Previously...

Dante climbed into The Gov'ner while Parker got into FAB-1. Once inside, he fired up the car's specially-built and modified 6.7L V12 engine, and he drove out of the school parking lot with Dante following behind him. Everyone watched as the two cars headed off into the countryside.

~*~*~

Soon enough, FAB-1 and Elvira made their way through the open countryside where there was nobody else on the road around them. It was time to get moving.

"Chop, chop, Parker." Lady Penelope called out.

Parker smiled a little, as a red visor deployed from the brim of his hat, while he pushed two buttons. Once they reached a high enough speed, a set of wings deployed from each side of the car, while four of the wheels turned into jet turbines, and the pink luxury car took off into the air.

"Nice!" Braedey said.

"Yeah. We're definitely on our way now." Jasmine replied.

Dante looked up and watched as the pink car took off. He laughed while contacting Parker by radio.

"Pretty impressive, Parker. But you ain't seen nothing yet." He said smugly.

Dante hit a green button on the dashboard labeled Jet Mode. His car turned into an FX 6th Generation Fighter Jet.

Lady Penelope spotted Dante flying next to FAB-1. Braedey and Jasmine's eyes widened with surprise.

"Whoa. Dante's car really does turn into a jet." Jasmine said.

"Yeah. But I also heard him say something about it being able to turn into a boat as well." Braedey replied.

A few minutes later, they were flying above the Pacific Ocean. Dante's radar was picking up a signal from their destination.

"I'm getting a reading on my radar. We must be getting close to Tracy Island." He said through Comms.

"That we are. It isn't much farther now." Lady Penelope replied.

Unknown to her, Dante was smirking as he hit a blue button labelled Boat Mode. Everyone watched as Dante's car transformed into a black ZR48 Corvette Speedboat.

Lady Penelope watched as the boat landed in the water with a splash. Suddenly, Dante called in through Comms.

"Race ya!" He called out.

Parker laughed as he sped after Dante's boat. "So, it's a race you want? Then it's a race you'll get." He said.

Lady Penelope laughed. "I had a hunch that Parker was feeling a little competitive today." She replied.

Dante and Parker raced to the island, both fighting hard for 1st place. Parker suddenly shot past Dante and waved behind him. "See you at the island, Mr. Hasselhoff!" He called out.

But Dante smirked. "You won't be winning for long, buddy." He said smugly, as he rested his finger on a red button labelled Turbo. "Turbo boosting system, engage!"

Dante's boat picked up speed and shot forward like a rocket. Parker watched as Dante blew right past him and approached the island at a much faster rate.

"How'd he do that?" Parker asked.

Braedey laughed. "His car has a turbo boosting system that allows his car to travel up to four times its own top speed. I've seen him use that during a racing event on Velocitron. He really gave Override a run for her money that day. In fact, I think his racing skills made a pretty good impression on her." He answered.

As Dante closed the distance, he hit a black button labelled Land Mode, and The Gov'ner transformed back into a car as it landed on a patch of land that led to the hangar bays. The island was located in a remote sector of the Pacific Ocean - midway between Asia and South America. To the outside world, Tracy Island looks like nothing but an almost-barren rock. But buffering away on this "tiny island" - beyond sight or detection - is some of the most amazing technologies and vehicles in existence... the top secret base of operations for International Rescue.

Built on an extinct volcano, Tracy Island possesses a large number of enormous lava tubes and underground cave systems that provide a natural infrastructure for International Rescue. Cutting-edge technology is in use throughout the villa, including a team of autonomous maintenance robots. A holographic and physical cloaking device enabled the island to create its own cloud cover - rendering it undiscoverable to any observers in the world. Thermal regulation hides the launch of the vehicles, and guards against scans that would show signs of life. Underneath the main house are vast caverns where the Tracy family can stock up on raw materials. They can even mine and refine metal ore from their island to use for experiments. The caverns house the launch silos and hangars of the Thunderbirds. Everything the International Rescue could want is created from the island which is usually done by using a massive fabrication device. There are even 'buildbots' which maintain the island, without the need of other personnel.

Braedey watched with a glint in his eyes while Dante drove into the hangar. "Wow... I wish I could live in a place like that..." Was all he muttered softly, as FAB-1 starts to come in for a landing on the island.

~*~*~

Eventually, FAB-1 landed on the island with Thunderbirds One and Two arriving just after them, and everyone met up at the Tracy Villa, which happened to be the main house on the island.

Jeff was currently making his way to the main room with a strange looking man with blue glasses alongside of him. His name is Professor Ray Hackenbacker, but everybody calls him Brains, since he's the genius of International Rescue.

"I am about to run some post-flight checks, Mr. Tracy. Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" Brains asked to Jeff.

