Chapter 9: Calling the Cops

Shaggy, Scooby, and Madelyn had had a long night and they looked it. All three of them were grimy, cold, and generally disheveled, but they knew that time was of the essence. So the minute they got back to the mainland, by which time it was already morning, they made a beeline for Velma's house. It was time to get what was left of the band back together and there was no way they were solving any case, let alone a science case, without Velma.

They got some odd looks from passersby as they exited Shaggy's jeep in front of her house, but that really was the least of their problems. Shaggy took out the spare keys Velma had given him and unlocked the door. He figured that given the circumstances she would understand. The minute the door was open the three of them launched into explanation.

"Like, super soldiers!"

"Crazy shape shifter"

"Raggy's uncle"

"Huh" Marcie said, setting down the oatmeal she had been eating as she stood behind the counter of the kitchenette.

"Like, you're not Velma"

"Very astute observation" Marcie said with a smirk. She turned toward the hallway. "Velma your friends are here" she shouted on the verge of laughter. "She'll just be a minute."

Marcie was proven right as Velma came out of the hallway tying her robe shut. She gave Shaggy, Scooby, and Madelyn an uncomfortable look. "Hi guys, look at you all here in my house at…"

"Seven in the morning" Marcie said as she went back to eating her oatmeal, still smirking.

Velma nodded at her and then looked back at her friends. "Now might be a good time to discuss some new rules for the spare keys I gave you."

Shaggy held up his hands. "Like Velma we don't have time for this. We need to get to the police station and talk to Maggie and Beau. There is some crazy stuff going on okay, and we are in a hurry."

Velma was speechless. Marcie on the other hand was taking everything in stride. "You talk with your friends. I'm just going to find some pants and put them on." She walked out into the hallway and shut the door to the bedroom behind her.

Velma sat down at the counter and waved her friends over. They all sat, Shaggy snacking on the oatmeal that Marcie had left out, his appetite back in force.

"Okay," Velma pulled her robe closed a little tighter. "Start from the beginning."

They recounted the previous night's events from the picture to the attack. Velma had a hard time swallowing the bit about the shapeshifting man, but apparently trusted her sister's eyes more than Shaggy and Scooby. By the end of the story she recognized the urgency of the situation and agreed to go with them to the police station.

"Let me just go get dressed okay?" She said as she stood up.

"Like, Velma, look at us. Looking nice is not a priority right now, just go in your pajamas."

Again Velma looked slightly mortified. "I am going to put this as delicately as possible. I am not wearing pajamas."

"Oh" Shaggy said as he turned red.

Madelyn, on the other hand, cracked a grin and held up her hand to Velma for a fist bump. "Way to go sis," then off of Velma's harsh look, "Inappropriate, noted."

In a few minutes Velma had dressed and they all piled into Shaggy's jeep and headed for the police station. That was where Beau and Maggie had said they would be while they coordinated extra security for the gang. It was a short drive, as Coolsville was a small town, and it was made all the shorter by Shaggy's intimate knowledge of the station and the various routes there. They pulled in and the desk sergeant directed them to the office where the FBI had temporarily set up.

Velma stopped at the door. "Listen, I'm going to go back to the front and call Marcie okay."

"Don't want to run into the ex. I got you sis" Madelyn said, giving her sister a friendly pat on the arm.

Velma nodded and left as the others walked into the office. Maggie and Beau were seated on opposite ends of one desk, munching on take out containers of Chinese food. Both looked up when Shaggy, Scooby, and Madelyn entered.

"Bros, Mads," Maggie greeted, "get in here. What's up?"

For the third time they recounted the night's events. Maggie and Beau must have already seen some weird stuff because they believed it immediately. Madelyn did not let that go when the story was finished.

"Alright, what have you two seen? You're way too calm."

"Noth…" Maggie began, but Madelyn interrupted her.

"Maggie, we've been friends all our lives and you have a terrible poker face. What is it?"

Both agents inhaled deeply.

"The security footage from the attack two nights ago showed an intruder with super human strength and speed… who also shrugged off a bullet wound like it was from a Nerf gun."

"Project Achilles" Shaggy said, "It was super soldier program."

"Yeah, that is a possible theory, but not the most likely."

"Well, just check out Division 4 okay? I guarantee that there's some connection."

"We'll look into it bro" Maggie said, holding to door open. "But in the meantime you all need showers. We'll beef up security at your house though okay?"

Shaggy nodded and the trio left, meeting Velma back by the front desk. She smiled when she saw them, that good old Velma smile that Shaggy and Scooby had not seen in months. The smile that meant she had just found a lead and she was over the moon about it.

"Marcie said that before Ostwald started his company, he did work at a DARPA facility called The Century Institute. She says that all the people from the photo you stole also worked there."

"Well, great, like, where is it?"

"New Jersey"

"That's not a long plane ride" Madelyn said with a smile.

"Not long at all" Velma said, "Marcie is already on her way with the tickets."