her had been nabbed by One and Shadow, a fractured convoy of Thunderbird eventually coming to rest on her runway several hundred kilometres to the west. It had taken him a week to get her back up to par, combing through her systems, draining her vents, reassuring himself that his girl was safe to fly. Scott had dragged him off her several times. The one conclusion from that whole fiasco was that he was never doing that again. No matter how exciting he had thought it might be.

Despite it all, he would love to be able to dive beneath the waves now. Yesterday. The day before. Especially the day before.

He was used to being the backup, the hovering older brother, monitoring, keeping watch, but always that niggle in the back of his mind of what could he do if something went seriously wrong? Gordon was the aquanaut and he always worked alone.

It broke the most basic rules of diving. Never dive alone. Gordon did it all the time, his confidence was so strong, and Virgil reconciled it with the fact that he always had a brother hovering over him.

He always had Virgil hovering over him.

Or at the very least, John.

Gordon was watched with loving eyes.

Hadn’t counted when it was most needed though.

Virgil bit his lip and glared at the display tracking his eldest and youngest brothers. Scott and Alan were on retrieval duty, pulling Thunderbird Four...no, her remains from the bottom of the ocean.

Again.

The pods were efficient, but they were no TB4. His eyes followed the dots over the holographic landscape as they moved the rocks that had crushed his brother’s ‘bird.

John was with his brother in the hospital. Eos was monitoring the retrieval, her quiet and unusually respectful tones relaying important data.

Virgil sat hovering above the ocean with only his thoughts for company.

Lots of whatifs and should haves, none of which gave him a satisfactory answer as to what he could have done better.

Chatter over the comms - Scott had freed the remains of her cockpit, Alan part of her cargo bay and they were returning to the surface.

Virgil sat.

He watched as the buckled remains of the compartment that had saved his little brother’s life slowly emerged from the thankfully calm surface of the ocean. The buckled shape, the busted marine acrylic, the...augh, Gordon had been in that? Something inside Virgil curled up, twisted and cried. His ears listened as his two brothers coordinated themselves and loaded the wreck into the module before once again leaving Virgil alone, above the ocean, waiting.

“Virgil?”

“Yes, John?” Blink. “Aren’t you at the hospital?”

“Yes. Eos asked me to check on you.”

Huh? “Okay, why?”

“She said you needed a little company.”

“I’m fine, John.”

“That I highly doubt as none of us are fine.”

He did have a point.

Alan’s pod bounced to the surface sporting another chunk of broken yellow submarine.

And there started the earworm his little brother so often enjoyed planting in his brain. ‘We all live in a yellow submarine’ was the bane of the Tracy existence.

Scott followed. His piece was torn in half, the paint scorched. There was heat down there.

So damn close.

“Virgil?” John again.

“Yeah?”

“Maybe you should take a break?”

“A break from what? I’m not doing anything. Alan and Scott have it all under control.” Another shredded yellow piece of metal emerged. Change of subject. “How is Gordon?”

“Complaining. They ran another series of blood tests and he’s claiming the hospital is run by vampires.”

“More tests? Why?”

A pause. “Nothing to be concerned about.” Another pause, this one longer. “Scott wants to speak with you.” John cut himself off.

“Virgil, you okay?” Big brother was definitely on the line.

“I’m fine.” A frown. “How are you?”

“Getting there. Almost got all of it. Some of it is scattered so we’re double checking.” Another pause. “Hey, could you drop down to the module and make room for the pods. We’ve kinda made a bit of a mess.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Well, at least it gave him something to do. “Eos, can you secure Thunderbird Two?”

“Certainly, Virgil. Are you feeling better?”

“What?”

“Did John help?”

“Help with what?” He was paused half out of his pilot’s chair, frowning.

“Oh! Oh, never mind.”

Virgil stared at the speaker. He was missing something.

“Virg, you coming down?”

“Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on.”

-o-o-o-

The mess he found in his module was as heart-breaking as he had expected. Scott and Alan dragged up the last few bits and pieces of his brother’s trashed ‘bird. Virgil secured it all for transport, his exo-suit shifting chunks of yellow thunderbird to one side to allow the pods to dock with the module.

At some point his heart stopped hurting and just fell numb. Scott caught him staring at the scarred and buckled four on her yellow dorsal fin. It was stashed on top of one of the piles like a tombstone. An arm snaked across his shoulders and squeezed.

“She’ll fly again.”

Virgil swallowed, the lump in his throat, hard. “Yes, she will.”

And she would. The moment Thunderbird Two came to a stop in her hanger, Virgil was out of his seat and down in the module.

It wasn’t her module. She wasn’t in four, she was in two, and that was wrong.

Shouldering on his exo-suit once again, Virgil began moving her parts to her home.

Eventually she was laid out like a broken lego kit on the floor of her module. Virgil took a deep breath and shed his suit before exiting to his workshop.

“Virg, you coming up for lunch?” Alan’s expression was as far from his usual upbeat self as it could be.

“Be up later.” He waved his little brother off.

Alan shrugged and left.

Virgil pulled up Four’s schematics and began planning.

-o-o-o-

Scott spent a great deal of time in transit over the next week. Caught amongst the hospital, the GDF and International Rescue, not to mention Tracy Industries and the media, he barely had time to eat much less sleep. By the end of the week, John was calling him on it and bundled him off to bed despite his protests.

The moment the media discovered one of the Tracy boys was in the hospital, the networks exploded with stories. Apparently, Gordon had sixteen love children by twelve different women, the Hood was actually an alien, all the Thunderbirds had exploded and the vent field was heralding the end of all life on Earth.

Gordon found all of the above totally hilarious and had to be banned from the internet after launching three new rumours of his own. Scott was most unimpressed with the idea that Gordon was the next six-billion-dollar man and could shoot lasers from his eyeballs.

Grandma had to break that one up.

So, Scott was tired. Ever so tired.

Perhaps that is why he didn’t notice that he hadn’t seen Virgil for all of that week.

There had been a rescue in the middle of that and Virgil had been on comms, but Scott hadn’t actually seen him, as he had answered with TB1 from London. If his brother had sounded a little tired, it wasn’t surprising. Scott felt like he’d parked his ‘bird on his own head.

Alan was almost as scarce. He wasn’t handling Gordon’s absence very well at all. Also not surprising. Scott eventually threw him onto One and parked him at the hotel with Grandma and ordered him to stay there unless he was needed for a mission.

Grandma needed the support and Alan needed to see Gordon.

John was up and down to TB5 several times that week and it was showing. Scott actually heard Eos yelling at his brother at one point.

In short, the whole Tracy family was a mess, and understandably.

Then there was the question of their father.

Scott found himself both desperate for further information and shying away from the whole idea.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t excited by the possibility that his father might still be alive. God, please let him be.

Please.

It was the hope that hurt. He had been burnt so many times by the chance, by the mere glimmer of finding his father that he wasn’t sure he would be strong enough to face disappointment again.

Or watch his brothers face the same.

Brains knew it. Brains had been through it with them that same number of times. The engineer disappeared into his work, determined to find the answers as fast as possible. To follow through on that glimmer that had so much potential for destruction.

So, no, Scott didn’t notice his next younger brother’s absence and it shamed him when he did.

It was Gordon who pulled the blinkers off his eyes.

“Scott?” The sound of his injured brother’s voice shook him out of the mental doze he had fallen into. A glance at the clock told him how much time he didn’t have left to sleep tonight and why his brain had half shut down. The lights were on in the comms room, but the darkness outside through the wide-open windows sucked the illumination into a black hole of sea breeze and distant waves.

“Gordon? Do you have any idea what time it is?” His brother was several hours behind Tracy Island and likely bored again.

“You’re awake, aren’t you?”

“I am now.”

“Good. Have you seen Virg?”

“Huh? It’s 2.30am.”

“Yeah, so? Virg is a night owl, not an early bird like you. This is barely knock off time.”

“What did you want him for?”

“He was going to give me an update on Four after dinner and I haven’t heard from him.”

“An update on Four? Gordon, we haven’t even started on Four. Brains has been working on Calypso and Brayman.”

“No, Virgil asked me yesterday what my preferred calibrations were for her rear thrusters. He said he was ready to tune.”

“Ready to tune? Gordon, the last I saw of your ‘bird, she was broken worse than you.”

“Thank you for that image, great big brother.” A pause. “When was the last time you slept? You look awful.”

Scott sighed. “Yesterday? The GDF are dancing, the media are annoying and Tracy Industries is complaining about a six point drop on the share price.” He nodded in Gordon’s direction. “You should be proud. Six points is decent. Our shareholders obviously love you.”

But Gordon didn’t pick up the joke. In fact, he was frowning. “You need sleep, Scott.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. John has been nagging me constantly.”

“You let Virgil see you like that, he’ll hogtie you to your bed.” The frown deepened. “Why hasn’t he tied you up already?”

And that was the clincher. It forced Scott to think back to when he had last seen Virgil...and came up blank. “I haven’t seen him.”

“What do you mean you haven’t seen him? I told you, he’s working on my ‘bird.”

“And I told you we haven’t started yet. Brains has been too busy.”

“Yet you haven’t seen Virgil today. When did you last see him?”

Scott found his throat dry. So damned tired. “Can’t remember.”

His little brother’s bandaged head glared at him through the hologram. “You are going to do two things right now. First you are going to find Virgil for me. Then you are going to bed. Obviously, Virgil is shirking his ‘kick your ass’ duty. Can’t believe it, I break a couple of bones and you all fall apart.”

“Watch it, Gordon. Not a joking matter.”

“Neither is the fact that my second eldest brother is MIA. Go and find him, or you’ll have to put up with my nagging voice instead of his much more pleasant baritone telling you to damn well go to bed.”

Scott was of the distinct impression that if he did find Virgil, the nagging wouldn’t change tone, it would simply duplicate. Since his brown eyed brothers’ voices could often be mistaken for each other it would just be a louder rumble.

But Gordon was right. Now he realised Virgil was missing, he had to find him.

Shunting the work aside on the desk, Scott pulled up a map of the island and keyed in Virgil’s tracker code.

Module Four.

At 2.35am.

