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The sound of crackling fire and creaking buildings filled the air as flames lapped at mid-rise structures, eating away their integrity. First responders shouted at each other to be heard above the noise as they attempted to battle back the blaze. Yet despite this cacophony, the familiar sound of VTOL engines began to hum through the air, prompting the lone figure at Mobile Control to glance upward, looking for the source.
Scott quickly spotted the large green behemoth that was Thunderbird Two as she swung around the side of the buildings, only to disappear behind the acrid cloud of smoke that choked the air. She soon reemerged, however, as Virgil came in for a landing, which prompted Scott to begin making his way across the neatly cut grass that had once been a nice open space between the three buildings, but was now teeming with first responders and their equipment. And soon, they would be joined by the specialized equipment of International Rescue as well.
It’d been mid-morning on Tracy Island when Alan had relayed the latest call for help from San Francisco, where the three buildings that made up the compound for C&A Biotech had caught fire. The call had been put out to not only request International Rescue’s help in handling the blaze, but also in saving the people who’d been trapped inside one of the buildings. So, as usual, Scott had been sent out to assess the situation in Thunderbird One, while his three younger brothers would follow in Thunderbird Two with their firefighting equipment.
Jeff, however, hadn’t exactly been pleased to send all four of them on the rescue at once (considering what’d happened the last time), but it’d been understood that with multiple buildings on fire, this was an all-hands-on-deck scenario. It was also further understood that Jeff couldn’t keep leaving John on the island out of fear of the events of eight months ago repeating themselves – an accusation that had been thrown around in recent arguments. Thus, while John had been allowed on some of the more recent rescues, it was with the expectation that Scott would keep his immediate younger brother close to him. An arrangement that John seemed happy enough with at the moment; however, Scott was sure he’d eventually protest against that as well, they just hadn’t gotten there yet.
Upon arriving at the scene, though, Scott had sought out the local fire chief to get more information on the situation and begin coordinating their efforts with those of International Rescue. Importantly, he’d also received more information on what they’d been called out to deal with specifically: saving the people trapped inside.
The most westward building of the complex housed the company’s main development sector, including the majority of its labs. One of which had apparently gone into quarantine mode when the fire had started, trapping an unknown number of scientists inside. While the fire department had been certain they could handle the three blazes in time, they were less optimistic about their ability to reach the lab and cut through the reinforced doors before all the oxygen was pumped out, or the building itself collapsed, killing the people inside either way. Thus, the call to International Rescue.
So, armed with this information and a plan, Scott walked over to the open hatch of pod three, where his brothers would be gathering the equipment and prepping the Fire Fighters. Yet he’d barely walked through the open hatchway before he was forced to catch an oxygen mask that’d been flung at his head. After fumbling for a moment, he managed to keep a hold of it and glanced up to see a smirking Gordon.
“Don’t want to forget that.”
“I’m not the one who’s got a habit of forgetting my breathing equipment when I’m in a rush,” he shot back and watched as Gordon let out a put-upon sigh.
“You forget one time, and no one ever lets you forget.”
“Of course not,” John chimed in, “that submarine captain started questioning how you’d managed to swim all that way without air cylinders.”
“Yeah, well, he believed me when I claimed to be a world record holder for holding my breath underwater.”
“Did he, though? Cause I mostly just remember you making him mad,” Scott pointed out, and Gordon threw his hands up.
“It’s not my fault that guy has an ego problem, and his buddy was hardly helping!” He then turned towards his remaining brother. “Come on, Virgil, back me up here or something.”
At this, the brunette looked up from where he’d been checking on the remote connection between the four Fire Fighters. “About this? No. You deserve it.” Finished with his previous task, Virgil stepped away from the machines before picking up another oxygen mask and handing it over to the now pouting redhead. “But we should all be better about remembering these. We’re supposed to be blending in with humans. Plus, as far as this rescue goes, I think Brains will be mad at us if we get a bunch of smoke into our systems again.”
“Not what I had in mind for an assist, but thanks, Virg,” Gordon said with an eyeroll before turning back to Scott. “So, what’s the play commander?”
