Author's note: Here's the second installment of my Scooby-Doo: Earth One series, folks!
There's a strong possibility that this story will be based on Volume Two of Batman: Earth One, though I might consider adding in elements from other story sources.
I don't own Scooby-Doo. Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. does.
Chapter 1: Prologue and in a dark alley
March 11, 2011
(Shaggy's Point of View)
It has been more than four months since the gang and I solved the werewolf case at the Lennie Weinrib Park. During that case, we were able to get the old Dad back.
However, Daph and I were never able to forget what we saw in the basement of Mom's old family manor, and I still had nightmares about discovering Maggie being among the poor girls that were in the basement.
Speaking of Daph, as predicted, her family ran into financial troubles as a result of our investigating and just early last month, she was transferred to our school. I heard that her family had to move into a small house and Blake Enterprises has filed for bankruptcy protection.
In the meantime, Leonard Jackson succeeded in his bid for Capitol as he was elected to represent our congressional district in a landslide. However, that victory was more of a bittersweet victory.
Why would I say that? Because Mr. Jackson's party lost its majority in the House of Representatives and the party Mr. Blake caucuses with, a party with an elephant as a symbol and full of knuckleheads, has gained a majority in the said chamber of Congress.
That means Mr. Jackson, whose party is the president's party, can't carry out the necessary reforms and changes, such as measures to combat climate change as well as gun control, measures of which Mr. Blake were rigorously opposed to.
As a matter a fact, a number of state governors from that elephant party has introduced legislation to strengthen open carry laws in their states. Laws that allowed members of the public to openly carry their guns, which can be seen by the casual observer, and I even read that some universities are considering allowing their students to openly carry their guns while on campus.
Seriously, though. I have no idea who in their right mind will consider openly carrying their guns in public as safe. Sure, you can protect yourself from bad guys and the second amendment of the constitution gives you the right to bear arms, but what will happen if the bad guy was also armed and have a better, more powerful gun than you?
And besides, I'm very sure nothing can go wrong if you're in a small room full of people armed with guns, though if everyone in the room panics due to some disturbance, then a small spark can sure spread into a wildfire before you know it.
Oh well, putting all that ranting aside, I just wish the time can fly by faster.
I'm currently sitting in my Algebra II class in the final period with a substitute teacher reading off from the notes on trigonometric identities, which we've learned about last week, and I swear the man's boring tone in his voice can put everyone in class to sleep.
It didn't help with the fact that it's Friday today and we still got half an hour before March Break. Oh, how I badly wish that this class will end.
I sure hate it when the last school day before March Break started out interesting but then ends on a boring note with a substitute teacher just read off notes and not actually teaching or interacting with the class.
As I pause from my drawing on my notebook paper to give my neck and left hand some rest, I looked around the classroom and I can see Daph struggling to stay awake at her desk.
I sighed and looked at my watch. Still got twenty five minutes to go. I swear that whenever you're bored, time crawls to the point where each second felt like a decade.
I decided to stop looking at my watch and carried on drawing while shutting myself out from the substitute teacher's boring lecture.
After what felt like twenty five torturous hours, the bell finally rang and we were quick in picking up our stuff and split out of the classroom.
"That was the most boring class I've ever had." Daphne remarked as we made our way to our lockers once we were outside the classroom.
"Like, no argument from me, Daph." I agreed. "I'm guessing the classes never become that bored in your old school, right?"
"Not that I remember." Daphne shook her head before adding, "I now understood why a lot of people were opposed to the controversial education bill my father sponsored in Congress prior to the midterm election."
"I agree." I nodded before deciding to change the subject. "Anyways, so what plans do you have for March Break?"
"Well, I do plan on relaxing for the most part." Daphne said as we reached our lockers before asking, "What about you, Shag?"
"I plan on watching all 22 James Bond films from top to bottom back-to-back." I replied. "I recently got the latest film Quantum of Solace on Blu-ray and Mags and I are planning to watch it together with Scooby."
"Ah, sounds like a plan." Daphne nodded and smiled just as we saw Maggie making her way to her locker and join us.
"How was Algebra, Norville?" Maggie asked as she worked on her combination lock.
"Boring." I replied. "Mr. Ward wasn't in, so we got a sub who's as boring as heck."
"You should've seen him teaching trig identities in class." Daphne added. "He was just reading straight from his notes and wasn't even interacting with the class. I won't be surprised if half the class fell asleep."
"I see." Maggie nodded and frowned before brightening up. "Anyways, so let's not let March Break wait for us, guys."
"Well said, Mags." I agreed as we packed up our stuff in our lockers and then head out of school.
At the main entrance, we met up with Fred and Velma, who appeared to be waiting for us.
"March Break, here we come." Fred said as he saw us approaching.
"Yep." Daphne nodded. "So any plans for March Break, guys?"
"Study." Velma replied. After noticing our uninterested looks, she added, "And maybe relax."
"I'm just going to relax." Fred said as we started to walk. "Besides, I want to keep my mind off that werewolf case..."
"Like, don't remind me about that case, man." I said immediately before Fred could finish. "I'm still having nightmares about what could happen to Maggie if we didn't act fast enough."
It was true. From time to time, I couldn't sleep much during the night, as I've had dreams of her crying from help as she was being held captive in Mom's old manor, as well as Dad, Scoob, the gang and I not moving fast enough to save her.
I've dreamed of myself discovering Maggie's lifeless body in the horrible basement, lying in rest along with that monster's other victims. It was a sight I could never bear to see or witness, and there has been occasions where I woke up in the middle of the night and went upstairs to check on Maggie and making sure she's still asleep in her bed.
