Disclaimer: Jonny Quest belongs to Hanna Barbera and Turner Productions. I am not affliated with the mentioned companies in any way. The JQ characters here are used without permission of the owners. No cash is made from this.

A Question of Identity: Prologue

by Ina-chan

It was late. The residents of the house have already settled down, except for one. It used to be a habit, a ritual. To scare away monsters under the bed. A bedtime story or a quiet talk. Now, he just checks on him when he�s already in bed. Asleep. The y still have quiet talks. Sometimes.

�Shhh...�Benton Quest whispered as Bandit stirred and gave him a muffled bark of greeting.

Bandit wagged his tail sleepily as the tall man gave him an affectionate scratch then settled back in Jonny�s bed. Jonny was having one of his restless nights again. Benton sighed as he looked at the unruly mess that was his son.

�How do you manage to get some rest like this?� He whispered playfully to the small dog.

Bandit gave an almost humanlike groan in reply.

Benton chuckled softly as he straightened the chaos before him. It has been a long time since he last tucked his boy in bed like this. Guilt hit him like a bolt when he realized he couldn�t remember when. He had been so busy trying to solve one problem after the other the world has thrown at him that he failed to enjoy the simple activities with his son that used to give him pleasure. He stood up and looked at his handiwork, before stepping back to pull a nearby chair.

�He�s grown so much,� Benton whispered to himself, suddenly feeling like an old man.

Then his thoughts returned to the earlier call. He couldn�t understand why he was suddenly filled with this sense dread. It was just another call. Another request for help to protect the greater good. For an old colleague... a man he considers... consi dered as one of his best friends. The companion he went to University with. He shared his visions of the future with. He competed with friendly rivalry with...

No, he wouldn�t turn his back on a man in need of his help. Specially if the project this man is involved in is under�special interests.� A project that could result cataclysmic changes for the global good. A cure to the incurable, hope for the physic ally paralyzed...

The technology to perfectly regenerate human tissue -- even brain and nerve cells. It wouldn�t be a surprise that there would be a number of not so noble groups who would merrily grab an opportunity to exploit this. He could name a few. In fact, there were several attempts already. That was why he was called in. In hope that his genius would help speed up the process, or his expertise with artificial intelligence would help strengthen the compound�s already tight security. Just a simple cut and paste p rocess.

�If only it were that simple,� Benton muttered to no one in particular

Benton was very much aware that his old �friend� would never ask his help if the consequences did not weigh so much. He also knew, however, that his �friend� will never jeopardize a project of this importance because of personal affairs. So what was he afraid of ?

Once again, Benton fought the urge to call Race back from his well deserved vacation to distract the kids while he went to this trip alone. Of course it was too late. He didn�t have the heart to take away the time Race rarely spends on himself. Jessie and Hadji were already excited about the idea of actually meeting this famous collegue of his. Though he had a feeling that Jonny was a little less than �thrilled� at the prospect of spending a beautiful week or two inside a tight security laboratory comp ound, he also knew that Jonny would never allow himself to be left behind.

So what was the price of saving the world this time? Opening old wounds? Facing old ghosts? Finally seeing the aftermath of a broken friendship? Letting his son see...

�No,� Benton whispered out loud.

He will not allow that.

Benton reached over to brush a stray strand of gold from his son's face.

He would do everything in his power to spare his son from the pain of witnessing the mistakes he made because of the foolishness of youth... The mistakes he and she made... The mistakes all of them made...

(to be continued....)

And the plot begins...