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Disclaimer:
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      I, in no way, mean to violate any copyright or trademark laws. Jonny Quest and the Quest team are owned by Hanna-Barbera. I'm not getting any money for this.

THE POWER OF LIGHT
PART 2
by Cricket

LIGHTHOUSE POINT, MAINE : THE QUEST COMPOUND

      "QuestWorld logoff." Jonny annouced.
      Jessie sat at the computer controls of QuestWorld that Hadji usually manned, typing out long strings of commands. She looked over the rim of the computer to watch as Jonny lifted himself out of the login chair. "I take it things went smoothly?"
      "You better believe it! There's absolutely no trace of Surd's programing anywhere in the computer systems. " Jonny let loose a triumphant grin as he rounded to look over Jessie'sshoulder as she typed.
      "I've got the security perimeter up like your dad wanted ... " she trailed off as she began another string of commands. " ...I'm running de-fragmentation programs on QuestWorld. Just to make sure Surd'll never come back." Her tone was heavy and cruel. She remembered the lovely brain-washing program Surd had implanted in QuestWorld that had ultimately caused her to attempt to blow up her dad and run a camper through the living room of the Compound.
      Jonny placed his hands on Jessie's neck and began to gently massage her shoulders.
      The multi-screened monitors that usually displayed QuestWorld progress suddenly kicked on with the evening news. "Following a rash of high-tech jewel theifts, the Japaneese affiliate of LazerTech systems, Takeshi Systems Limited, was broken into only hours ago in Tokyo, Japan. Security cameras caught two men as they were leaving the building, carrying the Takeshi System's prototype of a high-intensity laser cannon ... "
      Jessie turned in her chair and looked up to Jonny.
      Jonny's look was equally as worried. "Wasn't that lazer what Dad and Race were going after?" Jonny asked, watching the news report intently. "This is NOT good. We gotta call them!"
      Jessie leaned over the computer and picked up the portable phone, speed dialing her dad's cell phone. "Comeon comeon comeon," she chanted, listening to the phone ring time after time. The operator's message beeped on. "We're sorry, but the cellular customer you are attempting to reach is not available, or is temporarily out of the service range. Please try again in ten minutes."

SOMEWHERE OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN

      The cell phone rang again and again as Race stared down at it nervously. "Answer that phone and you're a dead man, Bannon." Race looked over to the man in the seat next to him. He was fairly tall, medium build, and had an almost blue outcrop of thinning hair on his head. And most importantly, he had a gun shoved up into Race's ribcage.
      Across the isle from him, Benton Quest was in the same predicament with a man in a bad, green suit. The man leaned in a little closer to Race. "You, the Doc and me's gonna have words when this plane lands in Tokyo. Got it?"
      "What do you want?" Race asked lowly.
      "It's not what I wants. It's what the boss wants. And right now, he kinda wants the two of ya's dead."

      "Well, I'll try my dad's cell phone!" Jonny paniced. He swiped the phone out of Jessie's hand and hit the speed dial. It rang ... and rang ... and rang ... And the same operator clicked on ... "This has never happened before," Jonny wined. "I've always been able to reach dad when he's flying!"