"Brains, I noticed some strange vibrations on Thunderbird Two, followed by some unusual illuminations of the number-two engine out light." Jeff informed to Brains as they walked into the main room.

Brains nodded. "I'll study the flight data in the guidance processor. Hopefully its nothing too serious. Because it sounds like that last mission may have left Thunderbird Two with a few damages."

In the kitchen, Braedey looked over to see Jeff walking up with Brains.
"Mr. Tracy." He smiled, walking up and sharing a hug with Jeff.

"Braedey." Jeff smiled, sharing a hug with Braedy.

Just then, Ken Hackenbacker Norris, Brains' nephew ran up to see Braedey and Jasmine, but no sign of Dante anywhere. Ken is a male teenager of average height with a lean physique, matted down brown hair worn in a medium length with some slight curls and sideburns, and brown eyes. He has on a red shirt covered by a black jacket with grey lining, black pants and brown shoes.

(A/N: Ken belongs to RickyArgueta60)

Jeff looks at Braedey. "Let's look at you." He looks Braedey over before noticing the elder Tracys. "Oh man, uh-oh, look out." He said, just as Scott, Virgil, and Gordon come over to Braedey.

"Hey, kiddo." Virgil ruffles Braedey's hair, much to the brunette laughing.

But then everybody looked around. Dante was nowhere in sight. "Hey, has anybody seen Dante anywhere?" Scott asked.

"Yes. The last place I've seen him was in the hangar bay." A female voice answered.

Everyone looked over to see a beautiful French lady walking into the kitchen. Her name is Clementine Rochefort. She had sun-tanned skin, blue eyes, and brown hair that stretched to the center of her back. Clementine had on a black bikini top, gold bracelets, dark denim jeans with a brown belt, and black high-heeled boots.

"What's Dante doing in the hangar bay?" Braedey asked. He was surprised that Dante was in the hangar bay. The blonde normally came into the kitchen as soon as they arrived on the island.

Clementine sighed. "He's practicing his martial arts in the gym down there. I don't know what it is, but something seems to be bothering him. However, I think saying that Dante is upset would be an understatement. For whatever reason, he is absolutely furious. I want to help Dante but as soon as I tried to talk to him, he just glared at me."

"In that case, Dante must be very angry. He's usually happy to see you." Jasmine said.

"Yeah. This may seem strange Clementine, but Dante actually loves you. But since he doesn't know how you'd take the revelation, he keeps those feelings to himself. Thus, he wants to go out with you, but he refuses to even ask since he doesn't know how you'd react." Ken added in.

Clementine suddenly felt her blood run cold. Dante has been in love with her all this time, and yet he never admits it since he doesn't want to offend her.

"This might come as a shock to y'all, but the feeling is mutual. I love Dante as well. But I never admitted my feelings for him since I didn't know how he'd respond to them. Nevertheless, I'm gonna go and at least try to talk to him again." She said.

"Good idea. And I would strongly advise letting Dante know that you reciprocated his feelings for you. I am not one-hundred percent certain, but I believe that Dante might calm down if he finds out that you love him. Because even though he refuses to admit it, no one means more to him than you do." Braedey replied.

Everyone looked at him in shock. They couldn't believe that he knew about Dante's feelings for Clementine and yet he never told them.

"How do you know that?" Clementine asked.

"Braedey sighed sadly. "Because his heart was broken before Christmas Break last year. He was dating another lady who cheated on Dante with his cousin, Kenshiro, before dumping him. And what's even more ironic is that this particular girl was Delphine."

All of a sudden, Clementine's eyes narrowed when she heard that name. Delphine is Clementine's twin sister whom Clementine hates with a burning passion. Delphine always loved to break people's hearts and bully them relentlessly while Clementine herself had a heart of gold and loves everyone around her. "You mean to tell me that Dante's heart was crushed by MY SISTER?" She asked angrily.

Jasmine nodded. "Yes, Clem. I'm afraid so. She showed no signs of remorse when she did it. Delphine actually laughed at Dante that day. She even went as far as calling him ugly. But the worst part of it was that Delphine said you would never love him because he was a weak and pathetic loser. The entire school ended up laughing at him, except for Braedey and I. Ever since that fateful day, Dante was no longer the warm hearted person we used to know. Nowadays, he is dark, brooding, and his now closed off heart is colder than ice. But one day, Jasmine and I stumbled upon his diary when we left class one day. He had forgotten to pack it into his backpack, so we went to return it. But along the way, Braedey and I read a page in Dante's diary that revealed the truth: Even while he was dating Delphine against his will, he loves you more than he's ever loved any other person in the world and therefore wanted nothing more than to be with you."

"Jasmine and I were able to help him open up, but it wasn't enough to repair the damage that your sister had done. The only one who can warm Dante's heart back up, is you." Braedey replied.

