QUARTET - Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Oh, and if you owned characters and stories as interesting as this, like HB and Ten Thirteen Productions, would you not let people write about them, too?

Jonny Quest. X-Files. Fan fiction crossover. Enjoy. (I'm sick of writing tag lines, okay?)
 

THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST

Synopsis: Mostly plot exposition, but still interesting.

"QUARTET", chapter 5

by Eric R. Umali

Quest Compound, 10:48 AM

"Complete absence of blood from the body, along with most of the other fluids. All tissue desiccated, skin taut and hardened. Anything else?" Dr. Quest summarized their observations on the creature's victims, culled from both their own files, those of the New Orleans coroner's office and all the locations "visited" on its way from the Gulf to Maine.

Agent Scully tapped her pen on the desk. "All victims were in good health, in good shape, and under the age of thirty-five."

"So it's looking for youth, for vitality. Is there anything in the files to suggest a weakness?"

"No. All of our samples have shown exceptional resistance to heat, electric current, and any biological agents we've introduced."

Jessie re-entered the lab. "Here's what you're looking for." She held up a silver knife, taken from the mansion's good table settings. Finding a large petri dish in which the creature's cells had been cultivated, she brought the knife tip into contact with the cells. Immediately, the cultivation turned brown and quickly receded from the contact point towards the walls of the dish.

Dr. Quest smiled. "I thought silver was for werewolves, not vampires."

"I think we can figure out something a little more effective than stabbing this thing," remarked Scully. The three of them went to work.

**********

Place: ? Time: ?

"Uhhnnh..."

"That's what I said."

Jonny opened his eyes, but it didn't seem to change the view much. Wherever he was, it was pretty dark. He took a quick inventory of himself and his surroundings.

Well, he knew he was still alive-he had too much of a headache to be dead. The floor beneath him was metal and slightly irregular, as was the wall he was leaning against. He was tied, hands behind back, ankles together. He heard someone else shifting around.

"Agent Mulder?"

"Right here, Jonny. Tied up, too?"

"Uh-huh. You?"

"Uh-huh. You all right?"

"Besides the headache, yeah. Was it a taser?"

"That's what I figure. We seem to be..."

"In back of a van, probably a late model Chevy cargo conversion. The windows are painted out, and the front cabin has been sealed off. Whoever zapped us used those plastic tie thingies instead of ropes or handcuffs. Luckily, we're not moving."

Mulder was floored. "So, you've done this before, I take it?"

Jonny snorted. "A couple times, yeah." Mulder heard him breathing, deep and slow. Then the sounds of shifting weight.

"So what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Growing up the way you have. Traveling around the world, making discoveries, exploring, having adventure after adventure-rumor is you've even made contact."

"'Contact'? Oh. Well, it's been-well, I can't really compare it to growing up like a normal kid. The only two young people I hang out with grew up the same way. Hadji was raised mostly by a con man and thief before living with us, and Jessie grew up on archaeological digs in South America. I could just as well ask what it's like investigating the paranormal and unexplained as an agent, instead of your more run-of-the-mill stuff, like counterfeiting or kidnappings."

"You've got a point. The X-Files are all I've ever really wanted to investigate."

"How about Agent Scully?"

"She was assigned to debunk the X-Files, originally. Now, she's..."

"A believer?"

"Yes. Reluctantly, but yes." He paused a bit. "So, are you and Jessie..."

"No," Jonny said. "But it's not like I wouldn't want to be. She's the coolest girl I've ever met."

"I can see that. You know, she reminds me a lot of Scully."

"I can see that. How about you two?"

"No," Mulder replied, a little too quickly. "She's probably my best friend."

"Same here, but..."

*But...* Mulder thought. Before he could reply, there was a brief flash of red light in the darkness. "What was that?"

In response, a light snapped on. It shone from Jonny's wristwatch, and illuminated most of the cargo cabin. A broken plastic restraint lay on the floor, the edges of the cut visibly singed.

"What did you do?" asked Mulder.

"This," said Jonny. The light winked out, followed by another red flash. Mulder recognized it as the work of a small laser. The light came on again, to show Jonny had freed himself. He repeated the operation on Mulder's bonds.

"What is that thing?"

"Standard Quest Team equipment. Never leave home without one. Flashlight, laser, comlink, telescope, a 3-D scanner and holographic display. It even tells time." He turned the torch on the door lock. A few seconds later, they were free.

They found themselves and the van abandoned on the side of a small highway in Vermont. It was already 2:43 PM. "You're sure this... Elise is going after Jessie?"

"Definitely. It needs a new host body, and it has a thing for beautiful young women. If it knows to look at the compound, then Agent Scully's in just as much danger."

They hitched a ride with a state trooper and headed to the closest large town. Agent Mulder commandeered the only helicopter within fifty miles and they were on their way.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Man, this thing is getting long. I'll try to wrap it up by Memorial Day, I promise.