Well, he would go down there, drag his brother back to bed and then find his own. GDF reports be damned.

A sigh and he struggled to his feet. Not enough exercise this week of the fitness kind. Time was non-existent.

Virgil would kill him.

Why hadn’t he?

He hit the elevator and used the few moments it took to descend to the hangers to just lean on the wall and close his eyes. Gordon was going to get better. It would take some time, but he would be hale and healthy eventually. The chaos of the last week would be in the past and slowly everything would return to normal. As normal as it got on this Island in any case.

The elevator hit the bottom of the shaft and the doors slid quietly open. Pushing off from the wall, Scott straightened himself and started the trek across Thunderbird Two’s hangar.

The massive ‘bird sat quietly in her ready to launch position, ever hulking over everything around her. Scott’s footsteps echoed across the empty cavern.

As he neared the module bay, soft piano music wafted over the cool air. Light shone from the open hatch of Module Four. There was no doubt where Virgil was.

Stepping into the shaft of light, Scott’s eyes landed on Thunderbird Four, snug in her module.

And in one piece.

He blinked and took another step forward. Gone was the pile of scorched scrap that once was a beloved Thunderbird. In its place sat a grey ghost of a machine, her shape matched perfectly to the TB4 he knew. Bare metal, undercoated in places, yellow in others, the raw cahelium alloy shining dully in the artificial light

How the hell? “Virgil?” It came out as a croak.

Only the music, apparently on loop, answered.

As he approached closer, Scott resisted the urge to reach out and touch that gleaming metal. Walking around her, he found one of her thruster casings had been removed and left on the floor. A panel gaped open showing her inner workings like an abandoned medical procedure.

“Virgil?”

He completed his circle of the submarine and still no sign of his brother. “Virgil?”

He peered through the pane-less windows. Empty.

“Virgil!”

It wasn’t until his third circle of the craft that he noticed the boot sticking out under one of the rear thrusters.

“Virg?”

Down on his knees and he realised the ‘bird was up on jacks.

And his brother was asleep under her.

Shit.

Virgil was curled up, spanner still in hand, a panel hanging open above him.

Scott resisted the urge to simply pull him out by the feet. The danger...their jacks were amongst the most secure in the business, but still...not safe.

He reached under the submarine and shook the sleeping mechanic. “Virgil, wake up.” No response. A solid shove. “Virgil!”

For a split second, a ‘what if he is not simply sleeping’ scenario danced across Scott’s mind and froze his blood. A disgruntled groan from his prone brother, sprouted so much relief he almost forgot to be angry.

Almost.

“Virgil, what the hell are you doing? Get out from under there.”

“Wha-?”

Newly awoken Virgil equals dopey Virgil.

This time Scott did simply reach in and pull his brother out from under the submarine. Virgil flailed but was too asleep to squawk.

“Are you okay?”

Brown eyes blinked up at him, frowned, and Scott was shocked to see the dark patches under them. His brother looked gaunt and drained.

It took a moment or two, but Virgil’s brain slowly came online. He rolled over and, wavering, pushed himself to his feet. “M’okay.”

“You don’t look it.”

“Just a little tired.”

“A little. What have you been doing down here?”

Brown eyes turned on him with a half-awake glare. “What does it look like?”

“It looks great, Virgil, but you look like shit.”

His brother blatantly stared him up and down. “You’re no ray of sunshine either.” A concerned frown. “When was the last time you slept?”

“Me? What about you?”

“About a minute ago. Sleeping nicely, thank you.”

“Under a jacked-up submarine with a spanner for a bed partner.”

The spanner in Virgil’s hand was suddenly shoved into his tool chest. “Guess I got tired. Haven’t been sleeping well.”

Scott just glared. “Go to bed.”

“You first.”

“Oh, for the love of...I don’t have time for this. Just move, Virgil. Up to your room. A good twelve hours at least or I’m siccing Grandma on you.”

Virgil glared at him for a whole second before turning abruptly and shoving the open thruster panel closed. He grabbed a rag that looked dirtier than his hands and wiped them thoroughly before making a beeline towards the elevator on the far side of the hangar.

Scott’s lips thinned a moment before he hit the light switch and followed.

-o-o-o-

Scott considered the matter solved and after a decent night’s sleep of his own, he returned to wrestling the GDF and Tracy Industries.

Three days later, this time ten in the morning, Gordon commed him, again asking for Virgil. It was at this point that Gordon revealed that he hadn’t actually seen the engineer since that first visit at the hospital. He had only spoken to him over comms about Thunderbird Four.

“He hasn’t visited you at all?”

“You getting hard of hearing, old man?”

“This is Virgil we are talking about?”

“Senile apparently, too. I get you guys are busy and I’m spoilt that you all visit when you can, but honestly, this isn’t about me. This is out of character for Virg.” A pause, russet brown eyes refusing to meet his blue. “And I miss him, okay?”

The admission to vulnerability landed somewhere in Scott’s left ventricle and caused a stutter.

“I’ll find him. You rest.”

“I am resting. All I do is rest. It is so boring.”

“Anything we can do?”

“Find Virgil!”

“Okay, okay.” A mock salute. “Calm down. I’ll find him.”

“How you flippin’ lose him, I have no idea. Don’t you notice when he goes missing?”

That chopped off a chunk of his heart. “I’ll do my best.” He killed the connection and kicked the desk he was apparently chained to.

He grit his teeth, cursing the Hood to the cellular level.

Another flick of a finger and he pulled up Virgil’ tracker again.

Module Four.

Scott sighed and headed down to the hangers.

His brother was awake this time, fortunately since he was on top of the submarine working on who knew what. A welding mask was flipped up, caught in his hair, and he had earphones in his ears.

“Virgil!”

The engineer had his back to him and didn’t answer.

“Virgil!”

Still nothing.

Scott strode around the vehicle attempting to get into his brother’s line of sight. The man’s red flannel shirt fluttered about him, open at the front and Scott realised the material was torn on one side. “Virgil!”

His brother kept working, eyes trained on whatever he was doing. A hand reached up and flipped his visor down. Violet sparks flew as he activated a welding torch and Scott was forced to throw up a hand and look away. “Goddamnit, Virgil!”

The light flickered against the walls of the module, Scott, forced to stare at his own shadow, waiting for his brother to finish doing what he was doing.

“Ah, shit!”

The welding light shut off to be replaced by an amber glow. Scott dared to look up at his brother only to widen his eyes in shock when he found the man on fire.

Virgil stood on top of TB4, mask up, swearing and beating at his flannel shirt, the material happily burning a black streak up his side.

Scott didn’t think, just hurried over to the nearest suitable fire extinguisher, grabbed it, and, clambering up the ladder, shot his brother with it.

It would have been funny if it was.

It wasn’t.

His brother gasped, flailing in the stream of harmless, but undoubtedly cold, chemicals. A white haze coated Virgil by the time Scott was satisfied the flames were out. The man stood staring at him a mixture of shock and anger on his face.

Well, at least he finally had Virgil’s attention.

The engineer ripped out his headphones. “What did you do that for?”

“You were on fire, Virgil.”

“It was under control.”

“Could have fooled me.” A sigh and Scott put the extinguisher down. A step and he was beside his brother gently pulling off the soaked and damaged shirt and examining him for burns.

“I can undress myself, you know.” It was said quietly and without anger.

Scott balled up the shirt and chucked it over the edge. It hit the module floor with a splat. Reaching up, he slid the welding mask out of Virgil’s hair and placed it beside the discarded welding torch.

“What are you doing?”

“Something I should have done three days ago.” He gestured towards the ladder. “After you.”

Virgil shook his head. “I have to finish this connector.”

Scott grabbed his arm, a touch alarmed at the focus in his brother’s eyes. “No, you’re coming with me.”

“Scott-“

“Now.”

His brother’s shoulders tensed a moment and Scott thought he was going to have to push harder, but a sudden wilt and Virgil let out a disconsolate groan. He shed his gloves, the fireproof pair landing beside the discarded helmet. Without a further word, the engineer turned and climbed down the ladder.

Lips thin, Scott followed.

He followed, then directed his brother’s grey shirted shoulders out of the hanger and up to the kitchen where he sat the man down and made him a hot chocolate.

Not a single word was said.

Turning back from the fridge, Scott found Virgil staring into nothing, five fingers tapping on the table. In the bright light of the morning sun, he finally got a good look at him.

The shadows under his brother’s eyes were almost caverns. He was pale, even gaunt. His hair uncharacteristically stuck up in all directions, most likely stiff from grease more than hair product. Virgil had a habit of running his fingers through his hair when thinking, no matter what was on those fingers at the time.

The lack of red flannel bleached the man out, his dark hair a smudge against the grey.

He placed the hot chocolate in front of Virgil, but to Scott’s surprise, it was ignored.

Those fingers continued to tap.

“Gordon is looking for you.” It took a moment, but those brown eyes turned to him. Scott sat down across from his brother and nursed his own warm cup. “He wants to see you.”

A slow blink, and the fingers stopped tapping and were dragged through hair. “Yeah, I need to give him an update.”

“Update?”

“On Thunderbird Four.”

Scott frowned. “Why?”

“So he knows how she’s doing.”

“What about how you’re doing?”

“What about it? I’m fine. She’s coming together good. Shouldn’t be long before we can finish her shell and get that yellow happening.”

Scott stared at his brother.

“When did you last sleep, Virgil?”

A shrug, but no answer and a complete lack of eye contact.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what? Brains is busy and Gordon needs his girl. Not a hard equation, Scott.”

“Gordon needs you.”

That did it. Brown eyes snapped to his. “What?”

“You haven’t been to see him.”

“I’ve spoken with him.”

“About TB4.”

“Yeah.”

A sigh. “He misses you, Virg. Why don’t you hitch a ride with me this afternoon and we can go visit him together?”

His brother held his stare. “I’m quite capable of flying myself out.”

An arched eyebrow. “I could easily take that as you not wanting my company, but I’m not buying it and there is no way you are flying anywhere. Hell, at this point I wouldn’t give you a license to walk, much less fly.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, downed the previously ignored hot chocolate in one gulp, and stood up. “I’m fine. I need to get back to work.”

