Puppet on a String - 2007

Puppet on a String - 2007

This is a story that I originally wrote in 2004, prior to the "Thunderbirds" movie coming out. Since then my writing skills have improved and I've seen the travesty… ah, I mean movie, so I have updated the story accordingly.

As usual I can not lay a claim to Thunderbirds, or any of the characters or craft (or G.A.), I'm just tying them up in knots for my amusement.

Thanks to Quiller and D.C. for their invaluable advice and proofreading skills.

Please do not make a copy of my story without my permission

F-A-B

Purupuss

Puppet on a String - 2007

John Tracy stood in the middle of all the devastation and looked skywards. He could dimly make out moving shapes and, not for the first time, wondered what was up there in that almost impenetrable blackness.

Philosophising over he surveyed the scene about him.

They'd successfully completed their latest rescue. International Rescue had only to pack their equipment away and then they could leave the local authorities to begin directing the long, hard clean up. As he thought about this, John ran his fingers of his right hand through his blonde hair.

At the same moment he flew up into the air, spun about in an alarming manner, and then came crashing back to earth; seemingly unfazed by this strange event.

"Well, that was graceful." Gordon said laconically. "What was that in aid of?"

"Dunno," John replied, as he tried to lower his hand. "I think someone sneezed." He continued his attempts to extract his fingers from his hair.

"What are you doing, John?" Alan asked. "Stop mucking about and give us a hand."

"I will," John informed him, "as soon as I can move again. I - can't - seem…" each word was punctuated by a tug at his head, "…to…" tug "…be…" tug "…able…" tug, tug "…to - lower - my - arm." He gave an irritated sigh and stopped pulling. "It's no good. I think the strings are tangled."

Scott wandered over from Mobile Control, looking at the air immediately above his younger brother's head as he did so. "Yeah, they are. Try spinning back the other way."

John thought for a moment, trying to remember which way he'd revolved the first time. Coming to a decision he slowly started to turn in a clockwise motion. Initially the plan appeared to be working and, encouraged, he increased the speed and vigour of his rotations, only to realise too late that his limbs were becoming impeded as the strings wound tighter. He stopped; still unable to get his arm into a more comfortable position. "I must be going the wrong way?" He reversed his course.

Intrigued by the inactive knot of brothers, Virgil came over to see what was happening. "Is this some kind of new dance you've invented, John?"

"No, it's not!"

"It's not working either," Alan noted.

"Stand still and let's have a look," Scott directed. He gave a low whistle as he examined the wires stretching above John's head. "You've got yourself into a right tangle."

"Well untangle me!" John was clearly becoming frustrated by his immobility.

"Gordon, stand here." Scott led the redhead to John's side so he could compare the arrangement of strings that ran up into the air from his two brothers' bodies. "Okay, the one from your right ear should go up this way…"

"Instead it goes around the one from his hand and back between the solenoid line and his left leg's string," Alan said.

"I don't need a full description," John snapped. "Just fix me up!"

His four brothers spent the next five minutes trying to untangle him, without tangling their own wires as they worked closely together.

"Move your left arm, John…"

"No don't do that! I've nearly got this knee string sorted…"

"Lift your left leg…"

"Let's untangle this temple wire…"

"Lift your right leg…"

"I can't lift them both, I'll fall over!" John said in exasperation. "And, Virgil! Will you stop humming that infernal song in my ear?"

Virgil stopped working on one of John's head wires. "I thought it was appropriate."

"You know I can't stand 'Puppet on a String'."

"You only say that you don't like it because you know G.A. doesn't like it," Virgil stated. "And, because you know that he also doesn't like you, you're trying to get into his good books."

"No. I just don't like it, period! Hum something else."

Virgil started humming.