HOLY MINI MUFFINS! I am SO sorry for the long wait peoples! But my schedule got hectic and I didn't have much time to become inspired. BUT, luckily, an idea was buried deep within the back of my mind and I managed to uproot it, finally giving me a chance to update at last! …That, and I'm on vacation :D

So, read on and enjoy!

Reviewer Thanks And Cookies

Fanatic97 and Optimus: Darn transformers, always hacking into your accounts lol; No idea what that is… and from everyone's statements, I don't think I do; Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless ^-^

Book girl fan: Hey, you've got plenty of time to catch up, since I'm behind in my updates, so no harm done; Hope your holidays went well, mine is almost over with; Glad to hear it, hope it stays that way :)

Robot Wolf 26Z: Thank you; I'd have to agree as well lol.

Steve, Scoobycool9 and Luckycool9: More like a bionic cast, but answers shall come; Nah, it's been done; Happy (late) Halloween to you too!

Disclaimer: My vacation is going well, I'm not saying anything that could ruin it!

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Fred, Daphne, and Velma looked up Hans Barbire's address in the phone book and drove down the street in search for his home. Velma kept looking through Melanie's files, but found nothing more than records of her having a broken arm and being sexually abused… though she decided not to reveal that last part to the gang for Melanie's private sake. The more she looked at the file, the more baffled she became, the same questions running through her mind: What was the hospital hiding? If Melanie knew great self-defense, why was she still running? Who was trying to kidnap her, and why? How could that dog be so determined on attacking them? And why hadn't Melanie had any contact with her father?

There must be answers somewhere… If her dad doesn't tell us anything, my head just might explode! She thought, growing slightly irritated, but kept calm so to keep her mind clear and focused on the mystery.

"Well, here it is," Freddy announced as they pulled up the road, coming up to a large manor with a brick wall surrounding the property, a large iron gate with the initials HB crafted on the front. "Wow, this guy knows how to live,"

They pulled up to a speaker-box, pushing the buzzer. "Yes?" came a voice.

"Hi, we're here to see Mr. Barbwire-"

"Bar-ber-ray," Daphne corrected.

"May I ask who this is, and do you have a scheduled audience?" the voice asked.

The teens looked at each other. "Um… this is Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley… and no." Freddy answered, awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot let you in if you do not have invitation. Good day."

"But it's about his daughter!" Daphne called.

There was a pause, and for a moment they thought the person didn't hear, until they finally replied, "…Daughter?"

"Yes, Melanie… we found her a couple days ago." Velma added.

There was silence, and then the gates opened. "Proceed."

Freddy drove up the driveway, which curved around a small circular garden/island, stopping in front of two large front doors where a man wearing a tuxedo stood. He had graying brown hair, a mustache, and bright blue eyes, and kept a stoic expression. "Please, follow me." He said, and his voice matched the one on the speaker-box.

They followed him into a large room with checkered-tile marble floor, burgundy-cushioned golden-frame furniture, a large black wooden coffee table that sat between a large chair and couch, and a marble-white fireplace with a red-and-black Persian-styled rug sitting on the front. "This is a lovely home you have," Daphne replied.

"Yes, it makes my job worthwhile, aside from the cleaning." The man answered.

"Oh, you're the butler?"

"Indeed. Unfortunately, Mr. Barbire is not present, yet if you have an urgent message about his daughter, you're more than welcome to stay… that is, if his ex-wife permits it."

"His ex-wife lives here?" Freddy questioned. "…Must be a lot of conflict. Good thing the property is so big,"

"Not big enough, in his opinion. Mr. and Mrs. Barbire divorced years ago, and his wife took almost all of his money to pay for child-support, eventually forcing him into debt. In order to keep from losing his home, his wife took ownership of half of the estate… though as time went by, she took it all."

"That doesn't sound like a mutual agreement," Velma said, grimacing. "How could she take custody of everything he owns?"

"Her lawyer had a way with dealing with divorces… actually, he was the one who gave them reason to split up. Mrs. Barbire had an affair with him during a cruise the family took twelve years back. With his help, she got everything- his money, his home, and full custody of Melanie- apparently she wanted to break him, keep him in her control."

"Did she happen to have a dog?" Daphne inquired.

