#pareidoliaonthemover

[gumnut-logic]

@pareidoliaonthemove Nutty wants to do violence upon that girl. Mistreating the young Virg that way…this nerdy girl will put slime in her shoes and hairdye in her shampoo. She’s going down!

Poor Virgil. She was sooo mean ::hugs the Virg::

Hmm, wonder what happens when Scotty finds out…though the parents are a good sort and appear to have it under control…we may need to hold Scotty back.

Gordon, well, there is no controlling the Fish :D That girl is toast.

Jeff, you are going to earn billions…and then make rocket ships cos rocket ships are cool :D

This fic was full of emotion, empathising with Virg hurt, but as a parent there were aaah moments cos teenagers are terrifying most of the time anyway. It was good to see some good Virgil and Jeff moments :D

Thank you for the feels and I hope you had a great Christmas :D

Nutty

(No hurting da Virg, especially da little Virg ::gets snarly at evil teenage girl:: )

From @pareidoliaonthemove

From @pareidoliaonthemove to @littleoldrachel

The Art of a Gift

Fanfic for the TAG Secret Santa 2024

@pareidoliaonthemove

NOTES:

For TAG Secret Santa 2024

Prompts: 1 Nightmare Before Christmas | 2 “Well, SOMEONE just made the naughty list…” | 3 Feeling sad but everyone expects them to be happy because it’s Christmas!

Extra: Virg is my favourite but I’m happy with anything!

I hope this story fits the bill, and a wishing the recipient, and all the Thunderfam a very happy Christmas, filled with all the things you love the best!

Virgil Tracy approached the cluster of girls in the schoolyard nervously. While he knew the laws that governed the hierarchy of the school now allowed him to approach them, his gut instinct told him to keep away.

Boys who like art and piano do not associate with cheerleaders, and ‘in girls’.

But Candice Callen – cheerleader, ‘in girl’ and widely acknowledged as the prettiest girl in their year – had asked him on a date.

Virgil had been uncertain about accepting – things like that just don’t happen, not for real, but no matter the circumstances, boys like him don’t turn down girls like her – not if he wants to survive to graduate.

So Virgil had accepted, even if he spent the whole time waiting for her parents to chase him off their doorstep, or the football team to materialise and do god-knows-what to him (stories of past ‘pranks’ abounded throughout the school and had traumatised Virgil and all his friends before they even thought of casting eyes at girls).

But nothing bad had happened. Candice had introduced him to her parents as her boyfriend, and declared him as such to several other couples from her circle of friends that had been at the restaurant they had eaten at. At the end of the night, Candice had looked up at him shyly, and said she had enjoyed it, and would he like to go out again…?

Virgil, still in a state of shock and unsure about what exactly was going on, had stammered out an agreement, and somehow found himself going on a succession of dates with the prettiest, most popular girl in school.

That his father and grandmother were also doubtful about this new and unexpected relationship was also concerning. But Virgil couldn’t find a graceful way to extract himself from the situation while ensuring that he could walk the school grounds without being either shunned or beaten to a pulp, and time progressed until it was nearly Christmas and Virgil found himself attending a succession of Christmas parties that he would normally not have set foot on the same street as.

And when Virgil somehow found himself attending the Christmas party for his father’s company with Candace on his arm, wearing a dress that had his grandmother tutting with disapproval, his father frowning censoriously and asking pointed questions about Candice being cold, while his brothers eyes were out on stalks, and Virgil was afraid to touch her, lest he make contact with Something That He Should Not Touch.

It was much earlier than customary when Jeff summoned Kyrano to take ‘the kids’ home, to the poorly concealed delight of the five Tracy brothers and Kayo, and the pouting disappointment of Candice.

But Christmas was nearly upon them, and now Virgil was nervously approaching his girlfriend and her friends. He was spotted as he dithered a short distance away.

“Virgil!” Candice squealed, throwing her arms wide and running towards him. Virgil resolutely Did Not Look at the bouncing of her sweater front. She stopped a short distance from him, placed her hands on his shoulders, and leaned in, performing her customary European Double Cheek Kiss with two loud ‘muwah’s, her left foot raised behind her.

Virgil, at a loss what to do, had rested his hands just above her elbows, as she pulled away, he let his hands slide down her arms to catch her hands. “I, uh, I was wondering if, if it would be alright if I came around tonight to deliver your Christmas present?” he asked, feeling his face heat up as the cluster of girls behind Candice elbowed each other and tittered. “You know, with you heading out of state to visit family…”

“Oh, Virgil! A present? Oh, you shouldn’t have!” Candice cooed, and then she giggled coyly. “My parents will be home, so I hope it isn’t that kind of present…”

Virgil flushed beet red at the laughter from her cohort. “NO! No! Oh, no! Nothing like that!” Then Candice pouted and Virgil realised how his words could have been taken. “I mean, um, what, ah, that…”

Candice giggled again. “Silly. I was teasing. Of course you can come around tonight, you know my step-mom and dad like you and you’re always welcome!”

Virgil swallowed. That was true, Mrs Callen had been a friend of his moms, back then she had been in her first marriage, and had been a meek and nervy woman – Virgil had been too young to understand at the time; but with her second marriage she had flourished, and was by all accounts a ‘good match’ with Mr Callen, a well-respected accountant and volunteer firefighter in the town. Virgil had long been familiar with both adults, and they had been nothing but welcoming when he visited their house.

“Uh, okay. Would about five thirty be okay? Only I can’t stay long, because …”

Candice waved away his explanation. “Five thirty will be perfect, Virgil. And Toby has some dreary Rescue Scouts thing that I have to go to, and he’s got to be there for six-thirty.”

Virgil would also be at the ‘dreary’ Rescue Scouts ‘thing’: it was John’s last mid-year presentation, and he was being honoured as one of the thirty Scouts ever, world wide, to have accomplished all badges, and all three of the ‘Personal Improvement’ Challenges. John was particularly pleased to be receiving his recognition at the Mid-Year. It meant he had beaten Scott by six months.

Virgil nodded. “Okay. Um. I’ll see you at five thirty?”

Candice nodded, and pulling her hands free, turned, and hurried back to her friends, disappearing into their midst amid a tsunami of giggles.

Virgil backed away a few steps until he was sure they had lost interest in him, before scurrying back to where he belonged.

“All set, kiddo?” Grandma Tracy looked at Virgil slumped nervously his unaccustomed seat in the front of her car.

“Uh, yeah,” Virgil glanced at the back seat, where the gift was carefully strapped into one of the rear seats. Scott sat on the other side of the car, and grinned encouragingly at him. His eldest brother was back from College having turned in his assignments early, and having withstood his father’s interrogation on the subject, was now along for the ride to ‘support’ Virgil.

Jeff had taken his other three sons to the hall early to help set up, and Scott and Grandma would join in after dropping Virgil at the Callens house, and would be back exactly forty-five minutes later to collect him.

Virgil stared out his widow at the house. He was sweating, and it had nothing to do with the heater Grandma had on full blast in the car.

“It’ll be fine, Virg. She’ll love it,” Scott said. “Do you want a hand carrying it to the door?”

“NO!” Virgil yelped, before shamefacedly turning to face his brother. “Sorry, no, I’ll be fine. I’m just…” he waved a hand. “I’ve not done this before, okay?”

Scott grinned his unrepentant amusement, and Grandma chuckled sympathetically. “Come on, kiddo. Out you get. Faint heart, and all that…”

Virgil flushed again and scrambled to escape the car. He still remembered her giving Scott advice – rather graphic advice – about how to french kiss, when Scott had embarrassedly admitted to a disastrous attempt at a kiss with an early girlfriend. He did not want to hear what she might come out with for this situation.

It was with his Grandmother’s fond laughter ringing in his ears that Virgil mounted the front stairs to the Callen’s house, carefully carrying the large gift wrapped package. He waited a moment to ensure the car had turned the corner on its way to the hall before he rang the doorbell.

It was a suspiciously short time before the door opened. Mrs Callen was there, “Virgil! Come in, we’ve been expecting you.”

As Virgil shuffled into the house with his package, Mrs Callen scanned the road outside. “Your ride already left, Virgil?”

He nodded. “Yes, Mrs Callen. Grandma and Scott have gone to help set up the hall. Dad and the others are already there.”

She smiled. “Toby and his Dad are there helping set up, too.” A glance towards the stairs. “Candice takes a bit of time to get read, and I needed time to get the dinner sorted. So we’ll catch them up. If you’re going to the hall too, we can give you a ride?”

Virgil smiled. “Thank you, Mrs Callen, but I’m under strict instructions. I think Dad is looking for a way to make sure Grandma’s not asked to help in the kitchen again,” he added, conspiratorially and she smiled.

“I don’t think there’s anybody new enough to make that mistake,” Mrs Callen reassured him, then paused taking in the gift wrapped parcel, Virgil was clutching.

“Why don’t you wait in the lounge, and I’ll hurry Candice along? I promise, I’ll keep out of your way!”

Virgil flushed, muttered his thanks and followed Mrs Callen to the door to the lounge room. As she hurried off, Virgil carefully propped the gift up against the low coffee table, and turned to stand beside it, facing the door.

Virgil was always nervous when he performed, or when people saw his art, but it seemed to him that this was the worst he’d ever been. He felt hot and cold by turns, there was no oxygen in the room, and it took him a second to realise that what he had thought was some weird metal band being played at high volume was actually his own heartbeat.

This is stupid, he told himself. It’s just a present. I’m just giving her a present. He ran through the breathing exercises his music teacher had taught him and gradually he restored control of his own body.

Candice appeared in the doorway. “Virgil! You made it!” she squealed, and he had yet another repeat of the shoulder-grip double European Cheek Kiss.

“Uh, yeah. Grandma dropped me off. She’s got to pick me up in a bit…” Candice gave him a blank look. “Oh, um, so,” he picked up the package and held it out to her. “This is for you,” he said, awkwardly. “Ah, Happy Christmas?”

Candice blinked at the gift and took it, her face a wide, toothy smile. “Oh, thank you!” she cooed. She tore off the paper, letting it fall to the floor around her feet. Virgil shuffled slightly to the side as she held the revealed canvas out at arms length, so he could see her expression. For a second there was the blank look, then she frowned at the canvas. Virgil’s heart sank.

He knew the painting – a portrait of Candice – wasn’t his very best work, but it was very, very far from his worst. He’d had the realisation that he’d be expected to give her a gift a bit too late, but overall, he was pleased with the result.

He shifted a little, and Candice seemed to realise that he was watching her. The wide, toothy smile that plastered itself to her face was unconvincing, as she exclaimed, “Oh, it’s amazing, Virgil! To think you painted a portrait of little old me!”

Virgil relaxed. Maybe she wasn’t used to receiving art? It had long ago become his go-to. Paintings, drawings, small sculptures and specially written piano music were received with great enthusiasm by his family and the friends he gifted them to.

Candice set the painting on the lounge and looked back at him expectantly. Virgil flushed, his nervousness returning as he realised he didn’t know what she was waiting for him to do. “Um, I’m glad you like it,” he hedged. “I don’t normally give people portraits, not of themselves, but I realised I didn’t know what your favourite type of landscape was, and a still life seemed too, uh, generic, you know? Just … not personal enough? Ah, I’ll get it framed, I just didn’t know what type of frame … Mr Mishra, has a shop just off Main, I always get him to frame my paintings. Um, it’ll have to be in the New Year, though, he’s gone to India to visit some cousins…”

Virgil ran out of things to say, while he was waiting for Candice to … stop looking at him like that.

The silence stretched for a moment, and the frown began to form on Candice’s face. “Is that it?” she asked.

“Is what it?”

“Is that it? Is that all you’re giving me? A painting? Where’s the rest of my present?”

Virgil stared at her. “The frame. You’ll need to choose that…”

He cringed under the thunderous frown. “Virgil,” Candice said, very slowly and deliberately. “I am not your mother. This is not Mothers Day in kindergarten. This is Christmas, and I am your girlfriend. And some tacky painting you made yourself isn’t going to cut it. I know you know what I want. And I know you brought it. There was only one, and it’s gone now. The day after I marked it out for you.” She glared. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, turning up with this painting, but I’m giving you one chance to get it right. You hear?”

Virgil nodded, his knees feeling week.

“Good. I’m going to tell everyone that my present, my real present, had a problem with it, and it’s taking some time to get it fixed. You can give it to me once I’m back at school from my trip. At lunch the first day. In front of everyone. So make it good. Make sure everyone knows how valuable I am. Understand?”

Virgil nodded.

“Good. Now go. And. Fix. This. Up.”

Virgil went.

He was halfway to the hall before he realised what he was doing. He paused, shivering in the street as the wind cut him straight to the bone, as he considered his options. If he called for a ride, he would be both reprimanded for walking alone and so far in the cold, and interrogated for the reason for his quick departure from the Callens.

Virgil had to go to the Rescue Scouts presentation. Virgil didn’t want to go to the Rescue Scouts presentation. He wanted to go home. He needed to think. And he needed quiet to do so. Candice’s words had shaken him to his core. Tacky. Childlike. What if everyone though that? What if Dad, Grandma and his brothers thought he was tacky and childish and cheap giving them gifts he had made, rather than spending his money on them, like they did for him?

He started walking, only to stop after a few dozen steps. What if Mom hadn’t liked his gifts?

The cold that chilled him now had nothing to do with the wind.

Eventually Virgil managed to get his feet moving, Jeff’s long-held mantra kickstarting his thought processes. When problems dogpile on you, start working on the most immediate one. First up, Virgil needed to get to the Rescue Scouts Presentation, and come up with an excuse for not calling for a ride, or waiting for the appointed pickup time.

He still didn’t have a suitable explanation by the time he slipped into the Hall, and almost straight into his grandmother.

“Virgil! I was just heading out to pick you up!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here so soon?”

“I, um…”

He was saved by Grandma glancing over his shoulder. “Oh, Mrs Callen is here. I hope you thanked her, young man.”

“Yes, Grandma.” It wasn’t lying, Virgil told himself. He had thanked Mrs Callen, just not for what Grandma thought he had. He quickly sought to change the subject. “Is there anything I can help with?”

Grandma smiled at him, “You’re a good boy, Virgil. Yes, they still need help setting out chairs up the back.”

Virgil nodded, and fled to the back of the hall, on the far side from his father and brothers and started dutifully lining up chairs for the audience.

Caught up with trying to figure out which of the next of his problems, Virgil lost track of his familys whereabouts, and bumped into his father. “Virgil, you’re here early,” Jeff said, surprised. “How did it go, son?”

