A front door opened and closed. The boy that came in, brushed a hand through his blonde hair and looked around. His hazel eyes caught sight of a note sitting on the table and he went and picked it up.
Went shopping. Got something for you upstairs. Check it out.
Roman Jones recognised his Aunt Ginger's handwriting. He'd lived with his Aunt Ginger and his Uncle Matt since he was a little boy. They never made any secret of the fact that his parents had vanished without a trace. They only thing they'd never told him was who his parents were. Now Roman was 16-years-old.
He headed up the stairs and dumped his bag just inside his door. There was a box sitting on his bed and he sat next to it. Curiously—it's not my birthday—Roman pulled the lid off and picked up the letter that was on top. Again, it was in his Aunt Ginger's handwriting.
Dear Roman,
Well, I guess this is it, kid. No more secrets. I'd be surprised if you're still here when we get back. Heck! I'd be surprised if you didn't drag Hame, Steph and Jane along with you. I remember when you were little and you asked me for stories about your parents and I gave you fantastic stories about monsters and a talking dog. Well, kid, those weren't just stories. Your parents were Fred Jones and Daphne Blake of Mystery Incorporated. And I'm not kidding.
I might tell you the full story one day but basically, they went looking into a mystery and they vanished. All we could uncover was someone had it in for them. They'd been following the gang for years.
Your parents had foresight though. When they discovered him, they realised they might not come out. And, if they didn't, he'd go after you. They made unofficial arrangements that I would take care of you if none of them made it. They just never told us why it was at the time.
I know you, Roman Jones. You're just like both your parents. You'll want to uncover this. So, in this box are all the clues and all the suspects we could think of. Along with some photos of the people that should have been your family.
Good luck.
Aunt Ginger.
Roman looked around and then spotted something. A set of keys. He heard the doorbell ring and jumped up. He bolted downstairs to the front door and opened it. There was a deliveryman there. He held up an ipad.
'I've got a delivery for Roman Jones,' he said.
'Yeah, that's me,' Roman took the ipad and signed. 'What is it?'
'It's a very colourful van that's been kept in mothballs for the past 15 years,' the deliveryman answered. 'Looks like a replica of the Mystery Machine that Mystery Inc used to have. But I doubt you remember that far back.'
He headed off. They left the van—the Mystery Machine—in the driveway. Roman made a decision. He was going to find out what had happened to his parents. But he couldn't do it alone. He ran up the stairs and slammed on his adopted cousin's door. Hamish James pulled the door open.
'What?' he asked.
'I'm gonna need some help,' Roman said. 'We'll need Steph and Jane.'
The Mystery Machine moved through the forest that divided West Town from Coolsville. Roman Jones, Hamish James, Stephanie Anderson and Jane Quentin were all aboard. They all wanted to know what happened to Mystery Inc.
'I can't believe your parents are Fred Jones and Daphne Blake,' Jane murmured, pressing her glasses up on her nose.
'I can't believe you got the van,' Steph said. 'What's our first stop?'
'Mystery Inc. Headquarters,' Roman answered, from when he was driving. 'There ought to be some clues as to what the case was all about there. Aunt Ginge gave me two sets of keys. One for the Mystery Machine and one for Headquarters. Jane? Hame? Can you guys check downstairs while Steph and I check upstairs? I think there are only like two floors or something like that.
'No problem,' Jane said, moving forward. 'But look at this. It's a media shot of Mystery Inc. when they reunited in '02. It was the Case of Spooky Island. Apparently the culprit was Scooby-Doo's nephew, Scrappy-Doo. He, it appears, flipped his lid. The story goes that he flipped his lid and gave Mystery Inc the alternative to either appoint him their unquestioned leader or he was leaving. So, naturally, they kicked him out.'
'I saw that one,' Roman said as Steph and Hamish looked. 'What is that thing that my father's holding?'
'I read about the case,' Jane said. 'It's called the Damon Ritus. It's an ancient relic of the occult. It was allegedly used for a leader to absorb souls in something called the Darkpocalypse Ritual. Apparently, Mystery Incorporated stopped them.'
'What about that one?' asked Steph, pointing to another one. 'What's in that curtain?'
'The way I understand it,' Jane answered, 'the costume of the pterodactyl ghost was animated with randamonium in '04. That's what's in the curtain.'
'Huh?' asked Hamish densely.
'A chemical was used and the costume was brought to life,' Steph translated as she climbed in the front with Roman. 'And I heard that the Pterodactyl Ghost wasn't the only one that got this treatment, either.'
'No,' Jane thought about it. 'There was also the Black Knight Ghost, a zombie, the Skeleton Men, the 10,000 Volt Ghost and the Tar Monster, I believe.'
Jane and Hamish came and looked over Roman's and Steph's shoulders. Jane pointed.
'There it is,' she said. 'Coolsville. I think Mystery Incorporated Headquarters should be easy to find from there.'
'I've got a feeling I know where it is,' Roman murmured.