A couple of hours later,
Aquaman and Freddie arrived at their destination, the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean.
"Well, Fred," said Aquaman,
"are you ready to do some underwater exploring?"
"You bet I am!" Fred said
in an excited tone. "I've always wanted to explore some of the deepest
parts of the Atlantic, and now's my chance to do it."
"Yes, but you need to be
very careful. After all, I can go further down than any normal man, so
let me know when you need air in your tank."
"Sure thing, Aquaman. Let's
dive!"
The pair dived into the
water, with Aquaman doing a gainer dive and Freddie doing a backward dive
to compensate for his equipment.
Freddie was intrigued by
the incredible sea life he was finding all over the area. "Wow!" he exclaimed.
"I've never seen so much life in the ocean before."
"That's the beauty of the
oceans," Aquaman noted. "There's so much to see, and every being here is
part of the chain of life. Without these sea creatures, there's no way
we could survive."
"Well, we need to get back
to the job at hand. Do you have anything to track the signal we need to
find?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
Aquaman looked straight ahead and used his aquatic telepathy to communicate
with a couple of dolphins. Excuse me, but have either of you heard any
strange signals as of late?
One of the dolphins responded.
Yes,
we have. There was some kind of mysterious signal about ten miles east
of here. We don't know what it is, but I can tell you that there were also
a boat with a couple of unusually dressed individuals.
The other spoke telepathically
to the King of the Seas. I think I overheard one of them say that they
were all set to spring their trap on you.
Thank you, my friends.
You've been very helpful.
Say, asked the first
dolphin, who's your friend in the scuba gear?
Oh, he's a friend helping
me on this case. Now, you better run along so we can get back to work.
Of course, Aquaman. Just
be careful. Those creeps are expecting you.
The dolphins swam off to
the west and left the pair to think of a plan.
"What was that all about?"
asked Freddie.
"Oh, I was just talking
with the locals around here. According to my friends, it looks like I'm
expected."
"Do you think Dr. Kendall
sent his team here to make sure you don't get out of this situation?"
"More than likely. Well,
if you and I have our cards right, we're going to give them a surprise
of their own."
Meanwhile, on a boat about
ten miles from where Aquaman and Freddie were, the two gentlemen, given
the code names of Agents 2-7 and 2-5, discussed their plans.
Agent 2-5 said, "Now remember,
as soon as Aquaman shows up, we trap him in this fish net."
"I sure hope we can pull
this off," said Agent 2-7 in concern, "because knowing how strong and fast
Aquaman is, we may not be able to catch him."
"Are you kidding? As soon
as we net him, we'll put him to sleep with this sleeping gas." He showed
the canister to his partner.
"Sounds foolproof."
"It is, according to Dr.
Kendall. Now, we need to be ready, as Aquaman could show up at any time."
Little did they suspect
that Aquaman and Freddie were on the other end of the boat and overheard
the plans.
"Well," whispered Freddie,
"it looks like they're all set to trap you."
"Maybe," Aquaman muttered,
"but we're going to put a little problem in their 'foolproof plan.'"
"Let me guess. I'm involved,
right?"
"Exactly, Fred. Now, here's
what I want you to do."
As Aquaman explained his
plan to surprise the thugs, the two thieves went down to the galley to
get some soft drinks and some lunch.
"We can't pull off the trap
on an empty stomach, can we?" asked 2-7.
"No way, pal. We need the
energy to trap the King of the Seas."
As the two were about to
eat lunch, 2-5 noticed a school of dolphins quickly approaching the boat.
On the top of one of the dolphins was Aquaman himself!
"Whoops!" said 2-5. "Looks
like we need to pull the trap right now!"
Being preoccupied on one
side of the boat, Freddie sneaked in by the starboard bow ladder.
As Aquaman was quickly approaching,
he noticed the trap and knew that he was in trouble. I've gotta hurry
and pull this off, so we can get that diamond and find out if it's the
real one, he thought to himself.
Freddie, on the other hand,
looked poised and ready to sneak up on the twosome. If he pulls off
his part of the plan, we'll have answers from these two in a couple of
hours.