At that, Scott stood just a bit straighter, shifting from brother to Field Commander. “There’s a lab in the westward building that went into lockdown mode, trapping the people inside. So, here’s what we’re going to do: Gordon, you’re going to use the Fire Fighters to help put out the fires. Virgil, you’ll fly John and me to the roof of the building so that we can take the stairs down to the lab where we’ll cut through the doors with the oxyhydnite cutting gear. Then, we’ll take the stairs back up to the roof.”
“And the stairs will be safe?”
“Yeah, according to the building plans, the stairwells were built to withstand fire for up to four hours and contain large fans to remain smoke-free. Making them the safest and easiest evacuation route. From there, we’ll get everyone onto Thunderbird Two with the rescue capsule. Understood?”
He got a chorus of “F.A.B.” in response.
“Then let’s go.”
With the plan agreed upon, the three elder brothers vacated the pod, allowing Gordon to drive out with the lead Fire Fighter. He gave them a small wave on the way past, as he headed for the westward building. The three remotely controlled Fire Fighters following in his wake. Then, with the pod securely locked, Thunderbird Two was on her way.
Mere minutes later, Scott’s boots touched down on the roof of the building, and he turned to survey the area before glancing over at John as his immediate younger brother descended the ladder to join him. Once both of them were on the roof, Thunderbird Two peeled off to accomplish its task of putting out the fires on the upper floors while waiting to retrieve them, which would be a field test of the newly installed low-frequency fire suppression system along with the drop-down turrets armed with fire retardant.
“Ready?” Scott asked as he readjusted the oxyhydnite tank on his back, and John nodded.
Yet when they reached the door leading into the stairwell, they found it to be locked, so Scott took some enjoyment in kicking it open, and while this earned him an eyeroll from his younger brother, there was also a small smile on John’s face behind the oxygen mask. With the door now successfully opened, the two androids observed that the stairwell was functioning as it should, as there was no smoke in the air, nor were there any signs of the fire itself. It was dark, however, with the only light being that of the hazy afternoon sunlight that managed to stream in through the door behind them, casting their shadows into the depths. Even with his better-than-average vision, Scott was having trouble seeing as he squinted into the murky darkness.
John nudged him lightly in the side, and when Scott looked over, the younger android was holding out a flashlight, which Scott took from him. Scott then led the way inside, and the door shut with a resounding clang behind them, leaving them in the dark with only a thin beam of light to guide their way.
“Which floor?” was asked as they came upon the first landing with a door that led into the uppermost floor of the building.
“The twenty-fifth,” Scott answered, “we need to go five down.”
“And as far as they’re aware, those are the only people left inside?”
“Yeah, though…” he weighed the idea in his mind, “we can do a quick sweep of the floors on the way down. Just to double check.”
John nodded in agreement, and they went in.
During their quick sweeps of floors thirty, twenty-nine, and twenty-eight, they didn’t come across anyone, nor was there even evidence that the fire had once burned there. So, they continued downward, and once again found no one on floors twenty-seven and twenty-six; however, it was there that fire damage began to appear, with the once burning flames having been put out by the efforts of Thunderbird Two.
Then, floor twenty-five looked like a bomb had gone off inside.
Equipment lay scattered across the floor, some of it having been blown to pieces. Things were also charred and blackened with soot, or outright burned, indicating that the fire had been raging there not too long ago. Smoke hung heavily in the air as well. And while it appeared that the blaze had mostly been handled by Thunderbird Two, pockets of flame still shone brightly in the otherwise smoky twilight.
On the far-left side of the room, large panels of metal gleamed in the low lighting, which Scott suspected was their target. He swept the beam of the flashlight over it, quickly taking in the details. “I think I see an intercom by the door. See if it’s working so that we can get in contact with the people inside,” he ordered, “I’ll take care of these fires.”
“F.A.B.”
With that, John headed towards the door while Scott prepared the dicetylene foam they’d brought a small tank of, along with the oxyhydnite gear. The foam made quick work of the small flames that threatened to reignite into a larger blaze, allowing him to return to John’s side quickly.
When he did, he found the younger android had removed the front panel from the intercom and was fiddling with some wires as he muttered, “Come on, come on,” under his breath. He then let out a triumphant “Got it!” before reassembling the panel.