Clementine ran back to the hangar bay without so much as a backwards glance. Now that she knows the reason behind Dante's anger, nothing was going to stop her from helping him.

Meanwhile, Dante was indeed in the gym where Clementine said he would be. When she arrived, there was a mess of training robots that have been destroyed alongside of the unmistakable sound of high pitched battle cries. And right now, Dante was fighting the last robot standing. The training robots were humanoid in design, but holographic technology allows them to take on the form of anyone they wanted. The destroyed robots had taken the forms of all of the students who bullied Dante in school, and the last one standing had taken the form of a French lady with pale skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair which stretched to the center of her back. She had on a black bikini top, golden bracelets, dark denim jeans with a brown belt around her waist, and red high-heels.

The lady in question was Clementine's sister who also happened to be Dante's most hated enemy: Delphine Rochefort. Dante glared at the robot who looked exactly like Delphine since he programmed the robots to take the forms of those who hurt him in the past, including Delphine herself. The robotic version of Delphine smirked at Dante who had already gotten into a stance and was ready to fight.

"Ma sœur n'aimera jamais un perdant pathétique comme toi." The robot said. But Dante's eyes only narrowed further. (Translation from French: My sister will never love a pathetic loser like you.)

"Mā, hontōni? Omae no sadame wa ore ga kimeru." Dante replied, as he removed his shirt and threw it down with tremendous force. (Translation from Japanese: Oh really? I will decide your fate.)

Delphine did not like what she was seeing. Dante was displaying higher levels of confidence than expected. He was supposed to break and kneel before her. But here he was: standing firm and refusing to bend to her will. She rushed forward and tried to slap Dante, but he blocked the attack with his left wrist and countered with a Haymaker. "WATAAAAAA!" While Delphine was stunned, Dante sent her flying with a powerful Side Kick. "WHAAAAAAAA!"

Delphine struggled to get up. Dante now seemed even stronger than she imagined. The blow from that Side Kick had done massive damage, and she was hurt badly. But just as Delphine managed to get back on her feet, Dante hits her in the head with a swift and powerful Roundhouse Kick. "AAAAAATCHAAAAAA!!!!!!"

Dante's kick was packed with enough force to knock the robot's head off while the former stared at his fallen enemy. "Who's the loser now, biotch?"

Clementine walked up to Dante, hoping to have a conversation with him. But the blonde suddenly whirled around and got into his stance.

Clementine flinched when Dante spun around and prepared for a fight. While she was a black belt in Taekwondo, Clementine knew that she had no chance of victory against Dante who is a master of Jeet Kune Do. "Dante, wait. I didn't come here for a fight. Please, I'm here to talk."

As soon as Clementine said this, Dante began to slowly but surely calm down while Clementine cautiously approached him. Dante didn't move. He allowed her to walk up and lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Dante, I know you're mad. But please, hear me out. I know what's been bothering you, Braedey and Jasmine told me. My sister had broken your heart last year, and humiliated you that day. Alongside of that, there still seems to be some other students who continue to bully you, while the rest appear to have started to respect you." Clementine said.

Dante nodded. "Yes. That is true. A majority of the other students at school have been showing me respect lately. But there are still a few smart mouths out there. And yes, your sister is one of them."

Clementine looked into Dante's eyes and the two stared at each other for a while. But then, Dante broke the silence.

"Clementine, I have a confession to make. I have been keeping this information from you all this time, and it isn't fair to you. But the truth is, I have been in love with you ever since we first met. But your sister manipulated me into going out with her. I'll admit, my relationship with Delphine was nice and all, but I knew that she was lying about loving me all along. Even while I was with her, my heart truly belongs to you. I only wish I could've told you sooner." He said.

Much to Dante's surprise, Clementine wrapped her arms his neck and hugged him. "It's okay Dante. You didn't mean it. And besides, I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to admit my own feelings. I am in love with you too, Dante. No one means more to me than you do." She replied.

Dante almost fainted. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Clementine had loved him all this time, and yet she was afraid of offending him just like he was worried about scaring her off. But here she was, admitting that she loved him. Nevertheless, Dante smiled and hugged Clementine in return. "You don't know how long I've waited to hear those words. But it matters not. All that matters now is that we have each other."

Clementine smiled as she looked into Dante's eyes. "Yes. Nothing will ever separate us. Not even my own sister. She can't hurt you anymore. But aside from that, let us go meet up with the others. Dinner's almost ready." She said sweetly.

Dante blushed. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I heard that we're having cheeseburgers and fries."

Clementine laughed. "Yep. That we are. And I had yours made with bacon, Pepper X, and Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9 hot sauce."

