Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Happy anniversary! (It's still 21st June somewhere, right?)
On this day exactly One Year Ago I finished Finale, the first of what has become a huge Thunderbirds/Captain Scarlet alternative universe.
Within that year Movements - which I envisioned as a 5-book series - has grown into 22 works by six authors!
I want to give a special shout out to my co-authors who took my initial ending from Finale and ran away with it...
@mariashades @the-original-sineater @womble1 and @tikatu you have all blown me away with how you have plotted and planned and written! A shout-out to AmosAcker, who isn't on Tumblr, but is very much a part of this too.
To celebrate this one-year milestone you can find the latest chapter of Sonata here.
Many, many thanks to all my co-conspirators and all you readers that have inspired us to keep on writing!
The Tragedy of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (Act 5, Scene 2 and Epilogue - Episode 1 in the style of Shakespeare)
This is it, we're here! The very final scene and a special addition in the form of a 'trailer' for the rest of the series (this is, after all, the pilot episode!) Can you spot the reference to (almost) all the episodes of the series?
Thank you for all the reblogs, comments and encouragement. Writing this has been a blast and posting each bit has been one of the highlights of its respective day.
With adoration all to Andersons and Shakespeare both, join me one more (and hopefully, not for the final) time as we ask: what if Century 17, not Century 21, did our hero create?
SCENE II. Cloudbase. The council chamber.
Enter WHITE, GREEN, BLUE, GREY, FAWN, MAGENTA with DESTINY HARMONY, RHAPSODY, MELODY and SYMPHONY Angels
The Tragedy of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (Act 5, Scene 1, writing Episode 1 in the style of 1608, not 1968)
Good morrow all, and be you right advis'd,
More entertainments for thee are devis'd.
Like the Blue/attendant scene, we enter another scene that's but a line and a moment in the episode and with which I've taken enormous liberty. Line flowed into line and became paragraph and, before I knew it, scene.
Destiny and Fawn's identification of Scarlet's body sets up the next scene and yet it raises so many more questions than it answers. Exactly how did Scarlet return to humanity? What are the ramifications of this very clearly (White even emphasises "this Captain Scarlet" in the next scene) second Scarlet now assuming the life of the first? Why is it Destiny that identifies him? (I bet there's a sound, behind the scenes reason to do with VA availability that answers that one!)
Of course, we happily hand wave so much of this with 'it's kids' telly,' but still, given the opportunity to explore what was surely some sort of enormous psychological, physical - maybe even spiritual - struggle against the Mysterons, I couldn't resist.
Certainly my boldest deviation from the script yet but, as ever, with nought but love for Andersons and Shakespeare alike as I ask: what if the latter, not the former, did our hero create?
ACT V
SCENE I. Prospect ruins.
Enter three Mysterons, carrying SCARLET’s body.
First Mysteron
Sightless feel we best appearing,
Second Mysteron
Show we now to aid your hearing.
Third Mysteron
Or belike to grow your fearing.
First Mysteron
Fifty perch full fatal distance,
If as man is your subsistence.
Second Mysteron
But for Mysteron this tumble,
Is indeed a distance humble.
Matter easily reversing,
Spent we eons long rehearsing
Third Mysteron
From this man our gift withdrawn,
Captain Scarlet ne’er reborn.
First Mysteron
Use to us he no more serves,
Second Mysteron
In this our righteous war of nerves.
Third Mysteron
On this stage no more a sayer,
ALL
Now we seek another player.
Body burn and copy vanish.
Scarlet now we do you banish.
Martian secrets we retain,
These must ne’er be mankind's gain.
A cry. SCARLET rises.
SCARLET
This wicked magic is not yet refin’d,
Still much to learn you have of Earthly kind.
Misguided and offensive, I concede,
Was Black's assault upon your home indeed.
But worser still revenge, no compromise,
That we resist, in this find no surprise.
This stagèd traffic now we could reduce,
In cordial agreement of a truce.
Or else if truly ‘tis for war you ask,
Then straight do I now know good Scarlet's task.
Half-Mysteron, half-human, though confirm’d,
My loyalty to Earth is reaffirm’d.
First Mysteron
Will of his is bravely fighting,
Mysteron hold o’erwriting!
Second Mysteron
Though you think that you are risen,
Life in Death your constant prison!
Third Mysteron
Let him not his body waken,
Else our secrets will be taken!
SCARLET
A body Mysteron with human mind,
Is sure a weapon you had not divin’d.
Unto this body I confer my name,
As champion of Earth shall earn my fame.
All
Greatest love from greatest hate,
Away, away! We’ll be avenged.
Exit Mysterons. SCARLET falls upon the ground in sleep.
Enter FAWN - the doctor - and DESTINY above within a whirling engine. They descend.
FAWN
Though Fawn in hue no fawning nature mine,
What shall we find methinks I can divine.
Now Destiny, advise, full horror sight,
Belike we’ll see when find we fall’n knight.
And such a sight not made for maiden fair,
Tis better you returneth to the air.
DESTINY
Good doctor, pray, do hold this chivalrie,
Far bleaker sights doth wingèd pilot raise,
Blood drawn in peaceful study of thy art,
Is equal none to blood ripp’d from man’s heart.
FAWN
Cold Destiny, then look upon our friend,
Deny to me that this your heart doth rend.
DESTINY
Assurèdly this Captain Scarlet is.
SCARLET stirs.
Good Doctor, mark, a breath, a start, there's life!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
You know what? Fuck it I'm adding more context. Sesame Street has talked about the topic of death more than once and it's done with such gentle carefulness without watering down or censoring the heaviness of the situations. It treats heavy subject matter with respect and dignity and has been for DECADES.
From the early 1980s:
To 2025:
Hell, they even cover the devastating heaviness of MASS SHOOTINGS without censoring or watering anything down.
They've been doing this for YEARS, and it's ALWAYS handled with dignity, respect, seriousness, understanding, and love.
Whenever I see people censoring words because it "might offend" someone or the big ad companies that are currently trying to run everything? I just want to say to them: "What? Is Sesame Street too mature for you?" Because really...what the hell are we doing.
Mister Roger's Neighborhood also covered difficult topics with respect, age-appropriately, and without pulling a single punch. It's crazy that we've worked ourselves up so much that we're self-censoring like it's always been the norm.
This clip is from 1968 and discussed assassination after Bobby Kennedy died.
I'm not sure when this clip originally aired, but it was likely sometime in the 1980s. They talk about murder and, incredibly by today's standards, what sort of emotions (anger, fear, loneliness) might drive someone to hurt or kill other people + how we can manage our own difficult or painful feelings.
The Tragedy of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (Act 3, Scene 2 and Act 4)
Anon, from shrift we do return,
Next scene of this did duly earn.
A Sunday double bill today as Scene 2 is super short, but get ready for heartbreak: it's the big showdown atop the London Prospect as, once more and with full respect to authors all, we ask what our belovèd show would be if by Shakespeare, not Andersons, were writ.
SCENE II. Cloudbase.
Enter CHORUS and WHITE with Hovering Engine above.
CHORUS
Entreat we to imagination thine,
Yet more of Spectrum's armoury divine,
An iron engine, hov'ring, whirling free,
Within the clouds where it all things can see.
Exit CHORUS.
WHITE
What ho! Yon whirling engine A-four-two,
To London's Prospect bend your hov'ring course.
