Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It seemed to be a normal, quiet day in the town of Greendale. Everybody came over to the Spellman house to watch some TV as it was the weekend, but nothing exciting seemed to be going on around town.

"I'm bored." Cherry sulked a bit.

"Me too." Mo added.

"Make that three." Lionel spoke up.

"Four," Atticus chimed in. "If we wanna find something to do, then we need to get out of town. Nothing's happening here."

"What are you kids doing?" Hilda asked as she poked her head in through the kitchen door.

"Nothing!" The group complained.

"Oh, you say you're doing nothing when you must be--" Hilda rolled her eyes before she walked into the living room to see the group sitting there like bumps on logs. "...Doing nothing... Huh... That's never happened to you guys before."

"This town might as well change its name to Dullsville," remarked Lionel. "Since that's what it feels like."

"Why don't we come in the kitchen for a snack?" Hilda offered like a Team Mom.

The group looked at each other with shrugs as they decided to just go with it. They came into the kitchen as Zelda looked very hard at work with something as she had her glasses on while on her laptop while having her laboratory out on the kitchen counter as she reminded Salem to stay out of it.

"Huh... figured the laboratory stuff would be more Zelda's thing." Mo commented.

"So what sort of culinary creation is Dr. Hildastein constructing today?" Lionel asked.

"Don't touch anything!" Zelda yelped as she ran by.

"Hi, Aunt Zelda." Sabrina said.

"Oh, kids, what are you doing inside?" Zelda asked.

"I think I got Stockholm Syndrome for your brother-in-law, 'cuz the lack of adventures in Greendale is really depressing me." Cherry replied.

Zelda winced audibly. "That is a problem..." she said.

"I'm not usually one for convenient plot twists, but I'd be okay with one now." Lionel added.

"Well, I don't know about all of that, but perhaps this special wristband that will allow you to travel in any world possible from a whim?" Zelda suggested as she brought out a magical wristband. "It'll take you wherever in the blink of an eye."

"Well, that's sorta interesting." Sabrina replied.

"Gimme," Hilda said as she reached out for the wristband from her sister. "I wanna go to 1492 to give that Christopher Columbus a whack in the junk for doing worse than discovering America."

"Later," Zelda replied, holding it out of her sister's grasp. "All in due time."

"Hmph! You always ruin my fun!" Hilda firmly pouted.

"Hilda..." Zelda sighed from that before looking to the group. "I'll need a guinea pig though."

Everybody stepped backward from that before Salem came to the kitchen to get himself a snack before he saw everybody looking at him. "Uh, is it my birthday or something?" he then asked from their looks. Soon after, he found himself being used to test the wristband. "Animal testing SHOULD be outlawed..." The cursed warlock then muttered.

"Oh, Salem, you'll be fine," Hilda told the cat. "Uh, he will be fine, right, Zelly?"

"Of course he will," Zelda replied. "Like I would actually hurt a living creature."

"We'll see," Lionel replied. "You signed the waivers, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Salem rolled his golden eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

"This might be so cool," Patch smiled. "I wonder what's gonna happen?"

"Well, I'm honestly not sure, but Salem will end up somewhere far away from here," Zelda replied. "Hopefully it's merciful for him."

"And hopefully not," Hilda replied, taking out some popcorn. "Let's fire this sucker up!"

"All right, Salem, I made this remote to track where you are to convert it to a screen for us to watch, so good luck." Zelda said.

"Yeah, easy for you to say." Salem scoffed at that.

Zelda pushed a button which made Salem disappear before their very eyes as he seemed to go through a colorful portal that had various screens around him that showed various different people and worlds before one came up to him which brought him there.

"I guess it worked." Lionel remarked.

"Looks like he's channel chasing," Cherry smirked. "We all remember that?"

"I don't." Lionel said a bit sharply.

"I'll give you some highlights," Drell said as he walked by with his bowling shirt on and he looked around. "Has anyone seen my--Hey, what're you doing?" he then asked as he saw the screen. "Did Salem audition for a cat food commercial again?"

"What do you mean?" asked Lionel, turning to look.

"Well, what's he doing there?" Drell asked.

"Going to some sort of world and it looks like he's about to land there." Zelda replied.

Salem yelled out as he disappeared in a bright light before he ended up in a parking lot, but bounced off of and landed by some cars before he fell flat on the ground, rubbing his head as a circle of stars spun over his head. "I thought cats were supposed to land on their feet..." he said with a groan to himself as he rubbed his head with his paw.

"I guess your machine worked." Atticus replied.

"Success! AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Zelda beamed with a laugh with thunder and lightning.

The others looked at her.

"Heh... Sorry..." Zelda smiled sheepishly.

"Called it." Hilda replied as she ate her popcorn.

"So... Bowling ball... Has anyone... Seen it...?" Drell asked as he seemed more interested in what Salem was up to than what he was about to do. "Ah, screw it." He grumbled to himself as he stormed out of the room.

"Have fun with pilates!" Cherry called out.

Drell growled a bit from that.

"Where am I?" Salem asked himself. "This place sure looks creepy... I bet Cherry would like it here... Hello, what's this?" he then asked himself before he saw a familiar-looking van. "The Mystery Machine?"

"I don't know, everything here looks pretty quiet," Daphne's voice said. "Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"Seems like it, Daphne," Fred's voice replied. "All of the witnesses spotted a giant bat creature flying over this area."

"Bat creature?" asked Salem, curiously listening in. "Well... this cat has just become curious." And so he tiptoed over to the van, making sure to keep his steps quiet.

"W-Well, there's n-nothing here now!" Shaggy said as he was about to leave with Scooby. "How about if Scooby and I go look someplace else-"

Velma then grabbed a hold of him.

"Like under my bed?" Shaggy finished his thought.

"Nice try, Shaggy, but we're all staying right here." Velma smirked as she caught him as Daphne caught Scooby.

"Okay, gang. Let's fan out and search the area," Fred suggested. "I have to admit, though it looks like Shaggy's right; I don't see any bat-creatures around here."

Salem rolled his eyes, and yawned. "And curiosity is replaced with boredom..." he remarked.

"But I do, Fred," said Daphne, pointing up to a mysterious silhouette atop a billboard. "Up there!"

The gang aimed their flashlights upwards, revealing Batman and Robin (Tim Drake).

Fred gasped. "It's the Bat... man?!" he asked.

"And Robin!" Velma added.

Robin smirked. "It ain't Jimmy Olsen." he replied.

"Why, it's Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc gang!" Batman remarked as he and Robin came in for a landing.

"Long time no see, Batman," Daphne smiled at the Dark Knight. "Ever since our run-in with The Joker and The Penguin!"

"Yeah, we kept running into all sorts of people back then! Singers, basketball players..." Fred added as he shook hands with Batman. "It felt like we were teaming up with someone different every week!"

"I know the feeling." Batman replied.

"Well, this got somewhat interesting." Salem remarked to himself.

"You guys are pretty far from Gotham City," said Velma. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"We've been tracking down one of our strangest foes: Man-Bat." explained Robin II.

Shaggy looked confused. "Isn't Batman, like, standing right there?" he asked. "Besides, I wouldn't call 'im a menace..."

"Not 'Batman', Shaggy; Man-Bat." Robin II replied.

"Izzat like Pig Latin?" asked Shaggy.

Batman held up a picture of a humanoid bat hybrid. "Man-Bat is a genetic hybrid: part man, part bat. We found evidence he'd been in the caverns just outside of town, but nothing. So we're searching IN town, too."

"Hold the phone!" Fred declared. "Maybe Man-Bat is the bat-creature we heard about!"

"I can't imagine there'd be other bat-creatures running around out here." Daphne added.

"What can you tell us about this 'Man-Bat'?" Velma asked The Dark Knight.

"Gathering background information, eh, Velma? Good thinking," Batman smiled proudly. "The story begins with a man named Kirk Langstrom," he then began to explain. "Since bats have extremely sharp hearing, Dr. Langstrom hoped to use a bat extract to help cure deafness in humans. Rather than risking anyone's safety, he tested it on himself. Let's just say it didn't work out quite the way he expected. In his bat form, Man-Bat, is more animal than human with all the instincts of a wild animal. That makes him dangerous," he soon concluded. "I brought along a vial of the antidote to turn him human again, but we have to find him fir--"

"AYEEEEE!" A scream was suddenly heard.

"Jinkies! I'd say you found him!" Velma gasped.

Batman and Robin II soon got ready to spring into action.

"Mind if we tag along?" Fred asked before he and the others got ready to run off.

"Not at all, Fred!" Batman replied. "We can always use help from partners who are brave and bold!"

"How about craven and cowardly?" Shaggy gulped at that.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," Salem said to himself. "I wish I could tell the others, but I might not be able to make it back home if this experiment is a disaster."

"No time for makin' jokes, guys!" Scrappy declared. "We gotta go stop that Man-Bat!"

And so, the group took off for the Gotham Shopping Mall.

"This must be the place." pointed Sabrina.

"Could be." shrugged Mo as people ran screaming from the store.

"Yeah, that's a dead giveaway." Cherry deadpanned.

"Careful, that description sure sounds like Man-Bat." Robin II warned.

"N-N-Not Man-Bat, Bat-MEN!" Shaggy pointed out nervously. "Bats! Like three of 'em! Like, buy one and get two free!"

Three Bat-Men were soon shown to be robbing the store together.

"Holy triple vision!" Fred gasped.

"Please don't do that." Robin II groaned at him.

"We might only have enough antidote for one, but we still have to take the other two down just the same." Cherry suggested with narrowed eyes.

"Then we can worry about that after we catch them!" Batman declared as he and Robin II charged into action.

"It's Batman and Robin!" exclaimed one crook.

"And a bunch'a kids an' a couple a dogs!" exclaimed the other.

"Whaddo we do?" asked the third.

"You hafta ask?" replied his friend. "RUN!"

And the crooks made a break for it into a nearby seafood restaurant.

"They're getting away!" Daphne exclaimed. "Let's go after them!"

"Like, do we have to?" asked Shaggy.

"Actually, Shaggy... we don't." replied Batman, as he threw a Batarang, which sliced through the ropes holding up a fishing net over the restaurant entrance, and fell onto the crooks' heads.

"Talk about your 'net gains'!" Lionel remarked.

"Wow, you caught them!" Daphne beamed. "And we didn't even have to run around and crash into each other first!"

"That was gettin' tiresome." Scrappy noted.

"Maybe we should get some Batarangs too." Daphne suggested.

"That would prove for refreshing material after about 50 years of the same formula." Cherry smirked as she crossed her arms.

"So which one of these three is the original Man-Bat?" Fred spoke up.

"It's simple enough to deduce," Batman remarked. "The 'Bat-Robbers' ran away as soon as they saw us. No surprise there; I've always felt that criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot."

"Hey! Like us!" Shaggy beamed as he stood with Scooby.

"And contrary to popular belief, not me." Cherry added.

"I see what you mean, Batman," Robin II agreed with his mentor. "If they were so scared, why'd they run? Why not just fly away?"

"Maybe they're afraid of heights?" Salem guessed.

"No, I get it!" Velma piped up logically. "The answer is the same reason why Bat-Creatures would steal jewelry or televisions!" she, Batman, and Robin II soon removed the masks off of the three criminals who didn't appear to be who they were looking for. "Because they aren't really Bat-Creatures!"

"Right, Velma!" Batman agreed. "None of them is Man-Bat!"

"Yeah, okay, you got us." grumbled a brown-haired crook.

"You guys dressed up as bats to rob a mall?" asked Robin II. "Isn't that kind of... elaborate?"

"Not compared to some of the crimes we've solved!" Fred replied.

Robin II pondered for a few minutes. "...or some of our cases, come to think of it."

"With all the reports about a 'bat-creature' in town, people were already freaked out," said the bald crook. "All we had to do was show up in costume and everyone ran off. We didn't even need guns!"

"Yeah, and we woulda gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those meddling superheroes!" The brown-haired crook glared towards The Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder.

"But instead we caught the whole gang: the three of you!" Daphne smiled.

"Uh, maybe not the whole gang, Daphne..." Velma spoke up.

"She's right..." Cherry added before pointing right at a fast food stop. "There's another one over there near that Big Boy's Burger knock-off!"

The group soon began to run off to where Cherry pointed out.

"Well, considering how quickly we wrapped up his partners, this shouldn't be too hard." Fred smiled hopefully.

Said final culprit was standing atop a garbage can, hissing and baring its fangs.

"...of course, I could be wrong..." Fred gulped.

"R-R-Ran-Rat!" Scooby exclaimed.

"Actually, Uncle Scooby, that's Man-Bat!" Scrappy exclaimed, putting up his dukes.

"Like, why's everyone so uptight?" Shaggy smiled innocently. "I mean, even I know these guys are fake now."

"Did you not just hear Batman's origins about Dr. Kirk Langstrom?" Cherry deadpanned.

"Oh, come on, Cherry, all ya gotta do is pull off the mask--" Shaggy said casually as he grabbed the Man-Bat's face, but it didn't seem to move or come off which made him suddenly scared. "Unless... He's not WEARING a mask!"

The Man-Bat soon took off flying with Shaggy and shrieked very loudly.

"Like, I'm too young to fly!" Shaggy panicked.

"Well, he's doomed," Cherry said flatly. "We better go help him out before he gets hurt or worse."

"RI'll rave rou, Raggy!" Scooby called as he jumped onto his friend's shoe, clinging on as he was airlifted. "Ruh-roh."

"Like, thanks, ol' buddy..." said Shaggy. "But, now, who's got you?"

"Hang on, Uncle Scooby!" Scrappy declared, racing off behind them. "Tada-dada-dadaaaa! Puppy Power...!"

"Hang on, you two!" Batman shouted, swinging off on his batrope. "I'm coming!"

"Psst! Now's our chance!" The brown-haired crook whispered and smirked to his friends. "While they're distracted; split up and get outta here!"

Atticus looked around as he thought he heard something.

"We have to help Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy!" Velma cried out.

"Batman's got it covered." Robin II reassured.

"But we got bigger fish to fry!" Atticus added as he looked over to see the crooks escaping when their backs were turned.

"The robbers are getting away!" Fred cried out. "Hurry!"

"Be very careful and diligent with those Batarangs." Cherry told the others who had some.

"Right!" The others declared before they split.

"No problem, Cherry; like Batman said," Daphne replied as she threw a Batarang, but it missed within a hair length of one of the crooks, and veered back. "Ohhhh... Batarangs curve, right?" she realized.

Cherry face-palmed.

"Yikes!" Velma yelped as she ducked down before the Batarang could hit her. "I'll say they curve!"

"And they keep curving!" Fred added as he dove to the floor.

"Until they hit a crook," Mo smirked once the Batarang finally hit one of the bad guys. "Even if it's not the crook you're aiming for!"

"Um, I guess Batarangs take some practice." Daphne smiled sheepishly.

"I think I'll stick to capturing crooks the old-fashioned way," Fred said before he took off for a ride and bumped into one crook with... "With a giant skateboard!"

"Nicely done and without superpowers!" Atticus approved.

The third crook was on the run. "Forget those other two... I'm home free!" he declared, before Robin II cornered him.

"Wanna bet?" The new Boy Wonder asked, giving a fierce punch to the criminal's jaw.

Meanwhile, Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy were still flying with the Man-Bat.

"Zoinks! We're gonna crash!" Shaggy panicked. "Like, this is one time I'm NOT in a hurry to get to Bobby Bigburger!"

"It's all right, Shaggy," A voice soothed. "Come closer!"

"Guys, as strange as it sounds, I think Bobby just tried to talk to us." Scrappy said to his uncle and friend.

"Ruh?" Scooby blinked.

"Bobby Bigburger talk?" Shaggy asked. "Our stomachs must be playing tricks on us!"

"The only trick here is on Man-Bat!" Batman glared as he ran outside the restaurant before he leapt through the air. "I needed him close enough to make this leap!"

The Caped Crusader soon landed right on Man-Bat's back.

"Like, don't tell me three of us need saving now!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"Actually, quite the opposite," replied Batman as he took out a small vial of green fluid. "Now that I'm close enough to administer Man-Bat's antidote!"

But just then, Batman dropped the vial. "No! Somebody catch it!" he exclaimed.

"Like, I would, but I'm too busy hangin' on for dear life!" Shaggy replied.

Fortunately, Scooby grabbed the vial using his tail. "ROTCHA!" he declared.

"Great catch, Uncle Scooby!" Scrappy beamed.

"Good work, Scooby!" Batman added. "Now just toss up the antidote back to me and I'll do the rest!"

Scooby soon did just that as he twirled his tail out and the vial flew up in the air until it was caught by The Dark Knight.

"The antidote works quickly," Batman said as he made Man-Bat drink the serum. "It shouldn't take long for Man-Bat to change back into human form."

Man-Bat yelped as he drank the antidote and seemed to slowly turn back into a human.

"Rhew!" Scooby sighed in relief.

"Human? That's a relief!" Shaggy added.

"Except for one thing," Scrappy then said before they suddenly fell through the air. "Humans can't fly!"

Sabrina discreetly stuck out her pointer. "My friends may not survive that drop, so in mid-air, you need to stop!" she whispered, creating a large net that the others could grab the corners of and use to catch Batman, Shaggy, and Scooby.

"Like, thanks for the save," Shaggy chuckled as he climbed out. "I've never been happier bein' the catch of the day!"

"Speaking of 'catches', isn't that the same net that was holding the thieves?" asked Batman. "They didn't escape, did they?"

"No chance of that," replied Fred. "Luckily, they were having a sale at the House of Rope!" he gestured to the three crooks, all tied up.

"How convenieeeeeeeeeeeent!~" Cherry remarked in a voice reminiscent of "Church Lady" (Look it up, kids!).

Later...

"Not a bad night's work," Robin II smiled at Mystery Inc's help along with the adventure team. "You all were a really big help."

"You mean you couldn't have done it without us?" Fred piped up.

"Well, I didn't exactly say that," Robin II chuckled to Fred, Daphne, and Velma. "But you should come to Gotham for next month's meeting of the Mystery Analysts."

"'Mystery Analysts'?" Sabrina repeated. "Are those like superhero psychiatrists?" Sabrina asked.

"No, Brina, they're some of the greatest detectives in the world." Cherry clarified dryly.

"Well, I didn't know, Cherry." Sabrina shrugged in defense.

"I just thought that was obvious," Cherry said. "By the way, nice work with what you did to help too."

"Thanks," Sabrina replied. "I'm glad I got to help."

"Sabrina Spellman helps Batman and Robin," Cherry said to herself. "Why has no one ever thought of that before?"

"Thanks for your help, Batman," Dr. Langstrom said to the Dark Knight. "When I became Man-Bat, I just couldn't control myself."

"These kids really deserve your thanks, Kirk," Batman remarked. "If they hadn't risked their safety to weigh Man-Bat down, I never could have caught up before you flew away."

"Ya see, Uncle Scooby and Shaggy?" Scrappy beamed. "You guys ARE brave and bold!"

"I knew it all along." Batman agreed strongly.

"Really?" Shaggy asked. "Well, I guess that WAS kinda brave; like, whaddya think, Scoob?"

"Ri rink... RI'M RATMAN!" Scooby growled, wearing one of the Man-Bat masks and terrifying Shaggy.

"Y-Yeah... I think I'll stick with craven and cowardly...!" Shaggy stammered.

Scooby popped the mask off and howled, "SCOOBY-DOOBY-DOO!"

"Oh, brother." Cherry rolled her eyes in deadpan while Atticus said that with an amused smile.

Everybody else then shared a laugh as Scooby chuckled to himself.

"Well, I guess this was a success." Zelda said as she picked up Salem to take the wristband off of the black cat.

"Sure, and leave me to be a test subject," Salem narrowed his eyes. "I know we're an old-fashioned family, but there are some laws against animal testing, ya know."

"I'm aware," Zelda replied as she picked up the armband. "But I'm not sure if that qualifies for cats who used to be warlocks."

"Aw, great..." Salem crossed his arms with an eye roll.

"So, kids, did you have fun with Mystery Inc and Batman?" Hilda smiled innocently to her niece and her friends.

"It was interesting, Aunt Hilda," Sabrina smiled back. "In fact, I think we could do this again real soon."

"Yeah, it was pretty fun," Mo replied. "Nice little diversion from all that free time and nothing to use it on."

"Well, I'm glad that we could help!" Hilda beamed.

"I have a feeling this is going to lead to some pretty interesting adventures." Cherry remarked.

"Mm-hmm!" The rest of her friends nodded in agreement.

"Plus, it was refreshing to see you other than the first Robin." Cherry smirked at Robin II quietly so the others wouldn't hear.

"Duly noted," Robin II gave a thumbs-up. "Especially since Nightwing has his own business to deal with."

"Give him my best regards." Cherry said with a wink.

"Can do." Robin II winked back with a chuckle.

"So whaddo we do now, since this part is over?" asked Scrappy.

"I guess we'll just go home and wait until we see what happens," Cherry said. "This honestly feels like filler."

"Can't say I blame ya." Lionel shrugged, before he nodded his head, and the group vanished in a puff of smoke.

Chapter Text

"Jinkies, Fred; I always wondered where the crooks we catch get all the costumes & gadgets they need to pose as ghosts!" said Velma as she and the others stood outside a massive warehouse.

Cherry shrugged. "I just figured they had a supplier; a guy who knows how to 'get things'." she replied.

"Well, with Batman and Robin's help, we'll solve that mystery in a minute, Velma;" stated Fred. "Especially since the trail ends here!"

At that point, Batman and Robin II kicked the door in, and stormed the warehouse.

"Too bad your friend Lionel couldn't come," Daphne told the Adventure Team. "He'd probably get a kick out of seeing the Dynamic Duo in action!"

Atticus and Mo shrugged, with knowing smiles.

"Well, he might just be closer than you think," said Atticus, as Mo chuckled.

"Just as I suspected..." stated Batman, as he looked around. "the costumes & equipment are being supplied by 2 of our old foes: The Spook, and False-Face!"

In the midst of the place were two creepy-looking characters: one wore a shadowy green cloak, and the other wore a tux, dressing gloves, and a black plastic mask over the front of his face.

"Batman and Robin!!" exclaimed the second guy.

"Hey, neat; I was right!" Cherry smirked.

"Of course... False-Face is a master of disguise," said Robin II. "and The Spook is a human crook who uses tricks to make himself seem like a ghost!"

"Just the thing for the kind of crooks we face!" replied Daphne.

"You won't capture us!" declared the Spook; he waved his arm before Batman, and a cloud of smoke surrounded him. "Not when the MISTS OF THE NETHERWORLD are at my command!!"

Just then, Batman burst through the cloud and socked the Spook in the face. "You mean a smoke bomb!"

Meanwhile, Scooby was stumbling through the smoke, trying to find the door. "Where is everybod--?" he coughed. "RHOOOOPS!!" he ran past False-Face, bowling him over. "Sorry!"

"That's my Uncle Scooby for ya," Scrappy beamed proudly. "Everyone underestimates 'im, but he ALWAYS manages to prove himself when the chips are down!"

"We did it!" Velma smiled. "We cut off the Underworld's supply of monster costumes!"

"Maybe, but things aren't always what they look like with these two villains." Robin II remarked.

"I'll say! Look!" Fred added as he removed the masks off of the two captors. "'False Face' is really The Spook! And 'The Spook' is really False Face!"

"Whoa." Atticus said.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Velma spoke up. "I'll bet we have to go further to find the... Truth!" she then added, removing the masks to see two familiar faces. "Huh? 'The Spook' is really Shaggy! And 'False Face' is really Daphne!"

"Holy Multiple-Personality Disorder! Unless..." Robin II said before removing the masks again. "'Shaggy' is really Scooby and 'Daphne' is really Batman?!"

"Time out!" Cherry complained. "This is more questionable than Pooh's Adventures getting an IMDb page! Just what is going on here?!"

"Like, what's going on?" asked Shaggy. "All these quick changes are making me dizzy!"

"It's like some kind of crazy prank, or a magic trick!" Daphne added.

A look of absolute dread crossed Batman's face. "'Crazy prank'...? 'Magic'...?" he face-palmed. "...oh, no. That's enough; the fun's over! So show yourself!!"

"Bra-vo, bravo! Glad you finally figured it out!" remarked a familiar voice, accompanied by sarcastic clapping. And in a BLIPT! of energy, Bat-Mite himself appeared. "But you got 1 little fact wrong. The fun isn't over... why, it's barely just begun!" he added.

Robin II gasped in surprise. "Bat-Mite!" he exclaimed.

Scrappy was ecstatic. "Oh, boy-oh-boy! Now things are really getting fun!" he exclaimed.

Shaggy rubbed his eyes. "I gotta be seein' things, man! A bite-size Batman?" he asked.

You've met before, Shaggy. Remember?" explained Mo. "The magical imp in the Batsuit who prides himself on being one of Batman's biggest fans, next to Lady Gothika."

"I'm also a big fan of Lady Gothika at times." Bat-Mite smirked.

"Hooray." Cherry said lowly.

"Uh... I can see you're busy now..." False-Face said as he went to sneak away with The Spook.

"We'll just be going..." The Spook added.

Batman and Robin II then suddenly struck the two down before they could escape any further.

"I don't think so!" Robin II glared at the foes.

"Maybe you've read my blog about Batman?" Bat-Mite asked the others. "'Mite Makes Write'?"

"You 5-Ds sure love your media," Cherry crossed her arms. "I bet you spend all your time on there, though I'm not one to talk. I bring my laptop with me everywhere like Coco Bandicoot."

"You have a blog too?" asked Velma.

Bat-Mite gave a casual shrug and smile. "Sure, everybody back on Zrrrf does; they love the Internet, it's prime for making mischief," he replied. "I used ta have a podcast too, but the Pod People got a little too frisky!" he said to the person reading this.

Nearby, Salem did a little rimshot on a cat-sized drum set.

"See, for those who don't know me, I used to come every once-in-a-while to this world to lend a hand to Batman." explained Bat-Mite.

"Because it is true." Bat-Mite countered.

"So how do you help Batman?" asked Daphne.

"Why, that's easy," Bat-Mite smiled. "By making his adventures even more awesome! After all, this is a comic/fanfiction! People read them for the awesome stories!" he took out a Bat-notepad and pencil. "Like for one; this team-up is okay, but it could be cooler... if you guys were APES!!" He twitched his nose, and the group members all turned into various simians.

"...anybody else have the urge to groom someone by plucking ticks out of their fur?" asked Mo.

Bat-Mite crossed something off his notepad. "How's BIES?" Another snap of the digits, and the group became a bunch of toddlers.

"Hey, look; it's, like, a pup named Scooby-Doo!" exclaimed Kid Shaggy.

"I'm not sure how I feel about this." Cherry said awkwardly as she looked at her kiddy body.

"Or... Oh, why didn't I think of this right away?" Bat-Mite smiled. "We're supposed to be teaming-up, right? But before we team-up... We have to fight!" he then announced as they were all suddenly in a boxing ring with gloves, back to normal.

"Is this really necessary?!" Atticus asked Bat-Mite.

"You know, he sort of does have a point." False-Face remarked to The Spook.

"It does seem to be the way these things work most of the time." The Spook replied.

"Us?!" Shaggy gulped. "Fight the Dynamic Duo?!"

"I didn't say it'd be a long fight." Bat-Mite remarked.

"Erm... Bat-Mite, I don't think it should have to be this way," Cherry said to the imp. "Can't we settle this some other way?"

Bat-Mite smacked his forehead. "Of COURSE! Lady Gothika, you're right!" he exclaimed. "Even if it is in the book, I'll admit it's really kind of repetitive," he turned to face the Mystery Incorporated group. "But if you're gonna team up with the Terrific Trifecta, you'll need to look the part!"

Scooby looked confused. "Rook the rart?" he asked.

The Zrrrfian imp wiggled his fingers, causing magical energy to surround the group. "To the rest of the world, you're Mystery Inc.," he stated, as the gang soon found themselves dressed in customized Bat-suits. "But here in Gotham, STERIES 6! Little reference to the original pre-development title for 'Scooby-Doo! Where Are You?', especially since there were originally planned to be six members on the team."

"But what would we even do in these outfits?" asked Fred. "We already caught False-Face and The Spook!"

Bat-Mite took out a copy of 'Batman: The Black Casebook', and began flipping through it after page marking his entry. "Yeah, yeah; ya caught a couple o' guys who like to dress up. Scintillating. Where's the challenge in that?" he replied. "I say we make things interesting!"

Daphne paled a bit. "...'fun'?" she asked, curiously.

"Like for one, what if instead of pretending to be a ghost..." exclaimed Bat-Mite as he blasted the Spook, transforming him into a malevolent specter. "...The Spook was a genuine ghost with nigh-omnipotent power?!"

Batman clutched the bridge of his nose. "...this is Calendar Man all over again..." he mumbled.

The new-&-improved Spook cackled evily. "Such POWER! I hold the power to reshape the universe! Power to exact my VENGEANCE!!"

"Hey!" called False-Face, still tied up. "Don't I get near-omnipotent power, too?"

"Like, I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Shaggy shuddered.

Bat-Mite pondered. "Solid point there; it does feel like it lacks something... Gashplork! That's it!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers and granting life to the monster costumes. "Howzabout that?"

"Oh, wow-oh-wow!" Scrappy exclaimed. "This is gonna be a K-9 cakewalk!"

"I smell trouble already." Atticus commented.

"Nothing we can't handle though." Mo remarked.

"It's not exactly what I had in mind." Shaggy said nervously.

"There's nobody inside these costumes!" Velma panicked.

"Zombie Island strikes again." Cherry commented.

"If there's no one inside, we can't knock them out!" Robin II cried. "How can we stop them?!"

"Like, maybe with too much starch?" Shaggy shrugged.

"Rangwaaaay!" Scooby cried out, suddenly running down a mummy and someone who looked like The Creeper.

"I guess either way we'll fight." Cherry then shrugged at herself.

"Looks like Scooby found the answer," exclaimed Batman. "We can't knock them out... but we can keep them off-balance until we find a more permanent solution!" He grabbed Captain Cutler and swung him, knocking over the Frankenstein monster and vampire.

"That helps with the living costumes, but what can we do against a vengeful specter with unlimited supernatural powers?" asked Fred, pointing to The Spook.

"I'm not sure," replied Daph. "So we'll do what we always do!"

"You mean, panic & hide?" asked Shaggy.

"No, I mean pull off his mask!" Daphne replied, reaching over and pulling the Spook's mask off, revealing the man in the suit.

"Wha...? You....you broke my power!" The Spook fumed. "I could've ruled the world if not for you meddling kids!"

"And the other monsters are collapsing!" Velma exclaimed as she saw the creatures changing back into suits.

"With the spell broken, they've changed back into costumes!" Batman added.

"And we're back to normal, too!" Fred beamed, as he and the gang were back in their normal garb. "Sure feels good to be wearing an ascot again!"

"Grrr... no fair!" Bat-Mite fumed. "I turned the Spook into a real ghost! It shouldn't be possible to change him back without Zrrrfian magic! Besides, ya didn't even stop him in a really awesome way, like makin' a brilliant deduction or through the use of awesome gadgetry! All you did was pull off the mask!"

"Well, what'dja expect?" asked a voice. "That was MY magic!"

This time, everyone was bewildered when a small imp in a Scooby-Doo suit appeared. "I'm Scooby-Doo's biggest fan!" he beamed. "You can call me... SCOOBY-MITE!"

"Scooby-Mite?!" Atticus, Cherry, and Mo asked.

"Ruh-roh!" Salem exclaimed as he was suddenly shown with Sabrina.

Cherry was shown banging her head against the wall.

"Hey, come now, you like the Mites." Atticus said to her.

"Bat-Mite, I'm used to, but a Scooby-Mite?!" Cherry replied.

"'Scooby-Mite'?" Robin II asked out of confusion.

"Sure! Bat-mite might love Batman, but back home in the 5th-Dimension, my hero is Scooby-Doo!" Scooby-Mite proclaimed.

"Rero? Rooby-Doo?" Scooby asked, sounding touched before giggling.

"Do you know this guy?" Atticus asked Bat-Mite.

"Lot of assumptions here," Bat-Mite replied. "No, I don't know him. This is the first I've ever seen of him."

"You're the greatest, Scooby," declared Scooby-Mite. "You should be in cartoons and movies and on lunchboxes!"

"Little late for that," Bat-Mite replied. "Plus, aren't you overdoing it? Scooby's okay, sure, but he's no Batman."

"'Okay'?!" Scooby-Mite exclaimed. "Scooby's way more awesome than Batman! You just think he's cool cuz he has that deep voice and cape and dances a wicked Batusi!"

"The fact that Batman's a more competent detective doesn't hurt either..." Bat-Mite muttered.

Velma glanced at Batman. "You dance?"

Batman looked embarrassed. "...I don't want to talk about it." he replied.

Cherry snickered as Batman flashed her a sharp look, though she didn't look too scared, but she did quiet down once she met his gaze.

"Scooby never gets to shine on his own because he's always being overshadowed by his sidekicks!" Scooby-Mite then said, gesturing at Shaggy, Daphne, and Fred.

"'Sidekicks'?" Fred huffed as he crossed his arms. "Who? Us?"

"Scooby just needs a chance!" Scooby-Mite replied as he snapped his fingers. "Better pronunciation!"

"I say, old chaps! These ghastly wraiths are deucedly vexing, eh, wot?" Scooby then remarked, suddenly speaking in a British accent.

Cherry and her friends cringed slightly at that new language barrier.

"And superpowers!" Scooby-Mite continued as he then made Scooby into a superhero with a cape and uniform like Superman. "Faster than a speeding bulldog! More powerful than a Loco Mastiff!"

A group of past Scooby-Doo villains were soon gathered around like Batman's rogue gallery.

"So when danger strikes..." Scooby-Mite continued.

"Egads!" Scooby panicked. "A bevy of beasty behemoths! Or in other words... RIKES! RONSTERS!" he then cried out as he suddenly ran away, running through a brick will from his own cowardice.

The group then sweat-dropped at that.

"...He can crash through a wall and run away at super-speed." Scooby-Mite soon finished his narration.

"Congratulations, you can make him easier to understand, you can give him superpowers," Bat-Mite smirked. "But no matter what you change on the outside, he's still the same cowardly Great Dane on the inside. Besides, if you were a Scooby-Doo fan, you'd know that the Mystery Inc gang is not Scooby's sidekicks, they're equal members of the team, even if Scooby and Shaggy are frequently used as monster bait."

"Uh, yeah!" Atticus added. "What he said!"

"And you are?" Scooby-Mite asked.

"I'm Atticus and I go on adventures with my friends through different worlds, realities, and--" Atticus explained.

"Ahem?!" Cherry glared sharply.

"What?" Atticus asked. "I was gonna talk about you too."

"Yes, but need I remind you that these started out with me?" Cherry replied as she crossed her arms. "You're merely a sidekick."

"Me? A sidekick?" Atticus narrowed his eyes. "You're the Daffy Duck to my Bugs Bunny."

"Maybe I was better off before you came around!" Cherry snapped before looking at Scooby-Mite. "But yes, my friends and I are close allies and partners with Mystery Inc on special occasions."