Virgil froze, he had no story ready and no desire to tell his father exactly how badly he had messed up.

Mr Callen came to his rescue. “Jeff, honestly, what a question! Would you have told your father the particulars of a meet-up with your girlfriend at his age?”

Jeff chuckled. “I guess not, at that.” He smiled at Virgil. “I’m sure she loved her present, son. I just like seeing you get the appreciation you deserve.”

Virgil’s heart sank at the words. What did his father mean by that? Did he really think Virgil deserved praise? Or was that a way of saying that Virgil deserved the scorn and disdain Candice had just shown him? He forced a smile. “Thanks, Dad,” and fled with another chair.

Virgil was living in a nightmare.

It was less than a week to Christmas, and every waking moment was taken up by trying to figure out how to fix the problems he suddenly fond himself faced with.

He had nearly two hundred dollars in his hidden wallet. One hundred and ninety three dollars and eighty cents, to be exactly.

One hundred and ninety three dollars and eighty cents. One week to Christmas. Four brothers, and two adults. And a girlfriend who had apparently told him what he was expected to buy. Her comment about how ‘valuable’ the gift was to show her to be suggested that he was supposed to give her an expensive present.

Virgil threw himself into all the chores and after-school jobs he could, trying to scrape every last cent he could to firm up his personal finances, while he tried to figure out what to do. Should he use all his money to buy a present for Candice and try to save his hide at school? Should he commit social suicide and try to buy acceptable gifts for his family? Virgil couldn’t decide what to do.

And all the while he went to school, and tried to focus on his lessons; continued his usual after-school lessons and activities; and fulfilled his Christmas-related obligations – playing piano for carol concerts for the hospital, and two of his Grandmother’s fundraising extravaganzas. All the while he tried to hide the true extent of his misery and confusion.

He knew he wasn’t managing it: reprimands for daydreaming in class, followed by concerned questions about his health from teaches; teasing comments from his brothers about ‘moping because he was missing his girlfriend’; and frequently being felt for fever and having his throat and glands checked by his father and grandmother, who were concerned that he was coming down with a seasonal malady. Virgil desperately tried to deflect all this unwanted attention, it was a distraction he didn’t need. There were concerned looks, but everyone backed off, not wanting to provoke a quarrel this close to the time of peace and goodwill.

But time ticked steadily away, and Virgil was very aware of the looming deadline that grew nearer and more ominous.

It was two days before Christmas, and Jeff Tracy was worried. Virgil had been quiet, withdrawn and anxious for nearly a week and for the life of him, Jeff couldn’t figure out why. If he had to make a guess, he would say that the exchanging of Christmas gift with the Callen girl hadn’t gone well, but Virgil had denied it when asked. Although it hadn’t escaped either Jeff or Sally’s notice that there didn’t appear to have been a reciprocal gift.

Both Jeff and his mother had been surprised when Virgil had announced that he had a date with the girl – she wasn’t in his usual circle of friends, and didn’t appear to have anything in common with Virgil; but now that surprise was becoming a vague concern.

Sighing, Jeff pushed his concerns aside. Failed romances were practically a right of adolescence, and at least Virgil wasn’t indulging in the drama that had accompanied some of Scott’s early forays into the world of romance.

He turned his attention back to what he was supposed to be doing: wrapping Christmas gifts. His main gifts had already been wrapped and slid safely under the Christmas tree, protected from Gordon and Alan’s inquisitive fingers by the barrier of the booby-trapped old playpen. But, it had almost become tradition for Jeff to make last-minute purchases – that little something that always seemed perfect when he saw them – that could be wrapped and used to sate the boys exuberance Christmas morning before everyone was ready to face the day.

He pulled the small bag towards him, and pulled out the box it contained. He had been surprised to find a jewellers catalogue open on the kitchen table, a scribbled circle highlighting a diamond and titanium tennis bracelet. The only person who could have done it was his mother, and it was unlike her to show a particular interest in jewellery, but he had a vague memory of her speaking of her grandmother and a bracelet the woman had always worn. It had gone to a cousin, as Jeff recalled, claimed by her uncle as his right as the oldest son to bestow it upon his daughters. Maybe the bracelet reminded her of her grandmothers? The two thousand dollar price tag was expensive, but he could afford it now, and it was Christmas.

He had only managed to cut down the wrapping paper and find where the tape and ribbon had disappeared to when there was a knock on the door. Desperately flipping his comforter over the mess on his bed, Jeff called out, “Who’s there?”

“Jeff, you’ve got a phone call. Simon Callen. He says it’s very urgent he speaks to you – privately.”

His heart sinking, Jeff went to the door and, carefully blocking his mother’s view of the bed, slid outside, firmly closing the door behind him. His mother was twisting her hands anxiously in the corridor. Jeff understood her anxiety. Simon Callen, the father of Virgil’s girlfriend, making an urgent and private phone call from his holiday; what had Virgil been up to?

“I’ve transferred the call to your study, and I’ll keep the boys away from the main phone,” Sally told him.

“Thanks, Mom,” he caught and squeezed her hand. “I’ll find out what all this is about, and I’ll let you know.”

Hurrying to his study, Jeff again secured the door behind him, and slid into his chair, as he accepted the waiting call. The video screen flared to live and he was surprised to see a devastated looking Simon Callen. All sorts of scenarios filled his mind. “Simon, what…?”

“Jeff, I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought this needed to be dealt with immediately.”

Jeff’s heart sank. Oh, god, what?

“Do you know what Virgil’s gift to Candice was?”

Jeff blinked. That was not what he expected from Simon’s greeting. “Um, a painting. I think it was a portrait of Candice?”

Simon bit his lip. “So he hadn’t brought anything else, some jewellery?”

A niggling thought began to worry at Jeff’s mind. “Not that I know of. Virgil always gifts things he’s made – paintings, sculpture or music he’s written.”

Simon nodded. “That’s what I thought.” He sighed. “Jeff, Mary and I overheard Candice talking to a cousin today, she was saying how Virgil was going to ‘fix up’ his screw up with the present he’d given her, that he’d tried to ‘cheap out’ on her by trying get out of giving her some bracelet she’d indicated to him she wanted, and she knew he’d brought.”

Everything suddenly clicked into place. Jeff swallowed. “I can promise you that Virgil didn’t buy the bracelet. He probably didn’t even know he was supposed to buy it. I found a catalogue with a bracelet indicated. I thought it was my mother highlighting something she liked. I brought the bracelet.” Jeff smiled thinly. “Virgil wouldn’t have been able to afford it, at any rate.”

Simon sagged with relief. “I’ve told Candice that she’s not going to be seeing any boys, and especially not Virgil. From what we’ve gotten out of my niece, Candice has been pulling this kind of racket for a while. She set her sights on Virgil because she’s decided that you’re rich, and he’ll pay to be seen with her.” His lips tightened. “I’ll be contacting the school, to ensure that they know to keep an eye on her, and try to get some information about other boys she might have been … pursuing.”

Jeff nodded. It would be humiliating for Simon and Mary. They were good people, and certainly wouldn’t have raised Candice to be like that. “I’m sorry, Simon. I appreciate how hard this must be for you. I’ll talk to Virgil, in the meantime. I’ll do everything I can to help you through this, Simon. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if any of my boys had done something similar.”

Simon smiled sadly. “You’re a good friend, Jeff. I just wish…”

Jeff nodded. “I you and me both.” He offered a smile of his own. “I know it’s going to be awkward for you, but I hope you have a good Christmas.”

Simon sighed. “It’ll be hard, but we’ll try, Jeff. The same to you and your family. And I’ll be in touch.”

As the videophone went dead in front of him, Jeff sighed. Oh god. Now wonder Virgil had been moping. His thoughts went to the catalogue and bracelet in his room. Two thousand dollars. How did the girl think Virgil would be able to afford that?

Jeff had a moment of doubt. He hadn’t doubted until now that his mother had highlighted the bracelet. Could he be wrong about the girl?

Jeff left his office, slid into his room and gathered up the catalogue and jewellers box. Bundling them into a jumper he pulled off the chair Lucy had always insisted she needed in the bedroom, and Jeff had never had the heart to remove permanently, Jeff went in search of his mother.

“Jeff, what did he have to say?” He indicated the kitchen and shut the door after her before turning to face her.

Jeff pulled out the catalogue. “Mom, did you mark this out?” he handed her the paper, cover folded back to show the advertisement for the bracelet.

She took the catalogue, glanced at the page and shook her head. “No, wh-” her eyes went wide in shock. “She didn’t?”

“Apparently she did,” Jeff said grimly. “Simon and Mary overheard her bragging about it to a cousin.”

Her eyes turned to the door. “That poor boy. No wonder he’s been so quiet.”

Jeff nodded. “I’m going to have to talk to him. Can you keep the others away from my study? I know it has the best soundproofing, but you know what they’re like.”

Sally nodded. “You take care of Virgil. I’ll sort out the rest of them, Jeff.”

A grin. “Don’t be too harsh on them, Mom.”

She snorted, and pushed him gently towards the door, tucking the catalogue into his grip. Jeff took the hint and went to the lounge, where the boys were all playing a board game, Virgil only giving it half his concentration.

“Sorry to interrupt, boys, but I need to talk to Virgil.” The five of them looked up, Virgil’s expression stricken, as the others were surprised.

Jeff held out an arm to his son, and Virgil reluctantly stood up and shuffled towards his father. Jeff swept his arm around his sons shoulders and started guiding him towards the study. Behind him, Jeff could hear Gordon snickering, “Well, SOMEONE just made the naughty list…” before John and Scott shushed him, and his Mom pounced, chivvying the boys to some chore she suddenly desperately needed completed.

Jeff directed Virgil to a chair in his study as he shut the door behind them, and dragged his office chair around to face his dejected son. “I’ve just had a call from Simon Callen,” he began cautiously.

All the colour drained from Virgil’s face. “Wh...what did he want?” he asked, his voice unusually high.

Jeff pulled out the catalogue and handed it to Virgil. “Have you seen this?” he asked. Virgil took the catalogue frowned and shook his head. Then something caught his attention, and he – almost impossibly – paled even further, his lips moving inaudibly. Jeff lipread his sons words ‘Two thousand’.

“I thought your grandmother had highlighted the bracelet,” he said. Pulling out the box and offering it, open, to his son.

In shock, Virgil accepted it, and considered the bracelet. “It’s pretty, but it’s not really Grandma’s style,” he finally managed. “She’d probably prefer a hinged circle type. Um, kind of like a tighter fitting gypsy bracelet?”

Jeff considered, and took the box back, examining the bracelet again. “You’re probably right on that,” he conceded. “I thought it maybe reminded her of a bracelet her grandmother had had, that went to a cousin.”

Virgil gave a silent ‘oh’ in response. They remained silent as Jeff closed the box, and again re-wrapped it and the catalogue in the jumper which he sat on the desk. Jeff sighed. “Did she ask you for other presents?” Jeff asked gently.

Virgil shook his head. “No.” He paused. “I didn’t know she had ‘asked’ for the bracelet until I gave her her gift.���

Jeff nodded. “How did that go, Virgil? Honestly, this time.”

He was alarmed when Virgil’s eyes immediately filled with tears. It took a moment before Virgil managed to say, “At first she made out like she liked it. But then she was … waiting. Like she expected something more, you know?” Jeff nodded. “Then she said … she called the painting tacky, and said that it was childish giving a painting I’d painted.” Virgil stopped, taking several deep breaths before he continued. “She said she knew I’d brought when she’d wanted, and I had one chance to ‘fix it’. I had to give her her ‘real present’ at school in front of everyone. And they had to know how ‘valuable’ she is.”

Virgil bit his lip, for a long moment, then looked up at his father, his eyes threatening to overfill with tears. “Dad,” he whispered, “am I childish and cheap giving people presents that I made?”

Jeff swallowed the lump in his throat, and ignored the burning in his own eyes. “No, Virgil,” he managed, ignoring how his own voice caught, in his throat. “We all, that is your brothers, Grandmother and myself, all know how much time and effort you put into your gifts. It’s the thought you put into what you make, considering what people like, and how best create it.” Jeff smiled wryly, “Between you and me, it can be something of a relief to know that I’m guaranteed one present that isn’t more pairs of socks or underwear, you know?”

Virgil stared at him, and suddenly, uncharacteristically, threw himself at his father, wrapping his arms around him and burrowing his face into his chest. Jeff quickly felt the shuddering breaths and developing damp patch on his shirt front, and his heart broke a little more. Gently rocking his son as though he were several years younger than his actual age, he began stroking the back of his head, quietly waiting out Virgil’s emotions.

It was a long while, but finally Virgil’s breathing settled and sniffing embarrassedly, he pulled back. Jeff let him go a little way, but kept his hold. He examined Virgil’s face carefully, before offering his handkerchief. “Feel better?” he asked as Virgil scrubbed at his face.

Virgil nodded. “I’d been all twisted up, I didn’t know what to do.” He pulled back again, searching for his seat, and Jeff let him go. “I didn’t know what Candice thought I’d brought, and I just felt sick thinking that everyone might think the same as she did…” His breath hitched again. “I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.”

Jeff looked at him in askance. “Candice is one of the ‘it girls’, and everyone says she’s the prettiest girl at school. You don’t say ‘no’ to her. Not if you want to survive at school.”

Jeff’s eyebrows rose. “So you dating her…”

Virgil shrugged. “She asked me. Maybe one of the footballers, or someone like that might get to turn her down, but me?” Virgil shook his head. “It’d have been like declaring war on the popular kids, Dad.” Virgil looked down, embarrassed. “And, I think, I liked that she asked me.” He coloured. “But I didn’t really like her, you know?” Jeff nodded. “We had nothing in common, but she kept asking me out again, and telling people I was her boyfriend, and I kinda … never had a chance to say otherwise.”

Jeff nodded again. “Well, you won’t have to tell her ‘no’,” he offered. “Her parents are banning her from seeing any boys, and they’re going to explain to the school what’s happened. I think they’re planning on following up with other boys she’s done the same thing to. Make her pay them back for the, uh, ‘gifts’ she’s asked for.”

Virgil offered a tight smile. “That might be a long list.” Then his shoulder’s sagged. “I’ve been an idiot, falling for this, haven’t I?” he asked despondently.

Jeff reached over to lift his face up with gentle pressure under his chin. “No, Virgil,” he said, firmly and maintaining eye contact. “You’ve been young. You’ve been inexperienced. You’ve been trusting. And you’re not the only one. There’s no shame in what you’ve done. Understand me?” He waited for an affirmative response. “And the next time you come across a woman like her, you’ll be older and wise for this experience.”