Good Angels, A-four-two and Captain Blue:
This Scarlet-breastèd robin nears the gin,
Soon risen full atop this Prospect high,
Then to no refuge may foul Scarlet fly.
Exeunt.
ACT IV.
SCENE I. London Prospect.
Enter CHORUS
CHORUS
Reaching aloft into the London night,
A lofty Prospect, fifty perch in height.
A second Babel for this metal age,
Is now this tragic tale's final stage.
Some storeys fifty near the Heavens call,
To Hell belike doth Scarlet's story fall.
The erstwhile hero now begins to rise,
Beware: the Myst'rons ready a surprise!
Exit CHORUS. Enter PRESIDENT YOUNGER and SCARLET.
PRESIDENT
And art thou brainsick, Scarlet captor mine?
Atop this Prospect no place else to fly.
Wherefore do you not unto Spectrum yield?
Erelong our sands run through time's hourglass?
Enter BLUE, mounted on a Pursuant Engine.
BLUE
Around the spire this Prospect's road doth whirl,
Upon Venetian glass I fix my gaze,
Blue's former friend our leader hath hostag'd,
And liberty of his I must assure.
Pray I, Pursuant Engine, do endure.
Enter Hovering Engine above.
Report, yon hov'ring engine A-four-two,
Your present latitude to Captain Blue.
Hovering Engine
Anon yon Prospect will I intercept,
Do but a moment whirling engine give.
Enter BLACK, above.
BLACK
Dead on Mars the Earthmen reckon'd,
Black to darker purpose beckon'd,
Mysterons did I assail,
In this vi'lence, did I fail.
Mars was where they stopp’d my breath,
Sealed in fate that exceeds death.
Not to Heaven nor to Hell,
Can death my sable soul compel.
Never sleeping, never feasting,
Blackened heart, no longer beating.
Black my name and black my fate,
Testament of Martian hate.
Martians now as humans martial,
Captain Black is tasked to marshall.
Captain Scarlet, ally past,
Fate makes us new-allied fast.
Captain Scarlet, heed my call,
More Mysterons are here withal.
Orders mine now orders yours,
Their design now is your cause.
Whirling engine A-four-two,
Now serveth me and guardeth you.
Captain, captive, both up lift,
Right anon, salvation’s gift.
Change of plan you must now shrive:
We need the President alive!
SCARLET
Orders these will Scarlet follow.
Exit BLACK. Enter DESTINY.
DESTINY
Our quarry doth his land bark now forsake,
The President at sword point doth he take,
To Prospect’s walls doth Scarlet drag his charge,
Brave Blue, dispatch, erelong a horror large!
BLUE
Anon this Blue arrives: green Spectrum is.
High hov’ring, whirling engine A-four-two,
Predicament of ours you know full well.
Anon you do arrive, fiend Scarlet strike,
And mark, the President be sure to miss.
This done our leader safely do uplift,
All this if Captain Blue be not more swift.
Exit BLUE.
Hovering Engine
Uplift our leader, Spectrum now is green!
Enter BLUE with Icarite Wings.
BLUE
In bowels of Engine Pursuant doth find,
A Spectrum Captain miracles yet more.
Shift alchemy and artifice in stance,
And Engine Pursuant lies dormant now.
With purpose, energies are now renewed,
Behold: on wings of Icarus I rise,
Not bird, nor wax, but iron artifice!
Now floating, nearing engine A-four-two,
In prospect Blue’s and Prospect tower’s seen,
I shall my sword put up whil’st you attack,
For you the Prospect doth as mantlet serve,
The fiend you’ll find on occidental wall.
Good A-four-two? My missives heareth you?
Hovering Engine
[Aside]
Lift up, lift up, the President,
For Black, not Blue, is my intent.
Icarus flew near the sun,
Now Captain Blue flies near this gun!
Hovering Engine attacks.
BLUE
Alack! Good Destiny! Foul treachery!
This hov’ring imp with lead saluteth me.
Now friend is foe so foe make friend must I,
Oh friendly foes, oh foesome friends withal!
While Captain Scarlet I do try to reach,
Yon whirling engine silence, I beseech.
DESTINY
Our spectrum green, to red transform’d and what
Was red invert to green, one constant hue,
in man or sky; is thee, good Captain Blue.
BLUE and SCARLET fight. Hovering Engine attacks.
BLUE
Attack! Attack!
DESTINY
Spectrum is Green!
Hovering Engine and DESTINY fight. Hovering Engine falls.
Hovering Engine
As a devil, Angel striking,
This her mark with arrows spiking.
Captain Black, I fail you.
This last act from A-four-two:
Desperation, charge the stanchion,
Sack this Presidential mansion!
Alarum. Exit Hovering Engine. The sound of calamity.
BLUE
No longer fortune favour’d, Scarlet fiend,
Put up thy sword and mercy I’ll show thee.
With icarite wings can I save you both.
Good captain, Scarlet, comrade, old friend, Paul!
PRESIDENT
In reason spoke, put up thy blade, we fall!
BLUE
Enough, tis done. We tarry far too long,
Tis you, or I, thou Martian foul erelong!
They fight. SCARLET falls.
SCARLET
Treachery! By old friend wounded,
Thus this living death's concluded,
Dying once was pain most sick’ning,
Yet once more my blood is thick’ning.
Myst’ron convert die this person?
Or revert to human version?
Pond’ring Heaven, is’t pre-emptive?
But seek I an end redemptive.
Godly can I my fate reckon,
Or belike black hell doth beckon?
Deep the fall from Prospect keeper,
Hell is yet a prospect deeper.
Scarlet goodly life did follow,
Ere becoming Martian hollow.
Or is fate far worse intending,
Life and death o’er me contending?
Why these portent visions call,
I know not why as down I fall.
Alarum. SCARLET dies, falling. Exit BLUE, carrying PRESIDENT YOUNGER
every single person you know has something in their life and past that is probably worth collapsing to the ground in an uncontrollably sobbing heap over, so be nice to each other and tell good jokes
There’s a quote from CS Lewis that I can’t find right now, but it runs something to the effect of “what man, before he has turned forty, could not be the raw materials of all the tragedies of Shakespear?” and this post reminded me of that.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Final chapter time, yay! Was going to post this yesterday but didn't get around to it so it's going up today instead!
Blue is still having a rough time, but Scarlet will help him. Or at least he's determined to even if it takes a bit of effort. This chapter is the longest of the three, but I like how it wraps things up, even if I do worry that chapters with lots of dialogue will get boring 😅
But yeah! Thank you to everyone who's read this very self-indulgent fic. There may be more pony au stuff in the future, for both Scarlet and Thunderbirds, but what that ends up being and when it shows up is yet to be seen. And another big thank you to @/mariashades for their help beta-reading! :D
And that's enough rambling from me, here's the last chapter, enjoy! :D
Ch 1 - Ch 2
AO3 Link
Adam wasn't kept in the sickbay for long, and Fawn discharged him the following afternoon. After that, he mostly kept to himself and stayed in his quarters.
If the circumstances were different, Paul would assume Adam was doing as he was told and resting. But with the way he'd been acting, there was definitely more to it this time.
Paul still had to work his shifts as usual, but Adam's room was next to his, and he found him elsewhere a couple of times as well. He'd take any chance he could to check in. See how Adam was. Try to talk to him. But nothing much changed in the way Adam responded. There was clearly a lot going through his head, his ears constantly pressed back, his thoughts elsewhere.
