The last one there has to do the dishes for a week.
Well, you'd better put on your rubber gloves now!
You guys go for it. I'm just glad to be home.
Hey, just because I dock with old slowpoke here doesn't mean I'm sharing dish duty.
First!
Thunderbird 1 coming in for landing.
Thunderbird 2 and 4 back to launch.
And technically speaking, my body entered the hangar first.
Well, looks like we have our winner, Gordon.
Ugh, dishes here I come.
Better not be lasagne tonight!
Ah, another mission complete.
- Whoo, what a day. - What a week!
But you guys did great.
I know it's been a tough week with missions back to back.
- To back. - To back.
And now we can all catch a break.
Sorry, guys, we have a situation.
Five...
Four...
Three...
Two...
One.
Thunderbirds are go!
Destination, Arctic Circle.
Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.
The lights are created by charged particles in the high atmosphere.
All that electricity crackling in the air puts on quite a show.
Now, this power station was designed to harvest energy from it.
It's called the Aurora Generator.
- Let me guess. Something went wrong? - Give that Tracy a prize.
The system was designed to discharge excess energy.
But that failsafe has malfunctioned.
We could be headed for a massive electrical explosion.
- What's the current status? - Approaching dangerous levels.
This is a recording of the distress call.
I've done everything I can to stabilise the system, but nothing seems to work.
We need immediate assistance.
So, John, if you can connect me with that engineer, I may be able to help.
FAB.
I'd better adjust your legs for traction.
But you passed the crash test.
Is this something that GDF could handle instead?
International Rescue are the only ones equipped and able to mobilise in time.
- Understood. - Well, you heard him. Mobilise.
- Let's do this. - Just tell me what you need.
Scott and I will take care of it.
- We will? - They stay here.
OK, Virgil. Well, we're here if you need any cheeseburgers.
Just the two of you? The mission sounds pretty unpredictable.
- Are you sure you don't need back-up? - I'll be going too.
- You will? - Oh, not in person.
After rigorous testing, I've reconfigured MAX for Arctic conditions.
He'll serve as my eyes and ears for this t-trip.
OK, MAX. You're riding with me.
All right, then, looks like... Thunderbirds are go!
Five, four...
Three, two...
One.
Thunderbirds are go!
Tell us what we need to know, Brains.
Your first m-mission will be to go straight to the core of the Aurora Generator
and manually trigger the release of the excess energy.
T-Time is of the essence.
Coming in for our final approach.
I have eyes on the Aurora Generator.
Thunderbird 1 is experiencing magnetic interference.
The same for Thunderbird 2.
I think I can make a forced landing without the guidance system.
I can't get in close.
The energy field is too volatile. Abort your landing.
We'll have to go around it.
There's a safe landing area beyond the ridge,
500 aeronautical miles north north-west.
No, that'll take too long. I can do this.
This is our only option. We can travel back to the generator by pods.
All right, Pod Explorer is go.
The pods are configured for Arctic conditions, so we should get there safely.
- Great. Then let's blast it. - Not so fast.
We're surrounded by ice hazards. I've plotted a route that will skirt us
around most of the more treacherous landscape.
- We'll head just north of this ice cliff. - But the generator is south.
The fastest route between two points is a straight line.
Scott, follow the route. It's too dangerous!
Buckle up, MAX.
We'll be fine. Trust me.
- Can we do it my way now? - Fine!
MAX...?
- Brains, is MAX OK out there? - Thanks for your concern.
But MAX can withstand temperatures as low as minus 150 degrees Celsius.
This is actually quite fun. Whoo-hoo!
- You're enjoying it? - I have modified MAX's programming,
to allow me the virtual experience of feeling the surroundings.
So whatever MAX sees, you get to as well.
Without the freezing temperatures, of course.
Well, we're happy to have you both along for the ride.
My, how far you've come, my friend.
- Can't this thing go any faster? - It sure can!
- Then why aren't we? - My pod, my rules.
Thunderbird 5 to Pod Explorer.
Just got word, the situation with the generator is deteriorating.
Brains, how much time before it blows?
There is such a flux in the aurora activity,
that it's not possible to pinpoint exactly how much energy is being harvested.
- Best guess? - Closest estimate is six to 14 hours.
You need to get there as fast as possible.
We'll do our best.
You can go faster than that. Step on it!
Now that's more like it!
Why are you slowing down?
I can barely make out two feet in front of me.
That's just a little ice fog. We've been through worse.
It's not just the fog I'm worried about.
We're driving over an ice field littered with cracks, some hundreds of metres deep.