Now it was Dante's turn to laugh. "You read my mind. I was planning putting Pepper X, and Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9 hot sauce on my burger anyway. I love spicy. Pepper X is the hottest pepper in the world with a whopping 3,180,000 Scoville Heat Units. Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9 is the spiciest hot sauce ever: Coming in at 9,000,000 Scoville Heat Units."

Clementine's eyes widened. "Wow. Both of those things are pretty hot on their own." She said.

Dante smirked wickedly. "Yes. But combine them together, and you've got 12,180,000 Scoville Heat Units all together. Now that's a hot burger. And I say: Bring it on."

Dante and Clementine arrived at the kitchen, just as Onaha announced that dinner was ready. Onaha is the house cook. She makes the best meals the world has ever known. She's even shared recipes with Dante who taught her how to cook some of the finest cuisine from other countries around the world, including sushi from Japan. Today's dinner was cheeseburgers and fries.

Dante gladly sat next to Clementine while Onaha brought out plates for everyone. She saved Clementine and Dante for last since they usually helped her with cooking. She smiled as she set Dante's burger down in front of him. "I know that you like your burgers good and hot. So, I had Clementine make this one especially for you."

Dante smiled back. "Yeah, that's what she told me. So, I know what's on that burger. And all I can say is: Just Bring It."

Jasmine and Braedey looked at the two lovers in shock.

"Uh, Clementine. What did you put on that burger?" Braedey asked.

"Bacon, Pepper X, and Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9 hot sauce." Clementine answered.

Jasmine's eyes widened. "Pepper X? That's like the hottest pepper in the world."

Braedey tensed himself up with his face frozen with terror. "Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9? I have heard that some people ended up in the hospital after a single drop of that hot sauce. But combining it with Pepper X? You must be out of your mind."

But Dante only laughed and took a bite out of his burger. Much to everyone's surprise, the heat from the Pepper X combined with the Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9 hot sauce didn't even faze him.

Dante smiled as he swallowed what was in his mouth. "Wow. That is definitely a hot and spicy burger. But, I am impervious to spice. So, I'm gonna add a little something extra."

Everyone gasped in shock.

Jasmine stared at Dante in disbelief. "Are you crazy? What could possibly make that burger any hotter? Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9 is the hottest sauce on the planet."

Dante smirked. "That's where you're wrong, Jasmine. There's a sauce that is even hotter than that."

Dante reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of dark red hot sauce.

"What is that?" Jeff asked.

Dante smirked wickedly as he put some of the hot sauce on his burger. "This, is Wiltshire Chilli Farm's Regret hot sauce. This stuff tips the scales at 12,000,000 Scoville Heat Units. Now, my burger's sitting at 24,180,000 Scoville Heat Units."

Everyone watched as the blonde bravely took another bite out of his now extra spicy burger. But just like last time, the spice didn't even faze him a little. All Dante did was smile.

"Whoa. You really are impervious to spice. And right now, I can't believe what I just heard. Regret sauce is even hotter than the Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9. And yet it has no effect on you. Not very many people can survive that much heat all at once." Clementine said.

But while everyone was enjoying dinner, someone was watching. Out in the deep sea, there was a submarine on the horizon.

On board the submarine, a lone man was in his personal quarters with an ominous, red light shining down on him as he seems to be meditating. He wore a long, red robe and his head was completely bald.

"Tracking device activated." A male voice spoke out. A nearby screen lights up and shows a map and seemed to be tracking the location of International Rescue's Thunderbird One.

"Ah, the chariot of the Gods." The man said as he opened his eyes, revealing them to be as red as blood. "Having dallied with the mortals, they return to Olympus. And so I follow." A sinister smile crept up on his face. Behind him, was another young man who was about a year older than Dante who happened to be glaring intensely. What the red-eyed man doesn't know is that he is actually being manipulated by one of two sons of a demon who sealed off gates between the human and demon worlds.

~*~*~

"Mr. Tracy, I saw what happened on the oil rig." Dante said.

"Yeah. It must have been a very difficult mission, given the circumstances." Braedey replied.

Jeff poured himself a drink while Dante grabbed a can of Blue Raz flavored Rockstar XDurance.

"Saving lives is a dangerous business, but it's what we do." He pats Dante on the shoulder while Braedey grabs a can of Skittles flavored C4 Energy.

"I reckon that the fire may have been caused by some thermal updrifts." Dante said enthusiastically. "That would be the most likely explanation-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Enough shop talk. I wanna hear about school." Jeff stopped Dante, while Virgil takes a plate and sits down.

Dante glared intensely at Jeff. "Let's just say that school was horrible. The teacher tried to give Braedey a 50-thousand word essay to work on over spring break when he already did his assignments since I have been helping him stay ahead of the game in all of our classes."

"Really? She did that?" Jeff asked in surprise.

