Thunderbirds Are Go!-Something Worse

 

 

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THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

SOMETHING WORSE

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Thunderbirds is trademarked by ITV Studios. This is for non-profit.

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Martin Janus had heard stories.

At first he didn’t believe them.

It wasn’t possible he thought

He never makes a mistake, he never slips up

Part of him was close to cursing the part of his soul that felt the temptation of elation.

Keep yourself in line, it’s not real. It cannot be true.

“I take it you’ve heard?” a voice interrupted from across the dark recesses of the dimly lit prison corridors.

Janus peered through the bars of his cell to find Colonel Casey of the GDF, the woman who had, with International Rescue, exposed him as a fraudster, greeting him.

“About The Hood?” asked Janus.

“The one and the same” Casey replied, “Somebody finally cut the strings off the Puppet Master. He’s in custody now”

Janus closed his eyes very briefly; to permit that portion of his soul he had been condemning a moment to savour an apology from his conscious rational mind.

“Mr. Janus?” Casey asked, checking to see if he was alright.

“It’s nothing…nothing really, go on” Janus continued.

“I was wondering if now would be a good opportunity to finish the conversation we began a few weeks ago? You need not fear him any longer”

“Anything I can tell you, he surely can. All you need now is my testimony at whatever trial you’re going to stage for him. I’d like that, a chance to play the role of expert witness” Janus replied, opting to lay down on the bed in his cell, raise his hands high above his head, and form a small ‘screen’ with them.

He began to envision his name scrolling along the info box on the main British news channels, and even what he thought the artists’ impression would be like.

“You certainly do crave attention don’t you?” Casey noted.

“Too kind” Janus replied

“I’m afraid you won’t be going anywhere any time soon. When we brought The Hood in, he deliberately let something slip. New information, we’d like to know if you had any idea about it?”

“What new information?” Janus asked.

“He claims he knows what’s coming next, there’s something out there bigger than him, and we need to know what that is”

“Bigger than The Hood? First I’m hearing about it” Janus continued.

“Are you absolutely certain?” Casey asked

“I’ve got nothing to fear or to lose. I say again, all you need now is my wilful testimony, and that’s all you’re going to get” Janus continued.

“If you insist on your day in court, I can arrange that…but let it be known that the GDF will not be permitting The Hood’s trial to go into the public arena. A direct request from International Rescue, they said it would be too…emotionally compromising. I’m sure you can understand that” Casey explained. “Now, get comfortable, your cell mate will be joining you shortly”

“My cell mate?” Janus asked, curious.

“Yes, he’s even interested in seeing you again, as a matter of fact; he could barely disguise his excitement, surprising really considering he is a master of that craft”

Janus gave her a cruel and condemning stare. He knew what she was up to.

He knew what was coming next.

“Let me make this perfectly clear to you Mr. Janus. So long as you, The Hood or anyone who opposes or tries to pull a fast one on the GDF, there will always be something worse than the Hood and whatever is behind him to fear…and that’s me”

Col. Casey slowly walked back into the dimly lit corridors, leaving Martin Janus to curse her name, and to resume cursing his soul all over again for daring to indulge in hope.

For hope was a terrible thing on the scaffold.

Doctor Who-After Image

 

 

DOCTOR WHO:

AFTER IMAGE

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Doctor Who is trademarked by the BBC.

(This is a “Female Doctor” prompt fic requested to me by FF.Net author Bighead98, who wanted me to pattern this Doctor off of Rebecca Mader.  I’m not that good with describing appearances, so I used a Youtube interview she conducted as inspiration in her dialogue)

 

He wasn’t up to it.

The TARDIS could tell.

The soothing hum within the console room levelled off ever so slightly. It had been building ever so steadily to a climax for a good minute or so, wanting to ease The Doctor into what was to come next.

But no, he was being stubborn.

He always was when the end times came.

Whatever had it been this time?

It urged him to answer.

He didn’t have to speak.

He had so little breath left, he could barely whisper.

His hands were numb, clammy, ice cold to the touch.

Even as they glowed as brightly as a sunbeam.

He cast mind back to a day rich in that sort.

The day the impossible faded from his memory.