Virgil stared at his father. “You really think there will be more like her?”

Jeff sighed. “Yes, son. I’m afraid there will be. The business is starting to move ahead, and we’re … better off than most in town.” He shrugged. “Somewhere like New York, nobody would notice us.” He smiled. “Well, you’ll have to watch out when art galleries and music studios start to recognise your talent. But the rest of us?” Jeff shrugged again.

Virgil managed a smile. “Until the business gets even better again.”

Jeff chuckled. “I appreciate your confidence in my abilities, son, but I think you’re being a bit fanciful there. I might manage big in Topeka, maybe even Wichita, but even I don’t think an ex-astronaut will have the nous to pull it off world wide.”

“I guess we’ll see, then,” Virgil said.

“I guess we will,” Jeff agreed. “And speaking of seeing, will I be seeing another round of socks and underwear Christmas morning?”

Virgil grinned, a bit of his customary mischief back in his face. “I guess we’ll see,” he repeated.

Jeff chuckled. “I guess we will at that,” he agreed. “Now, get going. Go save your brothers from your Grandma, and have some fun.”

Virgil shot to his feet, “Yes, sir,” he offered a poorly executed salute before scurrying the door.

Jeff heard his feet thundering down the corridor. “Gordon, you had better not have messed with my pieces!” He chuckled at the shouted admonition from his mother for Virgil to walk, competing with Gordon’s protections of innocence and Scott’s assurance he had prevented all attempts to cheat.

Picking up the sweater, Jeff headed back to his bedroom. He had some gifts to wrap, and he had to decide what to do with the bracelet. Virgil was right, it wasn’t really his mother’s style.

Jeff smiled, daydreaming a little. If Virgil was correct, he would have to get used to making such high-stakes decisions...

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

I just realized that today is Captain Scarlet's birthday. But since I haven't drawn anything for him, I decided to repost two of my most favorite illustrations I did for my crossover fanfic, "Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron", featuring my other favorite captain/major :3

Which ones are your favorite? 😁

@uniwolfcorn @teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @room-on-broom @yarol2075 @river-sam2 @llamawrites @voidparadoxical @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassastra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

[gumnut-logic]

Sweetapple Slice 18

Sweetapple series | Sweetapple Slices

It ended up at 1,884 words :D

I will admit to rereading a pile of Sweetapple today as I was down with the after effects of a migraine. I ran out of fic and wanted more...so, drat it, I had to write more :D

Oh, and I hope I haven't messed with any timeline in this series - I don't think this bit has been encountered yet, but if I mess something up, I apologise. My memory is generally poor.

Many thanks to the amazing @onereyofstarlight for sacrificing her last minutes before bed to read though this goop fest. You are so kind to me.

Kudos to the Sweetapplettes @idontknowreallywhy, @womble1 @sailing-on-a-puddle, @sofasurf, @thundergeek59 @katblu42 @pareidoliaonthemove @weirdburketeer and everyone else keeping this universe alive. You guys are amazing.

This one is definitely full of lovely goop and very m/m so if that isn't your thing, this isn't your fic.

I hope you enjoy :D

-o-o-o-

Alex settled back against the soft lounger and closed his eyes. Virgil had left him there beside the pool to ‘gather some supplies’. Alex smiled and let the ocean breeze wash over him as it rattled the palm trees above. It was mid-afternoon and their shade was crucial for comfort.

It had been a few weeks since his concussion but every now and again he would relapse a little and today was proving to be one of those days.

It started out perfect - waking to the scent of his favourite coffee, delivered to his bedside by his favourite man. Quiet talk over breakfast - they were still getting to know each other - food preferences, school stories, college anecdotes, favourite colours…Alex took so many mental notes.

They continued their discussion with a walk. Alex enjoyed wandering along the beach as much as Virgil confessed he did. The fact that this particular beach was on Tracy Island and he was walking with the kindest and strongest man on the planet were enough to send his mind spinning.

Which is what he thought was the source of the problem, particularly when they sat down beneath a huge pōhutukawa and started exploring each other more than the environment around them.

Kissing Virgil was heaven itself. The way his fingers brushed through Alex’s hair, his hand settling on the nape of his neck, pulling Alex closer. The touch of his warm lips. Taut muscle under anywhere Alex’s hands landed.

God, it was swoon-worthy.

But in no world Alex could understand would it cause the headache that eventually made itself known.

He ignored it for as long as he could, much more interested in Virgil’s company and conversation than acknowledging he wasn’t feeling great. But Virgil had some kind of medical radar and picked up that something wasn’t quite right.

And there was no way Alex was going to lie to Virgil.

So their afternoon was cut short, Virgil walking him back up to the villa and deploying that yellow-flashing scanner again.

Alex really wished he wasn’t the source of the frown that crumpled up those gorgeous eyebrows.

Rest was the recommendation. Virgil immediately suggested Alex return to his rooms, but Alex protested, determined not to give up on the day. He could rest by the pool, in the shade. He would be fine.

And they could continue their ‘discussion’.

Virgil’s dark eyes were considering, but Alex was daring enough to brush his fingers across Virgil’s cheek and lean in to gently kiss him. “Please? I want to spend my time with you.” Even in these few short weeks together, International Rescue had taken so much of Virgil’s time, Alex did not want to lose today. Not for some measly headache.

Worry flickered through those eyes, but a longing overtook it. Virgil reached up and brushed Alex’s hair out of his eyes. “Promise you will rest.”

“I will.”

And Virgil was kissing him again. Soft, warm, oh god, the headache can bugger off, this is the ultimate distraction.

But Virgil pulled away, a soft smirk on his lips. “Rest, Alex.”

“Oh, that’s just evil.”

The smirk turned into a grin and Virgil wrapped an arm around his waist, leading him out onto the pool deck. “C’mon, we can use the squishy lounges and laze by the pool.”

So Alex found himself laid up on a lounger that was definitely ‘squishy’ with a soft mattress and pillow that was just perfect to relax into, and Virgil dashed off to get ‘supplies’.

Perhaps it was Virgil’s plan for Alex to fall asleep on that lounger as it was very soporific when combined with the Island’s ambience, but just as he was about to drop off…

“M-max, I don’t need to go outside. R-really M-max, this is not part of your prog-ramming. Max, stop!”

A dark-haired man stumbled out onto the pool deck, chased by a mechanical…something…beeping urgently.

Alex just stared as the creature chased the man around the pool. In one of its many arms? (Legs?) it was holding a fire extinguisher.

Which on examination proved legitimate when Alex saw smoke curling up from the running man’s jacket.

A moment later there was flame.

Alex leapt up from his lounger and dove for the man, intending on smothering the fire.

Of course, being Alexander Sweetapple, both he and the now yelping man ended up in the pool.

A rush of cool bubbles up his nose, Alex gasped, struggling to get his feet under him in the sudden surprisingly deep water. A tangle of limbs did not help, the man he was trying to save as uncoordinated as he was.

But then there were more people in the water and Alex was pulled upright and away by strong arms. His head broke the surface and he coughed in air.

On the other side of the pool, a soaking wet Gordon Tracy was pulling the now doused man out of the water.

“Are you okay?” Virgil’s worried breath was hot against his ear.

Alex opened his mouth to answer but only coughed, his sore head rattling.

A strong stroke or two and Virgil was lifting Alex out of the pool. Alex grabbed onto the warm concrete and rolled himself away from the edge, coughing again and hating every second as it hurt his head.

Virgil was out of the pool and helping him to sit up.

“He was on fire.” Alex managed get the words out just as the mechanical creature, now on the other side of the pool with Gordon, shot the half-drowned man with the fire extinguisher.

Both men ended up covered in foam.

“Max, what the hell?!” Gordon wasn’t impressed, apparently.

Alex finally sorted out his breathing and sat staring as now Gordon started chasing the Max creature around the pool.

Foam drifted off his hair.

“What is that?”

“That is M.A.X. - Mechanical Assistant (Experimental). He’s Brains’ assistant.”

Alex blinked water out of his eyes, staring at the man wiping extinguisher foam off his face on the other side of the deck. “That’s Brains?” The wizard behind the Thunderbirds?

“Uh-huh. Max must have chased him out of his lab.” Virgil was rubbing circles on Alex’s back. It was nice.

But the breeze was now colder and Alex shivered.

“Okay, let’s get you dried off and into some clean clothes.” Virgil climbed to his feet and offered Alex a hand up.

Looking up at Virgil, Alex got an eyeful of wet t-shirt, heavy lifting man and the whole half-drowned incident was suddenly worth every moment.

Virgil’s fingers twitched and he blushed a little pink.

Alex clasped his hand and climbed to his feet. If Virgil was pulled a little closer than was absolutely necessary, well, Alex was known to fumble in stressful situations.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“Anytime.”

“M-max! Leave Gordon alone!”

The robot creature squealed to a halt and beeped a protest at its creator.

“Yes, yes, I know he’s Gordon. But he was p-pulling me out of the water. He w-was helping.”

Another impertinent beep.

“This time he was. L-let him b-be.” Brains had stumbled to his feet and wiped most of the foam off his face. A puffy lump was still stuck in his hair and wobbled as he moved.

It was only then that Alex realised exactly what he had done. “Oh, god.”

“Alex?” Virgil frowned at him.

“I almost drowned the inventor of the Thunderbirds!”

“He was on fire-“

“I didn’t mean to throw him in the pool. It was supposed to be a drop and roll!”

“Alex-“

“Oh, god.” He had been looking forward to meeting Brains. The man was brilliant and Alex wanted to ask him about some theories, hopefully get to know him, maybe a friend of Virgil’s could also be his friend. There were so many things they could talk about!

But now…

“Alex, it’s okay.” Virgil nudged his head to catch his eyes. “It’s okay, I promise. You’re not the first person to throw Brains in the pool.” His lips curled into a smile and he tilted his head a little. “The man has a habit of setting himself on fire. It is the reason Max exists.”

Alex blinked and stared. “What?”

Virgil glanced over at Gordon now discussing something at length with Brains and an attentive Max, and shrugged. “He’s a genius but sometimes he gets distracted.” Virgil smiled up at Alex. “Reminds me a little of someone I know.”

Alex had the urge to ask who, but Virgil’s smile had him blushing…and he was a little lightheaded from…well…everything.

“C’mon, I’ll introduce you.” A hand at the small of his back and Alex found himself being walked around the pool, leaving a trail of evaporating wet footprints behind him.

“Virgil-“

“I think you two will get on well.”

“Virg-“

“Brains, this is Alex. Alex meet Dr Hiram Hackenbacker.”

The engineer’s face lit up underneath the remnants of foam and pool water. “Mr Sweetapple!” Alex found his hand clasped hurriedly and excitedly. “I am s-so hhappy to finally meet you! V-Virgil has told m-me so much about y-your theories. I’m particularly interested in your ion exchange ratios in the siliwrap solidification process. How did you work it out? It is a fascinating chemical sequence.”

“Uh. The polymer is more flexible than it appears.”

The man paused a second, his eyes a little distant. Water dripped from his hair.

“Oh, my goodness, you are right. How did you manage to get it to differentiate between organic and inorganic matter?”

“Oh, that was the challenge at the heart of the process. We haven’t quite managed to fine tune it as much as I would like, but I’m positive we are on the right track.”

“You have a detection system?”

“No, it’s in the formula itself. We are attempting to chemically force a bind only with inorganic matter. Specialist chelate formation.”

“So, you’re disabling the ability itself. Defaulting to necessary molecular bonds only?”

“Essentially, yes, better to prevent rather than tertiary detect.”

“Admirable. I would l-love to see your work.”

Virgil was rubbing circles on his back again.

“Certainly, sir. Whenever you have time.”

Virgil’s hand slipped to his waist and tugged at him gently. “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes.”

Beside him Gordon opened his mouth.

Virgil clapped him up the back of his head before he could say anything but, “Ow! Hey!”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Fish.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.” He turned to Brains. “How about we get together after dinner tonight?”

“Certainly.” Brains looked up at Alex. “N-nice to m-meet you, M-mr Sweetapple.”

“It’s Alex and same.” Alex found himself smiling.

Virgil did get him back to Alex’s rooms after that, though Alex was the one who changed his clothes…by himself…not thinking of Virgil on the other side of the door at all.

Nope.

Not at all.

Yeah, Alex’s mind was quite happily in the gutter with Gordon’s.

But rest was required and once Virgil had changed into dry clothes, they curled up on Virgil’s huge bed to watch a movie.

Ultimately the headache won out and Alex fell asleep not long after the title sequence of the movie. Probably the heart of Virgil’s plan.

But sleeping in those wonderfully warm and strong arms… made everything better.

-o-o-o-

[tagsecretsanta]

From @coco9728

From @coco9728 to @pareidoliaonthemove

Secret

Virgil stood in his father’s… (Virgil mentally cursed himself) Scott’s! office.

It was a sort of foreign place…he felt like he knew the room like the back of his hand, yet at the same time it was a complete mystery. He didn’t know how Scott could spend so much time in here, he practically lives in here when not out on any missions. He himself could only count on one hand the number of times he’d been in here since…7 years now since Dad had gone missing. Virgil mentally shook himself to stop his mind from going down that dark tunnel of thoughts, again…

Why was he here again?...Oh yeah! Virgil walked behind the desk and opened several draws. Since Scott had badly cut his leg open on some debris from a flood when out on a mission two days ago and didn’t seek medical attention straight away…the flood water had gotten into the cut and caused a severe infection, taking the pilot down hard…So now, whilst Scott’s in the infirmary with both Alan and Gordon babysitting him just in case, though It would be a miracle if Scott had enough strength to sit up in bed, let along walk out the door.

John had sent him to Dad’s (arrrgh not again) Scott’s! office, to fetch some Tracy Industries paperwork needed for the next TI meeting this afternoon. He was thankful for John’s sacrifice in going into all these meetings in place of Scott. He definitely wouldn’t want to go.

Virgil sighed as he continued to rummage through the papers in the draws. Secretly, he was kind of glad that Scott had ended up in the infirmary. He desperately needs the rest after back-to-back missions all week and endless TI business to attend to. It seems that the only way he will ever let himself rest is if he’s forced to. A.k.a. the infected leg at the moment. Virgil muttered under his breath, ‘’Irresponsible brother, why can’t you see how not looking after yourself is not only affecting you, but everyone else as well!’’