As the criminals were about
to net the King of the Seas, Freddie sneaked up from behind and trapped
the crooks in their own net!
"What the--" said 2-7. "How
did someone else get on board the ship!?"
When Freddie took off his
scuba mask, it was actually Aquaman! "Simple, since my new friend Fred
looks a lot like me, we switched outfits, so I look like him, and he looks
like me."
Freddie, still on top of
the lead dolphin, came up port side. "Not a bad trick, right, Aquaman?"
"You said it, Fred. You
did a wonderful job going off as me."
"And you weren't so bad
as me. Now, if only I could breathe underwater without the equipment and
have telepathy like you."
The two blonde gentlemen
took the crooks and tied them up. Then they took them into the quarters
of the ship. Freddie saw something inside one of the drawers and went to
investigate. "Hey, look at this!" he exclaimed, opening the drawer.
"Well, it looks like we
have the diamond at last," Aquaman said happily. "Now, to see if Superman's
fingerprint is on the transmitter." Investigating carefully with a special
magnifying glass, he gave a nervous sigh. "Sorry, Fred. This isn't the
right one."
"Oh, no!" Fred said nervously.
"I guess that's one strike against us."
"I'm afraid you're right.
We may as well tell the others about the situation."
Taking out his Justice League
communicator, he contacted the others. "Aquaman to Super Friends. Diamond
in middle of the Atlantic is not the right one. Please check other locations."
"Will do, Aquaman," said
Wonder Woman, as she was taking Daphne towards the island country of New
Zealand.
As the two lovely young
women were on their way in the Invisible Jet, Daphne was surprised about
one thing. "Although my father is very wealthy, I have never seen New Zealand
before."
Wonder Woman said, "Don't
be surprised about that. New Zealand is usually missed by people who come
to the southern hemisphere. Most concentrate on Australia only and forget
about the other places, such as Papua New Guinea and New Zealand." Looking
at her computer map, she said, "We're coming up on New Zealand now."
Daphne looked down on the
ground and noticed all the geysers. "How are we going to land?" she asked.
"I'll use the jet computer
to calculate a good place to land. After all, New Zealand is practically
volcanic." After a few seconds, the coordinates were computed. "Ah, there's
a good piece of land."
It was flat enough for the
Invisible Jet to land, until the jet was hit by steam from one of the geysers!
"Wonder Woman!" Daphne yelled.
"We're out of control!"
"Don't panic, Daphne! I'll
get this thing under control in no time." The Amazing Amazon closed her
eyes and concentrated on the jet. Come on, great gift of Athena, do
not fail me now, she thought to herself. Within the space of fifteen
seconds, the jet was back on track.
Daphne was apalled by what
happened. "Jeepers! How did you do that?"
"It sure pays to have your
mother being named Hippolyta and being gifted with certain aspects of the
gods. Let's land and then check out the place."
Four minutes later, the
two ladies were on the ground searching for the diamond.
Using the portable tracking
device, Wonder Woman pinpointed the exact position. "It's located about
ten miles away in the capital of Wellington."
"Then what are we waiting
for? Let's go," said Daphne.
"Wait a minute, Daphne.
We can't just go in there and rush into the situation. Remember, Dr. Kendall
may have sent four fake signals, so we must be on guard for a trap."
"How do we approach this,
then?"
"I'll show you."
Meanwhile, two more of Dr.
Kendall's agents lay in waiting for their prey. Agent 2-9 said, "What're
we doing here in this place? I mean, it's so boring."
"Maybe," said Agent 2-6,
"but the doc told us that Wonder Woman will show up over here because she
has a thing for islands. She'll be here, so be ready."
"I just want to get this
overwith, because I don't like to be near any volcanoes."
"Don't worry, silly. Most
of the action is caused by the geysers in the northern end of the place,
so we'll be fine."
Little did they suspect
that Wonder Woman was coming from another direction and had Daphne with
her.
"Okay, Daphne," Wonder Woman
said. "Scout ahead and see if there are two gentlemen there."