The day the forgotten companion left him where the buzzards gather.

Leaving behind a simple message. To run, and be a Doctor.

A healer, a wise man. Not a warrior. Never cruel or cowardly.

And he had honoured that.

Even if it had cost him yet another of his lives.

How did it happen this time? His mind was too spent, too traumatized from what had occurred that he could barely recollect the aftermath.

All that seemingly mattered now was anticipation of the after image.

Perhaps it had been a murder.

Perhaps it had been self sacrifice.

Or perhaps it had been a dream.

Yes, perhaps.

They seemed like they were all dreams to him. Each face, each lifetime, some longer than others, yet all over in the blink of an eye.

And in each instance, all was the same.

And yet all too familiar.

The methods, the madness, all too alike, and more alike each day. As if a single stubborn creative mind in the universe had refused to cast itself aside to let another’s vision take root and guide him through an altogether divisive and riskier path.

Perhaps. Yes, perhaps.

The healer, the wise man, had been made a warrior in a time where there was no need for a Doctor.

Perhaps now, in the wake of death, for the sake of the end, and for the needs of a better way, there was now no time for man.

There would always be time for mercy, always be time for life, but as all of life knows, there is always a time to sleep.

He stretched his arms outright; he tilted his head up to the heavens.

Go gently, do not resist.

And don’t sneeze. Sneezing interrupts the flow of all things.

Even something as delicate as magic.

He also chose to smile.

If nothing else, he’d like to remember the smile

The radiant glow of regenerative energy flowed through his hands and stretched upwards across his neck and enveloped his features. The old order collapsed, and a new, more graceful age, figuratively and literally, came to life. The hair grew longer, the body became thinner, the lips became ruby red, the chest expanded.

As the glow slowly dissipated, the radiance in the hair remained. A principle highlight of a stunning body of on display.

The console room warmed up to it already, the temperature mildly increased.

This was a moment to savour.

Both for it.

And now for her.

She examined the body, but more to the point, the outfit.

“Great, a booby t-shirt, I’m already competing with the old darling” she remarked.

A purr came from the TARDIS

“Drink. I need a drink, where DID River misplace the scotch cabinet…scotch? Do I have even like that anymore? Maybe I should hold a referendum…wait…” she stopped, checking her voice, “British accent…faintly, no, mostly, yes definitively mostly…distinctively…ENGLISH. Oh yes, I’m on the winning side again. England all the way. We’re gonna score one more than you”

She gleefully waltzed over to one of the roundels on the wall, opened it up and took out a string of mirrors. Compact and wide. She waited ages to properly glimpse herself in their reflections, she was indeed too busy waiting for the reflections to catch up with her, and they were all maintaining the image of the old coat she had just discarded.

That had happened once before, with the first of her previous life cycle.

“I’ll try not to hold it against you dear” she said, admiring the old face as it slowly transmorphed into her new one.

“Ginger. So many dreams, and this one comes true at last…mind you, I look like I dropped straight out of Cambridge” she said. “Cambridge…they’ve got universities there…oh I don’t fancy that. No, I’d fancy being more of a carnie…have my house on some wheels”

The TARDIS generated a significantly louder hum. Almost in protest.

“Hold it together old thing” she said.

The hum settled.

“Good boy” she said, “And yes, I know you were a woman once, but since we’re fiddling about with genders, you might as well have a go. From the way you let the Cloister room blossom, it’s practically your way of letting your hair grow like a beard anyway…”

Thoughts occurred to her,

“Settling in now…yes, change, not a moment too soon, whether you like it or not, but I feel like you’ve got to remember something important…not crashing, crashing’s too easy, no…I have to remember all the people I used to be. Mix a bit with the old in with the present. Come to think of it, Cambridge Universities have professors…academics….I remember a Dorothy someone; she used to call me ‘Professor’. Always liked that name. Sounded I’d been promoted. I was a chess master then, very good at making myself look like a capable comedian, so busy setting plans and traps, I failed to see those set for me…it’s high time I reminded everyone what I stand for and what I stand against. Injustice, crime, tea getting cold, and bus stations. Loads of bus stations. What do you reckon boy?” she asked of her faithful time/space machine.