Sighing and giving up on his search for now, Virgil took a seat in the office chair behind the desk. If Dad and Scott could find comfort in this chair then maybe he could too. Virgil lent back in the chair. ‘’Woah, Oof!’’ and accidentally tipped the chair backwards in the process, causing both him and the chair to end up on the floor… ‘’I guess the chair wasn’t designed for someone with broad shoulders like me.’’ He sighed.

From his new position on the floor, Virgil began to survey the room…it just seemed like too much effort to get up right at this moment…Everything in the room was neatly organized, not a single sheet of paper on the desk or book on the shelf was out of place. ‘’Wow, and I thought I was bad for being organized.’’ he mused.

He continued to survey the room, mentally counting the endless number of books, folders and papers that would be hiding in the many cabinets and shelves around the room. Though paper is a rare sight these days. Everything is usually stored digitally in holoprojector files. However, for important papers and documents about TI and IR, physical copies rather than digital are still safer with the number of hackers and AI around these days.

Sighing tiredly, he let his eyes roam around the room once more. He started tracing the textured lines of the wooden shelf, he always liked the look of oak wood…Then he noticed the amount of dust adorning each shelf. ‘’Damn.’’ Looking around the room all the furniture was dusty from this angle. Grandma would not be pleased. He really should bring a duster in here next time…

Suddenly, a small glint of light coming from somewhere under Scott’s desk in the middle of the room caught his eye. Getting up onto his hands and knees, Virgil crawled under the desk until he found what had caught his attention…On the underside of the desk in the far back corner was a small round silver button.

‘’That’s odd, I didn’t know that was there.’’ Virgil said in surprise. He thought for a minute…It must be IR related for a start because it’s hidden…but what for?...’’hmmm.’’ It probably just activates an emergency shut down procedure of some sort…though I really can’t think what for, we made it a rule that everyone knows and memorises where all emergency activation buttons, codes, switches, panels (the lot) are located around the island…so why don’t I know about this particular button if that’s the case…maybe it doesn’t do anything important…it must just activate something boring like a pop up cup holder on top of the desk…but then why hide the button under the desk where it’s hard to reach…

Thinking, what’s the worst that could happen. Eventually curiosity took the better of him and Virgil quickly pressed the button.

…

Nothing happened.

A beat of silence.

Another.

Then finally the button changed colour from silver to red. With tiny writing appearing on its surface saying, ‘Access Denied’. Then a couple of seconds later, it changed back to silver.

 ‘’Oh!’’ Virgil said in surprise. Why does the button have our standard IR recognition software?...It must do something fairly important then…but then, why didn’t anyone tell me about it?...and why don’t I have access…who does?...

‘’Ah Ha!’’ suddenly Virgil new what to do…

Crawling out from under the desk and standing up, he looked on top of the desk and found what he was looking for. The old holoprojector attached to the desktop. Now thinking of Parker’s old trick, Virgil reached into the desks top draw and pulled out the packet of gum he knew Scott liked to keep there. Opening the packet, he popped one into his mouth. ‘’Bleh!’’ It took all of Virgil’s self-control not to spit it back out again. ‘’Apple pie flavour, ewe!’’

Taking a minute to chew the gum he then popped it back out of his mouth and carefully proceeded to lift Scott’s fingerprints of the holoprojector by pressing the gum against its activation panel…However. What he didn’t account for, was to accidentally activate the projector. He only had a second’s warning to throw the gum back into the open draw before John appeared in front of him.

…

After a few moments of silence John was the first to talk. ‘’Are you alright Virgil?’’

Virgil brushed down his shirt to give himself a second to compose himself…A sudden remembrance as to why he was in the office in the first place. ‘’Ummm yep I’m fine, was just wondering where exactly the paperwork is in here, I uh can’t find it.’’

John rose a questioning eyebrow. ‘’It should be in the bottom right draw, that’s what Scott said earlier…’’

Virgil quickly bent down and opened said drawer to take a look. ‘’Ah yes, here it is…ummm thankyou John…’’ He put the papers on the desk.

John frowned at him but didn’t say anything. ‘’No problem…I’m down in the hangers now prepping Tracy Two for flight, I’ll see you down here in a minute.’’ And with that John cut the call.

‘’Few!’’ Virgil wiped the non-existent sweat of his forehead. ‘’That was close.’’ Then he paused…wait…why am I hiding this from John?...It’s just a small button...I could ask him what it does!...but then, does John know about it?...and If he does, then why hasn’t he told me about it?...

Wanting answers to his ever-growing list of questions. Virgil proceeded to grab the gum and got back down on his hands and knees before crawling under the desk once again. Placing the gum over his own finger with the copied fingerprinted side facing outwards. He then stretched his hand towards the button. Before pausing centimetres away…Why did he feel so stupid all of a sudden…Virgil outwardly laughed at himself. Here he was sitting under a desk, gum on his finger as he stared at a simple small button…It’s probably just some dumb prank Gordon had come up with…though it is clever Virgil would give him that…but then…Gordon hasn’t been in the office since…Actually, I can’t remember the last time Gordon had ever been in here…so���unlikely to be prank…but then…what is it doing here?…and why do I need to know what it does so badly?...

Then before he could think twice he had pressed the button.

…

To Virgil, the silence seemed to last a lifetime. Though in reality it was only seconds.

Then something happened.

It worked; the button lit up green before its entire cover flipped up to reveal a small silver control switch hidden underneath.

‘’Oh, come on!’’ he groaned…Now this is odd…Virgil stared at the switch suddenly fearful of its existence…First fingerprint recognition, then a protective cover for a hidden control switch…and don’t forget the fact that this is hidden on the underside of the desk…in the office of all places…What does this switch do to need so much protection?…It must be still active…I mean I got this far…Though that was using Scott’s fingerprints…And why does Scott have access using the fingerprint recognition, but I don’t?…But before Virgil could make another thought the holoprojector on top of the desk connected again.

‘’Virgil?’’

Oh no, it was John again.

‘’Virgil, where are you?’’

Virgil got out from under the desk and stood up to get back into viewing range of the holoprojector. ‘’Here John...just ummm…checking the desks legs…I thought one may be wobbly or something.’’ God he hated lying, and he knew he wasn’t good at it either.

John looked sceptical. ‘’Oooook…well I have to go within the next ten minutes so…can you bring me the papers now…I kind of need them.’’

Virgil mentally cursed himself, of course! How had he forgotten about John and his TI meeting in New York. That’s why he was in the office in the first place, to get the paperwork John needed. ‘’Yep, I’ll be right there bro.’’ And with that Virgil quickly cut the call. Ok so John was definitely going to have questions now. Quickly going about putting everything in the office back to the way it was before he came in. Virgil then grabbed the desired paperwork off the desk and raced out of the room to meet John. The hidden mystery under the desk completely forgotten.

[gumnut-logic]

This is so well written! And tense! Lots of tension!

You’re lining up to hurt da Scotty! Poor Scotty 💙💙💙

The rest of the family will be freaking out.

Also, excellent details on flying a plane, and crashing a plane. Beautiful!

Thank you for a great breakfast read.

Nutty

(Eating cheese)

Left for Dead

Part One

Scott Tracy breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the wheels of the ‘conventional’ jet he was flying left the tarmac.

His never failed to feel lighter once he was no longer touching the earth, but this time the relief was more intense than usual.

As he guided the executive jet – once Jeff’s favourite plane, a sleek long-haul commercial jet that had been the Aviation arm of Tracy Industries flagship product, and dubbed ‘Tracy One’ – exactly through the ‘gateway’ at the end of the runway climb out, the radio crackled to live. The heavily accented English of the Departures Controller for Trondheim Lufthavn gave him his final instructions to clear the Lufthavn’s controlled airspace and join his filed flightpath out of Norway and back to Tracy Island.

He only let himself relax as he hit his cruising speed and altitude, and activated the pre-programmed autopilot.

Reaching back he caught the retractable tray table and dragged it towards him, before picking up his insulated mug, a custom-made gift from Brains that allowed him to ensure he had hot coffee available on a solo flight in the plane.

He couldn’t help glancing back at the safe built into the bulkhead at the back of the cockpit. He still had grave reservations about getting TI involved in the construction of the World Government’s new high-security computer system to be based in Norway; but the World Government had wanted Tracy Industries for their reputation for excellence and security, the TI Board wanted it, and most importantly John wanted it.

Scott tried not to think about the fact that his brother was likely to include a backdoor to the system.

But Scott had been convinced that it was in the best interests of all involved to take the project on, and he had gone to Norway to meet the key personnel and personally take receipt of the plans. TI facilities would produce the various key components and they would be shipped to Tracy Island for construction by one Hiram K. Hackenbacker

Scott sighed, even Brains had been excited by the prospect of getting to look at the designs, and the attendant programming that the hardware would be running. Something about the specifications for the “new ‘unbreakable’ encryption protocols”, and “the next major breakthrough in computing, practically quantum!”

Scott was worried that the two – three if Alan inserted himself into the mix – computer nerds would back-engineer the TOP SECRET computer and incorporate it into International Rescue’s equipment.

When – and Scott was not an optimist when it came to this sort of things, so it was when and not if – the rest of the world figured out that they had that technology, there would be some uncomfortable questions that Scott would be left to try to answer.

And he was resolutely NOT thinking about what Eos could do with all that processing power. Scott had reached a truce with the Space Monitor’s pet AI, but he hadn’t made peace with it … her. She had come dangerously close to killing John, ‘misunderstanding’ or not, ‘self-defence’ or not.

Harming his family was the one sin Scott Tracy could not forgive.

The next hour or so disappeared quietly as Scott brooded on his misgivings, carefully watched the plane’s gauges, and the sky.

Sometime after the onboard computer indicated that it had successfully completed its mandatory handshake with Chinese Air Control Scott stretched, arching his back and spreading his toes within the confines of his shoes. Flying alone was great for relaxation, flying alone long distances however … no matter how good the autopilot, a good pilot never left the controls unmanned.

Tracy One, while fast, was no Thunderbird One. I’m getting soft, Scott thought bemused. Too used to the multiple mach speed of his usual means of transportation.

Settling back into his seat, Scott once more scanned the gauges … only to see them all fade out as the engines whined their rollback to idle and shutdown.

Scott swore, unbelieving, hands once more on the controls, as he quickly hit two buttons, setting his transponder to squawk distress mode, and deploying the RAT, a small drop down wind turbine that dropped from the planes undercarriage and caught the airflow, generating enough power to get some gauges and controls working.

Fingers automatically worked at the controls, reconfigure for maximum glide, run through the midair engine restart procedure. And …

Nothing.

As Scott immediately recommenced the restart, he was on the radio: “Mayday, Mayday, Maday. This is November Tango India Zero One Charlie. Twin engine roll back, loss of power. Attempting restarts. Requesting assistance to squawk location.”

No response. Scott cycled through another engine restart attempt as he waited, nervously watching the altitude numbers seemingly freefall. There was no way he was descending that fast, surely?

Two more attempts at transmitting the mayday resulted in silence. The engines refused to restart.

Scott reached for his collar and swore. The meeting had been so high security even IR’s integrated collar coms were not allowed. And Scott had been in such a hurry to get back to the Island that he hadn’t changed his clothes, only ditching the ordinary – albeit obscenely expensive – coat, suit jacket, tie and cufflinks.

No direct link home. No mid-air rescue for Scott Tracy.

No matter. He could manage.

Abandoning his attempts to restart as the altitude numbers screamed down under the threshold.

His plane was going to kiss dirt. All he could do was make it as gentle as possible.

Scott switched his attention to scanning the ground below him, looking for a suitable space. Thank god he had elected to fly west towards home, meaning he was over the Gobi Desert.

Sand was preferable to water, no matter what Gordon said.

Sand would make for a nice soft runway, provided Scott managed a tail-first. Letting a leading edge dig in would be a disaster. Even with the International Rescue approved safety features retrofitted to the standard executive jet, there wouldn’t be much for his brothers to recover if she dug in and flipped, or windmilled around a wing.

“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. November Tango India Zero One Charlie. Restart negative. Unpowered landing necessary. Requesting immediate assistance to squawk location.”

Scott breathed carefully, focusing on his search and not the possibilities.

There!

Off in the distance Scott spotted a level area, large enough for the plane to coast to a stop on her belly.

He breathed out, mentally calculated the distance and descent, and carefully reconfigured the plane, setting the ailerons and stomping on the rudder to bring her tail around into the head wind and shed speed: side-slipping. He gently slewed her back the other way, ensuring she maintained the correct heading, but shedding altitude and speed.

This was a dangerous aerial ballet. More so than any dogfight he had been in during his service. One wrong move …

Scott’s hands were sweating on the control yoke. His heartbeat deafened him.

Oh, there was going to be so many lost of control drills for his brothers in the future. It had been too long since they had run any.

His luck held all the way down.

He managed to line up to the long axis of the space, and his tail kissed sand at the edge of the smooth space.

Metal screamed as sand ripped at the undercarriage as Scott gently lowered the length of the plane onto the dirt, and deployed all flaps and slats, increasing the resistance to the air, even as the sand resisted the movement of the hull.

And Scott became a passenger.

He kept his feet at the rudder pedals, trying to keep the plane moving in a straight line. Yaw risked rolling. But it was largely a futile effort, the path was set, determined by physics, geology and … geography!

Scott’s heart leapt into his throat as the plane hurled itself over the top of a rising dune that had been hidden by his approach angle. It was a significant drop down the other side, and the plane had lost enough momentum that it had little aerodynamic power.

The nose fell, and Scott heard yelling.

It took the eternity the plane was falling to realise that it must be him.

Impact was hard.

Metal screamed as sections of the cockpit rushed towards him, dislodged and distorted.

Something above him broke loose, swinging down into his field of vision.

It was the last thing Scott saw.

Notes:

This is Part One of my last Febuwhump Prompt from MariaShades, Part Two will actually address the prompt, but work's been mental, and Scott's been a little shit and really didn't want to crash his plane ... Oh well, better late than never.

And if I post this half, I'll stop faffing around with it and actually write the second half. In theory.

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron - Chapter 5: Rainbows and Stars

(Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 -p1, Chapter -p2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 -p1, Chapter 4 -p2, …)

A little fun heads up: I used a meme for one of the illustrations. Pretty sure you can guess which one when you see it ;)

*Lots and lots of giggles...*

@uniwolfcorn @teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @yarol2075 @voidparadoxical @llamawrites @river-sam2 @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassastra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

-0-0-0-

Captain Scarlet was following Maestro back to the camp, with the rest of the squadron following behind them.

He let out a long inhale to let out a slow sigh of relief when he heard a cry,

“Paul!”