“No.” Scott put down his own mug and stood up to face his brother. “You are going to have a nap and then we are flying out to the hospital so you can see Gordon.”

Those brown eyes flared, but Scott shifted his stance, his intentions clear.

Again, his brother’s shoulders wilted, his gaze dropping. “Fine.”

Scott stepped back from the table and walked around until he was standing beside Virgil. The man’s hands were clenched and white knuckled. Scott wrapped an arm around his little brother’s considerable shoulders. “C’mon, Virg, give yourself a break. Gordon misses you.”

The fists unclenched, muscles going limp.

“Go up to your room, have a nap. I’ll call you when I’m ready to go.”

A flicker of brown shot at him, but his brother turned away and headed up the stairs, leaving Scott alone in the kitchen.

A tap at the holographic interface and the eldest brother was able to watch that tracker enter the elevator, climb up to the residential section and plant itself in Virgil’s room.

The house suddenly felt empty. Because it pretty much was.

Another tap, this time at his comms. “Johnny, you got a minute?”

-o-o-o-

Gordon had never been so bored in his life. Four walls, a window, a holoprojector with access to the entire world, his brothers at his fingertips, he had every comfort he could have in his situation.

But he was bored.

It had partly to do with the drugs in his system. Sure, there were less than there were before, but he had put his body through the wringer and it didn’t fail to remind him of it as often as possible.

He could hardly move, the bed beneath him shifting pressure points like some creepy jello monster. He had one arm to play with. Well, hell, it could be worse. There was always worse. But yeah, bored.

Penelope was a blessed ray of sunshine. Her smile lit up the room every time she entered it. He clung to her visits, though shy in expressing his appreciation. Grandma was a continual reassurance, her soft touch always welcome. None of her cooking had appeared as yet, thankfully, but her words, her touch, her Grandma-ness meant all it possibly could and he cherished it.

Alan was a firecracker set off in the room. Or at least he attempted to be. Even Gordon could see his little brother wasn’t handling this very well. He couldn’t blame him. If their positions had been reversed, Gordon had no idea how he could stand to see Alan lying in this bed like a broken doll. So yeah, it sucked big time.

Scott, of course, was the stoic, reassuring, worried-as-shit big brother. The man was burning candles at both ends. Gordon had yelled at him on his last visit. Hell, a brother wasn’t supposed to worry the invalid. The invalid had more ways than one of kicking said brother’s ass if he didn’t stop wearing himself thin.

John, looking almost as tired, had backed him up.

Gordon had then proceeded to chew out John, telling him to get his ass either to Tracy Island or TB5 and stop hopping between the two. Gravity sickness wasn’t to be trifled with. Even Gordon knew that.

So yeah, big brother bawl out session. Actually, felt good to let a little of that steam out in a worthwhile cause. A call to Eos, who to his surprise actually answered and was willing to conspire with him, and he was able to track both brothers.

Even more surprise when they actually did what he asked, both of them holing up on Tracy Island for the night.

That left Virgil.

Gordon was worried and just a touch hurt that his big brother hadn’t come to visit. Sure, he was little more than a comline away and answered almost every time Gordon hailed him, but he hadn’t visited.

And all he spoke about was Thunderbird Four.

Detailed summaries of progress, reassurance that his ‘bird would be ready when he got home, holographic images of the work that had been done.

Gordon appreciated it. God, he did. But as time wore on, his brother’s absence began to gnaw at him and appreciation turned to worry. What was going on? He had expected his usually sensitive brother to be the one marshalling the other three. Virgil was the one who sent Scott to bed when he over did it. Virgil was the one who cornered John over comlines and interrogated him on his sleep pattern. Virgil, in the absence of Gordon, would chase up Alan and check to make sure he was okay.

Virgil should be looking after Grandma.

That was what Virgil did.

Instead the man was rebuilding Gordon’s ‘bird and he hadn’t seen him.

Why?

What bee was under his big brother’s bonnet?

So, it was with some surprise that, waking from one of his many impromptu naps, he discovered that particular brother curled up in the chair beside his bed snoring.

It was the snoring that had woken Gordon up.

He stared for a full minute.

Virgil was facing him, his face slack against the back of the chair, eyes steeped in shadow. A snort of interrupted breathing and he frowned, shifting in the far too small chair. He looked so uncomfortable, Gordon had no idea how the man could possibly be asleep.

He reached out to touch his brother, but a hand came from behind him and gently drew his hand back. A stiff turn of his head revealed Scott, an equally deep frown creasing his brow. He mouthed the words ‘leave him’.

Gordon blinked and withdrew his hand. Scott sat back down, looking as tired as Gordon felt.

The aquanaut turned back to his sleeping brother, echoing Scott’s frown. Virgil was dressed in only his grey undershirt, his hair soft and falling into his eyes, but the most defining factor on his health was his paleness. Virgil was an active man and had a tan to prove it, but not so much now.

Whispered. “What’s wrong with him?”

Eyes, darting at his eldest brother, caught the worried shrug.

They couldn’t have been sitting next to Gordon very long, yet Virgil had fallen asleep.

“How are you feeling?” Scott’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Me? I’m fine. What the hell is wrong with him?” A gesture in his sleeping brother’s direction.

Scott’s gaze landed on Virgil and his expression grew sad. “Tired. Hasn’t stopped.”

“Why?”

Another shrug. “Coping mechanism?”

“But...Virgil?”

“Who knows, Gordon. I can’t say any of us are handling this very well.”

A swallow. “I noticed. Sorry.”

Scott’s shoulders slumped as he sighed and rubbed his face with a hand. “Not your fault, Gords.”

Gordon echoed his sigh. “What you going to do? Ban him from his workshop?”

“Thinking about it.” A slight smile. “Maybe lock him up with you.”

A half-hearted glare. “You trying to kill us both?”

The smile became a full-fledged grin. “I thought you said you missed him. That’s why I dragged his dopey ass all the way over here.”

The glare intensified. “Liar. This is big brother fully deployed and you know it.”

Scott’s lips twisted, the grin becoming more of a smirk, eyes dancing. “Call it my prerogative.” His brother stood up, stretching. “I’ll leave the two of you to it.” A nod in Virgil’s direction. “Let him sleep, he needs it. I’ll be back later.” A brush of finger tips across the back of Gordon’s injured hand and his brother strode to the door. A glance at Virgil, a smile at Gordon and he was gone.

Virgil snorted in his sleep again.

Gordon was left to watch the engineer drool on his own sleeve.

-o-o-o-

Waking up was a fifty-fifty situation. Fifty percent of the time it sucked and this rise and shine definitely fell onto that side of the scale.

He was cramped. All of him was cramped. What the hell? A groan and he attempted to unfold his body.

“Oooh, Virg, don’t break yourself.”

Gordon.

What?

He pushed his eyes open and was immediately blinded by sunlight on white walls. Ugh. There was a reason why he had blackout curtains in his room on the Island. A blink and a scrunched-up face and, augh, pain shot up his neck and bounced around his brain. What the hell was he doing sleeping in a chair?

“That’s right. Hold that position.” Something electronic beeped. “Woo, that’s a good one. Definitely saving that for the archives.”

What?

His brain was its usual slow self upon waking. It took several solid attempts to recall where he was and how he had gotten there.

Scott.

His shirt on fire.

Hot chocolate.

His room.

A shower.

Sleep.

Tracy Two.

The hospital.

Gordon asleep.

Waiting.

And now.

The conclusion was obvious. He had fallen asleep, too.

In the chair.

Ow.

“You gonna hold that face much longer, bro? I’m expecting a wind change at any moment.”

“Shut up, Gordon.” Now that came out raspier than an un-greased chainsaw.

“Ho, and hello to you, too, dear brother.”

He forced his eyes open, blinking at the light in the room. Gordon had a grin on his face brighter than the sun. His tablet was also in his hand.

Virgil eyed him. “What are you doing?”

“Enjoying some entertainment. Why?”

“What entertainment?”

“Did you know that that scar between your eyebrows has a following?”

“A what?”

Gordon’s grin was ready to split his face in half. “Oh, you were asleep just long enough for me to set up a social media account for Thunderscar Two the Triumphant. He already has over five thousand followers and has only been live for, oh, fifteen minutes.”

“What?”

Moving hurt like hell and Virgil groaned, but Gordon obliged by turning his tablet around to show a series of photos titled The Many Moods of Thunderscar Two. The photos consisted of various shots of Virgil’s eyebrows. There was even a short video of those eyebrows bouncing up and down...it was the most recent and the number of likes was still going up.

“Ooh, we just hit six thousand. Wow, I never knew you were that popular, Virg.” A laugh. “Hah, Vegetina wants to kiss your scar all better.” Gordon cackled. Maniacally. Like a villain from a B-grade movie.

“Gordon, what the hell?”

“Do that again.”

“What?”

That same electronic beep. “Niiice. They’ll love this one.” Gordon busied himself with his tablet. “Two does Dopey. Sleep is the enemy.” His brother was prodding his tablet. “Posted. Aaaah, they definitely love you, Virg.”

Virgil resisted the urge to rip the tablet from his brother’s hands. Exasperation or anger or not, the playing field was not level. He bit his lip instead. “You are not in a position to escape, Gordon. Are you sure you want to challenge me?”

“Challenge you? I should kick your ass.” And all the humour disappeared.

“What?” He appeared to be saying that a lot.

The tablet was dropped to the bed covers. “What have you been playing at, Virgil? I haven’t seen hide or hair of you since I’ve been here.”

Oh.

“Sorry. Busy.”

“Doesn’t cut it, Virg.” Gordon picked up the tablet again. Another electronic beep and his brother stabbed at the glass. “Scott’s the busiest of us all. Yet he’s been here nearly every day.”

The thought of the flight time his brother must be clocking up hurt somewhere deep in his gut.

“Sorry.”

“Virg, I don’t want you to say you’re sorry. I want to know what is wrong. This isn’t you.” He stabbed at the tablet again. “This, however, is bonafide Thunderscar. Look at that frown.” The tablet came up and yet another photo was gaining likes by the moment. Followers were clocking eight thousand and rising.