"Ah, yes, you're those lazily added in self-inserts who're just part of the story to change it and make it worse when it was perfectly fine the way it was." Scooby-Mite retorted.

"LAZY?!" Cherry growled. "Of course you realize this means war!"

"That's it!" Bat-Mite declared. "Sir, you have insulted my lady's honor!" He took off one of his gloves and pimp-slapped Scooby-Mite into a wall, which he peeled himself off of. "Nobody insults my friends like that!"

"All right, perhaps I struck a nerve." Scooby-Mite remarked.

"Nah, really, you think?" Atticus glared.

"But we can still make Scooby more contemporary to relate to today's mass audiences!" Scooby-Mite soon said, suddenly looking like a business executive as he brought out a chart. "What's hot these days?"

"According to the modern Cartoon Network, hashtags and twerking." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Heavens! Even I wouldn't stoop so low!" Scooby-Mite said before changing her, her friends, and Mystery Inc into Men in Black based outfits. "I know! Shadow Government Conspiracies!"

"Does this count as a Men in Black crossover?" Cherry asked the audience.

"Or high-tech ghost-chasing gear!" Scooby-Mite then suggested, changing them into Ghostbusters-esque outfits and then to an equine design that was all too familiar. "Or ponies! Ponies are very popular in these types of stories, right?"

"Eh, I don't really see the appeal." Bat-Mite remarked.

"Wait, you know what's really popular right now?" asked Scooby-Mite. "...ZOMBIES!!"

Suddenly, the group was surrounded by hordes of shambling zombies!!

"Bring it on, you undead creeps!" Scrappy declared. "I'll make mulch outta youse!"

Shaggy and Scooby huddled together. "These crumbly creeps wanna, like, eat our brains!" Shaggy yelped. "And I need what little brains I've got!"

"Relax, Shaggy, they don't want to eat brains!" A familiar voice exclaimed.

"N-No?" Shaggy asked before turning to see Batman and Robin II coming back.

"It's a simple deduction," Batman replied. "Remember, these zombies were created by Scooby-Doo's greatest fan!"

"Then I hope he didn't see Zombie Island." Cherry commented.

"Of course! They don't wanna eat brains; they're hungry for Scooby Snax!" Velma realized.

"Fortunately our utility belts hold something for every type of emergency!" Batman then said, tossing the Scooby Snax over to the zombies.

"That explains your Bat Shark Repellent," Cherry smirked. "Does Catwoman know you're here?"

"I wouldn't worry about her too much..." Batman replied mysteriously.

"Zombies eating Scooby Snax!" Fred remarked. "Now I've seen everything!"

"Don't say that, Fred!" Daphne warned. "Those imps might take it as a challenge!"

POOF! A wolf-like imp appeared with a picket sign which read "SHADOW WOLF x KALA THE VOLCANO TWIN 4EVER" as she looked around. "Is Shadow Wolf here?" she then asked.

"Wrong universe, Shadow-Mite." Bat-Mite and Scooby-Mite told the imp.

"Oh, darn it!" Shadow-Mite glared before disappearing.

"See?" asked Bat-Mite. "Batman figured it out and saved them from the zombies!"

"Maybe," replied Scooby-Mite, snapping his fingers. "But now it's Scooby's turn to save the day!"

Suddenly, Batman and Robin II were tied to tables with buzz saws coming towards them.

"Wrong!" Bat-Mite snapped his fingers and poofed up an army of skeletons. "Batman is gonna save them from a legion of skeleton warriors!"

"What is even happening?" Salem asked.

"Dude, I don't even know." Cherry replied.

"No! Scooby's gonna save yours from dynamite, and a buzzsaw, and lions!" Scooby-Mite argued.

"No, Batman's gonna save yours from skeletons, quicksand, and an army of ghouls!" Bat-Mite retorted. "Although I have to admit, dynamite, and a giant buzzsaw and lions... That's pretty good!"

"The army of ghouls isn't bad either," Scooby-Mite replied. "Ya know, there's only one thing that could make this even better."

"MORE!" The two imps beamed at each other.

"And I say no more!" Cherry called out. "Bat-Mite, you will stop this right now!"

Bat-Mite skidded to a halt. "...yes, Cherry. Sorry, Cherry," he replied, his ears drooping. "Sorry, everyone; I got carried away... again."

Scooby-Mite snickered. "Hah! You got told off by your girlfriend!"

"And you!" Scrappy pointed at him. "You're seriously overestimating my uncle! Sure, I know he's not brave, which is why I gotta be brave enough for the both of us! I mean, honestly, saving Batman from dynamite and lions and a buzzsaw?! Are you screwy?!"

"I was just trying to have some fun and make your uncle cooler so they could see what I see." Scooby-Mite pouted.

"Well, you guys didn't have to go to such extremes," Atticus replied. "We already know how cool Batman and Scooby are and it's fine that we do as your friends and it's even greater that you guys are fans too."

"But maybe they just don't need all of this craziness," Mo added. "It doesn't matter whose hero is better than the other, we all contribute in the best we can! We all work together!"

"Mo's right." Daphne added in agreement.

"You guys also say that you're Batman and Scooby-Doo's biggest fans," Sabrina smiled. "If that's true, why would you try to change them? You guys already think that they're great just the way they are!"

"The kids have a point, fellows." Batman added to the two imps.

"Batman escaped from the buzzsaw, the dynamite, and the lions?" Scooby-Mite's eyes widened as The Caped Crusader got free from his booby traps.

"Told ya." Bat-Mite scoffed.

"If you already love watching or reading about our adventures, then why not just go home and let us have more of them?" Batman suggested.

"Well... alright," Scooby-Mite replied. "See you around, Batso."

"Eh, so long, amigo," Bat-Mite replied. "Man, that was exhausting..."

"It sure was," Cherry said as she crossed her arms. "You okay, Mite?"

"Yeah," Bat-Mite replied. "I'm sorry I got all carried away. Now I know why I don't do that stuff anymore."

"Well... All right..." Cherry said as she patted him on the head. "I'm not mad, I just thought that you would know better than that."

"This is why I don't wear this suit too often," Bat-Mite sighed as he took his suit off and changed back into normal clothes. "I always get carried away with how I used to be. Which is why I chose to make a new suit to differentiate between my past and future."

"There you go!" Cherry cooed to him. "Now... Let's maybe do something else."

"So much for the imps!" Robin II commented as he gestured at False-Face and The Spook. "Now we just have to deal with these two!"

"Zoinks! With all of that wackiness, I almost forgot all about The Spook and False-Face!" Shaggy gasped.

"Well, you can forget about them soon enough," Robin II reassured. "Once we bring them to jail."

"What?! You can't put us in jail!" The Spook complained. "That's why we started this whole racket! We got tired of you guys catching us all the time, so we started selling our equipment to other people, to let them pull their own crimes!" he then explained.

"Yeah, there's no laws against selling costumes and equipment!" False-Face added as he removed his mask.

"There is if you sell it to help criminals steal or commit fraud or cover up their counterfeiting and smuggling schemes!" Batman smirked. "Helping you makes them accessories to every one of their crimes!"

This made the two fiends look nervous as they didn't even think about that.

"Guess that finally wraps up this case!" Atticus smiled.

"The crooks are in custody and it looks like we're free to go." Fred added.

"It's about time!" Shaggy remarked. "If I never see another magical mite besides Lionel, it'll be too--" he was then about to add, only to see himself and the others tied up archery boards and bowling pins. "Soon?"

"Uh, guys...?" Robin II blinked.

"Hey, Robin didn't get tied up!" Cherry realized before glaring at Lionel suspiciously. "Is there a Robin-Mite too?"

Lionel sighed. "...unfortunately."

"I thought Scooby-Mite went home!" Daphne grunted.

"He did!" exclaimed a high-pitched voice. "But you can't leave yet! It'll be so cool if Robin rescues you all first!"

"Who..." Fred started, as a pint-sized fellow dressed like Robin appeared next to him.

"You can call me Larry!" beamed the little guy. "And I'm Robin's biggest fan, regardless of the incarnation: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Carrie Kelly, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown..." he sighed longingly. "...also Damian, I guess. And Nightwing is awesome, too!"

Batman let off a groan.

"Like, here we go again!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"Who writes this crap?" Cherry rolled her eyes.

"We gotta get out of here." Sabrina groaned.

"How did we even get here in the first place?" Salem asked.

"Author Appeal?" Cherry and Atticus shrugged at the teenage witch and her cat.

"Look, I'm seriously sorry about all this kerfuffle, guys." Lionel sighed. "Really, I am." he took his suit and tore it to pieces. "From now on, no more Bat-Mite mischief. This time, I promise to actually help for others' sakes, not just for my own amusement."

"Mm-hmm..." The group nodded sharply.

"Can ya forgive me?" Lionel asked.

"Hmm... Maybe this time..." Cherry replied. "This was quite the crossover, so I guess it's time to go back home."

"Already?" Mo asked.

"Well, I don't know what else we can do after seeing Batman and Robin," Cherry shrugged. "It's not like there's anything else planned, right?"

"Well, nothing else for now," Lionel replied. "We should be good for a while." And he floated halfway out the door, before he dropped to the ground and trudged sadly to the car.

The others went to go and join him.

"So what do we do now?" Atticus asked.

"I dunno," Cherry shrugged as she looked through her adventure scrapbook. "Visit other multiverses?"

"Eh, sure, why not?" replied Lionel. "Might inspire me to properly re-invent myself."

"You always said you wondered what Universe 63 was like," said Mo to Cherry. "So... no time like the present."

"...Well, yeah..." Cherry said.

"Lionel, do you think you could send us to Universe 63?" Mo asked Lionel. "It might be an interesting experience for all of us."

"Well, alright." Lionel replied, raising his arm and snapping his fingers, teleporting them out in a flash of light.

They soon arrived in Greendale as it seemed to be like it was as... It always was with no differences.

"Is this it?" Cherry asked Lionel. "It doesn't look any different."

"Trust me, we're here," Lionel replied. "Let's explore."

"Hmm... All right," Cherry shrugged. "I'm very sickened and curious."

The group soon wandered into Greendale to go and meet their gender-bent counterparts as they passed various people on the streets.

"Hey, there's the house," said Scrappy, pointing to a nearby building. "May as well head on in and check it out."

"Come on then." Cherry nodded.

"Come on, Salem." Sabrina smiled.

"This is eerily a lot like our world," Salem said. "Maybe nothing happened."

"So why are you worried?" Cherry asked.

"...I dunno," Salem shrugged. "Let's get this over with."

The group soon walked over to the house and Atticus, being the congenial soul he was, decided to knock on the door.

The door eventually opened, and an oddly-short teenage girl with puffy brown hair opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked, before getting a good look at the group. "...who are you?" she then added.

 "My name's Lionel." replied Lionel.

The girl went pale. "...my name's Leanne...!" she replied before her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp, passing out.

The group sweat-dropped on that.

"...What the fuzzy?" Cherry muttered.

Salem looked between Leanne and Lionel before he began to look a little cross-eyed.

"Is that the pizza, Leanne?" A raspy male voice asked before showing what looked like a boy with neck-length dark brown hair with glasses as he came inside. "We still have time before an emergency comes up." he then looked down to see what happened.

"Uh, hey?" Cherry called. "I'm Cherry."

"...My name is Chuckie." The boy replied.

"...Well, at least Lionel's spell worked." Sabrina shrugged at the others bashfully.

"Should... should we do something about Leanne?" asked Lionel.

"I'll get her to the couch," Chuckie said as he picked up Leanne and carried her off to the living room. "You guys look familiar... Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so," Mo replied bashfully. "We're just, uh, exploring right now."

"Hmm..." Chuckie replied suspiciously. "If you say so."

The house looked the same as it did in the Prime Universe, though there seemed to be a female Atticus and possibly a male Mo on the couch, though Mo's counterpart didn't look that much different than she did right now.

"Okay, this feels pretty weird," said Lionel. "But apart from the usual expected weirdness, it's nothing outstandingly weird."

"So... Uh..." Cherry blinked. "You guys waiting for something?"

"Yeah, we're getting pizza before we have... Schoolwork to do..." The male Mo replied.

"Erm... Yes," The female Atticus added. "It's very important."

"...You guys are adventurers, aren't you?" Atticus asked.

The group looked wide-eyed.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Atticus smirked.

"...Are you some kinda mind-reader?" Chuckie asked.

"Actually, we're adventurers too, it's kind of a funny story..." Cherry chuckled bashfully.

"We're your alternate-universe counterparts," explained Lionel as Leanne woke up.

"So you're me as a guy?" Leanne then exclaimed. 

Lionel nodded.

"Huh... cool~!" Leanne replied. "If not a bit dizzying!"

"This is really weird..." Sabrina commented before a short-haired blonde boy walked in.

"Whoa... Really weird..." The short-haired blonde boy replied.

"Looks like a certain someone has explaining to do..." The female Atticus narrowed her eyes.

"I doubt this has to do with our mission," Chuckie told her. "Unless... It is... And this is a test to see if we can make our gender-bent counterparts go away."

"Look, we're sorry we're bothering you, I just wanted to see what we would look like as the opposite sex or something," Cherry grinned bashfully. "There's no need to get violent."

"...Lemme guess, your Leanne or whatever your name is sent you to a different universe where you're you, but in a different scenario?" Chuckie rolled his eyes. "I've seen this a million times like one where we're Adventure Babies like that weird baby show: Carpet Critters."

"What are you talking about?" Lionel asked. "We have never found a universe like that! Who would be insane enough to send babies on life-threatening missions?!"

"I guess you haven't gotten that far yet." Chuckie smirked as the others shuddered.

"...Seriously?" Lionel asked.

Chuckie and the others nodded.

"What kind of world are we living in?!" Cherry flipped out. "I need to retire soon before I lose it!"

"CHERRY! YOU'RE BEING HYSTERICAL!!" Lionel shouted, as another Dalmatian came over with a bucket of water, and dumped it over Cherry's head.

"...I guess I needed that, Spot..." Cherry remarked at the dalmatian, as Lionel conjured up a fluffy towel for her.

"My name's not 'Spot'," replied the dalmatian in a feminine voice. "My name's Smudge."

"Guess you're my counterpart," said Patch. "You also live with a blue cat, one of your cousins, and a Great Dane puppy?"

"Yeah: Fuzzball, Doubleday, and Shaney-Doo," replied Smudge. "They're good company."

"Smudge?" Cherry deadpanned. "Your name is SMUDGE?!"

"...Yes?" The female Dalmatian replied.

Cherry blinked a few times before she started to laugh.

"Hey! Don't make fun of my dog!" The female Atticus glared.

"Heh. Sorry about that... Whoever you are." Cherry smirked.

"My name is Atlanta," The female Atticus replied. "You shouldn't mess with me."

"Lemme guess; I don't know what you can do?" Cherry rolled her eyes.

"That and it's not very nice," Atlanta warned. "Drella must've set this up, guys."

"Okay, now I'm terrified to meet a female Drell," Cherry said as she faced Lionel and the others. "Let's get out of here before I have the displeasure."

"Alright, we outta here," Lionel waved. "So long, guys!" And with a twist of his neck, the group vanished back to the Prime Earth in a flash.

"...Well, that just happened." Atlanta remarked.

"Yep." Mo's counterpart, named Marc, agreed.

There was then a ring at the doorbell.

"All right, the pizza's here!" Samson cheered.

The group soon made it back home.

"So, this is Prime Earth... I think..." Cherry said. "This is gonna be a lot to take in, I can tell."

"It usually always is." Lionel replied dully, as he took the remains of his Bat-Mite costume and tossed them into the garbage disposal, making them get ripped into tinier bits.

"jeez," Scrappy winced. "Was he bummed or what?"

"I feel a little bad for him." Mo frowned.

"Maybe we should do something for him." Atticus added.

"Like what?" Cherry shrugged. "You wanna bake him a cake or something?"

"I dunno, just to show him we love him for who he is and he's our friend," Atticus replied. "Maybe make a cake, maybe have a special day with him before the crazy stuff really starts to happen."

"Besides, we've seen a bummed-out Batman before," replied Patch. "Do you really want to see what a depressed Bat-Mite would be like?"

"No, I don't think I would, Spot," Cherry said. "There just has to be something we can do to make it up to Lionel."

"Well, maybe we can help him see that just because he's not the same old Bat-Mite anymore, it doesn't mean he can't just try being a better version," suggested Atticus. "He seems kinda unsure about whether or not he's gonna actually make a new suit."

"No, I don't think I would, buddy," Cherry said. "There just has to be something we can do to make it up to Lionel."

The others nodded as they gave Lionel a bit of alone time to let him sit and reflect on what just happened.

"At least that trip wasn't a waste," Cherry commented. "It was good to see for a minute."

Chapter Text

Several miles later...

"Wow, Fred! This Mark Twain country is really something!" Daphne smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised to see Tom Sawyer or Becky Thatcher any moment!"

"I'd rather see a road sign, Daphne because we're lost!" Fred replied.

"Thanks to our chief navigator Shaggy," stated Velma. "And his brilliant shortcut."

Shaggy, who was looking at the map, raised his head. "Can I help it if I can't read Greek?" he asked.

"Greek? That's an American road map!" Velma told him.

"I know, but it's all Greek to me!" Shaggy replied.

"Now we'll never make it on time for the Tom Sawyer Festival!" Daphne pouted.

"Well, don't worry, we'll find us a shortcut out of this shortcut," Shaggy promised. "Won't we, Scoob?"

"Right!" Scooby smiled.

Eventually, the cowardly duo both got stuck in the map as Shaggy accidentally tangled both of them up in it.

"On second thought, maybe we should ask for directions from somebody." Shaggy then said bashfully.

"Great idea, except there's nobody out here except for Cherry and the others in their van!" Velma replied.

There was then suddenly a bit of a ghostly moan heard.

"Not the time for Halloween pranks, Cherry." Atticus said.

"It's not me!" Cherry defended. "Maybe it's Casper's uncles!"

"Nah, sounds more like their friend, Harry Scary," Lionel replied. "From that time Casper met Yogi Bear and his friends."

"Probably just a monster from the Big Muddy," Shaggy replied casually... until everything clicked into place. "...MONSTER?!" he exclaimed, before joining Scooby in cowering underneath the map.

"Some things never change." Cherry shook her head.

"Hey! Cool it, gang!" Velma warned them. "We were probably hearing things!"

They soon heard the ghostly moan again which sounded a bit more chilling than the first time.

"You're right and we still are!" Daphne remarked.

"Well, whatever it is, it's just around the bend." Fred replied.

"And it might be time to stop the cars soon." Atticus added.

Fred ended up driving the Mystery Machine onto the wooden deck of a boat, where the front right tire sank due to a loose floorboard underneath. "Whoops! End of the line," he then exclaimed. "And we're stuck!"

"Nice going, Fred." Cherry snarked.

They soon found that they were at some sort of port harbor with a ship beside them that looked very expensive and fancy.

"Wow!" Velma looked over. "With that groovy old showboat to explore, who cares?"

"I care!" Daphne whined. "That old tug gives me the creeps!"

"Oh, relax, Daphne," Cherry said as she stepped out of the van she came in as the Mystery Inc group did the same with their van. "I've seen scarier stuff in the Netherworld."

"Guys, I can't help but feel like someone I know is around here, but I can't think of who and where right now." Salem remarked as he jumped down from Sabrina's arms after she carried him out of the van.

"What makes you say that, Salem?" asked Sabrina.

"Call it a hunch for now," Salem replied. "Further developments to come."

Sabrina shared looks with the others before just shrugging as they weren't sure what Salem was talking about, but it would come into play a bit later on.

"Relax, Daph," Fred said. "It's easy to see that no one's been here in years!"

The moaning then got louder.

"Well, it sounds like somebody's here now!" Velma warned.

"It's probably just a gust of wind in the smoke stack." Fred suggested.

"Doesn't sound like wind to me." Mo commented.

"Anyway, let's go aboard before the storm hits." Fred then advised the others.

"Don't gotta tell us twice," Atticus replied. "I'm just glad I'm not afraid of storms anymore."

"Alright then," Velma replied. "Shaggy, Scooby, this is no time to act chicken!"

Shaggy and Scooby poked their heads up from under the map. "Like, we're not acting chicken!" he and Scooby held up a pair of bitten drumsticks. "We're  eating chicken!"

"Reah!" Scooby agreed.

"Save some for me, guys!" Scrappy smiled. "We'll need as much energy as we can get!"

"Oh, brother." Cherry rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Everyone soon began to walk to the showboat as they gathered on the gangplank.

"See?" Fred told the others. "Nobody here!"

There was soon some wicked laughter heard. Everyone soon turned around to look at Cherry who just shook her head as she promised that she wasn't the one who was laughing.

"Cool it, Shag, this is no laughing matter." Daphne told Shaggy since he was right behind her.

"That wasn't me!" Shaggy replied. "Was it you?"

"Ruh-uh!" Scooby added. "You?"

"Nope, none of us did," Velma stated, before pointing upwards. "It came from up there!"

"Something else is coming from up there!" Fred added as he look up ahead. "Look!"

Another group was shown to be running across the showboat.

"Uh-oh! We have company!" Daphne gasped.

"I sure hope they're at least friendly." Sabrina said nervously.

"I don't think it's a welcoming committee." Velma replied.

The group soon ran towards the other two groups in front of them and soon, they all groaned and ended up on the floor together.

"Hey! Why don't you watch out where we're going?" The girl with black hair with a white streak in it glared.

"Oh, sure, watch your step, Princess Pouty." Cherry glared back.

"Sorry," Velma replied. "Who are you, anyways?"

"That's Josie and the Pussycats." said the blonde boy with the blue shirt.

"Hey, your group really floors me!" Shaggy commented.

"So I've noticed." Josie replied dryly.

"Who'd have thunk we would get to meet a rock group?" Scrappy commented. "What interesting lives we detectives lead!"

"You're telling me." Atticus nodded in agreement.

"Oh, you're Alan!" Fred said to the fellow blonde guy.

"And you're Valerie!" Daphne added to the dark-skinned girl.

"Right on!" Valerie replied and nodded.

"I'm Melody! ...I think," The blonde girl giggled. "With so many years, it's hard to tell."

The others sweat-dropped a bit at that "Dumb Blonde" moment.

"And, uh, you are?" Mo asked the black-haired girl.

"And I'm Alexandra," The girl replied boastfully. The real star of this group."

"You guys kinda look familiar." Sabrina commented as Salem came from behind her and soon saw the other cat who had hints of white in his black fur.

"Rebastian?" Scooby pointed to the cat who then shook his paws at him.

"Sebastian Cabot?" Salem asked as he looked at the fellow cat before smirking. "Ohh! I thought I sensed someone familiar around here."

"Salem, you know this cat?" Patch asked the cursed warlock.

"Sure I do!" Salem smirked. "We were roommates at the old Warlock Academy, one of my good friends next to Nick and Maurice."

"Shh... Don't tell anyone, Saberhagen, I'm undercover." Sebastian whispered with a smirk back.

Salem made a zipped-lips gesture and a thumbs-up.

"Friend of yours?" Sebastian asked as he observed Patch.

"Salem is teaching me how to be a good familiar like he is with Sabrina," Patch smiled. "I'm sorta new to this, but I was never punished by the Witch's Council. I was born a Dalmatian and proud of it."

"Heh... Good luck, kid." Sebastian rolled his eyes a bit.

"What are you kids doing here?" Fred asked.

"Our super booking agent, Alexander, booked us for a famous gig on a showboat!" Alexandra glared at the brown-haired boy in green. "This!"

"Well, how did I know that the Dixie Queen is a junkyard reject and haunted?" Alexander glared back at his sister.

"H-H-Haunted?!" Shaggy yelped.

"Raunted?!" Scooby added.

The two then shook nervously.

"It's okay, guys, you don't need to be scared," Scrappy told them. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

"The Dixie Queen is not haunted." A man's voice told the gaggle of teenagers.

"Ah... Insert a creepy old caretaker..." Cherry droned. "I was wondering when we were due into meeting one."

"Who said that?!" Shaggy shivered as he looked up.

On the boat's upper half, a bearded man in a navy outfit stood next to a tall, burly man.

"Creepy? Maybe," Lionel clarified. "Old? Nah. Middle-aged is more like it."

"Older than me anyway." Cherry replied.

"Fair point." Atticus shrugged.

"Hello, sir," Sabrina greeted warily. "You said something about the Dixie Queen not being haunted?"

"Captain Cannaby: skipper of this craft, and this is my first mate: Johnny Briggs." The man introduced himself with a warm smile.

"Skipper, let them go if they're afraid." Briggs suggested.

"No, Johnny; without their entertainment, The Dixie Queen will never make triumph return to the Mississippi." Captain Cannaby defended.

"Honestly, Captain Cannaby, we'd love to help you--" Josie replied.

"Speak for yourself, sister! I'm ready to split from this worm-eating relic right now!" Alexandra huffed at the redheaded girl. "Come on, Alan~" she then smiled as she hugged the blonde boy next to her by the arm. "Let's you and I grab the next black boat out of here."

"Wait!" said Fred. "Maybe we can help!"

"We just happen to be expert ghost-chasing mystery solvers." Velma added.

"Plus, I think fixing up this old boat would be a groovy idea!" Daphne beamed.

"Whatya say, guys?" Fred asked Cherry and the others. "You wanna help out?"

"Sure, Fred, we can do that!" Scrappy smiled.

"Beats standing around here doing nothing," Cherry shrugged. "I'm not the lazy type, even if some adventures annoy me."

"That's the spirit, Cherry." Atticus smiled in approval.

"Guys, I think you're right." Josie smiled back in excitement.

The lightning flashed yet again, startling Shaggy and Scooby.

"Besides, we're all stuck miles from nowhere, and if the storm hits, the Dixie Queen will be a good refuge." Fred told the others.

"Ghosts or no ghosts." Velma told Shaggy and Scooby.

"Personally, I'll take no ghosts." Shaggy said.

"Re roo." Scooby agreed.

"Me three!" Alexander added before he ran to hide away with them.

"Well, at least Shaggy and Scooby made a new friend they have something in common with." Atticus shrugged.

"They also sound similar." Lionel remarked.

"Thanks, I thought I was the only one who noticed that." Cherry commented.

Lightning flashed once more which scared Shaggy, Scooby, and Alexander to coming right back towards the showboat before they crashed into a barrel and fell on the floor.

"Like, anybody for a party?" Shaggy groaned as he tripped over a barrel.

"Party?" Valerie asked. "What kind of a party?"

"A boarding party!" Shaggy called out.

The three soon went to the nearest room that they could find and slammed the door shut as they decided to hide behind it.

"Your boyfriend looks scared." Cherry smirked.

"Boyfriend? Please!" Alexandra scoffed. "That's my brother!"

"...Really?" Cherry asked.

"Twin brother, but yes," Alexandra replied. "You better not mess with him though otherwise, it might be rough for you."

"Lemme guess; 'I don't know what you can do'?" Cherry retorted cyncially.

"Now, now, we're all in each other's company, let's at least try to get along with each other." Atticus advised.

"He's right," Scrappy nodded. "Besides, no sense impeding ourselves."

"Here are your saferooms, kids," said Captain Cannaby. "Maybe after tonight, you'll change your minds and stay on."

"Sorry, Skipper," retorted Alexander. "but this barge isn't big enough."

"Aw, there's plenty o' room!" The captain said as Sebastian slipped underneath a wash bucket.

"What makes you think the boat could be haunted, Josie?" asked Fred.

"Mysterious things happen; you know, like objects moving around." Josie explained.

Scooby turned to his left, only to see the wash bucket skittering around the deck. Salem glanced suspiciously at the bucket. Scooby soon yelped as the bucket kept moving and he ran off since that scared him.

"Sebastian?" Salem smirked.

"Guilty." Sebastian smirked back as he showed himself by lifting up the bucket.

"Scooby, you act like you saw a ghost!" Shaggy told his best friend.

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Rhere!" Scooby nodded and pointed at the wash bucket on the floor which was now beside Daphne, Sabrina, and Alexandra.

"Oh, guys, you're just seeing things." Daphne said.

"And I'll prove it," Alexandra smirked as she picked up the bucket as her pet cat soon clung to it to avoid being seen. "See? Nothing!"

Sebastian just snickered as he hid like the nasty cat he was.

"So much for mysterious moving things." Alexandra scoffed before she kicked the bucket to the wall which broke it into pieces.

The bucket was then busted down and Sebastian was shown as he glared after the crash. "...not one of my better moments..." he groaned as he collapsed, face-first.

"Sebastian!" Valerie gasped at the sight of Alexandra and Alexander's pet cat.

"Rhat russyrat!" Scooby snarled and huffed.

"Gee! Maybe Sebastian's a ghost now." Melody smiled.

"Well, how's that, Melody?" Alan asked her.

"'Cuz somebody kicked his bucket!" Melody explained, letting out a hearty giggle.

"Melody... What goes on in that head of yours?" Cherry asked, feeling disturbed by the blonde girl.

"Mm! Not much~" Melody shrugged and smiled innocently.

"I think maybe we should turn in for the night either in the boat or in a hotel." Atticus advised.

"I agree with Atticus," Josie nodded. "You're right, Captain Cannaby; we were silly to believe--" she then began to say until they suddenly heard a strange sound.

"Uh... never mind!" said the captain. "Probably just a loose chain somewhere. I'll go track it down." And he walked off to see.

"That was awfully peculiar." said Alexandra.

"Rattling chains?" asked Fred.

"Injun Joe?" asked Daphne.

"Certainly!" Velma remarked. "It all adds up!"

"Does it now?" Cherry slowly blinked.

"Makes sense to me." Atticus smiled at Velma.

"I was sure you'd get it." Velma smiled back.

"Hey, how 'bout cluing us in, guys?" Alan asked Atticus and Velma.

"Sure!" Atticus smiled.

"In Mark Twain's story about Tom Sawyer, the villain's name was Injun Joe, and he wore a dragging chain around his wrist." Velma informed.

"What a drag." Alexander commented.

"That's right," Daphne said. "Injun Joe was an escaped convict!"

"Oh, good grief!" Alexandra crossed her arms. "That happened 100 years ago! He wouldn't be around now."

"No, but his ghost might." Velma warned.

"Can I just remind everyone that Velma just said that?" Cherry commented to the fourth wall. "What went wrong? This was the girl who didn't believe in Vincent van Ghoul's adventures."

"You mean in-universe, or on a meta scale?" asked Lionel. "Meta, different writers, different interpretation. In-universe? Hell if I know!"

"I'm just saying, it's interesting to think about how skeptical she can be sometimes." Cherry explained.

"It is," Lionel replied. "I guess in-universe it's confusing, but maybe she finally decided to be more open to such possibilities... And while I'm wishing for the impossible, I'd also like Michael Bay to stop making bad movies." he sighed.

Shaggy, Scooby, and Alexander still looked scared at the mention of ghosts.

"It's okay, Uncle Scooby, no one will hurt you as long as you stick with your friends." Scrappy encouraged.

Sebastian smirked as he soon crept down behind Scooby and tapped his shoulder, being a trickster cat yet again. "BOO!" he then called out.

"RIKES!" Scooby yelped and soon took off running as that scared him pretty badly.

"Sebastian!" Patch glared before looking at the black cat beside him. "That friend of yours, Salem."

"Sebastian was always quite the practical joker," Salem remarked. "Probably even more than me when all I did to piss off The Witch's Council was voice my global conquest opinions and dreams I wanted to come true."

"Is that one of his pranks too?" Patch then asked once he saw an Indian ghost with metal chains who was now standing in front of Sebastian after Shaggy and Alexander had run off.

Sebastian yelped, and he and Scooby both ran off. Once they got back to the group, they both pointed in the direction they ran.

"The ghost of Injun Joe!" Velma exclaimed.

"Glad you've become more open-minded." Lionel smirked.

Mo took Lionel by the head and turned him around to see a man who resembled the Gorton's fisherman, except an eerie gray.

"I suppose you don't have fishsticks I can keep in my freezer, do you?" Cherry asked the fisherman ghost.

"Avast thar, you land-gang mortals!" The fisherman ghost glowered, speaking in a very dark and grim tone of voice. "Abandon this vessel, now!"

"Says who?" Alexandra challenged as she crossed her arms.

"The Ghost of Captain Scavenger: The meanest pirate that ever ravaged the Mississippi!" The ghost glared back.

The two ghosts then surrounded the group.

"Galloping Ghoulies!" Alexandra yelped as she suddenly felt scared. "Two ghosts for the fright of one!"

"Heeeelp! Man overboard!" Shaggy cried out as he ran for his life.

"It's you, isn't it, Shaggy?" Atticus asked.

"You are correct, sir!" Shaggy replied as he grabbed a floating ring and jumped overboard into the water.

"Me too!" Scooby added as he grabbed Scrappy by his collar as he ran by with Sebastian on his head and he jumped after Shaggy with his own floater ring.

"We can't just abandon our friends when they need us!" Scrappy yelped as he got pulled overboard.

Captain Scavenger cackled evilly as he vanished.

"H-he just vanished...!" Josie stammered.

"Oh, wow!" Melody exclaimed. "Outta sight!" she giggled.

"Let this be a warning!" declared Injun Joe. "Leave while there is still time."

"Hey, Scoob! Wait for me!" Alexander shouted as he leaped overboard.

"Oh, brother! Did you see what I think I saw?" Valerie asked as she put her hand to her face.

"Most likely." Cherry replied.

"What did ya see?" Captain Cannaby asked.

"We'll explain later," Fred replied. "Right now we gotta fish our buddies out of that river."

"What river?" Velma shrugged.

Everyone soon came to the end of the balcony to find that Shaggy, Scooby, Alexander, and Scrappy had all landed on top of each other onto a lower flower with the floater rings and hadn't gotten down into the water as they had planned to.

"Ouch..." Atticus said as he winced.

"Great... They went right into the docks..." Cherry remarked. "That has to hurt on some level."

"I'm beginning to think being followed by ghosts is a lot safer than following you two." Alexander glared at Shaggy and Scooby.

"It's a lot more interesting!" Scrappy remarked as he climbed back onto the boat.

"I thought I heard some chain rattling sounds coming from here?" Briggs questioned once he came to join the clatter.

"As a matter of fact, fella--" Alexandra began only to be cut off by a certain redheaded girl.

"You didn't." Josie interrupted.

"Then is everything all right?" Captain Cannaby asked.

"Yeah! Groovy!" Josie smiled innocently. "See ya in the morning, skipper!"

"Well, in that case, good night." Captain Cannaby said.

"And sleep tight." Briggs added as he and Captain Cannaby took their leave.

"Hey! Josie, what's with the upstaging bit?" Alexandra glared.

"Yeah, Josie, why did you lie like that?" Atticus added curiously.

"Sorry, guys, but now that we decided to help the skipper, I didn't wanna worry him." Josie explained.

"I get it; keep him unaware until we figure things out." Lionel nodded.

"Precisely." Josie smiled.

"Good to know." Atticus then said.

"Now that that's decided, we better turn in." Fred suggested.