"Yes. And I can assure you that Dante was not very pleased. In fact, it almost seemed as if his kindness was being taken for granted by the very teacher that everyone in the school absolutely hates. Even the other teachers don't like her, and yet the board refuses to get rid of her. So in Dante's case, today was the last straw." Jasmine answered.

Braedey nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what the deal is, but the teacher seems to have it in for me. But Dante refused to let his efforts of helping me go to waste. As soon as the teacher tried to give me that essay to write over spring break, boy was he mad."

Jeff shook his head in disappointment. "Good grief. The board really needs to get rid of that teacher."

Dante glared at him. "Yes. But they're too scared to do it. To be honest with you, I've had enough of those cowards. And I have especially had enough of that dumb teacher treating everyone in her class like dirt, including my friends. She's lucky that I chose to let her live."

Everyone in the room gasped in shock, except for Braedey and Jasmine since they witnessed Dante's anger towards the teacher earlier in the day.

"You mean that you threatened her?" Virgil asked.

Dante glared at Virgil intensely. "You bet your sweet life I did. I am fed up with being in a class with a teacher who treats all of her students like crap. I have been holding my tongue for the past few months, but today was the last straw. If she ever pulls another stunt like the one she tried to do with Braedey, I will personally enjoy the hell out of killing her."

Scott froze with terror. "Whoa. I knew that Dante hated school. But I never thought he'd be angry enough to kill a teacher who seems to be unfair towards everyone in the class. The strange thing is that she doesn't seem to give Dante any trouble yet she treats all of her other students in a very unfair manner, including Braedey."

Dante shot a death glare in Scott's direction. "That's because I work ahead in all of my classes. I have been helping Braedey keep himself ahead in every class that we have. And yet, that teacher still treats him like dirt despite his newfound enthusiasm. Much like me, Braedey always gets good grades, and he's never gotten into fights. So I don't know what her problem is, but that Karen is trying my last nerve."

It didn't take long for Dante to eat his burger. But as soon as he finished eating, Dante began storming back to the gym. Braedey realized that talking about what happened at school had made Dante very angry. But then Scott ran off to catch up with him.

As soon as Scott laid his hand on Dante's shoulder, the blonde stopped and glared at him. He doesn't like to be touched. The only person that Dante allows to lay so much as a finger on him is Clementine.

Scott made eye contact with Dante and bravely spoke to him. "Brains is working on your car. And from what I noticed, he's giving it a makeover."

Dante did not like the sound of this. "What do you mean?" He asked angrily.

Scott bucked up his courage as he knew that this was not going to end well. "I mean that he's repainting it, and making it look even cooler."

Dante narrowed his eyes as he grabbed Scott's hand and squeezed tightly. Scott winced in pain as Dante crushed his hand, the bones making a bad cracking sound.

"BIG MISTAKE." Dante growled, as he released his grip on Scott's hand and stormed away.

Braedey and Jasmine had been watching the whole thing unfold, and they knew that they had to warn Brains. The glare on Dante's face meant only one thing: Trouble. Whenever Dante gets this mad, someone's going to get hurt.

~*~*~

Down in the hangar, Brains was working on The Gov'ner. Suddenly the door flew open, and Dante stood in the doorway. Brains noticed that Dante was in a very bad mood.

"Hello Dante. It is nice to see you."

But Dante was too angry to listen. He stormed into the hangar and saw that Brains had applied blue windows to his car. Alongside of that, he painted flames on the body, applied new wheels, and even recolored the undercarriage.

Now, Dante was furious. "You painted my paintjob! PREPARE FOR SURGERY!" He screamed angrily as Dante drew a katana that he brought along with him.

Dante attacked Brains in bitter anger and rage. He loved his car dearly and works very hard to keep it cleaned. Therefore, Dante refused to tolerate anyone messing with his car in any way and unfortunately for Brains, that included repainting it.

By the time Braedey and Jasmine arrived, Brains was lying on the ground and he was badly injured while Dante towered over him with his katana raised up into the air, ready to finish him off. "Heads, you lose."

Braedey ran as fast as he could and managed to grab Dante's wrist before he could deal the killing blow. "Dante, wait! I know you love your car, man. But killing Brains isn't gonna solve anything."

Dante turned his head and glared at his friend. But Braedey knew that Dante was obviously conflicted. On one hand, the blonde knew that his friend was right; Brains wasn't worth the trouble of going to jail. But on the other hand, he was still enraged that Brains had repainted Elvira. And Dante made it very clear that no one touches her except himself.

Jasmine nodded. "Dante, please. It's not worth it."

Dante turned his attention back to Brains, but the glare never left his face. "You're lucky I'm letting you live. But let me make this perfectly clear, and I suggest you listen good because I am only going to say this once. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, touches Elvira but me."

Brains appeared to be quite confused. He'd never thought that someone would go as far as naming their car. "Who exactly is Elvira?"