He ignored it. Couldn’t really do anything else. “Gordon, I don’t know. I am sorry.” He was still tired. “Just wanted to fix your ‘bird.”

“At the exclusion of everything else?”

Virgil shrugged. He hardly understood it himself. “Just wanted to help you.”

Gordon reached out with his good hand and grabbed at his fingers. Surprised, Virgil let him have them.

“You know you’ve thrown us all for a loop. You’re the steadfast one, Virg. The one everyone else leans on. You disappear and Scott falls on his face...and if you’ve seen his face lately it appears he’s been dragging it around on the ground. Now, John. Do you realise I had to yell at him the other day? That has always been your job, bro, but you haven’t been playing.” A bit lip and Virgil was confronted by a pair of unusually earnest russet brown eyes. “I’m going to be fine, Virg. I’ll be home soon, out of the reach of the local vampires, and I’ll need you to be you. Virgil the Rock, my big bro. Four can wait. I’m not going to need her for a while.”

And there it was, the heart of the matter. Something must have shown on his face, because Gordon yanked him closer to the bed. Virgil didn’t miss the wince that bounced across his brother’s face at the movement. Shit.

“Careful, Gords.” His hand landed on top of his brother’s, sandwiching it between his two.

“There you are.” It was quiet, whispered, and Gordon was still staring up at him. “That’s my big bro. The big softie who will be playing me the piano when I get home whether I like it or not.”

“You like it.” Virgil frowned at him.

Gordon smiled. “Yes, I do.”

-o-o-o-

His brother demanded he stay to keep him company and Virgil found himself holed up with a maniac with a camera and an obsession with his eyebrows. But they talked. Shared. Gordon fell asleep eventually and Virgil was left alone with the tablet, watching the followers count pass the one million mark. Twenty-five photos of his eyebrows, that scar in every single one.

He should be annoyed. He should be yelling. But instead he sat there listening to his brother’s soft breathing and stared at pictures of his own forehead.

Something had lifted.

His heart felt lighter.

He didn’t know what or why, but the how was sleeping beside him wrapped in bandages.

Gordon was a goofball. A loveable goofball. Seeing him hurt...

Virgil closed his eyes.

The door opened quietly and Scott peered into the room.

Placing the tablet on the bedside table, Virgil quietly walked over to his brother, nudging him gently back out and following him through. He closed the door silently behind him.

“Virg? You okay?”

Virgil didn’t answer him, not really sure what to say. Instead he grabbed his brother in a hug and buried his face on his shoulder.

Scott grunted as Virgil hit him with a little more enthusiasm than he had planned, but immediately wrapped his arms around him. “Hey.”

Virgil just held him tighter.

“He’s going to be okay.”

“I know.” Muffled.

“We’re going to be okay.”

“I know.”

Scott apparently ran out of words because for the next minute or so, neither of them said anything. Virgil just clung to his brother.

The foot traffic around them was ignored.

Eventually Virgil pulled away. He found he couldn’t look Scott in the eye. It wasn’t embarrassment, but it was.

“Virg?” Blue eyes seeking. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t know where to put his hands.

Pressure on his shoulder, he looked up and was caught by that blue. “You hungry?”

And suddenly he was. A single nod. “What about Gordon?”

“Grandma and Alan will be here in a moment. Kayo and Penny will be by later. He’ll have company. We can come back later.” The hand on his shoulder slipped around to a one-armed hug. “C’mon, let’s get some nutrition into that stubborn ass of yours before Grandma gets hold of you. One look and you’re locked up with home remedies for a week.”

He couldn’t help, but smile a little, and, with a prod, fell into step with his big brother.

-o-o-o-

“You know, if I had known they would be this popular, I would have started this site years ago. We could be millionaires.”

Virgil didn’t even bother to look up at his little brother. Head first in Four’s thruster assembly, he stuck out a hand. “We’re billionaires, Gords. Hand me that wrench, please.”

“This one?”

“I can’t see what you’re holding up.”

A chunk of metal landed in his hand. It felt about right. Folding his arm proved it to be right. Jamming it around the stubborn bolt, he gave it a shove.

“I know we are, Virg. Can’t really miss it. But this would be for something special.”

“You’re talking about a series of photos of my eyebrows.”

“They are very popular eyebrows. That scar has been nominated for president.”

“Considering most politicians, my scar would probably be just as effective.” An electronic beep. “If you start putting pictures of my butt online, the Gordon Tracy Hall of Embarrassment will go live immediately.”

“Hah, what have you got on me that could possibly outrank anything I have on you.”

Virgil didn’t say a thing. He simply straightened, yanked his phone out of his back pocket, searched a moment and, with a smirk, held it up for Gordon to see.

It was most satisfactory to see his brother’s eyes widen in shock. “You wouldn’t.”

“One picture of my butt and the world discovers this.”

“Okay, okay, I get the message.” An electronic beep. “And Thunderscar is triumphant!”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “All monetary gain goes to charity.”

“Already set up. You are rehabilitating the Supreme Barrier Reef as we speak.”

He stared at his tablet absorbed brother. Perched in his hoverchair, the man was still pale, still wrapped in plaster and bandages. Virgil would have to see him back to his room shortly as his stamina just wasn’t there yet, but he had to admit, to have him home and safe and...here...

“Good to have you here, Gords.”

Gordon looked up at him and grinned. “Great to be here in the presence of Thunderscar the Magnificent.”

Another eyeroll. “I thought he was ‘The Triumphant’.”

“Only when I let him.”

“Oh, really.”

“Yes, really.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re always welcome.”

“Well, hand me that screwdriver so I can finish this off and send her for coating tomorrow.”

Gordon grabbed the tool and handed it to him. “Painting?”

“Yep, which pink would you prefer?”

“Virgil.”

“Yes?”

A pause. “Love you, bro.”

Virgil blinked and turned back to find his brother eyeing him.

A small smile. “Love you, too.” A shrug. “But she’s still gonna be pink.”

The sound of Gordon’s laughter meant more to him than he could express.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds #Virgil Tracy #Gordon Tracy #Scott Tracy #nuttyfic reblog

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bedbellyandbeyond · 3 years

Photo

The Apologies

(Story Post)

“This wasn’t supposed to happen like this…” Dax tried talking to Nathan as they drove back to the airport. Several more APID agents were escorting them now after the thunderbird incident and they were much less friendly than Hanover, though he was still among them. They treated it similarly to a police investigation, getting Nathan's statement on the way to Kent’s, and then grilling Dax on the way out. Dax had a feeling they didn't actually believe him when he explained that he lost consciousness and couldn’t remember everything, but all he could do was recount the events of the night before as he remembered them. A few agents stayed behind to try to get a statement from Kent, but this would likely prove futile with his stubbornness, and potentially dangerous if the bear man wasn't just posturing. “I only came along to support you, you know that, right?” Dax continued, as he sat opposite Nathan. “There was absolutely no intent in what happened…”

“Of course not, I'm not stupid,” Nathan finally said after being silent since the moment they got in. “You can stop apologising.” Dax sighed. “So…are we alright, then?” he probed. Nathan knit his brow, making eye contact with Dax. “No, we're not alright. How can any of this be alright?” “But—” “You've explained it all and I understand, for the most part, but you know, I can’t just let it go,” Nathan said. “It still fucking happened. You still had sex with Kent.” Dax swallowed and looked down. “…Yeah. You're right… So, what now?” Nathan hesitated. He took his phone out and flipped through his own photos of his kids. He paused on one with the two of them curled up with Dax for a nap, both human. His heart sank. “…I think I need a few days.” Dax deflated a bit. “…Yeah?” “Yeah… Maybe, just a week?” Nathan said. “I need time to collect my thoughts… Organise some stuff. Prepare the twins for next weekend.” Dax sighed. “Okay… And next weekend. Just you and the kids up here?” Nathan pursed his lips. “Probably…” Dax nodded solemnly. “Alright. I can accept that... I'll leave it up to you, you know, whenever you're comfortable to talk, if ever…” Nathan shook his head. “We'll talk…” He paused. “I care about you a lot, you know... Like, Christ, you've been a godsend through the last 6 months…” He rubbed his own arm. “I don't want to lose you, I'm just not sure how to feel right now…” “Yeah. Yeah, I get that.” Dax rubbed his knees. “I understand…” “You can spend some time with Orpheus now.” “Right,” Dax chuckled sadly. “I've been a bit of a bad bird dad, haven't I? Hopefully Samara hasn't killed her...” Nathan just nodded and continued to scroll and swipe aimlessly through his phone. Dax leaned back in his chair and pulled out his own phone. He couldn't bring himself to open any apps or anything and he just locked it again. “…So,” he attempted. “Are you going to be alright this week with the twins? And Wano?” Nathan stopped swiping. “I think Wano will stay at APID. I don't think I can keep him with me anymore… Love him like my own son, but if he’s going to behave like he has been, I can't keep him around.” “Right… Probably for the best.” “And if I can't handle my own kids on my own, should I really be a parent?” Nathan asked rhetorically. “I mean, everyone needs help every once in a while…” “If I do, you know, I'll figure it out… Maybe Korsgaard and Camilo will help.” “For sure.” “We just…have to stay rational about it,” Nathan added. “…I think you should see a doctor at APID. Get a second opinion about yesterday.” “…You think my fever had something to do with all this?” Dax asked. “Maybe… I imagine Syd’s the one to really ask.” Dax nodded. “If there's a physiological explanation for what happened yesterday, I'd like to hear it...” “You can let me know if they have something for you.” “Alright...” Nathan frowned as he watched Dax hang his head. “I should tell you something too.” Dax looked up. “...Yes?” Nathan rubbed his neck. “I, um... I kissed Kent yesterday.” Dax blinked. “Oh.” He looked down trying to process it. “I mean, alright... That's not sleeping with him so obviously, you know, alright, I guess...” Nathan shook his head. “It's not really alright... I mean, it was intentional.” Dax shook his head quickly. “...I don't understand... When? Why?” Nathan sighed. “After you'd gone inside with a fever... We talked about him and he said some surprisingly nice things to me... He explained how he imagined that when he saw me again, if I had the kids, he'd want us to come live with him as a family. But he was disappointed, because—” “Because I'm here,” Dax finished. “Yeah.” “Right, didn't I say that?” Dax chuckled morosely. “But how does that lead to you kissing?” Nathan shook his head. “I don't know, I guess I was a bit moved... I felt bad for him. The kiss was...just a gift, I guess.” “...Uh, kind of a cruel gift, don't you think?” Dax said. Nathan frowned. “How?” “Well, you were leading him on,” Dax said. “You don't just kiss someone who doesn't have a chance with you.” Nathan frowned. “It was just a kiss. He knows where we stand. And you fucked him.” Dax sighed. “Right. But what’s worse, intentionally kissing someone or unintentionally sleeping with them?” “Are you kidding? Sleeping with them, obviously!” Nathan said. “No, you're right, that sounded really bad coming out...” Dax said, leaning back and covering his face. The van divider stutteringly slid open and Hanover peeked his head in. “Hey guys, I'm sorry I should've mentioned this earlier, but this partition has been a bit busted for a while and isn't 100% soundproof, so you know...” “You were listening this whole time?” Nathan growled. “Well, not, like, on purpose...” Hanover said sheepishly. “Anyway, no judgment here. Just thought I'd let you know the state of your privacy...” “Right. Maybe let us know before we start driving.” “Definitely a note for next time. I'll leave you to it.” The divider stuttered closed again. Nathan let out an exasperated sigh and then pulled out his phone to send a text. Dax jumped a little when his phone vibrated. He read the text.

