(A/N This is an old story I found on my PC a while ago. J.J. Hakimoto is a film maker who appears in a couple of SDMI episodes)
After much pushing, shoving and arguing over snacks and drinks the gang were all settled in front of the TV. "You ready for our big preview gang?" asked Fred, the rest of the gang chorused their approval "Here we go then" said Fred pressing the play button on the DVD remote control. The TV screen flickered for a second then a picture appears...
The camera pans to reveal the familiar front of a large detached house. It zooms towards the front door, a man appears next to the door.
"Hi everyone I'm J.J. Hakimoto the famous film director and I want to introduce you to some friends of mine so settle back and enjoy J.J. Hakimoto's 'J.J. Hakimoto spends 5 minutes with Mystery Inc.' Let's see if anyone is at home" and he rings the doorbell, the door is opened by a smiling Daphne
"Hi JJ, hi everyone, I'm Daphne Blake, one of the member of Mystery Inc. Come inside and meet the team." Daphne leads J.J inside, "People may think that when we get back after solving a mystery all we do is kick-off our shoes, slump on the sofa, eat pizza and watch TV until the next mystery. Nothing could be further from the truth as you're all about to find out."
"So you never do that?" asked J.J.
"Well maybe when the first get back," smiled Daphne "but we soon get down to work."
"Like what exactly Daphne?" he asks
"Well, each one of us has particular jobs to do when we get back home, let's start with Velma, she's in our meeting room which is just through that door" she replies and heads towards the door.
They follow Daphne through the door into a large room which looks like a cross between a board room and office. There is a large table around which are a number of large comfy chairs, a projector mounted from the ceiling and a white board mounted on wall. Near the window were a couple of desks and computers, Velma is sitting in an executive office chair working on one of the computer, she spun round in the chair, smiled and gets up to great Daphne and JJ.
"Velma!" exclaimed JJ
"J.J" said Velma "It's good to see you again, please take a seat."
"Thanks Velma. So can you tell us what happens after you have got back from a case?"
he asks as they all sit down, Velma leans back in her chair and began to explain
"After each mystery we each write up our own experiences and personal time line of the case. From that I compile the master report. We also do a lessons learnt exercise after every mystery. This helps us improve our mystery solving methods, decide if we need to bring any new equipment along with us or make any upgrades to the Mystery Machine."
"So who does the upgrades?" he asked
"We get them off the shelf if we can otherwise I design and make them. Fred and I then install them on the van. I also design and make any gadgets we need." replied Velma
"That's great but I can't believe that you have to deal with paperwork" says J.J.
"Well J.J. I also liaise with the relevant authorities regarding evidence and the like. Many of the cases we deal with are initially outside the remit of the police which is why we take them on. As soon as we have worked out what is going on we get the authorities involved as soon as possible. That's were most of the paperwork comes in. We are currently digitising all of our old case files so the originals can go to the archives in Coolsonian Criminology Museum."
"Thanks for that Velma" he said
"You're welcome JJ, see you later." smiled Velma as she returned to work
"So Daphne, what's next?" asks J.J.
"Well, Velma mentioned the Mystery Machine so let's go and see Fred in the workshop." said Daphne leading him out of the room.
The camera cuts to a scene in the garage. Someone is working under the Mystery Machine, they slide out on a trolley.
"Fred!" exclaims JJ
"Hi JJ, great to see you" said Fred getting off the trolley and wiping his hands with a rag.
"So Fred, the van Meister, what's your job when you get back home?"
"Well I not only look after the Mystery Machine I work with Velma on designing and installing the upgrades. I also make detailed engineering drawings of any traps we make on a case for future reference. After that I look after any film or movie taken on a case." JJ starts to look over the Mystery Machine.
"So is this the original?" he asks
"No, this is the second one; the first is now an exhibit at the Coolsonian. I'm working with Velma on a design for the next generation Mystery Machine. Man it's gonna be great, 4x4x4, hybrid engine, solar panels and the best cup-holders ever seen."
"Well great to see you again Fred, I'll make sure I check out that exhibit," says JJ
"Great to see you too JJ" said Fred sliding back under the van
Daphne leads JJ out from the garage back into the main area of the house. "I hope you're beginning to see that there is as much work to do after we have solved a mystery as there is in solving a mystery." she says
"I can see that, almost as much as making a film" he replies
"Then there is also the professional side of things, Fred is not only a skilled mechanical engineer, in his spare time he's also working on a PhD in Applied Trapology, Velma is working to be a qualified forensic scientist..." continues Daphne
"She's not already? What about her science degrees" interjects JJ
"She just does those for fun. I have an MBA..."
"Well Daphne, what about you? Where do you fit in with all this?"
"Aside from being the public face of Mystery Inc. I also do all the administration, accounts, billings, expenses, ordering and so on. In many ways it's the mirror image of what Velma does,, she is the official face of Mystery Inc when we deal with agencies like the FBI, and I am the public face when we deal with the media and the like and I keep the business side of things ticking over.
"So you're the business brains behind the group then Daphne"
"Well yes" said Daphne blushing slightly "but none of us could really do our jobs without the other. Speaking of the others there are two more members of the team for you to meet."
"That's Shaggy and Scooby. I thought they'd be in the kitchen"
"A lot of people think that, but they spend a fair amount of time in their office in the attic. They have a small kitchen there as well, for their own experiments." She says as she leads them up the stairs.
"Experiments?" he asks in surprise
"Cooking experiments, Shaggy and Scooby style" replies Daphne "That's why there are HAZMAT suits for each of us on every level of the building should anything go wrong, there's also an escape tunnel from Velma's lab. Don't worry JJ they're not cooking today."
Daphne leads JJ into a room in the attic which is filled with maps, guidebooks, restaurant guides and the like, one wall is full of cookbooks. Shaggy and Scooby are in one corner of the room pouring over a map.
"Like JJ, great to see you man" says Shaggy
"Ray, Ray" says Scooby
"It's the dynamic duo themselves" says J.J. "Great to see you both. So what happens here?"
"Me and Scoob are the quartermasters, mystery hunting burns up the calories so I make sure I know where all the good places to eat are in the area where we are going" he says. "I also book accommodation and make sure that there is always food in the house for when we get back."
"Reah, rood" adds Scooby
"I also do most of the cooking at here, I even run a 'room service' system for Velma
as she can get quite focussed on her work and forget what time it is so I've rigged up a system where she can just order up some food and it gets sent down to her by a dumb water" Shaggy continues
"Rhat's Raggy" chuckles Scooby
"Me, that's not nice Scooby" he said a little hurt "We also run mystery themed summer camps from time to time, training up the next generation of mystery hunters"
"That's great guys" JJ said then looked out of the window "What are those buildings?" "One is a shed where we keep the lawnmower and other garden stuff that we all try to avoid using, the other is Velma's chemistry lab, there is also the Scooby Snack warehouse and our silo of 5 Skull Fire Sauce, we're the only people in the state who get their condiments delivered by tanker" replied Shaggy proudly.
"Well it's been a pleasure guys" said JJ rejoining Daphne
"There you have it JJ" she said as she leads him downstairs to the front door "A quick guide to what we do when we are not on a case"
Daphne and JJ shake hands and he leaves the house, the door closing behind him.
"Well friends, you see being a member of Mystery Inc. is hard work both on and off a case. I'm J.J. Hakimoto and you've been watching 'J.J. Hakimoto spends 5 minutes with Mystery Inc.'.
The arguments over who was the best in the film were in full swing before the credits had finished rolling.