There's no way our sensors can cut through this soup.
Virgil, this would be a perfect opportunity to test MAX's scanning ability.
He can plot a safe course around even the tiniest of cracks.
Sounds good to me. Even a small one could swallow this Pod whole.
All right, MAX, time to live up to your name.
- Huh? - Mechanical Assistant, Eperimental.
- Remember? - Ah.
That's it, MAX. Steady as she goes.
It's gaining in intensity. We don't have much time.
Pick up the pace, MAX.
Oh, MAX!
Hold on.
We can just about reach.
The weight of the pod is making the ice unstable.
Hang on, MAX. I'll try another angle.
Come on, MAX.
Oh, no!
Ah, I got him.
T-Thank you, Virgil.
That's it. We are going to have to wait until the fog clears.
If we stop now, we'll lose precious time.
And if we don't, we may not make it at all.
- What's going on with you today? - Me? We're on a mission.
We need to do everything we can to get there ASAP, and...
- You're taking the scenic route. - It's the safe route.
I didn't come here to be safe.
You can't keep pushing everyone and everything to the limit.
Hey, I don't push anyone harder than they need to be pushed.
You're so darn determined, you don't see the danger.
- We almost lost MAX. - MAX is just a machine.
Brains is constantly breaking him apart and rebuilding him stronger.
You don't know what you're capable of unless you keep pushing.
- But we're not machines. - Someone has got to step forward.
I'm just doing what Dad did. He never gave up.
Dad worked hard but even he knew there were limits.
- He couldn't do it all. - But I have to do it all.
I couldn't save Dad but... maybe I can make up for it.
- By saving everyone else? - Ha...
But keeping our family safe is equally important.
And we all need you to be around.
- I miss him. - I miss him too.
We all do. It's hard to think he's gone.
If I let myself think about it... Keeping busy with International Rescue
is the only thing I have to keep me from going crazy.
Hey, you've still got us.
Yeah. Yeah.
- Ready? - Ready.
Ready.
- I just hope we made it in time. - Me too, brother.
The generator is moments away from a massive blow-out.
By my calculations,
the magnitude of the discharge will cause a geomagnetic reversal.
- Which means...? - The Earth's magnetic poles will flip.
That event might be considered catastrophic.
What exactly happens if the poles flip?
The most likely event will be a dramatic change in weather patterns,
resulting in crop damage and worldwide starvation.
That sounds pretty catastrophic to me.
According to the schematics, the manual override is housed at the core section.
I've set MAX the route. Lead the way, MAX.
The energy core should be just through those walls.
- And the engineer? - MAX has located her heart beat.
She's inside the main shut-off area.
- She's still here? - Pushing to the limit...
Remind you of anyone?
You've got to leave, now!
Not a chance. I have to get this grounded before it blows.
How can we help?
I've been trying to get this grounding receiver to the top of the generator
ever since I spoke to your engineer.
- Can you help? - FAB.
I'll be at the control station.
Scott!
Scott, Virgil, the energy build-up has reached critical.
- We have to go. - We have to keep trying.
Sometimes you have to say there's nothing else you can do.
Actually, there is. We can use MAX.
I've just finished running the calculations.
His conductivity has been rated up to 2.5 gigawatts.
That should be enough.
- Let's hope so. - OK, Brains, send MAX in.
We need to get out of here.
Here we go, MAX.
You were built strong, for situations just like this.
You can do this, MAX.
You can d-do it.
You're doing great, MAX. Just a little longer.
Energy grounded.
It worked!
You can say that again!
Good work, Brains. You and MAX.
I knew he could do it.
Would you mind going back to get him?
I should warn you, it is likely he's suffered some damage.
FAB.
Sorry, Brains, that's all that's left.
- MAX was a real hero. - Hi, MAX.
You made it seem like it was a complete loss.
But we couldn't salvage the rest of him.
This is MAX.
Everything else is simply spare p-parts.
You really shouldn't get emotionally attached to your equipment, gentlemen.
Come on, MAX, let's go and find you some legs.
Ah, it's good to be home.
Yeah, it is. Let's get some rest.
You gonna tell us what happened out there?
No.
Sorry, guys, we have a situation.
Scott, Virgil!
No, not the cookies, Grandma.
- We'll take this one. - Head to launch.
I'll give coordinates in flight.
Last one to the launch pad gets laundry duty for a week.
Hello, MAX.
Just a few adjustments and you'll soon be good as new.
Mm-hm. It's good to have you b-back.
Shall we move on to extreme heat?
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