The kitten was obliged to purr with another loud hum.

This time it was made in confidence and not irritation.

Whatever the challenge, she would be up for it.

The TARDIS could tell.

 

THE BEGINING OF A WONDERFUL DREAM

 

Sherlock-Potential Season Four Edit Idea

Whenever Sherlock’s fourth series begins properly, I’ve been strongly considering using the final few minutes of The Abominable Bride as the pre-credits sequence for whatever the season four premier proves to be. It’s very easy to play the reinchenback falls confrontation scene in it’s entirety and then cut to the titles just as Sherlock wakes up from his overdose and says “Miss me?”

Thunderbirds Are Go!-An Experiment In Error

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

AN EXPERIMENT IN ERROR

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Thunderbirds are trademarked by ITV Studios. There shall be no profit from this.

This contains spoilers for “Undercover”

 

The crisp glow of the sun pierced through the windows of Tracey Island. It had been a long and taxing night, and it weighed heavily on Scott Tracey’s mind.

The boys were all coming in now. Virgil had been indulging in some off-island recreation, Gordon was left to front the bill after being forced to take a dinner for one when Penelope cancelled their date so she could work on the bungled GDF sting operation to retrieve the Repulsor, and Alan had been in space helping John make adjustments to space suits left in their care by members of the International Space Station after high water content was found in some of the suits.

Scott dismayed at that last bit.

International Rescue. Reduced to being dry-cleaners.

Better that than a group of policemen. Taking matters into their own hands.

Grandma walked up to Scott, offering him some tea.

“This ought to sooth that burdened soul of yours” she said, giving the cup to him.

“Nothing’s been the same these last couple of weeks” Scott admitted, “I shouldn’t be throwing dice with our operation”

“Had that Repulser contraption slipped out of our hands, it’d have led to many more disasters, you did what you did to minimise what you do…isn’t that we’re always fighting for? To hold back the tide?”  Grandma challenged him.

“Holding back the tide is one thing” Scott continued, his grip tightening on the cup handle, staring at the tiniest trace of a reflection in the boiling brown concoction he was drinking from it, “ but then we have people in our care, people in our family, who are all too eager to just dare to ride the waves and don’t care if they drown so long as they prove something” Scott replied, “Last night made me feel like a first-class Frankenstein…daring to defy the laws of our very nature, to change the way we act, and it almost cost Kayo her life, and if that had happened…”

“…But it didn’t Scott. Kayo pulled through, and you recovered the device” Grandma responded

“Kayo got into contact with us afterwards….she says she has to tell us something, something she should have told us a long time ago” Scott revealed, “I knew she’d been keeping something, I should have pressured her more into telling us exactly what…I trusted her enough, hoping she would tell us sooner…so we wouldn’t have to take the risks we did last night, so I wouldn’t be forced to play mad scientist”

Scott suddenly and aggressively threw the cup clear from his grasp, Grandma gasped as it careered through the air, and sighed with relief as it made a gentle l thud on the comfortable sofa.

“Smooth landing” Grandma replied, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. “Clean-up’s going to be a nightmare though, remember when Alan got that blackberry juice all over it when he was nee-high?”

“I could never be that rough with your prize china” Scott said. “Just not in my nature”

“..And maybe now that Kayo’s decided to change and open up to you, maybe now you could afford to go about your ‘experiments’ without any doubt factoring into things” Grandma suggested

“When family is involved, the science is simple: Without trust, there is no firm foundation” Scott replied, and gave his grandmother an encouraging peck on the cheek and walked away.

As Grandma watched him go, she stared out at the warm and beautiful sunset. Despite the inviting glow inviting in the morning, paving the way for what she hoped would be a new day of understanding and togetherness, she couldn’t help but feel a chill that steadily unnerved her.

She knew what Kayo was going to tell them, and she was right to be concerned.

Without family, there was no firm foundation.

But if Kayo was going to tell them the truth about her true family, Grandma pondered to herself what foundations would be built from that revelation, and which would collapse.

Grandma believed that, for Kayo, this would be an experiment that would produce life-changing results.