"Right, we'll lock ourselves in our staterooms, and post a watch." Alan agreed.

"Gee, why would you wanna mail a watch?" Melody asked.

"I take back everything I ever said about Thor," Cherry said to herself. "This girl makes him look like a regular Einstein."

"He means stand guard, Melody," Velma added, sounding infuriated just as much as Cherry did before calling out to attract Shaggy and Scooby. "Any volunteers for food-tasting?"

"Seaman Shaggy reporting for duty, sir!" Shaggy saluted.

"Rooby-Doo!" Scooby added.

"I could eat." Scrappy smiled as he joined them.

"Great! ...You'll need these." Cherry said, giving them a mop, broom, and dustpan from the closet.

"Hardee-har-har, veeeery funny." Shaggy remarked.

"Reah, reeery runny," Scooby added.

"Consider them as weapons," Cherry smirked. "Ya know, for guard duty."

"Hmm..." Shaggy and Scooby narrowed their eyes in annoyance.

"Do we still get to taste some food?" Scrappy asked. "I'm pretty hungry."

"Sure, but maybe after a little bit of guard duty," Cherry suggested. "That is, if ya don't mind~"

"You're a very dirty sneak, Cherry Butler." Shaggy frowned.

"Yeah, I know." Cherry smirked.

"Hmm... I think I'll guard with them." Atticus suggested.

"If you want to," Lionel shrugged. "I'm just glad there's something to keep us occupied."

"Anyway... Great Shoulder Arms!" Shaggy commanded like an army general.

Scooby, Scrappy, and Atticus then got into position.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Atticus saluted, having fun with this so far.

"Forwaaaard, march!" Shaggy continued as they marched on opposite sides. "Hut, hut, hut, hut!"

Scooby then accidentally whacked Shaggy in the face with his mop.

"Like, who turned out the lights?" Shaggy asked in a sudden daz before shaking his head suddenly. "

I can handle guarding ghosts, but who's gonna guard me against Scooby?"

"Rorry." Scooby apologized.

"Okay... Forward, March!" Shaggy began again.

"I'll make sure that those ghosts don't come near us," Scrappy said as he took a look around. "I don't see any yet."

"Me neither, Scrappy." Patch added as he looked at the younger Great Dane, deciding to help out since Atticus was helping too.

"That's better," Shaggy declared as he accidentally knocked over Scooby. "...Scooby-Doo, where are you?"

Scooby tapped him on the shoulder. "Right here!"

Shaggy let out a yelp, and fainted.

"This is no time for games, Uncle Scooby!" Scrappy pouted.

"Accident." Scooby replied bashfully.

"Shaggy's fainted, we better wake him up." Atticus suggested.

Captain Scavenger was watching this and began to laugh.

"Wake up!" Scooby pouted as he slapped Shaggy's face with his paws.

"Here's some smelling salt." Captain Scavenger said as he handed the dog a bottle.

"Thanks." Scooby smiled as he took the bottle before he then saw the two ghosts and soon fainted as well.

"Scooby!" Patch gasped before looking over and then growled at the two ghosts. "You two!"

The duo of ghosts cackled evilly as they vanished into the wall.

Patch went to chase after the ghosts before stopping in front of the wall as the ghosts vanished through it. "They've grown intangible," he said to himself. "They must be the real deal."

"We gotta tell everyone!" Scrappy said to Patch.

"Well said, Scrappy." Patch agreed.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, everyone was shown to be asleep in bunk beds, though their sleep wouldn't last long.

"Ugh... Someone is snoring too loud..." Atticus groaned in his sleep.

"Maybe it's you, Nancy." Cherry retorted, also groaning.

"How would I be kept awake by my own snoring?" Atticus remarked. "When you're tired, you make even less sense than usual."

"Sometimes I snore myself awake if I've had too much sleep." Cherry retorted.

"Yeah, well, you're--" Atticus began to glare.

"Hey... Everyone, wake up!" Daphne cried out.

"Great..." Cherry and Atticus groaned as Daphne woke up.

"Look, Daph, we're sorry if we woke ya, but--" Atticus began.

"No, listen!" Daphne told him as everyone else slowly woke up from her cries. "There's a monster outside the door!"

The sound soon got louder as Josie, Alexandra, Melody, and Sebastian came out the door between the main room.

"You heard it too?" Josie asked the others.

"Yes, and I wish we hadn't!" Velma replied nervously.

"Maybe someone misplaced a Spooky Jar?" Sabrina gulped.

"Doubt it." Salem told her.

"Hey, guys, you wanna hold down the racket?" Fred asked as he came out from the next room.

The girls all pointed in the direction of the snoring, and Fred opened the door. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed.

Outside, Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy were collapsed in a pile, with the first two snoring loudly.

"So those are the monsters." Josie commented.

"And they interrupted my beauty sleep!" Alexandra groused.

"Leave it to those three to fall asleep on the job." Fred admonished.

"Oh, good, you guys are here." Patch said as he jumped out.

"Spot, I thought we told you guys to go on guard duty." Cherry glared at the Dalmatian.

"I know, but it's a complicated and long story," Patch replied. "I saw the ghosts."

"Ghosts? Where?" Cherry asked.

"They disappeared into the wall," Patch explained before glancing at himself. "...Huh. I guess it wasn't such a long story."

"It's not their fault, Fred," Velma said as she picked up a bottle and sniffed it curiously, trying to be very careful as she examined it in the proper detective way. "Someone got to them with this vial of sleeping gas."

"Gee, that really is vile!" Melody giggled.

"Patch, you're sure you saw ghosts?" Atticus asked his dog.

"I did," Patch nodded. "But they keep disappearing on me."

"That proves I'm right," Alexandra remarked. "As usual; ghosts don't need gimmicks. So the boat can't be haunted!"

"Well, the boat is haunted." said Captain Cannaby as he came by.

"Are you sure?" asked Josie.

"Yes; the ghosts struck last night," The captain explained. "C'mon, I'll show you."

"Looks like we're not going back to sleep any time soon." Cherry said to herself.

"Nope." Patch shook his head.

"All right, someone wake up Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy." Mo suggested.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." Velma smirked as she began to shake Shaggy.

"Huh?" Shaggy asked as he woke up. "What's up?"

"You are, finally." Cherry said in a snarky voice.

"Come on, we have to meet Captain Cannaby for something." Sabrina added.

"Fine by me." Lionel shrugged. "I was getting bored, to be honest."

"Like, what's going on?" Shaggy asked.

"The ghosts were here last night." Daphne replied.

Shaggy soon groaned before he fainted again.

"Whoops." Daphne then said.

"Daphne..." Cherry rolled her eyes with a groan.

Eventually, some time had passed and the three groups came to meet Captain Cannaby in his quarters as they had discussed.

"It had to be ghosts," Captain Cannaby told the group as he showed his bare and open safe to prove his point. "The door was open from the inside, and Johnny was on guard. "Someone evil came in last night, and opened our safe, and stole all our life savings."

"Well, who knew of the combination?" Alan asked as Atticus took notes in a notepad he brought with him.

"Just Johnny and me," Captain Cannaby replied. "Now with the money gone, The Dixie Queen will never sail again for sure."

"How awful!" Valerie frowned.

"Worse than that, the ghosts have Johnny!" Captain Cannaby then urgently warned them.

"Wait, huh? How did they capture him if they're intangible?" asked Lionel. "That's a pretty big question right there."

"Well, he's gone and they were here." Captain Cannaby informed like it was obvious.

"Yeah, I guess..." Cherry narrowed her eyes. "How do you know for sure it was them though?"

"This." Captain Cannaby said, showing a note.

Sabrina soon took a look at the note and read it aloud to the others. "''Abandon the Dixie Queen now or you'll never see Johnny Briggs again, Signed Captain Scavenger'."

"Well, I guess that about says it all." Salem remarked to himself.

"How about that, a ghost writer?" Melody giggled.

"Please try to take this seriously, won't you?" Atticus rolled his eyes as Melody's ditziness was even getting to him, though not to Cherry's extent.

"Atticus is right," replied Josie. "We've gotta find Johnny and solve this mystery!"

"No! You youngsters must leave!" Captain Cannaby exclaimed. "Before the ghost strikes again! It no longer matters; without money I can't restore the ship!"

Patch glanced over before his eyes widened as he saw Injun Joe's ghost appear in the portrait behind them who then smirked while everyone else was talking.

"So, what, you're just gonna leave?" Cherry asked him.

"Yes, to notify the sheriff in town," Captain Cannaby replied. "I hope you're smart enough to be gone when I return."

"Ahoy! Dixie Queen?!" Another man's voice soon called out.

"Ugh... Now what?" Sabrina asked with a frustrated sigh.

"Sounds like we have company." Valerie nodded in agreement.

"Yes! The wrong kind!" Captain Cannaby confirmed as he looked down to see who was there as a man was shown in a fancy red car from down below. "That's Lance Goodwin: the worst scalawag on the Mississippi!"

"As if this story needed any more characters," Lionel remarked. "But let's go see what the jerk wants."

The group soon gathered around together to see this "Lance Goodwin" as he looked very skeevy and greedy.

"Captain Cannaby, I've come with the last offer to buy the Dixie Queen for scrap iron!" The man called out from his fancy red car.

"You mean for a floatin' gambling casino, you scoundrel!" The captain retorted. "My answer is still NO!"

"You heard him!" Atticus added.

"Right, so make like a bee and buzz off!" Shaggy added.

"Very well, but I suggest you discuss my offer with your partner, Johnny!" Lance called back before driving off. "If he's ever seen again!" he then added as he laughed maliciously down the docks.

"Oh, yeah, that totally wasn't creepy at all." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"What did he mean 'if he's ever seen again'?" Daphne soon asked suspiciously.

"And how did he know that Johnny was missing?" Velma added.

"I think we got ourselves a suspect, Mystery Team." Atticus spoke up as he balanced his pencil on his earlobe.

"Yup, yup." Lionel nodded.

"So it's decided then," declared Josie. "We'll give the Dixie Queen our own beauty treatment!"

The group let out a rousing cheer.

"What about g-ghosts?" asked Alexander.

"Relax," Velma told him. "Everybody knows ghosts only haunt at night!"

But on the upper half of the boat, Captain Scavenger was watching. "That's what you think!" he cackled.

Cherry shuddered as she shook a chill down her spine, but she didn't look scared.

"Doesn't the Mystery Machine have some ghost hunting stuff or something?" Atticus asked the mystery solving gang.

"Yeah, we have traps in there," Daphne nodded. "In case those creepies show up again."

"Great." Atticus smiled.

Sebastian snickered as he went to go and scare Shaggy, Scooby, and Alexander again.

"Okay, buddy, I think you should ease up on the pranks for a little while." Salem advised his old friend.

"Naaah, I'm having way too much fun!" Sebastian snickered as he crawled under the tarp.

"Are you sure ghosts only haunt at night?" asked Shaggy.

"Look around," said Fred. "Do you see any ghosts?"

Scooby turned around and shivered as Sebastian waved around, trying to look like a ghost.

"N-Now that ya mention it..." Alexander said nervously.

"You're not a g-g-ghost, are ya?" Shaggy added.

The lump soon nodded to answer his question as Sebastian was just being his trickster self.

"YIKES!" Shaggy, Alexander, and Scooby yelped and soon ran off. "GHOST!"

Shaggy shut the door behind them once they ran in.

"That's no ghost, it's just Sebastian." Salem told Cherry and the others in her group.

"Tell your cat to stop scaring my friends!" Sabrina glared at Alexandra, firmly putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, fine." Alexandra said, surprised at Sebastian being soaked to the bone.

"It'll be a while before the captain gets back with the sheriff," said Alan. "So let's start fixing up the old girl!"

"Boy, will Captain Cannaby be surprised." Daphne replied.

"Let's hope in a good way." Atticus remarked as Patch nodded in agreement.

And so, everyone began to help each other out with fixing up The Dixie Queen.

"Are you two a couple?" Cherry asked Josie and Alan.

Josie and Alan blushed sheepishly. "Uh... Well..." they then spoke together nervously and bashfully.

"Sometimes I can tell." Cherry smirked.

"We've thought about it," Josie replied. "Though it makes Alexandra unhappy most of the time."

"Believe me, I've been in a similar situation in school about this one boy Harvey," Sabrina said while blushing. "I really like him, sometimes I wonder if he likes me back."

"Definitely more since we're teenagers now," Cherry reassured. "You two just seemed more like friends back in middle school."

"You mean like you and Lionel?" Sabrina asked.

"I wasn't sure what to think of Lionel when I first met him," Cherry shrugged. "Though it's fun to rent a couple of bad movies together and just riff on them while eating snacks."

"Oh, definitely." Lionel agreed as he was painting a part of the wall.

"Hmm..." Alexandra hummed in thought as she looked down to Josie and Alan being together. "Now's my chance to get Alan alone. Now don't forget, Sebastian, when I give the signal; pull the rope!"

Sebastian then nodded to his owner from where he was hiding.

"Hey, Alexandra, what's up?" Alan greeted the black-haired girl.

"You mean 'what's down'?" Alexandra smirked before whistling to her cat.

Sebastian snickered as he then reached for the rope before someone handed him the rope and the cat began to pull on it, unaware of the ghost's assistance.

"What're you up to now?" Cherry glared at Alexandra.

"What's it to you, Four Eyes?" Alexandra glared back.

"Oh, so original, I've never been called that before." Cherry dryly scoffed.

"Just keep out of my business, and I'll keep out of yours." Alexandra remarked.

Cherry just rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue as she walked off.

"Ignore her." Lionel told Cherry.

"Yeah... I just guess no matter where you go, there's always gonna be girls like that." Cherry scoffed.

The bench that had Josie and Alan sitting together soon began to shake all around.

"What's going on?" Josie soon asked.

"You're going off!" Alexandra giggled meanly.

Josie and Alexandra held each other as the bench tilted and Alexandra soon fell right off and landed right in the mud.

"Honestly, Alexandra, this is no time for a mud bath!" Josie smirked at the mean girl.

"See?" Lionel told Cherry. "Every jerk gets theirs sooner or later!"

"Mm-hmm~" Cherry smirked and nodded. "Glad I didn't interfere with that one then."

Meanwhile, below deck, Daphne, Fred, and Valerie were tightening some bolts.

"Is that piston rod secured?" asked Valerie.

"All set!" replied Fred.

"Let's fire it up!" Valerie declared as she pulled a lever, and the gears began to churn.

However, Injun Joe threw one of his chains into the gears, causing them to stop up.

"Something's wrong." Fred frowned in concern.

Valerie then pulled the lever up to stop the machine.

"Any ideas, Valerie?" Daphne asked.

"According to my expertise in Marine Gadgets, something's on the fritz." Valerie informed.

"I think I see the problem," Fred pointed out. "A broken chain!"

"Now that's a real problem." Daphne added.

Valerie soon went over to the gears and picked up the chain, beginning to look a bit suspicious. "This chain wasn't here a minute ago." she then remarked to Fred and Daphne.

"But where'd this chain come from?" asked Daphne.

"Would you believe, Injun Joe's manacle?" asked Valerie.

"Nope," Fred replied.

"Me neither!" Valerie agreed. "Activate the automatic oiler, and we'll try again!"

But Injun Joe peeked out again, and swapped the labels for the "automatic oiler" and "automatic sprinkler".

"Automatic Oilier, here goes!" Fred called out before pulling the wrong switch as water sprinkled over the girls.

"Good grief, it's raining!" Daphne cried out.

"No, it's the fire extinguisher sprinklers." Valerie told her.

"Nothing is doing what it's supposed to be doing; this can only mean one thing." Fred frowned.

"You mean the boat is haunted?" Daphne asked him in dismay.

"That's the spirit!" Valerie piped up.

Injun Joe soon belted out sinister laughter at their misfortune.

Meanwhile, Shaggy, Scooby, Patch, Scrappy, Cherry, Atticus, and Lionel were together as Shaggy took out the hose.

"What're you gonna do with that hose, Shaggy?" Cherry asked with her hands in her pockets.

"We can't swab the deck without a little water." Shaggy simply stated.

"Water! Right!" Scooby nodded.

"Set the force to in the middle and now below, we don't want water spraying all over the place." Atticus cautioned.

Scooby set it to middle speed, but Captain Scavenger set it to full force, so when Shaggy used the hose, it was spraying all around like crazy.

"Hey! I said a little water!" Shaggy yelped as it thrashed around madly.

Captain Scavenger smirked to himself as he slunk through another doorway.

"Hey! Who's the jokester?!" Atticus complained.

"I think it was our ghosts." Cherry glared.

"That sounds about right." Patch agreed as he nodded to Cherry.

"I just know that I'm getting wet and I don't like it." Cherry glared as she took off her dripping glasses.

Lionel gave her a large fluffy towel, and zapped himself dry. Cherry muffled as she accepted the towel and soon began to dry herself off.

Meanwhile, Melody was with Mo, Sabrina, Salem, and Alexander as they each had a broom.

"Gosh, you guys, where do we begin?" Melody wondered.

"Melody, why don't we guys clean the floor while you girls go on stage?" Alexander suggested.

"Oh, I couldn't do that, I get stage fright." Melody giggled.

"Oh, brother." Salem rolled his golden eyes.

Then suddenly, the piano began to play by itself which startled Sabrina and Salem just a little bit.

"Great! Music while we work." Alexander commented.

"Sure! And look at the piano player!" Melody pointed out. "I've seen it played with one hand, but no hands?"

"It's haunted," Alexander said about the piano. "I-I'd frighten them away."

"Naturally," Melody smiled at him. "You know how sensitive musicians are."

"Uh... Let's clean this place and split it." Alexander suggested.

"Whatever you say, Alexander." Melody giggled before sweeping up the floor.

"Somehow, I've seen a little stranger." Sabrina shrugged as she swept up the floor with them.

Eventually, the dust began to get a little too much as Alexander, Mo, Sabrina, and Salem started to cough.

"Whoa! Melody, let's turn down the volume on the dust, huh?" Mo asked as she coughed a bit.

"Air! Gimme air!" Alexander shouted as he opened a porthole, only to be sprayed by the hose. "I said air! Oh, no! Water! That means the boat is sinking!"

Everyone else coughed from the thick dust cloud and it soon cleared as Salem and Alexander seemed to be missing.

"Alexander?" Melody and Mo called.

"Salem?" Sabrina added. "Where'd you go?"

"Up here!" Alexander replied, revealing that he was hanging onto a ceiling fan with the cursed warlock.

"What are you doing, giving an autograph to that fan?" Melody giggled.

Mo and Sabrina sighed at Melody's attempt at a joke. Suddenly, the fan began to spin around and around with Salem and Alexander on it, both of them crying out suddenly.

"Stop! Slow down!" Salem yelped. "I think I'm gonna hack up a furball!"

"We gotta do something!" Sabrina cried out. "There must be something in the other room." she then guessed.

"We better go check first." Mo suggested.

Melody soon came into the other room as Shaggy was still flying around with the hose while Atticus, Lionel, and Cherry tried to get him down, though they had a bit of a hard time in doing so.

"MELODY! Shut off the water!" Shaggy cried out.

"Oh, right." Atticus said as Cherry and Lionel gave him deadpan gazes.

"Oh, all right, Shaggy." Melody said as she went over and turned off the water. As soon as she shut it off, Shaggy fell into Scooby's arms and they slipped onto the water wheel for the steamboat.

"See what'cha did?" Shaggy asked.

"So sue me!" Scooby-Doo replied.

"Maybe now they'll leave." remarked Injun Joe.

"And if they don't, they'll be sorry." agreed Captain Scavenger.

Atticus began to take a look around.

"Looking for something, Atticus?" Scrappy asked.

"Just some clues or evidence," Atticus replied. "This is getting more and more fishy."

"You said it." Patch agreed.

"We'll worry about that when we meet up with the others," Cherry said. "...Did you find anything though?"

"Nothing yet, but someone's been setting us up with the water." Atticus replied.

"Someone's been messing with us too when we were sweeping with Melody and Alexander." Mo said.

"I feel like it was the same person or at least some form of party," Sabrina remarked. "Probably those ghosts we've been hearing about."

Just then, the water wheel began to spin, causing Shaggy and Scooby to get flung into the water... only to come up with a crab and turtle clinging to their backs. Atticus and Patch winced a bit for Shaggy and Scooby.

"Like, quit tailgating, turtle!" Shaggy yelped.

"Yeow!" Scooby cried out.

"Look! It's Shaggy and Scooby!" Daphne pointed out.

"Quick, Valerie! Stop the engine!" Fred ordered.

Valerie then pulled the lever again as Shaggy and Scooby kept running on the wheel and soon splashed right into the water.

"I-I-I think our washing is all wet!" Shaggy told Scooby.

"Right on!" Scooby agreed.

"Come on, guys; that's enough chores for one day," Scrappy said, coming over to the two. "We gotta meet up with the others."

A LITTLE LATER...

"Well, gang, we did it," said Valerie.

"And it looks super!" Alan exclaimed.

"Just like brand-new," Josie smiled. "Won't Captain Cannaby be surprised!"

"I'm sure he will." Atticus smiled.

They soon heard a car coming as Patch turned around to see that someone was indeed coming.

"Maybe that's him coming with the sheriff now." Fred remarked.

"Alexander, come down from there!" Sabrina called out to the boy who was still painting with Sebastian.

"Yeah! We haven't got all day!" Alexandra added in impatience and annoyance.

"Relax, one last coat, and it's finished." Alexander told his sister as he had a paintbrush while with Sebastian.

Sebastian sneezed from the paintbrush while he sat with Alexander. Alexandra soon went to put on some lipstick and Sabrina hid a small smirk as she shot a blast of magic at the mean girl which soon made her lipstick go out of control and soon paint the black-haired girl's face all over as she couldn't control it.

"Ooh, that was just a little witchy." Salem whispered to Sabrina with a smirk.

"What can I say? it's in my blood." Sabrina shrugged with a smirk back.

The red car came to a stop nearby.

"It's Lance Goodwin!" Alan remarked.

"I wonder what he's doing here?" asked Valerie.

Lance got out of his car. "Ahoy, Captain Cannaby!" he called.

"Sorry, he's not aboard!" Josie replied.

"Yeah, uh, you'll have to come back later!" Atticus added.

"Oh, too bad!" Lance replied. "Then perhaps you'll relay my message!"

"And that would be?" Cherry prompted.

"I just brought the Dixie Queen mortgage papers from the bank!" Lance told the group before laughing, rather wickedly. "So, they'll come due in three days, then the board will be mine!"

"You're forgetting one thing!" Josie glared.

"What's that?" Lance glared back.

"We're gonna put on a big band show and earn money!" Josie replied.

"So we get the last laugh!" Melody giggled.

"And just who do you think to get an audience for a haunted boat?" Lance glared.

"Tourists probably!" Cherry replied with a small smirk. "You ever hear of a Tourist Trap? People would pay lots of money to visit somewhere that has ghosts!"

"So we don't give a hoot about any old ghosts!" Fred added.

"Don't give a hoot, eh?" asked Captain Scavenger before he honked the boat whistle.

Alexander and Sebastian soon gasped in surprise at what had happened.

"Young meddlers, you will pay for this!" Lance glared. "And for not leaving when ya had the chance!"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Velma mocked. "You don't scare us!"

"Hehehe, speak for yourself, my dear, but anyone who looks like a ghost is enough to scare me!" Shaggy chuckled nervously before he then yelped and soon went to hide.

"I'm starting to feel suspicious deep inside my detective instincts about this Lance Goodwin character." Atticus remarked to the others as he decided to add that to his notes.

"Anyone else notice that Shaggy called Velma 'my dear'?" Cherry commented in the background.

"Yeah, but it's probably not worth paying attention to." Lionel shrugged.

"Say, maybe Atticus has something," Velma commented logically. "Lance Goodwin... Captain Scavenger... Is it possible...?"

"Well, all right, Nancy, what do you think?" Cherry asked Atticus.

"It feels so simple," Atticus replied logically. "Lance Goodwin is the ghost of Captain Scavenger."

"And maybe Johnny isn't missing..." Daphne soon added. "He might just be in with those ghosts!"

"We'll find out tonight when we rig this entire boat with ghost traps!" Fred advised.

"And me here with those creepies won't stand a ghostly of a chance." Alexandra glowered bravely and toughly.

"Yeah, you can just scare them with your face." Cherry smirked.

"Why, you!" Alexandra glared, looking like she was going to punch Cherry.

"Don't even try it!" Lionel scowled, getting between them.

"Hmph! Spoilsport!" Alexandra complained as she crossed her arms.

"Thanks." Cherry said to Lionel, but she rolled her eyes. Not at him though of course.

"No problem." Lionel smiled.

Chapter Text

Later that night, everyone gathered around and decided to finally get some food after a long day of hard work.

"Oh, this is going to be so delicious." Patch beamed.

"Yeah, I'm starving." Atticus added.

"The skipper is going to be very happy when you tell him that you saved The Dixie Queen by use for playing a gig." Valerie commented.

"Cool it, guys, someone's coming." Fred said as he stood by the door.

"G-Ghosts?!" Alexander guessed nervously.

"If it is, our ghost traps will catch them." Velma reassured him.

They then a heard a noise coming from outside.

"And it sounds like it was a success." Atticus said to the others.

"Then let's get a look at what we caught!" Lionel declared.

"Now you'll see professional ghost hunters in action!" Fred told the others. "C'mon, gang!"

And so, the group ran off.

"Y'ALL LEMME OUTTA THIS BLASTED CONTRAPTION, YA HEAR?!" yelled Captain Cannaby, who was stuck under a glass dome.

"Heh... Oops..." Atticus grinned and chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that, Captain."

"Guys, hurry up and deactivate the trap!" Sabrina cried out.

"I dunno, that might be an improving look for him." Salem smirked.

"Salem!" Sabrina quietly hissed.

Valerie soon went to deactivate the trap as Shaggy and Scooby pulled the rope.

"One ghost trap, comin' up!" Shaggy announced.

The dome soon lifted up from Captain Cannaby who looked quite cross with the teenagers, though luckily, not TOO angry.

"Sorry, skipper, I guess we goofed." Fred said.

"No need for apologies," Captain Cannaby smiled. "Not after what you kids have done. Not for fixin' up The Dixie Queen, but for stayin' on with an old soul like me."

"And we've only just begun," declared Josie.

"C'mon into the dining room," Valerie said as she led Captain Cannaby along. "We've got a big surprise for you!"

"And you're gonna love it." Sabrina added.

"I just can't tell you kids how touched I am for the benefits of the show." Captain Cannaby smiled as he followed the girls into the dining room to see just what this big surprise was going to be.

"Uh, but aren't you still worried about Mr. Briggs?" Sabrina asked.

"That's right," Captain Cannaby nodded. "The sheriff wasn't in, so I made the check for nuthin'!"

"Captain, suppose Johnny was in on this haunting scheme?" Fred asked.

Captain Cannaby's expression grew angry. "Nonsense! And if you really feel that way, you can leave right now!" he bellowed.

"Whoa! Hey! No one's saying that!" Atticus defended as Patch quickly nodded in agreement.

"Oh, gee, we didn't mean anything!" Daphne added as the man suddenly got up from the dining room table and began to storm off, feeling very angered all of a sudden. "Where are you going, Captain?"

"Back to town; I gotta find the sheriff!" Captain Cannaby replied as he soon left the dining room. "I won't let The Dixie Queen sail without Johnny!"

"Oh, come on! Please, come back!" Atticus cried out. "Did we do something wrong?"

"I... I'm not sure..." Cherry said softly as she rubbed her arm suddenly.

"Oh, Captain, give us another chance!" Mo frowned as she came out the door with Fred, Daphne, and Atticus.

"NO! Just go away!" Captain Cannaby huffed as he kept on walking.

"Well, I guess Cannaby considers Johnny a good friend," Lionel replied. "So we offended him by suggesting that Johnny could be behind the trouble happening onboard. So I'd say we did do something wrong."

"I was hoping we didn't." Atticus said with a sharp sigh.

"What do we do now?" Patch pouted.

"Well, so much for our celebration." Alan frowned as he shook his head.

"Yeah... Who can eat now?" Josie added.

"I'll forage myself!" Shaggy beamed. "Please pass the chicken."

Melody looked very sad for a change as she soon passed the chicken over to Shaggy. However, before Shaggy could get any chicken, Scooby took some instantly.

"All gone already?!" Shaggy's eyes widened before narrowing them in deadpan. "You really have a healthy appetite, Melody."

"Thank you." Melody said before giving Shaggy a giggle.

"Typical Shaggy and Scooby." Patch shook his head.

"Aw, well... please pass everything else!" Shaggy replied.

And so Melody did, but everything that Shaggy got passed was yanked off his plate.

"There's only one way food can vanish so fast..." Shaggy remarked as he pulled up the tablecloth. "Scooby-Doo! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Scooby let out a groan.

"Well, I'd groan too if I ate like that!" Shaggy remarked.

"Aw, Uncle Scooby, what're we gonna do with ya?" Scrappy sighed.

"I guess keep him." Cherry shrugged with a small smirk.

They soon heard some laughter which sounded quite chilling.

"Uh-oh," Daphne said. "Guess what's coming to dinner?"

"Now, now, maybe it's just Sidney Poiter," Cherry remarked before looking to the fourth wall. "Ask your parents, kids. That's an obscure reference for you 'Millenials' out there born in Generation Z."

"What dinner?" Shaggy replied.

"It's the ghosts of Captain Scavenger and Injun Joe!" Alan gasped once they saw who it actually was.

"Since you failed to abandon ship, I'm coming for you!" Captain Scavenger cackled.

"We're 22 mortals to one ghost," Fred declared. "Let's get him!"

"Right on!" Alan agreed.

But when they came outside, Captain Scavenger disappeared in a flash.

"H-He vanished!" Valerie exclaimed.

"That takes out any idea he might be a fake ghost." remarked Daphne.

"But what was that humming sound just then?" asked Velma.

"I didn't even recognize the tune!" Melody giggled.

"Our only chance of saving The Dixie Queen is to get to the bottom of this mystery." Fred told the others.

"Right," Josie agreed. "All we need is a plan."

"Got one! Let's huddle..." Velma said as they soon huddled together to go over the plan. "First, we all act scared--"

"Shaggy and Scooby don't need to act." Cherry smirked.

"Cherry!" Atticus cried out in a scolding tone of voice.

"It's true, Atticus." Cherry smirked.

"Please continue, Velma." Atticus soon said with narrowed eyes.

"Then we'll pretend to leave the ship," Velma continued. "But then--"

"We'll hide and spy on the ghosts?" Josie guessed nervously.

"Sounds perfect to me." Sabrina nodded.

"All right," Atticus said with a nod. "Time to put Darla's acting skills into good use."

"That moment when your little sister is a better actor than you are." Cherry snarked to herself.

"And yet it's justified." Lionel shrugged.

"You win, Captain Scavenger!" Josie called out. "We're splitting!"

The group soon made it look like they were ready to go until they soon found something.

"Hey, look!" Alan cried out as he pointed up ahead of him.

They then saw an open hatch in the middle of the floor.

"Good idea, Alan," Cherry nodded. "We can hide out in there."

Everyone soon took turns jumping inside of the hatch.

"Geronimo!" Shaggy called out on the way inside.

"Matoaka!" Cherry added as she came in after.

"Sitting Bull!" Scooby cried as he joined them.

"CRAAAAZY HORSE!" Lionel whooped as he flew down after them.

"Now that we've scared those brats off, the ship is ours!" Captain Scavenger exclaimed.

But Injun Joe wasn't so certain. "Hmm, maybe not yet," he replied. "Listen."

And they put their ears to a nearby pipe.

"Great," said Velma. "Our plan worked!"

"We sure fooled those ghosts!" Alan exclaimed.

The two ghosts glared at each other and soon stalked off suddenly.

"I'd like to see those ghosts' faces when I knew that I was onto them." Alexandra bragged.

"Yeah? Well, here's your chance." Cherry replied sardonically.

"What makes you say that?" Alexandra asked.

"Because the ship's speaker tube is off the hook and you're blabbing right next to it!" Cherry told her.

"Oh, brother!" Fred frowned. "Anything or anybody on this ship might've heard us!"

"E-E-Even the ghosts!" Alexander trembled with Shaggy and Scooby.

"Especially the ghosts!" Josie gulped.

"In that case... ABANDON SHIP!" Shaggy cried out as he went to run with Alexander and Scooby.

"Woman and children first!" Alexander added. "After chickens."

The three of them threw each other out of the way to try and climb through the pothole.

"You'll never make it, brother dear," said Alexandra. "Unless you lose 10 pounds of fat... between your EARS!"

"Gosh... Harsh much?" Mo asked.

"Mind your own business, Butch." Alexandra retorted.

Mo glared before she suddenly tackled Alexandra.

"Ow! Get off of me!" Alexandra cried out.

"Don't. Stop. Come back." Cherry snarked dryly.

Shaggy and Scooby soon opened up a barrel before jumping inside and suddenly coming back out.

"What? Is it water?" Sabrina asked them.

Patch sniffed the substance before grimacing. "Eugh... Actually, Sabrina, I think that's grease." he then said to the teenage witch.

"Take your pick, Scoob!" Shaggy told his best friend. "It's either the greasy pit stuff or the ghosts!"

Scooby nodded before going back into the barrel with Shaggy, deciding to put up with it anyway.

"Now what?" asked Valerie.

"I say we split up and split!" Daphne replied.

"Good idea," Alexandra smirked before she took Alan by the arm. "Alan and I can be 1 group, and the rest of you can be the other!"

"Go ahead," said Josie. "But I wouldn't desert that nice old captain for a million dollars!"

"How about...?" Melody asked as she brought out money from the bag she was sitting on. "2,000,000?"

"That's bribery!" Mo scolded before glancing at the blonde girl with wide eyes. "Uh, Melody?"

"Yeah?" Melody smiled.

"Where did you get that money?" Mo then asked her.

"From this bag here." Melody giggled.

"Weird... A bag of money... Just lying here..." Cherry commented as she put her hands on her hips.

"Make it 3,000,000, please," Alexander replied. "I'm a big spender!"

"Something tells me Melody's sitting on a million-dollar clue," stated Velma.

"You are, and you're about to find it very costly!" cackled Captain Scavenger, as a large net pulled itself up around the gang.

"Whoa!" Atticus, Patch, and Mo yelped.

"Captain Scavenger." Cherry glared at him.

"Listen, you ectoplasmic creep," Alexandra glared. "Either you let us down or I'll let you have it!"

"I will, my dear, but it is you who have had it!" Captain Scavenger called.

Injun Joe soon rode out into the water on a different kind of boat and Captain Scavenger lowered the crane with the net into the boat.

Captain Scavenger then swung in on a rope and landed next to his fellow ghost up in front of the boat. "Full speed ahead, Injun Joe!" he then told the Indian.

And so, the boat took off through the water with the group bunched up together in the net, trapped like carrots.

"What a bust!" Alexandra huffed as she crossed her arms. "Now no one will find us!"

"I'm betting a million dollars someone does!" Josie replied, as she threw out the money to leave a trail.