"All right." Daphne walked
up to the side of the cliff and noticed the two agents near an old building.
When she tried to walk back, though, she tripped over a garbage can and
fell down.
The two agents heard the
noise and immediately went to check it out. "That must be her now,"
said 2-6. "Come on."
Wonder Woman also heard
the noise and grew concerned about Daphne. "Oh, no. If Daphne tripped on
something, she may be in serious trouble." She quickly threw her magic
lasso around a nearby tree and swung her way into action.
Meanwhile, the two agents
found who created the noise. Agent 2-9 was surprised about who was trying
to sneak up on them. "Wait a minute! That's not Wonder Woman!"
When a lasso came from behind
them and tied them up, Wonder Woman said, "No, but I am." She then came
up to Daphne and said, "Are you all right?"
"Yes, but now you know why
I'm known as 'Danger-prone Daphne'."
"As long as you're all right,
you don't have to be graceful." She turned to the two agents and started
asking for answers. "All right, as long as you're both under the influence
of the magic lasso, you must tell the truth. Where is the diamond?"
"It's in the car parked
over there," said Agent 2-6. He pointed to the red car parked next to the
building.
"All right, now you two
stay here," Wonder Woman commanded. She and Daphne were able to get to
the car and find the diamond in the glove compartment. Using the special
magnifying glass, she discovered one thing wrong. "Superman's fingerprint
is not on this diamond."
Daphne calmly said, "Oh,
well, that's not the one, either, is it?"
"No." Wonder Woman communicated
with the others by means of the Justice League radio. "Wonder Woman to
Super Friends. Daphne and I do not have the right diamond. One of you may
find it."
"Right, Wonder Woman," said
Superman. "I'm almost in Iceland now, so I'll check it out."
The Man of Steel was about
50 miles away from Iceland when he opted to use his X-ray vision.
"Okay, let's see here, I don't see anything but active geysers and small
volcanoes." However, he came across one interesting building that
really should not have been there. "It's got lead around
it. I can't see through it, so I guess that must be where the diamond
is."
He landed on the ground
and cautiously approached the one-room lead-shielded building.
However, when he came up
to the door, a thin laser beam hit him from above the door. It seemed
harmless enough, but he then started weakening rapidly.
Kneeling to the ground,
Superman figured out what was hitting him. "It's a…kryptonite
laser beam. I'm getting too weak already. I've…got to get into
the sunlight, fast!"
Inside, Agents 2-8 and 2-13
were keeping a close eye on Superman via a closed-circuit TV monitor.
"Keep the ray on him," said
2-8. "As long as that beam's hittin' him, he'll be weaker than a
puppy."
"Right. There's no
way we're gonna let him off so easily."
Outside, Superman kept struggling
against the beam's effects when he noticed something shining on the ground.
A
piece of ice. I may be able to use this to my advantage. I've
got to keep from getting weaker.
He then used his
heat vision to make one small glass of ice. Crawling over to it,
he then used his chilled breath to make it even colder. Next, he
took the piece of ice glass and placed it in front of his chest, where
the kryptonite beam had been focused.
The beam itself reflected
into the sky, and his strength began coming back to him.
On the inside, the two agents
found themselves completely surprised.
2-13 shouted, "I don't believe
it! He's found a way around the beam!"
"Can you move it around?"
"I think so."
The agent tried desperately
to move the beam off the ice glass, but Superman's super-fast reflexes
kept up every step of the way with the beam.
In a matter of moments,
the Man of Steel used his heat vision again, this time to take out the
laser generator at the top of the door.
"Ah," he said in relief,
"it's nice to be at my best again. Now for the criminals on the inside."
Using his breath, he blew
away the door to their hideout.
The two agents tried to
get away, but Superman quickly flew and grabbed both of them by the backs
of their shirts.
Taking them into the sky,
he demanded, "Tell me where you've hidden the Clairborn Diamond.
If you don't, it's an awfully long trip downward."
Realizing how high they
were, Agent 2-8 confessed the location. "Okay, okay! It's in
a steel box on the table. There's no kryptonite in it at all.