Usually the joke would be that his head was in the clouds too much, even for a pegasus. That wasn't what was happening now, though.
Over the next couple of days, Paul spoke to the other Captains and to the Angels when he saw them, and he asked if they'd talked to Adam at all. If they knew how he was, or if they'd had more luck getting anything out of him.
Almost everyone's answer was the same. Yes, they'd seen him. They'd tried to talk to him. But he hadn't said much in return.
On the fourth day, Scarlet strolled down to the promenade deck after his shift. Much to his surprise, he found Adam sitting by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the clear blue sky that stretched out endlessly around them.
"Hey, I've been wondering where you were," Paul said as he walked over. Adam's ear flicked back towards the sound, but he otherwise didn't move. "I've been worried about you. We all have," Paul added as he stepped up beside Adam. He waited for a reply, but didn't get one. Adam simply stared out at the sky.
The stallion in front of him now certainly wasn't the same confident, well put together Captain Blue that Paul saw most days. No. Not in the slightest.
He was wearing a faded blue hoodie, the fabric frayed at the elbows. It was old, but comfortable, and Adam only ever seemed to get it out when he wasn't feeling great. His thick fur and blonde mane and tail were slightly ruffled, as if he hadn't bothered to tidy himself up to his usual standards before leaving his room. And his usually bright blue eyes were dull and tired. Paul couldn't help but worry that he hadn't been getting the rest he needed.
The room fell silent as Paul tried to figure out what to do. Or rather, what to say. He and Adam were very alike in that talking about feelings wasn't something they were particularly good at. Trying to prompt the other to talk when something was bothering them was a battle they'd fought many times over the past few years. It had gotten a little easier as they'd gotten to know each other better, but it was still difficult sometimes.
But Paul wasn't the type of pony to give up before he'd even tried. And this was no exception to that.
After all, Adam was his best friend. And he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Adam would do the same for him if the roles were reversed.
Paul let the quiet linger for a little longer. He sat down, placing his cap by his hooves and curling his long tail across the floor towards Adam. A habit, at this point. But maybe a small comfort, too. Though for which of them he wasn't sure.
"Missing the sky already, huh?" Paul asked. Maybe keeping things light would help, instead of jumping straight to the crux of the problem.
Adam sighed deeply and didn't look away from the horizon, but he finally spoke. "Looking at it is all I'm going to be able to do for a while. So I might as well get used to it."
"You'll be back out there before you know it." Paul tapped at the glass with a hoof. "Well, not at this altitude, but you know what I mean."
"Not soon enough. And even then it's not guaranteed."
"Fawn is confident you'll heal just fine," Paul said, trying to be reassuring. If Fawn was happy that everything would be fine, then they had no reason to doubt that.
"I know. And I trust him. But it doesn't stop me worrying. And it doesn't change that-" Adam huffed out another sigh, his gaze dropping down to his hooves. "It doesn't matter. You wouldn't get it." And that was exactly what had been going through Paul's head over the past few days. He didn't get it, not completely, not the same way another pegasus would.
"Maybe not," he said simply. "But I can try." Would that work? He just wanted Adam to talk to him. He couldn't help him if he didn't talk.
Adam didn't reply, so Paul kept trying. "I know that I probably can't understand this sort of thing the way that Brad, or Karen, or any other pegasus can. I've been very aware of that fact. But I can still listen, and be there for you." Adam still didn't say anything, his gaze locked on the clouds drifting far below them. "I don't know what it's like to have wings. But I do know that innate fear of losing something that's such an integral part of who you are." That finally pulled Adam's attention away from the sky, and he looked at Paul, frowning in confusion. Paul lifted a hoof to his horn. "Maybe I don't have to worry about it anymore, since it would probably heal. But a broken horn still scares me."
Adam hummed. "I guess that's not so different." He paused. "Though, I think a broken horn might be... Bloodier. Not that I've seen it happen. But, from what I've heard."
Paul looked at his reflection in the glass, and ran the tip of his hoof up his horn until it reached roughly halfway. "About there, is when a break would get bloody."
Adam blinked. "You just know that, huh?"
Paul put his hoof down and nodded. "The core reaches about halfway up the length of most unicorns horns. So it's not difficult to guess," he explained. Adam still looked confused, so Paul continued. “The core is the soft tissue inside the horn. That being damaged is why if the horn is broken it can bleed a lot. It’s also where our magic manifests, so that’s why an injury like that can permanently damage or destroy a unicorn's magic.” This had turned into an anatomy lesson of sorts, which Scarlet hadn't expected, but Adam nodded a little as he took that information in.
“That makes sense,” Adam said. “Sounds awful too.” Awful was certainly one word for it. An injury like that could devastate a unicorn's life, just as a badly broken wing could do to a pegasus. So, on a basic level, it wasn't that different. Kind of...
“I think that might be an understatement,” Paul said. "We get taught this stuff as foals, though. Well, not the gory parts so much. But how our magic works and that we should be careful of our horns. I doubt it's that different from pegasi being taught how their wings work."
"Yeah, we're taught all of that." Adam turned away from him again. "That's part of the problem."
Paul frowned. "I... don't understand."
"We're taught all of that as foals. How to fly, how our wings work, how our magic works. We're taught some of it before we're even old enough to fly, or at least I was. And that's-" Adam paused and huffed out a breath. "That's the thing. I know all this stuff. I learned it as a colt, and I've gone over it time and time again in training as an adult. I need to know it and remember it because flying is such an important part of who and what I am." He paused and looked at Paul. If he was waiting for a response, Paul didn't know what to say, and after a moment of silence, he kept talking. "I know how my wings work, I know how my magic works. But pegasus magic doesn't work like a unicorn’s, we don't control it directly, it just- happens."
"Yes, I know that. It's the same with earth ponies," Paul said, which was irrelevant even if it was related. Probably wasn't helpful either.
Adam scowled at the space in front of him and scraped his hoof across the floor in frustration, he was struggling to figure out how to word what was going through his head. "But it's still a skill. Any pegasus can stand on a cloud and push it around, but proper weather control is learned. Our magic aids our flight, we wouldn't be able to do half of what we do in the air without it. And the way I fly has trained my magic a certain way."
"Right," Paul nodded. "Where exactly are you going with this?"
Adam grit his teeth and stood up, his ears flicked back as he pawed at the ground again, twice this time. "I have worked so, so hard all my life to get my flight skills to where they are now. I know how my wings work, how my magic works. I know all of that, all the details. So I know everything that can go wrong when there's damage." Okay, now they were getting back to what this was actually about.
Paul stayed sitting down, he didn't want to agitate Adam any further. "And that's why you're scared," he said simply. Maybe if he was blunt about it, Adam would just admit it. That was obviously what had left him so shaken. He knew exactly what problems damage to a pegasus wing could cause, and it frightened him.
"No, I-" Adam started, then he stopped and sighed. "Yes..."
Paul hummed. "And Fawn's reassurance that you'll be fine hasn't helped. He may not be a pegasus himself, but there are pegasi on his team. He knows what he's talking about."
"I know that," Adam said, a little too quickly. "I do. And when he says that the bone should heal fine, I believe him. But that's not what I'm worried about." There was a small pause. "Well, it is. But not just that."
"Then what are you worried about?" Paul asked. He had a feeling that he already knew, but he didn't want to assume.