"I'm afraid not. She had a terrible allergy to dogs- one reason why she made Mr. Barbire get rid of Sugar, Melanie's beloved puppy."

"I thought Melanie was afraid of dogs- one actually tried attacking her,"

"…as well as ruined my van." Freddy muttered.

The butler walked over to some pictures that sat on the mantelpiece. "She wouldn't be afraid of Sugar. They were practically inseparable when she was five, before the wife's allergies kicked in." he picked up a picture of Melanie holding a small blonde-and-white collie-puppy. "On the day they both had to have surgery, Sugar's being the most successful… however, Melanie wasn't recovering well, her condition critical. Her father thought she wasn't going to make it, and brought Sugar in so Melanie could at least have her best friend at her side one last time. Miraculously, the night after he dropped the puppy off, Melanie recovered fully."

"What did she have to have surgery for?" Velma asked.

"It was… more of a classified experiment. Mr. Barbire was working on an invention that could enhance bone structure and mending, which would revolutionize the healing process. He tried it first on prison inmates- which failed- then tried it on wounded animals, which proved more successful. However, after the divorce, he lost money for his funding… the last test he used was for Melanie, when—"

"When her step-father threw her down the stairs and broke her arm,"

"Not just one arm- both arms and legs. Everyone at the hospital said she would be permanently disabled… but her father wasn't going to give up, and tried the experiment on her. …It was the last time he got to see her."

"What, exactly, was the experiment?"

"I told you, it's classified- Mr. Barbire told no one about it, only his wife and daughter knew, though he kept most of the information between him and his daughter. Many people wanted their hands on his creation- ex-wife definitely- and have been after it for years."

Daphne rubbed her chin. "And Melanie is the only other one who knows?" she asked.

"Yes… and might I ask where, exactly, Melanie is?"

"She's with one of our friends… we were planning on bringing her here-" Freddy began.

"No!" The butler's outburst startled them, and he cleared his throat. "I'm afraid… Melanie is not allowed to come anywhere near her father's estate until she's 18. If she were to be caught here, Mr. Barbire would be in violation of the custody-order and would most likely face ten years in prison."

"That's not how divorce works!" Freddy scoffed.

"…The way her new husband works, that's probably what would happen."

"What would happen?" came a voice, and the teens looked over, seeing a woman with short, dark-brown hair that curved outward at the bottom, wore horn-bill glasses, a red suit-dress, matching knee-high boots, and wore an expression that obviously said 'Don't Piss Me Off'. "Who are you kids?"

"We're… friends of Melanie's." Daphne answered.

"Don't be ridiculous. Melanie has no friends. She's been home-schooled by private tutors, had no contact with any kids, and absolutely no socialization on the internet. How do you know her? Where is she?"

"She… was attacked by a dog, and she's been staying with us-"

"I demand you bring her to my estate, Lane 302, North Drive. Immediately!"

"Whoa, calm down ma'am!" Freddy spoke up. "First of all, who are-"

"I'm Melanie's mother. I've been looking for her for the past week and a half. I've already called the police to look for her, and I advise you bring her home before you're run in for kidnapping!"

"We didn't kidnap-" Daphne began to protest.

"Why didn't you bring her with you in the first place, then?"

"Pardon US, Mrs. Barbire, but Melanie was just brutally attacked by a dog, and some maniac has been after her! We've been trying to keep her safe for the past two days, that involves letting her stay behind while we try to find out who's after her and why! I propose you let us consult Melanie rather than forcing her to go home, let alone make sure her health is at a decent status before taking her anywhere, as well as waiting until that vicious dog and the maniac controlling it are behind bars!" Velma snapped.

Daphne and Freddy could only stare. They never saw Velma act so boldly before, especially after a first encounter with a person.

"Do you have any idea who you are speaking to, young lady?!" Mrs. Barbire said, appalled.

"I SHOULD be speaking to Melanie's father," Velma retorted.

The woman started to seethe. "Bring Melanie home. If she is not there by 5 o'clock tonight, I will send the police over to retrieve her! …And just so you know, my new husband happens to be a fine lawyer,"

"No so fine if he can't even make a good compromise," The butler muttered.

"WHAT was that?!"

"Nothing, Madame."