‘I'm sorry I kissed Kent.’

Dax sighed and texted back.

‘Thanks. I'm not really that upset about it... It’s all complicated.’

Nathan read it and leaned back in his seat. “This is all so stupid...” Dax nodded. “I know. I'm sorry.” Nathan just shook his head and went silent. They arrived at the airport not long after to finally go home. When the plane landed, an APID town car was waiting to take them wherever they needed to go. The first stop was Korsgaard’s house to pick up the twins. Dax wanted to be there for that so he could see them again before they took their break for the week. Korsgaard said the kids behaved, and his daughter was going to miss having them over. Nathan thanked him and gifted him a bottle of whiskey they had picked up on their outing the day before. Korsgaard thanked him and let Maya say goodbye to the babies before they left. After the pickup, the next stop was Nathan’s house. Dax had left his car in the driveway, so he got out with them there to switch vehicles. He didn’t have anything left in the house of much importance, so he didn’t come inside. He simply gave the twins each a kiss on the forehead before going on his way. Nathan went inside, but he waited until Dax’s car turned the corner before doing anything. He took the kids out of their carrier and set them in their play pen before setting up his laptop for their video call with Kent.

#lore #Nathan #Dax #Kent #Grace #Gabriel #werewolf #thunderbird #werebear

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tsarisfanfiction · 3 years

Text

Escape: Chapter 1

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort Characters: Gordon, Scott

An island vacation turns into a nightmare, and it’s going to take Gordon everything he’s got, and then some, to get himself and his injured brother to safety.

I am, tentatively, calling this a oneshot, but there is definitely scope for a full fic here if my muses line up properly. It turns out they didn’t want to go a whole week without Scott&Gordon and whump, so here we go - a little something to keep them happy.

EDIT: Officially no longer a oneshot. Thank you, muses.

“Leave me.”

Blue eyes locked with his, bright with pain but determined nonetheless. Gordon expected nothing less from his eldest brother. Still, Scott was asking – demanding – the impossible, and no matter that it was an order from a superior, the part of Gordon that was little brother rather than operative only had one answer to that.

“Not a chance.”

“Gordon-”

“I am not leaving you behind,” he hissed.

Scott was injured, and it was bad. The guys had got the drop on them, their tumble over a thankfully shallow cliff hadn’t ended well for Scott, no thanks to Gordon landing on top of him, thereby cushioning his own fall, and now they were on the run.

Well. Gordon was on the run. Scott was another matter entirely, and there was a sick logic to Scott’s demand.

Gordon was uninjured, barring a few scrapes. By himself, he’d have no trouble getting to safety, somewhere where he could turn the situation around and get back to their boat and off the island where they’d decided to take a day’s vacation. With his broken leg, and Gordon suspected some busted ribs and a wrist injury on top, Scott couldn’t even walk by himself. He was slowing Gordon down, and they both knew it.

“You have to,” Scott insisted. “If they catch you-”

“And what about if they catch you?” Gordon cut him off. They didn’t know what the guys’ goal was, but he was willing to bet it wasn’t for a friendly chat over a cup of tea. “Come on.”

He’d managed to swim them across an inlet, towing Scott like a helpless rescuee – which he might as well be, at this point – but they needed to get into the treeline, out of sight and somewhere where they could hatch a strategy to get out of there.

Both of them out of there.

No matter what Scott said, leaving him behind to their pursuers’ mercy was not an option.

“I,” Scott started. His face was chalk white, emphasising just how blue his eyes were, and he was trembling ever so slightly. “I can handle it.”

The words were supposed to be reassuring, but they fell flat and empty. They didn’t even know what the guys wanted; if this was just some sick hunting game to them, it didn’t matter how well Scott could handle captivity – he’d still be dead.

Gordon couldn’t hear immediate pursuit; the inlet seemed to have at least temporarily done the trick, although he knew it was only a matter of time before they were back on their trail.

“Scott,” he bit out, frustration born of worry sharpening his tongue more than he’d intended. Those bright blue eyes met his, and he could see the fear his big brother was failing to hide. There was love, of course, and determination, but it was the fear that called out to Gordon. He crouched down in front of him, getting down to Scott’s current level of struggling to sit upright. “I am not leaving you behind.”

“You have to!” The desperation was well-hidden, but Gordon knew his brother.

He grasped his forearms, taking Scott’s weight as his brother lurched forward, unable to keep himself upright. The skin was cool and slightly clammy to the touch. Combined with the trembles wracking his body, and Gordon knew what he was dealing with.

“Scott,” he repeated, using the grip on his arms to hold him in place, draw him a little closer. “Listen to me.” He tightened his hold marginally. “You’re going into shock and you’re not thinking clearly.” Another concern to add to the pile he already had. “Listen to me.”

“Gordon-”

“Listen to me,” he repeated, leaning forwards and carefully releasing one of Scott’s arms so that hand could gently wind around until it was on the nape of his neck. “Scott, do you trust me?”

In some situations, that question would be answered with an eyeroll and a smart remark about prankster squids. In situations like this, it was answered by a reflexive swallow and a word floating out on a breath. “Always.”

Gordon drew him in, pressing forehead to forehead and trying to ignore the clammy skin as he looked point blank into Scott’s eyes. “I’m getting you out of here,” he promised. “I’m getting us out of here,” because Scott would never be pacified by promises of his own well-being if it came at the expense of a brother’s. That should have been enough, was enough, but there were more words on his tongue and he let them fall. “They won’t hurt you again. I won’t let them.”

Pain made Scott look younger, more like the young man he really was than the middle-aged commander he tried to emulate. If someone had told him he was actually looking into Alan’s eyes then, Gordon might even have believed them. Almost. There was still a steel there that Alan didn’t quite have. Not yet.

Scott was still struggling to keep command, still trying to present himself as the leader and in control of the situation, but Gordon knew it was, well, maybe not an act, but more for Scott’s benefit than his own. And he knew Scott knew he knew that.

Still, there were no more futile protests, and he held him close for a moment longer before pulling back.

“Let’s go,” he murmured, conscious that they’d stayed in one place for too long. “Come on.”

Scott didn’t fight him this time, although there was next to no assistance, either. That came as no surprise to Gordon, even if he hated the reminder that Scott wasn’t well, was badly injured and going into shock as a result.

There was no way Scott could walk on that leg. Up until their swim across the inlet, he’d been leaning heavily on Gordon’s shoulder, hopping along at a painfully slow pace, but they couldn’t keep that up if they wanted to stay far enough ahead to get out of there.

He crouched down and pulled Scott forwards, cautiously slinging him over his shoulder. It wouldn’t be easy – Scott was tall and heavy, and Gordon knew he didn’t have the strength to carry him for too long – but he could keep it up long enough. He hoped.

“Gordon,” Scott croaked as he staggered to his feet. Hands balled in the back of his shirt. “Your back-”

“I’m getting us out of here,” he repeated, one arm wrapping around his brother’s waist where it bent over his shoulder, and the other clinging to his legs tightly, both for additional security and to immobilise the break as best he could. “I’ll be fine.”

It wasn’t a bad day, thank goodness. Gordon had never yet been put in a position where he’d have to choose between potentially re-destroying his back or saving a life, and if there was one piece of luck shining down on them, it was that he didn’t have to make that choice today, either.

He staggered forwards, one step and then another, falling into an ungainly rhythm as he pushed on, towards the treeline that promised cover.

Grunts and gasps of pain from behind him betrayed the way Scott’s leg was jostled by the movement despite his best efforts. Gordon hoped he’d positioned him so that his ribs weren’t worsening, too, but he hadn’t had much of a choice on that matter.

Hold on, Scott, he thought, not wasting his breath by vocalising it. He didn’t have the breath to spare, and Scott wouldn’t appreciate acknowledgement of his agony. All Gordon could do was cling on tightly and forge forwards.

He still couldn’t hear pursuit, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any. They wouldn’t be safe until they were clear of the area, off the coast and hopefully far into the sea.

Gordon knew there was a cove nearby. On a good day, he could swim from there to the neighbouring, larger, island. On a day like today, where the waves weren’t quite flat calm and his brother could do nothing more than float along, it was bordering on the impossible.

If there were no boats there to hijack, it would be their only option.

Clearly, Lady Luck had determined that Gordon’s back being fit enough to carry Scott the distance, even if his brother was gasping with every staggering step he ran, filled his entire quota for the day. He was beyond grateful to have had that, but the sight of an empty cove when he broke free of the treeline made his heart sink.

“How are you holding up?” he asked Scott, stumbling to a halt on the shoreline and staring out at the expanse of blue-green ocean. In the distance, the flat horizon line was broken by another landmass – the other island, and their only chance of escape.