Adam turned to face Paul and stretched his uninjured wing out, having to shift his hooves as the uneven weight on one side threw him off balance a little. Adam's wings were usually so neat and well preened that right now, with feathers missing and damaged, they looked terribly scruffy. Paul quietly hoped that it was just because of what happened the other day, and not because Adam was so stressed he’d started pulling at his feathers.
"Pegasus magic flows through our wings," Adam said, lifting a hoof to point to his wing. Paul already knew this, but he wasn't about to interrupt. "Just like a unicorn's magic flows through their horn." He pointed to Paul's horn, then set his hoof back down. "If a unicorn breaks their horn, it can damage their magic. Sometimes permanently." Paul nodded at that. "Same applies to pegasi. If our wings are damaged, and that damage disrupts the way our magic flows, then it can be permanent." A small pause as he took a breath. "I've seen it happen, even from relatively minor injuries," he explained. "The wing can be otherwise healthy. But if the magic flow is disrupted, it can affect our flight. And even if it's not permanent, it takes a long time to heal and fix itself."
"How long?"
Adam folded his wing back at his side. "Months. Sometimes more," he said. "I can't- I don't want to deal with being grounded and stuck in physio for that long. It'll be bad enough with just the broken wing."
"Surely there's a way to determine ahead of time if this is going to be a problem. At least then you wouldn't be left guessing and worrying about it," Paul said. There must be something. A gadget or a spell. Anything.
Adam shook his head. "I asked Fawn about it, he said no. Apparently magic can't be mapped like that unless it's active. And pegasus magic isn't active in our wings if they're folded and not being used."
"Ah, yes. That makes sense." Paul probably should have figured that one out on his own.
Then again, in unicorns it was possible to force their magic to spark. It wasn't easy, but by pushing your own energy into another pony it could be done. Could you do the same to a pegasus? Maybe. But even if you could, mapping the way a ponies magic flows was difficult. Even more so if it wasn't active. Paul could track ponies magic, he could identify spell signatures, stuff like that was easy. But following internal networks would require very complex, very precise spell casting that wasn't really his area of expertise. Pat was better at precision, but he probably didn't have the power for a spell of that level.
"So now I'm left waiting, and wondering, and it's stressing me out and I hate it." Adam stomped a back hoof against the ground at that second to last word.
"Stressing isn't going to help though, is it? It isn't going to make any of this go away," Paul said simply as he finally stood up. "You're always telling me not to dwell on the what-ifs. Believe it or not the same does apply to you, as well."
"Yes yes, I know, but that doesn't change things, does it?"
"I don't know, doesn't it?"
"No! No it doesn't!" Adam snapped, his good wing flaring at his side in the way that pegasi always seemed to do when they were angry. His feathers slightly fluffed up like an agitated bird. It was instinctual, make yourself look bigger, just like a bird would. But, honestly, it wasn't so effective with only one wing. "This is my livelihood that could be on the line here, Paul!"
Paul stayed calm. He didn't like doing this, and he knew that Fawn would have his tail for it if he found out, but there was something Adam wasn't saying that Paul was certain he was thinking. And maybe, just maybe, trying to get those words out of him would be beneficial. Even if it meant riling him up a bit to do it.
"That's a worst case scenario and you know it. You have every right to be scared but it's not like you to stress so much over something that's ultimately very unlikely."
"You don't know that! Nopony knows that right now. That's the problem! We went over this."
"Fawn is confident that you'll heal, and all things considered the injury isn't that severe."
"That's easy for you to say."
Paul flicked his ears back at that comment, but let it slide for the moment. Adam wasn't thinking straight. "You're worried about the injury, and the potential aftermath, and that's okay. But from what information we have, you should heal just fine. So why has this whole situation shaken you up so much?"
"Because what good is a pegasus who can't fly, Paul!" And there it was. Plain and simple.
Paul didn't respond, he just let those words linger.
And linger they did. The room fell quiet. Adam held Paul's gaze for maybe fifteen seconds, before he seemed to realize what he'd said, and the anger and frustration in his form fizzled away as quickly as it had come. He stepped back, his eyes dropping to the floor as he pulled his wing closer, but didn't fold it all the way.
Paul waited. Letting Adam process what was undoubtedly running through his head. He'd had a feeling that, despite everything Adam had been saying, the main reason he was so shaken up by all of this was that he doubted his own worth if he couldn't fly. The more he'd talked about how injury could affect how pegasi fly, how it could damage their magic, leave them grounded or struggling whilst they heal, the more it had become clear that there was just a little more to it than the fear of lasting side-effects.
Little more than a minute passed, but it could have been an hour by how long the time stretched out before one of them spoke.
"Are you okay?" Paul asked.
Adam sighed and shook his head. "Not really."
Paul hummed. "Even if the worst did happen, even if you couldn't fly any more, there is still so much good you can do here." He stepped around to Adam's side and tapped the blue jet plane that streaked across his flank. A permanent marker of his pilot skills. "After all, this didn't appear because you can fly fast under your own power."
Adam turned his head as Paul moved, but otherwise stayed still. "I guess."
"There's no guessing about it. The fact that your mark is a plane and not a- a winged lightning bolt, or whatever it is pegasi who fly fast often end up with, is quite literally physical proof of the fact."
Adam huffed a laugh. "Okay, good point."
"I understand why you're scared. But no pegasus is defined solely by their wings. Not even the ones who happen to be skilled fliers," Paul said simply. He stood behind Adam and touched a hoof to his back, prompting him to sit down. Blue light shimmered around his horn as he gently took a hold of Adam's good wing and stepped to the side as he spread it out. He carefully ran his magic through Adam's feathers, looking for any that were out of place or had come loose, and getting rid of bits of dirt that had gotten trapped between them. "You don't know exactly how your recovery will go, because there are things we can't determine ahead of time. But that applies to most injuries. As broken bones go, it's relatively minor, and Fawn is confident that you'll heal. That's what you need to focus on." Hopefully going over this again now that Adam had calmed down would make it sink in properly. "Your feathers are a mess, by the way. Well, by your standards, anyway."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Adam sighed. "Having one wing strapped up has thrown my balance off, which makes preening harder. That, and I'm still bruised and sore and haven't been feeling great, so that hasn't helped either."
Preening could be fiddly at the best of times, even Paul knew that. Adam had clearly tried to tidy his wing up, but there was only so much he could do given the circumstances. There were a couple of gaps between primary and secondary feathers where crashing through those tree branches had torn them out. Other feathers were still in place, but the barbs had been damaged. All of it left Adam's wing looking messy, and would continue to until the damaged feathers fell out and the missing ones grew back.
Paul found a loose feather amongst the coverts and gently pulled it free. "That makes sense," he said, tucking the small pale blue feather behind his ear. “Just as long as you haven’t been pulling at your feathers too.”
Adam grumbled at that, but shook his head. “No, I haven’t. I’d be lying if I said the temptation hadn’t been there. But I haven’t.”
Pegasi, like birds, would sometimes pluck at their own feathers when stressed. It was an odd behaviour that Paul didn’t really understand - though that seemed to be a running theme with him and anything to do with wings lately. But he’d seen Adam, and Brad, and various other pegasi give in to the urge during stressful situations. With how stressed Adam had been, it was a relief to know he hadn’t started doing it.
“That’s good. I don’t think adding that to the pile would help matters.”
“No, probably not,” Adam said. "Is there anything you can do with the other wing?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at Paul and pointing to his injured wing. "Not being able to move it means I can't preen it properly and it's so itchy."