      Benton's phone rang ... and rang ... and rang, before slipping into silence. Two hours later, one more phone call, one dead cell phone and a confused stewardes later, the 747 landed in Tokyo, Japan. Quest and Bannon were quickly off-loaded and shuffled out of the airport.
      Race kept falling up against his kidnapper as the two men lead Race and Benton through the congestion of taxi's and were piled into a waiting limo. The two hench men threw Race and Benton into a corner of the black car as it pulled away calmly from the curb.
      Race adjusted his shirt and sat up. "So, you all takin' us out to dinner, or what?"
      "You're a funny man, aren't you Bannon."
      "I try. Now what in the sam-hell is this all about?"
      One of the men pointed a gun directly at Race's head. "I guess you'll never find out. You see, just having you two alive gets in the way of the boss's plans." And he pulled the trigger.
      CLICK!!!!
      The man regarded his gun with a look, aimed and pulled again.
      CLICK!!!
      Race smiled coyly and held up a long, rectangular object... the bullet magazine. "Forgetting something?" Race asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not only am I a funny man, I make a damn good thief ... " and Race's fist imbedded itself fully in the man's face.
      Doctor Quest took this moment of confusion and did the same, firmly socking his detainer. The man slumped over in place and Quest gingerly cradled his hand. "It's been a while since I've done that!"
      The limo pulled to the side of the road and the limo driver got out. He found himself on a deserted stretch of back contry roads as he rounded back to the limo doors. He opened one and stood back, tall and straight, waiting for orders. The two hench-men in suits soon flew out the car door, landing in two identical puffs of dust on the road side.
      The driver regarded them for a moment before it sunk in on who they were. By then, he had already been pistol-whipped by Benton Quest. The driver fell to the ground unconscious with the other two.
      Benton and Race filed back into the car, Race at the wheel on the wrong side of the car. "You never cease to amaze me Race. Tell me, how did you get the bullet out of the clip?"
      "I didn't. He just forgot to cock the gun." Race smiled widely "Typical enterence exam for the agency, Benton." Race reached into his shirt pocket and dialed up the Quest Compound as he gunned the limo.

      Mrs. Evans sat down in the large, reclining chair in the living room with a relieved sigh. She took up the TV remote and flipped on the television. Her favorite soap opera was on. She leaned back in the huge, comfortable chair and prepared to endure her daytime drama.
      RIIIIIINGGGG!!!
      "Just one moment of relaxation ... that's all I ask," she sighed, reaching out for the phone. "Quest Compound," she answered sweetly.
      "Mrs. Evans? This is Race."
      "Ah, Mr. Bannon ... how is Japan?"
      "Terrible. Where are Jonny and Jessie? I need to talk to them."
      "Oh, they're out in the lighthouse. Just a minute and I'll..."
      The front door burst open, reveiling Jonny and Jessie as they poured into the kitchen.
      "Oh, here they are." Mrs Evan leaned over the arm of the chair. "Jonny. Jessie. There's a call for you."
      "Take a message!" Jonny answered. "We've gotta get a line to Japan."
      "But it's your fathers."
      Within two seconds, the teens were gathered in the living room, had the phone from Mrs. Evans and were fighting over who got it first. They eventually settled on the speaker phone.
      "DAD!!!" Jonny yelled. "You're just walking into a trap! The prototype's been stolen!"
      "We kinda figured that much out," Race's voice came over the speaker.
      "Why, what happened?" Jessie asked.
      "Just had a little run-in with a couple of not-so good friends."
      Mrs. Evans sat back and began watching her soap as the two continued. The television flipped and started doing acrobatics on the screne. The picture fuzzed and faded as the feed was interupted. "Oh, not now! I was just about to find out if Sharon's baby lived!"
      Jonny and Jessie both stopped at the same time and turned to the TV. A well proportioned young women smiled back beyond black hair and black eyes. Beside her stood a man in a tall, dark suit, a deep scar running down the lenght of his left cheek "I'm interupting your regularly scheduled day-time smut to bring you this special report," the woman started. "My...EMPLOYER ... wishes to inform the American government that they have 8 hours .... until 8:00pm eastern time this evening, to deposit $4.5 million in the Atlanta Dominion Bank in Atlanta, Georgia, or the Takeshi High Intensity Laser will slice through one American city every ten minutes that the proper amount of money is not deposited."
      Jessie leaned over to the speaker-phone. "Are you hearing this, Dad?"
      "Sure am."
      "To prove that we are not joking, we are prepared to demonstrate our power on Bass Key in the Florida Keys."
      Jonny turned quickly. "If we can pump enough power through the satellite dish ... "
      " ... we can track the satellite that that transmission is coming from!!" and the two teens burst out of the room.
      Mrs Evans picked up the phone. "Yes, Mr. Banon. I'll make sure they stay at the Compound."