Not for the first time since they’d been attacked, he cursed the fact that neither of their comms were working. Disabled by some jamming bubble, no doubt.

“Holding,” Scott gasped, a word that was more lie than truth in the same way as Gordon’s conviction that he could swim the distance with his injured brother in tow. It wasn’t true, but it had to be, because they had no choice.

“Okay,” Gordon acknowledged, his kneeling more a controlled crash to the ground than anything else. “We’re getting out of here, Scott.” He lowered his brother to the shingle, laid him on his back and looked at skin so white it might as well be translucent. Scott was getting worse, trembles more noticeable as they passed through his body, and Gordon prayed he could hold on until they got to the next island, where they could shelter and he could treat the onsetting shock.

If they survived the swim.

His chest heaved, shoulders taking advantage of no longer having his brother slung over to rise and take in large lungsful of air.

Blue eyes spotted it, because Scott might be injured and well onto his way into shock but he was still Scott and he’d always notice a younger brother in difficulty.

“Gordon,” he rasped, a last-ditch attempt to change his mind. “Go.”

“Not without you,” Gordon swore. “Come on, Scotty. One last little swim and we’ll be out of here.”

He didn’t give him a chance to protest, wriggling his arms underneath his brother and ignoring the way the shingle scraped at his skin. Scott let out a reluctant groan at the movement, but Gordon couldn’t address that right then. Not until they were off the island.

It was a lunge to his feet more than anything else, arms clutched tightly around Scott as his forwards momentum dragged them across the shingle, almost tangling his feet together and face-planting them both back on the ground. Water sloshed around his ankles, the ocean cool. She wasn’t inviting, but she wasn’t openly hostile either, so Gordon pushed on.

Water around his ankles became water kissing his knees, creeping up his thighs until it encircled his hips. He waded deeper, until it was up to his waist and caressing his forearms. Touching Scott’s back.

He made eye contact with Scott as he came to a stop, disbelief and fear warring for prominence over the usual love and faith in those familiar blue eyes, and his brother opened his mouth to croak out his name again. Gordon gave him a tight smile, lowering him until he was floating on the waves. Strands of his hair had escaped the rigorous gelling they’d been subjected to that morning and splayed out like a miniature halo as ripples of water teased them.

“We’re getting out of here,” he promised again, the words tangling up in his throat and coming out all twisted and hoarse.

Letting the water take his weight was as familiar as breathing. Looping his arm around Scott, he kicked off from the seabed and, eyes on the distant island, began to swim.

It was a long way, Olympic speed training useless to him. He needed the endurance swimming from WASP, kilometres of open water with a casualty in tow. It was reckless, stupid, even.

It was their only chance.

Chapter 2>>>

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #tsari writes fanfiction #gordon tracy #scott tracy #thunderwhump #escape

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howlpendraig · 3 years

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maybe if i only listen to good music for the next week i can trick spotify into forgetting that week in may where i listened to thunderbirds are go by busted and the frog song by paul mccartney on repeat

#my sins are many

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jamdoughnutmagician · 2 years

Text

Tagged by the lovely @bookshelfdreams

Favorite color: I really like a lot of colours, but I guess my favourites are warm tones like reds, oranges, yellows and pinks (I guess pretty sunset colours?)

Last song I listened to: I could lie and say it was something cool, but in reality it was Busted’s “Thunderbirds are Go”

Last series I watched: Well I recently started watching The Walking Dead, and I’m really enjoying it, but the last series I watched from beginning to end was Pam and Tommy (which I also LOVED!)

Last movie I watched: I think it was my third re-watch of Knives Out?

Savoury, sweet or spicy: Either Savoury or Sweet. I’m not great with spicy because I’m a bland white person

Craving: Marzipan and Chocolate Truffles!

Currently working on: Not got any projects that I’m working on at the moment, but my brain is always trying to come up with new and fun makeup and face painting looks!!

Tagging @smute @the-odd-aardvadillo and @superwholockianfamily if you want to do it (if not just ignore this lmaooo)

#tagged #jammy blogs

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ak47stylegirl · 3 years

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Little brothers do what they have to do.

Okay, I had this scene in my head for a while now, and I just need to get it out, so I hope you guys enjoy this snippet 😄 (Also this is why I been so silent today, I been writing lol 😅)

---

Alan pov

He laid on one of the sunken lounges, already carded in his pyjamas, his leg bouncing every so often as he watched YouTube gaming channel videos on his tablet.

"Don't you think it's time you get to bed, young man?" Grandma asked, standing behind him with her arms crossed, looking at him with a raised eyebrows. "It's past your bedtime..."

"Five more minutes, please?" He gave her the puppy eyes, his blue eyes wide as can be, "this video is almost finished anyway, just five more minutes...pretty please?"

His grandma hummed disapprovingly but nodded, saying "five minutes only..." as she walked over to Dad's desk, opening a comm to thunderbird five. "How are the boys, John?"

"Virgil and Gordon are still dealing with at tanker, but they should be finished soon..." John reported, his attention slightly divided as he multi-tasked, his hands flying across multiple screens.

But there was something in John's voice, an undercurrent that made him pause his video and listen in.

"And Scott?" Grandma asked tensely, having heard the same undertone in John's voice.

And now that he thinks about it, he knew what it was. It was worry, but why was John worried? he thought as he straightens up, his eyes locked onto John's hologram.

John grimaced, "He's on his way home now but...the mission didn't go to plan, there were casualties..." John glanced over at him and lowered his voice, but he could still hear him, "one of them was a kid, about Alan's age..."

"Oh, dear..." Grandma gasped softly, gripping the desk lightly. "Is Scotty okay?"

The same question ran through his mind as he stared at John, his video wholly forgotten. Was Scott okay? He had to be okay, right?

"Scott's isn't answering his comms, Grandma..." John sighed tiredly, running a hand across his face. "He's still on course, he should be home in fifth teen minutes, but other than that I...I don't know..."

John typed something on a screen, before looking at grandma again, his green blue eyes filled with worry, "He never takes losing children well and this kid, well-" John lowered his voice again, "-to add insult to injury, he looked like Alan..."

He felt an electrical change run down his spine, as he realised exactly what John was saying, tuning out the rest of the conversation.

Scott wasn't okay, not even a little bit, he thought to himself, his eyes wide with worried and a good dose of fear, because this was his big brother they were talking about here.

He didn't think he was going to get much sleep tonight...

Not unless he did something, he thought as his eyes filled with determination, a plan coming to mind.

He may be the little brother in the equation, but that doesn't mean he couldn't help in his own way, and maybe what he was planning was just what Scott needed.

---

Okay, this was going to be trickier than he thought, he thought as he laid in bed, pretending to be asleep. Instantly after Grandma's conversation with John had ended, she has herded him up to bed.

So, here he was pretending to be asleep, waiting for Grandma to come and check on him before he could sneak down to thunderbird one's hanger.

He heard his door creak open, and then after a couple of tense minutes, close.

He waited a couple of minutes before opening his eyes and getting up, making his way to his bedroom door on his tippy toes. He peeked outside his door, finding the hallway clear of people, and he took that as his cue to keep moving.

He was just about to enter the comms room when he heard Grandma's voice coming closer, freezing in place briefly before backtracked up the stairs slightly, hiding out of sight.

He held his breath as Grandma passed him, not noticing his hiding spot as she made her way down to the kitchen.

He didn't dare breathe a sigh of relief until he was standing inside Scott's launch lift, having to jump to reach the lamp poles.

He activated the lift to take him down to thunderbird one's hanger, disabling the suit up function. There were easier ways of getting down to thunderbird one's hanger, but he would have to go down to the kitchen level, and that would be nearly impossible with Grandma down there.

He was surprised John hasn't appeared yet to scold and ask him why on earth was he using Scott's lift.

But he wasn't going to call John up and ask him why, because one that would be stupid and two, he was going to take John's silence as the blessing it was.

If he had timed everything right, Scott should be home in five or so minutes, so all he needed to do now was wait and hope he wasn't caught before Scott got back, he thought with a sigh, sitting down on the floor, facing the area where thunderbird one would rest while not in use.

He could wait...

---

He must have dozed off for a minute or two because the next thing he knew thunderbird one was pulling onto her hanger and the launch platform was extending out to meet Scott.

He stood up and watched as Scott dismounted, his uniform dirty and filthy, but it was the truly drained, sorrow-filled look on Scott's face that took his breath away.

Scott looked like hell; he thought, biting his lip, tears gathering in his eyes. Scott's eyes filled with confusion and concern as he spotted him, stepping off the platform. "Alan? What ar-"

He launched himself at Scott, wrapping his arms around Scott's waist and clung on tight. He felt and heard Scott gasp in surprise and maybe something else.

A second later Scott was hugging him back just as tightly, perhaps even more so. Scott's face was buried in his hair, his big brother trembling slightly as he held him, like he was scared to let go.

He felt more tears gather in his eyes at the thought. He didn't realise how badly seeing Scott like this would affect him...but he really should have known, Scott was the closest thing he had to a father and what child wanted or was okay with seeing their parent in this sort of state?

But maybe he could make these emotions work in his favour, he thought with a muffled sob, pulling away from Scott.

He didn't know what exactly happened on Scott's mission, but he knew Scott had lost a kid, a kid that had looked like him and if he knew his big brother as well as he thought he did, 'What if that kid had been Alan?' would have been on his mind all the way home.

There was no way he would leave his big brother alone tonight, Scott needed him close, even if big brother would never outright say it. So he had to go about it in a way where Scott thought he was helping him, not the other way around...

"What the matter, sweetheart?" Scott asked, bending down slightly, so they were eye level, his tired eyes filled with concern. Even when Scott was barely holding himself together, he had the strength to care for them, for him. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

He hated what he was going to do next, lying to his big brother just felt wrong, even if it was for a good reason.

"I...I had a-" He sniffled, roughly rubbing at his nose with his palm. "-a nightmare, can...can I spend the night with you?" He brought out the tried and tested puppy eyes; his tear-filled eyes make it ten times more effective.

Scott's eyes softened, "Of course..."