When Scott activated the intercom, there was a brief burst of static before the connection seemed to settle, allowing him to attempt contact. “This is International Rescue; can anyone hear me? I repeat, this is International Rescue.”
There was a moment of silence in which they wondered if the intercom had been damaged beyond repair before a voice crackled through in response, “This is Captain Blue of Spectrum. We hear you.”
To his right, Scott heard John’s barely audible mutter of “Spectrum?” and glanced over to find his brother’s brows furrowed in thought. Scott wanted to ask about it, but decided that it could come later. Instead, he turned back to the radio.
“How many are in there with you, Captain? Any injuries?”
“Seven, besides me, and no injuries to report. But the air is getting a little thin in here.”
“Right, we’ll have you out of there in no time. Inform everyone to stand back from the door; we’re going to be cutting it open.”
“Acknowledged,” was said before the radio cut out.
With a glance at John and a slight nod, the two got to work. The oxyhydnite gear was activated and soon set upon cutting through the metal, which unfortunately proved to be slow going thanks to how thick the metal of the doors was – the whole place was designed to lock down to keep contaminants from getting out after all.
Finally, they completed the circle, and Scott announced over the radio to stand back before ramming it with his shoulder, sending the cut pieces falling inwards. A chorus of coughing greeted them as the smoke swept into the room, and not the much-needed oxygen.
Scott quickly stepped into the lab, glancing over the seven civilian scientists and the man he assumed to be Captain Blue, who was easily identifiable amongst the crowd of white coats thanks to the blue tunic and matching cap he wore. The front of which was emblazoned with a circular insignia of a stylized ‘S’ against a rainbow backdrop; the same symbol that adorned the sleeves of his black undershirt.
Captain Blue also stood out as the only unfazed person in the room, which was a stark contrast to the terrified expressions on the scientists who stared back at Scott. So, it was to them that Scott gave his best reassuring smile. “We’re going to be heading for the roof for extraction on Thunderbird Two,” he explained, “stick with us, and we’ll get you out of here safely.”
He received a couple of grateful and scared nods in return as he began leading the way out of the room. He indicated for John to bring up the rear; however, it didn’t escape his notice that Captain Blue seemed to be moving for the back of the group as well, and was casting glances around like he was searching for something. Scott’s mouth flattened into a thin line, and his eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, but he merely took point. (Nothing was going to happen; he was right there this time.)
Scott proceeded to brusquely lead the group to the doors of the stairwell, then up the six flights of stairs to the roof. On the way, he made a call to Virgil to stand by, and once outside, Scott noted that, overall, the surrounding area seemed a bit less smoky. Thanks to the fires in the other buildings starting to get brought under control, and even in the building they’d just exited from, the low-frequency fire suppression system had gone a long way in helping to suppress the fire.
“We’re out on the roof, Virgil,” Scott announced over the radio as he stared up at the large green craft waiting overhead, “Lower the rescue capsule.”
There was an “F.A.B.” across the comms as the capsule began to lower. Then, Virgil’s voice could be heard from the speakers inside the capsule when it touched down on the roof. “All aboard, then.”
The first few scientists climbed aboard gratefully with the help of Scott, John, and even Captain Blue, who continued to hang back so that he would be one of the last ones to take the trip up to Thunderbird Two. Once it was his turn, however, he hesitated for a moment with only one foot on the platform as he turned back to Scott.
“You haven’t heard reports of anyone else left in the building, have you?”
“No, only those of you trapped in the lab. Is there someone else you’re aware of?”
There was another small moment of hesitation before the captain responded, “My partner, Captain Scarlet, initiated the shutdown procedures for the lab from the outside. I don’t know what became of him after that.”
Scott studied the man for a moment, wanting to ask why that course of action had been deemed necessary and why the Spectrum agents were there in the first place. They didn’t have time for that right now, though, and something told him that the other man wouldn’t give him a straight answer anyway.
“Right. We’ll go look for him,” he said instead.
Captain Blue gave him a look he didn’t entirely know how to interpret. The blond man opened his mouth to say something before shutting it and restarting after another moment of thought. “That may be unnecessary. He likely already found his way out.”