"What a waste of good money," Cherry remarked. "Hopefully it's counterfeit."

"Either way, it should be helpful to us." Josie replied.

Meanwhile...

"No wonder we didn't hear anyone, guys," Shaggy said as he looked through the porthole with Scooby and Scrappy. "Nobody's here! Oh, boy, looks like we gotta climb our way out of this place."

"I see no harm in that," Scrappy replied. "But I do see a rope."

They soon went to grab onto the rope to get out of the room.

"Come on!" Shaggy told Scooby and Scrappy before they began to climb up the rope to get on out.

As they poked their heads up, they saw a surprise.

"Yikes!" Shaggy whispered. "It's that no-goody Goodwin!"

"Now that those kids are gone, I can get on with this Dixie Queen business!" Lance declared as Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy hid.

Scrappy shushed Shaggy and Scooby as they soon tiptoed right behind Lance as he looked around. Scooby soon gulped as they hid behind a periscope and his teeth suddenly began to chatter.

"Shh, Uncle Scooby!" Scrappy shushed.

"Hmm... Just as I suspected!" Lance glared as he looked right behind his stance where Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy were hiding. "Come outta there, you!"

"Quick! Let's use Plan 33B!" Shaggy soon told Scooby and Scrappy as he jumped out and called out towards Lance as he pointed aside. "MAN OVERBOARD! Man the lifeboats! Man overboard!"

"Man overboard?" asked Lance. "Where?"

"HERE!" Shaggy called, as he, Scrappy, and Scooby were now inside the boat and dropped it down into the water. "Now... let's find the others."

"Yessir!" Scooby gave a salute.

"But how are we gonna track 'em?" asked Scrappy.

Shaggy listened until he heard a humming sound. "A motorboat! That's gotta be them!" he exclaimed. "But it's too dark to see the trail!"

"Hold on, Shaggy, look at that!" Scrappy piped up as he pointed something out into the water.

They soon found the trail of money that Josie had left behind for them to find.

"Well, we might not find 'em, but we'll sure get rich quick!" Shaggy smiled.

Meanwhile, the motorboat continued to ride off as Josie continued to leave the trail of money in the water as the others simply dangled in the net.

"I'm getting claustrophobic," Cherry complained. "Someone transform into a superhero already and get us out of this!"

"Besides, I'm running out of trail money!" Josie added.

"Don't worry, there's still Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy!" Daphne informed as Lionel took out a pocketknife and began cutting away at the net.

"Those clowns?" Alexandra scoffed. "In that case, we are doomed!"

"Let's try to remain positive." Atticus suggested.

"All right, I'm positive that we have had it!" Alexandra smirked.

Atticus then rolled his eyes and shook his head at her.

"And maybe sooner than we think if those ghosts aren't watching where we're going." Fred warned.

A giant boulder was shown, but surprisingly enough, a couple of doors opened up from inside and they began to ride inside the boulder with the ghosts still steering the boat that way.

"Jinkies!" Velma gasped. "It's opening by itself!"

Once they were inside, the doors shut behind them.

"Gee, they didn't even say 'Open Sesame Street'." Melody giggled.

"She is very interesting." Patch muttered to himself.

"If that's whatcha wanna call it." Lionel shrugged as he kept on cutting at the net.

They were soon inside the new secret room.

"Oh, wow! It's some kind of a cavern!" Alan remarked as the motorboat soon came to a stop.

"I hope you enjoyed your little cruise down the Mississippi." Captain Scavenger chuckled.

"Personally, I'm used to traveling First Class, you Third Class phantom!" Alexandra glared. "Now get me out of here right now!"

"Why of course... Injun Joe!" Captain Scavenger signaled.

Injun Joe raised the crane to bring the net up.

"I hope you enjoy your quarters," Captain Scavenger smirked. "They may not be First Class, but you'll learn to love them!"

"Gee!" Melody giggled. "Injun Joe's ghost must be losing weight! I can see right through him!"

"Injun Joe has to be an ectoplasmic spirit," said Velma. "How else could he be transparent?"

"Don't ask me, I just fainted." said Alexander as he keeled over.

"Oh, brother." Salem snarked to himself.

"Well, at least we made it out of the net." Sabrina shrugged bashfully.

Just then, Injun Joe's image vanished.

"G-G-Gone!" said Scooby's voice.

"He must've seen the movie!" Shaggy's voice chuckled.

"That must be Shaggy and Scooby up there," Lionel remarked. "And Scrappy as well!"

"Shaaaaggy!" Fred soon called out.

"Scooby-Doooooo! Where are yooou?!" Daphne added.

"If you're ghoooosts, we can't heeear yooou!" Shaggy soon called back, trying to sound spooky as he held onto Scooby while they felt scared.

"You guys, it's just our friends!" Scrappy reassured as he walked over. "Come on! We gotta help 'em!"

"You'll really hear from me if you don't get us out of this pit!" Alexandra said sharply.

"And people say I can be a jerk sometimes," Cherry rolled her eyes. "Nothing compared to Miss Skunk Hair over here."

"I see you really got to the bottom of our mystery!" Shaggy chuckled.

"Stifle it, Shaggy," Daphne replied. "Just lower that crane and get us out of here!"

"And hurry!" Velma added. "Before the ghost of Injun Joe comes back!"

Just then, they heard a sinister cackling nearby.

"Too late." Cherry and Atticus snarked.

"Aw, great," Salem rolled his eyes. "This ghoul again."

"It's no laughing matter, Shaggy!" Fred scolded his cowardly friend.

"So who's laughing?" Shaggy shrugged in defense.

"I'll give ya 50 guesses." Mo remarked.

The laughing soon got stronger and closer as Scrappy put his fists up, looking ready to fight while Shaggy and Scooby were scared again.

"G-G-Ghost!" Shaggy and Scooby cried out as they soon dashed off.

"Lemme at 'em! Lemme at 'em!" Scrappy glared. "I'll take care of this!"

Shaggy immediately began to lower the net into the pit, as Captain Scavenger and Injun Joe came back into the cavern.

"Someone's in the cavern." said Injun Joe.

"Then someone's going to be very sorry!" Captain Scavenger replied.

Everyone held onto the net as strongly as they possibly could.

"Hurry!" Josie gasped.

"Never fear, Shaggy's here!" Shaggy proclaimed bravely.

"And Scooby and Scrappy-Doo too!" Scooby and Scrappy added.

"And it looks like the ghosts are coming too!" Sabrina cried out as Captain Scavenger and Injun Joe rushed into the scene.

"Aw, great." Salem complained.

"We have you now!" Captain Scavenger mocked.

Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy soon moved out of the way with the net, swinging over the pit, luckily enough for him.

"Let's split up and find a way out of here." Fred told the others.

"I'm with you." Alexander replied.

"No, you're with me." Josie told him.

"Haha, just try to get away!" Captain Scavenger smirked.

"Okay, if you say so," Cherry shrugged with a small smirk back. "Whatya say, guys? You ready to try to get away?" she then asked sneakily as she had an idea.

"Sure!" Lionel replied. "I'm ready if you are!"

"It's gonna take some running." Cherry smirked.

Captain Scavenger and Injun Joe soon came running only for Cherry to throw a net on them, trapping them suddenly.

"Okay, run!" Cherry told the others while they still had the chance.

The others shrugged at each other and soon took off running.

"Don't gotta tell us twice." Atticus remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Cherry replied.

When the two ghosts got free from the net, they were suddenly faced with a snarling white tiger that had dark purple stripes.

"YEOW!!" The two phony ghosts shouted as they ran for their lives from the tiger.

"Attaboy, Kimba!" Lionel declared.

Kimba snarled as he chased after Captain Scavenger and Injun Joe.

"Not so tough now, are ya?!" Cherry called out mockingly.

"Where in the heck did you get a tiger?" Alexandra asked Cherry.

"I've got friends in high places," Cherry smirked. "Jealous?"

Alexandra scoffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "So, what's your plan?" she then asked. "Your overgrown cat friend chases them for the rest of our lives?"

"Not for the rest of our lives," Cherry defended. "He'll catch them soon and when he does, we can find out what's going on here. Besides, why would ghosts need to run for their lives when they're already dead?" she then retorted.

"So then they're not really ghosts!" Valerie exclaimed.

"Exactly!" Cherry smirked.

"We'll take a look at my notes and we should be able to find out what's really going on around here then." Atticus suggested.

"Yes," Cherry nodded. "Listen to him. He's a future detective after all."

"Maybe we could borrow him to solve some of our own mysteries someday." Valerie smirked.

"Get your own, sister." Mo smirked back playfully as Kimba snarled as he chased the ghosts in the background.

"Alright, so whaddo we got?" asked Lionel.

"Well, let's see..." Atticus said as he began to flip through his notepad pages. "Captain Cannaby acted strange during dinner for one thing, especially with how he sorta gave up quickly and how he got mad suddenly."

"And also, we haven't seen Johnny for most of this adventure!" Lionel added.

"He did just sorta... Vanish..." Cherry nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Patch added.

"Weird." Mo remarked.

"So, what do you think?" Josie asked. "Johnny and Captain Cannaby are behind this?"

"That's one of my guesses with the clues I found," Atticus replied. "I just can't figure out their motive though."

"Could have something to do with that funny money we found in the cave," replied Lionel. "Maybe it was counterfeit?"

"I think it might be... At least, I hope so." Cherry remarked.

"That could be a good point too." Atticus agreed with both.

"Alrighty then." Mo nodded.

Kimba soon tackled down the two ghosts and licked their faces a bit to show that they were wearing powder.

"Kimba got 'em," Cherry said as she walked over with her hands on her hips. "Well, well... Isn't this an interesting image?"

"Gee, it looks like you lost your flour power." Melody giggled.

"I never thought I'd say this, but well said, Melody," Cherry said to the dumb blonde girl before mumbling an aside. "For once."

"Good work, kids; you got 'em!" said Lance as he came inside.

"You sure aren't acting like a Mississippi gambler, Mr. Goodwin," said Velma.

"Nobody here is what they appear to be, Velma," replied Lance as he held up a badge. "For example, I'm really a U.S. Treasury agent!"

"Really!" Cherry replied as she crossed her arms. "Huh... I never would've guessed."

"Now it's time to see who these ghosts really are." Atticus remarked.

"Boy, it sure feels like it's been a while since any one of us has last said that." Velma commented.

Atticus nodded before looking over. "Although, I may already have an idea." he then said.

Lance soon took off a mask to reveal the true face underneath the ghost's mask.

"Captain Cannaby?!" The group gasped.

"Wrong again," Lance replied, taking off another mask as the captain was not who they thought he was. "It's actually Jack Cannon: a nefarious counterfeiter."

"A double-disguise!" Valerie exclaimed.

"Now that's what I really call 'two-faced'!" Melody giggled.

"And this fake Injun Joe was his partner!" Lance explained.

"I thought Johnny was his partner?" Daphne commented.

"I was, but not in crime," replied Johnny as he came onto the deck. "When I bought the Dixie Queen, he bought in as a partner; not to help restore it, but to hide his secret activities."

"So he used the ghost gimmick to scare you away too!" Fred concluded.

"Right, and then when I got wise, he threw me in the brig where Josie and her pals found me." Johnny nodded.

"Now the clues all add up," Atticus said as he checked his notepad. "The counterfeiters used their secret cave in Tom Sawyer's cavern to print up their fake money."

"And The Dixie Queen was their distribution to the rest of the gang." Johnny nodded.

"And the phoney ghost scheme was to scare everybody from their crooked operation." Atticus finished up with a smile.

"But thanks to you kids, it's all over," Lance replied. "Especially for the would-be ghosts."

"And The Dixie Queen will sail again tomorrow!" Johnny smiled.

THE NEXT DAY...

Everyone let out a rousing cheer as the Dixie Queen was sailing across the river once more.

"Now this is a band I could get used to." Salem smirked as he watched Josie, Melody, and Valerie.

The three girls soon began to play in their band known as Josie & the Pussycats with Josie on guitar, Valerie on tambourine, and Melody on the drums, as they sang their traditional song as Salem began to dance along to the song. Alan smiled proudly as he watched this from afar, though Alexandra didn't seem to be around.

"Hm... Alexandra's missing... I think I know where she went..." Cherry said suspiciously.

"Well, let's just see what it is," said Lionel. "And how it backfires."

"Isn't karma just delicious?" Cherry smirked.

Alexandra was at the top of a balcony with a bucket as Sebastian was asleep next to her. "I'll prove to Alan that Josie is all wet!" she then glared assertively as she grabbed the bucket and tossed out the water.

Sebastian then suddenly jumped down as the wind soon blew the water right back into Alexandra's face.

"Argh!" Alexandra growled in frustration as she dripped wet while Sebastian snickered at her misfortune.

"Yep! And it tastes better when wet." Lionel chuckled.

The song and dance from Josie and her friends was a really nice treat.

"This band reminds me... I should probably give my cousin a call." Atticus suddenly said.

"Which one?" asked Lionel dryly.

"Thorn," Atticus smiled. "It's been a while. I'm sure we could book a visit to her and the other Hex Girls if we're lucky."

"Sure... that sounds good." Lionel replied.

Atticus nodded as he took out his cell phone and walked off to take a call.

"Full speed, ahead!" Johnny announced.

"Aye-Aye, Captain!" Valerie replied. "More steam!"

"More steam comin' up!" Fred nodded as he began to put the fake money in the fire with Alexander.

The steam seemed to make dollar sign shapes from the top.

"Boy, that's something you don't see every day." Patch commented to Scrappy.

"I've heard of having money to burn, but this really takes the cake!" Lionel remarked.

"As a reward, Shaggy, order anything you want." Lance told Shaggy as they met up in the kitchen.

"I'll eat to that," Shaggy smiled. "One triple-decker burger, please!"

"Comin' up!" Scooby smiled as he soon flipped a pan with the burger in it before he soon jumped up after it and caught it in his mouth before running out of the kitchen suddenly.

"Hey!" Shaggy glared and chased Scooby. "Hey, come back with my reward!"

Shaggy and Scooby soon ran on the water wheel.

"Scooby-Doo, where are you going with my burger?!" Shaggy glared.

Scooby ate the burger.

"Doggone!" Shaggy glared.

"No, burger gone." Scooby laughed before licking his face.

"Oh, you two." Scrappy shrugged as everyone had a good laugh about that.

Some time had passed as Josie and her friends had to get going and they all shared their goodbyes and hoped to maybe meet again someday.

"So, what did your cousin and her friends say?" Cherry asked Atticus after he got off the phone.

"They said they'd love to have us," Atticus smiled. "They also think you might love their new house."

"All right then," Cherry remarked. "Looks like we're due for a Hex Girls visit next. Sabrina, Salem, you want in on this?" she then asked the two.

"Sure," Sabrina beamed. "That sounds wicked cool."

"I don't have any other plans," Salem shrugged. "So okay!"

"Yeah!" The group then cheered as this adventure came to an end, but not the story, as there was still more to come after this.

So stay tuned!

Chapter Text

Sometime later, we are shown a creepy and scary looking, almost haunted mansion as a delivery truck rode over there and went to stop at the front door with a package in the delivery man's hands. The delivery driver was a bit spooked at hearing wolf howls and even seeing a wolf in the distance before being swarmed by an array of bats who chittered and clapped toward him, startling him even more than he needed to be.

"WHOA!" The man yelped before he soon skidded on the road to in front of the house once he missed the bats as he gulped, holding the package in his arm before he went to ring the doorbell which had an eerie pipe organ song rather than the traditional "Ding-Dong!".

The door soon cracked open as three haunting silhouettes came to answer the door, making the delivery man feel more and more terrified of his job of having to do this. A bolt of lightning soon illuminated their faces as they were shown to be none other than The Hex Girls.

"Hey... Wait a minute! You're the Hex Girls!" The delivery man smiled once he recognized them. "Thorn, Luna, and Dusk!"

"That's us~" The three goth girls grinned at him as Thorn mussed up her hair as it was frizzed up slightly.

"Welcome to our nightmare~" Thorn smirked coolly.

"Wow! I-I-I'm a huge fan!" The delivery man smiled at them as he handed the package to the leader girl. "This package is for you, j-j-just sign here..." he then added as he brought out the digital form.

Thorn smirked as she accepted the package and set the box down before she leaned in, sealing the signature with a crimson lip-printed kiss rather than signing her own name.

"Yeah, thanks," The delivery man smiled before taking out his phone. "Can I get a picture?"

"Wicked!" Thorn grinned as she posed with Luna and Dusk, taking a picture with the phone.

"Great! Thanks," The delivery man smiled as he accepted his phone before frowning once he saw that it was his own picture and not of the Hex Girls. "Oh..."

"Can't wait to see what this is." said Thorn as she and her fellow band-mates came back inside.

"Thorn, I toldja to quit ordering stuff from catalogs," said Luna. "We already have 15 warehouses full of your impulse buys."

"Hey, slow up, Luna, it wasn't me!" Thorn defended with a smirk as she went to take the package to open it up. "This is a gift from an anonymous fan."

"Open it! Open it!" Dusk piped up hopefully.

"Oh, wicked!" Thorn beamed as she opened the package to see a unique stylized guitar inside. "Serious Rock & Roll!"

"Hey, I know that guitar, it's famous," Luna remarked. "It belonged to a rockstar named Esther Moonkiller."

"Well, then I'll have to play it for our show tonight, it'll definitely wow Atticus and his friends," Thorn beamed as she soon gave the guitar over to the man in the back who was their roadie. "Tiny! Tune it, would ya?" she asked him before walking off with Luna and Dusk and checking her phone as she suddenly got a call. "Yeah?"

"Hey, Thorn," Atticus smiled on the other end. "The others and I are on our way over to see you, Dusk, and Luna. I just thought I'd give you a head's up and I personally can't wait to see what you have in store for tonight."

"Great!" Thorn smirked. "I think you're really gonna enjoy it."

"We're definitely looking forward to it." Atticus nodded.

"I especially have a special surprise for your friends," Thorn smirked. "I'd tell you, but I really want you all to see it."

"Aww... No fair!" Atticus pouted before sighing in defeat. "Ah, well. See ya soon, Thorn."

"See you soon, Atticus." Thorn nodded before hanging up.

The three continued to walk off together until they heard Tiny playing the guitar after tuning it before he suddenly began to yell out in the other room like he was being possessed by some sort of demon.

"By everything that rocks!" Thorn gasped as she rushed into the foyer with Luna and Dusk.

Tiny soon growled and roared at the girls before he soon jumped out the window, shattering the glass as he brought the guitar with him.

"Wicked!" The Hex Girls gasped in fear before beaming in excitement. "Rock 'n Roll!"

AND SO...

"I can't believe... okay, I can totally believe that the Hex Girls hired Daphne to do their make-up for tonight's show." Scrappy commented.

"It's like a dream." Daphne smiled at him.

"I'm sure it is." Scrappy nodded.

Daphne soon helped apply the mascara, the lipstick, and even sprayed some hairspray until she soon finished up. "Aaaand... Viola!" she then beamed.

"Whoa. It's perfect, Daphne." Luna smiled as she looked at her reflection.

"Thanks, Luna. You guys are just so glamorous," Daphne smiled back. "It's a joy to do your make-up and even more flattering that you asked me to do your make-up for tonight's concert!~"

"Asking you was a no-brainer, Daph," Thorn said while texting. "Mostly cuz you said you'd work for free."

"Gotta say, it's a real honor hanging out with rock legends the Hex Girls." commented Fred.

"And thanks for the backstage passes." Velma added, holding up a lanyard.

"And thanks for the spread of Hex Girls' themed food!" Shaggy beamed as he was at the buffet table with Scooby. "'Hexpired' chili and sinister spaghetti."

Scooby took the bowl filled with chili and poured it right into his mouth before gulping it down, though it was spicy as steam came out of his ears and he breathed out fire. Cherry soon took out a jug of milk and made Scooby drink it down so that it would simmer down the hotness and he soon sighed in relief after drinking the milk.

"Boy, it's hot." Shaggy smiled.

"So hot, hot, hot!" Scooby added.

"Thanks for letting my friends come here too." Atticus smiled at Thorn.

"No problem, cousin," Thorn replied. "It was my greatest honor."

Just then, a brunette girl with a pink blouse came inside, the sudden door opening getting the jug stuck on Scooby's muzzle. "Got time for a quick interview?" she asked.

"Sure, Xander," said Luna. "Anything for an old friend AND president of the Hex Girls fan club."

"A girl named Xander? ...Interesting." Cherry remarked.

"Oh, great!" Xander smiled as the girls approached her, then she brought out a notepad and pen. "There's word going around that a roadie went crazy tonight. Why?"

Suddenly, Tiny burst in through the wall and roared.

"Whoa!" Atticus gasped as he stepped back a bit.

Tiny soon swung the guitar around and jumped on top of the buffet table where Shaggy and Scooby were. Both began to duck, but each time they rose back up, they grabbed some food to eat up when they still had the chance. Tiny soon broke another hole in the wall and began to cause his own brand of chaos.

"Sounds like impromptu trapping time." Fred said to the others.

As Velma and Daphne rushed over, Fred yanked the tablecloth out from under Tiny, allowing Velma to tie up his legs with the microphone cord, then throwing the other end over to Daphne, who tied the end to a large trunk, and kicked it over, yanking Tiny into the air.

"Wicked!" beamed Dusk.

"Gotta admire the guy's work ethic: he went crazy and still showed up for work." said Luna.

"Yeah, with my guitar." added Thorn as she took the guitar from Tiny, who was growling loudly.

"Like, he looks possessed," Shaggy said, coming with Scooby and their arms full of meatballs. "What's wrong with him?"

"Is his heart corrupted or something?" Sabrina asked.

"It's rock and roll." Luna defended.

"Yeah, this kinda stuff happens all the time." Dusk added.

"I wrecked in my own house eight times last week," Thorn concluded with a smirk. "No reason, just felt like it."

"Then we might wanna hold off on some family reunion sleepovers for a while." Atticus smiled nervously to her.

"Well... if you say it's normal." Daphne replied.

"Hex Girls to the stage!" called one of the staff members. "Three minutes!"

"All right!" Thorn smirked at her good friends. "Time to..."

"Rock 'n Roll!" Dusk and Luna soon said with her in glee.

"Break a leg out there." Atticus told his cousin before walking off with his friends.

"Much appreciated, Atticus." Thorn nodded at him.

And so, the Hex Girls were now on stage and went to perform for their captivated audience. The group sat around backstage with a table of food for them as Luna was at her keyboard, Dusk was at her drums, and Thorn was at her guitar, and there were even some headbangers in the crowd.

"You enjoying the show, Lionel?" Cherry asked.

"It's pretty cool so far." Lionel replied.

"I was hoping that you'd like it," Cherry said. "I like the Hex Girls' new looks. Maybe I should give myself a bit of a makeover too."

"Really? What'd you have in mind?" Lionel asked.

"I dunno," Cherry shrugged. "Maybe a little more black and blue... Some gloves... Boots... Just a little change." she then said as she looked down at her plain outfit of a black hooded sweatshirt, blue sweatpants, and gray and white sneakers.

"I guess you have been wearing that combo for a long time now." Atticus remarked.

"You know what? I think you could pull that look off." Lionel replied.

"Really?" Cherry asked. "Thanks... It was just a thought... I thought maybe a little makeover might be good for me after all these years."

"That could be cool," Lionel replied. "I think you'd do great with an update."

"I'll see what I can do sometime after this." Cherry nodded.

"Like, a gothic makeover sounds interesting, Cherry." Shaggy smiled.

"You as a goth," Cherry smirked. "I'd pay to see that."

"It could be funny," Lionel smirked. "Besides, apart from that point in the 80s where you wore a red shirt and blue jeans, you've been rocking the same look forever."

"I think I'd be a goth version of Pizzaface!" Shaggy smiled as he put two pizza slices on his face.

"And I'd be Hot Dog HexDog!" Scooby added as he put sausages all over his face.

"...Well, at least you two are having fun too." Cherry shrugged at that.

"Hmm... Pizzaface needs more pepperoni!" Scooby told Shaggy as he took a pizza and dropped it on his head.

Shaggy pulled his head through the middle. "Rock & Roll, dude!" he laughed.

"Oh, brother." Atticus rolled his eyes playfully.

"Pass me some pepperoni," Patch chuckled at them. "I can use them as some extra spots for my niece."

The crowd was all abuzz as the new guitar was soon lowered to Thorn as she held out her hands, eagerly awaiting it.

Thorn then took the guitar with a grin and began to position it. "Let's see how this thing rocks," she then grinned at herself as she began to strum the guitar before she was jolted with electricity that came out of the guitar. "YEEEEEEAH!~"

"Man, she's really shreddin' that thing." Salem commented.

Dusk stopped her drumming, and noticed that Thorn's guitar playing was getting more and more frenzied.

"There's something wrong with that guitar!" Luna exclaimed as she ran over to Thorn. "Hang on, Thorn!" she pulled the guitar from her grasp, only to be infected with its electrical energy.

"What is going on over there?" Atticus asked in concern.

"No clue." Patch replied.

"Oh, YEAH!" Luna grinned as she took the guitar and began to play it aggressively.

The crowd just cheered in amazement and excitement as Luna walked off with the guitar across the stage. Thorn then began to beat up the equipment and tear up the stage with a microphone stand as the others backstage looked concerned while the crowd kept cheering as they thought that it was all just part of the show.

"Ya know, I might've not been to many rock concerts, but this doesn't seem normal!" Velma said to the others.

"Shaggy! Get Thorn's tranquilizer gun!" Dusk called to him.

"Thorn has a tranquilizer gun?" asked Shaggy. "Is that a joke?"

"We never joke about Thorn's tranq gun!" Dusk replied. "NEVER!!"

"It's true." Atticus nodded.

"Did you even know about that before?" Cherry deadpanned to Atticus.

"Uh... No..." Atticus said bashfully as he stared at the floor. "I just wanted some attention."

Cherry rolled her eyes then.

Shaggy soon found a box with a glass case and opened it after pushing a button and brought out the tranquilizer gun and shot it as Scooby hid behind him. "Look out!" he then called out.

The implement soon went flying, bounced off of the wall, and soon hit the soundboard roadie, making the poor man doze off suddenly.

"Sorry, roadie dude!" Shaggy told him nervously as he fired again and hit Fred that time. "Like, sorry Fred!" he then shot one more time and hit Dusk just as she stood up for an epic drum solo, only to get hit next. "Like, sorry, Dusk dude!"

"Gimme that!" Atticus complained as he took the gun back and went to aim for his cousin. "All right, Thorn, come on out."

Thorn roared at her cousin, as he fired the tranq gun at Thorn and Luna, knocking them both out.

"Enjoy your nap, ladies." Lionel commented.

"Thank goodness..." Cherry sighed. "That guitar is a weapon of some sorts."

The crowd gasped in worry before they suddenly went back to cheering.

"Do they really think that that was part of the show?" Atticus asked.

"I guess so." Mo shrugged.

The lights soon flickered and they heard some evil laughter as someone new came onto the stage.

"I am Esther Moonkiller and my demon guitar has claimed The Hex Girls!" The ghost demoness grinned darkly. "They will now never play another concert again! They're finished! They're cursed! And now you're all cursed too! EVERYONE HERE IS CURSED! FOREVER!" she then concluded before laughing wickedly and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"That definitely seems suspicious," Lionel commented. "We'd better do something."

"Looks like it's time to investigate." Atticus remarked, going into Detective Mode.

"Well, gang, looks like we've got a real mystery on our hands." Velma smiled.

"Isn't that Fred's catchphrase?" Cherry asked.

"Well, yes, but he's unavailable at the moment." Velma reminded.

"...Fair point." Cherry then nodded once she saw Fred, still knocked out cold.

"Anyways, let's get to it." Mo replied.

Atticus soon helped the others as they went to bring Thorn, Dusk, and Luna back into their dressing room.

Scooby soon sniffed the girls to make sure that they were still alive and of course and luckily, they still were.

"Man... What happened?" Luna groaned once she came to.

"Must've been some concert." Thorn replied.

"Yeah, it was!" Dusk smirked as she came from behind the couch. "Rock 'n Roll!"

The three Hex Girls then shared a group high-five.

"It was crazy!" Daphne remarked. "You guys went berserk on stage!"

"Yeah, it was like you were possessed or something." Sabrina added.

"Wait... We went berserk?" Luna asked before beaming as she shared another high-five with Dusk and Thorn. "Wicked rock 'n roll!"

"A scary ghost demon appeared and said that the Hex Girls were cursed." Fred informed.

"A scary ghost demon cursed us?" asked the Hex Girls in unison. "DOUBLY WICKED ROCK N ROLL!"

"Uh, Thorn? The demon called herself Esther Moonkiller, and said you were playing HER guitar." Velma replied.

"Like, who's Esther Moonkiller, man?" Shaggy asked.

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself." Atticus added.

"I'm so jealous I couldn't give myself a cool goth name when I had the chance like that one." Cherry remarked.

"A long time ago, Esther Moonkiller was a rocker zero musical talent," Luna began to explain. "So she sold her soul to play music."

"Kinda sounds like Tenacious D now." Mo commented.

"She was given a special guitar that made her play amazingly," Luna continued before smirking. "Probably not better than me though, but there was a catch: she never became famous."

Shaggy and Scooby shivered while the others listened quietly to the story.

"So on her death bed, she cursed the guitar; anyone who wielded it would have their souls DESTROYED." Luna then concluded.

"A fate that no rocker should ever endure," Lionel remarked. "Also, Esther Moonkiller seems like it's trying too much to be cool."

"Though I like her name a lot." Cherry remarked.

"Yes, Cherry, Esther Moonkiller is a cool name." Mo rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Don't judge me." Cherry defended as she crossed her arms.

"Esther Moonkiller, ma'am, like, wherever you are, for the record, Scoob and I did not play your guitar, so just remember that!" Shaggy spoke up nervously as he held onto Scooby. "Okay?"

"Yeah! Uh, we cool?" Scooby added.

"Ugh! I never should've opened the package from that anonymous fan." Thorn groaned.

"Yeah, it ruined our concert!" Dusk added. "We only got to play one song."

"Exactly. Curse or no curse, the Hex Girls have got to play a make-up concert tomorrow night." Luna advised.

"Wonder how they're gonna do that if they've been janked up by some crazy curse," Lionel replied. "Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"It does sound a bit risky, you guys." Atticus added.

"Tomorrow night," Thorn insisted firmly to her cousin. "We owe it to our fans, Atticus."

Atticus just sighed and shook his head. "I can't see this ending well." he said to himself.

"As your lawyer, I advise against you playing another concert!" A suited man spoke up as he came in through the door suddenly. "Besides, the new act I've called will be willing to take your place: The Jinx Gals!" he then said, taking out a flyer of a different band that seemed to be more or less copycats of The Hex Girls.

"Those guys look like wannabes." Cherry spoke up.

"They are," Luna replied. "The Jinx Gals are just a rip-off of The Hex Girls!"

"Oh, my... Is it? I didn't notice." The lawyer replied as he put the flyer back away into his briefcase.

"Looks like we'd better get to work," Scrappy stated. "Before those Hex Girls wannabes with the serial numbers filed off end up taking your places!"

"They're gonna try to replace us!" Thorn said in a crying voice. "That hurts my feelings!"

"Thorn, you don't look so good." Cherry warned.

"You're right... I have feelings!" Thorn replied. "Waaaah! Something's wrong! I feel weird!"

"Wow... I've never seen Thorn cry," Luna remarked to the others. "Ever. She's more of a stoic vampire type."

"Cherry used to be the same way until she found out about empathy towards others." Atticus commented.

"I guess the whole Esther Moonkiller thing has messed Thorn's mind up," Lionel commented. "Made her act unlike her usual self."

"This is concerning." Mo commented.

"Hey, anyone have a newspaper?" Thorn soon asked. "I like to do the crossword while listening to some smooth jazz."

"Smooth jazz?!" Dusk wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Thorn! Snap out of it!" she then told her friend, slapping her face a couple of times.

"I-I-I can't!" Thorn panicked. "What's happening to me?! I'm scared!"

"I think Lionel is right," Atticus told his cousin. "You're losing your mojo because of this Esther Moonkiller person."

"And somehow we have to help her reclaim it!" Patch added. "Or else the Hex Girls' career is rock n' roll history!"

"Right," Dusk nodded as she looked at the group before she noticed that someone was missing. "Hey. Where'd Luna go?"

"Sorry! Had to put on some calmer clothes," Luna smiled as she walked by, wearing pink heels, a white skirt, with a short-sleeved pink top, and she was holding a golf club. "Too much glam, I'm into preppy now. Khakis and sensible cotton golf shirts."

"AAAUGH!" Cherry screamed in horror and dismay.

"Khakis and golf shirts?!" Daphne cried out. "It's a sin against glam!"

"It's the curse!" Dusk panicked. "I could be next! Oh, no! Nooooo!" she then cried out as she went running away and hide, going through a door behind her and slammed it shut as she felt scared of the future.

"This is horrible. Just horrible!" The lawyer frowned before ignoring the problem. "Okay, better get The Jinx Gals ready for tomorrow night's concert. See ya!" he then said as he bolted off out the door.

"Nice." Sabrina and Salem deadpanned.

"Nice to know he's got his priorities in order..." remarked Mo sarcastically.

"Ooh!" Thorn beamed as she looked at the newspaper.

"What is it?" Luna asked.

"A sale at the Mall!" Thorn smiled. "Department Store clothing is so drab and fashionable! I love it!"

The two girls then shared a high-five with each other.

"Yeah... I think you two need to stay right here with us." Fred advised.

"We can't let anyone see you." Daphne added.

"Yeah! It would totally ruin the Hex Girls' popularity for, like, evs!" Shaggy warned.

"Yeah!" Scooby added.

"They're all right, Thorn," Atticus agreed. "You stay here with us until we can solve this mystery and maybe break the spell to get you guys back to normal."

"Hmm... Maybe we can fix them if we know what we're up against." Velma suggested.

"All right, I'll do a Google search for Esther Moonkiller." Cherry decided as she was already on her laptop.

"Atta girl!" Lionel nodded, as Velma checked the briefcase.

"A receipt? And some calamine lotion?" Velma wondered. "I wonder how it connects to the guitar..."

Fred looked at the receipt. "The address for the guitar is at Thorn's house...but the address for the lotion is completely different!" he exclaimed.

"That's certainly a clue," Daphne nodded. "Let's go investigate."

"Here we go." Patch said.

Atticus nodded as they soon began their investigation. Esther was shown to be lurking from out the window though, glancing menacingly.

"I can see you." Cherry deadpanned as she continued to do research on her laptop, unfazed by the demoness's attempts to scare her.

Esther hissed before sliding back down.

Chapter Text

LATER...

The group pulled up outside of a house, and headed over, with Thorn and Luna now dressed like preppies. As the door flew open, there was someone standing in the doorway, wearing a big paper-mache skull mask with glowing red eyes, and making spooky noises. The Mystery Gang jumped back, surprised, but luckily, it was just Dusk.

"Dusk?" asked Daphne. "What're you doing here?"

