THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

CLIPPED WINGS

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

(Contains spoilers for "Up From The Depths Part One")

Alan had seen his older brother Scott go through a range of emotions this day.

Surprised, proud, reflective, sad, but now something was stirring within his brother that he could not find an apt description for. For this was beyond fury.

The mission had started off so routinely, an underwater survey mission in great jeopardy, Gordon and Virgil dispatched to save the stricken crew, and what they found at the bottom of the depths was something that struck a chord with all of the family's collective souls.

Well, almost all of them.

Alan felt a little guilty, he was too young at the time to understand what the T-21 meant to the rest of his brothers, what it meant to Scott, until he heard Scott talk candidly about the ship being the building blocks that gave International Rescue's infant years so much forward momentum. That it was his dad's pride and joy.

To hear Brains boast of how Jeff managed to get it to work the first time, to hear Scott tell him of how Jeff took those exhilarating steps towards the heavenly limits, only to have his wings clipped by the hand of The Hood, touched Alan's nerves. But none more so than Scott's.

To then see the stakes raised even higher, with Gordon coming under attack from The Mechanic, his craft snaring Thunderbird 4 in its grip, strangling the electronic life out of it, causing everyone on Tracy Island, he included, to endure a tense couple of minutes not knowing whether Gordon would survive the ordeal.

Alan kept a part of his gaze fixated on Scott, watching him react, knowing that when the time came to command a mission the way he could, he would be prepared for it. This was a much needed lesson.

Kayo was there too, she'd spent the whole afternoon with him laughing at his jokes and playfully attempting to grab the last pear in the fruit bowl before Alan could snatch it for himself. She won, but only because he let her.

Even she felt powerless and stricken with a composed sort of panic as Gordon's signal briefly went dead. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he managed to regain contact.

Thunderbird 4's fate, however, was sealed, as The Mechanic managed to clip even its mighty wings, splitting it in half and leaving it a dismembered heap on the ocean bed.

Still, this did not deter Gordon. He was able to secure the TV-21 by manually operating it, using it in place of the broken T-Bird, and bringing everyone to the surface.

So many emotions in one day, and it was only when Scott learned that The Mechanic had managed to interface with their communications system, that he let his composed shell crack.

Alan wondered if he could command the sort of tempered, yet righteous venom Scott spewed forth towards The Mechanic, restraining himself from a curse or a raise in the volume of his ire, all while demonstrating true anger at the ordeal his family had all been put through by The Hood's agent. Alan could not be prouder of how Scott achieved this.

Even as The Mechanic's craft ultimately slipped out of International Rescue's grip, Alan was at least thankful Thunderbird 2 remained aloft in the heavenly limits. Thankful that it's wings had been spared.

Where everyone went from there would be left for another song, another dance.

And like all good dancers, he wished Scott would take a fine lead.