SCOOBY-DOO: 'Till the Mystery is Solved
Scooby-Doo, DC Comics, and all related characters are property of Warner Bros. This is set on Earth-55.
Chapter 1: So a Chimp and a Puppy Walk into a Bar…
Salud– Oscaloosa County, Florida
Carmine Barbera considered himself a reasonable man. As far as he was concerned, the world ran on several immutable laws– two plus two equals four, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, you always end up sitting next to that weirdo on the bus no matter how you try, and you somehow never manage to sell anything alcoholic to your best customer. Well, that last one was how it always seemed to work for him, anyways.
"Another Batman Special, if you'd be so kind." the aforementioned customer said.
Carmine suppressed a groan as he grabbed a squeezer, a glass, and a waiting orange and bottle of ginger ale. "Bobo, do me a favor for once and order something that'd actually have a chance of getting someone drunk. Doesn't have to be a cocktail or some of the stronger stuff– just a beer'll do."
"You know I'm a lightweight, Carmine." came the retort.
The groan escaped his lips. "Serving mocktails to a mystery-solving chimpanzee– where did my life go wrong?"
"What am I? Chopped liver?"
He looked down at the diminutive Great Dane puppy seated atop a couple of phone books on one of the barstools. "Considering the only thing you ever purchase here are the peanuts, you might as well be."
Scrappy let out a huff. "So this is what I get for helping to save the world from Revolta. Some gratitude!"
Carmine groaned again. "Doo, we've heard that story a million times already, so please do us a favor and change the record."
"Well, how about the ti–"
"If this is the Beuraguard Mansion story, please don't."
"How about my tenure as a deputy in Tumbleweed County?"
"How about the story of how a braggart Great Dane was nearly thrown out of my bar for loitering because he never once bought any kind of drink?!"
Scrappy nervously gulped. "I'll take a mineral water."
Carmine's expression softened. "Straight up or on the rocks?"
"Straight up, I guess."
"On it."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Yes, this is indeed something of a prequel to In Blackest Day, In Brightest Night, namely as an explanation as to how and why Scrappy was hanging around with Zatanna and Constantine in the first place. As for why Scrappy's in Florida with Detective Chimp instead of traveling with Scooby and Shaggy, my current explanation is that after the trio helped the aforementioned simian sleuth solve a case, Scrappy opted to stay behind for whatever reason.
Also, yes, Detective Chimp is an actual DC character, and as of 2018, a member of Justice League Dark. And no, I am not making any of this up– a phrase which you will usually hear me say a lot whenever it comes to the lesser-known portions of DC Comics' lore. And on one last note, the bartender's name is a reference to the creators of both Detective Chimp and Scrappy-Doo respectively– Carmine Infantino (alongside writer John Broome) and Joe Barbera respectively, while the various stories Scrappy has on hand are references to previous entries in the franchise (Boo Brothers and the Scrappy & Yabba-Doo shorts respectively).