"I was hoping to scare the curse out of Thorn and Luna," replied Dusk. "Did it work?"

"You gave me such a fright." said Thorn, or in this case, Sally McKnight.

"And this mask is way too scary," added Luna. "It'd be nicer if he was smiling. Maybe some rhinestones?"

Sally nodded, but Dusk looked mortified. "RHINESTONES?!" she exclaimed. "It's the curse! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!" she screamed as she ran off.

"Poor Dusk," sighed Scrappy.

"Yeah," Lionel nodded. "...I wonder where people go when they run off-screen like that?"

"I always assumed a door or something." Atticus shrugged.

They soon came into the house to explore a little.

"Well, this house certainly doesn't appear to be lived in." Fred said as the house looked dark and empty.

"That's strange. A mixing board," Velma observed. "This is definitely a clue."

"Pretty gloomy in here... How 'bout we turn on the light?" Sally suggested as she flipped a light switch.

Suddenly, the fireplace began to move from that and a secret downward staircase was then shown.

"Whoa." Atticus said as he didn't expect that.

"A thick wall hiding a creepy stairwell?" Daphne blinked before looking at Sally. "Nice work, Thorn."

"Thanks, Daph," Thorn smirked before she gave a toothy grin. "The simple compliments are the best; they can really brighten your day."

"Man, I don't know what's spookier, guys," Shaggy said to Scooby, Scrappy, Patch, Lionel, and Atticus. "The creepy house or watching Thorn be so sweet."

"Let's just call it a tie." Lionel replied.

"Works for me." Patch shrugged.

They then came to go downstairs and as they did, the fireplace moved back in place behind them. The door to a spare room creaked open once they reached the bottom of the steps and they saw something glowing in the corner that looked like a secret door through the brick wall.

"What is that?" Mo wondered. "Some kinda secret dressing room or something?"

"In the boiler room? It feels a bit... unfitting." Lionel replied as he got closer.

"Looks like whoever owns this room is obsessed with the Hex Girls!" said Shaggy. "In a REALLY creepy way!"

"It's almost like Stephen King's Misery," Mo said nervously. "Though hopefully not that intense."

"No, no. This picture's from our early days before The Hex Girls." Sally said as she picked up a framed picture of how she and the other Hex Girls used to look like, more or less when she and the others met Atticus and Cherry along with Mystery Inc.

"Back when there were four of us." Luna added.

"And this picture makes me look so dower and goth," Sally complained. "That saddens me."

"And those haircuts!" Luna smirked. "Did we even OWN a mirror?"

"I actually like those old looks," Mo commented. "Though, I guess they do kinda scream 1999."

"Let's take a nicer photo of us to replace it." Sally smiled hopefully at Luna.

"Hey! I can pose with my new clubs!" Luna beamed as she swung a golf pose in excitement to that. "I got a new model in mind. I'm into golf now."

"We're aware." Patch replied.

"I love it! And I'll give a cheerful smile like this!" Sally nodded before she gave a big grin, though she still had her fangs in her mouth.

"It works... and yet? It's disturbing." Scrappy replied.

"Ooh... Maybe we will have to cancel the make-up concert." Daphne shivered.

"We can't let anyone see them like this." Fred nodded in agreement.

"You said it." Sabrina added.

"But... But... But... But that concert is the most important thing!" Sally cried out as she grabbed Fred's ascot emotionally. "It's for our fans! Without them, we're nothing!" she then began to cry before blowing her nose into Fred's ascot.

The others grimaced in disgust at the nose-blowing.

"Hey, it's okay, Thorn," Fred said as he clutched his ascot. "Don't worry; we'll fix this."

"We promise." Atticus smiled at his cousin.

"Hey, everyone, look at this!" Velma called out as she stood and leaned against the wall. "I found another secret passage! Come on!"

When her hand was placed in the right spot, a secret door soon opened up in the wall, leading them to a brand new corridor.

"This sure is an expansive boiler room." Patch commented.

Of course, Sally and Luna didn't expect to have someone following behind them... more specifically, Esther Moonkiller!!

"Come get it, ya rock star reject!" Scrappy shouted as the gang ran off through the tunnels. "I'll clip your strings but good!"

Esther soon hissed and snarled at him.

"Yeah, yeah, come and get me, bet ya won't!" Scrappy taunted as he kept on running.

"And here comes the hallway full of doors scene." Lionel noted as he checked it off a "list of obligatory Scooby-Doo bits".

"As well as random cameos... Maybe..." Cherry shrugged.

"Like us?" Snooper Dog and The Clue Crew asked as they came out of one door.

"Get OUT!" Cherry glared as she took out Luna's golf club and suddenly swung it, kicking them out of the story. "Now stay off of this story account until the Toonyverse's adaptation of Channel Chasers comes into print!"

"Well, that was confusing," Lionel shrugged. "Let's just keep watching and see what else comes out of these tunnels..."

"Fine by me." Cherry replied.

Atticus, Mo, and Patch joined in on the chase scene as Esther chased after the Mystery Inc gang.

"All we need now is an original, dated song for the chase scene and we'd be good," Cherry commented. "Like Sabrina's friends from Riverdale."

Sabrina pouted.

"Oh, no offense." Cherry grinned bashfully.

"Hmph," Sabrina shrugged and crossed her arms. "None taken."

"Whoa, is that an alligator?" Lionel pointed out, like a commentary.

"I used to fight those back in New York!" Scrappy replied.

"Sewer Gator... Classic legend..." Cherry commented. "I think Timmy Turner and his dad believe in those."

SPLASH! Suddenly, the area filled with water as everyone floated around and held their breaths. Esther soon looked around for the group who had gone missing until they came out of the pipes, not in scuba gear anymore as they held their breath before she swam after them in a huff. Eventually, the water suddenly drained away as Esther was alone in the middle of the pipe maze and a drop of water landed on her and they were all dried up.

"All right, time to keep going." Cherry soon told the others that she waited with.

The group scrambled up a manhole ladder and closed the door on their way out.

"Wait, we're backstage at the Hex Girls' concert!" Velma exclaimed. "These clues are really starting to come together."

"Then c'mon, gang!" Daphne told the crew. "We've got a lot of work to do!"

"Work..." Cherry groaned and rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess it's better than just sitting around and blinking for watch time."

"Also, time to redo some make-up." Daphne said as she eyed Luna.

Luna stepped back before she tried to escape.

"We've got a runner!" Mo called out.

Atticus soon brought out his crystal magic to make crystal spikes appear in front of Luna to block her way out.

"Sorry, Luna, but this is for your own good." Patch told the redheaded Hex Girl.

Soon, Luna was strapped down into a make-up chair and was in her old clothes as Daphne had the make-up ready.

"Don't struggle, Luna," Sabrina advised. "Daphne has to make you glamorous again."

"It's for the best," Lionel added. "For you AND your fanbase."

Sally smiled as she began to write something down on some paper, still looking as perky as ever.

"Please tell me that's lyrics for a new song." Atticus begged his cousin.

"Actually, Dusk, Luna, and I have been going over the lyrics for our #1 hit song 'Love's Curse'," Sally replied. "This whole 'I put a curse on you' thing, it just seems so negative. How about 'I put a blessing on you'."

Atticus soon anime fell in the background.

"I love that idea!" Luna beamed as she came over to Sally.

The two then practiced saying "I put a blessing on you" to each other before they fell on the couch together and laughed.

"You two are really freaking me out!" Dusk complained.

"You're not the only one." Cherry remarked.

"That's pretty creepy, I admit." Lionel replied. "And I thought your hit song was 'Hex Girl'... I liked that one better."

"Yeah, that one really gets me pumped up for the Halloween season." Cherry added.

"At least you guys are still talking some sense." Dusk said with a groan.

"Somebody has to!" Lionel replied.

"Tell me about it!" Dusk groaned. "I think I'm gonna lose my mind if I keep hanging around these two much longer!"

"Well, don't make like The Beatles and break up," Cherry advised. "We'll get through this together."

"I sure hope so," Dusk sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Otherwise, The Hex Girls might end up deader than disco."

"I need a few more minutes," Velma said, while working on something. "Scooby, Shaggy, you go out and stall them!"

"We're on it!" Shaggy replied as he took off with Scooby.

"Oh, man..." Cherry groaned. "This is gonna be a disaster."

"Okay, let's try to be positive." Atticus advised.

"I'm sorry, Atticus, but I don't see a way to stay positive at this rate with your cousin and her bandmates losing their coolness factors by the minute." Cherry retorted.

"I'm positive alright," Lionel replied. "Positive that Scooby and Shaggy will be booed off-stage or beaned with something."

Atticus sighed and shook his head at them.

"Hi! I'm Scrappy Doo!" Scrappy smiled as he came on stage then.

Several people then began to throw rotten food at him just at the sight of him.

"...You set me up for that, didn't you?" Scrappy glared at Cherry.

"I'm sorry, Scraps," Cherry said as she knelt down and wiped him clean before glaring at the audience. "For Celestia's sake, people, he's just a puppy! I don't care if he's annoying, obnoxious, or irritating, he's still just a kid!"

"We want Hex Girls! We want Hex Girls!" The crowd yelled.

Scrappy just rolled his eyes and stormed backstage, muttering under his breath.

"Dirty pool, dirty pool." Lionel sighed as he shook his head.

"Uh... Um... Helloooo, Cleveland!" Scooby soon called out to the crowd.

"Wrong city." Cherry told the Great Dane.

"THIS IS CINCINNATI!" A voice called out from the crowd.

More food was soon thrown from the crowd.

"Incoming!" Cherry warned.

Instead of ducking and dodging though, Shaggy and Scooby decided to take some food that they could get so that they could eat it up.

"Mm... Not bad," Shaggy smiled as he sipped a drink. "Say, could someone throw us a little salt?"

Suddenly, a tomato was thrown and splatted Shaggy right in the face.

"START THE SHOW! START THE SHOW! START THE SHOW!" The crowd demanded while Scooby dragged Shaggy away since he fell on the stage from the tomato throwing.

"Okay... Uh... So..." Cherry cleared her throat as she walked up to the microphone, trying to make a joke. "A Sandwich, a Rabbi, and Yo Mama walk in to a bar..." she then began to say.

The crowd was getting antsy. "WE WANT HEX GIRLS! WE WANT HEX GIRLS!!" they shouted, even angrier.

"Guys? You about ready back there?" Cherry called to backstage.

"I think we're good to go." Atticus said as he poked his head out from the curtains.

"Very well," Cherry nodded before clearing her throat. "Ladies and gentlemen... Boos and ghouls of all ages... I finally give you... THE HEX GIRLS!"

The crowd soon began to cheer in excitement and anticipation as the curtains drew back and Cherry bolted off stage as the Hex Girls were shown to be at their respective instruments.

"I'm still really unsure about this." Cherry then said to her friends.

"I can see why," said Lionel. "Sally is holding a ukulele instead of her usual guitar."

Sally began cheerfully strumming at her ukulele, while Dusk boredily tapped on a cymbal, and Luna played on her keytar, which sounded like a toy piano.

"Every time I speak your name, you're gonna think of me and go insane~" said Luna.

"This isn't the Hex Girls!" said one pissed fan.

"BOO!! BOO!!" And the crowd joined in the jeering and yelling.

"Aw, jeez..." Cherry groaned and complained.

"How's it going, Velma?" Sabrina asked, checking on the smart girl in Mystery Inc.

"Almost got it... And... AHA! Finished!" Velma said as she finished her work and ran off.

"Go, Velma, go! The fate and future of The Hex Girls depends on you, but no pressure!" Sabrina called out.

"Nice advise and help for your friend." Salem smirked snarkily.

Sabrina rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. Sally and Luna continued to play sappily and sweet until Velma activated her device and suddenly, everything began to change. Sally now had Esther Moonkiller's guitar and began to shred as Thorn as the crowd soon cheered in acceptance. Dusk beamed at that and began to bang around on her drums while Luna played more properly this time too.

"Now that's more like it!" Cherry approved.

"The rock universe's order has been restored!" Lionel declared as he and Scrappy were headbanging.

Atticus and Mo cheered together before they began to dance along to the music. Thorn then began to sing "I Put a Curse on You" the proper way with Luna and Dusk. However, the lights went out and the celebration was cut rather short.

"How dare you?!" A hauntingly familiar voice scowled from behind the smoke that appeared suddenly.

"Oh, great," Mo complained. "Just what we need."

"My demonic guitar was supposed to curse The Hex Girls forever!" Esther glared as she dropped down to the floor. "You will ALL pay!"

"Looks like it's time for another mandatory chase scene." Salem shrugged at the others.

"In the words of Richard Horvitz, circa 1993: ay-yai-yai-yai..." Lionel sighed as the chase scene began.

Esther soon chased after the group while the Hex Girls continued to perform their little song. "Augh! No! Not the crowds!" she then cried out once she was face-to-face with the cheering crowd. "Anything but the crowds!"

"Wow." Atticus said.

"Now, Fred!" Velma soon signaled.

Fred then let go of some rope which dropped giant heads of Dusk, Luna, and finally, Thorn and the Thorn head soon dropped right down on top of Esther before she could escape as the song was ending. The Hex Girls then ended their song with fire effects all over the stage as Mystery Inc caught up with Esther and went to stop her and find out who she really was while they still had the time.

"Now it's time to see who the demon ghost of Esther Moonkiller really is." Atticus remarked.

And so Scrappy went over, and pulled off the mask.

"Xander?" exclaimed the group.

"Xander, the president of our fan club?" asked Thorn.

"Xander, the president of--" The crowd began.

"STOP! JUST STOP!" Lionel yelled.

"But why?" asked Mo.

"Yes! Why?!" The crowd added.

Cherry flashed the crowd a "shut up" look, nearly hissing which scared them into being quiet.

"You see, before they were The Hex Girls, Xander used to be in a and with Thorn, Luna, and Dusk," Velma began to explain. "But her fear of performing in front of crowds made her break out in hives and she was forced to quit the band."

"Man, talk about an extreme case of stage fright." Sabrina commented.

"As the Hex Girls rose to fame, Xander became increasingly jealous," Cherry then continued from there. "She vowed to break up the Hex Girls and destroy the band forever. She gave them the guitar which wasn't really cursed; it held a small soundwave emitter that played frequencies like brainwaves."

"This made Thorn, Luna, and their roadie go crazy!" Velma added. "It was only when I found the right frequency that I could reverse the effects."

"Ohhhhh!" Lionel replied. "So that's how it happened!"

"Well, that's the most rock 'n roll thing I've ever heard." Luna commented.

"Heh. Wicked." Thorn smirked.

"Clever." Cherry remarked.

"And here comes the famous line in 3, 2, 1." Atticus cued.

"And I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling kids and The Hex Girls!" Xander pouted firmly.

"Y'know, this whole thing turned out pretty great," said Luna. "We caught a demon, got our fans back, and the Hex Girls returned to being the greatest band in the history of the world!"

"It was pretty adventurous, I'll say." Cherry nodded.

"YEAH!" The crowd cheered. "HEX GIRLS! HEX GIRLS! HEX GIRLS!"

"Know what? We promised our fans a full concert. Whatya say, Thorn?" Luna smirked.

"The Hex Girls are back, baby!" Thorn smirked back.

"Let's rock 'n roll!" Thorn and Luna cheered together with their audience.

"Scooby-Dooby-Doooooo!" Scooby added.

"Now that was excellent." Lionel beamed.

"Quite a great show!" Scrappy added.

"I gotta say, that's probably the best concert I've ever seen in my lifetime." Salem nodded.

"Wow, Salem, that's nice of you to say." Sabrina remarked.

"Hey, I can be a nice guy when I want to be," Salem smirked. "Just don't expect it all the time."

"I'll hold my breath." Sabrina rolled her eyes at him then.

And in short, the group enjoyed the concert.

Eventually, the show ended.

"So great to see you again." Thorn smiled as she hugged Atticus.

"So, you two are related, huh?" Lionel asked.

"Yep," Thorn nodded. "My mother is Atticus's father's sister."

"Though I guess my Wiccan blood is a bit stronger, especially after that mess with Ben Ravencroft." Atticus remarked.

"Well, okay." Lionel shrugged.

"Are you going off on a new adventure after this?" Thorn asked Atticus.

"Yeah, for a little bit," Atticus smiled. "I dunno where we'll go this time, but we're just hanging around Sabrina, Salem, and Mystery Inc for a little while."

"Such is the case." Mo replied.

"Well, wherever you go next, I hope that it's a lot of fun," Thorn smiled. "Keep us posted."

"You know I will." Atticus smiled back.

Chapter Text

And so, the group went on their way once more. Atticus, Cherry, Lionel, Mo, Patch, Sabrina, and Salem decided to hang out with Mystery Inc in their van to travel and explore for a little.

"So, where are we going this time?" Atticus asked.

"Maybe a museum and get a little culture." Velma suggested.

"I guess," shrugged Lionel. "Couldn't hurt."

"Glad you think so, Lionel," Velma smiled. "To the museum we go."

"I hope it's not modern art." Cherry groaned.

"Don't worry, Cherry; I'm sure you and Atticus will at least appreciate it." Velma reassured.

"Yay... An educational field trip," Salem rolled his golden eyes. "Maybe we'll find a Goya exhibit. Did you know that Zelda was one of the models?" he then asked the group.

"Somehow, that makes a lot of sense." Patch commented.

"Okay," Scrappy shrugged. "I guess we could probably see if we spot one of those."

The Mystery Machine drove around for a rather long time. Eventually, it came to a stop and they found a museum to stop into and visit which was a Greek museum like the one that Atticus and Cherry had visited which began their adventure with the one known as Hercules which has been best described as one of Atticus's top adventures.

"Wow! This place is amazing," Fred smiled. "It smells like culture! Am I right?"

Shaggy and Scooby were shown to be licking some ice cream behind the others.

"Not to me, dude," Shaggy chuckled. "Like, to me, it just smells like rocky road ice cream!"

"Ice cream is culture I love, and it loves me back!" Scooby giggled.

"You guys aren't supposed to be eating in here!" Daphne told her boyfriend and his dog. "This room is full of priceless artifacts!"

"Scoob, Daphne is right," said Shaggy. "We should be more respectful of these ancient artifacts!"

And so he and Scooby ate both of their cones in an instant. "All gone!"

"What? No brain freeze?" Cherry shrugged.

They soon walked along to explore more of the museum up close.

"Long ago, in the faraway land of Ancient Greece, there was a golden age of powerful gods and extraordinary heroes," Atticus began to narrate, bringing back some memories. "And the greatest and strongest of all these heroes was the mighty Hercules, but what is the measure of a true hero? Ah, that is what our story is--"

"Oh, don't you start that." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Sorry." Atticus replied.

"It is a bit nostalgic to be apart of this museum though," Cherry remarked as they walked along. "Not to mention for my love of mythology."

"Wow! Athena: The Greek Goddess of Wisdom." Velma smiled in amazement.

"Eaten by her own father until she exploded out of his head and was born with a helmet on her head." Cherry smirked.

"Man, Greek mythology is trippy." Lionel commented.

"It can be sometimes." Cherry nodded.

"That's nuthin'!" Shaggy grinned as he posed heroically. "Check out Shaggy and Scooby: Gods of Awesomeness!"

"Yeah! Awesome!" Scooby added as he did the same before accidentally knocking down one of the exhibit stands.

"Oh, Fiddle Faddle!" Cherry cried out.

A head bust soon fell, right after a taller statue, and it landed on the stand of Cupid/Eros and the arrow soon fired and shot all around the room before slicing into the metal chains that held up the sign of Greek Sculptures, coming swinging right for Shaggy and Scooby. Shaggy and Scooby soon ducked down and the sign then hit Atlas's globe and it was coming loose. Seeing this, Shaggy tried to push it back into place, but it was too heavy, and soon, the globe rolled down the corridor and began to chase him and Scooby down and they soon jumped out of the way while they still had time and the globe crashed right into the statue of the Minotaur's stand, nearly fracturing it whole.

"Perfect." Cherry snarked once she caught up with the others.

"Guys, what did you two do?!" Velma asked as she and the others regrouped.

"Like, it was Scooby's fault!" Shaggy pointed.

"He dropped it!" Scooby pointed back.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Just then, the statue of the minotaur cracked open, revealing an actual minotaur!

"Wow-o-wow!" Scrappy remarked. "Just like our visit to Helios!"

"You've been to Helios?" Atticus asked Scrappy.

"That's what he said," Cherry rolled her eyes. "Hellooooo?~"

"Yeah, it was after I first met Uncle Scooby and his friends," explained Scrappy. "Right before we made that stopover in New York."

"Must've missed that," Cherry replied. "Still... Pretty interesting to know."

"Don't worry, guys; I'll take care of this Minotaur," Atticus soon decided. "Strong Adventuer is my middle name."

"Actually, it's James, but go knock yourself out." Cherry shrugged as she then walked away.

But before Atticus got the chance to do so, someone else beat him to the punch as she unsheathed her sword and threw off her cloak.

"Lasso of Truth?"

"Bracelets of Victory?"

"Royal tiara?"

"Sword of Athena?"

"Big round shield?"

"That's Wonder Woman!" The group exclaimed.

"Talk about a twist!" Scrappy commented.

"Wow! Wonder Woman!" Atticus smiled. "If only my sister were here, she's a big Wonder Woman fan."

Wonder Woman glared as she soon jumped up in the air and clashed her sword with the Minotaur as he snarled at her. She then hit him with her shield before he headbutted her backward, sending her sliding on her feet across the floor. The group then began to hide away behind some pillars while Wonder Woman would take care of the Minotaur for them. Atticus soon took out his phone and began to take pictures to send over to Jessica and made sure to get out of the way whenever necessary. The minotaur charged at Wonder Woman, but she kept on beating him back and pursuing him in combat.

"So cool." Atticus smiled as he continued to take pictures on his phone for his sister.

"Time to send you back into the Underworld!" Wonder Woman glared at the Minotaur.

The Minotaur smiled with glowing yellow eyes.

"Careful with your phone, Atticus." Mo warned her boyfriend.

"It's okay, Mo, I turned the flash off." Atticus reassured.

However, Shaggy didn't seem to do the same for his phone as he brought it out to take a picture of Wonder Woman in action, but his phone flashed and blinded her before she could smite the Minotaur. The Minotaur soon headbutted Wonder Woman away into a wall and soon took off running.

"Really? He's running away?" Patch asked.

"Really? You're narrating exactly what we just saw?" Cherry retorted.

"It does feel kinda superfluous." Lionel replied.

"Sorry." Patch shrugged.

"Mm-hmm..." Cherry rolled her eyes.

Eventually, Wonder Woman got up and was face-to-face with Mystery Inc and the Adventure Team. "Okay, explain to me why you kids helped that Minotaur escape. You are kids, right?" she then asked. "Not dryads or satyrs in disguise, right?"

The others began to deny and argue that they didn't let the Minotaur get away on purpose.

"We were just trying to get a little culture because Scoob and I have none!" Shaggy frowned.

"Wonder Woman, I'm sure you can trust us if you look at us closely." Atticus hinted as he stepped up from the group.

"Oh, I get it!" Lionel realized. "You don't recognize us without our JL outfits!" And he zapped himself and the others into their superhero outfits. "How about now?"

Mystery Inc looked a bit wide-eyed, though they didn't make a big fuss.

"...Of course," Wonder Woman realized as she gave them a small smile. "I'm not used to seeing you outside of your superhero outfits."

"Eh, I can kinda understand that." Cherry remarked.

"No worries," Atticus added. "It's good to see you and I assure you that Mystery Inc isn't a bunch of spies. If you don't believe us, you can use your Golden Lasso of Truth."

"Fair enough." Wonder Woman replied as she put her lasso over the Mystery Inc group.

"Nice going, Saiya Wiseguy." Cherry narrowed her eyes.

Atticus just grinned bashfully in response.

"Oh, no! The Lasso of Truth!" Scooby gasped.

"I went to the drive-thru last week and I didn't get Scooby-Doo anything!" Shaggy confessed.

"Shaggy, I use your toothbrush and not on my teeth!" Scooby added.

"I put a lot of peanut butter on my sandwich more than yours and I mean a LOT more!"

"And I eat the peanut butter straight out of the jar!"

"Hmm... Those are the most ridiculous truths I have ever heard," Wonder Woman said as she removed her lasso from them. "Pretty clear you're not a danger to anyone but yourselves."

"Yep." Lionel shrugged.

"So, who are your friends?" Wonder Woman asked the adventure team.

"If you allow me, Wonder Woman; we're a gang of teenage mystery solvers and the appearance of this Minotaur is clearly a mystery that needs solving." Velma informed logically.

"I'm not sure I need a mystery," Wonder Woman said as she sheathed out her sword. "A Minotaur is a Minotaur. They show up, cause trouble for humankind, I send them back where they belong. It's quite simple really." she then added as she swung her sword before putting it back.

"I just hope that didn't slice off my fur." Salem shivered nervously.

"Wonder Woman, I just wanna say... Who you are, everything you stand for, you're my hero." Daphne smiled as she approached the Amazon.

"I'm touched," said Wonder Woman. "Though I believe that every woman should be her own hero."

"That's pretty good advice." Mo commented.

"Sounds like a great message for young girls everywhere." Cherry added.

"Yes, such as The Powerpuff Girls when they saved me and Aquaman from the Legion of Doom's kidnapping," Wonder Woman replied. "I believe they are developing into strong great heroes."

"True, but the way you fight--" Velma began.

"You can fight, can you?" Wonder Woman prompted.

"I've been fighting for nearly my whole life actually." Mo remarked.

"Well, I know a few moves from my yogarobics class." said Daphne, before she did a few karate kicks, which nearly nailed anyone standing close to her.

"Daphne... Why...?" Cherry groaned as she hugged her stomach in pain.

"Oh, sorry!" Daphne frowned.

Atticus soon healed up Cherry with his magic before she stood back up on her feet.

"Not bad; although I would suggest keeping your eyes open next time," Wonder Woman advised. "May I show you something?" she then offered with a small smile.

"Of course! Please!" Daphne smiled back in excitement.

"Yes! Up high, Wonder Woman!" Velma beamed as she held out her hand.

Wonder Woman soon high-fived Velma, though due to her strength, it sent the bespectacled girl flying backwards and knocking into everyone else and they were then down on the floor. "Sorry about that," she then said as she helped Velma up. "I'm mostly used to high-fiving Amazons."

"So cool." Velma gushed.

"So where do we begin?" asked Fred. "Kicks? Swordfighting? Kicks?"

"Bodyslams?" Shaggy asked.

"Sorry, gentlemen, but I can't train you," Wonder Woman told them. "It's the law of Themiscyra: I can only teach women how to fight like warriors."

"Well, for once, I'm glad to be a girl." Mo smiled bashfully.

"Same here actually." Cherry added.

"What about dogs and cats?" Scooby smiled bashfully as he came towards the Amazon with Scrappy, Patch, and Salem.

"I wouldn't mind a little training either." Salem smirked.

"You are all so cute, you big furry beasts!" Wonder Woman cooed as she stroked their fur hugged their faces, starting with Scooby. "But no. No dogs or cats either."

"Dang it." Patch complained.

"Well, it looks like Cherry gets a day in the limelight with the other girls today." Atticus shrugged.

"Yeah, imagine that, me getting a story focused on myself and this whole thing started out with me." Cherry snarked a bit at him.

Just then, they saw a very creepy-looking guy mopping the floor. "Curator wants you in his office," he grunted. "Now."

"Okay, we don't want any trouble," Atticus replied. "Let's just get this over with."

They were soon all in the curator's office and luckily, they weren't in trouble.

"I wanna thank you for saving our priceless artifacts," The curator smiled warmly at his guests in his office. "The museum owes you a great debt."

"Wow! Check these out," Fred smiled as he stood in front of a framed golden medallion. "I've never met a real champion before!"

"Ahem... Right here, Mr. Jones." Wonder Woman reminded as she winked at him.

"No, Wonder Woman, I think Fred meant about sports and not like a superhero." Mo said to her with a small smile.

"Ohh, right... I love the Games," Wonder Woman smiled back. "I haven't missed one in 2,000 years."

"That's quite a record you got there." Sabrina remarked.

"My days of being an athletic star are over," The curator said. "Thank you again, for everything." He waved to them as they left.

"It was no problem really, sir," Atticus smiled. "Thanks for seeing us."

The janitor growled as they left the office and he mopped up the floor a few feet in front of them.

"Like, that guy sure does sound like that crazy Minotaur." Shaggy remarked.

"I think we have our first suspect." Fred said with a crafty smile.

"I'm a little nervous about training with Wonder Woman," Cherry said. "I just hope I don't embarrass myself in front of everybody like in Gym Class."

"You're gonna be okay," Lionel replied. "Besides, it's your time to shine!"

"All right," Cherry nodded. "Let's do this."

And so, the boys and girls split up as Wonder Woman brought the girls over to a training ground which was reminiscent that of a coliseum. They began with some punches and kicks as the boys watched from in the stands as Atticus and Patch imitated the moves from where they sat.

"Gee, we do everything together and now we can't train together?" Fred sulked.

"Boys' Locker Room. Girls' Locker Room." Scooby replied.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Atticus wondered.

"It means they have their own things that we can't be part of," said Lionel. "As much as it sucks, that's just how it is. And no, we're not gonna disguise ourselves as girls, because that's just sad and desperate."

"C'mon, let's go look around before Fred starts crying." Shaggy replied as he got up and went inside.

"Aw, jeez, Fred; don't cry." Atticus said to the leader of Mystery Inc.

"Let's find some clues." Scooby smiled, patting Fred on the back before following after Shaggy.

"Yeah, Fred, that oughta cheer you up a little." Patch smiled.

Fred sighed before he got up and they soon went back inside as the girls continued to train together.

Eventually, they came back into the museum as it was getting dark and it was a bit too hard for them all to see.

"Anybody see a light?" Fred asked as they walked down the corridor. "It's getting too dark to look for any clues."

"I can't see anything!" Lionel declared.

"Like, what about this kooky candle?" Shaggy suggested as he lit a match into a lantern.

Suddenly, an image appeared right on the wall, showing a glowing global map which was surprising and startling a bit.

"It's a map of Greece!" Fred realized.

"Whoa." Atticus, Fred, Patch, Scooby, and Scrappy remarked as they soon walked over to take a closer look.

"Hmm... It looks like Ancient Greek ruins." Atticus observed with the others.

"How fortuitous!" Lionel stated, before the lights went out.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" asked Fred.

"Just a second, dude." said Shaggy, as he lit a match, revealing the Minotaur.

"I'll turn ya into the world's ugliest steak, bucko!" Scrappy remarked, cracking his knuckles.

"Scrappy!" Scooby panicked as he picked up and pulled his nephew away by the collar.

"Aw, come on, lemme show my stuff to these bad guys!" Scrappy complained.

Shaggy and Scooby soon hid behind Fred nervously.

"It's been nice knowin' ya, Scooby-Doo!" Shaggy said worriedly.

"You too, Shaggy!" Scooby replied.

"Are you guys forgetting that I'm about as strong as Hercules if not more?" Atticus rolled his eyes. "I can turn this guy into a hamburger if I want to!"

"Dude, everyone remembers," said Lionel. "It's just that your power is pretty much the game-breaker. If you used your power to pummel him, the story would be over way too soon."

"Do you really wanna lose against this Minotaur?" Atticus replied.

Thor soon appeared suddenly through magic. "What? And ruin the plot?" he then asked. "We might as well end the story now if you insist on beating him up and sending him flying and solving the mystery roughly seven minutes in." he then crossed his arms.

"Where did you come from?" Atticus asked.

"That's not important," Thor replied. "I'm starting to see why so many of the readers don't really like you."

"Yeah, we have to go through the story, otherwise it'll just be like that whole Crash Bandicoot incident Cherry mentioned." Lionel added.

"Now then... Off I go." Thor said before disappearing again suddenly.

"How does he do that?" Scrappy wondered.

"He's Drell's nephew." Patch stated like it was obvious.

Wonder Woman soon slid into the room, tying the Minotaur up in her lasso and flung him against the wall, crashing him before he landed on the floor. "Now tell me, Minotaur. Why are you here? Who sent you?" she then demanded to know as she brought out her sword. "Hades?!"

"Wonder Woman, NO!" Daphne and Velma yelped as they tried to stop her.

"You can't just kill this guy!" Cherry exclaimed. "He's not a real minotaur! He's just some yutz in a costume!"

"Did you just say 'yutz'?" Lionel asked, trying not to laugh.

Cherry gave him a look before looking away with a small smirk. The Minotaur soon stood up and pulled on the lasso, sending the girls forward before he suddenly punched them away.

"Heh... That just made me think of Scorpion's move 'GET OVER HERE!'." Cherry commented.

"Probably not the time for jokes, Cherry." Sabrina advised the perky goth.

The Minotaur snarled and soon grabbed the lantern before running away suddenly. Yet again.

"Sorry we had to stop you, WW, but Cherry's right," Mo said to the fallen Amazon. "Whether he did something bad or not, you can't go around killing someone as that Minotaur is clearly no real Minotaur."

"Well, either way, I must say, I've never had this much trouble taking down a Minotaur before." Wonder Woman defended as she rubbed her head, feeling a bit pained from the fall.

"Also, this is a kids' cartoon!" Lionel added. "The FCC would be on our backs like stink on a skunk!"

Fred soon turned on the lights as everyone got up and settled down from the Minotaur attack.

"Like, don't take it too hard, Wonder Woman; you can't win 'em all." Shaggy advised.

"True, Shaggy, but I certainly like to win them all," Wonder Woman replied as she got back on her feet. "If possible."

"Say, what's this?" Cherry wondered.

Atticus soon looked down with her and found a note before bending down and picking it up. "It says the urn in this entire exhibit came from the ruins of Delphi," he then told the others. "It's the life's work of an archaeologist named Professor Nicos."

"That's what's on the map!" Fred realized. "The ruins of Delphi!"

"Very curious..." Scrappy commented as he inspected it.

"If that's what's on the map, then that's where we'll find that Cowman." Cherry remarked.

"Minotaur." Atticus corrected.

"I know what he is!" Cherry retorted.

"Well, gang, it looks like we have a real mystery on our hands!" Fred smiled. "And it looks like we're going to Delphi."

"But you might wanna bring a sweater," Wonder Woman advised. "It gets rather chilly in Delphi."

"Way ahead of ya, Wonder Woman," Velma smirked as she always wore a sweater. "Never leave home without it."

And so, the group left the museum.

"By my calculations, we're 101 kilometers away from Delphi," said Fred. "That should put us there in two hours and 4.3 minutes."

"I'll wait for you there," said Wonder Woman. "But I still have room in the Invisible Jet if you want."

"Me! Me! Pick me!" Scooby piped up in excitement.

"Of course, Scooby-Doo; it would be an honor," Wonder Woman cooed as she stroked the Great Dane's face, nuzzling with him a bit. "Ya big sweetie."

"Hey! I'm a sweetie too," Salem spoke up. "How 'bout sending a little pet love this way?"

Sabrina groaned and rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Salem. Scooby and Wonder Woman soon walked off to the invisible plane together while the rest of the group just stood there.