---

He sat on the bench in the change rooms, idly swinging his legs as Scott took a much-needed shower. He hadn't been technically entirely lying to Scott, because seeing that look on Scott's face was almost kin to having a nightmare, except while he was awake.

He looked up as Scott came out of his change room, rubbing his hair with a towel, wearing an old shirt and pyjamas pants. Scott's eyes were filled with anxious energy as he looked around the room, his big brother only relaxing when he spotted him.

He jumped up and latched himself to Scott's side as he spotted that brief fear in Scott's eyes. He pressed himself against his brother in a side hug, cheek resting against Scott's chest. He could hear Scott's heart still beating faster than normal, the hidden fear not so hidden.

Scott gave him a small, slightly concern, smile, looping an arm around him, gripping him tightly. "Come on, let's get you, and me to bed..." Scott whispered, his voice only shaking a little bit as he leads him over to the lift that would take them to the upper levels.

He had a mental facepalm moment as they stepped into the lift and Scott hit the button for their bedroom floor. Why didn't he just take the main lift instead of Scott's launch? It would have made avoiding Grandma or getting busted by John nearly obsolete.

If he could facepalm right now without giving himself away, he would be.

"What's the matter, kiddo?" Scott asked, looking down at him. His realisation must have shown on his face, not good. He didn't want to tell Scott how he had used his launch tube to get down to thunderbird one's hanger, that was sure to get him in trouble.

"Nothing..." He mumbled, snuggling deeper into Scott's side.

Scott raised an eyebrow, but decided to it wasn't worth it, especially at this time of night, "You're very cuddly tonight..." Scott mused softly as he nudged him forward and into his bedroom. "You're sure you're okay?" Scott laid the back of his hand against his forehead, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

He shook Scott's hand off as he flopped down onto Scott's bed, crawling to the side of the bed. "I heard that your mission went badly..." He mumbled, giving Scott a half-truth, looking up at Scott with sad puppy eyes. "It scared me..."

The skin around Scott's eyes creased, "That wasn't what your nightmare was about, was it?" Scott asked as he laid down next to him, pulling him close, shifting the blankets of they covered both of them.

He didn't answer, because one, he felt terrible about lying about having a nightmare, and two his 'nightmare' in a way was precisely that. That exhausted, drained, anxious look on Scott's face, the way that even now Scott was clinging to him, afraid that he'll disappear if he let go.

It was worse than a nightmare...

His silence must have been enough for Scott because he felt himself being pulled closer. "Oh sweetie, I'm alright..." Scott whispered, kissing his hairline. "I'm right here..."

"Then I'm alright too..." he whispered, unable to stop himself but Scott needed to hear it. He looked up at Scott, his eyes filled with love for his big brother. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere..." He snuggled deeper into Scott's chest, wrapping his arms around Scott's middle.

"I...." He felt Scott startle slightly, before relaxing, "-yeah, yeah you are..." Scott wrapped himself around him, burying his face into his hair as he held him close in an embrace. "Thank you..."

---

No one's pov

Grandma Tracy stood in the doorway of her eldest grandson's room, taking in the sight in front of her. Both youngest and eldest entangled in an embrace, both sleeping peacefully when, in reality, one of them really shouldn't be...

Grandma smiled, taking a photo for the family photo album.

"Good job, kid..."

She left them to sleep, closing the door behind her with a secretive, proud smile. "Good job..."

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds #thunderbirds 2015 #Scott Tracy #alan tracy #John Tracy #grandma tracy #Virgil Tracy #Gordon Tracy

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melodyalanaroster · 3 years

Photo

Love Rekindled And Remade

Disclaimer: This chapter is NSFW!

“Nath... What are we doing here?” Alana asked as Nathaniel lead her into the Anteros Academy Library. “Just come on.” He beamed. Ever since their little “Aquaman Date”, the couple had been getting progressively closer. They had begun a weekly ritual of dinner and a movie at Death’s Domain where Alana would either cook or order food and she would show him a movie that he hadn’t seen. Nathaniel smiled and remained quiet as he held her hand and walked them into a secluded set of shelves. When they got to a lonely corner, she leaned back against a shelf and looked at him curiously. Suddenly the memory of their first kiss flashed through their mind. It was one of the happiest memories that she could think of throughout her training. Her heart began to pound as he leaned over her. “I-Isn’t t-this a b-bit c-corny?” She stuttered as he looked deep into her eyes. “So what?” He smirked. “N-Nath...” She breathed heavily as her face turned bright red. “Alana...” His voice was a low, kind, growl as he looked at her lips. She tilted her head up and bit her lip. Nathaniel looked at her lovingly and lowered his lips onto hers, kissing her softly. Her mind went blank as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeper. The temperature in the area quickly rose as the kiss became more and more passionate. Their lips would part only to crash back into each other with more heat and longing, as if this moment was the one they had been dreaming of for years. She wanted him to go further, not caring if they were in the public eye, she needed him. “This isn’t the right time!” the voice in her head piped up. “SHUT UP!” She quickly thought back as she wrapped one arm around Nathaniel’s hips and pressed him against her. She could feel him getting harder and harder as they kissed. “A-Alana... N-Not y-yet...” He weakly stuttered as he took a small step back, a strand of saliva still connecting their mouths. “O-Of course.” Alana quietly sighed as she caught her breath. He took a minute to breathe and stared at her, a warm, sweet, smile spreading across his face.

★

“Are you really sure you wanna watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them this week?” Alana asked as she and Nathaniel washed the dishes from that night’s dinner. Alana had made Steak Au Poivre from a web series she enjoyed and they had both cleaned their plates. Nathaniel didn’t partake in the glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label that she paired the meal with, and she had found the 200 gold bottle of Scotch to be rather bitter. However, she did it to be accurate to the web series. “We’ve been watching Marvel and DC the past few weeks. Its something different and I wanna know why you’ve got that bird tattooed to your back.” Nathaniel explained as he finished washing the dishes he was working on. “I get that. But, you’ve never been one to watch Harry Potter.” Alana mused. “I’ve never been one to watch superhero movies, but I still do because of you and Armin.” Nathaniel chuckled. “I’m really grateful you do that.” Alana blushed as she finished the last dish and hugged him. “They can be fun.” Nathaniel admitted as he kissed her forehead. She lead him over to the couch, grabbed a remote and got to the movie’s menu. He laid down and motioned for her to join him. She grabbed a large blanket, laid down with him, using his chest as a pillow, and draped the blanket over the two of them. “I love you Nathaniel.” She thought. She still didn’t know what shady stuff he had gotten himself into, just that he didn’t want to bring her into it. She knew that he knew she could easily get him out of it and that she could protect him, but he had made it clear that he wanted her to focus on her recovery and second metamorphosis. What she did know was that he was thoroughly enjoying the little “dates” with her. They hadn’t officially gotten back together, but their inner circles knew that it was only a matter of time.

As the movie played on, she relaxed into his chest and held his hand. She could hear his heart begin to pound as he ran his thumb over her fingers. When Frank the Thunderbird came onto the screen, she sat up and a look of wonder and adoration filled her eyes. Nathaniel quickly looked at the screen, watched the fantastic beast fly over New York City, then turned his gaze to Alana. The look in his eyes was one filled to the brim with love. He sat up, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. “You’re being awfully affectionate.” She purred as the end credits began rolling and he kissed her neck. “I’ve missed you.” He mused. “I’ve missed you too.” She cooed as she maneuvered herself so that she was straddling him and began kissing him. Shock flashed across his face for a split second as he tilted his head and put one arm around her back and the other near her ass. Her hands began running along his body, allowing her to memorize every inch she touched. She could feel her core becoming hotter by the second. “Alana...” He growled, hungrily. “Nath... C-Could I p-possibly show y-you how much I’ve m-missed you?” She asked, nervously. Nathaniel thought for a minute and nodded. Alana stood up and held her hand out to him. “Come on.” She cooed as she led him upstairs.

When they got to her bedroom, she took her glasses off, set them down on her bedside table, turned to him, threw her arms around him and began kissing him deeply. Her tongue intertwined with his, begging him for permission to let her continue. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. She could feel his pelvis against hers, his length getting harder and harder. Her core was set ablaze with desire, yearning for his touch. When their lips parted, she bit her lip, rested her hands on the top of his pants and looked at him hopefully. “Are you sure?” He asked. “Yes.” The word left her mouth quickly and conviction. “Alright, but... We’re going to take this slow.” Nathaniel purred. Alana pulled a condom and a bottle of clear lube out of one of the bedside tables, set them on top of the table, and turned on romantic music. “Okay.” She mused. He slowly pulled her shirt over her head, off her arms, and threw it on the ottoman. She grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulled it off and tossed it on top of hers. “Fuck. I’ll never get over seeing him shirtless.” She thought. “Miss Roster? Are you actually drooling?” He chuckled as he caught her staring at him. “Of course not!” She scoffed and turned away. “After all this time...” He cooed. “Always.” She purred. She unbuttoned her pants, slid them down her legs, got closer to the bed and looked at him with pleading eyes. He kept eye contact with her and bit his lip as he leisurely undid his belt, unbuttoned his pants, slid his pants down his legs and kicked them off. “You switched from black to green.” She commented as she stared at his underwear. “And you’ve switched from blue to black. I was kind of hoping you’d still have that lacy green set you had a long time ago.” He remarked. “My Slytherin panties? I had to get new ones... My ass got bigger and more muscular.” She laughed. “Oh, really?” He raised an eyebrow. “And if you’re a good little boy, you’ll get to see them one day.” She shot. “I can’t wait.” He winked.