Scott found that to be highly unlikely, though, as he was sure that he would have noticed someone else walking around in a Spectrum uniform before now. Because if Captain Blue was any indication, then whoever this Captain Scarlet guy was, his uniform was likely very obvious and very red.
“Well, we’ll do a quick sweep anyway. Just in case,” Scott said firmly.
“If you’re sure,” the other man responded, before stepping fully into the rescue capsule so that it could be winched upwards and finally disappear within the body of Two. As it did so, Scott briefly wondered why Captain Blue had seemed almost reluctant for them to go searching for his missing colleague. He then turned to John, who’d been watching the exchange, and now stood with his head tilted to the side in question. Scott was sure that the confusion on John’s face mirrored his own.
Scott merely shrugged, though, and once again called Virgil over the radio, knowing that John would overhear. “We’ve just been informed that there may be one more person left inside the building, so John and I are going to take a look. Virgil, deliver the civilians to the first responders. Then come back to retrieve us.”
“F.A.B.” once more came across the radio from the middle brother before he added, “Just be careful.”
“We will,” Scott reassured, and so, with the new plan in mind, Scott turned back towards the stairwell with John at his side, and they entered the building for the second time in less than an hour.
“So, Spectrum?” Scott started as they began trekking down the stairs. “You recognized the name?”
“Yeah,” John responded, “They’re a para-military security organization. Highly secretive, and their agents use color codenames.”
“I noticed,” Scott scoffed. “But if they’re so secretive, then why do you know about them?” he pressed, his eyes narrowing slightly at his immediate younger brother.
“Honestly, Scott, they’re reported on in the news sometimes. You really should pay attention.”
“That’s it? That’s the only reason you know about them?” Scott pressed further.
John paused for a moment before shrugging. “I think it’s best for all of us if I don’t explain. Plausible deniability and all that.”
Scott sighed. “Didn’t dad and Brains tell you to stop hacking into things illegally?”
“Hey, aren’t we on a rescue right now?” John deflected poorly.
“Fine. But we’re not done discussing this,” Scott replied, and ignored the eye roll he got in return.
Soon afterwards, they reached the twenty-fifth floor, returning them to where they’d started, but they bypassed this door too. Scott had already looked around while he’d been putting out the fires earlier and was sure he would have noticed someone there. So, they needed to go lower.
Their search of floor twenty-four proceeded to yield no results, however, which prompted them to move onto the twenty-third, where smoke hung heavily in the air, and everything seemed to smolder in the wake of the recently extinguished flames. It was hot as well, more than a human could ordinarily withstand, but to the androids, it was a barely noticeable temperature difference, and nowhere near the point of affecting them. Luckily, though, it was on this floor that they found their target, and they didn’t even have to look all that far. As collapsed near the door leading to the stairwell was a dark-haired man in a uniform identical to Captain Blue’s, except, as to be expected, the color lived up to his moniker of scarlet.
They hurried over to him, and as Scott placed a hand to his neck to check for a pulse, John brushed off the debris and detritus that’d fallen on him from the ceiling overhead as it’d burned. Scott frowned, however, when he found no evidence of a pulse, and putting a hand near the man’s mouth and nose, he couldn’t feel any breath. So carefully, and with John’s help, he rolled the man onto his back, observing the lack of movement in his chest.
The man was dead.
From what specifically it was hard to say at first glance. There were some superficial burns to his hands and one across the side of his neck where a piece of debris must have landed. Blood trickled from a cut at his right temple and trailed down the side of his face. However, if Scott had to make a guess, it was likely the heat and smoke inhalation that’d overwhelmed him.
A nearby device then caught his eye. The thing was primarily red and oddly shaped with two canisters on either side of a long, thin cylinder that tapered off. Attached to the back was what looked to be a harness that would holster over someone’s shoulders, along with handles on either side. It looked vaguely gun-like, and Scott wasn’t entirely sure that’s what it was, but its position next to Captain Scarlet seemed to suggest he’d once been holding onto it. However, he was pulled out of these musings by John’s insistent tapping at his shoulder.
“Scott, look! There’s someone else.”