Paul chuckled, very glad that things seemed to have settled back down. "I'll take a look."
"Thank you."
Paul freed another loose feather from Adam's wing before pulling his magic away from it. He tucked the second feather behind his ear with the first, then moved to Adam's other side so that he was closer to his injured wing.
His horn lit up with blue light again, and he focused his attention and his magic into Adam's wing, just as he had with the other one.
With the wing folded, it was harder to find anything that was causing a problem. Paul had helped Adam preen dozens of times at this point, but he had only ever done it with the wings stretched out. The feathers sat differently when folded, and a loose one may not come free as easily. But with his magic running between the feathers, finding bits of dirt and dust and getting rid of them didn't prove too tricky.
Paul was gentle as he worked, not letting his magic sit too long or pull at anything that he wasn't confident would come away easily. He didn't want to cause Adam any pain. And tugging at feathers that weren't ready to come out generally wasn't a good idea, anyway.
After a couple of minutes, another pair of loose feathers and various bits of dust, dirt, and fur removed, Paul let his magic fade away. He wished he could help more, but for now that would have to do.
"Any better?" he asked as he walked around to sit in front of Adam. He still had the little blue and yellow feathers tucked behind his ear, and when Adam saw them he smiled.
"A little, yeah," Adam said. He shifted his wing slightly and winced, regretting it immediately. He huffed a sigh, before bringing his smile back as he met Paul's gaze. "Thanks. Why are my feathers behind your ear, though?" he asked, pointing to them.
Paul shrugged and picked them up with his magic, each feather coated in a shimmer of blue light as he held them in front of himself. "I don't know. Somewhere to put them, I guess," he said, before tucking them back behind his ear. "Do they not suit me?"
Adam laughed. A genuine laugh that after days of not even seeing him smile felt like gold dust. "I don't think blue and yellow are really your colors, pal."
"No? Shame," Paul smiled. His horn glowed as he pulled the little feathers away from his ear and tucked them behind Adam's instead, the blue and blonde blending in with his hair and fur. Adam simply rolled his eyes at him. "Anyway," Paul said as he stood up, scooping up his cap with his magic and putting it back on as he did so. "Have you eaten this afternoon?"
Adam looked slightly surprised by that question, but after a moment he shook his head. "No. I uh, haven't eaten much today, actually."
Usually Paul would have something to say about that, but just this once he didn't comment on it. "Okay. I need to go and get changed. Then I'll meet you in the mess hall and we'll have dinner?"
Adam smiled. "Yeah, alright, sure."
Paul nodded. "Good." He stepped closer and rested a hoof on Adam's shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay, alright?" he said, wanting to make sure Adam knew that. Sure, it might take a little while, and it wasn't guaranteed to be smooth sailing, but he'd get through it.
Adam's smile faded and he glanced down at the floor before focusing on Paul again. "Yeah. I think I might just need to be reminded occasionally, that's all," he said. If nothing else, Paul was glad that he was being honest about it.
"Well that's something we can help you with if need be," Paul said. He moved his hoof away and stepped back. "And if you start to struggle again, please talk to someone. If anypony here knows what you're dealing with right now it's probably Brad. And whilst I don't understand it the same way, I can still listen."
"And knock some sense into me when I start catastrophizing."
"Yes, that too," Paul chuckled. "You do it enough for me, only seems fair to return the favour."
"Very true," Adam smiled.
"Now, I'm going to change out of my uniform, and I'll see you in a few minutes," Paul said as he turned to leave.
"See you in a minute," Adam replied. Paul turned away and started to walk towards the door, but stopped when Adam spoke again. "And... Thank you, Paul."
Paul looked over his shoulder and smiled at Adam. "Anytime, my friend." And with that, he left the promenade deck and made his way to his quarters.
Things were going to be tricky for a while, and Paul knew with utmost certainty that Adam would get restless and complain about being grounded whilst he was in recovery. But if Fawn was confident that everything would heal and he'd be okay, then they should trust him.
Adam's concerns were understandable, though, of course they were. And Paul didn't blame him for them in the slightest. But he knew from experience - and from Adam and pretty much everyone else he worked with telling him multiple times over the past few years - that controlling those concerns was the important part. Otherwise you'd start to spiral, just like Adam had been doing since he got hurt, and that never helped.
Everything would be okay. Yes, Adam would have to deal with everything that came with recovering from a broken bone, from physiotherapy to retraining muscles that had weakened from lack of use during the healing process. He may also have to adapt to changes in his magic, if that particular worry came to anything.
But Paul knew all too well that stallion was far too stubborn to let himself be kept down for long. And, as always, the five Colour Captains were a team, brothers in arms. So until Adam got the all-clear from Fawn, however long that took, the one thing he wouldn't be short on was support and care from his friends.
13. Demolish
(verb)
to do away with completely; put an end to
Wednesday 12 May, 0500hrs New YorkThursday 13 May, 1900 hrs Cloudbase
Kat was fuming as she juggled her bag, a much needed latte in a keep-a-cup, and her coat. Freeing up one hand, she punched her code into the keypad with a little more force than necessary. Last night, the editors had been informed that a legal challenge was being made to stop the second issue of her expose. She was incandescent! How dare that arrogant prick try to sink her report! Legal had taken it down to the microscopic level before it was released, there was no way they could stop the report without having to admit that every single word was true! Jo, her editor, was livid, as was everyone else who'd worked on it. Thankfully upper management had taken this all as a personal insult and an attack on the freedom of the press, otherwise they might have folded at the empty threat of legal action.
Finally getting through the door, she threw her jacket at the coat rack, dumped her bag on her desk and was about to gulp down her latte when there was a polite clearing of a throat.
“Ahem. Ms. Cavernaugh?”
The latte almost went flying at them, but at the last second she recognised two of the three men standing in her office. It was Black Hair and Nordic! However this time the third man with them was not Scott. He was an older man with almost completely white hair, a stern face, and wearing the same ‘doesn't quite sit right’, half-zipped, black windbreaker jacket as the other two.
“Uh, good morning, how can I help you?” she asked, somewhat flustered and putting down her latte because of course she hadn't been about to throw it at them, don’t be silly.
“I believe we can help each other, Ms. Cavernaugh.” The white-haired man came forward, taking a data stick from his jacket pocket. “The expose on Jeff Tracy was very good work, but the situation requires a certain acceleration of events. I believe this,” he handed her the stick, “will meet the threshold for a breaking news story.”
“What is it?” Kat asked, itching to open it up and start digging, but her natural suspicion demanded caution.
“A satellite phone recording and transcript of a conversation between Jeff Tracy and General Sandro Kus of Bereznik High Command,” White Hair explained as he stepped back, “discussing Jeff Tracy’s intention to purchase slave labour.”
Kat felt the blood drain from her face at the same time the pieces clicked into place. The only reason why a higher up in Spectrum, (and from his age and the other two's body language this guy could only be their superior) would be here in New York with information like this would be to arrest Jeff Tracy. But why would they be leaking this to her unless…“...you don't just want to stop him,” she breathed, “you want to destroy him.”
“We do.” White Hair nodded, grim-faced. “Too many people are still infatuated with him and will defend him with their power and influence. This knowledge, once made public, will make him too toxic for anyone with authority to risk associating with him.”
“I'll get right on to this.” Kat promised. “Wait!” She held up a hand as the trio turned to leave. “Scott and the others, are they okay?”