She stood up, pushed him back and got on her knees. He gave her an inquisitive look as she pulled his underwear down around his ankles, revealing his length. She ran her hands along his shaft and kissed the tip. “God I’ve missed this.” She thought as she began peppering his cock with sweet little kisses. “Alana...” He growled with slight impatience. “Now Nathaniel... You said you wanted to take this slowly.” She smirked. As she began licking his length, he started to sigh and moan with pleasure. His moans were music to her ears, while her tongue stroked each and every spot on his cock, she listened to his sweet sounds with great reverence. “Fuck.” He sighed when she flicked her tongue across his base. As she licked and sucked, she couldn’t help but bring her free hand between her legs, playing with her hot, wet, core as she pumped him in and out of her mouth. “Alana, fuck, please, have mercy and let me play with you.” Nathaniel begged as he struggled to remain standing. “As you wish.” She replied as she gave him a final lick and licked her lips. He knelt down to her, started nibbling her earlobes, quickly unhooked her bra, slid the straps off her arms and tossed it aside. “Did they get bigger?” He asked as he held her breasts in his hands. “Final growth spurt. I got bust instead of the height I wanted.” She clarified as he pushed her down on the bed and got on top of her. “Lucky me. I’m the only one who gets to see you like this.” He smirked as he took one sensitive point in his mouth and the other in his fingers. Alana couldn’t help but gasp as he took turns running his tongue over her nipples. “Fuck, I’ve missed this.” she thought as he lightly scratched her breasts, leaving a trail of marks and kisses as he made his way down to her panties. “Now, let me properly show you how much I’ve missed you.” He grinned. Alana looked down at him, his head right above her slick core, his fingers looping themselves in her panties; she instinctively lifted her ass, he pulled them down and tossed them aside. “Thank god I shaved that recently!” she couldn’t help but think. Less than a second later, his head was between her legs and his tongue was stroking her. “Nath! Fuck!” She gasped as her head fell back. With each and every lick and sucking motion, she moaned and ran her hands through his hair. “Oh, god!” she moaned as she pulled his head down on her. When he stopped licking, she let go of his hair, he tilted his head up and licked his lips. “You’ve never held my head down there before.” he remarked as he brought himself above her. “I have really fucking missed you Nathaniel.” she conceded as she bucked herself against him. “You know? I should feel honored to be allowed to do this to “the great Grim Reaper”... Instead I can’t help but feel satisfaction at the fact that I’m still the only one who has permission to please you, my sweet Melody.” He purred as he walked over to his jacket, pulled out a condom, took the wrapper off and slid the condom on his length.

“Nath... Please... I need you!” She pleaded as she spread her legs and he walked over to her. He plunged two fingers into her, pulled them out, then licked them. Alana moaned and lightly arched her back. “Have I mentioned how you’re the only sweet thing I truly love to consume?” he smirked. “Cocky little shit. Such and ass!” she thought. “Please. Please my love. I want you!” She begged. “As you wish.” He cooed as he positioned himself over her on the bed and plunged himself into her. “NATH! OH MY GOD!” She yelled as she arched her back and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She put her hands on his back, pulling him into her, and leaving scratches down his shoulder blades. “That’s my girl. Take it all in.” He growled as he thrust in and out of her, taking time to bite and suck her neck at every opportunity. “Nath, at this rate, I won’t be able to cover that up.” Alana gasped between moans. “Good. I want the world to know you’re back to being mine, just as I’m back to being yours.” He moaned. Their moans continued to grow louder and louder until Alana brought Nathaniel’s ear to her mouth. “I want on top now.” she whispered. “But we’re so close.” Nathaniel pondered. “Yes, and I want you as deep inside me as possible when we cum.” she responded. “Yes ma’am.” Nathaniel replied as he put his arms around her, rolled them over, and let her position herself on top of him. “Fuck you’re radiant.” he sighed. Alana grinned as she lifted herself above him, his length still inside her core, and brought herself down on him. “FUCK!” he moaned as his head fell back and he grabbed her ass. “That’s more like it!” she beamed as she bucked her hips. “You do realize, I love seeing you when you moan. I can’t do that so much when you’re on top.” she moaned. Once again, their moans began to grow louder and more frequent. “Alana.” “Nathaniel.” “Fuck.” “Oh god!” Nathaniel moved his hands from her ass to her breasts then back to her ass as he tried his best to lightly thrust as her hips bucked. “OH GOD!” she yelled. As their bodies synced up in rapid movement, they were both overcome with ecstatic pleasure. “ALANA!” “NATHANIEL!” they screamed as they rode out each other’s highs, their moans and sighs beginning to slow down. They looked at each other for several minutes. “I love you Alana.” Nathaniel grinned, weakly. “I love you too Nathaniel.” Alana sighed affectionately as she knelt down and kissed him.

Alana dismounted Nathaniel and walked to the bathroom for a few minutes. After she finished washing her hands, she looked at herself in the mirror and noticed her neck covered in hickies and bite marks. “You know? A normal person would be ashamed of these. But in this case, they really are badges of honor.” she thought as a massive smile spread across her face. Nathaniel poked his head into the bathroom, curiously. “Did you fall in?” he asked, jokingly. “No, I was just looking at the marks you left on me my love.” She beamed, walked over to him and kissed him. They walked back into the bedroom. Nathaniel grabbed his underwear as Alana walked over to her desk, picked up her choker, turned it over, opened the pouch on the back and let the little silver ring fall into her hand. “Is that the ring I gave you at the airport when you left for Toronto?” Nathaniel asked, shocked. “Yes. I’ve had it with me for every training session, every mission. It’s the reason why I wear chokers. I keep the ring inside them to protect it and still have it on me.” Alana explained. “Oh, Alana...” Nathaniel purred as he walked over to her and took the ring out of her hand. “You know? Now that we’re back together, its rightful place is back on my finger.” she encouraged. Nathaniel blushed, bit his lip, and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. “That is where I meant for it to stay.” He mused as he looked deep into her eyes. “I never wanted to take it off... But you know I had to.” Her voice began to crack, a hint of sadness had creeped its way into her tone. “It’s okay. Its back to where it belongs.” He grinned.

★

The following morning, the pair showered, got dressed, ate breakfast and went to the Black Tower’s lobby together. Alana had decided to wear black leggings, a dark blue skirt, a black t-shirt with the TARDIS on it, black socks and black flats that day. There was a spring in her step and stars in her eyes. To say she had a positive charge would have been an understatement. Her heart had been restored, one part of Project Thunderbird accomplished, and she was one major step closer to having what she truly wanted in life. She wanted to shout it from the rooftops that she was closer to becoming “human” again. Of course, she knew she wasn’t allowed to do that, and that it would have alarmed everyone who would have noticed how “out of character” it was. “Looks like our Mels had an overnight visitor!” Renee laughed as she and Derek walked into the lobby holding coffee from the Cozy Bear Café. “Is your five year long dry spell finally over?” Derek laughed. Nathaniel’s body language stiffened and he began to blush. A wave of confidence rushed through Alana as she noticed a dark eyed, silver haired, woman staring down at them from one of the upper floors. “That’s right! We’re, officially, back together.” She beamed. “Is that true?” Derek asked Nathaniel. “Yeah.” He smiled. Alana turned to the woman. “YOU HEAR THAT YOU OLD BITCH?! I GOT BACK WHAT YOU FORCED ME TO GIVE UP!” Her voice boomed. Nathaniel looked shocked as he stared at the woman. “Mels! I know you’re happy that you get to put this nail in her coffin, but please don’t antagonize Azrael!” Renee shot. “What is she going to do? Torture me? She’s already done enough of that!” Alana laughed. “She’s got a point. Azrael literally has no power over her anymore.” Derek pointed out as he took a sip of his coffee. “Not the point. Azrael still has power over a certain amount of people here. We don’t need her to go AWOL. That wouldn’t be good for anyone.” Renee sighed. Alana rolled her eyes. “You know I’m right.” Renee snapped. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m not sorry.” Alana sarcastically waved as she and Nathaniel walked towards the door.

Nathaniel looked at the streets and shivered. “Nath? Are you okay?” Alana asked, concerned. “Y-Yeah... I’ll walk you to class, but then I’ve gotta go.” His voice became depressed. He checked his phone and noticed at least three missed calls. Two from Officer Ward, and one from an unknown number. “Nath...” Alana’s voice turned wary. “I’ll be okay. I’m not ready to tell you yet.” He attempted to grin. “Why not? If you’re in trouble, I can and will protect you. If someone is threatening you, I’ll have no issue in dealing with them.” Alana cooed. “I don’t want them to come after you... I don’t want them to think they can use me to get to you, or that they can even try to use you to get me to do what they want.” Nathaniel’s voice broke. “But, Nath, surely you know that I’m protected. Many have tried to kill me, but none of them have succeeded.” She put her hand on his arm, reassuringly. “They are dangerous Alana... And with your desires... They might think its okay...” He muttered. “Who are they? Nath, please tell me!” She urged. Nathaniel shook his head and looked at her with pain in his eyes. “I promise I’ll tell you... Just not yet...” He insisted. Alana looked down, her heart visibly breaking. “N-Nath...” She stuttered. Nathaniel mustered up a hint of confidence and kissed her forehead. “As it is, you’re always taking care of other people... You really need to take care of yourself right now.” He purred. Alana was not convinced. She knew it would only take one order for her to find out what was actually going on with him, but she reminded herself that she made a vow to only act after he told her what he had gotten himself into on his own. She thought for a minute before looking at him with conviction. “Promise me you’ll tell me what it is before you get hurt!” She demanded. Nathaniel’s eyes widened. “Just promise me that for now! I can’t bear to lose you!” She begged. Tears came to Nathaniel’s eyes, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. “I promise. You won’t lose me.” He sniffled. She could tell he felt like he was lying to her, but what he didn’t know was the lengths she’d go to ensure his safety. Her mind wandered to the orders she had set in place to protect the ones she loved. She had modified Nathaniel’s order to include Amber a few weeks prior, and was not expecting to need to adjust it anymore after that. However, his attitude made it clear that she may need to work behind his back to ensure that his enemies won’t have a chance at taking him away from her. “I might have to implement Protocol 216 early... And possibly modify it...” She thought as they began walking towards Anteros Academy.

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This is a rewrite of the blurb “It’s About Time!!”. I’ve been wanting to rewrite that for a while now.

A good amount of it is simply bits from “It’s About Time!!” that were copied and pasted to this one... A lot has changed, but some of the actual sex bit were what I wanted to begin with....

Whereas “It’s About Time!!” was a bit of a standalone, this chapter slightly leads into “Confession”.

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