"Norville, just calm down." Maggie said to me. "I'm still standing here, which indicates that I'm still alive. There's no need to worry about my safety."
"I know, Mags." I said. "It's just that I still can't believe that one single minute or Fred and Velma's ability to pinpoint your location in that house of horrors could make a huge difference."
"Which is also probably why Shag, Scooby and I won't be letting you out of our sight outside of school and home, Maggie." Daphne added.
"Don't worry, guys." Maggie sighed. "I am capable of taking care of myself. Just let it go and don't end up like Dad in the aftermath of Mom's death, Norville."
I nodded, but it wasn't easy to let it go. Since that night, I've came to understand the method behind Dad's madness when he was protecting us from the harm of the city.
However, she does have a point. I know that Dad's being overprotective of us wasn't quite helpful in his fight against corruption in the city, which he figured out the hard way during the werewolf case in question.
"Anyways, now that school's over, you guys wanna hang out together?" Fred asked.
"Sounds like a great idea to me, Fred." Daphne nodded. "Where do you suggest we hang out?"
"One place for sure is nowhere near downtown." Velma said. "It still gets quite dark early at around five and you know how sketchy the city is after dark."
"True." Fred nodded. "So where else do you guys suggest?"
"Like, there's this place several blocks away from my place in my neighbourhood that serves good food called the Malt Shop." I suggested. "We can hang out there, plus there's a movie theater and a small shopping mall nearby."
"Sounds like a perfect place to hang out, Shag." Daphne said.
"Then, that's where we're heading for our hang-out, gang." Fred nodded.
"Right." Velma agreed as we took off.
(Third Person)
Meanwhile, Shaggy's father police Lieutenant Sam Rogers was going through his usual routine in his office towards the end of the workday.
It has been a stressful past two months for Sam and his partner. A few weeks after the indictment of Mayor Iverson and Chief of Police Rupert Gosnell in relation to their involvement in the Weinrib Park Werewolf case, he and Sergeant Charlie Chan uncovered a massive corruption ring within the police department.
That case took down dozens of their fellow officers once thought to be Coolsville's Finest, including several senior command staff and the interim police chief.
Due to a lack of qualified senior police officers, their commanding officer Captain Bronson Stone, who assigned them to the murder case that led to the exposure of the corruption scandal, was appointed as the new chief of police by the mayor.
One of Stones first acts as chief was promoting Sam and Charlie to headquarters to serve in the Major Crimes Division under the command of Captain Milo Graham as part of his continued war on corruption.
Sam welcomed the promotion. Given the fact that headquarters is located closer to his home than his old precinct, it was an easier commute for him.
That afternoon, he and his partner took down a massive extortion racket that was related to a murder they caught three days back, and he currently has a pile of paper work to file to officially close the case, once the suspects have been booked in the city prison.
Finishing the paperwork, Sam took a moment to take off his glasses and rubbed his eyes and sighed.
"What a long day." He thought to himself as he rubbed his eyes.
His partner had already left for home, and Sam knew that it's time for him to do so as well.
Eying the clock and the setting sun, Sam put his glasses back on before going through his routine of clearing his desk and logging off his computer.
The police lieutenant then put on his dress coat, picked up his briefcase and locked his office door before making his way out of the squad room, pausing only to say good night to the detectives still in the room.
Little did they realized that later that night, something sinister that will soon change the city will occur. Something that will no longer make the city the same.
That night, one man was walking down the deserted streets of downtown Coolsville. He seemed to be in a rush heading home and was carrying a briefcase.
As the man made his way down a dark alleyway, a voice suddenly stopped him.
"Raja Simpson." The voice said.
The man stopped and turned. "Who's there?"
"You didn't pay up as you promised and you know how we don't like loose ends." The voice continued.
"What are you talking about?" The man asked.
"You heard me, Mr. Simpson." The voice said. "Loose ends can become a problem for us. For me in particular."
"You know that I only answer to Mayor Iverson, not to psychos." The man said with some uneasiness in his voice while the source of the voice emerged from the shadows.
"Well, you know that Iverson has been indicted, which means that I'm now in charge." The voice continued. "And that also means that you have to answer to me and pay up as you promised."
"You know something, pal?" The man asked. "I'm not answering to some random idiot who thinks he's a legitimate successor to Iverson's legacy, nor do I plan to pay a single penny to you."
"Huh." The voice chuckled. "That's too bad. You could've gotten out of this the easy way. Instead, you've chosen the hard way."
The source of the voice then stepped out of the shadows, revealing a gangster who looked quite like a rat with sharp fangs, to the shock of the man.
"C-Casey?" The man swallowed as he dropped his briefcase in shock. "I-I thought you were-"
"Dead." The gangster addressed as "Casey" cut in. "Yes, I know, thanks to your setting me up. But I survived and so, here I am."
Raja swallowed as the gangster moved towards him with a vicious-looking grin. "I-I can figure out a way to pay you back, honest, Casey!"
"Casey." The gangster said. "Casey has been killed, pal. From now on, you can call me 'Swamp Rat' and starting with this moment, I am now in charge."
He then prepared his pistol, causing Raja to take off running, only for him to get shot in the leg.
As Raja fell to the ground, he looked up and saw another man holding a gun. The man blew the tip of the barrel to clear the smoke as he walked towards him.
"Thanks for the shot, Mudmouth." Swamp Rat said to his accomplice as he walked over to Raja before preparing his gun and added, "Now, let's finish our business, Raja, shall we?"
The last thing that was heard from the dark alley was a gun shot.
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