Following his brother’s line of sight, Scott saw another man sprawled out a dozen or so feet away, partly obscured by the thick haze of smoke. His hair was a shade of light brown, and he was wearing coveralls like those of the janitorial staff that Scott had seen milling around outside. His sightless eyes were staring up at the ceiling. Though unlike Captain Scarlet, the scorched and blackened mark on the man’s front was a much better indicator of how he had died, and lent to Scott’s growing theory that the device sitting nearby was a weapon of some kind.
“I wonder who that is,” John muttered, and Scott shook his head.
“I’m wondering the same. Let’s go ahead and bring him with us.” Then, with that, Scott grabbed a hold of Captain Scarlet’s wrist to use as leverage to drag the man up and forward so that he was situated over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Next, he stood up, easily taking the man’s weight thanks to his strength.
John retrieved the captain’s hat from the floor and handed it over to Scott before turning towards the other man, intending to do the same to him. However, Scott’s question of “Can you hand that to me, too?” made him pause. Following his brother’s pointed finger, John curiously retrieved the strange gun-like device and handed it over to Scott as well. With that done, he went over to the other man, though once again paused as he noted a small device clutched in his hands. Prying it away, he realized it looked like a small incendiary device.
He turned to Scott with wide eyes. “I think this guy may have been starting the fires,” he informed his brother, and Scott’s own eyes widened in surprise before his face settled into a hard expression.
“Well, good thing he’s coming along then. I bet Spectrum will want to know about this.”
John nodded in agreement and carefully pocketed the device before pulling the man up and over his shoulder as well. The two androids then started the long trek back up the stairs.
Luckily, Two was already hovering overhead with the rescue capsule lowered when they got there. So, they quickly boarded and were finally pulled into Thunderbird Two, where Virgil met them, having left the plane on autopilot.
“So, that’s our guy, huh?” he asked with a glance towards Captain Scarlet. “Who’s the other one?”
“No idea, but we found them near each other,” Scott replied.
“We also think he’s the one who started the fires,” John added, and Virgil whistled lowly at that.
“Where’s Captain Blue?” Scott then directed the question towards Virgil.
“The guy in the blue uniform?” He shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I dropped him off with everyone else, but I bet he’s still in the area.”
“Right.” Scott nodded, then took a moment to think before continuing, “Let’s keep Captain Scarlet and the other guy on Thunderbird Two until we can hand them off to Captain Blue. I’m sure he’ll want to retrieve them.”
John and Virgil agreed with that course of action, so they moved through to the medbay, where body bags were retrieved and bodies secured.
With their primary mission of rescuing the people trapped in the building now officially complete, the Tracys fully focused their attention on the fire itself. Gordon had already made great progress in that regard and continued to help put out the fires with the Fire Fighters, while Virgil – with John as his co-pilot – used Thunderbird Two to continue reaching the upper floors of the buildings more easily. For his part, Scott returned to Mobile Control, where he observed the increasing presence of not only the police but also those in uniforms bearing the Spectrum logo. All of whom he assumed were there to start investigating the incident.
It was then, after another hour or so of work, that the fires were finally put out. Officially ending International Rescue's involvement and allowing them to prepare for their return to the island. Yet it was right after Scott had finished storing Mobile Control in One that he noticed Captain Blue walking towards him.
“I would have checked in with you sooner, but I was caught up coordinating Spectrum’s ground forces to secure the scene,” he said by way of explanation once he'd reached Scott. “Did you happen to locate Captain Scarlet?”
Scott frowned slightly, knowing that he was about to be the bearer of bad news. “Yes, we recovered his body. I’m sorry.” He was surprised to note, however, that while the Spectrum agent frowned, he didn’t appear all that upset about the news. If anything, he just seemed resigned about it, though Scott could understand if the man didn’t want to show emotion in public over the death of his colleague.
“I see,” was all the captain said, “and where is he now?”
“We kept him in Thunderbird Two, along with a second man that we recovered. We thought it’d be best to keep them somewhere secure for you to retrieve them. I can take you over there.”
“Fine, thanks,” Captain Blue responded with a slight nod, “Lead the way.”
Scott nodded in return. “And maybe you can explain more of what went on here.”
“I’ll explain what I can,” the Spectrum agent hedged, and Scott could read between the lines, knowing that the other man would tell him what wasn’t classified.
