Chapter 7: The Ones You Least Expect
Pauli's Diner
"You just planning to sit there, or are you gonna actually order something?" a waitress asked.
Jonathan Crane looked up from the menu, his gaze focusing on the blue-eyed strawberry blonde standing next to him. "Chicken salad, no dressing."
The waitress scribbled down the order. "Anything else I can do you for?"
"Coffee, black."
Another bit of scribbling. "Just a little heads-up, but it might take a while." she said.
An indignant look materialized on Crane's face. "Explain." he half-snapped.
"See those guys over there?" the waitress replied, gesturing at a booth behind Crane's. "They're the culprits."
The incognito Scarecrow turned around and felt his jaw go slack at the sight before him. There, sitting in the booth in question, were a man, a Great Dane, and three odd-looking girls of varying ages, with the remnants of a colossal spread of food stacked up on the table.
"In case you're wondering, the beatnik and his dog ordered most of that." the hapless server continued before walking off.
Crane couldn't hear her, however– his attention was currently laser-focused on said beatnik as memories of what happened in Louisiana came rushing back.
"So, you wanna see what I can do with only one percent of my power? Well, I'm more than happy to oblige."
The self-proclaimed "Master of Fear" gulped. If he could take down Slade singlehandedly with barely any training, what chance do we have? he thought, hands shaking at the notion of a rematch.
"Sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut you off, if for no other reason than you're holding up service for the rest of our customers."
Shaggy looked up from a plate of pot roast to see the source of the voice. There, standing right off to the side, was the waitress who'd just finished with Jonathan Crane.
"Like, can you give me a minute? I'm not finished."
The waitress shot Shaggy a disapproving look. "How can you not be finished?" she asked, trying not to yell as she gestured at the nearby heap of empty plates.
"Trust me when I say it's a riddle for the ages." Sibella replied, barely looking up from helping Tanis with the word search on her placemat.
"Don't try and be cute with me, little l–"
"What's the holdup, Googie?! I ordered that Reuben ten minutes ago, and I'm still waiting!" another patron barked.
"Be there in a sec, Jack!" She looked back at Shaggy. "See what I mean?"
"Like, guess so."
"Good. Now, how do you wanna pay for this– cash, check, or plastic?"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Yes, the "1% of Shaggy's power" meme strikes again. And while it's on the mind, I should probably come clean and admit that the entirety of "In Blackest Day" was written solely as a build-up to that particular line.
As for who Googie is, she was originally a one-shot character from Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, where she was Shaggy's girlfriend. As for this version of the character, she'll definitely be playing some part in this fic later on, though I'm not entirely sure as to where or when she'll be playing it.