Braedey quickly rushed over and put his hand over Brains' mouth to prevent him from digging himself into even more trouble. "That's the name Dante gave his car. He loves Elvira very much and therefore, Dante refuses to allow anyone else to touch her in any way. Thus, it is very important for other people to stay away from Dante's car. Because even a minor scratch on Elvira will send Dante into a blind rage."

Jasmine nodded. "It's true. I have seen Rebecca Tannen actually scratch her name on Dante's car as a prank once. Dante was so angry, that he almost chopped her into confetti."

Dante stormed over to his car and began to work on it. "Don't you worry, baby. We'll have you back to normal soon. I will admit, those flames look good on you. But, I think solid black suits you better."

Brains raised an eyebrow when he heard Dante refer to his car as 'baby'. Braedey shook his head, advising him to keep his mouth shut. "See what I mean? That is how much Dante loves his car. He treats it in a manner where he sees it as his girlfriend which happens to be the result of a very strong bond that Dante formed with the car when he first built it."

Clementine arrived in the garage. She heard that something bad was about to happen, and rushed over to the scene as fast as she could. When she arrived, Clementine saw that Brains was in bad shape while Dante was busy working on his car. "What happened here?"

Braedey released his grip on Brains and helped him up. "Let's just say that Brains made a terrible mistake. He repainted Dante's car, and as you can see by his injuries, that didn't end well. Dante loves his car very much, so it is extremely valuable to him. In fact, he endearingly named it Elvira. As a result, Dante formed a strong, loving bond with her. Although he's still capable of loving another human, Dante does not tolerate anybody touching his car in any way even if they're gonna repair it. That's why he does all of that hard work by himself: Dante does not trust anyone working on his car."

Jasmine nodded. "Yes. There was a time when a school bully named Rebecca Tannen had scratched her own name on Dante's car as a prank. As soon as he found out who did it, Dante was absolutely furious. If it weren't for Braedey and I, he would've killed her by now."

Clementine watched as Dante was hard at work restoring his car to its original state. "Dante, is everything okay?"

Dante slowly turned his head and glared at Clementine. Although he loves her, it bugs the crap out of him when someone asks a question they should already know the answer to. "No. Nothing about this is okay. I can understand that Brains means well, but I have made it perfectly clear that nobody touches this car except me. I worked very hard to build it, and trust me, it was very expensive. That is the main reason why I refuse to allow anybody else to work on my car aside from myself."

Clementine walked over to Dante and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Dante, I understand how you feel. Because believe or not, you and I are on that same boat."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Clementine nodded. "Yes. I have a very expensive car that I built myself as well. My sister helped because supposedly, I was the only person she ever cared about. That was up until her mysterious disappearance. But that's beside the point. My car is called the Rapid Transit, but I call him Leonardo." She pointed to a blue sports car with yellow tinted windows, and what seemed to be flames along the sides and rear fenders.

Dante smiled. "I have to admit, Leonardo certainly is a handsome devil. But, what's that red car next to him?"

Clementine spared a glance at a red sports car that was parked next to Leonardo. The car had tinted windows, chrome undercarriage and silver interior.

Clementine looked at Dante with a very sad expression on her face. "That's the Hollowback, but everyone around here calls him Raphael, or Raph for short. He was originally my sister's car. When I went searching for her, I was hoping to bring her home safe. But Raph was all I found. I keep him as a memento, while still holding out the hope that Delphine is still out there somewhere."

Dante's anger suddenly vanished when he saw how upset Clementine was about being reminded of her sister. He knew how she felt about losing someone so close to her because he had experienced the same thing. "I know how you feel about losing your sister, because I've been through a very similar situation. The person that went missing was in fact my high school sweetheart, Tessa Majors. I looked everywhere for her. But one day, I came across Vergil, my long lost brother who revealed that he had kidnapped and murdered her. Outraged, I attacked my brother in bitter anger and eventually overwhelmed him. But instead of killing him, I took him to the police and turned him in. The judges found him guilty and sentenced Vergil to a prison sentence of 10 years to life. Unfortunately, I heard that he broke out of jail a week ago and nobody knows where he is."

Clementine felt sympathetic for Dante. She couldn't believe that his own brother would murder someone he loved. "Oh, Dante. I'm really sorry to hear that. And I guess that Vergil still hasn't been found yet, huh?"

Dante shook his head. "No. The police are looking everywhere for Vergil, but he's so damn sneaky and elusive that they haven't been able to find him yet. But nobody knows Vergil better than I do. I intend to hunt my brother down and put him back where he belongs: Behind bars."

~*~*~

Later on, the sun was beginning to set across the island, most of the Tracy brothers were relaxing in their rooms or doing some hobbies. Ken was with Braedey and Jasmine, going around the hangar bays of the Thunderbirds to run some preliminary checks before the diagnostic tests.

