Quest for Revenge
byTimeGuardian

Stansky Maximum Security Correctional Center, Michigan-

Peter Maximoff never considered himself defeated.

However, sitting in the middle of a maximum security cell clad in an orange prison-issue jumpsuit was providing certain challenges that he could not ignore any longer.

For four months now, Peter called the Stansky Maximum Security Correctional center home. He had awaited his trial date with indifference - after all, the idiot lawyers that were assigned to his case had provided delay after delay. The changes in venue, the specifications of the picked jury - these were easily and successfully challenged by the lawyers.

Today was different.

When guards had delivered his lunch through the slot on his door, he found a folded up piece of paper slipped into his ham sandwich. Keeping it low on his lap and away from the prying eyes of the door, Peter read the contents quickly.

Peter was smiling by the time he finished and he crumpled up the paper with enthusiasm. Plans were coming to a head. He didn't even have to lift a finger. If everything went well, he would be free in a week and have his revenge on Dr. Quest and his family.

He ate his lunch with a renewed sense of purpose, eagerly planning the rest of his week.

--

Questor, Ten miles off of the coast of Maine-

Race Bannon was finding it hard to wake up. Had he been taking a nap?

He opened his eyes and instantly regretted the move. "Oh Hell."

Bright light assaulted him from all sides, and he shut his eyes again. This was far from the first time that he had ever been on the losing side of a fight, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

A fight - that's it, that's what happened.

Memories came flooding back to him, and Race didn't like what he was remembering. He had taken the Questor out into the waters off the coast of Maine to help the kids with a school report about Marine biology. They had been only out for a day.

Race had been at the wheel of the Questor when the kids raised the alarm. Lights flashed, the klaxon sounded, and he knew there was major trouble onboard. When Race rushed out of the cabin to take a look, he saw that there were five of them, all divers by the look of it, professionally trained since he hadn't heard anything before they struck. All of them wore dark black wetsuits, their heads mostly covered. The only thing Race could see were their eyes as they advanced on the kids.

He moved in quickly, tackling one of them headlong and forcing him overboard, and that was when white plumes of gas quickly surrounded them.

One quick breath sent Race reeling, and he knew these guys weren't pulling any punches. From what he could see through the quickly thickening veil, Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji were having their own troubles escaping the rest of the men that surrounded them. Race moved in to help them, coming in low to try and knock a few of them off of their feet.

That was when Race's world had caved in. In one instant pain exploded near his right ear, and in the next he lost consciousness. I was ambushed.

Race tried opening his eyes again, and this time he managed to keep them open despite the light's attempts to burn his eyes out. A quick check of his watch revealed only two hours had passed since the intruder alarm had first been raised.

Looking around, Race realized that he was lying outside on the deck of Questor. The sky above him was a pale shade of blue marred by only a few clouds, one of the few reasons why they had come out to do their research in the first place. However, it was the sight of Jessie and Hadji that nearly made his blood run cold.

They were laid out on the deck a few feet away, seemingly unmoving.

Race quickly scrambled over to where they laid and quickly checked both of them for a pulse. When he finally felt the steady rhythm of both of their pulses, he gratefully released the anxious breath he had been holding.

He turned to his daughter first, lightly touching her face and grabbing for her hand. "Jessie? Ponchita, please talk to me."

It took nearly a minute, but he got the results he was looking for. She moaned slightly, and opened her eyes. "Where-"

"Take it easy. We've been through a pretty nasty attack." Race checked his daughter out from head to toe. He was relieved to see that she seemed fine. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was switched off," she moaned in reply as she rubbed the back of her head. "One minute, I was helping Jonny and Hadji pull up the sensors we had in the water and the next - those goons stormed the Questor. We never had a chance."

That was putting it mildly. Race looked around and found that Jonny was nowhere in sight. An uneasy feeling began to clench at his gut. "Jessie, see if you can get Hadji to wake up. I'm going to see if I can find Jonny."

Race slowly got to his feet, and when he was sure he could stand without collapsing, he went into Questor's hold. For precious minutes, he quickly opened and closed doors, all the while calling out Jonny's name, but no response came. He was running out of places to check.

"Dad! Come here quick!"

--

Hello again. :) This idea is one chapter old, but I thought I would start sharing. There was a plot point I had in Quest through Time that I thought needed to be addressed and lo, this idea was born. Updates should be fairly steady as my life seems to finally be evening out, but regardless I promise that I will try and make it worth the wait.

Till next time,

TimeGuardian