And suddenly, a certain feminine figure with long red hair was launched at him, her arms wrapped around him with such force that it punched the air out of him!

“Dianne! Need… air!”

Rhapsody let go of him, her hands moved to hold his arms. She glanced at him with blue eyes full of relief that she smiled brightly.

“I’m so glad you’re okay! Goodness me, we all thought the worst when we found you were taken!”

“I’m safe, dear. Its okay, now!” he gently beamed at her, laying his hands on her shoulders to comfort her.

He moved his glance towards a rather stunned Captain Blue, in which he immediately smirked when he realized at whom his best friend was looking at.

“Well… I’ll be…” was all Blue could say.

“Like my new company?” Scarlet quipped.

“As if we didn’t saw them beating the lights out of Black!” his best friend grinned back at him. Also it seemed, he was so close of hugging him.

Grasshopper appeared next to them, throwing a salute as he called,

“Mission to bring other Spectrum members to the camp accomplished, Comrade Commander!”

“Who?” Captain Blue threw a confused glance at the young man next to him, then back at Scarlet.

His field partner pointed his thumb at mentioned squadron commander.

“This friendly chap! He was the one who dragged me out of the burning SPJ before I'd become a crisp,” he spoke warmly.

Maestro stepped in, scrutinizing the two newcomers as his squadron approached and surrounded them with curiosity. With a warm grin, he extended his hand towards the Spectrum Angel and spoke joyfully,

“You must be Rhapsody! You should’ve been part of our second ‘Singing’ Squadron, with a name like that!”

Rhapsody giggled, shaking his hand gladly.

“Why, how have I never heard of you! You do music, I presume?”

“Imena!” he bowed his head.

Vano appeared next to his commander, in his hand a small bouquet of margaritas and lilies-of-the-valley to which he politely handed it to her.

She took the beautiful flowers and smelled them with eager.

“Say, where’s Captain Ochre?” Captain Blue noticed suddenly.

Everyone turned around towards where the old warplanes stood.

Captain Ochre was very, very enthusiastic and preoccupied about the discovery. So much so in fact, he was checking all over Maestro’s plane, much to the annoyance of Makarych.

“I can’t believe it!” cried out Ochre, to which everyone causally approached this amusing scene of his fanboyism, “Small, two big front wheels at the front within wing compartments, a small wheel at the tail! Camouflage coloration! Old-school navigation system! And an automatic gun at the nose!”

The ex-cop quickly turned to the old mechanic, his eyes glimmering like a kid in a museum.

“Say, where did you get those restorations?” he chirped as he leaned over the wing.

“The Niner is just as real as you,” grumbled Makarych. His answer made Ochre slightly confused.

Meanwhile, Scarlet, Blue and Rhapsody rounded behind their colleague, while trying to withhold their absolute amusement.

“Well? Did you find anything, buddy?” Blue quipped.

Ochre turned around with lit up eyes, lowering himself down from the wing to face himself towards his friends.

“It seems we have found the means of transport to which the culprit had taken Captain Scarlet,” he began, ignoring the pilots that are slowly surrounding them, “This is a Lavotchkin, type 5 warplane! Quite the fighting horses they were back then, next to the Yak-2s and Il-2s. Not quite fast, but are very agile machines. With right Aces, they can be the best fighter planes! Now, we must find the actual culprit…”

“We’ve already found him!” Blue grinned as he and Scarlet side-stepped to reveal what their colleague had been looking for.

Ochre blinked once, twice, and leaned his head to the side.

“Excuse me – this ‘Shorty’ picked you up?” he pointed out with bafflement.

Maestro, without saying a single word, repeated his usual trick at the insult – he lifted himself up from the ground, again!

This caused the ex-cop to quickly back off until his back smacked into the plane’s wing, his eyes wide as cups and jaw dropped to the ground.

“Uuuuhh… you can fly?” he stammered.

“Net, my good Comrade Ochre. I can only fly on my plane!” Maestro quipped with a cheeky grin.

Everyone, but the poor captain, guffawed their hearts out.

Captain Scarlet only gave Ochre a smile when the latter stared at him with eyes that demanded an explanation. And then struggled to not laugh when Ochre tried to make sense at the still floating Maestro, who towered above him without a care in the world.

“I already like your commander, Grasshopper!” Blue was giggling as he wrapped his long arm around the young man. After a moment awkward silence, Grasshopper quietly vanished from the Spectrum Captain’s grasp.

“Love, we should call the rest of our team; they would be out of their minds seeing this!” Rhapsody whispered to Scarlet.

“I think it would be rude of us not to introduce them to fabled ‘Singing Squadron’!” he replied with his own grin, “Call them immediately.”

“S.I.G!”

-0-0-0-

Three Angel Fighters were flying in the sky, searching for any sign of their group on the ground.

They were launched after receiving a call from Rhapsody. She reported about her team finding Captain Scarlet in very good condition and the discovery of the source of the rumors.

What was the source exactly? She told them it was a surprise.

The Angel Interceptors (the third one with Magenta in it was hooked by magnetic cables) landed on the field where the rest of the Spectrum crew waited for them.

Destiny jumped out off her plane, with Harmony and Magenta following suit.

“Eh bien? What is the surprise?” the Angel lead asked.

Captain Scarlet, Blue, Ochre and Rhapsody Angel glanced at each other with big smiles, before side-stepping to reveal their new allies and friends.

“We would like to introduce to you with the second ‘Singing’ Squadron of the Fighter Aircraft Guard Regiment, and their commander, Alexei ‘Maestro’ Titarenko,” announced Captain Scarlet.

The pilots all saluted, then casually introduced themselves, giving flowers to the women and a handshake to the shocked Captain Magenta.

“Oh… and here I was considering caving your face in! You don’t look like a crook!” Harmony admitted, her hand on her chest.

“Ah, that means you’re a fighter! Horosho, your comrades need such people like you!” Maestro took her hand and gently shook it with honor.

The oriental Angel merely smiled brightly and bowed with outmost respect as she said:

“Arigato! Xiexie!”

Captain Magenta stood quietly, his thoughts were nothing but confusion and utter bafflement. In a little moment, he reached his hand out and drew a cross in the air in front of the pilots.

Which caused the said pilots, especially the young hawks, stare at him like he just grew a second head.

“Religion is opium to people,” Grasshopper called out firmly, with a hint of amusement.

“Ah, I-I don’t believe in God me self! But… just in case,” the Irishman stammered as his Irish accent sharpened, waving his hand erratically.

“Magenta, tu r’appelle, when you said you hope you don’t have to believe in ghosts?” Destiny smiled cheekily.

“Didn’t you imply we shouldn’t go over those stupid things?” he deadpanned.

The Angel Lead simply shrugged.

Smuglyanka approached Captain Scarlet and asked in a gentle whisper,

“Are they in love?” he nodded towards the Irishman and the Frenchwoman.

“I don’t know…” Scarlet’s voice drifted, sharing the same suspicion as the young pilot. Then, with a hopeful smile, he chirped, “I hope they are.”

With a bright smile, Smuglyanka turned heel and went towards Maestro. The Spectrum officer watched as the squadron talked to their commander.

After a moment, Maestro stepped up and announced with in a grand loud voice,

“Dear Comrade officers and pilots of the Spectrum Organization! We the second ‘Singing’ squadron, invite you all to our base. Our regiment and another regiment will be there as well.”

“What about the power plant?” Ochre asked.

“The power plant will be okay,” the squadron commander gave an ensuring and confident smile, before turning towards the forest.

-0-0-0-

Colonel White was tapping the desk in a slow tempo. Frowning with impatience, watching the clock ticking by.

Lieutenant Green looked over his shoulder. It has been almost an hour since last contact, and there was another an hour and a half left until the Mysterons promised strike.

He had seen the Old Man being tense, but not like this!

Green observed the devices again. All of them pointed towards the Captains and the Angels now in one place.

He wondered and worried if whatever that Scarlet have found in that spot had drove everyone insane. Like moths to a flame.

The young lieutenant was about to reach the comms switch when Colonel White suddenly boomed.

“Now, how on Earth did they get themselves there!?”

Green felt like his soul had almost jumped out of his body.

He quickly calmed himself: focusing on his heartbeat until they reached a balanced tempo, then he spoke in a quiet voice,

“Trouble, sir?”

He almost winced when White stared at him. All he saw was cold fury within those ice blue eyes.

But then, the Old Man, seemingly realizing immediately that Green wasn’t at fault for all of this, calmed down.

He then slowly got up from his desk.

“Lieutenant, where’s Captain Grey and Lieutenant Cobalt?”

“They are at the lounge, sir,”

“Good. Bring them in here. I want them to monitor Cloudbase while I’m gone.”

“Sir?”

“You are coming with me. You’ll act as my navigator,” then Colonel White turned towards the observation tube with a scary frown.

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron - Chapter 4: Scarlet vs Black, part 2

(Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 -p1, Chapter -p2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 -p1…)

Hehehe... I did a bit of whump :3

@uniwolfcorn @teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @yarol2075 @voidparadoxical @llamawrites @river-sam2 @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassastra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

-0-0-0-

Captain Scarlet was sitting on a hill not to far from the camp, keeping a close eye on the Vitaly Power Plant.

Letting the gentle wind blow through his dark hair. The breeze seemingly sounded like a song from the old warm days.

In the moment of peace, a thought about last night’s nightmare brought back doubts about his own existence. What the Mysterons had done to him – making him wonder if he was still human.

He threw a glance behind him, catching a glimpse of Maestro briefing Sergey and others underneath the wings of their planes.

Even though they were shadows of their former lives in the land of the living, if his new friends could retain and preserve the great human qualities beyond the mortal plane, then, they had managed to remove his doubts about himself.

Suddenly, he felt a certain sense of dread. He felt a grim presence near him.

Captain Scarlet leaped from his position when he heard a gun shot!

His foot barely missed a bullet as it zipped into the soil next to him! He turned around at the direction of the sound, to be met with a silhouette of a pale -faced man standing on a hill not to far from him.

Captain Black stared at him with Death in his soulless black eyes.

“You will not escape from us, Captain Scarlet. The Mysterons will have their revenge!” the former Spectrum officer spoke coldly.

Scarlet gritted his teeth as he hissed,

“You darn try…” before giving chase towards the Mysteron Agent.

He dodge-rolled when Black began shooting at him, finding enough distance to pounce and tackle him on the grass.

They rolled down the hill, throwing each other punches and kicks on their way down.

But Captain Black found an upper hand and pinned Scarlet hard into the ground, pulling a gun into his frontal lobe!

“Scarlet! You are a Mysteron yourself! Why you still believe of being among the Earthmen?” the Mysteron Agent grunted through his teeth.

In a split second, Scarlet thought back of Maestro and his regiment, and his friends at Spectrum. And the answer that crossed his mind almost made him smirk at the Mysterons’ apparent ignorance of how humanity was built.

“You can keep faffing all you want, Captain Black!” he huffed at him, “You’ve categorially underestimated the power of the human will!”

The Mysteron threw a deathly stare as his eyes glowed dangerously green.

“How disappointing… Now die, Captain Scarlet…” the deep Mysteron voice that came from Captain Black’s mouth resonated though his ears.

Scarlet squinted angrily at the barrel of the gun pointed in-between his eyes, his hands gripping grass, watching the finger slowly about to pull the trigger.

Two strong hands suddenly grabbed Captain Black’s shoulders, pulling him up with a tremendous force that he was flung some meters away from Scarlet.

“What do you think you’re doing, soukin syn!?” was Sergey’s growl, standing between the downed Spectrum Captain and the Mysteron Agent.

“Out of our way, Earthman!”

Black, without remorse, shot the veteran pilot. Prompting a gasp from Scarlet as he reached out his arm to catch his new friend. But Sergey didn’t move. He stood firmly, unaffected by the bullet. Glaring at the agent with restrained temper.

“Akh tyh gad!” cried an angry voice, immediately followed by Black being tackled by non other than Maestro!

The throwing of punches ensued! With the other pilot going after them to help his friend!

Scarlet watched with awe as he saw the rest of the squadron appearing and rushing to aid their commander.

“Captain Scarlet! Are you alright?” a familiar, young, accented voice called to him, as he suddenly felt arms picking him up and sat him down.

“I’m alright, thanks Romeo,” he smiled at the Uzbek pilot, who appeared next to him.

They watched Captain Black attempting to fight back. Trying to kill the pilots with his gun and other means to kill an ordinary person.

But that only made the pilots, and especially Maestro, angrier. And they hit the Mysteron Agent where it hurts!

Black eventually managed to struggle out of the brawl, limping out like an injured animal with a broken pride.

Seeing the opportunity, Captain Scarlet got up and charged with a battle cry. Throwing himself at the former Spectrum officer, tackling him violently to the ground. The momentum caused them to roll across the hills.

The pilots followed them just a bit, watching as the Spectrum Officer squabbled with the Mysteron Agent.

With enough force, Scarlet threw his enemy away from him.

As he got up, he saw Black staring. Not at him. But at Maestro and his pilots. For the first time, there was fear and confusion in his eyes.

He could tell those emotions didn’t come from Conrad Turner – the poor soul trapped at the hands of the alien race. It was from the Mysterons themselves.

“Who… are you?” he – they – gaped.

Maestro frowned and took one firm step forward.

Immediately, the battered Captain Black sprinted the opposite way. With a limp in his step and holding one bruised arm. As he ran, there was a moment where he laughed – in another voice. Conrad’s voice. Laughing at his captors.

Chills ran down Captain Scarlet’s spine upon hearing that.

“Did you hear that?” he murmured softly.

“Da. Poor fellow…” Maestro replied with melancholy, as he appeared kneeling beside him.

They watched as the former Spectrum officer vanish into thin air. The Mysterons teleported their host elsewhere.

Scarlet and Maestro threw a glance at each other. They shared the same thought: Conrad lived in a tragedy, and both warriors, from different times and views, hoped he would one day find peace.

[hebuiltfive]

This has been SUPER helpful. Thank you so much @riallasheng, @pareidoliaonthemove and @tikatu! The Captain Scarlet story sounds very much like something Paul would get tangled up in and I definitely want to go read that now, and the Trapped Spy story is one that I've already read and loved! I think it was the first one I read. Poor Gordon getting into that spot, though! It did have me sweating for a moment!

You've all given me more than what I had expected and I'm super, super appreciative and grateful for all of it! It's like a whole other world when you add in the comic stories (or at least it becomes a whole lot bigger!) which I guess makes sense, but it's not something you'd immediately think of? Maybe it's just me ahaha. It's like the peripheral vision of what's going on outside the shows, I guess. Extended canon is always fun for that.