“Right,” Scott agreed, and began leading the way with Captain Blue falling into step beside him. As they passed by Scott’s younger brothers, who’d just finished reloading the Fire Fighters into the pod, Scott could feel their curious gazes as they walked by, before they too began to follow him to the medbay of Thunderbird Two.
Captain Scarlet came to with a gasp. His eyes flying open, and body giving a small jerk.
Wherever he was, it was dark and confining, seeming to press in on all sides, and when he shifted slightly, the sound of rustling fabric met his ears. At this, rationality and reasoning kicked in, informing him that he was very likely in a body bag.
It wouldn’t be the first time he’d woken in one of those.
He then proceeded to hold himself very still, barely even daring to draw breath – and firmly shoved away the memory of suffocating on smoke, of being unable to breathe before darkness finally claimed him. If he were in a body bag, then it was highly likely that there would be people around, and not necessarily Spectrum personnel. If they assumed him dead, then he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.
And sure enough, now that he was paying attention, he picked up on the sound of voices nearby. One of which was easily recognizable as Captain Blue's, so Scarlet allowed himself to relax just slightly. He knew his fellow captain would get him out of there and back to Cloudbase. But if he was hearing this correctly, then it sounded like someone was trying to talk Blue into a quick medical check since he’d apparently dodged the paramedics earlier, and Paul smiled slightly at the exchange, knowing this was to be a losing battle. Adam was reluctant enough to report to Dr Fawn in Cloudbase Medical; there was no way he was submitting to a stranger. Though Paul hoped that Adam hadn’t been injured by the explosion and subsequent fires, as that’d been part of the whole reason he’d even talked him into taking Dr. Hamada and the scientists into the quarantine lab in the first place. Partly to protect the Mysterons’ latest target, and partly to keep him from harm.
He was pulled out of these thoughts by a second unfamiliar voice abruptly asking, “Okay… Did anyone else hear that?” which was then accompanied by the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps from somewhere on the other side of the room.
Confused, Scarlet wondered what this person could have possibly overheard to approach where he was lying, but out of an abundance of caution, he forced himself to relax and held his breath, hoping to continue the charade of being dead if necessary. And it very much was, as the zipper near his head began to open. Yet he didn’t even so much as twitch when the fabric of the bag was pulled away, allowing a sliver of light to fall across his face.
“John? What are you doing?” a third voice asked, which was nearly drowned out by Blue’s own demand of “Hey! What are you doing?”
“I heard a gasp and the fabric shift,” the nearby second voice answered, and Scarlet just barely had a moment to ponder how anyone could have possibly heard that before there were fingers at the pulse point in his neck. It took a great deal of effort not to knock the hand away, even though he knew the game was up. There was no disguising a heartbeat.
“He is alive!” the second voice shouted as the hand was quickly pulled away. Then the first voice he’d overheard talking to Blue went, “How is that possible?” while more hurried footsteps approached them.
Scarlet could sense the proximity of the other men and was sure a medscanner was being run over his body when a beeping noise started up. Then there were even more approaching footsteps before Blue’s voice came from somewhere much closer.
“If he is alive, then I need to get him back to our base right away. Our doctors will take care of him.”
Scarlet thought that Adam was giving a valiant effort, but unfortunately, whoever they were with was proving to be stubborn. “That will take too long. The medical facilities on Thunderbird Two are fully equipped. We can stabilize him here before you take him back, though I really think he should be taken to a nearby hospital.”
Oh, they were with International Rescue?
“Actually, based on those readings, Virg, I don’t think that’s necessary,” a fourth voice added – and Scarlet did not appreciate how many strangers he was apparently surrounded by, especially when he was unaware and unprepared. This comment was followed by some muttering and more beeping from the medscanner.
“How is this possible?” was repeated when the scanner undoubtedly showed a clean bill of health. Then there was even more beeping from the scanner, like they were double-checking it hadn’t suddenly malfunctioned. So, deciding to give up the game, Scarlet opened his eyes with a slight sigh.
“That’s quite unnecessary. I can assure you that I’m alright.”
