Foreward

Author's Note: This sequel to Serendipity was published from March 26 to August 18, 2005 at FanFiction.net. Masquerade begins just a few days after the Epilogue of that story. I recommend you read Serendipity before you start Masquerade as there are incidents from there which will not be elaborated upon here.

The story started out as another spotlight for Lucinda "Cindy Lou Kelly" Myles, but it ended up as far more than that. Through it, I introduced several new agents for International Rescue, and involved Lady Penelope in ways that highlighted her less than efficient side. Truly, a young woman who poses as a fashion model and declares to all and sundry that she is going to look into the sinking of a ship and the murder of its captain, isn't what I would call realistic.¹ (How many fashion models do you know go around solving murders? Maybe there's a TV show in there somewhere.) Thunderbirds did give women roles outside of the ones expected for them in that time period. A spy and an engineer are far from the nurses, teachers, and other pink collar workers of the day. But there was still that little niggling bit of chauvinism left, and sometimes it felt like Lady Penelope was written with a wink and tongue firmly implanted in cheek. She's a spy who is cool when left in a death trap, but is afraid of mice. Terribly forward-thinking and yet stereotypical at the same time. So, I explored this dichotomy, while keeping Lucinda in the loop from afar.

It's clear that the Tracys have friends, and some of those friends have family. I'd already answered the question of who did Lucille (and Jeff) count as friends, with the introduction of Lucinda. Now, I wanted to explore who some of those other friends might be, especially the ones who had been tapped as agents. What kinds of people would Brains know? Who did Tin-Tin meet in school? Was there anyone in particular that Scott was friends with in his days at Oxford? Are any of Grandma's friends still around? In Masquerade, we get to meet some of them, their families, and watch them in action.

During the writing of the story, I was accused by one writer of writing a romance. Well... yeah. I was. A romance pairing up all the Tracys, as many other writers have done. But instead of just focusing on the romance, I brought in rescues, and introduced the new characters as realistically as possible. My goal was to develop the romances over time, letting the characters take the lead - as characters often do. Hopefully I created some realistic women, ones who will let the Tracys shine as they should, but are tough enough to stand up them, too.

There is one romance in particular that garnered a lot of feedback, particularly from those who are Virgil fans: the pairing of Virgil and Lady Penelope. I'll be blunt about this: I always felt that Lady Penelope, who is listed as being in her mid-to-late twenties², is far too young for someone like Jeff. Maybe it's because I am an unabashed Jeff fan, but I've always seen him as someone who would find dating a woman the age of his own sons to be problematic. To me, he needed someone closer to his own generation and experience.

The Virgil/Penelope pairing wasn't just something I pulled from my hat, either. There are hints, very subtle ones, throughout the show that could be interpreted as some feelings developing between the two of them. They spend an evening together in jovial company after a rescue.³ A steamy look (well, as steamy as two marionettes can provide) passes between them when he rescues her from certain death. He also cups her face with his hand in an intimate way at the time.⁴ Some would say that such examples are far from a full-blown romance between them, but they can be construed as a possible infatuation on Virgil's part. And in Masquerade, I milked them for what they were worth.

I won't discuss the villains much, except to say they will stop at nothing, and do. The villain behind it all had his identity hidden, but there are hints throughout the story until it is fully revealed. The immediate bad guy is just that, bad to the bone, and his actions end up being the catalyst to bring Jeff and Lou together in a more romantic way.

Also, it was during this story that I was the victim of a plagiarist. A rather sad, illiterate creature stole part of my first chapter (a part that could be considered original fiction) and claimed it as her own, posting it on MSN Groups. The situation made it emotionally difficult for me to write much of anything at the time, besides the formal DMCA takedown orders I and another writer sent to MSN Groups. The plagiarist was eventually forced to remove my material, as well as the intellectual property of both the Thunderbirds copyright holder and several other fan authors and artists. But it was a drawn-out process that sapped my creative energies, and prompted me to strengthen my disclaimer. It was this experience that made me so upset when, years later, I was accused of plagiarism myself. It wasn't something I would do as I'd had it done to me.

Many thanks to Rebecca Aulenbach Balfour, Lisa Bauer, Elizabeth Beers, Dena Lawless, Carol Patterson, and Christine Shultz for their advice, betareading, and encouragement. Cover art and artwork found throughout the story is by Christine Shultz and is used with her kind permission. All original characters are copyright to me, and may not be used without permission.

I hope you will enjoy the story.

Tikatu