That's the absolute truth. Now, please, put us down!"
"Very well, gentlemen.
I'll deposit you with the Icelandic authorities and then come back to make
sure you're not lying to me."
Five minutes after placing
the two criminals in the hands of local police, he returned to the building
and found the steel box. Using his brute strength to force the box
open, he found what appeared to be the Clairborn Diamond. Using his
x-ray vision, he noticed his own fingerprint not being on
the diamond, like it would be on the real diamond.
The Man of Steel shook his
head. "You are a clever one, Dr. Kendall."
He then contacted his friends
via radio. "Superman to Super Friends. Iceland is not
the location of the Clairborn Diamond. Batman, it looks like you
may find it in South Africa."
"We've landed here already,
Superman. Robin, Velma, and I will check it out."
Back at the Hall of Justice,
Shaggy and Scooby worked with Gleek to make a crazy banana split sundae.
"Let's see," said Shaggy,
"a little ice cream, a couple of bananas, some double-dutch chocolate sauce,
a banana on top for Gleek, a cherry for Scooby, and, like, a pickle on
top for me."
Both Zan and Jayna were
about to turn green in the faces when they heard Shaggy's wild ingredients.
"Eewwww," said Jayna.
"I know the feeling, sis.
How is it those two can eat so much without gaining any weight?"
The computer answered, "They
eat a lot of food, but they can burn their calories by running away from
the ghosts."
"I heard that!" shouted
Shaggy. "But, it's a point, though. We're able to keep in good physical
shape by constantly dashing away from danger."
"There has been a report
the diamond has not been found in the Atlantic, New Zealand, or Iceland,"
stated the Justice League computer.
"Which leaves just South
Africa and Nepal left to go," Zan noted. "I think we need to do something."
Shaggy quickly said, "Uh-uh!
No way! The group told us to stay here, and that's just what we're
gonna do."
"But Shaggy," yelped Jayna,
"your friends are out exploring different parts of the world while we're
stuck here doing nothing. Wouldn't you want the adventure of being
able to see a new part of the world you've never seen before?"
The goateed young man hesitated.
"Well…um…"
"Come on, Shaggy.
Do you want your friends to think of you both as chickens, or as heroes?"
Shaggy and Scooby looked
at each other, and then back at the Wonder Twins. "I'd say, chickens."
As the two chickens laughed
with glee, the twins turned to each other.
"Now what'll we do?" whispered
Jayna. "We've got to get to Nepal and do something, but how can we
convince Shaggy and Scooby?"
"Wait a minute," Zan toned
in a way sounding like he had a wacky plan coming to him. "Remember
how they like to get anywhere? On food! Let's see if we can
lure them into coming with us when we tell them about the cuisine of Nepal."
"But Zan, we don't know
anything about the food of Nepal."
"We don't have to, sis.
All we have to do is mention food in Nepal, and they'll jump at the chance."
"I sure hope this works."
The twins looked at Shaggy
and Scooby again. "Hey, guys," Zan started, "if we told you Nepal
has excellent tastes in food, would you come with us then?"
The boy and his dog suddenly
started drooling. "FOOD!!" they shouted. "We'll go! We'll
go!"
Zan and Jayna were overjoyed
at their decision and quickly placed hands together. "Wonder
Twin powers--activate!"
"Form of…a pterodactyl!"
yelled Jayna.
"Shape of…an ice bench!"
Zan screamed.
As soon as they changed
into their special forms, Shaggy, Scooby, and Gleek hopped into the bench
and soon took off for Nepal themselves. Zan, Jayna, and Gleek planned
on finding Dr. Kendall while Shaggy and Scooby had intended solely on eating
the food there.
Meanwhile, in South Africa,
the Dynamic Duo and Velma were already outside the Batjet, all trying to
find the Clairborn Diamond.
Robin used his remote transmitter
to locate the signal of the diamond. "It seems to be coming from
400 yards to the east." Looking in that direction, he noticed a cave.
"That must be where the diamond is."