“They’re safe,” Black Hair told her. “That's all we can say. Goodbye, Ms. Cavernaugh.”
“Goodbye.”
Kat watched them go, then reached for her phone and dialled her editor. “Jo? Get to my office yesterday, I've got something you need to see.”
T H U N D E R F A L L
‘Okay, this is looking good,’ Jeff mused as he sipped his second coffee and combed through the notes he was making for the interview that Tobias had arranged as a follow up to yesterday’s presser. That idiot hadn’t been able to secure any credible voices of support yet, but this was something at least. ‘It’s ten fifteen and the interview is at two, I don’t have much time to polish it up, but I can make this work.’
BANG!
Jeff looked up from his notes as Lee burst into the office, the door bouncing off the wall as he charged in.
“Jeff! Ya need to see this!” Lee said as he activated the holoprojector and set it to a news channel.
“...eaking news story, by reporter Kat Cavanaugh on the leaked satellite phone recordings allegedly between Jeff Tracy and General Sandro Kus of Bereznik High Command,” the female presenter was saying. “We have an excerpt to play for you now.”
The picture changed to a blank screen with a transcript scrolling as the audio played, and Jeff felt himself go cold and numb as his own voice rolled out of the speakers.
‘Good morning Kus.’
‘And a good evening to you, my friend. I see from the news that your plans proceed apace.’
‘That they do, Kus, that they do. So, to business?’
‘Indeed, to business. That is one of the things I like about you, Tracy, you never, what is that saying? You never let the grass grow under you.’
‘Heh, no I do not. You don't make money that way.’
‘No, and that is what we are to discuss, is it not?’
‘It is. I know you want top dollar, Kus, but top dollar is only for top product. I don't want the scrapings from the prison camps and the rejects from the army, I want strong, healthy people, seventeen at the youngest, twenty four at the oldest. They'll have plenty of work in ‘em and make plenty of babies. Skilled labour - electricians, plumbers, cooks - get an even better price tag.’
‘So you have said before, my friend. But with my country the way it is, we need those strong, healthy, and skilled young people too.’
‘You say that Kus, but just last week you mourned that your country has so many mouths to feed and so little food.’
‘That I did, that I did, but all the more reason to keep the cream of the crop to ourselves.’
‘You're talking like I'm after all of ‘em.’
‘You wish to buy two thousand, you might as well be! Bereznik is a poor country, my friend, we struggle every day.’
‘So think about how much the money for two thousand healthy young people will relieve that struggle, my friend, and how it'll help you raise the next crop of them.’
The screen cut back to the presenter. “Questions are being raised-”
Jeff slashed his hand through the screen and dialled Tobias.
“Goo-”
“Tobias! Get onto a news site, watch that and figure out how to fix this!” Jeff barked, then cut the call. “Lee, tell the lawyers to BURY that bitch!”
There was a tap on his office door and Jennifer, his PA, hesitantly stuck her head in. “Ah, sir?”
“What!?” Jeff thundered, not caring how he presented himself right now.
“Sir, it's the board, the shareholders have called an emergency meeting.”
“When?” Jeff forcefully took control of his temper. ‘If it's tomorrow or even tonight I have a chance to do damage control, call around and remind folks of what they owe me.’
“Ah, right now, sir.”
T H U N D E R F A L L
Quickly whipping his suit jacket on as he strode over to the boardroom with Lee two steps behind and a step to his right, Jeff reviewed what he was going to say, the arguments he could use, and if necessary the veiled threats he could deploy to get everyone back in line. Tobias was already working on the next press release and plan of attack, and he had the money to hire a legion of the most bloodthirsty lawyers he could find to stop that bitch in her tracks. ‘And if the lawyers don’t work, well, I have more than enough money for other options.’
The polished black double doors of the boardroom were shut, giving him enough time to paste a pleasant and unruffled expression onto his face as he pushed the doors open and confidently strode inside, letting them swing shut behind himself and Lee.
Seeing everyone already assembled he started with a friendly “Now what’s this about…” only to trail off when he saw who was standing at the head of the table with a sheaf of papers.
It was his mother.
Dressed in a dark suit, royal purple blouse, and wearing the pearl necklace and matching earrings that he and his father had picked out for her when she set up her own practice, Doctor Ruth ‘Sally’ Tracy looked every inch a corporate mover and shaker, confidently standing in the place he normally occupied and completely ignoring him as she passed papers to her left and right, plucking them from a folder in her hand.
And to his surprise she wasn’t alone.
Lord Hugh Creighton-Ward and John Svenson were flanking her, the two giants of the world of finance standing behind her in obvious support.
“Ma… what…” Jeff looked around the board room, feeling his fury starting to bubble as not one of the executives, people he’d carefully selected, nurtured and groomed for the positions he’d given them, dared to meet his eye.
“Jefferson.” Ruth Tracy finally deigned to notice him as she put down the now empty folder. “You can send Lee away, he’s not involved in this.” She remained standing, looking at him with an even gaze.
“Like hell!” Jeff spat, incensed at this betrayal from his own mother. “What are you doing?!”
“With everything that’s been happening and how TI share prices have tanked, the majority shareholders,” she indicated herself, Lord Hugh and John Svenson, “have called an emergency meeting and unanimously voted to remove you from the position of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Tracy Industries.”
Hugh looked at him with disdain, as if the mere act of speaking to him was below his station. “Your actions are untenable, and your ‘leadership’ is more than questionable. My only regret is not seeing your true self sooner.”
“I built this company!” Jeff thundered, slamming his hands down on the table with enough force to make the people closest to him jump. “If you think you can just waltz on in and steal my hard work, you’ve got another thing coming!”
“You might have built it, but you were foolish enough to sell it.” That was Svenson, his gloating only barely contained as he turned to the silent collection of executives in suits.
"I'm the majority shareholder!" Jeff shouted.
Svenson raised an eyebrow. "You are, but you only have 35% of the shares. We," he gestured to Ruth and Hugh, "have 52% between the three of us. Which means if we want to call a vote, we will call a vote. With how you’ve mishandled things, I think that the board will agree that Tracy Industries needs new leadership and quickly, someone that the public already knows and trusts, who can hit the ground running and is well versed in managing a multinational corporation. We have the perfect candidate in mind: Scott Tracy. I understand he is not yet available, but Doctor Tracy is more than competent to handle things in the interim, a position she has held before.” He swept his glacier-blue eyes over the group. “Shall we put it to a vote?”
“NO!” Jeff howled and started towards the head of the table, fists clenched and puce-faced, only to stop short when he picked up the muffled sound of several running footsteps a split second before the boardroom doors crashed open.
“Jefferson Grant Tracy!” an authoritative voice barked out, “by order of the World President you are under arrest!”
Jeff stopped and turned, feeling his heart stutter in his chest when he saw who it was.
Charles Gray, wearing the full uniform of Colonel White of Spectrum, was striding into the boardroom like he owned the place, brandishing a piece of paper with a seal at the bottom. And he wasn’t alone. He was at the heart of a swarm of figures in colourful uniforms - which included Captains Scarlet and Blue - who spread out to block off the main entrance and the fire exit in the adjacent wall, cutting off every avenue of escape.
“On what charges!?” Jeff demanded, hastily backpedalling. All around him people were scooting their chairs back or outright getting up and backing away to get out of the crossfire.
“Attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, attempted human trafficking, treason, espionage, and breaching the trade embargo with Bereznik,” Charles informed him, grim faced. “Those are just the ones we currently have evidence for, I am quite confident our investigation will turn up more. Surrender and come quietly.”
Frozen in shock, his empire crumbling like a sandcastle before a tsunami, Jeff stared at his former friend, his mouth open but no words coming out. How did they know? This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen! None of this was supposed to happen! It wasn’t part of his plan!
His hesitation was barely noticed though, as Lee seized the moment to act.
“You lying BASTARD!” Lee roared and flung himself at Colonel White.
In a move so seamless it had to have been practised, Captain Scarlet placed himself between Lee and Charles while Captain Blue lunged forward in a lightning fast intercept, his fist coming up into a strike to the gut that left Lee curled up on the floor in the foetal position and gasping, the air knocked from his lungs.
“Copper, cuff him, we’ll hand him over to the NYPD for attempted assault,” Blue ordered as he knelt and flipped Lee onto his front so he could pull his arms behind his back. “They can hold onto him while we figure out how complicit he is with Jefferson Tracy’s crimes.”
“S.I.G.” A man in an orange-red tunic was already pulling a thin, coiled cable with some sort of clip on it from inside his tunic. “Think he’ll take a plea deal?”
“Only one way to find out,” Captain Blue answered, then looked towards the head of the table. “Is everyone all right?”
“We are,” John Svenson answered for them all. There was a strange expression flickering over his face, but it was gone before Jeff could figure out if he could capitalise on it or not.
“Good.” Captain Blue caught Doctor Tracy’s eye. “Apologies for the disruption, ma’am.”
“Apology accepted,” Ruth nodded to him. “Colonel White, I promise that Tracy Industries will cooperate completely with Spectrum’s investigation.”
“Thank you, Doctor Tracy.” White nodded solemnly to her. “Captain Copper and Lieutenants Flint and Pearl will be remaining here to begin the investigation, starting with Jefferson Tracy’s office and the penthouse suite. Flint, handcuff the suspect, if you please.”
“I’ll have someone show them the way.” Ruth’s eyes met Jeff’s and for a moment he hoped that she wouldn’t betray him, that she’d reconsider, summon security or his lawyers or say something in his defence, he was her only son after all! But in her eyes he only saw disappointment and pity, then she was turning away from him.
“Hands out, sir,” a man in a blue-grey tunic said as he marched up, one of those thin cable cuffs already in his hands.
Jeff was extremely aware of Scarlet and Blue squaring up to assist Flint…and he was equally aware that this time Scott wasn’t around to rein them in.
Outclassed, outgunned, outnumbered and outmanoeuvred, Jeff meekly put out his hands.
The looped cable was placed around his wrists with practised ease, cinched to just before ‘secure’ became ‘tight’, and he was passed into Blue’s custody, his right arm seized with a firm grip.
“Get him up and get him to the local authorities,” White ordered Flint, gesturing at Lee. “Scarlet, Blue, update Cloudbase and get the suspect downstairs. We have work to do.”
As he was hustled away, Jeff heard Svenson start to speak again. “So, ladies and gentlemen, that vote…”
T H U N D E R F A L L
Kat was one of dozens of reporters waiting outside of Tracy Tower, but out of all of them she was in the best spot. She'd gotten her prime location next to the door because she’d known when the breaking news was going to drop. There were looks of respect mixed with envy from her fellows since she was the one to break the story of the century. The arrival of three red Spectrum saloons had silenced the half-tamed pack of press along with the seven stone-faced colour officers that fell into formation around the eighth. Kat's heart missed several beats as the man in white, Colonel White himself, strode past. He was the man that had given her the data stick. No one would ever believe her. Hell, she didn't believe her!
"That was White, Holy Mother of God, that was Colonel White," Hollis Lent said in an awed voice. It took a lot to awe him, he was GN's action man. He covered wars and disasters, not politics. He'd been in town for something else, but the story of Jeff Tracy being a human trafficker was the story of the year, there was no way he’d sit this one out.
Kat nodded. "Arrest warrant?" She glanced away for a moment as two New York City police cars pulled up and four officers got out and hurried in - they weren’t the ones she was waiting for so she ignored them for now.
"It's Spectrum, it can't be anything else, Cavanaugh." He gave her a half smile. "Well done on that expose, by the way. Just the facts and no mudslinging, hard to do."
Kat basked a little from the praise, but only little. She was still airing some of the dirtiest of dirty laundry and it was hurting people that didn't deserve it. She gave herself a shake and turned to her camera drone. A quick reverse to make sure she was broadcast ready, then she took a deep breath and started to report. "Good afternoon viewers, this is Kat Cavanaugh live from outside of Tracy Tower. Just moments ago a contingent of Spectrum officers entered the building. We, as yet, have no word on why they are here…"
Kat doing her job got a bunch of her peers working as well and the air was filled with a dozen people talking. Mostly repeating what everyone knew: Jeff Tracy, THE Jeff Tracy was accused, by his own words, of being a human trafficker with the possibility for worse looming. Spectrum didn't get involved in minor things.
"Someone’s coming out!!"
Kat spun in place, microphone out to catch even the barest hint of a comment, but that comment was not to come. This time the press erupted like a volcano, not that yelling questions would work, the colour officers of Spectrum never answered and the only things the cameras would show were blobs the same colour as the tunics. Kat's heart stopped as she caught sight of the red one escorting Jeff Tracy, that was Black Hair! Just behind him was Nordic! A beat and Colonel White emerged as well, two other officers bracketing him.
The sight of Lee Taylor being escorted out by the police was noted, but the bulk of her attention was on the main story that Spectrum was bringing out.
She’d known that Spectrum had been in on this ever since Scott visited her, but this was proof of it! Proof that she was going to have to sit on for the rest of her life, yes, but that was a small price to pay for getting the story of the year in front of the public. Kat kept the camera trained on the red car that the two captains were escorting Jeff Tracy to. The man was seething, and Kat could only hope that the officers would be far enough away that the camera could capture some of that, it’d make a perfect title card image.
As Jeff Tracy was guided into the car’s back seat, Kat quickly strung some words together as she turned back to the hovercam. “Returning to our breaking story, we’re here at Tracy Tower as none other than Jeff Tracy has been arrested by Spectrum. His long term friend and crewmate Lee Taylor has already been taken away by the New York Police. We are still awaiting confirmation on the charges that Jeff Tracy is facing, but his alleged crimes include suspected human trafficking-”
The Tragedy of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (Episode 1, should Scarlet, Shakespeare scribe, Act 3, Scene 1)
I am both excited and nervous to share today's scene with you as Captain Blue arrives at the aether vendor to requisition a Pursuant Engine.
I already took some small liberties with the Captain Brown/metal detector scene, but here I've turned what essentially amounts to four lines and a few seconds into a massive scene all of its own.
I've always loved the trope - deliberate or accidental - in CSATM that Captain Black and petrol station staff never mix well. The Night Porter scene in Macbeth is also a boogeyman of legend among English teachers and their students for fear it might come up on the exam. Even I'm not sure if the story that it did so one year is actually true. (Edit: it did, but with a different exam board to the one I teach, back in 2019!)
Anyhow, the two intersected, and here we are. I caution, more than at any time before, that my efforts here are but a playful wink to the Andersons and Shakespeare both. In a Captain Scarlet first (and last, I do believe):
Here on this, our stage today,
No aether vendors in harm's way.
