The Mystery Machine slipped and slid through the driving rain to Aqualand Sea Park. Fingers of rain drummed on the windshield, causing Fred to flick on the windshield wipers full blast.
"Ugh," Daphne moaned, staring sadly out the window. "Is this rain EVER going to stop?"
Velma tapped a few keys on her phone. "Not likely," she sighed, staring at the mass of red on the weather radar screen. "Rain, rain, rain all day long."
"Well, at least we'll be dry in Aqualand," Fred replied. "As long as we stay out of the splash zone at the dolphin show!"
The gang snickered good-naturedly as, with a screech of brakes, the van pulled into the Aqualand parking lot. "Hmmm…what's going on here?" Velma asked curiously, pointing towards the front door, where a dozen people wearing colorful ponchos paced outside the aquarium, waving signs emblazoned with SAVE THE DOLPHINS. "Is this what Ms. Diaz called us about? A protest?"
"Only one way to find out," Fred shrugged, popping open a blue-and-white umbrella and exiting the van. The rest of the gang followed suit, shrugging on ponchos and opening umbrellas to shield themselves from the elements,
As the gang neared the aquarium entrance, the group of protestors launched into a passionate chant. "Hey-oh! Hey-oh! Let those greedy humans know! Hi-ho! Hi-ho! They should let those dolphins go!" A willowy woman, her curly honey-blonde hair hidden under a green poncho hood, snatched at Fred's arm as the gang tried to pass.
"Don't go in that aquarium!" she hissed sternly. "They keep dolphins captive and make them do degrading tricks in exchange for a paltry meal! They should be out in the sea with their own kind, not cooped up in a tank all alone!"
With a barely-stifled groan, a Hispanic woman with flowing raven hair dashed out of the aquarium. "Ms. Meadows, I cannot stop you from protesting here," the woman scolded. "But you cannot stop guests from entering."
Ms. Meadows scowled at the woman's admonishment. "Fine, Ms. Diaz. We'll leave…for now. But mark my words; you will pay for your cruelty." With a dismissive wave of her hand, she and her band of protestors marched away, still chanting their song.
Ms. Diaz turned to the gang. "Sorry about that," she said. "I'm Maura Diaz. You've just met an environmentalist with the unbelievable-yet-apparently-true name of Daisy Meadows. She's from a wildlife conservation group called MarineVoice. They believe that we mistreat our dolphins by making them do tricks, so she and her fellow protestors are trying to get us shut down."
"Is Ms. Meadows why we're here?" Daphne asked. "That's not typically our kind of problem."
"No, no, protests we can handle," Maura replied. "Monsters we can't."
"Ronsters!?" Scooby barked, leaping into Shaggy's arms.
Maura shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid so." She motioned the gang inside with a wave of her mocha hand. "Come inside. I have some explaining to do."
The gang's footsteps echoed on the marble floor of the aquarium's cavernous blue-tiled lobby as Maura led them inside. An enormous mosaic of various sea creatures dominated the entryway. Maura waved at the clerk behind the ticket window and escorted the gang through the turnstiles.
"So what's been happening, Ms. Diaz?" Velma asked, jogging slightly to keep up with Maura's long strides.
"Maura, please," she corrected with a laugh like tinkling bells. "And I think it might be easier to show you."
"But first, can you, like, show us the snack bar?" Shaggy called.
The gang rolled their eyes, but Maura was glad to oblige for the bottomless pits.
After a quick stop at Fish's Dishes Snack Bar, the gang followed Maura to an enormous glass tank filled with clear, ice-blue water. A man with a mop of blonde hair waved at them from a precarious platform above the tank. He wore a navy-blue, sleeveless wetsuit and a pair of oversized flippers. "Hi, Maura!" the man called. "Watch this!" He withdrew a silvery-blue fish from a pocket and, with a flick of his wrist, tossed it over the tank. With an enormous splash, a slippery grey dolphin burst from the water and turned two flips before grabbing the fish in its jaws and splashing back down underwater.
As the gang cheered loudly at the dolphin's trick, the man took a small bow and clambered down off the platform. "That was neat!" Maura exclaimed. "Gang, this is Tyler Page, our resident animal trainer."
"Taught them everything they know," Tyler joked good-naturedly after introductions were made.
"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed. "That's impressive! How did you do it?"
"Well, it helps that dolphins are some of the smartest creatures on the planet," Tyler explained with a grin, launching into an animated lecture on how to train dolphins to entertain the masses.
"Tell them about Project Retrieval," Maura interjected when Tyler took a breath.
"Project Retrieval?" Tyler echoed. "Do we have enough time before the show?"
Maura checked her watch. "Talk fast."