"We'll show ourselves out, thank you." Daphne said, and the teens left, Mrs. Barbire walking with them to the doorway to make sure they left, while the butler watched from the window.

"Now THAT meeting had suspect written all over it," Freddy spoke up. "What do you think, girls?"

"That woman did sound like she wanted Melanie back, badly… and that butler knew quite a bit, as well." Velma said, scratching the side of her face. "But there's still some things that don't add up. Mrs. Barbire is allergic to dogs, and the butler claimed he didn't know anything about the experiment…"

"That leaves the step-dad," Daphne added. "…By the way, Velma, what was with that sudden act of aggression back there?"

Velma shrugged. "Well, she obviously wasn't showing us any hospitality, and she kept talking about Melanie as if she were some object, and… well it just got on my nerves."

"I'd kind of like to find out more about that 'experiment' he was telling us about." Freddy spoke up. "Whoever's after Melanie has to be after it,"

"Agreed… and if we want to get any more information, it means we've got to get her talking,"

"…Or writing, in her case," Daphne joked.

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Back at Shaggy and Scooby's apartment, Melanie stood on the balcony, looking down at a park across the street. Scooby walked out with her, while Shaggy prepared dinner. Silence was all that came between them, both the Great Dane and girl nervous after what had happened that afternoon. After almost five minutes, Melanie finally wrote him a message: 'Can you keep a secret?'

He nodded.

Melanie sighed, then continued. 'When I was little, my stepdad broke my arms and legs, and everyone thought I would never walk or do anything again. My dad, though, took me in and put a special casting on my arms and legs- almost like electronic gloves, but with a synthetic cover so it looks like I'm not even wearing a cast. They help speed up bone reconstruction and enhance agility and muscle. I had to wear them for only three months, and my dad told me to keep them safe… but someone found out I had them, so I had to run away, keeping them on. I had taken them off after Daphne took me to her apartment and hid them in my dirty-clothes- I put them back on after she, Fred and Velma left two hours ago, while Shaggy was asleep.'

"What all ro they ro?" Scooby asked.

'Mostly help with broken bones and enhance muscle and agility, like I said. It was mostly just an experiment, but my dad insisted on using it on my surgery to help me. Turns out, it increased my strength and flexibility, that's how I managed to beat up those punks who tried to jump Daphne and I… Problem is, the creep after me got ahold of them and tested it on that dog, and trained it to attack me unless I gave them the key to the room where my dad keeps all his blueprints, specifically for this device.'

"Who's rafter rou?"

Melanie winced, but sighed. 'They already know who you are, so I might as well say. The person after me is-'

"Dinner's ready!" Shaggy called, and Melanie quickly crumbled up the note. "So what were you guys talking about out here?"

Melanie gave Scooby a glance, and the Great Dane shrugged. "Rot much," he answered, deciding not to reveal Melanie's secret.

"Go ahead and sit down, I'll bring the food out," he looked at Melanie. "I hope you like Cajun cooking,"

Melanie sat down, then wrote to Scooby, 'I'll tell you once everyone gets here,'

Scooby nodded.

Shaggy brought out bowls of gumbo, setting them on the table. "Man, am I hungry. After the near-death experience today, this should hit the-" he began.

*Knock knock!*

He sighed. "Always when we're eating. Must be the gang, hold on," he walked over to the door. "Hey, who are-"

*BANG!*

Scooby yelped, Melanie jumped, and Shaggy screamed, running into the kitchen, holding his shoulder… pulling out a dart, his vision growing dark. There was growling, and the dog ran in, going after Melanie…

But Scooby ran in front of it, growling. The dog didn't hesitate and lunged, biting his neck and throwing him against the wall, while a masked figure knocked out Melanie. "Make sure they don't find us," they rasped, then took off, the dog running out with them.

Scooby came to, shaking his head. "Relanie!" he cried, looking around, whimpering when he realized she was gone, nothing left behind but her notepad.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Sorry if I revealed a little too much of Melanie's secret, but quite an unexpected touch of suspense? Will Melanie be alright? Can the others track her down? Where is her father? Who's after her, the mother, the step-dad, the jewelers, or old man smithers?! When will this mystery be solved?!

…ah, just review and we'll find out later. Flame, though, and you can guarantee you'll be dropped off- from the top of my hotel's building.