ACT III
SCENE I. A countryside aether-vendor.
A sound of an aether-chariot and bell without. Enter an Attendant.
Attendant
Here's a ringing indeed! 'Tis wonder an honest aether-man can sleep at all on nights so cursed. Strange times are these and stranger too my dreams.
A bell.
Methinks when I close my eyes I dream of a man in a customary suit of solemn black. This self same shadow my brothers assails, all goodly aether vendors like myself.
A bell.
Here's one all hoisted to the eaves and pressed to death while lab'ring on a chariot. Belike his music while he toiled was not to this inky-cloak'd spirit's liking.
A bell.
Here's another, 'fill your chariot full?' says he, 'back!' says he, but the self same lightless ghost holds course, anon the aether-man is dead with chariot wheels upon his head. Much good may it have done him to say 'stop! Hold!' withal.
A bell.
A knell, a knell, a knell. 'I go and it is done.' Went it not so? Belike this sable-cloakèd man comes now for me!
A bell.
Anon, anon! I pray you, remember the aether-vendor.
Opens the door.
Enter BLUE.
BLUE
Of goodly Spectrum Captain Blue am I,
Pursuant Engine A-Six-Nine I seek.
Attendant
Mercy, mercy, thou black and midnight shape. Wherefore do you walk from my dreams and on the earth? Live you? Or are you aught that I may question? The aether hath bubbles, as the water has, and I pray that you are of 'em! Hast thou come for me to slay me as thou didst my brothers?
BLUE
Good sir, attendant, fear this Captain not,
Upon my weeds 'twere best to cast your glance,
The hue I bear is day's - not midnight's - skies,
For wayward Black thou hast this Blue mistook.
Attendant
Blue? Not Black? Yet shaped like he. The self same tunic, boots and peak. Is't so, the devil hath a brother now, who comes to finish the deed?
BLUE
This self-same Captain Black is my sworn foe,
We hunt the self-same shadow of your dream.
But come, the hour now hath almost slipp'd.
For yon Pursuant Engine have I come.
Attendant
Tarry a while, blue-coated, gold-haired man. You know as well as I these vexèd days be. A tunic alone I cannot trust. If ye be not of the house o' the devil, show me a seal, a sigil, a token!
BLUE
Good fellow here's gold to purchase your haste.
Attendant
By my troth, 'tis a token whose language I speak well, but nay, good Captain, your warrant, not your purse, I seek.
BLUE
Then mark thou here, good sir, the Colonel's seal.
Attendant
The Colonel's seal and more withal. 'Tis writ plain here a learnèd man in all matters of the Pursuant Engine you be. Now tell me, good Captain, is't the challenge they say? To ride into battle, but backwards with nought but Venetian glass to sight your course?
BLUE
The more 'tis done, most natural it becomes.
A sound without. A waggon opens to a Pursuant Engine.
From self indulgent fluff to self indulgent pain and suffering. Yeahh... I have no idea, this is just what I ended up with when I opened CSP. I guess this is a good guide on how to incapacitate all three pony types though 😬
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
An addendum to Act 1, Scene 3 of The Tragedy of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and something I am absolutely, positively, definitely not doing next.
I've always been somewhat ahead of the scenes I've been publishing.
Only on re-reading the full thing last night did I realise that I'd gone back later and added choruses to describe the Angel Interceptor and SPV, but had not done so for the MSV despite having published the scene already.
If you want to go and see the Chorus in-situ, follow the link at the bottom, otherwise:
SCENE III. New York. A street.
Enter CHORUS
CHORUS
Let painted fancy in the mind take shape,
A Spectrum carriage of assur’d escape,
Against the elements entombèd all,
‘Gainst Fire, water, air and earth withal.
And even that elusive quintessence,
‘Gainst even this the carriage gives defence.
As if by Vulcan made infallible,
‘Tis said that it be indestructible.
Within such waggon Captain Brown doth ride,
With President o’th’orb sat safe beside.
Meanwhile, over in another document:
PROLOGUE. An alleyway.
Darkness and silence. Enter BLUE and SCARLET, pursued by an assassin.
BLUE
Sworn enemies of Earth the Myst’rons be,
Of personage or object they do see,
Ability to copy make exact,
But first the Mysterons must death enact.
Alarum. A skirmish. Assassin falls. A drum.
A man made indestructible by fate,
Doth for Earth's cause, 'gainst Mars, participate,
His deeds upon this stage we now acclaim,
And Captain Scarlet is our hero's name.
Exeunt.
You know, just in case I ever wanted to start writing the script to another episode after the first, not that I'm doing that all. Definitely not right now. Absolutely not.
Exit CHORUS. A bell tower chimeth the quarter hour. Enter MACY and two Corporals of the Watch.
😗🎶
Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. It's where your interests connect you with your
The Tragedy of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (the Andersons à la Bard, Act 2, Scene 2)
Sennight near concluded be,
A happy Friday God give thee.
Let's rejoin the action in my adaptation (loving, and loving alone) of the first episode of the Andersons' Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons but as if Shakespeare, had in fact, written it.
SCENE II. The clouds.
Enter CHORUS.
Within your minds a picture now design,
An iron hawk of Vulcan forge divine,
In but a day full compass of this space,
Can falcon swift as Destiny's embrace,
And nought besides machines of godly race,
No steely eagles faster in this place.
Arrayed with artificèd talons fierce,
An iron dart that could the heavens pierce.
In such as this fair Destiny gives chase,
And angel wing'd the fate of human race.
In greater still a bustard Scarlet flies,
Where Presidential destiny doth lie.
Exit CHORUS. Enter SCARLET and PRESIDENT YOUNGER, pursued by DESTINY.
DESTINY
Full tempest force do we to London fly,
Yet fearsome dispatch now from Cloudbase hails.
Returning Scarlet homeward is my charge,
What portends this I cannot yet divine.
What ho! My captain, tis decree'd, that you
Must homeward set your sail. Good Captain do
You mark my words? My colonel: no reply.
Enter WHITE and GREEN, above.
WHITE
Right sure I am some consequence doth fall,
Upon our Scarlet ally in distrust,
Belike the Mysterons affect our friend,
Grave danger means this to our President.
The English shores they surely now traverse,
With Destiny grave conf'rence must I hold.
Direct with her, Lieutenant, would I speak.
Fair Destiny, now mark me close with care,
A feint upon the Captain's iron bird,
Is yours to make, so goeth my command.
Let fly your cannons, clam'rous but belied,
And mark you this: be sure you miss the mark.
DESTINY
The destiny of iron cannons mine,
This Destiny shall bend to miss the mark.
I mark you, sir. Our Spectrum now is Green.
PRESIDENT
Thou villain, Scarlet, homeward steer our course.
Mark this, the Angels find their mark erelong,
Full well know I your ears their calls attend.
Alarum. Destiny attacks.
Hail Spectrum, I saluteth thee -
SCARLET draws.
Alack, this villain hath unseam'd my chaps!
Alarum. Exeunt SCARLET and PRESIDENT, falling.
DESTINY
Hail Cloudbase, Scarlet doth his wings desert,
I say again the Mysteron hath flown.
WHITE
Brave Destiny, our Spectrum now is Green.
This grounding flight and flight on ground survey.
tangentwithtanner
pixelskylines
prguitarman
origamiaround
vaporwave