"Well, I dunno about you guys, but that's pretty good odds with my travel conditions of motion sickness." Cherry said to Mystery Inc with a small shrug.

"Well, let's get to Delphi," Scrappy shrugged. "...somehow."

Most of the others soon climbed into Wonder Woman's invisible plane.

"Okay, Scooby; don't be afraid." Wonder Woman smiled at the Great Dane.

"Afraid? With you?" Scooby chuckled innocently. "No way!"

"See you guys back in Delphi." Cherry smirked as she waved at the others on the other side as the plane began to take off.

"I can't believe Scoob is flying!" Shaggy exclaimed. "He's terrified of heights! He gets scared on the swingset!"

"Show-off." Salem groaned as Scooby was one of the lucky ones who got to fly off with Wonder Woman and he seemed to be jealous.

"No sense in grumbling about it, we're better off making do with what we've got," Lionel shrugged as he got into the van. "Time to get a move on, people!"

"But what about Scooby-Doo?" Shaggy asked. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Hello? He's with Wonder Woman!" Daphne remarked.

"Just let him have this." Scrappy added.

And so, the two vehicles took off and it was time for a brand new adventure in Delphi.

Chapter Text

EVENTUALLY...

The groups arrived in Delphi.

"So Cherry, how was your flight?" Atticus asked his childhood best friend.

"It was fine until Scooby was able to look down to the ground while in flight and then Wonder Woman decided to get him a bunch of Greek-style hot dogs," Cherry replied. "Long story short, I think he's glad to be back on the ground."

"Wait, you had hot dogs with Wonder Woman and I had candy and baloney sandwiches with Shaggy?" Velma complained before she crossed her arms. "Ugh! It's a cruel world."

"Get used to it, sister." Cherry smirked.

"We can complain later, when someone starts to care," said Scrappy. "Now c'mon! We got a minotaur to mangle... again!"

"Look! Tracks!" Wonder Woman observed from behind the other group. "The Minotaur's not too far."

And at that, they began to search together as Fred held a flashlight.

"He has the map and he knows where he's going and now we do too!" Fred said as he led the way before they stopped at just in front of a cave.

"Great," Atticus nodded. "Let's go in there."

"Either way, this place is super creepy." Shaggy whispered on the way into the cave.

"Super-duper creepy!" Scooby added.

They went further along inside and soon found words written on the cave wall.

"There's a poem on the wall!" Velma realized.

"It's Ancient Greek!" Wonder Woman soon said with Velma, Atticus, and Cherry.

"Nice." Wonder Woman smiled as the other three recognized the language.

"Where do you think these muscles came from?" Atticus beamed as he flexed one of his arms proudly.

"Yeah, yeah." Lionel rolled his eyes.

"Velma?" Wonder Woman encouraged her.

"It says, 'Look for the golden sun buried beneath the place'," Velma read. "'Where in ancient times the fleet of foot did race, and were smiled upon by the king of gods' oh so mighty face'."

"Signed Nicos -1821," Cherry added. "Hmm... Sounds like a riddle."

"I think you're right, Cherry!" Velma smiled. "He must've taken the golden head in Olympia, where the original Games took place!"

"Wait a second, guys, I smell something weird." Patch spoke up after he tracked something down with his sense of smell.

"What is it, boy?" Atticus asked his dog.

Then suddenly, the Minotaur snarled and jumped out at them, roaring as Wonder Woman bravely sheathed out her sword.

"It's the crazy Bullman!" Shaggy warned the others.

"Okay, you giant cheeseburger prototype, I've had just about enough of you." Cherry glared as she stepped over with Velma.

"Cherry, be careful!" Atticus warned.

Cherry and Velma soon kicked the Minotaur right in the face before Daphne and Mo joined in.

"It worked!" Daphne smiled before pouting. "But darn it, I had my eyes closed again."

"Hey, at least you hit the right guy!" Lionel replied.

"Where do you think you're going?" Wonder Woman declared as she shot her lasso at the Minotaur, but he dodged it, and threw a rock at a stalactite that caused a rockfall, toppling it on the gang as he made a break for it.

The rocks soon crashed and there was a bunch of smoke from the crumbling.

Cherry poked her head out with the others, coughing a bit as she groaned. "I think I swallowed some rocks." she then complained.

"If we stayed as a group, this would have gone better." Daphne narrowed her eyes.

"If we all trained with Wonder Woman, that would've been better." Fred retorted as he glared at her.

"Come on, guys, no arguing," Sabrina shook her head. "The Minotaur is still at large."

"Besides, it's against the Themysciran tradition." Wonder Woman added about the boys being trained by her.

"Fred, if you want to be trained how to fight, then I will help you." Atticus decided maturely.

"And besides, I know how anal-retentive the Themyscirans can get about their 'no dudes allowed' rules," Lionel added. "It's a long story involving Spring Break, Harley and Ivy, and a lot of ostriches. But I digress."

The others just glanced at Lionel awkwardly and confusedly.

"Ugh... I wish I didn't have this indigestion from the candy and baloney sandwich that Shaggy made me eat." Velma groaned.

"I quite liked it myself." Patch smiled innocently.

"You're a dog, you'll eat anything anyone offers you." Salem rolled his golden eyes.

"ANYWAY!" Cherry spoke up sharply. "Does anyone know how to get out of here? I'm starting to feel claustrophobic!"

"Leave it to me." Lionel replied as he nodded his head, and teleported the group out of the cave.

"Phew..." Cherry sighed. "Thanks, Lionel... That was kinda overwhelming me."

"You're a true friend." Mo added.

"Unlike Wonder Woman over here who takes your best friend to eat hot dogs and not eat food while in an invisible jet!" Shaggy huffed as he glared at the Amazon. "Best friend stealer!"

"Shaggy, this is hardly the time for this." Atticus frowned.

"I don't have a lot of experience with teenagers, but I have to say, you are all very strange." Wonder Woman remarked before she suddenly stormed off.

"Wonder Woman, where are you going?" Sabrina asked in concern.

"I think it's time for me to hunt down and destroy the Minotaur on my own." Wonder Woman declared as she got her sword ready.

"You really can't, it's not what you think," said Velma.

"I can't lose him again; I have to go." said Wonder Woman, as she turned to leave.

"Wonder Woman, wait!" Scooby told her. "We hafta stick together. Remember what's real: being a hero isn't about whether you're a boy or a girl, or a cowardly dog or a hot-blooded puppy; it's about the right thing, the right chemistry; the ring, the rang, the bing, the bong! Fighting for those who can't fight for themselves, as a team! Like our team, you know?"

"That's my Uncle Scooby for ya!" Scrappy beamed. "I knew it was only a matter of time!"

"That's probably one of the most profound things I've ever heard Scooby-Doo say." Cherry commented.

"That was beautiful," Wonder Woman added. "...Well, at least the parts I could understand."

"So?" Atticus smiled hopefully.

"...All right," Wonder Woman then nodded once she gave it some thought. "What say you we do this together? I'll go against the rules and bend with Themyscrian law you all: boys and girls."

The group looked happy and excited about that.

"Then we will bring that Minotaur down as one." Wonder Woman continued with a confident and strong smile.

"AW, YEAH!" declared the group.

And so, they took off in both the invisible jet and the Mystery Machine, using the vehicles as a combination as they were soon in the sky, going after the Minotaur with excellent speed.

"We're making great time!" Fred smiled at the others. "We'll have plenty of time to set up the trap."

"Hooray." Cherry replied dryly.

And so, they came to their next location with little to no time wasted.

"This is going to hurt," Wonder Woman began to tell the others as it was time to train. "You are going to want to quit, but warriors never quit."

"Of course not." Atticus nodded.

"Ready?" Wonder Woman soon asked the others.

"READY!" The others responded strongly.

And so, the training began. It was difficult, but it was most fortuitous. In the background, the song "Eye of the Tiger" could be heard during the training montage. The training consisted of punching and kicking in the air to practice against fighting villains for one thing. Next was heavy lifting which was very easy for Atticus as he lifted up broken pillar pieces like they were simple paperweights, so the others had to be a little extra effort into them. Shaggy decided to do his heavy lifting with Scooby, much to Wonder Woman's amusement. Next, everyone tossed around a rock ball to catch and throw before pushing around heavy discs across the ground, but Shaggy again had used Scooby who was relaxing with some ice cream.

"Ever use a spear before?" Wonder Woman asked Cherry as they came to the next training event.

"It's actually a funny story." Cherry replied with a bashful smile.

"Well, let's hope you haven't gotten rusty," Lionel said as he took a spear as well.

Shaggy tried to throw his spear, but it somehow landed right back where he'd been standing. Scooby tried to throw his, but he ended up poking Shaggy in the butt. Next up was Sabrina, who also got a spear.

"I guess I could do this... Right?" Sabrina asked.

"Go for it, Brina," Cherry replied. "You can't do worse than Shaggy and Scooby."

"Hey!" Shaggy and Scooby pouted.

"You know it's true." Cherry smirked a bit.

"Well... Okay... Here goes nothing..." Sabrina sighed sharply as she readied herself as she got the spear ready in her grasp before she soon tossed it in the air, hoping it wouldn't harm anyone as she looked very nervous about that. It was tough enough being a teenage witch.

The spear at least made it a good distance before it planted its tip in the dirt.

"Hey... That wasn't too bad..." Sabrina smiled.

"Good job." Atticus smiled back.

"YAUGH!" Cherry called out as she tossed her spear pretty far and high and it even planted right into a nearby tree.

The others looked wide-eyed at that before looking back over at Cherry.

"Let's just say I have other adventures away from you guys." Cherry shrugged indifferently.

"Definitely been there!" Lionel smiled, giving a bit of scattered applause for her.

"Oh, come along now..." Cherry shrugged innocently towards them.

Now it was time for some sword-fighting training.

"Ooh. I know I can do this." Atticus chuckled in excitement as he decided to bring out his own sword which was Equestrian.

"Then let's get it going already." shrugged Lionel as he and Scrappy were practicing sword-fighting themselves.

"You wanna go, bro?" Atticus smirked playfully as he showed off his sword. "Let's see what ya got."

"Just watch where you aim." Scrappy reminded.

"I will," Atticus nodded. "I bet I would've been a decent knight in shining armor in The Middle Ages."

"Even though you're already a knight in shining armor in Mo's heart." Cherry teased in the background.

"Like how Lionel is for you?" Atticus replied back.

Cherry just stuck her tongue out at Atticus.

"Just remember to watch me." Wonder Woman reminded the group.

"Right." The group nodded as they began to ready themselves with their swords.

Daphne seemed to do very well so far before she was then allowed to go at it with Fred to test each other's skills. Everyone else then partnered up to do the same as Sabrina stood while Cherry faced Lionel and Atticus faced Mo for their attempts.

Eventually, the group had finished their training.

"Great work, everyone," Wonder Woman commended. "I think you're ready."

"Sounds good." Cherry replied.

"Yeah." Attius nodded in agreement.

"Totally." Mo added.

"Hmm... One more thing." Wonder Woman suddenly said thoughtfully.

Soon, everyone dressed in Greek warrior outfits and took a group picture together. Cherry took an extra picture and soon took out her very thick and lengthy adventure scrapbook and decided to place one of the pictures in her book to add to her many, many, many adventures she had with many friends, old and new.

"That's a keeper." said Lionel as he lightened it, and shrank it to pocket-size.

"All right, we can go now." Cherry told Wonder Woman.

"Excellent," Wonder Woman nodded. "Come follow me then."

And so, they did, coming right for the Coliseum.

"I can't believe we're standing on the very grounds where The Ancient Games took place," Daphne smiled as she looked around. "Isn't it amazing?"

"It reminds me a lot of those times with Hercules," Cherry nodded. "Though Atticus met a couple of other Herculeses in our adventures whether for The Olympic Games or when that battle for Mount Olympus happened with Xena the Warrior Princess." she then added before showing Lionel some pictures for reference.

"It's true," Atticus smiled and nodded. "Those were some great times for me, especially in growing as a strong person in the making." he then added before flexing his strong arms.

"...I see, very fascinating." Lionel replied dryly.

"Be careful," Wonder Woman said, putting her hands out to keep the others back. "These pits were used to hold wild animals."

Fred pondered for a bit. "...that gives me an idea..." he muttered to himself.

"Is it a trap?" Cherry guessed.

"...Maybe it is, maybe it isn't." Fred replied.

"I bet it is." Cherry then concluded to herself.

They soon continued to walk before Wonder Woman looked up, thinking about something else. "That used to my favorite seat." she then pointed out.

"That doesn't sound very comfortable." Sabrina commented.

"Yeah..." Wonder Woman nodded. "Sitting on stone really gets to you after a while."

"If my calculations are correct, this is where the statue of Zeus used to be," Velma piped up as she stepped over to a space in the center. "Which means the head of Apollo should be buried... Right here," she then said as she stepped over to a different spot. "Fred? Grab a shovel! We have some digging to do." she then suggested.

"Right!" Fred replied as he took off to get started.

"Go for it, Freddy!" Cherry called out.

"You got it, Cherry!" Fred nodded in agreement.

Everyone else hid away before looking out a bit and saw a certain someone across from them, waiting.

"Like, there he is!" Shaggy pointed out to the others.

"Just remember to be quiet." Patch advised since the Minotaur was right there.

"I don't know why we're hiding," Wonder Woman said, beginning to draw out her sword. "How about I just go out there and destroy him?"

"The answer is still no." Cherry advised.

"Besides, what if he's just a jerk in a costume?" asked Lionel. "Then you'll be guilty of murder."

"Yikes." Atticus said.

Cherry seemed to give him a look.

"What? That's bad." Atticus defended.

"Nothing." Cherry shrugged at him as they stayed put until they would need to do something new.

"But he still could be a mythical beast who needs to be defeated and sent back to The Underworld." Wonder Woman retorted as she brought out her sword and slashed it around before putting it back.

"Please... Try to understand..." Sabrina told Wonder Woman.

The Minotaur soon sniffed around as he wandered from his hiding spot.

"He's taking the bait!" Velma beamed. "He knows the riddle! He understands that's where the statue of Zeus used to be! This is so exciting!" she then said, shaking Cherry by her shoulders a bit.

"I'm sure that the gods and goddesses that I've met over the years will be happy for you." Cherry stated rather dryly and wearily.

"Same here." Atticus added, especially because of their adventure with Hercules that gave him the strength people knew him for today.

"Let me just end this." Wonder Woman told them she, again, unsheathed her sword and prepared to lunge out only for Fred and Daphne to pull her away before The Minotaur could see or hear her.

"I'm sorry, but the answer is no," Atticus advised Wonder Woman. "We can't let you destroy that guy."

"Yeah, we have to trap him." Fred added, agreeing with Atticus.

"And then you'll see the truth." Daphne advised Wonder Woman softly.

"We'll give you the signal when it's time to jump in." Cherry then said.

"I promise, we know what we're doing, and so do Cherry and her friends." Velma added logically.

"...Okay, I trust you, I guess," relented Wonder Woman.

The Minotaur was now digging as he pulled a large wooden chest from the ground and opened it. But to his surprise, it was empty!

"Hey, Minnie!" called Fred, holding up a statue head. "Looking for ? Sorry, but we got here first!"

The Minotaur roared and charged at the ascot-clad young man, who made a break for it.

"Like, Fred, over here!" called Shaggy. 

Fred reached and shot the head, sending it into Shaggy's arms as he was now running. The Minotaur snarled as he soon began to chase after Shaggy.

Shaggy kept running around, freaking out a little in the process as he held onto the statue head.

"Shaggy, over here!" Daphne soon called out to him.

Shaggy saw her and then tossed the statue head over to her next. Cherry and the others soon scrambled around with Mystery Inc as they tossed the head around each other like a game of "Hot Potato" as The Minotaur continued after them, looking very frustrated and impatient during the chase.

"You've heard of Monkey in the Middle, now get ready for Minotaur in the Middle." Cherry smirked before laughing at her own corny joke as she tossed the statue head over to Velma next.

Velma caught the head, then tossed it to Fred who tossed it to Daphne and the three of them began to go back and forth for a while. The Minotaur snarled as he began to get more and more frustrated in this game they were playing.

"You want this? Well, too bad!" Velma taunted The Minotaur before tossing the head over to Fred.

Fred got ready to catch the head only for Shaggy to run by and catch it instead.

"Interception! I totally got the ball!" Shaggy laughed as he ran by with the head in his hands like a football.

"Look out, Shaggy!" Atticus warned as The Minotaur snarled, coming up right behind Shaggy.

"Oh, no! I totally got the ball!" Shaggy yelped at that once he saw who was behind him.

"Hey!" called Scrappy. "I'm open, I'm open!"

"Zoinks! Like, here ya go!" Shaggy replied as he tossed the head over to the Great Dane puppy.

Scrappy leapt up and grabbed the head, although he tipped over a few times while carrying it with him. The Minotaur snarled as he came to try to stop Scrappy.

"Um, hello? Time for me to take over?" Wonder Woman called out and offered from where she was hiding.

"No, Scrappy's got this, as long as it doesn't get him!" Shaggy replied.

"Scrappy, now!" Velma soon called out once she saw the Great Dane puppy and The Minotaur coming close to where they had to go.

Scrappy caught the head and went to "the endzone" which was where they had the trap just waiting for The Minotaur.

Cherry soon turned the wheel that had a chain attached to it and the chain was soon being moved to open a trapdoor in the middle of the ground.

"Boy, do we have a surprise for you, Wooly Bully!" Patch smirked at The Minotaur as he came closer and closer.

"Daphne, watch out!" Shaggy cried out once he saw something coming up.

Daphne then looked over but it was too late as she tripped suddenly, dropping the head as it went flying out of her hands and everyone began to look suspenseful about where it would land. The head soon landed a few inches beside the trapdoor hole as The Minotaur walked by to claim it.

"Time for my way!" Wonder Woman glared as she unsheathed her sword and sprung into action to face The Minotaur.

"Should we stop her?" Atticus wondered.

"Somehow I think that might not be a good idea right now." Mo said to him.

"I suppose not." Lionel replied.

And so, Wonder Woman began to try to fight The Minotaur her own way despite the constant protests from Mystery Inc. All everyone else could do was watch on as the two battled each other and of course, Wonder Woman won in the end as she collected the statue head for herself. The Minotaur breathed heavily as he looked back at her.

"It's time to meet your doom, Beast!" Wonder Woman taunted.

The Minotaur kicked at the ground before he charged towards Wonder Woman, who stood firm with her sword.

"WONDER WOMAN, NO!" The gang exclaimed.

Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes with zero fear as The Minotaur came faster and faster toward her. The Minotaur was then just about to charge against Wonder Woman only for The Amazon Warrior to hop over his head and ended up behind him, allowing her to hit him with her sword. The Minotaur roared in pain at that and Wonder Woman soon kicked him literally from behind right into the trapdoor. Everyone else then gathered around to see the last of The Minotaur once he was stuck underground now.

"So, that wasn't so bad, right?" Sabrina asked Wonder Woman. "You tried it our way."

"I kind of enjoyed your way." Wonder Woman admitted calmly.

"I thought you might," Sabrina nodded. "Now let's wrap up this mystery, shall we?" she then suggested.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," agreed Lionel. "So now we unmask this terrible toro!"

Soon, they had The Minotaur tied up and it was time for the famous mask removal from Mystery Inc.

"All right, gang, let's see who this bully really is!" Atticus soon proclaimed.

"Now you'll see why we couldn't let you destroy him, Wonder Woman." Daphne advised.

Fred grunted and removed The Minotaur mask by the horns and soon revealed the true person who was behind The Minotaur's mayhem.

"The curator?!" Everyone else gasped once they saw who it really was.

"It really was just a man in a mask," Wonder Woman remarked. "I guess there really is method to your madness after all."

"There always is," Scrappy beamed. "Now to figure out why the curator did it!"

"It all makes perfect sense." Velma replied.

"Oh, yeah? Well, could you enlighten us then?" Cherry asked the smart girl of Mystery Inc.

"Certainly, Cherry," Velma nodded as she began to explain what she knew. "Only the curator would have the extensive knowledge of the museum's floor plan to disappear and the stone particles The Minotaur left behind proved to be the same plaster left behind the museum uses to repair the statues."

"And that's why Wonder Woman's Golden Lasso didn't work?" Atticus guessed.

"Yes," Velma nodded as she continued to explain. "The plaster and rubber costume blocked the effects. Plus, only a skilled athlete would be powerful enough to hold his own against Wonder Woman."

"Like Thor or Hercules." Patch remarked to himself.

"Really?" Wonder Woman asked Velma.

"Well, uh, even for a very, very short period of time." Velma replied sheepishly then.

"Well, it's an explanation, to say the least," commented Mo. "Even if it's a bit odd."

"It's something for sure." Salem remarked.

"The only thing left to know is why." Shaggy then spoke up.

"Reah!" Scooby added.

"I'm not saying anything to you weirdos." The curator glared at them.

"Oh, is that so?" Atticus challenged. "Wonder Woman, we could use some assistance." he then signaled The Amazon Heroine.

Wonder Woman smirked as she tightened her Golden Lasso tied around the man to squeeze information out of him, both figuratively and literally until the costume was squeezed off of the man's body. "Think again. Talk." she then demanded to the curator.

"I did it all... I wanted The Golden Head of Apollo," The curator soon admitted. "I was going to sell it and retire a rich man. I've been planning this for years, fakin' it for decades 'til nobody would suspect me, creating The Minotaur costume to hide my true identity, and I would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids and Wonder Woman."

"Well, bummer for you, buddy," remarked Lionel. "Because it's the ol' stony lonesome por vous."

"Sorry, but it's for your own good, dude." Cherry added.

The curator sighed and sulked in defeat.

Soon, the police came to dispose of the curator and everyone else was of course free to go.

"The curator is behind bars and The Head of Apollo is safe back at the museum," Wonder Woman said as they began to leave in victory. "Time for me to return to Themyscira."

"I wish I could go to Themyscira." Velma smiled hopefully.

"Me too!" Scooby added.

"Like, me too." Shaggy added.

"I have a feeling none of us will be going." Atticus then said.

"He's right... I'm sorry, guys, and it's hard for me to say this, but your mystery solving is needed here on Earth," Wonder Woman replied softly. "And you're doing humankind a great service and personally, I want to thank you for an amazing, strange, and very fun adventure."

"We understand." Cherry said softly.

"We'll see you another time." Mo added.

"Perhaps... Farewell all, and especially you, Scooby-Doo," Wonder Woman said softly before she picked up the Great Dane by his face and nuzzled him before letting go and going back on her way. "Oh, Scooby~" she then gushed.

"Well, who'd have thunk it?" asked Scrappy. "Even Wonder Woman's crazy about my uncle, that canine..."

"WONDER-DOOBY-DOOOOO!" Scooby exclaimed, as he crossed his paws in an X-shape.

Everyone shared a warm laugh over that as things wrapped up nicely like they usually do.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I feel like I could use a vacation." Cherry said, sounding a bit weary.

"A vacation? We're just getting started on these adventures!" Patch told her.

"This is why dogs shouldn't talk... they always get too excited over little things..." Cherry remarked to herself before shrugging. "Meh... I just feel like I need to take it easy if we go somewhere else with our Mystery Inc friends."

"The idea has much merit," stated Lionel. "But where would we go?"

"Hmm... I dunno..." Cherry pondered.

"Beach City?" Atticus offered.

"Too beachy." Cherry replied.

"Hope Island?" Mo then offered.

"Too organic." Cherry declined.

"The Dearly Farm to see my brothers and sisters?" Patch offered.

"Too doggy." Cherry stuck her tongue out.

"And you're too picky." Salem rolled his golden eyes at the perky goth.

"That rules out quite a lot of places," commented Sabrina. "Just where the heck should we go?"

"I dunno, maybe somewhere fun and interesting?" Cherry shrugged. "Like a casino."

"You mean like Chuck E. Cheese's?" Atticus then suggested.

"Maybe somewhere more exciting than Chuck E. Cheese's." Cherry then said.

"Las Pegasus?" Patch asked.

Cherry looked slightly deadpan at that suggestion. "This isn't an Equestrian adventure, so maybe we'll go to our version of Las Pegasus." she then said, cutting right to the chase about what would be an exciting enough break for them.

"Ohhhh. Vegas it is then," Lionel beamed. "Viva, dudes!"

"Never would've taken you for the type to get excited about Vegas, Cherry." Fred commented.

"Eh, we all have our hidden perks." Cherry shrugged in response.

Lionel rubbed his chin. "Gee, I wonder why you'd be so interested in Las Vegas," he commented. "Mayhaps, would it be due to the premise of a certain two-man magical duo?"

"Why Lionel, I'm not sure I know what you could possibly mean~" Cherry replied innocently.

Atticus and Patch shared smirks with each other since they had a pretty good idea of why Cherry would be so excited about Las Vegas.

"Perhaps the names rhyme with 'Zen' and 'Smeller'?" Lionel responded.

"Hmm... Maybe...?" Cherry replied.

"I think yes." Lionel smirked.

Cherry smirked back as she approached him and tugged him by his ear to whisper into it firmly. "Don't embarrass me in front of them if we end up seeing them, otherwise I might go from Perky Goth into Jerky Goth." she then whispered to him in firm warning.

"I would never! Not in eleventy kadillion years!" Lionel responded, sweating bullets.

"I thought so~" Cherry replied before letting him go. "Viva Las Vegas, boys and girls!" she then announced.

"Also that where you had that one adventure with The Looney Tunes." Mo commented to Atticus.

"Yeah, that was a pretty good one," Atticus nodded. "Probably not as good as the one playing basketball with Michael Jordan against those aliens, but still, a pretty fun adventure since we got to hang out with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck."

"Chuck Jones would say otherwise... but I digress!" Lionel shrugged. "Las Vegas: full of winners, losers, losers who think they're winners!"

"Oh, for sure." Patch nodded.

And at that, they took off in the Mystery Machine for another new adventure with Mystery Inc.

Chapter Text

"Las Vegas: the city that never sleeps." Fred remarked as they drove down to the big and exciting city.

"That's New York, Freddy," Daphne reminded him. "The Big Apple?"

"Ooh! We love apples!" Shaggy beamed hungrily.

"Juicy and sweet!" Scooby added as he high-fived Shaggy in agreement.

"Unless you're Snow White of course." Cherry smirked to herself.

"Or her daughter," Lionel commented offhandedly. "But that's neither here nor there. What's here, is us!"

"Las Vegas doesn't get much sleep either," Shaggy soon commented. "Which is good cuz me, Scoob, and Scrappy are staying up all night!"

"Lemme guess; for the All You Can Eat Buffets?" Sabrina asked the cowardly duo.

"You know it, Sabrina," Shaggy replied as he took out his map along with Scooby. "We mapped out every single one!"

Salem leaned in so that he could also take a look along with Shaggy and Scooby. After a while of driving, they were finally coming to a stop in front of a hotel where a light-haired teenage girl appeared to also be, next to an ambulance.

"Well, here we are." Fred told the others.

"The Savanna Hotel, I've heard about this one," Cherry commented. "People say that it's haunted."

"Like, I'm pretty sure the only buffet they've got here is All You Can Scream." Shaggy remarked.

"Apparently something happened here too," Atticus pointed out. "An ambulance is parked right there."

"Well, then! Maybe we oughta go check it out." suggested Lionel.

Mystery Inc and Cherry's adventure group of friends began to leave the Mystery Machine to see what was going on as the ambulance began to take another victim straight to the hospital.

"Ghost... A horrible ghost... Terrible... Ghost..." A construction worker mumbled to himself as the paramedics began to send him into the vehicle.

"Did he say g-g-ghost?" Scooby asked nervously.

"Like, man, why do we always end up in haunted places every single time?!" Shaggy complained nervously.

"Just lucky, I guess." Fred remarked.

"Like how adventures come and find me." Cherry added.

"Besides, we have to stay," Velma told Shaggy and Scooby. "We've already accepted the invitation."

"If we spend the night in this hotel, we'll get a million dollars." Daphne added.

"I'm just here for the Vegas trip." Cherry piped up.

"Pfft! I wouldn't spend the night in that place for a hundred million." A second construction worker scoffed as the first one was being taken away and the ambulance drove away down the street.

"Don't worry," stated Velma. "Debunking hauntings and mysteries is our thing!"

"Us, too," said a familiar voice. "We love debunking a good mystery."

Everyone turned, seeing a blue-eyed, bespectacled man in a suit, standing next to a shorter, blue-eyed man, but with brown hair instead of black.

"Hold the phone!" Fred began. "It's..."

Lionel put his hand up. "Cherry, you wanna take this one? Since you wanted to go to Vegas?" he asked.

"Hm?" Cherry blinked until she realized what was happening. "Oh, yes, please. If that's all right." she then replied.

"Go for it." Lionel nodded.

"Thank you, Lionel," Cherry replied before she looked over and gasped in an over-the-top dramatic gasp, though was just kidding at this point. "It's world-renowned magicians and entertainers, Penn and Teller!" she then exclaimed before she blushed and beamed, waving at the two magicians. "Hi, guys~"

"I think we all knew that though." Patch remarked.

"Yeah, but this really means a lot to Cherry." Atticus reminded his pet.

"A great honor to meet you guys!" Velma beamed at the magicians.

"Penn and Teller, ya know I'm somewhat of an amateur magician myself," The construction worker said eagerly as he approached the Bad Boys of Magic. "Can I show ya a trick?"

"No." Penn dismissed him suddenly.

Teller also shook his head, not speaking as usual.

"Great!" The construction worker said as he took out his cards. "Now pick a card. Any card."

The two just gave him a bit of an unimpressed look.

"Eh, don't worry, I'll pick it for you," The construction worker then said as he shuffled his own cards before a couple of cards went flying and he mumbled out some stereotypical magic words. "Abracadabra and alakazam, alakazoomba roomba!" he then added as e made it rain cards all over the place and then took out one card from the deck. "Is this your card?" he then asked.

"I think it's the one stuck to your wrist, guy." Cherry deadpanned.

"That little lady is right," Penn agreed as he plucked the card out of the man's sleeve. "You just palmed it wrong." he then added before waving his hand and made the card disappear through thin air.

Teller then tugged at his own sleeves, clapped his hands together and made a handkerchief appear between his hands, which he unfolded.

"Huh?" asked the construction worker.

Teller put the handkerchief up to the guy's face, then pulled it away, turning his mustache into a butterfly, which flew away.

"Cool!" Lionel beamed as he and the others applauded.

Cherry chuckled at that, putting her hand in front of her mouth.

Teller then looked at his longtime partner before bowing to him after the trick.

"Sorry, Teller, turning the mustache on an angry, amateur magician/demolition boss into a butterfly? I've seen it a million times." Penn complained to his partner.

Teller pouted before shrugging in response.

"What did you do?!" The construction worker complained.

"Re-lax," Cherry spoke up. "Mr. Teller didn't really vanish your mustache," she then told him before she leaned into her favorite magician duo. "He didn't, right?" she then asked them.

"Obviously not!" Penn replied. "It's just flesh colored paint!"

Teller nodded before he swiped a patch off of the construction worker's face, showing his mustache was never gone.

"YOOOOW!" The construction worker yelped in pain as his voice echoed throughout the city.

"That's gonna leave a mark." Patch winced slightly.

"I hope the ghost of Madds Markson destroys you all!" The construction worker yelled. "Especially YOU, Penn and Teller, for exposing how magicians do their tricks! You and your crimes against magic!"

"The only crime against magic around here, buddy, is that mustache!" Penn remarked.

Shaggy and Scooby thought that was pretty funny.

"So, uh, shall we get settled?" Cherry suggested to the others.

"Let's." Atticus agreed.

And at that, they went to head inside to get comfortable while someone in the distance was secretly watching them.

"Boy, the old Savanna Hotel!" Penn pointed out once they came inside. "This is the place that made me wanna play Vegas. It's got such history, such panache!"

"How inspiring." Sabrina commented.

"ACHOO!" Scooby suddenly sneezed, blowing away some dust. "Such dust." he then commented.

"Bless ya, Uncle Scooby." Scrappy remarked.

"Thank you, Scrappy." Scooby told his nephew until they all suddenly heard a ringing sound.

"Quiet, everybody," said Velma as she was holding a tablet. "It's our host: reclusive billionaire Hugo Houser!"

As everyone gathered around, the tablet screen turned on, and it showed a ghoulish-looking man with a robe on. "Welcome to the gracious Savanna Hotel for her last night on Earth," he declared before laughing wickedly. "Would the contestants please join me in the ballroom? Time to play!"

More laughter was heard, as metallic door covers slammed down over the entrances, trapping everyone inside.

"Welp, looks like we're in for the night." commented Fred.

"Whether we like it or not." added Daphne.

"And like, I for one, do NOT, like, like it!" Shaggy whimpered.

"Me neither!" exclaimed Scooby as they huddled together in terror.

"Don't worry, Uncle Scooby!" Scrappy reassured bravely. "We're all in this together."

"Definitely." Patch added.

"Yay, I just love enthusiasm," Salem rolled his golden eyes. "I could've stayed back home and watch the 60s marathon on TV late at night while everyone else is asleep, but nooo."

"Come on, guys, let's go to that ballroom and see what this is all about." Atticus suggested.

"Who put you in charge anyway?" Cherry asked him.

"Just thought it would be a good idea," Atticus shrugged. "Besides, I'm like Fred and I'm a leader."

Cherry rolled her eyes at that before they all got up and decided to leave for the ballroom after they were instructed to do so.

"You're a co-captain at best, but whatever." shrugged Lionel.

Soon, the gang was inside of a projection room, watching the recording.

"I am happy you have decided to join me for tonight's frivolity," explained Hugo. "This hotel has been my home, like that little girl who lives in New York's Plaza Hotel. In fact, I'm living in the penthouse above your heads! Tomorrow at dawn, this old beauty will be destroyed in the name of progress!"

Shaggy and Scooby soon began to eat some popcorn that they happened to find while Salem helped himself a little to it.

"She deserves one last thrill before she goes and YOU! ARE THAT! THRILL!" Hugo soon continued darkly before he laughed wickedly to himself, like a stereotypical horror movie villain.

Shaggy and Scooby then looked nervous about that peal of wicked laughter.

"This hotel is haunted by the ghost of an evil magician that stayed here six years ago," Hugo began to explain before showing footage of the man he was talking about. "Professor Markson was a scientist who created and incorporated real dangerous science in his acts! If you can survive one night in these haunted halls, I WILL GIVE YOU $1,000,000 FOR GIVING THE HOTEL ONE LAST NIGHT OF FUN!" he then concluded before cackling some more.

Cherry rolled her eyes slightly at this guy's attempt to scare them.

"Ghosts aren't real," Penn scoffed. "If that were true, my girlfriend from 1989 would still be haunting me."

"I couldn't agree more, Mr. Jillette!" Velma replied.

"Sarah Ravencroft, Vincent van Ghoul, The Boo Brothers..." Cherry then said as she smirked at Velma as a reminder from past adventures.

"She was only there for two of those adventures." pointed out Scrappy.