She silently prayed it would not prove to be an experiment in error.

 

 

Thunderbirds Are Go!-Family Comes First

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

FAMILY COMES FIRST

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Thunderbirds are trademarked by ITV Studios. This is for non-profit.

(This takes place after the episode “Touch and Go”)

 

“Alan Tracey, just when are you ever going to put these on?”  Lectured Grandma as she tossed Alan’s pyjamas tops and bottoms out of his bedroom.

“Well clearly not at peak afternoon hours” Alan quipped as he lay lazily stretched across the sofa.

“And another thing, this bed…” she continued, pointing to the perfect spread before her, “I don’t think you’ve ever slept in it. Oh, you remind me of your father back when he was in college…nothing could get him out of his civvies so late in the evening, he’d stay up all night making charts and taking notes on manned space missions, guzzle down a few cans of soda, and then, poof, he’d just lie all over the bed and wake up at these very hours. Sometimes he’d even stretch so far he’d miss dinner”

“That isn’t such a bad thing to miss where you’re concerned” Alan muttered, although he believed Grandma probably caught that last bit, as she then moved forward on the matter of lunch.

“Just for that, you’re getting one of my patented roast salads” she said, and stormed into the bedroom with her vacuum cleaner to clear up the state Alan had left on the floor.

“I didn’t say anything” Alan protested, but Grandma couldn’t hear his pretentious lies over the sound her cleaner was making.

“Great, that’s one salad I wouldn’t mind tossing” Alan replied, and plastered yesterday’s newspapers over his eyes, trying to doze off the day’s frustrations.

A string of arguments suddenly stirred him into alert and active action, he sprang up from the sofa to pinpoint the cause of the commotion, and found his older brother Scott storming into the lounge area with I.R’s resident shadow operative Kayo not far behind.

“Do you want me present for this guys?” said Alan, sensing now would be the best time to skip

“You stay right there Alan” said Kayo.

“Why? You need a witness to anything? Don’t expect a murder Kayo, it’s just a suspension”

“You can’t suspend me from operations Scott; you know how effective I was in ensuring The Hood didn’t escape with that fuel”

“There’s more to it than that Kayo,  you’re not opening yourself up to me enough about it, instead you turn around and lecture me about changing policies and morals taught to us by our father, what do you think he’d make of your opposition to his concepts?”

“I think he’d adjust” challenged Kayo.

“Let’s not get into theories; I’m dealing with enough of them as it is”

Kayo folded her arms, “And what is that supposed to mean? You’re not back tracking and thinking more about what The Hood had to gain in sparing me are you?”

“I don’t want to think anything courageous about that con man, but he seems to have a great interest in putting your needs above his , at least in this instance” Scott said, “I need to be clear on everything, and you need to be made to be clear on where we stand”

“You need me in my position Scott” replied Kayo, pointing the tip of her middle finger and tapping away at Scott’s chest, “A shadow is every bit a reflection of how we react, and so much good has come out of me being the first to seize an opportunity. Please, Scott, if anything last night proved, it’s that the rules of the game need adjusting”

“Is this what this is to you? A game?” asked Scott, keeping his anger in check with a disciplinary tone in his voice.

“Life is not a game, but we always end up playing ‘Risk’ a lot with it” snapped back Kayo.

Scott folded his arm and shook his head quietly, Kayo looked back at Alan, and Alan quietly took a silent instruction from her and sat down, almost as if he was being taught something that needed him to be attentive.

Scott put his finger on the tip of his mouth, calmly collecting his thoughts, and then finally retorted

“Ok, think of this as a rare instance of me changing my mind. No suspensions from duty, but you need to promise that you will be clear on things with me, otherwise I may just get someone to shadow you”

“I wouldn’t mind the company, two would be twice as good at getting the job done” Kayo replied.

“Ok, enough with being cute, you’re frightening when you get like that” Scott replied, and headed towards the kitchen to prepare a snack for himself.

Kayo twirled around, mimicked a gunshot aim at Scott, and then dropped down on the sofa besides Alan

“That’s what I wanted you to witness. Not a bad turnabout huh?”

“I don’t know….should I be picking a side here?” Alan replied.