The operatives of International Rescue didn’t flinch, but it looked like it was a near thing. The brunette in the yellow baldric – referred to as Virg? – continued to hold the still beeping medical scanner over him, and his grip on it tightened as his eyes widened in alarm. Nearby, a taller blond man with a lavender baldric – who Scarlet suspected to be the one referred to as John, and thus, the one who’d caught onto him – was also staring in wide-eyed shock. Peering out from behind them, there was also a shorter redhead in an orange baldric.
Captain Blue stood beside these three men, a grim expression on his face as he was clearly trying to calculate how they were going to get out of this with as many of their secrets intact as possible.
Scarlet pushed himself into a seated position and swung his legs over the side of the bed he’d been placed on, not wanting to have this conversation lying down. He noticed the brunette’s expression tighten, clearly wanting to tell him not to move, and it was a look he’d seen on Fawn’s face often enough to confirm that this man was their medic.
However, his attention was drawn to the final member of International Rescue when he pushed his way forward so that he stood between the other operatives and Scarlet himself. He looked tense and held himself in a defensive position, and Scarlet recognized the expression on his face as one of fierce protectiveness. This, Scarlet figured, was their leader, and he was going to protect his men from Scarlet if he had to.
“Do you mind explaining what’s going on here?” the man asked, though it came out as more of a demand. “Because when we pulled you out of that building, you were dead, but now you’re up and talking like nothing happened.” He paused then, eyes narrowing slightly as he seemed to consider something before continuing, “Are you an android too?”
“No,” Scarlet replied firmly before the rest of the sentence caught up to him, and his eyes narrowed as well. “What do you mean by ‘too’?”
At this, the two color captains watched as the expressions of the International Rescue operatives fell. The blond with the purple baldric (John) seemed exasperated as he shook his head slightly, looking heavenward. The shorter brunette with the yellow baldric (Virg) appeared resigned, while the redhead with the orange baldric muttered, “Oh, way to go, Scott.”
The mouth of the taller brunette in the blue baldric (Scott, apparently) fell open, though he failed to offer an explanation.
Blue and Scarlet glanced at each other, trading suspicious looks. “So, are you androids then?” Blue ventured after a moment, putting an end to their struggle to answer.
“For how long?” Scarlet continued the line of questioning, and now the other four just looked confused.
“Since always?” the redhead answered, though not confidently, the words rising at the end like a question.
“And you are the original operatives of International Rescue?” Scarlet continued to press, and Scott glared at him.
“Yes. International Rescue has always been us,” he said firmly.
“We’ve never replaced anyone, if that’s what you’re implying,” John added, but with a confidence that seemed to suggest he knew exactly what information they’d been fishing for. At this, both Scarlet’s and Blue’s attention snapped towards him, gazes intense, which prompted Scott to move over slightly, as if trying to shield the taller blond from them.
“And why would we imply that?” Blue then asked, and John stared back coolly. If he was nervous to have the undivided attention of the Spectrum agents, he didn’t show it.
“People being replaced with enemy agents is all over the mission reports,” he stated bluntly. While this was alarming, it didn’t escape the captains’ notice that the other three operatives glanced towards John with confusion, as if they were unaware of this information.
“You’ve seen the mission reports,” it was more of a statement than a question, and John gave Scarlet a barely present smile.
“Maybe. I’m not going to confirm or deny it.”
There was a moment of tense silence before Blue leaned over to mutter, “We’re going to have to inform Green and Magenta that the system’s been compromised,” in a barely audible whisper to Scarlet, who had yet to look away from the blond (man? android?) so he caught when the other’s head barely tilted to the side in question. Right, this one had incredible hearing.
“You were able to break into our systems because you’re an android?” he directed at the other, instead of acknowledging Blue’s statement outright.
He got a shrug in response. “No, not really. I just like computers. My brothers, for instance, wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
Blue and Scarlet glanced at each other again. Something was going to have to be done about this, but this was something Colonel White would have to be brought in on – a conversation they were not looking forward to having. So, they figured that they might as well get as much information to share with the colonel as possible and uncover a few more secrets about the rescue organization in the process, just to even the playing field a bit. (And one of these pieces of information they tucked away was that the operatives referred to each other as brothers.)
“But you confirm that you all are androids then?” Scarlet pressed, wanting their explicit confirmation, and attempting to steer the conversation back that way.