The timeline is especially helpful to get an idea of what was going on and when, and with who. I hadn't even thought of Stingray being involved (but again it makes sense when you think about it), now I might have to have a browse through those issues you've mentioned because my interest is piqued. I will definitely be using that link to the comics. You're a lifesaver for that!

But, thank you, thank you, thank you! I can continue plotting this WIP with a little more stability knowing some of the extended canon (or at least where to find it!)

One last quick thank you to @edutainer2022 too for tagging riallasheng. Please stay as safe as possible! :: adds onto the hugs ::

Little bit of a ramble-y request for some knowledge and pointers. Apologies in advance.

A WIP I was working on that was only supposed to mention Bereznik has now changed lanes and now we're apparently deep diving into that world. But sources are apparently limited (probably because it wasn't fully (ever?) delved into during the actual shows so it's glossed over?), and I'm having trouble pinning down exact things, like timelines. Timelines are a big one.

(I'll put the rest under the cut)

So I was wondering if anyone has any kind of timeline/list of events/names of people, literally anything surrounding the whole Bereznik thing (not limited to just Thunderbirds and Lady P because I think Scarlet also had some run-ins, as well as XL5, and probably others? But I might be wrong). Just so I can add it to my very small list of facts so far.

Basically I don't want to have to make things up only to find that explanations are there in canon, I just couldn't find any sources because Google is not my friend.

I've got some of the TV21 comics, but I'm loathed to download every single issue if someone has specific issues with specific storylines etc to direct me to. The Thunderbirds Wikia page mentions 5 stories, which I have downloaded, but I feel like 5 barely scratches the surface.

So any help, or points in the right directions would be helpful. I'm aware there's probably not a lot but like I said, I don't want to be making up stuff that already has an answer somewhere. I'll take the dregs of canon, wherever they might be, so I don't get cross-wired.

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron - Chapter 1: Incoming!

(Prologue, ...)

The adventure begins... ;3

@uniwolfcorn @teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @yarol2075 @etrnlvoid @llamawrites @river-sam2 @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassatra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

-0-0-0-

Colonel White was staring at the map on the giant screen, taking every detail of every location and memorizing the new target point of the Mysterons.

The Vitaly Power Plant sat at the south of a well-known lake in Eastern Europe, making it the most vital energy distributor both in its local and neighboring continents.

He feared its destruction would bring devastating results. And he would rather not have the already desperate Bereznik taking advantage of the carnage either.

“Now, I made it entirely clear that this Power Plant must be protected at all costs,” he began, his rotating desk turned to address his officers, “It is imperative that no threat comes near it, Mysteron or otherwise.”

“Anything come about the ‘dark shadows’, Colonel?” Captain Blue asked.

“Not that we know of, yet” the white-haired commander frowned.

“Colonel White,” Lieutenant Green, the dark-skinned officer who was sitting at the controls, called, “There are rumors about strange noises in a forest nearby. Should we send somebody to check it out?”

The Colonel took a short moment to process the new information. His head shot up and focused on the task at hand.

“Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue?” he called up.

“Yes sir?” the two Captains stood up.

“I’ll wait for your report on this mystery at noon,” White then addressed the other pair, “And Captain Ochre, Captain Magenta, you guard the Vitaly Power Plant. The Angel Squadron will watch over the sky for any areal threat. Understood?”

“S.I.G!”

“Good. Dismissed!”

-0-0-0-

The green ground was barely visible through the thick white clouds. Making the dread felt dire, as the threat of the Mysterons still rang in everyone’s minds.

The Angels escorting the Spectrum Passenger Jet gave a much sense of security. However, knowing the cunning of the alien race, everyone was on high alert of the potential surprise that they were known for.

Magenta and Ochre, who were sitting at the back of the transport plane, look out at the windows with serious, wide eyes. Taking every clump of cloud with suspicion as they pass by.

“’Dark shadows’, they say…” Ochre squinted, “What do you think how big or small those ‘shadows’ would be?”

“My bets on big,” Captain Blue replied, changing glances between the hologram of the map and of the ground below.

Captain Scarlet was at the pilot seat, with Blue as his navigator to find the Vitaly Power Plant. Eyes on the bright blue sky. He slightly smiled when at the Angel Interceptor flying next to him, piloted by Rhapsody Angel.

Part of his mind drifted into some self reflection. The nightmare from this early morning haunted him like the threat of the dark shadows.

He was alone, empty of a soul. A walking zombie that follows only commands. A ghost with no purpose.

Captain Scarlet shivered slightly. And for a moment he questioned if he was alive… or even human…?

He sighed quietly. At least, he got Adam, his sweet Dianne and the others to ease him up from his dark thoughts.

His reverie was abruptly cut off by the terrible sound of the alarm! The console yelling at him.

MISSILE INCOMING!

“Missile!” Captain Scarlet gritted his teeth as he took a sudden bank turn to starboard!

A large missile missed him by a few meters! Exploding somewhere in the sky.

“Holy Saint Mary!” Captain Magenta gripped his seat as he shoved his nose to the glass window in attempt to locate perpetrator.

“Scarlet!” Captain Blue pointed towards the sky, “Look out!”

They all saw a dark shadow, resembling that of a military Fighter Jet. Most likely one of the new modern models.

“Angels! Engage!” ordered Captain Scarlet.

The Spectrum Fighters began flying after the boogie. However, problems began to immerge; the thing was darned to fast! And it had nearly caught the Angels off guard with its unexpected missile strikes.

Luckily, the pilots managed to evade almost all of them. But how long will they last?

Everyone relied on the Angels’ great skill of aviation and dogfighting to deal with such enemies.

But this one seemed cunning and dangerous.

Seeing the grave danger of what everyone was in, Captain Scarlet quickly thought of a plan to save them all.

“Captain Blue, Magenta, Ochre?” he called.

“Yeah?” his three colleagues responded in unison.

“I’m going to eject all of you. Near the Power Plant. I’ll distract it while you land!”

“Paul!” Blue frowned with worry.

“Believe me!” Captain Scarlet gritted his teeth.

He lowered the aircraft. Low enough away from the danger zone, yet high enough for the parachute to deploy safely, close to their designated mission target.

And with that, Scarlet bid good luck to his friends, and pulled the eject lever.

Captain Blue, Captain Magenta, and Captain Ochre were flown out of the SJP. Their seats deployed the parachutes as they fell. Slowly lowering them into the trees below.

Captain Scarlet, with confidence they would land safely, he pulled up to save the Angels.

He managed to fly right close to the Mysteronized Fighter Jet, close enough to get its attention.

The enemy then began chasing after him, shooting automatic shots at his tail.

“Destiny, Rhapsody, Harmony,” he yelled at the comms, “Evade immediately. Evade-!”

At that moment, a missile hit the back of his aircraft, blowing the engine into a blazing inferno. While cockpit and the rest of the fuselage were intact, Captain Scarlet however, got knocked out by the explosion.

<<Paul!>> was a worried cry from one of the Angels.

The now smoking SJP was falling in a nosedive. With the Mysteronized Fighter Jet following it close behind to finish the job.

Scarlet slowly wakes. Seeing the ground through blurry vision. Strong wind was hitting his injured face, making it hard to breath. He reached for the controls.

But his mind was slowly losing grip with reality. And he was about to pass out again…

Suddenly, another shadow flew pass him. The sound of loud whirring shook Scarlet out of his drifting mind!

His nerves immediately took control of the wheel, pulling up the damaged plane. Meanwhile, he looked over window with wide eyes.

The Mysteronized Fighter Jet was chasing a figure in the clouds. Smaller in size. Its colors barely seen; other than the moment a turquoise belly was revealed. And it possessed terrifying maneuvers! Something that Captain Scarlet haven’t seen before.

What it lacked in speed, makes up in incredible agility… and wit.

One moment, the Mysteron Fighter was flying. Then, at the barely audible sound of automatic shots, the Fighter was up in flames!”

The show mesmerised Captain Scarlet. Making him almost forget at the rising smoke coming into the cabin. He pulled up once more, the transport plane just lifting enough to secure an emergency landing.

Down and down, he went! Falling from the heavens and into the green ground below. In his thoughts, he hoped that his colleagues landed safely before he finally crashed.

His conscience drifted on and off from reality. His vision almost blurry, seeing the green grass from the shattered window. Only the breeze of the gentle wind accompanied his hearing.

Then, the same whirring he had heard from the sky moments ago, began adding to chorus of nature. Approaching. Slowly.

Scarlet saw a shadow of a rounded wing cover a part of the greenery, coming to a stop as the whirring slowed down. His mind went blank, then.

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron - Chapter 3: "Singing" Squadron

(Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 -p1, Chapter -p2, ...)

I'm back! >:3 And with my new free time, I finished up this chapter's illustration :3

@uniwolfcorn @teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @yarol2075 @etrnlvoid @llamawrites @river-sam2 @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassastra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

-0-0-0-

“Captain Blue, you certain you saw Captain Black within the area?” Colonel White called from the comms.

“Yes sir,” Blue replied, “We have questioned the staff if they have seen this man or known about the whereabouts of Captain Scarlet. So far, none of them knew.”

Adam sensed Colonel White’s worry by the sound of a barely audible sigh. He sympathised with his commanding officer, to be honest.

After a hard search on the wreckage of the SPJ, he and the other Spectrum officers went to the Vitaly Power Plant. The staff were kind enough with their help with the medical aid and search.

“Is there anything we can do, sir?” he managed to ask, before any second thoughts would panic his brain.

Silence followed. The Colonel was thinking. Then, an order.

“Do what you can to find Captain Scarlet. And make it fast! Remember; the Mysterons will attack the Power Plant around 12 pm.”

“S.I.G!” the mic flipped back into its original position, and Captain Blue turned to his colleagues, “What time is it, Magenta?”

The Irishman took a quick check on his watch.

“Its 7 am right now. Only four hours left,” he replied.

Magenta had just checked in with Destiny, in which she, Rhapsody and Harmony confirmed they haven’t found Scarelt’s trace as of now.

The Irishman had a good knack for leadership, which helped the Angels navigating through the field in the search. He had crossed points of interest on the map, telling them where to go next until there won’t be any place to find their stranded friend.

Ochre, putting his detective skills from his old job into action, shuffled through the pictures of the crashed SPJ.

He drew pictures on how their poor colleague might had been dragged out of the aircraft. Simulating another person breaking the broken glass shield and pulled him out of the burning cabin.

The most baffling part of this mystery was the three skid marks that were found near the SPJ. He could identify as some sort of plane, judging by how the tracks on the grass seemed to fade out some few kilometres away from the crash site.

Upon closer examination, it seemed to be two thin big ones at the front and a very small one at the back. Forming a big backwards triangle if the vehicle was stationary.

One would laugh at this assumption, but he would immediately pull-out evidence in a form of a picture of the exact moment from what wheels lifted off when the plane rose from the ground; two fronts’ wheels first, then the back wheel last.

Ochre could think of many planes, but when he thinks of those with that kind of placement of landing wheels, something doesn’t make sense.

“There’s no way it could be one of those planes, was it? They were long decommissioned and retired,” he shook his head in doubt. He then turned to his field partner, “Magenta? Did you ask the Angles if they saw an object that looks like a small plane?”

“They reported they saw a shadow in the clouds an hour ago, the one that took down the boogie,” the Irishman replied, “And… that’s all we know so far; the object just disappeared before they could identify it.”

Ochre frowned back at the pictures, scratching the back of his head with the back of a pen.

Just then, the Security Chief had arrived at the office the officers were staying at.

“Well, found anything, sir?” Ochre asked.

“Net, ser,” the Security Chief shook his head, speaking with some accent.

Despite their air full of professionalism, the look on the captains’ faces painted a dreadful picture.

“What was he supposed to do during this mission of protecting our power plant?” the man asked with curiosity.

“Captain Scarlet and I were supposed to check on the mysterious noises that had been reported near the plant. We assumed they were connected to the Mysteron threat,” Blue explained.

“Nou, we had rumours going around the area long before that. K state, last night, some of us heard noises that sounded like plane propellers. You know those ones that we used to have?”

“From where?!” Ochre propped up from his chair, eyes wide.

“From that forest, not too far from here!” the Security Chief waved a hand towards the direction of a big glass window, “and that forest got a lot of history behind it!”

The captains all stared through the window. The nature seemed calm and quiet. Only a simple breeze was blowing through their branches…

“Hey, don’t ya have a feeling of ‘something’s there’?” Magenta side-eyed his colleagues.

They shared long glances.

And they all wordlessly shared a similar thought; they thought they saw movement within the trees…

“Something’s bothering you?” the slightly confused Security Chief asked.

Captain Blue turned around and addressed to the man in front of him.

“Sir, can you explain about those rumors you’ve mentioned earlier?”

-0-0-0-

His back leaned against a birch tree, sitting on the soft grass, Captain Scarlet grew used to his odd new company.

The pilots sat in a half circle in front of him, asking basic questions from his equipment to the purpose of the Spectrum Organization. With a dash of jokes, puns, and friendly trolling.

“You’re from England, right?” asked the young man with the bright smile, who went by the name of Victor Shchedronov. Or ‘Smuglyanka’, as everyone fondly called him.

“Yes, I am!”

“Shakespeare, you know?” quipped Alexandrov ‘Grasshopper’- the young pilot with a small dog. He had some slight cockiness in his attitude, but he was mature and respectful. Scarlet thought he got some of those latter manners - and the cheekiness - from his squadron commander.

“Yes, I do know. Learned it a lot during English class.”

Maestro’s wingman and best friend, the old veteran Sergey Skvortzov, gave Grasshopper a gentle clap on the shoulder.

“That’s enough, kid. I think you had annoyed everyone with your Shakespearian citations at this point,” he huffed in amusement.

The young pilot politely pouted.

“I’m sure Shakespeare would love our ‘Romeo’,” he bowed towards a sweet couple modestly sitting next to one of the century-old fighter planes.

Sagdullayev, the young mustached Uzbek pilot, earned his callsign of ‘Romeo’ for his poignant love for Masha.

Captain Scarlet stared at this young lady, almost a girl, shocked by the thought that the uniform and badges that she wears were totally wrong for her. He would really like to see her in a beautiful summer dress and little shoes instead of heavy military boots.

Masha reminded him of the Spectrum Angels. Only she was a real angel.

Although he didn’t know their love story, Scarlet could feel that it was much more tragic than the one written by the great Shakespeare.