When the three entered the
cave, they suddenly noticed a bunch of diamonds.
"Oh, no," Velma said in
concern. "How are we going to figure out which one it is?"
Batman assured, "We'll find
it, Velma. Remember, one of these diamonds has the microtransmitter
and hopefully Superman's fingerprint on it."
As they moved further and
further into the cave, two people standing outside the cave were about
to cause some trouble.
Agents 2-11 and 2-12 stood
near the entrance with 2-11 holding a hand grenade.
"Let's see if those three
detectives can find the diamond in the middle of all the rubble!"
He then threw the grenade into the cave and let it explode!
Deep within the cave, the
three heard the explosion and started running for their lives.
"Holy blow-ups!" Robin yelled.
"We'll be buried alive!"
Just then, Velma noticed
a side cave. "Quick, this way!"
When they entered the side
cave, the rubble went past them. All three were unhurt by the debris.
"We made it," Velma sighed
in relief. "But now how will we find the diamond?"
Robin suddenly noticed the
signal getting stronger. "It must be in here somewhere." Going
no further than about 30 feet, he found the right diamond. "This
is it!" He took out a magnifying glass to see if it was the right one.
"Nope, no fingerprint."
"Which leaves only Nepal
left to go," added Velma.
"I'd better notify the other
Super Friends and the Hall of Justice," Batman stated. "Calling Super
Friends. The diamond is not here. Nepal is the location of
the Clairborn Diamond, Dr. Kendall, and the vegetation device. Zan,
Jayna, did you get that?"
He heard no response.
"Zan, Jayna, Shaggy, Scooby? Are you there?" He then turned
to Robin and Velma. "They did it again," he said regretfully.
"They're going to get themselves into a lot of trouble. How did they
manage to get Shaggy and Scooby to join them?"
Velma thought deeply for
a moment and then replied, "Of course. The way to lure Shag and Scoob
is by food. I bet the twins tried to explain about the cuisine of Nepal,
and that made Shaggy and Scooby go with them. Now I'm worried, too."
In Nepal, the Twins, Gleek,
Shaggy, and Scooby all arrived at Kathmandu, its capital. After the
twins reverted back to their human forms again, they began looking for
the mountain which held the diamond, the doctor, and the device.
Inside the mountainous hideout,
Serena was looking at the video screen when she noticed the three teens
and two animals. "Doctor Kendall, we've got visitors!"
He looked at the screen
with her and said, "I know those two twins and the monkey, but who are
the boy and dog with them? It doesn't matter. Serena, time
to put your mastery of disguise to work and scare them away."
She grabbed a beautiful
royal gown. "As the ghost of the Nepal royal princess, I'll scare
them off."
Going up the mountain, Shaggy
and Scooby started to feel colder. "Um, how long will it be before
we eat?" Shaggy asked. "I'm getting hungry."
"Relax, Shag," said Zan.
"You'll get the food after we find the doctor. I promise. Let's
keep going."
"I'm like, cold, man!"
Suddenly, they heard a loud
laugh. "You must leave here!"
Both Scooby
and Gleek yelped and jumped into Shaggy's arms.
"Like, what was that!?"
"Look!" shouted Scooby.
"Up there!"
They all noticed a woman
dressed in a gorgeous royal purple dress. However, her outer beauty hid
a darker soul. "You are not welcome here, trespassers! Begone
now, or face the wrath of the Royal Princess of Nepal!"
"We have to find someone,"
Jayna yelled to the princess. "We don't want to cause any trouble."
"You already started trouble
when you arrived here, now begone!" She then moved her hand to her
right, and an explosion came about, resulting in the start of a snowslide
avalanche!
"We've got to take cover!"
Zan shouted.
All five found sanctuary
in a cave nearby, but soon the snow covered the entrance, leaving them
all trapped in the cave.
"That should take care of
those intruders," Serena said wickedly. "Now, to help Dr. Kendall
prepare for the vegetation operation."
She walked back into the
mountainous hideout, leaving the Wonder Twins, Gleek, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo
to suffer in the unrelentless cold.