Nearby, Kyrano, Jeff Tracy's loyal friend and assistant, as well as Onaha's husband, was busy tending to the flowers around the Tracy Villa.

Jeff walked over to see Kyrano. "Hey, Kyrano. Have you seen Lady P anywhere?" He asked.

"Yes. Miss P is by the pool." Kyrano answered.

"Of course." Jeff playfully rolled his eyes.

Jeff looked over to the pool, and he saw Penelope lying on a beach chair, wearing a pink skirt and a yellow sleeveless shirt, plus a rose in her hair. She seemed to be enjoying the peace and quiet, away from all the noise in the city.

As she relaxed, the sound of her cellphone got her attention, and Penelope answers it. "Parker." She acknowledged. While listening to what her butler has to say, Penelope's eyes widened as she stood up from the beach chair and nodded. "I'll be right there." She ends her call, now seeing Jeff walking up. "It appears that the fire at the oil rig was not an accident after all. Someone must've sabotaged the equipment to cause the explosion."

"Any suspects?" Jeff asked in concern.

"Not yet, but I will keep you posted if I find out anything." Penelope answered.

"Thanks for bringing Dante home." Jeff thanked her warmly.

"My pleasure, Jeff. Any excuse to visit paradise." Lady Penelope acknowledged while the two friends shared a few laughs. "Speaking of Dante, have you seen him?" She asked.

"No. Not since dinner. He went through that spicy burger like it was nothing." Jeff answered to her. "I don't know what's going on in his mind. But from what I heard, he almost killed Brains in an effort to punish him for supposedly messing with his car."

"I'm sure I can take a guess." Lady Penelope spoke up, Jeff looking to her. "He doesn't seem to mind being the youngest member of the family. And while he wants to be a part of the family, I think something else is bothering him. But whatever is bothering Dante doesn't seem to have anything to do with you guys. If I had to venture a guess, I think he must be having a hard time letting go of something that happened in the past. Maybe he's trying to move on from the memory of someone that was very close to him."

Jeff breathed a small sigh. "Or maybe both. But nonetheless, I believe that I should give him the chance to be a part of the Tracy Family."

Just then, Clementine was making her way towards the pool. "I know what's bothering Dante. He told me about it while we were in the hangar bays earlier." She said.

Jeff and Penelope looked at her. "Really?" They asked in unison.

Clementine nodded sadly. "Yes. His high school sweetheart Tessa Majors was murdered a few months ago. She had gone missing and Dante searched for her. But he found more than just her dead body. He came face to face with the one who was responsible for the dreadful crime. And ironically, the perpetrator was Vergil."

Jeff's eyes widened. "What? Virgil would never hurt a fly."

Clementine shook her head. "No, Jeff. I didn't mean your son. The person I'm talking about is completely different, plus his name his spelled differently. Vergil is actually Dante's older twin brother. He's the one who killed Tessa Majors in cold blood. Outraged, Dante fought his own brother with all of his resolve. Dante won the battle, and turned his brother over to the authorities. The judge had sentenced Vergil to serve a 10 to life sentence in high security prison. Unfortunately, Vergil had somehow broken out of jail a week ago. Nobody's been able to find him yet. But one thing's for sure: Dante is determined to find his brother and drag him back to jail where he belongs."

Jeff and Penelope suddenly felt saddened. Jeff shook his head. "I can't believe that Vergil would go and murder someone that close to his own brother. I bet Dante loved Tess, didn't he?" He asked.

Clementine nodded. "Yes. Tess was Dante's first love, and she meant the world to him. Not only that, but Tess loved Dante with every inch of her own heart and soul. They were planning on getting married after graduating from high school since they didn't want to grow apart. But now, Tess lives in Dante's heart where she's always with him. Even then, he is struggling to let go. And from what I heard, Dante bears a serious grudge against Vergil for murdering someone he loved with all of his heart. All of that happened before my sister crushed Dante's spirit."

Penelope gave Clementine a look of urgency. "Where is he?" She asked.

"Dante's in the hangar bay, working on his car. He's been very busy for hours on end. And I think Brains is lucky to be alive. Repainting Dante's car was a HUGE mistake."

Jeff's eyes widened with fear. He remembered how Dante warned Scott to stay away from The Gov'ner. But Scott refused to listen, and paid a hefty price. As punishment for trying to paint his beautiful car, Dante beat Scott senseless and let him off with a warning that if he ever came near The Gov'ner again, Scott was gonna be waking up in the hospital with his body broken in 1000 different ways.

"Have a safe flight home, Penny. I'm gonna head down to the hangar bay. Dante and I need to have a little talk." Jeff said as he heads up into the villa.

"Thanks, Jeff. And tell Dante I said goodbye." Penelope thanked before walking away to meet up with Parker and FAB-1.