Kayo swung her right arm over Alan’s shoulder, “We’re all family here, whichever side you take is always going to be the right one”

“Kayo…about what The Hood did…Scott told me earlier, is there anything you’re not telling us?” Alan asked. He figured if Kayo was to be more open to anyone, it’d be with the person she normally sailed across the star struck heavens with.

Kayo was temporarily silent, but Alan’s trust in her, combined with his spirited innocence, compelled her to confess at least part of what happened on the airship

“The Hood intended to sell the fuel to the under-privileged. I questioned his sincerity about it, but a part of me believed his words to be honest…everything we possess always falls into the hands of another, be it of ill earned gain or through honest trade, for all I know that could have applied here too, but I can’t stop to think about that, because if I do I can’t keep…”

“Playing risk?” Alan said, interrupting her, “You don’t want to stop reacting when you see something because it may not be so clear to you if the right thing is being achieved or not, and that you’d end up feeling like you were more basic in your role. You’re not content being the smaller component”

“Does that make me the right person to have on the side of the angels?” said

“Hey, we’re not those divas in Spectrum” Alan replied

“You know what I mean” Kayo snapped back, elbowing Alan.

“You just told me anyone on the side of this family, divided as we could be on a certain subject, was the right side. You’re not exactly divided in loyalty…are you?”

Kayo’s inner feelings fluttered, she struggled to hold back tension in her voice as she told the most boundless of all the Tracey brothers a bare-faced falsehood.

“No” she said, the quiet corners of her soul, the tiniest portion wanting to confess everything to Alan slowly cursing herself out for the deed committed.

Alan put his hand delicately over her right cheek and stroked it, as he noticed the distinct sadness in her eyes.

“Hey, you don’t need to get glum” he said, “Just remember the road is always paved with intentions, good and bad, you just have to be confidant that you can walk the divine path with your own”

Kayo kissed Alan on the cheek and snuggled up beside him, glancing out at the crisp beautiful and excruciatingly bright afternoon sky, and wondering how many more glimpses of the sun she would see on this island before the brothers Tracey discovered her secret and cast her out.

Would The Hood finally be satisfied with whatever her choices would be then?

Would he prove to be right after all?

Whichever way the world turned, one thing was certain.

Family came first.

Which family is what was tearing her apart

 

 

 

Dangermouse-A Day Reserved For Magic

DANGERMOUSE:

A DAY RESERVED FOR MAGIC

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Dangemouse (2015) and all trademarked characters are property of Fremantle Media and CBBC

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Christmas Day. London.

In the wake of a dicey dance with the cold colossus The Snowman, Penfold and Dangermouse have settled down in their may fare mailbox to share with one another the gift of giving. DM had been a generous spirit all day, being mindful of both the poor and the privileged.

He’d even given Tiny Tim an armed defence crutch. Armed with high explosives to fend off any foreboding foe that attempts to take advantage of a spy when injured.

He just forgot to tell Tim how to disarm the explosives.

Then again, the gift was’nt intended for Tim, but for Penfold.

Penfold, who was all a glow at the realization he had not gotten anything that could bring his enjoyment of Christmas down with a bang and then a bit of whimpering from him as he suffered the aftershock of dealing with a dangerous gift.

As he tried his warm, woollen cotton socks on, Penfold noticed poor Father Christmas struggling with the list of demands given to him by Professor Squawkencluck.

“Say, Santa, don’t be glum, I’ll take that list off your hands and help pay it off if you want” Penfold suggested.

“Ho ho ho, you are a helpful little Elf” said Santa, “If you can pull this off, you may be in line for chief aid”

Penfold clapped his hands wildly at that, only to be kicked in the shin by Santa’s cheif aid.

“Hey, cut that out, the crisis is over” said Penfold.

“You’re not nicking my job in a hurry you merrily mole” replied the irritated elf.

“Hamster” said Penfold, “I’m a hamster”

“Mess with me, and you’ll find I’m no spring chick” she said, nipping at Penfold’s toes with her beak.

Penfold scrambled behind Professor Squawkencluck out of concern for her safety.

