Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to this series, nor am i making any money off of this. Jonny Quest is a registered trademark (although I'm not sure if credit goes to Hannah-Barbara, Waner Bros, Cartoon Network or all of the above.)
Authors Note: So, this is my first time doing anything like this. I hope you take a chance to read and review. Feedback is welcome, but please say something nice as well. Just a little history - this is TRA timeline, but I've kept some Classic elements (Race still works for I-1). If I've made any mistakes about the series, i apologize. I'm a fan, but don't know all the minutia. Please enjoy!
Jonathan Quest stifled a yawn as the last of the fireworks faded from the sky. He was glad to be watching them from his dorm roof. He'd thought about going down to Times Square with a bunch of friends, but fighting the crowds did not seem like a fun way to spend New Year's Eve. In the end they had all decided to take the party to the roof and ring in the New Year there.
Now that the fireworks were over, everyone else was packing up, eager to get in out of the cold. Jonny stood off to the side, hands in his pockets, as he looked out over the NYU campus. It was his second year here, and he loved every minute. It was nice to feel like a normal kid for once, even if he was expected to check in with Race Bannon, his bodyguard, at least once a week. Race had been with his family since his mother, Rachel, died and was more like an uncle then a bodyguard. When Jonny went away to college, his father, the world famous Dr. Benton Quest, had briefly considered sending Race with him; Jonny pleaded for two days before his dad relented.
"Hey, Quest, you coming or what?" one of the party goers hollered at him.
He jumped slightly and looked around. Everyone else had gone back inside, except for the guy holding the door. Jonny grinned sheepishly, brushing his blond hair out of his eyes, and sprinted across the roof. He grabbed a cup of tea on his way to his room. He was chilled through and wanted to get a good night's sleep. He was taking his motorcycle down the coast to Florida tomorrow and needed an early start. A couple of college buddies rented a house down there over the break and invited Jonny along. He had said no because he was supposed to spend his winter break up in Maine, but that all fell apart a few days ago.
Two days after Christmas Dr. Quest was unexpectedly called to Tokyo. They were hoping it would only be for a few days, but he called Jonny shortly after landing to apologize; the problem was going to take at least a week to deal with, probably more. His adopted brother, Hadji, left to spend time with his mother in Bangalore, and Jessie's mom called up out of the blue and invited her down to South America. Jessie was Race's daughter and spent most of her free time with her dad and the Quests, so she jumped at an opportunity to spend time with her mom. Race was with Dr. Quest, which left Jonny all alone in the massive house in Maine. Everyone offered to take him with them, but he had declined and headed back to school. A few weeks in Florida sounded fun, and he was looking forward to getting out of the cold and picking up a nice tan before classes started again.
The next day
Dusk was falling and Jonny was just crossing out of Maryland into Virginia. He had slept through his alarm and then sat in traffic for almost three hours on the Jersey Turnpike. He was supposed to spend the night in Kitty Hawk so he could drive down the Outer Banks but now he was not sure he could last another four hours on his bike. He loved his motorcycle, and, fortunately, the weather had been amazing all day, but his back was starting to hurt. He smiled to himself. He did not usually win arguments with his dad, and the motorcycle had been a big one. He had spent his first year at school with no transportation and had to bum rides off dorm mates if he wanted to go some place the subway didn't reach.
"Jonny, I don't want you getting a motorcycle," Benton Quest said firmly. "They're dangerous."
"But, Dad," he'd argued, "I need someway to get around. A car isn't practical in the city. I've already taken a motorcycle safety course."
Benton looked at him with raised eyebrows, "You have?"
Jonny dropped his blue eyes to the carpet, "They offer it every weekend on campus." He paused for a minute before trying one last play, "Race thinks it's a fine idea."
He tried to hide his smile at his dad's shocked face. Race was the last person on earth Benton thought would side with Jonny on this. In the end, he had given in and Jonny went back to school in August riding his brand new bike. He'd left it at school when he went home for Christmas; a blizzard was supposed to hit Maine and his dad did not want him to get caught in it. Instead, Race flew down and picked him up in one of the company jets. Jonny never minded a chance to help Race fly, but he missed being able to come and go as he pleased.
The last streaks of color faded from the sky as Jonny approached Fredericksburg. He stopped long enough to fill the gas tank and grab some jerky before hitting the road again. If he was lucky he might make it down to Williamsburg before finding a place to stay. Suddenly he groaned and pulled up short. The highway ahead was a mass of flashing lights and orange cones. Traffic crawled for a mile until Jonny finally saw the detour sign. He groaned again when he saw it was detouring them west, towards Charlottesville. Reluctantly he followed the other cars off the interstate and onto a rural highway. If the sun was shining, he would have enjoyed the scenery, but the darkness and desolation made him uneasy. To make matters worse, his GPS battery had died back in New Jersey, and for some strange reason, the adaptor cord was not in its usual place. He kept his eyes peeled in the night, looking for another detour sign to hopefully take him back to the highway. There! He sighed in relief as he finally saw it. The road he turned on had even fewer cars on it then the last, and he shivered slightly. Something suddenly slammed into the back of his bike; Jonny's head snapped back from the impact sending shooting pain through his neck and head. He fought to regain control of the bike, narrowly avoiding one of the jutting rocks that had begun to spring up with alarming frequency. He could hear whatever was behind him revving up for another hit and gunned his bike to try and outrun them. He looked back quickly and saw a black van behind him with no lights; he whipped his head front and saw the turn too late to slow down and he threw his body to the side, praying his tired would not slide. He had almost made it when the van rammed his back tire, sending the bike, with Jonny on it, through the guardrail into the gully below. Jonny felt his body bounce like a pinball off two or three boulders before hitting the ground. His head exploded in pain, and he welcomed the darkness as consciousness left him. On the road above, the black van stopped long enough to fling something out of the driver's window towards the mangled bike before driving off.