He moved his glance at the beautiful woman who was introduced to him as Zoya. She was also watching Masha and Romeo, and her face was illuminated with a warm, almost motherly smile. She looked like Madonna.

She felt his stare, looked back at him, and quietly said,

“To bad they never had children. Masha would’ve been a perfect mother. She’s so kind.”

All Captain Scarlet could say was,

“I’m sorry…”

He lowered his head, swallowed a big lump in his throat before lifting his eyes back at her, asking quietly,

“Do you have kids?”

“Had a son. He died in the shelling,” she whispered.

He listened to his heart dropping like a heavy stone in the lake, as he thought how complicated humans are.

On one hand, there’s people who kill others who they consider ‘not human’, because of a stupid delusion of extreme superiority. In this case, he could almost understand where the Mysterons were coming from.

On the other hand, there are powerful people full of love and compassion. So much so that they could withstand the cruelty and harshness of life and war. Its no wonder, they lived on as an eternal memory.

“Do you have children?” Zoya’s question snapped him from his deep thoughts.

“Not yet, but I do have a lover,” he smiled fondly, a cute faint blush formed on his cheeks, “her name is Rhapsody Angel. A fiery lady, but still a kind and lovely woman I ever met, I’m glad to say.”

“You’re a lucky man,” Zoya smiled proudly, “Despite the horrors of war, there are still people who fall in love. And that is our hope.”

Captain Scarlet slowly turned his eyes towards Maestro, who was watching him with an all knowing, father-like look.

“Do you have kids, Maestro?” he asked.

“I had a daughter and son. And then I had four grandchildren. And then eight great grandchildren!” the squadron commander suddenly let out a soft relieved laugh, “I was lucky that they were alive and well. And keeping the tradition of singing ‘Smuglyanka’ on every 9th of May and on my birthday.”

Scarlet smiled; hope reignited in his heart. He merely nodded in response.

“So… have you thought about marrying your wonderous Rhapsody?”

“Well…” the Spectrum officer could already sense everyone around him slowly beaming at him. He grinned modestly, “We are engaged! However, nobody on Cloudbase knew except for Captain Blue and Symphony Angel. I don’t think even Colonel White knew.”

“Horosho! And don’t worry, your secret is buried with us!” Maestro winked.

“Make sure you bring her flowers!” Vorobyev beamed, the mustached pilot who was sitting in-between the squadron commander, and the timid young pilot, Ivan, who was toasting the Spectrum Captain with a cheese stuffed dumpling.

Captain Scarlet let out a heartfelt chuckle when his Spectrum cap appeared in front of him.

“Here’s your cap,” said softly old Makarych, Maestro’s plane mechanic and good friend, “It was a little broken; the inner wiring got damaged.”

“Thank you very much, Makarych” Scarlet took his hat gratefully and casually placed it on his head.

Suddenly, his epaulets light up in white light, taking the whole squadron’s attention. And a worried commanding voice yelled from the comms.

“Captain Scarlet? Can you hear me?! Captain Scarlet!?”

He was suddenly surrounded by the pilots and regiment staff, who leaned in with curiosity as the mic flipped from the visor to his mouth.

“Colonel White?” Scarlet answered.

“Oh, thank goodness!” was a whispered relief, “Where are you?! Captain Blue had reported that you went missing! And Lieutenant Green had been trying to re-establish contact!”

The Spectrum officer gave Maestro a glance, in which the latter smiled at him.

“I’m perfectly fine, sir! I’m at the edge of the birch forest, East-South from the Vitaly Power Plant,” he managed to report.

He was thankful that his new friends kept a respectful silence. They were all just listened. Any of the younger hawks who decided to make a rustle was immediately shushed by the older veterans.

“Yes. Green had just now had tracked down your location. Now, what on Earth are you doing there?”

After a small moment of silence, Captain Scarlet simply replied.

“I was… investigating the strange sounds, as you’ve ordered.”

“For Pete’s Sake, Scarlet!” was the slight annoyance from his commanding officer, prompting amused – and sympathetic - smiles from the regiment, “Blue, along with Ochre, Magenta, Destiny, Harmony, and Rhapsody had reported that you had been apparently being dragged out from the crashed SPJ and disappeared two hours ago! Furthermore, he also reported that Captain Black has been spotted in the area!”

Scarlet’s heart dropped for a moment. Feeling the same awful dread that he felt whenever the former Spectrum officer was mentioned. He took noticed of Sergey raising an eyebrow at him, in which he pursed his lips and gave him a serious expression.

“I’ll explain later…” he mouthed.

“What was that?” Colonel White seemed to have heard his scuffle.

“Nothing sir!” Scarlet quickly rebutted.

However, he knew his commanding officer was not the kind of man to be fooled very easily. So much so he had already felt White was beginning to raise suspicions about his whereabouts… and his well being.

Captain Scarlet threw another glance at Maestro, this time with apparent worry. The squadron commander simply gestured him not to say anything.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Colonel White’s tone grew impatient and worried.

“Yes sir! I am fine! And I’m alone.” the Spectrum officer responded calmly.

This time, he really felt the Colonel raising an eyebrow. And for the moment, he thought he was going to be put into a mental evaluation once he gets his buttocks dragged back to Cloudbase.

“I’ll call you back later. Just stay where you are,” was a stern order, before cutting off.

After a long silence, Captain Scarlet slowly smiled at the already grinning pilots with an air of innocence.

“I bet he thinks I got brain damage.”

And everyone burst out of laughter.

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron - Chapter 4: Scarlet vs Black, part 1

(Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 -p1, Chapter -p2, Chapter 3, …)

I am back with a new chapter! >:D

@uniwolfcorn @teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @yarol2075 @voidparadoxical @llamawrites @river-sam2 @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassastra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

-0-0-0-

The Angels had landed on the mini airport near the station. Giving their Fighters a much needed refuel.

Destiny, Rhapsody, and Harmony were helping the captains planning how to counter the Mysteronized Jets when they do suddenly appear. And where to start searching for Captain Scarlet.

Rhapsody was obviously the most worried of them all. The British Angel biting the nail of her thumb, while trying to distract herself by focusing, maybe a little too hard, on the mystery at hand.

To think that later, she and Scarlet would go on a date on the Kuril Islands. Adam would bet they would spend a much-needed time in the hot springs and enjoy the sight of the beautiful basalt formations, the black volcanic sand, and the white pumice hills.

Destiny, the French lead squadron pilot, gently calmed her teammate. She too was worried of the situation. But keep a firm mental support among her peers to formulate a plan in case something worse happen.

Harmony had a frown on her round, usually calm and soft Asian face, which told of many promises of a nasty punishment. Everyone knew if she had found the culprit responsible for capturing Scarlet, somebody would become a bloody pulp on the floor.

Not that she would necessarily attack on sight, but it was a well-known fact if said culprit turned out to be a prick.

Speaking of culprit…

“Do you think… the person who took Scarlet might have to do with those rumors?” asked suddenly Rhapsody.

“Huh, I didn’t put it that way…” Captain Ochre rubbed his chin, then raised a brow at the British Angel, “What makes you think these two are connected?”

“If you think about it: the crew of this powerplant mentioned about the recent happenings in the forest nearby. Which they claimed this didn’t happened until last night,” she began, walking around the table as her finger lightly dragged across the map, “Then, the Mysteronized fighter jet we fought early got mysteriously shot down, and Scarlet was taken after the crash.”

“Which means, something - or someone - was in that forest doing the Scooby-Doo levels of weird things,” Ochre concluded.

Rhapsody pursed her lips from laughing, as she nodded.

“Well, let’s not forget the lads here also mentioned about this place once being a great battlefield a century ago,” Magenta pointed out. Though, nobody missed his eyes filled with discomfort.

“Pat, don’t tell me you believe in ghosts?” Harmony smirked with amusement.

“I hope I don’t have to…” he tried to hide a gulp.

“Alor! Are we already going over these stupid things?” Destiny laid her knuckles on her hips, giving everyone a serious stare.

Before anyone could say anything, Captain Blue’s epaulets began flashing white.

Blue took his cap and placed it on his head, letting the mic flip from his cap’s visor to his mouth.

“Colonel White, sir?” he listens in attention.

“Captain Blue. Lieutenant Green and I had managed to locate Captain Scarlet,” his commanding officer replayed the news.

Everyone sighed in relief. Rhapsody especially lay her hand to her heart. In which Adam slightly smiled at her reaction.

“Yes sir! Can you tell us where he is?” he asked, ready to pick up his equipment.

“Now hold on a minute, captain,” the colonel spoke firmly, “There’s something I need to tell you about the supposed condition of Scarlet. During our call, there were moments where he appeared to be acting strangely.”

Everyone shared looks as they began to worry once more. Colonel White continued.

“He claimed he was alright, but one time he seemed to have whispered something… or whispered to someone. There were pauses to some of my questions. And he had also claimed that he was ‘not alone’. Would you go and check on him if he’s mentally stable? I’ll send the coordinates immediately,”

“S.I.G”

Cutting off the comms, and the mic flipped back into place, Blue looked at every officer.

“So, uh… who’s coming with me?” he smirked.

-0-0-0-

Seems oddly calm for a birch forest, thought Captain Blue as he and his group trekked about the outskirts.

“I don’t like this…” Rhapsody muttered. Her eyes were glancing left and right with wary, “This place is giving me the creeps.”

Captain Ochre, who was right behind them, holding the Mysteron Detector in his hands, threw a sharp glance at the darkest parts of the forest. And shivered by the sudden cold of the silly imaginations his mind had conjured up, in which, thanks to his training, immediately suppressed them.

“Fishy… like we’re about to go ‘fish out of water’,” he slightly joked.

The two of them turned around to him, giving him sarcastic raised eyebrows in which he grinned back at them with innocent eyes.

“Looking for your colleague?” a voice echoed from elsewhere.

Everyone sharply turned towards the source of the voice. Standing before the bushes, was a young man holding a dog.

He was pretty tall for a youngster, almost as tall as Captain Blue. But him wearing a perfect copy of the century-old military outfit from the Eastern Front, with the badges and all, made this encounter all the more bizarre!

As far as everyone know, there was no reports of a movie being filmed here.

To not let the young man, wait, or grow wary of them, they step in to play along.

“Yeah, kid. We are looking for our buddy, Captain Scarlet. Did you happen to see him?” Blue finally asked.

“Da! He’s at our camp. Just a few minutes away,” the young man pointed somewhere forward along the edge of the forest.

Meanwhile, Captain Ochre took a shot of the fella with the Mysteron Detector. The Polaroid-like picture was being produced, supposed to show an X-Ray image of the person.

If the person was a human, the picture would appear normal with visible bones. If they were a Mysteron Agent, it would come out as clear full picture of the face. Like they were null to the rays.

The picture of the man came out as none of those things; instead, it showed a big black blob.

Ochre retried again, turning the detector off and on to check if there was a mistake.

The pictures still showed the same results.

The trio threw a glance at each other before turning their eyes back at the young man in front of them.

“Say, what’s your name?” Ochre nodded his head towards him.

“Grasshopper,” the man replied.

“Grasshopper?” Blue raised his eyebrows. While the calmest of the captains held his breath from giggling, his eyes were glittering with mirth.

Rhapsody merely covered her mouth with her hand while Ochre didn’t manage to hold out a laugh, let alone a giggle.

“That’s my callsign…” Grasshopper deadpanned sarcastically.

“Got it!” Blue waved his hand, shaking his head a bit to recompose himself “Well? Are you going to lead us to our colleague?”

The young man threw a hand towards the passage.

“Prashou!” he said with a smile.

[melmac78]

@pareidoliaonthemove … Texas were required to have unique vanity plates, which is why the spelling here. Space was taken.

I’ve seen a few others lately that are honestly even worse than this… and at least one that’ll likely be denied upon renewal due to improper words (they managed to get around it… I don’t know how though).

I’m not however spending the about $150 USD for a vanity plate and unique design plate though, which is that plus the license and registration every year.

Will concede we’re one of the few states who got smart and put both license and registration on one sticker that is put inside your windshield so no one can steal the renewals.

Saw this license plate today and I'm still ugly laughing about it

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron - Chapter 2: Lost and Found, part 1

(Prologue, Chapter 1, ...)

In which our Spectrum heroes are in for a surprise :3

CW: Swearing

@uniwolfcorn @teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @yarol2075 @etrnlvoid @llamawrites @river-sam2 @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassatra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

-0-0-0-

“He fell this way!” Captain Blue pointed towards a direction. Right where a certain river flowed.

He and the other Captains safely landed on solid ground, minding the small drama with poor Ochre being stuck in a tree. After this scuffle, they immediately went on a mission to find their missing comrade.

They knew Scarlet never dies; he was the unfortunate victim of the Mysterons that Fate made him indestructible to fight the alien threat. His retrometabolism; an alien power, gave him the ability to come back from the dead and regenerate fully to his original self.

The one, before that fated car crash…

The hardest part was to retrieve his body, dead or alive. And they were already on their toes to not abandon the power plant they were meant to protect.

The Angels, thankfully unscathed from the whole ordeal, flew above. Searching for the missing aircraft.

<<This is Destiny Angel to Captain Blue,>> called a beautiful, French-accented voice from the comms, <<I have located the crash site of the SPJ. Just 5 kilometers East of the Vitaly Power Plant.>>

“Thanks Destiny! Keep an eye on the skies. We don’t want anymore of those Mysteronized Jets come in.

<<S.I.G! Just… fais attention!>> she warned.

“S.I.G!” Captain Blue smiled, putting his trust on her and her squadron’s expertise in the sky to keep everyone safe from any potential danger.

If there was any team that can do such this job well, it’s the Spectrum Angels.

Soon, he and his team arrived at the scene; the SJP crashed close to a river. Its fuselage tilted to the side, putting its destroyed tail half-submerged into the water. Its engines, while still on fire, was cooling down from the splashes. One of its wings was ripped apart from the body, laying some meters away.

As the team walked closer, they came to a daunting realization.

The cabin was empty.

“Well, shit...” Captain Blue cursed.

Magenta hissed to himself as he and Ochre started searching the crashed aircraft.

They find that the door was tightly jammed, thanks to the angle of the tilt and the lock damaged beyond repair.

However, with the roof of the aircraft blasted open from their ejection, they let Magenta climb in and search the smoking cabin. While Blue and Ochre continued their investigation from the outside.

They quickly made a discovery of something odd about the disappearance of Captain Scarlet.

“There are signs that are pointing that he has been taken,” began Ochre, “Look! Somebody broke the window – well, what’s left of it – and dragged him out of the cockpit.”