"Ah... well, Zombie Island," Cherry stated. "How about that?"

"Yup, that works." Lionel nodded.

"Care to explain that, Velma?" Cherry then asked with a small smirk.

"Uh, well, I, um," Velma stammered before looking back at Fred and Daphne. "Guys, help me out here." she then told them.

"Velma's most likely right in this case, but you know we've seen it a thousand times." Fred remarked.

"It's almost always some kind of illusion or guy in a rubber mask." Daphne agreed.

"Ah, that's too bad," Penn replied. "I love a good scare, I love getting fooled."

"And yet you were afraid of puppets in India." Cherry smirked.

"We don't talk about that!" Penn told her before he flicked a coin around his fingers before he grabbed Teller and Velma to move them onto the couch. "Anyway, I love the feeling you get when you're telling ghost stories around a campfire, screaming your guts out watching a scary movie, nothing fills us the joy of life like living in fear, it feels good to scream! It makes you feel alive, it makes you feel wonderful!"

"I feel like there's a big 'but' coming?" Patch commented.

"There is," Penn admitted before he sighed in slight disappointment. "I'm always disappointed, it's never real or very exciting. It makes me sad." he then added before looking down at the floor.

"That's just weird." Scooby commented.

Teller placed a hand on Penn's left shoulder—and then, he got an idea! Quickly, he went over the couch, and pulled a hankie out of Scooby's left ear. Then, he started flossing the two ends of the hankie through Scooby's ears!

"Oh! That tickles!" Scooby exclaimed amidst his giggling. "That tickles my brain!"

Shaggy chuckled. "Like, whoa! I want my brain cleaned too!" he insisted. "Me next! Me next!"

Suddenly, an eerie cold wind began to fill the entire room.

"Ohhhh..." shivered Shaggy. "Just when things were, like, getting fun!"

"OOOOOUT!" A ghost moaned, coming out of the projection screen.

"That must be our ghost of the week." Atticus commented.

"No kidding." Patch added.

"GET OOOOUT!" The ghost demanded.

Mystery Inc wasted no time in getting up and running away, though Shaggy fell with the couch to the floor when he tried to catch up with the others. Soon, everyone else ran out of the room and closed the doors into that room to keep the ghost out once they got away for now. As they shut the doors to keep the ghost out though, they heard smashing and crashing from the other side.

"Uh, what just happened?" Sabrina wondered.

"I dunno, but we better check it out." Cherry suggested.

They soon opened the doors again to find that the room was a mess and the ghost appeared to be gone right after they had left.

"He's gone." commented Scooby.

And so they walked down the hall, past a painting of the Indian Witch Doctor (from "Decoy for a Dognapper"). As is tradition, however, there were somebody's eyes watching from behind the holes of the painting's eyes.

Teller soon made them all stop suddenly and pulled a rabbit out of Patch's right ear. Patch blinked with crossed eyes because of how sudden and random that was.

"Ooh, fuzzy." Scooby chuckled.

"Well, at least it isn't Mephista." Patch commented to himself.

"Tell me about it." Salem agreed.

Teller then came up behind Atticus and pulled a sandwich out of his shirt collar somehow.

"Ooh, lunch! Atticus, uh, do you mind?" Shaggy spoke up.

"Eh, knock yourself out." Atticus allowed.

"You're a real pal, Atticus!" Shaggy smiled, taking the sandwich and bit into it instantly before looking wide-eyed and nervous as he seemed to bite Teller's hand off until the literal silent partner showed his hand with a goofy, child-like smile on his face, causing the cowardly teen to laugh a bit. "Ooh! Do it again, do it again!" he then urged in amusement. "Maybe I've got a pizza up my sleeve."

"Or a lasagna in my tail!" Scooby added.

"Sorry, buddy; boring," Penn commented on Teller's trick. "Sandwich from a guy's elbow? Seen it a million times."

"...surprised it came up that often." commented Lionel, impressed and surprised.

"You are disturbingly hard to please." Atticus said to Penn.

"What can I say? It's who I am." Penn shrugged in response.

Teller began to look a little dejected that he didn't impress his longtime partner with the trick.

"Over here!" Fred soon called out from the front of the hallway.

Soon, everyone else caught up to see what Fred had found.

"The Madds Markson Theater." Fred informed them once he pointed it out.

"Sounds like a perfect place to investigate and perhaps confront the ghost of Professor Madds Markson." Velma added.

"Like, man, I don't understand the concept of confronting anything!" Shaggy complained.

"It'll be okay, Shaggy," Mo reminded him. "We're a team and that means we all listen to each other and work together."

Teller pulled out a napkin, then swished around in front of Scooby before he revealed, a fully-lit birthday cake.

"Not now, buddy," said Penn as he blew out the candles. "We're in the middle of a mystery here."

"Hmph." Patch firmly pouted and glared at Penn slightly.

Shaggy and Scooby looked hungry around the cake of course, looking like they really wanted to eat it.

"Teller, is it? Mind if we take that cake off your hands?" Scrappy offered once he saw that.

The literal silent partner shrugged before he decided to let Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy have the cake as though to say "Eh, knock yourselves out".

"All right, guys, let's check out this theater." Cherry suggested.

"Good call," nodded Lionel. "Maybe there's some kind of clues left around."

So, the groups headed into the Madds Markson Theater, which surprisingly had its stage readied like someone was getting set to put on a show.

"Whoa!" remarked Penn. "Looks like the stage is still set for Professor Markson's show!"

"And it looks like the show's about to start!" commented Velma.

"Only one question: who exactly is running the show?" commented Scrappy.

"Good question." Patch remarked.

Electrical surges and sparks filled the stage until a ghost seemed to fly out from the cabinet.

"Look!" Sabrina pointed out. "It's the ghost of Professor Markson!"

Cherry sighed and counted down with her fingers. "3, 2, 1." she then cued, knowing what was probably going to happen next.

Shaggy and Scooby frowned warily about being in the same room with a ghost.

"Well, I guess that was calmer than what I was expecting." Cherry said to herself as the ghost bowed to his audience.

Ghost Markson then tapped the cabinet behind him with his magic wand as everyone else watched expectantly.

"Ooh! Ooh! He's doing his famous cabinet transformation trick!" Penn beamed out of excitement.

Ghost Markson then opened the doors to his cabinet and came inside before shutting the doors as more electricity crackled.

"Wait for it, Scooby Doo!" Penn then told the cowardly Great Dane, making both Scooby and Shaggy watch the act. "This is where it gets really interesting!"

The electricity literally jolted around the cabinet and soon, the doors opened to show what looked like a monster mutant bunny rabbit.

"Y'know, I think I saw something like this in the Twilight Zone movie..." Lionel commented, scratching his chin

"That was always his shtick," commented Penn. "A Dr. Jekyll and horrible monster trick!"

The monster rabbit jumped off the stage and ran through the aisles.

"Okay, like, I think I liked this better when it was a whole lot less interactive!" Shaggy exclaimed, as the monster bunny jumped towards him.

"I'll get 'im!" exclaimed Scrappy as he ran towards the lethal lagomorph—but as usual he was yanked away while the others made a break for it.

"There it is!" Cherry then said once the chase scene began.

And so, they ran off to avoid the monster rabbit who seemed hungry for their blood.

Soon, everyone split up during the running.

"Okay, we need a plan." Atticus soon said.

"Of course we do." Cherry replied.

Shaggy and Scooby soon hid behind a "Wheel of Misfortune" before running around in circles as the monster rabbit chased them in said circles. Soon, the rabbit stopped and made Shaggy and Scooby bump into it before falling on the floor together. The rabbit screamed at them until the wheel spun and hit its face until it knocked over the wheel and chased Shaggy and Scooby who began to run away again.

"HA-A-A-A-ALT!" A voice soon called out as everyone looked over to see a certain girl from Canterlot High School wearing her cape and pointed hat as she held a magic wand in her hands. "I, The Gr-r-r-reat and Powerful Tr-r-r-rixie shall stop you, large lagomorph!" she then proclaimed bravely.

Shaggy and Scooby looked confused before running away from the monster rabbit who pursued them.

"Aha!" Trixie smirked once Shaggy and Scooby got out of the way and she hit a slot machine with her wand, causing it to suddenly fall on top of the rabbit to stall him briefly. "Abracadabra!" she then added.

"Well... at least it stopped him." Lionel commented as the rabbit monster stumbled around for a bit before shaking his head a few times.

"Presto!" Trixie proclaimed. "Trixie has helped out!"

"That's great, Trix." Cherry rolled her eyes slightly.

The rabbit monster then got back up and continued to chase Shaggy and Scooby.

"Come and get me, Bugs Dummy!" Scrappy challenged. "It's gonna take way more than a lucky's rabbit foot for you to get me and my Uncle Scooby!"

The monster rabbit then lunged into another room as it proceeded to root around like a lion.

"Yoo-hoo!" called Scooby-Doo.

As the monster rabbit turned, it saw Shaggy and Scooby, dressed like maids.

"Maid service~!" Scooby finished.

The rabbit monster raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Shaggy and Scooby then cooed and tutted to the monster rabbit, going to tuck him into the bed right away.

"Let's get you tucked in, nice and tight so you can't move." Shaggy began to say.

"Yeah! Can't move!" Scooby added.

The two then fist-bumped each other as they seemed to be slick in their trick until the rabbit monster snarled and ripped right out of the bed, causing them to freak out and run away.

Meanwhile, Cherry, Sabrina, Lionel, Salem, Penn, and Velma made it into the kitchen, hearing the roar from the distance.

"We should run." Velma suggested.

"You guys do whatever you want, I need a snack." Salem said as he came into the fridge.

"Salem, this is no time to eat." Sabrina hissed quietly.

"It's the perfect time to eat!" Salem defended. "I'm starting to see why Shaggy and Scooby eat so much even when they're scared out of their wits." he then added as he made a very large and tall fish sandwich.

"Or we can unravel this and reveal the trick." stated Penn.

Velma glanced around before seeing the freezer. "The walk-in freezer!" she exclaimed.

"That might be just what we need." Cherry suggested.

"Come on, Salem." Sabrina said as she grabbed the cursed warlock by his collar.

"Hey! I got dibs on that lutefisk!" Salem complained once he was taken away from his sandwich.

The rabbit monster soon made it into the room and began to sniff around in a rather menacing way.

"My glasses! My glasses! I can't see without my glasses!" Velma cried out in distress as she got on her hands and knees on the floor.

The rabbit-beast seemed to snicker wickedly, before it charged right at Velma. The brainiac quickly put her glasses back on and tripped the rabbit-monster right into the freezer, slamming the door behind it!

"Nice work, Vel." Cherry commented.

"Thanks, Cherry." Velma smiled as she sat up and collected her glasses.

"Got him!" Penn beamed.

"It worked!" Sabrina cheered.

They all then leaned in to take a look at their new hostage... only to see that he was suddenly gone.

"Huh?" The group murmured before opening the door to find the freezer was now empty.

"He's good." Penn remarked.

"Well, maybe the others will have better luck?" Salem shrugged. "In the meantime, I'm gonna go back to my several fish decker sandwich~" he then added with a grin.

"We'll need all eyes on this case," said Sabrina as she grabbed Salem by the tail and pulled him along. "And that means you, too!"

"Aw, maaaan!" Salem groaned.

"Cats." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Teenage witches." Salem retorted as he did the same.

Meanwhile, Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, Atticus, Mo, and Patch came down another hallway and heard a loud banging sound from inside a nearby cupboard.

"Someone's there!" Daphne gasped once she heard the banging sound.

Fred soon found the source of the sound from the cupboard and opened the doors before gasping, seeing a certain magician who was shaking like a leaf. "It's Teller!" he then told the others.

"What's wrong, Teller?" Atticus asked the silent magician. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

Teller, of course did not verbally answer Atticus, so he began to do some gestures like a mime.

"Uh..." Atticus blinked.

"Don't worry, I speak 'Mime'." Daphne spoke up.

"You can?" Mo asked. "How?"

"No time to explain," Daphne replied before facing Teller. "He says he was being chased by a horrible monster and hid in this cupboard." she then translated Teller's gestures before the silent magician went to hide inside the cupboard again.

"Well, we had the monster, but he got away." said Penn as he and Velma returned with the others.

"Personally, I have no clue how he burrowed out of a freezer." stated Lionel.

The ringing sound soon came back.

"Looks like our host might have an answer for us." Atticus remarked as Velma brought out her tablet.

"It's that kooky hermit guy!" Shaggy pointed out.

"Hello, I see you aren't faring too well with the professor's ghost or his monster," Hugo greeted eerily on the other end yet again. "So if you want to leave, all you have to do is say the word and I'll open the doors and windows. $1,000,000 isn't worth your life." he then offered rather deviously.

"He's hiding something." Velma commented.

"I don't think I like that guy very much and trust me, I've met even worse people back in my days as a young warlock." Salem commented to himself.

"Listen, you rich freak," snapped Penn. "We are gonna figure this out."

Fred nodded in agreement. "We're in it to win it!" he chimed in.

"The ghost—his monster—" Hugo's message sputtered as it began to glitch. "Dollars—say the word—"

And then, it went out.

"I think it's time we paid a little visit to our reclusive billionaire," squinted Penn.

"You said it, Penn," agreed Velma. "To the penthouse!"

So, they boarded the elevator, and were off on their way. A few minutes seemed to pass as elevator muzak played from the speakers. There was a high-pitched squeaky sound, which made Daphne glance around nervously. Cherry coughed before looking around a bit. Luckily, the elevator doors opened up and the group came running out to see Hugo once and for all.

"Really, guys?" Atticus complained to Shaggy and Scooby who just shrugged in response.

"You must help me!" A voice called as Velma began to scan through her tablet. "The monster is here!"

Everyone soon looked up ahead to see the rabbit monster was menacing someone from inside the penthouse.

"Come on, gang! Hurry!" Fred told the others.

"Right behind ya." Atticus said as he began to roll up his sleeves while Patch also got ready.

Once the two were set, they ran along with the rest of their friends over to the penthouse. Fred tried to open the doors, but they appeared to be locked. Atticus and Patch then looked like they were about to break the doors down.

"Coming through, He-Boy!" Penn told Atticus and Patch before he took out a bobby pin and used it to unlock the door with ease.

"Hmph." Atticus pouted and crossed his arms while Patch groaned a little once the doors came open.

They then came into the penthouse as it seemed to be ransacked and nearly destroyed.

"Like, they're gone!" Shaggy gasped.

"No monster, nobody, nothing." Scooby noted.

"How very strange." Scrappy commented.

"Not unless someone has toy trains or something." Cherry said as she saw a tiny railroad track in the room with a lever.

Velma was glancing at the wall, where she'd just found a bunch of scratches off to the side, not to mention a sharp fingernail embedded there. She reached out and plucked it off.

"Look at this fingernail left behind by Mr. Houser," she commented. "It doesn't look right."

"That's because it's not real," replied Daphne. "It's an acrylic nail."

"This mystery is really starting to come together," noted Velma.

"Who would wear fake nails?" Patch wondered.

"That's just what some women do or in this case, other people do, Patch," Mo explained to the Dalmatian. "My sister wears fake nails sometimes on dates to look prettier."

"I don't think I'll ever understand humans." Patch shook his head to himself.

Teller soon tapped on everybody's shoulders to get them to look at him before he gestured and pulled Fred over to a certain space. Fred blinked as he began to feel confused about what was happening to him right now. Teller then showed nothing up his sleeves and soon removed a tarp from one place, tossing it onto Fred before dusting himself clean. Everyone just stared quietly, wondering where this was going before Teller removed the tarp and suddenly Fred had a fishbowl filled with water on his head and a couple of goldfish.

"Really, Teller?" Penn smirked at his partner. "The Magic Fishbowl Trick played on Top of a Blonde Guy's Head Wearing an Ascot? I've seen it a million times. I think Houdini himself did it a hundred years ago. Sorry, buddy!"

Teller pouted as that began to make him feel dejected.

"Well, I thought it was a nice trick." Cherry told the silent magician.

Teller beamed a little at that, while Shaggy managed to remove the bowl from Fred's head.

Chapter Text

A LITTLE WHILE LATER...

Penn, Teller, Cherry, Daphne, and Velma were onstage checking out the disappearing box, while Fred was up in the rafters, adjusting some pulleys he'd set up.

"By using Professor Markson's cabinet as bait, I'm confident we'll capture him this time." Velma told the others.

"Alright, then let's do this." Cherry said.

"Like, we're ready, Mr. Jilette!" Shaggy called out.

Everyone then looked over to see Shaggy in a colorful and flashy costume that looked like something out of a magic show with Siegfried & Roy's magic shows while Scooby and Scrappy were both dressed up like stereotypical stage magicians with capes and top hats along with suit jackets, canes, and bow-ties.

"Who gets to be the lovely assistant?" Daphne asked as she wore fishnet stockings along with opera gloves, a corset-style costume top, and her own bow-tie.

Cherry just glanced at Daphne with wide eyes briefly before settling down again.

"Ooh! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!" Scooby cried out as he waved his paw in the air.

"Hmm..." Atticus paused as he looked over. "Cherry, you wanna help out your two favorite magicians?"

"Oh, uh, I don't think I'd be very good, especially in an outfit like that." Cherry remarked as she pointed out what the redhead had on.

"You could just go casual." suggested Lionel.

"Well, uh, I dunno..." Cherry shrugged.

"Come on, Cherry," Sabrina advised. "Have your moment. It's okay."

"I mean I wouldn't mind being Zatanna's lovely assistant if someone asked me." Salem smirked.

Patch rolled his eyes with a smirk at that.

"Well... okay," Cherry then relented as she shrugged again. "You only live once after all."

"Attagirl!" Lionel beamed as he did a whistle and applauded for Cherry as she went up to help.

"Sorry Daphne, but it looks like Cherry is perfect for this." Penn said to the redhead.

"Oh, that's fine," Daphne replied. "This is probably more important to her than it is to me anyway." She headed off the stage as Cherry got up there.

Cherry stumbled a little, grunting as she almost slipped and fell. Teller then grabbed Cherry's hand and pulled her over to prevent her from falling all the way off the stage.

"That was close," Cherry said to herself. "I almost had a Kelsey Grammer moment of my own."

"Who?" Atticus wondered while Patch shrugged in reply.

Cherry soon came over and climbed into the cabinet to help out her two most favorite magicians of all time.

"She'll explain later," Lionel shrugged. "I know I could use some context, too."

"Alright, Professor Markson, we are onto your tricks!" declared Penn. "This is Penn & Teller! Let's show everyone how the magic is done!" He and Teller let Cherry step into the box, before they closed the doors shut.

Cherry sat comfortably until the magic happened.

"It's as simple as tapping this cabinet!" Penn then said before opening the doors with Teller again to find Scooby inside.

Scooby roared as he tried to look scary. "I'm a monster! Rawr! I'm a monster!" he then snarled.

Penn and Teller then closed the doors on Scooby again before Teller turned the cabinet around.

"With a sleight of hand with a secret compartment in the back." Penn then said as the cabinet turned around and he and Teller opened the doors to show Cherry again.

"Ta-freakin'-da." Cherry said with about as much energy as a sloth, though in her own way, she was very excited to be apart of this.

"Trust me, she's excited in her own way." Atticus remarked to everybody else.

Just then, they heard something set off in the distance.

"We did it!" Fred exclaimed before running that way. "One of my snare traps must've caught the ghost!"

Penn, Teller, Cherry, and Lionel went with Fred to check the trap.

"Now let's see who the ghost of Professor Madds Markson really is." said Fred as he found someone caught in his snare. And so he whirled the person around, revealing a bespectacled brunette.

"It's... it's..." The gang started before losing steam.

"...yeah, I—I don't know who this is." said Velma.

"Me neither, and I think that goes for all of us." replied Lionel.

Everyone else seemed to agree that they were stumped about who this was supposed to be.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but do you mind telling us who you are?" Sabrina asked the mystery woman.

"My name is Tess. Tess Flemmings." The woman introduced herself.

"Tess Flemmings?!" Everyone else repeated with a gasp.

Penn then helped the woman down from the trap she was caught in.

"Thanks, Mr. Jillette." Tess said to him.

"Tess who?" "Scooby wondered.

"Okay, lady, tell us your story." Scrappy requested.

"I'm a Las Vegas history buff," Tess began to explain. "I snuck into the museum hall to get some last footage of the place before its controlled demolition and thanks to you meddling kids and magic legends, Penn and Teller, I've got some great footage."

"Uh... well, you're welcome." responded Lionel.

"Why were you masquerading as Professor Madds Markson?" Penn soon demanded.

"Yeah, you've got some explaining to do, lady." Mo added with her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me?" Tess asked out of confusion.

"You know, the ghost." Scrappy added.

"I don't know what that is," Tess then said until she thought about it and asked, "Oh, you mean that crazy monster? I thought it was part of some TV special Penn and Teller were doing."

"The ghost!" Scooby yelped.

"No need to yell, Scooby," Daphne chided quietly. "She heard you the first time."

"No! THE GHOST!" Scooby pointed out to them.

"Get out!" rasped the sickly purple apparition. "GET OUT!"

"C'mon, gang," declared Penn. "It's not too late to grab this ghost!"

"GETTTT OUUUUUUUT!" bellowed Madds Markson as he attacked.

"We have to get him back on the stage!" exclaimed Velma, and she and the gang made a break for it.

Penn and Teller soon came up on stage along with Tess. Teller glared as he tried to face Madds Markson only to be taken over by the ghost.

"Teller, watch out!" Patch cried out to the kind, silent magician.

Teller soon fell right into the cabinet and the doors shut on him, and after an electrical surge, the doors opened again to show that the silent magician had vanished. Everyone then gasped at that before the cabinet doors shut again suddenly.

"Teller?!" Penn yelped for his longtime partner.

Another electrical surge shot around before the cabinet exploded and the rabbit monster was shown again before it then whacked away everyone on stage, even Atticus and Patch despite their infamous strength as they landed in the audience seats below the stage.

"What did you do with my little buddy, Teller?" Penn glared at the rabbit monster.

The rabbit monster roared before it leapt from the stage, then uprooted an entire row of seats and threw it at the gang, knocking them all backwards.

"...how did he knock me and Patch back like that?" asked Atticus. "We have the—"

"The strength of Hercules, WE KNOW!" chorused Lionel and Cherry, rolling their eyes.

The rabbit monster then ripped the seats off from the front row and threw them at the group, knocking them further back. Atticus and Patch both suddenly looked dazed from that, unable to fight back.

"Ugh..." Cherry groaned and rubbed her head. "That's gonna give me a headache in the morning."

The rabbit monster snarled, coming in through the hole they had landed in.

"Not so fast, Professor Markson Monster!" Fred glared once he stood up only to be grabbed by the monster. "Hey!"

The rabbit monster growled and then threw Fred all the way across the room and hitting one of the pillars that had dynamite strapped to it, causing the timer to activate and suddenly go down from 10 minutes to one minute.

"Aw, Fred!" Cherry complained once she saw that. "You triggered the control of the demolition and now this place is gonna blow in less than a minute!"

"RUN!" exclaimed Scrappy.

And immediately, everyone made a break for the exit, while the rabbit monster came tearing after them.

"Over here, guys!" Daphne exclaimed as she led them to another hotel room; inside was a spring-loaded bed trap with a massive hole in the wall.

"C'mon! We can use the spare bed portion of the trap to escape!" explained Fred.

"Fred, why do you always have a spare catapult portion in every single trap?" asked Daphne.

"I..." began Fred, before he trailed off. "Could you rephrase that question?"

"How about LATER? When we're not in danger?" asked Sabrina, as the rabbit monster was getting closer.

"I'm with Sabrina on this one!" Cherry agreed.

The rabbit monster began to come closer to where they were right now.

"Yeah, good idea!" Shaggy agreed as he picked up both Scooby and Scrappy. "Come on, everybody, we gotta go right now!"

"No! Teller's still in there!" Penn cried out as he reached out for his partner. "Teller!"

"You can't go back after him, Mr. Jillette, it's too dangerous!" Fred told the large magician, holding him back.

"16 seconds, let's go!" Salem alerted as he checked a random wristwatch he suddenly had on.

The rabbit monster snarled once he found them and soon came right into the room.

"Pull the trigger, Freddy! We gotta go!" Shaggy cried out nervously.

There was then a single second left as the rabbit monster lunged out, making them all fall and land onto the mattress and they were sprung right out of the hotel just as the explosions started.

"Holy, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, that was too close!" Cherry noted once they began to fly with the mattress.

"And I think it's about to get closer!" Lionel exclaimed as they hit the pavement, while behind them the Savanna Hotel tumbled down in a hail of explosions.

"That's amazing." commented Tess.

"Teller!" screamed Penn as he reached out futilely. "TELLER...!!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Jillette," responded Velma. "Wait 'til you see who the Madds Markson monster REALLY is!" And so she walked over to the rabbit monster, before unmasking him, revealing his true identity as...

"TELLER?!" exclaimed the gang in awe.

"That's just crazy." Scooby remarked.

"You said it, Uncle Scooby." Scrappy agreed.

"Teller, you were the horrible Markson monster?" Shaggy asked.

Teller simply smiled and nodded in reply.

"You were the ghostly specter of Professor Madds Markson?" Fred asked.

Teller again nodded in response.

"You were eccentric billionaire recluse Hugo Houser?" Daphne asked.

"You pulled a birthday cake out of nothing?" Patch also asked once he and Atticus finally came to.

Teller nodded to both questions.

"Mr. Teller did all of it," Velma then concluded before being interrupted suddenly. "He--"

"Velma, can I have this one? I'm such a big fan." Cherry requested.

"Oh, well, um, go ahead then, Cherry." Velma then said.

"Thank you," Cherry said before she began to explain everything to everybody. "You see, guys, Mr. Teller here played all of the parts. He prerecorded all of the phone conversations using a computer-generated voice, he rigged traps all over the hotel ceilings to hang his ghost and monster and operated them with a remote control. With the hotel rigged for demolition, the traps were easily hidden. He created cardboard cut-outs on train tracks to create the effect of reclusive billionaire and the monster in shadow play."

"Guess that explains that set of train tracks we saw earlier." Sabrina remarked while Salem nodded.

"Teller then created the famous cabinet trick from careful research, then faked the attack upon himself so he could put on the mantle of the monster for the final fight," Cherry then continued before she started to conclude the reasoning. "Teller did it all by himself..." she then glanced over with slanted eyes. "Which I assume is payback for the ending of their movie from 1989 which I recommend for any fan, such as myself." she then ended her little story before pushing her glasses back with a small, rather knowledgeable smirk.

"Why did you do it?" asked Daphne.

And then, to almost everyone's surprise... Teller spoke. "Because I wanted to pull off a magic trick big enough to impress Penn." he replied.

"Huh?" Scooby asked. "Did you know he could talk?"

Cherry flashed a small smile. "Maybe, maybe not."

"You remember how Penn says he loves a good scare, how he loves getting fooled, but it's never real or very exciting?" Teller reminded the others. "Except for a few exceptions on our show on The CW channel." he then added.

"Also, that time when he wished someone was trying to kill him and you guys were pranking each other until it ended badly." Cherry piped up.

"Did you guys hear? Cherry's a Penn and Teller fan." Salem snarked to himself.

"Shh!" Scrappy shushed the cat so that they could hear more of Teller's story.

"I wanted to make it real and exciting for him, just this once," Teller then continued to explain himself to them. "And I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for meddling kids and Penn being so hard to fool."

"Sorry, buddy, but c'mon... a guy pretending to be a reclusive billionaire, a crazy ghost of an old magician and a horrible monster, all set to the backdrop of the controlled demolition of an entire building imploding and collapsing..." said Penn with a yawn. "...seen it a million times."

Teller sighed, feeling a bit bummed out.

"I'M JUST KIDDING!" Penn exclaimed. "That was CRAZY AMAZING! I want you to know this is the best present anyone's ever gotten me! I WAS SO SCARED!! AND I LOVED IT!!"

Cherry had a small visible grin, looking happy for Teller before she went back to her usual stoic and default face. Teller smiled as that began to make him feel a lot better now.

"Come here, you knucklehead!" Penn beamed as he hugged his longtime partner. "All of you!" he then added before pulling everyone else into the hug.

"So, uh, what about our money?" Cherry soon asked.

"Cherry, don't be greedy." Atticus chided his best friend.

"No, no, she's right, a deal's a deal," Teller replied as he took out his checkbook. "I think a reward is in order."

"He's giving us the million dollars!" Shaggy laughed as Teller wrote out a check. "Oh, boy!"

"Technically, Mr. Teller, you were the last person to--" pointed out Fred, before Daphne clapped a hand over his mouth.

"He's just tired, this kind of thing takes a lot out of you," Daphne said as she accepted the check. "The boy-scout honesty thing's nice, Freddy, but before you go turning down a million dollars, try consulting the rest of us instead of making the choice for everyone." she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Yeah!" Scooby and Scrappy added firmly.

Cherry cleared her throat and nudged Atticus's arm a bit.

"I didn't say anything." Atticus said to her.

"I know," Cherry replied. "I just wanna make sure that you don't."

Fred just grinned sheepishly at the others. Teller soon took out another piece of paper, then ripped it into pieces before he folded the pieces, then unfolded them to show them as a whole piece of paper again, then folded the paper into an origami bird before putting his hands over the paper, then brought out a white dove in his hands and allowed the dove to fly away out of his hands.

"Oh, that's amazing!" Velma beamed as they watched the bird fly off before she turned around. "How do you guys--" she was then about to ask only for the comedic magician duo to suddenly be gone.

"Magic Dooby Doo~" Teller's voice echoed.

"I love those guys." Cherry smirked warmly as another adventure came to an end.

A portal then opened up from where they currently were.

"A portal? I guess that means this adventure is officially over." Patch remarked.

"Sure, makes sense to me," replied Lionel. "Guess that's our cue to make like Blue... and skidoo!"

Everyone else looked at each other and soon jumped into the portal, disappearing as their adventure seemed to come to an end.

"I suppose it was nice seeing Scooby and the gang again," Cherry said on their way back home. "Especially with those other sudden crossover adventures like seeing The Hex Girls again or meeting Josie and the Pussycats."

"Plus that time with your favorite magicians." Sabrina added as a reminder.

"Them too." Cherry nodded.

"Looks like it's time for another adventure to come to an end." Atticus then remarked once they appeared in the Spellman household.

"Kids, your adventure isn't over yet." Zelda suddenly said as if she had been cued to say that.

"Whaddya mean, Aunt Zelda?" asked Sabrina.

"I knew it was too good to be true." Cherry snarked to the others.

"Come inside, we need to talk," Zelda nodded. "Are you kids hungry? We can get you some food." she then offered warmly.

"We love your company after all," Hilda added. "Though not as much as when Harvey comes over~"

"Aunt Hilda!" Sabrina pouted and blushed.

"Well, it's true." Hilda replied innocently.

And so the kids came inside.

Chapter Text

"So... what did you mean earlier?" asked Mo.

"Well, you guys know how you were traveling all over with Scooby and the gang?" Hilda asked them.

"You mean just now?" Atticus replied, almost in a deadpan voice.

"Okay, Smarty Pants," Hilda rolled her eyes. "Anyway, while you were gone, Zelda found out something interesting from a certain someone from before your big adventure started."

"Batman and Robin?" Salem asked.

"No, but we believe you're familiar with this little fellow." Zelda replied before she magicked up a hologram of Scooby-Mite.

Lionel gave an incensed look. "Oh... that guy," he commented. "What about him?"

"Well, that's an issue actually." Hilda replied.

"What sort of issue?" Cherry asked the adult Spellman witches.

"Well, we keep trying to find out what's going on with our magic and all that good stuff, but something seems to be blocking our frequency around him," Zelda explained. "Almost like he's trying to block our magic with his own inter-dimensional powers or something which I'm sure you're quite familiar with, Lionel." she then added.

"I am somewhat familiar, yes," Lionel nodded. "Zrrrfians, coming from the 5th Dimension, are a bit more powerful than 3rd-dimensional magics."

"Well, we're having a bit of trouble trying to figure out what this Scooby-Mite character is up to, but it seems to be something big." Hilda replied.

"We think you kids should travel again like you did with Batman and Robin when you found Mystery Inc earlier on in this story." Zelda added.

"Well... oh-kay." Lionel responded.

"So, what're you saying? We gotta start this whole adventure over?" Cherry then asked.

"No, nothing like that, we just think you should go back to that Dynamic Duo and maybe you can find out what's going on with Scooby-Mite since we can't tell you anything right now." Zelda replied.

"I guess it's better than starting all over," Patch remarked. "Right Cherry?"

"Yeah, I guess," Cherry shrugged. "We might as well see what that little Scrappy-Mite is up to."

"Scooby-Mite." Zelda corrected.

"I know what I meant." Cherry retorted.

"C'mon then," Lionel said. "Let's get this whole kerfuffle over with!"

"Good luck, you guys," Hilda told them. "We'll be waiting for you on the other side."

"Thanks, Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda." Sabrina smiled as she hugged her paternal aunts before going to leave with her friends again.

MEANWHILE...

"No wonder people call you The World's Greatest Detective, Batman!" Robin exclaimed as he and The Caped Crusader were singing together into action. "Who'd have guessed the villain taking control of all of Gotham City's security cameras was Mr. Camera?"

"Save the congratulations, Robin, until that pixelated plunderer is behind bars!" Batman told his ward.

"This isn't my photo finish, Dynamic Duo! Thanks to my special headgear, I can still get away... in a flash!" Mr. Camera told them before he flashed his screen at the two to temporarily blind them.

"Can't... see!" Batman grunted as he shielded his eyes, before Mr. Camera was unmasked.

"Neat trick," said Fred. "Too bad it doesn't blind people when they're behind you!"

"Huh?" The villain murmured, suddenly feeling bewildered once his true face was exposed to the world.

"Or when they pull off your mask!" Scrappy added with a smirk.

"Thanks for lending a hand, kids. We'll take it from here," Batman said to Mystery Inc as he came to apprehend Mr. Camera once he had the chance. "What brings you to Gotham?" he then asked.

"Robin's Tweetster Feed," Daphne explained. "We came running when we saw his post: 'OMG, Batman is being haunted'."

"Robin, how many times have I told you; NO TEXTING while you're fighting crime!" Batman scolded his young ward. "I never should have put a cell phone pouch in your utility belt!"

"Ooh," Cherry's voice was heard gushing as she and the others arrived via portal. "Robin's in trouble~"

"But I didn't post anything!" Robin insisted. "Somebody must've hacked my account!"

"Well, whoever posted it, I'm glad we got here in time to help!" Velma exclaimed.

"Well, I guess it's true that Robin wouldn't say something like OMG..." Cherry had to admit with a shrug.

"I just wonder why it said that Batman was haunted?" Atticus remarked. "I don't see Mr. Camera as being scary like Bain or The Joker."

"Not scary? I'm one of Batman's most terrifying foes!" Mr. Camera complained in offense.

"Maybe in your sense of fashion," Cherry scoffed at him. "Just be lucky that our friend Rarity isn't here or she'd probably tear you a new one."