The four operatives turned to share a look before finally, it was Scott who answered, “Yes.” This was backed up by the nodding of his brothers.
“How could we all have missed this?” Blue asked rhetorically, but got an answer from the redhead anyway.
“We’re good at hiding it.”
This earned a head shake from John. “No, we are moderately good at hiding it, and lucky that no one’s noticed the odd things that happen.”
“What odd things?”
“Like how we’re stronger and faster than an average human, and don’t require oxygen,” Virg answered somewhat hesitantly after they’d traded more looks amongst themselves.
At this, Blue’s brows furrowed in confusion. “But you were wearing oxygen masks when you rescued us from the lab.”
“Well, we try to blend in with humans to hide the fact that we’re androids,” Scott replied. “But what about you, then? How did you get back up after being dead?” He looked at Scarlet steadily as he asked, bringing the conversation back to where it’d started. Much to the agents’ chagrin.
“I’m indestructible,” Scarlet answered simply and left it at that. Not willing to give away any more than they already had.
“Why?” was then asked, and he once again answered shortly.
“That’s classified.”
Everyone’s attention turned to John at that, who put up his hands slightly. “If you’re wondering if I know why, I don’t.” He then added “honest” when they all continued to look at him.
At this, Scott sighed and momentarily looked exasperated, which they found interesting, and lent further proof to their theory that the whole of International Rescue wasn’t on board with John’s computer escapades. Though the fact that even one of them had managed to break into their systems would have to be dealt with quickly, and they’d inadvertently shared enough of Spectrum’s secrets today. It was best to wrap this up before the IR operatives could keep pushing for information of their own.
This intention to leave was then announced abruptly by Captain Blue, “Well, thanks for the help today, but we need to continue closing down the scene before returning to base.”
“Right. It’s about time we returned to our base as well,” Scott responded, though he was primarily addressing his brothers. He then directed a stern look towards the Spectrum agents. “Considering the apparent secret nature of your own jobs, I hope that you’ll show a similar discretion towards us being androids.”
Scarlet gave a sharp nod. “This information won’t get out of Spectrum; we promise you that.”
“But?”
“But we will have to inform our commander,” Blue replied, “Especially since our systems and information have been compromised.”
Scott grimaced slightly at that and side-eyed John, who still looked unrepentant. “Right. We understand. Our commander won’t be pleased to hear about that either,” he then turned his full attention back to them, “Nor about this information about us getting out.”
“Then we’re in the same boat,” Scarlet observed dryly, with the barest quirk to his lips.
Scott relaxed slightly, offering a tiny smile of his own. “Guess so. Though before you go, make sure to arrange pick up for the other guy and the devices we found with you.” He then gestured towards the far side of the medbay, where another body bag lay situated on a gurney, along with a Mysteron gun and a small device that Scarlet realized was one of the incendiary devices he’d first seen outside of the lab when he and Blue had located Dr. Hamada.
Scarlet blinked in surprise before nodding slightly. “Right. We’ll arrange for ground forces to come by to collect.”
With that, no more words were exchanged, and Captains Scarlet and Blue exited the Thunderbird. The two men then headed towards the main hub of action, where ground forces were working.
“Are you alright, pal?” Blue eventually asked lightly, breaking the silence that’d fallen between them.
“Yes, fine.”
“Good, because I’m going to need you for this inevitable debriefing. It’ll be a fun one for sure.”
“Yes. I imagine the colonel won’t be too pleased that knowledge of my retro-metabolism has gotten out.”
Adam shrugged. “There are certainly worse people to discover that secret, and at least we’ve found out that the systems have been compromised. Plus, with the knowledge that International Rescue are androids, we’re one step closer to putting together just who runs the operation.”
“True,” Paul agreed after a moment, “silver linings then.”
Their attention was then drawn upwards as the roar of engines filled the air, and they watched as Thunderbird One looped around the area, waiting for her sister craft to join her as soon as the body of the Mysteron agent was unloaded and handed over to the custody of Spectrum.
So, taking their eyes off the sleek silver jet, Captains Scarlet and Blue quickened their pace, intent on seeing the mission through and returning to base where a debrief awaited them. A debriefing that would prove to be an interesting one for sure.