Magenta reappeared from within the cabin, peeking from the said broken window with a slightly damaged fire extinguisher in his hand.

“But who took him, Rick? The Angels confirmed they were no other people around the area other than the staff of the Power Plant,” he frowned. He immediately coughed from the smoke and pulled out napkin to cover his mouth.

The ex-World Police officer winced with worry. Just as he turned around to find any clues, he immediately spotted one on the ground. Well, three; in the form three skid marks left on the green grass.

“What the hell?” Ochre raised an eyebrow at the casually placed marks, “This needed to be investigated.”

“Can ya help me get out of here first, mate?” Magenta called out from within the plane, his head poking out of the ejection hatch.

A sigh, and a shaking of his head, his partner pivoted towards him and went to assist.

Captain Blue was staring at the marks on the ground. His eyes followed their direction, right towards the vast green horizon.

He lamented he didn’t came sooner, when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. A figure in the distance. He squinted at it for a moment. Then his eyes widened when he could make out the shape.

“Oh no…” He murmured with worry.

-0-0-0-

Somewhere, up a small hill, Captain Black lay on the grass. He removed his binoculars from his face, his brows frowned over his soulless dark eyes.

At one moment, they flashed an eerie green light.

CAPTAIN BLACK. FIND CAPTAIN SCARLET AND TERMINATE HIM.

“He will not hide from us for long…” the Mysteron Agent muttered as he snuck away. In search of his target.

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron - Prologue

Heya guys! ^^

I have been contemplating about starting posting this since a few days ago, so I decided to start today, first of October >:3

This is special to me, since this is a crossover fanfic of Captain Scarlet, with a childhood film called Only "Old Men" are going to Battle, a touching WW2 film about pilots, scripted and directed by legendary actor Leonid Bykov. His characters and story had stuck with me since I was a kid, gave me a lot of laughs and a lot of tears (Recommend a ton of tissues if you get interested watching it XD), and one of the big inspirations of how I write my stories and characters.

I hope, this will give you a lot of fun reading :) Huge Thank you @uniwolfcorn and @etrnlvoid, and my Mom for the support when I was in doubt when I was writing this project. X3

@teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @yarol2075 @llamawrites @river-sam2 @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassastra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

-0-0-0-

The deed was done, and a squadron of fighter jets of the new generation were burst into flames in their hangers.

While the military airport scrambled and the alarms alerted everyone to evacuate, two green holographic circles eerily traveled across the carnage.

Dark shadows rose from the terrible flames, taking the form of the destroyed fighter jets. And the flew into the dim stars of the night. Towards their designated target miles away.

Unbeknownst to the Mysterons; not too far away from a nuclear power plant, a small wind whistled of danger near the edge of a forest, rustling the leaves like night bells.

As the quiet settled, a new sound echoed from within the thousands of birch trees. A whir grew louder, and louder, and louder, as a big figure emerged from the darkness.

Branches snapped from being crushed by the moving wheels and the grass undulating from the strong spinning of the propeller. A cylinder-like metal body with a slightly squashed nose, and a pair of wide rounded wings, wheeled out into the open.

It halted at the edge of the forest, waiting patiently for its ensemble.

Eight similar mighty winged horses of the sky appeared from the woods, stopping in line as their lead, their whirring matched each other like a chorus.

Now they wait, like birds of prey. Waiting for their new enemy to strike. And their eternal song shall be sung in the sky once more!

-0-0-0-

A sharp gasp! His body jumped off the mattress. And a tumble off the bed before he ended up on the carpeted floor with a big ‘THUMP’!

His brain was barely started processing the blossoming pain on his poor back when he heard someone knocking on his door of his quarters.

“Paul? This is Adam. May I come in?” was an old, acquainted voice from the other side.

After sluggishly getting up to sit on his crumpled bed and wiping away any sweat (and tears) from his face, Captain Scarlet mumbled through his hand.

“Come in…”

Captain Blue came in quietly as soon as the door slid open, wearing a worried expression when he approached with a package under his armpit.

“The usual nightmares, bud?” asked his field partner.

Paul nodded wordlessly. His hand slipped off his tired face and quickly his eyes lit up when he noticed the treat.

“Hey, what’s that under your arm, Big Blue?”

Blue’s face turned from worry to a hopeful grin as he handed the said object to him.

“Oh, just your weekly Care Package,” his friend chirped with a wink.

Scarlet immediately smiled, the thoughts of the nightmares banished right away and the tension from his muscles evaporated the moment he took his new support treat.

“Thanks, Adam. I do really need that.”

But before Captain Scarlet could dig into the goodness inside the box, a terrible deep voice suddenly shook the entirety of Cloudbase, echoing loudly:

THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE MYSTERONS. WE KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR US, EARTHMEN. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LIGHT PERIOD, WE WILL DESTROY THE VITALY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WITH THE DARK SHADOWS OF THE SKY.

The ringing silence followed, leaving the two Spectrum Captains feeling the ominous dread of the message.

“Oh… Gosh darn it…” Was a deadpanned groan from Scarlet.

“Looks like we got to go,” Captain Blue winced.

Captain Scarlet quickly dressed up into his Spectrum uniform and followed his field partner out of his quarters.

He managed to snatch a delicious snack from the care package, planning to eat it whole before arriving at the control center.

What mission does it have in store for the indestructible man of Spectrum?

tbc...

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Captain Scarlet and the Singing Squadron - Chapter 2: Lost and Found, part 2

(Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 -p1, ...)

When the indestructible Captain Scarlet meets with a joyful force!

(Note: this is my most favorite ever part to write! XD)

@uniwolfcorn @teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @etrnlvoid @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @mariashades @room-on-broom @yarol2075 @river-sam2 @llamawrites @coco9728 @hebuiltfive @thalassastra @bassic-ally @pareidoliaonthemove @graverinth

-0-0-0-

Unfamiliar sounds roused Captain Scarlet from his sleep. He met with his body aching, like he had tumbled off a cliff and hit plenty of boulders on the way down.

But his well-trained awareness immediately grabbed his attention to his surroundings…

He was in semi-darkness.

The sounds turned out to be voices. And they were coming from the wooden door not too far from where he was laying down. Speaking in another language.

Laughter echoed loudly through the door, as Scarlet slowly got up from the uncomfortable bed made of wood logs and thin white fabric. He slowly shook his head, only to be greeted with a headache.

Just what the Devil’s going on here? He thought dumbfounded.

Suddenly Captain Scarlet jumped from the bed the moment the wooden door opened. Pulling his gun from its holster at the intruders.

But the sight nearly froze him at the spot when two figures revealed themselves to him.

“What the-!?”

“Whoa, relax comrade! We won’t hurt you,” the first man raised his hands. He seemed older than the dark-haired man who stepped in next to his friend.

“Fella’s in shock,” said the second man, his southern, Georgian accent clearly pronounced as he spoke.

“I don’t blame him. He hasn’t seen us in a long while!” the first man smiled at his buddy.

Captain Scarlet blinked once… twice… thrice. He recognized the uniforms that they were wearing. Century old, green military uniforms, wearing red and gold badges from a long bygone state. Their epaulets indicated the ranks of captains. And he could bet they were pilots.

“Who… are you?” he murmured.

“I’m Vano, Vano Kobakhidze!” introduced the young Georgian man.

“And I’m Alyabyev! Pleased to meet you, comrade!” grinned the older one.

The two of them shook hands with the rather stunned Spectrum officer.

These two seemed too jolly to be Mysteron replicants, right?

“Err… Please to meet you, sir,” Scarlet said with some uncertainty in his voice, “Mind explain what’s this set up?”

“Well, we were warned of the danger coming this way and we came prepared!” Alyabyev explained, “Our commander later rescued you from the enemy and brought you here. So, you’re safe with us!”

The Spectrum officer merely gave them a squint, and a hum.

“Where’s your commander right now? May I speak to him?” Captain Scarlet finally asked.

“Vo,” Vano turned around pointed towards the open door with his thumb, “He’s waiting for you outside.”

The Spectrum officer nodded. He looked around the room in search of his cap, found it laying on an old table underneath a window, which made him realize he was in a bunker, and placed it on his head. He gave another nod towards the two pilots before walking pass them.

Out into the open.

Captain Scarlet found himself within the outskirts of a birch forest, where he could see the bright green fields outside of it.

However, he felt that he wasn’t exactly alone.

He threw glances everywhere for the supposed ‘commander’, hoping at least of something that could ascertain him that his sanity was still intact. Or that he didn’t have some kind of concoction.

“Looking for me, comrade?” spoke a light masculine voice from behind him.

Scarlet immediately turned around. In front of him, was a man.

The man was a head shorter than him, maybe close to his 40’s; his uniform was of a lighter color than the men he had previously met, as if it was bleached under the sun for a while. He was decorated with badges that suggested a rank of a squadron commander, and a one-time hero. An auburn leather jacket was causally placed over his shoulders, and he wore a military cap with a wheat-crowned red star on the eyelets over his curly dark hair.

He had an oval-shaped friendly face, his eyebrows almost faded, and wrinkles were beginning to appear. However, his dark irises were shining with sparkles of a joyful and kind soul.

“Nou? How are you feeling?” the man spoke.

“I… seem alright,” Captain Scarlet shrugged a shoulder.

“Let’s introduce ourselves, shall we?” the man beamed at him, “My name’s Alexei Titarenko; former commanding officer of the second squadron of the Fighter Aircraft Guard Regiment.”

Scarlet nodded slowly.

“And what’s your name, our good guest?” was Alexei’s turn to ask.

“I’m Captain Scarlet, from the Spectrum Organization.”

A collective noise of awe echoed. At this point, the Spectrum officer was beginning to question his own mind.

I think I need to get out of here… fast!

“No real name?” a young voice called. Another man appeared right next to Alexei, obviously a young adult. With a bright face and an even brighter smile.

“We have our reasons to keep our personal information secret. It is our out most importance that we don’t give too much so we don’t become targets,” Captain Scarlet explained.

“Well, then you can just call me ‘Maestro’, for even sake,” the squadron commander nodded with respect.

The Spectrum officer had to restrain a cheeky smile.

“You’re a musician, sir?”

Suddenly, echoes of giggles and chuckles ran throughout the forest, sending slight chills down Scarlet’s spine. Meanwhile, the commander merely grinned in amusement.

“I wish I was. But know that I just do it for hobby,” Maestro replied joyfully.

He then nodded toward Captain Scarlet’s uniform with a sarcastic smirk.

“That’s your camouflage?”

Laughter roared as new pilots, including Vano and Alyabyev, appeared next to their commander, seemingly fading in from the greenery. Meanwhile, Scarlet pursed his lips to prevent himself from laughing. And from feeling tense from this all too peculiar situation.

“Well, sposiba!” he returned the sarcasm, “May as well help me point to where is the Vitaly Power Plant?”

Maestro clapped his arm, encouraging the Spectrum officer to follow him.

As he was led towards the opening, Captain Scarlet saw other similar people appear out of nowhere. Feeling like a whole regiment surrounded him from the buzz of his existence.

He was looking around with awe that he didn’t notice a big metal wing in front of him. Knocking his head as he walked into it!

“Watch out! Those planes are small,” an old mechanic called out.

Scarlet slowly raised his head.

He saw a squadron of World War II fighter planes lined up at the edge of the forest! He took note of the turquoise bellies, the green spotted paint over the rest of the fuselages, the tiny white stars that marked as points and other painted décor on the sides, and the bright red stars decorated their tails and wings. All fueled up and battle ready.

Maestro, after a small chuckle at his misstep, pointed to a direction in the field.

“There it is, North-West from here,” he smiled cheekily.

“Thank you, sir,” the Spectrum officer tipped his hat, and began walking towards his designated mission target.

“Hope you protect it from the Mysterons! We got your back!”

Captain Scarlet walked some meters across the field, feeling a gentle breeze blowing through his dark hair and his face. Then, a thought hit his head. Causing him to freeze mid-step.

Wait a minute!? How did he know about the Mysterons?

He turned his head back.

It felt like the whole forest was watching him. The figures of the pilots almost blending in among the birch trees, sometimes fading in and out from the movements of the leaves. He could see the eyes from within the moving shades. Resembling pairs of red fireflies.

The Spectrum officer could see the planes. But only oh so barely. He couldn’t tell if they were part of the hills or not.

He turned back to the Power Plant. Still standing, peaceful and untouched. Half of his mind was focused on the mission. The other half was the mystery within the forest itself.

“What are you thinking about?” Scarlet flinched at the sudden familiar voice. He turned to his side to be met with Maestro, who appeared right beside him.

“Does anyone are aware that you guys are here?” he asked.

“Ah, no one believes we roam this place as if its our home,” the squadron commander shrugged, “Even the people at the Vitaly Power Plant didn’t notice that we’re here.”

“Did they just… don’t see you?”

“Like a gentle song in the breeze, drouk.”

Captain Scarlet scrutinized Maestro once more. The more he looked, the more the man seemed alive. His dark eyes glimmered like a candle in the darkness. His posture stood like a beacon. And the whole aura around him seemed warm and joyful to be anything but.

“Well, I don’t know about you, ‘Shorty’, but there’s no way I believe in what you’re trying to imply,” he shook his head ruefully, “Are you sure you aren’t a Mysteron replicant?”

Maestro raised a brow at the slight insult of ‘Shorty’. And the Spectrum officer immediately saw mischief shine in his eyes.

Then, the squadron commander slowly lifted himself from the ground! Raising to Scarlet’s eye level with a cheeky smirk plastered all over his face.

Jaw dropped and wide-eyed, Captain Scarlet fell backwards, knocked out cold on the grass!

Laughter echoed as the rest of the regiment circled the silly scene. ‘Pops’, the regiment commander, walked over next to Maestro with a big grin on his old visage.

“Alyosha! I think you scared the poor soul out of him!” he guffawed.

“Ah, don’t worry. He’ll quickly recover!” The Squadron Commander smiled, waving a hand.

[gumnut-logic]

My froggy (top piccy) is still doing the rounds.

One thing I must say I find amusing is how many peeps have thought my art was a photo 🤪

@amphibianaday ::hugs:: I drew this Phantasmal Poison Dart Frog way back in 2012. It has been ‘borrowed’ without my knowledge multiple times, I found it on the front of a book for sale on Amazon, and Dreamstime stock photography is even attempting to sell a copy of it. ::shrugs:: I’ve reached the point of cynical amusement 😁

Many thanks to @pareidoliaonthemove for the heads up and credit 😁

Nutty

(Who should probably draw more piccies)

jelly

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day 651