"Actually, for the past day, Batman has been haunted, but not by Mr. Camera," Robin soon spoke up. "These weird 'other' versions of Batman keep appearing out of nowhere," he added and explained before looking up as a pirate version of Batman swung into the scene. "Like that!" he then pointed out.

"Avast, ye lubbers! Stand to and surrender your arms or cross blades with Leatherwing, Scourge O' the Seven Seas!" The pirate Batman announced.

"I can't, like, surrender my arms!" Shaggy protested as he and Scooby made a run for it. "I'm still using them! And my legs, too—to RUN!"

Suddenly, they were halted by yet another Batman, but with a trenchcoat. "Hold, miscreants," he declared. "Your mad hurly-burly of mayhem is at an end!"

"Ranother Ratman?!" Scooby cried out.

"About face, Scoob!" Shaggy replied. "I don't know what a 'hurly-burly' is, but I plan to, like, keep mine!"

"JIG'S UP, YOU MUGS! IT'S CURTAINS FOR YA!" A Batman with a rifle, speaking like a gangster called out to them.

"Rangway!" Scooby cried out as he and Shaggy ran the other way.

"Sorry, no time for redecorating!" Shaggy yelped.

"Easy there, chums," A new Batman in an Adam West voice said, coming in front of them. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Whew!" Shaggy smiled in relief. "At least this Batman isn't scary."

"BLOOD." A darker and edgier Batman stated, sounding rather monstrous.

"B-B-But that one, like, m-makes up for it!" Shaggy said, sounding scared again as he shivered with Scooby.

"RIKES!" Scooby whimpered.

"So many different versions of Batmen!" Fred remarked. "It's like a whole League of Batmen!"

"Holy, Multiple Exposures!" Atticus exclaimed.

"Don't do that." Lionel and Robin told him flatly.

"I mean, I know there are different Earths, especially alternate realities that Drell showed us sometimes, but what's the big idea?" Cherry wondered.

"Where could they be all coming from?" Velma wondered.

"Dashed if I know," stated a Scooby who sounded like Paul Frees [look him up, kids] with a British accent and dressed like a steampunk character.

Velma turned, and did a double-take. "Scooby?" she asked. "Why are you talking like that? And wearing clothes?"

"Why, I speak and dress in my manner, dear lady," explained Steampunk Scooby. "Perhaps you have me confused with that chap over there."

"Like, somebody save us!" Shaggy cried. "They want my arms, and my blood, and my hurly-burly!"

"Don't worry, guys! Nobody's taking them with me around!" Scrappy declared.

"Fear not, fair maiden!" said a Scooby clad in turquoise armor and holding a shield, while sounding like Dudley Do-Right. "Sir Scooby shall protect thee from impending peril!"

"Scooby? Shielding me?" Daphne asked, very confused and bewildered. "Now I've seen everything!"

"And I've, like, seen too much!" Shaggy yelped as a vampire Scooby appeared.

"A Rooby rampire!" Scooby panicked.

"BLOOD AND SCOOBY SNACKS!" Vampire Scooby snarled dangerously.

"What is going on?" Sabrina groaned and held her head. "All of this is giving me a headache."

"I'm sure you've seen worse in The Netherworld." Patch remarked.

"That doesn't help." Sabrina told him.

"Good heavens!" exclaimed Gotham by Gaslight Batman. "It appears to be some sort of devil hound, reminiscient of the Baskerville case!"

"Devil hound, you say?" asked Steampunk Scooby. "In the face of such menace, there can be only one logical response... RONSTER!!" and he joined in running for his life.

"Wait for..." panted Sir Scooby as he joined in the running. "...ME!!"

"See, that's why I don't, like, wear heavy armor!" Shaggy exclaimed. "It slows you down when you run away!"

"Shouldn't we help them?" Robin asked during the chase.

"Oh, running around in blind panic is just Scooby and Shaggy's process of solving mysteries," Daphne reassured The Boy Wonder. "Usually Scrappy will run into an adventure though until Scooby yanks him away so that they can run for their lives."

"Right. While we generally take cover and think things through." Velma added.

"Well, this certainly is a mystery." Batman remarked.

"R-R-Rombie Rooby!" Scooby cried out as they soon ran away from a zombified version of himself.

"First multiple Batmen show up and now multiple Scoobys..." Fred commented. "Do you think this could be happening everywhere in the world? To everyone?" he then wondered.

"Hmm... I suppose it's possible..." Batman replied thoughtfully.

Cherry soon went into a corner and began to attempt to do a head stand.

"What are you doing?" Batman asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Cherry grunted as she tried to make her legs balance over her head. "I'm trying to think."

"Not according to Tweetster," stated Robin as he checked his phone. "Nobody's posting anything about hauntings or alternate selves anywhere else."

"Not even other superheroes?" Mo asked.

"Nope," Robin responded. "Well, Superman doesn't use social media anyway. It's like he grew up on a farm or something..."

"Gee, ya think so?" Atticus rolled his eyes playfully.

"At least it's not an epidemic." Daphne noted.

"That makes sense. I mean, we haven't seen multiple copies of Robin, the rest of us, or Cherry and her friends either," Fred added. "Just Batman and Scooby."

"Wait a minute!" Cherry suddenly exclaimed before she fell on her face, grunting a bit before she stood up and dusted herself clean.

"What is it, Cherry?" Velma asked.

"Something bizarre is happening only to Batman and Scooby," Cherry replied. "I know what's going on here!"

"You do?" Batman asked Cherry.

"Only one way to find out," Cherry replied before she called out to seemingly no one at first. "I know it's you out there! Come on! show yourself!"

"Looks like that girlfriend of yours is a lot more clever than most readers give her credit for." Scooby-Mite told Lionel as he appeared.

"That's for damn sure," Lionel commented as he climbed out. "Batman's good... but she might just be better."

"Well, Velma figured it out too!" Scooby-Mite told him.

"True, though Batman's the world's greatest detective until Atticus gets his fancy schmancy degree." Lionel replied.

"If he's such a great detective, why doesn't he wear a turtleneck?" Scooby-Mite retorted smugly.

"What are those creatures?" Mr. Camera demanded. "Some sort of trick photography?"

"Trust me, they aren't," Cherry told him as she crossed her arms. "Apparently Mites are super fans of certain folks in other dimensions with reality warping powers and a lot of other things that can be seen as annoying at first, but tolerated overtime and enjoyed if they're lucky not to be blocked away from another person's life forever until a lucky chance brings them back."

"And I am forever thankful for that," Lionel added with a nod befor continuing his discussion. "If Scooby's so cool, why doesn't he have a cave with a giant penny?"

"Don't you know?" asked Scooby-Mite.

"Enough!" Batman called out, coming between the two inter-dimensional imps. "Why are you two here?"

"Well, I'm here to have an adventure with Cherry and her friends like I have been for a while now." Lionel simply stated.

"And I'm here for the celebration." Scooby-Mite added.

"Relebration?" Scooby wondered.

"Yes!" Scooby-Mite nodded. "This story is officially PerkyGoth14's 1,000th story submission!" he then announced as random confetti rained down. "It might not be her 1,000th adventure in this universe of characters, but it still counts and she's even reached over 500 watches on DeviantART with over 475,000 page views!"

"Do people really keep track of fanfiction anniversaries?" Daphne asked.

"I guess imps do," Robin stated. "Alfred usually sticks a candle in a treacle tart or something."

"Ya know he has a point, we should celebrate with a special adventure story!" Lionel then said.

"Exactly my point, Bat-Mite!" Scooby-Mite agreed with his fellow imp. "What could be more special than pulling alternate versions of Mystery Inc and Cherry's Adventures on this account of you guys all across the multiverse? A Crisis of Infinite Scoobys and Cherry's Adventures!" he then added out of excitement.

"Multiverse?" Fred wondered.

"Sure! You know how Lionel and I here come from the 5th-dimension?" Scooby-Mite replied as he began to explain everything, showing several different Earths. "Well, the multiverse is an infinite number of parallel dimensions, each within its own Earth that's different than all the others!"

"We've seen some too in other adventures when Drell calls us into The Other Realm." Sabrina commented.

"Yeah, apparently in one world, Sabrina is the daughter of The Prince of Darkness himself: Lucifer Morningstar." Salem remarked.

"You mean like The Devil?" Atticus asked nervously.

"No, he meant Lady Tremaine's cat." Cherry replied sarcastically.

"There's also a universe where Greendale is partially Japanese and the Alpha Brigade are a Power Rangers-style team that fights Della and her cronies!" Lionel chimed in.

"On an Earth where they all live under the sea and Atticus is raised by his Aunt Athena and Uncle Triton along with Ariel and her sister!" Scooby-Mite beamed, showing the adventure group underwater suddenly and they all had tail-fins while Patch and Salem turned into a dogfish and catfish respectively.

"I also think you said something about where Aladdin is an actual prince and Atticus is his younger brother while you and Mo live with Princess Jasmine?" Lionel said to Cherry.

"Yeah, but I dunno if it'll be uploaded or not." Cherry shrugged and crossed her arms.

"One of my favorite universes is where you guys are raised by members of The Justice League and have more superhero-based adventures than usual," Scooby-Mite then told Cherry and the others. "A lot better than that one DC Superhero Girl universe where Atticus is Superman's adoptive younger brother if you ask me."

"You mean the DC Superhero Girls universe where they go to a superhero high school?" asked Lionel. "Or the one where the DC Superhero Girls are an actual team of six, like the Mane Six?"

"The first one." Scooby-Mite clarified.

"I actually prefer the second one if I had to choose." Cherry commented.

"I think a lot of people preferred the second one," stated Mo. "But I digress."

"So many worlds mean so many possibilities!" Scooby-Mite beamed. "The stories never end! Infinite Scoobys are so much cooler than just a Scooby of two worlds of two worlds or 52 worlds!"

"But aren't so many versions of Scooby and the adventure team overkill?" Daphne asked.

"Over-what?" asked Scooby-Mite. "Never heard of it."

"What Daphne means is that maybe you should try it with no vampires or whatever," Robin advised. "Just one Batman and the old-school Mystery Inc team with help from Cherry and her adventure group."

"Old school?" Scooby-Mite pondered thoughtfully. "What an amazing idea!"

"Really?" Fred asked. "You think it's amazing?"

"Absolutely! Just give us a second to send all these Batmen and Scoobys back to their own worlds and Bat-Mite and I will show you!" Scooby-Mite replied. "Speaking of which, buddy, gimme a hand here." he then told Lionel.

"Sure thing." Lionel nodded as he cracked his knuckles and helped Scooby-Mite send the other counterparts back to their respective worlds.

"You did good, Lionel," Cherry said. "I'm proud of that for the most part."

"Thanks!" Lionel beamed.

Soon, all of the Batmen and Scoobys were gone.

"What a relief!" Scrappy sighed before looking at his uncle's biggest fan next to himself. "I'm sorry we had to ruin your fun though."

"'Ruin'? Oh, you didn't ruin anything!" Scooby-Mite reassured him. "We had to clear things away to make room!"

"Make room for what?" Batman demanded.

"For the old-school Mystery Inc team!" Scooby-Mite announced as various different versions of Scooby and the gang were shown to be right behind him. "Which Mystery Inc team would YOU prefer?" he then added.

Several different incarnations of Scooby and the gang stood around in the alley together including the ones from the 2002 live-action movie, Daphne and a red-shirted Shaggy from 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, the controversial Be Cool, Scooby Doo crew, Mystery Incorporated from 2010, the DC comic series Scooby Apocalypse, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, and even the gang's designs from Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue.

"Well, I guess this is what we call a Crisis of Infinite Scoobs." Cherry remarked.

"Not to worry, dear Perky Goth of PerkyGoth14's fanfic collection, we haven't forgotten you either!" Scooby-Mite said before showing different versions of Cherry and her friends as well, including the ones based on Power Rangers called The Beast Rangers that Lionel mentioned earlier.

"Blimey!" commented Gotham By Gaslight Lionel. "Is it just me, or do some of these chaps look familiar?"

"I could tell you the same thing," replied Mangaverse Lionel. "Hoo-boy... is this one of those multiversal crises again like with the Ninja Turtles?"

Both the prime Scrappy and Mangaverse Scrappy eyed each other curiously. "Wow-oh-wow!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Doppelgänger! Blast them all!" Apocalypse Daphne alerted as she brought out a shotgun, startling Get a Clue Shaggy and Velma.

"Blast them? With a gun?!" Daphne Prime complained to her darker and edgier counterpart. "What's wrong with you?!"

"Wow! You guys look weird." Freddie Prince Jr commented to Be Cool Shaggy.

"Funny, I was just, like, about to say the same thing about you!" Be Cool Shaggy replied.

Pup Scooby and Kid Shaggy both grimaced at both of the beings beside them.

"I know what this is; another one of Fred's tricks to try to get me back after he broke off our engagement!" Mystery Incorporated Daphne observed.

"You mean he proposed and he said yes?!" Apocalypse Daphne ranted. "I never say yes when Fred proposes!"

"'Proposes'?!" Daphne Prime yelped. "You're all teenagers!"

"Who's Fred?" 13 Ghosts Daphne wondered.

"It's obvious what's going on here!" Kid Fred piped up. "Only one fiend could be behind such a nefarious scheme: Red Herring!" he then added, showing a picture of a generic looking school bully.

"Uh, no, little bitty dude," Get a Clue Shaggy said to him. "Scooby-Mite and Bat-Mite are behind it. They just, like, said so."

"Clearly a clever cover story by Red Herring!" Kid Fred retorted.

"I've had enough of this madness," Cherry groaned. "It can't get any crazier than this, can it?"

"Uh, Cherry? You might wanna see this." Patch said.

"What would that be?" Cherry demanded until she saw what Patch was pointing to.

Suddenly, a bright and flashy title screen popped up, looking like a parody of the Spin-Off Babies trope that said "ADVENTURE BABIES!" on it and showed Cherry and her friends all as babies, including Patch and Salem as a much younger puppy and an adorable little kitten.

"Adventure Babies! Happy and they're free! Adventure Babies! Fun for you and me! Adventure Babies forever!~" Several high-pitched voices sang as the group was shown to be playing around in some sort of nursery together.

"Adventure Babies will be right back! FOREVER!" Baby Lionel cooed before he pushed away a toy ball that had a star on it.

"I had to ask." Cherry groaned and sweat-dropped.

"This is crazy!" exclaimed Velma.

"Whenever Bat-Mite's around, 'crazy' is the least we expect," responded Batman. "I have a feeling this isn't over yet!"

"No?" Cherry asked him.

"If I know those imps, we won't be done until there's some menace to fight," Batman replied before pointing out to the distance. "And there it is!"

"Just once, it'd be nice if you were wrong." Velma said nervously.

"PUPPY POWER!" A giant Scrappy-Doo announced as he stomped into the scene suddenly

"Scrappy! It's you!" Patch gasped to the Great Dane puppy.

"It can't be! I'm me!" Scrappy retorted.

"Rhat's a Rappy-Roo?" Get a Clue Scooby wondered.

"Believe me, you don't want to know!" 2002 live-action Velma replied. "From the looks of it, I'd say Scrappy turned into an evil monster again!"

"Unless they read Sonic Thunder Saiyan Turtle's retool of that." Cherry muttered to herself.

"Everyone, stand back!" Apocalypse Daphne announced as she cocked her shotgun. "I'll blow away that monstrosity!"

"You know—a fellow could get pretty darn offended at this sort of thing!" Lionel commented.

"Will you STOP IT?!" Daphne yelled at her Apocalypse counterpart. "Shooting isn't the answer!"

"It's the only answer in a post-Apocalyptic wasteland where Dinkley turned the entire population of Earth into bloodthirsty monsters!" Apocalypse Daphne retorted.

"You did? Whoa..." Mangaverse Thor asked the Velma clones.

"Who, me?!" Apocalypse Velma asked.

"How could that even be possible?" Mystery Incorporated Velma wondered. "I'm a detective, not a mad scientist!"

"Jinkies! I'm only 9-years-old!" Kid Velma whimpered.

"If someone asks if Jinkies is a breakfast cereal, I'm outta here." Cherry deadpanned to the fourth wall.

"Just be cool, Gun-Shooty-Daphne!" Be Cool Shaggy exclaimed. "This world isn't, like, a post-Apocalyptic wasteland! Unless you count the floor of my bedroom, that is."

"True. Most of our monsters turn out to be realtors." Fred remarked.

"I bet I know what this is!" Mangaverse Atticus exclaimed. "Clearly this Scrappy monster is a Yōkai created by Della and the rest of The Black Wand Clan!"

"I think that'd be a Yōuma." responded Mangaverse Lionel.

"Like, I don't look like that, do I?" asked Get a Clue Shaggy.

"Ruh-roh," commented Mystery Incorporated Scooby.

"Did anyone bring snacks?" asked Mystery Incorporated Shaggy.

"Nice ascot!" Be Cool Fred complimented his Apocalypse counterpart.

Puppy Scooby giggled at that.

"HEY! REMEMBER ME?! GIANT MONSTER?!" The giant Scrappy reminded them as he seemed to be ignored.

"Why are you wearing shorts?" 13 Ghosts Shaggy asked Apocalypse Fred.

"No really; who's got the snacks?" Get a Clue Shaggy added.

"All right, I've heard enough of this madness," Justiceverse Cherry glared. "Atticus getting drunk and smoking cigarettes is one thing next to my severe depression and suicidal tendencies is another, but I've had just about enough here."

"Wouldn't that make her an emo then?" Patch asked Cherry.

"We're not discussing that." Cherry replied firmly.

"Anyway, I can tell that this multiverse madness is starting to get to Batman," Justiceverse Cherry continued sternly. "But we all need to set aside our differences and similarities for now. There's a monstrous menace on the loose!"

"Well said, Cherry." Batman agreed with the darker and more depressed perky goth.

"IT'S ABOUT TIME SOMEONE REMEMBERED!" The giant Scrappy boomed.

"Its rampage could cause untold damage and cost lives!" Batman then told the crowd. "We are the only ones who can stop it! Who's with me?" he then added.

"Batman is right!" pointed out Sarah Michelle Gellar.

"Why hasn't anyone pulled off his mask yet?" asked Get a Clue Fred.

"Nobody unmasks Batman," stated Justiceverse Lionel. "Only he gets to do that!"

"Well, no matter which Earth we came from, we've ALL dedicated ourselves to solving mysteries, going on adventures, and stopping monsters!" Atticus soon announced. "So, there's only one thing to do..."

"And as the unofficial commander of this adventure team, I think I should say it," Cherry spoke up. "These are mainly Cherry's Adventures after all." she then added with a glare at him.

"Sorry, sorry." Atticus then said sheepishly.

"It's time for all of us to..." Cherry began to say.

"TEAM-UP!" Everyone else said as they began to band together with each of their respective groups.

"See? See?" Lionel exclaimed. "Cherry inspired everyone to band together!"

"Maybe," responded Scooby-Mite. "But watch how Scooby and the gang take on the monster! All the Daphnes run headfirst into danger..."

"I'll lay down cover fire!" Apocalypse Daphne said as she got out her gun again, but it was slapped down by Be Cool Daphne, who was now wearing a hand puppet that resembled her.

"No! Puppet Daphne doesn't like shooting!" she insisted. "Besides, this is based on a kids' comic!"

"Ow!" she made Puppet Daphne exclaim. "Couldja maybe slap the gun with the OTHER hand?"

"...The Scrappies are getting ready to throw down..." noted Scooby-Mite.

"Nobody, but nobody, drags my name thru the mud!" growled Apocalypse Scrappy as his implants made him big and strong. "C'mon, fellas, let's thrash this faker!"

"I'm with ya, Big Scrappy!" declared Mangaverse Scrappy.

"Let's sniff out its weak spot an' bring it down!" Perkyverse Scrappy exclaimed. "Time to rock 'em and sock 'em!"

"And of course, The Freds will dream up ways to trap it, The Velmas will all try to solve the mystery, and the Scoobys and Shaggys all run away." Scooby-Mite remarked to Lionel.

"But the Scrappys are gonna help fight, Scooby-Mite because I helped them all listen to reason." Cherry spoke up with a smirk.

"Way to go~!" Lionel grinned eagerly.

"Guys, we gotta do something." Baby Cherry soon told her friends.

"Ooh! Ooh! We can be cowboys!" Baby Atticus suggested before the scene changed into The Wild West and he looked like Angus from the Home on the Range adventure with The Wild West C.O.W-Boys in the background.

"We could be spacemen!" Baby Sabrina suggested before they were all suddenly in outer space like astronauts.

Baby Patch soon barked and panted as he suggested something involving other puppy dogs all around him.

"That's right, Baby Patch," Baby Lionel soon said. "We can keep playing forever!"

"Yay! Like always!" The baby counterparts of Cherry and her friends cheered at that.

"Fred! I'll tie one end of this Bat-Rope to this foot! You secure the other end to that foot!" Batman commanded.

"Got it!" Fred replied as he helped out The Caped Crusader.

"Good thinking! A classic trip-up trap!" Mystery Incorporated Fred remarked as he saw that with Kid Fred.

"WHOOOOOOAAAA!" The giant Scrappy cried out as he suddenly tripped and fell down in the middle of the ground.

"We gotcha this time, you Scrappy Monster!" Atticus glared. "Thanks to the help of the Freds and Batman."

"It's definitely not a monster at least or a threat from The Black Wand Clan," Mangaverse Atticus remarked. "There's no way a puppy could grow to be as big as our Mega Zords all in one form together like that."

"They're both right," Kid Velma agreed as she observed the giant Scrappy with her magnifying glass. "Structurally speaking, a puppy's bone structure and musculature couldn't support so much weight!"

"Not to mention this bigger zipper on his stomach." Justiceverse Atticus pointed out as he lifted up the giant Scrappy to show a huge zipper down the puppy's front torso.

"Now let's see who the big palooka behind this character defamation really is!" Mangaverse Lionel declared.

There was soon a huge unzipping sound heard as everyone came to take a closer look at the culprit or culprits in this case.

"Who is that?" Batman wondered.

"I've never seen them before." Fred remarked.

"They seem kinda familiar, but not at the same time." Daphne commented.

"I don't, like, recognize anyone at all." Shaggy added.

"IT'S RED HERRING IN DISGUISE!" Kid Fred declared.

"Freddy!" The Pup Named Scooby-Doo group complained.

"Sorry." Kid Fred grinned nervously at his friends.

Inside the Scrappy suit were shown to be another alternate version of Mystery Inc, only they didn't have their own version of Scooby-Doo. It appeared to be Velma of Indian descent, an Asian-American version of Daphne who still had red hair, an African-American version of Shaggy, and Fred looked more or less the same, but looked like a spoiled rich kid as well.

"Who the heck are these guys?" asked Lionel.

"They look like crappy, low-budget versions of the gang," noted Scooby-Mite.

"You mean you don't know about them?" Lionel asked.

"Nope!" Scooby-Mite replied. "After all, I'm a huge Scooby fan! These guys don't even have their own Scooby!"

"They don't have their own Scooby?" Cherry asked.

"Nope." Scooby-Mite replied.

"THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF THEM?!" Cherry then complained suddenly.

"Uh, what's going on here exactly?" Sabrina asked the low-budget Scooby gang.

"We're here to promote my series of course," Not Velma replied. "A very meta and down to earth mystery comedy for adults only and no kids allowed in this Scooby universe and we can't even afford our own Scooby for that reason alone."

"Yeah, we're darker and edgier," Not Shaggy AKA Norville added. "This is basically where the writers poke fun at something new and out there that everyone on the internet talks about in order to stay relevant like when this account made fun of Teen Titans Go in her adaptation of Trouble in Tokyo or that other time with both incarnations of the Titans and they made fun of The Powderpuff Girls from 2016."

"Powerpuff, not Powderpuff," stated Lionel. "Also... did you creeps really think you were gonna get away with this? Well, did you?"

"And why were you trying to ruin old Scraps' reputation?" Cherry added. "Didn't the 2002 movie do enough damage to that?"

"It didn't help that you kicked me to shut me up in that adventure." Scrappy told the perky goth.

"I'm really sorry about that, I don't know what came over me at the time, but I won't harm you anymore since I think there are worse cartoon characters out there than you." Cherry reassured the Great Dane pup.

"Well, we simply did this because we wanted to remind people that Scrappy is the worst thing to come out of the Scooby-Doo franchise and not us," Norville explained. "Like with this pot smoking theory and joke that's gotten old like when Shaggy met that girl named Mary Jane in the same movie... since I'm against marijuana." he then added before facing the fourth wall and winking.

"Well, your existence has only made people realize that Scrappy is no longer as bad as they thought, so thanks for that." said Lionel.

"Oh, you're welcome." Not Fred replied, taking that too seriously.

"No, Fred, that's bad." Not Daphne scoffed at him.

"Sorry about Fred," Not Velma then said. "His brain is as tiny as his dick."

"And we needed to know that why...?" Atticus asked, unimpressed.

"Because it's a joke and you're supposed to laugh," Not Velma explained. "That's what adult animation is anyway: blood, sex, gore, swearing, and pointing out the obvious since it works for Rick & Morty."

"...that's stupid. You're stupid," stated Mangaverse Lionel. "STOP BEING STUPID!"

"What? Am I wrong?" Not Velma complained.

"YES!" Everyone else told her firmly.

"Oh, come on," Not Velma glared. "You all always act like you're better than me!" she then told the other Velma counterparts that stood before her.

"I think even I'm better than you." Linda Cardellini retorted.

"You're a much more enjoyable Velma to me than this one," Cherry agreed. "Though some would argue that Hayley Kiyoko was better than yourself." she then told the live-action actress.

"I mean, I think they were both on the level," said Lionel. "But plenty of people are starting to like Kiyoko's performance in retrospect!"

"Hey, anyone's better than Mindy Kahling, right?" Cherry remarked.

"Hey!" Not Velma glared.

"No offense, she was great on The Office and I haven't seen The Mindy Project yet, but her version of Velma was just a huge mistake," Cherry then continued. "At least that's something people on the internet can agree on."

"Yep," nodded Lionel. "Their mutual hatred of that project has brought all corners of the world together!"

"Oh, like you guys are so great!" Not Daphne complained. "You think you're so meta with your adventures and subverting expectations when your adventures are all just a pile of autism."

"Well, yeah," Cherry shrugged, not sure how that was meant to be an insult. "PerkyGoth14, Thunder Pony, and Sonic Thunder Saiyan Turtle all have autism."

"That's not the point!" Not Daphne glared.

"Yeah, if you were trying to insult us, you're doing a really bad job of it." stated Mo.

The "Darker and Edgier" version of the Scooby gang glared at them.

"Well, at least we're not annoying like Scrappy-Doo." Not Fred grimaced.

"Or Flim-Flam." Not Daphne added.

"Especially that Red Herring kid." Norville remarked.

"And don't get me started on that irritating robot on Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue." Not Velma rolled her eyes.

"Who says I'm annoying? Lemme at 'em! Lemme at 'em!" Scrappy glared as he looked ready to fight as usual.

"Down, boy, down," urged Mangaverse Lionel. "Don't let them get to ya, little buddy. There are times when you just gotta let the insults wash over you; like a river over stone."

"Hm... Well, all right..." Scrappy grumbled and crossed his arms.

"It's okay, Scraps," Mangaverse Cherry said as she suddenly appeared from nowhere. "There is often worse character assassination out there."

"Thanks, guys." Scrappy said with a small smile.

"No matter," Not Velma glared. "You're gonna pay for sweeping us under the rug. You AND PerkyGoth14 and Sonic Thunder Saiyan Turtle for your meddling self-inserts and garbage stories!"

"Yeah, let's see you do better!" Norville added.

The HBO Max Scooby crew glared and growled as they tried to go after Cherry and the others along with the other Mystery Inc incarnations.

"STOP!" A voice called out before it was showing a certain dark-haired girl with glasses in a bubble.

"Who the heck are you?" Not Velma asked.

"Your worst nightmare if you keep putting Cherry and PerkyGoth14 down!" Katie glared once she revealed herself. "You oughta be ashamed of yourself for putting her down or mocking her disability when she's brave enough to be herself in this dark, cruel world we live in! You better leave this girl alone and her friends involved if you all know what's good for you or else!"

"She'll do it, man!" Lionel said.

Not-Velma just scoffed. "Oh, please. Like you could do anything to us!" she retorted.

"You really wanna test me?" Katie challenged.

"What? We don't know what you can do?" Not Daphne retorted.

"Don't test me..." Katie narrowed her eyes. "I have forces beyond your comprehension, especially in this little world that my Nee-Bear created with her imagination and with the help of others who she considers to be close friends and allies."

"Oooh, we're sooo scared." Not-Velma mocked, rolling her eyes and doing the 'jazz hands' gesture.

"Nee-Bear?" Katie spoke up.

"Hm?" Cherry replied as she looked over her shoulder.

"Mind if I invite my own alternate versions of myself to come and play?" Katie asked.

"Oh, by all means, go ahead." Cherry nodded and allowed.

"She has other versions of herself too?" Scrappy asked.

"Apparently." Atticus nodded.

Katie soon closed her eyes and concentrated very hard before making other versions of herself appear: one appeared to be dressed in a Snow White princess dress with a pirate hat, another one appeared to have bones and was in a battle outfit almost like a skeleton by the name of Papyrus, another one appeared to be surrounded by plants like Poison Ivy, and another one seemed to have Oompa Loompas by her sides.

"Get 'em." Cherry told the Katies.

"You heard her! Let's go!" Undertale Katie proclaimed as she lifted a bone while the song MEGALOVANIA began to play in the background as she and the other Katies began to charge toward the HBO Max Mystery Inc group.

The groups casually watched as the League of Katies beat up the crappy Mystery Inc knockoffs.

"Normally, for anyone else, I'd feel like this wasn't right," said Atticus. "...but here? Nah, they get what's coming to them."

"Glad to see that even you have standards." Cherry said to him.

"Yeah, I do despite what some people believe," Atticus replied. "For instance, not even I like Henry Danger and it's a wasted idea and premise for a series."

"Amen." Cherry nodded before looking to the side.

"Are we late?" A version of Katie asked, seeming to be a darker and edgier version of the Snow White Katie.

"Please tell us we still have time." Another version of Katie added who didn't seem that much different.

"No, no, by all means, you can come too," Patch replied before looking at them. "Uh... what versions of Katie are you two exactly?" he then asked.

"I'm based on the 2003 Peter Pan movie who has a soft spot for Captain Hook." The darker and edgier Katie replied.

"And I'm the one who becomes a vampire after meeting and falling in love with a vampire who wandered the earth ever since The American Revolutionary War." The second Katie replied before her eyes turned as dark as her hair and she had fangs that slid out of her mouth.

"Oh, okay then," Patch shrugged. "Anyway, go on ahead so we can wrap this up and finish off HBO Max Mystery Inc for good... at least in the fanfic universe." he then added.

The two Katies nodded and they soon lunged out to help take down the worst version of Mystery Inc once and for all.

"For Once Upon a Time!" The first Snow White Katie proclaimed.

"For Willy Wonka!" The Katie with the Oompa Loompas added.

"For Undertale!" The skeleton warrior version of Katie added.

"For Batman!" The Poison Ivy Katie added.

"FOR CHERRY'S ADVENTURES AND SCOOBY-DOO!" All of the Katies announced together.

All at once, they proceeded to unleash energies upon the fakers.

"AND TO THINK, WE WOULD'VE GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU TRUE-BLUE MEDDLING KIDS AND YOUR DUMB DOGS!!" Not-Velma shouted angrily, before she and her cohorts were sucked into a vortex that had been conjured by a cloaked stranger.

"Wait, now who's this guy?" asked Robin.

The cloaked man removed his hood, revealing himself to be a version of Vincent van Ghoul.

"Zoinks!" exclaimed Red Shirt Shaggy, Mystery Incorporated Shaggy and Prime Shaggy. "It's Mr. van Ghoul!"

"In a way, yes, my friends," explained Alt. Vincent. "I am Vincent van Ghoul, but not the ones you're familiar with. I sensed the turmoil going on here, and I decided that I'd lend a hand."

"So what universe are you from?" asked Mo.

"Well, my universe isn't fully fleshed-out yet," explained Alt. Vincent. "But it's getting there gradually; I wish a joyous anniversary to all of you; especially of course, to Scooby-Doo." And in a whirlwind, he vanished.

"Wow! Thanks, Vincent van Ghoul!" Cherry beamed.

"Anytime!" Vincent replied before he cackled like in the end of Michael Jackson's Thriller song before it faded away.

All of the Katies soon came together and walked over to Cherry to give her a big hug.

"Heeeey..." Cherry said from the hug.

"Every Nee-Bear needs a Katie Kat~" Katie reminded her sweetly. "Now go forth and continue your stories no matter what anyone thinks of them because I want you to spread your wings and follow your dream. You made it to 1,000 stories and gaining 500 watchers, I want you to do more until you feel accomplished."

"Thanks, Katie..." Cherry said with a small smirk as she took in the hug. "I don't know where I would be without you in my life."

"Well, hopefully you never have to find out," Katie smiled before she faced Atticus, Mo, Patch, and Lionel. "And as for the rest of you guys, I want you to treat this author with respect and love and be patient with her if she needs some time to herself."

"Aye-aye!" Lionel gave a salute. "Mite's honor!"

"Thank you~" Katie beamed before she gave them all a hug. "See you guys later."

Everyone then told Katie goodbye before she turned into a bubble like Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz movie and then left the scene.

"Well, it's good to have things back to normal around here." Daphne remarked.

"Depends on what you mean by normal especially on this story account." Batman added.

"Can someone please just take me to jail already?" Mr. Camera complained.

"Now there's just one thing left!" Scooby-Mite then said.

"Oh, no!" Atticus complained. "After all that, what could we possibly do for an encore?"

"Yeah, why don't you make us jump over a shark tank or something?" Salem added dryly.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea, but what I had in mind was... A CELEBRATORY PIZZA!" Scooby-Mite said before magicking up several pizzas to celebrate Cherry's Adventures. "Especially since this summer will be PerkyGoth14's 10th anniversary uploading stories."

"Like, did someone say..." Shaggy began.

"RIZZA?!" Scooby chimed in. And within seconds, the two gobbled down the pizzas.

"Hey, cool it, guys!" Scrappy called. "Everyone else's gotta eat, too!"

"Even after these team-up adventures, some things never change." Velma sighed.

"Everyone smile and say 'Mr. Freeze'!" Lionel soon said as he took out a certain camera with Scooby-Mite's help.

"Hey! That's mine!" Mr. Camera glared.

FLASH! A group picture was soon taken of Cherry and everyone else as well as more pizza that was brought out since not everyone would agree on cake.

"Happy 1,000 stories," Cherry said to the readers. "Thank you all for helping me get this far and let's hear to maybe 1,000 more if you're lucky."

"SCOOBY-DOOBY-DOOO!" Scooby howled.

"And a Scrappy-Dappy-Doo, too!" added Scrappy.

"Now the adventure is over!" Hilda and Zelda said together as they suddenly popped up in the same frame.

"Good night, America!" Salem exclaimed with a wink.

The End