As this was going on, Braedey and Jasmine were playing basketball with Ken at Thunderbird Two's hangar bay.

Jeff came into the hangar bays and joyfully watched the three teens playing together. "Hey, Ken. It certainly is great to see three down here. And Braedey, you're pretty good at basketball. Maybe you should play for the big leagues. I think you'd be an excellent addition to the Pacers." Jeff said.

Braedey smiled. "Thanks Jeff. Maybe Jasmine and I should join the Pacers. They're the coolest basketball team ever." He said.

"By the way, where's Dante? I heard that he's down here working on his car." Jeff asked.

Braedey, Jasmine, and Ken suddenly froze, while Braedey pointed at The Gov'ner which was sitting nearby. "He's over there. But be careful, he's in a very bad mood. I heard the anger in Dante's voice when Scott told him that Brains was repainting his car." He said.

Jeff walked over to Dante, who was just putting the finishing touches on The Gov'ner. Dante came out from under the car and wiped off the sweat from his forehead as he stood in front of his car. A wide smile stretched across his face. "There we go, Elvira. Now you're just as beautiful as ever. And this time, I will never let anybody else touch you ever again." He said, with a hint of flirting in his voice.

Jeff chuckled as he watched Dante give the Gov'ner a peck on the front right fender. "You really love that car, don't you?" He asked.

Dante turned around and smiled at Jeff. "Indeed, I do. Her name is Elvira. You wouldn't believe how expensive it was to build her. She's one of the closest companions I have now, alongside of Clementine at this point." He said.

Jeff laughed. "I knew that you two would hit it off sooner or later. By the way, I'm sorry about what happened to Tess. It wasn't your fault. I know it's hard, but she would want you to be strong, and move on. Besides, you have Clementine now. She can help you." He said.

Dante felt a slight hint of sadness come over him. But he seemed to be thinking deeply. While he does miss Tess, Jeff was right. Perhaps Clementine could be just as good as Tess was, or maybe better. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Who knows? Maybe Clementine could be better." He said. "But my murderous brother is still out there somewhere, and I'm gonna rip him a new one."

"I understand how you feel. You were quite young when we brought you in after that rockslide in Spain killed your parents. But you treated us like we've been your family for years and nothing could compare to the love and joy that we feel about having you as part of our family. I understand that you want to be part of the team, and you will. You just need time to grow up and when you're ready, you will become an official part of International Rescue. Do you understand?" 

Dante nodded. "Yes. I understand that I need to grow up. And that's something I'm asking you to let me do: growing up. I never planned on taking shortcuts since I know that there's always gonna be occasions where shortcuts lead to the opposite of what you want to accomplish. But even though I have been showing surprising rates of maturity for my age, I am still looking for an opportunity to prove that I am ready to become a part of the team. No shortcuts, none of it."

Jeff breathed a small sigh. "You know, you're right. Despite what you did to Brains earlier, I have been seeing signs that you have been growing up faster than any of us could've imagined. So I believe that maybe you are ready to join the team. All you need is a chance to prove yourself."

Just then, the sound of an incoming communication got Jeff's attention and he answered it. It turns out that the message was from his second-oldest son John, who's up on the space satellite Thunderbird Five.

"Hey John, just about to turn in. What can I do for you?" Jeff greeted.

John sighed, holding up a granola bar. "I could definitely use a pizza right about now. Do you know a place that delivers?" He joked.

Jeff chuckled. "Thirty minutes or it's free, right? Anything else on your mind?"

The craft had a diameter of 296 ft, standing 272 ft tall, which included the antenna array, plus a length of 400ft, and a weight of 976 tonnes. It can support a crew of up to 5 members, but mostly has only John onboard. It is powered by atomic batteries, with a Hackenbacker-series 300 fusion reactor, plus a Previn-coil artificial gravity generator, with a reception range of 100 million miles, while its geostationary orbit is 22,400 miles above, and has one booster rocket to lift Thunderbird Five to a higher orbit, and 32 altitude-control rockets for minor position adjustments.

"Well... I spotted a forest fire in Vladivostock, and there's a typhoon heading for Singapore. What's happening on Planet Tracy?" John asked.

"Dante is home for Spring Break." Jeff answered.

John nodded. "Oh, I thought I saw a storm brewing in your region." He mused.

Jeff sighed. "Teenagers."

"We've all been there. And dad, you've done a great job since Mom died, as well as Dante's parents. You have done a great job." John said to his father.

Jeff nodded. "Thanks John. Keep an eye on that typhoon for us. I'll call Vladivostok and see if they need any help with that fire."

"F.A.B, dad. Sleep tight." John nodded, and he closes the communications link, then flicks a switch to monitor the typhoon that was closing in on Singapore.