“What are you doing behind me you big Jessie?” said Squawkencluck as the elf converged on Penfold

“‘Sick ’em, attack, defend” commanded Penfold.

“What do you think I am? A henpecker?” she said

“Well you’ve got the beak for it” said Penfold

“Oh you know me so well” sarcastically replied Squawkencluck.

“Look are you going to rise to my defence or not?” asked Penfold.

“Well, it is Christmas after all” she said, and began circling the elf, pecking holes in the floor. Swiftly and suddenly, the floor gave way, the elf remained suspended in the air for a fraction of a second for the type of comical effect found abundant in animation, before being pulled down by the laws of gravity.

The Professor dusted off both her hands and gently rubbed her beak.

“Whew, chipping away at the that floor can leave a beak feeling pretty bleak” said Squawkencluck.

Santa handed Penfold her list and then dived down the gaping hole in the floor to collect his elf before she hit the floor.

“Penfold, you’re going to take care of my list?” The Professor observed

“I’m not so secret a Santa am I?” replied Penfold.

“I don’t know…you make yourself to be a lot of things…” the Professor continued

“Really?” asked Penfold

“Sure…a spectacle of yourself, a target of yourself…” she began, until she noticed Penfold’s head, his expression highlighting a look of sure sadness about it.

“Hey, hey don’t be glum, despite making yourself look all those things, you always have the strength to face up to them as well, you’re honest about yourself, even to a frank degree, I’m like that too, though I come across as more cross than you are about those things. I envy how you can bottle that in at the best of times” the Professor continued, her compliments raising a tender smile out of the little agent.

“You’re a real champ Professor”

“Just tell me one thing though…why do you always get me a hair-dryer?” Squawkencluck asked

“Well, I…oh it’s nothing…it’s just…” Penfold began, but nerves began to overtake him.

“It’s got something to do with my appearance. A girl can afford to be flattered you know” the Professor said, urging him on

“It’s…well, yeah it’s kind of that. I always like to picture you with your hair down and you using something we’ve given you to make you look better and brighter every morning, no matter what mood you’re in, which is normally all feisty and ferocious, it’s nice to know that while you’re projecting fear into us, you spend those first few hours every morning bringing out the best in yourself…gives us something to think about”

Sqawkencluck gave Penfold a nod and a reassuring smile, placing one hand over his forehead and stroking cit, losing her eyes briefly as she took all those words in.

“Pr-Professor? You ok?” said Penfold as her hands slowly ruffled through him.

“You know…forget that list Penfold, you can get me the same thing every year” she said.

“Cor, thanks Professor, say, why did you reckon Santa wasn’t real?” asked Penfold.

“I didn’t want to think there was magic in the world…I’m a scientist, I always have to rationalize everything, to let logic take hold over ludicrous realization of fantasy…guess it’s a silly thing to think, especially around a day reserved for magic”

“I’m glad you’ve realized that” Penfold, clutching her hand, “You shouldn’t deprive yourself of the magic, in order for that to come, you have to make time for those moments”

The two stood where they were, transfixed in a precious moment of time, staring lovingly into one another’s gaze, each hoping one would make the move on the other without having to wait for the descent of mistletoe.

The alarms suddenly went off, DM sprang forward to answer the call as Col. K and his brightly lit Christmas jumper disrupted the moment.

“Penfold, Dangermouse, you must scramble immediately, those rouges Greenback, Loocifer, Duckula and the rest are threatening to tarnish the next 24 hours by staging a real boxing match between all of them on Boxing Day, get that group separated ASAP” the Colonel commanded.

“On our way Col.K, come along Penfold, and don’t stop for Christmas punch, we have to halt the literal kind from coming to pass” ordered Dangermouse.

“Heh, don’t want to get punch drunk then” Penfold said nervously to Squwakencluck.

“Another time?” said Squawkencluck

“Another moment in time…I’ll be ready” said Penfold.

“…Ready…to believe” replied Squawkencluck.

Disengaging from their grip on one another’s hands, Penfold and Dangermouse dashed into certain danger.

“Be safe” said Squawkencluck, waving to them as they darted into the Mark IV hovering outside and speeding off into the snowy skyline.