      Jonny watched out the lighthouse window as their enourmous cable satelite dish began to swing around. The monitors were busily being hooked directly into the satelite and occasionally came across stray cable channels. "... will be back , here on the Cartoon Network ...."
      " ... NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!! ..."
      " ... because Bass Key is uninhabited ."
      "Right there, Jonny!"
      "Got ya. I'm trying to track the signal now."
      "Jonny, I'm getting something here ..." Jessie said, fingers rushing across the keyboard of the computer. "They're bouncing off numerous satelites, putting them in about 15 different places."
      "I'm getting the same thing."
      "... and now, on with our demonstration of the power of light."
      Jessie and Jonny looked up at the monitors. A tiny, green island popped into view, almost like a Hollywood deserted island in the middle of the ocean would look. Gentel sandy beach, some grass and a stray palm tree. A white light popped into frame, rustling the leaves of the palm tree. The stream of light quickly fell and Bass Key was litterally cut in half.
      "Oh good lord," Jessie breathed. "These people are maniacs." the regular television feed resumed to day-time soap opera's. "We've got to do something."
      "That beam was almost horizontal."
      Jessie snapped out of it "That would mean they'd have to be somewhere close to the Keys!"
      Jonny punched around on the data he was recieving from the satelites. "Got it! Cape Sabel, Florida ... in the Everglades."
      Jessie looked at the monitor, then back at Jonny. "Wanna go to Florida?"

      Mrs Evans got up from her chair and began out toward the kitchen when Jonny and Jessie burst back in. "Hey, you two!"
      She was too late. They were already upstairs and to their rooms.
      Mrs Evans sighed heavily and began up the stairs. "Jessie! Jonny! Your fathers said for you two to stay in the Compoud untill they get back!!"
      "Never stopped us before," Jonny whispered to himself, shoving various do-dads into a back pack. He turned up his watch. "Jessie ... out the window. I'll meet you at the hangar."

      Jessie looked up to the Questcopter. "I don't think this is such a hot idea, Jonny. Can't we just hop a flight to Florida?"
      "Nope. Not to where we're going. Come on, I'll pilot."
      "Like crap you will, Jonny Quest! I'm the one with the REAL-time training."
      "Come on, I've done this a million times in QuestWorld!"
      "And crashed about half those times."
      "I'm flying, so get over it."
      "Over my dead body, Jonny!!" Jessie shoved him out of the way and climbed the skiffs to the pilot's chair."
      "No fair! I'm flying on the way back!!" Jonny rounded the helicopter and hopped in, securing himself in the copilot's seat and putting on the head set.
      "Get ready for the shortest pre-flight in the history of avionics!" Jessie's voice came through the headset. The overhead bay doors began to open as Jessie started up the blades.
      "Sure this thing's got gas, Jess?"
      "It better. Dad took me out in it just last week and she was filled to overflowing."
      Jonny began flipping switches and checking gauges. Out the front windows of the Questcopter, Mrs Evans ran into the hangar, arms flailing about. Papers and odd pieces of trash swirled around the hangar in a mini tornado about her as she jumped up and down waving her arms.
      "Think we should ask her what she wants?" Jessie asked.
      "Nahh! It's just going to be something along the lines of 'Don't you kids even think of flying off after your fathers!' and the like" Jonny leaned up to the window and tapped his ear piece. "I can't here you Mrs. Evans!" he joked.
      A wind-blown Mrs. Evans roughly put her hands on her hips and regarded him with a look. She pointed to Jonny and Jessie and then the floor. "I think she's wishing us good luck!" Jonny lied.
      "Ha ha ." Jessie said sarcastically. "We are going to get the worst grounding in the world for this, Quest."

NOTES:

1. Why take the helicopter and not the super-sonic jet? (never mind if they can actually fly it) - it would be a whole lot easier to land a helicopter in a swamp which doesn't require a landing strip! Besides, I don't think either one could fly a jet, no matter how many skills I grant them.

2. As you could probably tell from part 1, I have no concept of Time Zones! Just guesstimating!

3.On the topic of if Jessie could actually pilot the Questcopter ... just don't ask! I'm spontaneously granting her piloting skills beyond Jonny.)

On to Part III

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